diff options
| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-01-23 06:43:51 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-01-23 06:43:51 -0800 |
| commit | b239506c70b3a7780fd53260de18f46c89e9434f (patch) | |
| tree | 7b440cb1b2cca50a36444fef64add90626eea346 | |
| parent | 9aaaf9e8a20aacb5c256800f1d2615b9b8617dfc (diff) | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/64836-0.txt | 19866 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/64836-0.zip | bin | 394448 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/64836-h.zip | bin | 466282 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/64836-h/64836-h.htm | 28835 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/64836-h/images/img-cover.jpg | bin | 65919 -> 0 bytes |
8 files changed, 17 insertions, 48701 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf 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. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f41c233 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64836 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64836) diff --git a/old/64836-0.txt b/old/64836-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 76c5fef..0000000 --- a/old/64836-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,19866 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Jane Seton, by James Grant - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Jane Seton - or, The King's Advocate - -Author: James Grant - -Release Date: March 15, 2021 [eBook #64836] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JANE SETON *** - - - - - JANE SETON: - - OR, - - THE KING'S ADVOCATE. - - A Scottish Historical Romance. - - - BY JAMES GRANT, - - AUTHOR OF - "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE AIDE-DE-CAMP," ETC. ETC. - - - - _NEW EDITION._ - - - - LONDON: - GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, - BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL. - NEW YORK: 129, GRAND STREET. - 1865. - - - - - LONDON: - SAVILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS, - CHANDOS-STREET. - - - - -PREFACE. - -The genius of a monarch is said to stamp a character upon his time; -but this can scarcely be said to have been the good fortune of the -sovereign in whose reign I have laid the following romance. - -Like all the princes of his house, James V. was far in advance of the -age in which he lived; for to all his forefathers' valour and -passionate love of their native Scotland (for whose soil so many of -them had shed their blood in battle), to their elegant taste in all -the arts, their patronage of science and commerce, he united a love -for romantic adventure, which, like James IV., made him the idol of -the people. But the Scottish nobles, though affording us many bright -and glorious examples of high valour and pure patriotism, have -generally been a race of men too ready to sacrifice the dearest -interests of their country for lucre or ambition; and were really, in -all ages, a curse alike to our kings and the nation. - -In the following pages I have endeavoured to portray something of -their savage pride and unscrupulous spirit; and to give a picture of -those dark days of violence when danger was the pastime and arms the -occupation of our people; when it was sadly but truly said, that grey -hairs were seldom seen under a Scotsman's bonnet, and that a Scottish -mother had seldom a son left to lay her head in the grave, for in -civil strife or foreign war they had all gone before her to the land -of the leal. - -There is much that is veritable history, and much that is old -tradition, woven up with my fiction; and though the reader may be -able to distinguish these passages, I shall mention, that the king's -adventure in the cavern, the three trees of Dysart, and John of -Clatto, are ancient legends of Fife; while the point on which the -whole story turns--the strange and frantic love of Otterburn--is -taken partly from an incident which is mentioned in the annals of the -House of Angus, and bears a conspicuous place in the early criminal -records of Scotland. It will be found related at further length in -the notes. - -The King's Advocate was so named, to distinguish him from the Crown -Prince's Advocate, an office which existed before the abolition of -many of those more important public institutions of which Scotland -has permitted herself to be deprived. - -The King's Advocate, with whose name I have made so free in these -volumes, was the son of Thomas Otterburn of Edinburgh, who was slain -at the battle of Flodden, and of Katharine Brown. He was Lord -Provost of Edinburgh from 1524 to 1535, and was our ambassador to -England between the same years. He was knighted in 1534, but was -imprisoned in the castle of Dumbarton for being too partial to -Englishmen. He was highly esteemed by Buchanan, who has embalmed his -memory in beautiful Latin verse. - -Vipont, the hero, bears an old Scottish surname, which was famous in -the middle ages, though it has now almost disappeared. Andro -Wyntown, the Prior of St. Serf, mentions that _Alan ye Vipownt_ was -keeper of Lochlevin, and defended that fortress valiantly in the wars -of the Scottish succession. Another, Sir William Vipont, was one of -the two Scottish knights slain on the glorious 24th of June, 1314. -They were barons of Aberdour on the northern shore of the Forth, -where their ruined castle, a massive pile indicative of great -strength and ancient grandeur, is yet to be seen. Roland Vipont is -meant to represent the last of that old race, whose arms are still -recorded to have been six annulets _or_, with a swan's head rising -from a coronet. - -Let it not be thought that I have made James V. or his minister speak -too harshly of Henry VIII.'s moral character, when we bear in mind -that Dr. Bayley, in his "Life of Bishop Fisher," has plainly asserted -and proved, that the English king married Anne Boleyn, knowing her to -be his own daughter. So much for the "Bluff King Hal" of romance. - -If, on one hand, I have omitted to portray the Cardinal Primate as -the monster we have been taught to believe him, I do not, on the -other, wish it to be thought that I consider the good Father St. -Bernard as a type of the Scottish clergy in 1537. Very far from it; -they were the reverse of all I have made that meek old priest. But, -doubtless, there must have been exceptions; and it must be -remembered, that all our accounts of them and the Cardinal have come -down to us from their enemies. - -A Scottish novelist labours under a great disadvantage, when -endeavouring to introduce effectively for English readers old -national characters who speak their own language, which, to a modern -Englishman, would be as unintelligible as Choctaw; hence the -conventional half-dialect usually adopted. It is a curious fact, -that in the days of Alexander I. or Robert I., the dialects of the -two nations were more alike than they are to-day. Since then, the -language of South Britain has gradually been changing, and becoming -what is strictly termed English; while the Gothic dialect of the -North has remained pretty much the same; hence the Scot can read with -ease, and fully understand, the obsolete phrases and idioms of -Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, &c., many parts of the old editions of -whose works are now almost unintelligible to the mass of their own -countrymen. - - EDINBURGH, - 1st January, 1853. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - CHAPTER - - I. JANE SETON - II. MAGDALENE OF FRANCE - III. THE MASTER OF THE ORDNANCE - IV. REDHALL - V. THE WITCH-PRICKER - VI. THE ILLUMINATED SPIRE - VII. TWO OFFICIALS - VIII. THE QUEEN'S MASQUE - IX. LA VOLTA - X. LOVE AND ABHORRENCE - XI. SWORDBLADES AND SALVE - XII. EDINBURGH IN 1537 - XIII. SAINT GILES - XIV. THE CHANCELLOR OF SCOTLAND - XV. THE NOON OF LOVE - XVI. VIPONT'S HOUSEHOLD - XVII. A LORD ADVOCATE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY - XVIII. THE CASTLE OF INCHKEITH - XIX. THE FORTUNATE SWORD-THRUST - XX. THE BLACK PAGE - XXI. JOHN OF THE SILVERMILLS - XXII. TEN RED GRAINS - XXIII. THE FIRST VISIT - XXIV. THE KNIFE - XXV. DOUGLASDALE - XXVI. THE BARMKYN OF CAIRNTABLE - XXVII. THE POMMEL OF THE POINARD - XXVIII. A DRAUGHT OF WATER - XXIX. THE SECOND VISIT - XXX. SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY! - XXXI. THE PORTE OF THE SPUR - XXXII. THE THREE TREES OF DYSART - XXXIII. THE WEEM - XXXIV. THE DEATH OF MAGDALENE - XXXV. THE COLLEGE OF JUSTICE - XXXVI. THE RACK--THE DEVIL'S MARK - XXXVII. THE GAGE OF BATTLE - XXXVIII. THE EARL'S DARING - XXXIX. THE EARL'S SUCCESS - XL. SYBIL - XLI. A HAMILTON! A HAMILTON! - XLII. DAVID'S TOWER--THE PHYSICIAN - XLIII. DAVID'S TOWER--THE PRIEST - XLIV. DAVID'S TOWER--THE LOVER - XLV. THE BOON - XLVI. THIRST! - XLVII. WHAT THE PAPER CONTAINED - XLVIII. THE CROSS AND GILLSTOUP - XLIX. THE CASTAWAYS - L. FALKLAND - LI. THE KING AND THE CARDINAL - LII. THE LAIRD OF CLATTO - LIII. THE FIGHT AT INVERTEIL - LIV. THE KING'S HORN - LV. THE BLUEGOWN - LVI. THE TEMPTATION - LVII. THE LOCH - LVIII. THE LAW OF THE SWORD - LIX. THE PLACE OF DOOM - LX. CONCLUSION - NOTES - - - - -JANE SETON: - -OR, - -THE KING'S ADVOCATE. - - - -CHAPTER I. - -JANE SETON. - - "I prithee mark - His countenance; unlike bold calumny, - Which sometime dare not speak the thing it looks, - He dare not look the thing he speaks, but bends - His gaze on the blind earth."--_The Cenci_. - - -On the 19th of May, 1537, the bells of Edinburgh rang joyously. It -was a day of loyalty and merriment such as never more may gladden -Scotland's ancient capital. - -After a nine months' absence, James V.--"the good king James, the -commons' king, the father of the poor," the patron of the infant arts -and sciences, the mirror of chivalry and romance, as he was -affectionately named by a people who idolized him--had arrived in the -Firth of Forth with his young queen Magdalene of Valois, whom for her -dazzling beauty he had chosen from among three princesses, all -possessed of unusual charms, and whom he had espoused in the great -cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, in presence of her father, the -magnificent and magnanimous Francis I., seven cardinals, and all the -noblesse and beauty of France. After spending the honeymoon at the -Hôtel de Cluny, a beautiful old gothic house belonging to the family -of Lorraine, they had sailed for Scotland. - -All the capital was on tiptoe, and its streets were crowded to excess -by the retinues of the nobles and lesser barons, who had come thither -to gratify their curiosity and evince their loyalty on the auspicious -occasion. - -The day was one of the most beautiful of all that sunny month; and -the summer air was laden with the perfume of flowers, for garlands -and bouquets were festooned from window to window across the main -street leading to the palace, a thoroughfare six-and-twenty yards in -breadth; while the stone columns of the girth-cross of the holy -sanctuary, the Jerusalem-cross of St. John, the great market-cross of -the city, bearing aloft the unicorn rearing on a tressured shield, -and the famous stone statue of Our Lady which then stood at the east -end of St. Giles's church, were all wreathed and hidden under the -spoil of a hundred blooming gardens. - -Scaffolds and balconies hung with tapestry and rare carpets of -foreign manufacture, or painted with azure, starred with shining -gold, occupied the sides of the streets in many places, and were -crowded with the families of the surrounding land-holders, the better -classes of citizens, and the baronial dwellers of the Blackfriars' -Wynd and the Canongate; a great part of the latter street consisted -then of turreted villas and strongly-built but detached -mansion-houses surrounded by spacious gardens. Banners innumerable, -bearing the heraldic cognizances of the proud, the noble, and the -brave of Scotland's ancient days, waved from window, turret, and -bartizan; the city fountains poured forth purple wine and nut-brown -ale alternately (for the Scots had the former duty-free before the -Union), and the stalwart deacon convener of the gallant craftsmen, -sheathed in complete armour, with the famous Blue Blanket, or banner -of the Holy Ghost, displayed, mustered the Baxters, the Websters, -Cordiners, Dagger and Bonnet makers, and other ancient corporations, -each under their several standards, to line the High-street, on -either side, from the Butter Tron to the Netherbow, keeping clear a -lane of some forty feet in breadth. These stout craftsmen, who -mustered to the number of several thousands, were all arrayed in -green gaberdines, red hose, and blue bonnets, and were armed as -archers, with a steel gorget, a short but strong Scottish bow, a -sheaf of arrows, a battle-axe, and long dagger. - -With the city sword and mace, and his own helmet and banner borne -before him, the Lord Provost, Sir James Lawson, of the Highrigs, with -all the baillies and burgesses clad in gowns of scarlet, furred with -miniver, and wearing chains of gold; the heralds and pursuivants in -their plumed bonnets and gorgeous tabards, with standards and -trumpets, musicians, minstrels, and macers, waited at the western -entrance of the city to receive the king and queen with all due -loyalty and splendour of pageantry; while the priests of rank, the -knights, nobles, and senators of the College of Justice, had all -ridden to Leith to conduct the royal pair in procession to Holyrood. - -It is said that the beautiful Magdalene, on landing from the -high-pooped and gaily-bannered ship of Sir Robert Barton, the king's -admiral, knelt gracefully down on the sands of Leith, and lifting a -handful to her lips, kissed it ere she threw it away crosswise, and -raising her large dark eyes to heaven, prayed with deep pathos "to -God, the blessed Virgin, and all the saints, for the happiness of -Scotland, the land of her adoption, and its people." - -The bright sunshine of the glorious May morning poured aslant its -flaky radiance between the breaks and openings in those irregular -masses of building, that tower up to such a giddy height on both -sides of the central street of the ancient city; the south was sombre -and grey, but the north was glowing in warmth, as the sunlight played -along its far-stretching vista. Many of these houses were -flat-roofed, flagged with large stones, like ancient towers, or -covered with thatch; but few that overlooked the pageant about to be -described are standing now, as the city was fired by the English in -eight places seven years after, in the war with Henry VIII. - -By the skill of a certain cunning craftsman, the High-street, even at -that early period, was well paved; and the monks of Holyrood kept the -Canongate (which is but a further continuation of the same -thoroughfare) well causewayed, for which the reverend Lord Abbot -levied a duty upon every cart, laden or unladen, which entered the -eastern barrier of the burgh. All the open windows of that great -street, the tall edifices of which rise to the height of eight and -ten stories, exciting still the astonishment of every traveller, were -filled with glad faces; every bartizan, outshot, and projection bore -its load of shouting urchins; even the leads and parapets of the -great cathedral, with its hideously grotesque stone-gutters, carved -into devils and dragons, wyverns and other monsters, bore a freight -of spectators, the buzz of whose voices, above and below, imparted a -liveliness to the scene, and relieved the tedium of long expectation -and waiting for the approach of the royal party. - -The utmost good-humour pervaded these expectant crowds, though -sometimes a brawl seemed likely to ensue, when a gentleman of pride -and pedigree, with velvet cloak, a long rapier, and tall feather, -despising the authority of the convener and his bands of mechanical -craftsmen, marched down the centre of the street, with a few -well-armed serving-men following doggedly at his heels, with brows -bent, their swords girt up, and that expression on their faces which -seemed so much as to say, "We are Humes, Douglases, or Scotts, or -Setons, and who will dare to meddle with us!" - -With these, such was the patent of gentle blood, the burgher archers -dared not interfere; but their unstrung bows and gauntleted hands -pommelled without mercy any luckless countryman or denizen of Leith -or St. Ninian's Row who encroached on the causeway, which by order of -the knightly provost was to be kept clear by all. Such incidental -brawls were generally quelled by the interference of some passing -grey friar or Dominican. - -Those cavaliers who assumed the right of perambulating the open -street were, as I have said, almost invariably attended by bands of -followers, armed with swords and round targets, steel caps and -corslets. Several of these were invariably greeted by a yell of -hostility and epithets of opprobrium from those who occupied the -windows, and who found this a more safe experiment than it could have -proved to those who stood in the street below. - -These obnoxious personages were generally lesser barons and gentlemen -of the house of Douglas, a clan which, from its numerical force, -pride, power, and turbulence, had long been inimical to the house of -Stuart, and more especially to James V., who after many efforts had -completely broken its strength, reduced its numerous strongholds, and -driven the chief, Archibald sixth Earl of Angus, and Knight of St. -Michael, from his high offices of Lord Chancellor and Lieutenant of -the East and Middle Marches, with all the noblesse of his surname and -faction, to exile in England; where, like all Scottish rebels and -malcontents, according to the ancient line of southern policy, they -were fostered and protected by Henry VIII. - -By the knights and gentlemen of the proscribed name those marks of -hostility from the vulgar herd were treated with silent scorn; but -their followers scowled about them with clenched weapons and kindling -eyes, that showed how intensely they longed to react the great -High-street conflict of 1520, and revenge on the rabble of Edinburgh -the insults they now endured. These evidences of hostility and -political disgust were soon lost amid the general spirit of rejoicing -that pervaded the entire body of the people; for loyalty and devotion -to their old hereditary line of princes was then an inborn sentiment -in the Scots, who were devout believers in the divine right of kings, -and had not yet been taught by their preachers to view their old -regal race as tyrants and oppressors. - -Among all this mirth and festivity there were two persons whose -sobriety and staidness of demeanour were very remarkable. - -One was a young man about six-and-twenty, who had, apparently, just -entered the city, for his boots and leathern gambadoes were covered -with dust. He wore a plain gaberdine, or frock, of white Galloway -frieze, with horn buttons; but beneath it appeared a doublet of -escaupil to protect him from sword thrusts, an unusual garment for -one of his class, for his grey maud, or plaid, blue bonnet, -backsword, and hunting-knife announced him a yeomen or agriculturist. -He carried a great knotty walking-staff, recently cut from some -wayside thicket; but to a close observer it would have seemed -perfectly evident that the profusion of his beard and moustache was -worn rather for disguise than adornment. He was reading a paper -affixed to the cross of St. John of Jerusalem which stood in the -centre of the Canongate, immediately opposite the arch which now -gives admittance to St. John's-street, the ground of which was then -closely built upon. - -It was a proclamation, issued by the nobles who governed in the -king's absence, offering a thousand merks of Scottish money for "ye -heid of Archibald Seton, umquhile Earle of Ashkirk," accused of -leaguing with that false traitor, Archibald Douglas, sometime Earl of -Angus, who had recently been on the borders, at the head of some -English moss-troopers, infesting the bounds of the knight, Sir Mark -Kerr, of Cessford. - -With a brow that loured, and fierce eye that kindled, the young man -read, from beginning to end, this proclamation (which was obnoxious -to so many), and his hand gradually tightened on the handle of his -poniard as he proceeded. Suddenly remembering that he might be -observed, a smile of scorn, such a lordly smile as never clown could -have given, spread over his dark features; he gave a glance of -peculiar import at a group of ladies who occupied a balcony -immediately opposite St. John's Cross, and, drawing his bonnet well -over his brows, looked round for some obscure nook from whence to -see, in security, the progress of the royal pageant. - -"How little can they imagine that I am so near them," said the Earl -of Ashkirk (for the stranger was no other than he), as he dived among -the crowd and disappeared. - -The other personage to whom reference has been made, was a tall and -finely-formed man, of a noble presence and commanding stature, -possessing a remarkably handsome face, with a loftiness of bearing -that never failed to strike the beholder with interest. His -complexion was dark, his nose slightly aquiline, his eyes black, and -sparkling beneath two brows that were almost joined together. At -times, a fierce and restless expression lit up these fiery and -penetrating eyes, and knit his smooth expansive forehead, while his -moustached lip curled with pride and severity; and then a languor and -sadness stole over them, as other and softer emotions subdued the -bitter thoughts some passing incidents had roused. He was dressed in -a doublet and trunk hose of black velvet, laced and buttoned with -silver, and trimmed with miniver: a black velvet bonnet, adorned by a -single diamond and one tail white ostrich feather, shaded his dark, -short, curly hair. He wore a short poniard and long rapier in an -embroidered belt, and had spurs, heavily gilded and embossed, on the -heels of his maroquin boots. - -This man was Sir Adam Otterburn, of Redhall, the King's Advocate in -the recently-instituted College of Justice, a great favourite with -his royal master, and one who, for his learning, probity, courage, -and office, was loved by some, respected by many, and feared by all. -His features were pale and hollow, for he was recovering from a late -illness, brought on by a wound received in a conflict with the -Douglases, a circumstance which alone, on this auspicious day, -confined him to a cushioned chair at the window of his house, which -overlooked the High-street, where all the beauty and bravery of -Edinburgh had thronged to welcome home King James. - -Oblivious of the bustle pervading that long and stately thoroughfare, -the streaming pennons, the waving banners, the gaudy tapestries and -garlands that festooned every balcony and decorated every window, the -Knight of Redhall continued to gaze upon the fair occupants of the -temporary gallery which we have before mentioned as standing near St. -John's Cross. - -It was hung and canopied with scarlet cloth and festoons of flowers; -the front was painted with gold and azure, and thereon lay a banner, -bearing under an earl's coronet, and within a widow's lozenge, the -three crescents of Seton, within a double tressure, flowered and -counter-flowered with golden fleurs-de-lis, quartered with "the -bloody heart," the dreaded cognizance of the obnoxious Douglases--a -badge which, though it seldom gained love, never failed to inspire -fear. An old lady and several fair young belles, whose beauty alone -saved them from the insults which popular hatred levelled at all in -alliance with the exiled Earl of Angus, occupied this balcony, and -reclined beneath its shady canopy, chatting gaily, and expectant of -the royal approach. - -The elder lady was Margaret Douglas, of the house of Kilspindie, -dowager of John Earl of Ashkirk, and mother of Archibald, the present -earl, who was then under doom of exile with Lord Angus, his kinsman -and ally. The younger ladies were Jane Seton, her daughter, Marion -Logan of Restalrig, Alison Hume of Fastcastle, and Sybil Douglas of -Kilspindie, all noble damsels, who had come to Edinburgh to witness -the splendid entrée of Queen Magdalene. - -Tall in stature and dark in complexion, with deep black eyes, and a -hauteur of brow which the sweet expression of her mouth alone -relieved, the Countess Dowager of Ashkirk, though all but unable to -read or write (for letters were then held in low repute), was a woman -of a shrewd and masculine turn of mind; for the inborn dignity of -noble birth, the martial spirit of her race, the stormy life she had -led since childhood among feudal brawls and intestine battles, had -imparted an emphatic decision, if not a fierceness, at times, to her -manner and modes of expression. A stiff suit of the richest Genoese -brocade lent additional stateliness to her figure, while the -diamond-shaped head-dress, then in fashion for noble matrons, added -greatly to her stature, which was far above the middle height. The -inner folds of this angular coif were of white linen, the outer of -purple silk edged with yellow fringe, and it formed a corner at each -ear with an apex at the top, while the folds lay close to her cheeks, -scarcely permitting her hair to be visible, and where it was so its -raven hue seemed turning fast to silver-grey. - -A little negro boy, black as Lucifer, but dressed entirely in a rich -suit of white satin, puffed and slashed at the trunks and shoulders, -held up her train. Ugly as a fiend, with a broad nose, capacious -mouth, and long pendent ears adorned with massive silver rings, -Master Sabrino, being the first or the second person of his colour -ever seen in Scotland, was an object of fear to some, disgust to -others, and wonder to all. The vulgar viewed him as an imp or devil -incarnate, and studiously avoided the glance of his shining black -eyeballs; but _the creature_, as they termed him, was affectionately -devoted to his mistress, and to all who used him kindly. Though the -fashion of being attended by a black page or dwarf was not uncommon -at continental courts, and had been first introduced into Scotland by -Anne de la Tour of Vendôme, Duchess of Albany, it did not tend to -increase the popularity of the proud and distant Dowager of Ashkirk, -whom, as a Douglas, the people were generally disposed to view with -hostility and mistrust. - -Lady Jane Seton was, in many respects, the reverse of her mother; for -she had neither her lofty stature, her keenness of eye, nor her -haughty decision of manner; for her figure, though full and round, -was, by turns, light, graceful, and yielding. Neither her youth, for -she was barely twenty, nor her beauty, though it was of the first -class, were her chief characteristics. There was a depth of -expression in her dark blue eye, which, by turns, was dreamy and -thoughtful, or bright and laughing, a charm in her radiant complexion -and a fascination in her manner, which drew all instinctively towards -her. When silent, she seemed full of intense thought; when speaking, -all vivacity and animation. Her hair was of the darkest and -glossiest brown, and her neck arched and slender. Simple and -pleasing, sinless in soul and pure in heart, her goodness and -gentleness were her greatest charms; and though she appeared _petite_ -beside her towering mother, there was a grace in all her movements, -and a bewitching piquancy in every expression, that made Jane Seton -adorable to her lovers, and she had many. - -Her companions were worthy the association, all fair and handsome -girls. - -Alison of Fastcastle was a beautiful blonde; she carried a falcon on -her wrist, and from time to time pressed its smooth pinions against -her dimpled cheek. Marion of Restalrig was a tall, flaxen-haired, -and blue-eyed beauty, ever laughing and ever gay; while Sybil Douglas -of Kilspindie was a brunette, like all the beauties of her house. -Her deep black eyes and sable tresses would have lost nothing by -comparison with those of Andaluçia; and though generally quiet, and, -as some deemed her, insipid, her silence concealed a world of -sentiment and thoughts that were exquisitely feminine: but, though -silent and retiring, there were times when this fair daughter of the -house of Douglas could manifest a fire and spirit becoming Black -Liddlesdale himself. - -They were all dressed nearly alike, in white satin, slashed at the -breast and shoulders with variously coloured silk, and all had coifs -of velvet squared above their temples, and falling in lappets on -their cheeks. They were all talking at once, laughing at everything, -like Sabrino the page, whose wide mouth was expanded in an endless -grin; but the old countess was buried in thought, and with her -forehead resting on her hand, and her elbow on the edge of the -balcony, continued to gaze abstractedly on the long and bustling -vista of the sunlit Canongate. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -MAGDALENE OF FRANCE. - - "Saw'st thou not the great preparatives - Of Edinburgh, that famous noble town; - Thou saw'st the people labouring for their lives, - To make triumph with trump and clarion: - Thou saw'st full well many a fresh galland, - Well ordered for receiving of their queen, - Each craftsman with his bent bow in his hand, - Right gallantlie in clothing short of green." - LlNDESAY OF THE MOUNT. - - -"Their graces tarry long," said the countess, glancing impatiently up -the street; "it is almost midday by the sun. Jane, child, hast got -thy pocket-dial about thee?" - -Lady Jane took from her embroidered girdle a little silver dial, and -placing it duly east and west, found the hour to be twelve by the -shadow of the gnomon, for the sun shone brightly. - -"I warrant me," said the countess, "that his eminence the cardinal -will be relieving himself of some prosy oration at the foot of the -Broad Wynd, for the benefit of the king's grace." - -"Of the queen's, you mean, Lady Ashkirk," said Alison Home, "for his -lordship is a great admirer of beauty. Thou knowest, cousin Jane, -how often he hath admired thee." - -Jane coloured with something of displeasure at this remark, for, by -the rumour of his gallantries, to be admired by this great prelate -was no high honour. - -"I would the king were come, for my patience is wearing fast away," -said she, raising her bright eyes from the silver index to her -mother's thoughtful face. - -"Is it for the king alone thou art so impatient, child?" said the old -lady, with a keen but smiling glance. - -"Nay, for one who accompanies him for the queen," said Jane, growing -pale, for she always turned pale where others grew red. "Is not -James the avowed enemy of our house?" - -"But is there no other for whom ye long, silly lassie?" asked Marion -Logan, throwing an arm round Jane. - -"My sweet friend--yes; for one who is dearer to me almost than thee; -he who sent me this dial from Paris. Oh, Marion! to think that he -hath been there for nine weary months!" - -"Marry come up, bairn, what matters it?" said the countess, who -overheard them, though the two fair friends spoke in low tones; "he -will be so changed, and improved in gallantry and grace, that you -will scarcely recognise him." - -"I cry you mercy, mother," said Jane, pouting; "I knew not that he -required improvement in either." - -"By my troth, lady countess," said Alison Home, "if you mean Sir -Rowland Vipont, the Master of the King's Ordnance, I think him so -finished a cavalier that no court in Europe could improve him more." - -"Save the court of King Cupid," said Marion. - -"And where does he reign?" asked Jane. - -"In thine own heart, cousin," said little Sybil, quietly; and then -all the girls laughed aloud. - -"I thank you, sweet Alison," said Jane, in a low voice, kissing her -friend, for her heart danced lightly to hear her lover praised; "but -dost thou know that, though I am full of joy, I would give the world -to shed a shower of quiet tears just now." - -"Heaven give thee happiness to-day, dear Jane," replied her friend, -in the same soft, earnest voice, "and may it send thy lover back to -thee in love and truth, and health and comeliness, as when he left -thee these nine long months ago." - -"Sabrino," said the countess, suddenly; "prick up those long ears of -thine! dost thou not hear the sound of trumpets?" - -"Ees, madame--me tink so," grinned the sable page, whose efforts at -articulation cost him a fearful grimace. - -"Then, James must be ascending the West Bow," replied the countess, -as a commotion and murmur became apparent among the mighty masses -that crowded the whole street. - -At that moment the roar of the castle artillery pealed over the city, -and announced the entrance of the king by its western barrier, along -the Highrigs, past the tilting-ground and the chapel of the Virgin -Mary. Deeply and hoarsely carthoun and culverin thundered from the -towers of St. Margaret and King David, and a deafening shout of -welcome and acclamation resounded from the crowded streets. - -"Though the enemy and oppressor of the Douglases and the Homes," -continued the countess, standing up in front of the balcony, "I -cannot forget that he is our anointed king--that he has long been -absent, and has endured great perils by sea and land; and so this day -I bid him hail and welcome home in the name of Heaven." - -"'Tis said the queen will ride behind him on a pillion," said Alison -Home. - -"Nay, child," replied the countess; "the Master of the Horse passed -up street with a beautiful palfrey of spotless white, having a golden -footcloth that swept the ground, for her grace's especial behoof. -Ha! bairns, the mention of pillions remindeth me of the days of our -good King James IV. I was but a lassie then, in my teens, like -yourselves; and when James espoused the younger sister of Henry -Tudor, though liking not the English match, I was appointed a lady of -honour to Queen Margaret, for then--(and the countess spoke -bitterly)--_then_ to be a Douglas was different from what it is -to-day! Like his son, James IV. was then a winsome youth, and fair -to look upon. Few matched him for courage and hardiment in the -field, and none surpassed him in grace and courtly devoir. Amid a -gallant band of spears, with ladies, lords and knights, all clad in -silk and taffety, laced and furred with miniver, with many a waving -plume, and many a golden chain, they issued forth from Saint Mary of -Newbattle, beneath the old oak trees, and James had his fair young -English bride behind him on a pillion, riding just like any douce -farmer and his gudewife, and, certes! a bonnie young pair they were -as ever had holy water sprinkled on their bended heads! James was -bravely attired--a doublet of velvet bordered with cloth-of-gold, and -his bride was blazing with diamonds. As we rode townward, by the -wayside, near Our Lady's Well at Kirk Liberton, we saw a fair -pavilion pitched on the green brae side, and at the door thereof -stood a lance fixed in the earth, with a shield hung upon it. A -lady, holding a siller bugle horn, came forth to greet the royal -pair, when suddenly, a savage knight, mounted, and clad in a lion's -skin, dashed out of a neighbouring coppice and bore her away. Then, -lo! another knight, armed at all points, spurred his fleet horse from -the gay pavilion, and assailed him with uplifted sword. Bravely they -fell on, with the captive dame between them, and the keen-edged -blades made ilka tempered casque and corselet ring like kirk bells on -a festival. The rescuer struck the sword from the hand of his enemy, -the king cried, 'Redd ye, sirs!' and so the combat was closed, and -the lady released." - -"And who was this fair dame?" asked Alison, with assumed curiosity, -for she had heard the same story, in the same words, a hundred times -before. - -"Whom think ye, but _I_; and my leal Lord Archibald was the errant -knight who saved me from the savage warrior, and _he_ was no other -than thy father, dear Alison, Sir Cuthbert Home of Fastcastle, who -died by King James's side at Flodden; for you must know, maidens, -that it was all a fair masque prepared to suit the warlike taste of -the king, who loved well to see his knights under harness, and -proving their hardiment on each other's coats of mail. All that and -mickle mair I remember as if 'twere yesterday, and now 'tis three and -thirty years ago. Three and thirty!" continued the garrulous old -lady, "how the false traitors Death and Time have changed my cheer -since then." - -"True, madam," said little Sybil, thoughtfully; "the best part of our -life is made up of the anticipations of hope, and the pleasures, the -sad pleasures, of memory." - -"Thy thoughts are running on my son, Lord Archibald," said the -countess, with a fond smile, as she smoothed the thick tresses of -Sybil. "The first is for the young like you, and the last to solace -the auld like me. St. Mary keep us! how year runs after year. My -fair bairns, I hope a time may come when ye will all look back to -_this_ day as I do to that; but not with a sigh, to think such things -have been, but can never be again!" - -The countess sighed, and a tear stole into her eye; but a cry from -the girls of-- - -"Oh! here they come--the king and queen!" followed by a clapping of -hands, and a burst of acclamation from the populace, amid which the -old cry, which the Scots had lately borrowed from their allies, the -French--"Vive la Royne! Vive la Royne!" was conspicuous. It was a -shout that rang from the crowded streets below, the windows and -bartizans above, loud enough to rend the summer welkin, and heralded -the approach of James and his French bride. - -The occasional flourish of trumpets, mingled with the sound of the -drum, the shalm, the cymbal, the clarion, and the clang of hoofs, -rang in the lofty street. Spears glittered, banners waved, and -silken pennons streamed in the sunlight at a distance, above the sea -of heads; while armour flashed, and embroidery sparkled, as the -superb procession, conveying the royal pair to Holyrood, approached. - -Under the high sheriff of Lothian and Sir Andrew Preston of Gourtoun, -a strong body of mounted spearmen, sheathed in dark armour, cleared -and lined the streets, while the provost, Sir James Lawson of the -Highrigs, chequered them with several thousands of the burgher -archers and craftsmen, for each armed corporation was arrayed under -its own pennon; and the great consecrated standard of the city, -bearing the image of Saint Giles, floated near the battlements of the -Cross--as tradition avers it floated over Salem. A volume would be -required to describe the magnificence of the romantic pageant that -now approached; for James, as I have said, was the idol of his -people, and a nine months' absence had endeared him to them more; and -all their loyalty and enthusiasm now blazed forth at his return. -First came three hundred of his royal guard, clad in blue bonnets and -scarlet doublets, armed with long partizans and poniards. These were -all men of Edinburgh, given by the city to attend James "on all -occasions, especially against his auld and auncient enemies of -England." Then came a long train of that fierce and proud nobility -whose turbulence and intrigues ultimately broke the good king's -heart. They wore robes of state over their rich armour; their -jewelled coronets were borne before, and their gallant banners behind -them; each was attended by a knight, a page, an esquire, or other -gentleman, in accordance with his rank. Then came the lesser barons, -each riding with his pennon displayed; and then the honourable -commissioners of burghs, clad in gowns of scarlet, with gold chains; -the twelve heralds and pursuivants, with six bannered trumpets, -sounding before them a triumphal march, to which the kettle-drums and -cymbals of the horsemen lent additional animation. - -But the shouts which greeted this part of the procession became -subdued; for now came a single horseman, riding alone, with a page on -each side supporting his footcloth, which was composed entirely of -cloth-of-gold. He was a man of a singularly noble presence and -commanding stature; his deep dark eyes were full of fire and -expression, yet his face was calm and placid, and his gaze was fixed -on the flowing mane of his beautiful roan horse; and though every -head bowed at his approach, he seemed abstracted and oblivious of -all; his cope and stockings were scarlet, and a very broad hat of the -same sanguine hue cast a pleasant shadow over his sombre features. - -"Rise, my bairns," said the Countess of Ashkirk; "it is his eminence -the cardinal!" - -And chancing to raise his head at that moment, he waved a benediction -towards the balcony. He was David Beaton, cardinal of St. Stephen, -the lord high chancellor of Scotland, legate of Paul III., and the -terror of those who, in their secret hearts, had begun to nourish the -doctrines of the reformed church. A young cavalier, in a half suit -of magnificently gilded armour, attended him, and spent his time -between caressing a falcon which sat upon his dexter wrist, and -bowing to the ladies on either side of the street. He was Sir Norman -Leslie of Rothes, who, a few years after, slew the cardinal in his -archiepiscopal palace. Immediately behind him came a crowd of -ecclesiastics, and the eight bishops--Stewart of Aberdeen, Hepburn of -Brechin, Chisholm, the worthless holder of the see of Dunblane, -Dunkeld, Moray, Ross, Orkney, and Ferquhard of the Isles, all riding -on led horses, with their mitres, crosiers, and magnificent -vestments, glittering in the sunlight. - -Then came the black abbot of Cambus Kenneth (the lord president of -the New College of Justice), attended by his fourteen senators, the -_ten_ sworn advocates, the clerks to the signet, notaries and macers -of court, all of whom were greeted with lowering brows and murmurs of -ill-repressed hatred and dislike; for the introduction of the courts -of session and justiciary had been a very unpalateable measure to the -factious and turbulent Scots. - -Surrounded by the chief ladies of the kingdom, and by the damsels of -honour all richly attired in hoods of velvet tied with strings of -pearl, with kirtles of brocade and cloth-of-gold, Magdalene of France -approached on a palfrey white as the new fallen snow, with six young -knights (each the son of an earl) supporting on their lances a silken -canopy above her head. The splendour of her dress, which was shining -with costly jewels, enhanced the greatness of her beauty, which -outshone the charms of all around her, even the fair girls to whom -the reader has been so lately introduced. Sprung from a royal line -long famous for the charms of its princesses, Magdalene was only in -her sixteenth year; but over her girlish loveliness the pallor of -consumption was then spreading a veil more tender and enchanting. -The novelty and excitement of the scene around lent additional -animation to her lively French features, and heightened the -brilliancy of her complexion, which was exquisitely fair; her eyes -were light blue, and her braided hair was of the most beautiful -blonde. She was rather small in stature, but beautifully formed; and -the sweetness of her happy smile, and the grace with which she bowed -and kissed both her hands alternately to the subjects of her husband, -filled them with a storm of enthusiasm; and the respectful silence -which had greeted her at first, expanded into a burst of rapture and -congratulation. The ambassadors of England, Spain, France, and -Savoy, wearing the collars of various knightly orders, rode near her. - -With the sword, sceptre, and crown, borne, each by an earl, before -him, James appeared, attended by the leading nobles of the realm. A -cuirass of steel, polished like a mirror and inlaid with gold, showed -to advantage his bold breast and taper waist. His doublet and trunk -breeches were of white satin slashed with yellow and buttoned with -diamonds, and his short mantle of azure velvet was tied over his -breast with golden tassels. The collars of the Thistle, the Garter, -the Golden Fleece, and the escallops of St. Michael, were hanging on -his breast, and flashed in one broad blaze to the noon-day sun. His -dark eyes were full of animation, and the ringlets of his rich brown -hair fluttered in the breeze as he waved his plumed cap to the people -who loved him well, for he was better pleased to be thought the king -of the poor than king of the peers of Scotland. He was surrounded by -all the great officers of state and household; Robert, abbot of -Holyrood, bearing his high treasurer's mace with its beryl ball, rode -beside Colville of Culross, the great chamberlain of Scotland. Then -came the lord high constable and the great marischal, the former with -a naked sword, and the latter with an axe, borne before him; Colville -of Ochiltrie, the comptroller; the dean of Glasgow, the secretary of -state; Argyle, the lord justice-general, and Colinton, the lord clerk -registrar; Lord Evandale, director of the chancery, the preceptor of -the Knights of St. John, the high admiral, the royal standard-bearer, -the grand carver, the great cup-bearer, the masters of the horse, the -hounds, and the falcons, the marshal of the household, and though -last, not least, Jock Macilree, the king's jester, who has been -immortalized by the Knight of the Mount; and though ignobly -bestriding a sleek donkey, his parti-coloured garb, his longeared -cap, jingling bells, hanging bladder, and resounding laugh, attracted -more attention than the mailed chivalry and sumptuously-attired -noblesse who encircled the king. - -James, who bowed affably to the people on every side, was scrupulous -in recognising all ladies, especially if handsome, and consequently -the bright group clustered round the Countess of Ashkirk could not -escape his observation. Waving his bonnet, he was about to bow to -his horse's mane, when his eye caught the quarterings of Douglas, and -an ominous flash of undisguised anger immediately crimsoned his fine -features; he was turning away, when a rose was thrown upon his -breast, and a pleasant voice cried, - -"Heaven save your grace, and bless our fair lady the queen!" - -It was Jane Seton's voice, and the richness of its tone with the -sweetness of her smile subdued James at once; and placing the rose in -the diamond George that hung from the splendid collar of the garter, -this gallant young king bowed low, and kissed his hand. - -"Hark you, Vipont," said he, to a handsome young man about his own -age, who rode by his side; "what dame and damoiselles are these? You -vailed your bonnet with more than usual reverence to them." - -The cavalier hesitated. - -"Faith," continued James, "there was a most undeniable scowl in the -dark eyes of the elder lady in that outrageous English coif. Who is -she, and why, i' the devil's name, does she wear _that_?" - -"I trust your majesty is mistaken," replied the young man, hurriedly, -and with confusion; "she is the countess dowager of Ashkirk, with her -daughter the Lady Jane." - -"Ashkirk!" reiterated James, knitting his brows; "is she not a -daughter of old Greysteel, and hath more than a spark of old -Bell-the-cat in her spirit? By St. Anne, this accounts for her -English coif, when, out of compliment to our royal consort, the -French fashions are all in vogue!" - -"Please your majesty," urged Vipont---- - -"I remember the dame of old, in the days of the Douglases' tyranny, -when they kept me a close captive in the old tower of Falkland. -God's malison on the whole tribe; I would it had but one neck, and -that it lay under my heel!" - -"Amen, say I;" "and I," "and I," added several courtiers, who enjoyed -gifts from the forfeited estates of the banished barons. - -The young man sighed and bit his lips as he checked his horse a -little, and permitted Sir David Lindesay of the Mount, another -favourite, to assume his place by the side of the king. - -Tall, and finely formed, with an erect bearing and athletic figure, -Sir Roland Vipont was the very model of a graceful cavalier. His -features, though not strictly handsome, were pleasing, manly, and -expressive of health, good humour, and the utmost frankness. His -heavy moustaches were pointed sharply upwards, and his hair was shorn -close (_à la_ Philip II.), to permit his wearing a helmet with ease, -for, as master of the royal ordnance, a week seldom passed in those -turbulent times without his being engaged on the king's service. A -smart bonnet of blue velvet, adorned by a single feather, by its -elegant slouch gave a grace to the contour of his head; while a short -mantle of the same material, lined with white satin, and furred, as -usual, with miniver, waved from his left shoulder. His trunk -breeches were also of white satin, and slashed with red; his doublet -was cloth-of-gold, and, blazing in the sunlight, rivalled his -magnificent baldrick, which, like his bugle-horn, sword, and dagger, -was studded with precious stones. No knight present, not even the -king himself, surpassed the master of the ordnance in the splendour -of attire, the caparisons of his horse, or the grace with which he -managed it; and yet poor Sir Roland, though the last representative -of the Viponts of Fifeshire (the Scoto-Norman barons of Aberdour), -possessed not one acre of land, and, soldier-like, carried all his -riches about him. - -His whole features beamed with joy and ardour, as he raised his eyes -to the Ashkirk balcony; his sunburned cheek grew crimson, and his -heart bounded with delight. Jane trembled as she smiled, and grew -pale (for, as I have said elsewhere, she grew pale when other girls -would have blushed). Many months had elapsed since they had looked -on each other's beaming faces, and a volume of happiness and -recognition was exchanged in their mutual glances. - -"Brave Vipont!" exclaimed the old countess, with something of a -mother's ardour, as she looked after him, "of a verity, there are few -more noble among our Scottish knights. How unfortunate that he is -such a minion to the will of a pampered king!" - -"Minion, good mother!" said Jane, faintly. - -"I said minion, child; and I now say slave! Didst thou not see how -covertly he bowed to us, and then only when the king looked another -way? A proper squire, by our Lady! and didst thou not mark how James -frowned when first he saw us, nor bowed----" - -"Until I smiled on him," said Jane, playfully. - -"Naughty little varlet, methought 'twas when _I_ smiled," said Alison -Home, gaily, as she kissed her beautiful friend. - -"Poor Vipont!" continued the countess, "he dreads the loss of thy -love, Jane, on one hand, and of the king's favour on the other. But -for this paltry manoeuvring, child, thou hadst been the lady of his -heart a year ago." - -"Mother, I have been the lady of his heart these _three_ years; but -poor Roland hath no more to give me than a heart in return. His -estate----" - -"Consists of old Mons Meg and her marrows," said Marion Logan. - -"A lucrative estate he hath found them sometimes," said the countess, -coldly, "when he bent their cannon-balls against the castles of the -Douglases. But for this paltry fear, I repeat, thou hadst been his -wedded wife a year ago, and he had been now a true man to the Earls -of Ashkirk and Angus, instead of being the silken slave of James -Stuart, whose poor ambition is to grind beneath his heel that Red -Heart which my husband hath often bore, amid crashing spears, in the -van of Scotland's battles--and ever bore victoriously!" And as she -spoke, the countess struck her clenched hand upon the banner which -was spread over the balcony before her. - -"Thou sayest well, dearest madam!" said little Sybil Douglas, whose -dark eyes sparkled as she imbibed some of the countess's fiery -spirit; "and again that Red Heart shall be a terror to the Lowlands, -and a scourge for past injuries." - -At that moment Lady Jane Seton raised her eyes to a window opposite, -and encountered the fixed gaze of a sickly and ghastly face; the -features were rigid, the lips firmly compressed, the dark eyes were -fiery and red. There was a basilisk or rattlesnake expression in -them that riveted her attention. They were those of Sir Adam -Otterburn of Redhall, who had been attentively observing the greeting -which passed between her and Vipont--a greeting that wrung his heart -with agony and jealousy; but he bowed with studied politeness, and -hurriedly withdrew. - -Jane felt relieved by his absence, and again drew breath more freely; -but her colour came and went, and her heart for a moment became -filled (she knew not why) with vague apprehensions. She knew all Sir -Adam's glance conveyed, and trembled for her lover; for the King's -Advocate of the New Court was then vested with such powers and -terrors as a romancer would alone endow a grand inquisitor. - -The pageant passed on to Holyrood accompanied by loud and incessant -bursts of acclamation; by songs and carols of welcome and of triumph; -for the people, already predisposed to loyalty and jollity, were -enraptured by the return of the king, by the gallantry of his -bearing, and the beauty of his young French bride. Thus the wells -continued to pour forth wine and ale alternately, the castle to fire -its ordnance, and the people to shout until St. Marie (a great bell -with a very sweet tone, which then hung in the rood tower of St. -Giles) rung the citizens to vespers and to rest. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE MASTER OF THE ORDNANCE. - - "The bride into her bower is sent, - The ribald rhyme and jesting spent; - The lover's whispered words and few, - Have bade the bashful maid adieu; - The dancing floor is silent quite, - No foot bounds there--Good night! good night!" - JOANNA BAILLIE. - - -Evening was closing, when a brilliantly-attired cavalier caracoled -his horse from the palace porch, past the high Flemish gables of an -ancient edifice, which was then the Mint of Scotland, past the strong -round archway known as the Water Gate, because it led to the great -horsepond of the palace, and throwing a handful of groats (twenty to -king James's golden penny) among the poor dyvours who clustered round -the girth cross of the Holy Sanctuary, rode up the Canongate. It was -Sir Roland Vipont, the master of the king's ordnance. - -Compared to the bustle it had exhibited at noon, the street, though -many still thronged it, seemed lifeless and empty. The windows were -closed, the balconies deserted, the banners, pennons, and tapestry -hung pendant and motionless, and the gay garlands were withering on -the stone cross of St. John of Jerusalem. Casting a hasty glance -around him to discover whether he was observed (for the political, -feudal, and court intrigues of the time made it necessary that his -visit to the family of Ashkirk should be as little noted as -possible), he dismounted. - -A low-browed pend, or archway, opening from the street, and -surmounted by a massive coat of arms within a deep square panel, gave -admittance to the paved court of the mansion. He led his horse -through, and was buckling the bridle to one of the numerous rings -with which, for the convenience of mounted visitors, the walls of the -court were furnished, when a man, who for some time before had been -standing in the shadow of the archway, roughly jostled him. - -"How now, sirrah?" exclaimed Vipont, feeling for hie poniard, "what -mean you by this?" - -"Pardon me--my foot tripped," replied the other, in a husky voice. - -"Who are you," asked Vipont, suspiciously, "and what make you here, -sir?" - -"In the first place, I am no friend of yours; in the second, my -purpose matters nothing to any man--so, keep your way, in Heaven's -name, and let me keep mine, or it may fare the worse with you." - -"This is language rarely addressed to me." - -"Thou!" said the other, scornfully, "and who art thou?" - -"Devil choke thee, rascal!" exclaimed the soldier, angrily; "I am -master of the king's ordnance." - -"To be master of your own temper would be better; but, like your -brass culverins, it seems apt to go off upon occasions." - -"Hark you, sir; if you deem this witty, you are labouring under a -delusion; and, had I not matters of more importance in hand, by the -holy mass! I would break every bone in your body." - -The other made no immediate reply, but his eyes gleamed like two red -coals beneath the black bonnet, which he wore drawn over his brows; -but he was so well muffled up by the cape of his large mantle, that -Sir Roland strove in vain to discover some clue as to whom he might -be, that was prowling by night near the mansion of the Setons; and -there was something so startling and cat-like in the aspect of his -eyes, that the soldier recoiled a pace. - -"Sir Roland," continued the stranger, sarcastically, "you had acted a -wiser part in staying by James's side at Holyrood to-night, than in -forfeiting his fickle favour by visiting those who are his avowed -enemies." - -"Thou liest, sirrah!" said Vipont, striking him on the shoulder with -his clenched hand. "The Setons of Ashkirk are loyal as any in the -land, and I will meet hand to hand, and body for body, any false -traitor that gainsays me. But keep your own way, in the devil's -name, and trouble me no more--so, a good even, sir." - -"I bid thee joy of thy wooing, fair sir," replied the other, -scornfully, as the master of the ordnance entered, and closed the -gate behind him. It was Redhall who spoke, and a sigh of rage and -bitterness escaped him as Vipont approached the turnpike tower of the -mansion. "Painted wasp!" he exclaimed, as he walked hurriedly away, -"by Him who died upon the rood, that blow shall cost thee dear!" - -Within an apartment which was completely hung with the richest arras, -though the floor was bare, the Countess of Ashkirk, her daughter, and -the ladies, were seated at various occupations. The old lady was -slowly and laboriously endeavouring to decipher, word by word, one of -those curious old tomes which, at times, issued from the shop of -Chepman and Millar, two ancient bibliopoles, who established, in the -Cowgate, the first printing-press in Scotland, in the time of James -IV., who granted them the privilege of "imprenting all bukes" within -the realm. - -Alison Hume and the black page were playing at chess, the fair young -girl looking almost like a divinity when contrasted with the -frightful African boy; while Jane Seton and her dark-eyed kinswoman, -Sybil Douglas, influenced by that spirit of industry which then -pervaded all ranks, were plying their busy hands in embroidering a -velvet cover for a large vellum missal, which they were working in -flowers of gold and silk, and which was to be a donation from Jane to -her friend Josina Henrison, the lady superior of St. Catherine's -Convent, near the Burghloch. - -The light of the setting sun streamed through the windows, and fell -upon their dark hair, as it mingled together, and edged their white -necks and nimble fingers with dazzling whiteness. A bell tolled at a -distance; they paused, and looked up. - -"Eight o'clock," said the countess; "the bell is ringing for the -_compline_, at St. Marie of Placentia." - -"And _he_ tarries yet," said Jane, in a low voice, to Sybil. - -"Do not speak reproachfully, cousin," replied Sybil, gently; "he is -not always master of his own actions, and thou knowest well----" - -The black page touched her arm, laid a finger on his great nether -lip, and pointed towards the street. - -"Dear Sabrino," said Jane, "what dost thou hear?" - -"Horse!" replied the page, briefly. - -"Sabrino, thou hast the very ears of a bratch hound," said the -countess. "Now spurs are jingling under the pend--'tis he," -continued the old lady, whose cheek flushed, and eyes filled with -joyous expectation. A manly step, and the clear ringing of silver -spurs, were heard ascending the stone staircase of the mansion; a -hand covered with a steel gauntlet drew back the heavy arras, and the -lights flashed on the glittering doublet and jewelled baldrick of Sir -Roland Vipont as he sprang blithely in. - -"Heaven keep you, Lady Ashkirk, and you, my dear Jane, and all fair -ladies!" said he, bowing, and kissing all their hands. "Hail to -thee, merry Alison, and thou, my sad little Sybil! why, I have not -been long absent, and yet thou seemest quite a woman, now!" - -"Welcome home--a thousand welcomes to thee, Roland, and a thousand -more!" said the countess, forgetting her starched dignity in her -native kindliness of heart, and kissing him on the forehead--for -though he was tall, they were nearly of a height--while Jane grew -pale with excitement, and then blushed with pleasure to see her -suitor looking so handsome in his rich attire--browned by nine -months' exposure to a continental sun, and appearing, if possible, -more graceful and athletic than ever. "Welcome, Roland," continued -the countess, passing her hand fondly over his broad, clear, open -forehead, his arched eyebrows, and his thick glossy hair; "we have -all heard how thou hast been proving thy prowess on the crests of -King Francis and his knights, and letting the gay tilters of Paris -and Versailles feel the weight of a tough Lowland spear in a true -Scottish hand." - -"True, madam," replied the young man, laughing, and showing a set of -teeth which any of the fair belles present might have envied; "it -would have gladdened your haughty Douglas spirit, Lady Ashkirk, to -have seen King Francis with twenty Scottish knights keeping the old -wooden bridge of St. Michael at Paris for three days against our own -King James, with the best chivalry of Burgundy, Brabant, and Alsace, -and with all comers who chose to try their hardiment against us. By -my faith, sweet Jane, the knot of ribbands your dear hands wove in my -helmet were the mark of many a sword and many a spear during these -three brawling days; but they seemed to possess a charm, for thrust -of lance and blow of blade were levelled at them in vain. But what -think ye of the new queen we have brought you home? Is not the fair -Magdalene a mirror of beauty? and may not France and Scotland too be -proud of her? Jane, what sayest thou?" - -"Hum!" said Jane, a little piqued at her lover's excessive admiration -for the queen; "methinks she is very passable." - -"Passable! Ah, surely you can afford to praise her more than that. -I think she is like la belle Isonde, in Sir Thomas Malory's 'Romance -of King Arthur,'" replied Vipont, drawing near Jane, while, as if -instinctively, the other persons present withdrew to the extreme end -of the apartment, and conversed with the countess. "Now tell me, -thou merry wag, thy opinion of her." - -"I do not think her by one half so charming as my own little self," -replied Jane, archly; "and thou, who oughtest to have only eyes for -me, should see in her an exceedingly plain woman. When thou seemest -so much pleased with her, what surety have I that I was not forgotten -by her admirer, amid all the gaieties, the fêtes, and splendour of -King Francis' court?" - -"Forgotten, Jane!" responded the young man, tenderly, while his dark -eyes filled with a soft expression. "Those who see and love thee -will never forget! Have not our hearts been entwined for years, and -am I not thy gallant brother's oldest and earliest friend? Have we -not grown together from infancy to childhood, from childhood to -maturity? and now, in the full flush of our love and joy, you hint -that I might forget you!" - -"I cry you mercy! what an exordium; I spoke but in pure raillery and -jest, dear Roland." - -"But why jest thus? Ah no, my gentle Jane, never for an instant were -your fair face and sunny smiles absent from my mind, and their memory -spurred me on to encounter a thousand difficulties, and enabled me to -surmount a thousand dire temptations that beset the path of others; -and thus I am come back to you more loving if possible, more true, -and more impassioned than ever!" - -"Oh, Roland, I can believe it well!" sighed the girl, as her lover, -borne away by the depth of his passion (though speaking in a low -voice), pressed both her hands to his heart, regardless that the eyes -of others saw them. - -"Behold what I have brought you from this far-famed city of Paris," -said he, as he clasped around her delicate throat a circlet of -magnificent diamonds. - -"Ah! my poor Vipont," exclaimed Jane; "you must have ruined yourself -to bring me this. What a sum it must have cost!" - -"Eleonora of Austria, the Queen of France and sister of the great -Charles V., took it from her own fair neck and bestowed it on me as a -gift for my Scottish bride; and joyously I thought of you, Jane, when -I knelt to receive it from her hands. It was at a passage of arms -held near the Porte Papale, just without the walls of Paris, and on -the festival of St. Denis, when with a single lance I kept the -barrier for an hour, successively prostrating in the dust six Italian -knights who had come to France in the train of the Milanese -ambassador. By my faith, sweet flower, I covered myself with glory -and popularity that day; for it so happened that Sforza, duke of -Milan, is the sworn foe of Francis I., and the hearts of the people -were all with the victorious Scottish knight." - -"And did King James see thee, Sir Roland?" asked the young ladies, -who crowded round the delighted girl to observe her splendid gift. - -"He sat by the side of Queen Eleonora, and when the sixth cavalier -was unhorsed, sprang up from his seat, and throwing his blue bonnet -into the air, exclaimed, 'Now, God be with thee, my valiant Vipont, -thou hast well sustained our Scottish name to-day, and I will never -forget it.' But his rewards are yet to come, fair ladies," added -Vipont, as he sighed secretly and glanced at Jane Seton. - -"Roland," said the countess, who was beginning to reflect that she -had been too long silent; "believe me, those who put their trust in -princes are ever deceived. I heard our good King James IV say so -when I was but a girl." - -"He referred then to his brother-in-law of England, whom the laws of -neither God nor man could bind; but judge not so of James V., lady. -As yet I am but the captain of his ordnance, with the pittance doled -out to me monthly by the clerk of his exchequer. Many a fair promise -he hath made me of some small portion of those solid gifts--the -towers and acres of wold and woodland, which he lavishes on Hamilton -the Inquisitor, on Abbot Robert the Treasurer, his eminence the -cardinal, and others, but, to our sad experience, Jane, we find them -as yet unperformed." - -"Better it is that they are so," said the countess, "for then, as -Beaton and the abbot do, ye should brook the patrimonies of the -proscribed and banished knights and nobles of my father's name." - -"True, lady countess; but James is so winning and courteous in -manner, so generous and heroic in disposition, that no true Scottish -man can behold him without feeling a glow of admiration and loyalty, -and at times methinks I could lay down my life for him (ah! I see -thou holdest up thy finger), were it not, Jane, dedicated to thee. I -could cheerfully battle to the death against all that are his -enemies." - -"Even the Douglases and the Setons of Ashkirk," said the countess, -coldly. "Oh, thou hast become an apt bravo of this commons' king, I -fear me!" - -"Noble lady," replied Roland, bitterly, "there, as I take God to -witness, thou tasketh me sorely. I could not bend a weapon against -the house of Douglas, for this dear being," and he took Jane's hand -in his, "is the inheritor of their blood; and yet to fail the king -even in that particular would be to prove me a mansworn knight and -false traitor!" - -"Thou art ever by his side, Roland," said Jane, "and can say how he -is affected towards us--the Setons of Ashkirk." - -"Implacable as ever! Thou rememberest, mine own ladyekin, of the -solemn vow he swore, when, by the troopers of Angus, Sir David -Falconer was slain by his side, under the ramparts of Tantallon--that -solemn vow made above a crucifix and dagger, _never while he lived to -forgive a Douglas, or one of the Douglas' blood_. There is no hope, -for that oath I know the king will keep, even though his holiness -Paul III. should offer to absolve him from it." - -"And let him keep it!" said the countess, with bitterness and scorn; -"it matters little. There are spears by the Liddle and archers in -Douglasdale who may one day absolve him, as his grandsire was -absolved on the field of Sauchieburn. Let us remember the deeds of -that day, and the old prophecy that a lion should be killed by its -whelps. The Master of Angus, the knights of Glenbernie, Drumlanrig, -Lochlevin, and Kinross," continued the countess, reckoning them on -her fingers, "with two hundred gentlemen of the surname of Douglas, -all died at Flodden, beneath the banner of King James IV., and thus -it is his son rewards us!" - -"Oh, lady countess, hush! and pardon me, but there seems something -hateful in your hostility to James V." - -"By the Holy Rood, and the blessed St. Bryde to boot! I have no -patience with thee, friend Roland. I warrant thee in secret a sworn -foe to Angus." - -"On my honour, no!" - -"And my mind misgives me sorely anent ye and my daughter, having both -had the misfortune to be born on a Friday." - -"I pray you hear me," said Roland, with a secret smile. "So happy -was James on beholding the Scottish shore, that, in a burst of -gratitude to heaven and love for his people, he was not disinclined -to relax those severe statutes under which the exiled peers and -barons of the house of Douglas writhe and languish----" - -"Say writhe, Sir Roland, for I warrant me they will never languish!" -said the tall countess, folding her hands, sitting very upright, and -looking disdainfully. - -"Something might have been achieved by his eminence the Cardinal -Beaton, whom I know to be my friend--for I am come, like himself, of -an old Fifeshire family--when lo! the first barge from the shore -brought a packet from Sir Adam Otterburn of Redhall, containing a -woeful relation of raid, hership, and hamesucken, committed on the -Knight of Cessford by the Earl of Ashkirk and a band of Northumbrian -troopers whom he has taken into pay. Alas! lady, is this the verity?" - -"Not less so than just!" responded the countess, who shook every fold -of her lofty head-dress with hauteur. "Is not Cessford the -hereditary foe of my son; and God's blood! Rowland Vipont, why -should his sword rest? Nay, my gallant Archibald, the moths will -never eat the silk of that banner which these old hands wove thee!" - -Roland made no immediate reply to this outburst of the old Scottish -spirit, but pressed the hand of Jane, and sighed. - -"This event, however, is most unfortunate, Lady Ashkirk," he said, -after a pause, addressing the countess, and looking with a sad smile -at Jane. "It will have a most serious effect upon our fortunes and -our happiness. On reading the letter of his advocate, James never -spoke, but struck his sword upon the deck and turned sharply away -from us. His look was dark as midnight." - -"Redhall was over-officious," said the ladies. - -"The unmitigated fool!" exclaimed the countess, shaking her clenched -hand. "I would my son were here." - -"Mother of God--nay, at such a time as this?" said little Sybil, with -her dark eyes full of tears. "And think you, Sir Roland, that James -is really so much incensed?" - -"So much, that I came this night to visit you by--by stealth." - -"Stealth!" reiterated the fiery countess, rising to the full height -of her five feet ten inches, exclusive of red-heeled shoes. "Now, -marry, come up and away with us! Sir Roland Vipont, what will you -have the assurance to tell me next?" - -"Forgive me, dear and nobly lady; thou knowest well how poor I -am--how dependent on my sword and the precarious favour of a king, -surrounded by a host of needy and rival competitors. Had I lands and -vassals, as I have not; were I the son of a lord or baron instead of -a poor gentleman archer of the Scottish Guard, it might have been -otherwise with me--and thou, Jane, had long ere this"--he paused and -pressed her hand. "Oh, lady countess, my fate is not in my own -keeping; and too often have I felt bitterly how abject a thing it is -to be dependent on the will of another, even though that other be a -prince." - -"Thou hast thy rapier, Roland, and with the blood of that brave -Vipont who brooked the appanage of Aberdour in the days of King -David, dost inherit the spirit thy gallant father gave up to God from -the battle field of Ravenno, when the Scottish Guard stood like a -rampart around Gaston de Foix. Thou hast thy sword, Roland, and all -the realms of Europe are before thee." - -"Yes," replied Roland, mournfully; "but then Jane Seton would be left -behind." - -"Gallant Vipont, thou art indeed my other son!" said the countess, as -she kissed his cheek and became quite pacified, while Jane's bright -face became radiant with pleasure. - -The countess and her niece, Sybil, with Alison Home and Marian Logan, -knowing that they could now be spared, retired to prepare for that -early supper of which our late dinners have now usurped the place, -and the lovers were left alone, seated together hand in hand, for the -first time during nine long months. - -They were all eye and ear for each other, as they conversed in voices -that were soft and low, and love carried them back to those days of -gaiety and simplicity before the cold hand of etiquette had -interposed between them. Little Sybil closed the arras as she went -out, and we have no wish, by raising it, to break the spell that love -and pleasure threw around them. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -REDHALL. - - "The will is free; why must it then be curbed - I would be happy, gain what I desire, - Or feel each pulse throb pleasure in the chase-- - Yet this new teacher tells such pleasure is - A fruit I must untasted shun."--_Nimrod. Act III._ - - -The apartment, which was half darkened, was partly tapestried and -partly wainscoted. A stone fireplace, on grotesque columns covered -with carved roses, destitute of grate (for grates were not then in -fashion) and of fire, for the season was summer, by its emptiness -lent a somewhat dreary aspect to the chamber. The floor was without -carpet, for carpets were almost unknown in Scotland till 1560 (three -and twenty years after); the furniture was of massive oak. The -well-grated windows, which looked to the Friar Wynd, were concealed -by thick curtains, and gaudily-flowered tapestries, framed in -richly-carved oak, covered most part of the walls. A brilliant suit -of armour, hanging upon a nail or steel hook, and a few shelves of -gigantic folios bound in vellum, edged with red, and clasped with -brass, were the leading features in this chamber. A sandglass stood -upon the table, for one was usually carried by fellows of colleges -and other learned men about this period in lieu of a watch, as we may -read in Aubrey's Memoirs. - -A folio lay on the black oak table, and on its closely-written leaves -the light fell from a great iron lamp of grotesque form, covered by a -circular shade. With his head reclined on one hand, and the other -thrust into the breast of his black velvet doublet, the King's -Advocate sat dreamily and moodily immersed in deep thought. His -grave and classic face was of a clear olive complexion. His nose was -perfectly straight, his eyes large, black, and sparkling, and his -knit eyebrows now formed one complete arch above them. His smooth -and lofty brow was expressive of deep thought, of watching and study, -and even of tranquillity, though there were times when, it could -assume a terrible expression, and his keen dark orbs would fill with -fire, and every hair of his short moustaches bristle with passion. -His mouth was decidedly his worst feature; but his short beard -concealed those thin lips which Lavater considered the infallible -sign of a mind pregnant with evil. His aspect was lofty and severe, -and his eye was so penetrating that few could sustain the fire and -inquiry of its glance. - -The pages of the _Forest Laws_, written by King William the Lion, lay -before him, but his eyes were fixed on his jewelled poniard that lay -on the table close by, showing how his mind wandered from the subject -he had sat down to study to the irate promptings of jealousy and -revenge. - -For Jane Seton, Sir Adam Otterburn and Ronald Vipont had long been -rivals; at least so the former had viewed the latter, who had neither -dreaded him nor feared his attentions, for such was his confidence in -the love and truth of Jane; yet he had nothing to rely on but his -sword and the somewhat precarious favour of James V., while Redhall -was the proprietor of a strong baronial fortalice, a noble domain -situated a few miles south of the city, and as lord advocate of -Scotland was a powerful officer of state, then armed with more powers -and terrors than any ten inquisitors of the Holy Office. His -position was most honourable, and in virtue of it he was always -addressed "My Lord." His knowledge of law was little, but his -privileges were great; he was permitted to sit covered within the bar -of the Court of Session like a peer of the realm, and he had the -power of issuing warrants for searching, apprehending, imprisoning -and putting to the torture any person in Scotland--his warrants being -valid as those of the king. Such was Roland's formidable competitor -for the hand of Jane Seton, to whom the young cavalier would have -been wedded fully two years before the time in which this history -opens, but for the fear of forfeiting king James's favour, and the -implacable hostility of that prince to the house of Douglas, which -formed an insuperable barrier to any of the court favourites who -might be disposed (which few of them were) to form alliances with any -noble family of that obnoxious surname. - -Aware of this, Otterburn, whose landed possessions rendered him -happily independent of James's frowns or favour, had redoubled his -assiduity and attentions, never once permitting the hope to die, that -Jane might ultimately regard him with favour. During the nine -months' absence of the master of the ordnance in France with King -James, the addresses of Otterburn had been as unmistakeable as they -were obnoxious to the young lady; who seeing in him only the great -public prosecutor of her own and her mother's family, viewed him with -horror and hostility, though she dismissed him with a cold but -cautious politeness, that, strange to say, while it eclipsed his -hopes, in no way extinguished his ardour. - -From that time forward he could visit her no more; but his inborn -obstinacy of spirit and indomitable vanity would not admit of his -totally resigning her--especially during the absence of Vipont, -against whose safe return there were many chances, during the -escapades and broils, the midnight rambles and madcap adventures, in -which he and the king were constantly involved. For a time, -Otterburn had again given way to the illusions of hope and the -impulses of his heart; but now the safe and sudden return of his -brilliant rival had swept them all away, together with a thousand -bright daydreams, as a breeze does the gossamer webs; and the strong -mind of the statesman and judge became a prey to anxious jealousy and -furious hatred. - -"As a rainbow fades from the sky, so has this bright vision passed -from before me!" he exclaimed, as he struck his hands together, and -looked upward with something of despair. In his better moments he -felt only grief, when his more generous impulses would prompt him to -resign Jane Seton in peace to her more favoured lover. - -"Were she mine," he mused, with a face that became alternately sad -and mournful, or dark and saturnine, "her happiness would be my only -object; then why should I seek to mar it because she is _not_? By -what glamour can this mere girl, who never once thought of me -otherwise than as the persecutor of the Douglases, fascinate me thus, -swaying my heart, my soul, my every purpose--being the object of -every effort--the inspirer of every thought? How cometh it that her -coldness, her disdain, her hate (nay, she is too gentle for _that_), -all serve but to increase my love? Oh! 'tis sorcery! 'tis sorcery! -.... Oh! in how many a long and weary night I have pressed a pillow -sleeplessly, and courted slumber, but in vain? How often have I -tried to rend her image from my heart, to supplant it by another, and -in vain? I have recoiled from that other with disgust, as the more -winning image of Jane came before me; and yet she loves me not. How -often have I fruitlessly striven to crush this mad and besotting -passion, and to nourish only hatred, indifference, or revenge? ..... -God help me! I am very miserable. And shall I resign her to the -arms of this upstart favourite, this cutthroat cannoneer, and gilded -hireling of King James--resign, her without a struggle--I, who am so -immeasurably his superior in fortune, mind, and purpose?--Never! ... -How strong this passion of love is! How noble, and for how glorious -a purpose has God implanted it in our hearts; but oh, may few endure -like me to love an object that loves another, and yieldeth no return! -Let dotard monks and deceived misanthropes, let stoics and -philosophers say what they will, there is more magic and power in the -single smile of a woman than in all the impulses of the human heart -put together. Ambition dazzles, hatred sways, and revenge impels -us--they are powerful incentives, and their triumph is delicious--but -love is greater than all. Generosity urges me to leave her to the -fool she loves--to avoid her path, her presence, and her spells for -ever; but passion, obstinacy, and infatuation, lead me on, and, -overwhelming every gentler sentiment, impel me to the pursuit. Shall -I, then, be baffled and foiled by this poor caterpillar, whose wings -have expanded in the brief sunshine of royal favour--this silken -slave--this Roland Vipont, who, not six years since, wore an iron -hongreline and brass plate, as a mere French cannoneer, under -Vaudmont and Marshal Lautreque? Never! And, by the holy arm of St. -Giles! this night shall end our rivalry for ever!" - -Thus said, or rather thought, Redhall; and, suddenly pausing, he -snatched up a long metal whistle, that lay always at hand, and blew a -shrill call. - -Almost immediately afterwards the arras was lifted, a man entered, -and, making a respectful obeisance, stood at a little distance. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE WITCH-PRICKER. - - "_Flam._ Malicious fortune! - _Ænob._ Now thou seest my meaning!"--_Boadicea._ - - -The personage who appeared was a short, thickset, and bandy-legged -man, whose malformation his chocolate-coloured stockings and white -cloth breeches displayed to the utmost advantage. He had a neck and -chest like a bullock, with the sinister visage of a thorough-paced -ruffian. In size, his head and hands were altogether disproportioned -to his body; his hair, beard, and moustaches, which appeared to have -been preserved sacred from comb and scissors, were all woven into one -matted mass, which was of the deepest black; while drinking and -exposure to the weather had bronzed his skin to an almost oriental -blackness. He wore a plain frock or gaberdine of white Galloway -cloth, confined at the girdle by a broad calfskin belt and steel -buckle, in which he carried a long dirk or knife. He wore rough -brogues of brown leather on his broad splay feet, and a small rosary -of oak beads which dangled at his left wrist evinced his wish to be -deemed a respectable member of society; but arrogance, cunning, and -brutality, were powerfully depicted on his otherwise stolid visage, -which had a very repulsive squareness of aspect, two enormous ears, -and a great mastiff mouth. - -This worthy was Nichol Birrel, the brodder or witch-pricker of the -newly-established high court of justiciary, one of the most -unscrupulous and atrocious ruffians that ever occupied this -important, and, in after years, lucrative situation. - -Born and bred a vassal on the estate of the lord advocate, to whom he -was intensely devoted, he had obtained the place of prover or -witchfinder, as it peculiarly suited his ruffianly and sanguinary -disposition. Several other minor officials of the new court were, -like him, the immediate and devoted dependents of Redhall, for whom -they acted as bravos on a hundred occasions. Nichol, though cruel, -false, bitter, and treacherous to all the rest of mankind, was true, -faithful, and sincerely a friend to his lord and benefactor; for he -seemed to be possessed by the same instinct which attaches a -ferocious hound to the hand that feeds him. - -"Od save us, my lord, ye look ill! Is there aught the matter wi' -ye?" he asked, gruffly. - -"Nichol, is there none in attendance on me but thee?" asked the -advocate, without regarding his inquiry; "where are all the -servitors?" - -"At the palace, seeing the merry masquers." - -"Mass! where I should have been but for this accursed sickness, -which, to-night, hath fallen so heavily upon me. It matters not; I -am invited by the lord chamberlain to the fête to-morrow." - -"Ye look worse to-night, Redhall, than I have seen ye since -Lententime." - -"I am sick at heart, Nichol." - -"I have been so at the stomach many a time and oft, when I mixed my -ale with usquebaugh, but as for the heart----" - -"Psha!" exclaimed the advocate, starting abruptly, "either my brain -is under the influence of insanity, or there is a spell of sorcery -upon me." - -"Dost suspect any ill-woman of being the cause thereof, Sir Adam?" -asked the brodder, whose eyes began to twinkle in anticipation of a -pricking fee, while his square mouth expanded into a grin. - -"No, no; I spoke but in metaphor, and suspect none." He paused. -"Thou sawest the procession to-day?" - -Nichol nodded his vast head affirmatively. - -"Didst mark any man there whom ye knew to be my enemy?" - -"I marked his eminence the cardinal, who confined a damosel of yours, -among his other ladies, in the auld tower of Creich." - -"Tush!" - -"I observed the lord abbot of the Holy Cross, who won his plea -against thee anent the duty on every cart entering the barriers of -the town." - -"Thou triflest! didst mark no one else?" - -"Well, then, I marked the master of the king's ordnance, shining in -cloth of gold and crammasie." - -"Good!--anything more?" - -"I saw him smile as he curveted, in his bravery, past the ladies of -Ashkirk," replied Nichol, with a cunning leer, while the advocate -gnashed his teeth; "and sweetly the lady Jane smiled on him again. -It was a braw sight and a brave; and a gude ransom the master's -doublet and foot-cloth would have been to any bold fellow that met -him in the gloaming by Leith Loan or the Burghmuir; for they were -pure cloth-of-gold, and champit with pearls, so that I marvel not the -Lady Seton smiled so brightly; for, if love maketh a woman's eye -bright, gold will make it brighter." - -"Thou art a mercenary slave!" said the advocate, bitterly; "and never -felt the passion of which thou talkest so glibly. Nichol, have I not -been to thee ever a friend rather than a lord and master--kind, -indulgent, and liberal----" - -"When service was to be performed," said Nichol, parenthetically, -closing one of his yellow eyes with another hideous leer. - -"At all times, Nichol," continued the king's advocate, striking his -heel sharply on the ground. "Thou knowest that the master of the -ordnance and I have long been at deadly feud about--but it recks not -thee about what." - -"Say Jane Seton of Ashkirk, my lord, and you will shoot near the -mark." - -Redhall's eyes flashed, and he made a fierce gesture of impatience, -for he disliked to hear her name in the mouth of this ruffian, whom -he despised while he fed and fostered him. - -"It is enough, Nichol Birrel--thou understandest me--the master of -the ordnance bars my way; this must not be, and shall not be." - -There was a pause. - -"Well, Sir Adam?" growled the pricker. - -"Thou hast thy poniard," said the knight, hoarsely. - -"Ay," replied the ruffian, as a broad grin expanded his mastiff -mouth, and his great teeth appeared like a row of fangs through his -matted beard; "ay, the same gude knife with which I slew Maclellan, -the Knight of Bombie, at the north door of St. Giles's kirk. By one -backhanded stroke I dashed it into his heart, and he fell with his -rosary in his uplifted hand, the name of God on his lips, and the -half-signed cross on his brow, yet they saved him not." - -There was a pause, for Birrel, who had commenced, in a tone of -ruffian irony, ended in a dismal quaver, and grew pale. - -"Wretch and fool!" cried the lord advocate, "why remind me of that?" - -He gave his dependent a terrible glance. - -"I crave pardon, Sir Adam; but when I bethink me that this Sir Thomas -of Bombie had the lairds of Achlane, Glenshannoch, and Bourg, with -nine other knights of his surname to avenge him, I surely ran some -risk." - -"The Lords of Drumlanrig and Lochinvar were said, by common rumour, -to have slain him, and so let it be; he was a foe of the house of -Otterburn," hissed the advocate through his teeth, "and of the -faction to which that house adhered; a foe to me in particular, and -as such must Vipont, the accursed Vipont, die." - -Nichol uttered a sound between a growl and a laugh. - -"Are Dobbie the doomster, and Sanders the torturer below? I warrant -they will be snoring, like gorged hounds, by the kitchen ingle." - -"No, they are birling their cans in the buttery." - -"Then see to this affair; but dost think we can rely on them?" - -"Like myself, Sir Adam, they and their forbears have been leal men -and true to the house of Redhall, and wherefore would they fail it -now? We are the servants of the law, and what matters it whether we -string this soldier of the king in a tow at the cross, or pink him in -the dark? 'tis death, any way;" and here the fellow uttered a -ferocious laugh again. - -"For your own sakes and mine be secret, sincere, and sure." - -The pricker touched his knife, bowed, and raising the arras, dropped -it again, and shaking his matted head, paused irresolutely. - -"What is it now?" asked Redhall, taking the purse from his girdle. -"Money?" - -"No, no, Sir Adam, I never served ye for siller, but as my bounden -duty; so I crave leave to remind ye that the place of forester up at -Kinleith and Bonallie is vacant, and my sister's son, Tom Trotter, a -deadly shot with bow and hackbut----" - -"Enough; thy sister's son shall have the place of forester; and, for -thee, methinks that the master's cloth-of-gold and diamond baldrick -might serve for that, and to procure absolution to boot for the three -of ye." - -"We care not for that, Sir Adam," replied the pricker, "for we are -among those who have seen the new light." - -"And believe not in the delegated power of the priesthood; eh, is it -so?" - -Birrel nodded. - -"Then why carriest thou that great rosary. I vow it looks like a -fetter on thy wrist." - -"As a blind." - -"Lollards, Wickliffites--ha! ha! these new preachers of schism and -heresy have made three creditable proselytes; yet, for thy soul's -sake, Nichol (and there was a very perceptible sneer in the -advocate's face as he said this), I hope thou art a true Catholic at -heart; but away to thy comrades, for the night wears on, and Vipont -hath not yet left the house of the Setons, for I have not heard the -hoofs of his horse. To-morrow," continued Redhall, with a ghastly -expression of ferocity, "to-morrow----" - -"He shall be either in Catholic purgatory or Protestant hell," -grinned the pricker, as he raised the arras and retired. - -The ghastly smile yet played upon the thin lips of Redhall. - -"To-morrow I shall be freed of these fears, and for ever," he mused; -"but at no distant period I must rid me of those three bloodhounds, -who have stuck like burs to my skirts since first I took upon me this -unhappy office of advocate to the king. Ha, and so they are -heretics! Let them serve my purpose in this, and ere another week -hath passed the cardinal shall have them under his inquisitorial -eyes, and the stake will rid me and society of them for ever. -Vipont, beware thee, now, for this night shall be the darkest in the -calendar for thee and for thine!" - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE ILLUMINATED SPIRE. - - "Our pathway leads but to a precipice; - And all must follow, fearful as it is! - From the first step 'tis known; but--no delay! - On, 'tis decreed. We tremble and obey." - ROGERS, _Human Life._ - - -Twelve had tolled from the spire of the Netherbow Port, ere Vipont -came forth from the Ashkirk Lodging, as the mansion was named (like -other hotels of the Scottish noblesse), and taking his horse, rode -through the archway. His heart was beating lightly, for the gentle -pressure of a soft hand yet seemed to linger in his, and the kiss of -a warm little lip was on his cheek. His breast was filled with joy, -and his mind with the happiest anticipations of the future. - -There was to be a grand masque or fête given by Queen Magdalene to -the ladies of the nobility on the night of the morrow, and Roland had -resolved that an invitation should be sent to the ladies of Ashkirk, -even should he beg it in person of the fair young sovereign; and full -of pleasure at the contemplation of how his beautiful Jane would -outshine all her compeers, and how surely James, when he saw her, -would recal all his edicts against the Setons of Ashkirk, he put -spurs to his horse, and, stooping low, made him clear the archway -with one bound. - -The moon was up, and it rolled through a clear and starry sky. A few -light and fleecy clouds that slept afar off in the bright radiance, -seemed to float above the grim dark summits of the city, whose -clusters of close-piled mansions, turreted, gableted and -crow-stepped, tall and fantastic, stark and strong, started up -ghost-like out of the depths of street and wynd, and stood in bold -outline against the clear cold blue of the midnight sky. - -As Roland left the archway, three dark figures, which he had not -observed, shrunk close together; and when he issued forth, followed -him with stealthy steps. They wore short black mantles, and had -their bonnets pulled well over their faces; but though they lurked on -the shadowy side of the street (which the bright light above rendered -yet darker), the haft of a poniard, or knife, glittered at times -under their upper garments, as they followed the master of the -ordnance cautiously and softly, like cats about to spring on a mouse, -and as noiselessly, for they were shod with felt, or some such -material, that muffled their footsteps. - -Vipont was about to descend towards the palace, near which he lived, -in St. Anne's-yard, when a column of light in the west made him -pause, and turn towards the centre of the town. A ball of fire was -burning on the summit of St. Giles's steeple, and having heard that -it was to be illuminated in honour of the queen's arrival and king's -return, he resolved to see this unusual display; and riding up the -Canongate to the strong barrier which separated the greater from the -lesser burgh, he gave his horse to the care of the under-warder of -the porte, and from thence walked up the High-street with his long -rapier under his arm. - -The hour was late, but many persons were abroad, and the windows were -so full of faces, all gazing at the great tower of St. Giles's, that -even had Vipont known that three assassins were on his track and only -seeking an opportunity to plunge their poniards in his heart, he -would not have felt much alarm. - -The airy lantern of this magnificent church is formed by eight ribs -of stone that spring from beautiful corbels, and meeting far above -the bartizan of the great rood-spire, support a spacious gallery and -lofty pinnacle, forming altogether an architectural feature of -remarkable beauty, and which (save the church of St. Nicholas at -Newcastle) is entirely peculiar to Scotland. It is a complete Gothic -diadem of stone. The rich crockets on the arches rise tier above -tier, and represent the pearls; the parapets from which they spring, -with their row of quatrefoils, being in place of the circlet. The -whole of this structure had been covered with variegated lamps, which -had been brought from Italy, and were hung by the taste and skill of -Father St. Bernard, one of the prebendaries, to the wonder and -astonishment of the simple-minded citizens. As yet they were unlit, -but a single light, we have said, was burning on the upper pinnacle, -like a large red star, and to this every face was turned. - -The stone crown of the cathedral was all in dark outline; a faint -light shone through the large stained window at the east end, and the -tapers flickered at the shrine of Our Lady that stood close by. Save -these, all the vast church, with its rows of massive buttresses and -pointed windows, was immersed in gloom, though the moonlight silvered -the edges of the crocketed pinnacles. Suddenly a volume of light -burst over the whole; the ball of fire which had been burning -steadily, threw out a million of sparkles which fell like a haze of -brilliance over the arches of the spire, lighting up the diminutive -lamps in rapid succession, until the whole structure seemed bathed in -one broad sheet of coloured flame. The groined arches, the carved -pinnacles, and all the airy tracery of the spire, were as plainly -visible in their beautiful and grotesque detail as if the beholders -had been close to them, instead of being a hundred and sixty feet -below; while the lamps of variegated glass produced the most -extraordinary variety of light and shadow. - -The devils, dragons, and other stone chimeras that projected from the -battlements of the clerestory were all tipped with fiery red or -ghastly blue light, and seemed to be vomiting flames; every pinnacle -and tower of the cathedral stood forth in strong outline, one half -being bathed in brilliant light, and the other sunk in black shadow, -while a myriad prismatic hues were thrown upon the upturned and -countless faces of the gaping crowds who occupied the streets below -and the windows around. Into the far depths of many a close and -wynd, on the square tower of St. Mary-in-the-Field, on the clustered -Bastelhouses of the castle, on the spire of the Netherbow, and square -belfreys of the Holy Cross, on all the countless roofs and chimneys -of the town, the light fell full and redly, scaring even the coot and -the swan among the sedges of the Burghloch, and the eagle and the -osprey on the lofty craigs of Salisbury. - -Cries of astonishment and delight were heard from time to time, -mingled with the murmurs of the wondering and the fearful, who, in -accordance with the taste and superstition of the age, were, as -usual, inclined to attribute the taste and skill which dictated this -illumination to sorcery, simply because it was beyond their -comprehension. - -"Ye say true, my lord abbot," said a voice near Roland; "I have had -mine own suspicions anent the fact." - -"I have always secretly suspected this Father St. Bernard was a -sorcerer; he studied at Padua and Salamanca, where there is more -kenned of develrie than theologie." - -"He is confessor of the Countess of Ashkirk." - -"Who hath a familiar, in the shape of a black page, anent whilk my -lord advocate and I have had several conferences--but hush!" - -Roland did not hear these last observations, which passed between the -Abbot of Kinloss and one of the ten advocates of the new court. - -Intent on the beauty of the illumination, Roland Vipont saw not the -three muffled men who still dogged him, and from behind the grotesque -columns of a stone arcade, which still stands opposite the old church -(but is completely obscured by modern shops), were intently observing -his motions while keeping their own concealed in shadow. - -Having been long absent from his native capital, he gazed with -admiration on the beautiful effect produced upon its picturesque and -fantastic architecture, and he was just wishing that the ladies he -had left were with him, to see this new and magnificent spectacle -(which in their happiness he and Jane had completely forgotten), when -several strong hands were laid violently upon his cloak and belt; he -was suddenly dragged from the street, and hurried backwards nearly to -the foot of one of those dark, narrow, and then solitary closes that -descended abruptly towards the artificial lake, enclosing the city on -the north. - -So steep was the descent, and so sudden the impetus he received, that -before Sir Roland could offer the least resistance, he was beaten to -the earth, and the blow of more than one poniard struck sparks of -fire from his tempered corslet. - -Now deadly was the struggle that ensued; but the three ruffians, in -their very eagerness to destroy him, impeded and wounded each other; -and though prostrate on the pavement, with his poniard under him, the -knees of one bent on his breast, and the hands of another pressing on -his throat, which, happily, was encircled with a thick ruff, Roland -resisted manfully, his great natural strength and activity being -increased by despair and rage. Grasping one by the ruff, he twisted -it so as nearly to strangle him, and paralyze the efforts of his -right hand, which brandished a long and double-edged poniard, that -gleamed ominously in the dim light of the alley. - -"God defend me!" he panted; "must I perish here like a child, or a -woman? Release me, villains, or I will spit you all like rabbits. -Ho, armour! armour! treason and rescue!" - -"No help is nigh thee!" answered Nichol Birrel, with his hyæna-like -laugh; "but curses choke thee, take thy hand from my throat!" and he -raised his arm for the death-stroke, but Roland caught his descending -hand by the wrist, while with a blow of his foot he hurled the third -assailant, Sanders Screw, to the very bottom of the close. A howl -from Birrel, at the same moment, announced that his companion had -wounded him again, a mistake which raised his demon-spirit to a -frightful pitch; and furiously he strove to free his wrist, and stab -Roland between the joint of his corslet and gorget. His eyes filled -with a yellow light; he panted rather than breathed; he seemed no -longer a man, but a devil! - -Suddenly Roland found this maddened assailant had become too strong -for him; and once again, but more feebly (for he had received a wound -in the shoulder), he cried-- - -"Armour and rescue!" - -"Knight and gentleman though ye be," panted Birrel--"by hell! I will -have thy blood for mine! Strike again, Dobbie, thou coward and dog! -Ho, my gay cannonier, ye are as a dead man now!" - -"Thou liest, villain! take _that_!" cried a voice; and he received a -blow from a staff which hurled him to the earth. Roland sprang up -with a heart full of fury and his sword unsheathed; but his two -remaining assailants rushed down the close, and disappeared along the -rough bank of the loch before his confusion and giddiness would admit -of his following them. - -"By St. John, my good friend," said he, adjusting his mantle and -ruff, "thou comest at a critical time; a moment later had seen my -corslet riddled." - -"Ay, and your doublet slashed after the comely Douglas fashion," -replied his preserver, whose plain coarse garb, as well as the knotty -cudgel he carried, announced him a countryman or peasant. - -"Good fellow, I owe thee my life," said Roland, taking his purse from -his girdle, "and would gladly yield some adequate recompense. Here, -I fear me, there are but few Flemish ryders, and still fewer golden -lions." - -"Tush!" replied the other with a laugh, as he drew himself haughtily -up; "dost offer money to me? Roland Vipont, hast thou quite -forgotten me? I am Archibald, Earl of Ashkirk." - -"Ashkirk!" reiterated Roland, in a faint whisper, as if he feared the -very stones of the street would hear him. "My rash lord and friend," -he added, taking the earl's hands within his own, "you know the risk -of entering the gates of Edinburgh?" - -"Bah!--my head; but who will venture to take it?" - -"There is a price set upon it, nevertheless." - -"A thousand merks of Scottish money?" - -"True: might I not be false enough to win this sum, so tempting to a -soldier?" - -"Nay, friend Roland, for then thou wouldst lose my sister Jane." - -"Lord earl, if discovered by any other than myself thou art lost." - -"Perhaps so; but I shall take particular care to prevent all -discovery. In fact, I mean to live for awhile in King James's own -palace, where I do not think my enemies will ever dream of looking -for me. The king's lances, and the riders of the east, west, and -middle Marches, have scoured the whole land for me, from Tweedmouth -to Solway sands. Besides, I am resolved to see my mother the -countess, and my sister Jane, and endeavour to persuade my dear -little Sybil to sojourn with me awhile at the court of England; for -though it boasts of dames as fair as the world can show, I long ever -for the black eyes and gentle voice of my quiet little cousin. Dost -comprehend?" - -"Rejoiced as I am to see you, Lord Ashkirk, for the memory of our old -friendship, I would rather you were a thousand miles hence than -standing to-night in the streets of Edinburgh." - -The young noble laughed heartily. - -"Methinks, Sir Captain of the Ordnance, it was fortunate for thee -that I was not even one mile from this when those ruffians had thee -at such vantage; but dost know wherefore they beset thee so?" - -"Nay, not I; they were some villanous cutpurses, doubtless. Mass! I -gave one a rough kick in the belt that will cure him of -cloak-snatching for a time!" - -"Nay, I opine more shrewdly thou art indebted to the third man in -Scotland for this affair." - -"The third, say you? How?--the first is the king." - -"The second?" said the earl. - -"His eminence the cardinal; but the third--who is he?" - -"Who but Redhall, whom I would have sworn I heard one of those rogues -cursing for sending them on such a devil's errand." - -"Redhall!" - -"Ay, doubtless; the great archpriest of judicial tyranny, the very -spirit of oppression, who sits brooding over the people and the peers -of Scotland--he whose villanous panders are gorged and overgorged -with gifts of escheat from our forfeited possessions, and are ever -needy and inexorable." - -"Sayest thou so? then by Heavens I will have a sure assythement of -him for this." - -"What other assythement is requisite than a sword-thrust?" - -"But, 'fore God! I am in no way this man's enemy," replied Roland. - -"All whom the king loves are his enemies." - -"Still more so are those whom the king hates; witness his severe -prosecution of the Douglases. But we all know, my lord, that the -friendship of a Scottish king is too often a fatal gift to his -subjects." - -"Redhall's ambition is inordinate as that of Beaton; blood-guilty as -that of Finnart; and his hatred is as that of the coiled-up snake. -By St. Bride! I know not which I hate most," exclaimed the -rebellious earl, "James Stuart or his minion advocate." - -"Hush, hush! lord earl," said Roland, as they slowly ascended the -dark street, "for these words, if ever heard, would bring you to the -scaffold ere the sun sets to-morrow." - -"I crave pardon," replied the earl, with angry scorn, "I forgot that -I spoke to a staunch adherent of this crowned oppressor of the -Douglases, and their ally, the house of Ashkirk." - -"Noble earl, in this devotion to your mother's princely house you -wrong our generous king, who, on his happy return to the capital of -his ancestors, intended to have recalled all the lords now banished -for the rebellion of Angus, and would, ere this late hour, have done -so but for your recent inroad from the south, which has closed and -steeled his heart against you and against them; and I know well that -his able adviser, the stern Cardinal Beaton, devoted as he is to his -country, and ever hostile to the grasping and aggressive spirit of -England, will leave nothing unsaid to fan the king's vengeance and -prompt his retaliation." - -"I need not to be told what all Europe says; that James of Scotland -allows himself to be led by the nose just as Redlegs and the old -ruffs of his council please." - -"_Redlegs!_ soh! a ceremonious title for his eminence; I pray God, -you have not become tainted by the damning heresies of this English -Henry, who has so long been your patron. But where did your lordship -intend to dispose of yourself to-night?" - -"Faith, I had not made up my mind; for in every change-house I -entered, a copy of that proclamation for my apprehension was pasted -over the chimneypiece; so, fearing recognition, as the summer night -was short and warm, I had resolved to sleep like a mosstrooper on the -green brae yonder by the loch, when your cry summoned me to the -rescue, and I am here." - -"'Twas a bright thought, that of yours, about Holyrood," said Vipont, -"so, come with me to my apartment, for I know no place where you -could be safer than in the very palace. None but the devil himself -would dream of looking for you _there_, under the king's very nose." - -"But my disguise is somewhat unlike the finery of your court -gallants." - -"Come with me to-night, and to-morrow we will think of something -else." - -"That will be necessary, for I am going to the queen's masque." - -"What, thou?" - -"Yes, I," replied the madcap earl. "What seest thou in that?" - -"Thy discovery, arrest, condemnation, and execution; for God's sake, -my lord, be not so criminally rash." - -"Fear not, I will never compromise thee." - -"I have no fear of that, but----" - -"Fear nought else, then, for I have resolved to go, and words are -useless." - -They had talked so long in the dark alley, that when they issued from -its archway into the street opposite the church of St. Giles, the -lights on the spire were all extinguished, and the crowd had -dispersed. The whole façade of the edifice rose before them in dark -outline, and the only light that tipped its pinnacles was the -slanting lustre of the brilliant moon, as she seemed to sail to the -westward through the pure blue of the star-studded sky. - -One o'clock rang from the Netherbow spire as Roland and the earl -passed it, so that the events of this chapter occupied exactly an -hour. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -TWO OFFICIALS. - - "_Pedro._ Would to God it might be so! - Thou twin to Satan, beautiful deceit! - I almost wish I'd never met with thee. - Yet the scheme's good--the scheme's exceeding good." - _Edward the Black Prince._ - - -The lord advocate was sitting in his library or study, which we have -already described to the reader. Reclined in a softly-cushioned easy -chair, he was gazing listlessly at the mass of papers that covered -his writing table, which was of grotesquely-carved oak, and all of -which he had to examine; but thoughts, to him of a more vital -interest, occupied his mind, and he recoiled with disgust from the -every-day task of public business. More than an hour passed away, -and the advocate still sat dreamily, with his docquets of inhibitions -and arrestments, letters of law-burrowes, indictments, and other -criminal papers, lying pell-mell among secret information sent him -from his correspondents on the English borders and the Highland -frontier, among the turbulent islesmen of the west, and the -intriguing Douglases nearer the capital. All these he had to peruse, -to consider and consign to different portfolios, making comments and -memorandums thereon, so as to have them all ready for service at a -moment's notice, whenever the suspected noble, baron, or burgess -should be arrested and indicted before the new and obnoxious court. - -The information lodged by enemies against each other was of the most -diverse description. - -One baron lodged a secret complaint that another was meditating an -inroad into England in time of peace; that another had been selling -cattle to the English contrary to law; while a third complained that -for three weeks he had been besieged in his own castle, and battered -by the cannon of a neighbouring feudatory. - -One burgess reported another for "girnelling mair victual than was -required for his own sustenance," against which there was then a wise -law, that in these our days would have pressed heavily upon -corn-factors and other oppressors of the poor; one had lost his -horses, another his cattle, another his corn, and another his wife, -all by dint of sword and spear; and there were innumerable complaints -anent Highland sorners, border hamesuckers, and landless Egyptians, -who forcibly quartered themselves in houses and villages, and dwelt -there until everything was eaten up in girnel, byre, and barn. Among -other papers were numerous informations against and warrants required -for the arrest of Englishmen who had come into Scotland without the -_safeconduct_ demanded and rendered necessary by the twelfth -parliament of James II.; for the prosecution of those who slew the -king's lieges in street and roadway, and against others who slew -hares in time of snow. Warrants against lairds for storming each -other's castles, and thieves who broke into farm dovecots; and -countless accusations of sorcery brought by the ignorant against -those whose little discoveries and inventions would now, perhaps, -have won for them patents from the crown and fellowships of the Royal -Society. - -The whole of the last night and half of the next day had passed -without his bravos having returned. - -The advocate began to fear that Vipont had proved victorious, and -either killed or captured his assailants. In either case Redhall -knew well suspicions would fall heavily upon himself, for ever since -the murder of the Knight of Bombie, at the north door of St. Giles's, -he had borne a somewhat evil repute in the minds of many. He glared -impatiently at a large dialstone on a house opposite; it indicated -the meridian, and he was about to buckle on his sword and poniard, -preparatory to issuing forth in search of news, when heavy and -irregular steps were heard ascending the stair; a coarse and muscular -hand made several ineffectual attempts to raise the arras, a movement -which nearly caused the owner to topple over on his nose, and half -scrambling in, Nichol Birrel, balancing himself on each leg -alternately, and looking rather discomposed from the potations and -encounter of the past night, stood before his feudal lord and -judicial patron. - -"How now, thou presumptuous villain!" said Redhall, looking round for -his cane, "is it thus thou appearest before me?" - -"Ay, ay--just as you see," hiccupped Nichol. - -"Drunk?" - -"Rather so, Sir Adam--that is--my lord." - -"Sot! I verily believe thou wert born drunk. And where, then, is -this Vipont now?" - -"I neither ken nor care, for he escaped us." - -"Am I then to believe, sot and slug-a-bed, that with all thy boasting -thou hast failed?" - -"Even so, in part." - -"Dog! I will have your ears cut off for this." - -"Bide ye there, Sir Adam," said the ruffian, deprecatingly, while he -ground his teeth at his master's anger, "I have gien him a wound that -he will carry to his grave; but God's plague on your feuds, Redhall, -for in your service I have gotten a slash o' the knuckles that shall -gar me rue lang the last night." - -"Here is a pretty rascal;" exclaimed the advocate, almost beside -himself with anger. - -"I would some douce damsel said as muckle," said this overgrown -gnome, contemplating his visage with one of his frightful leers, in a -mirror opposite. - -"Peace, fellow! And thou livest to tell me that he actually escaped -from three of ye? He must be the very devil himself, this Roland -Vipont! Have you all returned alive?" - -"All: Nichol, Dobbie, and Sanders Screw--safe and sound, like the -three kings of Cologne in the Black Friary up bye there." - -"Silence! 'tis blasphemy, this." - -"Murder at night, and blasphemy in the morning! Ewhow, sirs, but -that d--d mum-beer was strong yesternight." - -"Thou gavest him a wound, thou sayest?" resumed Redhall, whose strong -and relentless mind was of that description which, when once it -conceived an idea, would pursue its accomplishment to the very verge -of the earth; and, moreover, feeling confident that those laws which -he meted out so severely to others, could never recoil upon or -entangle himself, he did whatever he pleased. "Was this wound a deep -one?" - -"So Dobbie swears, but he's a gomeral body in these respects. Yet, -if ye will it, Sir Adam, as monk or apothegar, or something else, I -may find my way to his chamber ere he is awake some morning, and -probe the scar anew wi' my poniard. Even gif I were ta'en in his -chamber 'twouldna matter muckle, as no new scar would be seen, and -blood flowing would be attributed to the auld gash." - -"'Tis not a bad scheme, then see to it as you please; but now I -mistrust ye all, and think that, were I to fight him with my own more -legal weapons, the pen and the parchment, he would assuredly be -vanquished. We shall see," mused the advocate; "I may have him one -day before the lords on some desperate charge (he loves a lady of the -Douglas faction). Proofs of conspiracy could soon be foisted up, and -if we once had him under the hands of Sanders Screw----" - -Birrel mechanically felt for his steel needle. - -"Nay," said Redhall, with a grim smile, as he observed this motion, -"Vipont is a mere soldier, and thou knowest that a soldier is seldom -deep or designing enough to be a conjuror. Now prythee, rascal, act -soberly, and assist me to dress and truss my points with care; for I -am to dine with his eminence the cardinal and the lord bishop of -Limoges to-day, and thereafter we are all going to the queen's masque -at Holyrood. Bring me the last taffety dress that was sent me from -that French stallanger at the Tron, with my silver walking-sword--and -the little poniard--hath Hew the dalmascar sent it from his booth in -the Bow? Oh, here it is," added Redhall, stepping into an apartment -that opened off the library, and to which (as we may still see in old -houses) there was an ascent of two or three steps. This was his -dressing-room, and formed a square turret which projected on heavy -stone corbels over the pavement of the Canongate. - -An antique mirror, imbedded in an oak frame, stood on one side; a -basin stand furnished with a pewter basin and ewer (such as the Leith -traders then brought out of Flanders) stood on the other; and between -them was a large cabinet, one door of which was open, showing the -various laced dresses, doublets, gowns, ruffs and collars, mantles, -tags, tassels and aiguilettes, which made up the wardrobe of this -official, whose ample judicial robe was carelessly thrown over a -large high-backed chair, against which and on which were piled pieces -of armour, swords, gloves, gauntlets, files, poniards, and -wheelock-pistols; showing that, though a civil officer of state, -Redhall could assume the offensive as well as any swashbuckler or -cavalier of his day; and not many weeks had elapsed since, at the -head of three hundred men-at-arms, he had been severely repulsed in -an attempt to sack and burn the tower of his neighbour, Sir James -Poulis of Colinton, the lord clerk register. - -A jerkin of black velvet, with open sleeves of dark purple satin, -embroidered all over with silver, black trunk breeches slashed with -purple silk, and black hose, with shoes round-toed and slashed, -formed his principal attire. Over the close jerkin he threw a loose -"cassock coate" of black silk, the collar of which was tied by silver -cords under his thick close ruff, and from thence it was open, though -furnished with twenty-four buttons of Bruges silver. - -Over this he hung his shoulder-belt, which sustained a long and -slender walking-sword, having a hilt of curiously-cut steel and -silver net-work; thus, everything about him was either black or -silver, save the solitary white feather which adorned his black -velvet bonnet, and gave a smart and lofty bearing to his noble head, -which a grave dark visage, piercing eyes, and fierce moustache -completed. - -His ruffian dependent, who to his public official duties limited the -private one of valet, had scarcely given the last finishing-touch to -his elaborate costume when the clatter of hoofs drew Redhall to the -window, and he saw the master of the ordnance, with his plumes -waving, his polished corselet, his embroidered dress, and rich gold -aiguilettes glittering in the sunshine, ride up the street. A tall, -stout serving-man, clad in a half suit of ribbed armour, wearing that -kind of close helmet which was then called a coursing-hat, and -carrying over his shoulder a mighty two-handed wall-sword, nearly as -long as himself, followed close at his heels, running as if for his -life. - -(This armed valet was no other than the Earl of Ashkirk.) - -Almost at the same moment, as if she had been watching for the sound -of the hoofs, Jane Seton appeared at an opposite window, which she -threw open. There was a radiant smile on her bright face as she -kissed her hand to the handsome cavalier, who uncovered and bowed to -his horse's mane; and there was a happy expression in his eyes, a -gallant and adventurous air about him, that, with the splendour of -his attire, failed not to impress even Redhall; for, as Vipont -saluted his charming mistress, the spirited animal he rode approached -her sideways, keeping his front to the windows, curveting, prancing, -and shaking his flowing mane and the silver ornaments of the embossed -bridle. - -"St. Mary!" muttered the advocate, while he bit his thin lips, and a -fierce smile twinkled in his eyes, "how she welcomes him!--an empty -fool, who hath no thought beyond his ruffs and his aiguilettes, and -who, though he hath scarcely a cross in his pouch, is doubtless ready -to cut the throat of any man who doubts him rich as Croesus, and able -to purchase the three Lothians." - -Charged with an invitation, secretly obtained from the queen, for the -ladies of Ashkirk, Roland was in high spirits, for he had procured it -through the influence of Madame de Montreuil, the governess of -Magdalene; and, with his face all smiles, he sprung from his horse -and entered the mansion. - -Lady Jane disappeared from the window. - -Then Redhall ground his teeth, and turned furiously away, for then he -knew the happy lovers had met, and were together. - -He hurriedly left his house, and descending the Blackfriars Wynd to -the Archiepiscopal Palace, a fragment of which is still prominent by -its large octagon tower which overhangs the Cowgate, he was admitted -by the cardinal's armed vassals, or guards, at a low-browed doorway, -surmounted by the coat armorial of Bethune and Balfour, over which -was the broad-tasselled hat, which indicates a prince of the holy -Roman empire. - -There, at dinner, Redhall heard from his friend, the Abbot of -Kinloss, the rumour which was then current in the city, that "the -master of the king's ordnance had been most malapertly beset upon the -Hiegait by a party of the Douglas traitors," from whom he had been -only saved by a miraculous exertion of valour; for (as Buchanan -relates) whatever happened in those days was invariably placed to the -score of the Douglases. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE QUEEN'S MASQUE. - - "Old Holyrood rung merrily - That night with wassail, mirth, and glee: - King James, within her princely towers, - Feasted the chiefs of Scotland's powers."--_Marmion._ - - -Attended by Ashkirk, who carried the tremendous sword before -mentioned, and was arrayed in clothes somewhat sad-coloured, but in -fashion between those of a valet and esquire, Roland, agitated by no -ordinary fear and exultation, approached the illuminated hall of the -palace--fear, because, despite every warning, the madcap noble -insisted on accompanying him--and exultation, because Jane Seton and -her companions were all to be there; though the haughty old countess -had coldly declined, on the plea of age and ill health, which, in -reality, was caused by dread of the risk so foolishly run by her son, -whom she had implored, with tears, to seek shelter among his own -vassals in Forfarshire, if he could not regain the court of England; -for the frontiers were said to be closely watched. - -With his doublet of cloth-of-gold, all dotted with seed pearls, a -short purple velvet mantle, lined with yellow satin, dangling from -his left shoulder, his gold aiguilettes, ruff, and sword, Roland had -donned his best bravery, curled his dark locks, and pointed his -moustaches with particular care on this auspicious evening. He -carried his bonnet in his hand, as they traversed the crowded courts -of the palace; and every minute he turned to look anxiously at -Ashkirk; but his peculiar helmet, with its low peak, and the thick -beard, which he had permitted to grow long for disguise, together -with his bombastic doublet, completely transformed him, and he -marched behind, bearing his six-foot rapier with imperturbable -gravity. - -The gloomy and antique courts, overlooked by grated windows and heavy -roofs of stone, the cloistered passages and vast stone stairs of this -ancient palace (which was burnt by the English), were lighted with -numerous coloured lamps. The king's guard, wearing their blue -bonnets, stockings and doublets of scarlet, slashed and faced with -black, and armed with pike, poniard, and arquebuse, formed two -glittering lines from the palace gate to the main entrance, and from -thence along the passages to the head of the grand staircase, where -stood their captain, Sir John Forrester of Corstorphine, a handsome -and reckless-looking young gallant, clad in the uniform colours of -the guard (a jerkin of scarlet velvet, richly lined with Venetian -gold), and having twelve short aiguilettes on each shoulder of his -trunk sleeves, which terminated in steel gauntlets, for he wore his -gorget, and, being on duty, had an esquire near him, who carried his -helmet. - -His lieutenant, Louis Leslie of Balquhan, in the Garioch, was -similarly arrayed; and both were remarkably elegant and -military-looking young men. - -"Holy mass!" said Forrester, looking down the long staircase, "here -cometh Vipont, and his new valet with the outrageous sword!" - -"'Fore God! he looks like one of the twelve peers of Charlemagne," -said Leslie, with a loud laugh. - -"Ho! Vipont, where the devil didst steal that ancient paladine?" - -"'Tis the excalibur of King Arthur he carries," said Leslie. - -"'Tis the lance of Urganda the Unknown!" - -And the young men laughed aloud as their friend ascended the stair -with his tall valet three paces behind. When he drew near, Forrester -playfully made a pass with his sword at Roland's face, a second at -his breast, and a third at his ruff, keeping him down the stair. The -cannonier immediately unsheathed his rapier, and simply saying-- - -"Guard!" attacked his assailant in the same playful manner; and they -fenced for more than a minute, while Louis Leslie held his sides, and -laughed boisterously on seeing that Vipont found the impossibility of -ascending, and was beginning to lose his temper. - -The approach of Cardinal Beaton, who was surrounded by a large body -of vassals wearing his own livery, put an end to this dangerous -frolic; and though openly saluted by the king's soldiers, the -cardinal's guards were secretly greeted with haughty and supercilious -glances as they marched between the double ranks that led to the foot -of the grand staircase, jostling as they ascended the train of Sir -Thomas Clifford, the ambassador of England--a country which the -cardinal abhorred, politically and religiously. - -"Harkee, Forrester," said Roland, as he passed; "have the ladies of -Ashkirk arrived yet?" - -"Yes, some ten minutes ago. I was thunderstruck to see them!" - -"Wherefore?" - -"Hast thou not heard the rumour?" - -"Of what?" - -"That the Earl of Ashkirk is among us here, in the good town of -Edinburgh." - -"Twenty devils! dost thou say so?" - -"'Tis a fact--on some treasonable mission from English Henry--at -least, so sayeth my lord advocate." - -Roland's blood ran alternately hot and cold. - -"This demon advocate hears of everything!" said he to the earl, as -they passed along the corridor. "My God! lord earl, if -discovered----" - -"Thou canst save me, perhaps," said the earl, who was himself a -little alarmed. - -"If not?" - -"I can die then, with my sword in my hand," replied the earl, through -his teeth. "But art thou not rich in the favour of this holiday -king?" - -"In that alone; otherwise I am poor enough, God wot." - -"Thy father left thee----" - -"His sword, his arms, and motto--nothing more. The first is here at -my side--the second, I know by heart, having nought else whereon to -grave them--_gules_, six annulets _or_." - -"Tush! thou wilt build thee a castle some day, and put the crest -above the gate." - -"A swan'shead winged, rising from a ducal coronet--ha! ha! my father -was a soldier, and poor, as we soldiers always are." - -"'Tis a madcap adventure, this, I know right well," said the earl; -"but I have armed me (sans leave) with your best corslet; and as I -have a strong affection for my poor head (which is, in fact, of no -use to any one save myself), they shall never possess it if my hands -can keep it. If I am beset to-night--fiends! I would mow them all -down with this long blade, like death with his scythe." - -"St. Mary! use it warily," said Roland, laughing; "thou wilt punch a -hole in the roof else." - -"Thou lovest this King James well?" - -"Love him--yes. I am ready to be cut in pieces for him to-morrow." - -"Still thou art poor!" - -"I have quite made up my mind to be rich at some future day, but when -that day shall come, the Lord alone knows," replied Roland, without -perceiving that the earl was covertly ridiculing his loyalty to James. - -Notwithstanding his disguise, the whole air and bearing of Ashkirk -were eminently noble. Though brave and passionate, he veiled a -promptitude to anger under an outwardly impassible equanimity of -temper; thus, while he could be at one time rash to excess, at -another he could affect to be doggedly cool. He had innumerable -excellent qualities of head and heart, which would have rendered him -of inestimable value to such a prince as James V.; but his blind -devotion to the faction of Angus (a faction of which we will treat -more at large elsewhere) rendered them nugatory. Though considerably -above the middle height, he was strong, elegant, and graceful. His -nose was almost aquiline; his eyes were dark and piercing; his mouth -was like that of a Cæsar; and his well-defined chin was indicative of -that obstinacy of purpose, which is a leading feature of the Scottish -character; and, like every gentleman of his time, he rode, fenced, -and danced to perfection. - -Roland sighed when he thought on all these lost good qualities, and -bestowing a parting glance on the earl, who, as his valet, was -obliged to leave him at the large gothic door of the hall, he passed -through with the guests, who were ushered between a double line of -pages and liverymen. The chamberlain of the household waved his -wand, and announced-- - -"Sir Roland Vipont of that ilk, master of the king's ordnance." - -In one little heart only, amid all the gay throng in that magnificent -hall, did the name of the king's first favourite find an echo. - -Two hundred wax-lights, in branching chandeliers, illuminated the -high arched roof and lofty walls of the vast apartment, which was -decorated with all that florid ornament and grandeur which we find in -the palaces of James V. It was one of his new additions to the regal -mansion which his uncle Albany, and his father, James IV., had first -engrafted on the old monastic edifice of the Holy Cross. In honour -of the queen, the walls were hung with arras composed of resplendent -cloth-of-gold and silver, impaled with velvet, and the floors were -covered with Persian carpets, which were among the gifts received by -James V. from Francis I.* - - -* "_Item._ Foure suitts of rich arras hangings of 8 pices a suitt, -wroght with gold and silke. - -"_Item._ Foure suitts of hangings of cloth-of-gold-silver, impaled -with velvett. - -"_Item._ 20 Persian carpets, faire and large,"--See list of "gifts -and propynes," _Balfour's Annales_, vol. i. pp. 266-7. - - -On one side the arras was festooned to reveal the refreshment-rooms -which lay beyond, and the long tables, whereon lay every continental -delicacy, with the richest wines of France and Italy, all of which -the poorest Scottish artizan could procure duty free before the -union. There, too, lay one of the queen's cupboards of silver plate, -which was valued at more than a hundred thousand crowns, and watched -by four of the royal guard, with their arquebuses loaded. Chairs -covered with white velvet, brocaded with gold, and surmounted by -imperial crowns, with sofas or settles of purple velvet, were ranged -along the sides of these rooms; but the great hall was cleared of all -obstruction for the dancers. The king's musicians, among whom were -the four drummers, the four trumpeters, and three flute-players of -the queen's French band, all clad in yellow satin, occupied the music -gallery, and were just striking up king James's favourite march, _The -Battle of Harlaw_, which was then very popular in Scotland, and -remained so down to the time of Drummond of Hawthornden. - -Amid the crowd of ladies, nobles, and splendidly-attired cavaliers, -who thronged the vast length of that great apartment, seeming as one -mass of velvet, silk, satin, and waving plumage of every hue, mingled -with jewels that sparkled and lace that glittered, aiguilettes, -swords and mantles, poniards and spurs, trains, ruffs, and knightly -orders--surrounded by a sea of light, for the gleaming cloth-of-gold -that covered the walls seemed nothing else--Roland looked anxiously, -but in vain, for Lady Seton, as he walked straight towards the upper -end, to present himself to the king and queen. - -James leaned on the side of Magdalene's chair, conversing with her -and the six privileged ladies of honour, who sat near her, three -being on each side, occupying little stools, which were covered with -blue velvet, and called tabourettes. Among this group were Madame de -Montreuil, Mademoiselle de Brissac, and several noble Frenchwomen, -who had known Vipont in France, and greeted with a smile of welcome. - -James was magnificently clad in his favourite dress of white brocaded -satin, slashed with rose-coloured silk. His four orders (the first -in Europe) sparkled on his neck, and the band of his slouched blue -bonnet shone like a zone with diamonds. His rich brown hair fell in -ringlets on his ruff, and his dark hazel eyes were bright with gaiety -and pride. He wore a short mantle, a long sword, sheathed in blue -velvet, buff boots, and gold spurs. His white silk stockings were -the first seen in Scotland, and the motto of the Garter encircled his -left leg. - -With that frankness which made him so charming to all, this handsome -young monarch immediately approached Sir Roland, and met him half way. - -"Here comes my Vipont!" said he; "ah! thou art a fine fellow, Roland. -I would know thee for a noble, or a soldier, at a league's distance, -by that inimitable bearing of thine." - -Roland bowed profoundly; but the king took his hand, while many a -fierce glance was exchanged between the various nobles who beheld the -warm reception of this rising favourite. - -"And so, my poor Vipont, thou wert attacked last night?" - -"A mere joke, your majesty." - -"Three daggers are no joke; but you were wounded?" - -"Oh, a mere scratch with a pin." - -"Dost suspect any one as having caused it?" - -"Your majesty alone," replied Roland, with a peculiar smile at the -group around the king; "for your favour is ever fatal to your -friends." - -"Doubtless," said James, with a darkening brow, "it hath been some of -those accursed----" (Douglases he was about to say, but on seeing how -quickly the colour mounted to Vipont's brow he said) "cloak-snatchers -and cutpurses, who make their lair in the Burghmuir-woods, and -elsewhere; but this must be looked to, sirs! such doings cannot be -permitted in our burghs and landward towns." - -They conversed in the old-court Scots, then "the language of a whole -country" (says Lord Jeffrey in one of his able essays), "an -independent kingdom, still separate in laws, character, and manners; -a language by no means common to the vulgar, but the common speech of -the whole nation in early life, and connected in their imagination, -not only with that olden time which is uniformly conceived as being -more simple, pure, and lofty than the present, but also with all the -soft bright colours of remembered childhood and domestic affection." - -Roland advanced at once towards the young queen, who gave him her -hand to kiss, and received him with her brightest smile; for his face -had become familiar to her in the king's train at her father's court. - -"Ah! Monsieur le Maître d'Artillerie," she said, in a very sweet -voice, "thou seemest quite like an old friend, and remindest me so -much of my father's house at St. Germain-en-Laye--that pretty little -hunting-lodge, near the Seine, where I was so happy--though not so -happy as I am here--_O Dieu me pardonne_, no," she added, with covert -glance at the king full of the utmost affection. - -"My dear Madame de Montreuil," said Roland, in a low voice; "express -for me to her majesty the thousand thanks I owe you and her for the -favour shown to my friends." - -This charming daughter of Queen Claud the Good was (as we have -elsewhere said) only in her sixteenth year. Her fair brown hair, of -which she had a great profusion, was most becomingly arranged in -plaits and curls; her eyes were of the most beautiful blue; her small -velvet cap, squared at the temples, and falling straight down each -cheek, was blue, lined with satin, and edged with little pearls; her -skirt was all of frosted cloth-of-gold, with a body of -violet-coloured satin, embroidered also with gold, and having hanging -sleeves of the richest lace lined with latticed ribbons; her gloves -were highly perfumed; and around her neck was a gift of the Countess -of Arran--a string of those large and snow-white pearls, that in the -olden time were found in the burn of Cluny. She frequently sighed, -as if with pain and weariness, and pressed a hand at times upon her -breast. - -Having now paid his devoirs to the young queen, Roland scrutinized -the glittering throng for the fair form of her who, though perhaps -less beautiful than the gentle Magdalene, was to him the queen indeed -of all the ladies there. - -"Vipond," said the king, coldly, as he drew Roland aside, "I know for -whom thou art looking--for one whose brother is under sentence of -forfeiture, the price of his head being at this moment written on the -palace gates; for one who, I can assure thee, Sir Roland, should not -have been under the roof-tree of Holyrood to-night, but for the kind -wishes of her majesty and Madame de Montreuil, whose weak side I see -thou hast attained, as any handsome gallant may easily do." - -Roland's heart sank at these words. - -"Alas! your majesty," he replied, in the same low voice, "are the -houses of Douglas and Seton fallen so low, that a fair young being, -who unites the blood of both in her pure and sinless heart is merely -tolerated in Holyrood? Your royal sire, around whom so many brave -men of both these names fell on that dark day at Flodden, foresaw not -a time like this." - -"There is truth in this, though I have the deepest cause for enmity -to these families that ever king had to a subject," replied James, -frankly. "The mere rebellion of Earl John of Ashkirk I might have -forgotten, and that of his son I could have forgiven, but his -leaguing with Englishmen never! And yonder stands my little rebel, -Jane of Ashkirk; faith, she is beautiful--yea, as love herself!" - -"I think her inferior to the queen." - -"With all thy partiality? Rogue, thou flatterest me! A true lover -should deem his lady-love inferior to none under God!" - -"I have heard that she is as much famed for her beauty as her mother -is for her salves and recipes," said a Hamilton, with a very -unmistakeable sneer. - -"Nay, Sir John of Kincavil," said the king, "thou art too severe to -be gallant. I will swear that her hair is the finest I ever saw." - -"And her teeth," said young Leslie of Balquhan. - -"And her skin, which is like the finest velvet!" said Roland, simply. - -"Ah, the devil! thou hast discovered that!" said the king--and -several courtiers and soldiers laughed. "I must really see this fair -one," he whispered; "she looks at Sir Roland. Ah! I see--'tis the -unmistakeable glance of a woman at the man she loves. I find I am -about to lose my master of the ordnance." - -"Sir John of Kincavil," said Roland, in a low voice, as he passed -that tall and brilliantly attired knight; "at noon to-morrow I will -be waiting you at the Water Gate." - -"I shall bring my best rapier," replied the other, with a bow. - -"And a pot of the countess's salve," said Roland, with a dark smile, -as they mutually bit their gloves in defiance, and passed on. - -During the presentation of Roland to the queen and this colloquy with -the king, Lady Jane Seton, who had not yet been presented to -Magdalene, felt herself somewhat unpleasantly situated. Her -companions, Marion Logan, and Alison Hume, had both disappeared in -the crowd, the first with the well-known Norman Leslie, Master of -Rothes, and the second with Sir John Forrester, of the king's guard; -while, quite oblivious of the many hostile eyes around, the beautiful -Sybil, with a large fan outspread before her, had thrown aside her -usual sadness, and, exhilirated with the gaiety of the scene, was -coquetting and smiling to a gay crowd of young cavaliers, to whose -jests and gallantries she was replying, however, with the words -alone, for her thoughts were concentrated on the tall valet, whom she -had seen more than once at the opposite doorway, armed with his -portentous rapier. - -The hostile eyes were those of the Hamilton faction, which was always -in the ascendant when the power of the Douglases were at a low ebb; -and thus, marvelling how the sister of the exiled earl had found her -way into their privileged and exclusive circle, cold, haughty, and -inquiring glances met those of the timid Jane, whose cheeks began to -crimson with anger. She had now lost the thoughtless Sybil; she saw -not her lover; and amid that vast crowd found herself utterly alone. -Margaret Countess of Arran, the ladies of Barncleugh and Evandale, -Dalserf, and Drumrye, of Raploch, and others, all wives and daughters -of knights and gentlemen of the hostile surname, were gazing stolidly -upon her. - -Cardinal Beaton, clad in his scarlet cope and baretta, with a gold -cross upon his breast, was standing near her, conversing with a -prelate in purple. This was the French Bishop of Limoges, in the -Vienne, to whom, with his right forefinger laid on the palm of his -left hand, he was impressively holding forth on "the damnable -persuasions of the English heretics, whose perverse doctrines were -spreading schisms and scandals in the holy church in Scotland." His -large, dark, and thoughtful eyes, which were (inadvertently however) -fixed on Jane, completed her confusion. The great and terrible -cardinal was evidently speaking of her; she felt almost sinking when -the crowd around fell back, and the king, with her lover, approached -to her relief. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -LA VOLTA. - - "Yet is there one, the most delightful kind, - A lofty jumping, or a leaping round, - Where, arm in arm, two dancers are entwined, - And whirl themselves, with strict embracements bound, - And still their feet an anapest do sound: - An anapest is all their music's song, - Whose first two feet are short, and third is long." - _Orchestra_, by Sir J. DAVIES, 1596. - - -"May I present to your majesty," said Roland, "the Lady Jane Seton, -the only daughter of brave Earl John of Ashkirk----" - -"Who thrice saved my father's banner at Flodden--a right royal -welcome to Holyrood, madame," said James, bowing gracefully and low, -while all his hostility vanished as he gazed on the pure open brow -and clear eyes of Jane; "but how is this, Sir Roland? thou oughtest -to have introduced me to the lady, not the lady to _me_--the knight -to the dame--the inferior to the superior. But hark! the music is -striking 'Kinge Willyiam's Notte;' 'tis a _round_ we are to -dance--Lady Jane, wilt favour me--your hand for this measure; see, my -Lord Arran is leading forth the queen." - -And thus, almost before she had time for reflection, Jane found -herself led to the head of that shining hall, the partner of King -James, who had seen the hostile eyes that were bent upon her, had -seen how their cold glances thawed into smiles at his approach, and -resolved, by a striking example, to rebuke the malicious spirit he -despised. - -Roland finding himself anticipated, had now no desire to dance, and -wishing to follow Jane with his eyes, retired among the spectators, -whose hostile remarks more than once made him bite his glove and -grasp the pommel of his poniard. - -The dancers were performing the round, a species of country-dance, -which continued in fashion while quadrilles were in futurity, and -until the time of Charles I. - -The king's principal favourite, James Hamilton, Earl of Arran -(afterwards the Regent Duke of Chatelherault, knight of St. Michael), -a stately noble, arrayed in dark violet-coloured velvet, becoming his -years and grave diplomatic character, led forth the bright young -queen. There were about thirty couples on the floor, all the -gentlemen wearing high ruffs, short mantles, and immense long swords. -The captain of the guards, and Leslie, his lieutenant, were with -Alison Hume and Marion Logan. At a given signal, a burst of music -came from the balcony, and the dancers began with that spirit and -grace which belonged to the olden time, and then the whole hall -vibrated with joy and happiness, brilliancy and praise; for if the -king was the most finished cavalier in Scotland, Magdalene was -assuredly the fairest young being that had ever worn its diadem. - -The great Earl of Arran acquitted himself, however, very much to the -queen's dissatisfaction; for this thoughtful statesman and favourite -minister was confounded to find Lady Seton dancing with the king, and -knew not what to think of this sudden and dangerous change in his -sentiments towards the Douglas party. - -Above the well-bred hum of modulated voices in the hall, a loud -uproar of tongues in one of the courts below drew Roland to the -windows more than once. - -"By Heaven, they have discovered Ashkirk!" was his first thought. -But the noise was occasioned by the king's jester, Jock Macilree, -frolicking among the pages, lacqueys, and yeomen of the guard, with -his cap-and-bells, bladder, and fantastic dress, exercising on the -poor black page, Sabrino, that wit which, for the present, was -excluded from the royal circle, as his rough jests, boisterous -laughter, and grotesque aspect terrified and agitated the timid young -queen. - -"God keep you, Sir Roland Vipont," said a flute-like voice (with the -usual greeting for which our more homely "How are you?" is now -substituted). Roland turned, and bowed on encountering the grave -face and keen dark eyes of the lord advocate. - -"God keep you, Sir Adam," he replied, rather coldly, as may be easily -supposed. "Understanding that you laboured under a severe illness, I -did not expect the pleasure of meeting you here." - -"As little did I expect the honour of meeting _you_, having heard -that you had received an unfortunate wound." - -"Ah! a scratch, as your lordship heard me tell the king," replied -Roland, colouring with indignation; but the face of Redhall was -impassible as that of a statue. - -"Courtiers must expect such scratches at times." - -"Under favour, my lord, I am no courtier." - -"No, excuse me--better than a thousand courtiers--thou art a brave -soldier." - -Roland bowed. - -"He flatters me for some end," thought he. There was a mixture of -politeness and disdain in the manner of Redhall that was fast -provoking Roland, for they had never spoken before, save once, more -than a year ago, on the king's service. "Can this really be the -villain who attempted to slay me," he reflected, "or hath the -hostility of Ashkirk led his ears into error? I think not; for, -strange to say, my wound _smarted_ the moment he addressed me. -Doubtless, had I been dead, it would have bled at his touch." - -"You know, Sir Roland, 'tis my peculiar province to have the laws -enforced. Have you any suspicions of who your assailant was?" - -"Yes, the instigator of the assault is here to-night--yea, in this -very hall!" - -"His name?" - -"Is written on the blade of my sword, where I am wont to keep such -memorandums," replied Roland, with a glance which made the official -start, change colour, and raise his eyebrows with an expression of -surprise, as he turned away; for at that moment the king came up, the -dance having ended, and the blood mounted to the temples of Redhall, -for Lady Jane Seton was leaning on his arm. - -"How now, lord advocate?" said the frank monarch, "why so grave and -so grim? Thou art a sorely changed man now! Dost thou remember when -we two were but halfling callants at our tasks together, in the -barred chambers of David's tower, trembling under terror of old -Gavin's ferrule--Gavin Dunbar; the poor prisoner of my uncle Albany?" - -"And how oft we played truanderie together," replied the advocate, -with a faint smile. - -"To seek birds'-nests in the woods of Coates, throw kail-castocks -down the wide lums of the Grassmarket, and fish for powowets in the -Nor'loch, By St. Paul! those were indeed the happy days of guileless -hearts; for, if we quarreled, we beat each other until we were weary, -and thenceforward became better friends than ever. But how cometh it -that thou, my gay cannonier, hast not had a measure to-night, and -when no dance seems perfect without thee? Madame de Montreuil and -some of our French demoiselles are anxious to dance _la volta_, which -was all the rage at the fêtes of King Francis; but not one of our -Scottish gallants knoweth the least about it save thyself." - -"I am sure the Lady Jane does, and if she will favour me with her -hand, and your majesty will spare her----" - -"To thee only will I, for I long now to speak with mine own true -love," and, with a graceful smile, James retired to the group that -remained around the young queen and her dames of the tabourette. - -The feeble health of Magdalene was apparent to all by the languor and -alternate flushing and pallor of her face, after the trifling -exercise of _la ronde_. - -As Vipont led away Lady Jane, Redhall turned to conceal his sudden -emotion. He faced a mirror and was startled at his own expression. -Swollen like cords, the veins rose on his forehead like lines painted -there. Jane had gone off without even bestowing on him a smile or a -bow. She had quite forgotten his presence. He felt painfully that -in her mind there would, doubtless, be a mighty gulf between himself -and this gay young soldier, whose light spirit and chivalric heart -were so entirely strangers to that burning jealousy and passionate -desire of vengeance that struggled for supremacy with love. He -passed a hand over his pale brow, as if to efface the emotion written -there, and turned again with his wonted smile of coldness and -placidity to address the person nearest him. This chanced to be no -other than his gossip, the abbot of Kinloss, a peep-eyed little -churchman, whose head and face, as they peered from his ample cope, -so strongly resembled those of a rat looking forth from a hole, that -no other description is required. - -The ambassador of the great Charles V., a richly-dressed cavalier in -black, on whose breast shone the gold cross of Calatrava and the -silver dove of Castile, and whose scarf of scarlet and gold sustained -a long spada of the pure Toledo steel, now appeared on the -Persian-carpeted floor, leading Madame de Montreuil, a gay little -Frenchwoman in white brocade, which stuck out all round her nearly -six feet in diameter; Roland and Lady Seton were their _vis-à-vis_. -All eyes were upon them, for the dance was so completely new, that -none in Scotland had ever seen it, and the expectations were great as -the music which floated through the oak-carved screen of the gallery -seemed divine. The right arm of each cavalier was placed round the -waist of his lady, while her right hand rested in his left, and was -pressed against his heart; in short, _la volta_, which had thus made -its appearance in old Holyrood on the night of the 20th May, in the -year of grace 1537, was nothing more than the vault step, now known, -in modern times, as the waltz. - -There was a pause; the music again burst forth, rising and falling in -regular time, and away went the dancers, round and round, in a -succession of whirls, the little red-heeled and white velvet shoes of -the ladies seeming to chase the buff boots and gold spurs of the -gentlemen; round and round they went, rapidly, lightly, and -gracefully. The tall Spanish ambassador and little Madame de -Montreuil acquitted themselves to perfection; but Roland and Jane, to -whom he had only given a few lessons during the preceding forenoon, -perhaps less so; but none there observed it, and a burst of -acclamation welcomed this graceful dance, which was now for the first -time seen in Scotland, but which the prejudices of after years -abolished till the beginning of the present century. - -"What thinkest thou of this new spring, father abbot?" said Redhall, -with a cold smile in his keen eyes. - -"There is sorcery in it, by my faith there is!" whispered the abbot, -lowering his voice and his bushy eyebrows; "there is sorcery in it, -my lord advocate, or my name is not Robin Reid, abbot of Kinloss." - -"Ha! dost thou think so?" - -"Think so? Ken ye not that it hath been partly condemned by the -parliament of Paris (whom we take for our model in all matters of -justiciary), for it originated in Italy, from whence it was taken -into France by the witches, who dance it with the devil on the -Sabbath. Ah, 'tis well worth making a memorandum of," continued this -meagre little senator, perceiving that Redhall was writing something -in his note-book or tablets, behind the shadow of a window-curtain. - -"But the Spaniard is a knight of a religious order," urged Redhall, -pausing. - -"A religious order!" repeated the testy abbot; "'tis such a cloister -of religieux as our knights of Torphichen, who spend night and day in -drinking and dicing, fighting anent their prerogatives, and -debauching the country maidens on their fiefs and baronies. Were he -not ambassador of Charles V., I would vote for having him under the -nippers of Nichol Birrel; for if ever a sorcerer trod on Scottish -ground, 'tis he. He dabbles in charms and philtres, and every night -'tis said his chimney in St. John's Close emitteth blue sparks, which -are those of hell, as sure as I am Robin Reid, abbot of Kinloss. He -and father St. Bernard are ever searching among the baser minerals -for the spirit of the gold; at least so say the prebendaries of St. -Giles's." - -"Um! he is confessor of the Lady Ashkirk," muttered Redhall, making -another memorandum. - -"As we were talking of sorcery, what hath the high sheriff of Lothian -done with your vassal, the forester of Kinleith, who buried a living -cat under his hearthstone, as a charm against evil?" - -"Ah," said Redhall, with a smile, "Birrel soon found such proofs -against him, that he is sent to the justiciary court." - -"Ho! ho!" said the little abbot, rubbing his hands; "Sanders Screw -and his concurrents will bring mickle to light, or my name is not -Robin----" - -But here the advocate hurried abruptly away, for at that moment the -dance ended; and flushed, heated, and fatigued, the two ladies were -led away--De Montreuil, by her cavalier, into the adjoining -apartment, and Lady Jane towards a staircase which descended from the -hall to the level and grassy lawn, that lay between the palace and -the foot of the craigs of Salisbury. - -The green sides of the silent hills and rocky brows of those basaltic -cliffs, which seem but the half of some vast mountain which volcanic -throes have rent and torn asunder, were bathed in the splendour of -the broad and cloudless moon; the palace towers and vanes stood forth -in strong white light, while the curtain walls and cloistered courts -were steeped in sable shadow. On the right were a cluster of small -antique houses where some of the royal retainers dwelt, and where -Roland had his temporary domicile. This was called St. Anne's Yard; -on the left, apparently among the hills, two red lights were shining. -One was from an ancient mansion at the foot of Salisbury craigs, -where Robert, abbot of the Holy Cross, dwelt; the other was from the -illuminated shrine of St. Antony's Hermitage. - -Several revellers were lounging on the green sward in the moonlight, -or sitting on the carved stone benches that were placed against the -palace wall, and the lovers took possession of the most remote, where -the south garden of the king bordered the burial-ground of the abbey. - -"Jane," said Roland, as he gazed fondly on her pure brow and snowy -skin, which seemed so dazzlingly white in the clear moonlight; "your -smiles to-night have done more to raise the Douglas cause than twenty -thousand lances. How my heart leaps! I seem to tread on air! I -knew well that James had but to see you, to appreciate your worth and -beauty. He has done so; and now old dame Margaret of Arran, and all -the Hamiltons of Cadyow and Clydesdale, will be ready to burst their -boddices and die of sheer vexation." - -"But if Archibald should be discovered----" - -"Chut! dost think that James would dance with the sister over-night -and decapitate the brother in the morning?" - -"The king never once referred to the frightful position in which he -is placed." - -"He is much too courtly to do so. But say, art thou not happy, -dearest?" - -"Happy? with a proclamation on this palace-gate offering a thousand -merks for my brother's head! Oh, Roland, Roland! I would justly -merit contempt to be so. I came not hither to rejoice, or with any -other intention than to beg his life and pardon from the king. The -figures of a dance were certainly not the place to prefer such a -solemn request--Mother of God! no; and, as my mother says, but with a -different meaning, I am yet biding my time. My heart sickens at the -splendour of that glittering hall, when I bethink me that the gallant -earl, my brother, whose plume should have waved among the loftiest -there, is now the companion of lacqueys and liverymen--the retainers -of our actual enemies and oppressors--the butt, perhaps, of their -coarse mirth and ribald jests, and fearing to repel them with the -spirit he possesses, lest he should be discovered and unmasked by -those whose innate hatred of the Seton and the Douglas require not -the additional incentive of King James's gold." - -"It was, I own, a madcap adventure, his coming here to-night; but -thou knowest that he is headstrong as a Highland bull. However, -Lintstock, my servant, a wary old gunner of King James IV., is with -him, and will see he is neither insulted nor discovered." - -"Anything is better than suspense," said Jane, sobbing. "Would that -the king were here." - -"I will bring him if you wish it," said Roland, rising and taking -both her hands in his; "he would come in a moment, for to him a -lady's message is paramount to one from the parliament. But would -you say that the earl is in Scotland--here among us in Edinburgh?" - -"I would, Roland--yes, for such is my confidence in the honour and -generosity of the king." - -"'Tis not misplaced, for James is alike good and merciful; but 'twere -better to ask his French bride, whom he loves too well to refuse her -anything--even to become the ally of his uncle, English Henry; and -certes! the pardon of a gallant Scottish noble is no great boon to -crave of a generous Scottish king." - -Roland started, for at that moment the voice of James was heard at -one of the open windows of the hall just above them. - -"Vipont! Sir Roland Vipont!" he said. - -"I am here, at your grace's service," replied Sir Roland, raising his -bonnet. - -"Wilt thon favour us a moment? here, my lord the bishop of Limoges -and I have a dispute as to whether our old gun of Galloway, Mollance -Meg, or the Devil of Bois le Duc, carry the largest ball. I say Meg; -the bishop says the Devil; and as 'tis thy office to know all points -of gunner-craft, come hither, if that fair dame will do us the honour -to spare thee for one moment, for we have laid a hundred lions Scots -on the matter." - -Loth to leave Jane, and anxious to please the king, Roland hesitated, -till she said-- - -"Obey the king, and I will wait your return; luckily, yonder is my -cousin Sybil and Louis Leslie of the king's guard." - -Roland pressed her hand, sprang up the flight of steps, and the -moment he was gone Lady Jane found some one standing at her side. - -She turned, and encountered the sombre figure of Redhall, the sad -glance of whose piercing eyes ran like lightning through her veins; -and she trembled at the double reflection that she was almost alone, -and that he might have overheard their dangerous conversation -concerning her brother. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -LOVE AND ABHORRENCE. - - "Ah! who can e'er forget so fair a being? - Who can forget her half retiring sweets? - God! she is like a milk-white lamb that bleats - For man's protection." - - -When Jane thought for a moment of how long this great political -inquisitor and public prosecutor had been the feudal foe and legal -oppressor of her mother's kinsman and her father's house, and that he -had but recently (as she had gathered from her brother) meditated or -attempted the assassination of her lover,--as he had previously done -the chief of the Maclellans,--she felt her whole heart recoil from -him as from a serpent, with terror and abhorrence. Nevertheless, -finding that Sybil and her cavalier had disappeared among the groups -of revellers who dotted the moonlit lawn, she had sufficient tact to -veil her inward repugnance and suspicions under an outward -politeness, and to incline her head slightly when he bowed and -assumed a position for conversing by leaning his handsome and stately -figure against the stone arm of the sofa, which was formed of a -wyvern with its wings outspread. - -He was dazzled by the splendour of her beauty, which the unwonted -magnificence of her attire had so much enhanced; and remained silent -and embarrassed, till Jane said-- - -"I did not imagine that so grave a man as Sir Adam Otterburn would -have much to amuse him among these gay frivolities." - -"Nor have I, madam, for my mind is usually filled with thoughts of -deeper and more vital import than the comely fashion of a ruff or -mantle, or the curling of a pretty ringlet. I came but to steal a -few moments from my unhappy destiny; and I swear by my faith, that to -see you dancing with the king was the only tranquil joy I have had -for many a day. Ah! madame, you excelled yourself; you outshone them -all, as yonder moon outshines the stars around it!" - -Lady Jane bowed again, and glanced uneasily at the staircase; there -was no appearance of Roland, and knowing intuitively the dangerous -topic to which the speaker was inclining, she trembled for what he -might say next, for Redhall was not a man to dally much when he had -any end in view. - -He had seen her dancing with Roland Vipont; he had heard those -whispers by which the whole court linked their names together as -lovers, yet an incontrollable folly or fatality led him blindly on. - -"Notwithstanding that we were such good friends when last we met," -said he, in his soft and flute-like voice, while bending his fine -dark eyes on the green sward, "you have shunned me so much of late, -Lady Jane, that I have had no opportunity of begging your permission -to renew that conversation in which I presumed first to -say--that--that----" - -"What?----" - -"That I loved you"--his voice sank to a whisper at the abruptness of -the declaration. - -"Oh! Sir Adam; thou followest a phantom." - -Redhall sighed sadly and bitterly. - -"There was a time, dearest madam, when I did not think so," he -continued slowly and earnestly--"a time when I almost flattered -myself that you loved me in return." - -"I!" said Jane, faintly. - -"_Thou_," he replied, impressively, fixing upon her his piercing eyes -with an expression which fascinated her. "It was in the garden of my -lord the abbot of Holyrood, at his mansion near yonder craigs, some -nine or ten months ago, about the vesper time; it was a glorious -evening, and a broad yellow harvest-moon was shining in the blue -heavens, among golden-coloured clouds; the air was pure, and laden -with perfume and with the fragrance of yonder orchards, and these -fields covered with the grain of a ripe harvest. Abbot Robert had -given a supper to Henrico Godscallo, the ambassador who came to offer -as a bride Mary of Austria or Mary of Portugal to King James. Oh! -thou canst not have forgotten it. We walked together in the garden, -and you did me the honour to lean upon my arm. I bent my head -towards you, and your beautiful hair touched my forehead. My heart -beat like lightning--every vein trembled! Oh! I have never -forgotten that night--that hour--the place--the time! You seemed -good and kind, merry and gentle with me. I was on the point of -declaring myself then--of saying how I loved you--how I worshipped -you; and your charming embarrassment seemed to expect the avowal; -when the countess's page--yonder black devil with the rings in his -ears--approached, and the spell was broken. My God! the same moment, -the same soft influences and adorable opportunity have never come -again!" - -"My lord advocate, you can plead ably for yourself," replied Jane, -coldly. - -"My soul is in the cause at issue," said he, looking at her -anxiously; "'tis very true, I am very miserable. I am as one in a -dream. I love the air she breathes--the ground she treads on." He -was speaking to himself. In the very depth of his thoughts he forgot -that she was beside him. - -"My lord, my lord, 'tis the rhapsody, this, of Sir David Lindesay, or -some such balladier." - -"Nay, nay; oh! do not mock me. It seemeth as if my love for you is -not the common love of this cold and utilitarian world; for if ten -ages rolled over our heads, I feel sure that my love would be the -same; nor time, nor circumstance, not even despair, can overcome it. -Oh! lady, believe me, there is no other man loves thee as I do." - -Jane thought of Roland, but either the fury or the profundity of the -speaker's passion awed her into silence, for she made no reply; and -thereby encouraged, he continued-- - -"Pride and ambition are strong within me; but, believe me, my breast -never had a passion so deep, so pure, as my love for thee. There is -a silent strength in it that grows out of its very hopelessness. -Canst thou conceive this? Every glance, and smile, and word of thine -I have treasured up for years, and in solitude I gloat over them, -even as a miser would over his gold and silver." - -Covered with confusion, and trembling excessively, Jane made an -effort to withdraw. - -"Beautiful tyrant!" said he, haughtily and firmly, as he stepped -before her, "thou knowest thy power, and findest a cruel pleasure in -its exercise; thy lips are full of pride as thine eyes are full of -light, and with the very smile of a goddess thou repayest the homage -of all but me. Yet with all these charms I can conceive that no -passion can dwell within thee, for thou art cold and impassible as -the marble of that fountain which sparkles in the moonlight--vain as -vanity herself, and selfish as Circe. While weaving thy spells thou -thinkest not of me, or the fatal power of thy beauty, which is -destroying me." - -"Holy Mary!" said Jane, in terror at his growing excitement; "did I -tell thee to love me? Am I to blame for this unruly frenzy?" - -"Oh! my passion is very deep," he continued, clasping his hands, and -fixing his dark eyes on the stars. "My God! my God! It besets -me--it transfixes and transforms me into the object I love--our -existence seems the same." - -"What!" cried Jane, laughing, "hast thou transformed thyself into me?" - -Redhall did not anticipate having his high-sounding sophistry so -acutely criticized; he started as if a viper was beside him, and -fixing upon her his eyes, which were fired with a strange mixture of -sternness and ardour, he said in his slow calm voice-- - -"Strong and serene in thy boasted purity and pride, thou laughest at -me; and by that laugh," he continued, in a hoarse and bitter voice, -"I know that all is over with me; but beware thee, proud woman--for -love and illusion may die fast together." - -"Sir Adam Otterburn," replied Jane, haughtily, attempting again to -retire, "for the last time I tell thee, that death were a thousand -times preferable to thy love! Art thou not the sworn foe of my -brother?" - -"But not _thine_," replied the advocate, with a lowering brow; "make -me not _that_, I pray thee." His heart glowed alternately with love -and fury at her unmoved aspect. His self-importance was wounded by -her apathy; and his galled pride was fast kindling a sentiment of -hatred in his heart--a hate that grew side by side with his love--if -such a state of heart can be conceived. "Thy brother's enemy?" he -repeated, with a bitter laugh; "if I were indeed so much his enemy, I -might astonish the Lord Arran and his Hamiltons to-night." - -"My God!" thought Jane, as her heart sank within her; "he has -overheard us, and learned our terrible secret!" - -Alarmed by the ghastly expression of his face, which was white as -marble, all save the jetty moustaches and the eyebrows that met over -his finely-formed nose, Jane glanced anxiously towards the stair -which ascended to the hall, and Sir Adam observed it. A smile curled -his pale lips, but the fire of the most ferocious jealousy kindled in -his dark and deep-set eyes. - -"I know for whom thou art looking," said he, grasping her by the arm; -"for yonder brainless fop, who thinks of nothing but his ruff and his -plume and the glory of being master of the king's ordnance--a -wretched worm, whom the heat of our Scottish wars hath nourished into -a gilded butterfly, and who dares to cock his bonnet in our faces -with the bearing of a landed baron." - -"Gramercy!" said Jane, waggishly; "I knew not that a butterfly wore a -bonnet." - -"Hah!" he muttered, fiercely, "the lover who is once laughed at _is -lost_!" - -The grasp of his strong hand compressed her slender arm like a vice; -there was an oath trembling on his lips, and fury flashing in his -eye, for love and hatred, as they struggled in his heart, made him -both selfish and savage. - -"Oh Mother of Mercy!" murmured Jane; "away ruffian! or I will shriek -that thou art a vampire!" - -At that moment the shadow of a tall figure, armed with a prodigious -sword, was thrown by the moon along the velvet sward; and Redhall was -prostrated by a blow on the ear, dealt by a ponderous and unsparing -hand. Jane turned with terror, and saw her brother, the earl, spring -back and disappear under the cloister arches of the abbey; while, at -the same moment, Roland Vipont leaped down stairs from the hall, -taking four steps at once. - -"A thousand pardons, dearest Jane, and a thousand more," he -exclaimed, drawing her arm through his, and leading her away; "but -this tiresome argument concerning old Mollance Meg and the Devil of -Bois le Duc (plague take them both!) occupied more time than I had -the least idea of; and my lord the bishop of Limoges hath lost on the -matter a hundred silver livres, which the king means to give the -Franciscans to-morrow. But thou art not angry with me?" - -"Angry? oh, no! I know thou art sufficiently punished, minutes being -ages when absent from me." - -"Ah, thou art right, for my sojourn in Paris was a very eternity." - -"Then let us join the dancers, and be merry while we may," said she, -with a gaiety which was scarcely assumed, for she was but too happy -to hurry him into the hall, without observing the lord advocate, who, -stunned by the effects of the blow, lay for a second or two unseen, -and somewhat ignominiously, upon a parterre of rose-bushes, from -whence he arose with fury in his heart, and his sword in his hand, -but to find himself alone--a fortunate circumstance, as he would -infallibly have slain the first man near him. He adjusted his ruff -and doublet, brushed a speck or two from his trunk breeches, and -shaking his clenched hand, said hoarsely, under his moustaches-- - -"Either Roland Vipont or the Earl of Ashkirk dishonoured me by that -blow. Be it so--I have them all in my grasp! Revenge is a joy for -gods and demons, and, by the Holy Rood, I will be avenged, and -fearfully, too!" - -By this time the ball was nearly over, for the good people of those -days had not yet conceived the idea of turning day into night; and as -the king and court were to depart on a grand hawking expedition on -the morrow, and, as usual, had to be all up with the lark and the -eagle, the bell-clock of the neighbouring abbey church had barely -tolled twelve when the dancing concluded, and the guests began to -retire in rapid succession, each paying their adieux to the king and -queen as they departed, and paying them with a solemnity and parade -such as one may see nowhere now, save in Old Castile. - -"Take courage, my sweet flower, Jane, for now is your most fortunate -time to prefer to Magdalene your request that Ashkirk may be -pardoned. She will never, by refusal, send away her principal guest -ungraciously," said Roland, as, hurrying through the festooned arras -from the refreshment-room, where they had been tarrying for a time, -they joined the stream of departing revellers who promenaded round -the hall, and approached their royal host and hostess somewhat like a -glittering procession. James and Magdalene were standing at the head -of the hall, just as when the entertainment began. His bonnet was in -his right hand, his left rested on his sword, and was hidden by his -short mantle; the queen leant on his arm, and he bowed low to each of -the nobles, and lower still to their brocaded ladies. The Scottish -and French ladies of honour were grouped a little behind, all -beautiful, young, nobly born, and brilliantly attired. - -"If she procures me this boon," said Jane, "I will say nine prayers -for her at the altar of St. Magdalene to-morrow, when we go to St. -Giles's. Of course you go with us to hear father St. Bernard's -oration on the patron saint of the city?" - -"Wherever you go I shall go; but the hour?" - -"One o'clock; but you will come at noon and see me?" - -"Plague on it, I have a meeting." - -"A meeting?" said Jane, anxiously. - -"Oh, a duty, dearest--an indispensable duty to perform," said Roland, -remembering his brief challenge to Kincavil. - -"What duty is this, of which I hear now for the first time?" - -"To see those fifty-six pieces of cannon which King Francis hath sent -to King James; they are to be landed from Sir Robert Barton's ships, -and conveyed to the Gun-house to-morrow. A most important duty, -Jane; they are all beautiful brass culverins, royal and demi; 'twould -do your heart good to see them!" - -"Ah, if James and the queen should refuse me this!--we are close to -them now." - -"Refuse you? they will refuse nothing that is asked in a voice so -soft and so gentle." - -As they drew near the royal group, Jane felt her heart almost failing -her; she clung to Roland's arm, and watched the expression in the -face of Magdalene. She seemed now very pale; her eyes were humid and -downcast; gentleness and languor pervaded her beautiful features; she -was overcome with lassitude and sinking with fatigue--the weakness -incident to that hereditary disease which fast and surely was preying -upon her fragile form. The proud nobles, to whom the king spoke -occasionally as he bade them adieu, received his courtly attentions -as a tribute due to their patriotic and lofty ancestry, and their -proud bearing seemed to say, plainly, "I am George Earl of Errol, -Constable of Scotland," or "I am William Earl of Montrose, and come -of that Graeme whom King David knighted when the Stuarts were but -thanes of Kyle and Strathgryfe;" for it was an age when the king was -only a great baron, and every baron or laird was a king and a kaiser -to boot. - -As they approached, Roland could perceive that cold glances welcomed -Jane Seton from the ladies of honour, who were all enemies of her -house, and whose fathers and brothers enjoyed many fiefs of the -Douglas lands and fortresses, defacing the crowned heart on their -battlements and substituting the three _cinque-foils_ of Hamilton; -but, to crown all and increase the poor girl's perturbation, she -perceived Redhall standing near the king, seeming, with his dark -figure and pallid visage, like her evil genius, cold, impassible, and -dignified as if the startling episode we have just related had never -taken place. - -"_Ah ma bonne!_" they heard Magdalene say to Mademoiselle de Brissac, -"how tired I am, and excessively sick of all this parade!" - -"Now be of good heart, my sweet Jane," said Roland, pressing her arm, -"and prefer your request firmly; for Madame de Montreuil has -explained to the queen all that we wish." - -When she drew near the beautiful young girl that leaned on James's -arm, instead of bowing and passing on, Jane sunk on one knee, and -said-- - -"I beseech your grace to crave my brother's pardon from our sovereign -lord." - -"I know that he cannot refuse me anything," said the young queen, -with girlish simplicity, as she looked up lovingly and trustingly in -the king's face, while stretching out her hand to Jane. The latter -pressed to her beautiful lips that fair little hand which was dimpled -like that of a child, and the king was about to speak (and benignly, -too, for every feature of his fine face said so), when Magdalene, -overcome by her recent illness, by the close atmosphere of the hall, -which was perfumed to excess, and by the glitter of innumerable -wax-lights, uttered a faint cry, and fell backwards into the arms of -Mademoiselle de Brissac. - -Consternation and concern were visible in every face; the queen was -borne away senseless, and James hastily followed her almost inanimate -figure; the crowd behind pressed on, and Roland and Jane were carried -before it. Redhall smiled, and said to the abbot of Kinloss, in -James's hearing-- - -"Did I not tell you, my lord, how rash it was to have the Lady Seton -here?" - -"Agnus Dei! yea, verily, for her mother deals in salves and philtres; -and there was sorcery at work just now, Sir Adam, or my name is not -Robin Reid." - -These words made a deep impression on the few who were meant to hear -them, but chiefly on the king, who darted an angry glance after Jane -Seton, and turned on his heel. - -At the palace gate the discomfited pair met Marion Logan, Alison -Hume, and Sybil Douglas, who were all muffled in their hoods and -mantles, and surrounded by an escort of serving-men, armed with steel -caps and bucklers, swords, and wheel-lock dagues, and who bore -lighted links. A few cavaliers with whom they had danced (Roland -among them, of course) accompanied them, and in this order they -hurried home on foot, for wheeled vehicles were as yet unknown in the -kingdom. - -Terrified by the practical jokes of the king's jester and the din of -his bladder and bells, Sabrino had long since fled the precincts of -the court, and taken refuge in his usual sleeping-place (a small -alcove near the door of the countess's apartment), which he shared in -common with a large black stag-hound. - -"Come early to-morrow, dear Roland, and we will talk over the -adventures of the last few hours," whispered Jane, as she bade adieu -to her lover; "alas! father St. Bernard warned me against going -to-night; but I have gone, and what has been the result?" - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -SWORDBLADES AND SALVE. - - "Quhen Marche with variand windis wes past, - And Apryll had with her silver shouris - Tane leif of Nature with an orient blast; - And lusty May, that mother is of flouris. - Had maid the birdis to begyn their houris, - Amang the tender odouris red and quhyt, - Quhais harmony to heir it was delyt." - DUNBAR'S _Thrissal and the Rois_, 1503. - - -The next morning was bright and beautiful; the birds sang merrily in -the old orchards of the palace and the older oak trees of the abbey -of Sancte Crucis. The sunlight, as it poured over the dark craigs of -Salisbury, and through chasms and fissures in their rocks, shone upon -the green valleys below like a golden haze, and tipped with yellow -light the grey masses of the strong old city. The fresh grass and -the open flowers loaded the soft west wind perfume, and gladdened the -hearts of the happy hawking party, which left the palace an hour -after sunrise, and all gaily mounted, with bugles sounding, horses -prancing, plumes waving, and accompanied by a dozen of falconers in -the royal livery, running on foot, with perches of hawks slung on -their shoulders. - -As they rode eastward, by the base of Arthur's Seat, and past the -green and mossy bank where, among the clambering wild roses, stood -the little pillared well, dedicated in the old time "to the good -Saint Margaret, queen of Scotland, and mother of the poor," and -pursued thence their merry route towards the Loch of Restalrig, which -lay amongst its rocks and sedges, like a lake of blue and gold, -Roland was compelled, by the cold manner of the king, to retire from -his side. He saw with pain that the clear and benevolent eye of the -monarch was clouded--that anger, unmistakeable anger, lowered upon -his open brow. The inquiries of Roland for the health of the queen -were received so haughtily, and replied to so briefly, that, with a -heart full of wrath and pride, before the first heron had been raised -from among the rushes and water-lilies to do battle in the air, he -turned abruptly away, and resigned his place to Sir Adam Otterburn of -Redhall, whose face was lighted with an indescribable smile, as he -pressed forward to the side of the young king. - -The bells of the Carmelites, on the north side of the city, of the -Dominicans on the south, of the Franciscans in the Grassmarket, and -other large establishments, were all ringing for morning mass, when -the cavalcade returned; and Roland, sick at heart, and dispirited, -without bidding adieu to the king (who with his company passed on to -prayer in the abbey church), dismounted at the door of his own -lodgings, and throwing the bridle of his horse to his servant, -demanded breakfast, for he was in too furious a mood to attend mass. -He was anxious to see Lord Ashkirk, but, encouraged by his disguise, -and trusting implicitly in the old domestics of the house, that rash -noble had gone to visit his family. - -Breakfast was prepared and laid on the table by Roland's servant, -Linton Stock, whose name had been professionally shortened into -Lintstock. He was an old, iron-visaged culvernier, of King James -IV.'s days (as the countess would say), hard-featured, wiry-haired, -weather-beaten, and empurpled with hard drinking. It was his -constant boast that he had levelled one of Borthwick's Brass Sisters -on the field of Flodden, and thrawn Mow at the siege of Tantallan. -Like Hannibal, this veteran had only one eye, for Mow (a famous -cannon of Scottish antiquity) lost a piece of her muzzle every time -she was discharged; and one of the said pieces deprived Lintstock of -his dexter eye, which, as he said, ever after saved him the trouble -of closing it when taking aim, or adjusting the quoins under the -breach of a culverin. For wages he had all his master's cast cloaks, -doublets, and breeches; and being borne on the muster-roll of the -king's gunners, his pay, which was somewhere about three-halfpence -Scots per diem made him independent of all mankind. - -On the anniversary of a Scottish victory this one-eyed patriot -invariably got himself uproariously drunk, and broke the windows of -the English ambassador: on the anniversary of any of our defeats he -was invariably ditto from vexation; and as these alternate sources of -joy and grief occurred pretty often, the ancient warrior was seldom -long sober. - -Neither Roland's auger at the king, nor his intended combat with -Kincavil, prevented him from making an excellent breakfast on broiled -fish, cold meat, and bright brown ale. Before setting down he -selected the strongest and longest of some half-dozen swords that -hung in a corner. It was a large double-edged weapon, with an ample -hilt of steel; the blade, being inlaid, was one of those called -damasquinêe, from the Asiatic art just then introduced into Europe by -the famous Benvenuto Cellini. It was a beautiful rapier, which he -had taken in battle from an Italian cavalier when serving under John -Stuart Duke of Albany, when, at the head of ten thousand French -men-at-arms, that gallant prince invaded the kingdom of Naples. -Roland never used it save on important and desperate occasions, and -remembering that Kincavil was an able swordsman, he took it down and -handed it to Lintstock to polish; a duty which he performed in silent -precision, with the aid of an old buff belt. Thereafter, with true -military coolness, he tore a shirt into bandages, and prepared some -lint against his master's return. - -"How many pots hast thou of that rubbish Lady Ashkirk sent me?--the -salve, I mean," asked Roland, with his moustaches whitened over by -ale froth. - -"Three, sir." - -"Dost thou know the laird of Kincavil's lodging?" - -"Aboon the Tron--yes." - -"Then leave the pots there to-day, with my best commendations; for, -by my faith, he will need them all." - -Lintstock continued to rub, and watched the polish of the sword. - -"Thou knowest I expect two friends to supper, and must trust to thy -ingenuity, for, 'fore God! I have not a testoon in the world." - -"Be easy, Sir Roland, I'll provide supper for the king himself, if he -come, and plenty Bordeaux to boot, forbye and attour the Rochelle," -replied Lintstock, with a nod and a knowing wink of his solitary eye. - -The moment breakfast was over, Roland crossed himself and wiped his -moustaches. Receiving his sword, he placed it in his belt on the -left side, hung a long armpit dagger on the right, stuck his bonnet -rather over the right eye, clasped his doublet carefully to the -throat, and giving his curls a last adjust, for he was somewhat of a -beau, whistled the "March to Harlaw," as he issued forth, with the -fullest intention of perforating the laird of Kincavil like a -pepperbox. - -He passed the long and irregular façade of the palace, the -strongly-grated windows of which were glittering in the bright -sunshine that bathed the varied architecture of its courts and -towers. Clad in their red doublets slashed with black, and wearing -caps and gorgets of steel, the sentinels of the king's guard were -leaning on their heavy arquebuses, the rests or forks of which were -slung in their sword-belts; and they stood in the bright blaze of the -sun, as listlessly and still as the banner of the red lion that waved -above the gate. Beyond the precincts of the palace, the street, -which is overlooked by gable-ended houses, in the old Flemish taste, -becomes much wider. He turned to the right, and passed through the -Watergate, the most eastern barrier of Edinburgh. This strong and -venerable porte obtained its name because the king's horses were led -out that way every morning to water, in a large pond near it. On -quitting this ivied and grass-tufted archway, Roland found the open -space allotted for tennis-players lying on his right hand, the -horsepond lay on his left, and before him the verdant Calton reared -up its lonely ridge. - -The whole place was then quite solitary enough for such a meeting, -though now the site of the pond, the tennis court, and even the hill -itself, are covered with houses. - -Roland's anger was somewhat increased by perceiving that his -adversary was already on the ground, and whiling away the time by -skimming flat stones across the pond. - -"Ah! thou villanous Hamilton," thought he, "how I long to be at thee! -My sword is like a razor, my wrist is like steel, this morning, and I -will curry thee in such fashion, that thou shalt tremble at the name -of Jane Seton or a salve-pot ever after." - -"God be with you, Sir Roland; you have not kept me waiting long," -said Kincavil, bowing with cold politeness. - -"I am glad of it." - -"You have been at mass this morning with the king, I think?" - -"No, faith!" said Roland, knitting his brows as he thought of the -hawking party. "I feared there would be no room for me among so many -Hamiltons, panders, and parasites." - -"Then I hope you said prayers at home," replied Kincavil, whose eyes -flashed as he unsheathed his sword. - -"As usual; but I forgot to bring for your use a pot of that notable -salve of which you made a jest last night." - -"Keep it for yourself, Sir Roland--guard." - -"Come on, then--you _will_ have it." - -They saluted each other, the bright blades clashed, and they both -engaged with great address and skill. Clad in blue velvet and gold, -Kincavil was both strong and handsome; but as a swordsman -considerably inferior to Roland, who had studied his thrusts at the -court of Francis I.; and thus, three passes had scarcely been -exchanged on the right, when he made a sudden _appel_ on the left, -and quickly disengaging to the right again, passed his sword -completely through the body of his adversary, who bent forward over -it, and sank upon his knees. He made a futile effort to rise, but -the moment Roland's blade was withdrawn, sank prostrate on the grass, -with the blood gushing from his wound. - -"Ask me not to beg my life, Sir Roland," said Hamilton in a broken -voice, "for I will rather die than condescend so far." - -"Thou art a gallant man, Sir John Hamilton; and may the devil take me -if I make any such request; but methinks I have taught you the danger -of jesting with the names of noble ladies." - -"My Heaven! yes. I am bleeding fast; and yet, if the Lady Ashkirk -doth really make that precious salve," said Kincavil, with true -Scottish obstinacy, "tell her, for God's love to send me a pot -thereof, for I am enduring the torments of hell!" and he reclined -against a stone, pale and motionless, with his beautiful doublet of -blue velvet drenched in blood. - -Roland carefully wiped and sheathed his favourite Italian sword with -the air of a man who was used to such encounters; and after vainly -endeavouring to staunch the crimson torrent, he hastened to the -Watergate, from whence he sent the under-warders to look after the -wounded man, and then walked up the street towards the house of the -countess, as if nothing had happened. - -A thrust or so through the body was a mere nothing in those days. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -EDINBURGH IN 1537 - - "Installed on hills, her head near starry bowers, - Edina shines amid protecting powers; - Religious temples guard her on the east. - And Mar's strong towers defend her on the west; - For sceptres nowhere stands a town more fit, - Nor where a queen of all the world might sit; - Be this thy praise, above all be most brave, - No man did e'er defame thee but _a slave_." - ARTHUR JOHNSTONE, 1680. - - -The Countess Margaret was attired in her great capuchon of James the -Fourth's days; it was turned back above the apex of her stupendous -coif, and flowed over her shoulders. Her lofty figure and towering -head-dress completely dwarfed Jane and her companions, whose -triangular velvet hoods were of a less imposing form. The whole -family and household were about to set forth for St. Giles's, and -Ronald met the procession in the archway. The old lady was looking -unusually grave, for that morning she had put on her stockings with -the wrong side outwards--an infallible omen of misfortune. We have -said the whole household, for in addition to several female -attendants and the black page, there were Gilzean Seton, the -countess's esquire, or seneschal, and six or eight tall fellows in -steel bonnets or corslets, armed with Jedwood axes and wheel-lock -pistols--a new weapon, which had just been introduced from Italy, and -was esteemed one of the wonders of mechanism. These were all of -iron, butted like the pommel of a poniard, and were fired by the -rapid revolution of a wheel against a piece of sulphuret of iron, -which was secured like the flint of a modern musket, but had the cock -on that side where of late we have seen the pan. - -Gilzean and his companions were all clad in the countess's livery -(rather worn-looking certainly), but all having on their sleeves the -coronet and the green dragon of the Setons, spouting fire. - -The earl, still disguised, and bearing his long sword, marched among -them; but by their whispers and subdued manner in his presence, it -was evident to Roland that the secret identity of his new valet was -known to them all. - -"Rash lord!" thought he; "if one of these should prove a traitor." - -"I see reproach in your eye," said the earl, in a low tone, and with -an acuteness that somewhat startled Roland. "But think you that my -father's roof ever sheltered a slipper-helmet so pitiful that he -would betray his son? I trow not. Nay, nay, Sir Roland, the vassals -of our house are all good men and true." - -"And such my husband ever found them," said the countess, looking -with a proud smile from her tall son to his stately followers; "for -the fathers of mair than one of these my buirdly lads died by his -bridle-rein under King James the Fourth, of gude and gallant memorie." - -"Now, Sir Roland," said Lady Jane, as she took his proffered arm, -with a smile on her coral lip; "you come not by stealth to visit us -to-day. The king and his displeasure----" - -"May go to the----" - -"Fie! I hope thy debarcation of cannon is over, and that thou art -free to bask in my smiles for the rest of the day?" - -"It is over," replied Roland, avoiding the eye of the earl, who -perceived a sword-thrust in his doublet, and a rent in his velvet -mantle, where none had been visible the day before; "and to-morrow I -am to show them all to the queen, and must, with my own hands, fire -off the great gun Meg for her behoof. By Jove! I will carry off the -cock from St. Anthony's spire at Leith!" - -"And what of this dainty dame," said the Countess, as they proceeded -up the street; "hast heard how her health is this morning?" - -"I have not; but if I am to judge from the unwonted reserve of the -king, I should deem her poorly enough." - -"His reserve?" said the earl, scornfully; "and thus he vents his -petulance on a gallant knight, as he would upon his pimps of the -house of Arran--those rascally Hamiltons," he added, with eyes -flashing fire, "who, gorged to their full with the plunder of our -kinsmen, and building unto themselves strengths from which even our -valour can never drive them--castles and towers, to which the palaces -of Lochmaben and Linlithgow are but huts and sheilings." - -"Oh! hush, ye unwise bairn," said the countess; "hush, and take your -place among the serving-men, lest we be seen conversing, and so -excite suspicion. Let us not talk harshly of this puir French -stranger, whom, father St. Bernard tells me, hath a deadly disease, -which preyeth upon her vitals, and will, ere long, bear her to the -grave." - -"Disease!" exclaimed Jane and her companions, with surprise; "and -what is this disease?" - -"'Tis a catarrh, which descendeth daily into her stomach, and must, -sooner or later, cause death, for it hath defied the most skilful -physicians and apothegars of France and Italy. Yet, were she mine -ain bairn, or had I the place o' that fashionless body, Madame de -Montreuil, I would soon make her whole and well." - -"How, how, Lady Ashkirk?" asked Sybil and the others, who put great -faith in the countess's skill as a leech; and really, at salving a -slash from a sword, or staunching a thrust from a poniard, few in -Edinburgh equalled her; and it was a time when she found plenty of -patients. - -"'Tis a great secret, and yet withal a simple one; for with it my -mother, the Lady Jane Gordon of Glenbucket (quhom God assoilzie), -made a whole man of her sister's son, the abbot of Pluscardine, who -hath now departed to the company of the saints. 'Tis the first egg -that a pullet hath laid (and mark, ye damsels, it must be laid upon a -Friday), beat up widdershins with the first dew of the morning, and -with thirteen drops of holy water, for ye ken there is a charm in -that number; and this simple, if taken as the first food for nine -successive mornings, would cure her. Gif it failed, there is one -other mode--by applying a stone called a _magnet_, of potent and -miraculous power, to the pit of the stomach, and repeating the word -_Abrodœtia_ three times; whilk failing, we must trust to God, for -then it can be no other than the demon _Archeus_, who, at times, -takes possession of the stomach, as the learned Paracelsus told -father St. Bernard, when he dwelt with him at the Scottish cloister -of Wurtzburg, in the year 1528." - -"Mother of God!" exclaimed all the girls, looking at each other with -fear, for the countess's manner was so serious, and she quoted such -imposing names, that even Roland put his hand to his waist-belt, as -if to assure himself that there was no such tenant as the said -Archeus under it. - -"I shall die with fear if ever I feel ill after this," said Sybil; "I -shall be sure to think I am possessed of a demon. Wouldst thou not, -cousin Archibald?" - -"Mass!" replied the earl, "I would drown the demon in good wine, and -if that failed, should exorcise him in warm usquebaugh." - -Roland could not restrain a sensation of uneasiness during this -conversation; for though deeply imbued with superstition, like every -man at that time, and as a soldier believing a little in suits of -charmed mail, that rendered the wearer invulnerable, he knew that the -vulgar regarded the countess (like the lady of Buccleugh in the next -age) with some terror for her abstruse knowledge; and at the present -crisis he had no wish, certainly, that this suspicion should be -increased. - -The High-street, which had just been paved for the first time, was -gay and crowded, for all the _élite_ of the court and city, with -their attendants, were thronging towards the church of St. Giles. -All the balconies erected for the queen's entrance had been taken -down, the banners were long since removed, but the garlands yet -displayed their faded flowers around the various crosses which then -encumbered the central street--though less so, certainly, than the -innumerable out-shots and projections, outside stairs, turnpike -towers, round, square, and octagon; wooden balconies and stone -arcades, which imparted an aspect so picturesque to the High-street -and Canongate. The total absence of all manner of vehicles, or other -obstruction (save watermen with their barrels, or a few equestrians), -made the middle of the street--or, as it was popularly named, "the -crown of the causeway," the most convenient place for walking, as -well as the most honourable. Thus the possession of it was -frequently disputed at point of sword, for in these good old times no -man of equal rank would yield to another the breadth of a hair unless -he was of the same name--for clanship was the great bond of -brotherhood--the second religion of the Scottish people, by which the -humblest in the land can yet count kindred with their nobles. - -As a lady, there was little chance of the countess being obstructed, -unless some noble dame of the opposite faction was descending with -_her_ train towards the palace; and now, as she had reached the more -crowded thoroughfare, she took the arm of Sir Roland Vipont; her -daughter, with the ladies Alison, Logan, and Sybil, followed; while -the armed servants marched before and behind, with axes shouldered. - -Crowds attired in velvet cloaks and plumed bonnets, satin hoods and -silk mantles; Dominicans in black robes, and Carmelites in white; -Hospitallers of St. Anthony, and Franciscans in grey, were seen -pouring like a living flood into the various doors of St. Giles; and, -though it was then apparently destitute of shops, the vast -High-street seemed to glitter with gaudy dresses in the gay sunshine. -The places where the merchants sold their wares were mere dens, to -which stairs descended abruptly from the pavement; the goods were -thus exposed for sale in those stone vaults which formed the -superstructure of every Scottish edifice. All the principal markets -were kept in other parts of the town, for, in the year of grace 1477, -when the potent and valiant knight Sir James Crichton of Ruthven was -lord provost of our good city, it had been ordained that hay and corn -should be sold in the Cowgate, and salt in Niddry's Wynd; that the -craimes, or booths, for the retail of goods, should be ranged from -the Bellhouse to the Tron; that wood and timber should be sold -westward of the Grey Friary. The shoemakers' stalls stood between -Forrester's Wynd and the dyke of Dalrymple's yard; and the -nolt-market, where also "partrickes, pluvars, capones, and conyngs" -were sold, occupied Blackfriars Wynd; the cloth-merchants and -bonnet-makers dwelt in the Upper Bow; while the dealers in all manner -of irongraith, dagger, and bow-makers, dalmascars of swords, -armourers, lorimers, and lock-makers, were domiciled under the shadow -of that strong and stately barrier, the Netherbow. - -There, immediately below the arcades of a tenement bearing the arms -of the Lord Abbot of Kinloss, stood a shop, the small deep windows of -which were secured by gratings, that were each like an iron harrow, -built into the ponderous masonry. In the good town, we still build -our walls three feet thick; but in the days of James V., they built -them six, and even seven feet thick. A board over the door announced -it to be the shop of _John Mossman, Jeweller, and Makkar of -Silverwork to ye King's Majestie_; and here the countess and her -party tarried a moment to see the new crown of Queen Magdalene, whose -coronation was to take place in a month or so. - -Master Mossman, a short and pursy, but well-fed burgess, clad in a -cassocke-coat of Galloway cloth, was just in the act of giving the -finishing touches to a silver maizer, or drinking-cup. He rose up -with all his workmen and apprentices on the entrance of the countess, -and welcomed her to his shop with studious politeness, though his -chief patrons were the Hamiltons. His premises were vaulted with -stone, and painted with various ornamental designs between the glazed -cupboards of oak, which contained chased and elaborate vessels of -silver, sword and dagger-hilts, buckles, and falcon-bells of every -pattern and device. A small statue of St. Eloi, the patron of his -craft, occupied a gothic niche above the fireplace, so that the -silversmith might warm himself when saying his prayers in winter, -which was a saving of time; and on each side thereof hung the steel -bonnets, swords, and axes with which he and his men armed them for -weekly duty, as municipal guards within the eight Fortes of the city. - -"Good Master Mossman," said Roland, on seeing that the wealthy -artificer looked somewhat uneasily at the jackmen, whose swords and -axes made such a terrible clatter on his stone floor, "our lady the -Countess of Ashkirk would be favoured with a view of the queen's new -crown, that she may judge of thy handiwork, anent which we hear so -much daily." - -The jeweller, who had feared that the countess (whose circumstances -he knew were the reverse of flourishing) had come to order a quantity -of plate, breathed more freely, and bowed almost to his red garters; -whereupon the countess curtseyed, for he was known to be one of the -richest burgesses and freeholders in Edinburgh, and his voice bore -all before it at the council-board. From a round box, strongly bound -with brass and lined with purple velvet, he drew forth the glittering -diadem for the queen consort--the same crown which James VI. took to -London in 1603, and which the government ought in honour to restore -to the Castle of Edinburgh. It is composed of pure gold from -Crawfordmuir, and is enriched with many precious stones and curious -embossings. - -"It is a fair gaud," said the countess, sighing; "but my mind -misgives me sorely that the puir bairn for whom it is intended may -never live to wear it." - -"Poor little queen!" said Jane, with moistened eyes, "if all be as -thou sayest, her days are indeed numbered." - -The silversmith seemed surprised, and his men raised their heads to -listen; but the delight expressed by the ladies at the jewels and -workmanship of this new addition to the regalia gratified the -artificer, a smile spread over his jovial visage, and he gallantly -held it over the head of Lady Jane, saying-- - -"My fair lady, it would become thee as well as her for whom it is -intended." - -"By my soul, Master Mossman, thou hast more the air of a gallant than -a mere worker of metals," said Vipont, pleased with the compliments -of the silversmith, but, like every soldier, unable to conceal how -lightly he valued the mere mechanic; "and I marvel much that thou -didst not in thy youth renounce the hammer and pincers for the helmet -and partisan, as being better suited to one who could so compliment a -fair demoiselle." - -"You wrong me, noble sir," said the silversmith, calmly; "I _have_ -borne arms in my youth----" - -"Under our gude King James IV.?" interposed the countess. - -"Yea, madame," replied the burgess, with a kindling eye; "three -hundred of us marched to Flodden under the banner of Provost Lauder; -but few, unco few, ever again heard the ding o' the Tron-bell. But, -as deacon of the honourable corporation of hammermen, I deem myself -nowise inferior, Sir Roland, to what I was in my youth." - -"Assuredly not, good Master Mossman," said the countess, "for I have -ever esteemed thee an honest and worthy citizen; and we may remember -how, at the last feast of St. Eloi, our good father St. Bernard -illustrated the great honour which God hath bestowed on artisans in -all ages." - -"True, madame; Tubal Cain was a cunning artificer in all manner of -brass and iron work; Porus, king of the Indies, was the son of a -shaver, and worked himself as a puir tinkler-body and mender of -kail-pots; Agathocles, king of Sicily, was a potter and maker of -crocks, cans, and milk-luggies; Zeno of Constantia was a puir -wabster, that clothed the naked from his ain loom; and Artagorus, -lord of Cyconia, was the son of a cook; nor must we forget Joseph the -carpenter, the spouse of the blessed Virgin, whilk, as my neighbour -Deacon Plane sayeth, will ever redound to the immortal honour of his -craft, the wrichts." - -Sir Roland, who did not expect such a volley of hard names to be -opened upon him, had nothing more to urge, but bowed with a pleasant -smile as they retired, leaving the king's jeweller master of the -field. - -At the same moment Nichol Birrel, who had been inquisitively peering -through the grated window, hastened away and mingled with the crowd. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -SAINT GILES. - - "You might have heard a pebble fall, - A beetle hum, a cricket sing, - An owlet flap his boding wing, - On Giles's steeple tall. - The antique buildings climbing high, - Whose gothic frontlets sought the sky." - _Marmion_, Canto V. - - -At the great entrance of St. Giles's church (a deep and lofty gothic -doorway) the steps of which were yet stained with the gallant blood -of M'Clellan of Bombie, among the gaily-attired crowd that was -pressing up the flight and into that magnificent fane, the countess, -with her friends and followers, encountered Redhall, with _his_ -friend (Kinloss), and his followers, Nichol Birrel, Dobbie, and -Sanders Screw, whose official capacities did not prevent their -appearance among his retinue, like whom, they wore steel bonnets, and -were barbed to the teeth. - -The king's advocate bowed profoundly, and, with all respect, fell -back a pace or so, while the countess and her ladies swept into the -church like a frigate followed by four cutters. A true gallant of -the day, Roland dipped his hand into the font, and assisted Jane to -holy water, scattering the rest over the poor people who knelt at the -doorway, looking for alms in silence. - -All the windows of this great edifice were then filled with stained -glass; thus the prismatic hues of many a martyr's robe, many a -blood-red cross, many a glorious halo and gaudy armorial blazon were -thrown on the silent throng who crowded the choir, the nave, and the -transepts of this majestic church. Now it is divided into three; -then it was open, and unincumbered by galleries, stood in all the -pristine glory of its gothic architecture, two hundred feet in length -by one hundred and twenty in breadth, the four arms of the vast cross -being open under the stupendous central arches which sprung away -aloft, upholding the square tower and mural crown of its spire. -There stood the great altar, the splendid canopy of which uprose from -columns of burnished brass. Underneath was the pix of gold, where -the host was kept; above this stood a gigantic crucifix of silver, -and the solid candlesticks of the same metal, which were of great -size and weight. At the Reformation, these and all other sacred -utensils were seized by the provost, who ordered the brazen pillars -to be cast into cannon for the ramparts of the city. - -The pulpit was yet unoccupied; but round the four sides of the great -altar were many persons kneeling in prayer. Five streams of -brilliantly-coloured sunlight fell from the south aslant the great -church, from the five vaulted chapels which Johne Skayer and Johne of -Stone, two cunning masons, built during the provostry of that "good -man and noble," the Laird of Netherliberton. Then the church was -without other seats than those cushions and stools which were borne -by servants, or by cavaliers for the use of the ladies they -accompanied. Many a group in velvet cloaks and high ruffs, with -satin trains and hoods of crammasie; many a moustachioed and belted -man, half noble and wholly soldier, many a shaven friar, and many a -sweet young girl with that fair hair so famed in Scottish song (the -golden hair which Raphael loved so well), were kneeling before the -lesser altars, of which that great temple, "our mother kirk of old -St. Giles," boasted not less than forty. - -The most magnificent were those of the Holy Blood, the Holy Cross de -Lucano, Nostre Domine, St. Michael de Monte Tomba, Our Lady of Piety, -and St. Eloi, the most eastern shrine, which belonged to the gallant -craftsmen, as being that of their peculiar patron. Behind it they -had placed a window, whereon were painted the elephant and crowned -hammer of the principal corporation; and before it hung a beautiful -lamp of silver, which was said to have been brought by them from the -sack of Jerusalem, and the light of which was never extinguished. -The most beautifully-decorated columns of the church are four, where -this altar stood. Like the branches of a forest, the ribs of the -groined roof sprung away aloft into the dusky clerestory, through the -deep windows of which fell many a flake of light of every rainbow -hue, revealing many a grotesque carving and many a grim old head. - - "Many a scutcheon and banner riven" - -decorated the side chapels, and many a sword and helmet were rusting -above the tombs of departed valour. Many marble statues of saints -and warriors, of mitred abbots and good old citizens, were standing -there in niches, with their hands clasped in one eternal prayer; for -there now lie the dead of more than seven hundred years, with the -wise Moray, and Montrose the loyal; for many a proud peer and valiant -warrior, the faithful and the false, the just and the unjust, the -impious and the true, the beautiful and the deformed, all blent in -one common and undistinguishable dust, have mouldered beneath the -pavement of its deep vaults and solemn aisles. - -Bowing to the great altar, the countess, with all her train, passed -down the church towards the north-east pillar, which is called _the -king's_, as it bears the arms of James II., where she usually sat, -for her husband, Earl John, lay near it, before the altar of St. John -the Baptist. The servants arranged the kneeling cushions, and the -countess received her velvet-bound missal from Sabrino, who sat down -behind her, not on his knees, but _à la turque_, which made the -people, who viewed the poor negro with fear and hostility, mutter -among themselves. - -"Gudesake! she bringeth her black devil into the very kirk wi' her!" -said Deacon Plane, under his thick beard, to his better half. - -"I could have sworn upon the gospels, gudeman, that the holy water -hissed when she dipped her hand in the font." - -"Her finger, ye mean, neibour," said another, behind his bonnet; -"think ye a wizard-body would dip in mair than they could help?" - -"Wheesht, Elsie--Losh keep us, the thing is looking at ye!" - -"Weel, I carena a bodle--let it look!" replied the woman confidently, -while feeling for a blessed relique of St. Roque, which she carried -in her bosom; but Sabrino grinned, and showed all his white teeth, -and, what was still more appalling, an almost total absence of -tongue--the poor being was a mute, or nearly so--upon which the woman -shrunk close to her husband, and began to cross herself with great -energy; while at the same moment the Provost of St. Giles and the -sixteen prebendaries, preceded by their curate and cross-bearer, the -sacristan ringing a bell, the beadle, the minister of the choir -bearing a standard, four choristers, and eight tapers, passed through -the church, in procession, to their stalls within the sanctuary, -softly and noiselessly, while all the vast congregation knelt, and -when again they rose, Father St. Bernard was in the pulpit, which -projected from one of the four great columns sustaining the spire. - -He was a mild and benevolent-looking old priest, whom all the -citizens loved for his piety, goodness, and attention to the sick and -poor during the frightful pestilence of 1520. His hair was white as -snow, his grey eyes were bright and gentle. Father St. Bernard was -now in his sixtieth year; and, when accompanying the Scottish army as -a confessor, had seen the battles of Sauchie, of Flodden, and -Linlithgow. - -On this day he had elaborately decorated and lighted the shrine of -St. Giles, and his statue, the same which the reformers threw into -the North Loch, was encircled by a wreath of roses, made by Jane -Seton and her companions; around it was hung a piece of red cloth, -then known as "Sanct Geiles' coat," and before it, in a casket of -chased silver, lay his skeleton arm--a relique which the Knight of -Gourtoun had received from Louis XI. of France, and bequeathed to the -church. - -Oblivious of the oration he had come to hear, of the magnificent -manner in which the church was decorated, and of the attentive crowds -that filled it, Redhall leaned against a column not far from the -king's, and watched attentively the group which knelt beside the -countess. When Father St. Bernard prayed, Jane and Vipont read from -the same missal, and their heads were so close that her forehead -touched his ear. Redhall ground his teeth; and when they turned to -each other and smiled (for they could sympathize without speaking), -he felt his heart swell with suppressed passion. His attention, -however, soon became divided between Jane and her lover's attendant, -who had placed his long sword against the king's pillar, and while -affecting to be listening to the panegyric on St. Giles, was in -reality studying intently the vast assemblage, and dealing covert -glances of hostility, for everywhere he recognised the colours, the -crests, and badges of the Hamiltons. - -"Despite that voluminous beard, and these painted eyebrows, yonder -fellow is either the Earl of Ashkirk or the devil!" thought Redhall; -"but let me be wary, for he is slippery as an eel. So, so! our good -Sir Roland Vipont, the king's favourite minion, is a resetter of -rebels--hah! I have it now." - -He almost said this aloud, so bright, or rather so dark and so -devilish, was the thought that flashed upon his mind. Beckoning to -his henchman and factotum-- - -"Nichol," said he, "thou seest that valet in the livery of Sir Roland -Vipont?" - -"He wi' that beard like a colt's tail?" - -"The same. I would fain have him committed to sure ward--privately -though; not in the castle, for there every one would hear of it an -hour after, but quietly, in the vault of my own house here. Dost -thou understand me?" - -"Wi' ease can we do so, my lord," replied Nichol, with a grin on his -mastiff mouth, "for by the use o' my long lugs I have just learned -that he is to attend the Lady Seton on a visit to St. Katherine's -convent to-night." - -"'Slife! dost thou say so? And that captain of the ordnance, doth he -go too?" - -"No." - -"Ah! and wherefore?" - -"Because it seems that the captain of the king's guard and that gay -buckie, Leslie of Balquhan, are to sup with him to-night." - -"Thou art sure of this?" said Redhall, whose heart glowed, and whose -eyes sparkled. - -"Sure as I am a born man." - -"Watch well, then, and learn more, if you can. Oh, Nichol Birrel, -thou art worth thy weight in gold to me--yea, gold trebly refined! -Continue to watch them strictly while I go to his eminence the -cardinal concerning a raid against the Douglases; for, mark me, both -the Lady Seton and yonder valet of her squire must be safe within our -bolts and bars to-night. I have suspected that long beard concealed -something for these some days past." - -"And so have I, your lordship." - -"Indeed--remarkable! and you think----" - -"As your lordship doth." - -"That he is no other than the Earl of Ashkirk?" - -The brodder--who, in fact, had never bestowed a thought upon the -matter--now opened his eyes wide with astonishment. - -"Deil gae owre us! _he_ is worth a bushel o' silver merks." - -"Which I will pay thee privately, for thy secrecy and assistance." - -"And by-and-bye, I may get the other thousand from the council--eh?" - -"Of course." - -"And Sir Roland?" - -"Is about to be sent on a fool's errand into Douglasdale." - -"Disguised as a black friar, I sought admittance to his lodging at -St. Anne's-yard while he was yet a-bed; for I was bent on probing his -wound anew," whispered this bloodhound, with a terrible smile; "but -his servitor, a wary auld birkie, that hath served in the border -wars, said, 'Na, na, my master needs na ghostly counsel, gude father; -indeed he seldom confesses, save now and then to Father St. Bernard.' -'But I am a notable apothgar,' said I, under my cowl, 'and cure a' -manner o' sword wounds, forbye and attour shot-holes.' 'Ouaye,' he -replied, 'but my master hath got from the Lady Ashkirk a notable red -salve, that cures a' thing, frae a prick wi' a pin to a slash wi' a -Jethart axe. He had but a clean stab frae a poniard, and the salve -hath made him whole:' and so, my lord, I came away like a hound that -loses the scent." - -"Good!" muttered the advocate, opening his note-book. "Vipont seldom -goes to confession (that will be information for the cardinal and -Fynnard the grand inquisitor), save to the Father St. Bernard (_that_ -looketh like conspiracy); and he hath actually received a pot of -salve from the Countess of Ashkirk, which savoureth of sorcery and -working by damnable charms. By my soul, Nichol Birrel," said he, -closing his tablets, "thou art an invaluable fellow. The cardinal -would give his best benefice for such a spy. I will find military -service for the master of the ordnance, and can also dispose of the -countess. I have them all in my grasp! Oh, how subtly the web is -weaving, and how tangled are the meshes of the plot that will lay -them all at my mercy!" - -Redhall unwittingly thought aloud, and his fierce whisper was heard -by Birrel. Under the tufted masses of his shock-head, the ruffian -gave a leer of delight and intelligence, at least so much as his -yellow bilious visage could express, and drew nearer the countess, -while Redhall, softly and on tiptoe, lest the jingle of his silver -spurs might be heard, hastened from the church, to seek the lord -chancellor (to whom James intrusted everything) concerning the -proposed raid to Douglasdale and other projects, of which the reader -will soon learn more. - -During this conversation, Father St. Bernard had proceeded far with -his oration on St. Giles, the abbot and confessor, with a pathos and -power of oratory that enchained the attention of his hearers while it -fired and enchanted them. Unacquainted with care, and long separated -from the world, the aspect of this venerable prebendary was -singularly saintly and winning; his eye was alternately mild and -penetrating, and his voice was soft and persuasive. All were -irresistibly drawn towards him; and while he spoke, the most profound -silence reigned throughout the long dim aisles and misty perspective -of that vast and crowded church. With all that filial love and -respect which of old a Catholic girl felt for her confessor, Lady -Jane Seton kept her bright eyes fixed on St. Bernard's face. She was -proud of his oratory, his clear and beautiful language, his fervid -enthusiasm, and deep research into abstruse writing and the lore of -ancient days. - -We can give but an outline of how the good father traced the earthly -pilgrimage of the city's patron saint, from the day when his eyes -first opened to the light in ancient Athens. "It was towards the -close of the seventh century," he continued, "and his birth was noble -as any in old Cecropia. The dwelling of his father stood near the -temple of the Eumenides, and under the brow of that very platform -from whence the blessed apostle Paul had preached to the Athenians." - -He described his extraordinary learning, his deep and solemn piety, -which won for him the admiration of Greece, and other countries far -beyond his native province of Achaia; so much so that it soon became -impossible for him to enjoy in his splendid home the retirement and -meditation for which he longed. Shrinking alike from the applause of -men and the dangerous temptations of wealth and prosperity, he gave -all he possessed to the poor, and bade farewell for ever to Athens -and Achaia the beautiful. Sailing towards France, he landed on the -open and desert shore near the Rhone, from whence, with a cross on -his staff, he travelled into wild places, teaching the blessed -gospels to the pagan Gauls, until he reached a forest in the district -of Nismes, where then stood a city built by the Roman warriors of -Augustus; and there still men and beasts fought like demons in the -amphitheatre of Arennes, and the poor pagans worshipped their graven -idols in the temple of Diana--for the savage Goths then held the city -and all the land around it. - -"There, in the vast forest which had been growing since the deluge, -St. Giles built him a hermitage, and there," continued the preacher, -"subsisting on the berries and other wild fruits of the desert, with -water only for his drink, he passed many years in the voiceless -solitude, till, purified by prayer, disengaged from earth, and filled -with the ardour of his holy meditations, he became as an angel rather -than a man." He related, too, how the saint planted his cross-staff -before the door of his hermitage, and watered it daily, until it took -root, sprouted, and grew into a stately orange-tree; and how (like -the holy St. Aicard), having once in forgetfulness shaved his bald -crown so late on a Saturday night that he encroached on the Sunday -morning, when turning about he saw the devil--and here every one -crossed themselves--yea, the devil, busily picking up every atom of -hair, to produce the whole against him at the divine tribunal: and -how severely he was punished thereafter; for a savage Gothic chief -had him seized, scourged, and thrown into one of the Roman towers of -Nismes, where he prayed to his Maker in great agony of spirit. - -Lo! in the night a halo shone around him, his fetters fell off, the -doors of his dungeon revolved, and the clear light of the stars -beamed upon him. A deep slumber fell upon his guards, and St. Giles -walked forth in peace, to seek once more the shade of his miraculous -orange-tree and his beloved hermitage near the dark green woods and -bright blue waters of the Rhone. - -Now, spreading fast in Gaul, the Goths had made themselves lords of -the two Narbonensis and the three Acquitani: in their wild ravages -they destroyed even the forests, and by these and their cruelty -brought so sore a famine upon the land, that even the saint, in his -extreme old age, would have perished, but for the fruit of his -orange-tree, and the milk of a doe, which visited him daily, sent -doubtless by the Lord, and which became his sole companion and -sustenance; and it chanced that when Wamba, king of the Goths, was -hunting one day in the forest of Nismes, he was about to slay the -doe, but spared her at the saint's intercession; upon which Ionie, -his queen, who was almost dying of a grievous sickness, became -straightway restored to her former strength and beauty. - -St. Giles outlived the famine, and by the miracles he wrought became -famous throughout all the land of Gaul, and died at a wondrous old -age in that year when the infidel Saracens sacked Nismes; the -recapture of which by Charles Martel, mayor of the palace, and the -great victory of the Christian knights between Tours and Poictiers, -in the year of our redemption 728, he foretold, with his last breath; -and so, in the full odour of sanctity, he passed away to heaven. - -"The doe, the companion of his solitude, was found lying dead by his -side; but to this day," continued the venerable priest, in -conclusion, "in memory of the saint, we may yet see her retained in -the banner of this good city, upon which the blessed St. Giles is now -looking down, as upon that of his chosen children, through the dim -vista of eight long centuries!"* - - -* St. Giles was the crest of Edinburgh until 1560, when an anchor was -substituted by the Reformers; but the doe still remains as a -supporter. - - -He then blessed the people, and descending into one of the side -aisles, disappeared. - -The vast multitudes who thronged the church now poured from all its -doorways like a flood upon the streets, and down the steep old -burial-ground that descended on the south towards the Cowgate (a -place of interment coeval with the _first huts_ of the city), and -where a little doorway in the wall, at the bottom, gave egress to -that thoroughfare, then so fashionable. It stood just beside the -little chapel of the Holyrood, which survived till the end of the -sixteenth century. - -As closely as they dared, Nichol Birrel and his friend Dobbie, with -their poniards in their belts and wooden rosaries dangling at their -better wrists, followed the countess and her party home to her -residence, near the court end of the town; and thereafter stationed -themselves at the _Cross and Gillstoup_, a small change-house, the -low grated windows of which commanded a view of the archway, whereon -were carved the coronet and arms of the Setons of Ashkirk; and there -the two worthy followers of Redhall sat down to drink and watch for -the remainder of the afternoon. - -At six o'clock, Sir Roland Vipont, with his bonnet on one side, his -feather erect, and his rapier tilting up a corner of his mantle, like -a true dandy of the sixteenth century, came forth alone, and -descended the street towards Holyrood. - -"Brawly!" muttered Dobbie, rubbing his large misshapen paws with -exultation; "the dare-devil's awa, but the valet is yet there." - -"Yea; and the visit to the sister of the Sheens yet holdeth gude. -But have ye any money?" asked the pricker. - -"Nocht but a Flemish rydar, and three of old King James's gowden -pennies." - -"Ho there, gudewife!" cried Birrel, with a grin of delight on his -mastiff mouth, while he clattered on the hard table with his rosary; -"fetch us twa mair mutchkins of your wine--that red wine, which I ken -right well ye get smuggled contrary to the act, straight frae the -Flemmings o' the Dam--quick!" - -And while their slipshod attendant was bringing the fresh supply, -these worthies proceeded to examine their poniards, in case they -should be required, and tried whether the guards were true, the -points sharp, the hilts fitting well to the blades, and the blades to -the hilts; for to them deeds of outrage and cruelty were the business -of life; and we may add that, by the loose lives of the clergy prior -to the Reformation--a measure which that very laxity of discipline -brought about--religion and morality were fast sinking to a low ebb -in Scotland. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE CHANCELLOR OF SCOTLAND. - - "I made such service to our Sovereign King, - He did promote me still to high estate; - A prince above all priestis for to reign, - Archbishop of St. Andrew's consecrate. - To that honour when I was elevate, - My prideful heart was not content withal, - Till that I was created cardinal." - Sir D. LINDESAY'S _Tragedie of the Cardinal_. - - -With his long rapier under his arm, and his bonnet drawn well over -his face, the lord advocate, with all the air of a man who has found -a clue to something, or is mentally pursuing a distant object, -hurried, as we have said, from the church, and threaded his way -between the fleshers' stalls, which encumbered both sides of the -street about the Nether-bow and arch of the Blackfriars Wynd. - -Descending the latter, he reached the residence of Cardinal Beaton, -where, through the medium of several pages, esquires, and pikemen, he -sent up his name, requesting an audience, and was immediately -admitted. - -David Beaton was then in the prime of life; his stature was -commanding, his air was dignified, his bearing noble. As we may see -by the portraits of him, still preserved at Edinburgh, his face was -grave, dark, and eminently handsome; his eyes were bright and -piercing, and he wore his beard and moustaches pointed _à la -cavalier_, rather than shaven off like a priest. He was seated in an -easy-chair, and wore his red baretta, black cassock, and gold cross. -His large scarlet hat lay upon a side table, near the two-handed -sword of his grandfather, old Sir David of Pitmilly. - -Our Scottish Wolsey was seated near a table covered with books and -papers; there were several portfolios marked with the fleur-de-lys, -the rose, the eagle, &c., containing the memorandums of -correspondence with France, England, the Empire, and so forth. The -apartment, which was little and elegant, was hung with green damask -flowered with leaves of red and gold; his patrimonial arms, the -blazon of "Bethune's line of Picardie," appeared above the -mantelpiece. There was no fire, for the season was summer, and the -andirons were burnished bright as silver. A book was half open in -his hand, but his eyes were thoughtfully fixed on a window, through -which he saw the antique buildings of the opposite street, a steep -wynd, that led towards the Dominican monastery, the square tower and -slated spire of which shone in the light of the western sun, and -terminated the view. His daughter, the Lady Margaret Beaton, a -charming young girl with blue eyes and dark brown hair--the same who, -five years after, became the bride of the young Lord Lindesay--was -sitting on a little tabourette by his side, decorating a little -kitten with ribbons. - -As she had been born prior to his taking vows of celibacy, the -cardinal had no reason to conceal her; but as soon as Sir Adam -Otterburn entered, at a sign from her father, she kissed his hand, -snatched the kitten, which she considered her peculiar property, -placed a chair for the visitor, and withdrew. - -"God be with your eminence!" said Redhall, half kneeling, as he -saluted the cardinal. - -"And peace with you," replied Beaton, with a gracious wave of the -hand, which, while it pointed to a seat, passed also for a priestly -benediction. He closed his book "La Legende de Monseigneur Saint -Dominique," &c., an old black-letter quarto, "_Imprimé à Paris_, -1495," and continued--"Have I the pleasure of seeing Sir Adam as a -friend, or in his official capacity?" - -"I trust your eminence will never consider my visits the less -friendly because I come so frequently on the service of the state; -but now mine errand closely concerns the latter." - -"I think that thou, as lord advocate, and I, as lord chancellor, -ought to be collared together, like a couple of questing dogs. Well, -what in God's name is astir now?" - -"Treason!" - -"That is nothing new." - -"Trafficking with the English--and it may be sorcery!" - -"My God! dost thou say so? Those accursed Douglases, I warrant me?" - -Redhall gave an emphatic nod, and put one leg over the other. The -cardinal let fall his book, grasped the knobs of his chair, and -reclined his head back as if he expected to hear something momentous. -"Well, my lord, and what now of this turbulent tribe?" - -"I seek a _carte blanche_ warrant of arrest and committal to ward--or -rather, concurrence with it--does your eminence understand?" - -"Agnus Dei!" said the cardinal, crossing, and speaking with great -bitterness and energy; "how sad it is that, from being the bulwark -and buckler of Scotland, the house of Angus and its allies have -become her sworn foes! Too blindly the enemies of Arran, they never -rest while a Hamilton lives, and are too much in Henry's interest -ever again to be true to Scotland. How was it when James assumed the -government, and, by the intercession of Wolsey and myself, so -unwisely permitted the ambitious Earls of Ashkirk and of Angus to -return home? No sooner were their feet on Scottish ground, than, -ever restless, they raised a faction to expel the queen-mother and -the minister Arran, and came at once to blows about where the -Parliament should meet. 'I will hold it here,' said the determined -Arran. 'Thou shalt hold it _there_,' said the imperious Angus. Then -were banners displayed and lances lifted; and Angus and Ashkirk -feared not to bend their cannon against the royal castle of -Edinburgh, where the young king, the queen-mother, and their prime -minister were residing. Then came trooping and hosting, and castles -were stormed, and garrisoned, and stormed again; towns were burned -and tenants plundered. The high-sheriff of Ayr slew the Earl of -Cassilis; the islesmen of Orkney expelled and slew the Lord -Caithness; the knight of Tulliallan slew the Abbot of Culrosse; and -some ruffian of hell murdered my steadfast friend and true, Sir -Thomas Maclellan of Bombie, at the door of St. Giles. (Redhall felt -himself grow pale.) The Douglases pillaged the castle of St. Andrews -and the abbey of Dunfermline; they fought the battles of Melrose and -Linlithgow, where the good Earl of Lennox was so cruelly run through -the body after he had surrendered. The whole country seemed to be -hastening to destruction, for the swords of the Douglases bore all -before them, and every post, place, and perquisite under the crown, -every royal castle and office of state, was held by a Douglas. The -royal guards were all Douglases; and the young king was their -prisoner, while his people were reduced to slavery. Well! I then -thought the time had come to bestir me," continued the cardinal, with -a smile of satisfaction. "I did so; and the king escaped from the -tower of Falkland. He summoned the nobles in arms at Stirling; the -wheel of fate revolved again, and, deprived of place and power, the -Douglases were proscribed, forfeited, and driven into -England--England, whose kings have ever rejoiced in fanning the flame -of Scottish civil war--the policy of hell, which none have adopted -more than the present atrocious tyrant, their eighth Henry." - -"All this I know well," said Redhall, endeavouring to repress his -impatience at this retrospective reverie. - -"There, fostered by this heretic prince, they have become the enemies -of their fatherland, the believers of a false doctrine, the rebels of -their king and the accursed of their God. None has done more than -the Lord Ashkirk to further a marriage between King James and a -daughter of the mansworn Tudor; but happily, I have ever been -victorious; for the honour and policy of Scotland and France require -that they must league together against the grasping ambition and -centralizing greed of England. Thou knowest that I have ever been -for France, and bear about as much love for England as a tiger doth -to a panther. When Henry offered his daughter to James, with the -office of lieutenant-general of all England and Ireland, happily, I -warned him of the gilded snare, and dismissed the ambassador, Howard, -with a remembrance of how England had treated the shipwrecked James -I. When Godscallo came from the Emperor Charles to offer his sister -Mary of Austria as a queen for Scotland, who defeated him, and turned -his dangerous eloquence against himself?" - -"Your eminence," said Redhall, putting the left leg over the right. - -"When he offered Donna Maria of Portugal, the daughter of Eleonora of -Austria," resumed Beaton, with a smile of gratified vanity, "and -boasted of her beauty and the sixty battles of her victorious uncle, -who waived all his sophistry by a word?" - -"Your eminence of course," sighed Redhall. - -"When Christian II. of Denmark offered his daughter, the Princess -Dorothea, though she was already contracted to the beggarly Elector -Frederick, I dismissed him, and briefly too; for my whole soul was -bent on preserving the ancient league of amity, that together the -banners of Scotland and France might be turned against their common -enemy; and by my own energy, assisted by God and our Blessed Lady, I -had the young Queen Magdalene espoused to James; and NOW let the -Douglases do their worst, for, ratified before the holy altar of -Notre Dame de Paris, that alliance can never be broken!" - -"Death will break it," said the advocate, revengefully, for he was -somewhat irritated by this long preamble. "Magdalene is dying by -inches, and there are abroad such rumours of sorcery in the matter -that I crave a warrant to seize----" - -"Whom?" asked Beaton, with a terrible glance. - -"The Countess of Ashkirk and her daughter, the Lady Jane Seton," said -Redhall, with a sinking heart. - -"Margaret of Ashkirk?" said the cardinal, with a look of blank -astonishment, "the widow of the good Earl John? Beware thee, my -lord, lest zeal outrun discretion. Her husband was a stout knight -and true to Scotland." - -"As I tell your eminence that his widow is an ill-woman and false! -Her son, the outlawed earl, hath again re-entered Scotland by the -Middle Marches." - -"Thou dost not say so?" - -"Sure as I live and breathe." - -"On what errand?" - -"Can you ask?" said Redhall, with a smile; "treason, civil war, and -the destruction of the Hamiltons, no doubt. And with the knowledge -that he is an outlawed traitor, the countess hath reset him." - -"Natural enough, he is the poor woman's son." - -"But the master of the ordnance hath likewise done so." - -"Natural enough, too, for he is said to love the earl's sister." - -"Your eminence is strangely cool in this matter," said Redhall, -grinding his teeth; "but you know not all that common rumour sayeth." - -"Ah! what the devil says it now?" - -"That the young queen is dying," replied the advocate, drawing near, -sinking his voice impressively, and presuming even to grasp his arm; -"sorcery is at work; every man who looks upon her reads death in her -face, and the hopes of Henry that James may yet marry his daughter -are rising again." - -"Hah!" There was a brief pause. - -"And what wouldst thou have?" asked Beaton. - -"Permission to seize and commit to sure ward the Countess of Ashkirk -and her daughter--a measure demanded by the safety of the nation." - -Beaton shook his head. - -"Rumour is busy, and avers that the earl is concealed within the -ports of Edinburgh," continued the wily advocate, who, for his own -ends, did not choose to say _where_; "my spies inform me that he has -been heard to boast of being, ere long, at Stirling bridge with an -army of English borderers, for he hath made a vow to sup----" - -"Where?" - -"In thy tower of Creich." - -The dark eyes of Beaton flashed fire; for in the tower of Creich, -rumour (which in those days supplied, somewhat indifferently, -however, the place of the public press) asserted that the cardinal -kept quite a seraglio. It touched him in the quick. - -"The earl said so--ha!" he muttered, opening his portfolio; -"indeed--um--um--and where dost thou wish the countess committed to -ward?" - -"Your eminence's castle of St. Andrew is a sure place." - -"I send none there but heretics; the tower of Inchkeith is a stronger -fortlet." - -"The Knight of Barncleugh is captain there--a Hamilton too." - -"Very suitable," continued the cardinal, writing on a slip of paper a -warrant to arrest and imprison, 'during the king's pleasure, Margaret -Countess Dowager, and the Lady Jane, daughter of the umquhile John -Earl of Ashkirk, together with Archibald Seton, sometyme designated -of Ashkirk, but now under sentence of forfeiture.' "Send the Albany -herald to the countess, and let him take some fifteen pikes of my -guard; one of Sir Robert Barton's boats will convey the ladies to the -Inch. Of late, James has shown over much favour to this family, -whose besetting sin has been their leaguing with England; and I hope -that, ere long," continued Beaton, thinking of the tower of Creich, -"this troublesome young lord will pay the penalty of his insolence to -me and his crimes against the state----" - -"My lord the Bishop of Limoges," announced the young Lord Lindesay, -the cardinal's favourite page, ushering in that reverend prelate. - -"Your eminence will not omit to send the requisite troops and cannon -towards Douglasdale to-morrow, for Ashkirk may be there," said the -lord advocate, rising. - -"Before vespers, Sir Roland Vipont shall hear from me," replied -Beaton, as Redhall sank on one knee, kissed the ruby ring on his -finger, and hurried away with a hasty step and a beating heart. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE NOON OF LOVE. - - "He looked upon her, and her humid gaze - Was at his look dropped instant on the ground: - But o'er her cheek of beauty rushed a blaze, - Her bosom heaved within its silken bound-- - And though her voice is trembling as I sigh, - Love triumphs in her smile and fond delicious eye." - CROLY'S _Angel of the World_. - - -The sun was in the west, and threw the long shadow of the Netherbow -so far down the vista of the Canongate that it almost reached to the -Girth-cross of the Holyrood. Save when the summer wind made strange -sounds among the peaked roofs and enormous chimneys of the narrow -closes, the streets were still and quiet. A hoof rang occasionally, -just as if to remind one that they were recently paved for the first -time; or the distant cries were heard of those who sold curds and -milk at the cross, or cockles and whelks at the Tron, as we may learn -from William Dunbar's poem in the year 1500. - -The countess and her family had just adjourned from the dining hull -to that tapestried chamber in which we had the honour of first -introducing them to the reader. With no foreboding of the mischief -that was then brewing against them at that moment in the little -turret-room of the cardinal's mansion, the good old Lady Margaret and -all around her were very happy. - -Roland instinctively drew to the side of Jane, who approached her -embroidery frame, for ladies were never idle in those industrious -days; Earl Archibald seated himself by the side of Sybil, where he -could very well have spared the additional company of her companions, -Marion and Alison, who seated themselves near, to hear her perform on -the virginals; and the countess assumed her accustomed and -well-cushioned bench, in the sunny corner of a window, where the -shadows of the thick basket grating were thrown upon her face. -Drawing her spinning-wheel towards her with one hand, she made a -motion with the other to Father St. Bernard to sit near; for the -confessor had that day been invited to dinner the moment his oration -concluded. - -"I pray Heaven I may not hear some evil tidings," said the countess, -"for the wind is so high." - -"Nay, fear not, madam, for this is Friday," replied the old priest, -"and the festival of Queen Ellen to boot." - -"And yet I remind me, father, that in the days of King James IV., I -heard the wind soughing just so, and in two hours thereafter news -came frae the west countrie that my kinsman, Sir John Colquhoun of -Luss, who was lord chamberlain and ambassador to England in 1487, was -killed at the siege of Dumbarton, by a ball from a culverin." - -"In 1489--yea, madam, I mind that leaguer well, as if twere -yesterday." - -"Eight-and-forty years ago," said the counters. "St. Mary! I was -but a wee tot at my mother's knee in the auld tower of Kilspindie -then!" - -"Udsdagger!" whispered the earl to Sybil, "the old lady my mother is -full tilt again at her musty recollections of James IV." - -"She will soon dose poor Father St. Bernard with her salves, her -charms against witchcraft, and prosy reminiscences of Flodden and -Queen Margaret." - -"And he will reply with scriptural texts and astounding miracles. On -my honour, they are a pair of the most veritable prosers between the -tower of Creich and the tower of Babel!" - -"Hush! to mention that tower of Creich in the cardinal's hearing -makes one his enemy for life." - -"Fiend take the cardinal and his red hat to boot!" whispered the -earl, "for in England I have learned to laugh both at red legs and -shaven crowns. But now, my own fair cousin, sing me, I pray, the old -song of Duke Albany's days, that song my father loved so well. In -Holyrood it might be treason to sing of a French minion's fall, but -none are here save friends; and oh, my dear Sybil, thou knowest not -how blythe I am to hear thy soft low voice again. Do not refuse me," -he added, seeing that she was about to object; "for in a day or two I -go to exile again, and we may meet no more." - -The young noble gallantly kissed a handful of Sybil's long dark hair; -and in the desire to please her handsome lover, she at once commenced -one of those old songs, to which something of a melancholy interest -will ever cling, when we consider that they cheered or soothed our -Scottish sires three hundred years ago-- - - "God send that the duke had byded in France, - And the Sieur de la Beaute had never come hame, - With his tall men-at-arms, by banner and lance, - The Douglas, the Home, and the Seton to tame."* - -* See VEDDERBURNE'S _Complainte of Scotland_, printed at St. -Andrew'*, A.D. 1549. - - -The voice of Sybil was worthy of her name; it was bewitchingly soft -and low and sweet; but the sharp, wiry, and somewhat unmusical -accompaniment of the virginal, rather injured than improved the -effect of her performance, which was admirable; for the frank girl -was at no pains to conceal the amiable wish to please her kinsman and -lover. Seated very erectly upon a high-backed chair, her white hands -tinkled over the keys of this old-fashioned instrument, which, -perhaps, obtained its name from being played upon almost solely by -young ladies. Though externally not unlike our modern pianoforte, -the virginal was internally more like the spinet of the succeeding -age, which formed, in fact, the link between the two. - -That on which Sybil played had been presented to Jane Seton by Anne -de la Tour, the late Duchess of Albany. The case was of cedar, -covered with blue Genoese velvet, and clasped by four large gilded -locks finely engraven with the arms of Scotland and France. The -whole of the front was magnificently enamelled, and had forty keys -provided with jacks and quills, twenty being of ebony tipped with -silver, and twenty of ivory tipped with gold, to mark the semitones. -Supported by two dragons of oak, it was only five feet long by twenty -inches deep; but as there were but few virginals in Scotland, its -splendour formed one of the topics of the day; and those evil minds -were not wanting who affirmed that it was merely a box of devils who -played at the command of the black page. - -Thus, while singing and soft glances were the entertainment in one -corner of that tall tapestried room, miracles and omens in another, a -quiet little flirtation was proceeding in a third, where Lady Jane -was sitting, to all appearance very intent upon her embroidery, while -her lover leant over the back of her chair, conversing in low tones, -looking kisses and all manner of soft things, and contriving to say a -good many too, under cover of Sybil's musical performance, -notwithstanding the presence of Father St. Bernard, whose apostolical -aspect was sufficiently imposing. - -"And so, my gentle Jeanie, thou art still bent on visiting this -convent of Sienna to-night?" - -"Have I not told you ten times that I have promised this book as a -birthday gift to the reverend mother ever since the martyrdom of St. -Victor--more than a month ago," said Jane, reckoning the time on her -pretty fingers; "and she has never yet received it. By-the-bye, -sir--of all the world, I think thou oughtest to accompany me -to-night." - -"Impossible, my own sweetheart." - -"What would you say if I were to be carried off?" - -"Carried off! Bah! I should like to see any one carry you off." - -"It would be very unpleasant," said Jane, shrugging her shoulders; -"and within a month of our marriage, too." - -"Adorable Jane!" - -"Hush! Father St. Bernard--you forget." - -"You know well how gladly I would go; but as I have said, both the -captain and lieutenant of the king's guard have sent to say, they -will do themselves the pleasure of supping with me to-night, and -hospitality requires that I should not decline, for we are three _bon -camarados_, and have made a compact to dine and sup with each other -alternately whenever our cash was low." - -"Then the cash of these wild gallants is gone?" - -"Sunk to the lowest ebb, Jane. I met them this morning, swearing -like Turks, for they had lost all they possessed, even to their -rings, at the French ambassador's. With the earl and his enormous -Tizona, and these tall trenchermen, who are always lounging about the -kitchen-fire and stable-yard, none will dare to molest you to-night." - -"Be not too certain. Oh, I have so many lovers, that I dare scarcely -look from under my hood, lest I add one to the number. Abduction is -not so uncommon, surely. Did not King James carry off the lady of -Lochlevin on her bridal night? Is not the Knight of Casche now a -prisoner in the castle for carrying off the wife of Sir David Scott, -whom he slew in the kirk of Strathmiglo? And 'tis only six days -since Kincaid of Coates forcibly abducted the poor wife of master -Quentin Smebard, when she was cheapening her a new hood at the -Tron--yea, in the High-street, and at noon-day." - -"Tush! a pitiful clerk of the chancery," said Roland, playing with -her curls. "Believe me, my little ladykin, that none will dare -meddle with thee who see the livery of thy followers, and remember -thou art the affianced bride of Sir Roland Vipont. So in vain, -cunning fairy, thou wouldest frighten me from performing what -friendship and hospitality require. But what is this book, for which -madam the prioress of St. Katherine is so anxious?" - -"See, it is _The Lyf of St. Katherin of Sienna_," said Jane, opening -a little volume of Wynkyn de Worde's, the velvet cover of which she -had embroidered beautifully with gold upon crimson. "Thou canst read -this black letter, of course?" - -"Why, thanks to fortune and my good friend the father here, I learned -the _Grace Buke_ and _Prymar_, at the principal grammar school of -this good burgh, when it was first opened by Provost Logan of -Coatfield." - -"In the year of grace 1519," said the countess, "just six years after -the death of the good King James, whose munificence founded it--woe's -me!" - -"And why doth this prioress not embroider her own books? How, i' the -devil's name, do they spend the long dull day in yonder convent; for -I vow 'tis a fortress all walled round like the city of Lisle--and I -suppose the fair sisters are never beyond it." - -"Save when sickness or sorrow, want or misery, call them into the -world; for they are of inestimable service to the poor. Ah! had you -seen them in time of the plague. The Prioress Josina--thou -rememberest the beautiful Josina Henrison, who with me was a -damoiselle of honour to madam the Duchess Anne of Albany? Ah! she is -a very angel of goodness. Now, do not look in that way, as if you -were just about to laugh at me?" - -"Who--I? Mass! I would almost have fallen sick on purpose, to have -had such a nurse as the pretty Josina--had I not----" - -"What, sir?" - -"Loved thee, and consequently been sure of another." - -"'Tis well you say so," replied Jane, playfully, pinching his ear. -"Ah! my mother is watching us!" - -"God bless ye, bairns!" said the old countess, kindly and fondly; -"for ye were born under the same star, ilk being destined for the -other." - -"_Pax Domini sit semper voliscum_," said Father St. Bernard, with -closed eyes, and waving his right hand towards them. - -"Plague take thy Latin," muttered the earl. - -"Which meaneth, the peace of the Lord be about you," continued the -priest. - -"I never tried Latin but once, good father, and then it was to curse -roundly when my Scottish failed--_in nomine patris et filii_, and so -forth." - -"And when was this, my sou?" - -"Retreating up Yarrow-braes from Cessford's spearmen, with two -bullets and three arrows sticking in my body." - -The old priest crossed himself, and turned up his eyes; but those of -the countess kindled as her son spoke, and some fiery remark was -hovering on her lips, when her bower-woman, a demure looking abigail, -clad in solemn black taffety, raised the arras, glided in on tiptoe, -and whispered something in her ear. - -Lady Ashkirk turned very pale. - -"Mother dear," said Lady Jane, tenderly, "what has happened?" - -"That hen hath crowed again, as Janet tells me." - -"Hen--what hen?" said the earl. - -"An ill-omened hen in the poultry-yard, whilk hath now crown thrice -since you came amongst us. Oh! my doo Archibald! my doo -Archibald!--it's a sad boding of evil, whilk the Mother o' God avert." - -"Amen!" said the old priest, "_pax domini_----" - -"Friend Roland," said the earl, with a smile, "did you ever know any -one who dwelt in such an atmosphere of omens and predictions, salves -and recipes, as the good lady my mother? 'Tis very perplexing, to -say the least of it." - -"Hush, lord earl!" said the countess, with some asperity; "every -bairn kens that the crowing of a hen bodeth evil, and that no house -can thrive where the hens are addicted to sic an ungodly and -unnatural amusement. Harkee, Janet, let its neck be drawn, and -bestow it as an almous on the first Franciscan who comes hither wi' -his begging box." - -This episode was rather "a damper" to the ladies; but Roland -endeavoured to divert them, by engaging and vanquishing them all -successively at the old French military game of _passe dix_, which -was played with three dice, at which (as we learn from the _Complete -Gamester_, 1680) "the caster throws continually till he hath thrown -doublets under ten, and then he is _out_, and loseth, or doublets -above ten, and then he _passeth_, and wins." At this simple game -fortune favoured Roland, and he swept off the entire passbank, which -was composed of little _bon-bons_ of honey and flour, for sugar was -then growing in the mist of futurity--at least, it was unknown in -Scotland. The time stole swiftly on; at last the ringing of vespers -warned him that he must retire, as his friends, who had so annoyingly -invited themselves, would be awaiting him. - -"Say a prayer for me at St. Katherine's to-night, my dear Jane," said -Roland, as he buckled on his rapier. "I fear me I am a sad rogue, -and often omit to pray for myself in these stirring times, when one's -armour is so rarely off: and of all things forget not to give my very -best commendations to the fair Josina." - -"Sirrah! thou wantest thine other ear well pinched." - -"And you return?" - -"To-morrow, at noon." - -"Ah--the devil! and shall I not see thee till then?" said Roland, -scared at the prospect of an eighteen hours' separation. - -"Thou wilt not die of despair in that time, surely?" replied Jane, -archly. - -"Then to-morrow, at noon, I will be at the convent gate, or under the -old lime-trees that border its pathway, near the loch; and so till -then, my sweet flower, farewell." - -After paying his adieux to all with that grave formality which French -intercourse had impressed upon the manners of the Scottish noblesse, -he retired; whereupon the messieurs Birrel and Dobbie ordered in the -additional stoup of Flemish wine, as we have related in the -thirteenth chapter of this history. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -VIPONT'S HOUSEHOLD. - - "At length they to the house retreated, - And round the supper soon were seated; - When the time quickly passed away, - And gay good humour closed the day." - _Dr. Syntax_, Canto XIV. - - -Having lost all their money at play with the French and Spaniards, -Roland's two comrades, the captain of the arquebusiers, and Leslie, -his lieutenant, had both invited themselves to sup with him on that -evening, according (as he has already stated) to an arrangement the -three friends had made--that he whose exchequer was low should dine -or sup with the others. But now it chanced that Roland's purse was -drained too; and though hospitality and the manners of the time -forbade the least evasion of this visit, or rather visitation, old -Lintstock had fully participated in the consternation it occasioned -his master. Lintstock, however, with the coolness of an old soldier -who was well used to foraging, begged Sir Roland to keep his mind at -ease, as he would provide an adequate supper by the hour of the -cavaliers' arrival. - -Roland knew not what to make of this; but he was aware of the -fertility of his valet's resources, and that the cunning old vender -of projectiles had made love to an inn (as he said), or rather an -innkeeper's widow, whom he had been intending to espouse for the last -live years; thus he doubted not Lintstock would provide the viands if -Heaven did not. - -Roland lodged with the widow of one of the king's falconers; but the -pittance he received per month from the exchequer (for although -styled master of the ordnance, he was in reality only captain of a -few hundred cannoniers, who were scattered throughout the royal -castles) afforded little more than what soldiers usually term -comforts--_i.e._, plain bed, board, and quarters. He was never so -much in camp or garrison as to lose the polish of the courtier or -relish for the society of ladies. The "rough and round" of a -soldier's life never discomposed him; he wore his heavy armour as -easily as Jane Seton did her gloves of Blois; and his love for her -threw a poetry around all that plainness and positive discomfort -which generally surrounded him, but of which she was totally -ignorant. Soldiering had, of course, considerably sharpened his -faculties; but Roland never forgot the gentle bearing of the perfect -cavalier; and though perhaps inferior in head to such a man as Sir -Adam Otterburn, he was immensely superior in heart and -straightforwardness of purpose. - -Roland's windows overlooked the Abbey Close, and the setting sun -shone partly through them. They were strongly grated, and lighted a -room which was wainscoted with Scottish fir, and furnished with six -hardwood chairs and a table of oak. An almerie or corner cupboard, a -boxed bed within a recess, a suit of bright armour, and a quantity of -other harness for horse and man, with various weapons, hung upon -pegs; a few books of old romances, and a French _Manuel de -l'Artilleur_, made up its furniture. - -"What the devil shall I do, if Lintstock has failed?" thought Roland, -as he entered his domicile. "Hallo, old Ironhead, how goeth the -supper?" (People supped then at seven o'clock.) - -"Right weel, Sir Roland, as ye may see for yoursel," replied the old -fellow, over whose broad visage and solitary eye there spread a -brilliant smile of self-satisfaction. - -A snow-white cloth covered the old oak-table; a knife, a -drinking-horn, and platter were laid for each of the friends; a -silver salt-cellar occupied the centre; a plate, with four roasted -ducks, stood on one side thereof, a tart and stewed pigeons on the -other, with a joint of veal daintily roasted; while an eel-pie and -two large manchets of white flour, with other et cetera, appeared on -the side buffet, with a row of wine flasks in fair battaglia, side by -side, telling by their gaudy badges that they were from France, and -such wine as was then sold by the retailers at sixpence Scots (one -half-penny sterling) the pint, under penalty of having the head of -the cask beaten out, as an edict of the provost and baillies in 1520 -remains to show. - -"By Jove, thou art the very fiend himself!" said Roland, lost in -astonishment at the sight of all these good things; "how else couldst -thou get these gallant bottles of Rochelle and Bourdeaux from that -old curmudgeon of the _Cross and Gillstoup_--for I see they bear his -mark. On my honour, I am mightily tickled by thine ingenuity!" - -"I said we would pay----" - -"_We?_" - -"That is, your worship would pay them at even tide, the morn." - -"Why, Lintstock, I have not had a cross for these three days." - -"But there is a rumour about the palace," said Lintstock, closing his -remaining eye, "that we march by daylight, the morn, for Douglasdale, -or thereawa; and sae the auld screw of an hosteller may whistle on -his thumb for the money till we come back again." - -"March! oh, impossible--for I have not heard a word of it; and how -then shouldst thou? I warrant me the old cullion grumbled." - -"Like a boar in a high wind. 'Thou false knave and loon,' said I, -with a hand on my dirk, just so; 'these twelve flasks are for the -captain, my master.' 'He owes me thirty crowns and mair,' replied -the dour carle. 'If he owed thee ten times as muckle, 'tis all -right, for he will pay thee some day, and nobly too; so hand me over -the flasks, or I will set the house on fire, and flay thee like St. -Bartholomew!'" - -"But the veal and the ducks?" - -"I fished for one, and borrowed the other--but here come our -gentlemen." - -Roland gave Lintstock one of the flasks to rejoice over, and laughed. -He knew well what the old forager meant, for the royal poultry-yard -was close by, and Lintstock, with a piece of meat tied to a string, -as a lure for King James's full-fed ducks, had many a time and oft -towed them in at the back-windows, with outspread wings; and more -than one dozen of fowls had disappeared thus, to the astonishment of -the royal poulterer. - -"But the pigeons?" - -"I shot with my arblast at Redhall's dovecot." - -"And the eels?" - -"I borrowed them frae the abbot's eel-arks, at the Canonmills loch." - -"Mass! thou'st had a busy day on't. Never mind; when I have the -mains of Ashkirk with--tush, I will repay all these debts and -borrowings with usury." - -With a towel under his arm, the old gunner drew himself up like a -post, as the two cavaliers entered, attired in velvets richly laced -and slashed, and looking very gay and smiling. - -"Welcome, Sir John Forrester!--and thou too, my gay Leslie! Ah! -where didst get that scratch on thy nose?" - -"From the fan of little Sybil Douglas, at the queen's masque -yesterday." - -"The little firefly! Seats, gentlemen, seats! By my faith, you are -in ill-luck. 'Tis quite a fast-day with me, this, and you will sup -like starveling Franciscans." - -"Fast!" said tall Forrester, as he threw aside his cloak and plume: -"by St. Roque! if this is a fast-day, what are thy festivals? But -who is thy provant master--thy _fourrier de campement_?" - -"My servitor--my trusty Lintstock." - -"Mass! would that I had such a valet as thou, and such noble credit -with my wine-merchant. Thou seest, Leslie, what it is to be the -king's favourite. Verily, Sir Roland Vipont carries a coronet on the -point of his sword. Rogue! thou must pray well to have all these -good things." - -"Nay, nay," said young Leslie, with a burst of reckless laughter, "he -pays old Father St. Bernard to do all that for him." - -"Hast heard the news?" - -"Nay, what news, Sir John?" - -"Thou art to boune thee for the borders; for the king swore in my -hearing he would find other work for thy sword than killing his most -favourite courtiers." - -"These rascally Hamiltons? But Kincavil is not dead, I hope?" - -"Far from it," said Leslie; "but the apothegar, from whom I was -purchasing some perfumes for little Sybil Douglas, averred to me that -he is in a perilous bad way." - -"When did these knaves of leeches ever aver a man was otherwise?" -said Roland, seating himself. "To table, gentlemen, and pray do -justice to the industry of my fourrier, and the comforts of my poor -den, or hermitage, which you will; but prayer or no prayer, take care -the cardinal heareth not of your jesting, Leslie--about prayers, I -mean." - -"The cardinal, that scarlet bugbear of the heretics? Oh, I don't -fear the cardinal; he is the steadfast friend and true of my kinsman -Norman, the Master of Rothes." - -"A slice of this veal, Leslie?" - -"Nay, I thank you; this roasted duck is quite admirable." - -"'Tis from my estates in the country somewhere." - -"Rochelle--or Bourdeaux?" - -"Thank you--what news are abroad?" - -"Nothing," said Forrester, "but of the queen having fainted twice -to-day--poor little woman--to the consternation of Madame de -Montreuil, De Brissac, the king, and all his court." - -"How pure this Bourdeaux is--spiced, too!" said Vipont. "His -eminence the cardinal (whom God long preserve!)----" - -"Save us, friend Roland!" said Leslie; "thou art turning very -religious." - -"Is about to take such measures as shall assuredly exterminate the -followers of those heretics, Resby, the Englishman, and the abbot of -Fearn. Master Buchanan is now in the oubliette of St. Andrew's, -where he will likely pay dearly for his satire _Franciscanus_." - -"His eminence should confine himself to the pretty little amusements -afforded by his country-house at Creich," said Forrester. - -"Didst thou see that poor devil drowned to-day?" - -"Who, Leslie?" - -"He whom the king's advocate discovered burying a cat alive." - -"Nay, I was hawking with the king on the Figgate-muir--the more fool -I! Lintstock, thou knave!" cried Vipont to that functionary--who -stood erect as a pike behind his chair--"uncork me half-a-dozen of -these flasks. Drain, gentlemen, and replenish again; wine is a -specific for care--worth a thousand homilies!" - -"Lucky dog!" said Forrester; "thou drinkest out of horns hooped with -silver, while I, who am lord of Corstorphine and Uchtertyre, must -content me with plain beech luggies." - -"Lintstock found them during our last raid into Westmoreland. -Nevertheless, Sir John, thank Heaven that you were not, like me, born -with a most portentous wooden spoon in your mouth. I was an unlucky -brat, and cried, it seems, like a pagan at my baptism; a bad omen, as -the Lady Ashkirk told me. Fill again; but excuse me--my wound, you -know." - -"Ah! that dainty dagger-thrust; but it is healing fast?" - -"By the total absence of an apothegar--yes. Hah! yonder is a gay -dame, followed by an esquire with the argent and gules in his bonnet, -crossing the Abbey Close. My faith! 'tis Lady Anne of Arran, whom -rumour says thou lovest, Leslie." - -"How! that muirland-meg, Anne Hamilton? Ah! what a taste I must -have!" replied Leslie. - -"Nay, thou wrongest him, Vipont," said Sir John of Corstorphine; -"'tis Marion Logan of Restalrig, who hath thy heart; is it not, -lieutenant of mine?" - -Leslie laughed, and coloured as he replied-- - -"'Tis Marion whom we see, and not the Lord Arran's daughter." The -three gallants hastened to the window, as a lady, holding up her -brocaded skirt in that fashion which the witty Knight of the Mount -reprehended in his satires, passed into a door of the palace. - -"Hast thou seen what Lindesay's new poem says of yonder fashion of -skirt-bearing?" said Forrester:-- - - "I trow St. Bernard, nor St. Blaise, - Caused never man bear up their claise; - Nor Peter, Paul, nor St. Andrew, - Bore up their tails like these, I trow; - But I laugh most to see a nun - Cause bear her tail---- - - -"The rest is vile ribaldry," said Vipont. - -"And by St. Bernard, and St. Blaise to boot, Sir David deserves to be -run through the body for so severely satirizing the ladies of -Holyrood. Ha! who cometh next?--the cardinal!" - -As he spoke, Beaton, with a cavalcade of horsemen, passed through the -Abbey Close on an evening ride. - -"He sits on his horse like a true cavalier," said Vipont, withdrawing -a pace, as he observed the cardinal scrutinizing his windows. - -"But observe the Abbot of Kinloss; he always rides faster than his -horse, and hangs on the bridle like a drowning man." - -"His roan nag is covered with foam, while those of the cardinal and -his gentlemen are fresh as when they left their stalls." - -"The daughter of his eminence and the young Lord Lindesay are riding -together," said Vipont; "a love case that, I think." - -Amid jesting and laughing--for their light hearts and the somewhat -reckless manners of the time, when the sword was rarely out of men's -hands, imparted an almost boisterous gaiety to the supper--the -evening closed in, cloudy and grey; darkness approached, and candles -were lighted. The clock struck half-past eight; but there were still -four flasks uncorked, when Lintstock entered, with a portentous -expression in his remaining eye, and laid before his master a square -packet, tied with blue ribands, which, like the edicts of council, -were officially sealed with green wax. - -"The devil! now what doth this portend?" muttered his friends. - -"If the king knows that I have harboured a rebel lord!" thought -Roland, breathlessly, "my commission would be worth about as much as -my head. By the faith of Vipont! 'tis in the name of the king, and -countersigned by the cardinal too!" - - -"_To our trusty friend, Sir Roland Vipont, of that Ilk._ - -"JAMES REX. - -"Right trusty friend, we greet you well and heartillie. - -"It is our royal will and pleasure, that with one hundred -arquebussiers of our guard, under Louis Leslie of Balquhan, and two -brass culverins, with their powder, shot, and cannoneers conform, you -do march to-morrow at daybreak unto Douglasdale, for the capture, -dead or alive, of Archibald Seton, sometime Earl of Archkirk, our -rebel and traitor, who is rumoured to be resett in that district; -where, without fail, you will give all to fire and sword, be it -castle or be it cottage, wherein the said lord findeth shelter; for -which you have this our warrant. Hoping that you will do your -devoire truly and valiantly, according to the custom observit of -auld, we commit you to the protection of God. - -"DAVID, - - "_Cardinal, Sancti Andrea, Commendator de Arbroath, - Chancellor of Scotland._* - - "From our Palace of Holyrood, - the 20th day of May, 1537." - - -* It is thus the Cardinal signed his name to more than one document -in the author's possession. - - -"There, now, was not rumour right for once?" said Forrester. - -"Still the same enmity to my unfortunate friend!" said Roland, whose -face became pale, and whose teeth were clenched with anger. - -"So we are to search for Lord Ashkirk among the Douglases," laughed -Leslie; "a right perilous expedition. Take thy tall valet with thee, -Vipont. 'Fore Heaven! that fellow, with his prodigious sword, were -worth a troop of lances on such a service." - -Roland glanced keenly at the speaker. Had he penetrated the earl's -disguise? but there was nothing to be read but pure honesty and -candour in Leslie's handsome features. He suspected not that the -dictators of the order he had just received knew well that the earl -was much nearer than Douglasdale. - -"Ha! do you not hear something?" said Roland, rising up and listening. - -"The cry of a woman, as I live!" replied Leslie; "shrill and deathly, -too, as of one in sore distress; and there, now, is the patter of -pistolettes!" - -"Look out, Lintstock--thy one eye is worth a dozen--at the back -window--what seest thou?" - -"Torches moving about on St. John's Hill, the gleam of steel, and I -hear the cries of a woman; eh, sirs, but she scraighs dreichly and -eerilie!" was the reply of Lintstock, as he snatched up a partisan. - -"To your swords, and away, gentlemen!" cried Roland, unhooking his -rapier from the wall; "'tis a woman in distress! Meanwhile, -Lintstock, away thou to the castle, seek my firemaster and his -matrosses, and desire that two pieces of cannon and sixteen men in -their armour, with horses and all in fighting order, be before the -palace by daybreak to-morrow; look well to my own horses and new coat -of mail too. And now, sirs, let us go, in God's name!" and with -their mantles rolled round their left arms, and swords unsheathed, -they sprang down stairs, and dashed up the south back of the -Canongate, towards the base of St. John's Hill. - -They saw no one: the place was desolate, and perfectly silent. - -The moon, which had been partially obscured, shone forth for a -moment, and revealed a pool of blood on the dusty road which skirted -the base of the hill. Near it lay a lady's glove, and a man's bonnet -of coarse blue cloth, but no traces of a fray. - -On the bonnet was a pewter badge. - -"'Tis the cognisance of Redhall," said Roland, tossing the bonnet -away, and placing the glove in his belt. - -After frequently hallooing, and searching long and fruitlessly, the -three friends again sought St. Ann's Yard, but not to finish the -remaining flasks; for Roland and Leslie had to prepare for their -march by daybreak on the morrow, and now the hour was late. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -A LORD ADVOCATE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. - - "_Camilla_. Thou execrable man, beware!-- - "_Cenci_. Of thee? - Nay this is idle:--We should know each other. - As to my character for what men call _crime_, - Seeing I please my senses as I list, - And vindicate that right with force of guile, - It is a public matter, and I care not - If I discuss it with you."--_The Cenci_. - - -The young earl and Lady Sybil were loth to part, for they had met but -recently; and after a long and painful separation--painful by its -danger and uncertainty--and full of themselves and their plans for -the future, the hours stole swiftly past them. Thus the earl delayed -so long in accompanying his impatient sister, that the dusk had -almost set in before they left the house, on their promised visit to -her friend at St. Katherine's, where Jane proposed remaining until -the noon of the next day. - -The night was cloudy, and the streets were dark and misty, so that -two men, who emerged half tipsy from the _Cross and Gillstoup_, -following them softly and warily, and at the gate of Redhall's house -were joined by five others, were quite unobserved. - -The earl was still disguised and liveried as Vipont's valet. He wore -a cuirass below his doublet, and carried the conspicuous long rapier -over his shoulder. Jane was muffled in a close hood, so as to be -completely unknown to the few persons who were abroad in the dusk; -and thus with security she accompanied him, and leant upon his arm. -Two servants of their own name, from the earl's barony in -Forfarshire, marched before them with lighted links. Both these men -were tall, athletic and well armed, with jacks and caps of iron, -swords, daggers and hacques, or small handguns, about three-quarters -of a yard long. In those dangerous times every trifling visit and -affair had quite the aspect of a conspiracy. - -The brother and sister were chatting merrily, and each was speaking -of the person whose image and interest lay nearest their hearts: thus -Jane spoke of Roland, his courage and sincerity, his truth and hope; -and of King James's ingratitude in neglecting to reward his valour -and loyal service. - -The earl spoke of his dark-eyed Sybil, and how he would one day place -his father's coronet on her brow; and would do so on the morrow, if -she would but fly with him to England, where they might wed without -that dispensation which was yet required in Catholic Scotland, as -they were both within the prohibited degrees--a dispensation which -the cardinal's hostility, he feared, would withhold for ever, for -Beaton was legate of Paul III., north of the English frontier. - -Rendered wary by necessity, and from the nature of the times -instinctively cautious, the earl looked back more than once to -observe whether they were followed. The streets were almost -deserted, and echoed to no other footsteps than their own. They -descended the Canongate, which was then more open and less regular as -a street than now; and passing down a narrow loan between hedges, -having a barnyard on one side and a large "Berne-Kilne and Kobill" -(the appurtenances of an ancient distillery) on the other, they found -themselves on the solitary horseway which skirted the city on the -south, and led straight from the Cowgate Porte to the Palace and St. -Anne's Yard. - -On one side the craigs heaved up their tremendous front; on the other -rose a lofty ridge, at the north end of which stood a chapel of St. -John, at the south end a chapel dedicated to St. Leonard, the Hermit -of Orleans, and midway between, the sharp ridgy roof of a large -convent--St. Mary's of Placentia--cut the sky. About its walls grew -a number of willows, planted by the fair recluses, in the spirit of -that beautiful old tradition which tells that our Saviour had been -scourged by willow rods, for which offence the trees had drooped or -wept in sorrow ever after. And there the migrating crossbills built -their nests--a bird, said by another old legend to have taken its -name from the circumstance of having striven with its little bill to -draw forth the nails from the feet and hands of the dead Christ. - -A faint and pale light in the east brought the ridge and its triple -edifices forward in strong outline, and the gigantic willows were -seen waving their graceful branches mournfully in the rising wind. -The darkness of utter obscurity veiled the front of the craigs, and -the deep hollow at their base, then a rough and savage gorge, round -the edge of which lay the road the earl and his sister were to pursue. - -A bell rang. - -"Oh, Archibald, let us hasten," said Lady Jane; "the nuns are already -saying the compline at St. Mary's yonder; see how the chapel is -lighted up!" - -"Faith! my good sister, I have dwelt so long under English Henry's -roof, that I have well-nigh forgotten these small items of our -ancient faith. I have seen church lands turned into fair lay -baronies, and more than one stately priory become an earl's fief, its -chapel a dining-hall, its cloisters a stableyard, its refectory a -dog's kennel. But omit not to ask the fair Josina* to say one prayer -for me, though I am such a reprobate pagan. By all the furies! it -seems very droll to think that my little friend Josina hath become a -prioress! I cannot realize it! She will have quite forgotten me." - - -* Josina Henrison was prioress of the Dominicans, at the Siennes, -near Edinburgh, in the time of James V. - - -"Do not think so, for she still uses the missal you gave her -before----" - -"My kinswoman Sybil came home from the convent at Northberwick," said -the earl, quickly. "Poor Josina!--and I shall see her once more." - -"To-morrow at noon, when you and Roland come for me--and yet perhaps -it were better not." - -"Thou art right, sister of mine. Poor Josina!" and, with a sigh that -told its own little story, the earl paused. - -"A religious life certainly never seemed to be her vocation; and yet -I pray God that she is happy. How now?" he added, on hearing his -followers wind up the wheels of their hacques by the spanners (as -they were named) which were attached to the locks by small chains; -"what dost thou hear, Gilzean?" - -"Footsteps, my lord." - -"The echoes of our own, perhaps; but where?" - -"Behind; to be forewarned is to be forearmed." - -Lady Jane clung to her brother's arm, and drew her hood closer over -her face. They were now in a most lonely part of the road. Above -them, about a hundred and fifty yards up the hill, towered the -convent of St. Mary, with its high black walls and waving willows; -below them, on the left, the lights of Holyrood were twinkling like -wildfire, in the hollow afar off, at the foot of the Craigs. The -clouds were flying in masses from west to east, and the tremulous -stars looked forth at intervals like red and fiery eyes. - -"Turn, my lord!" cried Gilzean, "for armed men are close behind us." - -"Armed?" - -"Like oursels. 'Odslife! I heard the clink of iron-graith!" - -"Let us halt, then. Look to your arms, and extinguish the links; -for, if friends, we may proceed together; if foes, we must drive them -back. But Jane, in God's name, girl, do not cling to me -thus--release my sword-arm;--tush, lassie, dost forget thou art half -Seton, half Douglas?" - -Over his left shoulder the earl unsheathed the long weapon with which -Roland, partly in frolic, had accoutred him; his two followers wound -up their wheel-locks, stood by his side, and peered into the gloom -behind. They counted seven dark shadows approaching in the starlight. - -"I see steel bonnets and Jedwood staves," said the earl. - -"And I, drawn whingers and bent pistolettes. Their hints are alow," -replied Gilzean, meaning that their matches were lighted. "Three to -seven!" - -"Tush! Gilzean, my good man and true, what matters that? I will -spit the odd four, like so many mavises, on this long rapier." - -"Stand and surrender, or you are three dead men!" cried one, through -the obscurity. - -"Zounds!" said the earl, clenching his sword; "surely I know that -voice." - -"And I, too," added Jane, trembling excessively. - -"'Tis either the Laird of Redhall, or auld Hornie himsel'!" muttered -Gilzean Seton. - -"We are right, then--I am discovered at last! and my lord advocate -comes like a common messenger, the vilest of villains, to arrest me." - -"Do you yield, sirs?" asked the same person, who was now within ten -yards of them. - -"Not to the assassins of Sir Thomas M'Clelland of Bombie!" replied -the earl, his heart animated by ferocious joy, while his sister's -whole form vibrated with terror. "Keep aside, close to the -fauld-dyke, my good sister, and leave us freely to deal with these -rascals; the first onset is everything!" - -Ashkirk led his sister close to the turf wall of the field which -bordered the roadway, and cried to his followers--"Fire! and fire -low!" - -Gilzean and his comrade levelled their hacques, the wheels revolved -like lightning, producing fire by the friction of the pyrites; the -combined report of these two handguns resounded at once, and one man -fell on the roadway with a wild cry that sank into a hollow groan. - -The red flashes of three pistolettes replied; with a thousand -reverberations, their echoes died away among the cliffs, and the -bullets whistled harmlessly past the ears of the earl and his -vassals. With the _cri de guerre_ of his family, - -"Ashkirk and SET ON," - -the gallant noble and his two devoted followers fell bravely on their -six adversaries, with whom a close and furious contest ensued. - -The earl singled out the leader, and on engaging him, found that he -had three others to deal with at the same time, and was thus -compelled to act merely on the defensive, a perilous predicament with -so unwieldy a weapon. He swayed it with both hands, according to the -best rules then in use for handling those ponderous wall-swords, and -bent low his head (which was protected by a tempered cabosset of -proof), seeking to discover the faces of his adversaries, but all -seemed blackness. They were masked. Red sparks flew in showers from -their swords, and the sudden emission of more than one cry of pain -acquainted the earl that the few thrusts which he ventured to give -had proved successful. - -"Lord earl, yield up your weapon!" cried the clear, full voice of -Redhall. Jane, as she cowered by the wall, recognized it, and -uttered a low cry of terror. "Yield!--yield!" - -"To thee?" said Ashkirk, with a scornful laugh. "May eternal -execration lie upon me if I do!" - -"Traitor, thou shalt rue this dearly!" replied the other, wrathfully; -"charge me your pistolettes again," he said to his followers, "and -make service surely!" - -Ashkirk replied by a tremendous back-handed blow, that would -infallibly have cut the speaker in two; but he sprang back nimbly, -and, by the fury of his stroke, the earl overstruck himself so far, -that, before he could recover his guard, six vigorous hands were upon -him, as many weapons gleamed darkly at his throat, and then, for the -first time, he discovered that both his faithful followers were -slain. Rising to his full height, and towering above his capturers, -he endeavoured to throw them from him; but his vast strength failed; -for, fearing to let him free, eager to avenge the wounds he had -inflicted, and more passionately eager to serve their lord, whom -(lawless and savage as they were) they loved better than life, and -animated, no doubt, by the bribes which had purchased their secresy -and services, the followers of Redhall hung upon the hands and throat -of the furious earl like bloodhounds. - -In a moment he was hurled to the earth, and pinioned hand and tongue, -for Nichol Birrel tore off his steel cap and forced over his head one -of those iron gags called in Scotland a pair of branks. Shaped not -unlike a royal crown, this ignominious fetter was composed of four -cross hoops, which enclosed the head by springing from an iron ring -that encircled the neck, and was furnished with a steel plate for -entering the mouth, and forcibly holding down the tongue. With his -strong and regular teeth set firm as a vice, the unfortunate noble -resisted long this last and deadly insult, but, unhappily, Sanders -Screw, the torturer of the High Court, was among his adversaries. -Being well practised in his profession, this daring ruffian thrust -his thumbs behind the ears of the earl, and thus brutally compelled -him to open his mouth. The gag was immediately forced in, and was -held there by a padlock at the back of his neck. - -The moment this was accomplished, four men raised him by the legs and -arms, and bore him off towards the town; their wounded comrade -followed, while the sixth remained with Redhall. - -"Assist me to sweep away these carrion," said he, pointing to the -bodies that lay on the road, with the blood yet oozing from their -wounds; "in that field the corn is high, and they will feed the crows -as well there as hanging on the gibbet at St. Giles's Grange." - -The bodies of the two Setons were raised upon the fauld-dyke, but the -heart of Redhall was too fiercely excited to feel even a shudder as -he and Dobbie flung them far among the ripening grain, where they lay -concealed, until found reduced to skeletons by the terrified reapers -in the harvest of that year, as an old diary of the period informs us. - -"Now, away, for we have not a moment to lose, and this traitor lord -and dame must bide with me! Quick--quick! for I hear shouts and -footsteps!" - -Lady Jane, who had clung for support to the turf-wall of the road -during this furious conflict, which just terrified her (but only in -the same degree that a fisticuff battle might scare a lady of the -present day, who is all unused to see the flash of steel), uttered -shriek after shriek when her brother was beaten down, and she saw no -less than six armed men struggling above him. Believing that they -were busy with their poniards, she rushed wildly forward to -interpose, to save or to die with him; when suddenly she was seized -by one who sheathed his sword, and threw his arms around her. - -"My brother! oh, my brother! Who are you that have dared to do this, -and who that dare to grasp me thus? Cowards--cowards! I am the Lady -Jane Seton! Oh, misery! misery! My brother! my brother! Oh, thou -who wert so good, so kind, so brave--my mother--oh, my mother--and -they have slain him!" - -She uttered a shrill cry, and covered her face with her hands on -seeing him borne away; she muttered to herself faintly and -incoherently; for though she did not swoon, she was perfectly -passive, for horror and grief had prostrated all her faculties, and -she hung heavily in the arms of the tall masked man, who was no other -than Sir Adam Otterburn. - -The fury which had animated him during the conflict now passed away -as he pressed her to his breast, where a glow of another kind began -to kindle. Though he deemed there was contamination in the ruffian's -touch, he was glad to crave the assistance of Dobbie, as he bore her -away towards the town; but they had barely reached the southern or -back gate of the Redhall Lodging (as his mansion was named), when the -steps of men were heard rapidly approaching from the direction of the -palace. Sunk deeply in the strong and fortified wall, which bounded -the Canongate on the south and was overshadowed by a group of -venerable chesnuts, this gate was very much concealed and secluded. - -It was barely closed upon the whole party, when three men passed with -drawn swords. - -They were Sir Roland Vipont and his two friends, the captain and -lieutenant of the King's Foot Guard. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE CASTLE OF INCHKEITH. - - "_Prometheus_. The tyrant is but young in power, and deems - His palace inaccessible to sorrow, - But bear him this defiance: I have seen - Two hated despots hurled from the same throne, - And in him I shall soon behold a third, - Flung thence to an irreparable ruin. - "_Mercury_. It was thy proud rebellion brought thee here, - Else thou hadst from calamity been free." - - -Half-an-hour after the earl and Lady Jane had set out for the convent -of St. Katherine, old Father St. Bernard departed; and, after failing -to convince the countess that her belief in omens and predictions was -altogether at variance with the principles of their faith (arguments -which she always silenced by reminding him, that he was one of those -who had seen the spectre which appeared to James IV. in St. -Katherine's aisle at Linlithgow), he departed to his dwelling among -the houses of the prebendaries at St. Giles's, and bestowed his -solemn and usual benediction--"Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum"--on -Janet Seton, the sister of Gilzean, and all the kneeling household, -as he departed. - -The dark-haired Sybil, the fair Marion Logan, and the stately figure -of Alison Hume, were all bent over a large embroidery frame, where -they pretended to be working (for the old-fashioned industry of the -countess kept all busy about her), but in reality they were -conversing intently on the late ball at the palace, and all their -white necks and glossy ringlets shone in the light of the -candelabrum, as they were grouped like the three Graces together. -Reclined in an easy chair, with her feet on a tabourette, and her -face so buried in her vast coif, that her nose (which was somewhat -prominent) alone was visible, the countess was spelling over the -pages of "The joyeuse Historie of the great Conqueror and excellent -Prince, King Arthur, sometyme King of the noble Realm of England, -with the Chivalry of the Round Table." - -It was one of those old black-letter emanations from William Caxton's -press, which the abbot of Westminster erected for him, at the -Almonry, in the parish of St. Margaret, London. Her husband, Earl -John, found it when storming the English castle of Etal, and had -given it to his confessor, as a book of magic; for to the unlettered -warrior of the fifteenth century its strange black characters seemed -the very work of hell, and he had never touched the volume, save with -his gauntlets on. - -However, Father St. Bernard had taught the countess that it was -merely the romance of an old Welsh monk, and, deeply immersed -therein, she had just reached the account of that dreadful battle -fought by Arthur against Nero and King Lot of Orkney, who was so -foully deceived by the wicked enchanter Merlin, and drawn into that -strife around the castle Terrible, where Sir Kaye the seneschal and -Sir Hervis de Revel performed such deeds as none ever achieved but -knights of the Round Table; and where twelve valiant kings were -slain, and buried in Stephen's church at Camelot. The countess, we -say, had just reached this interesting point, and believing it all -implicitly, was crossing herself at the contemplation of such a -slaughter, when her favourite tabby, which was seated on the table, -with its prodigious whiskers bristling, and its sleepy eyes winking -at the wax candles, sneezed violently, which made her cross herself -again three several times. - -A dog howled mournfully in the yard. - -The countess laid aside her book, took off her barnacles, and began -to think. - -"All the dogs in Linlithgow howled on the day James IV. was killed at -Flodden!" - -The good old lady was seriously discomposed, and she was just feeling -for an Agnus Dei, which Father St. Bernard had given her to keep away -the nightmare, when Janet her tire-woman, and Sabrino the page, with -his poniard unsheathed, rushed into the room. The former looked pale -as death, and was almost breathless; the visage of the latter was a -ghastly blue; his eyes were glaring with alarm; he held one finger on -his lips, and pointed downwards with another to the staircase, where -now a sudden uproar of voices mingling with the clash of swords was -heard. - -"Oh! madam! madam! my puir dear lady! it's a' a' owre--it's a' owre -noo! They are coming! they are coming!" cried Janet, with a most -prolonged "Oh!" of grief. - -"Then my four omens this day have not been for nocht!" said the -countess, rising up to the full extent of her great stature; while -the three young ladies rushed to her side like startled doves; "but -speak, ye foolish woman, speak! Who are coming?" - -"They are coming to arrest you, and we are a' lost! lost! lost! Oh, -the hands of dule and death are spread this nicht owre the Setons o' -Ashkirk." And seizing the hands of her mistress, the woman kissed -them, and then throwing herself on her knees, buried her face in her -scarlet curtsey, rocking her body to and fro, and exclaiming with -that noisy grief so common to her class, "Oh Archibald--my -nurseling--my son, and mair than my son (for thou art the head of the -name)--thy curly pow will sune be on the Netherbow, wi' the gleds and -the corbies croaking owre it!" - -The countess trembled and grew pale; but drawing herself proudly up -(and her height was as towering as her aspect was majestic), she said -calmly, - -"Let them come! I have seen my father hewn down before my eyes, and -I have heard the clang of steel upon my hearth ere now. Let them -come--they are welcome; but more welcome would they be," she added, -with an almost savage flash in her eyes, "if I were among my father's -race in Douglasdale!" - -While she spoke, the heavy arras concealing the doorway was raised, -and a number of sturdy legs cased in red stockings, shoes garnished -with enormous red rosettes, and the butt-ends of partisans, became -visible. Then the Albany herald, a dark and stately man, about forty -years of age, clad in his gorgeous tabard, carrying his plumed cap in -one hand and a paper in the other, entered the room, bowing almost to -the ribbons at his knees. The Bute pursuivant who accompanied him -held back the arras, and revealed four halberdiers of the provost -clad in the city livery, blue gaberdines laced upon the seams with -yellow, and ten men of the cardinal's guard, wearing the colours of -Bethune and the arms of the archbishopric of St. Andrew's worked upon -the sleeves and breasts of their doublets. They were armed with -steel caps, swords, and partisans, but remained respectfully without -the apartment. One was bleeding profusely from a wound on the cheek, -having had a tough encounter with the armed servants below. - -"Herald," said the countess haughtily, "if you seek the earl, my son, -I swear to you that he is not here!" - -The herald hesitated. - -"By the forty blessed altars of St. Giles, I swear to you that he is -not!" - -"Madam, I do not seek the earl," said the herald, with the utmost -respect; "but I have here an order from his eminence the cardinal as -lord chancellor, and in the name of the king, for your arrest." - -"Mine!" rejoined the countess, thanking God in her inmost heart that -it was not her unwary son they sought; "for my arrest! on what -charge, herald!" - -"Treason: the resetting of rebels, and----" he paused. - -"What more wouldst thou dare to say?" - -"Suspicion of sorcery, or teaching thy daughter sorcery." - -"Sorcery?" reiterated the countess, gazing at him with terrified -eyes, and speaking almost with the voice of a dying person; while the -three girls, who clung to her robe, uttered a cry of alarm. "Daredst -thou have said so much to my father, Sir Archibald Douglas, of -Kilspindie?" - -"I would have said so to any man under God, whom the king commanded -me to arrest." - -"But to a helpless woman?" - -"I am in the king's service, madam." - -"Thou art a Hamilton!" said the countess, scornfully. - -"I _am_, madam," replied the herald, proudly; "I am John Hamilton, of -Darnagaber--a gentleman of the house of Arran." - -"I thought as much," said the countess, curtsying scornfully again to -conceal how her knees bent under her; "the gentlemen of that house -are thick as locusts now." - -"Do not look on me thus, madam," said the herald, with dignity; "I am -a gentleman of coat-armour, and brook my lands as my forbears won -them, by captainrie and the sword." - -"Allace!" said the countess, as she obtained a glimpse of the armed -men; "what new dishonour is this? why am I arrested by the cardinal's -guards, who are but mere kirk vassals?" - -"Sir John Forrester and the lieutenant of the king's guard, could not -be found: besides, madam, they are the assured friends of the master -of the ordnance, who----" - -"And thou, John Hamilton of Darnagaber, art thou not ashamed to -execute these orders?" said the bold and beautiful Sybil, fixing her -keen black eyes, with an expression of unutterable scorn, on the calm -face of the herald. - -"Noble damsel," he answered, quietly, "I have said that I am in the -king's service, and obey but the constituted authorities of the land; -yet I do so, deploring from my soul this cruel and sad necessity." - -"Sorcery!" said the countess, speaking to herself; "by my father's -bones! Sorcery--oh! my God!--sorcery! Woe worth the deviser of this -scheme--for a scheme it is, which the swords of Ashkirk and Angus -shall unravel." She added, tying on her hood and cloak of sables -with trembling hands, "Alison Hume, do thou look to my jewels and -other valuables; they lie in that strong cabinet; but, Sir Herald, -what of these three noble ladies, my guests and kinswomen; they----" - -"Are not included in the warrant." - -"Then they shall remain with my daughter here." - -"Your daughter, lady," said the herald, confusedly; "nay, they must -be sent to their families under safe escort: my own sons, who serve -in the king's guard, shall convey them with all honour to their -homes. Be easy on that score, madam." - -"But thou, my doo--Sybil?" - -"I," sobbed Sybil, "oh, dear madam, I go with you." - -"To ward?" - -"To death, madam--my second mother! for such, indeed, you have been." - -"My puir bairn, thou hast nowhere else to go; for thy father is in -exile, and Hamilton of Dalserf holds his castle and barony of -Kilspindie." - -"Lady Ashkirk, where is your daughter, the Lady Jane?" said the -herald, unwilling to say that his cruel warrant included her also. - -"She is at the convent of Sienna, where, I pray you, to let her hear -these heavy tidings gently." The herald bowed with increasing -gravity. "But whither go we now--to the castle, of course?" - -"Nay, madam, to the tower of Inchkeith." - -"A sure place, and a strong too! The high rocks and the deep waves -were not required surely to fence in a feeble auld body like mine. -Be it so--I am ready! Oh, for a score of those good men and true, -that my husband led to the battle of Linlithgow! Where now are all -the gallant and the generous hearts of other days?" - -"God hath taken them to himself, madam," replied the herald, whose -eyes moistened. - -"Your pardon, sir; I knew not that I spoke aloud." - -"Lady Ashkirk, your husband spared my life on that unfortunate field. -When the Master of Glencairn, with a thousand Douglas lances, forded -the Avon, and cut the column of Bardowie to pieces, I had there been -slain but for your husband's valour. I owe his memory a debt of -gratitude--trust to my kindness. Horses are in waiting to convey you -to Leith; and I have orders to see that your household property is -every way respected. All lights and fires are to be -extinguished--all bolts and bars made fast, and I place my seal upon -the doorway." - -"God be with thee, Alison, and thee, my bonnie Marion. Fare-ye-well, -my bairns; and thou, too, Janet, my leal servitor--" - -"This woman may attend your ladyship." - -"Sir, I thank you," said the countess, but Janet could only weep, and -she did so with great vociferation. - -The herald took the hand of the countess respectfully; she leaned on -the arm of Sybil, the sable page raised her long train, the guards -fell back to salute her as she passed, and, amid the sound of -lamentation above, below, and around her, she descended the long -stone staircase of her mansion, a prisoner. - -Situated three miles from Leith, in the middle of the Firth of Forth, -the ancient tower of Inchkeith (which was demolished in 1567) -occupied the summit of that beautiful isle, on a rock one hundred and -eighty feet above the water. It was of vast strength and great -antiquity, for it was the _Caer Guidi_ of the venerable Bede. Well -defended by cannon and a barbican wall, which bore the royal arms of -Scotland, it was deemed a place of such importance that the Queen -Regent, Mary of Guise, and the French ambassador, John de Montluc, -the learned bishop of Valence, paid it a visit twelve years after the -date of this our history. Inaccessible on all sides, save one, this -island is fertile on its summit, and is watered by many springs that -flow from its rocks, which are literally swarming with grey rabbits -and fierce Norwegian rats. - -The night was dark, but guided by a beacon of turf and tar-barrels -that blazed on the summit of the tower to direct them (for the -cardinal and lord advocate had provided for everything), eight -mariners of the admiral Sir Robert Barton's ship pulled sturdily -across the broad river towards Inchkeith. Few stars were visible, -and a chill wind from the German Sea blew coldly across the broad -bosom of the open estuary. - -The island, with the light gleaming like a red star on its summit, -loomed darkly afar off in the distance, and seemed to rise in height -at every stroke of the oars. The countess was seated in the stern -beside the anxious Albany herald, whose dread of a rescue made him -lose no time in executing the orders of the lord advocate. - -The seamen bent to their oars in sullen silence, and under their fur -caps and shaggy eyebrows gave hostile glances from time to time at -the countess, for the whisper of sorcery was, in those days of -superstition, more than enough to steel every heart against her. -Full of her own sad and bitter thoughts, she was unaware of this, and -sat proudly and erect, with the cold wind blowing on her fine but -pallid features. Within the last two hours she seemed to have grown -much older. Her nose had become pinched, her cheeks haggard, but her -unmoistened eyes were full of fire; for indignation and studied -revenge - - "Had locked the source of softer woe; - And burning pride, and high disdain! - Forbade the rising tear to flow." - - -The graceful head of Sybil reclined on her shoulder; she wept -bitterly; and the countess, who thought of her absent daughter with -more fear and sorrow than for her son, whose daring character she -knew well, pressed the orphan heiress of Kilspindie to her breast. - -She knew not the depth or the daring of Redhall's plot; that her -daughter was included in the same warrant, and that with him alone -lay the power of opening or closing for ever the door of the prisons -which were now to enclose them. - -Two torches, which were borne by two of the Cardinal Guard (for this -prelate had found a band of pikemen necessary for his protection -against the assassins constantly employed by Henry VIII. for his -destruction), cast a lurid glare upon the boat's crew and the -seething water, as they streamed in the night wind; on the steel caps -and glancing weapons of the soldiers, the wiry beards and swarthy -visages of the seamen; on the herald's splendid tabard; on the black, -shining visage of Sabrino, and on the reddened waves of the Forth, -which became crested with foam as they neared the rocks of the isle, -where they were seen dashing like snow over the jagged reefs of the -Long Craig. - -The torchlight, the moaning breeze, the lonely water, and the dark -and gloomy sky, all combined to give a wild and picturesque aspect to -the whole scene; which must infallibly have impressed the countess, -and still more so the romantic Sybil, had they been less occupied -with their own thoughts. Yet one could not repress a shudder, or the -other a faint cry, when at times the frail boat plunged down into the -trough of the dark waves, or rose on their summits, with the broad -blades of the weather-oars flourishing in the air. - -The jarring of the boat against the rude rocks of the creek on the -south-west, the only landing-place, roused the countess from her -reverie, and she shuddered still more to see, frowning stupendously -above her, the strong square tower of the Inch, perched on the very -verge of "the Climpers," as the fishermen name those basaltic cliffs, -against which the waves are ever rolling in one eternal sheet of foam. - -The sheer rocks of the creek are perpendicular as a wall, and are -fully sixty feet high, while those of the tower are exactly thrice -that height. In this narrow fissure the troops of the queen-mother -landed in 1549, to drive out the English and Germans who had lodged -themselves there; when Monsieur de Biron had half his helmet driven -into his head by the shot of one arquebuse; Monsieur Desbois, his -standard-bearer, was siain by another, while the Cavaliere Gaspare -Strozzi, captain of the Italians, and many more, fell before the -English were cut to pieces. - -"Oh, my winsome bairn--my daughter Jeanie--when again, shall I ever -behold thee?" exclaimed the poor old countess, as she stretched her -trembling hands in the direction of the city, which being then buried -in the gloom and obscurity of midnight, was totally invisible. "When -shall I behold again thee? But, till then, may that blessed Virgin -whose wondrous sanctity our Lord hath honoured with sae many -miracles, keep a watch over thee!" - -"Assuredly, there is no witchcraft here!" thought the Albany herald. - -Rolled up in a warm cloak of couleur-du-roi, Sir James Hamilton, of -Barncleugh, captain of the tower, was ready at the landing-place with -a few soldiers and torchbearers to receive them. Attended by these -and the herald, Lady Ashkirk, leaning on the arms of Sybil and Janet, -with the taciturn Sabrino following, ascended the zigzag path which -leads into the beautiful and verdant little valley that lies in the -centre of the island, and is sheltered from the cold wind by basaltic -cliffs on the east and west. - -Above them rose the dark outline of the tower, with the large red -balefire sputtering on its summit to direct the homeward-bound ships -of Leith. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE FORTUNATE SWORD-THRUST. - - "Adew Edinburgh! that heich triumphant toun, - Within quhose bounds richt blytheful I have been; - Of trew merchants, the rout of this regioun, - Most ready to ressave court, king, and queen. - Thy policie and justice may be seen, - Were devotioun, wysedom, and honestie, - With credence tint, they micht be found in thee." - LINDESAY OF THE MOUNT. - - -In total and happy ignorance of the events of the past night, Roland -awoke next morning. The dawn was struggling through an atmosphere of -mist and fog. Though roused by the tramp of feet and the lumbering -roll of artillery wheels, he would fain have slept a little longer, -for the palace clock was only striking four; but he sprang out of bed -with the resolution of a soldier, and found old Lintstock all -accoutred in his sleeved habergeon, with gourgerin, salade, sword, -dagger, and priming-horn, ready to dress and arm him, a process which -use and wont made wonderfully short, when we consider that Roland was -to be encased in a complete suit of plate armour. It was elaborately -gilded and engraved with legends of the Scottish saints, for such was -the superstition of the age, that such devices were deemed a -protection greater even than a coat of tempered mail. His helmet was -surmounted by the crest of the Viponts, a swan's head rising from a -ducal coronet, all of frosted silver, and above it floated his plume. -A belt of perfumed and embroidered leather sustained his sword and -dagger, and in his hand he carried a gilt baton as captain or master -of the ordnance. For breakfast, a slice of beef and a pot of wine -from the relics of the supper sufficed both him and Lintstock, who -said-- - -"Now that old bundle of roguery, who keeps the _Cross and Gillstoup_, -will be ready to curse himsel' wi' bell, book, and candle, when he -finds we're awa'; and he may whistle on the wind for payment." - -"Till I return, say, I pray you." - -"Of course; we'll pick up some braw things by way o' contribution. -The king's soldiers, gentlemen of the sword, maun live, and live wi' -honour." - -"Is the earl here?" - -"The earl!" - -"Of course; he is going with us." - -"To look for himself?" - -"Surely--an excellent joke; I meant to take him, where in reality -none expect to find him; for I tell thee, Lintstock, this march -westward is all a trick of mine enemies at court, to banish me from -the king's presence and this good town of Edinburgh, when they know I -would give my ears to remain in it." - -"Aha!" said Lintstock, giving under his helmet a shrewd Scots wink -with his solitary eye; "I can see into a millstone as far as my -neighbours; but, certes! I saw na this." - -Roland yawned below his visor as he faced the cold breeze that swept -from the sea round Arthur's Seat, and gave a casual glance at the -hundred soldiers of the guard whom his friend Leslie was arraying -with their arquebuses, rests, and bandoliers; and another at his -sixteen gunners, who were all stout men in steel bonnets and jacks, -armed with swords and glove of plate, and who were tracing the -horses, and preparing two very handsome French culverins for the -march. These were two of those fifty-six beautiful pieces of brass -cannon, presented by Francis I. to his daughter Magdalene on her -becoming queen of Scotland, and which were long after known in the -arsenal by his cipher, which was engraved on them. - -Like all men of the old school (for they have existed in every age, -and every age has had "a good old time" to regret), Lintstock was -scrutinizing these cannon narrowly with his one eye, and commenting -from time to time in sorrow and with anger on the various innovations -they exhibited, and the multitude of ornamental rings which encircled -the first and second reinforce, the chase and muzzle of each; and he -could not repress a groan at the trunnions with which they were -supported on the carriages, and the curved dolphins, which served for -mounting and dismounting them. Thrawn-mouthed Mow, which had knocked -out his left eye by her splinters, had been blessedly free (as he -remembered) of all such useful ornaments, and lay on her stock like -one log lying on another. - -"By my holy dame! but this dings Dunse!" said the old fellow, shaking -his battered morion; "this world will no do now for an auld body like -me; and the suner I march to my lang hame the better. Gude-sake! -what have they made o' the aim frontlets?" - -"Sic auld-fashioned things are no needed, ye grumbling carle," said a -young cannonier; "especially when the trunnions are so placed, and -the quoins are so low." - -"Ye are but a bairn; trunnions! we levelled six-and-twenty pieces on -Flodden field, and devil a trunnion was among them a'. We were but -ten thousand that day, and the Lord Surrey had six-and-twenty -thousand under his banner: but say nae mair o' Flodden, for I feel as -if this corslet would burst when I think o't." - -Roland paid no attention to the old soldier's complaints; he was -intently observing a man who was muffled in a sad-coloured mantle, -and leaned against the wall of James the Fifth's Tower, watching the -preparations for the departure of this little band. The hour was so -early that no other person was visible about the palace, save the -arquebusiers eo duty in the archways. - -"Yonder is either Redhall, or his friend with the horns," thought -Roland. "Now, what errand can bring my lord advocate abroad at this -early hour? Ah, rascal! more than probable it is to thee I owe this -untimeous march, without bidding once adieu to her who loves me so -well." - -Being somewhat curious to know wherefore this man, whom he knew to be -his enemy, was lounging there, Roland walked slowly and deliberately -towards him. - -A fatality attended Redhall this morning. - -Lady Jane and the earl, her brother, were both now safe in his -house--a strong edifice, which, if properly garrisoned, might have -stood a siege of all their faction; and there we shall, ere long, pay -them a visit. The earl he valued at a thousand merks; but his sister -he prized more than all the wealth of the Indies. Restless and -anxious, this arch-conspirator could not feel sure of his capture, -while so enterprising a pair of comrades as Vipont and Leslie were in -Edinburgh; and burning with impatience to see them fairly depart (on -an expedition from which he was resolved they should never return), -he had never undressed or been in bed, and had now come to observe if -they marched, before the tidings of the countess's arrest, and the -disappearance of her daughter, spread throughout the city. - -In those stirring times, the most daring outrages were esteemed but -casual occurrences, and were thought little more of than a shower of -rain. A day never passed in which a dozen of castles were not -stormed, or petty conflicts fought, in various parts of the country; -and the good folks of Edinburgh were so much accustomed to the clash -of swords, and seeing men run each other through the body for no -better reason than because their worthy fathers had done the same -before them, that the din of steel on the Hiegait was deemed scarcely -worth raising one's window for. Ten thousand clansmen might fight a -battle now and then in the wilds of Ross or Argyle, and might even -burn Inverness by way of variety; and two months after, the news -thereof would reach Holyrood. The energy and ability of James V. and -the cardinal established the Courts of Session and Justiciary for the -repression of such outrages; but these tribunals did not prevent the -lord high treasurer from carrying off an heiress, a ward of the -crown, and marrying her, _bongré malgré_, to his son; while the next -generation saw without surprise the lord high chancellor murdering -the secretary of state under the very eyes of royalty; consequently, -the reader must not imagine that it was any qualm of fear or -conscience either that disturbed Redhall, and banished sleep from his -eyes. No; restless exultation alone kept him awake. The time to -visit his fair captive had not yet come; the first paroxysm of her -grief and anger had to pass; and then to cool his excitement and see -his rival fairly _en route_ for Douglasdale, he had walked forth with -the first peep of dawn. - -Who that saw his grave and thoughtful face, and knew his stern and -lofty character, would have imagined that amid the sea of vast -political matters in which he and the cardinal were immersed, and -amid the busy whirl of their tumultuous public duties, gentle love -had found a passage to his iron heart? An infernal joy had now -kindled a new glow within it; and there was a wild gleam in his eyes, -and a feverish flush on his cheek, as Roland Vipont approached him. - -Sir Adam Otterburn, of Redhall, says an old historian, was one of the -handsomest men of his time; but, notwithstanding that he knew this -well, the aspect of Vipont in his armour, blending the perfect ease -of the cavalier with the loftiness of a true soldier, kindled in his -bosom a glow of jealousy, not unmixed with envy, and anger that he -had been discovered in his lurking-place. - -Turning haughtily, he was about to walk slowly away towards the great -doorway of the abbey church, when the voice of Roland arrested him -with more hauteur than policy. - -"Ho! Sir Adam! you are abroad betimes this morning." - -Redhall turned and bowed with a cold smile in his eyes, the ferocious -expression of which he vainly endeavoured to conceal. - -"I crave pardon for interrupting your lordship's morning reveries or -orisons," said Roland, with somewhat of mischief in his eye; "but, -'odzounds! you must know that I permit no man to pass or avoid me -without a pretty weighty reason; and your lordship has just so served -me." - -"'S life, sir! dost thou think that I will give any reasons to one -who queries me in such a tone?" - -"I did not _thou_ thee," replied Roland, with rising wrath. - -"Nor did I seek thee," rejoined Redhall; and then they paused a -moment, and gazed at each other with eyes of hatred: the soldier with -the expression of a lion, the lawyer with that of a serpent. In his -secret soul each nourished a storm of vengeance that longed to break -forth; but Redhall's was almost subdued by his giddy exultation, and -the reflection that Jane Seton was now, legally and illegally, so -doubly in his power. "Nor did I seek thee," he continued, "and had I -on mine armour, this insolence of first addressing me had assuredly -been chastised." - -"Mansworn dog!" exclaimed Roland, trembling with passion; "thou who -cloakest thy cowardice under the wing of this new-fangled court," he -added, seizing Redhall by his short-peaked beard, and almost rending -it from his chin, "am I thine inferior, that _thou_ shouldst -acknowledge me first?" - -Redhall's bonnet fell off; his dark eyes gleamed with rage; his -moustaches seemed to bristle, and his black hair waved about his face -like the mane of a Scottish bull. He could only utter a cry of fury, -as he unsheathed his sword, regardless of the place, and that he was -totally without armour; while Roland was in full mail for active -service. - -"Come on," he cried, hoarsely, for rage had deprived him almost of -speech; "come on--thou--thou--on your guard! quick! quick! or I am -through you!" Roland hesitated. - -"It were a coward's deed to slay thee," he replied, unsheathing his -long Italian sword in self-defence, and feeling its point with the -leather palm of his gauntlet; "though perhaps it is owing to thee, -and such as thee alone, that my sword now wins more blows than -bonnet-pieces in the king's service." - -Redhall rushed to the assault, and both their swords became engaged -from point to hilt; but Roland acted strictly on the defensive. He -knew that to slay Redhall would be both dangerous and dishonourable; -while, if the reverse happened, Redhall would gain immortal honour at -court, and run no secondary risk. Vipont was a poor soldier of -fortune, who lived by knight-service and the sword; while Redhall was -a powerful baron, allied to many warlike nobles, and a high officer -of state. - -Roland parried one _counter-en-carte_ so close to his throat that it -would certainly have slain him where the gorget met the cuirass; and -then, finding that he had to do with no ordinary swordsman, he -endeavoured to twist his own rapier in his adversary's, and lock-in; -but Redhall met his blade in time; it glided along his own like -lightning, and then they both retired a step. - -In the palace yard the trumpet sounded for the march; as Roland -became impatient his anger rose, and he replied to four terrible -thrusts by one which pierced the shoulder-blade of his adversary, and -hurled him to the earth, breaking his sword like a crystal wand as he -fell. - -In the sequel it will be seen how fortunate this thrust was for Jane -Seton. - -"Now, hold thee, Vipont!" cried Leslie, through his barred helmet, as -he ran up at that moment, "by all the powers, thou hast slain the -king's advocate!" - -"Be easy," said Roland, smiling, as he carefully sheathed his sword; -"dost think the devil dies so readily?" - -"'S death! art thou not mad, to be fencing here like a French -sword-player when our trumpets are sounding?" said Leslie, as he -assisted Redhall to rise. "You are not wounded, my lord, I hope?" - -"'Tis only a stab like a button-hole--pshaw! I will make a sure -account of it," said Redhall, wrapping his cloak about him, and -striking the hilt of his sword into the top of the empty sheath. - -"A good day to thee, thou hypocrite and assassin in black taffeta," -said Roland, leaping on his caparisoned horse, which Lintstock led up -at that moment. - -"Farewell, thou ruffian and cut-throat in plate and cloth-of-gold," -replied Redhall, in the same tone of fierce irony. - -"I will remember thy politeness, Sir Adam." - -"I will not forget thine, Sir Roland;--adieu." - -And thus they separated, with bent brows, and eyes and hearts full of -fire and hatred. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE BLACK PAGE. - - "Ha! there was a fatal evidence. - All's over now, indeed! - The morning tide shall sweep his corpse to sea, - And hide all memory of this stern night's work."--SCOTT. - - -Leaning on the arm of Sybil, and attended by Sir James Hamilton of -Barncleugh, the Albany herald and their followers, we left the -countess ascending the little valley which lies in the centre of -Inchkeith. They proceeded in silence, for the path was somewhat -perilous; the early morning was yet grey, though the eastern sky and -ocean were fast brightening with the coming day. A cold wind swept -over the bosom of the waters that girdled in the isle. About the -middle of the valley a cleft in the rocks was reached, through which -the pathway passed at direct right angles with that they had hitherto -pursued; and from thence they continued to ascend, until they reached -the summit of those precipices which, from the water, seemed to be -inaccessible, and where the iron gate of the barbican stood, with a -moss-grown Scottish lion carved in stone above it. - -The light had been rapidly increasing as they ascended, and now -behind bars of golden cloud the broad round morning sun rose red and -gloriously from his bed in the German Ocean; and then indeed did the -beautiful river, that from Highland hills rolls down on yellow sands, -seem one vast tide of molten gold flowing to the dark blue sea; and -beautifully in the warm sunshine were that bright blue and brighter -gold mingling afar off in the estuary. - -The morning smoke and the humid vapours of the past night yet veiled -the close dense masses of the capital; but the spire of St. Giles's, -and the embattled tower of King David, the loftiest summit of the -castle, whereon the St. Andrew's cross was waving, were visible above -the gauzy mist that veiled the glens below. - -Clad in the brightest hues of summer, on one side lay Fife, its long -expanse of sand studded by busy towns and red-tiled villages, -baronial towers and ancient churches, its bold promontories jutting -into the majestic river, and its beautiful mountains rising behind. -On the other lay the three Lothians, with all their ripening fields -and dark-green woods, the lonely cone of Soltra, the lonelier -Lammermuirs, and the undulating sweep of the far-stretching -Pentlands, a long blue waving chain of heath-clad mountain, that -dwarfed the lesser hills, and threw the wooded cliffs of -Corstorphine, the Calton, the castled rock, and even proud Arthur's -basaltic brow, into comparative obscurity. So deceiving is distance, -that this chain of peaks seemed to start abruptly from the very -margin of the river; and Leith, with all its dense old Flemish wynds -and closes, its marts and shipping, St. Mary's spire and old St. -Anthony's tower, seemed to nestle at their feet. - -Westward of the isle lay that armed fleet which had so recently -arrived from France, under the pennon of Admiral Sir Robert Barton, -brother of that other gallant Admiral Sir Andrew Barton, who, when -returning from fighting the Portuguese, with two solitary ships, was -waylaid by Lord Howard and the whole English fleet in the Downs, -where he was slain by a cannon-ball. - -The dawn of day, which had displayed this magnificent panorama to the -countess and Lady Sybil, had also revealed the sable visage of -Sabrino to Sir James Hamilton of Barncleugh, who had never seen or -heard of a black man before; so he preceded the party, in some -perturbation, signing the cross as fast as if all St. Anthony's imps -were behind him, and marvelling at so hideous a masque. - -"Welcome to the tower of Inchkeith, ladies," said he, turning round, -and raising his bonnet at the barbican gate. - -The countess replied, "Heaven grant I may soon return the welcome in -my own house, Sir James." - -"Though I _am_ a Hamilton?" replied the knight, with a smile. - -"Oh, yes; for these dire feuds begin to weary me." - -"Ah! old fox," muttered the castellan under his beard; "because thy -nose is below the water now. Had we lost, and the Douglases won the -battle of Linlithgow," said he, with a smile, "I doubt much if the -feud had been tiresome to the Lady Ashkirk." - -"She had not been _here_ to-day," replied the countess; "but -how--what does this mean?" she added, with some asperity, on seeing -that two soldiers, in obedience to a sign from Barncleugh, crossed -their pikes before Sabrino, to prevent his entering the tower. - -"It means, madam, that this black thing, quhilk in visage so closely -resembles the promoter of all evil, cannot enter here." - -"Sir James of Barncleugh," said the Albany herald, interposing, "he -is the countess's page." - -"Page! ugh! I like not to look upon him. I would do much for thee, -John of Darnagaber, who art mine own natural-born clansman, and more -for the widow of gallant Earl John of Ashkirk (a Seton and Douglas -man though he was), but, by my holy dame! this black devil, whom I -have no order to receive, shall not enter the tower of Inchkeith, -that is flat!" - -"Sir James Hamilton," said the countess, with dignity, "do be -merciful, and spare us the humiliation of entreaty. This poor black -boy is faithful and gentle, kind and attached to me as a spaniel, and -assuredly he will die if separated from me; for he is, I know, an -object of abhorrence to the ignorant and the vulgar." - -At this remark, which was unintentional, the commander of the island -gave her a furious look, and cocked his bonnet over his right eye. - -"Madame," said he, coldly, "you will excuse me; I am but a blunt -knight of James III., yet I would never forgive myself if anything -evil occurred." - -"Kiss the hand of this gentleman, Sabrino," said Sybil, "and he will -admit you." - -Sabrino was a mute, or nearly so; by some law of his barbarous native -land, his tongue had been cut out near the root; thus he could only -utter certain terrible and apparently unintelligible sounds, and when -doing so opened his wide mouth to its utmost extent, revealing two -rows of sharp teeth, and the black remains of his mutilated tongue, -which he lolled about within the cavity in a manner which, to say the -least, of it, was very appalling. The poor terrified black was -beginning to mutter his thanks in this extraordinary fashion, and -gradually approached the Lord of Barncleugh, when the latter sprang -back, with alarm in his eyes, and his hand on his sword. - -"Get thee behind me, Satan!" he exclaimed. "Away! I will not be -touched by thee. My hand? nay, I will hew it off first. Hence, imp -of darkness! for may I never see God, if thou abidest in this castle -for a moment, or in this island for an hour!" - -To overcome his prejudices, even if the countess had stooped to -flatter them, seemed impossible; therefore, she gave the herald her -hand to kiss, thanked him for his kind courtesy, entrusted him with -messages for her daughter concerning certain necessaries they -required, for she doubted not her residence on the isle would be a -protracted one; and then begging that he would see the poor black -page delivered safely to the care of Sir Roland Vipont, of the -captain of the guard, or any other of his friends, she entered the -tower with Sybil and Janet, their last solitary attendant. - -Then the iron gate was closed and barred until the herald's boat -should have withdrawn from the island. - -A sign from the countess had been sufficient for Sabrino, and with -tears and the utterance of many a strange and unearthly lamentation, -he followed the herald and Hamilton of Barncleugh, who, after taking -each a quaighful from a little keg of whisky that stood in the -warder's lodge, descended to the boat; the disobliging castellan -going thither partly from fear, and partly from courtesy, to see his -friend and the page off together. - -"I like this black creature as little as thee," said the herald; "but -I have heard Father St. Bernard, when preaching of St. Frumentius of -Ethiopia, tell us of a land, a hundred times the size of broad -Scotland, where all the tribes were of this sable hue." - -"True--and I have seen such a visage on a banner, ere this." - -"Morrison of the Ilk carrieth three," replied the herald; "I saw them -beaten down by the Stewarts of Lennox on that day, by Linlithgow -brig. But, remember thee, that my lord advocate wished a strict -watch to be kept over this creature." - -"Then he should have inserted his name in the warrant of committal to -ward. 'Slife! there is an old draw-well in the barbican, where I -could have lodged it very well. Though a dour carle, I know Sir Adam -Otterburn to be an upright man, an abhorrer of sorcery; and there is -in this Seton family much that smelleth sorely of it. Earl John -found a book of the black art once when on an English foray, as I -have heard, but Redhall----" - -"Ah, _he_ is a very good man," said the herald, ironically; -"descended, indeed, from one of the apostles, by the father's side." - -"Which?" - -"Judas." - -"Beware of thy waggery--he is a severe dispenser of the laws." - -"What the devil care I for him, or for the cardinal either if it -cometh to that?" - -"My friend, my friend!" said Barncleugh, giving a furtive glance -behind; "assuredly this black thing hath infected thee, for this -discourse savoureth fearfully of the new heresy; but I forget that -thou art a near kinsman of Patrick Hamilton, the umquhile abbot of -Fearn, and so-called martyr." - -"Nay, I remember only that I am speaking to a gentleman, Hamilton, -and say what I choose." - -"Not always a wise proceeding. But here is the boat, cousin." - -The mariners, who had been in no way pleased at having Sabrino as a -passenger to the isle, and had been mutually feeding each other's -fears and prejudices during the herald's absence, were very much -discomposed by his returning with the same sable attendant; and on -hearing from the cardinal's pikemen that Sir James Hamilton had -declined to admit him within the tower, their murmurs became loud and -undisguised. - -The herald shook hands with the knight, and attended by his -pursuivant, sprang on board; but when Sabrino attempted to follow, -the coxswain, a square-visaged and sturdily-built old fellow, with a -long grey beard and shaggy eyebrows, snatched up a boat-hook, and -attempted to push off the pinnace; then Sabrino, with one hand on the -gunnel, and the other on his poniard, gave him a dark and terrible -scowl. - -"Awa, awa! thou imp of Satan--hands off, or I will ribroast thee!" -cried the coxswain, somewhat alarmed at his own temerity. - -"Reeve a rope through his siller ear-rings and tow him overboard," -cried one sailor. - -"Cast off! cast off!" cried another; "I hae heard o' sic imps that -abide at Cape Non, and eat of ship-broken mariners." - -The coxswain raised the iron-shod boat-hook. - -"Hold!" exclaimed the herald, springing forward, but he was too late; -it descended like a thunderbolt on the round, woolly head of Sabrino, -and he disappeared like a stone in the deep fathomless abyss of the -creek. "Dolt!" added the herald, "I have pledged my word of honour -for his safety, and thou hast slain him." - -"Heed it not, good fellow; I will owe thee a score of bonnet-pieces -for that," cried Sir James Hamilton, as he sprang up the steep -winding pathway that led towards the tower, while the oars dipt into -the water, and the boat shot out upon the river, whose waves were -dancing brightly in the glow of a cloudless morning. - -Before this, the countess and Sybil, overcome by weariness, the grief -of the past night, and a total deprivation of sleep, bad fallen into -a deep slumber in a chamber of the tower above. - -The worthy lady of Barncleugh was somewhat of a termagant, which was -generally averred to be the principal reason why the good laird her -spouse had solicited from the cardinal, and retained, the solitary -castellany of Inchkeith. The lady never came into the island, and -the laird never went out of it; but consumed the long and dreary -days, revelling in the peaceful monotony he now enjoyed, playing -chess with his seneschal, and drinking usquebaugh mixed with a small -proportion of the brackish spring-water of the isle. A table was -placed near the gate of the tower, at a sunny angle of the barbican, -on the very verge of those cliffs named the Climpers; and there, with -the sea rolling nearly a hundred and eighty feet below, the seagulls -and the Solan geese croaking above them, they passed the summer -afternoons, playing chess and drinking, with invincible resolution -and impenetrable gravity, till sunset, when the knight was usually -borne upstairs and put to bed, the damp air having stiffened his -limbs, as he always declared next day--an assertion which the -seneschal (who had his own thoughts on the matter) never dared to -deny. - -It may easily be supposed that such a castellan was in no way -calculated to relieve the tedium, soothe the grief and mortification, -or lessen the fears, of the countess and Sybil; for days rolled on -and became weeks, and weeks were approaching a month; and though the -opposite coast and the city, the scene of all their anxieties, were -little more than three miles distant, they remained in total and -blessed ignorance of all that was passing there. - -They seemed to be as utterly forgotten as if they had been in the -_oubliettes_ of the cardinal. - -The countess heard nothing of her daughter, whom she had fully -expected to join her; and Sybil learned nothing of her lover; so -whether, with the Douglas faction, he was bearing all before him at -sword's point, and waging a victorious though rebellious war with the -king and court; or whether they had returned to exile at the capital -of England, they knew not. The total absence of all intelligence -made them conclude the latter, and that he had taken Lady Jane with -him to protect her. Then the countess would weep bitterly at the -thought of such a separation; for England was then a hostile country; -and places that are now but a day's journey distant were then deemed -afar off and difficult of access. A chain of royal castles watched -the English from the south, and the cannon of Berwick and Carlisle, -Norham and Newcastle, frowned towards the Scottish mountains on the -north. Safe conducts and passports were constantly required on both -sides of the frontier, the jealous Scot and his aggressive neighbour -seldom saw each other, save under the peaks of their helmets; and an -exchange of cannon-balls and sword-cuts was the only traffic in which -they were permitted to deal. Though we can smile at such a state of -matters between the two kingdoms, experience is daily showing that -Scotland will soon require some _firmer guarantee_ for her national -privileges than a British parliament can afford her, against the -march of centralization. - -A little rocky island, half a mile in length by the eighth of a mile -in breadth, could afford but few amusements. Sybil soon tired of -watching the white seagulls and the gigantic Solan geese that floated -about the Longcraig, in the fissures of which the waves were ever -roaring with a sound of thunder. She tired too of watching the -passing ships, the Holland wachters, the Flemish crayers, the -Rochellers and Dunkirkers, with their high poops and great square -banners: the large brown lug-sails of the boats which then fished -between the island and the town of Kinghorn, and of hearkening to the -hum of that song which the fishers of the Forth yet chant to their -oars, the end of each monotonous verse being-- - - "The leal gudeman of Aberdour, - Sits in Sir Alan Vipont's tower." - - -She tired of watching the endless waves as they rolled on the rocky -beach, marking every tenth billow as the largest and most forcible, a -phenomenon known since the days of Ovid; and Sybil sighed for the -city, whose lofty castle and ridgy outline "piled deep and massy, -close and high," she saw daily shining afar off in the summer sun. - -More content--for the wants, the wishes, and the hopes of age are -generally few--the countess wiled away the time in the perusal of her -missal, and searching for the four-leaved clover which she found -sometimes in the little valley, and solemnly pulled, saying, after -the old Scottish fashion, "In nomine Patris, Filii, et Spiritus -Sancti," to be preserved and worn as a charm against the _evil eye_, -which she thought was observable in Sir James Hamilton of Barncleugh. - -"Sybil, my bairn," she frequently whispered, when the besotted -castellan was dosing over his wine and chessboard, "he hath indeed a -most evil eye, and whatever he looks upon cannot thrive; so keep all -thy blessed relics and consecrated medals about thee. Beware," she -would add, smoothing the jet-like ringlets, and kissing the cheek of -Sybil, which exhibited that peculiar olive tint of the brave old -Douglas race, which is so much richer than the most roseate hue; -"beware thee, too, of approaching yonder end of the valley, for I -fear me mickle the _gude-wichts_ dwell among the rocks;" and in -confirmation she pointed to those bright sparry particles which -frequently stud basaltic masses, and in Scotland are denominated -fairy pennies. "More than once after nightfall, when sitting at my -dreary chamber window in yonder tower, I have heard melodious sounds, -and seen strange gleams of light emitted from yonder brae. I -remember that my worthy father, Sir Archibald (quhom God assoilzie), -once showed me a knowe near unto the duletree that grew beneath sur -Castell o' Kilspindie, the stones whereof were studded with these -sparry marks, and therein dwelt the gude-wichts in such numbers as ye -will find the sand on the sea-shore. Quite gude neighbours they -were, but wrathful and dangerous to molest. It happened in the year -1501, as he rode thereby, in full harness with his visor up, and the -red heart fluttering on his pennon behind him--lo! the whole hillock -was seemingly raised, and stood on twelve pillars, each about four -feet high; and below he saw crowds of wee men and wee women all -dressed in grass green, wi' foxglove and blue-bells on their heads. -Thousands were dancing to the hum o' fairy harps and drums, while -thousands more were airing heaps of gold, and pushing to and fro -great chests full of shining coins. Sorely amazed at this sight, his -hair bristled up below his helmet, but he bethought him of the patron -of our house. - -"'Sancta Brigida, ora pro me!' said he (being all the Latin he had -ever picked up from Father St. Bernard), when down sank the hill, its -grassy side became dark, for light and sound and fairies vanished; -and then the gude knight, my father, thought it no shame on his -manhood to gallop swiftly away. Ah, me! this was in the time of King -James IV., of gallant memorie!" - -Brighter and sunnier June came on; but such and so close were the -measures of the cardinal, and his able second, the king's advocate, -that no tidings reached that lonely little isle of the events which -were taking place so near it. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -JOHN OF THE SILVERMILLS. - -"I never met with an adept, or saw such a medicine, though I had -fervently prayed for it. Then, I said, 'Surely you are a learned -physician?' 'No,' said he, 'I am a brass-founder, and lover of -chemistry.'"--BRANDE. - - -The king was seated in one of the apartments of that stately tower of -Holyrood, that still bears his name, which until recently was visible -on the front thereof, carved and gilt in gothic letters,-- - - Jac. Rex. V. Scotorum. - -One window opened towards the abbey hill, an eminence then covered -with apple-trees and other wood in full foliage; a path ran round its -base, and another crossed its summit. The first led to the castle of -Restalrig and St. Margaret's gifted well: the second was the ancient -Easter-road to Leith. It was then, and for long after, destitute of -houses; Gordon, in his View of Edinburgh, taken in 1617, represents -only eight small dwellings on this now populous eminence and the -Croft-an-Righ that lay between it and the walls of the abbey church. - -The other window afforded a view of the Calton with its rocks of -basalt, then bare, desolate, and unfrequented, with the eagle -hovering over their summits, as if to show that his prey, the -ptarmigan, the red grouse, and the black cock, were not far off. - -The sun was setting, and its warm light fell aslant upon the waving -orchards of Holyrood; the square towers and magnificent doorway of -its church, and the green coppice on which the king was gazing -listlessly, with one hand resting on the neck of his favourite old -hound Bash, and the other thrust among the thick curls of his auburn -hair, as a support to his head. The passers were few. A mendicant -friar, with his begging-box and staff, came slowly over the hill; a -knight, armed nearly cap-à-pié for travelling, spurred from the -Watergate, and his armour was seen flashing in the sunbeams, among -the foliage as he rode towards Restalrig. The king was lost in -reverie, and sat with his eyes fixed on the sparrows that twittered -on the massive gratings of the large window. - -The illness of that fair young bride whom he loved so passionately -pressed heavy on his heart; the more painfully so, that from its -perplexing and apparently mysterious nature, it seemed utterly beyond -the reach of alleviation. She laboured under a rapid consumption, of -the nature of which Francis I. had repeatedly warned James V.; but -young, ardent, and impetuous, her royal lover would listen to nothing -save the dictates of his passion; and slighting the love of Mary of -Lorraine (his future wife), he had wedded Magdalene. Now, despite -all the skill of his physicians, and the care of her own attendants, -the young queen, within twenty days after her landing in Scotland, -was almost hovering on the brink of the tomb. - -As day by day she sank more and more, the Countess of Arran declared -that the fairies were extracting all her strength; others averred -solemnly and gravely, that she was under the influence of witchcraft: -for it was an age fraught with the wildest superstition. An illness -such as hers, when the secret source of decay was unseen and unknown -to the quack physicians and astrologers who surrounded her couch, -made their restless credulity readily adopt the idea of mystic agency. - -The time was full of fanciful terrors; the dispensations of God were -invariably attributed to magic invocations and demoniac maledictions; -to invisible shafts from the elves and fairies who peopled every -rock, hill, and tree, the only antidotes to which were the -prescriptions and the counter-charms of impostors and self-deluded -dabblers in the occult sciences. Dreams, in those days, the result -doubtless of ponderous suppers and morbid constitutions, were -received as visions of the future, as solemn forewarnings and divine -inspirations from God--fraught sometimes with happiness, but more -frequently with death and terror, war and woe. - -Thus the poor young queen, whose orient eyes while they sank never -lost their lustre, and whose cheek while it grew hollow still -retained its rosy and transparently beautiful hue, continued to waste -and grow thinner; and the king with agony saw daily how her snowy -arms and infantile hands were wearing less and less, until the bones -became fearfully visible at last. - -He sighed, he prayed, and he wept; but still the blasting, the -wasting, the terrible attenuation went on. Her skin was white as -marble, but ever hot and feverish; and though a gentle smile played -ever on her lips, there was a wild, sad earnestness in her large blue -eyes, in the quiet depths of which two orient stars--the stars of -death--were ever shining. Everything that love could prompt and -quackery advise, had been done; she was bathed repeatedly in the -waters of streams that ran towards the sun; and in those of blessed -and sanctified wells, which the saints had consecrated of old--but -unavailingly. - -Barefooted, with bowed head, and candle in hand, the king had visited -many a holy shrine; but still Magdalene became worse; and it was -evident to all that the hand of death would soon be upon her--unless, -as many added, the _spell_ was broken. - -Suddenly the arras (which was of green damask flowered with gold) was -shaken. The king started. It was raised, and there entered a man, -whom a few words will describe. - -"Well, most worthy deacon and doctor," said James, springing eagerly -towards him; "what thinkest thou of the queen?" - -The new comer mournfully shook his head and stroked his beard. - -The young king clasped his hands, and, pushing a chair towards the -physician, sank into his own. - -John of the Silvermills was an old man with keen grey eyes that -twinkled under bushy brows; a long hooked nose; a vast white beard -that flowed over his sad-coloured cassock-coat. He wore a black -velvet skull-cap, on the front of which were embroidered a cross and -a triangle within a circle--being the emblems of Religion, the -Trinity, and Eternity. His form was bent by age; his back was almost -deformed, and one of his tremulous but active hands clutched a long -silver-headed cane; the other, a small sand-glass, which supplied the -place of a watch with the physicians of that age. - -Patronized by King James IV., who had been an eminent dabbler in -alchemy, he was the first deacon of the Barber Chirurgeons of -Scotland, whom that monarch had incorporated by royal charter in the -year 1505; when every guild brother was obliged to pay five pounds to -the altar of St. Mungo of Glasgow, and prove his knowledge of -"anatomie, the nature and complexioun of everie member of the human -bodie; and in lykwayis, all the vaynis of the samyn, that he may mak -flewbothamea in dew tyme; and alsua that he may know in quhilk member -the Signe has domination for the tyme;" for then astronomy, -astrology, and alchemy formed the principal part of a medical -education; and King James IV. spent vast sums on the wild experiments -of the learned John, at his laboratory, from which a district of our -capital then obtained and still retains the name of _Silvermills_. - -"Ah, my God! and thou,--thou hast no good tidings for me, my -venerable friend?" said the young king, imploringly, as he seated -himself. - -"The queen's grace is assuredly in great dolour and sore pain," -replied the physician, resting his chin on the top of his cane, and -fixing his keen eyes on the anxious and beautiful face of the young -monarch; "she complains of an aching head, of a burning heart, and of -a constant weariness and lassitude which overwhelm her. There is -something in all this which perplexes me, and it seemeth----" - -"Beyond thy skill, in short? But oh, say not that!" - -"Nay, nay," continued the mediciner, who spoke slowly, while his keen -visage shook on the staff where he had perched it; "but I must give -it long and deep thought. I am assured--at least I hope--there is in -my pharmacopœia some simple that will restore her. That learned -apothegar and worshipful clerk (though I agree with him in few -things), Galen, the physician of Pergamus, possessed a manuscript -which enumerated fifty thousand families of the vegetable world, with -all their restorative or destructive qualities. Oh, for one glimpse -of that glorious volume! In all things following strictly the rules -laid down by the learned Artesius (who lived a thousand years by that -very elixir, the secret of which is, at this time, enabling -Paracelsus to work so many miraculous cures), in the year 1509, I -compounded my _nepenthe_, a drug which driveth away all manner of -pain, and my _opobalsamum_, which was powerful, even as the blessed -Balm of Gilead; to the queen's grace I have administered them both -for the past week, and yet, miraculous to relate, she daily groweth -worse." - -"My wife! my heart!" said the king, again wringing his hands; "must I -see my poor dear little Magdalene perish thus? I love her too much, -and perhaps God is about to take her from me. Oh! canst thou do -nothing for her?" - -"I was at the University of Basil in 1525, storing my mind with fresh -knowledge, when Paracelsus, by the recommendation of Œcolampadius, -was called to fill the chair of physic and surgery, and was present -on that day when he so presumptuously burned the works of Avicenna -and Galen, assuring us that the latchets of his shoes knew more of -physic than both these learned doctors; and that all the universities -and all the writers of the earth, past and present, knew less than -the smallest hair of his beard; for he had in his brain the mighty -secret which would prolong life for ever--yea, even unto the verge of -eternity--the secret of Artesius." - -"This was the very madness of learning and vanity," said the king. -"Well?" - -"Erasmus believed in him, and was cured of a grievous illness by one -drop of the principal ingredient." - -"What, Desiderius Erasmus, of Rotterdam, the tutor of my brother -Alexander, who fell at Flodden? Well, well--and this----" - -"Ingredient was a simple used of old by a king of Egypt, and it is -now written in hieroglyphics on the southern side of the great -pyramid." - -"And those hieroglyphics?" - -"None can read save sorcerers; for Paracelsus on that day, at Basil, -destroyed, with the works of Avicenna, the sole existing key thereto, -and which was written on a blank leaf thereof." - -"May the devil confound thee, Paracelsus, and the great pyramid to -boot! I fear me much, thy musty magic will never cure the queen." - -"I pardon your majesty's anger, for it hath its source in grief," -replied John of the Silvermills, calmly; "nature is full of -mysteries. Our cradle and our coffin may be formed from the same -tree, and yet we be ignorant thereof. Paracelsus----" - -"I say again, Mahound take Paracelsus! but what doth this trite -remark mean?" - -"That, like the mass of the unlettered world, your majesty scoffs at -what appears incomprehensible, and----" - -The apothegar paused, for the arras was raised by a hand covered by a -glove of fine scarlet leather, and Cardinal Beaton, who at all hours -had the _entrée_ of the king's apartments, stood before them, and -both king and subject knelt to kiss his ring. - -"The peace of the Lord be with thee and with thy spirit!" said the -cardinal, seating himself, and looking kindly at the king, whose -grief and distress were marked in every feature of his fine face. -"In the ante-chamber I have heard how poorly her majesty is, and -Mademoiselle Brissac has just been imploring my prayers, poor child! -But proceed, my learned doctor," he added, with a slight smile; while -the deacon of the surgeons again perched his chin on the top of his -cane, which was half hidden by his long white beard, and thus -continued-- - -"Your majesty rails at the learned Paracelsus; I can afford to pardon -that, when I remember me that to him we are indebted for introducing -to the pharmacopœia, the mercurial, the antimonial, and -ferruginous preparations which act so beneficially upon the organs of -our system." - -"But is not this Paracelsus, of whom thou boastest, an impure -pantheist," asked the cardinal, "who, while believing in the -existence of pure spirits which are without souls, receives aliment -from minerals and fluids, and whose physiological theories are a wild -mass of the most incoherent ideas, founded almost solely upon an -application of the damnable mysteries of the cabala to the natural -functions of the frame which God has given us?" - -"I do not quite understand your eminence," replied John of the -Silvermills, turning, with as much asperity as he dared, to the -cardinal, whose towering figure and magnificent dress were imposing -enough, without the memory of that important position held by him; -"but I understand, and, with Paracelsus, believe (what certain -malevolent commentators have denied) that the sun hath an influence -upon the heart, as the moon hath upon the brain; that Jupiter acts -upon the liver, as Saturn doth upon the spleen, Mercury on the lungs, -Mars on the bile, and Venus on the kidneys and certain other organs. -Hence the true apothegar should know the planets of the microcosm, -their meridian, and their zodiac, before he attempteth to cure a -disease. By due attention to them, he attains the discovery of the -most hidden secrets of nature; for our human bodies are but a -conglomeration of sulphur, of mercury, and of immaterial salt, which -rendereth them peculiarly liable to planetary influences; and as each -of these three elements may admit of another, we may, without knowing -it, possess within us water that is _dry_, and fire that is _cold_." - -"A subtle sophist," said the cardinal, with a smile. - -The king listened in silence, and, full of Paracelsus, the doctor -continued-- - -"Thus, please your eminence, by identifying himself with the -celestial intelligences, hath this wondrous physician so nearly -attained a knowledge of the philosopher's stone, and, by curing all -diseases, raised to his fame a monument based on the four quarters of -the earth. And doubtless if he prolongeth his own life, as he doth -that of others, in time to come he will attain the secret of that -_other_ powerful ELIXIR, by which Adam and the patriarchs prolonged -their lives before the Deluge--yea, even unto nine centuries." - -"Gramercy me!" said the cardinal; "and beware thee, John! this man -whom thou upholdest glories in the fame of his sorcery, and openly -boasts of receiving from Galen letters that are dated _from Hell_, -and also of his recent disputes held with Avicenna at the gate of -that dread abode--disputes on the transmutation of metals, the elixir -of the patriarchs, and the quintessence of the Mithridate; for I -heard of all these things when I was studying the canon law at Paris. -He blasphemously takes as his primary supports the writings of the -holy fathers; and while asserting that the blessed Gospels lead to -all manner of truth, dares to add, that magical medicine can be -learned by the study of the Apocalypse alone." - -"Enough of this, lord cardinal," said the king, impatiently observing -that the doctor was angrily adjusting his velvet cap preparatory to -returning to the charge; "enough of this jargon, amid which my poor -Magdalene will probably die." - -"It may be so, though God avert it; for the disease is all but beyond -my skill; and I dread to state my suspicions, now that both my -nepenthe and opobalsamum have failed." - -"Thy suspicions?" reiterated the cardinal. - -"I know them already," said the king, gloomily. "Like the Countess -of Arran, thou wouldest say that she is under a spell?" - -"Which nothing but a counter-spell can break." - -"Mother of God!" said the king, "I cannot believe in such things! -Lord cardinal, dost thou?" - -"And what manner of charm, deacon?" asked the cardinal, affecting not -to hear the king; for he did not scoff at sorcery, though he did at -Paracelsus. - -"A muild, as our peasants call it. She may have trod upon a muild, -which is a powder of potent effect, prepared from the bones of the -dead, and scattered by sorcerers in the path of their enemies. We -all know that, at the Sabaoth of the witches, sepulchres are -violated, corpses are dismembered, and the limy particles of the -bones pulverised to operate as mischiefs upon mankind. At this time -the queen hath all the symptoms of one who hath trod upon an -enchanted muild, or dieth of pricked images--for they are the same. -A swarting of the heart, a fluttering of the breast. When the -patients will merely sicken they turn red--when they will die, they -turn pale." - -"And the queen is pale?" said the cardinal. - -"Yea, even as death." - -"The cure--the cure?" sighed the king. - -"There are two: the first is, to find a certain reptile, forming one -of the six species of salamanders which are indigenous in southern -Europe, in the head whereof is a red stone, to be taken as a powder. -For it is written by Paracelsus----" - -"Paracelsus again!" said James, stamping his foot; "the second cure?" - -"Is to burn the sorcerer." - -"Then Sir Adam Otterburn must sift this matter to its bottom." - -"Ah, that reminds me," said the doctor, rising up, and clutching his -sand-glass; "I must now retire, with your majesty's leave." - -"To visit Sir Adam? I knew not that he ailed." - -"A sword-thrust." - -"From whom?" - -"Sir Roland Vipont." - -"Vipont again!" said James V., knitting his brows; "thus it is my -friends are ever slaying each other. But he, my most valiant and -true friend, has been quite besotted by those Setons of Ashkirk." - -"He knew not of their arrest," said the cardinal; "it was a sudden -rencontre--a quarrel." - -"Oh, in that case, I have nothing to do with such little amusements. -The Countess of Ashkirk?" - -"Is in Barncleugh's ward at Inchkeith." - -"Where I will keep her as long as James I. kept Euphemia of Ross on -Inchcolin. An old intriguing limmer! And the Lady Jane?" - -"Hath escaped to--no one knows where." - -"Poor damsel! I feel some compunction for her, and fear that she -hath been sorely misled by that deep old Douglas her mother. And -then the earl?" - -"Hath vanished too." - -"To England?" - -"Most probably." - -"But is Redhall's wound severe!" asked James. - -The cardinal turned to the doctor. - -"A fair run through the body, at the shoulder," said the physician. -"'Twas well for him that Mercury, which influences the lungs, was not -in Abdevinam, or the lord advocate's gown had been vacant." - -"Vipont goeth from bad to worse," said the king, as the cardinal -turned away to conceal his laughter. "Kincavil run through the body -one day, my lord advocate the next. We must restrain his vivacity. -In this spirit, Vipont will achieve little in Douglasdale; but let -him bear in mind the vow I made when Sir David Falconer, the captain -of my guard, was slain when covering the retreat of the artillery -from Tantallan!" - -"I hope your majesty will remember as well your gracious promise -anent the charter, exempting our learned corporation from watching -and warding, and all manner of military service within the city, save -in time of siege." - -"Does your eminence hear?" said James, with a smile, to the cardinal. - -"It is just passing the seals," replied the chancellor; "and I will -send the Lord Lindesay with it to-morrow--so, meantime, farewell." - -The cardinal, who had more sense than a thousand such as Paracelsus -or John of the Silvermills, wisely recommended the king to remove his -suffering bride to Balmerino (in Fifeshire), a Cistercian abbey, -founded by the queen of William the Lion, Ermengarde de Beaumont, -whose grave lay there, before the high altar. In this magnificent -old pile, which was dedicated to St. Mary, apartments were prepared -for the sickly Magdalene. In a rich and pastoral district, it -occupied a beautiful situation, among fruitful orchards and the -remains of an old primeval forest, sheltered on one side by verdant -hills, and fanned on the other by the cool breeze from the bright -blue basin of the Tay. - -On a sunny morning in June, under a salute of cannon from the castle, -amid which the vast report of Old Mons or rather Monce Meg of -Galloway was conspicuous, the young queen, with her anxious husband -riding by her litter, and attended by a select number of courtiers -(forming, however, a long cavalcade of horse), was conveyed from -Holyrood to Leith, where Sir Robert Barton's ship received and landed -her two hours after, on the yellow sands of Fife. From thence they -crossed the deep and fertile glen called the Howe, and, descending -the Scurr Hill, approached Balmerino. - -With many deep sighs and portentous shakes of the head, all -indicative of what no one could divine, John of the Silvermills had -to abandon his smoke-begrimed laboratory near the water of Leith, and -accompany the court; carrying his books of Paracelsus, Galen, and -Avicenna, and the anatomical works of Hippocrates, Herophilus, and of -the great modern, Vesalius (the exposer of the errors of Galen), with -all his retorts, crucibles, chafing-dishes, horoscopes, and other -scientific rubbish, packed on sumpter-horses, by which much -irreparable damage was sustained by certain glass phials and bottles -that contained--the Lord alone knew what; but one was said to be the -famous powder of _projection_, which when thrown upon heated mercury -or lead, turned them into silver or gold, and the loss whereof made -the patient John rend his long beard, and passionately bequeath -himself to the devil a hundred times. - -"If Magdalene groweth well here," said the king to the cardinal, as -they dismounted at the gate of the monastery, "to your eminence alone -will Scotland and I be indebted for her recovery; but if she becometh -worse, and our suspicions are confirmed, then woe to the _authors_ of -her illness--woe!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -TEN RED GRAINS. - - "Yes! in an hour like this, 'twere vain to hide - The heart so long and so severely tried: - Still to thy name that heart hath fondly thrilled, - But sterner duties called and were fulfilled." - MRS. HEMANS. - - -Prior to his departure for Balmerino, and immediately on his leaving -the palace, the learned apothegar visited the king's advocate. - -The town house of Sir Adam Otterburn, the Redhall Lodging, as it was -named and as we have before stated, stood upon the south side of the -Canongate, and near to the eastern end thereof. - -At the present day the south side of this venerable street, the -memories of which go back to the days of St. David I., and the -glories of Earl Randolph and Ramsay of Dalhousie, is still somewhat -straggling, irregular, and open; in 1537 it was much more so. The -houses were then detached, surrounded by gardens, and even parks; for -there were several barnyards in the Canongate, some of which were -destroyed by cannonading during the siege of 1573. - -The severe plagues of 1514 and 1520, which followed the slaughter of -Flodden, swept away many of the citizens, whose houses were -demolished to remove all chance of lingering infection; thus the -mansion of Redhall was remarkably solitary. A ruined and desolate -barn-yard lay to the westward; and a grass park, shaded by many -beautiful sycamores, extended on the east nearly to the foot of the -alley known as the Horsewynd. - -It was a strong square five-storied house, with walls of enormous -thickness; its crow-stepped gable and one vast chimney studded with -oyster-shells faced the street; at each corner was a square corbelled -turret, from the tops of which, in wet weather, two stone spouts -disgorged the rain-water without mercy on the passengers. To the -street, the windows were few, small, and, according to the Scottish -custom, secured with rusty iron gratings. The first and second -stories were vaulted with solid stone, and stone slabs covered the -roof. Externally the edifice was destitute of ornament; but, strong -as rock, it would have withstood a salvo of cannon-balls; and was one -of the most perfect specimens of the old Scottish house existing, -before the introduction of the more florid French style. Studded -with iron, the small door was deeply recessed in the wall, and -protected by four loopholes, splayed without and within, to admit of -a wide range for arrows or arquebuses; while it was further secured -by a tranverse beam of oak, which superseded all necessity for locks -or bolts. - -A fortnight had now elapsed since the night on which the earl and his -sister had been carried off; yet in all that time Redhall had been -totally incapable of prosecuting his schemes either of love or -vengeance; for that _fortunate_ sword-thrust which he had received -from the hand of Vipont, together with the fever produced by his own -furious and boiling passions, had bound him down to a sick bed, from -which, however, by the care or quackery of the learned John of -Silvermills, he was now fast recovering. - -Pale, careworn, and feverish in aspect, a day in the beginning of -June saw him again seated at his writing-table, immersed in his -masses of correspondence, his mysterious portfolios, which were full -of strange memorandums in ciphers and Latin contractions, which none -could read, save himself and the cardinal. His trusty rascal, -Birrel, who was always at hand, and ready for everything, from -cleaning his master's boots to cleaving his enemies' heads with a -Jethart staff, was in attendance as usual, when our acquaintance of -the preceding chapter was announced, and Birrel, starting from Sir -Adam's chair, where he had been in close confab, drew back the arras. - -"God save you, Sir Adam Otterburn," said the learned John, stroking -his long beard according to his invariable custom; "how--again at thy -pen, despite mine earnest injunction?" - -"Business of the State--fiend take it! I must attend now, for a -mountain of matter hath accumulated here." - -"Ah," said the physician, setting down his sand-glass and fixing his -keen eyes thereon, while his bony fingers were applied to the pulse -of Redhall's left hand--"Ah! thy pulse is very irregular--thy nerves -are burning. Now, nothing affects the nerves so much as intense -thought, and by thine eyes I see thou hast been thinking intensely. -By this, the vital motions are hurt, the functions disordered, the -whole frame unhinged. Thou must continue to take my potion night and -morning." - -"What! more of thy diabolical drench?" - -"How, Sir Adam! Dost thou so defame my prescription, which I have -compounded from the identical recipe left by that worshipful clerk, -John of Gaddesden, the worthy author of the 'Rosa Anglica,' the -possessor of that valuable necklace which when drawn tight cured all -manner of fits." - -"Ah, my friend, Sanders Screw hath another which doth the very same." - -"Indeed! thou amazest me," said the physician, resting his bearded -chin on his staff. "John of Gaddesden's collar was an anodyne -necklace, and had the word _abracadabra_ written thereon." - -"But the collar of Carle Sanders is only a stout cord," said the -advocate, with a sardonic grin. - -"I blush, Sir Adam, that thou shouldst name this vile worm in the -same breath with John of Gaddesden," said the physician, indignantly, -as he arose and grasped his sand-glass; "a man whose virtues shone -bright as the rays of Acarnan--the star of Eridanus. Ah! he was a -fortunate man, that John of Gaddesden; he was born when Astroarch, -queen of the planets, was shining in all her glory in Abdevinam--the -head of the twelfth mansion; while I, unhappy! was born, as I have -discovered by the aid of my new astrolabe, on a night of storms." - -"Thou hast brought back my poniard, I hope?" - -"It is here," replied the visitor, taking a dagger from his belt; -"the _contents_ of this cause death within two hours after they are -taken." - -"Two hours?" - -"He who imbibes them," he continued, in a low voice, "falleth down -senseless, lifeless, and dies without a groan--suddenly as if shot -with a hand-gun. Sir Michael Scott had this secret of a learned -clerk at Salamanca, whither he rode in one night, and ere daybreak -was again at his castle of Balwearie." - -"There is a powder, too--zounds! I had well nigh forgot it: 'the -sleeping powder.'" - -"'Tis here," replied the physician, taking a packet from the pocket -that hung at his girdle; "this was first prepared for a caliph of the -East, by Geber, the learned Arabian astrologer, who flourished in the -eighth century, and whose three works on chemistry were published at -Strasbourg seventeen years ago, that is, in 1520." - -"Hand it hither: thou weariest me; for, by St. Grisel! all thy messes -seem to be compounded by devils and philosophers." - -"Thou still appliest my _Unguentum Armarium_?" - -"Regularly," replied the advocate, resuming impatiently the writing -at which he had been interrupted. - -"And thy wound?" - -"Is almost closed, thank God!" - -"Good--good," muttered the physician to himself; "I knew well that my -ointment, compounded of the ashes of that written charm, brayed with -those of the dried Zusalzef of the Arabians, would cure the deadliest -wound; 'tis a potent fruit, for it ripens in the sun, and the sun -acts upon the heart, the source of life." - -"I would fain see some of this wonderful fruit." - -"I have one in my pouch--behold!" - -"'S life! 'tis but a common prune!" - -"The _prune_ of the unlettered is the _Zusalzef_ of Geber and -Paracelsus; but farewell, Sir Adam, I go; and omit not to continue -the potion and the _Unguentum Armarium_." - -"Devil go with thee for a plague," muttered the advocate, as he -seemingly bowed with courtesy, and became again immersed in his -writing. - -Nichol Birrel again approached. - -"And this was all thou hadst to tell me?" said Redhall; "that no -tidings had arrived from Douglasdale; and that, in short, neither -Vipont nor young Balquhan had come to blows with any of the Douglas -faction." - -"Exactly sae, my lord." - -"And that they spent their time in hunting and hawking, with free -inquartering for horse and man, wherever it pleased them to halt." - -"Just sae," replied Birrel, with an obsequious nod. - -"Thou knowest the lands of my kinsman, Fleming of the Cairntable, -whose bounds they are approaching?" - -"Yes, my lord." - -"Then take a good horse, and ride for your life and death; and take -with thee these three-hundred groats of the fleur-de-lys to pay thy -way. Tell my kinsman Fleming, that I wish this viper, this Vipont I -mean, should take up his last abode in Douglasdale." - -"In the kirkyard thereof?" - -"Yes, yes; set them by the ears if thou canst; I will see Fleming -skaithless, even though he resists the royal banner; but either by -fair means or foul, keep Vipont from returning here. Dost thou see -this poniard which the apothegar hath just left? observe me, and -observe narrowly." - -He unscrewed the pommel, and showed Birrel that the steel knob, which -was hollow, contained several large red grains. - -"Each of these grains," said he, carefully rescrewing it, "is a human -life; there are _ten_, and Sir Roland Vipont hath but one life; take -it in thy belt to Douglasdale, for they may prove useful if the blade -fails. One word ere thou goest: how is the Lady Seton this morning?" - -"Composed and quiet, as weel she may be, after the girning and -graning of a fortnight." - -"Tib, thy niece, Tib Trotter, from Redhall, still attends her with -care, and Dobbie keeps watch?" - -"Like a deerhound, my lord; and I forewarned Tib that the lady she -was to attend was a puir demented and brain-braised creature, that -would tell her a' kind o' queer stories about you, Sir Adam--stories -o' whilk, on peril of her life, she was to tak nae heed; and I said -that death would be as nothing to her doom, if the daft lady (whom I -call a kins-woman of your ain, frae the north countrie) fled; and as -puir Tib is mair frightened for you than for the devil himself, she -scarcely sleeps for fear that her charge escapes." - -"And Dobbie?" - -"Considers her a State prisoner awaiting a private precognition." - -"Good--I will ere long requit this trust, and amply too; meantime, -away thou for Douglasdale: remember all my instructions; and now give -me thy thumb on them, that thou wilt be for ever my firm man and -true." - -"Sir Adam! Sir Adam!" said the pricker, presenting his thumb -reproachfully, "surely this was na' needed frae me." - -But the cautious baron ratified their despicable compact by that -mysterious pressure of thumbs, without which no bargain in Scotland, -either for good or for evil, was ever held binding.* - - -* See Note. - - -During this conversation, Redhall had never ceased writing with the -utmost rapidity, that he might lose no time; but the moment Birrel -retired to prepare for his embassy, he closed his portfolio, and -stepped into the little dressing closet which opened off the study or -library. - -He examined his face with scrupulous accuracy, and a foppishness at -which he smiled, as if in contempt of himself. With some concern he -observed, that confinement and his wound had rendered his features -paler and more haggard than ever. That wound! Every time he thought -of it, and of the blood, the pain, and anxiety it had cost him, he -ground his teeth vengefully; but after arranging his long dark hair, -and carefully pointing and perfuming his handsome beard and -moustaches, he concluded there were many worse looking men in the -city. Although his nether man was cased in sad-coloured hosen, he -put on a full-skirted doublet of blue velvet, with loose hanging -sleeves and a broad rolling collar of ermine; he wore diamond-studded -ruffs at his wrists, a vest with sleeves of cloth-of-gold, and the -collar of his shirt, which was pinched and embroidered with red silk -and gold thread, was spread over the ermine. His sword was sheathed -in crimson velvet, his poniard sparkled with jewels, and he was -perfumed to excess, for it was the fashion of age. - -Tall and stately, pale and dark, his aspect was alike magnificent and -impressive; as thus deliberately prepared with a foppery of which he -could not have believed himself capable, he took his way for the -first time toward the chamber of his fair prisoner. - -He felt that his step was feeble as he walked; the room swam around -him; and ever and anon an admonitory twinge shot through his wounded -shoulder. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE FIRST VISIT. - - "Ah! false and cruel fortune! foul despite! - While others triumph, I am drowned in woe. - And can it be that I such treasure slight? - And can I then my weary life forego? - No! let me die; 'twere happiness above - A longer life, if I must cease to love."--_Orlando Furioso_. - - -Sunk in an abyss of deep and gloomy thoughts, Jane Seton sat at a -window of the apartment which had been allotted to her, until Sir -Adam Otterburn could have her removed to his house of Redhall, a -strong square tower, situated on an eminence near the village of -Hailes, a few miles south-west of Edinburgh. - -This he intended to have done the moment he was able to ride; and -nothing but his wound--"that accursed wound," as he called -it--prevented the removal of the lady and her brother, on the very -day succeeding their capture, to this lonely fortlet, which stood -among thick woodlands above the Leith, and just where a modern -mansion occupies the site of that more ancient Redhall which the -soldiers of General Monk besieged and destroyed. - -A stupid but good-natured country girl from his barony--one who stood -in dread of Sir Adam, regarding him as a demi-god and superior being, -rather than a mere man and master--attended Jane; and, considering -her a poor deranged lady, had been most provokingly sympathetic, and -inaccessible to bribes, to threats, and entreaties; while Dobbie, -like a watchful bull-dog, sat always in a niche near the door, with a -small barrel of ale to solace him, and a pack of cards, with which he -practised tricks and sleight-of-hand against himself. - -The walls were of enormous thickness, and the small windows were -massively barred; the apartment was hung with rich cream-coloured -arras, studded with gorgeous red flowers; the cornices, the chairs, -the panelling of the doors and shutters were all profusely gilded; a -gittern, an embroidery frame, a few black-letter books of poetry and -romance, and a few vellum illuminations of Scripture, with various -other things which might serve to wile away a lady's time, were -scattered on the buffets and window-seats; while several boxes of the -most splendid jewels which the art of Master Mossman could produce, -stood most alluringly on the table, with their lids open, but all -unnoticed. - -The window at which Jane sat faced the south, but the line of -venerable chesnut-trees obstructed the view of the Craigs and of St. -Leonard's Hill. A grass park, some hundred yards in length, extended -to the wall, which these trees overhung, together with a mass of ivy -and wild roses. Ruined and deserted houses lay on the right and -left; and thus, for fourteen days, had the poor girl sat at that -window, without an hour's cessation, watching for a passenger to whom -she might cry for succour; but though the chamber was lofty, the -height of the surrounding wall, the thickness of the trees, and the -loneliness of the path which passed under them, had prevented her -from seeing a single person (though several passed that way daily), -save the girl who attended her, and occasional glimpses of the -indefatigable Dobbie, on guard outside; neither of whom could afford, -even to her most piteous entreaties, a single word concerning the -fate of her brother; why she was thus confined; or what had become of -Sir Roland Vipont, for whose silence and inertness she could in no -way account, unless that he was in a State prison for the wound which -she understood he had given Redhall, whose consequent illness had -agreeably accounted to her for his absence. - -On the table lay fourteen notes, being those he had sent every -morning, containing compliments, condolences, and entreaties to be -forgiven for that rash act, to which the excess of his love, and the -feverish dread of losing her, his hopes that she might yet learn to -esteem him, and so forth, had driven him; but of these laborious -epistles not one had been read, and the fourteen lay on the table -unopened. - -These fourteen days had soothed the first burst of her grief and -anger; intense weariness and bitter impatience had succeeded: yet she -could not but acknowledge that in all, save the loss of liberty, she -was treated with the utmost delicacy, attention, and respect. - -It was evening now--the evening of the fourteenth weary day, as she -was reckoning, for the thousandth time, on her fingers; the sun was -setting on the flinty brows of Salisbury; and the leaves of the -trees, as they fluttered in the wind, seemed formed alternately of -green and gold. A mass of verdure overhung the walls which -surrounded the tall old mansion, the cold dewy shadow of which fell -far to the south and eastward. Haggard in aspect, wearied with -weeping, and though the month was June, benumbed and cold by want of -rest, Jane, who for these fourteen days and nights had never dared to -undress, or to avail herself of the luxurious couch provided for her, -and who had never dared to sleep, save by snatches in an arm-chair, -now turned with a wild, startled, and almost fierce expression of -inquiry to Sir Adam Otterburn, as he entered; for never was there a -face more admirably calculated to express the two very opposite -aspects of mildness and disdain than hers. - -"Proud, relentless, and pitiless woman!" thought this bold abductor, -as he approached, "at last I have thee completely in my power--at my -mercy, utterly!" - -Lady Jane had risen full of anger and defiance, but there was an -expression in the eyes of her admirer that terrified her; and feeling -completely (as he had thought) at his mercy, she could only cling to -her chair, and falter out-- - -"Oh, my God! Sir Adam Otterburn, what is the meaning of all -this?--why am I imprisoned here?--and what seek you from me?" - -"Pardon," said he, in his gentlest voice, and with clasped hand, -bending his eyes on the ground--"pardon for this wrong, which the -excess of love alone has committed." - -"And why hast thou dared to do me this wrong?" - -"I dare do anything, fair Jane, but excite your displeasure. For -heaven's sake be composed. Oh, spare me your hatred, and look not so -wildly. Think of the depth and of the ardour of my sentiments--the -sincerity of my intentions towards you. Long, long have I borne this -fatal love in my heart, as a secret--a secret to brood over, since -those days when you so thoughtlessly permitted me to nourish it." -Jane would have spoken, but he continued, sadly and energetically: -"Amid the splendid pageants, the costly banquets, the stately -mummeries of a court, and the dull tedium of public business, it has -ever been in my heart, in my soul, and on my lips--this secret, which -I would have given the world to muse over in some noiseless solitude, -where nothing would dispel the bright illusions love raised within -me. Ever among the crowds of the city, and the debates of the -parliament, it came to me--a soft, low whisper of your name. I heard -it only; and the voices of those around me became as a drowsy hum, -and sounded as if afar off, for my whole soul was with thee. Oh, -Lady Jane, this secret has been a part of my very being. Night after -night I have prayed for you, and have laid my head on its pillow -without consolation; day after day I have blessed you, on awaking to -a world that was without hope for me, and yet I have lived, and -loved, and lingered on. But pardon me--I am grieving you." - -He paused on seeing that Jane, overcome either by her feelings or by -exhaustion, had again punk into a chair. Her alarm subsided at the -sound of his sad, solemn, and harmonious voice; and something of pity -rose in her bosom, for she saw that he was indeed frightfully pale -and careworn. - -"My brother," said she; "and what hast thou dared to do with him?" - -"Nothing, dear madam: he is safe." - -"But where?" - -"Below us." - -"Below? Gracious me!" said Jane, breathlessly, as her horror and -hatred revived; for she saw the cruel game about to be played by -Redhall. "Wretch! and to coerce the miserable sister, thou holdest -in thy guilty hands the life and death of the brother!" - -"Nay, do not think me so base; warrants are out for the apprehension -of the earl as a traitor, and nowhere is he safe save in the secresy -of this abode, which, however, both you and he will soon change for -the sunnier atmosphere of my country tower at Redhall." - -Lady Jane's anger at the coolness with which this was intimated, -prevented her making an immediate reply; but she looked all she felt, -yet only for a time; there was again in the black eyes of Sir Adam -that magnetic--that almost superhuman glance, which terrified her. -She thought of her mother's legends of the "Evil Eye;" and unable to -sustain the powerful gaze of this remarkable man, she paused, and her -eyelids drooped, to be raised again with hesitation; for the basilisk -expression of his eyes was no less singular than the melodious tone -of his soft and modulated voice was pleasing and subduing. - -"Lady Jane Seton, you cannot have forgotten our last meeting, and the -interview to which I referred at Holyrood; that interview which -occurred now nearly a long year ago, in the garden of the abbot. Do -you still remember that soft moonlight night, and the tenor of our -conversation--a conversation, to me, so full of hope, of joy, of -tumult, and of giddy expectation. Ah, you did not then repel me with -eyes of proud disdain, or words of studied scorn. That night, -whenever I spoke, you were all earnestness, all smiles, and all -attention." - -"Because, Sir Adam--and I call Heaven to be my witness,--I knew not -that your words meant more than the mere gallantry of a well-bred man -when conversing with a pretty woman." - -"This is mere coquetry," said he, emphatically; "but since that night -I have been a dotard--a fool--the moon-gazing slave of an illusion. -My God! on that night I could not believe in the excess of my joy, -when I thought you were permitting me to love you: nor have I since -been able to realize the full extent of my misery and suspense. Oh, -I have been as one in a dream--a long and fearful dream; for in a -dream we feel so much more acutely than when awake!" He paused; and, -clasping his hands, continued again: - -"Listen! I have a high office in the kingdom; my power is nearly -equal to that of his eminense the cardinal. I am the grand -inquisitor of the state, and the interrogator, the questioner, the -torturer of all alleged criminals. I may throw the highest in the -land into a dungeon, with or without a charge, if it suits my purpose -or my fancy so to do; and I have at all times the ear of the king and -his chancellor. Ponder over this, dear lady, for thou art the -daughter of a fallen race. I have a noble estate, which ere long -will be erected into an earldom----" - -"On the ruin of my gallant brother's--hah!" - -"On the ruin of none: but won honourably." - -"I despise all earldoms that are not won as my forefathers' were, by -the sword." - -"There spoke thy mother's haughty spirit, lady, and I love it well; -but if thou didst know, fully and sorrowfully as I do, the -irreparable destruction which hovers over thee and thine--a -destruction which I alone can avert--thou wouldst listen to my sad, -my earnest, my honourable proposal, with more of patience, and less, -perhaps, of petulance and pride." - -"And I say unto thee, Adam Otterburn of Redhall, that if thou knewest -the horror and repugnance with which a virtuous woman--one whose -heart, in all its first freshness and the first flush of its feeling, -is wholly with another--listens to the accents of love from any but -the chosen of that heart, thou wouldst know what I endure in hearing -these laboured addresses of thine." - -Stung to the very soul by this studied reply, which was alike -calculated to kindle his jealousy and extinguish his hopes, the face -of that dark and stern man assumed a white and ghastly expression; -his basilisk eye again terrified her, and she shrunk within herself. - -"Impossible!" said he, as he grasped her arm, and a deadly smile -curled his thin but finely-formed lips; "it is impossible that you, -so pure in mind, so high in spirit, so accomplished and refined, can -love this fop, this fool--this mere soldier, of whom you know so -little. Your love for him is a mere childish fantasy, of which you -are the victim. Ever brawling and fighting, this hair-brained -cut-throat will probably never return from Douglasdale, whither he -has marched on the king's service; but doubtless you think that this -gay cavalier, this Vipont, with his tall plume and gilt armour, would -make a much more romantic spouse than your most humble and more -matter-of-fact serviteur." - -Jane heard only one part of this rude sneer--that which informed her -Roland was gone to Douglasdale. She felt consoled; his absence was -thus accounted for. - -"Ah, my gallant Vipont!" said she, unable to resist the ardour his -name kindled within her, and the temptation to sting his enemy; -"hadst thou been in Edinburgh, I had long since been free, avenged, -and at my mother's side." - -"'Tis time to put an end to this folly," said Redhall, gnashing his -teeth. "Listen! Thy mother's side? Thy mother is a prisoner in the -castle of Inchkeith; there in ward, under Hamilton of Barncleugh, -charged with treason, and resetting the traitor her son." - -"My mother! oh, my poor mother!" faltered Jane, clasping her hands. - -"The same warrant included the arrest of you, lady, and of the -unfortunate earl, your brother; but the people deem that thou and he -are fled. But better were thou and he in the grave, than living to -encounter all that fate has in store for you on falling into the -hands of that government to which I can surrender you both in an -hour!" - -"My brother--who will dare to touch my brave brother?" - -"Who?" replied Redhall, with one of those cutting smiles which -sometimes exasperated even his best friends; "the worthy gentlemen -who handled him so roughly a few nights ago." - -"And what awaits him?" - -"Can you ask me? The dungeon of the castle--the high court of -parliament--the solemn sentence--the ignominious scaffold--the spiked -head--the blighted name, and the torn banner; yet each and all of -these I can avert, if--if----" - -"What?" - -"Thou wilt only try to love me!" - -"Horrible! love thee? Oh, this is mere insanity!" - -"I, who have done, can undo. I will restore him to his power at -court, his coronet, his castles, and his baronies, to his seat in -parliament, his offices of great cupbearer to the king and governor -of Blackness; I will restore him to the world, to rank, to honour, -yea, to life itself, I may say, for it is doubly forfeited, if thou -wilt but love me. Thy mother, old, infirm, and broken in spirit by -grief, by shame, and wounded pride, I will take from that lonely -island prison, where she is exposed to so many severe degradations -and privations, from the damp mists of the German Sea, and many other -miseries that old age cannot long endure, and will restore her to her -wonted place, as mistress of the household and first lady of the -court, if thou wilt but love me. A hundred gallant knights of her -father's house, with the great Angus himself, shall be restored to -place, to power, to home, to happiness, and to honour, and the -Hamiltons of Arran shall be subverted and exiled to Cadyow and -Kinniel, even though I should unroll my own banner against them, if -thou wilt only permit me to love thee in return. Still no reply! -Think, lady, think of all I say, for these things are well worth -pondering over. All these may be done by a word, but withhold that -word, and they shall remain undone. Dost thou hear me, lady?" - -"Yes; I have heard that thou who hast _done_ can _undo_!" - -"And thine answer?" - -"_Is_--that I despise and abhor thee, from whom my kinsmen of Seton -and Douglas have endured so much;" and she turned haughtily away. - -"Be it so," said he, calmly but sternly. "Then, let banishment and -proscription, the headsman's axe and the doomster's hand, hang over -the lords and barons, the knights and adherents of Ashkirk and of -Angus; let infamy and vengeance, destruction and death, dog them -close, since thou hast abandoned them--thou who by a word could have -saved them all. They are each but as puppets in my hands--puppets -whose destiny I may lengthen or shorten as I choose, for the strings -of their fate are in my power, and I will be merciless to them, as -thou, Jane Seton, hast been this day to me!" - -Jane trembled, and her heart swelled as if it would have burst; for -she knew too bitterly the truth of all Sir Adam said, and she felt -that, hated and bloodstained, cool, calculating, and detestable, as -this man was, she could have sacrificed herself to his insane passion -to save her mother, her brother, her family and kinsmen--for kindred -blood was then a sacred tie in Scotland--but for Roland. - -"Oh, Vipont! Vipont!" she sobbed, and buried her face in her hands; -"my heart is sorely tempted to abandon thee--but in vain!" - -Then Redhall, lest he might say more to widen the gulf between them, -and with lover-like indecision repenting even what he had said, -retired abruptly, and left her bathed in tears, and with a bosom full -of the most clamorous anxiety and alarm, not for herself, but for her -mother and the earl. To know that the former was a captive in the -castle of the Inch, and that she, her only daughter, was not beside -her to soothe and console her grief and pride; that her brother, too, -was separated from her only by a stone wall; and that they were both -prisoners in the midst of a dense population--but a few feet from a -busy street, where so many strong hands and stout hearts might easily -be summoned to their rescue--prisoners in the hands of one so deep -and stern in purpose, so relentless in his vengeance, as -Redhall,--caused her the most complicated emotions of agony and dread. - -For the thousandth time she examined the bolted door, the tapestried -walls, and the grated windows, for a means of escape, but found them -all as before; and then, after once more failing by the offer of all -her rings and brooches to overcome the inflexible integrity of Tib -Trotter, hopeless and despairing, she knelt down to pray and to weep. - -"Come hither, Tib," said Redhall to this niece of his trusty -henchman, as he retired; "the young lady, my kinswoman, is I fear, -seriously indisposed; put this powder in her milk posset to-night; -but on peril of thy life neither allow her to see or know aught of -it." - -With a low curtsey, and a downcast glance of the deepest respect, Tib -received the little packet, and Redhall hurried back to his writing -chamber and his portfolios. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -THE KNIFE. - -"Cunning is a crooked weapon; and nothing is more hurtful than when -cunning men pass for wise."--BACON. - - -The Earl of Ashkirk occupied an apartment immediately below that of -his sister; but one which was certainly of a very different aspect -and description. - -After their capture, it was not until daylight broke that he -discovered he was only in the strong house of Redhall, scarcely a -hundred yards from his own gate, and not (as he had first supposed) -either in the towers of the castle or the Tolbooth of the city. In -the scuffle preceding his capture he had been so severely handled, as -to become insensible; thus, on sense returning, he found that, though -the infamous gag (the thought of which made his fierce blood boil -with wrath and shame) had been removed, as well as the cords which -had secured his hands, his mouth had been severely cut by the iron -tongue of the former, and his wrists wore swollen and livid by the -merciless application of the latter. - -The capture of his sister by Redhall, and the certainty that she too -was confined in the same mansion among the trained minions and -obsequious vassals of this arch conspirator, sufficiently informed -him that his ancient enemy had some ulterior motive, which he could -not at that time fathom. Daring as he was, and courageous to a -fault, the first thoughts of the young earl were those of terror for -his sister, and some little concern for himself. He now saw and -regretted, unavailingly regretted, his rashness and folly, in -venturing within the walls of Edinburgh at such a time, when the -tidings of his recent raid on the borders were fresh in the minds of -the people; and still more did he deplore his second folly, in -continuing to abide there, as if in defiance of suspicion and of -fate: thus selfishly compromising the safety of his dearest friends -as well as his own. - -"I must have been mad, and Vipont was worse than mad to permit me! -Let me sleep if I can," thought he, "fresh energies will come with -slumber; and I, who have escaped from English Norham, and from the -castle of Stirling, too, where once old Barncleugh had me fast in the -Douglas chamber, will surely find a passage from this house--or the -devil's in it!--and adieu my plans of vengeance for a time." - -And thus, acting upon principle, the light-hearted young noble, whose -bold heart had never known either fear or despair, lay down on the -stone floor of his prison, closed his eyes, and courted sleep as if -nothing had happened; and sleep came; but his slumbers were a mere -nightmare, so full were they of hideous dreams, buffets, and combats; -and, more than once, he started with the certainty that he had heard -his sister's cry. - -"Bah!" said he, "let me sleep. She is her mother's daughter, and -hath too much of Black Douglas and the devil in her, to endure insult -from such a poor hang-dog as Redhall! Besides, if he dared to----" -and he felt a gleam pass over his eyes in the dark, at the idea that -occurred to him. - -At an early hour Lord Ashkirk awoke, and proceeded at once to the -examination of his prison. The walls and arched roof were of massive -and unplastered stone; the floor was paved; the window and the -chimney were grated; while the door, which he sounded with his hand, -seemed a mass as solid as could be formed of oak planks and iron -bolts. - -"Ten devils!" thought he; "at Norham I had the tongue of a waist -buckle, and at Stirling a spur of steel; but here are neither buckle -nor spur, knife nor nail, to loosen a stone or saw a stanchel." - -Between the trees he could see the rising sun gilding the top of -Arthur's Seat. The solitary window, which was little more than ten -inches square, was crossed by three bars built into the stone; he saw -with satisfaction that it was only about fifteen feet from the -ground, for his chamber was on the second vaulted story. - -"Good!" said he; "this wall is not like the rock of Stirling; but -there I stole the cord of the flagstaff." - -He heard all the bells of the city ringing for morning prayer: and -these sounds of life without made him feel, for the first time, some -anger and impatience at the vigorous restraint imposed upon him. An -hour after this, although he had not heard the approach of footsteps -(so thick and so closely-jointed were the walls that encompassed -him), the door of his vault was unlocked, and a sturdy fellow with a -Jethart axe, secured to his wrist by a thong, in case of accidents, -entered, bearing a pewter basin of water, a towel, &c., for the -performance of the morning ablutions. The moment he entered, a door -at the further end of the passage was closed and locked; thus -securing him, as well as the prisoner, of whose name and rank he -appeared ignorant; for with these the politic Redhall had acquainted -only his favourite, Birrel, and one or two more on whom he could -implicitly rely. - -Prolonging his toilet to the utmost extent, the earl scrutinized the -visage of his attendant, who was a strongly-built fellow, about -five-and-twenty years of age, with a rough red beard, and whiskers -that grew up to his high cheek bones, on each of which a bright red -spot was visible. He wore his bonnet drawn over his shaggy brows, -and his eyes, though of a pale grey, betokened a native sharpness -over which the earl saw at once he would be able to achieve very -little. - -"Well, fellow," said he, "art thou appointed to attend me?" - -"Ay, sir." - -"Then what is thy name, for I must know it?" - -"What would ye be the better of knowing?" he asked, cautiously. - -"Very much; as we may see each other often; but, doubtless, thou art -ashamed of it." - -"Ashamed o' my name? Deil choke sic impudence. No, faith! It is as -gude as your ain, and better, maybe. My name is Tam Trotter, and I -am forester up bye at Kinleith, where my father (God rest him!) was -forester before me, though folk did ca' him uncanny." - -"Well, friend Tam, couldst get me a razor, in addition to this -splendid toilet apparatus? I have a fancy for shaving off my beard -this morning." - -"Aha!" laughed Tam, with a knowing Scots wink, as he seated himself -on the table, with his Jedwood axe under his arm; "I can see as far -into a millstone as you, my quick gentleman; so keep on your beard, -it will be a warm ruff for you in the winter nights." - -"Winter nights! What the devil dost thou tell me? Thy master cannot -think of keeping me here till the winter nights come on." - -"No here, maybe, but out at Redhall. This morning I rode in with ten -braw fellows, with axe and spear, to take ye out there to the auld -tower; but lo! his lordship, our master, came home not an hour syne, -wi' his doublet drookit in bluid, and his body run through by----" - -"By whom?--by whom?" cried the earl. - -"The master of the king's ordnance, who (everybody says) is a fast -friend of the Lord Ashkirk; but, God's death! if ever the one or the -other come under my hands--if I can just get one canny cloure at -them--neither will ever need another!" and, setting his teeth, the -fellow assumed an aspect of ferocity, and hewed a large piece off the -table with his sharp-bladed axe. - -"Friend Tam, thou seemest very savage and blood-thirsty," said the -earl, in his bantering tone; "but I must request thee to restrain thy -troublesome vivacity, and not so damage my furniture, the stock of -which is somewhat limited. Ha! ha! and so Vipont hath pinked thy -master?--and where?" - -"Here--just in the shoulder; but it seems braw news for you," replied -Trotter, sulkily. - -"The thrust is not near the heart, I hope?" said the earl, almost -leaping with joy; "not near his amiable heart--oh, do not say so--I -shall quite expire if thou tellest me that!" - -"Devil take me, if I ken what to make o' you," said Tam, with a face -half comical and half angry; "for, by my faith, you are a queer -chield!" - -"And thou art a good-hearted fellow?" - -"My mother aye says sae, though she bangs me wi' the beetle, for -being fonder o' porridge than plowing in the morning." - -"So his mother beats him?" muttered the earl; "good!--the fellow is a -mere simpleton." - -"Is he?" rejoined Trotter, closing one eye, with his tongue in his -cheek, and kicking his iron heels together; "try me, and you will see -if I am sic a simpleton?" - -"Excuse me, friend Trotter; by simpleton, I merely mean one who is -neither subtle nor abstruse--nor steeped in guilt, like the rascal, -thy master." - -"The rascal, my master, hath _you_ nicely under his thumb, however," -grinned Trotter; "and a civil tongue, sir, would be baith advisable -and becoming--a' things considered." - -"Well, let us not quarrel. Thou seest this ring--'tis worth three -hundred gold crowns of James III.; and it will be thine, if thou -tellest me all thou knowest about the lady who was brought here last -night." - -"Weel--give me the ring, sir." - -"'Tis a carbuncle, my friend, that once gleamed on the hand of a -gallant earl." - -"And it is mine, for all I ken--eh?" said Thomas, contemplating the -jewel on the top of one of his great fingers with a leer of -satisfaction; "the carbumple wad be a bonny die for Else' Gair; and -'tis mine, for a' I ken?" - -"Yes--yes." - -"Then a' I ken just amounts to nothing," said Tam, with a laugh; "so -I might cheat you if I chose; but, though a puir chield (and a -simpleton too), I would despise mysel' if I took your ring--so tak' -it back, sir----" - -"Nay, nay, fellow, I cannot accept it again." - -"Weel, it may lie there on the table, for I winna touch it. Men -would say, if I took it, that I had betrayed my master." - -"True," said the earl, as he replaced the jewel; "but I will be in -thy debt three hundred Scottish crowns. And now let me have -breakfast; for no vexation was ever so great that it deprived me of -my appetite." - -Cold beef, bread, cheese, eggs, fish, and spiced ale formed a repast -which greatly comforted the earl, who saw with regret, however, how -scrupulously the single knife that was allowed him was watched and -removed by the careful Trotter. But the moment this meal was over, -and his attendant had withdrawn, he recommenced a most minute -examination of his prison, and was gradually forced to acknowledge, -with a sigh of bitterness, that though neither so strong as Norham, -nor so loftily situated as Stirling, its capabilities for escape were -very limited indeed. - -Several days passed monotonously away. - -The earl became horribly impatient; he had shaken every window-bar -for the hundredth time; and for the hundredth time also, with the -heel of his boot, had sounded every slab of the pavement, and every -stone of the walls, but all were solid as a mass of rock. - -"Friend Thomas," said he, half banteringly and half savagely, on the -thirteenth day of his confinement, "how long does that prince of -villains, thy master, mean to keep me here?" - -"As long as he pleases, I suppose." - -"A vague term, that--most unpleasantly so. I should like much to -have been a little consulted in the matter; but as he omitted this -politeness, I mean to escape on the first opportunity, and without -formality." - -"Escape?" reiterated Trotter, with a grin. - -"The walls----" - -"Are six feet thick, and the window hath three bars, ilk ane like the -shaft of my Jethart staff." - -"Yes; but some day I may pull out the stones of the wall, or saw -through the bars of the window. Have you never heard of such things?" - -"Ay have I, when a man had saws or files, or hammers, but never when -he had only his bare hands and nails." - -"I will steal a knife from you." - -"Will you?" said Trotter, with his knowing wink. - -"Thou shalt see; and once through the window, I will drop----" - -"Into the draw-well! Ha! ha! my bauld buckie, the draw-well, forty -feet deep, is just below it." - -"What? Just under my window?" - -"Eight doon, as a plummet would sink." - -"Ah, the devil! What a judicious villain thy master is!" - -"You see, sir, that unless you could change yoursel' into a spider or -a bumbee, here you maun just bide," replied Tam, with a loud laugh, -which galled the earl to the soul; but seeing the futility of anger -or hauteur, he controlled his rising temper, and said, in his usual -manner-- - -"Well, let me have dinner; for assuredly I am weary of having nothing -to look forward to, but from breakfast to dinner, at mid-day; from -dinner to supper, at even; and from supper to bed--and so on. I -assure you, friend Trotter, it would tire even a Carthusian." - -"And tiresome I find it, too! Cocksnails! I would gie my very lugs -to be again kicking my heels owre Currie Brig, or Kinleith Craig, for -I am wearied o' holding watch and ward here, like the javellour of a -tolbooth or the warder of a tower." - -As Trotter returned with the dinner upon a broad wooden tray, which -usually held the platters, covers, and one small knife, the earl -contrived to place his chair in such a manner, that the attendant was -tripped by it, and stumbled forward, by which the manchet, or small -loaf (in those days the invariable substitute for potatoes), slipped -from the tray, and fell upon the floor. While Trotter, after -depositing the tray, stooped to pick up the manchet, the earl, like -lightning, possessed himself of the knife, and thrust it up his -sleeve. - -"Look again, friend Trotter," said he, removing the first cover, -"thou hast dropped the knife, I think?" - -"Have I?" said Trotter, searching all round the table. "Surely no!" - -"You must have done so, for I vow 'tis not here." - -"I could have sworn it was on the trencherboard when I brought it -in," said the fellow, gaping with alarm. - -"If you think so, look again." - -"By St. Giles! there is nae knife here!" - -"Then quick, call for another, or these dainty pullets will be cold -as pebble stones." - -Trotter turned to call for another knife; and the moment he did so, -the earl stepped back, and concealed that which he had secured in a -nook of the chimney, which had been discovered during a previous -inspection. - -A second knife was brought by Dobbie, who had heard Trotter call for -it. - -The earl made an unusually good repast, and as he picked the pullet's -bones, and drank his pint of Bordeaux, he jested merrily with his -attendant, who leant against the door, from whence he cast ever and -anon furtive and uneasy glances below the table, in search of the -missing article, for he had his own suspicions. - -"Take care, my trusty Tam, take care; for now I have got that knife, -and I mean to make a good use of it on the first opportunity. Truly -thou art a simple fellow, and will be beetled by Redhall, in such -wise as thy mother never beetled thee! ha! ha! Zounds! dost thou -think this paltry house would hold me, who escaped from the Douglas -room at Stirling, where the cardinal confined me after the battle of -Linlithgow? I trow not! Be easy; compose thyself, friend Thomas, -for I assure thee I have got the knife, and will begone to-morrow." - -"In your pockets?" said Tam, advancing. - -"Pockets! Nay, dost thou think a gentleman has pockets in his -breeches and doublet to hold bread and cheese, like a rascally clown; -but come hither, thou mayst feel my garments." - -Trotter passed his hands over the breeches and doublet of the -prisoner. - -"The devil a knife is here," said he, perfectly reassured. - -"Nevertheless, I have it." - -"Where?" - -"In my stomach. Bring me a sword, or lend me thy poniard, and I will -swallow them both also. It runs in the family. I had an uncle who -could digest cannon balls." - -Tam uttered another of his hoarse laughs, and, bearing away the -wooden tray, retired, and secured the double doors as usual. * * * * -* - -Next morning, at the early but accustomed hour, he undid the -accumulated bolts and locks of the inner doorway (while Dobbie -secured the outer), and entered, with breakfast on the trencher. - -A cry burst from him, and he started back aghast on finding the place -void, for one glance sufficed to show that it was empty. - -The earl was indeed gone! - -"Ah, the _knife_!" thought Trotter, as he rushed to the window. -Every bar was in its place, and the undisturbed cobwebs of years were -still woven between them. Not a flag of the floor, not a stone of -the wall, appeared to have been displaced; and, terrified by such a -phenomenon, Tam Trotter uttered a stentorian howl of dismay, and fled -from the empty chamber. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -DOUGLASDALE. - - "But you, dear scenes! that far away - Expand beneath these mountains blue, - Where fancy sheds a purer ray, - And robes the fields in richer hue,-- - A softer voice in every gale, - I 'mid your woodlands wild should hear; - And Death's unbreathing shades would fail - To sigh their murmurs in mine ear." LEYDEN. - - -The sun of a morning in June shone brightly upon Douglasdale, as a -valley of the middle ward of Lanarkshire is named--the country of the -puissant Douglases. The pure air, the bright sunshine, the fresh -meadows, the fragrant wind that stole along the uplands, were all -indicative of that delightful season when the trees are heavy with -their richest foliage, and the voices of the mavis, the merle, and -the wood-pigeon are heard within their deep recesses. Under golden -masses of the dark green broom, the white hawthorn, and the wild -rose, the Douglas water stole, over its pebbled bed, towards the west. - -Hot and cloudless, the rays of the glorious summer sun poured over -the giant summit of the Cairntable, and played along the pastoral -glens below, to be reflected by the gleam of arms and the glitter of -armour descending from those heights which overlook the towers of the -Douglases--the "Castle Dangerous" of chivalry and romance. - -The lairds and warders of the various towers which overhung the -valley, were all on the alert, and had barred their gates, drawn up -their bridges, and prepared their armour, with not the less care, -because they could perceive the royal standard with the red lion -waving above the copsewood below. - -With their swords sheathed and visors up, Roland Vipont and Louis -Leslie rode together at the head of their little column, which had -passed a peaceful campaign of nearly three weeks in Lanarkshire, -without being molested by any one; and, of course without hearing -tidings of the Earl of Ashkirk, for whom, as in duty bound, they made -the most minute inquiries--Roland being the more rigid in his search, -because he believed him to be in safe concealment at Edinburgh. The -horses of the artillery looked sleek and well fed; and the -cannoniers, with Leslie's hundred men of the guard, had all their -harness and arquebuses as bright as on that day when they marched -from Holyrood. - -"'S life! but we spend our time wearily! Will nobody fight with us?" -said Roland, with a yawn, as they wound down the valley, by the banks -of the Douglas. "St. Mary! I feel a violent inclination to maul -some of those towers, that from every rock and hill-top look down so -saucily on our line of march." - -"What?--the houses of thy Douglas friends?" - -"Assuredly." - -"And why?" - -"Just to keep us in practice and because they are held by Hamiltons." - -"Lucky it is, for us, that they are so. Long before this, had the -Douglases possessed the same power in Lanarkshire that they did ten -years ago, we had been eaten up." - -"True, in 1527, a hundred men, with two pieces of cannon, if they had -once ventured into the middle ward on such an errand as ours, had -never come out of it again." - -"Yet 'tis very hard that no one will just fire one little shot at us, -just to afford an excuse----" - -"For blowing the house about their ears. A most amiable wish!" - -"Thy nag looks weary, Leslie." - -"Ah, 'tis a bay I picked up during our raid against the Annandale -thieves last year. My blockhead of a groom lost me a beautiful roan -horse at Leith, last Lammastide, where I sent it to be bathed, at -sunset, in the sea."* - - -* A superstitious custom, suppressed, by order of St. Cuthbert's kirk -session, in 1647. - - -"Where dost think we will dine, for my stomach crieth cupboard -already?" - -"At the Barmkyn of Cairntable. I have heard that the gudeman there -keepeth open house and free; besides, he is a kinsman of Redhall, and -if we empty his girnels and broach his casks, what matter? Is it not -for the king's service? and all Scotland knows," added Roland, with a -smile, "how zealous the advocate is for the public weal." - -"Let us halt here for one moment," said Leslie, reining up his horse -beside a little rustic well, which flowed near a cottage wall; "this -water looks fresh and pure; 'tis south-running, too, and I am thirsty -as a sack of flour." - -"Lintstock, bring hither the flask of French brandy." - -From a gun-carriage, Lintstock unslung a large leathern bottle, and -brought it to his master, ogling it by the way with all the ardour of -which his solitary eye was capable; and thereafter, from his -havresack, he produced a beechwood luggie. - -"Gudewife," said Leslie, to a woman, who was grinding corn in a -wooden quern at the cottage door, and who wore one of those pointed -Flemish caps which had been introduced into Scotland by Mary of -Gueldres, "how name you this well?" - -"Sanct Bryde's of Dowglass," replied the woman, briefly and sulkily, -for she was one of that hostile race. - -"A consecrated well! I thought so--'tis fortunate you asked," said -Roland; and, after first dipping their fingers in the fountain, they -crossed themselves, and then mixing the blessed water with the -brandy, took each a draught, and gave a third to Lintstock. - -"Hallo!" cried Roland, to a horseman who came up at a rough trot, and -whose grey plaid, blue bonnet, and white Galloway doublet, as well as -his gambadoes, or riding boots of rough calf-skin, declared him a -plain countryman; "a good day, friend. Wilt thou have a tass of -brandy?" - -"God keep you, my captain--wi' mony gude thanks," replied the -horseman, pulling up his nag, which was a strong Flanders mare. -"Health to ye baith, sirs," said he, pulling his bonnet well forward, -instead of raising it, as he nodded to each knight, and drained the -vessel. "By my faith, but that's braw stuff!" - -"Ay, I daresay. 'Tis not often the burnt wine of Languedoc runs over -thy Lanarkshire throat," said Roland, laughing; "dost thou travel our -way?" - -"Sir knicht, that just depends upon which way yours may be," replied -the fellow, dryly, drawing his plaid well over his face. - -"We are going to the Barmkyn Cairntable," said Roland, looking keenly -at him under his helmet. - -"And so am I, sir." - -"Well, thy nag seems fresh, and thou art not, as we are, cased in -armour; so ride fast, I pray you, and inform the gudeman of the -Barmkyn that a party of the king's soldiers will halt there about -dinner-time--say a hundred men or so--and that we will thank the -gudewife to look well to her larder and kitchen----" - -"To kill the fatted calf, and set her best casks a-broach," said -Leslie, laughing. - -"To select the hens that roost next the cock--the most delicate -pullets----" - -"To examine her eel-arks--ha! ha!" - -"To prepare the most dainty pasties, and highly-seasoned patties--ha! -ha! ha!" continued Roland, in the same merry tone; "for as both -gudewife and gudeman are friends of the good and amiable lord -advocate, they cannot but rejoice to make welcome those who come -among them on the king's service." - -"And in whose name shall I give the message?" - -"In the name of Sir Roland Vipont, master of the ordnance." - -"Without fail," replied the horseman, putting spurs to his nag and -galloping off; "but may the devil ryve the saul out of thee (and me -too), if thou gettest not a reception as warm as auld Bauldy Fleming -can give thee!" added Nichol the brodder, for the stranger was no -other than he. - -"That fellow's laugh bespeaks him a rascal," said Leslie, who had -been narrowly observing all that could be seen of Birrel's face; "how -different it was from the broad grin of an honest yeoman." - -"Dost think so?" said Roland, looking after him as he galloped over -an adjacent brae, and disappeared; "dost thou think he will play us -false after our kindness?" - -"No, perhaps--but the committal of thy message to a stranger in these -times, and in this place, is, to say the least of it, rather unwary. -We might be entrapped and cut off." - -"A hundred chosen soldiers, with two pieces of cannon--bah! I should -like to see any one attempt it, Leslie. We should sell our lives -dearly; and yet my mind misgives me sorely, that it was for no other -purpose that subtle villain Redhall sent so small a force into this -wild and hostile district." - -"Eh, gentle sirs! Gude guide us, your horses are eating a' my corn!" -cried the cottager, running to her quern, which she had left for a -moment; "shoo! shoo! awa' wi' ye!" - -"Well, thou old devil," said Leslie, "may not soldiers' horses eat -what they like?" - -Roland threw a few pence into the quern; and then, both putting spurs -to their horses, hurried after their soldiers, who were now some -distance in advance. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE BARMKYN OF CAIRNTABLE. - - "Dark grew the sky, the wind was still, - The sun in blood arose; - But oh! how many a gallant man - Ne'er saw that evening close!"--HOGG. - - -A few hours' march among the knolls and hollows, which exhibited here -and there a solitary square tower, or an old thatched sheep farm, -shaded by ash trees, and nestling on the holm land of the strath -through which the Douglas winds, brought the soldiers of Vipont to -the base of the Cairntable, a beautiful green mountain, sixteen -hundred feet in height. One half was darkly rounded into shadow, on -the other shone the bright splendour of the meridian sun, which lit -up all the windings of the various little pastoral glens, through -which the Peniel, the Glespin, the Kinnox, and other mountain -tributaries, flowed to feed the Douglas at its base. - -On a small spot of table-land, a shoulder of the hill, and sheltered -by its giant ridge from the south-west wind, which usually prevails -there, stood the fortified grange, or barmkyn, of Baldwin Fleming. - -Boasting of his lineal descent from Theobald le Fleming, who is said -to have possessed all that country before the rise of the Douglases, -and their gradual acquisition of the whole district, this sturdy -retainer of the encroaching Lords of Angus, though neither laird nor -lesser baron, but merely a goodman, who held his feu of a feudal -chief, and followed his banner in battle, had procured (through the -good offices of his kinsman Redhall) a crown charter, empowering him -to fortify his farm, which he had done with a strength that made it -second only to Castle Douglas, and the envy of all the fierce barons -in that warlike district. - -This vast building formed an exact square, and had four square towers -on each of its four faces. These were all strongly vaulted for -holding grain, while the great yard within served for securing -cattle. The twelve towers, and the curtain walls between them, were -battlemented on the top, studded with loopholes below, and all -strongly, though roughly, built with stone quarried from the adjacent -rocks. - -The most perfect example of a similar edifice now in Scotland, is the -fortified grange of Sir John Seton of Barns, which crowns a height -southward of Haddington, where its ruined towers resemble the remains -of an ancient city, from their strength and extent. - -Within the barmkyn, on one side, stood the strong and substantial, -but thatched, dwelling of the farmer; along the other three sides -were barns, stables, and houses for his men. At a certain distance -round the whole, a deep ditch was drawn; the margin was used as a -kitchen garden, and was stocked with common potherbs, and a few small -fruit trees, sheltered by boor-tree hedges and stockades. - -The bridge was up; and opposite the gate stood a clump of large oak -trees; and on a branch of one, which was conspicuous for its size and -foliage, the dead body of a man was hanging by the neck, with the -gleds flying about it. - -"Oho!" said Roland, as a turn of the glen brought him suddenly in -view of this goodly farm; "so the goodman of this grange hath a power -of pit and gallows! His oaks bear other fruit than acorns." - -"A peasant rascal!" replied Leslie; "and yet he tieth a tassel to his -tree, like the best feudal lord in the land." - -While approaching this formidable edifice, they had heard the distant -blowing of bugle-horns, the springing of wooden rattles, and the -incessant jangle of a large bell. These notes of alarm, together -with the appearance of armed horsemen, galloping in various -directions over the green hill sides, lessened the surprise of Vipont -and his soldiers, when, on coming in view of the grange of -Cairntable, they saw the whole line of its walls glistening with -pike-heads and glittering with steel caps; while a scarlet banner, -bearing the chevron of the Flemings within its flowering and -counterflowering fleurs-de-lys, was unfurled in defiance; for (thanks -to the cunning and amiable intentions of Nichol Birrel) such was the -dinner prepared by the sturdy proprietor for his unwelcome visitors. - -What the tenor of Birrel's falsehoods and misinformation may have -been, we have now no means of ascertaining; but they were such, that -the gudeman had all his horses secured in stall; his vast herds of -cattle in their pens, his stacks of grain stowed away in vault and -barn; while all the men over whom he had authority, to the number of -three hundred, with their families, were in garrison, and stood to -their arms, with the intention of resolutely obeying his orders, -whatever they might be. - -A brownie, in the shape of a little rough man, with a broad bonnet -and long beard, attended the family of Fleming. He rocked the -cradles of the infants, and performed various other kind and domestic -services; especially foddering the horses and cattle, sweeping the -kitchen floor, and filling the water-stoups for the servant girls; -all of which self-imposed duties were performed by this goodnatured -imp in the night, for the brownie was a being unseen by day; and to -propitiate him, a libation of milk and wort were nightly poured into -a rude font in the yard, called the _broonie's stane_--for in those -days every thrifty housewife set apart a portion of food for the -brownie, that his favour and protection, as well as his future -services, might be thereby ensured. If a piece of money were left, -an eldritch yell announced that the insulted brownie had found it, -and fled in resentment--for from that moment he invariably abandoned -the family and for ever. This familiar and usually amiable spirit, -with which Scottish superstition furnished the household of every old -race, was pacific, generous, and unvarying in his services; but if -once offended, implacable in his revenge. - -On the night preceding this eventful day, the brownie of Cairntable -had been heard to utter the most doleful lamentations, and "the wee -manikin with his lang beard and braid bannet," had been seen (as -several of the servitors averred) to pass round the towers of the -barmkyn, wringing his hands and weeping piteously, which had caused -the gudeman to look well to his defences, and to his horses and -armour. Thus in two hours after the arrival of his kinsman's -follower, Nichol Birrel, everything was in fighting order within the -grange when the king's troops approached it. - -"Halt!" cried Roland Vipont. - -"By my faith!" said Leslie, "we shall have no dinner here to-day, -which I regret exceedingly, as this hath all the aspect and -reputation of being an exceedingly well-stocked grange." - -"There is some mistake here. They surely have not seen the royal -standard," said Vipont, angrily, as he shaded his eyes with his hand, -which was cased in a glove of steel. - -"Ah! you wished for some fighting!" - -"Just now I wish most for dinner; and so, Balquhan, ride thou forward -with a white flag, and make open door for us." - -"Dost think I am another St. Colm, to make bolts unbar and doors open -by simply signing the cross?" - -"No; but by threatening them with cannon shot." - -Leslie tied a white handkerchief to the point of his long sword, and -galloped fearlessly forward to the edge of the ditch, from whence he -could distinctly see the grim faces that, from under battered -morions, peered at him between the embrasures of the wall above; -while from the deep-mouthed loopholes below peeped forth the keen -pike-heads and the iron muzzle of many an arquebuse and pistol. - -"Art thou the gudeman of the Cairntable?" asked Leslie of a stout man -of great stature, whose polished coat of mail betokened a superiority -over the others around him. - -"At your service, my braw gallant," he replied, bending over the -tower; "but what may your errand be here?" - -"To learn wherefore ye receive the king's soldiers in this fashion, -with closed gates, and your helmets on?" - -"Gif gaff makes gude friends," replied the other, surlily; "but I -trow, gif gaff shall make you none here; so, in God's name, pass on -in peace. Here ilka man must just ride the ford as he finds it." - -"Dost think we will burn thy house after it hath lodged us, poor -devil!" said Leslie, with a lofty and patronizing air. - -The buirdly farmer laughed hoarsely, as he looked to the right and -left along the strong walls, which were lined by so many tall fellows -in helmets and breast-plates. - -"Away, away!" said he, waving his gauntleted hand; "what brings ye -frae Holyrood to this puir sheep country? It's a gay place, that -Holyrood! Ah, there are plenty of vacant priories, lay abbacies, -captainries of castles, and other braw perquisites to be picked up -there; so I marvel mickle that you left so pleasant a climate, to -come here among the spirit-broken and impoverished Douglases, and the -fogs o' the Cairntable, where there's nothing but rocks, whinstones, -and cold iron to be had." - -"Then you will not lower your bridge, and afford free entrance to the -king's soldiers." - -"If a' the fiends of hell came, I carena a brass bodle; so away wi' -ye, or ye may fare the worse. Tell thy captain my name is Baldwin -the Fleming--as good a man as he." - -"Peasant hound, thou shalt rue this dearly!" replied Leslie, who was -about to turn away, when he perceived the rascal whom they had met at -St. Bryde's Well levelling an arquebuse full at him, from a loophole; -and he had just time to make his horse rear, so that the ball, which -would have pierced his own breast, entered that of the poor animal, -which snorted and plunged wildly. Escaping, however, several other -balls which whistled past him, Leslie forced it back at full speed to -the side of Roland, where it fell down, and was dead almost ere the -rider could disengage himself from the stirrups. - -"To your arquebuses, Leslie," exclaimed Roland, "while I shall unbend -my cannon. Ah, white-livered cowards!" he added, shaking his -clenched hand towards the hostile grange, "I will maul you sorely for -this defiance! Soldiers! they are all traitors to the king, for they -have fired on his royal standard. To your guns my brave -cannoniers--to your linstocks, and unlimber! Quick! and make me good -service against this contumacious villain and his foolish knaves." - -While the cannon were wheeled round, the tumbrils cast off, the -magazines opened, and powder and shot taken therefrom; and while the -cannoniers commenced pointing and charging them home, Leslie formed -his hundred arquebusiers behind a knoll, where they fixed their rests -into the turf, and opened a fire as close and rapid as it was -possible for soldiers to maintain with these cumbrous fire-arms, -which carried balls of two, and even three ounces; which were loaded -by means of a powder-horn; were levelled over forks, and were fired -by means of a matchlock. The reports were loud and deep, and the -rocks of the Cairntable repeated them with a thousand reverberations. -White as snow, the smoke of arquebuse and pistolette broke (but at -long intervals) from the strong dark walls of the grange, and their -balls tore up the soft turf, as they fell among the little band of -besiegers, or whistled over their heads; for so well were they -posted, that during two hours of incessant firing not one was ever -touched. - -"Batter me down the entrance-gate!" cried Roland to his gunners; -"'Tis easier to punch holes in an oak plank than a stone rampart; so -down with it, my brave cannoniers--for this night we will carry the -place by assault or die in its ditches!" - -"Art thou quite prepared for that?" asked Leslie. - -"A true soldier is prepared for everything," replied the elated -Vipont; "let us only have yonder gate beaten down by daylight, and, -with my sword for a wand, I will act your gentleman usher when night -falls." - -The cannon were carefully levelled and pointed; fire flashed from -their muzzles; smoke curled up in the sunshine; and their reports -rang like thunder among the windings of the Douglas. One shot -crashed through the massive gate, beating a large hole in it; the -other struck the battlements, and threw down a heap of masonry, which -fell, amid a cloud of dust, into the ditch below. Hereupon high -words ensued between old Lintstock and the lance-spesade, whose thumb -was placed upon the vent of the culverin, which he was reloading. -"It ill becomes a gle'ed gunner like you," Roland heard him say, "to -heed me less than an auld pair o' boots; but lang enough before you -saw the blessed light o' day I had levelled everything like a cannon, -frae a quarter Moyenne up to auld Monce Meg herself; and here now, I -will wager you a stoup o' Bourdeaux, that my next shot will go -straight to the keyhole." - -"Done!" replied the lance-spesade; "twa stoups if you like--and here -is my thumb on't." - -The lance-spesade levelled the culverin; applied his right eye to -three sides of the breech, carefully adjusted the quoins, and fired. -The ball struck a coat of arms above the gate, and threw a cloud of -splinters around it in every direction. - -"She throws high," said the soldier, throwing down his match, -discomfited. - -Lintstock grinned as he reloaded, and thereafter applied his single -orb to the breach and quoins, looking carefully along the polished -brass gun. At that moment the ball of a falconet came whizz from the -barmkyn, and was splintered on its muzzle; but the cool old soldier, -whose brains had so narrowly escaped being dashed out by it, neither -winced nor appeared the least disturbed in his aim; but took one pace -to the left, stretched out his right hand with the match, and in his -turn fired. Then, where the dark keyhole of the ponderous gate had -been but a moment before, a large round breach was visible, with the -sunshine streaming through it. Upon this, a shout arose within the -barmkyn, and the shrill cries of women and children were distinctly -heard. - -"Well done, my true cannonier!" said Roland. "A few more of these -bitter almonds, and the gudeman of the Cairntable will be forced to -afford us open house, whether he will or not. To thy cannon again, -my old Lintstock: for thou hast but one eye--Saint Mary! 'tis the eye -of a gazehound. Aim well with your cannon and arquebuses, my gallant -comrades--aim well, and level low! There are many good things in -yonder walls, all of which are yours by the law of war. How now, my -bold Balquhan--art thou shot?" he asked, on seeing Leslie reel. - -"As surely as if with an elf-arrow," replied the lieutenant, whose -left arm had been wounded by the ball of a hand-gun, which had beaten -his armour into the orifice, and caused him excessive pain; "but it -matters not--four of my best men are lying stiff enough, among the -broom, now." - -"Zounds! this night's lodgings is likely to cost us dear!--but, 'fore -God, I will make it dearer to the rascal who holds yonder barmkyn -against us." - -With his scarf, Roland bound up Leslie's arm; and having decided on -his tactics, commanded the arquebusiers to cease firing; to lie down -close under the brow of a knoll, and to reserve their arms and -matches for service at night. Meanwhile, the culverins incessantly -battered the barmkyn, the gate of which, by the time that the setting -sun reddened the wild summit of Cairntable, was beaten down, with a -great part of the wall, thus affording an open passage into the heart -of the place. - -"Thank Heaven, the night will be cloudy and dark!" said Roland, -looking at the sky; "so, by day-dawn, I will show thee, Balquhan, the -Red Lion waving where the chevron of Fleming floats upon yonder -barmkyn. A thousand thanks, my brave cannoniers--and chiefly thou, -old Lintstock, for a troop of knights might ride abreast through -yonder breach." - -"True; but thou forgettest the ditch," said Leslie. - -"Nay; I have bethought me of that, too." - -Black and gloomy the night came on; a high wind growled along the -valley; and with the deepening obscurity, it seemed as if the brawl -of the Douglas over its stony bed became louder, for its rush was -heard distinctly amid the dark and dewy hills, from which it -descended into that lonely and pastoral strath through which it winds. - -Pale and sharp as a spear-head, a horn of the new moon appeared at -times above the black outline of the Craintable; and when old -Lintstock saw it, he carefully took out his purse (which, however, -contained only four of James the Third's black farthings), and having -turned it over thrice, wished himself good luck, according to a -Scottish superstition existing unto the present day. - -When the gloom had deepened, so that nothing could be discerned of -the barmkyn but its bold outline and sable towers, standing on a -shoulder of the mountain, Roland ordered the arquebusiers to pile -their arms, and to tear down the roof and planking of an old barn -that stood near; and thereafter to bind some ten or fifteen of the -rafters together with ropes of straw, so that, being laid close -together, they should (with the assistance of a few planks) form a -temporary bridge, or passage, across the fosse of the barmkyn, the -breadth of which, with military exactness, he had measured with his -eye. - -Two hours sufficed for this, and, about midnight, he prepared to -assault the place, resolving to chastise the gudeman severely for his -resistance. Notwithstanding his wound, the gallant Leslie insisted -on accompanying him, and, armed with a Jethart staff, Lintstock left -the cannoniers to follow his master. - -As the arquebusiers approached in close order, the glow of their -lighted matches must have announced their approach, for although all -was still in the barmkyn (save the incessant lowing of the cattle in -their pens), the moment they were within range, a storm of missiles -was poured upon them. Arquebuse and pistolette, hacque, dague, and -iron-drake, flashed redly upon the darkness of the night, and many an -arrow, and many a bullet, whistled among the close ranks of the -Guard. Several fell, killed or wounded; but the rest pressed forward -bravely, and Roland, with his helmet closed, and sword in hand, led -them on. - -Thick and fast fell bolt and bullet, and the hearty shouts of the -little band of stormers were soon lost in the roar of tumultuous -sounds that arose within the barmkyn; for the cries of Fleming's -followers and kinsmen, as they animated each other at loophole and -battlement, the shrieks of their wives and daughters, the lowing of -the cattle, the barking of dogs, and the ceaseless ringing of a large -alarum bell, added to the incessant explosion of fire-arms, made a -united din, that gave a strange horror to a scene which had no other -lamps to light its dangers than the flashes of those deadly weapons, -which shot forth their contents from every nook and angle of the -strong dark walls. - -"Down with the posts and planks! Quick--Quick!" cried Roland, -through his helmet. "Close your ranks, and now again to your -arquebuses! Fire, and club them! Club them, and on--on, for Vipont -and the King!" - -This rude substitute for a bridge was laid, and the ditch crossed, in -less time than we have taken to relate it. Shoulder to shoulder, in -the gap of the gate and drawbridge, stood a close array of pikemen; -but, being somewhat less accustomed to arms than the soldiers of the -Guard, they were thrown into immediate confusion by a volley from the -arquebuses, which were instantly clubbed against them for close -combat. - -"Forward! forward!" cried Roland, hewing a passage with his sword, -and shredding down the pike heads like ears of wheat; his strength, -stature, weight of arm, and admirable coat of mail, rendering him -invulnerable, like a knight of romance. - -In the court of the barmkyn, and just within the gate, a close and -terrible conflict ensued in the dark; for there the sturdy farmer met -the assailants in person, at the head of his hynds and followers, all -cased in iron, cuirassed and barbed to the teeth. - -A powerful man, of vast bulk and height, Fleming was sufficiently -formidable, without his other accessories of a coat of mail of the -fifteenth century, jagged with twelve iron beaks, and one of those -enormous iron-studded mauls, which were used in Scotland until the -battle of Pinkey, where they proved perfectly futile against the -Spanish and German hackbuttiers, who were the main means of winning -that battle for the English. The giant was giving all around him to -death and destruction; three soldiers, the best men of the Guard, had -fallen before him; for, by three separate blows, their brains and -casques had been crushed like ripe pumpkins, before Roland could -reach him through the press; and, with no other sentiments in his -heart than those of rage, the blind and clamorous longing to avenge -and to destroy that is sure to arise in one's heart at such a time, -he fell furiously upon him. - -At this crisis, Roland could perceive a man in a close helmet, who, -armed with an arquebuse, kept close behind Fleming, and more than -once fired in the most cowardly manner over his shoulder. One ball -tore the cone of Roland's helmet, and another grazed his shoulder. - -"Notch me the head of that rascal with thine axe, Lintstock," cried -he; "and leave me to deal alone with this rough tilter." - -Swaying his enormous maul like a giant warrior of the dark ages, -Fleming made many a feint, before pouring forth all his strength and -fury, by swinging his club from the back of his head in one sheer -downward blow, that in a moment would have annihilated Vipont, had he -not sprung nimbly back, and escaped it as well as another shot from -the fellow with the arquebuse, who killed the lance-spesade, and so -deprived Lintstock of his stoup of Bordeaux. But ere Fleming could -recover his guard, Roland darted forward, and by one tremendous lunge -drove his long keen rapier through his body, just one inch below the -corselet. Fleming fell instantly to the ground, and the soldiers -pressed forward over him; but as Roland passed, the tremendous grasp -of the dying man was fastened on his foot, and he was dragged to the -earth, where a furious struggle ensued between them. - -In the dark, Roland's fall was unseen by his soldiers, who advanced -fighting hand to hand into the heart of the barmkyn, driving before -them the retainers of Baldwin Fleming. Groaning with rage and pain, -and wallowing in his blood, the latter rolled over Roland, and -retained him in a grasp which gathered fresh energy from the pangs of -death, till it seemed to possess the power of an iron vice. One hand -encircled his throat; the other grasped a poniard, with which he made -many a fruitless effort to stab him to the heart. Five times he -struck, and, glancing from the tempered corselet, five times the -dagger sunk harmlessly into the ground. - -During this struggle there suddenly burst upon the darkness a broad -and lurid gleam of light, that illuminated the whole arena of the -barmkyn, its battered gate and ruined wall, its corpse-strewn court -and striking architecture; and then Roland could perceive the ghastly -visage of that powerful foe who grasped him--powerful even in death, -for sight had all but left his glazed and sunken eyes; yet the -vengeance of a demon seemed to burn in his despairing heart, and to -add strength to his muscular gripe. In confusion and agony he had -dropped his poniard, and now with both hands he clutched Roland's -throat, and frantically endeavoured, by compressing his steel gorget, -to strangle, since he had failed to stab him; and with every futile -effort, the hot fierce blood welled forth from his gaping wound and -clammy mouth. - -Tighter and tighter grew that deadly clutch; the yielding steel -compressed at last, and Roland felt his eyes starting and his brain -whirling, while a thousand lights began to dance before him. An icy -terror, such as never had been there before, now thrilled through his -heart; he thought of Jane; and made one superhuman effort to free -himself and to shout for succour; but both failed, and he thought -that all was now over and for ever, when the gleam of light which -shot through the barmkyn saved him. For a moment, attracted by this -strange glow that flashed upon his sightless orbs, strong Fleming -relaxed his iron grasp, and, fatally for himself, permitted Roland to -respire. - -Bearing in mind his master's injunctions, Nichol Birrel had thrice -taken a deadly aim at Roland, and thrice had failed, for his bullets -slew other men, when his arquebuse was dashed aside by Lintstock's -Jethart axe. Then, finding that he was not likely to achieve much by -dint of arms, on observing the strange combat between Roland and -Fleming in the gateway--a struggle which he alone had observed, a new -idea occurred to him; and, rushing to the summit of the walls, he -cried: - -"The kye! the kye! save your kye! or they will all become the prize -and spulzie of the soldiers!" From the parapets he threw down -several enormous bundles of blazing straw among the close-packed -herds: already excited and terrified by the din of the combat and the -report of the firearms, they were at once driven mad and furious by -the descent of this burning shower. - -Like a living torrent they poured into the court and rushed through -the gateway, in their flight and terror plunging and galloping, -jostling, crushing, and goring each other with their horns, as they -irresistibly swept all before them, trampling the dead and the -wounded in the mire of their track. - -"St. Mary's knot!" cried Lintstock, hewing at their heels with his -Jethart axe; "hough and hamstring! tie their legs with St. Mary's -knot!" - -Five hundred head of infuriated cattle poured from the barmkyn into -the dark glen below, where they spread over the mountains in all -directions. - -Practised to such tactics in the Border war, the blaze of the straw -and the wild lowing of the cattle instantly acquainted Roland with -what was to ensue; but unable to free himself from the Herculean -grasp of Fleming, he suddenly clasped him in his arms. Then by one -tremendous effort he dragged his body over himself, and there -retained it as a shield from the forest of legs and hoofs that, -rushing from the pen, like a living whirlwind swept over them in -hundreds for the space of five minutes; but long before the fifth of -these minutes had passed, the nervous grasp of Fleming had relaxed, -and his fierce spirit had fled. Breathless, panting, and infuriated -by the whole encounter, Roland Vipont rose from the gory mud and -mire, regained his sword, and with a tottering gait and swimming head -looked around him for his followers. - -By this time the conflict was over, and his little band of brave -soldiers had gained complete possession of the barmkyn, the whole -surviving defenders of which had effected their escape by one of -those subterranean sally-ports with which every fortified house in -Scotland was furnished, as a means of secret egress in the last -extremity. - -The lance-spesade of the cannoniers and fifteen soldiers of the Guard -are said to have been slain in the assault. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE POMMEL OF THE PONIARD. - - "He gained--he gained (why stops my story?) then, - A deadly opiate from the convent men, - And bore it to his cave."--_Marcian Colonna_. - - -"Now, blessed be Heaven and our own stout hands, we have made our -quarters good here at last!" said Leslie, at that moment approaching -Vipont. "How is this? Zounds! thou cuttest a rare figure, all -smeared in mud and mire. Art thou wounded? No reply? Vipont, -Vipont, dost hear me? Why, thou art mute as a fish. But come with -me to the hall, for I have discovered my way there, and, what is -better, a gallant demi-john of Rochelle, that would gladden the -hearts of ten friars; one cup of it will set thee all right; so, come -along, my friend." - -Confused and stunned by his protracted struggle with Fleming, and the -whirlwind that had swept over them, Roland could scarcely articulate -a word, and when he did speak, his voice was lost in the hollow of -his helmet. - -Assisted by Leslie's arm, he ascended a stair to the hall of the -barmkyn, where their entrance stilled, for a moment, the uproar and -rejoicing of their plundering and half-famished soldiers. - -Built in an age when the sole idea on which a Scottish house was -constructed was the resistance of armed assault, the walls of the -barmkyn were of enormous thickness, and, in the recesses of the -deeply-embayed windows were little square cupboards for holding -household utensils. The vast fireplace contained two tall andirons, -which, together with the great dinner-table, and a number of clumsy -chairs and buffet-stools, formed the sole furniture of the farmer's -hall. The strong and bare stone walls were as destitute of ornament -as the roof, which rested on twenty-four round stone corbels, and was -composed of twelve beams of oak, plainly boarded over, to form the -flooring of a vast hay-loft above. - -A fox's face and horse-shoe were nailed above the door, to exclude -witches; while a cross of elder-tree twigs was fastened above the -lintel as a charm against fascination, for the age was full of the -wildest superstition. - -Torches had been lighted in the tin sconces which hung on the walls; -bread, beef, cheese, and every edible on which the soldiers could lay -their hands, had been piled on the long table; and, with their -helmets off, some were crowding round the demi-john of Rochelle which -Leslie had mounted on a binn in the centre of the floor, while others -hewed down doors and window-shutters with their swords, and lighting -a fire, began to cook with all the eagerness of hungry men. -Meantime, a guard and sentinels had been posted on the walls without, -in case of a rally or surprise. - -On removing his helmet, and imbibing a draught of wine, Sir Roland -was completely restored; but he was too much exasperated by the -resistance of Fleming and the loss of life he had occasioned, to care -a jot for the manner in which his goods and gear were going to rack -and ruin. - -"Drink, my soldiers!" he exclaimed, as he seated himself on the -table, that he might the more easily overlook the frolics and -revelry, "to your hearts' content; drink deep, for this is the wine -of a false traitor; but let drunkards beware of the truncheon that -awaits them on the morrow. Lintstock! hallo, Lintstock! where are -you, old ironhead?" - -"Here, Sir Roland," replied the veteran, who at that moment entered -the hall, dragging in a man whose head he was menacing at every step -with his Jethart axe, and at whom he darted such scowls of wrath as -he could concentrate into his solitary eye. - -"A prisoner!" - -"Whom I found skulking there without, and whom I am ready to vow on -the blessed Gospels, is the loon that thrice levelled his arquebuse -at you; and by shooting puir Laurie, our lance-spesade, hath cheated -me of a stoup of wine whilk I won lawfully," he added, savagely -shaking Nichol Birrel, who gave him a deep glance of hatred from his -sullen eyes. - -"It would seem to me, fellow," said Roland, who still occupied his -elevated seat on the edge of the table, and before whom the soldiers -dragged Birrel, "that I have seen thy face before. In the streets of -Edinburgh, perhaps?" he added, sternly scrutinizing that worthy, who, -having been deprived of arms offensive and defensive, save a -small-sword, appeared before them in the attire of a peasant. - -"Nay, I am but a puir sheep-farmer of Galloway, and you never set -eyes on me before, Sir Roland." - -"A lying varlet!" said Lintstock: "we wasted a gude tass o' brandy on -ye at St. Bryde's Well." - -"Oho! I remember thee, now," said Roland, with a terrible frown. - -"And so thou art the villain who shot my poor horse," said Leslie. - -"This is not the case," replied the dogged ruffian, in some -perturbation; "but even if it were so, should a brave soldier commit -such acts to memory, Laird of Balquhan?" - -"Now, by the devil, my Galloway Scot, how camest thou to know my -name?" - -Birrel saw his mistake, and remained silent. - -"Harkye!" said Lintstock again, "are ye not the runion who drove all -the cattle mad, and hounded them out upon the hills? where all the -collies and dogs in Lanarkshire will never collect them again; for -mony a gude score hae tummelled owre the craigs of the Cairntable, -and are drowned in the Douglas burn." - -"Oho, my friend," said Roland, setting down his wine-cup, and gazing -sternly on the brutal and bilious visage of his prisoner, every -twitch of whose square mouth, and every glance of whose twinkling -eyes indicated the mass of bad thoughts that festered in his heart, -"the charges are coming thick and fast against thee; so 'tis to thee -we owe the loss of our lawful prize--those prime herds and fattened -hirsels?" - -"Say rather to witchcraft; for ken ye, sir, that when I arrived here, -three were found to be elfshot, and the rest were under spell; for -the gudeman Fleming was dropping upon their horns the blessed wax of -a paschal candle, the half whereof is yet remaining----" - -"In the pen; he speaks the truth," said Lintstock, "for I saw it -there mysel; but sure as I am a living man, it was you who threw the -blazing straw-wisps owre the parapets of the bartizan." - -"Well, rascal, and didst thou give my message to the bull-headed -proprietor of this dwelling?" - -"Yea, Sir Roland Vipont, by Heaven I did, word for word." - -"So thou knowest _my_ name too, eh? (hold him fast, Lintstock)--well?" - -"And he made me prisoner." - -"I verily believe, peasant, thou liest; for the Laird of Balquhan -avers that he saw thee on the walls in armour." - -"True, for I armed me in my own defence." - -"But thou didst thrice try to shoot me with an arquebuse, as -Lintstock here is ready to swear." - -"Lintstock hath but one eye." - -"'Tis gude as a dozen, d--n ye," growled the old soldier. - -"How the devil is it this fellow wears a sword like a French barber?" -said Leslie. - -"Ay, how is this, thou, who art not a gentleman?" - -"I am travelling, and wear it for mine own security." - -"A cudgel would better become such a clown as thee; but take it away, -Lintstock, and keep it for thy pains. Now, fellow, my mind misgiveth -me sorely that thou art playing us a false trick; but as for thy -attempts upon my own life, I say let them pass; being done under -armour, and in close fray, it would ill become Roland Vipont to bear -malice for such trifles--for trifles they are, to a man who feels -himself as I do--with the blade of his sword. Though, as thou -knowest, man, I might hang thee from one of those beams, for -resisting the king's troops, who are empowered" (he added, with a -covert smile at Leslie), "to search every stronghold in Douglasdale -for the traitor, Ashkirk; I forgive thee, instead; and, as lord and -master of this barmkyn, for one night at least, by the laws of -conquest, and appropriation, I say thou art welcome to a cup of wine, -a slice from yon savoury roast, and a seat by the fire till dawn, -when may God speed thee to thy native Galloway, and keep us from -again meeting under harness. I never bore malice to living man, for -blow struck, or bullet shot, after the fray was over, and so bear -none to thee. Now, fellow, what is thy name?" - -"John--John Dargavel," replied Birrel, cautiously. - -"Then give me thy hand, John Dargavel, and here is mine," replied -Roland. - -Each kissed his right hand, and presented it to the other. - -"This is the generous frankness of a gallant soldier," said Leslie, -as Birrel slunk away; "but, I doubt me, 'tis sorely misplaced, for -that fellow hath the eye of a very ruffian. St. Mary! I could not -have believed my haughty Vipont would have condescended thus--even -though a friar had sworn it." - -"The faggots of hell encompass thee!" muttered Birrel (uttering the -favourite curse of those days), as he overheard Leslie; "but I may, -ere the morning, serve my lord and myself by avenging all this! -Praise God, I have still my poniard, with ten lives in its pommel!" - -He drew near the great fire, and mingled with the soldiers, who were -busy spitting strings of pullets, broiling eggs, basting a lordly -roast, toasting cheese, and mulling wine, amid such jesting and -revelling as none but soldiers can indulge in after danger dared and -slaughter past. There were several among them who no doubt would -have recognised him as the witch-pricker of Edinburgh, had they been -less occupied with the pleasant task of satisfying their appetite, or -had they more closely examined his face, the vile expression of which -was considerably increased by the manner in which he had smeared it -with dust and mud for concealment; but Lintstock, who had some -undefinable suspicions concerning him, kept a strict watch over all -his movements, and never once lost sight of him, even for a moment, -during the whole night. - -The feasting was over, the demi-john had been drained, fresh guards -had been posted, and the soldiers lay down to sleep, for Roland had -announced they were to march by sunrise, and desired Lintstock to -prepare a spiced posset of wine for his friend Leslie and himself, -against the time when the morning trumpet should sound. - -Two box beds opened off the hall, and each officer, without removing -his armour, occupied one of them; while their soldiers slept on the -floor, lying close together, with their swords and arquebuses beside -them; and as the pavement was somewhat cold (even though the month -was June), the staves of the demi-john, a few sturdy oak chairs, and -several other articles of furniture, had been heaped in the chimney, -where they were all blazing in a sheet of flame, like a yule-nicht -fire. - -Rolled up in his grey maud, Nichol Birrel reclined in a corner of the -ingle, with his bonnet drawn over his eyes; but instead of being -asleep, as he pretended, he was intently watching the groups that -slept around him. In a more remote corner lay Lintstock, partly -under the hall table, with his axe and sword under his head as a -pillow, and his keen bright eye fixed on the shaggy-headed brodder, -who had not the least idea that he was either watched or suspected. - -And thus the two men lay, for nearly two hours. The brodder watching -the sleeping soldiers, and Lintstock watching him. The one-eyed -veteran had conceived an invincible mistrust and repugnance of their -new acquaintance, and lay awake like a lynx. - -The fire began to sink and smoulder; and the objects in the hall, its -great and sturdily-legged table, the sleeping groups in their conical -corslets and red doublets, the yawning fire-place and the rough arch -of the mantelpiece, the ponderous beams of the ceiling and the deep -embrasures of the windows, assumed various shapes to the half-closed -eye of Lintstock. The shadows became black, while a fainter red -began to flicker on the walls as the embers died, and everything -became grotesquely indistinct. - -Sleep was fast overpowering the drowsy veteran; but before yielding -to it, he gave one last glance at the witch-brodder, and, starting, -grasped the shaft of his Jethart axe. - -Birrel had arisen and thrown off his plaid. The last glow of the -sinking embers shone full on his strong squat figure, his bilious -visage, matted beard, and muscular hands, giving him the aspect of an -enormous gnome in their uncertain light. - -"Ha! what now, sir?" muttered Lintstock, quietly. - -Birrel unsheathed his dagger; the blade gleamed redly in the flame; -but instead of grasping the hilt in the usual way, he unscrewed the -pommel; and then fortunately a current of wind which streamed down -the wide chimney and fanned the embers into a sudden flame, showed -Lintstock how he took from the hollow ball a few red grains, and -shook them into the posset-cup which had been prepared for Sir Roland -and his friend, and which stood near the fire upon the warm hearth. - -Lintstock grasped his axe tighter. - -For a moment the wine-posset frothed and foamed in the light; then -the fermentation subsided, and with the last gleam of the exhausted -fire Lintstock saw the brodder envelop himself once more in his -plaid, and, after stretching his limbs upon the warm ingle-seat, go -composedly to sleep. - -The firelight had expired, and then Lintstock could perceive the -first faint grey of the morning, brightening coldly and steadily -beyond the strong iron gratings of the hall windows; and being well -aware that the sentinels would permit none to pass without Sir -Roland's order or permission, and thus that the captive prisoner -could not escape, Lintstock also addressed himself to sleep for the -short two hours that intervened before the usual time of marching. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -A DRAUGHT OF WATER. - - "Now light is my song, as I journey along, - Now my perilous service is o'er; - I think on sweet home, and I carol a song, - In remembrance of her I adore."--TANNAHILL. - - -With the first peep of the sun's red disc above the Cairntable, the -trumpet sounded in the court of the barmkyn; and starting at once to -their arms, the arquebusiers, with the ready resolution of soldiers -accustomed to be roused on a moment's warning at all hours and in all -seasons, hastened from the hall, and began to fall into their ranks -in the yard. - -Many dead bodies, and that of the stalwart Fleming among them, were -lying among the mire, where the fugitive cattle had trod them; a -lance-spesade proceeded to call the roll, while the fourrier broached -a cask of ale, from which every man took a long horn before marching. - -Roland Vipont was the first who started at the sound of the trumpet. - -"Hollo, Lintstock," cried he; "my sword and helmet, and bring hither -the wine-pot. Come forth, my light Leslie; the trumpet hath blown." - -Lintstock brought the posset to his master, who was about to divide -it, by pouring a portion into another cup for Leslie; when the -wakeful servant whispered into his ear, while lacing on his helmet-- - -"Hold ye, Sir Roland, and invite our new friend in the border maud to -taste of it first." - -"Methinks muddy ale, or ditch-water, would better suit his knave's -throat; but why this request?" - -"There hath been foul play in the night." - -"Oho!" said Roland, changing colour and setting down the cup; "do you -say so?" - -"Poisoned?" asked Leslie, in a low, fierce voice. - -Lintstock winked, and nodded towards Birrel, who, at that moment, for -the third or fourth time, was endeavouring stealthily to leave the -hall, with the last of the soldiers. - -"Come hither, friend Dargavel,--for so I believe them callest -thyself,"--said Roland, filling a wooden bicker from the large pot of -mulled wine; "is it thus thou stealest away without bidding adieu to -me, who am thy host; for thou knowest that I command all here while -within the walls. Come, drink with us, friend; 'tis a bad maxim to -ride with a fasting stomach, so thou art welcome to a share of this -posset, which has simmered overnight by the fire. Dost thou hear me, -fellow? Art thou deaf?" - -Birrel's visage turned deadly pale, and a perspiration suffused the -roots of his hair and matted beard. - -"I never drink aught that is stronger than water--never, at any -time," said he, with a quavering voice. - -"This is false," said Leslie; "for I saw thee dipping thy moustaches, -yea, and thy whole beard, in the demi-john last night." - -"True--but in the morning I never drink either ale, wine, or -usquebaugh--never, sir knights--wi' mony gude thanks for your -courtesie?" - -"Tarry with us, friend; be not in a hurry," said Roland--at a sign -from whom Lintstock placed himself in the doorway--"of what, in the -devil's name, does thy morning draught usually consist?" - -"Milk," replied Birrel, becoming blanched with fear, and looking -round for some friendly hole wherein to hide himself. - -"A very hermit in temperance! I regret that, in consequence of all -the cattle having escaped, we cannot accommodate you, my pretty man, -with a draught of your favourite beverage. But hark you, sir," said -Roland, unsheathing his formidable sword; "thou seest this -blade?--well, if thou dost not drain this cup of wine to the bottom, -I will pass this weapon to the hilt--yea, sirrah, to the very hilt, -through thy body!" - -"Of all the sights of horror and disgust," says a popular writer, -"villany transformed at the death-hour into its natural character and -original of cowardice, is among the most appalling." The -witch-finder trembled in every limb, and seemed frozen to stone by -this command. - -"Ha! thou unfanged reptile, so we have thee by the throat?" cried -Roland, withdrawing his keen, sharp weapon for the death-thrust; "off -with it, to the dregs--yea, to the very dregs?" - -The tongue of Birrel clove to his palate, for the fear of death and -love of life were strong in his breast; he had dropped ten grains -into the goblet--and he remembered the words of his master, that -_each grain_ was the life of a man. He gasped for breath, but could -only utter inarticulate murmurs. He turned towards the doorway, and -there stood Lintstock with his eye full of ferocity and his axe -uplifted. - -"Harkee, hound! dost thou hear me?" said Vipont, spurning him with -his foot. - -"Oh, Sir Roland, have mercy, have mercy! The servant is not -responsible for what he does by the orders of his master?" - -"A pleasant rascal this!" said Leslie. "So thou hast a master, eh?" - -Birrel stammered, and paused; for, villain as he was, he meant not to -betray Redhall. - -"Think not that, by divulging his name, thou wilt save thy hang-dog -life!" said Roland--who mistook his delay--"for I swear by the God -that is in heaven! if thou drainest not this draught to the very -bottom, I will run thee through the heart without more preamble. So -quick! quick! swallow, swallow! dost think we have time to trifle -about crushing a reptile so despicable as thee!" - -The villain sank upon his knees, for they refused to sustain his -weight; fear froze the very pulses of his heart, and palsied his -tongue; his countenance became livid and clayey; his eyes sank, and -his lips became blue. - -"How frightful this villain is!" said Leslie. "Did ever a brave man -look thus in the face of death?" - -"Mercy, sirs! mercy! I will sin no more; I will be a gudeman and -true--I will tell ye all--my master's name--but mercy, sirs! mercy!" - -"Thy master's name! we seek it not," said Roland, as he smote him on -the mouth with his gauntleted hand; "we seek it not; for then our -honour would compel us to slay him wherever we met him, by holm or -hillside, at kirk or in market; and I wish not to stain my father's -sword with the blood of villains." - -"A priest! then let me have a priest! but five minutes wi' a priest! -for, oh, I have mickle to say, and muckle to repent o'!" - -"Dog! thou art a Protestant, I believe, and requirest not a priest. -No, go down to thy grave with the curse of the God of the living and -the God of the dead on thy brow--that dogged front where the mark of -hell is written! Drink! drink! dost thou hear me, Cain?" - -Roland held the dreadful cup before his eyes by one hand, while, with -the other, he gave him a violent prick in the breast with the point -of his sword. - -Birrel uttered a shriek like a fiend; and, draining the cup to the -bottom, flung it full at the face of Roland, who stooped his head, -and the wooden vessel was dashed to a thousand shreds on the opposite -wall. - -"Now I have but two hours to live!" he cried, with the voice of a -damned one; "two hours! two hours! two hours!" and, darting through -the doorway, he hurled Lintstock from his path as he would a child, -and, with one bound sprang down stairs into the courtyard, where he -passed through the startled soldiers like a whirlwind, with his -visage overspread by the blue pallor of death, his mouth covered with -foam, and his matted hair streaming in elf-locks behind him. - -Snatching up a cord that lay in his path, he cleared the fosse with -one bound, like an evil spirit; and, uttering a succession of -frightful cries, plunged down the steep bank, towards the rough rocky -bed of the Douglas. - -"How now! is the fellow going to hang himself?" said Roland. - -"Faith, poisoning might surely satisfy him," replied Leslie. - -Master Birrel certainly was about to hang himself, but not by the -neck. - -"I must live--I must live--oh, yes, I must, for vengeance!" he -yelled; for, coward as he was, he felt that he could have died happy, -if, by so doing, he could destroy Roland Vipont and Jane Seton--yea, -and his master too, who had sent him on an errand so fatal in its -termination. - -While some of the soldiers were burying the dead, and others were -tracing the horses to the artillery, the poisoned ruffian ran wildly -to a solitary part of the river, where he threw himself on his face, -and imbibed an inordinate draught of cold water--drinking, drinking, -drinking--as if he was a mere hollow pipe. Loosening his waist-belt, -and untying the points of his doublet, he stooped and drank deeply -again, burying his face in the water until his distended stomach felt -swollen as if to bursting, and when he arose the whole landscape swam -around him. Then, selecting the branch of a tree, he clambered up to -it with the utmost difficulty, for he had turned himself into a mere -water barrel. - -Then, in a horror of anxiety--for every moment wasted seemed an -eternity--he tied his ankles to the branch, and lowering his body -perpendicularly till his hands rested on the turf, he remained -suspended, head downwards, in the hope that, with the ocean of water -he had drunk, he might disgorge the frightful poison he had been -compelled to swallow. But long before this hideous operation was -over, Roland Vipont, Leslie, and their soldiers, with the royal -banners displayed, and their bright armour gleaming in the sun, were -marching down the pastoral valley, on their route to Edinburgh, -having now traversed the whole dale of the Douglas without -discovering the Earl of Ashkirk. - -"Now, fare ye well, Lanarkshire, and welcome the dun summit of -Arthur's Seat," thought Roland; as, full of the most brilliant -anticipations of happiness, he spurred his gallant horse and patted -its arching neck. "In three days I will be with my dear Jeanie; and, -in a month from this, whether the king sayeth yea or nay, she shall -be my winsome bride!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -THE SECOND VISIT. - - "Give me again my innocence of soul; - Give me my forfeit honour blanched anew; - Cancel my treasons to my royal master; - Restore me to my country's lost esteem, - To the sweet hope of mercy from above, - And the calm comforts of a virtuous heart." - _Edward the Black Prince_. - - -The soothing or sleeping draught had been duly administered by Tib -Trotter, and Jane Seton slept. - -Everything of late had happened most favourably for the intriguing -lord advocate. The queen's delicate health, the king's anxiety, his -fear and suspicion of the Douglases; the imprisonment of the countess -of Inchkeith, and the retirement of the court to the Abbey of -Balmerino; but chiefly the young earl's proscription, the banishment -of all his retainers from the city, and the protracted absence of -Roland Vipont in Douglasdale, from whence it was to be hoped Birrel -would never permit him to return alive, left Archibald Seton and his -sister utterly at the mercy of Redhall, the chambers of whose mansion -were as secret and secure as those of the recently-established Holy -Office at St. Andrew's. - -Animated by no new evil intention, but solely by his clamorous desire -to see her, to be near her, that he might touch her hands or kiss her -cheek unrepelled, Redhall had administered the narcotic to his fair -captive, whom he now prepared to visit. - -It was midnight; his whole household was buried in slumber; and as -the moment approached when he had proposed to pay this somewhat -equivocal visit, a tremor took possession of his heart, a dimness -came over his eyes, and he imbibed more than one glass of wine, to -string his nerves and still his agitation. - -"Poh!" said he, as his cheek reddened; "all this excitement about -visiting a girl--a girl who is asleep, too." - -Like many other Scottish houses where the walls were strong, -Redhall's mansion was furnished with several narrow wheel-staircases, -which, like gimlet-holes, perforated the edifice from top to bottom, -communicating with the various stories. One of these descended from -the door of his apartment to another which gave entrance to Jane -Seton's, opening just behind the arras of her bed. - -Redhall laid his poniard on the table, from which he took a candle, -and treading softly in his maroquin slippers, found himself at the -door of Jane's apartment, and there he paused. Though not a current -of air swept up the narrow staircase, the candle in his tremulous -hand streamed like a pennon, while a glow of fear and shame traversed -his heart like a red-hot iron. - -Tib had informed him that Lady Jane kept candles burning in her room -all night; so extinguishing his, he noiselessly opened the little -private door, and drew back the arras. A sense of flowers and -perfume, mingled with the closer atmosphere of the chamber, was -wafted towards him, and, by the light of two candles which, in -massive square holders of Bruges silver, burned on the toilet-table, -he was enabled to make a survey of the whole dormitory on which he -was intruding. Though he was unconscious of any guilty intention, -there was (he mentally acknowledged) something equivocal in the time -and manner of his visit that appalled his heart. He felt shame -glowing on his cheek: he saw spies in every shadow, and heard a voice -in every echo of his own footfalls. - -Softly he let the arras drop, but, in his excitement, forgot to close -behind him the door which it was intended to conceal. - -Unused, from the first hour she had occupied the chamber, the -magnificent bed prepared for Jane Seton had not been disturbed, and -with its cornices of carved oak, its festooned hangings and aspiring -feathers, its heraldic blazonry and grotesque devices, it towered -upon its dais like a monument in some old abbey aisle. - -Placed on each side of a mirror, the two candles reflected a bright -light upon the warmly-coloured tapestry of the apartment; the Persian -carpet of its floor, the fresh flowers that, in jars of Venetian -glass, decorated the mantelpiece, and all the innumerable little -ornaments with which the taste and policy of Redhall had furnished -it, to beguile the tedium or flatter the vanity of his unwilling -prisoner. - -"She sleeps!" said he, advancing on tiptoe, and shading his eyes with -his hand, "she sleeps, and soundly too. Oh, how beautiful she is! -How pure, how innocent she looks," he added, gazing upon her with -eyes of adoration, for he loved her exceedingly, and with a depth of -regard which, though not based on the same sentiments of esteem, was -no-wise inferior perhaps to that of the more favoured Roland Vipont. - -She was seated in a large arm-chair of the most luxurious -description. Carved like a gigantic clamshell, the back, with its -arms and sides, were of damask, stuffed with the softest down, and -the woodwork was elaborately gilt. She reclined within it, with a -hand, white as alabaster, resting on each of the arms; her head lay -somewhat on her right shoulder, over which her unbound hair poured in -a shower of ringlets, which, from her recumbent position, reached -nearly to the ground. Her face was pale as her hands; but some -vision was rising before her, through the depth of her slumber, and a -soft smile played on her beautiful mouth. - -Though feeling certain that, under the influence of what she had -imbibed, Jane would not awake, Redhall scarcely dared to breathe; -but, impelled by the delirium that was rapidly mounting to his brain, -a devouring longing to touch, to embrace her, possessed him; and, -kneeling before his sleeping divinity, he kissed both her hands -repeatedly and affectionately. Then he became giddy, and his heart -beat furiously; pulses rang in his ears, and all his senses began to -wander wildly; he gently encircled her with his arms, pressed her to -his breast, and kissed her soft cheek again and again. A blindness -seemed to come over him. - -"Oh, beautiful, indeed, thou art, and most adorable, too; but proud -and pitiless to me--to poor me, that loves thee so well!" he -murmured, becoming almost maudlin; "why hast thou so great a horror -of a poor being that would kiss the very dust whereon thou treadest? -Oh, this love is bewildering me--I am not the same man--oh, no,--'tis -a torment--a frenzy." - -His hot, dry eyes became moistened, and one large tear fell upon the -cheek of Jane. - -She suddenly opened her large startled eyes, and fixed them upon him -with an expression of terror and stupefaction; while his own -astonishment was so great that he forgot to release her from his -embrace. - -The draught had been less potent than the apothegar intended. - -"'Tis a dream!" she muttered, and closed her eyes; "another dream, -but always that face of horror!" - -Then, becoming more awake, and more alive to her situation, and -feeling that the arms of some one encircled her, she shuddered, and, -in great alarm, attempted to rise, but her limbs were powerless, and -a strange numbness tied her to her chair. She made a superhuman -effort to cry, but her tongue was powerless. - -"Mother! mother! what is this? Assist me, for I am wholly at his -mercy! I am in the power of a demon, who will fascinate me with his -eyes." - -Laying her gently back, his first impulse was to retreat before -perfect consciousness returned; but she seemed so agitated, so -woe-begone, and so frightfully pale, that he dared not leave her; -and, on his knees, began to chafe in his her soft and dimpled hands. - -Gradually, the truth forced itself upon Jane. Her actual tormentor, -and no vision, was before her. She began to weep, and covered her -face with her snow-white hands, over which her hair fell like a -glossy veil. - -"Oh, despair! despair! am I abandoned for ever? Roland, Roland! come -to me, dearest Roland!" she exclaimed, incoherently. "Oh, man, man! -why dost thou persecute me thus?" - -Sir Adam Otterburn was stung to the heart by her words; but, sighing -deeply, he gently parted her dishevelled hair, and said-- - -"Lady Jane, I am aware that I am guilty of great wrong towards you; -but it is the guilt of love, and love should pardon the frenzy it has -caused." - -"I can pardon your love, but can I pardon the misery it hath caused -me? It is not the love of a sane man, but the fantasy of a madman. -I am thy prisoner, lawlessly thy prisoner; but thou hast infamously -violated the ties of honour and hospitality in breaking the privacy -of a helpless woman. Fie upon thee, man! for I will raise upon thee -even thine own detested household!" - -She rose, staggering, and more than once passed her hand across her -forehead, for her faculties were as yet obscured by the potion. - -"Oh, deem me not so vile!" said Redhall, clasping his hands, and -looking upon her with the most sad and solemn earnestness. "I came -but to see, to touch, to be near you, to breathe but the same air -with you, to look upon you without being repulsed, to sit by and -worship you; and I have done so with such adoration as I have never -felt even before the altar of my God; and I call Him to witness, if -in my mind there was kindled one impure or one unholy thought." - -"Fool!" said Jane, bitterly, for she was full of angry alarm; "thou -ravest like one of Lindesay's playmen. Thy purity of thought should -have made thee respect as sacred the chamber to which I am consigned. -Sir Adam, in all thy love-making there is a fustian sophistry, which -shows thou art immensely inferior to my Vipont; and he, though but a -rough soldier, never dared resort to blasphemy in expressing his love -for me." - -Jane saw the agony that Vipont's name always occasioned her -tormentor, and could not forbear to sting him with it. A cold -moisture studded his pale forehead with diamond-like drops; a satanic -smile lit up with a gleam of undisguised jealousy his dark and -homicidal eyes. - -In this taunt she felt her strength; but saw not the danger of -driving to despair a heart so fierce, so proud, so jealous and -resentful. He approached, but she drew back with a haughty look. - -"Beware, Sir Adam," said she; "for even if the king and his court -forget that I am the daughter of John, Earl of Ashkirk, I have a dear -brother, and a dearer _friend_, who, if they cannot at present -protect, will one day surely and fearfully avenge me!" - -"Proud lady," he replied, with calm fury, "if neither Heaven nor hell -can protect thee, dost think that thy brother, who is my prisoner, -and whose life is in my hands; or that other miserable moth--that -holiday captain, in steel plates and gilded scales--will succour, -save, or avenge thee?" - -"They will, they will, I tell thee, false baron and craven man; thou -corrupt counsellor and cowardly Otterburn! And when Vipont returns, -thou and all thy kindred may tremble, for neither the Otterburns of -Redhall, nor Redford of Auldhame or Avondoune, will be able to -withstand him." - -He smiled sourly; and she uttered a scornful laugh. - -"Woman, how pitilessly thou plantest poniards in a heart that loves -thee well. Oh, beware! beware! for a single drop will make the cup -that brims to overflow. My heart can know no medium; it is capable -of only two extremes. Love the most blind, hatred the most insane; -and at times I feel that it vibrates between them. Beware of the -last; and, oh! beware of thrusting this rival in my face, for slowly, -but surely, drop by drop, as it were, a savage longing for revenge -will gather in my heart; yea, drop by drop, till it swells into a -flood--a fierce, a furious flood, that, bearing all before it (like a -mountain torrent), will drown alike the stings of conscience and of -pity, and, like a feather on its surface, will sweep you away with -it." - -"Sir Roland Vipont is a gallant soldier, who will laugh alike at thy -vengeance and thy bombast. True, wretch! thou mayst murder him, as -thou didst M'Clellan of Bombie," she continued, with eyes full of -tears and fire; "but even then we will find hearts and hands to -avenge us." - -Redhall remained for some moments speechless with passion and -confusion. - -"Bombie!" he reiterated, turning ghastly pale; "what leads you to -suppose I ever committed a crime so frightful? Speak! But this is -the wordy anger of a woman. You talk of an affair which happened -eleven years ago, when you must have been but little more than a -child. Lady, these words are rash and unadvised. Oh! I implore -thee to beware of exciting in my heart the hatred of which I spoke, -and of which I feel it capable." - -"Then I will repeat them a thousand and a thousand times, thou -murderer of the brave Sir Thomas M'Clellan, my father's long-loved -friend. I need care little for thy _hatred_, when thy mad love costs -me so dear." - -"My hatred--beware, I implore thee once again--beware of it!" - -Lady Seton laughed; and a gloomy expression gathered in the dark -solemn eyes of Redhall. - -"Think, dear lady--think," said he, "of the ruin that hangs over thee -and thy house." - -"Do thou rather reflect on that, and remember that, were I to wed -thee, for ever wouldst thou lose the favour of James, the cardinal, -and their obsequious parliament; destroying thyself without lessening -one iota the thousand pitiless severities to which the knights and -barons of our faction are subjected." - -"Nay, lady, nay; I who have done, can _undo_. Many of those acts of -proscription and severity were enacted by my advice and by my -influence." - -"Another incentive to abhor thee." - -"But I can restore the banished to their homes,--the dishonoured to -honour--the unhappy to happiness--the ruined and despairing to wealth -and affluence; and to do all this by a word lies with thee alone." - -"St. Mary! I know not whether to weep with vexation or laugh at thee -with scorn," said Jane, in great distress and perplexity, for she -could not but acknowledge mentally that he spoke the truth. "Oh, -Vipont! Vipont!" she added, in a low voice, "assuredly thou hast -abandoned me." - -Another wild gleam passed over the eyes of Redhall. - -"Rash woman, how thou bravest me! if thy heart, insensible as it is, -has neither love for me, nor pity for the knights and nobles of thy -race, surely at least it will tremble for thyself! Behold this -warrant," he continued, drawing a parchment from his bosom; "from -this house, Jane Seton, thou canst only pass to the castle of -Edinburgh. Here are accusations of treason; of conspiring with the -English; of resetting rebels; and worse, oh! worse a thousand times -than all--sorcery, and compassing, by spell and charm, the life of -Queen Magdalene." - -He paused, and his lowering countenance assumed a diabolical -expression; for his stormy passions were wavering (as he had said) -between excess of love and excess of hate. - -"Ponder well upon my offer, and deeper upon my threat; respect the -first, and--fear the second. Life, honour, power, and happiness are -in my right hand; trial and torture, disgrace and death, the stake -and the gibbet, are in my left. Here, love the most tender and most -true; there, revenge revelling like an unchained fiend! Think, -think, oh! for mercy's sake--for pity's sake; and for the love of -God, think, ere thou dost for the last time pause or repel me." - -Trembling, and scarcely able to restrain her tears-- - -"Sir Adam Otterburn," she replied, "I despise alike these offers and -those threats; for if not a villain, and a cruel one, thou art (and, -Heaven protect me!) assuredly a madman." - -His countenance became livid, and his eyes sad. - -"Then so be it--a _madman_! Then, as a madman, let me have but one -soul, one thought, and one desire--vengeance! the deep, thirsty -vengeance of madness, of jealousy and despair!" - -Terrified by his aspect and his fury, Jane had withdrawn to the -farthest end of the apartment, when a new gust of passion seized him, -and he sprang towards her. - -"There is but one way left me now. Am I a child, a boy, a fool, that -I trifle with thee, who art pitiless as a panther, and inanimate as -marble?" he exclaimed, as he seized her, and endeavoured to encircle -her with his arms; "in this house thou art completely in my power as -in the midst of a desert, and now--and now----" - -"Mercy!" cried Jane, filled with a sudden sense of new danger, as she -endeavoured to elude his wild grasp, and the gaze of his large, dark, -gloating eyes, and prayed aloud for safety and protection. - -"Ay, invoke and cry, and pray to God or to man, as thou pleasest; but -will either hear thee?" - -"Vipont! Vipont! - -"Ha! ha! the hand of Birrel is in his heart." - -"Archibald!" she panted, sinking down against the wall, and overcome -with terror. "Oh, Archibald, my brother, my brother!" - -"_Here!_" cried a voice like a trumpet; the arras was torn aside, and -a man sprang forward--there was a flash as a poniard was buried in -the breast of Redhall, and the black velvet of his doublet was -stained with red, a cloud of darkness descended upon his eyes; and as -he fell weltering in his blood, Jane was borne away by the strong -intruder. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY! - - "A strange emotion stirs within him--more - Than mere compassion ever waked before;-- - Unconsciously he opes his arms, while she - Springs forward, as with life's lost energy."--_Lalla Rookh_. - - -The Earl of Ashkirk, on finding that he was actually possessor of a -small steel knife, could scarcely repress his joy till nightfall, or -refrain from indulging in a merry song; so his exuberance expended -itself in whistling, and drawing on the walls a variety of -caricatures of Redhall hanging upon a gallows, invariably appending -to his face an enormous nose; for that feature of the lord advocate, -though straight and singularly handsome, was, to say the least of it, -somewhat long and dignified. - -As the sun set, he employed himself in tapping with the handle of the -knife the various stones of the partition wall, for the idea of -effecting a breach through the vast solidity of the external barrier -never occurred to him. - -There was one part of the inner wall which was jointed with -remarkably large and square stones, where, by the frequent sound of -feet ascending and descending, he felt assured there was a stair -behind; and there he resolved to commence operations the moment he -was confident of being left undisturbed for that night. - -He was singularly facetious with Tam Trotter when the latter, as -usual, left him for the last time about six o'clock, and secured all -the doors. By this time the earl had decided upon which stone to -operate, and selected one about four feet from the floor; he marked -it with a cross for good luck, and after viewing his treasured knife -for the thousandth time, repaired to his little window to watch the -lagging sunset. - -Never, even when longing for a meeting with Sybil, did the moments -pass so slowly. - -The evening was still and calm, and not a leaf was stirring in the -venerable chestnuts and sycamores at the foot of the little park -which extended towards the south, behind the house of Redhall. The -sunlight died away on Arthur's Seat, and the sky gradually deepened -to a darker and more cerulean blue, and one by one the stars came out -of its bosom; the hum of the city, and other sounds of life without, -ceased gradually, and nothing was heard but now and then the striking -of a friary clock, or the jangling bells in the convent of Placentia. -Night--the short but beautiful night of June--had come on; and one -might have imagined that another and a softer day was dawning in the -glorious light of the midsummer moon, as it rose in unclouded -magnificence above the craigs of Salisbury; then, with the first ray -that shone into his chamber, the earl, whose heartbeat rapidly and -almost fiercely with anxiety, and whose hands trembled, but with -eagerness, drew forth his treasured knife, and commenced the arduous -and exciting work of escape. - -Fitted close as books on a shelf, squared and built with little -mortar, the task of loosening and completely disengaging one stone -occupied hours. The knife bent like a willow wand; and the earl's -heart almost sunk with fear lest it should break, and that if he -failed or was discovered at such a task, a stronger prison, perhaps a -hopeless dungeon, might be apportioned to him. Loosened on all -sides, the stone he had selected was a block a foot high by eighteen -inches broad; it vibrated to the touch, but the utmost exertion and -art he could put in practice failed to coax it one inch from its deep -bed in the wall; the knife, his nails, his fingers, were all resorted -to successively again and again, but in vain--it shook, it vibrated, -but obstinately remained in its place, till in a fit of fury, and -when about to abandon the task in despair, he uttered a malediction, -and gave the stone a violent push with both his hands! Then, lo! it -shot through the wall to the outside, and disengaging others in its -passage, fell upon what Lord Ashkirk discovered in a moment to be a -step of one of those narrow stairs we have described in the preceding -chapter. - -The echoes of its fall died away in the stony windings of the stair; -and grasping his knife, the earl stood for a moment petrified, lest -all his labour and anxiety were lost, and the noise should rouse the -household; but fortunately (save their master) all the members of it -were buried in profound repose. The earl could hear his heart -beating, as the blood rushed back tumultuously upon it; but all -remained still as death, and he could hear the corbies croaking as -they swung in their nests among the foliage of the ancient trees -without. - -There was not a moment to be lost. - -With some difficulty he crawled through the aperture, and found -himself in a dark and narrow stair. His first thought was to replace -the heavy stone, which he did with ease, for this gallant young noble -was strong as a Hercules; thus, as the breach was immediately behind -the door, it was concealed from those who might enter the chamber; -and hence the dismay of Tam Trotter on the morrow, when he found it -void, without knowing or perceiving how. - -The earl was naturally about to descend, when the cry of a female -arrested him; and though he knew not with certainty that his sister -Jane was in the power of Sir Adam Otterburn, the voice made him -experience something like an electric shock; and he sprang up the -stair, taking three steps at a time. - -The first apartment he entered was empty; a light burned on the -table, which bore a pyramid of letters and papers; the walls were -shelved, and covered with vellum-bound volumes--it was the study or -library of the lord advocate. A Flemish clock, in workmanship and -aspect little superior to a common roasting-jack of modern times, -hung above the mantel-piece, and pointed to the hour of twelve. - -Above him the earl heard voices, whose purport he could not discover, -but whose tones seemed familiar to his ear. - -Appropriating to himself a handsome poniard that lay on the table, -just where Redhall had placed it about an hour before, he sprang to -the next story, at the door of which a candle was burning on the -floor: it streamed in a current of air, which announced to the -observant earl that there must be an external door below. - -The voices were those of his sister Jane and their enemy, Redhall. - -A storm of passion filled his heart; and at the very moment she was -exclaiming--"Archibald! oh, Archibald, my brother!" he tore aside the -arras, and striking Redhall to the floor with his own poniard, seized -his sister by the hand, and led, or rather dragged her forth, and -down the steep stair, at the bottom of which they found themselves in -the vaulted stone lobby of the mansion. Everything was yet silent. - -The flaring light of a smoky oil lamp which stood on a grotesque -stone bracket projecting from the wall, revealed its furniture, which -consisted of little more than a few sturdy oak chairs, and a stout -binn, whereon stood an ale barrel, with a quaigh hanging on its -spigot, wherewith the servants of visitors, or whoever chose, might -quench their thirst; for such was the hospitable fashion of the olden -time. At the further end of the lobby* was an arch closed by a -strong door, which was secured by one ponderous wooden bar, that -crossed it transversely, and had a solid rest in the walls at each -side. - - -* Scottish for an entrance-hall; derived, I believe, from the German -_laube_: a gallery, or walking-place. - - -To shoot back this bar of oak, to open the heavy door, and rush into -the Canongate, were but the work of a moment--and then Lord Ashkirk -and his sister were free. - -"Oh, Archibald! Archibald!" cried Jane, as she threw herself into -the arms of her brother in a transport of grief and excitement--"am I -quite saved--and by you?" - -"I have not a moment to lose, dear Jeanie, for the bloodhounds of -Redhall will be upon my track. Yonder is our house. I dare not -enter it; but once there, thou at least art safe." - -"With my mother--oh, yes; when with my mother I will fear nothing. -Our dear mother! but thou----?" - -"Must hasten hence. Edinburgh will be too hot to hold me after this -affair; and already I have been too rash in residing here. Hah!" he -exclaimed, half savagely, but with a shudder, as he held up his hand, -"this is the blood of Redhall! There will be a vacant gown in the -High Court to-morrow--one villain less in that tribunal of cowards! -Here, then, thou art safe. I will cross into Fife, even should I -swim the Firth, and will retire towards the Highlands, as the king -will be sure to look for me on the Borders. Tell Vipont of this, and -intrust yourself to him, for he alone can protect thee now. I can no -more." - -"But Roland is in Douglasdale, and our mother a prisoner in the -castle of Inchkeith!" - -The earl gnashed his teeth with passion. - -"How many wheels hath this dark conspiracy!" said he. "Ha! 'tis well -I struck deep to-night." - -"See, Archibald, our house is dark and deserted; the gates are -locked. Oh! such silence and desolation!" - -"What shall we do now? If I stay with thee I shall be taken, and if -taken, shall indubitably be hanged, _red hand_. See, this horrible -poniard is actually glued to my fingers!" - -"Away thou to the hills, and leave me. Oh, Archibald! seek shelter -anywhere. Thou art the last hope of us all, Archibald! with thee our -father's name, and fame, and race would perish." - -"True; and, what is worth them all, our hopes of vengeance on the -Hamiltons. I must live for that! This night hath commenced it; and -my hand has struck one from the list of Angus's foes and Arran's -friends. Jane, we are now past the Girth Cross; thou art safe now, -for not even Redhall would dare to violate the holy sanctuary. Its -girdle will protect thee like a magic zone. Remain in the abbey -church till daybreak, and then Sir John Forrester, who is Roland's -friend--a good man and a gallant knight, will see thee in safety to -our mother's side. One kiss, dear Jeanie, and then a long farewell -till better times." - -Jane thought of the terrible warrant which Redhall had held before -her eyes; but fearing to delay her brother, or to alarm him more, she -tendered her soft cheek, against which he pressed his long rough -beard, and there they parted, in the middle of that dark and deserted -street; for the light of a pale and waning moon threw the sombre -shadow of the ancient Mint far beyond the Girth Cross, which, on its -shaft of stone, stood in the centre of the street. Reflected from -the large masses of white clouds that were scudding over the city, -the cold moonlight shone on the vanes of the palace gate, and the -square towers of the abbey church, for it then had three--a great -rood tower, and one on each side of the entrance. - -Intimate with all the localities of the town, the earl avoided the -Water-gate, where he knew a sentinel was posted; and passed down a -narrow close overhung by many a "sclaited lodging" and antique -"timber-land;" he reached the wall at the bottom unseen, scaled it -with agility, and found himself close to the hospital of St. Thomas, -which was then in the course of erection, by George Crichton, Bishop -of Dunkeld, and dedicated to the Virgin and all the saints, for the -health of his own soul and the souls of the kings of Scotland, for so -runs the charter of its foundation. From thence he bent his steps -towards Leith, hoping with the dawn to cross the Forth by the first -ferry-boat that departed for Kinghorn. - -Though weak, feeble, and sinking with terror, Jane Seton, instead of -hurrying at once to Holyrood, the dimly-lighted shrines of which were -visible through its western windows and doorway (for then church -doors stood permanently open), lingered affectionately so long as her -brother was in sight, nor turned away until he had disappeared. - -At the porch, which served both as an entrance to the ancient abbey -and to the new palace, was a doorway, where hung a certain bell, -which was only rung by those claiming the ancient and still sacred -privilege of sanctuary. Opposite was an edifice occupied as a -guard-house by the king's arquebusiers. - -"Mother of Mercy, be praised!" she exclaimed, with a heart full of -thankfulness, as she raised her hand trembling with eagerness to the -bell-rope, when, lo! swift as light, a man sprang into the archway, -cut the cord, and seized her by the arm. Jane uttered a faint cry, -and sank against the wall, on seeing the hateful visage of Dobbie, -the doomster, and hearing his false and hollow laugh in her ear. -There was a savage leer in his eyes, and he lolled out a long red -tongue through his short wiry beard, as he arrested her. - -On one side lay the porter-lodge of the abbey, where she would have -received a sanctuary; on the other lay the guardhouse of the -soldiers; and she knew that if discovered by them, after what Redhall -told her, she would indeed be lost. On one hand lay life--on the -other death! - -"Sanctuary!" she cried with a despairing voice, as she clung to the -handle of the door; "sanctuary, father abbot--good master porter! In -the name of the blessed Trinity, sanctuary! For the love of God and -St. Mary, sanctuary! sanctuary! Oh, man, man!" she continued, -wildly, as the wretch threw his arms around her, and forcibly dragged -her away, "what wrong have I ever done thee? Oh, for my brother's -dagger now!--pity, pity! I am very weak and ill. Sweet Mother of -Compassion have mercy upon me, for others have none!" - -Her voice failed and sense began to leave her. - -"How now--what the devil!" cried a rough voice, "whose brittle ware -may this lass be?" - -"By St. Girzy, a fair strapping dame!" cried another. - -"Let go the lass, rascal, or I will brain thee with the boll of my -arquebuse!" exclaimed a third, as several soldiers of the guard came -hurriedly out of the porch with their swords drawn and matches -lighted. - -Jane's eyes were closed, but she felt several hands laid roughly upon -her, as she was dragged into the court of guard. - -"Ho! ho!--blood!" said one; "hath this squeeling mudlark committed a -murder? see, there are red spots on her crammasie kirtle." - -"Yea, and worse," said Dobbie; "she is a sorceress of the house of -Seton; and here is my lord the cardinal's warrant for her committal -to ward, signed and sealed wi' his braid hat, tassels and a'." - -"A sorceress!" muttered the soldiers; and Jane felt their hands -withdrawn as they shrunk back; and at that moment a deadly faintness -came over her..... - -Meanwhile, passing under the dark brow of the Doocraig, a rock of the -Calton, and past the old street and chapel of St. Ninian, which lay -on the opposite eminence, the earl hurried down the long pathway then -known as the Loan, which led to Leith. St. Anthony's Gate, which -closed the seaport towards Edinburgh, was shut, but with the first -peep of dawn it was opened by the warders; and as the earl had -bestowed the interval in cleansing himself from several spots of -blood, and adjusting his toilet, he passed without question the -keepers of the barrier, and several of the old hospitallers of St. -Anthony, who, even at that early hour, were perambulating the -Kirkgate in their long black cassocks, which had a large T and a bell -shaped in blue cloth on the breasts thereof. - -At the pier--an ancient erection of wood which was burned by the -English during Hertford's wanton invasion seven years after--the earl -found the Kinghorn sloop just about to sail, and sprang on board, -descending from the pier to the deck by one of those old-fashioned -_treenebrigges_, which, by an act of the legislature in 1425, all -ferriers were bound to have prepared for the safe shipment of horse -and man. Unchanged since the days of James I., the fare was then -only twopence Scots for a man or woman, and sixpence for a horse, -under pain of imprisonment in the Tolbooth, and the forfeiture of -forty shillings to the crown in case of extortion; thus the earl, -though his funds were low indeed, easily passed on board, among the -Fifeshire cottars and Burrowtown merchants of small wares, who -crowded the low waist of the little vessel, which in a short time was -running past the Mussel Cape and the Beacon Rock (whereon the -martello tower now stands), and bearing away for the quaint and -venerable town of Kinghorn, which lies on the opposite shore. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -THE PORTE OF THE SPUR. - - "What! no reprieve, no least indulgence given, - No beam of hope from any point of heaven? - Ah, mercy! mercy! art thou dead above? - Is love extinguished in the source of love?" - _The Last Day_, Book III. - - -Redhall's second wound was of the most dangerous kind. It was below -that inflicted by Roland, but nearer the region of the heart; it bled -profusely; and his blind passion and fury on discovering that Lady -Jane had really escaped, carried him beyond all bounds. While -Trotter sprang on horseback, and galloped off for John of the -Silvermills, and Dobbie, armed with the warrant, was despatched to -recapture the fugitive Jane and her brother the earl, and have them -secured in the castle of Edinburgh, Redhall, in a paroxysm of rage -and despair, so great that it rendered him supine and powerless, lay -on his bed as in a swoon, until the arrival of the physician, on -whom, as on all, he enjoined (under the most tremendous threats) -solemn silence concerning a wound, the inflicter of which he declined -to name. - -The strong emotions of anger and revenge, which, with every fresh -interview, rejection, and defeat, had been gradually gathering in his -heart, had now indeed swollen, drop by drop, to the torrent he had -predicted; and, like the reed upon the current, she was about to be -swept away with it. - -"Harkye, Dobbie!" said he, through his clenched teeth, between which -the blood was oozing, as he writhed in agony on his bed; "harkye! -give me thy thumb; silence on all this--as thou livest, my good man -and true--silence on this matter--I tell thee _silence_! Here is the -warrant--seek the Albany herald and captain of the guard--quick! have -this woman committed to ward, as it imports!" - -"Should she say she has been our prisoner already?" - -"Begone, fool! who would believe her? Hence--hence, my God!--go, -wretch," he added, in a low, hissing voice, as Dobbie hurried away; -"go, and accomplish this my work of vengeance; and, one day or other, -I shall brush thee, too, from my path, like the bloated spider thou -art!" - -In half an hour the physician arrived; and the light of the dull grey -dawn presented a figure which certainly had something very appalling -in it, for, in his haste, he had come away wearing a mask which was -furnished with two large, green, globular glass eyes, to protect his -face from the poisonous air and scorching heats of his laboratory. -His high and wrinkled forehead lowered above it, and his long beard -flowed below. - -The wound was speedily bathed and salved; and lint, with a bandage, -was applied. - -"Thou seest, friend, that I find this new office of king's advocate -no sinecure," said Redhall, with a fierce smile. "A thousand -furies--how the wound smarts!" - -"'Tis the _unguentum armarium_," replied the learned John, with -medical composure; "one touch is sufficient to make such a wound as -this shrink to the size of a pin-thrust, and two ought to efface it." - -"I feel as if the dagger was still in my heart! Two touches cure, -sayest thou?" - -"Yea, my lord." - -"I pray they may do so." - -"They must, Sir Adam, if thou followest rigidly my prescriptions, -which are here," and from his pouch he produced various phials marked -with those cabalistic figures which are still so much in vogue among -apothecaries. These he drew up in line, with their labels hanging -like shields before them. "Here is my Elixir of Life, which the care -of many a long year hath yet failed to perfect, for the lack of a -certain herb which groweth in Arabia Petræa, and is the real _arbor -vitæ_--the tree of life of the patriarchs; but still, its restorative -and strengthening properties are wondrous! Here are my mercurial -balm and the essence of acorns, which last giveth to the bones the -strength of the oak tree, and to the nerves and sinews the toughness -and tenacity of the ivy. A spoonful of each are taken night and -morning, dissolved in a little warm water; and doubt not, Sir Adam, -that this day week will behold you a strong man, and well--yea, with -redoubled energies, like those whom the Cassida of the pagan Romans -restored to life." - -And with these words the physician retired, leaving Redhall to writhe -and struggle, in solitude, with his mental and bodily agonies--the -former outdoing the latter by a thousand-fold. - -Our learned astrologer enjoyed a great reputation in Edinburgh, and -doubtless would have enjoyed a still greater in the present day, if -we may judge of the success of southern quacks and quackeries; as -they, like everything that is English, enjoy a vast popularity among -the Scottish vulgar. - -At this time Lady Jane Seton was at the porch of the palace, from -whence Dobbie had dispatched one soldier for the Albany herald, and -another to Sir John Forrester. On reviving, she found herself -surrounded by arquebusiers in their steel caps, gorgets, and -bandoliers, gazing on her with bold and scrutinizing eyes. - -"What manner o' lassie is this?" said they, crowding round her chair, -and winking to each other. "A dainty bird--i'faith!" said one. - -"What hands;--how white!" said another. - -"What ankles!" said a third connoisseur, stooping down. "Soul o' my -body! but a glisk o' these would damn St. Anthony and St. Andrew to -boot!" - -"I am Jane Seton of Ashkirk," said she, suddenly opening her eyes, -and looking wildly and imploringly upon them; "oh, where is your -captain, my good soldiers--where is Sir John of Corstorphine?" - -"He will be here immediately, madam," said one, while the rest fell -back respectfully and abashed, and several felt themselves -constrained to uncover before her, and remove their helmets. Though -every man in the ranks of the royal guard was a born vassal and -kinsman of the house of Hamilton, that inborn respect for gentle -blood which the Scots possess in a high degree, together with that -generous frankness which the camp always teaches, impressed with -silence the thirty soldiers who occupied the court-of-guard; and the -noisy jests and laughter, which first greeted and surrounded Lady -Jane, immediately became hushed. - -Seeing that she was faint and pale, one, without being asked, filled -his drinking-horn with water, and brought it to her. Her fine eyes -gave him a look of thankfulness that sank deep into the honest -fellow's heart, and then she drank thirstily. - -Pulling a ring from her finger, she offered it to him, but he shook -his head, and drew back, saying, with a smile:-- - -"Nay, lady; a die sae braw is useless to the like o' me, a puir -soldier-lad." - -"But I owe thee something for thy kindness." - -"You owe me nothing, Lady Jean; my mother was a Seton." - -At that moment Sir John Forrester, who had been summoned from his -lodgings in the palace, and had come forth armed with soldier-like -alacrity, entered, with his visor up, displaying the sad and dark -cloud that hovered on his brow; for the watchful Dobbie had met him -in the palace-yard, and placed in his hand the warrant for Lady -Jane's arrest and "committal to ward," as they phrased it in those -days. - -"To your arms!" said he, waving his hand to the soldiers, who -immediately took their arquebuses from the rack, where they stood in -a row, and leaving the guard-house, fell into their ranks before it. - -"My dear Lady Jane," said the courtly knight, taking both her hands -in his, the moment they were left alone; "from what has all this -frightful affair arisen?" - -Jane answered only with her tears. - -"Lady--dear lady, of what are you guilty?" - -"Ask the leaders of your faction, Sir John," she replied, bitterly; -"but ask not me." - -"My faction, lady?" - -"Thou servest the Court?" - -"Nay, madam, I serve the king, like Sir Roland Vipont, whose fast -friend I am; and as such, I beg permission to be thine." - -"I thank you, Sir John Forrester," replied Jane, with another -passionate burst of tears; "but were my father and the Lord Angus -here, as of old, I had needed no other friends; but, alas! the one -lieth now in his grave at St. Giles's, while the other is a poor and -impoverished exile, compelled to eat the bread of Englishmen. Alas! -I am now totally forsaken." - -"Nay, lady; for here stand I, John Forrester of Corstorphine, ready -to be your champion; and as such, to maintain your innocence against -all men living, body for body, according to the laws of battle and of -arms." - -"A thousand thanks, Sir John; but remember, Sir Roland Vipont claims -priority in that. Meanwhile, let me leave this place." - -"And dost thou know for where?" - -"Oh, yes," she replied, with a bitter smile; "for the castle of -Edinburgh; be it so; I am not the first of my race who has paid -clearly the penalty of opposing tyranny. There were Sir John de -Seton, and his kinsman Sir Christopher de Seton, captain of Lochdoon, -who were so barbarously murdered after surrender by English Edward, -and my grandsire, William Seton, who fell at Verneuil, fighting -against the English, under Lord Buchan, the Constable of France. Let -us go--let us go! the sooner this frightful drama is ended the -better. Oh, they are good men and gallant soldiers, those courtiers -of King James--those slaves and parasites of Arran. Sir John, I -await you." - -"But you cannot go thus--on foot, lady. Excuse me, but for a moment." - -He dispatched a messenger to the palace for a horse and a pillion, -and to beg the favour of a riding-cloak from the Lady Barncleugh; -both of which were brought in a few minutes. - -In this interval, Jane, with great energy but incoherence, and amid -frequent bursts of tears and indignation, had related the story of -her abduction and retention by Redhall; but, dreading to criminate -her brother, or afford, even to this friendly gentleman, the least -clue to his flight, she blundered the whole episode of her escape, -and became so perplexed and confused, that Sir John Forrester -considered the whole affair as a mere hallucination, and listened -with a face expressive only of pity and sincere sorrow; and thus she -found her tale received by all to whom she afterwards ventured to -relate it; for the reputation for high moral worth and sterling -integrity enjoyed by Redhall, placed him as on a lofty pedestal, -above the reach of ordinary calumny, though some men did at times -shake their heads and look mysteriously at the mention of the gallant -Sir Thomas of Bombie, whose blood stained the steps at the north door -of St. Giles for many a year after the era of James V. - -The sun was up and shone joyously on the palace towers and the vanes -of its ancient porch, on the battlements of the traitor's tower -(which Moyse speaks of in his memoirs), and the beautiful façade -designed by Hamilton of Fimart, when Lady Jane was led forth from the -pointed archway. - -She was mounted on the pillion behind Sir John Forrester; and -thereafter followed by the Albany herald with the warrant, and a -party of the guard marching with matches cocked and lighted, she -proceeded at a rapid pace towards the castle; for even at that early -hour the High-street was beginning to be busy. The guards and -warders were unclosing the portes and barriers; the merchants were -opening their booths, and displaying their wares under those long -arcades which then were on both sides of the street, and remnants of -which still exist in several places; farm horses laden with barrels, -baskets, and boxes were pouring into the markets, and the -water-carriers were crowding round the fountains at the Cross and the -Mile-end. - -A party of the king's guard, with a knight in full armour, and a -female prisoner riding behind him, drew the burgesses from all -quarters to the centre of the street. - -"Jean Seton of Ashkirk," flew from mouth to mouth, mingled with -mutterings of commiseration and hatred, as the sympathies or -antipathies of the rabble led them. Many there were who mourned that -one so young and fair should be made another sacrifice to the -animosity avowedly borne by the king and the court against that -humbled faction which had triumphed over both so long, and many there -were who remembered the deadly strife of 1520:-- - - "When startled burghers fled afar, - The furies of the border war; - When the streets of high Dunedin, - Saw axes gleam, and falchions redden;" - -when, sheathed in full mail, her father, at the head of a hundred -barbed horsemen, had thrice hewn a passage through the barricaded -streets, giving to death and defeat the spearmen of Arran. Many -women, whose husbands and fathers, lovers and brothers, had fallen on -that terrible 29th of April, recalled their treasured hatred as -keenly as if the strife of seventeen years had been enacted but -seventeen hours ago, and openly, bitterly, and unpityingly reviled -her. - -"A Hamilton! a Hamilton!" - -"Doon wi' the Setons! doon wi' the Douglases! doon wi' the star and -the bluidy heart!" - -"Set her up, wi' her lace and her pearlings sae braw, when an honest -wife like me wears but a curstsey o' flannel!" - -"Holy Virgin!" cried another crone in a grey cloak and a -flanders-mutch; "and to think I hae taen an awmous frae this Seton -sorceress! 'Twas weel I had my relique o' blessed St. Roque aboot -me!" - -"Fie upon thee, thou fause Seton! Death to the witch! bones to the -fire, and soul to Satan!" - -Full of horror at these frightful and opprobrious cries, this poor -being, whose gentleness had never created her a personal enemy, -surrounded by her guard and a vast mob that every moment grew more -dense as the street narrowed, arrived at the Castle-port, an ancient -and massive archway in the Spur, which then lay between the castle -and the town, covering the whole of what is now called the Esplanade, -and surmounted by a round bastion, displaying a flag and more than -twenty pieces of brass cannon. - -There the governor of the fortress--the strong towers of which were -looming redly and grimly in the morning sunshine above the parapets -and glacis of this hornwork--received Lady Jane, as the king's -prisoner, from the herald and captain of the guard, who drew his -soldiers across the Castle-hill-street, to bear back the tumultuous -crowd, whose clamour reverberated with a thousand echoes in that high -and narrow thoroughfare. - -Bareheaded and ungloved, the castellan, Sir James Riddel, of -Cranstoun-Riddel, a gallant and courtly soldier, received her with -the utmost respect, and assisted her to alight. As she did so her -riding hood fell back, and her pale and beautiful face was revealed -to the people, who began anew to murmur variously. Then it was (such -is the power of beauty) that many pitied, though more still hated and -upbraided her; for the tide of common clamour in Edinburgh was -against the Angus faction, among whom, in camp and council, her -father and brother had borne a prominent part, having more than once, -at the point of the sword, thrust their vassals as magistrates upon -the people. - -Confused and terrified by a scene so unusual, Jane murmured she knew -not what, as her thanks and adieux to Sir John Forrester, and gave -her hand to the governor, who led her within the archway, on the -battlements of which was seen the head of the Master of Forbes, who a -short time before had been beheaded for raising a sedition in the -Scottish camp at Fala, and attempting to shoot King James with an -arquebuse. Though pale and exhausted by the terrors of the night, -with eyes purple and inflamed by weeping, she gave a sad and perhaps -scornful smile at that strong arch, the massive wall, and iron-jagged -gate, whereon her father once had nailed his glove in defiance of -Arran; but her heart sunk when she really found herself within those -lofty walls, where so many had pined in hopeless captivity; nor could -she repress a shudder when the rattling portcullis closed behind her, -sinking slowly down with a jarring sound between its stony grooves. - -The Lady of Cranstoun-Riddel, a kind, and (as the Scots term it) -"motherly body," now approached her, and said,-- - -"Lady Jane Seton, in the name of the blessed Mary, what is the -meaning of all this?" - -"Dearest madam, I know as little as thee," said Jane, throwing -herself upon the bosom of this kind matron, rejoicing to find that -one of her own sex, who, though even an entire stranger, could -sympathize with her, and who, in age, appearance, and manner so -nearly resembled her beloved mother. "Indeed, madam," continued -Jane, sobbing, "I swear to you that I am ignorant of the cause; but I -am accused of murder, of sorcery, of treason, and I know not what -more,--I, that have not the heart to kill even the smallest insect. -There must indeed be sorcery in this, but not with me." - -"My puir bairn! my pair bairn! thou must thole mickle ere these dark -charges are cleared and refuted." - -"Yea, madam; for, as my brother truly said, we are but the victims -and playthings of tyranny and misrule." - -"Lady," said Sir James Riddel, gravely, but respectfully, "you are -here by the orders of James V. and his eminence the cardinal, who -fourteen days ago sent me instructions to receive you, but you had -disappeared on the very night his warrant was issued. Remember, -lady, that the king is king; besides, my lord advocate--pardon me if -my words disturb you, for I am a rough old rider of James III.'s -days, and unused to speaking daintily." - -Jane shuddered at the name of her persecutor; and hurriedly, but with -more coherence than before, began the story of her recent abduction, -and more recent escape. Again, to her infinite chagrin, she found -that she was utterly disbelieved, for the knight regarded her with a -kind but sad smile of commiseration, as one whom terror had slightly -"demented;" she saw him elevate his eyebrows, and nod perceptibly as -he exchanged a glance with his lady, who kindly smoothed Jane's -glossy hair, kissed her again as a mother would have done, and led -her through the Spur, and up the Castle-rock towards King David's -Tower. Stung to the soul by this provoking disbelief, she became -immediately silent, and resolved to explain no more. - -As they proceeded through the vast hornwork, which, as we have said, -covered the whole Castle-hill, between the loopholes and embrasures -she obtained glimpses of the rough bank that shelved abruptly down to -the loch on the north, and of the reedy loch itself, where the wild -ducks and swans were floating, and of the bare ridge of pasture-land -where now the modern city is built. - -"So I am now a captive in the castle of Edinburgh, while my poor -mother pines on Inchkeith! Where will the events of this dark drama -end?" thought she; and her heart sank lower still as the gigantic -gates of the Constable's Tower were closed and barred behind her. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - -THE THREE TREES OF DYSART. - - "I launched my spear, and with a sudden wound - Transpierced his back, and fix'd him to the ground; - He falls, and mourns his fate with human cries: - Through the wide wound the vital spirit flies." - _Odyssey_, Book X. - - -At the time when the fugitive earl bent his course towards the county -(or, as it is popularly named, the kingdom) of Fife, the whole length -and breadth of it, from the gates of St. Andrew's in the east neuk to -those of Dunfermline in the west neuk, and from the waters of the -Forth on the south to those of the Tay on the north, was full of -terror by the ravages of an enormous wolf, which had established his -quarters in the old forest of Pittencrief; from whence he extended -his visits as far as the woods of Donnibrissal and Falkland, and -along the winding coast even so far as the cave of St. Monan. He was -somewhat particular in his taste, and always preferred little -children, when they could be had, as being more tender than either -sheep or calves. He prowled about the most populous burrow-touns, -and sometimes darted through their main streets at midday, making a -passing snap at whoever chanced to be in his way; thus those little -ones whose occupation it was to fish for pow-wowets in the pools of -water which then encumbered the streets, or made dams and dirt-pies -in the gutters, were in imminent danger, for his foraging excursions -extended along the whole Howe of Fife. - -The wood-cutters were afraid to venture into the forests, which made -firing so dear, that one or two hapless "heretics" in the castle of -St. Andrew were not burnt for a whole week after the Laird of -Fynnard, High Inquisitor under Paul III., had solemnly delivered them -over to the devil and the devouring element. The little birds held -jubilee in every hedge and hawthorn tree, for their nests were now -respected by truants and harriers; while the people nailed additional -horseshoes, rowan-twigs, and foxes' faces on their doors at night; -and old wives pinned their stockings and garters crosswise at their -pillows to keep away evil. If the wind rumbled in the chimney, as it -often did (for _lums_ were of enormous size in those days), gudeman -and gudewife trembled together in the secrecy of their snug box-beds; -for they were assured it could be nothing else than the wolf -bellowing at the sailing moon. - -The wise men of St. Monan's kept their kirk bell (which was thought -to have miraculous powers) ringing all night to scare away the -prowler; but this was soon likely to cause a rebellion among the -Crail and Kinghorn fishermen, who declared that the noise would scare -all the herrings from the coast. - -Every night the wolf was heard roaring somewhere, and next morning -the bones of children or sheep were found on the highways, picked as -clean as ivory. Superstition increased the terrors of the people, -who averred that it was visible in many places at once. It was said -by some to be red, by others to be black; some declared that its -mouth was like that of a hound, others like that of the great cannon, -Meg of Threive, or, as it is erroneously named, Mons Meg. It had the -claws of an eagle, by one account; a barbed tail, by another; it -vomited fire; it was a griffin; the devil--everything frightful that -folly and fear could make it. - -The best and bravest huntsmen had failed to slay or capture it; the -sharpest spears had been blunted on its side, which the hereditary -forester declared to be like a coat of mail; the fleetest dogs had -been outrun by it, and the fiercest torn by its fangs when brought to -bay; even Bash and Bawtry, the two great hounds of James V., on which -Sir David of the Mount made many a witty rhyme, failed with this -terrible wolf; and the unhappy Fifers were reduced to the verge of -despair. - -In the days of King James II. (A.D. 1547), a law ordained that for -the destruction of wolves the sheriffs of counties and bailies of -towns and regalities were empowered to convene the men of their -districts thrice yearly, "betwixt St. Mark's day and Lambmass, for -that (saith the act) is the time of the quhelpes;" and every huntsman -who slew a wolf was to receive from each parishioner one penny; and -whoever brought the wolf's head to the sheriff, lord, baron, or -bailie, should receive six pennies. - -Conformably to this law, passed eighty years before, and led in -person by the gallant king (who was compelled for one day to leave -his Magdalene's couch of sickness and of suffering), the whole male -population of Fife, with horse and hound, spear and horn, bow and -arquebuse, had made a vengeful and simultaneous search by hill and -howe, by wood and wold, for this obnoxious denizen; but their efforts -proved perfectly futile; and the night descended upon a hundred -hunting bands without their having had even a glimpse of the -enemy--at least so far as was known of those around the burgh of -Kinghorn, where the earl had landed about noon that day; for an -adverse wind had long detained the little sloop which plied at that -ancient ferry. - -On disembarking, he repaired to an hostel house, which bore the sign -of _The King's Horn_, for an old tradition asserts that as the -earlier Scottish monarchs had a castle there, the frequent winding of -the king's horn, as he sallied out to the chase, had given a name to -the little town that nestled on the shore; but the _cean-gorm_, or -blue promontory of the Celtic Scots, still frowns above it, to -contradict the tale. Then, as now, Kinghorn was a steep and -straggling burgh of strange and quaint old houses, piled over each -other, pell-mell, on the brow of a hill, and was traversed by a -brawling mountain burn, that turned the wooden wheel of many an -ancient mill. It is overlooked by the lofty and rugged precipice, -from, the summit of which Alexander III., when riding from -Inverkeithing to his castle of Kinghorn, having mistaken his path in -the forest, fell and broke his neck; a catastrophe which ended the -old line of the Macalpine kings, and began the long wars and woes of -the Scottish succession. - -After a slight repast of cheese, bran-bannocks, and a draught of -mum-beer, at the hostel, the earl became alarmed on discovering a -proclamation, descriptive of his person, pasted on the wall -immediately above his head. The unfortunate noble became still more -apprehensive of suspicion or discovery, as the thirty huntsmen who -filled the burrow-toun came crowding into the hostel, and on -perceiving that two or three were beginning to whisper and observe -him, for his whole aspect was wild, haggard, and disordered; he -resolved, if questioned, to pass for a forester like themselves, and, -if attacked, to sell his life as dearly as possible. - -Appropriating to himself a stout hunting-spear which stood in a -corner of the kitchen, he bade adieu to the sign of _The King's -Horn_, and, quitting the town, struck into the old horseway that -traversed the heights overhanging the coast. - -The sun was now setting. - -Remembering how suspiciously he had been eyed in the little hostelry, -he grasped the hunting-spear, looked warily about him, and walked -quietly to the eastward, anxious to leave Kinghorn as far as possible -behind him. - -The sun set darkly and lowering as he progressed, and the last flush -of its light fell with a dusky yellow upon the long expanse of -Kirkaldy sands, and the gigantic castle of Ravenscraig, with its -round and square towers--a stronghold of the Sinclairs--which -terminated them. - -"I have neither money, food, nor shelter," thought the earl; "but, -praised be fortune, I am at least free!" - -The wind growled along the hollows; the Firth grew black as ink, and -its waves rolled white and frothy upon the circular sands, where more -than one small vessel had dropped all her anchors, and made -everything secure aloft and below, to brave the coming tempest. That -vague and indescribable murmur, the sure forerunner of a rising -storm, was floating over the dark-green bosom of the German Sea, and -he heard it mingling with the hiss of the breakers. A tempestuous -night was at hand, and the hapless earl knew not where to look for -refuge; the castle of Kirkaldy-grange, the dwelling of the lord high -treasurer, crowned an eminence on his left; the fortlet of Seafield, -where dwelt the hostile race of Moultray (hostile, at least, to him), -overlooked the beach on his right; so avoiding both, and the little -fane called Eglise Marie, which then occupied the hollow between -them, he descended the wild and then uncultivated shore, and skirting -the long straggling town of Kirkaldy, hoped to find a shelter in one -of those innumerable caverns with which, in many places, the coast of -Fife is completely perforated. - -The scudding clouds became blacker and denser; and their shadows -darkened all the foam-flecked estuary. Night came rapidly on, and by -the time when Lord Ashkirk had traversed the long and winding sands, -and found himself near those stupendous cliffs which were crowned by -the great castle of William Lord Sinclair, baron of Dysart and -Ravenscraig, the most perfect gloom had enveloped both sea and shore, -while the red and fiery glow of several salt-pans on the beach -imparted a singular effect to the scenery. - -As yet no rain had fallen; but now one of those appalling gusts of -wind which uproot the strongest trees, and lay bare the scalps of -mountains, rushed along the bosom of the Forth, hurling its waves -upon the beach, rolling them sea on sea far along the level sands, -and pouring them in a whirlwind of spray against the grey and lofty -summit of the Ravenscraig. Startled by the din of the encroaching -waves, the earl, by a winding path, was rapidly ascending the -headland, when a wild cry from the ocean--for there the river was -indeed an ocean--made him pause and look back. - -"Mother of Mercy!" he exclaimed, as he held his bonnet on his head, -struck his spear in the earth, and turned to face the storm. - -A terrific glare of lightning revealed for a moment the deep dark -trough of seething water, where, in flames and fragments, as the -levin brand had scorched and rent her, a strong and stately ship, -with all her masts and yards, her gilded sides, and tier of cannon, -sank down for ever! The vision came and went with that flash of -forky light; and then no more was seen, and nothing more was heard -but the thunder pealing away over the mountains, the roaring of the -angry wind, and the deep boom of the angrier sea. - -The earl looked wistfully at the vast and opaque outline of -Ravenscraig, with its stupendous keep and flanking towers, amid whose -stony depths many a warm red light twinkled, indicative of comfort -within; but there an avowed foeman dwelt; and he passed the gate -without knowing where other shelter might be found. He now became -more anxious, for a few large and warm drops, which plashed upon his -face, announced that a drenching summer thunder-shower was about to -fall. - -He had now attained such high ground that even the turrets of -Ravenscraig were below him, and the wind swept over it with redoubled -force; for then the promontory was all desolate and bare, though in -the Druid days a vast forest had covered it. Beneath him lay the -little town of Dysart, a closely-packed and antique burgh, nestling -on the steep and strangling shore, full of quaint old-fashioned -houses, roofed with stone, and built upon broad and low arcades, -where the merchants exposed their wares; but, save where a ray of -light shone from an open shutter or an upper window, the whole town -was buried in murky obscurity. - -The roaring of the winds, and the din of the breakers against the -promontory, prevented the earl hearing the sound of his own -footsteps; and in the gloom he paused irresolutely on the brow of -this rugged eminence, for now the tall and beautiful tower of Saint -Denis started up from amid the architectural masses of the Black -Friary, and seemed to be immediately below his feet, yet it was fully -a quarter of a mile distant. - -He was about to descend and claim the shelter and sanctuary which the -Dominican fathers were bound to afford him, for one night at least, -when a wild and frightful cry, that was borne on the wind past his -ear, made him pause once more, again grasp his hunting-spear, and -gaze around him. - -All was darkness and obscurity behind; no object met his eye save -three large and beautiful oaks, which stood equi-distant on the -hill-side; and against the gloomy sky he saw their gloomier outline, -twisted, torn, and shaken as if by the hand of a giant, and every -moment their wet leaves were swept past him on the whirling blast. - -These were the _three trees of Dysart_. The earl remembered the -tradition concerning them, which, with the place, the time, and the -cry, caused a clamorous terror to rise suddenly in his breast; for he -was far from being free of the superstitions incident to the age and -country. - -When all that district was covered by an old primeval forest, three -sons of Henry Lord Sinclair, who was baron of the Ravenscraig, and -justiciar of Kirkwall, were said to have met on that spot -unexpectedly, and at midnight. Being all in their armour, amid the -obscurity of the foliage, and under a moonless and starless sky, they -mistook each other for robbers, and a deadly combat ensued. Two were -slain on the instant, and the third fell mortally wounded, surviving -only till morning, when they were all buried at the foot of the trees -below which they were found. And tradition further states, that when -the forest was cleared away in course of time, these three oaks were -left as a memorial, to mark the former state of the ground, and the -place where the three brothers lay. Lord Sinclair fell at Flodden, -fighting against the enemies of his country; prior to which he had -granted many a Scottish merk to the monks of St. Denis, to say -prayers and masses for the souls of the three fratricides, his sons. - -The story came back to the earl's mind with all the additional -impressions that the darkness of the night, the storm, and the time -could lend it; and though the unearthly cry made his pulses pause and -his ears tingle, he was too brave a man to shun any object of terror; -and drawing his bonnet well over his eyes, to prevent its being swept -away by the furious blast, he turned back, and resolutely advanced to -where the three tall oaks were tossing their solemn masses of foliage -against the louring sky. - -A dead man lay below each, and the long rank grass which covered him -was whistling in the dreary wind. - -"My God!--_the wolf!_" cried the earl, as a sudden gleam of lightning -revealed to him the monster which so long had been the terror of Fife -and Kinross. It was of gigantic size; but, appalled by the fury of -the elements, was cowering against the centre tree, gnashing its -fangs and darting fire from its eyes, with all the hair of its neck -and back erect like the quills of a porcupine. - -Aware that unless he slew it with the first thrust of his spear all -in a moment would be over with him, the brave young noble charged his -weapon breast high, and rushed upon the wolf. With a ferocious howl -it sprang aside; the weapon struck the trunk of the tree, broke, and -the earl fell headlong among the wet grass of the grave below it. -Then, with the rapidity of light, the frightful animal was upon him. -There was a cloud of fire before his eyes, and a wild humming in his -ears; but neither the stunning fall, nor the terror of having such an -antagonist, appalled him so much as to deprive him of his usual -presence of mind, for at the very moment in which it sprang upon him, -and when he felt its sharp claws in his shoulders, and its hot fetid -breath in his face, he buried his dagger--that long dagger, so -recently wet with the blood of Redhall--in its body up to the very -hilt; and then its hotter blood came like a deluge over his hand and -arm. - -A vital part had been struck, and the wolf rolled over, tearing the -grass with its teeth, and wallowing in its blood. Then, full of rage -for the temporary terror with which it had inspired him, the fierce -earl sprang upon it, and buried his sharp dagger again and again to -the cross-guard in its body, though he received more than one -terrible laceration from its claws, as the agonies of death -alternately convulsed and relaxed them. Clutching its lower jaws by -the shaggy fur, with three deep gushes he completely shred off its -head, and then reclined breathlessly against the tree. - -"Well, and so I have conquered thee!" he exclaimed, triumphantly, as -he spurned the carcase with his foot. "Devilish monster, to me thy -head is worth a penny from every man in Dysart--a goodly sum for an -earl, forsooth! But as I lack these pennies sorely to pay my way to -England, to the Highlands, or elsewhere, I will even seek the prior -of St. Denis with my prize, midnight though it be." - -Tying the four corners of his mantle together, he put the head into -it, and arming himself with a fragment of his spear, descended to the -gate of the Black Friary; but, as the wind still blew, the rain -lashed the stone walls and grated windows, while the sea boomed on -the rocks below, and the worthy master-porter slept like a dormouse, -the din made by the earl at the door was unheard. - -"The great devil confound thee!" he muttered, turning away; "for I -must even go without my pence and my supper to boot." - -Remembering his first project of the caverns, he scrambled along the -rocky and shingly beach for more than two miles, until a ray of -light, which streamed from a fissure in the bluffs, far across the -wet sands and tumbling billows, attracted his attention. - -Turning to the left, he approached it--the fissure widened, and -entering boldly, he found himself in one of those long and deep -weems, or caverns, which are there so numerous; and immediately a -band of outlaws and smugglers surrounded him. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII. - -THE WEEM. - - "Blow ye horns, - And rouse each wilder passion of the soul, - To drown the voice of Nature! He must die! - He who puts forth his hand to seize a crown - Must stake his all upon the mighty game." - KÖRNER'S _Expiation_, a Drama. - - -"Oho! here cometh _another_ guest, whom the high wind bath blown us -this eerie night!" cried one of the occupants of the weem, as the -whole party arose and stood around the intruder. - -Tall, strong, armed with a broken spear, smeared with mud from the -paws of the wolf, and covered with gouts of its blood, which hung -upon his matted hair and bushy beard, the aspect of the earl was -sufficiently formidable to command the respect of the desperadoes -among whom he had intruded; and, at a wave of his right hand and -arm--the latter being drenched in blood to the elbow--they all shrunk -back instinctively and grasped their clubs and poniards. - -The enormous weem he had entered was one of those caverns from which -a part of the coast obtains its name--Wemyss; and though the outer -part of it was brilliantly illuminated by a fire of drift wood and -pine-logs that blazed on the rocky floor, on progressing, the earl -was impressed with a feeling of awe by the uncertainty of the vast -profundity to which it penetrated; for the inner end of this -frightful chasm or fissure yawned away obscurely and horribly into -the bowels of the earth. It had, doubtless, been formed, like many -others along the rocky coast, by that wondrous upheaval of the -Scottish shores, which geologists suppose must have taken place some -two thousand years ago, or when, the sea receded thirty feet from its -ancient margin, which to this day is visible along the summits of all -the headlands in Fifeshire and Lothian. - -Though several culinary utensils, Dutch kegs and tubs were placed in -little cupboard-like recesses, the cavern did not seem to have been -long occupied by its tenants, who were six in number, strong and -muscular men, whose long matted beards flowed nearly to their -girdles; and whose attire declared them to be partly beggars, partly -robbers, and wholly desperadoes. That they lived at enmity with -their fellow-subjects was apparent from the multiplicity and aspect -of the swords, poniards, and poleaxes with which they were armed. - -The earl found, when too late, that he had made an unfortunate choice -of hosts, when such a price was on his head, but grasping his broken -spear with one hand, and his gory bundle by the other, he confronted -them resolutely. - -"Now, who are you?" asked one who seemed to be the leader. - -"It matters nothing to thee, thou dour carle, so lay down thy maul, -or beware!" replied the earl. - -"Then, what are you?" - -"A gaberlunzie--a beggar!" said Ashkirk, bitterly. - -"Then, where is thy parish token?" - -"I spoke but metaphorically, for I Lave not yet taken me unto _that_ -trade; and when I do, I will see King James at Jericho, and his -parliament too, before I will sew a pewter badge on my doublet, -tattered though it be. I will not conform to this new law, believe -me, brother rogue. But I repeat, nevertheless, that I _am_ a beggar, -because I seek food without having the wherewithal to pay for it; -and, moreover, that I am, like thyself, an outlaw." - -"Gude and better!" replied the other; "but there is blood on thy -sleeve; why man, thou art red handed!" - -"Blood! true--I shed a little in my own defence, and what then? I -have committed no murder. Believe me, fellow, there is more blood on -thy soul than on my fingers. But, enough of this. I seek what every -man who hath them not hath a right to seek from those who hath--food, -fire, and shelter." - -"What is this in your cloak?" - -"Something that thou hast no concern with." - -"We will soon see that," cried several, laying hands on their knives -and daggers. - -"If thou darest!" replied the earl, raising his truncheon, and -confronting the strongest and the boldest. - -"Byde and haud ye! Nay, nay," cried the others, laughing; "honour -among thieves. Hath he not said that, like oursels, he is an outlaw? -besides, ye will waken that chield in the corner." - -"Sit down again, you quarrelsome loons," said the leader; "and seat -thyself, too, my bold gaberlunzie, with a welcome to bite and to -bicker." - -As the earl seated himself, carefully placing his bundle behind him, -he now for the first time perceived a cavalier, in a rich velvet -mantle, lying asleep in a nook of the weem, which sheltered him both -from the night wind, that blew the smoke and brands of the fire into -the recesses of the rocks, and from the damp atmosphere of the sea, -which burst like thunder every moment on the adjacent beach. The -boots of the sleeper were of spotless white leather, adorned with -spurs of gold, polished and richly chased, with rowels of glittering -steel. Beside him lay his sword, which was sheathed in blue and -embroidered velvet. - -"Who may this gay gallant be?" asked the earl, as he warmed his -hands, and, making himself quite at home, kicked up the brands to -make a blaze. - -"One of our king's dainty courtiers," replied the principal ruffian; -a patch over whose left eye nearly concealed the little of his -frightful visage which was not overgrown with hair. "St. Mary! thou -mayest see he is Falkland bred, by those cork-heeled boots and gowden -spurs. There hath been a brave hunt after the wolf of Pittencrief, -and all the court and countryside have driven horse and hound nearly -to death, without getting even sight or scent of the monster; so -either the wind, the storm, or the darkness of the night, his evil -chance, or our good luck, hath brought this gay galliard hither for a -shelter and supper, which," he added, sinking his voice, "both his -cloak and purse----" - -"Breeches and doublet," said another, in the same whispering tone. - -"With his horse, which we have stabled in yonder hole----" - -"Yea," chimed in the earl, "and those dainty boots and spurs, shall -pay for. Is it not so?" - -"Right--we'll all have a share!" and here the six uttered a brutal -laugh, and all exchanged glances and winks expressive of fun and -ferocity. - -"Meantime," said the leader, "waken up his worship, for supper is -ready." - -Here one pulled the wearied cavalier by the cloak. He started up, -and revealed a handsome young face, aquiline features and dark hazel -eyes, close clipped beard and dark moustache. He wore (very much on -the right side) a smart blue bonnet, with a white feather springing -from a diamond St. Andrew's cross. - -"Mercy! _the king!_" said the earl, in the inmost recesses of his -heart, as he respectfully gave place at the fire to the gallant and -adventurous James V., who had not the most remote idea that he was -recognised by any one there, and passed for nothing more than a -private gentleman; the whole adventure being one of that romantic -kind in which he--our Scottish Haround Alraschid--delighted. Before -seating himself on the stone which was to be his chair, he signed the -cross upon his breast and said: "_Benedicite._" - -A mess of rabbits and fowls stewed together in a kailpot, another of -broiled fish, with cheese and bannocks, which, like the small kegs of -ale and usquebaugh, had merely cost the trouble of carrying them off -(at a time when the burgh-merchants had no other police than their -own eyes and hands), were freely shared by the thieves with their -illustrious guests, one of whom they had foredoomed to death. The -other, they deemed already as one of themselves; for the earl, the -better to conceal his real character, assumed a strange dialect, and -talked, laughed, sung and swore, till he drew upon him the marked -attention of the king; but under that matted beard and tattered -attire, disfigured by many a gout of blood, the monarch failed to -recognise the outlawed noble. - -With a hunting clasp-knife, one of those made and inscribed by -Jacques de Liege (whence comes our Scottish _Jockteleg_), the king -was carving for himself a chicken which he had laid on a broad -bannock, and was evidently enjoying the repast like a huntsman and -soldier, for he was both. - -"By my faith! knave of the pot," said he to the robber who had -cooked, "thou hast done thy duty well." - -"Ouaye; we fisher chields can turn our hands to anything." - -"Then turn them to mending the fire; for dost thou not see 'tis all -gone to cinders?" - -"As we shall when we gang to auld Clootie," replied the cook, whose -reply was greeted by a roar of laughter, the echoes of which seemed -to rumble away into the heart of the rocks. - -"Friend Bloodybeard," said the king to the earl, "hand over that keg -of usquebaugh; wilt drink with me? thy health, friend Bloodybeard." - -"Thine, my gentleman of the white feather." - -"How gallantly thou drainest thy bicker!" said the king, on seeing -how the earl emptied his tass of raw spirits; "didst thou ever taste -pure water, fellow?" - -"Once, when an infant; but, as it nearly choked me, I have never -tried it since. Tush! wine costs us no more than spring water. Like -James and his courtiers of Arran, we help ourselves to our -neighbours' goods and gear, whenever we lack." - -The broad brow of the king knit, but he laughed, and said-- - -"Have the courtiers not wealth enough and to spare, sirrah?" - -"Wealth--ah, that is the greatest and most respected quality in man." - -"But beside wealth, hath not King James many virtues?" - -"Tut! these are but a silly habit of differing from such merry men as -we; but I fear me we scare thee, my dainty gentleman, by the din we -are making." - -"By my word, no; I should like to see the men who would scare me," -replied the king, fishing another pullet out of the pot; "I am but -fulfilling the injunctions of the great Plato, who said, 'live with -thine inferiors as with unfortunate friends.' Ho! by St. Anne, -Bloodybeard, knock the bottoms out of these broiled eggs, or all the -Fife witches will be sailing over to Lothian in them; dost hear me? -quick, or I shall report thee to the cardinal and his grand -inquisitor." - -"The inquisitor--faugh! he is but a Hamilton," said the earl, who -could not jest with the names of his enemies; "and as for the -cardinal, I say, bah! he is a mere cannonier in canonicals--a devil -in a broad red hat." - -"Beware how ye get under its shadow, my fool-hardy knaves," said the -king, laughing. "Have you looked well to my horse?" - -"Yea, sir, as a man looketh after his _own_," replied one fellow, -whose ears bore visible marks of the nails which so frequently had -fastened them to many a burgh cross; and at this significant reply -there was uttered another of those low, ferocious laughs, which soon -served to put the unwary monarch on his guard; for, like each of his -forefathers, James V. was brave as a lion. - -"My gallant grey!" said he; "'tis a gift to me from the Laird of -Largo, who took him from the Lord Cassilis at Linlithgow Bridge, on -the day of that unhappy battle. I have ridden him forty miles -to-day,--not a rood less, I am sure." - -"After such sore toil," said the earl; "his nostrils should be bathed -with vinegar, and his breast with warm wine." - -"Oho! thou knowest something of stablecraft, my smuggler, it would -seem." - -"Few in broad Scotland know better." - -"And now I have supped right gloriously!" said the king, reclining -back against the great cyclopean wall of the weem. "Friend robber, -thy crail capons and stewed pullets have been done in such wise, that -even King James's cook might envy thy skill; and in England, I doubt -not, Henry the king would have made thee a belted earl; for he hath -just made a baron of his cook for the exquisite manner in which he -broiled a mackarel--at least so my friend the English ambassador said -to-day, as we rode together near the old castle of Balwearie. Hand -over that keg again, Bloodybeard," said the king, and, on receiving -it, he began to sing a popular ditty of the day:-- - - "King James rode round by the Mere-cleugh-heid, - Booted and spurred as we a' did see; - But he dined and supped at Mossfennan yett, - Wi' the bonny young Lass o' the Loganlee. - - "Her hair was like the gowd sae braw, - Like a lammer bead her deep dark e'e, - Nor Falkland tower, nor Lithgow ha', - Had a dame like the Lass o' the Loganlee. - - "'Oh, where is the king?' quoth all the court, - From the great cardinal to the fool, M'Ilree; - But the devil a one knew where he was gone, - With the bonnie young Lass o' the Loganlee." - - -Here the merry king lay back and laughed excessively at this hunting -song, which had been composed on one of his own amorous adventures. - -By this time the thieves had drunk deeply, but their hilarity began -to subside, and their ferocious glances warned their guest that -something unpleasant was about to terminate the noisy repast. Under -his mantle the king felt secretly for his sword, and grew pale as -death on discovering that, either by accident or design, when he was -asleep, the blade had been broken in the sheath--leaving him -defenceless, with seven armed outlaws, in a lonely cavern. He was in -the very act of looking hurriedly round for some other weapon to -snatch up in case of need, when lo! one of the ruffians held before -him a plate, whereon (according to an ancient and barbarous custom) -lay two naked poniards, as a signal that he was to be sacrificed, and -might choose with which blade he was to die. - -Instead, as they expected, of being appalled, with the rapidity of -lightning the gallant king clutched one in each hand, and striking to -the right and to the left, buried both weapons in the breasts of the -ruffians next him. - -"Dogs and villains!" he exclaimed, "slipper-helmetted dastards! come -on, if you dare!" - -Armed with mauls and axes, the other four fell furiously upon him, -and he must inevitably have been slain had not the earl, with the -truncheon of his spear in one hand, and a burning brand in the other, -attacked them in the rear, and with such impetuosity that, by two -blows he broke the arm of one, the head of a second, and drove the -whole from the cavern. Thus, in less than one minute, the king and -he found themselves, with two dead bodies, the sole occupants of the -place. - -"Well done, friend Bloodybeard!" exclaimed the breathless king; "by -my soul, I thought thee one of them; and well it is for me thou didst -strike in such good time. Complete me now thy service by cutting out -the tongues of these two carrion, that I may give them to my hounds," -he added, kicking the dead bodies, and untying his purse from his -girdle. "I have here only twenty French crowns, but if thou wilt -come to Falkland to-morrow, and ask fer--for----" - -"His majesty the king," replied the earl, whose eye moistened, and -whose heart swelled, as (instead of kneeling) he drew himself proudly -up to his full height; "replace your purse, James Stuart; surely -Archibald Earl of Ashkirk hath not sunk so far as to be paid thus for -fighting in the service of his king." - -"Ashkirk!" said King James, less astonished that he was recognised -than at this rencontre and discovery. "Ashkirk, is it indeed thee, -thou traitor and son of a traitress?" - -"I am no traitor, neither am I the son of a traitress; but an outlaw, -certainly; and why? Because I am the hereditary foeman of the house -of Hamilton. False king, thou wrongest me sorely by such epithets as -these." - -"_Thou_, Ashkirk? it is impossible!" said James, filled with pity at -the deplorable aspect of his long-dreaded rebel. - -"Look at me, king! My years are not yet thirty, and my brow is -wrinkled; for the hand of a tyrant, less than time, hath touched it." - -"A tyrant?" - -"Thou!" - -"Darest thou say so to my teeth?" - -"Ay, thou, James V.; for thou wagest the quarrels and the feuds of -the fathers upon their children. By war and death thou dost; -revengefully and remorselessly. Thou hast put a price upon my head, -and hunted me, even as a wild beast, from place to place. But think -not that I will ever sue for pardon; I will live as my fathers hath -lived, or die, sword in hand, as my fathers have died. Never shalt -thou see a Seton of Ashkirk among those fawning slaves of the house -of Arran, who, watching for every passing smile, crowd round thy -throne like sycophants--never! never!" - -"This to me!" cried the king, snatching up a sword; "to me from thee, -thou parricide, who hast carried fire and sword into the heart of thy -fatherland! Must I tell thee, false earl, that, in addition to thy -rebellion, all assurance and friendship with Englishmen is _treason_; -that the residence of a Scot in England is treason; that buying from -or selling to Englishmen is _treason_; that all travelling or -trafficking with Englishmen, by word or writing, _is treason_; -incurring the penalties of proscription and death! Not content with -the committal of all these crimes, and with levying war against our -wardens with lances uplifted and banner displayed, I find thee the -boon-companion of thieves and outlaws, who live by slaughter and -robbery; by stealing pikes from ponds; by breaking dowcots and -orchards; by lifting sheep and slaying parked deer; all -contraventions of the laws passed by my father, James IV., for the -security of property; and involving the penalty of the scourge." - -"The scourge!" reiterated the earl, with a bitter laugh; "I can -respect the name of James IV., for he was my father's friend, and -side by side they have often fought like two brave comrades; but -thou, his son, the ruthless oppressor of the bravest nobles Scotland -ever saw--who hast thrown the sceptre into the scales that justice -might be overborne, never! The scourge? I am indeed degraded, when -even a king dare mention it to me. Proud and ungrateful prince, hast -thou, indeed, forgotten all that thou and thy forefathers owe to the -houses of Seton and of Douglas?" - -"I have not," said the king, standing on his guard; "it is, indeed, a -debt of vengeance, so take up a sword and come on. Here, man to man, -I defy thee, and repay it." - -"Nay, nay; it shall never be said that the royal blood of Scotland -stained the hand of a Seton. Ten minutes ago I might have slain thee -in the _mêlée_, and there had ended thy Stuart line for ever." - -"To place thy feudal foe of Arran on the throne--eh? That would not -have mended matters with thee and Angus, I think. But what does -royal blood signify? Art thou not at this moment covered with the -blood of my subjects? Just now, earl, I tell thee, thou hast all the -aspect of a gory murderer." - -"Then, behold the head of my victim!" said the noble, as from his -mantle he rolled at the king's feet the enormous and grisly head of -the wolf. "Behold that _other_ head, on which, as on mine, your -majesty has placed a golden price." - -Admiration flashed in the eyes of James V.; he threw away his sword, -and took the earl's hand in his. - -"Oh, Ashkirk, Ashkirk! thou triest me sorely; oh, why art thou nob my -friend?--but it cannot be; for thy wrongs against thy country, its -parliament and crown, are too deep to be easily forgiven. For the -gallant deeds of this night, I feel that I could forgive them all; -but what would my people say, and what my peers, Cathcart and Lennox, -Darnley, Hailes, Lyle, and Lorn,--all of whom are hostile to thy -house? Besides, I have sworn--solemnly and irrevocably sworn--never -to forgive the crime of man or of woman in whose veins there is one -drop of the Douglas blood; and too surely, at this hour, at my own -hearth and home, I feel that thy mother and thy sister are Douglases. -My poor Magdalene!--Lord earl, thy crimes I might afford to forgive -freely, for they are only those of a rash and headstrong Scot; but -the other crimes of thy family never--never!" - -And here, stung deeply by the thought of that supposed sorcery which -was bringing his queen to the grave, James paused, and pressed his -hands upon his brow; and the earl, who was ignorant of what he -referred to, remained silent and perplexed. - -"Still I could forgive thee, for the memory of my father's friend, -Earl John,--that arm of steel and heart of fire--but my vow!--it -cannot be. Here let us part; go on, pursue thy wandering way, -unfriended and unhappy lord, and may Heaven keep thee! Here, take -these thirty crowns from me,--not as the price of this wolf's head, -which I will bear with me to Falkland, with the story of thy prowess, -to shame my carpet knights, but as that gift, such as one friend, one -gentleman, may freely bestow or freely accept from another. There -are proclamations for thine apprehension posted on every city cross, -on every burgh-barrier and tolbooth-gate, throughout the length and -breadth of the land; if thou escapest, I will rejoice; and if thou -art taken, I will sorrow; for, by my father's soul, I must then -behead thee before the gates of Stirling. So away! to France, to -Flanders, to Italy--anywhere but England, the land of our enemies; -and may the blessed God grant that we shall never meet -again.--Farewell!" - -And leading forth his horse, for the storm had now died away, and the -early sun of June had risen, the king put his foot in the stirrup, -saying,-- - -"My adventures are wild and strange; and assuredly, if ever old -Scotland hath a Plutarch, James V. will live in his pages. Adieu!" -and with these words, placing the wolf's head at his saddle-bow, the -king put spurs to his grey horse, and galloping along the sandy -beach, rode over the adjacent hill in the direction of Falkland, -which lay on his road to the Cistercian abbey of Balmerino. - -The earl stood near the mouth of the cavern on the desolate beach, -and gazed after the king's retiring figure, with mingled feelings of -sadness, hostility, and admiration. Then, after long musing and much -hesitation, he took up the purse of crowns which lay at his feet, and -kissing his hand towards the castle of the Inch--the prison of Sybil -Douglas and his mother--walked slowly and thoughtfully along the -beach. - -The storm had completely lulled. The sea was mirrored around the -rocks and isles; the sky was blue and cloudless. The chafing waves -broke with a dreamy ripple on the yellow sands. The green headlands -and bold promontories, the rustic villages and quaint old fisher-town -that nestled between them, were all shining in the silvery haze of -that beautiful summer morning; but the soul of the young earl was sad. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV. - -THE DEATH OF MAGDALENE. - -"Envy and calumny will destroy innocence and pleasure; the oppressed -will be sacrificed to the oppressor; and, in proportion as tyranny -makes kings distrustful, judicial murders will depopulate the -state."--_Telemachus_, Book XX. - - -During these passages the young queen, Magdalene, had daily become -worse, and the "catarrh, which descended into her stomach," as Madame -de Montreuil says in one of her letters, had brought her to the verge -of the grave. - -The sorrow and alarm of James were great; and remorsefully he now -remembered the warnings of Francis I., contrary to whose most urgent -advice he had espoused her, instead of the blooming Mary of Lorraine. -Foreign physicians were sent by their kings from distant courts and -cities, even from Syria and the remote countries of the east, and -daily they crowded the antechamber with their long beards and longer -garments, their grave visages and solemn quackeries; but their -presence had no other effect than to bring lower and lower the health -of poor Magdalene, and to excite the wrath and jealousy of John of -the Silvermills, who (as the king's apothecary, and deacon of the -barber-chirurgeons of Edinburgh), by the presence of these strangers, -felt his dignity encroached upon, and his reputation impugned. - -The love of the amiable French girl for her gallant young husband was -excessive; it strengthened as her strength decayed; and finding that -matters of state separated them long and frequently, contrary to all -advice, she left Balmerino, with its shady woods and mellow air, and, -to be near her beloved James V., returned to the grey and solemn -courts of Holyrood on the eighth day of June. - -There, to the joy of her husband, she seemed to revive a little; and -the preparations for her coronation (which was to be on a scale of -magnificence hitherto unknown in Scotland) had been resumed with -renewed vigour; but alas! on the tenth of July, three days after the -arrest of Lady Jane Seton, she suddenly threw up her hands to heaven -and expired, at a moment when, stooping over her couch, the king, her -husband, was playfully caressing and conversing with her; and the -great solemn bells of St. Giles's, and those of the abbey church, the -Dominicans, the Cistercians, and other friaries, as slowly and sadly -they tolled a knell, warning all good people to pray for the passing -soul, announced that direful event which plunged the whole land in -sorrow; for James V., "the king of the poor," was really a monarch -who reigned in the hearts of a people who were then loyal and -generous as they were brave. - -She was solemnly interred by torchlight in the royal vault at -Holyrood; and, in her strong prison, Jane Seton heard the deep hoarse -boom of the minute guns, as they broke upon the still midnight sky -from the towers of King David, St. Margaret, and the ramparts of that -stately fortress which enclosed her. - -So great was the grief of the nation, that this was the first -occasion of a general mourning in Scotland; and in the accounts of -the lord high treasurer there are still preserved numerous entries of -the Scottish and Holland cloths, French blacks, white crosses upon -sable velvets, and many other articles for the court, together with -the expenses of Magdalene's magnificent obsequies, the dirges sung -and solemn masses said on that melancholy event, which became the -all-absorbing topic of the time. - -The whole nation mourned with the king; and everywhere, at kirk or -market, on highway or in burgh-town, black cloaks and sable feathers -had replaced the gaudier colours and fashions of the age. A great -funeral escutcheon hung in each of the eight cathedrals, and over the -gates of all the royal palaces. Like those used in France and -Germany, they were lozenge-formed, bearing the royal arms of Scotland -on a black ground, surrounded by those of the sixteen families from -whom the queen was descended. At the four corners were placed (as -usual among us at the present day) mort-heads, and the black -interstices were _semée_ with powdered tears. - -After the funeral, King James, with a small retinue, retired to the -solitude of his beautiful country palace at Falkland. - -If the hidden cause of the queen's illness had puzzled the learned -physicians and astrologers who had gathered around her couch, as it -were, from the four winds of heaven, it occasioned greater -speculation among the superstitious people of Scotland, and a -universal whisper of _sorcery_, followed by a cry for vengeance on -the cause of an effect so dire, went throughout the land, from the -Caledonian to the German Sea. - -Fettered to a sick bed, suffering under the extremes of mental and -bodily agony--the double wounds, received first from Roland Vipont, -and secondly from the earl, all combined, and acting upon a frame -weakened by a previous illness, had brought Sir Adam Otterburn to the -brink of the grave. - -His hours of delirium were full of visions either of love and -delight--of Jane Seton and a successful suit, or of sanguinary -horror--of conflicts, tortures, and executions; while the hours of -comparative calm that succeeded--the mere result of utter -exhaustion--were occupied by deep-laid schemes of avenging himself -upon the authors of so many miseries. - -His mind had now but two thoughts--a delirium of love and a delirium -of hate; and they corroded his heart between them. - -He had cast off Jane Seton; for so he strove to think, and so, unto -himself, he said a thousand times; he had rent her from his heart, -and abandoned her to the terrors in store for her. Then love would -come again, and he strove wildly to stifle it like a rising flame; -for he had given the first impulse to the ball of fate, and he -resolved to let it roll on its course to destruction. - -In his moments of calm agony, when every voice in his heart was still -but those which whispered of jealousy and revenge, he deliberately -dictated, and drew up with bitter care, certain articles of -accusation, implicating Jane Seton wholly and solely in the death of -the queen, by sorcery of the most malignant character; and, armed by -a warrant, the town mansion of the Ashkirk family, which had not been -opened since the Albany herald, John Hamilton of Darnagaber, had -placed his seal on every door and lockfast place thereof, was opened -and searched by that unwilling functionary and the witch-finder, -Nichol Birrel. - -After the dose he had been compelled to swallow at Cairntable, the -latter, it may be supposed, had reached Edinburgh with considerable -difficulty; and, like his master, animated by personal and implacable -vengeance against Sir Roland Vipont, he entered with heart and soul -into the public prosecution. Thus, when by order of his lord and -patron, Redhall, he was searching the house of the Setons, he -contrived most opportunely to discover in the boudoir of Lady Jane a -little wooden image bearing a crown, and marked with the initials -M.B. It was stuck full of pins, and was partly scorched by fire; but -after being duly sprinkled with holy water, and exorcised by the late -queen's French confessor, was deposited in the hands of the lord -advocate, who sealed it up in a box marked with the cross, as being -the most tremendous and damning proof of guilt that had ever come -under the notice of the newly-constituted College of Justice. - -With one voice the whole city now accused, and without a moment's -hesitation condemned, Jane Seton. The preparations for her trial -went on rapidly; and the king, who was absorbed in his own grief, and -remained secluded among the woods of Falkland, abandoned her to her -fate; but the wretched Redhall suffered more than either the hapless -Jane or the bereaved king, for remorse grew side by side with his -anger. - -Those sentiments of generosity, of pity, and of lingering love, which -ever and anon dawned in the arid desert of his heart, and impelled -him to free her, to sue for pardon, or to fly his country, were -invariably stifled under a torrent of jealousy and hate when he -thought of Roland Vipont; and then his half-healed wounds would sting -him anew, as if probed by poniards; the perspiration would burst from -his temples, and he writhed on his sick bed in an agony indescribable. - -"She is indeed a sorceress!" he would exclaim; upon which his nurse -and housekeeper, an old and wrinkled dame who attended him, and who -never left his bedside, would make signs of the cross, and feel for -the reliques which were sewed in the lining of her long piked stays, -which, with her ruff and coif, made her resemble those quaint figures -which still live in the pictures of Holbein. - -Credulity has existed in every age of the world; and thus chiromancy, -astrology, physiognomy, and the wildest theories of abstruse science, -have risen and flourished on the ignorance and folly of the human -mind; but there were none that equalled the _witch-mania_, which, -strange to say, grew in Scotland, and flourished side by side with -religious freedom and reform. - -It is a curious fact, that before the epoch of Knox sorcery was -almost unknown among us. In our earliest record of criminal trials, -that comprehending the years 1493-1504, there is not one prosecution -for sorcery. In the days of James V. it began to be much spoken of, -and rapidly became a source of terror. Lady Jane's was nearly the -first indictment; but the earliest statute against it was passed in -1563, by the first reformed parliament, and that portion of the law -which refers to consultations "with sorcerers and witches" was not -enacted until 1594--fully thirty years after the Reformation had been -established by the law of Scotland. - -Then, indeed, from that period, kirk sessions and presbyteries, -ministers, elders, sheriffs, and justiciars, went with heart and hand -into the matter; for in the _witch-mania_, that atrocious madness -which spread over Europe, though Scotland was the last to catch the -contagion, she was in no way behind neighbouring countries in the -cruelty of her prosecutions. - -According to Barrington, thirty thousand witches were burned in -England, five hundred perished in three months at Geneva, and a -thousand at Como in one year. The number committed to the flames in -Scotland is incalculable, but no less than six hundred witches were -indicted during the sitting of one parliament at Edinburgh. -Suspicion, abhorrence, accusation, trial, and death followed each -other with appalling rapidity. - -Thus we find in history, that the savage spirit of ignorance and -credulity which impelled the great Cardinal Beaton to burn six men at -the stake, on the charge of heresy, was out-Heroded by the still -greater ignorance and credulity of his successors, who, for each of -these six, sacrificed more than thousands for the imaginary crime of -witchcraft. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV. - -THE COLLEGE OF JUSTICE. - - "No! in an accursed spot--our magic tree, - Where devils from of yore their sabbath keep-- - Has all this been contrived; there did she sell - Her soul to the eternal fiend, to be - With brief vain-glory honoured in this world. - Bid her stretch forth her arm, and ye will see - The puncture, by which hell hath marked its own." - SCHILLER'S _Maid of Orleans_ - - -The summer solstice was passed. - -Heavily and louringly the 15th of July dawned over Edinburgh; and one -hour after the portes were unclosed, the Right Honourable Knight, Sir -Simon Preston of Craigmillar, the new Lord Provost of the city and -Admiral of the Forth, entered by the Kirk-of-field Wynd, sheathed in -full armour, with a party of horse; when, conformably to the orders -of his eminence the cardinal, John Muckleheid, senior bailie, joined -him with three hundred archers--the same burgher-archers who had -lined the streets exactly two months before, on the entrance of Queen -Magdalene. - -A tumult was expected; very few merchants or chapmen opened their -booths on this morning; and those between the Bell-house and the Tron -remained closed. Sir John Forrester's guards were doubled at the -palace, the Mint, the castle-gate, and elsewhere; and after arming -themselves with more than usual care, vast crowds of burghers poured -towards the Exchequer Chambers, or _'Checquer Chalmers_, as they then -named them. The stacks of heather, broom, whins, and of other fuel, -which were then permitted to encumber the street, either as being the -property of householders, or for sale, bore each on their summit a -load of urchins, whose yells and outcries served to increase the -general clamour. - -A flag was flying on the steeple of the Tolbooth, which had been -built fifty years before, by John Mercer, master mason; and thirteen -shops (formed at the same period), in the vaults below the edifice, -remained closed and barricaded. - -The respect his garb ensured him, and the liberal manner in which he -said "Pax vobiscum" to all, enabled the anxious and excited Father -St. Bernard, on leaving his dormitory in the house of the -prebendaries, to force a passage through the dense crowd which -occupied the High-street, around the Exchequer, the Tolbooth, and -Council-house, spreading even down the steep churchyard of St. Giles. - -The provost's kinsman, Sir Andrew Preston, of Quhite-hill and -Gourtown, with a squadron of horsemen, overawed the crowd. Clad in a -suit of rich armour, he rode up and down the thoroughfare with his -long lance, ordering and threatening some, or courteously giving -admittance to others. The priest procured a place within the large -hall of the Exchequer, where, for some reason now unknown, the trial -of his unhappy penitent was to take place. A strong guard of archers -occupied the hall-door and the turnpike-stair below, permitting none -to enter without the closest scrutiny, lest armed Setons or Douglases -might penetrate into the heart of the place; for rumours of rescue -were abroad in the city. - -Roofed with beams of oak, painted and gilded, the hall was lighted by -two rows of windows, lozenged and stained with brilliant coats of -arms. Those on the east faced the dark buildings of a narrow close; -those on the west overlooked the churchyard of St. Giles; thus, as -the sun could not (until mid-day) penetrate its recesses, the light -within the hall, at the early hour of eight, when the court began to -assemble, was of the most subdued and sombre kind. - -At the upper end were fifteen chairs, behind a bench, all covered -with scarlet cloth, whereon sat Walter Mylne, abbot of Cambuskenneth, -lord president of the recently instituted, and then eminently -obnoxious court of judicature, with his fourteen lords--viz., the -abbot of Kinloss, the rector of Ashkirk, the provosts of Dunglass and -of the Holy Trinity; the deans of Brechin, Restalrig, and Dunbar, who -sat on his right hand; while the remaining seven, who were -laymen--the knights of Balwearie, Lundie, Easter-Wemyss, Oxengangs, -and of the Highriggs, Sir Francis Bothwell, and Otterburn of Auldhame -(a cousin of Redhall)--sat upon his left. These were the first -fifteen senators of the College of Justice in Scotland; and, save the -churchmen, few of them could sign their names. They were all men -advanced in life; and, with their black caps and scarlet gowns, -looked grimly over the half circular bench, which was raised on a -dais several feet above the floor of the hall. - -Headed by Lord David Hamilton (a son of the Earl of Arran), their -chancellor, or, as we would now turn him, their foreman, the jury, -which was principally composed of Hamiltons, occupied a recess on one -side of the hall; while the ten advocates, in gowns of Paris black, -with a number of sworn notaries, had the privilege of occupying the -other. A tall wax candle, painted over with religious emblems, -burned on the right hand of the president; and coldly its light fell -upon his pinched and stern features and the gold crucifix which -glittered upon his breast. - -Before him, on one hand, was a table where the clerks of court sat, -intrenched up to their ears in papers; on the other stood an uncouth -machine, covered by a black cloth. There was something in its aspect -that made the blood run cold; it was the rack, with other instruments -of torture. They were then in full use by the new court, but were -last applied in Edinburgh by order of William III., whom the Scottish -people will ever remember as the assassin-king--the butcher of -Glencoe. - -Near this, in a large arm-chair, hidden from the view of all save the -lords, sat Redhall, buried in thought. - -Macers in black gowns, and archers in steel caps, were visible here -and there; but everywhere behind the bar was a dense crowd, whose -heads were overlooking each other in close rows, like piles of -cannon-shot. The whole court sat in the form of a horseshoe; and -every lord's mouth, and every juryman's too, bore some resemblance to -the same figure; for gloom, anger, and severity were impressed upon -them all. - -The bar enclosed the ends of this great horseshoe; and there, between -two arquebusiers of the king's guards, sat Lady Jane Seton. - -Destitute of every ornament save an amber rosary, she was plainly -attired in a deep-skirted and close-bodied dress of blue silk, with -hanging sleeves, each of which, from the elbow, had three rows of -broad lace; and beneath these, from elbow to wrist, her round white -arms were bare. A simple angular cap, of that graceful fashion which -we see in the old portraits of Anne Boleyn, covered her head. She -was pale as death, and the plain braids of her dark, almost -black-brown hair, made her seem paler still. She had become -fearfully thin and hollow-cheeked, but the character of her beauty -was rather increased than impaired by this attenuation. - -There was an expression of intense sadness in her quiet and limpid -eye, and of sorrow on her lip; but there were times when her eyes -flashed and her lip quivered with surprise and contempt, or a cloud -of horror would descend upon her brow at the various proceedings of -this new court, and the bitter humiliation to which it subjected her. -But now, nearly broken in spirit, crushed, and feeling that she was -for ever degraded by the frightful accusation brought against her, in -general she was careless of what was done, or said, or thought of her. - -There was something antique in her beauty; but nothing could be -softer, purer, or more delicate than its aspect. - -In silence she heard the low muttered revilings and exclamations -around her; when harassed by the stern questions of the hardhearted -and the credulous, or confounded by their energy and ferocity, their -determination and their sophistry, she became utterly silent, and -sought to bend all her thoughts on inward prayer. - -A maze was before her eyes, and amid the maze were fifteen scarlet -spots, her fifteen judges; a confused murmur was in her ears, but -amid that murmur she could hear the beating of her own heart. In its -inner recesses there was but one thought--_Roland_; and her heart -only shrunk when her chain rattled; for they had chained her. - -She was a witch!..... - -Many a familiar face was in the crowd, yet not one deigned to look on -her with kindness or with friendship. The terrible accusation had -frozen the hearts of all; thus she saw less perhaps of sorrow than of -indignation in every face; while, generally, a silence the most -profound reigned throughout the whole assembly. - -In Scotland trials for sorcery were mere formalities; the same blind -terror and insane credulity which brought forward the accusation and -hurried on the decision, led at once to the frightful condemnation. -When first indicted, Jane had some hope of mercy, and that her -perfect innocence might avail her; for sorcery was then a new crime, -and there were many who totally denied its existence; but the moment -she entered the court, and looked on the faces of her judges, and saw -that there were eight Hamiltons in the jury-box, she felt that her -doom was written, and gave herself up for lost--as the majority of -votes form the opinion of a Scottish jury. - -The proceedings of the Supreme High Court of Justiciary in 1537, the -year of its birth, were, in detail, widely different from what they -are to-day; and such was its informality, that there was not one -witness for the defence, the counsel for which based his arguments -solely on the blameless life, the innocence, and conscious rectitude -of the accused. - -"I am innocent!" Jane would sometimes repeat to herself; "and they -dare not punish me--God will not permit them!" - -The clerk of the court now stood up to read the indictment, which was -written on a strip of parchment:-- - -"Jane Seton, most falsely designated lady and of Ashkirk, thou art -delated by the king's advocate for procuring the death of umquhile -the queen's grace (whom the blessed Lord assoilzie!) by sorcery and -incantations procured from hell; thou art accused of having a -familiar spirit; of having renounced thy baptism, and having upon -thee the mark by which Satan distinguishes all who have sold -themselves unto his service." - -"Of these crimes against the laws of God and of man, of nature and -our holy Christian church, Jane Seton, art thou guilty, or art thou -not guilty?" asked the abbot Mylne, sadly and solemnly. - -Thrice the question had to be repeated before she was roused from her -apathy to reply. - -"Guiltless, father abbot--guiltless of such crimes--even as the -blessed Mother of all compassion herself was guiltless," she replied, -gently but energetically; "and this day I call upon her to hear the -truth of my assertion; and the unhappy never seek her aid in vain." - -A murmur floated above the crowd of spectators; and Jane's head sank -on her breast. - -Like a sharp poniard, her voice sank into the heart of Redhall. He -now arose, and with a paper in his hand--a paper which he nervously -folded and unfolded--prepared to speak. He looked like an animated -corpse; his long flowing gown of black Parisian cloth, the sable hue -of his beard and moustache, contrasted forcibly with his livid -complexion. His eyes were hollow, and a ghastly agony was impressed -on every lineament of his face; but attributing these appearances to -his long and recent illness, the whole court, from the lord president -down to Sanders Screw, the torturer, pitied his sufferings, and -admired his worth and unflinching energy as an officer of state. - -He dared not turn towards the prisoner, but spoke with averted eyes, -which the court attributed to his gallantry and extreme delicacy of -feeling. He endeavoured to condense the whole hatred of his heart -against her; but love would come again, and they wrestled fiercely -for the mastery. His heart swelled within his breast, and his brain -became wild. He had two existences, and two hearts--one which loved, -and one which hated--one that longed to possess, and another that -longed to destroy her. - -Then it would seem that he loved her as of old, and was prompted to -avow his passion and his guilt, and, asserting her innocence, poniard -himself before the court; but again his mad and murderous longing for -revenge would come back upon his heart like a devouring fever, and -thus he loved and thus abhorred in the same moment. Strange, wild, -and inconsistent, his was the love of the devil united to the frenzy -of a destroyer; he felt that it was so, and there were times when he -doubted his own sanity. - -The die was cast now, and a thousand eyes were bent upon him, and a -thousand ears were listening. He made a tremendous effort to master -his fierce emotions and open the prosecution; and being aware that -there were many among the judges who doubted, and even denied the -existence of witchcraft, he bent all his dangerous eloquence to prove -the first position. - -"My lords," said he, with a voice that, from being soft and -flute-like, had now become hoarse and hollow, though it sounded like -a serpent's hiss to Jane. "My lords, there may be among us those who -decline to admit that witchcraft existeth in the world; albeit, -divines cannot doubt it, for have not the words of God admitted that -such things may be? In the eighteenth chapter of Deuteronomy, we are -told that diviners, enchanters, consulters with familiar spirits, -witches, necromancers, 'are an abomination unto the Lord;' and -further, the twentieth chapter of Leviticus saith, 'the soul that -turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, _I -will even set my face against that soul_, and will cut him off from -among the people;' while the Mosaic law emphatically ordained that no -witch shall be suffered to live. We need not, most reverend and -learned lords, look so far back for proofs that sorcerers and -charmers existed, and do exist: it must be apparent to every -reasonable being that what hath once been may be again, for nothing -is impossible either to God or the devil; and the ancient chronicles -of Scotland, and of every other kingdom, teem with proofs of sorcery. -The heathens of the olden time visited witches with the most dreadful -punishments; the Persians dashed out their brains with stones; while -we know that the Assyrians, Chaldeans, the Indian Gymnosophists, and -the Druids of Caledonia, were addicted to the deepest sorcery. By -the laws of Charlemagne, a witch who ate human flesh escaped for two -hundred sous, which shows (as in the present case) that sorcery was -not confined to the lower class of society. - -"The emperor Manuel Comnenus punished sorcerers with the utmost -rigour; and the blessed St. Patrick procured fire from heaven to -destroy nine of them. St. Colme saw a wizard milk a bull, as we are -informed by St. Adamnan, for the saints are constantly watching -Satan, the prince of hell and promoter of mischief; and if so, how -much more ought we, who are _their_ servants, to watch sorcerers and -witches, who are the slaves of the devil! - -"The witch of Endor feared to practise her sorceries before the king, -because he had put to death all who had familiar spirits; and so -great was the indignation of God against the sin of sorcery, that he -cut off the ten tribes of Israel because they were wedded unto its -abominations. John de Fordun records, that in the days of that good -knight and gallant king, William the Lion, a wizard who perverted the -vision of the people, was defeated by a holy man reading even a -passage from the blessed Gospels. - -"Among the Romans, Publius Marcius and Pituanus were executed for -this crime; as also were Publicia and Lucinia, with threescore and -ten other citizens, as Valerius Maximus informs us in the third -chapter of the sixth book. Hence, to deny the existence of witches, -is to deny the veracity of all history, ecclesiastical as well as -secular; and thus sorcery, being the greatest of all human crimes, as -it includes heresy, blasphemy, and treason against God, involves the -most severe of all human punishments--death by fire--for fire is the -emblem of purification. - -"Picus of Mirandola, who lived in the last century, asserts in his -writings, that 'magic is not founded on truth, since it depends upon -powers that are enemies to truth;' and further, 'that there is no one -power in heaven or earth but may be put in motion by the words of a -magician;' and he proves that words are effectual in incantations, -because God made use of words in arranging the universe." - -"My lord advocate, to the point," said the president, dryly; "in many -parts of his writings, Francisco Picus was a rank blasphemer." - -"The prisoner at the bar is accused of procuring by sorcery, and the -aid of magic images, the death of umquhile the queen's lamented -grace, whom Heaven assoilzie! I accuse her of this, and boldly." - -"To the proof," said the abbot of Cambuskenneth, as Redhall paused, -and faltered. - -"No difficult task, my lords," he resumed. "I need not expatiate on -the hereditary hatred borne to the king, the queen and court, by the -houses of Ashkirk and of Angus. Consanguinity is ever a strong proof -of sorcery. The countess dowager of Ashkirk hath long sustained an -evil reputation as a dabbler in magic. If the mother be a sorceress, -we hold it in law, that the daughter must infallibly be so too. It -is the inheritance of hell, and descends, as the children of married -saints inherit a share of heaven. Arrian records that prophecy was -hereditary, like disease, and why not sorcery?" - -A murmur of assent replied. - -"Hence, reared by her mother, the prisoner brought her damnable and -abstruse studies to greater perfection; the pupil surpassed her -teacher; and it was in her boudoir that this image, which is coated -over with wax and stuck full of pins, was yesterday discovered by an -officer of this high court--an officer whose veracity and worth none -will dare to gainsay." - -Here Master Birrel smoothed his shock pate; pulled up his ruff, which -was stiffened with whalebone, and looked complacently around him. - -"The good queen's gradual illness and wasting away from the hour of -her landing, was the slow but matured work of sorcery; and such the -most learned physicians and apothegars have declared it to be. My -lords and gentlemen, here are written copies of the proofs," he -added, as his clerks and scribes distributed to the bench and jury a -number of written papers; but the said clerks or scribes might have -saved themselves the trouble, as few of the learned lords, and not -one of the intelligent jury, could either read or write. Neither had -yet become fashionable or necessary accomplishments. "There you will -find," continued the lord advocate, "that the queen's grace was first -bewitched at the ball in Holyrood, where the Lady Seton induced -others to dance a measure diabolique, which is well known to be in -use among the witches of France; and as they danced, so the queen's -illness increased with wondrous rapidity. That night her majesty -kindly gave the prisoner her hand to kiss; then lo, again, the power -of hell! the kiss burned into her heart, and she sank into a deadly -faint. In both kiss and dance, my lords, we will prove there was -sorcery, as the abbot of Kinloss assured me at the time. We all know -how much Satan hath achieved by the agency of dancing, on looking -back to the fits and visions of the Convulsionists, who in 1373 -appeared at Aix-la-Chapelle. There is a certain mountain of the Harz -chain in Almainie, where, on the 1st of May, every year, all the -witches and wizards of the earth rendezvous to dance on _Valpurgis -night_, as they name it. Now, _La Volta_, the hell-dance, was the -ancient measure of the orgia, the feasts of Bacchus, a god of the -pagans--a demon who loved wine. It came from Italy to Spain; from -Spain to France; from France to Scotland. - -"To the second proof. The prisoner with others visited the booth of -Master Mossman, jeweller to the king's majesty; and there, placing on -her head the queen's new crown (a notable piece of Douglas -presumption), said certain words, to the effect that _she would never -live to wear it, for her days were numbered_, and these ominous words -we have here six witnesses to prove. Oh, my lords, did they not -clearly and prophetically indicate a foreknowledge of the queen's -death, obtained by the assistance of that familiar spirit who resided -with her in the quality of page? Lastly, this image, half roasted -and perforated by ninety-nine pins, and marked with a crown and the -letters M.B., for Magdalene Bourbon. My lords and gentlemen, can -other proof be wanting?" - -Here he held up to view, between a pair of small iron tongs, a little -wooden figure, about eight inches long, having on its head a crown. - -"Mother of God!" muttered the people, crossing themselves with horror -at these accumulated proofs. - -"That death may be produced by wasting images, I could adduce a -thousand instances; but less will suffice. In the year 980, our own -King Duff, who pined under a grievous illness in Murrayshire, was -rescued from death when the witch was burned and her images broken. -The severe illness of Charles VI. of France was caused by sorcery, -and the witch was burnt; so was another, who, in conjunction with the -devil, forged a deed in favour of Robert of Artois. The powers of -inflicting and of allaying diseases were peculiar to sorcerers; the -mother allayed--the daughter inflicted. Solomon could allay disease -by incantations, and Phyrrus, king of Epirus, did so by one touch of -his great toe. Magic water may have been thrown on the queen's -person; for we know that a few drops from Chosopis, the enchanted -river of the Persians, brought death to all on whom they fell. As -the fire scorched and wasted this image, even so did the poor queen -waste and sink. Observe, my lords, it is formed of _pine_." - -"The pine was consecrated, by the heathens of old, to Pluto, King of -Demons," said Lord Auldhame. - -"And wherever the unhappy queen endured the most severe pains,--in -her head, in her heart, or the region of the stomach, there we find -the greatest number of torturing pins. There are seven in each eye, -and, like three, seven is a mystical number. I have but one remark -more, my lords. This image was originally that of one of the three -kings of Cologne; it has been abstracted from the rood screen of St. -Giles's, and made to serve for that of her umquhile majesty Queen -Magdalene." - -"Sacrilege! sacrilege!" cried the crowd of listeners; "blasphemy and -heresy!----" - -"All of which assuredly require the most severe penalty your -lordships can inflict--death at the stake!" and as the lord advocate -sat down, pale and exhausted by his long harangue, and by the wild -misanthropy of his desperate soul, the horror waxed strong in the -hearts of his hearers. - -"Holy Mary!" exclaimed the lord president, raising his hands and eyes -to the oak ceiling, "can this woman, this being abandoned of God and -of man, be a daughter of that gallant race, every chief of which has -bled for Scotland and its king? Oh, what a wondrous--what a vast -amount of sin is here!" - -Master Robert Galbraith and Master Henry Spittal, the most able of -the ten advocates, spoke in the defence of the accused long and ably, -but all their arguments were overborne by the sophistry and eloquence -of Redhall, and by the cloud of witnesses for the prosecution, which -proceeded with such rapidity, that they were soon silenced, and sat -down completely baffled. Then a long and anxious pause succeeded. - -Father St. Bernard was in despair. - -A senator now spoke; he was the rector of Ashkirk. - -"My lords," said he, "in all that I have this day heard, there is -much that perplexes me sorely; for it seemeth that the same faculties -which were _miracles_ when exercised by the saints, we style -_sorceries_ when assumed by others. St. Servan of Lochleven -converted water into wine, and from the bosom of the arid earth a -fountain sprang at the voice of St. Patrick. St. Baldred of the Bass -used as a boat that rock which we may still see fixed in the sea near -his island; the wooden altar of St. Bryde of Douglas sprouted and put -forth leaves at her holy touch; the robe of St. Colme procured rain -in Iona; and, in the winter time, St. Blaise could strike fire with -his fingers----" - -Here a stern glance from the Abbot Mylne cut him short, and he paused. - -"The blessed saints of whom thou speakest, my lord, wrought those -wonders by the aid of Heaven alone, and not by the agency of a black -spirit. Of late, the devil hath frequently appeared at the -preachings of the Reformers as a black cat, and why may he not appear -elsewhere as a black boy?" said the president. - -"True, most reverend and learned lord," rejoined the meagre little -abbot of Kinloss, "need I remind your lordships how my predecessor, -Abbot Ralph, now in company of the saints, when holding a chapter of -the Cistercians at Kinloss, A.D. 1214, beheld the devil, yea, as -surely as my name is Robin Reid, beheld him, in the shape of an -Ethiopian, enter by a window; but, on being exorcised in good Latin, -he vanished in smoke."* - - -* See John de Fordun's "Scotichronicon." - - -"True, true," continued Redhall, incoherently; "and by a devilishly -devised compact with this familiar, she assigned her soul to Satan -for the powers given----" - -"Proof?" said the doubting rector of Ashkirk; "where is this -contract?" - -"In the archives of hell--therefore, how can we produce it?" - -The judge sat down silenced, and a cold smile flitted over the face -of Redhall, whose usually impassible front the Cumæan sybil herself -could not have read; but he looked anxiously at the abbot of -Cambuskenneth. - -"Would that I knew what is passing in thy bald head, thou shaven -dotard!" thought he. - -"Familiar spirits are usually black," said the president; "the vile -imposter, Mahomet, had one in the shape of a black cock, which, when -it crew, set all the cocks in the world crowing; and the Lord Hugh of -Zester had a black demon named _Gudeshovel_, who dug for him his -goblin hall beneath the surface of the earth. The unhappy prisoner -having persisted in denying her guilt, I require a slight application -of the torture, and an examination for the devil's mark, that the -ends of justice may be duly satisfied." - -Redhall, who had been but half prepared for this, felt his heart die -within him, and he made a convulsive start. - -"The torture! the torture! Oh, rather let me die! Holy abbot--my -lords--I ask you not for pardon, because I am innocent. I think not -of vengeance, because I am a woman--and though an earl's daughter and -an earl's sistar, a poor and helpless one--but I implore death, -because ye have dishonoured me by these accusations and by these -bonds--cruelly and falsely dishonoured me. Put me to death, but not -to the torture; for oh, I am weak, very weak, and will tell you -anything. Let me die! let me die! Oh, save me, Sir Adam -Otterburn--oh yes, everything--thou who hast done it all, save me -from these frightful men!" - -As Birrel and Sanders Screw approached the shrinking girl, with their -stolid visages and huge hands, though half suffocated by sobs, she -gave a low, wild cry of agony and horror, and closing her eyes, -became perfectly passive. The judges looked on unmoved; a thrill -pervaded the hearts of the people, and Redhall felt the perspiration -trickle over his brow, though his blood ran cold through his veins. - -"Oh, Roland, Roland! my love! my love! I am dying now," said Jane, -in a low voice (that was heard by Redhall alone), as she was lifted -from her seat. - -Redhall's momentary pity died; he sat down with one of his freezing -smiles--such smiles as can only be given by one who has alike -outlived the hopes of his heart and the feelings of humanity. - -"_The torture,_" repeated the lord president. - -Redhall dipped his pen mechanically in the inkstand, and Dobbie -uncovered the rack; then, as every man respired more freely, a low, -but unintentional hiss seemed to pervade the hall. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI. - -THE RACK--THE DEVIL'S MARK. - - "If on the rack you strain our bursting sinews; - If from the bleeding trunk you lop our limbs; - Or with slow fires protract the hours of pain, - We must abide it all."--_Boadicea_. - - -As yet neither the boot nor thumb screws had been adopted by the -Scottish courts; the ancient rack alone was the instrument of -torture, and now it stood before the eyes of the startled people in -all its naked and mysterious horror. Though totally repugnant to the -fundamental laws of Scotland, which are based on those of Rome, the -practice of obtaining confessions by torture in the Privy Council and -High Court of Justiciary was not discontinued until a hundred and -sixty years after the date of our history, in the reign of William -III., who, whatever he was in South Britain, will ever be remembered -in the north as one who was merciless as a Mohawk. - -The rack, which Dobbie had uncovered, was a large frame of oak, -raised three feet from the floor, like a long, narrow bed without -spars, but having two rings at the head and two at the foot. The -aspect of this engine, with all its accompanying blocks, pulleys, -chains, and handspikes in the sockets of the windlass, froze Father -St. Bernard with horror. He crossed himself, beat his breast, and -closed his eyes. - -Old and withered, with a long beard and a hollow-jawed sardonic -visage, with leering eyes, a fangless mouth, and bandy legs, Sanders -Screw, the torturer and headsman--the presiding genius over this -infernal machine--looked like an overgrown imp, as, with his -concurrents, he hurried agilely from ring to ring, and from rope to -rope, putting the whole in working order. - -"_Agnus Dei!_" muttered the old priest, who, in a little volume which -he wrote, has transmitted an account of these things to us; "all this -for one frail body! May Heaven make it without feeling, even as the -hearts of those around us." - -Powerless and unresisting, Jane was borne between Sanders Screw and -Nichol Birrel towards the rack, and placed within its frame. Birrel -remembered Roland Vipont and Douglasdale; and, trembling with joy and -revenge, made himself more than usually active. The costume of Screw -and his two concurrents had something strikingly horrible in it; -their doublets were scarlet--the judicial colour in Scotland--but -their brawny arms were bared to the elbow; and they wore dirty -leather aprons, extending from their necks to their knees. Lady -Jane's garments swept the floor, and her long hair, which became -unbound as her triangular cap fell off, floated over the shoulder of -Screw as he adjusted her in the frame. Then a shudder came over her -as the rings and cords were secured to her ankles and wrists, her -beautiful arms being extended at full length above her head, -revealing the exquisite rounding of her bust and waist. The whole -arrangement did not occupy a moment. - -While in this frightful and humiliating position, with her head -supported in the hands of Screw's apprentice, and her blue silk skirt -drooping on the floor, Redhall dared not look towards her, but sat -down beside the rack, and bent his bloodshot eyes upon the blank -sheet of paper, whereon the coming confession was to be written. He -trembled excessively. On the other side was the physician, who -attended all such _questioning_--John of the Silvermills--clad in -deep mourning, like all the courtiers and dependents of the king, -with a white St Andrew's cross on his black velvet mantle, and having -a large pouch at his girdle, wherein were various revivifying drugs -and essences. - -Gently, but unceremoniously, the greater part of Jane's attire had -been loosened by the rapid application of a pair of scissors. - -"Now then, the devil's mark," said the lord president, shading his -eyes with his hand, and peering forward over his desk. - -Nichol Birrel, sworn pricker of the High Court, now approached with -his needle, and ruthlessly uncovered the whole neck, shoulders, and -bosom of the unhappy girl. Her skin was dazzlingly white, and shone -like polished ivory in the sunlight which streamed through the deep -mullions of the windows above her in many hazy flakes. - -"Oh!" she murmured, and shuddered, while the hot, bitter tears were -seen to ooze from her closed eyelids. An icy sweat burst over -Redhall, to behold that beautiful figure extended, almost nude, -before so many unpitying and so many voluptuous eyes. His agony was -frightful. He could have screamed aloud; and, to prevent himself -doing so, buried his fingers in his breast beneath his robe. And -there she lay, with a form that might have passed for Venus--one so -delicate by nature and nurture, with her slender wrists and round -white ankles enclosed by strong iron bands, and her uncovered bosom -submitted to the eyes of so many men, and the rough paws of the -ruffian Birrel. - -There were a few generous hearts in the crowd who cried "_shame!_" -and more than one gallant hand sought the hilt of a sword. - -A pink spot, like a little rose-leaf, was discovered between her -bosom and her waist, and to this the pricker, after making the sign -of the cross and other preparations, applied his brod, or needle, -which was three inches long, and, to the horror and astonishment of -all, it sank up to the very handle in the mark, without Lady Seton -wincing once, or seeming even aware that she was touched by the -instrument. - -Again and again the operation was repeated, and the pity of the -generous few became blended with the fear and repugnance of the many. - -"The mark of hell--the signet of Satan is always thus," said the Lord -Kinloss; "for it is lost to all sensation, and deadened to the touch -of every instrument--it is bloodless." - -The long sharp needle of Birrel was pure and bright, as well it might -be; for it was constructed like a theatrical poniard, to _retire_ -into the handle with the slightest pressure. - -Blank dismay was impressed on every face. - -Thrice Redhall asked her, in a hoarse and hollow voice, to confess, -and thrice she gazed at him wildly, but made no reply; for the powers -of life seemed already to have forsaken her. He then made a signal -to Sanders Screw, and turned away his head. - -Sanders, with his wrinkled and fibrous hands, grasped the handspikes -of the windlass as a seaman would previous to starting an anchor. -Then, with the whole weight and strength of his meagre body, the -wretch suddenly depressed them, and every joint of the unhappy being -cracked in its socket. - -Father St. Bernard muffled his head in his cowl, to shut out the -fearful sound. - -She uttered a cry, the horror of which contrasted strangely with the -sweetness and melody of her voice. Redhall felt as if he could have -expired; and, in unison with her, he uttered a groan so painful and -full of despair, that it must have startled all, had it not been -blended with the cry of Jane. - -"Mother of God! Mother of God! I will confess--I will confess! Oh, -Roland, Roland!" - -At these words Redhall bent his head towards the floor, for he felt -that he had the face of a Nero, the eyes of a fiend, and he gave -another of his horrible smiles. The name of Roland recalled his -hatred, and that hatred triumphed over terror and compunction, as -ferocity did over feebleness. The bars were a little relaxed, but -she was not loosed until the following questions were answered:-- - -"Jane Seton," said Redhall, in a calm voice, and with an equally calm -visage, for, being master of himself, his whole aspect was now as -still as it the stormy passions which convulsed his heart were dead; -"Jane Seton, dost thou confess to the damnable, the treasonable, and -blasphemous sin of compassing and procuring, by sorcery and idols, -the death of umquhile the queen's grace, of good memorie?" - -"Oh, have mercy upon me!" she murmured. - -"Dost thou confess it?" - -"Yes." - -"Attend, clerks of court. Thou dost confess to having a familiar imp -in the shape of a black page, who became the father of thy little -devils?" - -"Yes." - -"Um--um--_coitus cum diabolo_," muttered a clerk of court, writing. - -"How many?" - -"I know not." - -"Another proof of deep sorcery," said the lord president, "for the -witches of Germany have been known to have twelve imps at a birth." - -"And thou didst suckle these uncounted devils at the mark on thy -bosom?" - -"Yes, yes; oh, hast thou no pity?" - -"Thou false heretic, apostate, liar, and renouncer of thy baptism, -thou dost confess to having read English books, containing the dark -and damnable heresies of----" - -"This belongs to another court," said the abbot Mylne. "My Lord -Advocate, we have no jurisdiction here in ecclesiastical matters. -Surely, my lords, no further proofs are required?" - -The capped or cowled heads of the fourteen lords shook or nodded an -assent, and, at a word from Redhall Jane was unbound and replaced on -her seat; where, with a pale, distorted face, and half insane aspect, -she gazed about her, with terrified eyes, between the dishevelled -masses of her hair. Her hands, weak, trembling, and almost -dislocated, endeavoured to restore the disorder of her dress, but -failed in their office. - -The physician kindly parted her hair, and drew her disordered dress -over her uncovered shoulders. - -"Unhappy lady," he whispered, putting something between her lips, -"take this comfit--it renders one almost invulnerable to pain; though -it be not such as those to which the divine Artesius owed his eternal -youth and health. But it is the essence of a wondrous herb; for -whatever God planteth, hath its good or bad qualities." - -Without hearing him, intent only on retracting her rack-extorted -confession, she gathered her hair back from her pallid face with -trembling hands, and arose, but only to sink powerlessly on her seat, -for her limbs now refused to sustain her, as her tongue refused to -speak; for though her bloodless lips were moving, they uttered no -sound. Forced by the torture, a bright streak of pink was oozing -from her nostrils. - -Again she essayed to speak, but now the jury, without being charged, -and without retiring--for such were not then the customs--by the -voice of their chancellor, unanimously declared her guilty; and after -a brief muttering and bending together of cowled heads, the abbot of -Cambuskenneth proceeded at once to pass the sentence. - -Taking off his black monastic cap, he raised his eyes, and was heard -muttering something. "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus -Sancti, et benedictæ Nostræ Dominæ Sanctissimæ Mariæ. Thou false -sorceress," he said, suddenly resuming his cap and raising his -voice,--"thou heretic, blasphemer of thy God, and renouncer of thy -baptism, for the crimes committed and this day doubly proved against -thee by witnesses and from confession, I adjudge thee to be taken to -the Castlehill of Edinburgh at twelve o'clock on the night of the -feast of St. Margaret the martyr, five days from hence, and there to -be burned at a stake, until thou art consumed to ashes, which shall -be scattered to the four winds of Heaven, AND THIS I PRONOUNCE FOR -DOOM!" - -The priestly president ended his sentence by extinguishing the candle -which stood at his right hand--an emblem of death, or that hope was -gone for ever. Thereupon, Dobbie the Doomster, clad in sackcloth -braided with white cord, and having a white cross and skull sewn on -his back and breast, approached, and laid a hand upon her shoulder, -signifying that she was now his peculiar charge. - -Those lords who were priests waved a benediction to the people, so -much did they (by mere force of habit) mingle religious with civil -ceremony; then the whole bench arose, and the macer shouldered his -mace; but at that moment the clash of swords was heard, and a violent -uproar arose at the door of the Exchequer Hall. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII. - -THE GAGE OF BATTLE. - - "In an evil hour I left her, - Left her! more I need not say; - Since in my absence came another - Lover, all my peace to slay. - I a captive, he a freeman, - Ah! our fates how different; - Since your arm hath made me captive, - See how justly I lament." - CALDERSON'S _Constant Prince_ - - -Above the clang of steel and the trampling of feet, a voice was heard -that thrilled Jane to the heart; and though feeble, aided by the iron -railing of the bar, she suddenly arose, with her hands outstretched -and her beautiful eyes bent towards the doorway, where the -pike-points were glittering above the heads of the crowd. Love and -despair gave to her aspect a courage and sublimity which vividly -impressed the hearts of all. Between the thick stone mullions and -grotesque tracery of a tall gothic window, and through the painted -glass, the forenoon sun shone bright and joyously, lighting up her -features with a radiance and beauty, the more remarkable by the -fantastic prisms of the oriel, and she stood like a beautiful -Pythoness. - -As she turned away, Redhall ventured to gaze upon her, which he had -not yet dared to do; for he felt that he trembled whenever her glance -fell on him. She was but the spectre of what she was, and it was he -that had made that havoc! A beautiful though hectic colour had -momentarily replaced her frightful pallor, but he knew the emotion -that caused it. The old whirlwind of passion arose in his heart, and -he sank into a chair. - -The clank of armour, the noise and swaying to and fro of the crowd -continued. - -"A rescue!" said the president, and all his brother senators drew -towards him, and grew pale. - -"Nay, think not of it, my lord," said one, the Knight of Auldhame, -loosening his sword in its sheath; "for those lances of Sir Andrew -Preston are more than guard enough." - -At that moment Roland Vipont, master of the king's ordnance, broke -through the mass of people, and approached the bench, with his armour -rattling and his spurs clanking as he walked. He was cap-à-pié, with -his visor up, and his plume was covered by the dust of a long summer -march. With his sword drawn in one hand, and his gauntlet in the -other, he appeared before the startled tribunal. - -Ghastly and pale with fury and fatigue, he looked grimly at the bench -beneath the steel bars of his aventayle; and with an air which he -alone, above all the Scottish noblesse possessed, confronted them -like one valiant Trojan in a Grecian camp. - -"Father Abbot, my Lord President, justice--I sue for justice!" said -he. - -"And how darest thou come hither in armour to seek it?" demanded the -president, with kindling eyes. - -"Armour is my garb, because I am a knight and the king's soldier; -besides, I dare do whatever becometh a Scottish man," replied Vipont; -"and I this day stand before you to demand justice at the sword's -point!" - -"It has already been given!" - -"Priest and judge though them art, I tell thee them liest! And here -I lay down the gage of battle in accordance with the laws of -Scotland, of justice, and of chivalry, binding myself to maintain -with the edge of this good sword, and by the aid of the blessed God, -on foot or on horseback, in the lists of Edinburgh, or at the -Gallowlee of Leith, that Lady Jane Seton is pure and innocent of the -crimes alleged against her--pure as when Heaven created her, and that -all men who uphold the contrary lie--foully lie! Here lies my -glove!" and he hurled the steel gauntlet on the table with a clash -which made the clerks of the court start from their seats with -dismay; for, like all limbs of the law, they had a mortal aversion to -cold iron in every shape. - -There was a momentary pause; and Redhall, who gazed with gloating -eyes upon the lover's agony, felt half-inclined to take up the gage, -for notwithstanding his unruly passions and studied vengeance, he was -both brave and rash; but the stern voice of the president arrested -him, saying-- - -"Sir Roland Vipont, this claim for the ordeal of battle comes too -late, and cannot be admitted. She has fully and amply confessed; -besides, this man hath found the mark of hell upon her bosom!" - -"Her bosom--this man--John Dargavel!" exclaimed Roland, startled on -perceiving the person whom he had compelled to swallow his own poison. - -"Nay--no John Dargavel, but a reputable officer of court," said the -president, who felt some compassion for the agony expressed in the -young man's face. - -"A villain, who excited the lieges to rebellion in Douglasdale, and -to a resistance of the royal standard, which occasioned me the -killing and wounding of a dozen brave soldiers." - -"We have had enough of this," said the president, impatiently; "the -poor youth is so blind with passion, that he would not know a hawk -from the heronshaw. Break up the court. Away, sir! torture hath -been applied, and the ends of justice are satisfied." - -"Torture--justice!" reiterated Roland, in a voice like a shriek, and -looking with terror at Jane, who stretched her feeble arms -imploringly towards him. "Lord, Lord, look down upon me, and -preserve my senses. Oh, have ye dared---- Cowards and slaves! is it -justice by rack and torture to wrench confession from the lips of a -poor and helpless woman? Smooth-fronted villains, is there not one -among ye who will dare to take up my gage? Sir William of Balwearie, -Sir John of Lundie, Sir Adam Otterburn of Auldhame, do you hear me?" - -Not one of the seven lay senators moved. - -"Truly, thou art either a madman or a hero!" said the old president, -gazing on the armed knight with admiration; "but doom hath been -pronounced, and the sorceress must die!" - -"_Die!_" repeated Roland, with a fierce smile. "And coldly thou -sayest this? Oh, lord abbot! dastard judge! dost forget that thou -growest old, and a day cometh when thou too shalt die, and be called -to account for this misused authority. Art thou a god to create, -that thou darest thus coolly to destroy; not like a gallant soldier -in the heat of battle--but coldly, calmly, and without anger? But I -see it all now; and though this moment be my last, I will avenge Jane -Seton on Redhall--the angel on the demon! See how the pale coward is -before the brave man! Art thou blanched, Sir Adam, with fear, with -fasting, or remorse? Wretch and villain! who makest use of the laws -to cloak thine own infamous projects of lust, ambition, and revenge; -thus in face of thy deluded compeers, the just God gives thee over to -me--at last--at last I have thee!" - -And rushing upon the lord advocate with his long sword drawn back for -a deadly thrust, he had infallibly run him through the body, had not -two of the provost's guard resolutely interposed their halberts, the -heads of which he hewed off by one blow. - -"Oh, the fule!" said the host of the _Cross and Gillstoup_, who was -among the crowd. "My thirty crowns! I may whistle on my thumb for -them noo!" - -A cry of mingled fear and admiration arose from the people; it -drowned poor Jane's far wilder one of terror: and she made frantic -efforts to free herself from the arquebusiers, and to succour or die -with her brave lover, who, on being pinned against the wall with more -than twenty long pikes, was soon beaten down, pinioned and disarmed. - -As he fell, Jane thought they had killed him, and uttered a cry of -despair; all her energies, so briefly recovered, immediately forsook -her; the light left her eyes; her heart forgot to beat. She became -perfectly insensible, and was re-conveyed to the Castle of Edinburgh -in a litter, under the care of Father St. Bernard and John the -physician. - -"It matters not, this poor victory!" said Roland, with a bitter -smile; "it matters not, Redhall. I will unmask thee yet, thou subtle -villain, and show our too-credulous king the true aspect of the viper -he has nourished so long." - -"Guards! away with him--to ward!" cried the advocate, furiously, as -he signed a hastily-written warrant: and in one hour from that time -Roland found himself committed to the care of Sir James Riddel of -Cranstoun-Riddel, on a charge of high treason, and attempting to -murder in open court Sir Adam Otterburn of Redhall. - -The excitement in the city was great. - -The whole garrison of Sir James stood to their arms, and buckled on -their harness; the brass culverins of the Spur were loaded; the gates -were closed, and bridges drawn up; while a crowd composed of -thousands covered the south and north sides of the Castle-hill up -even unto the very ramparts of the hornwork, nor dispersed until long -after the lingering sun of July had set behind the hills of Dunblane. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII. - -THE EARL'S DARING. - - Dione, then: Thy wrongs with patience bear; - And share those griefs inferior powers must share; - Unnumbered woes mankind from us sustain, - And men with woes afflict the gods again." - _The Iliad_, Book V. - - -A few chapters back we left the Earl of Ashkirk alone upon the -solitary beach near the cavern, on the morning of that day which -beheld his unhappy sister for the first time an inmate of the Castle -of Edinburgh. - -His more bitter feelings of hostility to James had been soothed, for -the monarch possessed the charm of the Stuart race--that charm which -won the hearts of all whom they addressed; but, being still -unforgiven, Lord Ashkirk felt himself an outlaw, with the axe of the -doomster hanging over his head, while he had to suspect a spy or a -foeman in every man he met. - -With his eyes fixed on the island castle where his mother and Sybil -Douglas of Kilspindie were imprisoned,--with all his thoughts centred -there, and bent on visiting and freeing them from the thraldom and -captivity of a Hamilton, he walked along the sandy shore, revolving a -thousand rash but gallant plans and projects. - -He was buried in deep thought, and gradually his head sank upon his -breast. - -A draught of water from a spring, a bannock and a piece of cheese -received at a cottage where he tarried, and, in the hospitable -fashion of the olden time, asked for it without shame and obtained it -with a welcome, sufficed him for food; and, retracing his steps, he -wandered westward up the margin of the broad river, until he reached -the little kirktown of Wester-Kinghorn (which now bears another -name), lying behind the Burnt-island, nestling under the brow of -hills that are upheld by basaltic columns, whose summits have been -scorched by volcanic fire, and whose rifted sides have repelled the -waves of the antediluvian world. - -On the high and rocky island, which, though it has now become a -promontory, was then completely surrounded by the sea at high water, -stood a tower belonging to the Duries of Durie. - -Crossing the sandy neck or isthmus while the tide was low, the earl -concealed himself among the copsewood which covered the island on the -eastward, from whence he had a view of Inchkeith, distant about three -miles, reddened by the setting sun which covered with a golden tint -the calm, broad waters of the Firth.* - - -* Firth, from _Fiord_; not _Frith_, from _Fretum_, as Dr. Johnson -erroneously supposed. - - -The wood was in full foliage, and cast a pleasant shade upon the -rocks, which were spotted with grey lichens or covered with verdant -moss. Here passed the day; and evening came, with silence and -darkness, for even the stillness of that lonely isle became more -still. The wild bees and the buzzing flies forsook the caps of the -closing flowers for their homes in the hollows of the old pine-tree; -the notes of the mavis and merle died away; the deer came no more to -drink of the stream that trickled from the rocks, and the foliage of -the isle became moist with the falling dew. - -As if in contrast to the storm of the previous evening, the night -came on clear, cloudless, starry, and beautiful. - -Avoiding that side of the isle which was overlooked by the Duries' -castle of Ross-end, the earl sought the beach, where a few -fisher-boats were moored to rings in the rocks of a lonely creek. - -The place was deserted, and not an eye beheld him. His resolutions -and execution were brief: selecting the smallest, he sprang on board, -cast off the painter, and seizing a pair of oars, each one of which -would have required an ordinary man to handle it, he pulled away from -the shore with a strength and activity that the sturdiest of our -fisher-wights might have viewed with satisfaction and envy. Though -as accomplished a knight as ever rode to battle, the earl was -somewhat of a seaman, for his father's castle in Forfarshire looked -down on Lunan Bay. - -He was master of the little bark both by sail and oar; and knowing -somewhat of the dangerous navigation of that stately river, avoiding -those perilous rocks known as the Gunnel, on gaining the mid-stream -he set the brown lug-sail, which the unsuspecting proprietor had -prepared for the little fishing voyage of the morrow, and, favoured -by the ebb-tide, the current, and a soft west wind, bore with the -speed of a seagull straight down towards Inchkeith. - -If the wind freshened, he had a thousand chances to one of being -swept helplessly out into the German Ocean; but the bold earl never -thought of that. - -Alone in the middle of the broad and rapid Firth, its aspect seemed -to him magnificent, as the deep red light that lingered behind the -western Ochills tinged all its waves with a purple hue; but their -foam became a shower of silver, and white as winter frost, when it -broke against the shining cliffs, whereon rose the castle at the west -end of the island. - -As the earl had resolved on freeing his mother and Sybil from their -captivity, his natural boldness prevented him from seeing any -difficulty in achieving this project, though he was alone in the -enterprise, armed only with his poniard and an old sword which he had -picked up in the brawl of the preceding night, and though the castle -was commanded by Sir James Hamilton of Barncleugh, with a small but -chosen party of soldiers. - -"If a Seton could fear, I should certainly be afraid now," said the -earl, on seeing how the waves burst in foam on all sides of the -Inch--one moment sinking low, to show the reefs, which rose like -jagged teeth above them, and the next dashing in torrents against the -black volcanic bluffs. "Tut! by the pope! what a mouthful of -salt-water!" he added, as the spray was blown in his face, when he -dashed his boat through the breakers, and then, running along the lee -of the shore, struck his sail and slowly crept near the little creek, -which there forms the only landing-place; for on the east rushes the -whole current of the Firth, and on the west breaks the thundering -force of the German Sea. - -The night had now come on, and solemn stillness reigned upon the isle. - -The gates of the square tower which crowned its highest summit were -closed; but here and there a red ray glimmered from the deep windows -of its dusky mass. - -"One of these lights," thought the earl, as he gazed upward, "may -shine on my dear Sybil's dark glossy hair and snow-white brow." - -The tide was low, and he ran the boat into a little cavern which lay -near the creek; it was, in reality, but the top of a deep chasm in -the rocks, having a clear sandy bottom, where he could distinctly -perceive the layers of dark pebbles, of bright shells, and waving -sea-weed, far down below, when the clear moon rose above the -Lammermuir, to shed its radiance on the heaving water. - -Resolving to wait till midnight, when all the inhabitants of the town -most probably would be asleep, and when, with more security, he could -make a reconnaissance of the isle and the barbican wall, the earl -guided his boat into the narrow little fissure, which is one of many -that perforate the island. While endeavouring to prevent its jarring -on the flinty rocks, he was greatly alarmed by perceiving a human -figure spring off a shelf of the volcanic wall, and plunge heavily -into the deep dark water of the chasm, which penetrated, he knew not -how far, into the heart of the island, but which, as it receded, -became more appalling by its utter obscurity and subterranean -character. - -Incident to the age, rather than the man, the earl's supernatural -fears of kelpies, gnomes, and water-spirits, now became altogether -secondary to the dread of having been discovered by some human -denizen of the place. He felt for his poniard, and paused. Behind -him yawned the pointed arch of the cavern, with the distant sea-beach -shining in the moonlight; before him lay rocks and water buried in -darkness. He lingered, oar in hand, scarcely daring to breathe, but -heard only the ripple of the rising tide as it chafed on the walls of -the chasm. - -Suddenly, another sound smote his ear, that as of a diver rising to -the surface; then came a hard breathing on the water, and the -regulated plashing as of some one swimming away into that very -obscurity which the earl's eyes ached with regarding, but failed to -penetrate. His hair bristled, and his heart quailed with momentary -terror of a spirit, or evil thing; but from that very terror he -gathered a courage, and, by his oar and hands, feeling the rocks on -each side, shot further in his sharp-prowed boat, intent on -overtaking the swimmer, and discovering whether it was a man or -devil; but he had not gone twenty yards when the chasm terminated in -a sheer wall of rock; and again he paused to listen. The dash of the -water had ceased. - -He thought he heard other sounds, like those of footsteps clambering -up the rock; but feared he was mistaken, for all became immediately -still, and he heard only the murmur of the water as it boiled among -the reefs without. - -"Tush!" thought he, reddening with shame at his own alarm; "it has -only been some poor seal or sea-dog basking on the rocks in the -summer moonlight. By midnight the moon will be in the west--till -then let me sleep, for these last two nights I have never closed an -eye;" and looping a rope round a pinnacle of rock, he securely moored -the boat, and reclined within it to sleep. - -Such was the effect of the weariness oppressing him, that in three -minutes he was buried in profound slumber, rocked by the motion of -the boat, which gently rose and fell on the undulations of the water; -for though around the isle the swell was heavy, the waves being -broken by the jutting of the rocks at the cavern mouth, they rolled -gently and smoothly into its dark recesses. - -Now while the earl all unconsciously was sleeping, this little cavern -of the sea was filling fast; for as the rising tide on the German -Ocean met the downward current of the Forth, the water rose rapidly -against the impending walls. - -Ashkirk knew not how long he slept, when he was suddenly awakened by -an unusual sound, and, on attempting to rise, struck his head with -violence against the stone roof of the cave, close up to which his -boat had floated on the rising tide. - -His situation was fraught with danger and horror. - -Moored fast to a point of rock now far beyond his reach, the boat was -wedged between the top of the cavern and the surface of the swollen -water, leaving him thus imprisoned, coffined, as it were, in utter -darkness, and with the deadly fear that the whole of this now -submarine grot would be covered by the gurgling tide, in which case -he would assuredly be drowned, "and die the death (as he thought) of -a rat in a drain." - -The partial gleam of moonlight which had illuminated the mouth of -this frightful trap had now passed away, and the darkness within and -around it seemed palpable and opaque. He could no longer discern -where the entrance lay, and his heart sank in the fear that the water -had risen over it. He now heard the wavelets rippling, with a -thousand hollow echoes, in the fissures and recesses, and gurgling -with a sucking sound as they filled each in succession, and rose -towards the gunwale of his boat, which had become perfectly immovable. - -And the tide was still rising! - -He found that he could not survive ten minutes longer. Already the -air was stifling, and the necessity of making one desperate struggle -for life became immediately apparent. Lying almost on his back, he -groped breathlessly around him, and discovered a vacant shelf of rock -upon his right. Clambering within it, he found with joy that it led -to an inner and upper cavern. He had scarcely left the boat when, -with a hoarse gurgle, the tide rushed in and filled it. - -As he ascended, a faint red light now flickered on the dark, stony -walls of this slimy retreat; then, indeed, the heart of the gallant -earl began to tremble, as his dread of supernatural beings returned. -He remembered the strange figure which had disappeared so suddenly -into the lower cavern when he first entered it. Again the terror of -the water-kelpie came vividly upon him; for, in that time, all -Scotsmen feared that evil denizen of their native seas and lakes. - -Though dark, damp, and slimy, it was evident to the earl that the -water did not usually rise so far as this upper retreat; and as the -light reddened and increased around him, it revealed the solid masses -of whinstone rock which composed the enormous walls of this -subterranean vault. Here and there were columns of basalt, or -perpendicular lava, with masses of sparkling spar, pitchstone, and -porphyry. Still this strange and crimson light brightened and -wavered, dying and growing again, till, overcome by dread of dwarfs -and fairies, or spirits still more fell, several seconds elapsed -before the earl removed his hand from his eyes, and looked steadily -around him. - -At the upper end of the grotto, which measured somewhere about twenty -feet square, there burned a fire of wood, green bushes, and crackling -sea-grass; and thereat was seated--neither a witch brewing hell-kail, -nor a wizard working spells; neither a stunted dwarf forging fairy -trinkets, nor some fair water-spirit rising in her naked beauty from -a silver shell, but simply a man roasting one of those wild rabbits -with which the island has in all ages abounded, and who, with his -breath, was blowing aside the smoke, which curled to the upper air -through a chasm in the roof. - -Lord Ashkirk paused irresolutely; for, in advancing, he might fall -upon an enemy, and in retiring, he would inevitably fall into the -water, which murmured angrily in the cavern below. The whole aspect -of this subterranean cook was wild and strange; and though he stooped -immediately over the red embers that gleamed on a shelf of basalt, -the intruder failed to discover his features. - -Suddenly, something familiar in the attitude flashed upon his memory. - -"Sabrino!" he exclaimed, and approached him. - -Sabrino--for this mysterious personage was no other--turned round, -and bounded backward with a terror which was ludicrously expressed by -the blue aspect of his usually sable visage, his dilated yellow eyes -and expansive mouth, in the recesses of which he rolled about the -voiceless fragment of his mutilated tongue. - -"O--ah!" he stuttered, capering with terror, "O--ah--ees a-mee!" - -"Now, by St. Mary! I thought thee the devil himself roasting some -poor man's child. Why art thou not attending my mother in that -rascally old tower above us? How camest thou to be hiding thus, and -in a condition so dilapidated? But, first of all, how is my Lady -Sybil--tush! I waste my time in questioning thee, poor pagan, who -art incapable of Christian speech." - -As Sabrino's whole vocabulary consisted of a few guttural sounds, a -vast number of contortions of visage and shark-like grins, which were -seldom very intelligible to any one save the countess or Lady Jane, -who had acquired a knowledge of his meaning by habit, an answer to -the earl's three questions was not to be expected. After his first -terror and the extravagance of his after-joy had subsided, his story, -if he could have told it, might have been related in a few words. - -The blow inflicted by the oar had neither killed nor stunned him; -for, luckily, that portion of his frame whereon it fell, namely, his -head, was stronger, by nature, than a casque of steel; thus, he -merely sank to come up again a few yards distant; but he dared -neither to swim after the boat, nor return to the tower where his -mistress was imprisoned, and from which he had been so -unceremoniously repulsed. Full of hatred and fear of the white men -among whom his evil fortune had cast him, the unhappy black page had -found this shelter when pursuing a rabbit by moonlight among the -rocks. Externally, a thick clump of whin-bushes concealed the -fissure that gave admittance to this upper grotto, where, for -fourteen days, Sabrino had lurked, coming forth only at night to pick -up fuel and shell-fish, crabs, mussels, whelks, and other _debris_ of -the ocean on the beach, and to catch the wild rabbits as they slept -among the long reedy grass in the moonlight. - -During the day he remained close in his retreat; for he knew well -that Sir James Hamilton's men in the tower would have thought as -little of shooting him, by bow or arquebuse, as of winging a Solan -goose. - -In these fourteen days, much of the original savageism of the -African's aspect and disposition had returned. He looked wild, -haggard, and strange, as his glassy eyeballs, and the gold earrings -with which the countess had adorned his large ears, glittered in the -light of the embers. On his thick woolly head was a cap or crown, -which he had woven of seaweed, and ornamented with the crabs' claws -and the cockleshells of his late repasts; his once gay doublet of -white satin slashed with scarlet silk and laced with gold, his tight -white hose and trunk breeches, together with the metallic collar of -thrall, which had the Countess Margaret's arms and cipher engraved -thereon, were all wofully changed in aspect, the former being torn to -rags, and the latter encrusted with salt by the saline atmosphere of -the Firth. - -All this and much more the poor mute endeavoured to explain by signs, -which were totally unintelligible to the Earl of Ashkirk; who, -however, understood one point of the narrative, the necessity of -remaining closely concealed. - -As Sabrino, to avoid discovery, had to cook all his viands in the -night, another rabbit was put to the spit before his fire, on which -he threw some of the driftwood and dried seaweed procured from the -creek; and there can be little doubt that the glow of this -subterranean fire, appearing at times through the fissure in the -rocks that bounded the western side of the little valley, formed the -gleams of fairy light, which were the source of such alarm to the -countess. - -Her outlawed son made a hearty meal, which passed for both supper and -breakfast, as by the time it was concluded Sabrino had carefully -extinguished his fire, for morning had dawned, and the beams of the -rising sun shone far into the lower cavern, glittering on its wet -walls, and casting their reflection on its slimy recesses. The tide, -which in full flow completely filled it, had now ebbed; but there -were many fathoms of water, dark and deep, in the chasm where the -earl's boat lay floating, swamped and brimful to the gunwale; and the -task of baling it with his bonnet, for lack of another vessel, was a -long and protracted one. - -"Now, my friend Sabrino," said he, "dost thou know what has brought -me to this rascally island?" - -A knowing leer glittered in the shining eyes of Sabrino; and pointing -to the tower, he kissed his hand, laid it on his heart, and then -pointed to the water. - -"Thou art right: to take my black-eyed Sybil from that villanous -prison-house. By my faith, thou wouldst make a glorious lover! what -a bright leer thou gavest! I would give a hundred golden unicorns to -find a sable Venus for thee, my poor Sabrino; and who knoweth, but -through the kind offices of the prior of Torphichen and other knights -of Rhodes, I may do so. Now, dost thou know in what part of yonder -tower Lady Sybil Douglas and the good lady my mother dwell?" asked -the earl, pointing to the castle of the Inch, from the whin-bushes -which screened the entrance to their hiding-place, and faced the -little valley overlooked by the island fortress, and the winding path -which ascended to it. "Not those chambers which overhang the ocean, -I hope?" he added, anxiously. - -Sabrino nodded his head sorrowfully. - -"Ah! twenty furies! dost thou say so? How shall I ever reach them, -unless I become a hoodie-crow or a Solan goose? Do they ever walk in -the valley?" - -Sabrino nodded again. - -"Close to these rocks--eh?" - -Sabrino shook his woolly head. - -"Are they guarded? The devil! thou noddest thy head again. Indeed, -this wary old trooper, Barncleugh, keeps a sure watch over them. By -Satan's horns! I may mar his wardship yet. Do he or they know that -thou art here?" - -Another shake of the head replied in the negative. - -"Sabrino, my dark-complexioned friend, listen and look; open thy huge -eyes, prick up thy capacious ears, and attend to me. To-night I will -scale that castle wall, and thou shalt assist me." - -"Ees." - -"I have observed that the windows on that side are not barred, -because they overlook the water. Thou wilt clamber, and not be -afraid?" - -"Ees--ees," replied the negro, capering about. - -"But we may be shot by the arquebuses of the watchmen." - -"O--ah!" howled Sabrino, scratching his woolly head. - -"But do not let that affright thee, my Ethiopian; for it hath been -the hap of better men before us. An unlucky cannon slew King James -II. at Roxburgh, at the very moment he was passing a jest with my -gallant grandsire. What matters it whether we are shot now, or die -quietly twenty years after this, for in the twenty-first year time -would be all the same with us, at least so far as I am concerned -personally; but I have it imperatively upon my mind to send certain -Hamiltons to the other world before me, ere I can give up the ghost -in peace." - -The eyes of the negro gleamed, and he laid his hand on his dagger. - -"How readily thou snuffest blood, my sable devil. I doubt not thou -gottest it with thy mother's milk; for, among the knights of -Torphichen, I have heard it said, that in the far-away land from -whence thou camest, a child receives its first food on a spear, even -as our fierce clansmen in the north give the young Celt his first -food on the point of his father's claymore. Well, then, listen. -Thou seest the wall of yonder barbican, all grey, weatherbeaten, and -tufted with grass; well, where that wall joins the tower, I will -ascend, and so reach the windows of their apartment. Thou starest. -Ah, my friend, thou knowest not my capabilities in the climbing way. -I have done as much before for the mere love of life, and shall I not -do thrice as much again for the love of Sybil Douglas, who is dearer -to me than a thousand lives?" - -The negro clapped his hands, lolled out the fragment of his tongue, -and danced about to the jangle of his long earrings, which clanked on -his metallic collar. - -Being naturally at all times of a sociable and convivial turn, the -young earl, to while away the time, talked constantly to the poor -mute, gravely and with drollery by turns, amusing himself with his -childish wonder and savage simplicity, for they served to pass the -otherwise dreary day; and gladly Ashkirk beheld the sun sink, and the -hour for more active employment draw near. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX. - -THE EARL'S SUCCESS. - - "You will quickly find - I'll reach its gates, although, volcano-like, - With thickest clouds it strikes the bright sun blind, - And lightnings flash, and bolts around me strike." - CALDERON. - - -During the whole of that day, from his secret hiding-place, the earl -watched the little green valley that lies in the bosom of the island, -and the narrow winding path that ascended from it to the round -gateway in the barbican wall of the tower. The latter was an exact -square of considerable height, surrounded at the summit by a heavy -battlement, having little tourelles at the angles, a row of those -brass cannon then known in Scotland as _chalmers_, and a staff, from -which was displayed the blue national standard, with the white cross -of St. Andrew. But the anxious earl watched fruitlessly; for on this -day, neither at the windows, on the ramparts, on the pathway, nor in -the valley, did the countess or Sybil appear. - -About mid-day, Sir James Hamilton of Barncleugh, the governor of the -little stronghold, came forth, and at the gate sat down to his daily -employment of playing chess with his seneschal, and drinking -Rochelle, while a few of his soldiers solaced themselves by a game -with quoits in the valley below, where, as Sabrino endeavoured to -acquaint the earl, the same men had played at the same game, at the -same time, every day since he had been on the island; for so passed -the time in this little isolated and monotonous place; and nothing -ever disturbed the perfect equanimity of its governor (who was -content to vegetate like a fungus or a mussel on the rocks), save -when the Leith provision-boats brought some waggish rumour that his -lady, who was a dame of the tabourette at Holyrood, intended to join -him--the very idea of which made the bluff old knight tremble in his -wide trunk base. - -So close were the quoit players to the place of the earl's -concealment, that more than once he shrunk back with alarm, expecting -instant discovery, when any of them overshot the mark, and hurled his -iron discus to the very verge of the dark whins which shrouded the -mouth of the cavern. This group of men continued to play with ardour -until sunset; for of this game (which was famous of old among the -ancients) the Scots in all ages, as in the present day, have been -passionately fond. - -While the earl, lover-like, was wasting his time in gazing at the -tower which contained Sybil, the black page sat near him, -cross-legged, engaged in knotting a ladder from a coil of rope he had -found in the boat, and formed it very ingeniously by loops -equidistant on each side of the shaft of a stout boat-hook, solacing -himself the while by a deep guttural croaking, which he meant for a -song, and grinning from ear to ear with delight as his work -progressed. - -As the sun set behind the Ochills, a culverin was fired from the high -carved poop of the Admiral Sir Robert Barton's ship, and St. Andrew's -cross was hauled down from the bartizan; the governor and his little -garrison retired to supper, the gates of the tower were closed, and -then a perfect stillness reigned throughout the island, which -exhibited no sign of life, save when a seagull flew screaming round -the tower above, or a wild rabbit shot like an evil spirit across the -darkening valley below. - -The night came on calm, still, and solemn, and the stars were -reflected on the broad blue bosom of the Forth. The moon seemed to -linger long behind the distant Lammermuirs; but the myriad of stars -that dotted the canopy above shed a clear white light on the -magnificent river, the bordering hills, and all its rocky isles. -Here and there a red spark, twinkling afar off, marked where a town -or hamlet lay, for thickly were they scattered along its fertile -shores. - -The blue waves were rolling in silver light against the black rocks -and volcanic columns of the isle, as the earl guided his boat from -its place of concealment, and moored it by the beach; for on this -night he had resolved to attempt one of those rash and bold essays of -which his life was one continued and exciting succession. With -anxious and longing eyes he gazed at the square and lofty tower which -stood in dark outline between him and the west, where, above the -distant chain of the Ochill mountains, a red light lingered like the -last flame of a dying conflagration. - -It marked where the sun had set. - -"Now," said the earl, as he sprang ashore, "thank heaven, Sabrino, I -have bidden adieu to thy dark and dirty foxhole!" - -Armed with his sword and poniard, and carrying with him a stout rope -and the boat-hook, which, like the boat itself (acting under the law -of necessity), he had appropriated to himself, the adventurous earl, -accompanied by his sable follower, stole up the dark valley, across -which fell the sombre shadow of the tower (for though rising, the -moon was not yet visible), and crept softly close to the rampart of -the barbican. - -From thence they piloted their way along the base of the wall, until -they reached an angle that overhung the water, which, at the -frightful depth of a hundred and sixty feet below, was chafing in -foam against the foot of the cliffs, beetling on the very verge of -which the tower was founded. According to Sabrino, the windows of -the apartments occupied by Sybil Douglas and the countess overlooked -this comfortable abyss. - -To pass the corner of the wall which overhung the precipice was the -most dangerous part of the adventure; and, observing that his leader -paused with perspiration on his brow and perplexity in his heart, the -negro pulled the skirt of his doublet, and made a motion indicative -of advancing himself. - -"My trusty imp!" said the earl, "where a Seton lingers, it will never -do for thee to take the lead; and yet, without the wings of a crow or -the claws of a cat, I know not how the devil I shall pass this -hairbreadth precipice!" - -While Ashkirk was speaking, Sabrino, who on many a night before this -had scrambled like a squirrel over every part of the island, shot -past, and, with his arms embracing the corner of the wall, achieved -the feat, and with a guttural laugh held out his hands to assist the -earl round. - -"Thou art certainly a son of our old friend with the horns; but, by -my faith, fall or not, I follow thee!" and grasping the hand of the -agile African, with one stride the earl was beside him. - -Then he found himself upon a shelf of rock scarcely eighteen inches -broad, with the waves of the Firth hissing in foam far down below--so -far, that their angry boom was but faintly heard, while the scared -seagulls and gigantic Solan geese, flapping their wings like thunder, -flew out of their eyries, plunging and screaming in the abyss beneath. - -About three miles off, the lights of Leith were faintly glimmering -through that haze which often shrouds its shores. - -Though eminent for courage in a gallant age, the earl felt his heart -grow sick for a moment at his perilous position. At his back was the -wall of the keep, some seventy feet in height; and twenty feet from -where he stood was a large window secured by two bars of iron in the -shape of a cross; and there Sabrino indicated, by a multitude of -signs, contortions, and guttural sounds, the countess resided. - -"I have thrown a lance six ells long, at a smaller mark than that -window," said the earl; "and I must be blinder than a bat to miss it; -but as thou knowest, Sabrino, the business just now is not to hit the -window, but to click the boat-hook to the bars. Ah, plague! if we -should only break the glass, and the window be, after all, that of -Sir James Hamilton, or some of his fellows! my blood runs cold at the -thought; they could pop at us so leisurely with their hand-culverins; -and I assure thee, I have no wish to be shot like a poor pigeon here." - -As the earl spoke, he secured one end of the rope to the ladder which -had been formed of loops on the shaft of the boat-hook, and tied the -other round his waist; he then, with all the force that his dangerous -footing permitted him to exert, shot up the hook towards the window; -but missing it, was nearly thrown over the cliff by the jerk of its -descent. - -"Courage!" said he, grasping it again; "I am only twenty feet from -thee, my dear Sybil." - -Again he threw, and with joy beheld the steel hook attach itself to -the iron cross-bar of the window. Then he waited breathlessly to -hear if the noise caused any alarm; for there was as much chance of a -moustached soldier appearing at the window as of Sybil Douglas -presenting her fair face and startled eyes. All remained still but -the screaming of the sea-birds around them, the dash of the breakers -below, and the dull hum of the rising wind as it swept along the -Firth. Then fearlessly the brave earl began his ascent. On the -strength of the rope, the hook, or the shaft, he never bestowed a -thought; but solely intent on seeing his mother and Sybil, clambered -eagerly but carefully up the rough wall, which was grey and -weatherbeaten by the saline atmosphere and ocean storms of many a -century, and against which the ladder swung frightfully to and fro, -until he reached the window, grasped its massive cross-bar, and -gained a comparatively secure seat on its deep, broad sill. - -He peered in, and listened, as well as the thick panes of coarse and -encrusted glass, which filled the window, would permit, and between -the yellow damask curtains saw a plainly-furnished sleeping -apartment, in which Sybil and his mother were kneeling at prayer, -before retiring. Their rosaries were at their wrists, and they knelt -before one of those little altars which then formed a part of every -Scottish household; as they do in Catholic countries still. It was -somewhat like a cabinet, and had a figure of the Madonna, bearing in -her arms the little infant Jesus. Upon her head was a wreath of -freshly-gathered flowers, and before her burned two little -wax-tapers, which had been consecrated at the last candle-mass by the -abbot of Inchcolm. - -The earl waited until their orisons were over; and while they prayed -his heart swelled within him at their unaffected piety; for his -memory went back to other days, when, in their secluded home at -Ashkirk, in Angus, he had knelt by his mother's side, and first -learned to lisp the very prayers she was now repeating. An emotion -of shame came over him, on reflecting that in the wandering life he -had led, and especially during his exile at the court of the -libertine Henry VIII. of England, he had neglected every office of -religion. He observed that his mother had become paler and thinner, -and that her hair seemed to be silvered with white; but that might -have been the effect of fancy, or of the dim light of the apartment. - -Sybil had lost somewhat of her rich bloom; but her dark eyes were -bright as ever. Her black hair flowed from under her triangular cap, -and hung like a silky veil over her shoulders, the curve of which, as -she knelt with her head bent forward, was eminently beautiful. The -edge of each large ringlet, the pearls of her cap, and the top of her -smooth forehead, were all tipped with pale light by the tapers. She -wore a long dress of purple satin, with an open neck; and in the -light and shadow its folds seemed to glitter with many prismatic -hues. It is impossible to say whether it was the brilliant and -piquant expression, the noble features, and pure complexion of -Sybil's face that made her adorable, but, taken together, these -attributes of the old Douglas race made her singularly so. - -The moment their orisons were over, the old countess arose to the -full extent of her great stature; and though aged, being unbent, her -figure was remarkably elegant, its height being increased by her -shoes--the "cork-heeled shoon" of our old national ballad--and after -solemnly crossing herself three several times, she extinguished the -tapers on the altar, and kissed Sybil with all the affection of a -mother. - -The sole light in the chamber now came from two wax-candles, which -were held in the outstretched arms of a grotesque figure of -Florentine workmanship, placed on the dressing-table at the farther -end, and immediately opposite the window where the earl had perched -himself. - - - - -CHAPTER XL. - -SYBIL. - - "Come, my Antonia, come, - I'll lead thee to the blissful land of love,-- - I'll lead thee to the pinnacle of joys, - Where round thy path the fairest flowers of earth - Shall bloom in radiant beauty to reward - Thy noble deed--come, dearest."--THEODORE KÖRNER. - - -A guttural laugh announced to the earl that Sabrino had also ascended -the ladder, and was rejoicing at the sight of his mistress. - -"Hold fast! by my faith, thou hast the hands and feet of a marmoset. -Hush! I would hear them talk a little," said the noble, adjusting -himself upon his giddy perch. "By Jove! we are like a couple of -crows up here--thou like the black, and I like a white one." - -"Ees," grinned Sabrino, whose whole vocabulary was nearly comprised -in that sound. - -The moment their orisons were over, Sybil went to the opposite -window, and, withdrawing the curtains, gazed steadfastly towards the -eastern end of the little valley. - -"Dost thou see it again, bairn--that ill-omened light?" asked the -countess, approaching. - -"Yes; oh, yes!" replied Sybil, with a voice of surprise and fear; -"brighter to-night than ever before." - -"Then it must be either a corpse-licht, that burneth on the grass, to -mark where a slain man sleeps, or a fairy-candle, at the rock where -the whin-bushes grow. Corpse-lichts burn blue, and fairy-candles are -siller white." - -"But this burns redly, and it brightens fast!" - -"By the Lord!" said the earl, with alarm, "in our hurry to-night thou -hast forgotten to extinguish our fire, master Sabrino; and we have -widened the aperture at the chasm. Mass! if the knaves of watchmen -see it, we shall be discovered and taken!" - -Sabrino turned skyblue in the dark at this terrible suggestion. - -"There is a knowe among the hazelwoods near our castle of Ashkirk, -where the gude neibours dwell; and ever and aye on St. John's night, -a light of siller white shines among the grass that grows beneath the -thick dark trees. Now it chanced that, on the eve of that blessed -festival, in 1510 (oh, waly! only three years before dreich -Flodden-field, and good King James's death), Hughie o' the Haugh, a -poor cottar-body, who dwelt at the glenfoot, was coming home from the -next burrow-toun with a bag of barley on his horse's back, and -trudging, staff in hand, behind, lamenting sorely at the tidings he -had that day heard at the market-cross; for brother Macgridius, of -the blessed Order of Redemption, had seen his son, a puir sailor lad, -taken prisoner by the cruel pagans at Barbary, who demanded a hundred -pieces of gold for his ransom. Hughie could as easily have raised -the Bass Rock as a hundred pieces of gold; and he went homewards, -with his bonnet owre his eyen, groaning in great anguish of mind. -Oblivious of all but the loss of his only son, poor old Hughie -followed his horse, which knew right well the drove-road that led to -his thatched stable, at the back of the auld farm toun; when -suddenly, at the fairy knowe, the animal pricked up its ears, -trembled, and stopped, as a wee diminutive mannie, not two feet high, -and wearing an enormous broad blue bonnet, and a long beard that -reached to his middle, rose off the stone dyke, and bade Hughie hail. - -"'Gude e'en, Carle Hughie,' said he; 'how went the markets?' he -added, with an eldritch laugh. - -"'Sorrowfully for me,' replied the other, wiping his eyes with the -neuk of his plaid. - -"'Wherefore, Hughie, wherefore, ye silly auld carle?' quoth the -little man. - -"'Because I come back with a light purse and a sorrowfu' and heavy -heart,' replied the poor cottar, peering under his bonnet, and -terrified at the wee figure; for he knew it was one of those unco -creatures whom it was dangerous to seek, and still more dangerous to -avoid or to offend. - -"'I am sorely in want of barley, carle,' said the mannikin, stroking -his long white beard; 'ye must sell me that load, and at mine ain -price, too.' - -"'I lack siller, gude sir, as sorely as ye can lack the barley,' -urged the poor crofter, who feared that the payment might be -fairy-pennies or pebble-stones. - -"'I never was hard on a puir man yet,' replied the little mannie, -testily; 'and I have dealt wi' your race, Hughie, for many a -generation. When grain is plenty I buy it; for I tell ye, carle, -that a time of sad and sair scarcity for puir Scotland is fast -coming. So, here! I ken what ye are graning for, ye greedy body,' -quoth the creature, plunging each of his hands into the enormous -pockets of his doublet, 'here are a hundred pieces of good red gold; -ransom your son, and give me a help wi' the barley pock; my back hath -borne a load like that, and mair.' - -"With fear and joy mingled, Hughie received the gold, and transferred -the bag of barley from the back of his horse to that of the little -man, of whom it left no part visible, save his bandy legs, his -walking staff, and the end of his long white beard. - -"'Gude e'en to you, Carle Hughie; a safe voyage hame to you, son,' -said the awesome buyer, and manfully striking his staff into the -ground, he trudged up the steep knowe, and disappeared below the dark -trees. - -"Hughie hastened back to brother Macgridius, and, with joy, paid him -the hundred pieces of gold for his son's redemption from slavery; and -not without many a fear that before his eyes the coins would turn -into birch leaves or cockleshells; but that was impossible, for they -were ilka ane our gude Scottish gold, but six hundred years old, for -they bore the name of king Constantine IV., who was slain at the -battle of Cramond." - -"And Hughie's son was released?" said Sybil. - -"Yea, child, and is now master gunner of Sir Robert Barton's ship at -Leith." - -With his legs dangling over the surf, and being in imminent danger of -drowning, it may easily be supposed that the earl listened to this -fairy legend with the utmost impatience; but while his mother spoke, -and Sybil listened with the utmost good faith and reliance (for in -those days, as at this hour, in some parts of Scotland, one might as -well have doubted their own existence as that of fairies and other -spirits of good or evil), the earl had gently raised the heavy and -massive sash of the window, slid into the room, and concealed himself -behind the thick damask curtains, his heart beating the while with -the mingled desire of rushing forward to embrace his mother and -Sybil, and a fear that their alarm might be communicated to the -inhabitants of the tower, many of whom had not yet retired to rest. - -"Look, look, Sybil!" exclaimed the countess, "the whins are on fire. -Surely that is no fairy light!" - -As she spoke, a watchman on the tower-head sounded his horn. - -"Hark! the castle is alarmed!" said Sybil. - -The earl saw that not a moment was to be lost now. Their fire in the -cavern had by some means communicated itself to the whin-bushes at -the entrance; an alarm had thus been given, and immediate action -became necessary. - -"Sybil," said he, "Sybil----" - -"Just Heaven! my son's voice!" exclaimed the countess, becoming -deadly pale, and feeling in her bosom for her case of reliques. "It -is a spirit--a warning! It is a spirit!" - -"Ten devils, lady mother! do not cry out!" implored the earl, -gradually emerging from his hiding-place; "I am not yet a spirit, -thank Heaven, and have no wish to be one." - -"Then, oh, Archibald, how came you here?" she exclaimed, throwing her -arms around him. - -"By the window," he replied, embracing Sybil in return; "by the -window, as you may see." - -"And Sabrino, my poor Sabrino!" - -The black sank upon his knees to kiss her hands, and then danced -about the room, performing the most extravagant capers to the sound -of his long clanking earrings. - -"By my soul, mother, the times are sorely changed with the Setons, -when my father's son comes to visit thee and his betrothed wife like -a rascally stoutriever by the window instead of the door--in the -night instead of the day. - -"The window!" they repeated, and became speechless for a moment, as -they thought of the precipice, and the water at its foot. - -"Faith, very few, I believe, would have dared what Sabrino and I have -dared and done--but it was for thee, mother, and thee, my life, my -love, my dear Sybil!" said Ashkirk, kissing her olive cheek. - -"My brave Archibald, did the power of sorcery or of Providence bring -thee to this prison island?" - -"Neither, lady mother, but a smart boat, which, in another hour, -shall convey you hence, with a fair breeze and a flowing sail." - -"But how?" - -"I know not yet, for we have to leave this tower, and baffle the old -bear, its governor, the Laird of Barncleugh." - -"My son, here have we dwelt for more than two weary weeks, and never -a letter nor message hath come from thee or Roland Vipont." - -"Vipont is on the king's service in Douglasdale, and for fourteen -days I have been a prisoner in the house of Redhall; for the other -two I have been vagabondizing." - -"And Jane," said Sybil, "your sister Jane?" - -"Is safe, I trust; but whether with Marion Logan, at Restalrig, or -with my old friend Josina, the fair prioress of St. Catherine, I -cannot for the life of me say. Now, pretty rogue, at what art thou -laughing?" - -"At thy figure, lord earl; 'tis like the satyrs on some old tapestry; -thou art quite a wild man." - -"True, cousin; I am scarcely fitted for appearance at Falkland or -Holyrood, or in the Hall of the Three Estates, unless it were, as it -may too soon be, at the bar. But ah, Sybil, my dear Sybil, what -pleasure the sound of your voice gives me! 'tis like the dream of---- -Hark! what an uproar! the burning whins have alarmed old Barncleugh -and all his fellows. Come now, Sabrino, my man of the earrings, a -truce to these mad capers--dost thou hear me?" - -Sabrino stopped a fandango which he was performing on his head and -hands, and pricked up his enormous ears. - -"Quick with our rope ladder, for thou, my mother, and Sybil too, must -descend from this window on the dark side of the tower; it is not -more than fifteen feet from the ground, I think." - -"But the barbican gate?" said Sybil. - -"I will unlock it with the point of my sword," replied the fiery -earl, as a savage gleam shot from his eyes. - -"Nay, nay," said the countess, crossing her hands, and standing very -erect, "I cannot think of flying thus; the king has placed me here, -and the king must release me." - -"What frenzy is this? Besotted by his French marriage, the king hath -become a fool. Quick, Lady Ashkirk, we have not a moment to lose. -Hark! the whole tower is silent now, for its inmates are away down in -the valley, seeking the source of that sudden fire. Oh, if the -knaves should discover my boat! Quick!--are you a coward, my -mother--the widow of my father?" - -"A coward never came of the line of Kilspindie, and a coward had -never slept in your father's bosom, Lord Archibald," replied the tall -matron, proudly, and with asperity, as her eyes filled with tears. -"Thou knowest not, my son, how life sometimes rises in value with the -unfortunate; but it is neither the love of life nor the fear of death -that restrain me now, but a shame to fly, like a thief in the night, -from the wardship of either king or clown." - -"Now, by the faith of Seton! these are pleasant remarks to me, who -have been skulking like a thief and a vagabond too, for the last few -years--a creditable occupation for an earl! If thou stayest, here -will I stay too," said Ashkirk, and seating himself, he folded his -arms; "if Barncleugh find me, thou knowest my doom, for I shall die -the death of an outlaw and traitor. By my soul! 'tis outrageous, -this!" - -"Thou art right," replied the old lady, trembling with sudden alarm; -"I thought not of that. Quick, then! Old as I am, thou shalt see -that now, as in the days of James IV., of gude memorie, I am a true -daughter of old Archibald Greysteel." - -"We have lost ten good minutes already," replied the earl, lowering -his rope ladder from the small window, which, luckily, was ungrated, -being within the barbican. Fortunately a gusty wind had risen, and -the moon, which was partially obscured by passing clouds, having -verged far to the south-east, threw the sombre shadow of the tower -over that part of the court into which the fugitives were about to -descend. The little castle was almost deserted, the iron gate of the -barbican stood wide open, and the barking of dogs and hallooing of -men ascended from below, where Barncleugh, with ten or fifteen of his -followers, searched the valley for the source of that nocturnal fire -which, on this occasion, had become so palpable, and caused such -alarm. - -"I will descend first, and hold steady the foot of the ladder; and do -thou, Sabrino, my gallant imp, hold fast its top," said the earl, as, -with his drawn sword in his teeth, he slid in a moment to the ground; -"come, dearest Sybil, do thou set my mother an example." - -With Sabrino's assistance, the young lady got out upon the ladder, -which she clutched with a death-grasp, while the wind expanded her -dress, and blew all her long black hair about her face. - -"Oh, cousin Ashkirk!" she exclaimed, in great terror. - -"Oh, cousin Sybil!" replied the earl, jestingly, in the same tone, to -reassure her; "I will swear that thou hast the handsomest ankles and -the handsomest leg in all the Lothians." - -This intimation made her come down very quickly, and the earl -received her in his arms with joy. - -"Now, my lady mother, quick, bestir thee," said he, in a low voice. -But terror seized him when a cry from his mother replied, and the -explosion of a petronel followed; then Sabrino sprang from the -chamber, and descended the ladder with the rapidity of light, and -with his poniard in his hand. - -There was blood on its blade! - -A servant of Barncleugh had rushed in, and, surprising them, had -fired his petronel at the negro, who, springing at him like a -tiger-cat, inflicted a deadly wound with his poniard. - -"Away, Sybil! come away! We have not a moment now to lose!" said the -earl. - -"But your mother, your poor mother!" she urged. - -"Her own folly has done it all; those ten minutes had freed her; but -she must be left for the present;" and, almost dragging Sybil, he led -her out of the barbican and down the valley, keeping carefully on its -shadowy side, which, fortunately, lay towards the beach. - - - - -CHAPTER XLI. - -A HAMILTON! A HAMILTON! - - "Oh, stay at home, my only son, - Oh, stay at home with me! - For secretly I am forewarned - Of ills awaiting thee! - Last night I heard the deid bell sound, - When all were fast asleep; - And aye it rung, and aye it sung, - Till all my flesh did creep." - THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD. - - -Unobserved, they reached the verge of the beach, and were about to -descend, when Sabrino suddenly grasped the arm of the earl. - -He turned. - -The negro had his poniard in his right hand, and placed a finger of -his left on his lips, in token of silence; there was a savage gleam -in his shining eyes. - -"Well, Sabrino, what dost thou see now?" - -Sabrino pointed, and, a few yards below, the earl saw a man, having -in his hand a drawn sword, which glittered in the moonlight. That he -was a gentleman was evident by his dress--a plum-coloured doublet, -orange hose, a blue velvet mantle, and waving feather. He was -ascending straight from the little creek, where the boat was moored -to a fragment of rock, and had, beyond a doubt, discovered it. - -"My lord!" said Sybil, breathlessly; "'tis Sir James of Barncleugh -himself." - -"Oho! I have not met this worthy laird since we broke the pikemen of -Arran at Linlithgow brig. He owes me more than one sword cut; and I -do not like debtors of that kind." - -"Oh! if possible, avoid him." - -"My dear Sybil!----" - -"Death will come of it!" - -"A little prick with a poniard will do him no harm." - -"But while you fight, his people will come upon us. Now, dear -Archibald, pray----" - -"I am not in the sweetest of tempers just now: and--soho! thou -Hamilton! clear the pathway, or I will trounce thee soundly." - -"Who are _you_?" asked Sir James, standing on his guard, right in the -centre of the path that led to the boat; "and what seek you here, -sirrah?--stand and answer." - -"I sought Sybil Douglas, Sir James." - -"What do I hear--the Earl of Ashkirk! Now, by the soul of Arran! -thou leavest not this island but in a coffin. Pardon me, my young -lady of Kilspindie," said the old governor, courteously raising his -blue velvet bonnet to Sybil; "pardon me, but this rash gallant must -pay the penalty of coming uninvited here. Hallo! _a Hamilton! a -Hamilton!_" - -"Dishonour dog your heels, base Barncleugh! and may that accursed -slogan never be heard but in shame and defeat!" exclaimed the earl, -infuriated to find him thus crying aloud to summon his men, who were -scattered over the island, and many of whom were visible in the -moonlight, and not far off. "To the boat, Sybil, and leave me to -deal with this rough tilter! To the boat; see to it, Sabrino. Sir -James Hamilton, I have fought fifteen times, and three of my -adversaries are dead; thou shalt make the sixteenth combatant I have -encountered, and the fourth I shall have slain; and, as God be my -judge, unwillingly. Come on!" - -Both drew their daggers, and stood with their swords on guard. - -In the sixteenth century, fencing in Scotland was very different from -what it is to-day--a pastime for boys. It was then the indispensable -accomplishment of the soldier and gentleman, for every gentleman was -then a soldier. Long, straight, and heavy, the swords were -double-edged; consequently, there were as many cuts as thrusts; and -being furnished with long arm-pit daggers, the left hands of the -duellists alternately acted offensively and defensively, and very -often gave the finishing blow, when the sword of one adversary had -beaten down the other's guard, and the combatants came to closer -quarters. - -Alarmed lest the voice of Barncleugh should have reached his people, -excited by the imminent danger of his position, and by the -instinctive feudal hatred of Sir James Hamilton, the earl attacked -him with the utmost fury, assailing him with point and edge; and -warily the older swordsman received him, warding the cuts with his -rapier, and parrying the thrusts with his poniard. The steel rang -and flashed like blue fire in the bright moonlight; and a shower of -red sparks flew from either weapon as their keen edges met, and made -the arm of each combatant tingle up to the shoulder blade. - -Somewhat older fashioned, and more stiff than the earl, the knight of -Barncleugh was unable, like the former, to lengthen and shorten -himself--one moment to spring agilely to the right, and the next to -make a furious assault on the left; or, in avoiding a breast-high -thrust, to lie so far back that his dagger-hand rested on the turf. -Firm and erect, the old laird stood like a tower; and the whole of -his skill (which was not little) lay in his sharp and unerring eye, -his strong but pliant wrist. - -Meanwhile, Sabrino had placed Sybil in the boat, and standing in the -water, which came up to his armpits, held the bow to the edge of the -rock, that the earl might readily leap on board. - -The result of a combat between two such well-matched swordsmen was a -number of mutually inflicted cuts and scratches, which exasperated -them both. But their animosity had different incentives--Barncleugh -fought for honour alone: but the earl fought for his honour, life, -liberty, and possession of Sybil Douglas; a cry from whom, together -with a distant "Hallo" informed him that the conflict was observed by -several of Barncleugh's soldiers, who were hurrying down the steep -pathway that led to the creek. This made the earl fall on with such -fury, that the calmer Barncleugh ran his sword through his doublet -(and grazed his ribs) up to the very hilt. - -Imagining that he was run through the body and slain, the earl seized -the guard of Barncleugh's sword, to retain it in his body, and -closing up with his own sword shortened in his hand, buried the point -in the breast of Barncleugh, whose plum-coloured doublet was covered -with blood in a moment. Then hurling him to the earth, he sprang -wildly on board the boat, with one sword in his hand, and another, to -all appearance, in his body. - -At the same moment, a loud "Hallo!" again rang in his ears--a rapid -explosion followed, and the balls of three arquebuses whistled past -his head. Thinking only of Sybil, he pushed off the boat, forgetting -altogether the poor black page, whose tongue was unable to cry either -for pity or succour; and thus Sabrino was left behind again. - -Raising himself on his left hand, while with his right he endeavoured -to staunch the blood that flowed from his wound, Sir James Hamilton -cried hoarsely and feebly-- - -"To your arquebuses again, ye knaves--again! Shoot, and shoot -surely! See, 'tis the black devil again!--there--there--in the -water! To your arquebuses--shoot, shoot, with a wannion upon you!" - -The three arquebusiers stuck their forks in the sand, and levelled -their heavy fire-arms over them. Again two large bullets whistled -after the earl, and one dashed the spray about the black woolly head -of Sabrino, which was visible on the moonlighted water; but he dived -like a duck and disappeared. The reports of these large fire-arms -rang with a hundred reverberations among the cliffs and caverns of -the isle, and in the fissured rocks of the Longcraig (a reef which -guards it on the east), until they died away on the winds that blew -freshly down the river from the west. - -"To the boat! to the boat!--follow, and shoot! _A Hamilton! a -Hamilton!_" cried Barncleugh, as he sank back choked in blood. - -"Seton, and _Set on_!" replied the earl, with the punning slogan of -his house; "for, by St. Andrew, there is one Hamilton less in the -world!" and with savage glee he plucked from his doublet, and flung -back to the shore, Sir James's sword. - -Then snatching his oars, he placed his feet firmly against the -stretchers in the bottom of the boat, and intent only on leaving the -island as far behind as possible, pulled with all strength away from -its rocky shores. - -After some delay, Barncleugh's followers unmoored their boat, which, -by a chain and padlock, was secured to an iron ring; and then pushed -off, two plying their arquebuses, while four plied their oars. Away -they came, with a shout that floated far over the still water; but by -this time the earl was nearly half a mile from the island, and, -acting under a natural reaction of feelings, Sybil waved her -handkerchief, in token of the triumph and defiance which had replaced -her previous terror. - -Lustily pulled the brave earl, and even Sybil would have put her -dimpled hands to the oars to assist him, had she not soon required -both to grasp the seat beside him, as their little boat rose like a -cork on the heavy ground-swell that rolls between the island and the -shores of Lothian. - -The wind was rising. - -It blew freshly down the Firth, and as the tide was ebbing now, a -strong current ran seaward--a current against which the solitary -rower struggled in vain; for in fifteen minutes he found they were -swept far below the island. - -He saw the four oars of his pursuers flashing in the moonlight, and -the glitter of steel announced that they were well armed; while every -successive gust of wind that swept over the curling water brought -nearer and nearer their triumphant shout; and he could see how, at -times, they paused, and complacently looked over their shoulders to -contemplate the distance as it lessened by their efforts. - -And it was lessening fast! - -The earl thought of Sybil, and of what her feelings would be if he -was taken, and of what she and his mother would experience if he was -brought back to the island a breathless corpse. These anxieties -received an additional impulse by the flash of an arquebuse from the -pursuing boat; and the earl saw that the bullet skipped over the -waves far ahead of him. - -There was now but one alternative, and he did not hesitate to adopt -it. - -Stepping the little mast, he hoisted the lugsail, squared it to the -western breeze, grasped the tiller, while Sybil threw her arms around -him; and now their boat, sharp-prowed and clinker-built, like all the -Scottish fisher craft, favoured by the wind, by the ebbing tide, and -the fast flowing river, flew like a gull down the widening Firth; and -then a shout of anger announced that the followers of Barncleugh were -left far behind. - -* * * * * - -Grasped by a watchman of the tower, when in the very act of -attempting to descend, the Countess of Ashkirk, as we have related, -had been left behind; but she saw from her window the flash of steel -on the beach; she heard the shouts and outcries of the Hamiltons, and -prayed and trembled for her son. She saw the two boats which shot -off from the island, on the bright surface of the glittering river, -which was all shining like a mirror, save where a flitting cloud -obscured it. She had seen these boats lessening in the distance; and -again on her knees she implored St. Bryde of Douglas to watch over -the safety and escape of her son, vowing to endow in her name a -yearly mass and an altar in the great church of St. Giles. - -The countess knew not that her "brave rash bairn," as she called him, -had achieved both his safety and escape, until Sir James Hamilton was -carried into the tower bleeding profusely, and almost dying. Now it -was that the fierce feudal hatred in which she had been nurtured, and -in which she had reared her own son, jarred with her natural -kindliness and pity; and it was with a strange, and, as she often -thought, unchristian sentiment of joy and triumph, mingling with her -tenderness and compassion, she prepared lint and bandages, with some -of her favourite salves and recipes, for the wounded castellan, whose -sword-thrust she proceeded to probe and dress. - -The moment Sir James's wound (which was a deep, but not dangerous -stab in the breast) was dressed, she hurried to the tower-head, and -looked towards the east, but neither of the boats were visible. The -moon had become obscured, the rising wind howled drearily through the -embrasures of the battlement, and the dusky shadow of a dark cloud -rested upon that part of the Firth where the boat of the earl had -last been visible. - -The heart of Lady Ashkirk became oppressed by vague terrors; and -after praying as only the people of the olden time could pray, when -faith was strong in the land, and superstition was stronger, she -returned to the bedside of her patient; and such was her care and -skill, that in three days the hardy old knight was again seated at -his little tripod table by the tower gate, with the ocean below, and -the gulls around him, drinking his peg tankard of spiced Rochelle, -and playing chess with the seneschal of the establishment, who knew -his duty too well ever to attempt to win a game; thus that -easy-tempered personage allowed himself to be defeated ten times -a-day, if nine victories did not satisfy the old knight, his master -and antagonist. - - - - -CHAPTER XLII. - -DAVID'S TOWER--THE PHYSICIAN. - - "Ah, no more can gladden me - Sunny shores or dark projections, - Where in emulous reflections - Blend the rival land and sea; - Where alike in charms and powers, - Where the woods and waves are meeting-- - Flowers with foam are seen competing-- - Sparkling with the snow-white showers." - CALDERON'S _Constant Prince._ - - -In the reign of James V. the Castle of Edinburgh was composed of -numerous round and square bastel-houses, which, connected by curtain -walls, surrounded the summit of the rock, and were built in various -ages by successive princes, and presented the various cadences of -architecture, from the strong grim peels of Malcolm Ceanmhor to the -florid Scoto-French towers of the fourth and fifth Jameses. - -The principal of these bastel-houses was named King David's Tower. - -It was erected by David II. in 1357, and therein he died on the 7th -May, thirteen years after, when planning a new crusade. This keep -was of great height and strength, and overhung the cliff, which now -looks down on the gardens of Princes-street, two hundred feet below. -One of its lofty turrets was struck by lightning during a terrific -storm, on All Saints' Day, 1524; the shattered fragments fell into -the loch, and the electric fluid set the apartments of the -queen-dowager Margaret on fire. On its summit James V. placed thirty -pieces of cannon. The larger chamber within it was named the Lords' -Hall; another was styled the New Court Kitchen;--but its first -apartments were a range of dreary vaults; for the whole edifice was a -veritable castle, with its dungeons below and battlements above. On -the latter were a flag-staff, and an iron baile to herald foreign -invasion to the shores of Fife and Stirling; just similar to one -which still remains on Mylnes-mount below the Argyle battery. - -In the same vaulted apartment wherein James V. had, six years before, -confined John Scott, a miracle-monger, who pretended that the Virgin -Mary could maintain him for any length of time without food, Lady -Jane Seton had been detained since her condemnation. Though the -strength of the tower was great, its walls of stone being ten feet -thick, its doors of iron deep and narrow, and having other securities -in the shape of high curtain walls, higher rocks, cannon, towers, and -portcullises, the Master Porter of the castle (that supernatural -guards might not be wanting) had painted on the chamber door a -flaming red cross; and thereafter nailed on a horseshoe, a fox's -face, with a bunch of rosemary and rowan-tree, all of which, he had -no doubt, would do more than stone redoubts and iron doors to keep -the witch in and the devil out. - -Let us take a view of her as she appeared on the second day after her -trial, for it was now the second, and she had but three days to live. - -It was evening now, and the kirk and convent bells of the city below -were floating upward to her grated window, which was open, for the -season was the sultry month of July. The whole apartment was as bare -and stony in its aspect as the arch of a bridge, or any of those -caverns in which we have seen Lord Ashkirk hiding; for the groined -arch, the low massive walls, and the floor, were all composed of -squared blocks of freestone, quarried from the rocks in the -neighbourhood. Its whole furniture consisted of a chair and table, -the latter being composed of mere fir planks; a leather jar of water, -and a bed situated within an arched recess, like a pedestalled tomb -in some old church; but, being destitute of curtains and bedding, it -was a mere paillasse. Everything was inferior to what was used by -the king's soldiers. - -A witch required little. - -All shrunk from her now; even Lady Cranstoun Riddel, who had formerly -been so kind, avoided her; while her husband, the governor, having -before his eyes the wrath of the king and the cardinal (who was more -dreaded than ten kings), also remained aloof. Thus no visitor ever -disturbed her sad and solitary reflections, save the under-warder, -who came hastily and stealthily to deposit her food--a coarse bannock -and water tinged with a little wine--and as hurriedly withdrew, -fearing to meet a glance of her eye---for witches were thought to -possess eyes of evil power. - -The coarse bannock, the sole food offered her, remained untasted, for -it was salt and bitter; the water was her only nourishment, for -assuredly it contained but little wine; as the warder, who prepared -it, drank the greater part; for a sorceress, who was to be burned in -three days, might do very well, he thought, without wine. - -Thus agony of mind, pain of body, and lack of food had sorely reduced -her. She became apathetic, and sank into a stupor so deep, that it -seemed as if no change of circumstances could ever tranquillize or -restore her to existence and the sunshine of life. - -Her large dark eyes were dry, hot, and tearless. In their stony -aspect, they seemed never to have beamed in joy, or wept in grief. -Her face had the pallor, the lividity of death, and her cheeks had -become frightfully hollow, while her thin lips were a vivid and -unnatural scarlet. They seemed to have shrunk, and showed more than -before of her teeth; and even these seemed larger and, if possible, -whiter than usual. There was something dry, arid, and parched in her -whole aspect--as if the fire of inward grief was consuming her. As -her stooped head rested on her hand, with eye fixed and jaw relaxed, -her expression, at times, grew altogether vacant. - -She had on the same dress in which she had appeared before Abbot -Mylne and his tribunal, and the same pretty little angular cap, below -which her fine hair was simply braided. She was destitute of -ornament, having been robbed or deprived of all her rings and -bracelets by Sanders Screw and others, into whose hands she had been -so ruthlessly consigned. - -Her haggard beauty was appalling, as the calmness of her despair was -unnatural. Her whole mind seemed to be unhinged. - -Her cheek reclined in the hollow of her right hand, and her elbow -rested on the table; her vacant gaze was fixed on the landscape, -which extended to the north and westward, for her chamber had two -windows, and, from the west, the cool soft wind played on her hot, -white cheek, and lifted her heavy hair. - -The glorious plain that from the foot of the steep Castle Rock -stretches almost to the gates of busy Glasgow, was yet hazy with the -humid summer mist, from amid which stood boldly forth the lordly -Pentlands, with their peaks of brilliant emerald green, or heath of -russet brown, and the rugged rocks of Corstorphine; while afar off, -and dim in the distance, among the Highlands of Stirlingshire, rose -the pale blue cone of Ben Lomond, the king of the Scottish hills, -then the fastness of the fierce Buchanans. - -The sun was sinking behind the Ochills, and those who have seen it so -sink behind those beautiful mountains in summer, will cease to boast -of Roman skies and Venetian sunsets. A thousand hills, and isles, -and rocks were mirrored in the bosom of the Forth, as a flood of -sunlight was poured along its winding waters, kissing the wooded -shores and dancing waves, throwing into light its bold headlands and -forest vistas, or into partial shade the long deep glens and forest -dells, where herd and hirsel grazed, "and the wee burnie was stealing -under the lang yellow brume," as a beautiful old song has it. - -Rock, isle, and ship seemed floating on its bosom, amid all the -sparkling colours of the sun, till it sank behind the mountains, -leaving a million of radiations shooting upward behind the dark peak -of Dumiat. Then the Forth turned from gold to blue, and its shores -from green to purple; and then, as the hills of Fife grew dark, the -Lothian woods grew darker still, and the gentle star of evening rose -above Corstorphine to replace, by its mild beauty, the brighter -glories of the day that had passed. - -Of all this magnificent effect of scenery and of sunset, Jane saw -nothing; for her eyes were turned back (as it were) within her heart, -and she saw only her own thoughts. The events of the last few weeks -seemed all a horrible dream--a dream from which she had yet to -awaken. A chaos, incoherent and fantastic, like the time of a fever -and delirium. Amid this chaos came forth the figure of -Roland--Roland, who was ever uppermost in her thoughts. Where was -he? What was he doing? Or what had been done with him since that -frightful day when, under twenty weapons, she had seen him beaten -down and slain, as she then thought, before her very eyes. - -She considered, then, the doom to be endured--the punishment by fire. -She remembered the burning of Sir David Straitoun and of Father -Norman Gourlay, two hapless Protestants, who, on the 27th of August, -three years before, had suffered martyrdom at the Rood of Greenside, -below the western brow of the Calton; and those who witnessed that -frightful _auto-da-fé_, had described how like parchment scrolls the -limbs of the victims shrivelled; how their stomachs burst and fell -down among the hissing embers; and how the forky flames shot up -between their scorched and blackened ribs, and were vomited forth at -their open jaws and eyeless sockets, till even the morbid crowd, -hardened as they were by the daily executions of that unhappy age, -became sick and turned away with horror. - -She thought of these things; she grasped her temples and endeavoured -to pray; but the terrors of a death so awful paralyzed her, and she -could not collect her energies sufficiently to address even that God -before whom she was so shortly to appear. All she had endured, and -was then enduring, seemed trifles to the sufferings that were yet to -come--the stake--the faggots! - -The strong chain that secured her wrists to each other, retaining -them a yard apart, and that yet stronger fetter which secured her -left ankle to the wall of her bed, holding her in childlike -helplessness; the frequent entrance of Sanders Screws and his -assistants, or the equally brutal warders, outraging and violating -all her privacies by day and by night; the desertion of her friends; -her hopelessness of rescue, of mercy, and of life, were all merged in -the terrors of her coming execution. - -"Three days! three days! three days!--my God! Oh, my God!" she -exclaimed, "only three days!" - -And falling on her knees, she buried her face in her hands; but, poor -being! her thoughts were too incoherent for utterance, or relief in -prayer. - -To one in such extreme misery, death could not in itself be very -appalling; but it was the thought of Roland, of her mother, of her -brother, of her family honour, and her own blighted name--blighted at -least for a time, by the studied vengeance of one whom she deemed all -but insane, that racked her heart with agony; while the mode of death -by which she was to die, filled her whole soul with terror. Of its -ignominy she thought little; for she had a bright certainty that her -innocence would one day be asserted, if not by the blessed hand of -Heaven, by the good sword of her gallant lover--for Jane Seton -thought like a true Scottish woman of the sixteenth century. - -While stooping over the only chair her chamber contained, on her -knees, and in the paroxysm we have described, some one, whose -entrance she had not heard, touched her on the shoulder. She looked -up with a stupefied aspect, and beheld John of the Silvermills, with -his long solemn beard, portentous visage and wizard-like cap, -embroidered with the emblems of the Trinity, eternity, and -religion--the triangle, the circle, and the cross. He wore a long -black cassock-coat, trimmed with white fur; a large pouch hung at his -girdle, and he leaned on a walking-staff. He raised his high cap, -and partly with respect, and partly with fear, assisted her to rise -and to seat herself. - -Jane had become so faint, and had sunk so much since the day of -trial, that the unglutted and unmerciful authorities feared she might -escape the fangs of justice, by dying before the festival of St. -Margaret the Martyr--that night to which all Edinburgh, indeed all in -the three Lothians, looked forward with tiptoe and morbid -expectation: thus the learned and deeply read physician of the royal -household, John of the Silvermills (or, as he signs his name in -various documents of that age, "Jhone o' ye Sillermylne"), was -ordered to attend and prescribe for her health. - -"Oh, good Master Apothegar!" she exclaimed, while the tears almost -started into her arid eyes at the sight of a face that was familiar, -and which seemed to regard her with something akin to commiseration. -"Oh, Master Doctor," she added, taking his hands in her own, "dost -thou think they will destroy him too?" - -"Him--who?" stammered the apothegar, disengaging his lean and bony -fingers from her cold and clammy grasp, as gently but decidedly as he -could, "who, madam?" - -"Sir Roland Vipont," replied Jane, disdaining to notice this -undisguised dread or aversion, though her heart fired at it. - -"Poor butterfly! whom one more revolution of the wheel of fate will -crush--thou thinkest not of thyself----" - -"I think only of him, and of nothing else; I live but for him -now--'tis three days--only three days!" She added, incoherently, -"What is said in the town, at the court, at the palace? Will he be -punished for defending me so boldly, so valiantly? My dear -Roland--three days--oh, who is like thee? None--and none will ever -be like thee!" - -"I will recast his horoscope, for I know, lady, the star of his -nativity. This night it will be in Azebone, the head of the -sixteenth mansion, and by its digression I will judge me of his fate. -It will require a long and careful calculation, lady," said the -deacon of the apothegars, shaking his long beard, solemnly, "and yet, -gramercy me! I have known as mickle foreseen by coscinomancy, which -meaneth divination by a sieve; but _that_, as thou knowest, is -altogether beneath one like me, who knoweth the difference of -sublimities and the distance of the stars." - -"Oh, Roland--Roland!" murmured Jane (who understood not a word of all -this), as she pressed her trembling hands upon her heart, "I love -thee now with the love of the unfortunate; and that, indeed, is a -strong love, for by few are the unfortunate loved in return." - -"Thy pulse is quick and low," said the physician, placing his bony -fingers on her white and slender wrist, which was fretted and chafed -by the detestable manacle that encircled it; "thou sighest deeply, -thou flushest and becomest chilly by turns. Is thy tongue dry, and -is thy brain giddy? Yes, I know they are. By the mass, I know thou -art intensely feverish. Now the pulse flutters, and the skin becomes -moist--fever--fever--nervous fever! Didst thou take the metheglin my -servitor brought thee?" - -"Yes," said Jane, mechanically. - -"Ah! and were much the better thereof?" - -"I really do not know." - -"Ah, you must have been; 'tis a compound of wort, herbs, honey, and -spices, forming a wondrous and soothing restorative." - -"What need of a restorative, sir? In three days all will be over." - -"We know not what the womb of Time may bring forth, lady: for, -verily, it is fruitful of events." - -"Oh, that Father St. Bernard was here!" thought Jane; "how terrible -this cold physician is!" - -"Continue the metheglin," said her adviser, putting on his conical -cap, and resuming his staff, "and from this phial take daily one -karena, whilk meaneth, the twentieth part of a drop----" - -"Sir, thou art most kind; but remember that in three days I shall be -beyond the reach of thy skill; so farewell, and omit not to pray for -me." - -"Such is life!" replied the other, dreamily. "Oh, that my elixir -were complete, and then all mankind might live for a thousand -years--even as Artesius, the godlike Artesius, lived! A thousand -learned doctors have withered up their brains searching for this -elixir; but there is not one among to whom Heaven hath been so -propitious as myself. Rejoice with me, lady, rejoice! for it is -nearly complete! Having failed to discover an herb or mineral to -finish it, I have plunged into the mazes of entomology; for there are -many insects whose brains or bodies, wings or claws, possess charms -of potency. Moses, Solomon, Hippocrates, and Aristotle found -wondrous properties in locusts and creeping things; and Ælian, the -Greek, expatiates at great length on those contained in the brains -and tongues of crickets, wasps, and cantharides; and there were -Democritus, Neoptolemus, Philistus, Nicander, Herodius, to say -nothing of Albertus Magnus (whose book, printed at Venice in 1519, -has just been sent to me by the Spanish ambassador), all of whose -writings I have yet to search; and doubt not, lady, that therein I -must discover that which shall complete my elixir, and make my poor -little laboratory, at the hamlet of Silvermills, more famous by a -thousand degrees, than ever was that of Claudius Galenus, the -physician of Pergamus." - -And with this flourish, after reiterating his directions concerning -that precious decoction, which he styled metheglin, to be taken with -one karena from the phial, this homœopathist of the sixteenth -century withdrew, leaving the poor little captive stupefied and -stunned by the energy and fustian of his conversation. - - - - -CHAPTER XLIII. - -DAVID'S TOWER--THE PRIEST. - - "There's but one part to play; shame has done here, - But execution must close up the scene; - And for that cause these sprigs are worn by all, - Badges of marriage, now of funeral." - ROWLEY'S _Noble Soldier_, 1634. - - -As the physician retired, Father St. Bernard, Jane's confessor and -daily visitor, and, of all the hundreds whom she knew, her only -friend, glided softly in, and approached; for such was the terror -excited by the accusations against her, that neither Marion Logan nor -Alison Hume had dared to visit her; though they had sent many a -message, saying, "how they wept and prayed for her," and so forth. - -She raised her heavy head, and with an expression almost of joy, -extended her hands towards him; but the ponderous fetters weighed -them down. - -The priest lifted the chain, and smiled sadly but kindly upon her. - -"_Pax Domine sit semper vobiscum_," said he, making use of his -invariable phrase. - -"Good Father St. Bernard!" she exclaimed, "can this be the work of -Heaven or of the fiend?" - -"Of the fiend, daughter--canst thou doubt it?" - -"I endure agony that is unutterable when thinking of Roland and of my -mother. Oh, that she might hear nothing of all this! I have yet so -much to suffer!----" - -The old priest covered his face with the wide sleeve of his cassock, -and wept, for he had still warm and acute feelings, though a long and -ascetic life had somewhat blunted them and estranged him from the -world. - -"Can a merciful Heaven afflict me thus, father?" - -"Hush, lady; whatever his miserable creatures may do, God is ever -merciful and just. We know not but this visitation, terrible though -it is, may be the means of averting some still greater calamity." - -"Can any calamity be greater than death?" - -"To the unrepentant? no. But pray, child, pray; for the Christian -gathers hope from his prayers, while the poor heretic dies despairing -and blaspheming." - -"Good Father St. Bernard, if I could have been base--if I could have -stooped, and been coward enough to abandon my poor Roland, and wed -this frantic, this furious persecutor, all this misery might not have -happened. It is a frightful alternative--a terrible reflection!" - -"My good child, fear nothing and regret nothing. Think of St. -Theckla, and of all she endured for shunning the love of one she -detested; and now let the bright example of her whom St. Isidore of -Pelusium styled the protomartyr of her sex, and the most glorious -ornament of the apostolic age, be as a star and a beacon to thee. -Shall I tell thee her story, as an old monk of Culross told it to me?" - -Jane bowed her head, in token of assent. - -"She was the pupil of St. Paul," said the prebendary, gathering -energy as he spoke, "and, amid pagans, grew in holiness like a flower -in the desert. Men called her beautiful, but she was good as she was -beautiful, and gentle as she was good. A young noble of Lycaonia -loved her; but the love of God, sayeth St. Gregory of Nyssa, burned -too strongly in her bosom to admit of a human passion. She repelled -his love, and, by the practice of every austerity, overcame all -earthly affections, and subdued her passions in such wise that she -became dead to the world, living upon it, but not in it--as a -beautiful spirit, but one having no kindred feelings to those around -her. The most endearing caresses, the most ardent protestations, the -most brilliant flatteries and gorgeous presents failed to win her -love to this young noble; and lo! from tender persuasions he betook -himself to the most terrible threats; and thereupon, abandoning the -stately house of her father, with its Grecian luxuries, its chambers -of marble, with gilded ceilings and silken carpets, its Tyrian -hangings, precious sculpture, and vessels of fine gold; abandoning -home, friends, country, everything, she retired into the recesses of -a forest to pray for Greece, and to commune with the God of the -Christians amid silence and solitude; for such was the blessed -example of the apostles. - -"But there her lover, the young Lycaonian, discovered her; and, full -of wrath and vengeance, accused her of certain heinous crimes before -the magistrates of Isauria, who sentenced her to be torn limb from -limb and devoured by wild beasts, in the public amphitheatre of the -city. The day of doom arrived; and, naked in the vast arena, with no -other covering than her innocence, and her long flowing hair that -almost enveloped her, this tender being was exposed to twice ten -thousand eyes. Undaunted in heart and high in soul, she stood calmly -awaiting her fate from the fangs of those wild animals, whom goads of -steel had urged to frantic madness, and whose deep, hoarse bellowing -filled even the morbid multitude with dismay. - -"The iron gates were withdrawn, and the mighty assemblage were awed -and frozen into silence, when three enormous lions and three gigantic -panthers, with manes erect and eyes of fire, bounded into the wide -arena, where the helpless virgin stood in all her purity and -resignation. With a simultaneous howl they rushed upon her; but lo! -the mighty hand of Heaven was there! The lions forgot their -ferocity, and the panthers the rage of their hunger; and gentle as -lambs they crouched before St. Theckla, and grovelled in the dust to -lick her snow-white feet. - -"The vast multitude, their cruel magistrates, and the more cruel -Lycaonian lord, were overcome at the sight of this wondrous miracle, -and permitted her to depart in peace; and she died, at an extreme old -age, in Seleucia, where, above her grave, may yet be seen the church -of the first Christian emperors." - -Jane listened attentively, and with the utmost good faith, to this -legend. It was one of the many miraculous tales which then formed -the staple subjects for the discourses of the old clergy on Sundays -and festival days. - -"I thank you for this bright example," said she, "but I am altogether -unlike St. Theckla, for I am not above an earthly passion; and none -know how dearly and how truly I love him to whom I am betrothed. -Just Heaven! I have all that last frightful day yet vivid in my -memory. The court, so calm, so orderly, so formal, so satisfied with -themselves, and so full of morbid curiosity; the spectators' -countless eyes; the judges, so serious and so solemn; their ten sworn -advocates, so silent and so dreamy; and those cold-eyed clerks of -court who gazed at me from time to time so stolidly, and with a -self-satisfied air--at me, a poor helpless creature, abandoned to -them, overwhelmed with desperation, and blind with fear and sorrow." - -"Would that I could die for thee, Lady Jane. I am but a poor old -prebendary; the years of my life are many, though the days of my joy -have been few--few indeed. I would leave no one to weep for, and -have none that would weep for me. I have long been sick of the -world; I have nothing in it now to regret, and, save thyself, know -none that would regret old Father St. Bernard, unless I add a few -aged alms-people, my poor penitents. My time in it cannot be long -now, and willingly would I give my life for thine, if such a thing -might be. Oh, my child, thou so nobly born, so carefully nurtured, -so innocent and so gentle, the most guileless and most docile of my -penitents! Oh, this vile man, this Redhall, is a fiend! a monster!" -exclaimed the priest, suddenly giving way to unwonted passion; "may -the heaviest curses of God fall upon him! May he inherit the leprosy -of Gehazi, and the despair of Judas! May the earth swallow him up, -like Dathan and Abiram! May he sorrow like Cain, and may the wrath -of God ever be upon him for the misery his unbridled passions, his -blind vengeance and savage hate, hath caused unto thee!" - -"Alas! good Father St. Bernard," said the gentle being, terrified by -the old man's energy, "ought we not rather to pray for him?" - -"Thou art right, my daughter, and thy resignation shames me!" replied -the priest, whose indignation had, for the moment, borne away his -better feelings. "Right, right--we are commanded to pray for those -who persecute and despitefully use us. Thou good soul!" he added, -signing the cross upon her brow, "may the angel of all purity watch -over thee, for thou, in thy goodness of heart, art more like unto the -angels than mortals." - -"But, oh! that mode of death--by fire--by fire! It is so frightful!" - -"The good should fear nothing. The hand which tempers the wind to -the shorn lamb, may temper the flames to thee." - -She covered her face in her hands, and began to weep. Her tears -relieved her. - -"And I must really die--so young! Oh, Roland, Roland." - -"Child, thou thinkest more of him than of the will of Heaven. There -is a sin in this." - -"Heaven's will be done, father. I am not a heroine.' - -"Its ways are inscrutable," replied the priest, looking upward. - -"Hast thou not even once seen Roland, father?" - -"Roland, again!" - -"Pardon me, but I cannot help it. I fear his name will be the last -on my lips--his image the last in my heart. Oh, forgive me this; but -I cannot help it." - -"They have accused him of treason." - -"But there is hope of mercy for him, surely?" - -"The proud are ever ungrateful; and say, who can count on the -gratitude of kings? They may forget; but God never forgets." - -"Another day has come and gone--a bright one it has been to all the -world but poor Roland and me; the air so soft, so bright, so balmy; -the leaves so green, the water so blue, the flowers so fresh and -smiling. Can all my griefs be possible? Another day, and -another--and where shall I be then?" - -"This is the very selfishness of grief. Dost think thai thou and -Roland Vipont are the only two unhappy persons in the world?" - -The night was far advanced before Father St. Bernard left her; and -before that time, his conversation had proved so soothing, that in -less than an hour after he was gone, she committed her aching head to -the pillow of the hard palliasse, which we have before described as -being in a stone recess of the apartment, and sank into a deep, but -quiet slumber. - - - - -CHAPTER XLIV. - -DAVID'S TOWER--THE LOVER. - - "I kist with ane sigh the ringlet fair, - That I shred frae my Marie's golden hair, - And I thought that I never would see her mair. - And when I try it to rest on my bed, - The visions of night surrounded my head. - But had I the wings of a dove to flee, - They had nae parted my Marie and me." - HENRY SCOUGALL, 1674. - - -In another chamber of that vast bastille-house, and at the north-west -corner thereof, which overhung the hollow where the church of St. -Cuthbert lay, and the marsh that bounded the western end of the loch, -sat Roland Vipont. - -The furniture and appurtenances of his apartment, without being very -magnificent, were certainly better by many degrees than those -afforded to his unhappy betrothed; but then it must be remembered -that she was accused of sorcery, while he had merely committed high -treason; and like hamesucken, or rising in arms, high treason was but -a trivial action among the Scots of 1537. - -He was not allowed to visit Jane Seton; the chamber to which the -warrant of Redhall had consigned him was one of the strongest in the -fortress; and Sir James Riddel was answerable for his body, dead or -alive, when demanded, under a penalty of ten thousand merks. - -Deprived of everything in the shape of weapons, even to his spurs, -the lover sat with his arms folded on his breast, his chin (which -exhibited an untrimmed beard) resting on his breast, his brows knit, -and his eyes full of fire, revolving, as he had been for the last two -days and a sleepless night, and re-revolving in anger and grief, a -myriad of futile projects. - - "Gloomy as death, and desolate as hell," - -his thoughts were too impetuous and incoherent to take any permanent -or useful form; but when his eyes rested on the enormous iron grating -which secured his window, or endeavoured to fathom the tremendous -abyss that yawned below--that abyss where the loch was rolling, every -hope died within him, and he became sick; while the recollection made -him become frantic, that, though he remained inert, secured and shut -up within a few feet of him there breathed, suffered, and wept one -whom he loved to adoration. - -All his recent adventures in Douglasdale--the storming of Fleming the -farmer's barmkyn--the poisoning of Nicholas Birrel--the horrors of -his return--the trial--his defiance of the court--his challenge, and -its rejection, had all passed away from his memory, which retained -but one episode, one vision--Jane, as she appeared before that cruel -and determined tribunal--so pale, so ghastly, so helpless, and so -beautiful. - -The recollection was a frightful one. - -"And the king, he who loved me so well," thought he; "has he too -forgotten me? James Stuart--James Stuart! the Douglases have said -truly, thou art ungrateful; and more truly and more wisely hath the -good old countess said unto me a hundred times, 'Put not your trust -in princes.' Who now thinks of the ancient wealth and valour of the -Viponts?--who of their courage and patriotism? The honour of their -name lies buried in the church of St. Colme, and beneath the moss -that clusters on Aberdour--my patrimony gifted many a year ago to the -grasping house of Morton. How unhappy am I! My whole life has been -a struggle between poverty and pride, earning by wounds, and blood, -and toil, hardly and severely, at sword's point, every penny that -clinked in my pouch; for I have been a soldier of fortune, or -misfortune rather, from my boyhood to the present hour. But have I -not had some bright moments too? Ah, yes--yes! those I have passed -with Jane--with my dear Jeanie; but they have been like the meteors -that have shot over a dark winter sky; they are passed now, and a -double gloom remains behind." - -His apartment had two windows, one which opened to the west, and -another to the north; and through both shone the last flush of the -red sunset. - -Now two voices beneath the west window, by attracting his attention, -interrupted his sad thoughts, and he listened. - -The speakers were in familiar conversation; but there was something -so hateful in their tones, that his heart trembled with rage as he -recognised them; and, impelled alike by hatred and a fearful -curiosity, he drew near to listen. - -In an angle of the ramparts, where the curtain wall joined a corner -of the tower, the two gossips were seated on the stock of a large -brass culverin: they were Nichol Birrel and Sanders Screw. - -The yellow, livid visage, matted hair, and enormously thick beard of -the former, and the shrivelled legs, nutcracker visage of the latter, -were distinctly visible in the clear summer twilight; and there was a -broad grin on the face of each as they conversed on a subject which, -as it was pecuniary, interested them both in a high degree. - -"Twenty merks and fifteen mak five-and-thirty merks," said Birrel, -counting on his huge misshapen fingers. - -"Ay," responded Screw, with another wide grin, as he held a piece of -paper up to the light, which came from the west. - -"The deil!" said Birrel, "ye dinna mean to pretend that ye can -_read_, friend Sanders?" - -"No, but I ken ilka item off by heart." - -"Let me hear, then." - -"First," said Sanders, pointing with a finger to the crumpled paper, -which he ogled with the corners of his bleared eyes, as he indicated -each item in succession, "first: 'Accompt of the haill expenses for -ye burning of Lady Jane Seton, umquhile of Ashkirk, at ye staik, -Saint Margaret's Day, fifteen hundred and thirty-seven----'" - -"Weel?" - -"Hoolie, man!" responded Sanders, scratching his head. "'_Item_; for -one staick of aik tree, a penny. - -"'_Item_; for twelve bundles o' faggots, saxpence. - -"'_Item_; for three barrels o' tar and tallow, ten shillings. - -"'_Item_; for greased flax and gunpowder, sax shillings. - -"'_Item_; for an iron chain to bind her to the staik, twenty Flemish -rydars. - -"'_Item_; for a pair o' steel branks and one padlock, to Jhone, the -lorimar, at ye Tron, aucht shillings of our Scots monie. -_Summa_----'" - -"Hech! ye'll hae gude profit off a' this; for I ken ye saved as -mickle tar, flax, and faggots frae the burning and worrying o' fat -Father Macgridius as will put ye owre this job, and mair." - -"Never _you_ heed that," replied Sanders, pawkily; "how mickle got ye -for the brodding o' her?" - -"Sax pund Scots." - -"Sax pund! my certie, think o' that! Witch pricking is profitable -wark." - -"Had ye seen Friar Gourlay," said Dobbie, with a leer, as he came up -and joined them, "by my faith! _he_ burned brawly when the cardinal -had him harled to the Calton and worrit for his foul heresies. We -put a tarred frock on him, sewit owre wi' bags o' grease and powder, -and piled the weel oiled faggots knee-deep about him. We then -fastened up his body to the stake by three iron cask-hoops that held -him erect as a lance, and the fire bleezed round him like a war -beacon. His yell and skirls were awsome to hear; but the smoke and -the heat soon chokit him; and then, when the breeze blew the fire -aside, we saw him standing upright and stark in the middle o't. Then -his belly fell out, and the flames shot up between his birselled ribs -and out at his scouthered jaws, his eyen and ear-holes! By my soul! -gossip Birrel and gossip Screw, it was an awsome sicht, and one to be -haud in memorie!" Even Dobbie, connoisseur as he was in these -matters, shuddered at the recollection of this extra-judicial -atrocity. - -"But come," said Birrel, "there is St. Cuthburt's bell striking ten, -and we have muckle to do wi' this dame ere morning peeps." - -The trio then knocked at the iron gate of David's Tower, to which -they were admitted. - -Roland had heard but a part of their frightful conversation; it was -beyond the power of human endurance to listen to all those wretches -said. He rushed into the farthest corner of his apartment, covered -his ears with his hands, and wept and groaned aloud in the utter -impotency of his rage and grief. But how much wilder would that rage -and grief have been, had he known that they were all gone to visit -his hapless mistress, for the double purpose of performing some of -those additional tortures to which those accused of sorcery were -usually subjected, by order of the supreme tribunal in Scotland, and -at the same time to accomplish another cruel plan of Sir Adam -Otterburn's device. - - - - -CHAPTER XLV. - -THE BOON. - - "Now is't a deed of mercy brings thee here,-- - Of mercy to a suffering fellow man, - Or is't his rank that summons all thy pity, - And lends thy tongue its load of eloquence?"--_Old Play_. - - -On leaving King David's Tower, Father St. Bernard passed through the -Spur, by the Castle Port, and descended the Castlehill-street into -the city. - -The bells tolled the hour of nine in the Maison Dieu, at the head of -Bell's Wynd, as he passed it, and he saw the lights gleaming in the -chapel of this edifice, which stood on the south side of the -High-street. - -The vast height of its buildings cast a dusky shade over this -thoroughfare; and the steep narrow closes which diverged on each side -from it were almost buried in obscurity. In each of the small round -archways, which gave admittance to these deep and ghostly alleys, -when the night advanced an oil lamp was lighted, a remarkable -improvement at this early period, when neither London nor Paris could -boast of such an advance in civilization, for which our citizens were -solely indebted to their good King James V. - -Finding that Edinburgh was becoming a place of resort from all parts -of the kingdom, in 1532, the monarch so far influenced the town -Council, that the High-street was well paved with large stones, -quarried among the craigs of Salisbury. Many of the more ancient -tenements were removed, renovated, or made more ornamental; while, as -before stated, the citizens had to hang out lanterns to light the -narrow thoroughfares; but as these were made of horn and were fed -with oil, they shed but a dim and wavering radiance on the enormous -stone bastilles and overhanging Flemish fronts, which are still the -leading features of the old grey city of the Stuarts and Alexanders. - -The watching was performed by the burghers. Every man within the -barriers being on guard every fourth night; thus the whole citizens -had to perform military service in rotation, armed as infantry -soldiers of the period, with helmet, corslet and steel gloves, -arquebuse and dagger, or with sword, pole-axe, and partizan. The -citizens of Edinburgh enjoyed the distinction of wearing "quhite -hatts," _i.e._, helmets of burnished steel; and the whole were -arrayed under their baillies four times in the year at a general -weapon-show. But to return. - -The prebendary descended the Blackfriars Wynd, at the foot whereof -projected the turret which still indicates the cardinal's dwelling. -Grasped by the teeth of a grotesque stone monster, a lantern hung -above the doorway, and lighted a large stone panel, whereon were -carved and gilded the armorial bearings of Bethune of Balfour, -overshadowed by the cardinal's tasselled hat. Here the poor priest -paused for a moment, and muttered a fervent prayer for the success of -his merciful errand, and then he tirled the pin, timidly at first, -but boldly afterwards. - -After a brief reconnaissance being made of his person through the -vizzying hole, the door was opened by one of the cardinal's guards, -who wore the arms of the archbishopric on the breast of his purple -doublet. - -"Is his eminence at home?" - -"Yea, father," replied the pikeman, falling back a pace, with a -profound salute. - -"Please to announce that Father St. Bernard of St. Giles's craves the -honour of speaking with him alone." - -"Deliver this message to my young Lord Lindesay," said the pikeman to -another of the guard, who had overheard the request; and in less than -a minute that young noble, who was the betrothed of Beaton's -daughter, and who acted as his page and equerry, appeared, bonnet in -hand. - -"His eminence desires me to say, that Father St. Bernard is welcome -at all times," said he. - -Ascending the narrow stone stair of this antique mansion, and -preceded by young Lindesay, whose crimson velvet mantle and -peach-coloured doublet were covered with glittering embroidery, the -prebend, on passing through an opening in a gorgeous arras, found -himself in presence of the primate of all Scotland, the legate of -Paul III. - -Brilliantly lighted by candles of perfumed wax, which burned in -rose-coloured globes of Venetian glass, the chamber, in which we had -the honour of introducing the reader to the foe of Henry VIII., and -the terror of the Calvinists, to the eye of the poor priest, formed a -striking contrast to his own humble dormitory at St. Giles's; but he -was not a man to permit such thoughts to dwell an instant in his -mind; and dismissing them at once, he knelt before the cardinal's -chair, to kiss the white hand which that great and luxurious prince -of the church extended graciously towards him. - -He was seated in a large and easy chair of stuffed velvet; his feet -were encased in slippers of morocco, red as his stockings, and rested -on a gilded footstool. Two vases of Italian glass, exquisitely -carved, and glittering with the golden-coloured and purple wine they -contained, together with two silver baskets, one full of honied -biscuits and the other of grapes, showed that his eminence had been -solacing his solitary hour; for a gittern that lay on a chair -announced that his daughter, the Lady Margaret, had just retired, and -the young Lord Lindesay, having no occasion to remain, followed her; -thus the priest found himself alone with the cardinal, before whom -all his confidence vanished; for, despite his conscious rectitude of -heart and goodness of intention, in presence of the second man in -Scotland, the poor prebend became timid as a child. - -"Welcome, Father St. Bernard!" said the cardinal, pointing to a seat -near his own: "you look pale and fatigued. Here are red and white -Italian wines, and these are better than our ordinary Rochelle or -Bordeaux. To which shall I have the pleasure of assisting you? and -then we will to business after; for I am certain thou hast come to me -on business; no one," continued the studious cardinal, closing a book -he had been reading, "no one, save my Lord Lindesay, comes near David -Beaton for mere friendship, I find. Red wine or white?" - -"Either, please your eminence--the flask that is next you." - -Reassured by the frank manner of the cardinal, and by the luscious -_Greco_ that moistened his tongue, which had been parched and dry, -St. Bernard was about to speak, when the cardinal again addressed him. - -"Dost thou come with new tidings of this Calvinistic heresy, which -spreadeth, even as foul leprosy, over Scotland; or," he added, -re-opening his volume, which was _The Franciscan_, of George -Buchanan, "or comest thou merely here, as this arch-heretic sayeth, -to exhibit-- - - 'The greasy shaven heart, - A gloomy friar, with flowing gown outspread! - The twisted girdle, and the hat's broad brim, - The opened shoe dressed out in monkish trim; - Below the garb, where we so oft will find - A brutal tyrant, whom no law can bind; - The robber, who oppression's armour wields, - The sensual glutton, to excess who yields, - To deck the husband's brow, the night will spend; - The faithless lover, and deceitful friend! - His modest face, though false, worn as a cloak, - To gull the plebeian, and delude the flock; - Ten hundred thousand crimes, wild, dark, and deep. - He hides beneath the clothing of the sheep!' - -Holy mother of God!" exclaimed the cardinal (who had read this -passage ironically and emphatically), as he flung the volume to the -farthest end of the apartment, "and thou permittest this wretch to -encumber the earth! Holy St. Francis of Assisium! thou whose life -was a miracle of humility; who, in a glorious vision, beheld our -Saviour hanging on his cross; and thou hast permitted the heretic -dog, who writes thus of thy clergy, again to escape me!" - -"I heard that he had broken forth from your eminence's archiepiscopal -castle of St. Andrew's some months ago." - -"True,--while my guards (the drunken rascals!) slept; but I should -have made them answer for him body for body. Truly, the college of -St. Barbe hath reason to be proud of its professor, this learned -Buchanan, for there he is at present teaching grammar and the -humanities; and now I hear that the Earl of Cassilis (whom I know to -be an arch-heretic, traitor, and corresponder with Henry of England) -is about to secure him from me in his castle of Culzean, as a tutor -for his son, the Lord Gilbert Kennedy. By the cross, he is a rare -tutor! But let this lord beware; for though he is brother of Quentin -Kennedy, that good abbot of Crossraguell, whose pieties are those of -a saint, the people of Scotland shall see whether a cardinal's hat or -an earl's coronet will weigh the heavier in the scales of justice and -of Heaven." - -The cardinal was both exasperated and satirical. Father St. Bernard -found that he had chosen an unfortunate time to prefer his request, -and while he was rallying all his thoughts to introduce a more -pleasing topic of conversation than that broached by the cardinal, -the latter said, suddenly, but in a milder tone: - -"And now, my good old friend, St. Bernard, what dost thou wish me to -do for thee?" - -"May it please your eminence to grant me your patience and pardon." - -The cardinal put one leg over the other, laid his hand upon the -wine-cup, and nodded, as much as to say--"Good: I see the reverend -father has some request to make of me." - -"My Lord Cardinal, dost thou remember the 30th of August, 1534?" - -"The 30th of August, 1534!" repeated the cardinal, pondering. - -"That 30th of August, when I implored your eminence not to pass -through Fife to St. Andrew's." - -"I do," said the cardinal, becoming suddenly animated, "for there -were certain mysterious circumstances--but what of that now? 'tis -three years ago." - -"My lord, I know not whether that which I am about to reveal be a -sin, or whether, by so doing, I am breaking the irrevocable seal of -confession; the man who told what I am about to relate, made -afterwards a public confession, when he was expiring in the streets -of Kinghorn, but of all the crowd around him, I alone understood to -what he referred--unhappy being!" - -"Go on," said the cardinal, sipping his wine, "I am already all ears -and impatience." - -"On the evening of the 26th of August, just the day before Straitoun -and Gourlay were burned for heresy at Greenside, I was seated in the -public confessional at St. Giles's, when a man entered in great agony -of mind, and knelt down before me. This man, my lord, was one whom -the secret orations of the Reformers and the mal-influence of his -chief, for he was a follower of old Sir John Melville of Raith, had -partly led astray from the fold of the true faith. He was James -Melville, the gudeman of Pitargie. The blessed hand of God was in -it! Like a dark cloud, remorse had descended upon this lost one, and -he informed me, that with sixteen others he had sworn to slay your -eminence as you passed along the road to St. Andrew's on the morrow; -and that this ambuscade of assassins was to be in waiting near the -tower of Seafield, to the eastward of Kinghorn. In vain did I -command him not to criminate others; but he told me, that your -deadliest enemies, John Leslie of Parkhill, Peter Carmichael of -Kilmadie, Sir James Kirkaldy of the Grange, the Melvilles of Raith -and of Carnbee, the Lord Rothes, and the Laird of Kinfawns would be -there. That Henry of England was in the plot, and had offered them -magnificent bribes; and that one of his ships lay cruizing at the -East Neuk, to secure for these seventeen conspirators a safe retreat -to his own dominions, whither they were to bring your eminence's -scarlet cope, drenched in blood, as a token that the deed was done, -that their lust of vengeance had been sated, and that thou, like -another Becket, had fallen beneath their swords. - -"As the conscience-stricken assassin proceeded, I became frozen with -horror. With groans and with tears he concluded his dark narrative, -and beating his breast, implored me to make what use of his -confession I pleased, but at all risks to save your eminence. To -warn you was impossible, for the confessional sealed my lips! And I -saw you--you, the greatest hope of our sinking church, and the chief -pillar of the Scottish throne, its bulwark against English -aggression, and Henry's grasping and heretical spirit, about to fall! -Your eminence was to be shot by arquebuses, after leaving the -ferryboat at Kinghorn. After long and deep thought, the penitent -begged that I would use all my little influence to detain your -eminence for two hours upon your journey, and you may, perhaps, -remember----" - -"Thy coming to me on the second day after the _auto-da-fé_ at -Greenside, and imploring me to delay by two hours my journey into -Fife," said the cardinal, as he arose and took in his the hands of -the priest. "Thou good and venerable man! I remember well thy -diffidence, confusion, and timidity; thy fear of being ridiculed and -thy dread of offending me; and how I railed and stormed at thy -superstitious presentiment, as I now remember with regret I named it! -Well?" - -"At twelve o'clock, on the 30th of August, the knights and gentlemen -I have named, with others, to the number of sixteen persons, all -fleetly mounted and well armed with arquebuses and wheel-lock -calivers, posted themselves among the copsewood that overhang certain -thick hedge-rows, which lies between Kinghorn and Sir Henry -Moultray's tower at Seafield. The king of England's ship, with all -her sails set, was verging near the shore, while a Scottish flag, to -mask her nation and purpose, was displayed from her mainmast head. -The conspirators loaded their firearms with poisoned balls, and -carefully blew their matches as the bells of St. Leonard's tower -tolled twelve. It was the time at which these assassins, who were -posted eight on each side of the way, expected your eminence. - -"The twelfth stroke of the hour was scarcely given, when they -perceived a man, attired exactly like your eminence, in a baretta, -cope, and stockings of scarlet, come riding up the narrow horseway, -between the dark green hedgerows----" - -"What is it thou tellest me? My wraith!" - -The priest smiled. - -"The seeming cardinal came on, riding fast, as if in advance of his -followers! when, lo! sixteen arquebuses and calivers flashed from the -screens of thick hawthorn and dark green holly, and prone to the -earth fell horse and man, wallowing in their blood." - -"_Agnus Dei!_" - -"With a shout, the assassins rushed forward to imbrue their hands yet -further in blood, and found that they had slain--not David Beaton the -cardinal, but one of themselves--Raith's own kinsman, James Melville, -the gudeman of Pitargie! He was carried to Kinghorn, and there, as I -have said, he died. Without informing me of his project, further -than to delay you, he had thus been guilty of self-immolation, as -having no other method of punishing his own crime and saving your -eminence. And so you were saved. I delayed you at the pier of Leith -for two hours, and at the very moment you embarked, the mock cardinal -was shot on the shore of Fife. On returning, your eminence was -pleased to remember kindly my warning and presentiment, as you still -named it: then, my lord, you promised me, that if ever I wished a -boon that was in your power, I should consider it as already granted." - -"True--true, my good friend, my reverend brother, I remember it all." - -"You spoke of many a deanery, and many a rectory that were vacant in -Angus, Mearn, and Buchan; but I still find myself the poor prebend in -the parish kirk of St. Giles----" - -"Yes, yes--I feel that I have been ungrateful, and thou justly -upbraidest me," said the cardinal, hastily opening a portfolio, -"there is the Benedictine Priory of St. Mary, at Fyvie, the superior -of which----" - -"Nay, Lord Cardinal, nay! Our Lady forbid I should ever presume to -upbraid thee. I am but too glad that among the maze of more -important matters my service has been forgotten! and thus that I can -still appear as a creditor, and request the fulfilment of your -promise." - -"Full of shame for having so long forgotten it, I swear to grant -whatever you ask, that may lie in my power to bestow." - -"Oh, my Lord Cardinal, I seek nothing for myself," said the poor -priest, glancing (like Sterne's Franciscan) at the sleeve of his -threadbare garment; "my wants are few, though my years are many, and -I have neither desire nor ambition, but in the service of our Master -who is in Heaven." - -The old man paused, and the great prince of the church, surrounded by -wealth and luxury, grasping all but regal power, and loaded by the -rank and riches of his Scottish, his French, and Italian titles, felt -how great was the gulf between himself and this humble but purer -follower of the apostles. - -"If in my power," said he, "thy boon is granted." - -"I seek the pardon of my poor penitent," replied St. Bernard, -clasping his hands: "I seek the pardon of Lady Jane Seton." - -The cardinal started. - -"Impossible!" he replied, "for the life of this woman is not in my -hands." - -"But it is in the hands of the king; and being so, is, I may say, -also in thine, my lord. Thou alone canst save her, for, selfish in -his grief, our good king has abandoned everything to his ministers." - -"Forgiveness for her--a Seton--the daughter of a Douglas, and the -grandchild of old Greysteel! Friar, thou ravest! the thing is not to -be thought of; besides, from all my lord advocate has told me, she -must have been deeply guilty." - -"Oh, good my lord cardinal, dost thou, in the greatness of thy mind, -conceive that such a crime as sorcery may be?" - -"I do not--I believe too implicitly in the power of God to yield so -much to that of his fallen angel; and I believe, that as Calvinism -spreads in Scotland, so will this new terror of sorcery. I have not -studied the trial, but shall do so to-night, and with care." - -"A thousand grateful thanks." - -"Immersed as I am among the affairs of this troublesome state (for -its chancellorship costs me dear), and sworn as I am to extinguish by -fire and sword the heresies of Calvin, which are spreading like a -wildfire among our Scottish towns and glens, I can afford but little -time for the consideration of minor matters, such as this trial. -Thou art, indeed, an auld farrand buckie," added the cardinal, with a -smile; "and well hast thou played thy cards; so rest assured, that if -David Beaton can save thy penitent, with justice--_she is saved_." - -Father St. Bernard's heart was too full to reply: he raised his mild -eyes to the ceiling, and crossed his wrinkled hands upon his breast. - -"On Sunday first, I am to say a solemn mass for Queen Magdalene in my -cathedral church at St. Andrew's," resumed the cardinal. "Sorely I -regret that poor girl's death; but dost thou know that the Scottish -church had much to fear from her; for, reared and educated as she had -been by her almost heretic aunt, the Queen of Navarre, she was -inclined to view too leniently this clamour raised by the heretics -for liberty of conscience, as they are pleased to term their -abominable creed--a creed by which they make our blessed Gospels like -the bagpipe, on which every man may play a tune of his own devising. -On my way to St. Andrew's, I will visit the king at Falkland, and -this time, rest assured, my reverend friend, my promise shall not be -forgotten." - -"Oh, my lord!" murmured the now happy old man; "your eminence -overwhelms me." - -"There is now little time to lose. Young Balquhan and twenty -arquebusiers of the king's guard must accompany me, in addition to -the pikemen of my own; and the moment the pardon or order of release -(if I deem her worthy of it, and receive it) is expede, Leslie shall -return with it on the spur to Sir James of Cranstoun-Riddel;" and, as -a sign that the interview was over, the cardinal, with an air of -elegance and grace, which he possessed above all the courtiers of his -time, gave the priest his jewelled hand to kiss, and thankfully and -reverently this good old man, who was enough to be his father, -kneeled down and kissed it. - -"A thousand blessings on your eminence! _Dominus vobiscum_," said -the priest. - -"_Dominus vobiscum, et cum spiritu tuo_," said the cardinal, and -stretched out his hand to a silver bell, which he rang. - -Hurrying out from an inner chamber, Lord Lindesay drew back the arras -which covered the doorway. - -Then, as the priest with a joyous heart was about to retire, he was -appalled by the spectral figure of Redhall (who had the private -entrée of the cardinal's apartments at all hours), standing close -behind the thick, heavy tapestry. - -He started hurriedly forward, and the friar saw but too well that he -had not only been listening, but had overheard, perhaps, the whole of -their conversation. - -His aspect was fearful; remorse, terror, and despair had wrought -their worst upon him. His jaws had become haggard and his visage -pallid; but the priest thought that he read a gleam of hatred and -rage in his eyes as he passed him. - -"If he has been listening, and should undo all I have done!" thought -St. Bernard, breathlessly, as he hurried down into the dark Wynd of -the Blackfriars; "but his eminence has promised, and blessed be him, -my poor little child is saved!" - -Full of joy, and feeling as if a mountain had been removed from him, -the good old prebend knelt down in the dark and deserted street, and -baring his bald head, returned thanks to Heaven and his patron saint -for having inclined the lord chancellor to hear favourably the prayer -he had just preferred. - - - - -CHAPTER XLVI. - -THIRST! - - "'Twas thou, O love! whose dreaded shafts control, - The hind's rude heart, and tear the hero's soul; - Thou ruthless power, with bloodshed never cloyed, - 'Twas thou thy lovely votary destroyed: - Thy thirst still burning for a deeper woe, - In vain for thee the tears of beauty flow." - _The Lusiad of_ CAMOENS. - - -Aware that he had been seen by the friar in the act of listening, the -lord advocate decided in a moment upon the course to pursue. He -resolved that the promised pardon should never reach Edinburgh; but -being too wary to make any reference to the conversation he had just -heard, after simply giving the great cardinal a paper concerning an -annual subsidy from the clergy, which was to be presented to James V. -at Falkland on the morrow, he retired, and hastened to his own house -in the Canongate, where, with the utmost impatience, he awaited the -return of Nichol Birrel, whom, with Dobbie and Sanders Screw, he had -sent on a devilishly contrived mission to the Castle of Edinburgh, -whither we shall return to observe them. - -From his window Roland had seen them enter David's Tower by the iron -gate at the bottom of the stair, by which they ascended straight to -the chamber where Jane Seton was confined. - -After the priest had left her, the latter had become more calm, -though St. Bernard had not held out to her the faintest hope of mercy -or compassion from those powers which had abandoned her to die, or of -rescue from that once terrible faction to which her family -belonged--that faction now so scattered, crushed, and broken. - -In her prison this sad and lonely being had watched the woods and -water darkening far below her; had watched the stars as one by one -they sparkled out upon the night; and she envied the airy freedom of -the passing clouds as they rolled through the sky--the blue twilight -sky of a still and beautiful summer gloaming. In masses of fleecy -white on pale gold, as they were tinted by the rising moon, they -sailed on the soft west wind in a thousand changing forms. - -The very weariness of long grief overcame her, and she lay down on -the humble pallet afforded her by the orders of the castellan, to -sleep--for she had not slumbered during many nights, and on this -night, like her thirst, her fatigue was excessive. - -Her couch was a mere paillasse, with a pillow; for in everything she -was made to feel painfully that she was the--condemned witch! - -The bread given her during the two past days had been unusually salt -and bitter; she endured great thirst; but the warder had removed the -humble vessel that contained the water for her use, and now, without -a drop to moisten her parched lips, she lay down to sleep. Her bread -had been purposely salted to excess, and thus, having been many hours -without a drop of water, her sufferings were greatly increased; and -when she slept there arose before her visions of streams pouring in -white foam, of verdant banks or moss-green rocks, of fountains that -gushed and sparkled in marble basins, which most tantalizingly -receded or vanished when joyfully she attempted to drink of them. At -other times her kind old mother or Roland Vipont, with their -well-remembered smiles of love, approached her with cups of water or -of wine; but these dear forms faded away when the longed-for beverage -touched her lips; and then she started and awoke to solace herself -with her bitter tears--the only solace of which the cruel authorities -could not deprive her. - -She slept lightly, as a bird sleeps on its perch; but not so lightly -as to hear her prison door opened by the Messrs. Birrel, Dobbie, and -Screw, whose faces were made more villanous and sinister by the -yellow rays of an oil-lamp, which darted upwards upon them. Birrel's -visage, square and mastiff in aspect, livid in colour, and surrounded -by a forest of sable hair above and below; Dobbie, with the eyes and -moustaches of a cat; and Sanders Screw, though utterly destitute of -any such appendages to his mouth, exhibiting in his nut-cracker jaws -and bleared eyes a sardonic grin of cruelty and intoxication. - -He carried a large Flemish jar, which, strange to say, was brimful of -pure cold _water_. - -Birrel raised his lamp, the lurid flame of which made yet more livid -his yellow visage and ruffian eyes; and its sickly rays fell on the -face of Jane; but the calm and divine smile that played upon her thin -and parted lips, failed to scare from their purpose these demons, -hardened as they were in every species of judicial cruelty. - -Jane was dreaming of her lover, and in her self-embodied thoughts -originated that beautiful smile. - -Softly, but soundly, after all she had endured, this poor victim of -superstition and revenge was sleeping now, and dreaming fondly and -joyously--for in a dream every sensation is a thousand times more -acute than it could be in reality--dreaming of that long life which -was denied her, on this earth at least; she felt on her cheek the -kiss of her young and gallant lover; she saw his waving plume and his -doublet of cloth-of-gold; his voice was in her ear, and it murmured -of his faith and love, that, like her own, would never die. - -Her lips unclosed--an exclamation of rapture would have escaped her, -when Birrel's iron fingers grasped her tender arm--and she awoke with -a start and a cry of despair. - -"Gude e'en to ye, cummer Jean," said he, insolently; "byde ye wauken, -or fare ye waur; for gif ye sleep, see, madam the sorceress," and he -shook before her eyes the steel brod, or needle, which was the badge -of his hateful office. - -Seated upon one side of her bed, Jane recoiled from these men, who -regarded her with eyes that to her seemed as those of rattlesnakes, -for they were pitiless in heart, and merciless as the waves of the -sea. - -We know not if we possess the power to describe the passages of that -night in the vaulted chamber of David's Tower. - -In the days of the witch-mania in Scotland it was the custom, at the -desire of the lord president of the college of justice, of the lord -advocate, of the sheriff, or baillie of baron, or regality, or -whoever had tried and condemned a sorceress to subject her (even -after trial) to a further ordeal; for no persecution, even unto the -last hour, was deemed too severe for those unhappy beings who were -accused of the imaginary crime of selling their souls to Satan, and -thus irrevocably dooming themselves to a punishment that was -everlasting. - -Two of the most favourite modes of prolonged tortured were, to -prevent the prisoner from sleeping by every device that the most -infernal ingenuity could suggest, and to feed them on bread salted -most liberally, to produce an intense thirst, to assuage which the -least drop of water was denied them. - -Under this treatment many became insane, for the kirk sessions -carried it to the most ferocious excess in the seventeenth century. - -On being awakened, and partially recovering from her terror, Jane's -first sensation was an inordinate desire for water; her thirst was -excessive. Her tongue was parched and painful, for her food during -the two past days had been coarse dry wheaten bannocks, rendered -bitter by the plentiful supply of salt used in their composition. -She had been too much accustomed to the most cruel and unceremonious -intrusions, to express her keen sense of the present one, otherwise -than by her flashing eyes and dilated nostrils, for her heart swelled -with indignation; but, on perceiving the jar in the hands of Sanders -Screw, her first thought was to satisfy her thirst, and she implored -them to give her a cup of water. - -At this plaintive request, a grin spread over the weasel visage of -Screw and the cat-like eyes of Dobbie, while Birrel, who was somewhat -intoxicated, replied with his habitual tone of insolence-- - -"By my faith, cummer Jean, ye shall be thirstier and drouthier than -even was I in Douglasdale, ere a drop rins ower your craig." - -Screw set down the jar, placing himself between it and their victim. -The lamp was also placed on the floor, and seating themselves around -it, Dobbie produced from his wide trunk hose of buckram a pack of -dirty and dog-eared cards. Each worthy official then placed beside -him a flask of usquebaugh, the cards were dealt round, and the -campaign of the night commenced with an old game at which the three -might play, and Birrel could cheat to his heart's content, -notwithstanding that Dobbie knew the backs as well as the front of -his favourite pack of cards. - -For a time Jane gazed at them with the same startled and dismayed -expression that the sudden appearance of three reptiles might have -excited; and again she begged a cup of water, for her thirst (which -had been increasing the live-long day, and to which her salted food, -the drugs of the physician, and the grief that preyed upon her, all -alike conduced) had now attained a degree of torture and intensity -which hitherto she could not have conceived. - -Her entreaties were replied to with laughter; and it seemed as if the -sight of the liberal draughts imbibed by the trio from their flasks -increased the desire of the poor captive; but her prayers and tears -were unheeded, and noisily the game went on. - -Two hours passed thus! - -The players had drained their flasks, and amid much cursing, -quarrelling and vociferation, the loose change had rapidly passed -from hand to hand, until the whole, amounting to somewhere about ten -crowns, a few fleur-de-lis groats, and white pennies of James III., -were lodged in the pouch of Birrel, who trimmed the lamp with his -fingers, and offered a brass bodle to each of his companions that the -game might begin anew; but, as the cards were being redealt, he -perceived that, despite their brutal uproar, overcome by weariness -and torture of mind and body, the unhappy girl had again fallen into -an uneasy slumber. - -Upon this the brodder arose with a growl, and drawing his needle from -its sheath, gave her a severe puncture in the arm. The pain of this -made her again, with a shriek, start up wildly from her sitting -posture; and, uncovering her snow-white arm to the elbow, she found -that blood was flowing from the deep incision. - -With her imploring eyes full of horror, she turned towards Birrel and -endeavoured to speak, but her tongue, which clove to the roof of her -mouth, failed, at first, to articulate a syllable; and her lips were -hard and dry. - -"Did I not tell ye quhat ye micht expect gif ye dared to sleep," said -Birrel, savagely. - -She made a gasping effort to speak. - -"Water!" she said, in a husky whisper, "water!--a single drop, for -the love of God!" - -"Oho!" grinned Screw, "the saut bannocks are now telling tales!" - -He held the Flemish jar of polished pewter before her eyes and shook -the limpid water till it sparkled in the light. - -"The haill o' this is for you, dame Seton," said Birrel, "but there -is a sma' bit ceremony to be gone through first." - -"Water! water!" moaned Jane, in a whispering voice, feeling as if her -throat was scorched, and her dry, parched tongue was swollen to twice -its usual size. "Oh, man, man!" she added, clasping her hands, "I -will pray for you--I will bless you in my last hour, with my whole -heart, and with my whole soul, for one drop, a single drop of water!" - -There never was a villain so bad as to be without one redeeming -trait; thus, even Dobbie the doomster had his; and now the piteous -tone of Jane's husky voice, her pallid face, her entreating and -bloodshot eyes, had stirred some secret chord of human sympathy in -the recesses of his usually iron heart. He poured a little water -into a cup, and approached her. Jane's eyes flashed with -thankfulness and joy; but Birrel dashed away the cup with one hand, -and laid the other on his poniard. - -Jane uttered a tremulous cry of despair. - -"Then false coof and half-witted staumrel!" exclaimed the -witchfinder; "is it thus ye obey the orders of Redhall, who is our -master? Look ye, good mistress, subscribe this paper and we leave -you wi' the water-stoup, to drink and to sleep till your heart is -contented. But refuse, and woe be unto ye! For here sit we doon to -watch by turns, to keep ye, waking and sleepless, with thirst -unslackened, till _the hour of doom_, and so, my Lady Seton, ye have -the option; sign and drink, or refuse and suffer." - -With one hand he held before her the large and brimming jar; with the -other he displayed a paper whereon something was written. - -Within the deep jar the water seemed cold and pure, limpid and -refreshing; while her thirst was agonizing, and her whole frame felt -as if scorched by an internal fire. Her brain was whirling, a -sickness was coming over her, and human endurance could withstand the -temptation no longer. - -For a moment she reflected that it was impossible for any avowal, -verbal or written, to make her more utterly miserable or degraded -than her sentence had already made her, and aware that nothing now -could change the current of her fate save the royal pardon, of which -she had not the shadow of a hope, she could only articulate-- - -"A pen, a pen!--the water!--the water! I am dying--dying of thirst!" - -Promptly Birrel produced a pen, which he dipped in a portable -inkstand. - -She took it with a trembling hand and paused. - -He temptingly poured some of the sparkling water on the floor. A -gleam passed over her eyes, and in a moment she placed her name, -_Jane Seton_, to the paper, vainly endeavouring, as she did so, to -see what the lines written above her signature contained; but there -was a mist before her eyes, and now they failed her. She threw away -the pen with a shriek, and stretched out her hands towards the vessel -of water. - -"What would ye think, now, if I spilled it all on the flagstones?" -said Birrel, with a grin, as he withheld the jar. - -At this cruel threat she could only clasp her hands, and gaze at him -in silence. - -After enjoying her agony for a few moments, he handed her the jar, -from which she drank greedily and thirstily. - -"Hechhow!" said Birrel, with a triumphant growl, "now ye drink, -cummer, as I drank of the Douglasburn, at the foot of the -Cairntable," and, extinguishing their lamp, the three wretches -retired, and she was left to her own terrible thoughts. - -Again and again she drank of the water, but the thrill of delight its -coolness and freshness afforded her soon passed away; and setting -down the vessel carefully, she gazed at it, and then burst into a -passion of tears. - -The paper she had signed, what could it mean? - -At that moment the clock of St. Cuthbert's church, which stood in the -hollow far down below the Castle, on the west, struck slowly and -solemnly the hour of four, and this sound, as it ascended to her ear, -recalled her to other thoughts. - -The morning was shining through the rusty grating of her window--the -morning of another day. She thought bitterly of the paper she had -signed; and deploring her lack of strength and resolution, buried her -lace in her pillow, and gave way at last to a wild paroxysm of -despair. - - - - -CHAPTER XLVII. - -WHAT THE PAPER CONTAINED. - - "Oh, misery! - While I was dragged by an insidious band - Of pyrates--savage bloodhounds--into bondage. - But, witness, heaven! witness, ye midnight hours, - That heard my ceaseless groans, how her dear image - Grew to my very heart!"--_The Desart Island_, 1760. - - -Sleepless, and with the horrible conversation of Birrel and Dobbie -still tingling in his ears, Roland passed the night in that frame of -mind we have endeavoured to describe, though it can be better -conceived. - -The morning dawned, and the thick gratings of the windows appeared in -strong relief against the saffron sky, and sounds of life arose from -the waking city below. The bright sun was gilding the vane of St. -Giles, the spire of the Dominicans, the square tower of St. -Mary-in-the-Fields, and the lofty summits of the town, while, like a -golden snake, the Forth was seen winding afar between the wooded -mountains of the west. - -With arms folded, his head sunk upon his breast, and his hollow eyes -fixed dreamily on the floor, Roland was immersed in a chaos of gloomy -thoughts, when a noise occasioned by a hand raising a window opposite -startled him. He looked up, and a letter fell at his feet. - -He clutched and tore it open. - -"Jane! from Jane--from my dear Jane?" he exclaimed, huskily, and -pressed her signature to his lips. "It is signed by herself (how -well I know that dear signature!) but another has written it--St. -Bernard, perhaps. Ah, my God! she is too ill to write, and they -separate me from her. Jane--Jane!" - -Now Sir Roland Vipont, though a poor gentleman and soldier of fortune -of the sixteenth century, knew enough of scholarcraft (which, like -every other craft, was not held then in much repute) to enable him to -decipher the letter of Jane Seton, or rather that letter which, by -the order of Redhall, Birrel had compelled her to sign by the bribe -alternately offered and withheld--a draught of cold water. - -For a time there was an envious mist before the hot dry eyes of -Roland Vipont; and thrice he had to pause before he so far recovered -his energies as to be able to read this epistle, which had been thus -delivered to him by the hand of a friend, as he did not doubt. -Literally, it ran as follows: - - -"MINE OWN SWEET HEART, SIR ROLAND, - -"Abandoned now by my evil Mentor, and inspired by the blessed saints, -who know all things, uninfluenced by any man, and of mine own free -will, I hereby confess, certify, and make known unto you, that I have -indeed been guilty of the sorcery and witchcraft of which I am -accused; and that queen Magdalene died by the same magic and power of -enchantment which forced thee to love me. Thus, the strong regard -thou bearest me is in no way attributable to any beauty, manner, or -apparent goodness, with which nature hath gifted me; but solely to my -diabolical arts and sorceries. At this thou wilt be sorely grieved, -but cannot be surprised, mine own sweet heart, when thou thinkest of -the myriad infernal deeds that are permitted by Heaven and brought -about by the instigation of Satan, to whom I have borne more than one -brood of imps. I saw that thou wert simple, guileless, good, and -brave; and thus were fitted to fall easily into my snares, where many -have fallen before thee; but Heaven, by revealing my sins, hath saved -thee in time. And I do further confess that I am a false traitor, a -dyvour heretic and renouncer of my baptism. Written for me, by a -learned clerk, at the Castle of Edinburgh, the 17th day of July, in -the year of God I^m V^c xxxvii. - -"JANE SETON." - - -"My Jane! my Jane! oh, this is hell's own work!" exclaimed the -unhappy young man; who became stricken with terror at avowals which -were so startling and so well calculated to make a deep impression on -any man, and on any mind of his time, when a belief in the power of -the devil was so strong. "This agony, and not the love I bear thee, -is the work of sorcery. It is a forgery--I will never believe it; -and yet her signature is there! and after trial, when torture, shame, -and agony were past, what could bring forth an avowal such as this? -Oh, what but remorse for deceiving one who had loved thee so well! -The mother of fiends! she so good, so charitable, so religious, who -never missed a mass or festival. I shudder and laugh at the same -moment! A sorceress--Jane .... where is the Jane I loved--the good -and gentle? She confront the terrors of hell--the touch of -Satan?--impossible--frenzy and folly; and yet, and yet, and yet my -brain is turned, and I feel as if a serpent had thrust its head into -my heart." - -Thus thought Roland, incoherently. - -All the implicit trust of a lover, and the blind chivalric devotion -of a true gentleman of the year 1537, failed to bear up Vipont -against the chilling superstition which then overshadowed every mind -and everything, and which tinges the writings of the most subtle -casuists and philosophers of those days; and assuredly one could not -expect much deep casuistry or philosophy either to be exhibited by -Roland, whose school had been the camp, and whose playground in -boyhood had been the corpse-strewn battle-fields of France and Italy. -It was an age of fairy spells and magic charms, mysterious omens, and -gliding spectres--of ten thousand deadly and now forgotten terrors; -and we must enter fully into the feelings of the age to appreciate or -conceive the frightful effect this unsought for and unexpected avowal -of supernatural crime produced upon the mind of Roland Vipont. - -His first impulse was to stigmatize the letter as the most deliberate -of forgeries, to rend it into a hundred fragments, and to scatter -them from the window on the waters of the loch below; but the memory -of the words those fragments contained, and their terrible import, -remained as if written with fire upon his soul, and wherever he -turned he saw them palpably before him; thus, at times, the most -cruel doubts were added to his former despair. - -He felt that his mental agony was rapidly becoming too great for -endurance; and he shrunk, as it were, back within himself with terror -at the idea that he might become insane. - -The pride of his strong and gallant heart--a heart that had never -quailed amid the boom of cannon and the shock of spears, the rush of -charging squadrons and the clang of descending swords--was now bowed -down; and covering his face with his hand, he wept like a child, and -with that deep and deathlike agony that can only be known by the -strong man when forced to find a refuge and relief in tears. - -Redhall, that tiger-heart, had calculated well and deeply. The sight -of those tears, produced by the letter he had so cruelly and so -subtly contrived, would have been as balm to his heart, and as -"marrow to his bones;" for he laughed aloud when Nichol Birrel, by -dawn of day, related, in exaggerated terms, the agony of Vipont, -which he had neither the means of observing or ascertaining; for he -had simply, by the assistance of a ladder, dropped the letter into -his apartment, and hurried away. - -"The measure of my vengeance against this man is now almost full!" -said he; "woe be to him who would lessen it! To have destroyed her -while this Vipont believed in her innocence would have left that -vengeance but half sated. Now have I fairly robbed her of her honour -and her very soul--at least, in the eyes of this gilded moth, who -loves her, as I know, even to adoration; but not more than I do--oh, -no!--not more than I, who am her destroyer, and on whose hands her -blood will lie. Oh, Jane!...." - -His head fell forward on his breast. - -"But harkye, Birrel," said he, suddenly recovering; "to-day the -cardinal goes to Falkland, to seek her pardon from the king; and this -pardon (if granted) young Leslie of Balquhan is to convey straight to -Sir James Riddel, at our castle here. Now mark me, Nichol Birrel, -and mark me well, this pardon must be brought to me, and to me alone. -'Tis an insult of this meddling cardinal to send it to -Cranstoun-Riddel, the castellan, while I am lord advocate. This very -day, after morning mass, his eminence and this holiday lieutenant of -the guards, set out for Falkland. Do thou, with Trotter and fifteen, -or as many good horsemen as you can muster, follow, and watch well -for Leslie's return. Be more wary than you were in Douglasdale, or -what avail your promises of service? Between this and Falkland there -is many a mile of lonely muirland, where blows may be struck, or -bones broken, and where a slain man may sleep undiscovered till the -judgment-day--see to it! This Leslie is in your hands, as Vipont was -before. A hundred French crowns if thou bringest me the pardon. -Stay!--there is the Laird of Chitto, who hath a plea before the -lords; tell him, that if he wishes well to his ease, a _certain -horseman_ must not pass the Lomond-hill; there are the Lindesays of -Kirkforthar and Bandon, who are the sworn foemen of the House of -Balquhan. I know thy skill and cunning--ride and rouse them! Ride -and raise all the Howe of Fife on the king's messenger; and here is -my thumb on't, Nichol Birrel, my three best crofts at Redhall shall -be thine of a free gift, heritably and irredeemably, to thee and -thine heirs for ever." - -In one hour from that time this indefatigable ruffian had Tam Trotter -and fifteen other horsemen completely armed, with helmets and -cuirasses, gorgets, and gloves of steel, swords, lances, and -petronels, awaiting his orders (and the cardinal's departure) in the -stable yard of Redhall's lodging in the Canongate. - - - - -CHAPTER XLVIII. - -THE CROSS AND GILLSTOUP. - - "But the curtain of twilight o'ershadows the shore, - And deepens the tint on the blue Lammermuir; - The tints on Corstorphine have paled in their fire, - But sunset still lingers with gold on its spire; - The Roseberry forests are hooded in grey, - And night, like his heir, treads impatient on day-- - And now, gentle stranger, if such be thy mood, - Go welcome the moonlight in sweet Holyrood." - - -On the night, with which our last chapters have been chiefly -occupied, at the identical time when Father St. Bernard was -concerting with the cardinal, anent procuring a pardon for Lady Jane, -two other kind friends were elsewhere concerting the escape of her -lover--but planning it like soldiers, by escalade and at point of the -sword. - -In the course of the present history we have, more than once, -referred to a certain flourishing tavern, named _The Cross and -Gillstoup_, which, in those days, displayed its signboard to the -public eye on the south side of the then somewhat suburban street, -the Canongate. - -Though the host of this establishment was vitally interested in the -freedom of the master of king James's ordnance, in so far that he -owed him the sum of thirty crowns for wine, it was not deemed -advisable to take him into the conspiracy. In a little chamber of -this tavern, vaulted, like all the first stories in old Edinburgh, -having a sanded floor, a plain wooden table, and fir chairs of -capacious dimensions, a little figure of the Madonna in a corner, -beneath which was a begging-box, belonging to the Franciscans, -inscribed, "Help ye puir, as ye wald God dit you," sat Sir John -Forrester, captain of the king's arquebusiers, and Leslie of -Balquhan, his lieutenant; though it was past the hour of nine, when, -by the laws of James I., no man was to be found in a tavern after -that hour rang from the burgh bell, under a penalty of warding in the -Tolbooth, or paying "the king's chamberlane fiyftie schillinges." - -Being gentlemen, and moreover officers of the guard, these two -cavaliers considered themselves above such vulgar rules, and were -quietly sitting down to supper. Their bonnets and mantles, their -unbuckled swords and daggers, lay on a side bench; each had a knife -and platter of delft ware, with a silver-rimmed drinking-horn, before -him; and between them stood a savoury powt pie, with a great pewter -jug of wine, the said pewter jug being polished to the brightness of -a mirror; and Leslie used it as such, to point up his moustaches; for -the hostess of _The Cross and Gillstoup_ prided herself particularly -on the brightness of her pots and kettles--and then, be it -remembered, pewter was a luxury. - -Seated at another table in the background, but helped liberally from -the before-mentioned powt pie and the gallant pewter jug, old -Lintstock, the ex-cannonier, with his steel cap and Jedwood axe laid -beside him, his white hair glistening in the light of three long -candles, and his eye looking very fierce and red, was eating his -supper with a stern and disconsolate but nevertheless very determined -aspect; for he had thoroughly resolved on doing something desperate, -though he had not exactly made up his mind as to what that desperate -thing should be. Ever since his master's arrest the forlorn old -soldier had been protected by Sir John Forrester, who remarked, as -they proceeded to supper-- - -"A whole day has passed, and yet, Leslie, we have resolved on -nothing; and now our resolutions must needs be sharp and sure, for -high and overstrained in their newfangled notions of civil authority, -the abbot Mylne and Redhall will come swoop down like a pair of -ravenous hawks on poor Vipont, for his escapade on that devilish day -of Lady Jane's trial." - -"I am aware of that." - -"Then why did you not come sooner?" - -"Sooner? Why, Sir John, I have never had time to cross myself -to-day." - -"Busy--thou?" - -"Oh, I had a score of matters to attend to. First, I had to buy me a -pot of rouge at the Tron for Madame de Montreuil, who complains that -her complexion hath gone since the late queen's death; then I had to -escort the Countess of Glencairn and little Mademoiselle de Brissac, -who must needs go on a pilgrimage to the chapel of St. James; then I -had to get a pint of wine at Leith to refresh me; then I had to write -a song for Marion Logan, and to ride to John of the Silvermills, -anent some matters for bonny Alison Hume." - -"I knew not that she was ailing." - -"Nay, 'twas only to get some almond paste for her dainty hands, and -oil of roses for her hair." - -"Plague on thee and them! Canst think of such cursed trifles when -our best friends are in such deadly peril?" - -"Now really, Corstorphine," said Leslie, as he spread the white linen -serviette over his red satin trunk breeches; "is the whole world to -stand still because Roland Vipont is laid by the heels? Or dost thou -think that the king will bring to death, or even to trial, so brave a -fellow as our captain of his ordnance?" - -"The devil! thou talkest as if brave fellows were scarce in Scotland. -But the Lady Seton, her chances of life----" - -"Are small indeed; but let us only have our Vipont free of -Cranstoun-Riddel, on horseback beside us, with his helmet on, and his -sword drawn, and we shall carry the lady off in face of all -Edinburgh! What care we for the burgher guard, or the lances of the -provost!" - -"The king----" - -"Will love a deed so bold, and so much after his own heart." - -"If we were to fail?" - -"'Tis but dying like bold fellows in our corslets." - -"Thy hand, my brave Leslie, for thou art an honour to thy name," -replied Sir John Forrester, with admiration. - -"Poor Marion Logan has quite spoiled her fine eyes by crying for -three days and nights consecutively about her friend." - -Here something between a sob and a growl proceeded from the corner, -where Lintstock was gulping down his supper and his sorrows together. - -"Why, Lintstock, my old Cyclop," said Leslie, "thou art looking grave -as a German lanzknecht. Tuts! cheer up; thy master will soon be out -of David's Tower; and then, let Sir Adam of Redhall look to himself." - -"Ay, Balquhan, but let him look well to himself before that cometh to -pass!" - -"How, old Tartar! wouldst thou give the king's advocate a sliver with -thine axe?" - -"I will hew him to the brisket for having dared to look at my -master's lemane! By St. John! if any man dare look aboon his -rosettes, when passing my master's next lady-love at kirk or -market----" - -"Oho!" said Sir John Forrester, hastily; "thou seemest better -acquainted with this matter than most of us. But be wary, carle, thy -head may run under a noose. Some more pie?" - -"If it please ye, sir." - -"If it pleases thee, rather. Eat well, my old cormorant; for it hath -been a fast with thee since thy master's arrest. Now, Leslie, to -return to what we were talking of. I know of no other means of -procuring admittance to Vipont's prison but in disguise. If Father -St. Bernard would lend me his cassock----" - -"Thou art too tall by eight inches. I know my Lady -Cranstoun-Riddel's little tire-woman," said Leslie, winking, and -clanking his gold spurs. - -"I' faith! a nice little dame, with black eyes and pretty teeth." - -"But a saucy darnstocking, spoiled at court by the pages and archers." - -"Through her something might be achieved though." - -"Is she particular?" - -"Not at all! If she would only conceal me in her room for one -night----" - -"Once there, rogue, thou wouldst forget all about poor Vipont, thy -mission, and the coil of stout rope wherewith thou proposest to line -thy trunk breeches." - -Here the noise of a window being raised behind them made Leslie turn -his head. - -"What is that? Mother of God! what is _that_?" he exclaimed, in -alarm, with his sword half drawn, on seeing a black visage, with -shining eyeballs, a row of sharp white teeth, and two black paws, -appear between the lifted sash and the window-sill. - -Forrester started, and Lintstock snatched up his axe. - -The head grinned and bowed, and waved its black paws with a grotesque -air of respect and deprecation. - -"By my soul! 'tis Lady Ashkirk's ill-omened page!" said the captain, -bursting into a fit of laughter. - -"How--the evil spirit, anent which we have heard so much of late?" - -"Nay, no evil spirit, but a poor denizen of those countries which lie -beneath the sun. Sir Robert Barton, the admiral, swears they are -half men and half marmosets; but Father St. Bernard told me they were -the descendants of Cain. I am not afraid of it--nay, not I," said -the tall knight of Corstorphine, as he drew on his military gloves, -and--but not without some repugnance--seized the hands of Sabrino, -and drew him into the room. - -The poor black boy, whose aspect was now deplorable, fell on his -knees, and poured forth his thanks in frightful mutterings, that -seemed to come from the bottom of his throat, and lolled out the -fragment of his tongue in a way that produced a striking effect on -old Lintstock, and, to say the least of it, was very unearthly. The -old cannonier clenched his axe in one hand, his wine-pot in the -other, and recoiled as from a snake. - -"Lintstock," said Forrester, "thou hast seen this creature before; -dost understand its gibberish?" - -"It is thanking you, as I think, sir; but it looks gey wolfish-like -at the last of the powt pie." - -"Right, Lintstock," said Leslie, placing the dish before Sabrino. -The famished negro gave him a glance of intense thankfulness, and -straightway plunged his black fingers into the pie, of which he ate -voraciously. - -After the night of the earl's adventure on the island, of the -countess's baffled flight, the duel with Sir James Hamilton, and of -Ashkirk's disappearance with Sybil in the boat, Sabrino, who had -escaped all the arquebuse shots by ducking in the water and clinging -to the weed-covered rocks, next day found himself under dangerous -circumstances, for the cavern which had formed his hiding-place being -now discovered and searched, he had no longer any place of -concealment; thus hunger and the danger of death made him resolve to -put in practice a plan he had frequently conceived, but had not yet -dared to execute. - -At certain periods a large boat came regularly from Leith in the -morning with provisions for the garrison, and generally returned in -the evening. An opportunity soon occurred, and Sabrino, diving under -the counter of this barge at the very moment it left the creek of the -Inch, lashed himself (with a fragment of rope) to the iron pintles -which fastened the rudder to the sternpost. In the summer atmosphere -of a warm July, the water of the majestic Forth was calm and warm, -and the motion was pleasant and easy as the oarsmen shot their -lightened boat across its broad and glassy surface, on which the -setting sun was shining. Though half choked at times by the salt -spray that flew from the oars, beneath the counter, where he hung, -Sabrino, with unflinching resolution, endured the danger of being -towed for three miles, and was glad to find that the dusk had fairly -set in before the boat was moored to the old wooden pier which then -terminated the ancient harbour under the rampart of the round tower. - -Poor Sabrino knew that all the white men feared and hated him; but he -knew not that he was regarded as little less than the devil -himself--for such he had been considered and declared to be by the -wise and learned of the College of Justice. Avoiding every person, -he had the sense to thread his way into the city by some secret -passage, and went straight to the mansion of the Ashkirk family. It -was silent and deserted, for the spiders were already spinning their -cobwebs on the lock of its iron gate. Failing also to find Sir -Roland Vipont, and fearing to encounter others, the unhappy mute had -instinctively sought the tavern, where in palmier and more privileged -days he had so frequently brought him messages from his mistress. - -Sabrino knew well the approaches to the place, and entering the Horse -Wynd, cleared at a bound the wall of the kail-yard, and, reaching the -window of the old familiar room, obtained egress,--not from Roland -Vipont, as he had expected, but by the assistance of Sir John -Forrester, as we have just related. - -"Drink," said that frank and stately soldier, handing to the wet, -weary, and famished being a cup of wine, when he had eaten to his -satisfaction; "but now, what in the fiend's name shall we do with -thee? I would not for all my mains and mills at Corstorphine thou -wert found by Redhall living under my protection; and yet 'twere a -foul shame to drive thee forth, the more so as all men's hands and -voices are against thee." - -Sabrino understood Sir John, and hung his head sorrowfully. - -"Nay, poor devil," he added, kindly, "thou shalt byde with me, and I -bite my glove at all who dare say nay." - -"Could we not paint him, or dye him, or scrub him well with hot -water, so that, in colour, at least, he might be like other men?" - -"We shall see," replied the captain of the arquebuses; "I will talk -with my old confessor about it--he knows everything. But it hath -such capacious eyes, and such a nose!" - -"By Jove! its face is like a Highland buckler!" added the other; and -they paused to regard Sabrino with all the curiosity a new species of -animal would have excited. - -"Sir John Forrester," said Lintstock, "I ken weel that this creature -can clamber like a squirrel; and gif we show him the tower wherein my -puir maister girns and granes for his luve and his liberty, I warrant -he'll sune rax to the window, Put a saw between his teeth, a coil o' -stout rope on his back, and I warrant me we shall hae Sir Roland -Vipont beside us in three hours after." - -"Thou art right, Lintstock," said Leslie, while Sabrino, on hearing -himself referred to, looked fixedly at the one-eyed gunner; "this -creature's black hide hath brought thy brave master and his fair -mistress into sore trouble, and I know of none who ought to exert his -energies more than he in their service. It is agreed; we shall show -him the rock, the tower, the window, and that by daybreak to-morrow." - -Sabrino understood them perfectly, while he gazed at them with the -painful and speechless anxiety which his face depicted at times so -powerfully; and, anxious to express his gratitude, his eyes shone, -while he grinned and nodded, saying-- - -"Ees--ees--ees!" laid his hands repeatedly on his breast, and placed -the hand of Sir John Forrester on his woolly head, in token that he -was their liege and true man. - -At that moment a loud knock was heard at the door. - -"Under the table, Sabrino--hide, hide," said Leslie; "I would not for -my helmet full of gold pieces, thou wert seen with us--quick!" - -Sabrino dived below the table, and again the knock was heard. - -"Who is there without?--come in," said Sir John. - -Carrying in his hand his bonnet, which was adorned by a long white -feather, a graceful young man, attired in the most gorgeous and -extreme of the fashion of that age, a doublet of peach-coloured -velvet, sewn with seed pearls, and stiff with silver lace, a Genoese -mantle of blue velvet, and trunks and hose of the palest yellow -satin, appeared. - -"My Lord David Lindesay!" said the two officers of the guard, as they -started from their seats. - -"A message from the cardinal," said the young lord, who was soon to -become the primate's son-in-law. "His eminence sets out to-morrow -for Falkland Palace, to visit the king, and begs the favour of some -twenty arquebusiers, under your guidance, Laird of Balquhan, as the -roads are neither safe nor sure at this time." - -Leslie looked at his captain. - -"Half the guard are at Falkland already, under the other lieutenant, -the Laird of Bute," replied Forrester: "but my friend Balquhan will -be at the disposal of his eminence to-morrow with twenty -arquebusiers. At what time do you mount and ride?" - -"After morning prayer," said the young lord: "you know how unsafe the -country is around Falkland--for his eminence, at least." - -"True; the Kirkaldies of Grange, the Melvilles of Raith, and the -Seatons of Clatto, are no friends of his." - -After a few more words of course, and tasting their wine, the heir of -the princely line of Crawford bowed and retired. - -"A hundred devils!" said Leslie, as he buckled on his sword. "This -duty will prevent me assisting in the escape of our poor Vipont." - -"It matters not, my true Leslie, for I alone will see to that. But -how, a-God's name, am I to get our sable friend conveyed to my -quarters in the palace? If our fat host of the _Cross and Gillstoup_ -should see him, all will be over with him." - -After some consideration to preclude his being seen, and avoid the -dangerous surmises consequent thereto, it was arranged that Sabrino -should retire in the same manner as he had entered--by the window, -which he immediately did. - -Thereafter, having met the captain and lieutenant of the guard at the -low wall which then bordered the west side of the Horse Wynd at the -foot of the Canongate, Leslie muffled him up to the eyes in his -velvet mantle, and he was taken past the guards, pages, &c., into the -inmost court of the palace, where Forrester concealed him in an -apartment, the key of which [Transcriber's note: last line of -paragraph was missing from source scan.] - - - - -CHAPTER XLIX - -THE CASTAWAYS. - - "'Tis very certain the desire of life - Prolongs it: this is obvious to physicians, - When patients, neither plagued with friends nor wife, - Survive through very desperate conditions, - Because they still can hope, nor shines the knife, - Near shears of Atropus before their visions: - Despair of all recovery spoils longevity, - And makes men's miseries of alarming brevity."--BYRON. - - -We have related how the Earl of Ashkirk, as the only means of -avoiding death or recapture, had spread the lug-sail of his boat to -the western breeze, and was borne down the Firth of Forth. - -The gale was freshening, and it blew the white foam from the waves, -as they rose and fell, and rose again in rapid succession, as if to -meet the sharp prow of the boat, which shot through them like an -arrow through a wreath of smoke. The boat of the Inch was left -behind; for unwilling to run the risk of being carried out to sea, -its crew gave up the pursuit in despair. The earl laughed in -triumph, and to his breast folded Sybil, who was trembling with -terror at the world of water that whirled around them. - -Dim and distant, the hills of Fife and Lothian seemed soon to be afar -off; the isle the fugitives had left seemed also sinking fast, and -little trace of the shore remained, after the moon sank behind the -peaks of Stirlingshire. The earl now attempted to turn shoreward; -but in a moment found the impossibility of making the least headway -against the strong and increasing wind, the ebbing tide, and the -fierce current of the mighty Firth, which had there expanded to an -ocean. - -"The shore--the shore now. Oh, good, my dear earl, turn towards the -shore!" implored Sybil, in great terror, as she clung to her -companion. - -"It is impossible! Against such a wind as this, I should merely have -our boat upset, and this, dearest Sybil, would not be very pleasant." - -"Mercy! we shall be swept out into the homeless ocean!" she -continued, with increasing fear, as the boat rose suddenly up, or -surged as swiftly down into a deep, dark, and watery hollow, while -the heaving of the waves increased every moment. - -"Nay, now, Sybil, afraid!--thou a Douglas of Kilspindie? I will -never believe it. Let us bear right on towards the bonny Bay of -Aberlady, which will soon receive us, and lo! we shall find ourselves -just under your father's castle of Kilspindie." - -"Better are we here," replied Sybil, with a kindling eye: "know you -not that, like Tantallon, it is garrisoned by a party of Hamiltons?" - -"Now, God's malison be on this tribe, for they have come out of their -native Clydesdale to spread even as locusts over all the Lowlands." - -"But there is many a crofter at Kilspindie, and many a stout -fisherman at Aberlady, who will shelter us for the love they bear our -grandsire Sir Archibald Douglas, and for the sake of the old race. -They are all leal men and true to the Douglas name." - -"I have sufficiently perforated one Hamilton to-night, and have no -wish to come to handyblows with another, especially while having -thee, my little lady, to protect." - -"And dost thou think, cousin Archibald, that I can neither fire a -petronel, or unwind a pistolette, as my aunt, your mother, doth?" - -"Nay, Sybil, thou wouldst surely shut fast those black eyes of thine, -when the wheel whirled and the sulphuret sprung; for thou hast seen -less of blood and blows, of men unhorsed and armour riven, than the -countess, my mother; for thou never sawest the Douglas banner in its -glory, in the days of James IV., as she tells us many a time and oft. -Why, bethink thee, Sybil, two hundred gentlemen, Douglases, all -dubbed knights of name, and wearing spurs of gold, were found lying -slain on Flodden field--that fatal field where bold King James, with -ten thousand of the Scottish noblesse, fought till going down of the -sun, against six-and-twenty thousand Englishmen." - -The earl spoke of these and other things to draw Sybil's attention -from their present danger; but the wind was still increasing, and he -had thrice lessened the sail since leaving Inchkeith; the moon was -gone, the waves were becoming gloomy, and though Sybil was too much -accustomed to boating to be sick, she trembled at the increasing -tumult of the Firth, and shuddered in the cold night wind that blew -over it, for the plaid in which the earl enveloped her failed as a -protection against the chill ocean atmosphere. This plaid--a plain -Border maud of black and white cheque, he had long worn as the best -of disguises, for it was a warm and ample, though a coarse and humble -garment. - -For a full hour the boat beat fruitlessly against the wind, which now -blew off the land, and again the earl was forced to run her before -it, to avoid being swamped by the fierce and foam-headed waves, that -careered ahead and astern of her; and now the dark, shadowy outline -of Gulane Hill came out of the dusky vapour that rested on the face -of the water to the east. Aware that the little sandy Bay of -Aberlady lay below it, he trimmed the lessened sail and grasped the -tiller, in the hope of beaching the boat upon its level shore; but, -lo! the envious wind veered suddenly a few points more to the south, -and blew directly off the coast, and with such sudden fury, that the -boat was nearly overset. - -Instantly securing the tiller by a rope, the earl rushed to the -lug-sail to take in its last reef, and fearing to be dashed on the -rocks that fringe the coast, he was now compelled to pass the -wished-for haven, and lie still further off, with his prow turned -towards the pathless waste of the German Sea. Then, but only when he -thought of Sybil and what she was suffering from cold and terror, did -his brave heart sink with apprehension. Muffled completely in the -plaid, she endeavoured to shut out the sight of the black tumbling -waves and their foam-flecked summits, the sound of the moaning wind -and the creaking of the labouring boat, but every instant the noise -increased, and every shower of spray that flew over her was heavier -than the last. She prayed with fervour; and the impetuous earl, who -was rather inclined to swear, both at the sea and wind, more than -once, amid the wild discord of the waves, heard her small soft voice -raised in prayer to God, and to St. Bryde of Douglas, the patron of -her race, the virgin of Kil-dara. - -The castle of Kilspindie, with its great square tower and sandy -shore, the beautiful Bay of Aberlady, with its sheltered village, -were now astern; and nothing was seen but the bluff headland of -Gulane-ness, with the white foam rising like smoke against its -tremendous front of rocks. - -Wan gleams of uncertain light shot over the desolate estuary; the -whole prospect was dreary and alarming. Strong, active, and -determined, Lord Ashkirk might have reached the shore by swimming, -but Sybil---- - -He struck his sail almost in despair, and now bent all his unwearying -energy to bale out his little craft; for she was filling fast, and he -fully expected to be swamped by every mountain-like wave, that with -its monstrous head curling aloft, and snowy with foam--a foam -rendered yet more terrible by the gloom and obscurity around -it--rolled on towards the rocks of Grulane-ness, drenching the -labouring skiff in its passage, and threatening to engulf it in an -abyss for ever. - -He was without fear for himself; but when he beheld Sybil crouching -down beside him, his heart filled with anxiety and dread, with -suspense and remorse; and he reflected that were the catastrophe, -which he dreaded and expected every moment, to happen--he thrust away -the thought as too horrible to contemplate, and baled on with renewed -energy, pausing only to kiss the upturned brow of Sybil, or press her -trembling hands. They were becoming very cold. - -A thousand thoughts of home and friends, of love and life, came -vividly on her mind; and Sybil reflected that she was happy even on -yonder closely guarded island, when she contrasted the security and -hope it afforded with the danger and hopelessness of their present -predicament. - -Day began to dawn in the east, and with joy poor Sybil hailed it; for -though helpless and feeble, she had seen and admired the unwearying -energy of her lover, in keeping the boat alive in such a frightful -sea. His exertions were almost superhuman, for her existence -depended upon them. - -They were now past that tremendous promontory. - -Uninfluenced by its bold abutment, the waves were more smooth; and -again the earl spread his sail, and made another vain attempt to gain -the southern shore. - -A sickly yellow glow spread over the east, as the sun arose from the -ocean enveloped in watery clouds; the wind had not yet spent its -fury; the whole aspect of the sky and water was dark and dreary The -summit of the land was veiled in mist; its shore was fringed with -rocks, on which the surf was beating; and from these rocks the wind -blew fierce and strong. No vessel was in sight; and not a living -thing was visible but the startled seamews and kitty-wakes, the -gannets and cormorants, that were whirled past them, screaming on the -wind, which often dashed them into the bosom of the upheaved water. - -"Now Heaven be thy protection, my Sybil!" exclaimed the earl, as he -sank exhausted beside her; "for I can do no more." - -Worn out by toil, and exhausted also by loss of blood from a flesh -wound received from the sword of Barncleugh, and still more overcome -by his frantic and unaided exertions during so many hours to trim the -boat and keep her floating, he now found himself conquered, and -completely overcome. He was pale as death, his hands trembled, his -eyes were bloodshot, and the blood that trickled from his nostrils -declared painfully how far he had overtasked his strength. - -"God protect thee, Sybil!" he repeated, as he pressed his trembling -lips to her brow; "God protect thee, for all my poor strength has -failed me now." - -He burst into tears, from excess of weakness; but this was the -emotion of a moment only; he smiled sadly, and encircling Sybil with -his arms endeavoured to warm her. - -Again he gathered courage, and setting a few feet of sail, grasped -the tiller, and strove fruitlessly to keep the boat to the wind; but -filling fast with every wave, she laboured heavily; and now the -tumult of the water increased; for right ahead rose Ibris, Fidra, the -Lamb, and Craigleith, four little rugged isles that lie at the very -mouth of the Firth. On Fidra stood a little chapel, and amid its -ruins (which are yet visible) a myriad of gulls and gannets build -their nests, and thick as gnats in the sunshine the sea birds were -flying around its rocks on the stormy wind. - -These four isles are but enormous masses of basalt; and against them -the Firth and ocean poured their adverse tides in ridges of foam; -then seeing the utter futility of attempting, in such a gale, to -weather them, the earl let slip his sail, and with a crack like the -report of a musket, the braces flew through the blocks, and the -nut-brown canvas vanished into the air. - -He now resigned the boat to its fate, and expected every moment to -see it dashed upon the isle of Ibris, or swept through the little -channel that lay between it and the shore, and through which a strong -current was running. - -By a miracle they passed these isles, and were swept to the seaward. - -"A ship! a ship! dear Archibald--look, my lord--a ship!" exclaimed -Sybil, as, with an expression of the most extravagant joy, she threw -her arm towards it--"a rescue from the jaws of death!" - -Eagerly the earl raised his drooping head; and lo! a stately merchant -ship, with her large foresail set, but her topsails and square -spritsail close reefed, was standing northward across the Firth from -the harbour of North Berwick. Ashkirk waved his grey plaid, and in a -few minutes, by the altered course of the vessel, it was evident they -had been observed by the mariners, who were seen crowding the high -forecastle, the still higher poop, and low waist, which was profusely -covered with religious emblems, and she had a large blue Scottish -cross painted in the centre of each of her sails. - -"If it should be a ship of the king--one of Barton's fleet!" muttered -the earl; who, before her appearance, had been entertaining visions -of founding a chapel to St. Bryde of Douglas, on the bleak rocks of -Fidra, if they escaped from their present perils. - -On came the ship, looming largely, with the water plashing under her -gilded bows, which rose and fell on the heaving water. - -Manned by eight stout mariners, a boat shot off towards the -castaways, and in a short time the half-lifeless Sybil and the earl, -scarcely less exhausted, were conveyed on board the strange ship, -which proved to be the _Saint Adrian_, a large vessel belonging to -the monks of the May, who in those days possessed many trading barks, -and trafficked largely with the Hanse Towns, Flanders, and the -Baltic. Once safely on board, the necessity of caution prevailed -over the earl's piety, and concealing the rank of Sybil and himself -under feigned names, he merely stated that they had been accidentally -blown off the coast. - -A run of a few hours brought the ship to the Isle of May, whose -cliffs of dark green rock, with the seafowl floating in clouds above -them, rise precipitously on the east, and descend to foam-beaten -reefs on the west. - -On this verdant island stood a chapel dedicated to St. Adrian, who -had been murdered there in his hermitage, by the pagan Danes, in the -year 870; near it stood a priory belonging to St. Mary of Pittenween, -the monks of which received the rescued fugitives with every -hospitality; and there necessity compelled them to reside for several -weeks; for in that remote place there was seldom any intercourse with -the main land. - -Of all that was passing in the capital Sybil and her lover were -happily ignorant. - -Communication between places was slow in those days, and continued to -be so for many a generation after. Even a hundred and fifty years -later, the abdication of James VII. from the British throne was not -known in some parts of Scotland until four months after the usurper -had installed himself in his Palace of St. James. - - - - -CHAPTER L. - -FALKLAND. - - "Where Ceres gilds the fertile plain, - And richly waves the yellow grain; - And Lomond hill wi' misty showers - Aft weets auld Falkland's royal towers." - RICHARD GALL. - - -At the foot of the beautiful Lomond hills, lie the town and palace of -Falkland--a palace now, alas! like Scotland's ancient royalty, among -the things that were. - -Many old trees in the neighbourhood, the remnant of the ancient royal -forest of Falkland, still impart to the fragment of the palace an air -both melancholy and venerable; for it is but a fragment that -survives, and makes one think with sorrow and anger of that -remorseless system of absorption which is laying Scotland bare, and, -year by year, sweeps southward some portion of her money and -vitality. A day is coming, perhaps, when Holyrood, the last and -least beautiful of our Scottish palaces, may be abandoned like the -rest, if not to some ignoble purpose, at least to ruin and decay. -The fine old pile of Falkland was successively engrafted on the -ancient tower of the Thanes of Fife, by the third, fourth, and fifth -Jameses, until it formed a quadrangle, one side of which alone -survives the decay consequent to its desertion, and the neglect with -which every feature of Scotland's ancient state is treated by the -partial and (so far as _she_ is concerned) penurious government to -which she yearly hands over the six millions of her revenue. - -Lying under the northern brow of a mountain, and so situated as to be -concealed from the sun during a considerable portion of the winter, -Falkland is a quaint-looking place, removed from any great -thoroughfare, and still inhabited by a primitive race of weavers, who -have, generation after generation, followed the same trade as their -fathers. Their dwellings are thatched; each cottar has his kailyard; -and, with much of our old Scottish simplicity and contentment, they -jog through life as their "forbears" did before them; and it is no -uncommon thing to hear the older burghers quoting the learned -sayings, and relating the quaint doings of his Majesty James VI., as -if he still kept court amongst them. - -Lying at the foot of the steep eastern Lomond, with its vanes and -carved pinnacles overtopping the foliage of its old green copsewood, -the ruined palace of Falkland, when seen from a little distance, -resembles an ancient Scoto-French chateau, and the white smoke of its -burgh-town (now diminished to a village), as it curls from the green -foliage that fringes the glen, makes rustic and beautiful this -solitary place, which was the scene of many a sorrow and many a joy -to the illustrious line of our ancient kings. - -The blending of the solid Palladian with the lightness of Gothic -architecture, imparts to the fragment of the palace now remaining a -singularly pleasing effect. On each floor of the most ancient -portion there are six windows, divided by stone mullions, beautifully -moulded, and between them are buttresses formed by foliaged columns -and Tuscan entablatures, which support inverted trusses covered with -the most elaborate carving. Designed by the same unfortunate -architect who planned the Tower of James V. at Holyrood, the western -front is in the castellated style, and exhibits two finely -proportioned round towers, between which is the lofty archway forming -the entrance to what was once the grand quadrangle. In former times, -this arch was closed at night by strong gates, and was defended by -loopholes in the towers which flank it. Medallions in exquisite -relief, the frequent initials, crests, and arms of James V. and Mary -of Guise and Lorraine, the gallant thistle with its imperial crown, -deep panels with many a coat armorial, grotesque waterspouts and -gothic pinnacles, with many an elaborate niche and beautiful statue, -all combine to show that Falkland, if not the largest, was one of the -most beautiful of Scotland's ancient palaces. - -The gay cardinal had tarried on his way from Edinburgh, having made a -little detour round the Moss of Kirkforthar to visit a certain fair -dame, who is still known in Fifeshire tradition as the Lady Vane; -thus it was the forenoon of the 24th July, before he approached -Falkland; and on the next night Jane Seton was--to die. - -Matters of state, rather than her safety, had drawn the cardinal to -Falkland. An ambassador was coming from England, and against that -ambassador he had resolved to bias the mind of James V. - -Despite his ecclesiastical severity, and despite all that has been -urged against the character of this determined prelate--our Scottish -Wolsey--we must assert fearlessly, that he was as true a Scotsman as -ever breathed: and that should go far to redeem his errors in the -present day, when Scottish spirit and Scottish patriotism are -somewhat scarce commodities. Beaton was the sternest, the most -active and distinguished ecclesiastic of his time. The Protestant -faith recoiled before him, and its defender "by the grace of God," -Henry VIII. of England, laid fruitlessly many plots for his death by -assassination; but Beaton's master mind circumvented them all. He -was too sagacious, and perhaps too worldly, to be superstitious, even -at that time; and whatever may have been his errors and his failings -(and these, God wot, were not few), his steady maintenance of our -Scottish honour and independence should ensure him some little -credit, even in the present age. It cannot be denied that he viewed -the tenets of the Calvinists with contempt, for he considered them as -the natural enemies of Scotland, of her church, and of himself; hence -his indomitable attachment to that church which he considered the -only true path to Heaven, and whose tenets he upheld by death and -fire, and sealed by his own blood. - -Cardinal Beaton had a grave, firm, warm, and confident mode of -expression, which was never used without producing a due effect on -the frank and manly James V., who admired his lofty spirit, his keen -perception in the field and cabinet, the vastness and profundity of -his political projects; his staunch maintenance of the national -dignity against English aggression, his avowed hostility to Henry -VIII., which, with his bold and reflective character, together with -his merciless persecution of all schismatics, combined to make him -the first man in Scotland, and the most formidable prince of the -church in Europe. - -The summit of the steep and lofty Easter Lomond, which rises abruptly -up from Falkland, was veiled in mist, but below the sunbeams glanced -along its sides of dark brown heath, as the cardinal's train rode -through the stately park of the palace. It was a glorious summer -day; that morning a shower had fallen, and everything looked fresh -and beautiful; the Rose-loch, with its flowery islets, where the -snowy swan and dusky ouzel built their nests among the water-lilies, -was glittering with light; and the old woods of Falkland and -Drumdreel rustled their heavy foliage in the gentle wind. - -James V. sat in the recess of a mullioned window, and gazed -listlessly at the summer landscape, which included the whole strath -of Eden, the fertile and magnificent Howe of Fife, from Cupar to -Strathmiglo, spread before him, bright with verdure and glittering -with sunlight; but James was caressing a little dog that had belonged -to his Magdalene. A ribbon encircled its neck; and, though worn and -faded, he would not permit it to be removed, "for," as he said, "her -dear pretty hands had tied it there." Again and again James looked -sadly at the ribbon, and thus he saw neither the vast landscape nor -the cardinal's glittering train, which (headed by Leslie of Balquhan) -swept round the palace on the soft sward, and entered the quadrangle. - -James was in deep mourning for the queen. His doublet, trunk -breeches, hose, and rosettes were of black satin, lightly laced. His -mantle was of black velvet, with a cross of white silk sewn thereon. -All the ornaments of the apartment had been removed, save a large -crucifix, which stood on the ebony table, and a portrait of his -grandfather James III., whose golden locks made him the original of -"the yellow-haired laddie," a song and air composed for him by his -favourite musician Rodgers. The walls were covered with rich French -tapestry, exhibiting landscapes embroidered with green and gold. The -furniture was all of the darkest walnut wood, elaborately carved in -the fashion of James III., and inlaid with mosaics from Florence--the -thistle and the fleur-de-lis studded with their golden leaves the oak -beams and deep panels of the ceiling. - -Moulded, and cusped with stone, the gothic windows were filled with -lozenged panes in leaden frames, stained with arms and devices; and -the curtains which shaded them were of Venetian brocade. - -Absorbed in his grief, the king for some time past had abandoned all -his favourite amusements--horses, hounds, hawks, music, and -masquerading, had all been forgotten; for the livelong day he sat -alone and brooded over the memory of Magdalene of France. This -lethargy communicated itself to the court. The dogs lay sleeping in -the yard; the hooded hawks winked and nodded on their perches; the -royal standard hung still and unwaven on the gateway; the swans -seemed to sleep on the loch; and the arquebusier at the archway -leaned on the boll of his weapon, and dozed, while the pages, who had -been playing with quoits in the park, slept on the sunny benches -before the gate. - -The approaching train electrified the inhabitants of the palace. - -"The cardinal himself, or may the devil take me!" cried little Lord -Claud Hamilton, the king's favourite page, a saucy boy of sixteen, -with a long feather in his cap, and a precocious moustache on his -upper lip, as he sprang off the bench, and all the pages rushed into -the palace to announce the intelligence. - -The dogs barked, and the hawks screamed and flapped their wings. - -The arquebusier shouldered his arquebuse, and turned out the guard; -the arms rattled on the pavement; the drum beat; and the whole palace -of Falkland was aroused like that of the sleeping beauty in the wood. - - - - -CHAPTER LI. - -THE KING AND THE CARDINAL. - - "Ne'er should be a vassal banished, - Without time to plead his cause; - Ne'er should king his people's rights - Trample on, or break the laws: - Ne'er should he his liegemen punish, - More than to their crimes is due; - Lest they rise into rebellion-- - That day sorely would he rue." - _Rodrigo of Bivar._ - - -"His eminence the cardinal, may it please your majesty," said the -little Lord Claud, announcing the visitor. Setting down the lap-dog, -King James started from his seat, and, without any further preamble, -the tall and stately figure of Beaton approached him. James knelt -for a moment to receive his blessing, and then pressed his hand in -silence. - -The poor king looked paler, thinner, and sadder than when the -cardinal had seen him last in Holyrood, beside that grave over which -a nation mourned; but this did not prevent the perfect courtier from -saying-- - -"I rejoice to see your majesty looking so well." - -"It is not merely to flatter you have disturbed my sad retirement," -said James, with one of his old smiles; "but welcome heartily, Lord -Cardinal; I have longed to converse with you anent many things." - -The little dog whined, and the king took it again in his hands to -caress it, while the page withdrew, and the cardinal seated himself. -"Here are splendour and magnificence," thought he, "saloons full of -guards, and chambers full of courtiers, pages, lacqueys, wealth, and -rank--but where is happiness?" - -"My lord," said James, "I have many questions to ask you concerning -my poor Vipont, the trial of the Lady Seton, and her mad brother's -invasion of Inchkeith single-handed. Faith! he is quite a devil of a -fellow! But first tell me what rumour is this, of cannonading in the -river Forth, which reached me this morning." - -"Oh, it was merely Monseigneur Claude d'Annebault, admiral of France, -who has brought the new ambassador, escorted by eight frigates, which -have anchored off the Beacon rock at Leith, where they saluted the -Scottish flag, and the ships of Sir Robert Barton replied by their -culverins." - -"France," said James, sadly; "and this ambassador?" - -"Will pay his respects to your majesty to-morrow." - -"By my soul, I thought it was the Lord Howard with the fleet of my -uncle Henry; and that he had come to blows with stout Sir Robert." - -"A new ambassador from England is also coming hither." - -"Ah!--and concerning what?" - -"A league with Henry. Need I implore your majesty," said the -cardinal, in the most impressive tones of his persuasive voice, "need -I implore you to beware! He comes to crave an interview, that Henry -may instil into your heart his own hatred of France and heresy to -God." - -"Hatred to the France of my Magdalene--the France of Scotland's old -alliance! Nay, my Lord Cardinal, I need no warnings. There is a -grasping and aggressive spirit in England, of which Scotland should -beware; but can my heretic uncle imagine that he will induce me to -bring about here the same change of religion that he, by a single -word, has wrought in England?" - -"He cannot; but he thinks that England will never be thoroughly -Protestant, or at least opposed to Rome, while Scotland remains -Catholic and true; thus his whole soul is bent on breaking that -continental alliance which aggravates, as he thinks, our old and just -hostility to his people." - -"Is not the alliance broken? My poor little Magdalene!" - -"Thou hast most unwisely and unjustly permitted Sir David Lindesay of -the Mount, George Buchanan, and others, to satirize the bishops and -orders of clergy: yet, in the name of the latter, I have this day -approached your majesty, to offer an annual subsidy of fifty thousand -crowns from the rents of the kirk, to enable you to defend yourself -more ably against England and her allies the Portuguese." - -"This is well! the crowns are right welcome." - -"An ambassador----" - -"What--another?" - -"Is coming from Rome, with a consecrated sword, which with his own -sacred hands his Holiness has whetted on the altar-stone of St. -Peter--yea, whetted against the English people and their king, whose -fleet is now out on the high seas to intercept the envoy and his -gift." - -"Indeed!" - -"Thou seest how far these English will dare." - -"If the ambassador is taken before Barton can reach the Downs, then, -d--n England--we'll go to war with her! and here into your hands I -commit the books written by Henry, and brought hither by the Welsh -bishop of St. David's, wherein he defends so boldly the principles of -Luther." - -"Good; I shall burn them on the first occasion, before my gate at St. -Andrew's," replied the cardinal, as he threw them outside the chamber -door to his page who waited in the gallery. - -"With thy advice I broke off the meeting which Henry proposed at -York; so we may now prepare for war in earnest--a war that will pour -forth our Scottish blood like water; but on the plains of our -hereditary foe. The Scottish people should be ever like a drawn -sword--the king being the hilt, his subjects the blade." - -"Gladly will I head the army," said the cardinal, whose eyes sparkled. - -"Nay," replied James, dryly, and with a smile; "should war be -resolved on, I shall lead the army in person, as my predecessors have -always done. What say the laws of the church on prelates leading -armies?" - -"It is forbidden by the canons of John VIII." - -"Sir Oliver Sinclair of Ravensheugh is a brave serviteur of the -crown, and he may be my lieutenant-general." - -"Sire, Sir Oliver of Ravensheugh is a mere laird, and no lord will -follow him to the field. But we are well prepared for any emergency. -The Earl of Buchan commands on the eastern marches, the Lord Sanquhar -on the west; and the Lord Tester commands the middle. Their paid -bands of horse and foot are ever on the alert. Our ships of war are -not so numerous as they soon shall be; but they fully equal those of -England in every respect, for the _Unicorn_, the _Salamander_,* the -_Morischer_, and the _Great Lion_, are each as large, if not larger, -than the boasted _Harry_. Then we have the little frigate taken by -Sir Robert Barton from the Admiral Howard, in Yarmouth Roads." - - -* These two were burnt by the English, in 1544. - - -"The _Mary Willoughbie_?" - -"Mounting twenty culverins, besides arquebuses and crossbows; and we -have six others on the stocks at the New Haven. Including those -which came from France," continued the cardinal, consulting his -note-book, "we have one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon in our -arsenal; and Scotland was never better prepared for war than at the -present hour--nay, not even in the days of James IV." - -"For which I thank the ability of your eminence," replied James, who -cordially disliked his uncle Henry. "My father, James IV., entered -England, whenever he chose, at the head of an army; but I, -unfortunate! have a stiff-necked people, who, much as they love me, -will not fight unless their parliament tells them to do so; and, -worse than all, cardinal, the people--hate thee!" - -"Faith, sire, they are ready to hate any one--the rabble." - -"Impatient of thy power and princely offices, they think the royal -authority will soon sink to nothing beneath the shadow of so great a -minister. But what matters it? I long for war, because I am weary -of life; while thou longest for it, simply because thou hatest the -English. Lord cardinal, I am come of a doomed race," said James, -with a shudder, as the vague terror that his house was fated to fall -with himself came upon him, and a gloom spread over his manly brow. -"I remember me of a prophecy that was made by a weird woman of -Strathgryffe to Allan the great steward, 'that never one of his race -should comb a grey head;' and fearfully hath that prophecy been -verified!" - -The eyes of the good king filled. - -"Come my time when it may," he continued, "I know that my dear -Scottish subjects will remember me long. Cardinal, my people call me -_king of the puir_, and I am prouder of that title than the thorny -crown the Alexanders, the Constantines, and the Braces have left me. -The blessings of the poor and the lowly attend me when I walk abroad, -without guards, without retinue, without arms. _I hate the nobles_, -for they are ever ready to barter their country and their God for -foreign gold: and Scotland's nobles will one day be Scotland's -destruction. Pardon this honest vanity; but I feel that to reign in -the hearts of my people is a great and glorious thing. There are -many kings in Europe, but not one is called the father of his poor -but James Stuart of Scotland. I am ever among them. I visit the -highways and the byways, the gloomy streets, the miserable garrets, -and the famished cottages where pestilence, or poverty, or tyranny -have been. I know where misery is, or wrongs are endured. Disguised -as a beggar, I discover them; as a king and a gentleman I alleviate -or avenge them. The hard hands I have shaken, and the humble hearts -I have gladdened, will serve me to the last gasp; and the ingleside -where a king has sat and supped his kail with the gudeman, or toyed -with his bairns, will long be remembered in tradition when the king -and the clown are blended in one common dust. Thus I feel with joy -that I shall go down to my grave at Holyrood with the blessings of my -people, and shall be remembered long in the land, which my father -bequeathed me from the Field of Flodden." - -The king paused; and the cardinal, remembering his pledge to Father -St. Bernard, deemed this the best opportunity for opening the -trenches. - -"Sire, this is a good and holy frame of mind," said he, "and I -sometimes see the truth of what Buchanan teaches (heretic and -republican though he is) that impulses to good or evil are common to -all ranks of men, and in these respects all men are equal." - -"Cardinal, all men are equal, too, in the grave. Were a beggar laid -beside me at Holyrood, he would be as great as me, and I no greater -than he." - -The cardinal could scarcely repress a gesture of impatience. - -"I fear me," said he, "that the solitude of Falkland oppresses your -majesty's mind?" - -"It is in solitude that God speaks most to man; and I, oh cardinal, -have been in solitude since my poor Magdalene was lost," replied -James, kindly caressing the little dog. - -"She is not lost, but gone before." - -"Cardinal," said James, looking up with his hazel eyes full of tears, -"I pray for her daily." - -"One act of mercy performed in her name and memory, will do more for -the soul of Magdalene than a thousand prayers." - -The king looked earnestly, perhaps suspiciously, in the dark and -majestic face of Beaton, and said,-- - -"Your eminence actually means this?" - -"Most solemnly!" - -"Then what is this act of mercy?" - -"A pardon for the Lady Jane Seton." - -James's bright eyes flashed with fire, and he twisted his brown -moustache with anger. - -"Now, by the Holy Communion, this is too much; a pardon for the -destroyer of Magdalene of France--for this daughter of a Douglas, and -sought in this tower of Falkland, the very chamber where her sire the -Lord John of Ashkirk, and her grandsire Sir Archibald of Kilspindie, -detained me once a prisoner, with a guard of some five hundred -Douglases, from whose surveillance I had to fly like a thief in the -night! Lord cardinal, it is impossible." - -It was seldom that James refused him a favour, and his eminence was -piqued. - -"There is but one day now, and I beseech your majesty to consider -well." - -"I have considered well. The Countess of Arran and I talked over the -matter for three hours yesterday." - -"The Countess of Arran!" muttered the cardinal; "women--women! there -is ever mischief where they are concerned. It would have been well -had they been altogether omitted in the great plan of human society." - -"And to lessen this evil to the public thou keepest a dozen of them -shut up in the tower at Creich, all fair and jolly damosels," said -the king, with something of his old raillery; "truly, lord cardinal, -my subjects of Fife are much indebted to thee." - -"I assure your majesty," said the cardinal, with increasing pique, -"that to the best of my knowledge the whole trial and accusation hath -been the prompting of revenge in Sir Adam Otterburn of Redhall." - -"Of my lord advocate? Impossible! why, the man is virtuous as -Scipio, and upright as Brutus." - -"But in their excessive zeal, the judges have wrongly construed the -depositions. I implore you to reflect; her death will make an -irreparable breach between the races of Stuart and Douglas. War -alone will not make a monarch illustrious. The splendour of valour -and chivalry dazzles for a time; but a noble action lives in the -memory of the people for ever." - -"True; but beware, lest I deem thee a follower of Angus." - -"I follow a Master who is greater than all the princes of the earth," -replied the stately prelate, warming; "and the opinions of the poor -worms that crawl on its surface are nothing to me." - -"Is this the fag-end of some old sermon?" - -"Sire, thou mockest me, and I have not deserved it of thee," said the -cardinal, rising with dignity; "but let not the ambassadors of -foreign princes see thy weakness, and how thou carriest thy vengeance -even against a helpless woman. Was it for such an act as this, that -Francis the Magnanimous sent thee the collar of St. Michael; that the -great Emperor Charles, the victor of sixty battles, sent thee the -Golden Fleece; and English Henry, his noble Order of the Garter? I -trow not. Glory and virtue cannot exist without mercy--the first is -but the shadow of the other two. In this case, close thy heart -against hatred, and thou wilt soon become merciful, even to these -hated Setons and Douglases. Sire, sire, to thy many good actions add -but this one more." - -"Cardinal, thou pleadest well; but sayest nothing of my gallant -Vipont, my comrade in many a hairbrained French adventure. I would -have given my best horse and hound--even Bawtie, to have seen him -confronting Abbot Mylne and his fourteen black caps! But the -sorceries, the vile sorceries of his lady----" - -"Are about as true as the miracles of Mahomet." - -"How! Did she not confess them to the whole bench?" - -"True," replied the cardinal, with a smile; "when her tender limbs -were being rent asunder by the rack." - -"The rack! the rack! Oh, was it only on the rack she confessed these -things?" - -"As thou, sire, or I would have done, under similar circumstances." - -The king seemed thunderstruck. - -"A pen! a pen! though a Seton, and a Douglas's daughter, too, I -forgive her--she is saved." - -A few hours after this, when the sun was setting on the East Lomond, -Lewis Leslie of Balquhan, mounted on a fleet horse, with the pardon, -signed, sealed, and secured in a pouch that hung at his waist-belt, -was galloping through the parks of Falkland, on his way to the -capital. - - - - -CHAPTER LII. - -THE LAIRD OF CLATTO. - - "Farewell Falkland, the fortress of Fyfe, - Thy polite park, under the Lawmound law; - Sumtyme in thee I led a lusty lyfe, - The fallow deer to see thaim raik on raw, - Court men to cum to thee, they stand grait aw, - Sayand thy burgh bene of all burrowis baill, - Because in thee, they never gat gude aill." - _Complaynt of the Papingo._ - - -By the machinations of Redhall, and the subtle ability of Birrel, his -messenger, there lay many a deadly barrier, and many a sharp sword, -between the gallant Leslie and the city of Edinburgh. - -The last rays of the sun had vanished from the furzy sides and green -summit of the East Lomond, once called the Hill of the Goats, in the -language of the Celtic Scots, when he quitted the park of Falkland, -and struck into an ancient horseway, which, under the shadow of many -a venerable oak-tree, led him towards Kirkforthar; and soon the hill -of Clatto became visible as it rose about five miles distant on his -left. - -At that very time a party of horsemen, well armed with lances, -two-handed swords, and daggers, and wearing steel caps, with jacks of -mail, rode round by the edge of a great and dreary peat-moss, which -then lay at the base of Clatto Hill; and passing the old chapel of -Kirkforthar, concealed themselves in a thicket of beech-trees, near -an ancient mill, some moss-grown fragments of which are still -remaining in the highway. There two of their number dismounted, and -borrowing a couple of shovels from a neighbouring cottage, with the -utmost deliberation, after carefully removing the green turf, -proceeded to dig a _grave_. - -Of these horsemen, fifteen were Redhall's own vassals, led, not by -Birrel, for that arch-conspirator had reserved unto himself another -part in this cruel and cowardly drama, but by Tam Trotter and Dobbie, -both of whom felt their personal importance and dignity increased to -an unlimited extent by this command; and Dobbie's cat-like visage -wore a comical expression of martial ferocity, as it peeped out of -the depths of a vast helmet of the sixteenth century. - -The other horsemen were led by John Seaton of Clatto, the -representative of a family which had long been infamous for its -lawless acts and readiness to perform any outrage. The ruins of -their tower are still to be seen at the south-east end of Lathrisk, -as the parish was then named. - -The old road from Cupar to Kinghorn passed through a gorge, called -Clatto Den, and in the face of the mountain which overhung that -narrow bridlepath there lay a cavern, the mouth of which was -concealed, but whose recesses afforded a subterranean communication -with the vaults of the strong tower above; and there the bandit -family of Clatto were wont to rush out and butcher those unsuspecting -persons who rashly passed through the den alone, either by night or -by day. James IV., when travelling with two esquires, had narrowly -escaped assassination there; but cutting a passage through, escaped, -leaving one of his assailants minus a hand. In his ignorance of the -owner's free propensities, the king took shelter in the tower, when -finding that Seaton's sixth son was maimed, the guilt of the family -came to light; the secret passage to the tower was discovered; the -old ruffian laird and all his sons were hanged, save John the -youngest, who, being then a child, escaped to figure on the present -occasion. - -Justice was more severely administered under James V.; thus, the -exchequer of the Laird of Clatto being somewhat low, the -accoutrements of his fourteen horsemen were rather dilapidated and -rusty; but, like their riders, the horses of his troop were fresh, -strong, sinewy, and active. Having a plea anent meithes and marches -with the Boswells of Dovan, the promise of a decision in his favour -had drawn him from his lair on the dark errand of Redhall. - -The cavern that lay below his tower is now concealed, by the -impending side of the den having fallen down a few years ago, and -choked up the entrance; but the peasantry still point to the place -with fear and abhorrence. - -Rendered thirsty by a six miles' trot from the tower of Clatto, John -Seaton, while his men were coolly digging a grave, went boldly to the -mill of Kirkforthar and demanded a cup of ale, upon which the miller -gave it submissively, and without asking a question, for he knew that -it was as much as the lives of his whole family were worth, to ask on -what errand the Laird of Clatto was abroad in the gloaming. - -"Harkee, miller," said he, with a grin, exhibiting (between his bushy -moustaches and beard, which almost concealed the cheek-plates of his -open helmet) a set of those sharp white teeth, which bespeak a strong -healthy fellow, who is often hungry but always happy: "Harkee, carle -miller; haud fast your yett, steek close your een and lugs, and steek -them ticht, for the next twa hoors; and tak' ye tent to hear nocht -else, but ablins the splash o' your milnwheel, till the mune glints -abune the moss." - -"Langer, gif it please ye, laird," replied the poor miller, trembling. - -"Ou, that will be lang enow; but tak' tent o' my words; hear ye -nocht, and see ye nocht; or I may come doon by the Mossend some braw -nicht, and the mill o' Kirkforthar will be toom o' a tenant in the -morning; keep close by your ingle cheek, carle, for the chields o' -Clatto winna thole steering." - -And carefully wiping a few drops of ale from his cuirass, which was -magnificently cut, worked, and inlaid with the most rare damascene -work, he left the low thatched mill, and sprang on horseback. - -Meanwhile Leslie was galloping by the northern base of the East -Lomond. His horse was a strong and active roadster, which he had -received from the king's master-stabler. Fortunately he had taken -the precaution to retain his armour, which was a ribbed Italian suit, -studded with gilded nails, and on the globose cuirass of which his -coat of arms were engraved. His gauntlets were overlapping plates, -without finger-scales, thus, with the ample steel hilt of the sword, -forming a double protection for the right hand. His arms were a long -straight rapier and dagger, and at the bow of his demipique saddle he -had a pair of firelock dagues, or pistols. The latter every -gentleman carried when travelling; and the former were as necessary -to a cavalier of the time as his feather or spurs. - -His horse having lost a shoe, the delay caused by the necessity of -having this loss repaired by a roadside Vulcan made the evening dusk -before he approached the mill of Kirkforthar. The summer moon shone -brightly in the blue sky, and clearly and strongly the outlines of -wood and mountain rose against it. - -On Leslie's right rose the steep Lomond; and on his left extended the -vast moss, amid the wilderness of which many a deep pool of water lay -gleaming in the moonlight. The district was desolate and wild; but -no idea of danger or of molestation occurred to the mind of the -solitary horseman, who rapidly approached the mill of Kirkforthar, -where the dark foliage of some old beech-trees overshadowed both -sides of the way; and where, save the cry of the cushat-dove, all was -still as death. A red spark that glimmered among the trees, alone -indicated where the mill lay. - -Leslie checked the speed of his horse, as the road plunged down into -this obscurity, which he had no sooner penetrated, than he found his -course arrested by two bands of horsemen, who wheeled round their -ranks from each side of the road, barring their passage by their -levelled lances and uplifted swords. Well was it for Leslie that his -fiery horse made a demi-volte, giving him time both to escape their -weapons and unsheath his own. - -"Make ye way, sirs! I am on the king's service!" he exclaimed, still -backing his horse, but disdaining to fly. "Plague! the sheriff of -Fife has surely bad deputies! But, whoever you are, rascals, the -life of Balquhan for the best life among ye!" - -And dashing spurs into his horse, he broke through the whole band -like a whirlwind, thrusting one through the body, bearing down -another, unhorsing a third with his foot; and passing unhurt through -the hedge of steel around him, left John of Clatto and his ruffians -to deposit one of their own number in the grave they had dug so -carefully in the thicket near the mill. - -He heard behind a storm of oaths and outcries, mingled with the clash -of arms, and the rush of galloping hoofs, as the horsemen broke -tumultuously out of the wooded hollow, and poured along the highway, -in fierce pursuit of him. Heedless of their taunts and shouts, -Leslie spurred on: he had now been made aware that there were those -upon the road whose interest it was to intercept him. On, on he went -by the skirts of the desolate and moonlighted moss, and his anxiety -was not lessened by the reflection that he had to pass by the Tower -of Bandon, whose proprietor was his enemy; and in a few minutes he -saw the square outline of this fortalice, with its angular turrets -and grated windows, rising above the roadway, among a group of old -ash-trees. - -The pursuers were close behind. - -Leslie was almost tempted to turn towards the moss; but to one so -ignorant of its paths, such a measure might prove a certain death, -while the risk was scarcely less in keeping near the barony of -Bandon. Half-a-mile before him, on the open muirland, he saw several -men on horseback, and his practised eye soon discovered that they -were twelve in number, and armed, for the moonbeams were reflected -from twelve helmets. Then his heart became filled with rage; for -though he knew not why his path was thus beset, he knew that if he -were slain, and the pardon was not delivered by a certain hour in -Edinburgh, the unhappy Jane Seton, the promised bride of his friend, -would assuredly be led forth to perish by a shameful and frightful -death. - -Many of the troop from which he had escaped, not less than twelve, -perhaps, were scarcely a hundred yards behind him; now he saw as many -more in front, and his forebodings told him they were the Lindesays -of Bandon. At Balbirnie there stood an ancient cross, erected by a -gentleman of the neighbourhood who had slain another at that place; -and this cross (which is still standing) Leslie knew would afford him -a sanctuary, if his pursuers were old Catholics; but he remembered -that the Reformation had made vast progress in Fife, and that its -proselytes would not hesitate to violate any sanctuary; so, instead -of pressing onward to gain this bourne, supposing that the direct -road might be beset still further on, he turned abruptly to the left, -and plunged down a narrow strath, which led, as he was aware, towards -the village of Markinch and the strong castle of the Lundies of -Balgonie. - -A shout burst from the horsemen on the muir, on finding that he thus -avoided them; and, joining with those who came from Kirkforthar, they -all urged their horses to the utmost speed to intercept the gallant -messenger. Many a dague and petronel were fired after him, and he -heard the balls, as they whistled sharply past his ear, crash among -the branches of the wayside trees, or sink into the flinty road; but -after some twenty or thirty shots, the firing ceased, as the troopers -rode in such haste that they had not time to reload their firearms. -On, on came horses and men at headlong speed, rushing, a troop of -evil spirits, along the moon-lighted strath; now dashing through -coppice and underwood, then splashing through a brawling mountain -burn; now sweeping noiselessly over the yielding moss and heather -muirland, and anon breasting gallantly up the pasture braes: but -Leslie, being mounted on one of King James's best horses, fresh from -its stall at Falkland, though he did not leave his pursuers -altogether behind, was yet enabled to keep a considerable distance -between them and himself. - -And now, upon a little eminence, the village of Markinch, with its -venerable square steeple of the eleventh century, arose before him, -and near it he fortunately left almost the half of his pursuers, -floundering up to their girths in the deep and dangerous marsh which -encircled the village on every side save one. Here to halt was vain; -for the unscrupulous Lairds of Clatto and Bandon had men enough to -sack and destroy the whole kirk-hamlet; so forward pressed the -fugitive, intent on reaching the castle of Balgonie, or the ancient -mansion of the Beatons of Balfour, where the archbishop of St. -Andrew's and his nephew, the great cardinal, were born. On, on yet! -and he soon found himself among the woods of the Leven; dark and -thick, old and stately, the beeches were in the full foliage of July, -and the dense old Scottish firs intertwined their wiry branches with -them: and now the river, broad, deep, and hoarse, in the full fury of -its summer flood, swollen by a night of rain, lay rolling in foam -before him; and upon its opposite bank rose, from a wooded eminence, -the strong and lofty donjon tower of that time-honoured, but now -extinct race, the brave old Lundies of Balgonie. - -Glittering in the moonlight, like a silver torrent, the beautiful -Leven swept out of the far and dark obscurity of its foliaged dell, -and in its crystal depths (save where the foam-bells floated) the -sombre outline of the castle, with its turrets, and the steep knowe -on which it stood, with all its waving trees, were reflected in the -deep and downward shadows. - -There were not less than twenty mounted spearmen still upon his -track, and, lo! a deep, fierce current lay foaming in his front. On -a level sward, Leslie paused with irresolution, and before plunging -into the stream, surveyed it, but surveyed in vain to find a ford. - -He looked back. The hill he had descended was covered with whins and -scattered trees; and there, far in advance of their comrades, came -four horsemen, who were now close upon him. With a fervent, almost a -ferocious prayer to Heaven, he drew his sword and awaited them, for -at the first glance he discerned that one of the four was his enemy -Bandon, who, to breathe his panting horse, advanced leisurely at a -trot before his three immediate followers. - -"Guid e'en to thee, my light-heeled Leslie," said he, with a sardonic -grin; "thou hast gien us a fast ride and a far one!" - -"Beware, Bandon; I ride this night on the king's service." - -"I ken that well." - -"And still thou darest to molest me?" - -"Yea, would I, though ye rode on the errand of the king of hell -instead of that of the King of Scotland. Have at thee--for thou art -a Leslie of Balquhan!" - -"Beware, I tell thee, beware! My life is not my own to-night," cried -Leslie, guarding the impending stroke of Lindesay's uplifted sword; -"beware thee, till to-morrow only. I am the bearer of a royal pardon -to Edinburgh." - -"To thy grave alone thou bearest it!" cried the other, furiously. - -Leslie parried the blow, and then replying by a thrust at the throat -of his antagonist, before withdrawing his sword, bestowed a -backhanded stroke at another horseman, who had covered him with his -brass petronel, a stroke which rendered his better arm useless. -Another deadly thrust relieved him of a second enemy, and then he had -but two to deal with. - -Round and round him they both rode in circles, but by point and edge -he met their cuts and thrusts; till observing that Bandon was close -to the edge of the stream, he suddenly put spurs to his horse, and -charging him with the utmost fury, by a blow of his foot forced him -right over the bank, where his horse fell upon him, and with its -rider sank into the river. There Lindesay became entangled beneath -the animal, which snorted, kicked, and plunged so violently, that he -was swept unresistingly away with the current and drowned. Next -morning the miller of Balgonie, on finding his machinery stopped and -the dam running over, was horrified to see a horse and its rider, in -armour, lying drowned and jammed under the great wooden wheel of his -mill. - -A volley of petronels from the bank above Leslie left him no time for -further defence or reflection; and with a shout of defiance he leaped -his horse boldly into the stream, and, regardless of the bullets -which plunged into the water incessantly, exerted every energy to -gain the opposite bank, using his hands and knees, half swimming, to -relieve the animal of his burden (which was not a light one, the -rider being in armour): keeping its dilated nostrils above water, and -yielding a little to the current, he ultimately crossed, successfully -and securely. - -With flattened ears and upraised head, the broad-chested steed -breasted gallantly the foaming water, and snorted with satisfaction -on feeling the firm ground at the opposite side, where Leslie uttered -a shout of triumph as he scrambled up the bank, and thus by one bold -effort found himself free. - -Oaths and cries of rage resounded among the woods behind, and many a -trooper urged his horse towards the brink, but their hearts failed -them, and not one dared to cross the deep and rapid Leven, by which -their intended victim had been saved and their leader swept away -before their eyes. The lieutenant of the king's guard now leisurely -examined the knees of his horse and the girths of his saddle; looked -to his sword-belt and spur-leathers; recharged his petronels, and -glanced at the pouch which contained the pardon of Jane Seton. He -then wiped his sword and remounted. - -Reflecting that the river was now between him and his enemies, that -he was several miles out of the direct road, and that (except the -ducking) he was not in the least the worse either of the ride or the -combat, he resolved, instead of seeking shelter either at the place -of Balfour or the castle of Balgonie, to push onwards to Kinghorn. - -The ramparts of this stronghold, which are eighty feet in height, -were glimmering in the moonbeams, above the tossing foliage, as he -descended into the hollow which lies to the south of it, and then -turned westward, little thinking that the ferocious Laird of Clatto, -with Dobbie, Tam Trotter, and some fifteen horsemen, in anticipation -of such a measure, had long before wheeled off to the right, and were -pushing on the spur towards the Kinghorn road to intercept him. - - - - -CHAPTER LIII. - -THE FIGHT AT INVERTEIL. - - "Let us hasten to receive them, - Placing in the foremost ranks, - Those who bear the arquebuses; - Let the horsemen next advance, - With the customary splendour - Of the harness and the lance."--CALDERON. - - -With a heart divided between emotions of rage and exultation, the -fugitive messenger rode towards Kinghorn. - -The aspect of the tract of country he crossed is very different now -from what it was in those days. Many places that are bare pasture -lands were then covered by dense thickets of natural wood; other -places, that are now fertile and arable, were covered with broom and -whins of such gigantic size that horsemen might have been concealed -among them; while all the straths and glens were filled with the -water which then flowed through innumerable mosses and marshes. -Streams, which were then impassable rivers, have now, by the drainage -of the land and other agricultural improvements, shrunk to mere burns -or mountain runnels; while those which were then burns and trouting -streams, have in many instances totally disappeared; and waters, such -as those of the Boathouse bridge in Linlithgowshire and the Eden in -Fifeshire, which had ferry-boats plying upon them, are now scarcely -deeper or broader than a wayside drain. Thus, when, to save time and -the trouble of riding round in search of fords or bridges, the brave -Leslie, all heavily armed as he was in Italian plate, boldly swam the -winding Loctie and the Ore, near the Spittalcots, he performed two -gallant feats, for then those waters foamed in deep, broad currents -between torn and rugged banks, with a breadth and force very -different from what they exhibit in the present day, even during the -fury of a winter speat. - -But before he had entered on the moss and moor that lay between the -Ore and an old mansion named the Temple Hall, which then belonged to -the knights of Torphichen, the waning moon was disappearing behind -the hills, and shed a cold, pale light on the dreary waste that -spread before the solitary rider. - -Having lost all traces of the ancient drove-road, which had guided -him thus far, Leslie walked his horse forward with caution, to avoid -the peat-bogs and pitfalls that now surrounded him; while, impelled -either by the dreariness of the solitude on which he was entering, or -by some vague presentiment of danger, he narrowly observed every bush -and hillock as he approached, and listened for any passing sound. - -The moon seemed to rest on the summit of the distant hills, the solid -outline of which rose blackly against the blue sky. Light clouds -were floating across her surface; but a clear white light was shed -along the countless ridges of the muir--the moss-covered roots of an -old primeval forest--which resembled the waves of a motionless sea. - -A sharp, low whistle on his left, and somewhat in advance of him, -made Leslie look in that direction; and he saw the moonbeams -reflected back from something bright, that too evidently was not -moss-water, but polished steel; while two or three light puffs of -smoke curled upward, showing where the matches of petronels were -being blown for active service. - -The moss was full of armed men! - -"Fool that I was not to byde me at Balgonie!" thought Leslie, as he -put spurs to his jaded horse, and quickened its speed to a -hand-gallop. By his devious route he had now ridden fully twenty -miles, over a frightful tract of country, full of steep hills and -rocky glens, deep morasses, brawling torrents, and hills covered with -forest and brushwood; he had forded three swollen rivers, and thus, -like himself, his horse was already becoming exhausted. - -"Hollo, Balquhan!" cried a mocking voice; "whither so fast? Is your -lady-love sick, or is your house on fire?" - -A shout of derisive laughter, together with the explosion of four -long petronels, followed this remark; and Leslie became aware, from -the sudden bound and snort of pain given by his horse, as it shot -away like the wind, that the poor animal was wounded; one bullet had -penetrated its near flank, and another had grazed its ears. - -"The devil! 'tis quite an arquebusade! But I am getting used to such -music to-night," thought Leslie, as he gave a wistful glance at the -Temple Hall, which was not far off. All property which belonged to -the Knights of St. John in Scotland afforded a safe sanctuary from -debt and danger, and did so until a recent period; but Leslie knew -too well that his present pursuers would violate the holiest shrine -between Cape Wrath and the English frontier to reach him; and that he -had nothing to trust to but the blade of his sword and the heels of -his horse; for by the number of ambuscades, prepared in every -direction, it became evident that his enemies, whoever they might be, -were bent on his destruction. - -Tall lances and bright helmets flashed in the moonlight, as the dark -forms of many a horse and man arose from behind the heather knowes -and clumps of moss and whin to join the chace; and Leslie found that -again the ferocious John of Clatto, with all his band, was riding on -his trail. - -Though the balls which had wounded his horse caused a great effusion -of blood, they acted as spurs of fear and pain to accelerate its -speed; and Leslie soon heard the shouts, the clank of arms, and the -rush of galloping hoofs growing fainter and fainter with every bound -that his fierce strong charger made. The banks of the Ore, the -desolate muir, and the grey Temple Hall soon vanished in the -distance; and he saw the spire of Kirkaldy, and its long and -straggling town, rising on the left, from the low flat shore of the -Firth, which lay beyond it, glimmering in the last light of the moon, -and bringing forward, as from a brilliant background, the innumerable -roofs and gables, clustered chimneys, and turretted edifices of the -venerable burgh. Near him rose the hill and castle of Raith, where -Sir John Melville, the great Reformer, dwelt; and nearer still, -embosomed among summer woods, lay the Abbotshall, a seat of the abbot -of Dunfermline, the site of which is still indicated by an old -stupendous yew that grew before its gate. Right in the fugitive's -front lay the broad green links of Kirkaldy, and the glittering -estuary, with the black rocky promontory of Kinghorn jutting boldly -into its waters. - -The strength of his horse was failing fast; its eyes were blinded, -and its head was drenched in the blood flowing from its wounded ears; -and he felt certain that, to turn from his straightforward course, to -seek shelter in the neighbouring town, would only serve to exhaust it -more. He knew well that the brave animal was dying beneath him, for -with every convulsive bound of its foam-covered haunches, the -blood-gouts gushed forth upon the sandy turf. - -Balwearie, in older times the birthplace of the wizard, Michael -Scott, was left behind; and now the hoarse brawl of the Teil--a -flooded torrent--rang before him. He gave his horse the reins, and -furiously applying the spurs, keeping his head back and his -bridle-hand low, as he urged it to the flying leap. Lightly it rose -into the air, cleared the stream, with all its banks of rock and bed -of stones, but reached the opposite side only to die; for the noble -horse sank down with its forehead on the turf, and after making more -than one fruitless effort to rise, rolled heavily over, stretched out -its legs convulsively, and with that mournful cry which few hear, but -a horse alone can give, expired. - -At that moment, with brandished swords and panting steeds, six -horsemen appeared on the opposite bank; and the exhausted Leslie knew -that nothing now remained for him but to sell his life as dearly as -possible. - -He was now but two miles from Kinghorn, and after all his exertions, -he felt how hard it was to die; and reflected that, with his life, -the pardon of poor Jane Seton would be futile, or forfeited, as she -would inevitably be put to death before additional tidings of the -king's favour came from Falkland. The very excess of his bitterness -gave him a superhuman courage, and alone, on foot, he resolved to -confront them all; but in doing so, to use every stratagem. - -With the rapidity of thought, and unseen by them, he threw himself -close beside his dead horse, the body of which was greeted by a shout -of fierce exultation. - -"Awa and on!" cried John of Clatto; "for gif ance he wins the burgh -o' Kinghorn, the tulzie will be owre, and I sall tyne my plea anent -the meithes and marches. On, on, ye fashious fules; hae your naigs -nae mair mettle than the mules o' monks?" - -Leslie grasped his drawn sword with both hands, and as the Laird of -Clatto leaped the Teil, with one fierce backhanded stroke hamstrung -his horse the moment its hind heels alighted near him. - -With a tremendous curse, this ferocious rider with his steed tumbled -prone to the earth; and as they fell, Leslie sprang up, and by the -same daring manoeuvre, unhorsed another, and slew him as he fell. -Then rushing to the summit of the bank, that he might have all the -advantage the acclivity could afford him, he stood resolutely on his -guard. The rest of the band were yet far off, and by their leisurely -trot it was evident that their horses were breathless and blown. -"John of Clatto!" exclaimed Leslie, as he engaged that person -furiously, each swaying his sword with both hands on the hilt; "thou -unhanged thief and son of a thief! now--now shalt thou receive the -coward's reward." - -"Fause coof!" retorted the other, with one of his ferocious laughs, -as with a deadly coolness and activity he dealt his thrusts, while -the force of his parries announced that his eye was sure, and his -wrist was of iron, as he hewed away with his long and trenchant -sword; "Coward? ha! ha! 'tis a name never kent by a son o' auld Symon -o' Clatto. Strike weel and surely, my bauld Balquhan, for by God and -Macgriddel, I sall handsell thy braw harness in thy hettest bluid." - -"Dog! it hath been handselled by the swords of better men!" exclaimed -the furious Leslie, as by a single sweeping stroke his heavy sword -beat down the guard of his adversary, breaking his blade like a -withered reed, and, cleaving his helmet through the very cone, killed -him on the spot. A curse was half uttered by its quivering lips, as -the body fell backwards over the bank, and lay half merged in the -water of the Teil. With his great natural courage exasperated to a -terrible pitch by the knowledge that he must inevitably perish at the -hands of these cowards, Leslie fiercely met the horsemen as they -leaped the stream, and in succession fell sword in hand upon him. A -shower of blows rang upon his tempered helmet, his eyes swam, and, -amid a cloud of fire, it seemed as if a myriad of men and horses had -assailed him, and as if as many swords were ringing in his ears, and -flashing before his eyes. - -He was soon beaten to the earth, and several men sprang from their -horses to despatch him, when the shots of two petronels were heard, -and two assailants sank heavily, dagger in hand, beside him, tearing -up the grass with their hands and teeth in the agonies of death. A -rush of horses followed, and Leslie found himself free! - -Clatto's men had fled; and a young cavalier stood before him richly -clad, with three tall feathers in his bonnet; he was mounted on a -superb black horse, and in each hand had a petronel, from the barrels -of which the smoke was curling. The drawn swords of his six mounted -attendants were gleaming in the bright twilight of the July morning, -for day was already glimmering over the far horizon of the German -Sea. The features of this deliverer were noble, but delicate; his -eyebrows and closely-clipped moustaches were coal-black, his lips -were red, and cut like those of a woman, but his large dark eyes -sparkled with courage and animation. - -"Now, by Heaven, 'tis our loving cousin and clansman, Balquhan!" he -exclaimed; for in those days, "when old simplicity was in its prime," -every man of the same name in Scotland was designated _loving cousin_. - -"Sir Norman Leslie," said the lieutenant of the guard, as with -thankfulness and respect he greeted the gallant Master of Rothes, the -son and heir of the earl, his chief, "thou hast saved me from a cruel -and bitter death! what do I owe thee?" - -"Two brass bullets at a similar juncture." - -"May it never happen!" said the young baron, to which the master -replied with a reckless laugh, in which his followers joined. - -"Balquhan," said he, "this gentleman is your cousin--my uncle, John -of Parkhill. Here are three men and two hamstrung horses lying on -the grass! By St. Mary! my true Leslie, thou hast this night handled -the sword as if it had been thine own invention." - -"Anent what hath all this been?" asked John Leslie of Parkhill, an -elderly gentleman, sheathing his sword. - -"Heaven only knows, sir," replied Leslie, as he caught the bridle of -a riderless horse, and leaping into the saddle began to examine the -petronels that were attached to it. - -"They seem to have found you a rough jouster!" - -"I am riding on the king's service, with a pardon for the Lady Seton." - -"The Lady Seton!" they all repeated, in varying tones of astonishment -and satisfaction. - -"Yes, sirs, I am bound for Edinburgh, and have been thrice beset by -horsemen, and thrice have swum a river, the Leven, the Ore, and the -Lochtie!" - -"Sheriff of Fife, what say you to this?" said Parkhill to Norman -Leslie. - -"That it shall be looked to, and that sharply," replied the young -Master of Rothes, as he replaced his pistols in the holsters; "a -harmless rider, a messenger of mercy on God's own service, to be -molested thus!" - -"Besetting the highway--'tis a capital crime." - -"Perhaps John of Clatto (for it was he) thought that messengers of -mercy, or of Heaven, seldom ride in coats of mail." - -"To thy spurs, Balquhan, and on!" said the master; "the poor dame -Seton will assuredly fall a victim to the malice of the Hamiltons at -midnight--_this midnight_, for see, the day is dawning. They were -setting the stake, and tearing the faggots, on the castle bank, as we -left Edinburgh by the West Port last night." - -"I go to the _King's Horn_ hostel," said Balquhan; "would I were -there, for I am drenched like a water-dog, and well nigh wearied to -death. Farewell." - -"Take ye care, sir!" cried John of Parkhill. - -"Come now, you jest, my cousin," said the lieutenant, jocularly; -"does a Leslie ever fall from his horse?" - -"I only mean, beware thee while at Kinghorn, and keep thine errand -secret; for there are several men of the house of Arran in the burgh, -and their nags are stabled at the very hostel thou hast named." - -"Nay, nay, uncle of mine," said the fiery Norman, "no Hamilton would -arrest the pardon of any woman; then how much less that of a lady of -high name and gentle blood!" - -"Nephew Norman, we know not the tricks of which the Lord Arran and -his faction are capable; and to whom shall we attribute this treble -molestation of our cousin, the king's messenger?" - -"True--adieu." - -"Adieu, sirs, with many fair thanks for this good service." - -They separated, and Balquhan rode on, feeling in his heart that he -could slay all who bore the name of Hamilton; for the idea that -Redhall was his evil genius never once occurred to him. - -Those Leslies who had saved him were, nine years after, among the -conspirators who slew the great cardinal in his castle at St. -Andrew's, less to avenge the frightful deaths of the early martyrs, -than as the hired assassins of Henry VIII.; and twenty years after, -the fiery Master of Rothes died in the battle of St. Quentin, -fighting valiantly at the head of thirty Scottish gens d'armes. - - - - -CHAPTER LIV. - -THE KING'S HORN. - - "Be yet advised, nor urge me to an outrage; - Thy power is lost--unhand me." - _Edward the Black Prince._ - - -The clock of St. Leonard's tower struck three as Leslie entered the -old burgh of Kinghorn, and rode through its steep and straggling, -narrow and deserted wynds, to the hostelry with which the reader is -already acquainted. Though a vast sheet of pale light was spread -across the east, sunrise was nearly an hour distant, and the whole -town was silent as some ruined city in a desert; every door was -closed, and not a single face appeared at the rusty gratings of the -street windows. - -It was not until after much noise and vociferation with the drowsy -peddies and stable-boys that Leslie gained admittance to the -inn-yard, and from the yard obtained ingress to the mansion, where -his whole aspect excited fear and suspicion. His armour was dimmed -by water and rusted with dew, cut, hacked, and bloody; the straps -were loose and torn; he was feverish and excited; and there was a -stern determination in his bearing, as he carefully took his -petronels from his saddle-bow, and, ordering the attendants to look -well to his horse against the time of the ferry-boat sailing, entered -the first empty chamber that offered itself. - -He looked first to the pardon, which, notwithstanding his frequent -immersions, was dry and secure; he looked next to the wheel-locks of -his fire-arms, which he laid on his pillow ready for immediate -service. Thereafter, he examined his apartment. The window was two -stories from the ground, and a harrow-grating amply secured it. Like -all others in that age, the door was secured by a multiplicity of -bars, all of which he shot into their sockets; and thereafter piled -behind them all the available furniture--a great oak almrie, a -meal-girnel, four chairs, and, lastly, the table. - -He then took off his armour, and found that his clothing was almost -dry. - -"Come, 'tis well," thought he; "save three pricks and four scratches, -I am not a whit the worse, and have still six hours for sleeping and -dreaming of merry Marion." - -And after assuring himself that he could not be taken in flank either -by trap-door or sliding-panels, this brave and wary soldier threw -himself on the bed, and behind his barricades slept soundly and -securely. - -The ferry-boat was to sail at ten in the forenoon. - -Half-an-hour before that time Leslie awoke, and sprang up quite -refreshed. His first glance was at his barricade. - -"Oho! I have been beset even here!" said he, on perceiving that the -door had been forced, and the heavy almrie and girnel pushed about -three inches inwards, by which the chairs had been overturned, thus -baffling the assault, as their fall had scared the intruders. - -The sun was shining brightly on the river, and the merchants were -opening their booths and displaying their goods under the stone -arcades of the principal wynd. - -"This devilish piece of paper is likely to cost me dear. I find I -must still be guarded," thought Leslie, as he minutely examined his -iron trappings, stuck his petronels in his belt, and, with his -sheathed sword under his arm, descended to the hall of the hostel and -ordered breakfast, but without mentioning the attempt which had too -evidently been made to disturb his privacy. Looking sharply around, -he seated himself at the arched ingle, where a comfortable fire was -blazing, and above which appeared a rude fresco painting, which -represented St. Leonard, the patron of Kinghorn, surrounded by a -swarm of churubs in the forest of Limoges. - -"Quick, old hag--my breakfast," said the traveller to the landlady; -"let your rascals look well to my horse, or look well to themselves -if they fail." - -The gudewife--a slipshod and sullen-looking crone, with a nose and -chin that were nearly meeting, a coif of the time of James III., and -an enormous bunch of keys--being a little scared by the stern and -distrustful aspect of Leslie, who sat down by the table with his -helmet on, left a buxom damsel to attend on him, and retired. The -young soldier found that his indignation could no way extend to her -substitute; for her cheeks were blooming and her eyes sparkling with -health and good-humour; she wore a very piquant, short linen jacket, -short petticoat, and her brown hair tied up in a blue silk snood, -after the fashion of unmarried girls in Scotland. - -A fowl, from among several that were roasting on the spit, cheese, -cakes, and honey, cold beef, eggs and bacon, with the addition of -ale, formed then, as now, the staples for breakfast, and while it was -preparing, Leslie solaced himself by whistling the _March to Harlow_, -and by means of a piece of half-burned wood, decorating with an -enormous pair of moustaches each of the fat little cherubim which -surrounded the figure of St. Leonard; an amusement which neither the -gudewife nor the diminutive gudeman, whom she seemed to rule with "a -rod of iron," dared to interrupt. - -"This is for thee, my rosy belle," said Leslie, kissing the plump -cheek of the waiting-maid, after breakfast, "together with this -French crown; as for the rascal, thy master, and the hag, thy -mistress, let them rejoice that I have not burned the house about -their ears, were it but to smoke out certain Hamiltons, who, I am -assured, are within it. Thou hearest me, fellow?" added Leslie, as -he passed the landlord, who, sheepishly, and bonnet in hand, was -standing at the door of the house. - -"I do, gude sir, but understand ye nocht." - -"Nor do I you; but wherefore was my door forced last night--this -morning, I should say--eh, thou rascally Fifer?" - -"I swear to ye, noble sir, that, under God, I ken nocht o't," replied -the poor man, with the utmost earnestness. - -"It may be so, for I see that, in thine own house, thou art but Joan -Tamson's man, as the saw has it." - -The landlord gave a sickly smile. - -"Harkee, gudeman, is thy better-half a Hamilton?" - -"To my sorrow, I ken she is, sir," sighed the hosteller, in a -whisper; "for never one of her name enters Fife, between the East and -West Neuk, without lying a week and mair at the _King's Horn_, and -never a bodle will she take for the lawing, for they are a' her -cousins to the hundredth degree, and will scarcely let me call my -soul my ain." - -"Then, which of her worthy cousins are here now?" - -"Sir John Hamilton of Kincavil," replied the gudeman, setting his -teeth on edge. - -"And his room?--" - -"Was the next to yours." - -"Hum! indeed; and this Sir John extends his patronage to you, -gudeman--eh?" - -"He pays like a prince, to be sure; for he had a fancy for my -gudewife in her young days." - -"He is a man of taste, Kincavil!" said Leslie, smiling; "but where is -my horse?" - -"My son holds it at the gate." - -"How, the devil! is that tall fellow thy son?" - -"No," replied the little man, with a grin of bitterness; "he is the -son of my wife." - -As Leslie slipped another crown into the hand of the host, and was -turning away, a tall, swaggering cavalier--the same whom Roland -Vipont had fought with and wounded near the Water Gate, as related in -a preceding chapter of this history--brushed past him somewhat -unceremoniously. - -"Sir John of Kincavil!" said Leslie, with angry surprise. - -"Well, sir! at your service," replied the other, swelling up his -rose-coloured doublet, and resting his left hand in the bowl-hilt of -his long rapier, as he assumed a lofty attitude. - -"Is this to be taken as an insult?" - -"It is to be taken just as you please," replied the other, twirling -his moustache. - -"Take care, sir. I am on the king's service." - -"Does that entitle you to occupy the whole doorway of the _King's -Horn_?" - -"We are not equally armed--you see my coat of mail." - -"Oh, that matters little--behold!" said Kincavil, as he opened the -collar of his doublet, and displayed below it a mail shirt of -exquisite workmanship. "We are quite equal, my friend," he added, -clapping Leslie with easy familiarity on the shoulder, while a number -of armed men, who, by their badges, seemed to be his followers, -crowded ominously round them. - -"Kincavil!" said Leslie, scornfully, "the next time thou touchest me, -pray do so with a hand that is gloved." - -"A thousand pardons," sneered Kincavil, whose insolence was as -proverbial as his deadly skill and admirable swordmanship, "I forgot -thou wert _Falkland bred_." - -This was a phrase of the time to signify foppery, affectation, and -refined manner. Leslie's eyes flashed with rage, but he leaped on -his horse, saying-- - -"I know your object well, villain, to involve me in a brawl; but you -will fail. Taunt me as you please, I will not draw my sword unless I -am molested; and woe unto them who do so. To-morrow I will be a free -man, and at noon will await you, braggart, on the sands of Leith, -near the chapel of St. Nicholas, where seek me if you dare." - -A shout of derisive laughter followed him; but, stifling his rage, he -heard without heeding it, and in ten minutes more was on board the -ferry-boat, which he endeavoured to beat across the river against a -strong head-wind. - - - - -CHAPTER LV. - -THE BLUEGOWN. - - "Bless your honour, noble gentleman, - Remember a poor soldier."--_Auchindrane_, Act I. - - -We have now the events of only one night to relate, but these events -are of the most varied description. - -Father St. Bernard, the kind and philanthropic old clergyman, had -prayed fervently that the cardinal, among the multitude of public -matters that weighed upon his master-mind, would remember his -promise; and as earnestly had he implored Providence to inspire the -heart of James with more than his usual mercy, that a pardon might be -granted to his poor penitent, for so a confessor always termed those -under his care in the olden time. - -Every hour after the cardinal's departure he had sought Sir James -Riddel, in the hope that tidings had arrived from Falkland: but hour -after hour passed; two weary days, and two still more weary nights -elapsed; but no tidings came of the pardon, and no messenger. - -Could the cardinal have forgotten his promise? or had he failed in -his purpose? The poor friar racked his invention with suggestions, -but hope died as the evening of the fatal 25th drew on; and Father -St. Bernard was forced to confess to himself that she was lost; for -the hour at which the ferry-boat usually arrived at Leith was long -since passed. From the rampart of David's Tower he had seen it pass -the Beacon Rock and enter the harbour, and with a beating heart he -waited, but Leslie never came. - -He saw the people already gathering in groups and crowds to witness -the frightful execution, and the old man wept as he sought the -knightly governor of the fortress for the last time, and turned away -hopeless. - -"Thou good and pious priest!" said Sir James Riddel, touched by the -old man's grief, and warmed into a betrayal of his own religious -opinions, "why art thou not, as I am, a Protestant?" - -"Thou good and valiant soldier! why art thou not, as thy father was -before thee, a pious Catholic and true?" asked the prebend, in the -same tone, as he descended from the citadel towards the gate of King -David's Tower, to visit Jane Seton for the last time. At that moment -the great copper bell of the fortress, which swung at the gable of a -tower called the Gunhouse, tolled the hour of nine. - -She was to die at twelve. - -Among all the snares laid for the destruction of Leslie, and to -obtain the document he carried, Birrel had reserved unto himself the -last, and, failing others (which he scarcely believed could fail), -the surest, and perhaps most deadly plan for his death. - -The road between Edinburgh and Leith was then a lonely, and (after -dusk) unfrequented place. Between the monastery of Greenside, which -lay at the foot of the Calton Hill, and almost in the very gorge that -descends to the foot of Leith Wynd and the Port St. Anthony, there -was not a house or edifice save a little wayside oratory; and thus -between the Loch and village of Restalrig on the east, and the old -house of Roystoun, near the shore, on the west, all the country was -open pasture-land, links, or muir, with here and there a small -farm-cot at its boundaries, with a kailyard and oxgang of arable -land, watered by the runnels that ran into the river Leith, which -then was twice, and in some places four times its present breadth, -covering great pieces of holm-land at Comely-bank, and the -Canon-mills, where the old scaurs that overhung its margin are still -visible. - -The few persons who traversed Leith Loan on the 25th July, 1537, -could not have failed to remark a man wearing the well-known garb of -a Bluegown, one of the privileged mendicants of the charitable olden -time. These received a new cassock on every anniversary of the -king's birth, together with a penny for every year of his age. The -Bluegowns of the Stuart times seldom received much, as the monarchs -of that gallant race were generally cut off in early life by war or -misfortune; but the Bluegowns of later years, when kings have been -more economical of their persons, have been wont to hail the day of -his birth with joy; and those of George III. drew more shillings -Scots than ever did other beadsmen since the society was instituted. - -With a black cross sewed on the breast of his long blue cassock, as -an emblem of sorrow for the late queen's death, and his face -concealed in his hood, the beggar, who appeared lame in his left, and -also lacked the right hand, which was hidden in the folds of his -ample garment, sat by the wayside; and whenever a person passed -(which was very seldom) he either begged for alms in a low peevish -voice, or repeated an Ave to show how very good and pious he was, -notwithstanding the hardness and humility of his lot in life. - -This beggar was no other than Nichol Birrel. The hood concealed his -yellow visage, his cunning eyes, and matted beard, as the blue gown -did a shirt of mail, a belt full of daggers and pistolettes, and his -right hand, which grasped a dague, loaded with two brass bullets. -Being certain that Leslie could not escape all the ambuscades -prepared for him in Fife--where Dobbie and Trotter, with fifteen -troopers from Redhall, John of Clatto, with his lawless men, Lindesay -of Bandon, with _his_ ruffians, and lastly, Kincavil, a deadly fencer -and professed duellist, were all induced, under various instigations, -and from various motives, to beset his path--Birrel kept but a -careless watch, looking upon Leslie as one whom he had not the least -expectation of seeing. - -It was one of those beautiful evenings which are common to July; and, -at a part of the road which afforded him a view of St. Anthony's -Port, he lay on a grassy bank, where a thicket of hawthorn overhung -the roadway, which was then but a narrow, deep, and rugged -bridle-path. - -Behind lay Lochend and the house of the Logans, perched on a rock; -before him stretched the level muir and pasture-land which joined the -Firth at the New Haven, which had been constructed by James IV., all -an open and unenclosed prairie; and across it shone the hot rays of -the sun, then sinking towards the dark peaks of the Ochil mountains. -The air was close and still; there was no sound but the casual rustle -of a leaf, or the "drowsy hum" of the mountain bees as they floated -over the verdant grass, and the air was filled with the perfume of -the fragrant hawthorn. - -The whirr of the nut-brown partridge, as it rose from among the long -grass; the voice of the blackbird and thrush, as they sang joyously -among the gnarled branches of an aged thorn-tree; the solitude of -that place, though it lay between a fortified capital and its -thriving seaport, had no charm for the disguised ruffian, nor could -they wile him from his deadly purpose. - -Thrice that day had horsemen left the Port St. Anthony, and thrice -had the assassin grasped his weapon with the fellest intent. The -first was the young Lord Lindesay, and he dashed up the Loan with all -his feathers waving, and embroidery glittering in the sun. He had -not gone to Falkland, because the Lady Margaret Beaton remained at -her father's archiepiscopal palace. The second rider was a knight of -Torpichen, in his black mantle, with its white cross; and the third -was Sir Andrew Preston, of Gourtoun. None of these were in armour, -as Birrel knew Leslie was sure to be, so, at their approach, his hand -three times relinquished the pommel-butt of his dague. Each, as he -passed, threw arms to the supposed beadsman, and disappeared in the -gorge that led towards the city. - -Mid-day passed, and heavily the still sultry afternoon lagged on. -The Bluegown took from his wallet some bread and cheese, a roasted -fowl, and flask of usquebaugh, and proceeded to dine under the bower -of sweet hawthorn. - -While engaged in this pleasing occupation, the sound of voices and -hoofs arrested his attention; he looked up, and beheld a young lady, -with several attendants on foot and on horseback, dashing straight -towards him across the level muir, from the east, and continued a -rapid gallop until she gained the opposite bank of the roadway, where -she reigned up her horse, and looked hurriedly around. - -She was a tall and stately-looking girl, with bright blue eyes, a -blooming complexion, and a profusion of flaxen-coloured hair, that -fell in heavy ringlets from under her scarlet velvet hood. She was -richly attired; and as no one could then be completely dressed for -company, for riding, or promenading, without a leather glove, with a -hawk sitting thereon, she bore one on her right hand, while her left -grasped the reins of her fiery and spirited horse. The bold and -beautiful girl was Marion Logan of Restalrig. - -A cloud rested on the usually happy aspect of her broad fair brow, -and her sunny smile was gone, for her thoughts were full of the -misfortunes that encircled her friend Jane Seton. Two men on foot -ran after this party with all their speed; strapped over his -shoulders, each had a square frame of green-painted wood, on the -spars of which sat a number of hawks of various breeds, accoutred -with plumed hoods, through which their fierce red eyes were glancing, -and having little silver bells, which jangled with every motion. -Around their necks were silver collars, whereon was engraved the -legend--"Zis gudelie hawk belangis vnto ye Knicht, Schyr Robert Logan -of Restalrig and zat ilk." - -"Dost thou see nothing of my father?" asked the young lady of her -attendants. - -"I see nocht, madam," replied an armed horseman, who wore the Logans' -livery, and had their crest embroidered on the sleeve of his pyne -doublet, "but this auld Blewgoon may. Harkee, puir body," he added, -addressing the disguised Birrel; "saw ye oucht o' a gentleman in a -suit o' plum-coloured taffeta, wi' a white ostrich feather in his -bonnet?" - -"Had he a blue mantle?" - -"Yes." - -"Laced wi' siller pasements?" - -"Yes--the very same." - -"Riding----" - -"A roan-coloured horse." - -"With siller bells at his bridle?" - -"Yes--yes!" - -"Well, then, I havena seen oucht o' him." - -"God confound thee! thou wordy carle, dost laugh at us?" said a -falconer, angrily, as he shook his long pole threateningly towards -Birrel, whose natural insolence could not omit this opportunity of -indulging itself a little. - -"'Twas an evil day this to come forth hawking," said the young lady; -"the day on which my dearest friend is to die----" - -"Now haud ye, Lady Marion," said the white-haired falconer, -cautiously; "for ken ye not, that noble though that lady be, it's far -frae being safe or wise to claim friendship wi' her at the present -time. If Sir Robert turned towards the Corstorphine marshes----" - -"I hope not, for they are both dangerous and deep," said the young -lady, looking westward, and shading her large blue eyes with an -ungloved hand, that was white as the hawthorn blossom. "God knoweth -how sadly and unwillingly I came forth this day; and it was but to -please him that I forsook our little oratory for the saddle. Thou -knowest my father, Steenie----?" - -"Aye, the auld knicht winna thole steerin," replied the old falconer, -as he also shaded his sunburned face with a large brown hand, and -scanned the glowing west. - -"'Tis very strange, Steenie--where was my father seen last?" - -"Galloping over the mains, after his favourite hawk, madam," replied -a servitor, touching his bonnet. - -"Mercy! if he should have mistaken the way, and fallen, into the moss -of Craigcrook." - -"Toots, bairn!" replied the falconer; "he kens owre well the dreich -hole where, last Lammastide, we saw young Adamson o' Craigcrook gae -down in the floe, baith horse and man, till even the point o' his -lance vanished; and there they lie yet!" - -"Look, Steenie; is not yonder bird a hawk? See how it ascends from -Pilrig--up and up!" - -The tramp of a horse arrested their attention. - -A man on horseback, who left the gate of St. Anthony, came galloping -from Leith; his armour flashed in the setting sun, and a cloud of -dust rolled under the hoofs of his horse. - -"In harness," said one falconer. - -"He is not Sir Robert," muttered another. - -"St. Mary! how he drives his horse!" exclaimed Marion Logan. - -"It is Leslie of Balquhan!" growled Birrel, ferociously, as he -grasped his dague. "Now, curse be on my folly, that sent not this -butterfly, with her attendant wasps, hence on a fool's errand." - -The continual glitter of the rider's armour showed that he was richly -accoutred, and the incredible speed at which he rode announced that -he was nobly mounted. In three minutes he reined up his horse at the -foot of the bank, where, with a glow of pleasure beaming in her -beautiful face, Marion Logan recognised him. - -"Lewis Leslie!" she exclaimed, and kissed her hand frankly to him, -for he was her favoured lover. - -"At your service, my dear madam," replied the officer of the -arquebusiers, bowing to his very saddle. Birrel's eyes were starting -from his head, as he strained his ears to listen. - -"From whence?" - -"Falkland." - -"Falkland! and why so fast?" - -"Oh, rejoice, my dear Lady Marion! I have here the king's gracious -pardon for Jane Seton; she is saved; and one hour from this will see -her free!" - -The brave young cavalier shook the pouch that hung at the girdle, -which Marion had embroidered for him. - -"The _pouch!_ d--nation wither my tongue, for it alone hath made this -woman and her varlets loiter, instead of hurrying them away," said -Birrel, as he limped past, and posted himself a few hundred yards -farther off. - -"Pardoned!--Jeanie pardoned!" said Marion, whose blue eyes sparkled -with tears and joy. "Can it be? Lewis, Lewis, how much I love you -at this moment! For this good news I would let you have a pretty -kiss, but for all those eyes about us. Oh, what blessed tidings for -us!" - -"Still more blessed for her, I think, and for my brave friend Vipont -too! 'Tis all the cardinal's doing; his good offices have achieved -this. - -"The cardinal!" - -"Faith, it is thought dangerous for a woman to accept a favour at his -hand. But dost think, Marion, that such a gallant man will permit -such an outrage upon youth and beauty as Abbot Mylnes' sentence to be -carried into effect? No, no! Long live the cardinal, say I. But -what a night I have had of it, Marion! nearly fifty scoundrel -horsemen have tried to intercept and cut me off." - -"Hamiltons?" - -"Hamiltons or hell-hounds, I know not which," replied Leslie, -angrily; "but I have given more than one the Leslie's lick, and have -escaped them, blessed be Heaven!" - -"My brave friend! 'tis like thee." - -"Lady Marion," said Steenie, the falconer, approaching; "Sir Robert -is in sicht; see yonder, by the bank o' the loch. Noo he flees his -goshawk at a heron," he added, as the burly old knight was seen to -rein up his horse, and let the bird slip from his wrist. "So--brawly -cuisten off! See, the hawk is noo aboon, and noo it stoops to the -quarry!" said the venerable servitor, as he waved his broad bonnet; -"it's a true bird o' my ain training. See how the sly heron turns up -her belly--ah, the lang leggit devil! she seeks to use baith claws -and bill; but the hawk passes--noo the hawk tak's her at the sowse, -and strikes doon. No; it's these Milan bells, they're owre full i' -the sound, and spoil the bird i' the mounting. See, my brave bird -plumes her--noo, doon for a croon, like a bow-shot!" - -The birds disappeared among the sedges. - -"Farewell, Leslie," said Marion; "on, on to the Castle, and delay not -your errand of mercy. But come soon to see us; you know well how -lonely we are on the Rig yonder, and how well my father loves you. -How rejoiced he will be to hear these tidings of our poor Jeanie -Seton; my faith, he will drink a deep tankard to-night, for it was -but to shake off the dolours he rode forth to-day, and neither to -hunt nor to hawk." - -"Then, my Marion, to-morrow, at noon, I will stable my horse at -Restalrig." - -"We will expect you." - -"My dutiful commendations to the good knight your father, and -meantime, adieu!" - -With eyes full of affection they kissed their hands to each other, -and separated. - -Whipping up her tall and fiery horse, with her veil and her long -tresses floating behind, Marion, by one flying leap, made it clear -the roadway and gain the summit of the opposite bank, from whence her -lover saw her (followed by her attendants) cantering across the -fields towards the sheet of water which her father's old manor-house -still overhangs. She went at a pace which put the poor falconers, -who were on foot, to their mettle; and the young Laird of Balquhan, -despite his anxiety to deliver the important paper, which had thrice -nearly cost him his life, checked the speed of his charger to look -after the retiring figure of her he loved. - -He little knew what that brief pause and that last glance after -Marion Logan were to cost him. - -Birrel's heart danced with joy to see him loitering, while the young -lady and her armed servants were fast retiring beyond ear-shot. - -The sun had now set, and the dun blaze of light it shed from the -western hills across the muir of Wardie was dying away. The whole -Loan, from the round arch of St. Anthony to where it disappeared -under the brow of the Calton, was deserted. The Calton then was -bare, bleak and desolate, or covered by waving furze, broad-leaved -fern, or dark whin; so was the opposite bank, which sloped up to the -height of eighty feet, and was crowned by the chapel and little -hamlet of St. Ninian, the smoke of which was visible as it ascended -into the calm air from the cottage chimneys. - -This knoll was named Moultrays Hill; and between it and the Calton -the narrow road plunged down into the gorge, where the church of the -Trinity lay, passing, on the left, the Carmelite Friary of the Holy -Cross at Greenside. Standing forward in strong relief from the dark -shoulder of the hill, and against the blue sky, the broad boundary, -the stone cross and crow-stepped gables of this edifice, were visible -from a group of old elm-trees, under which Birrel posted himself. As -Leslie approached, the assassin shrank under their branches, drew his -hood over his face, and gave a last glance to the wheel-lock of his -dague. - -A leer of cruelty and malice shone in his eyes, and a horrible smile -curled his square lips, as, with a limping step, he approached the -centre of the path. - -"Gie a plack or a bodle, sir, to help a puir carle that hasna broken -a bannock these three days and mair." - -"Try the Carmelites, my good friend," replied Leslie, riding -hurriedly on. - -"The Virgin bless you, noble sir," continued Birrel, hobbling after -him; "mind a puir soldier of Sanct John, that lost his arm fighting -under the Preceptor at the battle o' Haddenrig?" - -"An old soldier?" said Leslie, checking his horse; "by the three -kings of Cologne, an old soldier shall never in vain seek alms of me! -Here, thou cunning carle, and say an _Ave_ for me to-night;" he -stooped to feel for a coin in the purse which hung at his sword-belt; -then Birrel drew forth the arm that appeared to be maimed, and -levelled his dague full at the ear of the unsuspecting horseman; his -glistening eye glared along the burnished barrel; the wheel revolved; -a bright flash, the sharp report, and a low groan followed. - -Leslie rolled lifeless in the dust beneath his horse's hoofs, with -the blood flowing from his mouth. The muzzle of the dague having -been but three inches from his helmet, two brass balls had passed -through his brain, and as the wretch turned him over, he saw in a -moment that the hapless cavalier was far beyond the skill even of -John of the Silvermills, the Scottish Galen and Avicenna of his age. - -Birrel gave one ferocious glance around him to see that none were -near; he gave another at the glazing eyes turned back within their -sockets, the relaxed jaw and noble features of Leslie, which in a -moment had become livid and horrible, as in the pale twilight they -stiffened into the rigidity of death. - -From the dead youth's glittering baldrick he tore away the leathern -pouch, and rending it with his dog-like teeth (for he was in too -great haste to undo the buckles), drew forth the pardon, and fled -towards the city..... - -And there on the road the slain man lay, with the dew and the -darkness descending upon him; and he felt not one and saw not the -other. - -Near him, and under the dark shadow of the hill, his horse was -grazing quietly, as if nothing had happened. - -An old and withered elm, with scarcely a leaf, but a sprout of one of -those which lined the way, still remains in the middle of the street -to mark the site of this catastrophe. - -Slowly the moon rose above the Calton; the long shadow of the hill -grew less and less as the orb soared up, until its beams fell on the -white visage of the murdered man, and on his polished armour. A -black pool lay near, and mingled with the dry summer dust. - -The horse, with its bridle trailing, was still grazing placidly at a -little distance. - -Some crows were beginning to perch on the elms, or flying round the -body with screaming beaks and flapping wings. - -They came from an adjacent gallows on the Lea. - - - - -CHAPTER LVI. - -THE TEMPTATION. - - "Oh! Harpalus (thus would he say), - Unhappiest under sunne; - The cause of thine unhappy day - By love was first begunne; - As easy 'twere for to convert - The frost into a flame, - As for to turn a froward heart, - Whom thou so fain would'st frame." - _Reliq. of English Poetry_, 1557. - - -The clock struck in the steeple of St. Giles. Jane heard it -distinctly in her prison. Each note was wafted towards her as with a -solemn note of lamentation, from the vast and broad mouth of the -great church bell. Every stroke vibrated painfully through her heart. - -It tolled _eleven_! - -She had but one hour to live. One hour! and then---- - -A loud and palpable murmur, as of many thousand voices, arose in the -city; her heart for a moment died within her; she covered her face -with her hand and burst out into a passionate prayer to Heaven--for -she knew that, encompassed as she was by sorrow and despair, and -engirdled by that strong tower, the eyes of God were upon her. - -The broad flame of a torch, which was stuck in a tin sconce that hung -upon the wall, cast a livid glare on the bare masonry of the vaulted -chamber, on her kneeling figure, on her dark and disordered hair, on -her white hands, and her whiter forehead. - -"Roland, my Roland! thou believest these things of me? Oh, I could -never have believed such of thee!" - -A shudder passed over her, and it seemed as if her heart would burst. -She had received a reply to that paper so cunningly devised by -Redhall, the letter signed and addressed to Roland, when suffering -under the agony of an artificial thirst; and that answer, which -showed that he believed in her guilt, as confessed to him under her -own hand, had crushed her spirit more than all the tortures, -inflictions, and insults she had so unmeritedly undergone. - -Signed by Roland, but written generally to his dictation by the -chaplain of the fortress, an old Dominican friar, the reply was sad -and sorrowful, full of regrets for her sore temptation to evil; her -bitter humiliation, blended with expressions of satisfaction at her -contrition; and closing with a pious hope that the sincerity of her -repentance and the severity of her earthly punishments would save her -from those of another life, solemnly committed her and her works to -Heaven. - -This unlover-like epistle, the embodying of which poor Roland, in his -sorrow and confusion of mind, had left entirely to the ingenuity of -the friar, appeared to Jane Seton this crowning stroke of her -misfortunes. It left her nothing more to wish for, to hope for, or -to bind her to the earth. Her Roland had cast her off! - -For the thousandth time she drew forth the letter and gazed upon the -name his hand had traced; now the paper was sorely worn and fretted -by her tears. She read it over for the last time, sighed bitterly, -and placed it in her bosom. - -"It shall go with me to--death," she said, for, with a shudder, she -reflected that by the mode of that death _even a grave_ was denied -her; and there was something frightful in the idea that a week, a -month, or a year hence, no one could point to a stone slab or a mound -of earth, and say that she whom they remembered, or loved, or -regretted, lay below--for the ashes of a witch were scattered to the -four winds of heaven. - -"Oh, my Roland, thou hast abandoned me! but God will not abandon me!" - -"Look up, Lady Jane," said a mild voice. - -She raised her eyes suddenly, but without surprise or terror, for -neither of these emotions could affect her now; absorbed in her own -thoughts, she had not heard any one enter. - -The stately figure of Redhall stood before her. He wore a court -dress of black velvet, with a white cross on his mantle, as mourning -for the queen. His close-clipped beard and black moustache were -trimmed with their usual care, but he seemed the shadow of what he -was. His grave and noble features were pale as death, and, like her -own, were attenuated to excess, but by mental rather than bodily -suffering (though he had endured both), and their pallor contrasted -strongly with his large, dark eyes, which were so full of light, and -yet were so expressive of sorrow. Every part of his dress was black, -save the shoulder-belt or scarf that sustained his silver-hilted -sword, and which, like the band of his bonnet, glittered with silver -embroidery and precious stones, that, ever changing in the light of -the torch, sparkled with a thousand prismatic hues. He held his -bonnet respectfully in his left hand, and its long black feather -drooped on the floor. - -"Look up, Lady Jane," he repeated; and Jane arose, with horror and -aversion expressed in every feature of her face. - -"You have dared to come hither? Is it to gloat upon the sorrow you -have made--the poor being you have devoted to destruction--a being -who never harmed you? Oh, Redhall! Redhall! what a plot of hell thy -plot hath been?" - -"Dost thou think me cruel?" - -"Cruel?" reiterated Jane; "didst thou say _cruel_?" - -"Hear me, hear me! for there is but little time, as in an hour thou -art to die." - -"St. Giles's bell has told me that. Begone, begone! wretch, thou -horror and abomination! Leave me to prayer, I implore thee! to -prepare for that death thy guilt, and not mine own, deserves." - -"Lady, if I am guilty, love hath made me so." - -"Love!" - -"Turned to hatred by vengeance and despair! Thou didst permit me to -love thee, and then destroyed the dear hopes which that permission -excited. Then I hated thee and loved thee by turns; but hatred -became the strongest, and I swore that never should another man wed -thee. Taunted, I longed for vengeance, but on thy lover rather than -on thee--yes, even as the thirsty long for water, and thou art here! -It was my destiny, perhaps, to accomplish thy death, and if so, my -doom and thine must be fulfilled. Thy death! and yet--yet I could -love thee, even after all that hath passed--even loathing life as I -do. To the storm of passions which so lately agitated me, a horrid -calm has succeeded, and I can look back to the events of the last few -weeks as one saved from shipwreck might do to the boiling ocean he -has escaped. Thou lookest on me with horror; yet knowest thou not, -Jane, that God put much of human kindness in my heart, and, until I -met thee, knew thee, and most fatally loved thee, I was good and -gentle, save when men wronged or thwarted me. My capacities for love -and hatred have but two extremes. Thee, I could have loved for ever! -Thy beauty is like that of the rose, or of the lily, born to wither, -to lose form and perfume; but my love would have endured unto death, -and would have passed away but with life alone. Taunted and repulsed -by thee, mocked by my friends as thy plaything, vanquished by a -mischance in combat with Vipont, who can wonder that the poison of -hatred entered my heart? that it rankled there, and grew strong, -distorting every object to my mind and eye? Life lost the few -pleasures it possessed. I thought of nothing but destruction, and -felt that I was predestined to accomplish, thy death, for I felt (he -added, in the very words of the Jew) that if it would feed nothing -else, it would feed my revenge--that revenge for which I lived alone! -Oh, Jane, this is all the truth, the sad, the solemn truth. Is it -not frightful to think that in less than one hour thou wilt have to -die?" - -"The victim of a madman--a fatalist! Just Heaven! will this be -permitted?" - -"Heaven has left you yet one chance of life," said Redhall, as his -eyes lighted up with a wild gleam, and drawing from his bosom the -pardon, which had cost the gallant Leslie so dear, the pardon which -was spotted with his blood, and which bore the royal signature, -"James Rex," and a seal, the well-known private signet of the king, -he held it before her startled eyes. "Be silent, and listen. Your -life and death are in my hands. This is a free pardon from the king, -granted yesterday at Falkland. Save thyself, not one in Edinburgh -knows of its existence, and, without it, you die in half an hour. -Oh, ponder well on this," he added, with eyes that eloquently -expressed his sorrow, triumph, eagerness, and fear, as with one hand -he grasped her, and held it before her with the other, but at -arm's-length, lest she might snatch it from him. "Swear before -Heaven, the Mother of all Compassion, before the Apostle John and all -the saints, to accept me as thy husband; to banish Vipont from thy -mind for evermore, even as he has banished thee from his, and into -thy hands I commit this paper, and thou art saved. Reject me, I -consume it at this torch, and thou art lost!" - -He held the paper within an inch of the flaring torch. - -"Sir Adam Otterburn," replied Jane, firmly, and with dignity; "I have -nothing now to lose but a life that thou hast made hateful to myself, -and abominable in the sight of Scotland--a name thou hast covered -with such shame that even he who loved me most abhors it now. Thee! -the wife of thee, thou murderer and assassin of the gallant -Bombie!--thou destroyer of my honour, and the honour of my family! -Oh, no!--welcome, a thousand times more welcome are the grave, the -gallows, the stake--death under any form, than an alliance so -detested. Out upon thee, coward, demon, and tempter!" and in the -wildness of her scorn and hatred, she smote him on the mouth with her -clenched hand. - -"Then be it so!" replied Redhall, with a horrible laugh, as an -emotion of rage rose within him. "Thou shalt die as one accursed by -God and man, with the flames around thee, and the yells of an -assembled city in thine ears, as the meed of thy unmerited scorn. -Proud and unrelenting woman, unshriven and unabsolved, even by the -fantastic rites of a church that is falling, thou shalt die, with the -bitter conviction that all thy sorrow, and all thy tears, and all thy -pain are futile, as the wings of the demon are over thee." - -And with these terrible words he thrust the pardon into the large -flame of the torch, which consumed it in a moment. - -Jane uttered a wild cry as he did so; for an instant the love of life -had dawned strongly in her bosom. - -Again she sank on her knees in despair, and covered her face with her -hands; when she looked up, Redhall was gone. He had departed so -silently, that she might have deemed the whole interview a vision, -but for the ashes of the pardon which were floating about her. - -One small fragment, which the flame had left undevoured, lay on the -floor; but there was a fiery circle within it--a circle that spread -and reddened--spread--spread, until it reached the edge, where it -died away in blackness, even as her momentary hope had died. - -At that instant she heard footsteps approaching her chamber door, and -there was the knell of death in their echoes. - - - - -CHAPTER LVII. - -THE LOCH. - - "And quickly Walter seeks once more, - With eager steps, the ocean's shore; - And lingers on impatient there, - The appointed hour--now do and dare! - He eyed the high and rugged steep - Which overhung the foaming deep." - _The Convent of Algarve._ - - -To avoid the vast crowds that were assembling on the Castle-hill, and -before the Port of the Spur, Redhall left the fortress by the postern -gate; and though the descent from thence to the foot of the cliffs on -the west was steep and extremely dangerous, even in daylight, he -plunged down from rock to rock, grasping the hazel-bushes and wild -willows in his progress, until he reached the old and narrow -horsepath which led from the King's Meuse and the tilting-ground -towards the venerable kirk of St. Cuthbert the Bishop. - -Breathless and exhausted by the rapidity of his descent down these -pathless and precipitate rocks, and overcome by the load of agony -that pressed upon his heart, he sank upon the turf, and lay there for -a few minutes motionless. - -Above him, the fortress and its stupendous rocks towered away into -the obscurity of the midnight sky; before him, spread the ripening -corn-fields, divided by thick hedgerows; and in the hollow on his -left lay the kirk of St. Cuthbert, with the dim lights twinkling in -its aisles, and shedding through its Gothic windows an uncertain -radiance on the adjacent water; for it had then two minor altars, the -great lamps before which were never extinguished until 1559. The sky -was starless, and the moon had gone down enveloped in clouds. The -great square tower of the church, a monastic relic of the eighth -century, built by the Culdees of Lothian, stood boldly, in black -outline, against the dark gauzy vapour that shrouded the north; a -rising wind moaned through the marshy hollow, shaking the old woods -which overshadowed the Kirkbraehead, and rippling the waters of the -loch, which almost washed the castle rock. - -There was a voice of reproach in that midnight wind; and from the -passing clouds many a grim face seemed to peer upon the unhappy -wretch, who, at the foot of the rocks, lay below the postern, -listening to the fierce beating of his tortured heart. - -And save its beating, and the moaning wind, all seemed deathly still -around him. The Guelder roses and the wild violets filled the air -with perfume, though the dew of midnight rested on their leaves. - -The appearance of Jane, the expression of her eyes, and the familiar -sound of her voice, had recalled his first passion in all its -strength; and before it, for a time, revenge melted away like summer -mist. He contemplated himself with horror; but now to save her, -would be to cover his own name with disgrace and contumely; and to -avow his master-villany and deep-laid vengeance, though it might -snatch Jane from the jaws of death, would but restore her to the arms -of Vipont, and afford that hated rival a triumph which could not be -contemplated with calmness. The agony, the repentance, the fear, the -shame, the abhorrence of himself, and the chaos of his mind, were -frightful. - -A flame shot across the sky. - -It was but the sheet lightning of summer flashing redly behind the -afar-off hills, and showing the dark woods of Coats, and of the Dean -that waved between. - -For a moment it illuminated the dark hollow where this repentant -sinner lay, and gave him a startling shock; for he thought of the -funeral pyre that was soon to blaze before the gates of the fortress -which overhung him. - -"Jane, oh Jane!" he cried, incoherently and aloud; "oh, thou whom I -could have worshipped with the adoration of an idolater, but whom I -have destroyed with the blind fury of a fiend! Can I not save thee -without burying myself under a mountain of disgrace as well as of -misery? And for this paltry tremor thou art left to die! thou, so -beautiful, so innocent, so pure in spirit and so single in heart! -The icy sweat is again on my brow, the iron in my heart--for all -thine image is before me, as it was once, so full of smiles and -pride, of bloom and high-born loveliness, as on that night at -Holyrood.... Thy voice is ever in my ear, thy name on my lip!... -Oh, misery! oh, for one hour of oblivion!..." - -He sprang up, and slowly descending the narrow path by the base of -the castle rock, below St. Margaret's Tower, approached the loch, but -without any defined object. The stillness of its dark and almost -waveless water had something in it that attracted him involuntarily -towards it. - -The loch was then full and the water deep. - -"Coward that I am!" he thought; "one bold plunge and all would be -over." - -The temptation was a strong one: there was a rushing in his ears, a -whirling in his brain, and a fearful palsy in his heart, which seemed -to stand for a moment still; he looked around him hurriedly, and no -one seemed near. - -But a single star was visible, like a watching eye, and its rays were -reflected in the motionless water under the solemn shadow of the -impending rocks. - -At such a moment the human mind is like a bullet which a hair may -turn aside. - -He took one step backward, and was about to make the desperate leap, -when the sound of voices and footsteps arrested him; and, like one -surprised in a guilty action, he shrunk behind a clump of wild hazel -bushes, and thus was saved from the committal of another heavy crime. - -Two men, whom he had not before observed, now appeared on the narrow -pathway below. One was mounted, clad in half armour, and by the -ostrich feather which waved in his bonnet, appeared to be a -gentleman; the other was on foot, and led a horse by the bridle. - -Redhall heard the name of _Vipont_. - -It called up all his evil passions and bitter memories. It restored -him to life and energy of purpose. He put his hand on the hilt of -his sword, and listening, approached them stealthily. - - - - -CHAPTER LVIII. - -THE LAW OF THE SWORD. - - "Dost thou, O traitor! thus to grace pretend, - Clad as thou art in trophies of my friend? - To his sad soul, a grateful offering go! - 'Tis Pallas, Pallas gives this deadly blow. - He raised his arm aloft, and, at the word, - Deep in his bosom drove the shining sword. - The streaming blood distained his arms around, - And the disdainful soul came rushing through the wound." - _Æneid_, XII. - - -According to the tenour of his last conversation with his unfortunate -lieutenant, when they supped at the _Cross and Gillstoup_, Sir John -Forrester had not forgotten the safety of their mutual friend, -Vipont; and being well aware that the hostility of the king's -advocate had no boundary but death, while the cruel assassination of -Leslie, the scarcely less cruel visit of Redhall to Jane, and the -destruction of the pardon in David's Tower were taking place, he had -prepared everything for the escape of Roland from the fortress in -which he was confined. - -Aware that the attention of the city without, and of the garrison -within the castle, of the governor, of the provost, and all the -authorities, was wholly occupied by the preparations for the -execution of the first sorceress to be burned in Scotland, this -gallant gentleman wisely considered the hour of midnight as the most -fitting time to achieve the liberty of his friend. - -Aware that our agile acquaintance, Master Sabrino, could climb like a -squirrel, he had been employed by Forrester as the principal agent in -the adventure. - -From the fields on the opposite bank of the loch Sabrino had been -shown the tower and the window of the apartment wherein Roland Vipont -was confined, and to that window, at nightfall, the active negro had -clambered with wondrous bravery and skill; and had introduced to the -tower a pair of saws formed of the sharpest steel, and a strong cord, -of great length, knotted with loops for the hands and feet, by which -he was to descend some twenty yards of the most dangerous part of the -rocks; while Sabrino, who could cling to their perpendicular front as -a fly does to the wall, was to descend without other aid than his own -black paws and tenacious feet. - -At the very time that Redhall approached, and in the two figures -recognised the captain of the king's guard and the old servant of -Roland Vipont, the latter had just removed (by the aid of his saws) -the last bar from the window, and trembling with eagerness, was -preparing to descend the rope-ladder which Sabrino, with a broad grin -on his vast mouth and in his shining eyes, fastened to the remaining -stumps of the stanchels. - -Who the kind person might be that had furnished and sent the bold -page with these means of escape, Roland had no means of ascertaining; -for, being tongueless, poor Sabrino was mute as a fish; and of all -his innumerable signs and nods, winks and unearthly chuckles, the -master of the ordnance could make nothing. - -A plain wooden prie-dieu formed part of the furniture of his -apartment. On his knees Roland Vipont sank into it, and on a lock of -Jane's hair fixed a long, a passionate, and indescribable gaze of -love and sorrow, and then uttered a brief, emphatic prayer. - -"Innocent or guilty, I will see her once again, or die in the -attempt," said he, placing the ringlet in his bosom, and preparing to -descend. - -The passage of the window was easily accomplished; and reaching the -base of the tower, he found himself upon a narrow ledge of rock; the -chill wind rushed up past him, and voices were faintly borne with it -from below. There, the cliff on which King David's Tower was built -is somewhat impending, and from the broad battlements a plumb-line -might, without meeting an obstacle, be dropped to the depth of nearly -two hundred and fifty feet, to the pathway on which Sir John -Forrester and Lintstock stood on that night. If dropped one yard -beyond the rock, it would have fallen into the waters of the lake. - -Roland's heart expanded in his breast; for to his active spirit, -which had writhed in captivity, there was almost a relief in the new -energy of action. - -He descended with equal rapidity and boldness, for he was utterly -regardless of life; and this very carelessness was perhaps his -salvation, by affording him the means of achieving that in which the -timid or the wary man would inevitably have failed. The wild -wallflower, the strong docken blades, the long grass, the longer and -more tenacious ivy which grew in the clefts of the rocks, or overhung -their lichen-spotted brows, afforded him the means of descent after -he had passed the bottom of the cord. - -In the darkness and obscurity of the night, he could not have been -seen even from the windows of Wallace's Tower or the Constable's -Tower, but now their inmates had all deserted them; for the entire -population of the castle were crowding on the battlements of the -great peel, the eastern curtain, and the spur, which overlooked the -place of execution, the preparations for which were being made on the -south side of the Castle-hill. - -He had one risk of discovery alone; for, not eighty yards from where -Forrester awaited him, the pathway was crossed and defended by the -Well-house Tower. - -Those of our readers who may have perused our "Memorials" of the -ancient fortress, may remember how frequently we had occasion to -mention this now ruined ravelin. - -Built over a fountain, the waters of which fed the loch, this strong -square tower rose within six feet of the enormous perpendicular cliff -sustaining David's Tower. A massive wall, having an archway with an -iron gate and loopholes for arrows and musketry, secured the narrow -path which led to St. Cuthbert's Church on one hand, and ascended the -Castle-hill on the other, passing between the tower and the rock. -The guard here had the treble duty of protecting the well, the -private roadway, and the city wall of A.D. 1450, which enclosed the -Castle-hill at its northern base. The tower was entered from the -inside of this flanking wall by two doors, which, by a stair partly -hewn in the rocks, led to the first and second floors. The upper was -at that time always occupied by a party of arquebusiers, and the -light of their guard-fire streamed redly through two narrow grated -windows upon the still dark bosom of the loch, which washed the north -wall, and rolled away in obscurity towards the east end of the city. - -Then the wide ravine that yawned between the southern hill of the -Modern Athens and the giant ridge of Auld Reikie, her _mither-toun_, -was an impassable gulf. Now the waters have disappeared, but the -tide of life ebbs and flows in their place. A stupendous mound and a -lordly bridge now cross that hollow glen where the fountain welled -which David, "by consent of his earls and bishops," gifted to God and -the Holy Cross, and where the queen of Robert III. held her brilliant -tournaments; and now, the red gleam of the furnace, the hiss of the -steam-engine, the clink of hammers, the hum of voices, and the roar -of the railway train rise up from its depth to scare the woodcock, -the snipe, and the wild coof, who come as of old to seek the bed -where for ages the water lay. - -Once only did Roland pause in his perilous descent, to assure himself -that he was not seen. Dislodged by his foot, a stone gave way, and -as it bounded from the rocks he heard it plash into the loch, far, -far down below. There, by its margin, stood Forrester and Lintstock -listening intently, and glancing silently at each other from time to -time; for, brave and adventurous though the age might be, there were -bounds, even in warlike Scotland, to hardihood and adventure. - -"If he should be afraid to descend!" said Sir John. - -"Afraid?" retorted Lintstock; "I have kent him, Sir John Forrester, -since he was a bairn that couldna' blaw his ain nose, and never saw -fear in his face yet.--There he comes," added the old cannonier, as -the stone we have just mentioned rolled over their heads and fell -into the calm loch, forming a hundred circles on its dark bosom; -"there he comes--there he comes!" continued the veteran, whose -solitary eye moistened with a tear as he uttered a fervent -supplication to "Sancta Barbara, the virgin and martyr, patroness of -all bold cannoniers and artillery" (according to the military -superstition of the age), to protect his master. - -In a few minutes more, both Roland and Sabrino were seen descending -the dangerous path. Lintstock uttered a cry of satisfaction. - -"Courage!" said Forrester, placing his hand at the side of his mouth, -lest the guard at the tower might overhear, and fire on them. - -In another moment Roland, breathless with his exertions, was beside -them, and in the arms of his old servant, who swore and wept with joy. - -His hair and beard were so disordered, that Forrester could scarcely -recognise him. - -"My dear friend," said Roland, sadly, "if the thanks of one to whom -life is valueless are worth accepting, take them from me a thousand -times, and a thousand more. Believe me, I am almost mad--I know not -what I do, or what I say, or whether my words are incoherent as my -thoughts." - -He was frightfully pale and haggard. - -"Truly, Vipont, we live in strange times--times that future men will -talk of with wonder, for we participate in deeds of which our -posterity will scarcely believe," replied Forrester, gravely; "but I -pray you, mount and begone, for we have not a moment to lose! -Instant flight----" - -"Horses and arms! by what magic hast thou divined my secret thought? -Oh, my good, my kind Forrester, it is so like thee!" - -"Here is your own sword--the old Italian blade you loved so well." - -"I am glad thou'st brought it, for 'tis all my heritage," replied -Roland, as he buckled it on, and then unsheathed the blade and waved -it in the air. - -"My castle in the west is at your service. Mount and ride, I implore -you, Vipont; for every moment of delay is fraught with danger to us -all!" - -"Mount and ride, say you? Yes; but not to your castle in the west, -my dear friend--no! I have sworn to see Jane Seton once again before -she dies. Jane! Jane! that letter--ah! why didst thou send it, for -I would rather thou hadst stabbed me with a poniard? My good sword! -how great, how glorious a thing it is to be free, and to feel thee in -my hand. Now can I deal death for death, blow for blow, and blood -for blood! Oh, Forrester, I feel that wrong and oppression have made -me a very savage." - -To crush his agony, he bit his lips till the blood came, and hastily, -but scrupulously examined the bridle and stirrups of the horse his -friend had brought him. - -Breathlessly, and with a heart full of rage, Redhall from his place -of concealment had seen and overheard them. - -"I have destroyed her, and shall he escape me?" he thought. "No, by -the Power of Heaven!" and, drawing his sword, he made stealthily -towards the Well-house Tower, for there was no time to give an alarm -elsewhere. Thrice he essayed to gain it, but in vain! for those he -wished to intercept stood right in the narrow path leading to the -gateway which the tower flanked; the cliff rose up on one side like a -wall, the deep water descended into darkness on the other. - -"Hallo! we are watched!" cried old Lintstock, whose single eye was -worth a dozen of others, and had seen this dark figure which glided -near them in the gloom. - -Full of rage and shame at being discovered, Redhall, who was too -proud and too brave to retreat, advanced boldly, with his sword in -his hand, exclaiming loudly-- - -"A rescue! a rescue! a rescue and escape! Ho, the guard! ho, in the -name of the king! treason! and breaking ward! treason! treason!" - -"_Redhall!_" cried Roland, in a choking voice. - -"We are lost!" said Forrester. - -Roland could utter no more; he thought that destiny had delivered his -enemy over to his vengeance; and a wild tempest of holy fervour and -infernal fury filled his heart. He rushed upon him like a lion, and -they both engaged with blind desperation. - -Their eyes were full of fire, their breasts burning with as much -hatred as could possibly animate two human hearts, and much more -intent on slaying each other than on protecting themselves, they -hewed and thrust, cutting showers of sparks from their swords in the -dark, while their blades rang like bells. They seemed to be -transformed into demons by their mortal hatred. - -Resolved that even if himself should be slain, his enemy should not -escape, Redhall called incessantly to the guard in the adjacent -tower; and Sir John Forrester, with alarm, heard the voices of the -soldiers, who were part of his own corps of guards, and saw the glow -of their lighted matches reddening behind the loopholes, and through -the bars of the gate, as they prepared "to make service" against -those who were brawling on St. Cuthbert's roadway; in other words, to -fire on them. - -Before this measure took place the combat was decided. - -Stepping back a pace, and grasping his sword with both hands, Redhall -raised the hilt above his head, and dropping the blade behind him, -resolved to give a cut-down stroke, which would end the conflict and -his rival's life together; but Roland, quick as lightning, on seeing -his whole body unprotected, sprang forward, and ran more than two -feet of his double-edged sword through his body. - -A groan of rage and agony escaped from Redhall; with his left hand he -grasped Roland's sword near the hilt, and fiercely writhed his body -forward upon it, to shorten the distance between himself and his -antagonist, in whose heart he endeavoured to bury a poniard which he -grasped in his right hand, and for which he had relinquished his -sword. - -But seeing his deadly intention, Roland spurned him with his right -foot; he staggered backward, the blood gushed forth, and at the same -moment he rolled over the narrow path, and falling off the blade of -the sword, sank heavily into the dark water of the loch, thus being -stabbed and drowned almost at the same moment. - -Roland uttered a wild laugh, leaped on horseback, and galloped madly -away by the base of the castle rock. - -Forrester followed at full speed, but the frantic horseman had -disappeared like a spirit round the western side of the rock, and -even the sound of his horse's hoof's had died away. - -At that instant a volley of six arquebuses flashed redly from the -parapets of the ravelin, and their bullets whistled about the ears of -old Lintstock, who immediately scrambled after Sir John Forrester; -but one pierced the brain of the poor page Sabrino, who fell dead on -the spot. - -The discovery of his body next morning caused unusual consternation -in the "good town" of Edinburgh, and the expenditure of several -gallons of holy water, which were sprinkled upon the livid corpse and -the place where it lay; while the tidings went far and wide that "my -Lady of Ashkirk's devil had been found under the castle rock." - - - - -CHAPTER LIX. - -THE PLACE OF DOOM. - - "But when the appointed day was come, - No help appeared nye; - Then woeful, woeful was her heart, - And tears stood in her eye. - And now a fyer was built of wood, - And a stake was made of tree; - And now Queen Elinor forth was led, - A sorrowful sight to see." - _Sir Aldrinyar, an old Ballad._ - - -On this night a strange sound floated upward to the Castle of -Edinburgh from the city below; it was like the murmur of distant -waves, or of the rising wind shaking the branches of a forest. This -was occasioned by the crowding of the people towards the _Place of -Doom_, as it was graphically named. - -It was a dark midnight, moonless and starless; the eyes of thousands -were raised inquisitively to the black, opaque mass of the castle -rock and the zone of lofty towers which then engirdled its summit, -with their embrasured battlements and frowning cannon. - -Culprits usually suffered at a place on the south side of the -Castle-hill, where a green bank of several hundred yards sloped -steeply downward from the ramparts of the Spur, to the north ends of -the closes in the Grass-market, a broad arena which, from its -fantastic architecture, has been said closely to resemble the Plaza -of a Spanish or Italian town, and which lies in a valley to the south -of the castle. - -The wall of the city, which descended at an angle of nearly fifty -degrees from the rock on which the fortress is built until it -intersected the streets beneath at the King's Meuse, closed this -sloping bank on the west. The back of a narrow close, which was -demolished in the civil war of 1743, enclosed it on the east, and the -Spur, with its strong rampart and twenty pieces of brass cannon, -overlooked it on the north. There were then no Castle-terrace or -Western Approach to disfigure the city on the south, and this green -and verdant bank descended smoothly and gradually downwards to the -great market-place. - -The stake was placed on a small natural platform a few yards square, -the same place where Thomas Forrest, vicar of Dollar, John Keillior, -and John Beverage, two Dominican priests, Duncan Simpson, and Sir -Robert Forrest, a gentleman of Stirlingshire, were burned for heresy -in presence of the regal court, on the night of the 2nd of March, two -years after the events we are about to relate. This was the place of -death until the year 1681, when the Scottish government deprived the -city of it for military purposes. - -The stake was a strong column of oak, roughly dressed by a hatchet, -and had rivetted upon it the _branks_, or witch's bridle, which hung -at the end of a short chain. This instrument, which was considered -so necessary in punishments by fire, and which was soon to become so -famous in Scotland, that every burgh required one, was a circle of -iron, formed of four parts, connected by steel hinges, and adapted to -encircle the neck, like the modern _jougs_, which may sometimes be -seen at kirk-doors. The chain was behind; in front was the broad gag -which entered the mouth, and pressed down the tongue to prevent the -unhappy wretch, whose head was locked within it, crying aloud; and -after the execution, this diabolical invention, which was usually -found among the ashes of the fire and of the skeleton, with fragments -of bones and teeth adhering to it, was carefully preserved by the -thrifty baillies in the council-chamber until the next "worrying," as -it was termed. - -Several horseloads of faggots, nicely split, and tied up in bundles, -were piled three feet deep around the stake by the concurrents, or -assistants of Sanders Screw, in absence of Dobbie, whom a blow from -Leslie's sword had left half dead at a cottage near Inverteil; and on -these bundles they poured several buckets of tar and oil, thereafter -sprinkling the whole with gunpowder and sulphur. These operations -soothed the excitement and impatience of the expectant thousands, who -long before the fatal hour had taken possession of the whole ground -about the stake, a circle round which was kept open by the halberds -of the provost, while beyond there were a party of fifty mounted -spearmen under his kinsman, Sir Andrew Preston of Grourtoun, who was -sheathed in complete armour. Every second trooper bore a lighted -torch; thus the mob could see with ease, and be seen. - -In addition to the inhabitants of the city, nearly all those of the -four municipalities, or burghs of regality, which lay without the -barriers--viz., the Portsburgh, lying before the West-port; the -Canongate, without the Netherbow-port; the Potter-row, which lay -before the Kirk-of-field-port; and the Calton, lying without St. -Andrew's port, or the Craig-end-gate, were collected in the spacious -area of the Grass-market, and on the steep face of the castle bank. -The walls of the ravelin which crowned it on the north; the -bartizans, roofs, windows, even the chimney-heads and pediments, -every ledge and part of the houses on the west; and the ends of those -which closed the ground below, were crowded with spectators. The -market-place was like a sea of upturned faces, all visible in the -torchlight, though far down below; and the hum of their myriad -voices, mingled with many a shrill cry or threat, the clink of steel -or clatter of iron hoofs, as the armed horsemen rode to and fro -keeping order among them, ascended the side of the hill, and echoed -among the rocks and towers of the fortress, where the poor victim for -whom they waited was kneeling at her prayers. - -So great was the crowd in the market, that even the bartizans of the -Greyfriars' monastery, a large building which formed part of the -street, and had been built by James I. about a hundred years before, -for Cornelius of Zurich and certain canons of Cologne, together with -the loftier houses of the Knights of Torphichen, in the Bow, though -still more distant, were covered with spectators. - -Clad in thin grey cassocks girt with knotted cords, the Greyfriars -ran about among the people, barefooted, and carrying little wooden -boxes to receive money from the charitable and religious to pay for -"masses and prayers for the soul of the poor lost heretic and -sorceress,"--prayers and masses for the poor girl who was yet living. -Solemn mass, as for the dead, was to have been said in the chapel of -St. Margaret, the queen of Scotland, by Father St. Bernard, and the -chaplain of the fortress; but the baillies, the portly deacons of the -crafts and consequential councillors of the gude town, were impatient -for the _deid chack_, and had ordered that, as the friars had -lingered too long with Jane in her cell, and as the hour of twelve -approached, and the people were impatient, they should do their -office at the stake--an edict of selfishness and cruelty. - -This _deid chack_ was a dinner or supper (according to the hour) of -which the magistrates always partook after an execution; and it was -generally served up with great civic state, in a chamber which -adjoined the church of St. Giles, and which in later days was the -vestry of the Tolbooth kirk. - -Twelve rang from the great tower of that venerable fane; and to the -ears of all it seemed to do so more slowly and solemnly than usual, -for such is the force of imagination. At the same moment the lurid -flash of a culverin broke redly from the battlements of the -Constable's Tower, and its hoarse boom pealed away over the heads of -the people. - -Every heart leaped, every ear tingled, every eye dilated. A rapid -murmur pervaded the vast multitude, and then died away, leaving them -all attention--all ear and eye; they seemed to have but one pulse, -one heart, and their expectations were excited to the utmost degree -when the strong iron portal of the Spur unclosed, and the procession -of death appeared slowly descending the steep bank towards the stake. - -First came six arquebusiers in steel caps and crimson doublets, -marching in double file, with their matches smoking. - -Then came Sanders Screw, dressed in flaming scarlet, with a leather -apron, and his arms bared to the elbow. He bore a lighted torch, -which flared luridly on his withered visage and decrepit figure. He -looked like an antiquated fiend. - -Then came the governor of the fortress, Sir James Riddel, walking on -foot, but in half armour, attended by an esquire and two pages, one -bearing his sword, the other his helmet. With him were the -magistrates in their scarlet gowns, wearing their chains of gold, -with their sword-bearer, macer, and halberdiers, clad in blue -doublets, laced, and slashed with yellow. - -Then appeared Father St. Bernard, with the Dominican who acted as the -governor's chaplain. Both were walking bareheaded and in full -canonicals, with their eyes fixed upon their books. St. Bernard was -praying, the Dominican made the responses in a loud and audible -voice. All the people immediately uncovered their heads, and the -horsemen of Gourtoun lowered the points of their lances. - -When Lady Jane appeared, another low murmur pervaded the people, -mingled with exclamations of-- - -"Alake! alake! oh, waly! waly! Eh, sirs, and gude preserve us! waly! -waly!" for the latter is an old Scottish exclamation expressive of -the utmost commiseration. - -It rose almost to a shout, then it died away, and silence sealed the -lips of nearly ten thousand persons; they seemed for a time to be -frozen with pity, horror, and expectation of the dire catastrophe; -and so they remained with their countless eyes fixed upon her, their -mouths open, their voices hushed, their breathing suspended. - -Poor Jane! Amid all that living sea, around, above, and below her, -she saw not the face of a friend, and yet the heads were rising and -falling like the billows of a heaving ocean, as the hushed people, -animated by morbid curiosity, struggled in silence to obtain a full -view of her. - -The lines of Nicholas Howe are strikingly descriptive of her aspect; -for as she descended to the pile-- - - "Submissive, sad, and lowly was her look; - A burning taper in her hand she bore, - And on her shoulders carelessly confused - With loose neglect her lovely tresses hung; - Upon her cheek a faintish flush was spread; - Feeble she seemed, ami sorely smit with pain. - Her streaming eye bent ever on the earth, - Except when in some bitter pang of sorrow, - To heaven she seemed in fervent zeal to raise, - _And begged that mercy man denied her here_." - - -Instead of being dressed in a penitent's frock of tarred canvas, -painted with flames pointing downwards, like those of the "heretics" -whom the same spectators had seen burned at the Rood of Greenside, -before the gate of the Carmelites, a short time before, Jane wore an -ordinary tunic of blue silk, and her little velvet cap, with its -triangular front, from the top of which a pendant bob-jewel sparkled -on her brow,--for she had resolved to die bravely. Her rosary, -formed of silver and coral beads, hung at her wrist; her missal was -in one hand, a taper in the other. Her luxuriant brown hair hung -over her shoulders, in sign of sorrow and repentance; she was sorely -changed, and worn almost to a skeleton, but there was something -almost holy in the solemn and resigned expression of her beautiful -face. It was the pallor of long mental suffering, mingled with a -sublime resignation to the will of God and the hard fate He designed -for her at the hands of His creatures, who seemed to her so merciless. - -Now, hovering between time and eternity, she seemed as one beyond the -pale of life. - -The fear and hatred which her name, as a rumoured sorceress, had -excited in the minds of the people, died away when they beheld her. -Sorrow and compassion swelled in every heart, and each man whispered -to his neighbour of her youth and beauty, and the memory of that good -and valiant earl her father, "who fought so well for Scotland, God -rest him!" - -Many wrung their hands, many wept, and more prayed for her; for if -they were blunt and fiery, our Scottish sires of the olden time, and -somewhat too ready with the use of their swords and dirks, they were -warm-hearted and kind, as they were honest and true. - -Her dignity and courage deserved their praise, for on beholding those -assembled thousands, the glittering pikes of the mailed horsemen, the -halberds and arquebuses, the stake with its chain, and the oiled -faggots which formed that appalling pile, Jane gathered courage from -her pride of birth and name, and resolved that history should never -have it to record that a daughter of the house of Ashkirk blanched in -the face of death--that grim foe whom its sons had so often -confronted on the fields of France and England. As these thoughts -fired her heart, her cheek flushed, her dark eye lighted up, she -became in a moment sublime; and as the bright torches glared on her -wasted and ghastly beauty, the people saw in her no longer the -regicide and the sorceress, but a heroine, a martyr! - -Now she knelt down by the pile, for Father St. Bernard, in a low -voice, almost inaudibly tremulous, began to repeat the prayers -contained in the mass usually performed for the dead on the day of -decease or burial; for, as an "obdurate heretic and sorceress," Jane -was not permitted to receive the last sacraments of her church in -public, but the good old prebendary had bestowed them in secret. - -Then, as this solemn service commenced, the entire assembled -thousands sank upon their knees and bowed down their heads. Even the -Reformers who were in the crowd (and there were many) could not -refuse to kneel and pray at a crisis so sad and terrible, when a poor -human soul was, as they thought, hovering on the brink of hell. - -The horsemen of Gourtoun remained upright in their saddles, with -their armour gleaming in the torchlight, which shed its uncertain -glare upon the crowded bank, and on the giant fortress that towered -into the clouds above it, upon the bastions and cannon of the Spur, -upon the crowded windows and fantastic architecture of the closes, -and the sea of heads that were bowed in the market-place, far down -below, upon the kneeling sufferer, the silver hair, bald heads, and -shining vestments of the priests beside her; while, like the murmur -of a gentle wind as it passes over a full-eared corn-field, the -voices of the people rose when they joined in the beautiful hymn -prescribed by what was then their church,-- - - "The day of wrath! that dreadful day! - Shall the whole world in ashes lay, - As David and the sybils say. - What horror shall invade the mind, - When the strict Judge, who would be kind, - Shall have few venial faults to find!" - -and so on to the close of the solemn chaunt,-- - - "Prostrate, my contrite heart I rend,-- - My God, my Father, and my Friend, - Do not forsake me in mine end! - Well may they curse their second birth, - Who rise to everlasting death. - Thou great Creator of mankind, - Oh, let _this soul_ compassion find!" - - -Amid all that vast assemblage, there was one person who did not seem -to join in this hymn. He had lost his bonnet; his head was bare, and -his hair, wild, matted, and disordered, waved around his head, and -mingled with a beard that seemed to have been untrimmed for a -fortnight. He was armed with a long sword, and rode a powerful -horse, the blood of which was dripping from a pair of sharp spurs, -which appeared to be hurriedly buckled on. The whole multitude were -intently regarding the poor being who was about to suffer, otherwise -the pale visage, fierce eyes, and wild aspect of this strange -horseman must have attracted, in a marked manner, the attention of -all who chanced to observe him. - -He was Roland Vipont, who, with a heart full of fury, and a head full -of desperate thoughts, had posted himself as near the pile as the -spearmen of Sir Andrew Preston would permit. - -Love and wrath, together with wounded pride, had excited his great -inborn courage to a point of rashness and bravery that made him feel -strong as a Hercules, bold as a lion, and fitted to encounter, -without a shadow of fear or qualm of doubt, Sir Andrew of Gourtoun's -fifty lances in a general mêlée. - -Slowly and impressively the chapel bells of the Greyfriars, and of -St. Mary in the Portsburgh, began to toll a knell for the passing -soul, and the heads of the people bent lower. - -"Blessed Lord," Roland heard the voice of the prebend praying; "oh, -King of Glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from -the flames of hell, and from the deep pit." - -Jane's pale lips seemed to move as she made a response. - -"Deliver them from the lion's mouth, lest hell swallow them, and lest -they fall into darkness. - -"Let the standard-bearer, Saint Michael, bring them unto the holy -light which of old thou didst promise to Abraham and to his -posterity." - -"Amen!" responded the calm voice of the old Dominican. - -St. Bernard shut his missal, and covered his face with the sleeve of -his vestment. - -As one man, the silent thousands raised their heads, and Sanders -Screw shook the flame of his torch, to light it fully. - -Jane arose, and gazed placidly around her. - -_The time had come!_ - -Then, if it could be possible, the heart of Roland Vipont beat -quicker, and he unsheathed his sword. - -"Aid me, thou blessed Power, whom all these hearts have invoked! aid -me for her sake! But, aid or no aid, if I am forsaken, 'tis but the -soldier's death! Vipont! Vipont!" he exclaimed, and suddenly urging -his horse towards the stake, he threw his left arm around Jane, and -drew her across his saddle before any one had the least idea of what -he meant to do; and brandishing his sword around his head, dashed the -gory spurs again into the torn flanks of his horse. - -Appalled by the rapidity of the action, the vast assemblage stood -immovable. - -Down the frightful steep towards the King's Meuse he rode with the -speed of an arrow; and, as the clouds part before a thunderbolt, the -horsemen gave way, and the people parted before him. - -"Shut the gates of the town!" cried Sir Andrew Preston; but a roar of -voices burst from the multitude, and amid that roar his voice was -confounded and lost. - -Fortunately the gates were open, and deserted by their warders; and -thus, before the people had recovered from their astonishment, and -before the troopers of Gourtoun were ordered to pursue, Roland -Vipont, with his rescued prize, had cleared the Castle Wynd, the -crowded market-place, and left the city's western barrier far behind -him, as he spurred, like a whirlwind, towards the wood and marshes of -Corstorphine, where, almost girded by a lake, and surrounded by a -deep moat, the strong and stately fortress of the Forresters awaited -him with open gates. - - - - -CHAPTER LX. - -CONCLUSION. - - "So they were wedded, and life's smoothest tide - Bore on its breast the bridegroom and the bride."--CROLY. - - -With these two lines we might fairly dismiss the hero and heroine of -these volumes, without describing, or expatiating on the explanations -that brought about a termination so pleasing; but it suddenly -occurred to us that the reader, who had kindly accompanied us so far, -might have some curiosity to learn the fate of the other actors in -our drama or history, for it partakes of both. - -Jane's relations accounted for the extorted letter which caused such -pain to Roland; and the next messenger from Falkland announced that a -pardon had actually been granted by the king, while the whole plot -against her life and honour was fully revealed and made conspicuous -by the secret papers and correspondence of Redhall, all of which were -purchased at the sale of the effects of an eminent antiquary, lately -deceased, and are preparing for publication by a Scottish literary -club. - -Roland and his bride lived to see the subversion of all order in the -days of the Douglas wars, when he fought valiantly under the Duke of -Chatelherault for his queen, like a man of truth and honour, for -which he received from her own fair finger a ring of gold, which his -descendants possess unto the present day. - -Released from Inchkeith by order of the king, the venerable Countess -of Ashkirk had soon after the happiness of procuring from Rome, -through the influence of Cardinal Beaton, a dispensation, by which -Sybil Douglas of Kilspindie was married to her cousin, the earl, who -survived that period more than fifty years; and, during a long and -useful life, was eminently distinguished for his loyalty and -patriotism. The last time we heard or read of him was in 1587, when, -on tidings of Mary's murder at Fotheringay arriving at Edinburgh, he -appeared at Holyrood with his eight tall sons, all sheathed in black -armour, to show King James VI. what he considered the most proper -court mourning for the occasion. - -Father St. Bernard lived to see the Reformation, which nearly broke -the old man's heart; for he thought that the end of the world was at -hand. In his ninetieth year he died among the monks of St. Jerome, -at the Escurial, in Spain, whither he had travelled to deposit the -arm-bone of St. Giles. - -Ten years after the events we have narrated, the gallant Sir John -Forrester fell, fighting for his country, at the battle of Pinkey, on -the 10th September, 1547. He was shot when making a brilliant charge -with his own vassals against those regiments of Spanish arquebusiers, -who, under Don Pedro de Gamboa, gained that battle for the Duke of -Somerset. - -Honest old Lintstock, the ex-gunner, instead of settling on the -estate which Vipont received in free barony from the king, married -the hostel, or rather the hosteller's widow, to whom he had paid his -court so long; and though he became one of the wealthiest burgesses -of the good town, instead of becoming either a councillor or baillie, -he preferred to doze away his time by the tap-room fire, where, with -other old iron-headed troopers and trampers, over a can of mum-beer, -he told long and interminable stories of the battles of Flodden and -Haddonrig; of sakers, of carthouns, and cannons-royale; and of -blowing Englishmen, Spaniards, and Highlandmen all to rags and -fritters, for he had fought against them all in his time. - -The end of Dobbie the Doomster is buried in obscurity, unless we -connect him in some way with the same legal functionary who is said -to have drowned himself by leaping in a drunken fit from the steep -pinnacle of rock which overhangs the Loch of Duddingstone, and is now -known as the _Hangman's Knowe_; but if it will comfort the reader to -know the end of Birrel the Brodder, we may add that this amiable -individual became unfortunately involved in the murder of Cardinal -Beaton in the year 1546, and being taken with other prisoners when -St. Andrew's was stormed by the admiral of the galleys, Leon, prior -of Capua, he was conveyed to France, where he died, miserably chained -to an oar, and scourged almost to a skeleton, in a galley at Brest. - -John of the Silvermills, first deacon of the barber-chirurgeons at -Edinburgh, never completed his famous elixir, which would have -brought his profession to a close, and enabled us to live without an -ache or an ailment for ever. This precious compound was just on the -point of completion by the addition of that small ingredient it had -lacked so long, and for which he had found a substitute in the blood -of a certain reptile, mentioned in the black letter "Ereptology" of -Francis Redi, when one dark night ten thousand Englishmen landed and -gave all to fire and sword in and around Edinburgh. This was Lord -Hertford's famous invasion in 1544. - -Poor John's laboratory was destroyed, and for months afterwards he -was to be seen, like the ghost of himself, rending his beard, and -lamenting over the ruins of his premises, strewed with shattered -retorts and broken crucibles, and mourning heavily, like another -Jeremiah, over the fall of an imaginary Babylon. - - - - -NOTES. - - -I. - -JANE SETON. - -The unfortunate passage in Scottish history, which afforded a hint -for the foregoing romance, will be found in "Pitcairn's Criminal -Trials," at considerable length, and also in a little history of the -"Life of James V.," reprinted in _Miscellanea Scotica_ from the -edition of 1710; but as both these works may be beyond the reader's -reach, we may briefly state the facts as being these. - -In the year 1537, Jane Douglas, the young and beautiful widow of Lord -Glammis, and sister of the Earl of Angus, together with her second -husband, the Laird of Skipness, an aged priest, and others, were -accused by a person named William Lyon, of endeavouring to compass -the king's death by poison and sorcery. - -Slighting the addresses of Lyon and many others who aspired to her -hand, after the death of Lord Glammis, she had preferred Campbell of -Skipness; upon which Lyon, inflamed by rivalry and revenge, made a -terrible vow, that his life should be dedicated to her destruction; -and hence came the charge, upon which she and her immediate friends -were committed to the Castle of Edinburgh. - -"The accuser, who had the ear of the jealous king, used all his -rhetoric to aggravate the matter, that he might dispose him to treat -them with all possible cruelty," says the old French author of James -the Fifth's life. "He represented that the family of Douglas had -always been dangerous and troublesome to his predecessors, himself, -and his kingdom, and reminded him of the insolence of Archibald -Douglas, Earl of Angus, the prisoner's brother, in the time of his -majesty's minority--a peer whose practices were so pernicious, that -by a public decree he was banished the kingdom, as a disturber of the -peace of his native country; and that since that time he had become -the subject of Henry, King of England." - -Examined, on _the rack_, by the king's advocate, and questioned -mercilessly, notwithstanding her rank, delicacy, and beauty,--for -which she was renowned through all Britain,--she was compelled to -admit the alleged treason and sorcery and James having solemnly sworn -never to forgive a Douglas she was burned alive on the Castle-hill, -on the 17th July, in presence of the citizens, and almost in view of -her son and husband, who were confined in David's Tower. There the -former remained a prisoner until 1542; but the latter, when -attempting to escape, like Roland Vipont, by means of a rope, on the -night of the execution, fell, and was found next morning, literally -dashed to pieces, at the bottom of the rocks. Struck with remorse, -James V., who was naturally a merciful prince, set the old friar at -liberty. But it is remarkable that William Lyon was merely banished -from Scotland; while a quack named Makke, by whom the pretended -poison, or magical preparation was made up, escaped with the loss of -his ears.--See _Pinkerton, Tytler, Lesley, Arnot,_ &c. &c. - - - -II. - -JOHN OF THE SILVERMILLS. - -This character is purely imaginary. James IV. and James V., both -great dabblers in alchemy, are said to have had a laboratory, -furnace, and their appurtenances at Silvermills, a little village -which took its name from these operations, and is now a district of -Edinburgh. It was probably at these mills that the gold, of which -great quantities were found during the reign of James V., was -refined. The preface to the French life of that monarch, printed at -Paris in 1612, states that he had "three hundred men employed for -several summers in washing gold, of which they got above £100,000 of -English money." - -Lest some may suppose we have overdrawn the popular credulity of -1537, in delineating John of the Silvermills, we may mention that it -is not long since a similar character existed in Scotland, and was -put under the ban of an ecclesiastical court. - -This individual, whose name was Andrew Dawson, lived on the -Grampians, and having been unfortunate as a farmer, became a -veterinary surgeon, and dealer in herbs for the cure of his own -species. His mother having enjoyed the reputation of being uncanny, -Andrew easily succeeded to this unenviable inheritance; but patients -flocked to him from all quarters, and his chief mode of cure was -friction, accompanied by charms muttered, or chaunted, in an -unintelligible language. "His hut," says the _Dundee Courier_, -"which was built by himself, like the _Black Dwarf's_, on a muir, was -situated not far from a spot called the 'Fairy's Knowe,' and was the -terror of the benighted traveller." Strange sounds were heard; -unearthly lights were seen; and the fame of unhallowed rites, -together with a distemper among the cattle, soon brought Andrew on a -distinct "charge of sorcery before the Kirk Session." - -This Scottish Paracelsus had treated three citations with sovereign -contempt; but he was compelled to attend on the fourth being served -at his hut; and on the appointed day appeared before the Session an -aged and infirm man. On the minister asking him, if he "wished the -sentence of excommunication reopened, and on what grounds?" Andrew -pulled from his ample pouch three common quartz pebbles, and -explained that in all diseases of the _head_ he had employed, by -friction, one which bore a rude resemblance to that part of the body. -In diseases of the _heart_, he used another, shaped like that organ; -and the third was for affections of the _kidneys_, to which it bore a -resemblance. As to his wakes and nightly orgies, he admitted that -they were meant to impose upon the ignorant, and increase the -mystery. "To describe the shame and astonishment at this recital -would have required the pen of Scott, or the pencil of -Allan."--_Dundee Courier_, Dec. 25th, 1851. - -He died a few months after this scene; the last instance in Scotland -of belief in sorcery, followed by kirk censure; and his resting-place -is still pointed to, with something of fear, as "the warlock's -grave." A still later instance of popular credulity will be found -mentioned in the London _Times_, of the 10th January, 1852, wherein a -gentleman of Marseilles was accused of diseasing a child, by sorcery -and the _evil eye_. - - - -III. - -THE THUMB. - -The ancient mode of confirming any bargain or bond, for good or for -evil, in Scotland, was by the pressure of wetted thumbs, an eastern -custom, which is still traceable among the Moors and other tribes. -It may still be found among the boys in some districts of Scotland. -Doubtless the various sayings now common among the peasantry, such -as, "Here's my thumb on't,"--"Ye needna fash your thumb,"--"Keep your -thumb on that,"--or, "Having one _under_ your thumb," &c., have -arisen from this old custom. The heart-shaped stone, on which -parties were wont to press their wetted thumbs, when ratifying their -bargains at the Cross of Edinburgh, was presented about three years -ago by the Town Council to Lord Cockburn. Prior writes, - - "Now let us touch thumbs, and be friends ere we part; - Here, John, is my thumb, and here, Mat, is my heart." - -Various old songs record this mystic sign of truth and fealty; one in -_Orpheus Caledonius_, 1725, says, - - "Dearest maid! nay, do not fly me, - Let your pride no more deny me; - Never doubt your faithful Willie, - There's _my thumb_, I'll ne'er beguile ye." - -Another, in Ramsay's _Tea-table Miscellany_, 1723, has it, - - "Though kith and kin, and a' revile ye, - There's my thumb, I'll ne'er beguile ye." - - -To _bite_ the thumb at any one was anciently an insult in Scotland -and England, as it is still in France. Scott mentions it in the _Lay -of the Last Minstrel_, when describing the quarrel between the Laird -of Hunthill and Conrad of Wolfenstein, canto vi., - - "Stern Rutherford right little said, - But bit his glove, and shook his head," &c. - -And Shakespeare, in _Romeo and Juliet_, has, - - "I will bite my thumb at them, which is a disgrace if they bear it!" - - "Dags and pistols! to bite his thumb at me!" - -Innumerable other instances might be cited. - - - -IV. - -THE BRODDER. - -As stated in the text, this was an indispensable legal functionary, -whose name occurs frequently in all trials for witchcraft in -Scotland. Among the expenses for burning Margaret Denholm, is the -following item:--"To Jhone Kinked, for ye _brodding_ of her, vi. lib. -Scotts."--_Pit. Crim. Trials._ - -In March, 1619, the magistrates of Newcastle employed a noted -Scottish witch-pricker, to discover all those who dabbled in sorcery -within the walls of their town, "offering him twenty shillings -a-piece for all he should condemn as witches, and a free passage -thither and back" to Scotland. A proclamation by bell summoned all -persons to give information of witchcraft. Thirty women were brought -to the Town Hall, stripped nude, had a pin thrust into their flesh by -this charlatan, who acquainted Lieut.-Colonel Hobson, the English -commandant, that they were guilty, and that "he knew whether women -were witches or no by their look; but when the said person was -searching of a personable and goodlike woman, the Colonel said, -'surely this woman is none, and need not be tried;' but the Scotsman -said she was, and therefore he would try her; and presently he ran a -pin into her, and set her aside as a guilty person and child of the -devil, and fell to try others whom he pronounced guilty. -Lieut.-Colonel Hobson proved upon the spot the fallacy of the -fellow's trial of the woman; and then the Scotsman cleared her, and -said she was not a child of the devil." After being paid in -Newcastle, this witch-finder went into Northumberland, to prove women -at the rate of "three pounds a-piece;" but, on returning into -Scotland, his villany came to light, and he was hanged, confessing -"at the gallows, that he had been the death of above two hundred and -twenty women in Scotland and England, for the gain of twenty -shillings a-piece."--See _Sykes's Local Records of Newcastle_. - -As mentioned in the romance, the _brod_, or steel pin, used in -piercing the devil's mark, is now supposed to have been made to slip -into its handle, thus giving the appearance of entering the body -without producing pain--an infallible sign of sorcery. - -Within two years after the publication of James the Sixth's -_Demonologie_, twenty-six persons were tortured for witchcraft, at -Aberdeen, and twenty-one were condemned to the flames. "It would -have been considered a prodigal wasting of such a happy windfall, to -have burned all these wretches at once; and accordingly," says the -_Book of Bon Accord_, "by judicious management, and by bringing two -or three to the stake at a time, it was contrived to delight the -public with incremations on the Castle-hill for upwards of a -twelvemonth." - -The _last witch_ in Scotland, was accused of transforming her -daughter into a pony, and getting her shod by the devil, for which -she was burned in 1722, near the Earl's Cross at Dornoch, in -Sutherland. - -Of the _last witch_ in England, a curious account will be found in -the _Courier_, of the 28th of February, 1834, which records one of -the most gross and startling instances of superstition ever known; it -concerned the enchantment of a herd of pigs in the Forest of Dean. -See also the _Monmouth Merlin_, of the same date. - -The Act against Witchcraft was not repealed in Scotland and England -until about 1750; and not in Ireland until 1821! - - - -THE END. - - - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JANE SETON *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where - you are located before using this eBook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/64836-0.zip b/old/64836-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 13e7105..0000000 --- a/old/64836-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/64836-h.zip b/old/64836-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b6c58d7..0000000 --- a/old/64836-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/64836-h/64836-h.htm b/old/64836-h/64836-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 040400d..0000000 --- a/old/64836-h/64836-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,28835 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> - -<head> - -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> - -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> - -<title> -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Jane Seton, by James Grant -</title> - -<style type="text/css"> -body { color: black; - background: white; - margin-right: 10%; - margin-left: 10%; - font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; - text-align: justify } - -p {text-indent: 4% } - -p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } - -p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 200%; - text-align: center } - -p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 150%; - text-align: center } - -p.t2b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 150%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 100%; - text-align: center } - -p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 100%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - text-align: center } - -p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 60%; - text-align: center } - -h1 { text-align: center } -h2 { text-align: center } -h3 { text-align: center } -h4 { text-align: center } -h5 { text-align: center } - -p.poem {text-indent: 0%; - font-size: 85%; - margin-left: 10%; } - -p.intropoem {text-indent: 0%; - font-size: 85%; - margin-left: 10%; } - -p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; - letter-spacing: 4em ; - text-align: center } - -p.letter {text-indent: 0%; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -.smcap { font-variant: small-caps } - -p.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.intro {font-size: 85% ; - text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.finis { font-size: larger ; - text-align: center ; - text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } -</style> - -</head> - -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Jane Seton, by James Grant</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<table style='min-width:0; padding:0; margin-left:0; border-collapse:collapse'> - <tr><td>Title:</td><td>Jane Seton</td></tr> - <tr><td></td><td>or, The King's Advocate</td></tr> -</table> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: James Grant</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 15, 2021 [eBook #64836]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Al Haines</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JANE SETON ***</div> - -<h1> -<br /><br /> - JANE SETON:<br /> -</h1> - -<p class="t3"> - OR,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t2"> - THE KING'S ADVOCATE.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t3b" style="font-family: Old English Text MT, Times New Roman, serif"> - A Scottish Historical Romance.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t2"> - BY JAMES GRANT,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t4"> - AUTHOR OF<br /> - "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE AIDE-DE-CAMP," ETC. ETC.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - <i>NEW EDITION.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - LONDON:<br /> - GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS,<br /> - BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL.<br /> - NEW YORK: 129, GRAND STREET.<br /> - 1865.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t4"> - LONDON:<br /> - SAVILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS,<br /> - CHANDOS-STREET.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> -PREFACE. -</p> - -<p> -The genius of a monarch is said to stamp a character upon -his time; but this can scarcely be said to have been the good -fortune of the sovereign in whose reign I have laid the -following romance. -</p> - -<p> -Like all the princes of his house, James V. was far in -advance of the age in which he lived; for to all his forefathers' -valour and passionate love of their native Scotland (for whose -soil so many of them had shed their blood in battle), to their -elegant taste in all the arts, their patronage of science and -commerce, he united a love for romantic adventure, which, -like James IV., made him the idol of the people. But the -Scottish nobles, though affording us many bright and glorious -examples of high valour and pure patriotism, have generally -been a race of men too ready to sacrifice the dearest interests -of their country for lucre or ambition; and were really, in all -ages, a curse alike to our kings and the nation. -</p> - -<p> -In the following pages I have endeavoured to portray -something of their savage pride and unscrupulous spirit; and -to give a picture of those dark days of violence when danger -was the pastime and arms the occupation of our people; when -it was sadly but truly said, that grey hairs were seldom -seen under a Scotsman's bonnet, and that a Scottish mother -had seldom a son left to lay her head in the grave, for in civil -strife or foreign war they had all gone before her to the land -of the leal. -</p> - -<p> -There is much that is veritable history, and much that is -old tradition, woven up with my fiction; and though the -reader may be able to distinguish these passages, I shall -mention, that the king's adventure in the cavern, the three trees -of Dysart, and John of Clatto, are ancient legends of Fife; -while the point on which the whole story turns—the strange -and frantic love of Otterburn—is taken partly from an -incident which is mentioned in the annals of the House of Angus, -and bears a conspicuous place in the early criminal records -of Scotland. It will be found related at further length in the -notes. -</p> - -<p> -The King's Advocate was so named, to distinguish him -from the Crown Prince's Advocate, an office which existed -before the abolition of many of those more important public -institutions of which Scotland has permitted herself to be -deprived. -</p> - -<p> -The King's Advocate, with whose name I have made so -free in these volumes, was the son of Thomas Otterburn of -Edinburgh, who was slain at the battle of Flodden, and of -Katharine Brown. He was Lord Provost of Edinburgh -from 1524 to 1535, and was our ambassador to England -between the same years. He was knighted in 1534, but was -imprisoned in the castle of Dumbarton for being too partial -to Englishmen. He was highly esteemed by Buchanan, who -has embalmed his memory in beautiful Latin verse. -</p> - -<p> -Vipont, the hero, bears an old Scottish surname, which -was famous in the middle ages, though it has now almost -disappeared. Andro Wyntown, the Prior of St. Serf, -mentions that <i>Alan ye Vipownt</i> was keeper of Lochlevin, and -defended that fortress valiantly in the wars of the Scottish -succession. Another, Sir William Vipont, was one of the -two Scottish knights slain on the glorious 24th of June, -1314. They were barons of Aberdour on the northern shore -of the Forth, where their ruined castle, a massive pile indicative -of great strength and ancient grandeur, is yet to be seen. -Roland Vipont is meant to represent the last of that old race, -whose arms are still recorded to have been six annulets <i>or</i>, -with a swan's head rising from a coronet. -</p> - -<p> -Let it not be thought that I have made James V. or his -minister speak too harshly of Henry VIII.'s moral character, -when we bear in mind that Dr. Bayley, in his "Life of -Bishop Fisher," has plainly asserted and proved, that the -English king married Anne Boleyn, knowing her to be his -own daughter. So much for the "Bluff King Hal" of -romance. -</p> - -<p> -If, on one hand, I have omitted to portray the Cardinal -Primate as the monster we have been taught to believe him, -I do not, on the other, wish it to be thought that I consider -the good Father St. Bernard as a type of the Scottish clergy -in 1537. Very far from it; they were the reverse of all I -have made that meek old priest. But, doubtless, there must -have been exceptions; and it must be remembered, that all -our accounts of them and the Cardinal have come down to us -from their enemies. -</p> - -<p> -A Scottish novelist labours under a great disadvantage, -when endeavouring to introduce effectively for English readers -old national characters who speak their own language, which, -to a modern Englishman, would be as unintelligible as -Choctaw; hence the conventional half-dialect usually adopted. -It is a curious fact, that in the days of Alexander I. or -Robert I., the dialects of the two nations were more alike -than they are to-day. Since then, the language of South -Britain has gradually been changing, and becoming what -is strictly termed English; while the Gothic dialect of -the North has remained pretty much the same; hence the -Scot can read with ease, and fully understand, the obsolete -phrases and idioms of Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, &c., -many parts of the old editions of whose works are now almost -unintelligible to the mass of their own countrymen. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - EDINBURGH,<br /> - 1st January, 1853.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> - CONTENTS.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - I. <a href="#chap01">JANE SETON</a><br /> - II. <a href="#chap02">MAGDALENE OF FRANCE</a><br /> - III. <a href="#chap03">THE MASTER OF THE ORDNANCE</a><br /> - IV. <a href="#chap04">REDHALL</a><br /> - V. <a href="#chap05">THE WITCH-PRICKER</a><br /> - VI. <a href="#chap06">THE ILLUMINATED SPIRE</a><br /> - VII. <a href="#chap07">TWO OFFICIALS</a><br /> - VIII. <a href="#chap08">THE QUEEN'S MASQUE</a><br /> - IX. <a href="#chap09">LA VOLTA</a><br /> - X. <a href="#chap10">LOVE AND ABHORRENCE</a><br /> - XI. <a href="#chap11">SWORDBLADES AND SALVE</a><br /> - XII. <a href="#chap12">EDINBURGH IN 1537</a><br /> - XIII. <a href="#chap13">SAINT GILES</a><br /> - XIV. <a href="#chap14">THE CHANCELLOR OF SCOTLAND</a><br /> - XV. <a href="#chap15">THE NOON OF LOVE</a><br /> - XVI. <a href="#chap16">VIPONT'S HOUSEHOLD</a><br /> - XVII. <a href="#chap17">A LORD ADVOCATE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY</a><br /> - XVIII. <a href="#chap18">THE CASTLE OF INCHKEITH</a><br /> - XIX. <a href="#chap19">THE FORTUNATE SWORD-THRUST</a><br /> - XX. <a href="#chap20">THE BLACK PAGE</a><br /> - XXI. <a href="#chap21">JOHN OF THE SILVERMILLS</a><br /> - XXII. <a href="#chap22">TEN RED GRAINS</a><br /> - XXIII. <a href="#chap23">THE FIRST VISIT</a><br /> - XXIV. <a href="#chap24">THE KNIFE</a><br /> - XXV. <a href="#chap25">DOUGLASDALE</a><br /> - XXVI. <a href="#chap26">THE BARMKYN OF CAIRNTABLE</a><br /> - XXVII. <a href="#chap27">THE POMMEL OF THE POINARD</a><br /> - XXVIII. <a href="#chap28">A DRAUGHT OF WATER</a><br /> - XXIX. <a href="#chap29">THE SECOND VISIT</a><br /> - XXX. <a href="#chap30">SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY!</a><br /> - XXXI. <a href="#chap31">THE PORTE OF THE SPUR</a><br /> - XXXII. <a href="#chap32">THE THREE TREES OF DYSART</a><br /> - XXXIII. <a href="#chap33">THE WEEM</a><br /> - XXXIV. <a href="#chap34">THE DEATH OF MAGDALENE</a><br /> - XXXV. <a href="#chap35">THE COLLEGE OF JUSTICE</a><br /> - XXXVI. <a href="#chap36">THE RACK—THE DEVIL'S MARK</a><br /> - XXXVII. <a href="#chap37">THE GAGE OF BATTLE</a><br /> - XXXVIII. <a href="#chap38">THE EARL'S DARING</a><br /> - XXXIX. <a href="#chap39">THE EARL'S SUCCESS</a><br /> - XL. <a href="#chap40">SYBIL</a><br /> - XLI. <a href="#chap41">A HAMILTON! A HAMILTON!</a><br /> - XLII. <a href="#chap42">DAVID'S TOWER—THE PHYSICIAN</a><br /> - XLIII. <a href="#chap43">DAVID'S TOWER—THE PRIEST</a><br /> - XLIV. <a href="#chap44">DAVID'S TOWER—THE LOVER</a><br /> - XLV. <a href="#chap45">THE BOON</a><br /> - XLVI. <a href="#chap46">THIRST!</a><br /> - XLVII. <a href="#chap47">WHAT THE PAPER CONTAINED</a><br /> - XLVIII. <a href="#chap48">THE CROSS AND GILLSTOUP</a><br /> - XLIX. <a href="#chap49">THE CASTAWAYS</a><br /> - L. <a href="#chap50">FALKLAND</a><br /> - LI. <a href="#chap51">THE KING AND THE CARDINAL</a><br /> - LII. <a href="#chap52">THE LAIRD OF CLATTO</a><br /> - LIII. <a href="#chap53">THE FIGHT AT INVERTEIL</a><br /> - LIV. <a href="#chap54">THE KING'S HORN</a><br /> - LV. <a href="#chap55">THE BLUEGOWN</a><br /> - LVI. <a href="#chap56">THE TEMPTATION</a><br /> - LVII. <a href="#chap57">THE LOCH</a><br /> - LVIII. <a href="#chap58">THE LAW OF THE SWORD</a><br /> - LIX. <a href="#chap59">THE PLACE OF DOOM</a><br /> - LX. <a href="#chap60">CONCLUSION</a><br /> - <a href="#chap61">NOTES</a><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap01"></a></p> - -<p class="t2"> -JANE SETON: -</p> - -<p class="t3b"> -OR, -</p> - -<p class="t2"> -THE KING'S ADVOCATE. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER I. -<br /><br /> -JANE SETON. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "I prithee mark<br /> - His countenance; unlike bold calumny,<br /> - Which sometime dare not speak the thing it looks,<br /> - He dare not look the thing he speaks, but bends<br /> - His gaze on the blind earth."—<i>The Cenci</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -On the 19th of May, 1537, the bells of Edinburgh rang -joyously. It was a day of loyalty and merriment such as -never more may gladden Scotland's ancient capital. -</p> - -<p> -After a nine months' absence, James V.—"the good king -James, the commons' king, the father of the poor," the patron -of the infant arts and sciences, the mirror of chivalry and -romance, as he was affectionately named by a people who -idolized him—had arrived in the Firth of Forth with his -young queen Magdalene of Valois, whom for her dazzling -beauty he had chosen from among three princesses, all -possessed of unusual charms, and whom he had espoused in the -great cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, in presence of her -father, the magnificent and magnanimous Francis I., seven -cardinals, and all the noblesse and beauty of France. After -spending the honeymoon at the Hôtel de Cluny, a beautiful -old gothic house belonging to the family of Lorraine, they -had sailed for Scotland. -</p> - -<p> -All the capital was on tiptoe, and its streets were crowded -to excess by the retinues of the nobles and lesser barons, who -had come thither to gratify their curiosity and evince their -loyalty on the auspicious occasion. -</p> - -<p> -The day was one of the most beautiful of all that sunny -month; and the summer air was laden with the perfume of -flowers, for garlands and bouquets were festooned from window -to window across the main street leading to the palace, a -thoroughfare six-and-twenty yards in breadth; while the -stone columns of the girth-cross of the holy sanctuary, the -Jerusalem-cross of St. John, the great market-cross of the -city, bearing aloft the unicorn rearing on a tressured shield, -and the famous stone statue of Our Lady which then stood at -the east end of St. Giles's church, were all wreathed and -hidden under the spoil of a hundred blooming gardens. -</p> - -<p> -Scaffolds and balconies hung with tapestry and rare carpets -of foreign manufacture, or painted with azure, starred with -shining gold, occupied the sides of the streets in many places, -and were crowded with the families of the surrounding -land-holders, the better classes of citizens, and the baronial -dwellers of the Blackfriars' Wynd and the Canongate; a -great part of the latter street consisted then of turreted -villas and strongly-built but detached mansion-houses -surrounded by spacious gardens. Banners innumerable, bearing -the heraldic cognizances of the proud, the noble, and the -brave of Scotland's ancient days, waved from window, turret, -and bartizan; the city fountains poured forth purple wine and -nut-brown ale alternately (for the Scots had the former -duty-free before the Union), and the stalwart deacon convener of -the gallant craftsmen, sheathed in complete armour, with the -famous Blue Blanket, or banner of the Holy Ghost, displayed, -mustered the Baxters, the Websters, Cordiners, Dagger and -Bonnet makers, and other ancient corporations, each under -their several standards, to line the High-street, on either side, -from the Butter Tron to the Netherbow, keeping clear a lane -of some forty feet in breadth. These stout craftsmen, who -mustered to the number of several thousands, were all arrayed -in green gaberdines, red hose, and blue bonnets, and were -armed as archers, with a steel gorget, a short but strong -Scottish bow, a sheaf of arrows, a battle-axe, and long -dagger. -</p> - -<p> -With the city sword and mace, and his own helmet and -banner borne before him, the Lord Provost, Sir James Lawson, -of the Highrigs, with all the baillies and burgesses clad in -gowns of scarlet, furred with miniver, and wearing chains of -gold; the heralds and pursuivants in their plumed bonnets -and gorgeous tabards, with standards and trumpets, musicians, -minstrels, and macers, waited at the western entrance of the -city to receive the king and queen with all due loyalty and -splendour of pageantry; while the priests of rank, the knights, -nobles, and senators of the College of Justice, had all ridden -to Leith to conduct the royal pair in procession to Holyrood. -</p> - -<p> -It is said that the beautiful Magdalene, on landing from -the high-pooped and gaily-bannered ship of Sir Robert -Barton, the king's admiral, knelt gracefully down on the -sands of Leith, and lifting a handful to her lips, kissed it ere -she threw it away crosswise, and raising her large dark eyes -to heaven, prayed with deep pathos "to God, the blessed -Virgin, and all the saints, for the happiness of Scotland, the -land of her adoption, and its people." -</p> - -<p> -The bright sunshine of the glorious May morning poured -aslant its flaky radiance between the breaks and openings in -those irregular masses of building, that tower up to such a -giddy height on both sides of the central street of the ancient -city; the south was sombre and grey, but the north was -glowing in warmth, as the sunlight played along its -far-stretching vista. Many of these houses were flat-roofed, -flagged with large stones, like ancient towers, or covered with -thatch; but few that overlooked the pageant about to be -described are standing now, as the city was fired by the -English in eight places seven years after, in the war with -Henry VIII. -</p> - -<p> -By the skill of a certain cunning craftsman, the High-street, -even at that early period, was well paved; and the -monks of Holyrood kept the Canongate (which is but a -further continuation of the same thoroughfare) well -causewayed, for which the reverend Lord Abbot levied a duty -upon every cart, laden or unladen, which entered the eastern -barrier of the burgh. All the open windows of that great -street, the tall edifices of which rise to the height of eight -and ten stories, exciting still the astonishment of every -traveller, were filled with glad faces; every bartizan, outshot, -and projection bore its load of shouting urchins; even the -leads and parapets of the great cathedral, with its hideously -grotesque stone-gutters, carved into devils and dragons, -wyverns and other monsters, bore a freight of spectators, the -buzz of whose voices, above and below, imparted a liveliness -to the scene, and relieved the tedium of long expectation and -waiting for the approach of the royal party. -</p> - -<p> -The utmost good-humour pervaded these expectant crowds, -though sometimes a brawl seemed likely to ensue, when a -gentleman of pride and pedigree, with velvet cloak, a long -rapier, and tall feather, despising the authority of the -convener and his bands of mechanical craftsmen, marched down -the centre of the street, with a few well-armed serving-men -following doggedly at his heels, with brows bent, their swords -girt up, and that expression on their faces which seemed so -much as to say, "We are Humes, Douglases, or Scotts, or -Setons, and who will dare to meddle with us!" -</p> - -<p> -With these, such was the patent of gentle blood, the -burgher archers dared not interfere; but their unstrung bows -and gauntleted hands pommelled without mercy any luckless -countryman or denizen of Leith or St. Ninian's Row who -encroached on the causeway, which by order of the knightly -provost was to be kept clear by all. Such incidental brawls -were generally quelled by the interference of some passing -grey friar or Dominican. -</p> - -<p> -Those cavaliers who assumed the right of perambulating -the open street were, as I have said, almost invariably -attended by bands of followers, armed with swords and round -targets, steel caps and corslets. Several of these were -invariably greeted by a yell of hostility and epithets of -opprobrium from those who occupied the windows, and who found -this a more safe experiment than it could have proved to -those who stood in the street below. -</p> - -<p> -These obnoxious personages were generally lesser barons -and gentlemen of the house of Douglas, a clan which, from -its numerical force, pride, power, and turbulence, had long -been inimical to the house of Stuart, and more especially to -James V., who after many efforts had completely broken its -strength, reduced its numerous strongholds, and driven the -chief, Archibald sixth Earl of Angus, and Knight of -St. Michael, from his high offices of Lord Chancellor and -Lieutenant of the East and Middle Marches, with all the noblesse -of his surname and faction, to exile in England; where, like -all Scottish rebels and malcontents, according to the ancient -line of southern policy, they were fostered and protected by -Henry VIII. -</p> - -<p> -By the knights and gentlemen of the proscribed name -those marks of hostility from the vulgar herd were treated -with silent scorn; but their followers scowled about them -with clenched weapons and kindling eyes, that showed how -intensely they longed to react the great High-street conflict -of 1520, and revenge on the rabble of Edinburgh the insults -they now endured. These evidences of hostility and political -disgust were soon lost amid the general spirit of rejoicing -that pervaded the entire body of the people; for loyalty and -devotion to their old hereditary line of princes was then an -inborn sentiment in the Scots, who were devout believers in -the divine right of kings, and had not yet been taught by -their preachers to view their old regal race as tyrants and -oppressors. -</p> - -<p> -Among all this mirth and festivity there were two persons -whose sobriety and staidness of demeanour were very -remarkable. -</p> - -<p> -One was a young man about six-and-twenty, who had, -apparently, just entered the city, for his boots and leathern -gambadoes were covered with dust. He wore a plain gaberdine, -or frock, of white Galloway frieze, with horn buttons; -but beneath it appeared a doublet of escaupil to protect him -from sword thrusts, an unusual garment for one of his class, -for his grey maud, or plaid, blue bonnet, backsword, and -hunting-knife announced him a yeomen or agriculturist. He -carried a great knotty walking-staff, recently cut from some -wayside thicket; but to a close observer it would have seemed -perfectly evident that the profusion of his beard and -moustache was worn rather for disguise than adornment. He was -reading a paper affixed to the cross of St. John of Jerusalem -which stood in the centre of the Canongate, immediately -opposite the arch which now gives admittance to -St. John's-street, the ground of which was then closely built upon. -</p> - -<p> -It was a proclamation, issued by the nobles who governed -in the king's absence, offering a thousand merks of Scottish -money for "ye heid of Archibald Seton, umquhile Earle of -Ashkirk," accused of leaguing with that false traitor, -Archibald Douglas, sometime Earl of Angus, who had recently -been on the borders, at the head of some English moss-troopers, -infesting the bounds of the knight, Sir Mark Kerr, of -Cessford. -</p> - -<p> -With a brow that loured, and fierce eye that kindled, the -young man read, from beginning to end, this proclamation -(which was obnoxious to so many), and his hand gradually -tightened on the handle of his poniard as he proceeded. -Suddenly remembering that he might be observed, a smile of -scorn, such a lordly smile as never clown could have given, -spread over his dark features; he gave a glance of peculiar -import at a group of ladies who occupied a balcony -immediately opposite St. John's Cross, and, drawing his bonnet -well over his brows, looked round for some obscure nook -from whence to see, in security, the progress of the royal -pageant. -</p> - -<p> -"How little can they imagine that I am so near them," -said the Earl of Ashkirk (for the stranger was no other than -he), as he dived among the crowd and disappeared. -</p> - -<p> -The other personage to whom reference has been made, -was a tall and finely-formed man, of a noble presence and -commanding stature, possessing a remarkably handsome face, -with a loftiness of bearing that never failed to strike the -beholder with interest. His complexion was dark, his nose -slightly aquiline, his eyes black, and sparkling beneath two -brows that were almost joined together. At times, a fierce -and restless expression lit up these fiery and penetrating eyes, -and knit his smooth expansive forehead, while his moustached -lip curled with pride and severity; and then a languor -and sadness stole over them, as other and softer emotions -subdued the bitter thoughts some passing incidents had roused. -He was dressed in a doublet and trunk hose of black velvet, -laced and buttoned with silver, and trimmed with miniver: -a black velvet bonnet, adorned by a single diamond and one -tail white ostrich feather, shaded his dark, short, curly hair. -He wore a short poniard and long rapier in an embroidered -belt, and had spurs, heavily gilded and embossed, on the heels -of his maroquin boots. -</p> - -<p> -This man was Sir Adam Otterburn, of Redhall, the King's -Advocate in the recently-instituted College of Justice, a great -favourite with his royal master, and one who, for his learning, -probity, courage, and office, was loved by some, respected by -many, and feared by all. His features were pale and hollow, -for he was recovering from a late illness, brought on by a -wound received in a conflict with the Douglases, a circumstance -which alone, on this auspicious day, confined him to -a cushioned chair at the window of his house, which overlooked -the High-street, where all the beauty and bravery of -Edinburgh had thronged to welcome home King James. -</p> - -<p> -Oblivious of the bustle pervading that long and stately -thoroughfare, the streaming pennons, the waving banners, the -gaudy tapestries and garlands that festooned every balcony -and decorated every window, the Knight of Redhall continued -to gaze upon the fair occupants of the temporary gallery -which we have before mentioned as standing near St. John's -Cross. -</p> - -<p> -It was hung and canopied with scarlet cloth and festoons of -flowers; the front was painted with gold and azure, and -thereon lay a banner, bearing under an earl's coronet, and -within a widow's lozenge, the three crescents of Seton, within -a double tressure, flowered and counter-flowered with golden -fleurs-de-lis, quartered with "the bloody heart," the dreaded -cognizance of the obnoxious Douglases—a badge which, -though it seldom gained love, never failed to inspire fear. -An old lady and several fair young belles, whose beauty alone -saved them from the insults which popular hatred levelled at -all in alliance with the exiled Earl of Angus, occupied this -balcony, and reclined beneath its shady canopy, chatting -gaily, and expectant of the royal approach. -</p> - -<p> -The elder lady was Margaret Douglas, of the house of -Kilspindie, dowager of John Earl of Ashkirk, and mother of -Archibald, the present earl, who was then under doom of -exile with Lord Angus, his kinsman and ally. The younger -ladies were Jane Seton, her daughter, Marion Logan of -Restalrig, Alison Hume of Fastcastle, and Sybil Douglas of -Kilspindie, all noble damsels, who had come to Edinburgh to -witness the splendid entrée of Queen Magdalene. -</p> - -<p> -Tall in stature and dark in complexion, with deep black -eyes, and a hauteur of brow which the sweet expression of -her mouth alone relieved, the Countess Dowager of Ashkirk, -though all but unable to read or write (for letters were then -held in low repute), was a woman of a shrewd and masculine -turn of mind; for the inborn dignity of noble birth, the -martial spirit of her race, the stormy life she had led since -childhood among feudal brawls and intestine battles, had -imparted an emphatic decision, if not a fierceness, at times, to -her manner and modes of expression. A stiff suit of the -richest Genoese brocade lent additional stateliness to her -figure, while the diamond-shaped head-dress, then in fashion -for noble matrons, added greatly to her stature, which was -far above the middle height. The inner folds of this angular -coif were of white linen, the outer of purple silk edged with -yellow fringe, and it formed a corner at each ear with an apex -at the top, while the folds lay close to her cheeks, scarcely -permitting her hair to be visible, and where it was so its -raven hue seemed turning fast to silver-grey. -</p> - -<p> -A little negro boy, black as Lucifer, but dressed entirely in -a rich suit of white satin, puffed and slashed at the trunks and -shoulders, held up her train. Ugly as a fiend, with a broad -nose, capacious mouth, and long pendent ears adorned with -massive silver rings, Master Sabrino, being the first or the -second person of his colour ever seen in Scotland, was -an object of fear to some, disgust to others, and wonder to -all. The vulgar viewed him as an imp or devil incarnate, and -studiously avoided the glance of his shining black eyeballs; -but <i>the creature</i>, as they termed him, was affectionately -devoted to his mistress, and to all who used him kindly. -Though the fashion of being attended by a black page or -dwarf was not uncommon at continental courts, and had been -first introduced into Scotland by Anne de la Tour of Vendôme, -Duchess of Albany, it did not tend to increase the popularity -of the proud and distant Dowager of Ashkirk, whom, as a -Douglas, the people were generally disposed to view with -hostility and mistrust. -</p> - -<p> -Lady Jane Seton was, in many respects, the reverse of her -mother; for she had neither her lofty stature, her keenness -of eye, nor her haughty decision of manner; for her figure, -though full and round, was, by turns, light, graceful, and -yielding. Neither her youth, for she was barely twenty, nor -her beauty, though it was of the first class, were her chief -characteristics. There was a depth of expression in her dark -blue eye, which, by turns, was dreamy and thoughtful, -or bright and laughing, a charm in her radiant complexion -and a fascination in her manner, which drew all instinctively -towards her. When silent, she seemed full of intense thought; -when speaking, all vivacity and animation. Her hair was of -the darkest and glossiest brown, and her neck arched and -slender. Simple and pleasing, sinless in soul and pure in -heart, her goodness and gentleness were her greatest charms; -and though she appeared <i>petite</i> beside her towering mother, -there was a grace in all her movements, and a bewitching -piquancy in every expression, that made Jane Seton adorable -to her lovers, and she had many. -</p> - -<p> -Her companions were worthy the association, all fair and -handsome girls. -</p> - -<p> -Alison of Fastcastle was a beautiful blonde; she carried a -falcon on her wrist, and from time to time pressed its smooth -pinions against her dimpled cheek. Marion of Restalrig -was a tall, flaxen-haired, and blue-eyed beauty, ever laughing -and ever gay; while Sybil Douglas of Kilspindie was a -brunette, like all the beauties of her house. Her deep black -eyes and sable tresses would have lost nothing by comparison -with those of Andaluçia; and though generally quiet, and, as -some deemed her, insipid, her silence concealed a world -of sentiment and thoughts that were exquisitely feminine: -but, though silent and retiring, there were times when this -fair daughter of the house of Douglas could manifest a fire -and spirit becoming Black Liddlesdale himself. -</p> - -<p> -They were all dressed nearly alike, in white satin, slashed -at the breast and shoulders with variously coloured silk, and -all had coifs of velvet squared above their temples, and falling -in lappets on their cheeks. They were all talking at once, -laughing at everything, like Sabrino the page, whose wide -mouth was expanded in an endless grin; but the old countess -was buried in thought, and with her forehead resting on her -hand, and her elbow on the edge of the balcony, continued to -gaze abstractedly on the long and bustling vista of the sunlit -Canongate. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap02"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER II. -<br /><br /> -MAGDALENE OF FRANCE. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Saw'st thou not the great preparatives<br /> - Of Edinburgh, that famous noble town;<br /> - Thou saw'st the people labouring for their lives,<br /> - To make triumph with trump and clarion:<br /> - Thou saw'st full well many a fresh galland,<br /> - Well ordered for receiving of their queen,<br /> - Each craftsman with his bent bow in his hand,<br /> - Right gallantlie in clothing short of green."<br /> - LlNDESAY OF THE MOUNT.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Their graces tarry long," said the countess, glancing -impatiently up the street; "it is almost midday by the sun. -Jane, child, hast got thy pocket-dial about thee?" -</p> - -<p> -Lady Jane took from her embroidered girdle a little silver -dial, and placing it duly east and west, found the hour to be -twelve by the shadow of the gnomon, for the sun shone -brightly. -</p> - -<p> -"I warrant me," said the countess, "that his eminence the -cardinal will be relieving himself of some prosy oration at the -foot of the Broad Wynd, for the benefit of the king's grace." -</p> - -<p> -"Of the queen's, you mean, Lady Ashkirk," said Alison -Home, "for his lordship is a great admirer of beauty. Thou -knowest, cousin Jane, how often he hath admired thee." -</p> - -<p> -Jane coloured with something of displeasure at this remark, -for, by the rumour of his gallantries, to be admired by this -great prelate was no high honour. -</p> - -<p> -"I would the king were come, for my patience is wearing -fast away," said she, raising her bright eyes from the silver -index to her mother's thoughtful face. -</p> - -<p> -"Is it for the king alone thou art so impatient, child?" -said the old lady, with a keen but smiling glance. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, for one who accompanies him for the queen," said -Jane, growing pale, for she always turned pale where others -grew red. "Is not James the avowed enemy of our house?" -</p> - -<p> -"But is there no other for whom ye long, silly lassie?" -asked Marion Logan, throwing an arm round Jane. -</p> - -<p> -"My sweet friend—yes; for one who is dearer to me -almost than thee; he who sent me this dial from Paris. Oh, -Marion! to think that he hath been there for nine weary -months!" -</p> - -<p> -"Marry come up, bairn, what matters it?" said the -countess, who overheard them, though the two fair friends -spoke in low tones; "he will be so changed, and improved in -gallantry and grace, that you will scarcely recognise him." -</p> - -<p> -"I cry you mercy, mother," said Jane, pouting; "I knew -not that he required improvement in either." -</p> - -<p> -"By my troth, lady countess," said Alison Home, "if you -mean Sir Rowland Vipont, the Master of the King's Ordnance, -I think him so finished a cavalier that no court in -Europe could improve him more." -</p> - -<p> -"Save the court of King Cupid," said Marion. -</p> - -<p> -"And where does he reign?" asked Jane. -</p> - -<p> -"In thine own heart, cousin," said little Sybil, quietly; and -then all the girls laughed aloud. -</p> - -<p> -"I thank you, sweet Alison," said Jane, in a low voice, -kissing her friend, for her heart danced lightly to hear her -lover praised; "but dost thou know that, though I am full of -joy, I would give the world to shed a shower of quiet tears -just now." -</p> - -<p> -"Heaven give thee happiness to-day, dear Jane," replied -her friend, in the same soft, earnest voice, "and may it send -thy lover back to thee in love and truth, and health and -comeliness, as when he left thee these nine long months ago." -</p> - -<p> -"Sabrino," said the countess, suddenly; "prick up those -long ears of thine! dost thou not hear the sound of -trumpets?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ees, madame—me tink so," grinned the sable page, whose -efforts at articulation cost him a fearful grimace. -</p> - -<p> -"Then, James must be ascending the West Bow," replied -the countess, as a commotion and murmur became apparent -among the mighty masses that crowded the whole street. -</p> - -<p> -At that moment the roar of the castle artillery pealed over -the city, and announced the entrance of the king by its -western barrier, along the Highrigs, past the tilting-ground -and the chapel of the Virgin Mary. Deeply and hoarsely -carthoun and culverin thundered from the towers of St. Margaret -and King David, and a deafening shout of welcome and -acclamation resounded from the crowded streets. -</p> - -<p> -"Though the enemy and oppressor of the Douglases and -the Homes," continued the countess, standing up in front of -the balcony, "I cannot forget that he is our anointed king—that -he has long been absent, and has endured great perils by -sea and land; and so this day I bid him hail and welcome -home in the name of Heaven." -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis said the queen will ride behind him on a pillion," said -Alison Home. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, child," replied the countess; "the Master of the -Horse passed up street with a beautiful palfrey of spotless -white, having a golden footcloth that swept the ground, for -her grace's especial behoof. Ha! bairns, the mention of -pillions remindeth me of the days of our good King James IV. -I was but a lassie then, in my teens, like yourselves; and -when James espoused the younger sister of Henry Tudor, -though liking not the English match, I was appointed a lady -of honour to Queen Margaret, for then—(and the countess -spoke bitterly)—<i>then</i> to be a Douglas was different from what -it is to-day! Like his son, James IV. was then a winsome -youth, and fair to look upon. Few matched him for courage -and hardiment in the field, and none surpassed him in grace -and courtly devoir. Amid a gallant band of spears, with -ladies, lords and knights, all clad in silk and taffety, laced and -furred with miniver, with many a waving plume, and many a -golden chain, they issued forth from Saint Mary of -Newbattle, beneath the old oak trees, and James had his fair -young English bride behind him on a pillion, riding just like -any douce farmer and his gudewife, and, certes! a bonnie -young pair they were as ever had holy water sprinkled on their -bended heads! James was bravely attired—a doublet of -velvet bordered with cloth-of-gold, and his bride was blazing -with diamonds. As we rode townward, by the wayside, near -Our Lady's Well at Kirk Liberton, we saw a fair pavilion -pitched on the green brae side, and at the door thereof stood -a lance fixed in the earth, with a shield hung upon it. A lady, -holding a siller bugle horn, came forth to greet the royal -pair, when suddenly, a savage knight, mounted, and clad in a -lion's skin, dashed out of a neighbouring coppice and bore her -away. Then, lo! another knight, armed at all points, spurred -his fleet horse from the gay pavilion, and assailed him with -uplifted sword. Bravely they fell on, with the captive dame -between them, and the keen-edged blades made ilka tempered -casque and corselet ring like kirk bells on a festival. The -rescuer struck the sword from the hand of his enemy, the -king cried, 'Redd ye, sirs!' and so the combat was closed, -and the lady released." -</p> - -<p> -"And who was this fair dame?" asked Alison, with assumed -curiosity, for she had heard the same story, in the same words, -a hundred times before. -</p> - -<p> -"Whom think ye, but <i>I</i>; and my leal Lord Archibald was -the errant knight who saved me from the savage warrior, and -<i>he</i> was no other than thy father, dear Alison, Sir Cuthbert -Home of Fastcastle, who died by King James's side at -Flodden; for you must know, maidens, that it was all a fair -masque prepared to suit the warlike taste of the king, who -loved well to see his knights under harness, and proving their -hardiment on each other's coats of mail. All that and mickle -mair I remember as if 'twere yesterday, and now 'tis three -and thirty years ago. Three and thirty!" continued the -garrulous old lady, "how the false traitors Death and Time -have changed my cheer since then." -</p> - -<p> -"True, madam," said little Sybil, thoughtfully; "the best -part of our life is made up of the anticipations of hope, and -the pleasures, the sad pleasures, of memory." -</p> - -<p> -"Thy thoughts are running on my son, Lord Archibald," -said the countess, with a fond smile, as she smoothed the thick -tresses of Sybil. "The first is for the young like you, and -the last to solace the auld like me. St. Mary keep us! how -year runs after year. My fair bairns, I hope a time may -come when ye will all look back to <i>this</i> day as I do to that; -but not with a sigh, to think such things have been, but can -never be again!" -</p> - -<p> -The countess sighed, and a tear stole into her eye; but a -cry from the girls of— -</p> - -<p> -"Oh! here they come—the king and queen!" followed by -a clapping of hands, and a burst of acclamation from the -populace, amid which the old cry, which the Scots had lately -borrowed from their allies, the French—"Vive la Royne! -Vive la Royne!" was conspicuous. It was a shout that -rang from the crowded streets below, the windows and -bartizans above, loud enough to rend the summer welkin, and -heralded the approach of James and his French bride. -</p> - -<p> -The occasional flourish of trumpets, mingled with the -sound of the drum, the shalm, the cymbal, the clarion, and -the clang of hoofs, rang in the lofty street. Spears glittered, -banners waved, and silken pennons streamed in the sunlight -at a distance, above the sea of heads; while armour flashed, -and embroidery sparkled, as the superb procession, conveying -the royal pair to Holyrood, approached. -</p> - -<p> -Under the high sheriff of Lothian and Sir Andrew Preston -of Gourtoun, a strong body of mounted spearmen, sheathed -in dark armour, cleared and lined the streets, while the -provost, Sir James Lawson of the Highrigs, chequered them -with several thousands of the burgher archers and craftsmen, -for each armed corporation was arrayed under its own -pennon; and the great consecrated standard of the city, bearing -the image of Saint Giles, floated near the battlements of the -Cross—as tradition avers it floated over Salem. A volume -would be required to describe the magnificence of the romantic -pageant that now approached; for James, as I have said, was -the idol of his people, and a nine months' absence had -endeared him to them more; and all their loyalty and -enthusiasm now blazed forth at his return. First came three -hundred of his royal guard, clad in blue bonnets and scarlet -doublets, armed with long partizans and poniards. These -were all men of Edinburgh, given by the city to attend James -"on all occasions, especially against his auld and auncient -enemies of England." Then came a long train of that fierce -and proud nobility whose turbulence and intrigues ultimately -broke the good king's heart. They wore robes of state over -their rich armour; their jewelled coronets were borne before, -and their gallant banners behind them; each was attended -by a knight, a page, an esquire, or other gentleman, in -accordance with his rank. Then came the lesser barons, each riding -with his pennon displayed; and then the honourable commissioners -of burghs, clad in gowns of scarlet, with gold chains; -the twelve heralds and pursuivants, with six bannered -trumpets, sounding before them a triumphal march, to which the -kettle-drums and cymbals of the horsemen lent additional -animation. -</p> - -<p> -But the shouts which greeted this part of the procession -became subdued; for now came a single horseman, riding -alone, with a page on each side supporting his footcloth, -which was composed entirely of cloth-of-gold. He was a -man of a singularly noble presence and commanding stature; -his deep dark eyes were full of fire and expression, yet -his face was calm and placid, and his gaze was fixed on the -flowing mane of his beautiful roan horse; and though every -head bowed at his approach, he seemed abstracted and -oblivious of all; his cope and stockings were scarlet, and a very -broad hat of the same sanguine hue cast a pleasant shadow -over his sombre features. -</p> - -<p> -"Rise, my bairns," said the Countess of Ashkirk; "it is his -eminence the cardinal!" -</p> - -<p> -And chancing to raise his head at that moment, he waved -a benediction towards the balcony. He was David Beaton, -cardinal of St. Stephen, the lord high chancellor of Scotland, -legate of Paul III., and the terror of those who, in their -secret hearts, had begun to nourish the doctrines of the -reformed church. A young cavalier, in a half suit of -magnificently gilded armour, attended him, and spent his time -between caressing a falcon which sat upon his dexter wrist, -and bowing to the ladies on either side of the street. He -was Sir Norman Leslie of Rothes, who, a few years after, -slew the cardinal in his archiepiscopal palace. Immediately -behind him came a crowd of ecclesiastics, and the eight -bishops—Stewart of Aberdeen, Hepburn of Brechin, -Chisholm, the worthless holder of the see of Dunblane, Dunkeld, -Moray, Ross, Orkney, and Ferquhard of the Isles, all riding -on led horses, with their mitres, crosiers, and magnificent -vestments, glittering in the sunlight. -</p> - -<p> -Then came the black abbot of Cambus Kenneth (the lord -president of the New College of Justice), attended by his -fourteen senators, the <i>ten</i> sworn advocates, the clerks to the -signet, notaries and macers of court, all of whom were greeted -with lowering brows and murmurs of ill-repressed hatred and -dislike; for the introduction of the courts of session and -justiciary had been a very unpalateable measure to the factious -and turbulent Scots. -</p> - -<p> -Surrounded by the chief ladies of the kingdom, and by the -damsels of honour all richly attired in hoods of velvet tied -with strings of pearl, with kirtles of brocade and cloth-of-gold, -Magdalene of France approached on a palfrey white as -the new fallen snow, with six young knights (each the son of -an earl) supporting on their lances a silken canopy above her -head. The splendour of her dress, which was shining with -costly jewels, enhanced the greatness of her beauty, which -outshone the charms of all around her, even the fair girls to -whom the reader has been so lately introduced. Sprung from -a royal line long famous for the charms of its princesses, -Magdalene was only in her sixteenth year; but over her -girlish loveliness the pallor of consumption was then -spreading a veil more tender and enchanting. The novelty and -excitement of the scene around lent additional animation to -her lively French features, and heightened the brilliancy of -her complexion, which was exquisitely fair; her eyes were -light blue, and her braided hair was of the most beautiful -blonde. She was rather small in stature, but beautifully -formed; and the sweetness of her happy smile, and the grace -with which she bowed and kissed both her hands alternately -to the subjects of her husband, filled them with a storm of -enthusiasm; and the respectful silence which had greeted her -at first, expanded into a burst of rapture and congratulation. -The ambassadors of England, Spain, France, and Savoy, -wearing the collars of various knightly orders, rode near her. -</p> - -<p> -With the sword, sceptre, and crown, borne, each by an earl, -before him, James appeared, attended by the leading nobles -of the realm. A cuirass of steel, polished like a mirror and -inlaid with gold, showed to advantage his bold breast and -taper waist. His doublet and trunk breeches were of white -satin slashed with yellow and buttoned with diamonds, and -his short mantle of azure velvet was tied over his breast with -golden tassels. The collars of the Thistle, the Garter, the -Golden Fleece, and the escallops of St. Michael, were hanging -on his breast, and flashed in one broad blaze to the noon-day -sun. His dark eyes were full of animation, and the ringlets -of his rich brown hair fluttered in the breeze as he waved his -plumed cap to the people who loved him well, for he was -better pleased to be thought the king of the poor than king -of the peers of Scotland. He was surrounded by all the -great officers of state and household; Robert, abbot of -Holyrood, bearing his high treasurer's mace with its beryl ball, -rode beside Colville of Culross, the great chamberlain of -Scotland. Then came the lord high constable and the great -marischal, the former with a naked sword, and the latter with -an axe, borne before him; Colville of Ochiltrie, the -comptroller; the dean of Glasgow, the secretary of state; Argyle, -the lord justice-general, and Colinton, the lord clerk registrar; -Lord Evandale, director of the chancery, the preceptor of the -Knights of St. John, the high admiral, the royal standard-bearer, -the grand carver, the great cup-bearer, the masters of -the horse, the hounds, and the falcons, the marshal of the -household, and though last, not least, Jock Macilree, the -king's jester, who has been immortalized by the Knight of -the Mount; and though ignobly bestriding a sleek donkey, -his parti-coloured garb, his longeared cap, jingling bells, -hanging bladder, and resounding laugh, attracted more -attention than the mailed chivalry and sumptuously-attired -noblesse who encircled the king. -</p> - -<p> -James, who bowed affably to the people on every side, was -scrupulous in recognising all ladies, especially if handsome, -and consequently the bright group clustered round the -Countess of Ashkirk could not escape his observation. -Waving his bonnet, he was about to bow to his horse's mane, -when his eye caught the quarterings of Douglas, and an -ominous flash of undisguised anger immediately crimsoned -his fine features; he was turning away, when a rose was -thrown upon his breast, and a pleasant voice cried, -</p> - -<p> -"Heaven save your grace, and bless our fair lady the -queen!" -</p> - -<p> -It was Jane Seton's voice, and the richness of its tone with -the sweetness of her smile subdued James at once; and -placing the rose in the diamond George that hung from the -splendid collar of the garter, this gallant young king bowed -low, and kissed his hand. -</p> - -<p> -"Hark you, Vipont," said he, to a handsome young man -about his own age, who rode by his side; "what dame and -damoiselles are these? You vailed your bonnet with more -than usual reverence to them." -</p> - -<p> -The cavalier hesitated. -</p> - -<p> -"Faith," continued James, "there was a most undeniable -scowl in the dark eyes of the elder lady in that outrageous -English coif. Who is she, and why, i' the devil's name, does -she wear <i>that</i>?" -</p> - -<p> -"I trust your majesty is mistaken," replied the young man, -hurriedly, and with confusion; "she is the countess dowager -of Ashkirk, with her daughter the Lady Jane." -</p> - -<p> -"Ashkirk!" reiterated James, knitting his brows; "is she -not a daughter of old Greysteel, and hath more than a spark -of old Bell-the-cat in her spirit? By St. Anne, this accounts -for her English coif, when, out of compliment to our royal -consort, the French fashions are all in vogue!" -</p> - -<p> -"Please your majesty," urged Vipont—— -</p> - -<p> -"I remember the dame of old, in the days of the Douglases' -tyranny, when they kept me a close captive in the old tower -of Falkland. God's malison on the whole tribe; I would it -had but one neck, and that it lay under my heel!" -</p> - -<p> -"Amen, say I;" "and I," "and I," added several courtiers, -who enjoyed gifts from the forfeited estates of the banished -barons. -</p> - -<p> -The young man sighed and bit his lips as he checked his -horse a little, and permitted Sir David Lindesay of the -Mount, another favourite, to assume his place by the side of -the king. -</p> - -<p> -Tall, and finely formed, with an erect bearing and athletic -figure, Sir Roland Vipont was the very model of a graceful -cavalier. His features, though not strictly handsome, were -pleasing, manly, and expressive of health, good humour, and -the utmost frankness. His heavy moustaches were pointed -sharply upwards, and his hair was shorn close (<i>à la</i> Philip II.), -to permit his wearing a helmet with ease, for, as master of -the royal ordnance, a week seldom passed in those turbulent -times without his being engaged on the king's service. A -smart bonnet of blue velvet, adorned by a single feather, by -its elegant slouch gave a grace to the contour of his head; -while a short mantle of the same material, lined with white -satin, and furred, as usual, with miniver, waved from his left -shoulder. His trunk breeches were also of white satin, and -slashed with red; his doublet was cloth-of-gold, and, blazing -in the sunlight, rivalled his magnificent baldrick, which, like -his bugle-horn, sword, and dagger, was studded with precious -stones. No knight present, not even the king himself, -surpassed the master of the ordnance in the splendour of attire, -the caparisons of his horse, or the grace with which he -managed it; and yet poor Sir Roland, though the last -representative of the Viponts of Fifeshire (the Scoto-Norman barons -of Aberdour), possessed not one acre of land, and, soldier-like, -carried all his riches about him. -</p> - -<p> -His whole features beamed with joy and ardour, as he -raised his eyes to the Ashkirk balcony; his sunburned -cheek grew crimson, and his heart bounded with delight. -Jane trembled as she smiled, and grew pale (for, as I have -said elsewhere, she grew pale when other girls would have -blushed). Many months had elapsed since they had looked -on each other's beaming faces, and a volume of happiness and -recognition was exchanged in their mutual glances. -</p> - -<p> -"Brave Vipont!" exclaimed the old countess, with something -of a mother's ardour, as she looked after him, "of a -verity, there are few more noble among our Scottish knights. -How unfortunate that he is such a minion to the will of a -pampered king!" -</p> - -<p> -"Minion, good mother!" said Jane, faintly. -</p> - -<p> -"I said minion, child; and I now say slave! Didst thou -not see how covertly he bowed to us, and then only when -the king looked another way? A proper squire, by our -Lady! and didst thou not mark how James frowned when -first he saw us, nor bowed——" -</p> - -<p> -"Until I smiled on him," said Jane, playfully. -</p> - -<p> -"Naughty little varlet, methought 'twas when <i>I</i> smiled," -said Alison Home, gaily, as she kissed her beautiful friend. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor Vipont!" continued the countess, "he dreads the -loss of thy love, Jane, on one hand, and of the king's favour -on the other. But for this paltry manoeuvring, child, thou -hadst been the lady of his heart a year ago." -</p> - -<p> -"Mother, I have been the lady of his heart these <i>three</i> -years; but poor Roland hath no more to give me than a -heart in return. His estate——" -</p> - -<p> -"Consists of old Mons Meg and her marrows," said -Marion Logan. -</p> - -<p> -"A lucrative estate he hath found them sometimes," said -the countess, coldly, "when he bent their cannon-balls against -the castles of the Douglases. But for this paltry fear, I -repeat, thou hadst been his wedded wife a year ago, and he had -been now a true man to the Earls of Ashkirk and Angus, instead -of being the silken slave of James Stuart, whose poor -ambition is to grind beneath his heel that Red Heart which my -husband hath often bore, amid crashing spears, in the van of -Scotland's battles—and ever bore victoriously!" And as she -spoke, the countess struck her clenched hand upon the -banner which was spread over the balcony before her. -</p> - -<p> -"Thou sayest well, dearest madam!" said little Sybil -Douglas, whose dark eyes sparkled as she imbibed some of the -countess's fiery spirit; "and again that Red Heart shall be -a terror to the Lowlands, and a scourge for past injuries." -</p> - -<p> -At that moment Lady Jane Seton raised her eyes to a -window opposite, and encountered the fixed gaze of a sickly -and ghastly face; the features were rigid, the lips firmly -compressed, the dark eyes were fiery and red. There was a -basilisk or rattlesnake expression in them that riveted her -attention. They were those of Sir Adam Otterburn of Redhall, -who had been attentively observing the greeting which -passed between her and Vipont—a greeting that wrung his -heart with agony and jealousy; but he bowed with studied -politeness, and hurriedly withdrew. -</p> - -<p> -Jane felt relieved by his absence, and again drew breath -more freely; but her colour came and went, and her heart -for a moment became filled (she knew not why) with vague -apprehensions. She knew all Sir Adam's glance conveyed, -and trembled for her lover; for the King's Advocate of the -New Court was then vested with such powers and terrors as -a romancer would alone endow a grand inquisitor. -</p> - -<p> -The pageant passed on to Holyrood accompanied by loud -and incessant bursts of acclamation; by songs and carols of -welcome and of triumph; for the people, already predisposed -to loyalty and jollity, were enraptured by the return of the -king, by the gallantry of his bearing, and the beauty of his -young French bride. Thus the wells continued to pour forth -wine and ale alternately, the castle to fire its ordnance, and -the people to shout until St. Marie (a great bell with a very -sweet tone, which then hung in the rood tower of St. Giles) -rung the citizens to vespers and to rest. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap03"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER III. -<br /><br /> -THE MASTER OF THE ORDNANCE. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "The bride into her bower is sent,<br /> - The ribald rhyme and jesting spent;<br /> - The lover's whispered words and few,<br /> - Have bade the bashful maid adieu;<br /> - The dancing floor is silent quite,<br /> - No foot bounds there—Good night! good night!"<br /> - JOANNA BAILLIE.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Evening was closing, when a brilliantly-attired cavalier -caracoled his horse from the palace porch, past the high -Flemish gables of an ancient edifice, which was then the -Mint of Scotland, past the strong round archway known -as the Water Gate, because it led to the great horsepond of -the palace, and throwing a handful of groats (twenty to king -James's golden penny) among the poor dyvours who clustered -round the girth cross of the Holy Sanctuary, rode up the -Canongate. It was Sir Roland Vipont, the master of the -king's ordnance. -</p> - -<p> -Compared to the bustle it had exhibited at noon, the -street, though many still thronged it, seemed lifeless and -empty. The windows were closed, the balconies deserted, -the banners, pennons, and tapestry hung pendant and motionless, -and the gay garlands were withering on the stone cross -of St. John of Jerusalem. Casting a hasty glance around -him to discover whether he was observed (for the political, -feudal, and court intrigues of the time made it necessary that -his visit to the family of Ashkirk should be as little noted as -possible), he dismounted. -</p> - -<p> -A low-browed pend, or archway, opening from the street, -and surmounted by a massive coat of arms within a deep -square panel, gave admittance to the paved court of the -mansion. He led his horse through, and was buckling the -bridle to one of the numerous rings with which, for the -convenience of mounted visitors, the walls of the court were -furnished, when a man, who for some time before had been -standing in the shadow of the archway, roughly jostled him. -</p> - -<p> -"How now, sirrah?" exclaimed Vipont, feeling for hie -poniard, "what mean you by this?" -</p> - -<p> -"Pardon me—my foot tripped," replied the other, in a -husky voice. -</p> - -<p> -"Who are you," asked Vipont, suspiciously, "and what -make you here, sir?" -</p> - -<p> -"In the first place, I am no friend of yours; in the second, -my purpose matters nothing to any man—so, keep your way, -in Heaven's name, and let me keep mine, or it may fare the -worse with you." -</p> - -<p> -"This is language rarely addressed to me." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou!" said the other, scornfully, "and who art thou?" -</p> - -<p> -"Devil choke thee, rascal!" exclaimed the soldier, angrily; -"I am master of the king's ordnance." -</p> - -<p> -"To be master of your own temper would be better; but, -like your brass culverins, it seems apt to go off upon -occasions." -</p> - -<p> -"Hark you, sir; if you deem this witty, you are labouring -under a delusion; and, had I not matters of more importance -in hand, by the holy mass! I would break every bone in -your body." -</p> - -<p> -The other made no immediate reply, but his eyes gleamed -like two red coals beneath the black bonnet, which he wore -drawn over his brows; but he was so well muffled up by the -cape of his large mantle, that Sir Roland strove in vain to -discover some clue as to whom he might be, that was prowling -by night near the mansion of the Setons; and there was -something so startling and cat-like in the aspect of his eyes, -that the soldier recoiled a pace. -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Roland," continued the stranger, sarcastically, "you -had acted a wiser part in staying by James's side at Holyrood -to-night, than in forfeiting his fickle favour by visiting those -who are his avowed enemies." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou liest, sirrah!" said Vipont, striking him on the -shoulder with his clenched hand. "The Setons of Ashkirk -are loyal as any in the land, and I will meet hand to hand, -and body for body, any false traitor that gainsays me. But -keep your own way, in the devil's name, and trouble me no -more—so, a good even, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"I bid thee joy of thy wooing, fair sir," replied the other, -scornfully, as the master of the ordnance entered, and closed -the gate behind him. It was Redhall who spoke, and a sigh -of rage and bitterness escaped him as Vipont approached the -turnpike tower of the mansion. "Painted wasp!" he -exclaimed, as he walked hurriedly away, "by Him who died -upon the rood, that blow shall cost thee dear!" -</p> - -<p> -Within an apartment which was completely hung with the -richest arras, though the floor was bare, the Countess of -Ashkirk, her daughter, and the ladies, were seated at various -occupations. The old lady was slowly and laboriously -endeavouring to decipher, word by word, one of those curious old -tomes which, at times, issued from the shop of Chepman and -Millar, two ancient bibliopoles, who established, in the -Cowgate, the first printing-press in Scotland, in the time of -James IV., who granted them the privilege of "imprenting -all bukes" within the realm. -</p> - -<p> -Alison Hume and the black page were playing at chess, -the fair young girl looking almost like a divinity when -contrasted with the frightful African boy; while Jane Seton and -her dark-eyed kinswoman, Sybil Douglas, influenced by that -spirit of industry which then pervaded all ranks, were plying -their busy hands in embroidering a velvet cover for a large -vellum missal, which they were working in flowers of gold -and silk, and which was to be a donation from Jane to her -friend Josina Henrison, the lady superior of St. Catherine's -Convent, near the Burghloch. -</p> - -<p> -The light of the setting sun streamed through the windows, -and fell upon their dark hair, as it mingled together, and -edged their white necks and nimble fingers with dazzling -whiteness. A bell tolled at a distance; they paused, and -looked up. -</p> - -<p> -"Eight o'clock," said the countess; "the bell is ringing -for the <i>compline</i>, at St. Marie of Placentia." -</p> - -<p> -"And <i>he</i> tarries yet," said Jane, in a low voice, to Sybil. -</p> - -<p> -"Do not speak reproachfully, cousin," replied Sybil, -gently; "he is not always master of his own actions, and -thou knowest well——" -</p> - -<p> -The black page touched her arm, laid a finger on his great -nether lip, and pointed towards the street. -</p> - -<p> -"Dear Sabrino," said Jane, "what dost thou hear?" -</p> - -<p> -"Horse!" replied the page, briefly. -</p> - -<p> -"Sabrino, thou hast the very ears of a bratch hound," -said the countess. "Now spurs are jingling under the -pend—'tis he," continued the old lady, whose cheek flushed, and -eyes filled with joyous expectation. A manly step, and the -clear ringing of silver spurs, were heard ascending the stone -staircase of the mansion; a hand covered with a steel gauntlet -drew back the heavy arras, and the lights flashed on the -glittering doublet and jewelled baldrick of Sir Roland Vipont -as he sprang blithely in. -</p> - -<p> -"Heaven keep you, Lady Ashkirk, and you, my dear Jane, -and all fair ladies!" said he, bowing, and kissing all their -hands. "Hail to thee, merry Alison, and thou, my sad little -Sybil! why, I have not been long absent, and yet thou -seemest quite a woman, now!" -</p> - -<p> -"Welcome home—a thousand welcomes to thee, Roland, -and a thousand more!" said the countess, forgetting her -starched dignity in her native kindliness of heart, and kissing -him on the forehead—for though he was tall, they were -nearly of a height—while Jane grew pale with excitement, -and then blushed with pleasure to see her suitor looking so -handsome in his rich attire—browned by nine months' -exposure to a continental sun, and appearing, if possible, more -graceful and athletic than ever. "Welcome, Roland," -continued the countess, passing her hand fondly over his broad, -clear, open forehead, his arched eyebrows, and his thick glossy -hair; "we have all heard how thou hast been proving thy -prowess on the crests of King Francis and his knights, and -letting the gay tilters of Paris and Versailles feel the weight -of a tough Lowland spear in a true Scottish hand." -</p> - -<p> -"True, madam," replied the young man, laughing, and -showing a set of teeth which any of the fair belles present -might have envied; "it would have gladdened your haughty -Douglas spirit, Lady Ashkirk, to have seen King Francis -with twenty Scottish knights keeping the old wooden bridge -of St. Michael at Paris for three days against our own King -James, with the best chivalry of Burgundy, Brabant, and -Alsace, and with all comers who chose to try their hardiment -against us. By my faith, sweet Jane, the knot of ribbands -your dear hands wove in my helmet were the mark of many -a sword and many a spear during these three brawling days; -but they seemed to possess a charm, for thrust of lance and -blow of blade were levelled at them in vain. But what think -ye of the new queen we have brought you home? Is not -the fair Magdalene a mirror of beauty? and may not France -and Scotland too be proud of her? Jane, what sayest thou?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hum!" said Jane, a little piqued at her lover's excessive -admiration for the queen; "methinks she is very passable." -</p> - -<p> -"Passable! Ah, surely you can afford to praise her more -than that. I think she is like la belle Isonde, in Sir Thomas -Malory's 'Romance of King Arthur,'" replied Vipont, -drawing near Jane, while, as if instinctively, the other persons -present withdrew to the extreme end of the apartment, and -conversed with the countess. "Now tell me, thou merry -wag, thy opinion of her." -</p> - -<p> -"I do not think her by one half so charming as my own -little self," replied Jane, archly; "and thou, who oughtest to -have only eyes for me, should see in her an exceedingly plain -woman. When thou seemest so much pleased with her, what -surety have I that I was not forgotten by her admirer, amid -all the gaieties, the fêtes, and splendour of King Francis' -court?" -</p> - -<p> -"Forgotten, Jane!" responded the young man, tenderly, -while his dark eyes filled with a soft expression. "Those -who see and love thee will never forget! Have not our -hearts been entwined for years, and am I not thy gallant -brother's oldest and earliest friend? Have we not grown -together from infancy to childhood, from childhood to -maturity? and now, in the full flush of our love and joy, you -hint that I might forget you!" -</p> - -<p> -"I cry you mercy! what an exordium; I spoke but in pure -raillery and jest, dear Roland." -</p> - -<p> -"But why jest thus? Ah no, my gentle Jane, never for -an instant were your fair face and sunny smiles absent from -my mind, and their memory spurred me on to encounter a -thousand difficulties, and enabled me to surmount a thousand -dire temptations that beset the path of others; and thus I -am come back to you more loving if possible, more true, and -more impassioned than ever!" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Roland, I can believe it well!" sighed the girl, as -her lover, borne away by the depth of his passion (though -speaking in a low voice), pressed both her hands to his heart, -regardless that the eyes of others saw them. -</p> - -<p> -"Behold what I have brought you from this far-famed city -of Paris," said he, as he clasped around her delicate throat a -circlet of magnificent diamonds. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! my poor Vipont," exclaimed Jane; "you must have -ruined yourself to bring me this. What a sum it must have cost!" -</p> - -<p> -"Eleonora of Austria, the Queen of France and sister of -the great Charles V., took it from her own fair neck and -bestowed it on me as a gift for my Scottish bride; and joyously -I thought of you, Jane, when I knelt to receive it from her -hands. It was at a passage of arms held near the Porte -Papale, just without the walls of Paris, and on the festival of -St. Denis, when with a single lance I kept the barrier for an -hour, successively prostrating in the dust six Italian knights -who had come to France in the train of the Milanese -ambassador. By my faith, sweet flower, I covered myself with -glory and popularity that day; for it so happened that -Sforza, duke of Milan, is the sworn foe of Francis I., and -the hearts of the people were all with the victorious Scottish -knight." -</p> - -<p> -"And did King James see thee, Sir Roland?" asked the -young ladies, who crowded round the delighted girl to observe -her splendid gift. -</p> - -<p> -"He sat by the side of Queen Eleonora, and when the -sixth cavalier was unhorsed, sprang up from his seat, and -throwing his blue bonnet into the air, exclaimed, 'Now, God -be with thee, my valiant Vipont, thou hast well sustained -our Scottish name to-day, and I will never forget it.' But -his rewards are yet to come, fair ladies," added Vipont, as he -sighed secretly and glanced at Jane Seton. -</p> - -<p> -"Roland," said the countess, who was beginning to reflect -that she had been too long silent; "believe me, those who -put their trust in princes are ever deceived. I heard our good -King James IV say so when I was but a girl." -</p> - -<p> -"He referred then to his brother-in-law of England, whom -the laws of neither God nor man could bind; but judge not -so of James V., lady. As yet I am but the captain of his -ordnance, with the pittance doled out to me monthly by the -clerk of his exchequer. Many a fair promise he hath made -me of some small portion of those solid gifts—the towers -and acres of wold and woodland, which he lavishes on -Hamilton the Inquisitor, on Abbot Robert the Treasurer, his -eminence the cardinal, and others, but, to our sad experience, -Jane, we find them as yet unperformed." -</p> - -<p> -"Better it is that they are so," said the countess, "for -then, as Beaton and the abbot do, ye should brook the -patrimonies of the proscribed and banished knights and nobles -of my father's name." -</p> - -<p> -"True, lady countess; but James is so winning and courteous -in manner, so generous and heroic in disposition, that -no true Scottish man can behold him without feeling a glow -of admiration and loyalty, and at times methinks I could lay -down my life for him (ah! I see thou holdest up thy finger), -were it not, Jane, dedicated to thee. I could cheerfully -battle to the death against all that are his enemies." -</p> - -<p> -"Even the Douglases and the Setons of Ashkirk," said -the countess, coldly. "Oh, thou hast become an apt bravo of -this commons' king, I fear me!" -</p> - -<p> -"Noble lady," replied Roland, bitterly, "there, as I take -God to witness, thou tasketh me sorely. I could not bend -a weapon against the house of Douglas, for this dear being," -and he took Jane's hand in his, "is the inheritor of their -blood; and yet to fail the king even in that particular would -be to prove me a mansworn knight and false traitor!" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art ever by his side, Roland," said Jane, "and can -say how he is affected towards us—the Setons of Ashkirk." -</p> - -<p> -"Implacable as ever! Thou rememberest, mine own ladyekin, -of the solemn vow he swore, when, by the troopers of Angus, -Sir David Falconer was slain by his side, under the ramparts of -Tantallon—that solemn vow made above a crucifix and dagger, -<i>never while he lived to forgive a Douglas, or one of the Douglas' -blood</i>. There is no hope, for that oath I know the king will -keep, even though his holiness Paul III. should offer to absolve -him from it." -</p> - -<p> -"And let him keep it!" said the countess, with bitterness -and scorn; "it matters little. There are spears by the Liddle -and archers in Douglasdale who may one day absolve him, as -his grandsire was absolved on the field of Sauchieburn. Let us -remember the deeds of that day, and the old prophecy that a -lion should be killed by its whelps. The Master of Angus, the -knights of Glenbernie, Drumlanrig, Lochlevin, and Kinross," -continued the countess, reckoning them on her fingers, "with -two hundred gentlemen of the surname of Douglas, all died at -Flodden, beneath the banner of King James IV., and thus it is -his son rewards us!" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, lady countess, hush! and pardon me, but there seems -something hateful in your hostility to James V." -</p> - -<p> -"By the Holy Rood, and the blessed St. Bryde to boot! I -have no patience with thee, friend Roland. I warrant thee in -secret a sworn foe to Angus." -</p> - -<p> -"On my honour, no!" -</p> - -<p> -"And my mind misgives me sorely anent ye and my daughter, -having both had the misfortune to be born on a Friday." -</p> - -<p> -"I pray you hear me," said Roland, with a secret smile. -"So happy was James on beholding the Scottish shore, that, -in a burst of gratitude to heaven and love for his people, he was -not disinclined to relax those severe statutes under which the -exiled peers and barons of the house of Douglas writhe and -languish——" -</p> - -<p> -"Say writhe, Sir Roland, for I warrant me they will never -languish!" said the tall countess, folding her hands, sitting -very upright, and looking disdainfully. -</p> - -<p> -"Something might have been achieved by his eminence the -Cardinal Beaton, whom I know to be my friend—for I am -come, like himself, of an old Fifeshire family—when lo! the -first barge from the shore brought a packet from Sir Adam -Otterburn of Redhall, containing a woeful relation of raid, -hership, and hamesucken, committed on the Knight of -Cessford by the Earl of Ashkirk and a band of Northumbrian -troopers whom he has taken into pay. Alas! lady, is this -the verity?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not less so than just!" responded the countess, who -shook every fold of her lofty head-dress with hauteur. "Is -not Cessford the hereditary foe of my son; and God's blood! -Rowland Vipont, why should his sword rest? Nay, my gallant -Archibald, the moths will never eat the silk of that banner -which these old hands wove thee!" -</p> - -<p> -Roland made no immediate reply to this outburst of the -old Scottish spirit, but pressed the hand of Jane, and sighed. -</p> - -<p> -"This event, however, is most unfortunate, Lady Ashkirk," -he said, after a pause, addressing the countess, and looking -with a sad smile at Jane. "It will have a most serious effect -upon our fortunes and our happiness. On reading the letter -of his advocate, James never spoke, but struck his sword upon -the deck and turned sharply away from us. His look was -dark as midnight." -</p> - -<p> -"Redhall was over-officious," said the ladies. -</p> - -<p> -"The unmitigated fool!" exclaimed the countess, shaking -her clenched hand. "I would my son were here." -</p> - -<p> -"Mother of God—nay, at such a time as this?" said little -Sybil, with her dark eyes full of tears. "And think you, -Sir Roland, that James is really so much incensed?" -</p> - -<p> -"So much, that I came this night to visit you by—by stealth." -</p> - -<p> -"Stealth!" reiterated the fiery countess, rising to the full -height of her five feet ten inches, exclusive of red-heeled -shoes. "Now, marry, come up and away with us! Sir Roland -Vipont, what will you have the assurance to tell me next?" -</p> - -<p> -"Forgive me, dear and nobly lady; thou knowest well -how poor I am—how dependent on my sword and the precarious -favour of a king, surrounded by a host of needy and -rival competitors. Had I lands and vassals, as I have not; -were I the son of a lord or baron instead of a poor -gentleman archer of the Scottish Guard, it might have been -otherwise with me—and thou, Jane, had long ere this"—he paused -and pressed her hand. "Oh, lady countess, my fate is not -in my own keeping; and too often have I felt bitterly how -abject a thing it is to be dependent on the will of another, -even though that other be a prince." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou hast thy rapier, Roland, and with the blood of that -brave Vipont who brooked the appanage of Aberdour in the -days of King David, dost inherit the spirit thy gallant father -gave up to God from the battle field of Ravenno, when the -Scottish Guard stood like a rampart around Gaston de Foix. -Thou hast thy sword, Roland, and all the realms of Europe -are before thee." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," replied Roland, mournfully; "but then Jane Seton -would be left behind." -</p> - -<p> -"Gallant Vipont, thou art indeed my other son!" said the -countess, as she kissed his cheek and became quite pacified, -while Jane's bright face became radiant with pleasure. -</p> - -<p> -The countess and her niece, Sybil, with Alison Home and -Marian Logan, knowing that they could now be spared, retired -to prepare for that early supper of which our late dinners -have now usurped the place, and the lovers were left alone, -seated together hand in hand, for the first time during nine -long months. -</p> - -<p> -They were all eye and ear for each other, as they conversed -in voices that were soft and low, and love carried them back -to those days of gaiety and simplicity before the cold hand -of etiquette had interposed between them. Little Sybil -closed the arras as she went out, and we have no wish, by -raising it, to break the spell that love and pleasure threw -around them. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap04"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IV. -<br /><br /> -REDHALL. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "The will is free; why must it then be curbed<br /> - I would be happy, gain what I desire,<br /> - Or feel each pulse throb pleasure in the chase—<br /> - Yet this new teacher tells such pleasure is<br /> - A fruit I must untasted shun."—<i>Nimrod. Act III.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The apartment, which was half darkened, was partly tapestried -and partly wainscoted. A stone fireplace, on grotesque -columns covered with carved roses, destitute of grate (for -grates were not then in fashion) and of fire, for the season was -summer, by its emptiness lent a somewhat dreary aspect to -the chamber. The floor was without carpet, for carpets were -almost unknown in Scotland till 1560 (three and twenty -years after); the furniture was of massive oak. The -well-grated windows, which looked to the Friar Wynd, were -concealed by thick curtains, and gaudily-flowered tapestries, -framed in richly-carved oak, covered most part of the walls. -A brilliant suit of armour, hanging upon a nail or steel hook, -and a few shelves of gigantic folios bound in vellum, edged -with red, and clasped with brass, were the leading features -in this chamber. A sandglass stood upon the table, for one -was usually carried by fellows of colleges and other learned -men about this period in lieu of a watch, as we may read in -Aubrey's Memoirs. -</p> - -<p> -A folio lay on the black oak table, and on its closely-written -leaves the light fell from a great iron lamp of grotesque form, -covered by a circular shade. With his head reclined on one -hand, and the other thrust into the breast of his black velvet -doublet, the King's Advocate sat dreamily and moodily -immersed in deep thought. His grave and classic face was of a -clear olive complexion. His nose was perfectly straight, his -eyes large, black, and sparkling, and his knit eyebrows now -formed one complete arch above them. His smooth and -lofty brow was expressive of deep thought, of watching and -study, and even of tranquillity, though there were times when, -it could assume a terrible expression, and his keen dark orbs -would fill with fire, and every hair of his short moustaches -bristle with passion. His mouth was decidedly his worst -feature; but his short beard concealed those thin lips which -Lavater considered the infallible sign of a mind pregnant -with evil. His aspect was lofty and severe, and his eye was -so penetrating that few could sustain the fire and inquiry of -its glance. -</p> - -<p> -The pages of the <i>Forest Laws</i>, written by King William -the Lion, lay before him, but his eyes were fixed on his -jewelled poniard that lay on the table close by, showing how -his mind wandered from the subject he had sat down to study -to the irate promptings of jealousy and revenge. -</p> - -<p> -For Jane Seton, Sir Adam Otterburn and Ronald Vipont -had long been rivals; at least so the former had viewed the -latter, who had neither dreaded him nor feared his attentions, -for such was his confidence in the love and truth of Jane; -yet he had nothing to rely on but his sword and the -somewhat precarious favour of James V., while Redhall was the -proprietor of a strong baronial fortalice, a noble domain -situated a few miles south of the city, and as lord advocate of -Scotland was a powerful officer of state, then armed with -more powers and terrors than any ten inquisitors of the Holy -Office. His position was most honourable, and in virtue of -it he was always addressed "My Lord." His knowledge of -law was little, but his privileges were great; he was permitted -to sit covered within the bar of the Court of Session like a -peer of the realm, and he had the power of issuing warrants -for searching, apprehending, imprisoning and putting to the -torture any person in Scotland—his warrants being valid as -those of the king. Such was Roland's formidable competitor -for the hand of Jane Seton, to whom the young cavalier -would have been wedded fully two years before the time in -which this history opens, but for the fear of forfeiting king -James's favour, and the implacable hostility of that prince to -the house of Douglas, which formed an insuperable barrier to -any of the court favourites who might be disposed (which -few of them were) to form alliances with any noble family of -that obnoxious surname. -</p> - -<p> -Aware of this, Otterburn, whose landed possessions -rendered him happily independent of James's frowns or favour, -had redoubled his assiduity and attentions, never once -permitting the hope to die, that Jane might ultimately regard -him with favour. During the nine months' absence of the -master of the ordnance in France with King James, the -addresses of Otterburn had been as unmistakeable as they -were obnoxious to the young lady; who seeing in him only -the great public prosecutor of her own and her mother's -family, viewed him with horror and hostility, though she -dismissed him with a cold but cautious politeness, that, strange -to say, while it eclipsed his hopes, in no way extinguished his -ardour. -</p> - -<p> -From that time forward he could visit her no more; but his -inborn obstinacy of spirit and indomitable vanity would not -admit of his totally resigning her—especially during the -absence of Vipont, against whose safe return there were many -chances, during the escapades and broils, the midnight -rambles and madcap adventures, in which he and the king were -constantly involved. For a time, Otterburn had again given -way to the illusions of hope and the impulses of his heart; -but now the safe and sudden return of his brilliant rival had -swept them all away, together with a thousand bright -daydreams, as a breeze does the gossamer webs; and the strong -mind of the statesman and judge became a prey to anxious -jealousy and furious hatred. -</p> - -<p> -"As a rainbow fades from the sky, so has this bright vision -passed from before me!" he exclaimed, as he struck his hands -together, and looked upward with something of despair. In -his better moments he felt only grief, when his more -generous impulses would prompt him to resign Jane Seton in -peace to her more favoured lover. -</p> - -<p> -"Were she mine," he mused, with a face that became -alternately sad and mournful, or dark and saturnine, "her -happiness would be my only object; then why should I seek -to mar it because she is <i>not</i>? By what glamour can this mere -girl, who never once thought of me otherwise than as the -persecutor of the Douglases, fascinate me thus, swaying my heart, -my soul, my every purpose—being the object of every -effort—the inspirer of every thought? How cometh it that her -coldness, her disdain, her hate (nay, she is too gentle for <i>that</i>), -all serve but to increase my love? Oh! 'tis sorcery! 'tis -sorcery! .... Oh! in how many a long and weary night -I have pressed a pillow sleeplessly, and courted slumber, but -in vain? How often have I tried to rend her image from my -heart, to supplant it by another, and in vain? I have recoiled -from that other with disgust, as the more winning image of -Jane came before me; and yet she loves me not. How often -have I fruitlessly striven to crush this mad and besotting -passion, and to nourish only hatred, indifference, or revenge? -..... God help me! I am very miserable. And shall I -resign her to the arms of this upstart favourite, this -cutthroat cannoneer, and gilded hireling of King James—resign, -her without a struggle—I, who am so immeasurably his -superior in fortune, mind, and purpose?—Never! ... How -strong this passion of love is! How noble, and for how -glorious a purpose has God implanted it in our hearts; but -oh, may few endure like me to love an object that loves -another, and yieldeth no return! Let dotard monks and -deceived misanthropes, let stoics and philosophers say what -they will, there is more magic and power in the single smile -of a woman than in all the impulses of the human heart put -together. Ambition dazzles, hatred sways, and revenge impels -us—they are powerful incentives, and their triumph is -delicious—but love is greater than all. Generosity urges me -to leave her to the fool she loves—to avoid her path, her -presence, and her spells for ever; but passion, obstinacy, and -infatuation, lead me on, and, overwhelming every gentler -sentiment, impel me to the pursuit. Shall I, then, be baffled and -foiled by this poor caterpillar, whose wings have expanded in -the brief sunshine of royal favour—this silken slave—this -Roland Vipont, who, not six years since, wore an iron -hongreline and brass plate, as a mere French cannoneer, under -Vaudmont and Marshal Lautreque? Never! And, by the holy -arm of St. Giles! this night shall end our rivalry for ever!" -</p> - -<p> -Thus said, or rather thought, Redhall; and, suddenly -pausing, he snatched up a long metal whistle, that lay -always at hand, and blew a shrill call. -</p> - -<p> -Almost immediately afterwards the arras was lifted, a man -entered, and, making a respectful obeisance, stood at a little -distance. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap05"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER V. -<br /><br /> -THE WITCH-PRICKER. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "<i>Flam.</i> Malicious fortune!<br /> - <i>Ænob.</i> Now thou seest my meaning!"—<i>Boadicea.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The personage who appeared was a short, thickset, and -bandy-legged man, whose malformation his chocolate-coloured -stockings and white cloth breeches displayed to the utmost -advantage. He had a neck and chest like a bullock, with -the sinister visage of a thorough-paced ruffian. In size, his -head and hands were altogether disproportioned to his body; -his hair, beard, and moustaches, which appeared to have been -preserved sacred from comb and scissors, were all woven into -one matted mass, which was of the deepest black; while -drinking and exposure to the weather had bronzed his skin -to an almost oriental blackness. He wore a plain frock or -gaberdine of white Galloway cloth, confined at the girdle by -a broad calfskin belt and steel buckle, in which he carried a -long dirk or knife. He wore rough brogues of brown leather -on his broad splay feet, and a small rosary of oak beads which -dangled at his left wrist evinced his wish to be deemed a -respectable member of society; but arrogance, cunning, and -brutality, were powerfully depicted on his otherwise stolid -visage, which had a very repulsive squareness of aspect, two -enormous ears, and a great mastiff mouth. -</p> - -<p> -This worthy was Nichol Birrel, the brodder or witch-pricker -of the newly-established high court of justiciary, -one of the most unscrupulous and atrocious ruffians that -ever occupied this important, and, in after years, lucrative -situation. -</p> - -<p> -Born and bred a vassal on the estate of the lord advocate, -to whom he was intensely devoted, he had obtained the place -of prover or witchfinder, as it peculiarly suited his ruffianly -and sanguinary disposition. Several other minor officials of -the new court were, like him, the immediate and devoted -dependents of Redhall, for whom they acted as bravos on a -hundred occasions. Nichol, though cruel, false, bitter, and -treacherous to all the rest of mankind, was true, faithful, and -sincerely a friend to his lord and benefactor; for he seemed -to be possessed by the same instinct which attaches a -ferocious hound to the hand that feeds him. -</p> - -<p> -"Od save us, my lord, ye look ill! Is there aught the -matter wi' ye?" he asked, gruffly. -</p> - -<p> -"Nichol, is there none in attendance on me but thee?" -asked the advocate, without regarding his inquiry; "where -are all the servitors?" -</p> - -<p> -"At the palace, seeing the merry masquers." -</p> - -<p> -"Mass! where I should have been but for this accursed -sickness, which, to-night, hath fallen so heavily upon me. It -matters not; I am invited by the lord chamberlain to the -fête to-morrow." -</p> - -<p> -"Ye look worse to-night, Redhall, than I have seen ye -since Lententime." -</p> - -<p> -"I am sick at heart, Nichol." -</p> - -<p> -"I have been so at the stomach many a time and oft, when -I mixed my ale with usquebaugh, but as for the heart——" -</p> - -<p> -"Psha!" exclaimed the advocate, starting abruptly, "either -my brain is under the influence of insanity, or there is a spell -of sorcery upon me." -</p> - -<p> -"Dost suspect any ill-woman of being the cause thereof, -Sir Adam?" asked the brodder, whose eyes began to twinkle -in anticipation of a pricking fee, while his square mouth -expanded into a grin. -</p> - -<p> -"No, no; I spoke but in metaphor, and suspect none." He -paused. "Thou sawest the procession to-day?" -</p> - -<p> -Nichol nodded his vast head affirmatively. -</p> - -<p> -"Didst mark any man there whom ye knew to be my enemy?" -</p> - -<p> -"I marked his eminence the cardinal, who confined a damosel -of yours, among his other ladies, in the auld tower of Creich." -</p> - -<p> -"Tush!" -</p> - -<p> -"I observed the lord abbot of the Holy Cross, who won his -plea against thee anent the duty on every cart entering the -barriers of the town." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou triflest! didst mark no one else?" -</p> - -<p> -"Well, then, I marked the master of the king's ordnance, -shining in cloth of gold and crammasie." -</p> - -<p> -"Good!—anything more?" -</p> - -<p> -"I saw him smile as he curveted, in his bravery, past the -ladies of Ashkirk," replied Nichol, with a cunning leer, while -the advocate gnashed his teeth; "and sweetly the lady Jane -smiled on him again. It was a braw sight and a brave; and -a gude ransom the master's doublet and foot-cloth would -have been to any bold fellow that met him in the gloaming -by Leith Loan or the Burghmuir; for they were pure -cloth-of-gold, and champit with pearls, so that I marvel not the -Lady Seton smiled so brightly; for, if love maketh a woman's -eye bright, gold will make it brighter." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art a mercenary slave!" said the advocate, bitterly; -"and never felt the passion of which thou talkest so glibly. -Nichol, have I not been to thee ever a friend rather than a -lord and master—kind, indulgent, and liberal——" -</p> - -<p> -"When service was to be performed," said Nichol, parenthetically, -closing one of his yellow eyes with another hideous -leer. -</p> - -<p> -"At all times, Nichol," continued the king's advocate, -striking his heel sharply on the ground. "Thou knowest -that the master of the ordnance and I have long been at -deadly feud about—but it recks not thee about what." -</p> - -<p> -"Say Jane Seton of Ashkirk, my lord, and you will shoot -near the mark." -</p> - -<p> -Redhall's eyes flashed, and he made a fierce gesture of -impatience, for he disliked to hear her name in the mouth of -this ruffian, whom he despised while he fed and fostered him. -</p> - -<p> -"It is enough, Nichol Birrel—thou understandest me—the -master of the ordnance bars my way; this must not be, and -shall not be." -</p> - -<p> -There was a pause. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, Sir Adam?" growled the pricker. -</p> - -<p> -"Thou hast thy poniard," said the knight, hoarsely. -</p> - -<p> -"Ay," replied the ruffian, as a broad grin expanded his -mastiff mouth, and his great teeth appeared like a row of -fangs through his matted beard; "ay, the same gude knife -with which I slew Maclellan, the Knight of Bombie, at the -north door of St. Giles's kirk. By one backhanded stroke I -dashed it into his heart, and he fell with his rosary in his -uplifted hand, the name of God on his lips, and the -half-signed cross on his brow, yet they saved him not." -</p> - -<p> -There was a pause, for Birrel, who had commenced, in a -tone of ruffian irony, ended in a dismal quaver, and grew pale. -</p> - -<p> -"Wretch and fool!" cried the lord advocate, "why remind -me of that?" -</p> - -<p> -He gave his dependent a terrible glance. -</p> - -<p> -"I crave pardon, Sir Adam; but when I bethink me that -this Sir Thomas of Bombie had the lairds of Achlane, -Glenshannoch, and Bourg, with nine other knights of his surname -to avenge him, I surely ran some risk." -</p> - -<p> -"The Lords of Drumlanrig and Lochinvar were said, by -common rumour, to have slain him, and so let it be; he was -a foe of the house of Otterburn," hissed the advocate through -his teeth, "and of the faction to which that house adhered; -a foe to me in particular, and as such must Vipont, the -accursed Vipont, die." -</p> - -<p> -Nichol uttered a sound between a growl and a laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"Are Dobbie the doomster, and Sanders the torturer -below? I warrant they will be snoring, like gorged hounds, -by the kitchen ingle." -</p> - -<p> -"No, they are birling their cans in the buttery." -</p> - -<p> -"Then see to this affair; but dost think we can rely on -them?" -</p> - -<p> -"Like myself, Sir Adam, they and their forbears have been -leal men and true to the house of Redhall, and wherefore -would they fail it now? We are the servants of the law, -and what matters it whether we string this soldier of the -king in a tow at the cross, or pink him in the dark? 'tis -death, any way;" and here the fellow uttered a ferocious -laugh again. -</p> - -<p> -"For your own sakes and mine be secret, sincere, and sure." -</p> - -<p> -The pricker touched his knife, bowed, and raising the arras, -dropped it again, and shaking his matted head, paused -irresolutely. -</p> - -<p> -"What is it now?" asked Redhall, taking the purse from -his girdle. "Money?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, no, Sir Adam, I never served ye for siller, but as my -bounden duty; so I crave leave to remind ye that the place -of forester up at Kinleith and Bonallie is vacant, and my -sister's son, Tom Trotter, a deadly shot with bow and -hackbut——" -</p> - -<p> -"Enough; thy sister's son shall have the place of forester; -and, for thee, methinks that the master's cloth-of-gold and -diamond baldrick might serve for that, and to procure -absolution to boot for the three of ye." -</p> - -<p> -"We care not for that, Sir Adam," replied the pricker, -"for we are among those who have seen the new light." -</p> - -<p> -"And believe not in the delegated power of the -priesthood; eh, is it so?" -</p> - -<p> -Birrel nodded. -</p> - -<p> -"Then why carriest thou that great rosary. I vow it -looks like a fetter on thy wrist." -</p> - -<p> -"As a blind." -</p> - -<p> -"Lollards, Wickliffites—ha! ha! these new preachers of -schism and heresy have made three creditable proselytes; -yet, for thy soul's sake, Nichol (and there was a very -perceptible sneer in the advocate's face as he said this), I hope -thou art a true Catholic at heart; but away to thy comrades, -for the night wears on, and Vipont hath not yet left -the house of the Setons, for I have not heard the hoofs of his -horse. To-morrow," continued Redhall, with a ghastly -expression of ferocity, "to-morrow——" -</p> - -<p> -"He shall be either in Catholic purgatory or Protestant -hell," grinned the pricker, as he raised the arras and retired. -</p> - -<p> -The ghastly smile yet played upon the thin lips of Redhall. -</p> - -<p> -"To-morrow I shall be freed of these fears, and for ever," -he mused; "but at no distant period I must rid me of those -three bloodhounds, who have stuck like burs to my skirts -since first I took upon me this unhappy office of advocate to -the king. Ha, and so they are heretics! Let them serve -my purpose in this, and ere another week hath passed the -cardinal shall have them under his inquisitorial eyes, and the -stake will rid me and society of them for ever. Vipont, -beware thee, now, for this night shall be the darkest in the -calendar for thee and for thine!" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap06"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VI. -<br /><br /> -THE ILLUMINATED SPIRE. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Our pathway leads but to a precipice;<br /> - And all must follow, fearful as it is!<br /> - From the first step 'tis known; but—no delay!<br /> - On, 'tis decreed. We tremble and obey."<br /> - ROGERS, <i>Human Life.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Twelve had tolled from the spire of the Netherbow Port, -ere Vipont came forth from the Ashkirk Lodging, as the -mansion was named (like other hotels of the Scottish -noblesse), and taking his horse, rode through the archway. -His heart was beating lightly, for the gentle pressure of a -soft hand yet seemed to linger in his, and the kiss of a warm -little lip was on his cheek. His breast was filled with joy, -and his mind with the happiest anticipations of the future. -</p> - -<p> -There was to be a grand masque or fête given by Queen -Magdalene to the ladies of the nobility on the night of the -morrow, and Roland had resolved that an invitation should -be sent to the ladies of Ashkirk, even should he beg it in -person of the fair young sovereign; and full of pleasure at -the contemplation of how his beautiful Jane would outshine -all her compeers, and how surely James, when he saw her, -would recal all his edicts against the Setons of Ashkirk, he -put spurs to his horse, and, stooping low, made him clear the -archway with one bound. -</p> - -<p> -The moon was up, and it rolled through a clear and starry -sky. A few light and fleecy clouds that slept afar off in the -bright radiance, seemed to float above the grim dark summits -of the city, whose clusters of close-piled mansions, turreted, -gableted and crow-stepped, tall and fantastic, stark and -strong, started up ghost-like out of the depths of street and -wynd, and stood in bold outline against the clear cold blue of -the midnight sky. -</p> - -<p> -As Roland left the archway, three dark figures, which he -had not observed, shrunk close together; and when he issued -forth, followed him with stealthy steps. They wore short -black mantles, and had their bonnets pulled well over their -faces; but though they lurked on the shadowy side of the -street (which the bright light above rendered yet darker), -the haft of a poniard, or knife, glittered at times under -their upper garments, as they followed the master of the -ordnance cautiously and softly, like cats about to spring on a -mouse, and as noiselessly, for they were shod with felt, or -some such material, that muffled their footsteps. -</p> - -<p> -Vipont was about to descend towards the palace, near which -he lived, in St. Anne's-yard, when a column of light in the -west made him pause, and turn towards the centre of the -town. A ball of fire was burning on the summit of St. Giles's -steeple, and having heard that it was to be illuminated in -honour of the queen's arrival and king's return, he resolved -to see this unusual display; and riding up the Canongate to -the strong barrier which separated the greater from the lesser -burgh, he gave his horse to the care of the under-warder of -the porte, and from thence walked up the High-street with -his long rapier under his arm. -</p> - -<p> -The hour was late, but many persons were abroad, and the -windows were so full of faces, all gazing at the great tower -of St. Giles's, that even had Vipont known that three -assassins were on his track and only seeking an opportunity to -plunge their poniards in his heart, he would not have felt -much alarm. -</p> - -<p> -The airy lantern of this magnificent church is formed by -eight ribs of stone that spring from beautiful corbels, and -meeting far above the bartizan of the great rood-spire, support -a spacious gallery and lofty pinnacle, forming altogether -an architectural feature of remarkable beauty, and which -(save the church of St. Nicholas at Newcastle) is entirely -peculiar to Scotland. It is a complete Gothic diadem of -stone. The rich crockets on the arches rise tier above tier, -and represent the pearls; the parapets from which they -spring, with their row of quatrefoils, being in place of the -circlet. The whole of this structure had been covered with -variegated lamps, which had been brought from Italy, and -were hung by the taste and skill of Father St. Bernard, one -of the prebendaries, to the wonder and astonishment of the -simple-minded citizens. As yet they were unlit, but a single -light, we have said, was burning on the upper pinnacle, like -a large red star, and to this every face was turned. -</p> - -<p> -The stone crown of the cathedral was all in dark outline; -a faint light shone through the large stained window at the -east end, and the tapers flickered at the shrine of Our Lady -that stood close by. Save these, all the vast church, with its -rows of massive buttresses and pointed windows, was immersed -in gloom, though the moonlight silvered the edges of -the crocketed pinnacles. Suddenly a volume of light burst -over the whole; the ball of fire which had been burning -steadily, threw out a million of sparkles which fell like a haze -of brilliance over the arches of the spire, lighting up the -diminutive lamps in rapid succession, until the whole -structure seemed bathed in one broad sheet of coloured flame. -The groined arches, the carved pinnacles, and all the airy -tracery of the spire, were as plainly visible in their beautiful -and grotesque detail as if the beholders had been close to -them, instead of being a hundred and sixty feet below; -while the lamps of variegated glass produced the most -extraordinary variety of light and shadow. -</p> - -<p> -The devils, dragons, and other stone chimeras that projected -from the battlements of the clerestory were all tipped -with fiery red or ghastly blue light, and seemed to be -vomiting flames; every pinnacle and tower of the cathedral stood -forth in strong outline, one half being bathed in brilliant -light, and the other sunk in black shadow, while a myriad -prismatic hues were thrown upon the upturned and countless -faces of the gaping crowds who occupied the streets below -and the windows around. Into the far depths of many a -close and wynd, on the square tower of St. Mary-in-the-Field, -on the clustered Bastelhouses of the castle, on the spire of -the Netherbow, and square belfreys of the Holy Cross, on all -the countless roofs and chimneys of the town, the light fell -full and redly, scaring even the coot and the swan among the -sedges of the Burghloch, and the eagle and the osprey on the -lofty craigs of Salisbury. -</p> - -<p> -Cries of astonishment and delight were heard from time to -time, mingled with the murmurs of the wondering and the -fearful, who, in accordance with the taste and superstition of -the age, were, as usual, inclined to attribute the taste and -skill which dictated this illumination to sorcery, simply -because it was beyond their comprehension. -</p> - -<p> -"Ye say true, my lord abbot," said a voice near Roland; -"I have had mine own suspicions anent the fact." -</p> - -<p> -"I have always secretly suspected this Father St. Bernard -was a sorcerer; he studied at Padua and Salamanca, where -there is more kenned of develrie than theologie." -</p> - -<p> -"He is confessor of the Countess of Ashkirk." -</p> - -<p> -"Who hath a familiar, in the shape of a black page, anent -whilk my lord advocate and I have had several -conferences—but hush!" -</p> - -<p> -Roland did not hear these last observations, which passed -between the Abbot of Kinloss and one of the ten advocates -of the new court. -</p> - -<p> -Intent on the beauty of the illumination, Roland Vipont saw -not the three muffled men who still dogged him, and from behind -the grotesque columns of a stone arcade, which still stands -opposite the old church (but is completely obscured by -modern shops), were intently observing his motions while -keeping their own concealed in shadow. -</p> - -<p> -Having been long absent from his native capital, he gazed -with admiration on the beautiful effect produced upon its -picturesque and fantastic architecture, and he was just wishing -that the ladies he had left were with him, to see this new -and magnificent spectacle (which in their happiness he and -Jane had completely forgotten), when several strong hands -were laid violently upon his cloak and belt; he was suddenly -dragged from the street, and hurried backwards nearly to the -foot of one of those dark, narrow, and then solitary closes -that descended abruptly towards the artificial lake, enclosing -the city on the north. -</p> - -<p> -So steep was the descent, and so sudden the impetus he -received, that before Sir Roland could offer the least resistance, -he was beaten to the earth, and the blow of more than one -poniard struck sparks of fire from his tempered corslet. -</p> - -<p> -Now deadly was the struggle that ensued; but the three -ruffians, in their very eagerness to destroy him, impeded and -wounded each other; and though prostrate on the pavement, -with his poniard under him, the knees of one bent on his -breast, and the hands of another pressing on his throat, -which, happily, was encircled with a thick ruff, Roland -resisted manfully, his great natural strength and activity -being increased by despair and rage. Grasping one by the -ruff, he twisted it so as nearly to strangle him, and paralyze -the efforts of his right hand, which brandished a long and -double-edged poniard, that gleamed ominously in the dim -light of the alley. -</p> - -<p> -"God defend me!" he panted; "must I perish here like a -child, or a woman? Release me, villains, or I will spit you -all like rabbits. Ho, armour! armour! treason and rescue!" -</p> - -<p> -"No help is nigh thee!" answered Nichol Birrel, with his -hyæna-like laugh; "but curses choke thee, take thy hand -from my throat!" and he raised his arm for the death-stroke, -but Roland caught his descending hand by the wrist, while -with a blow of his foot he hurled the third assailant, Sanders -Screw, to the very bottom of the close. A howl from Birrel, -at the same moment, announced that his companion had -wounded him again, a mistake which raised his demon-spirit -to a frightful pitch; and furiously he strove to free his wrist, -and stab Roland between the joint of his corslet and gorget. -His eyes filled with a yellow light; he panted rather than -breathed; he seemed no longer a man, but a devil! -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly Roland found this maddened assailant had -become too strong for him; and once again, but more feebly -(for he had received a wound in the shoulder), he cried— -</p> - -<p> -"Armour and rescue!" -</p> - -<p> -"Knight and gentleman though ye be," panted Birrel—"by -hell! I will have thy blood for mine! Strike again, -Dobbie, thou coward and dog! Ho, my gay cannonier, ye -are as a dead man now!" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou liest, villain! take <i>that</i>!" cried a voice; and he -received a blow from a staff which hurled him to the earth. -Roland sprang up with a heart full of fury and his sword -unsheathed; but his two remaining assailants rushed down -the close, and disappeared along the rough bank of the loch -before his confusion and giddiness would admit of his -following them. -</p> - -<p> -"By St. John, my good friend," said he, adjusting his -mantle and ruff, "thou comest at a critical time; a moment -later had seen my corslet riddled." -</p> - -<p> -"Ay, and your doublet slashed after the comely Douglas -fashion," replied his preserver, whose plain coarse garb, as -well as the knotty cudgel he carried, announced him a -countryman or peasant. -</p> - -<p> -"Good fellow, I owe thee my life," said Roland, taking his -purse from his girdle, "and would gladly yield some adequate -recompense. Here, I fear me, there are but few Flemish -ryders, and still fewer golden lions." -</p> - -<p> -"Tush!" replied the other with a laugh, as he drew -himself haughtily up; "dost offer money to me? Roland -Vipont, hast thou quite forgotten me? I am Archibald, -Earl of Ashkirk." -</p> - -<p> -"Ashkirk!" reiterated Roland, in a faint whisper, as if he -feared the very stones of the street would hear him. "My -rash lord and friend," he added, taking the earl's hands -within his own, "you know the risk of entering the gates of -Edinburgh?" -</p> - -<p> -"Bah!—my head; but who will venture to take it?" -</p> - -<p> -"There is a price set upon it, nevertheless." -</p> - -<p> -"A thousand merks of Scottish money?" -</p> - -<p> -"True: might I not be false enough to win this sum, so -tempting to a soldier?" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, friend Roland, for then thou wouldst lose my sister -Jane." -</p> - -<p> -"Lord earl, if discovered by any other than myself thou -art lost." -</p> - -<p> -"Perhaps so; but I shall take particular care to prevent -all discovery. In fact, I mean to live for awhile in King -James's own palace, where I do not think my enemies will -ever dream of looking for me. The king's lances, and the -riders of the east, west, and middle Marches, have scoured the -whole land for me, from Tweedmouth to Solway sands. -Besides, I am resolved to see my mother the countess, and -my sister Jane, and endeavour to persuade my dear little -Sybil to sojourn with me awhile at the court of England; for -though it boasts of dames as fair as the world can show, I -long ever for the black eyes and gentle voice of my quiet little -cousin. Dost comprehend?" -</p> - -<p> -"Rejoiced as I am to see you, Lord Ashkirk, for the -memory of our old friendship, I would rather you were a -thousand miles hence than standing to-night in the streets of -Edinburgh." -</p> - -<p> -The young noble laughed heartily. -</p> - -<p> -"Methinks, Sir Captain of the Ordnance, it was fortunate -for thee that I was not even one mile from this when those -ruffians had thee at such vantage; but dost know wherefore -they beset thee so?" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, not I; they were some villanous cutpurses, doubtless. -Mass! I gave one a rough kick in the belt that will -cure him of cloak-snatching for a time!" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, I opine more shrewdly thou art indebted to the -third man in Scotland for this affair." -</p> - -<p> -"The third, say you? How?—the first is the king." -</p> - -<p> -"The second?" said the earl. -</p> - -<p> -"His eminence the cardinal; but the third—who is he?" -</p> - -<p> -"Who but Redhall, whom I would have sworn I heard one -of those rogues cursing for sending them on such a devil's -errand." -</p> - -<p> -"Redhall!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ay, doubtless; the great archpriest of judicial tyranny, -the very spirit of oppression, who sits brooding over the people -and the peers of Scotland—he whose villanous panders are -gorged and overgorged with gifts of escheat from our forfeited -possessions, and are ever needy and inexorable." -</p> - -<p> -"Sayest thou so? then by Heavens I will have a sure -assythement of him for this." -</p> - -<p> -"What other assythement is requisite than a sword-thrust?" -</p> - -<p> -"But, 'fore God! I am in no way this man's enemy," -replied Roland. -</p> - -<p> -"All whom the king loves are his enemies." -</p> - -<p> -"Still more so are those whom the king hates; witness his -severe prosecution of the Douglases. But we all know, my -lord, that the friendship of a Scottish king is too often a fatal -gift to his subjects." -</p> - -<p> -"Redhall's ambition is inordinate as that of Beaton; blood-guilty -as that of Finnart; and his hatred is as that of the -coiled-up snake. By St. Bride! I know not which I hate -most," exclaimed the rebellious earl, "James Stuart or his -minion advocate." -</p> - -<p> -"Hush, hush! lord earl," said Roland, as they slowly -ascended the dark street, "for these words, if ever heard, -would bring you to the scaffold ere the sun sets to-morrow." -</p> - -<p> -"I crave pardon," replied the earl, with angry scorn, "I -forgot that I spoke to a staunch adherent of this crowned -oppressor of the Douglases, and their ally, the house of -Ashkirk." -</p> - -<p> -"Noble earl, in this devotion to your mother's princely -house you wrong our generous king, who, on his happy return -to the capital of his ancestors, intended to have recalled all -the lords now banished for the rebellion of Angus, and would, -ere this late hour, have done so but for your recent inroad -from the south, which has closed and steeled his heart against -you and against them; and I know well that his able adviser, -the stern Cardinal Beaton, devoted as he is to his country, -and ever hostile to the grasping and aggressive spirit of -England, will leave nothing unsaid to fan the king's vengeance -and prompt his retaliation." -</p> - -<p> -"I need not to be told what all Europe says; that James -of Scotland allows himself to be led by the nose just as -Redlegs and the old ruffs of his council please." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Redlegs!</i> soh! a ceremonious title for his eminence; I -pray God, you have not become tainted by the damning -heresies of this English Henry, who has so long been your -patron. But where did your lordship intend to dispose of -yourself to-night?" -</p> - -<p> -"Faith, I had not made up my mind; for in every change-house -I entered, a copy of that proclamation for my apprehension -was pasted over the chimneypiece; so, fearing -recognition, as the summer night was short and warm, I had -resolved to sleep like a mosstrooper on the green brae yonder -by the loch, when your cry summoned me to the rescue, and -I am here." -</p> - -<p> -"'Twas a bright thought, that of yours, about Holyrood," -said Vipont, "so, come with me to my apartment, for I know -no place where you could be safer than in the very palace. -None but the devil himself would dream of looking for you -<i>there</i>, under the king's very nose." -</p> - -<p> -"But my disguise is somewhat unlike the finery of your -court gallants." -</p> - -<p> -"Come with me to-night, and to-morrow we will think of -something else." -</p> - -<p> -"That will be necessary, for I am going to the queen's -masque." -</p> - -<p> -"What, thou?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I," replied the madcap earl. "What seest thou in -that?" -</p> - -<p> -"Thy discovery, arrest, condemnation, and execution; for -God's sake, my lord, be not so criminally rash." -</p> - -<p> -"Fear not, I will never compromise thee." -</p> - -<p> -"I have no fear of that, but——" -</p> - -<p> -"Fear nought else, then, for I have resolved to go, and -words are useless." -</p> - -<p> -They had talked so long in the dark alley, that when they -issued from its archway into the street opposite the church of -St. Giles, the lights on the spire were all extinguished, and -the crowd had dispersed. The whole façade of the edifice -rose before them in dark outline, and the only light that -tipped its pinnacles was the slanting lustre of the brilliant -moon, as she seemed to sail to the westward through the pure -blue of the star-studded sky. -</p> - -<p> -One o'clock rang from the Netherbow spire as Roland -and the earl passed it, so that the events of this chapter -occupied exactly an hour. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap07"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VII. -<br /><br /> -TWO OFFICIALS. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "<i>Pedro.</i> Would to God it might be so!<br /> - Thou twin to Satan, beautiful deceit!<br /> - I almost wish I'd never met with thee.<br /> - Yet the scheme's good—the scheme's exceeding good."<br /> - <i>Edward the Black Prince.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The lord advocate was sitting in his library or study, which -we have already described to the reader. Reclined in a -softly-cushioned easy chair, -he was gazing listlessly at the mass of -papers that covered his writing table, -which was of grotesquely-carved -oak, and all of which he had to examine; but thoughts, -to him of a more vital interest, occupied his mind, and he -recoiled with disgust from the every-day task of public business. -More than an hour passed away, and the advocate still sat -dreamily, with his docquets of inhibitions and arrestments, -letters of law-burrowes, indictments, and other criminal papers, -lying pell-mell among secret information sent him from his -correspondents on the English borders and the Highland -frontier, among the turbulent islesmen of the west, and the -intriguing Douglases nearer the capital. All these he had to -peruse, to consider and consign to different portfolios, making -comments and memorandums thereon, so as to have them all -ready for service at a moment's notice, whenever the suspected -noble, baron, or burgess should be arrested and indicted before -the new and obnoxious court. -</p> - -<p> -The information lodged by enemies against each other was -of the most diverse description. -</p> - -<p> -One baron lodged a secret complaint that another was -meditating an inroad into England in time of peace; that -another had been selling cattle to the English contrary to -law; while a third complained that for three weeks he had -been besieged in his own castle, and battered by the cannon -of a neighbouring feudatory. -</p> - -<p> -One burgess reported another for "girnelling mair victual -than was required for his own sustenance," against which -there was then a wise law, that in these our days would have -pressed heavily upon corn-factors and other oppressors of the -poor; one had lost his horses, another his cattle, another his -corn, and another his wife, all by dint of sword and spear; -and there were innumerable complaints anent Highland -sorners, border hamesuckers, and landless Egyptians, who -forcibly quartered themselves in houses and villages, and dwelt -there until everything was eaten up in girnel, byre, and barn. -Among other papers were numerous informations against and -warrants required for the arrest of Englishmen who had come -into Scotland without the <i>safeconduct</i> demanded and rendered -necessary by the twelfth parliament of James II.; for the -prosecution of those who slew the king's lieges in street and -roadway, and against others who slew hares in time of snow. -Warrants against lairds for storming each other's castles, and -thieves who broke into farm dovecots; and countless accusations -of sorcery brought by the ignorant against those whose -little discoveries and inventions would now, perhaps, have won -for them patents from the crown and fellowships of the Royal -Society. -</p> - -<p> -The whole of the last night and half of the next day had -passed without his bravos having returned. -</p> - -<p> -The advocate began to fear that Vipont had proved victorious, -and either killed or captured his assailants. In either -case Redhall knew well suspicions would fall heavily upon -himself, for ever since the murder of the Knight of Bombie, -at the north door of St. Giles's, he had borne a somewhat evil -repute in the minds of many. He glared impatiently at a -large dialstone on a house opposite; it indicated the meridian, -and he was about to buckle on his sword and poniard, -preparatory to issuing forth in search of news, when heavy -and irregular steps were heard ascending the stair; a coarse -and muscular hand made several ineffectual attempts to raise -the arras, a movement which nearly caused the owner to topple -over on his nose, and half scrambling in, Nichol Birrel, -balancing himself on each leg alternately, and looking rather -discomposed from the potations and encounter of the past -night, stood before his feudal lord and judicial patron. -</p> - -<p> -"How now, thou presumptuous villain!" said Redhall, looking -round for his cane, "is it thus thou appearest before me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ay, ay—just as you see," hiccupped Nichol. -</p> - -<p> -"Drunk?" -</p> - -<p> -"Rather so, Sir Adam—that is—my lord." -</p> - -<p> -"Sot! I verily believe thou wert born drunk. And where, -then, is this Vipont now?" -</p> - -<p> -"I neither ken nor care, for he escaped us." -</p> - -<p> -"Am I then to believe, sot and slug-a-bed, that with all thy -boasting thou hast failed?" -</p> - -<p> -"Even so, in part." -</p> - -<p> -"Dog! I will have your ears cut off for this." -</p> - -<p> -"Bide ye there, Sir Adam," said the ruffian, deprecatingly, -while he ground his teeth at his master's anger, "I have gien -him a wound that he will carry to his grave; but God's -plague on your feuds, Redhall, for in your service I have gotten -a slash o' the knuckles that shall gar me rue lang the last -night." -</p> - -<p> -"Here is a pretty rascal;" exclaimed the advocate, almost -beside himself with anger. -</p> - -<p> -"I would some douce damsel said as muckle," said this -overgrown gnome, contemplating his visage with one of his -frightful leers, in a mirror opposite. -</p> - -<p> -"Peace, fellow! And thou livest to tell me that he actually -escaped from three of ye? He must be the very devil -himself, this Roland Vipont! Have you all returned alive?" -</p> - -<p> -"All: Nichol, Dobbie, and Sanders Screw—safe and sound, -like the three kings of Cologne in the Black Friary up bye -there." -</p> - -<p> -"Silence! 'tis blasphemy, this." -</p> - -<p> -"Murder at night, and blasphemy in the morning! Ewhow, -sirs, but that d—d mum-beer was strong yesternight." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou gavest him a wound, thou sayest?" resumed Redhall, -whose strong and relentless mind was of that description -which, when once it conceived an idea, would pursue its -accomplishment to the very verge of the earth; and, moreover, -feeling confident that those laws which he meted out so -severely to others, could never recoil upon or entangle -himself, he did whatever he pleased. "Was this wound a -deep one?" -</p> - -<p> -"So Dobbie swears, but he's a gomeral body in these -respects. Yet, if ye will it, Sir Adam, as monk or apothegar, -or something else, I may find my way to his chamber ere he -is awake some morning, and probe the scar anew wi' my -poniard. Even gif I were ta'en in his chamber 'twouldna -matter muckle, as no new scar would be seen, and blood -flowing would be attributed to the auld gash." -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis not a bad scheme, then see to it as you please; but -now I mistrust ye all, and think that, were I to fight him -with my own more legal weapons, the pen and the parchment, -he would assuredly be vanquished. We shall see," mused the -advocate; "I may have him one day before the lords on some -desperate charge (he loves a lady of the Douglas faction). -Proofs of conspiracy could soon be foisted up, and if we once -had him under the hands of Sanders Screw——" -</p> - -<p> -Birrel mechanically felt for his steel needle. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay," said Redhall, with a grim smile, as he observed this -motion, "Vipont is a mere soldier, and thou knowest that a -soldier is seldom deep or designing enough to be a conjuror. -Now prythee, rascal, act soberly, and assist me to dress and -truss my points with care; for I am to dine with his eminence -the cardinal and the lord bishop of Limoges to-day, and -thereafter we are all going to the queen's masque at Holyrood. -Bring me the last taffety dress that was sent me from that -French stallanger at the Tron, with my silver walking-sword—and -the little poniard—hath Hew the dalmascar sent it -from his booth in the Bow? Oh, here it is," added Redhall, -stepping into an apartment that opened off the library, and to -which (as we may still see in old houses) there was an ascent -of two or three steps. This was his dressing-room, and -formed a square turret which projected on heavy stone corbels -over the pavement of the Canongate. -</p> - -<p> -An antique mirror, imbedded in an oak frame, stood on one -side; a basin stand furnished with a pewter basin and ewer -(such as the Leith traders then brought out of Flanders) -stood on the other; and between them was a large cabinet, -one door of which was open, showing the various laced dresses, -doublets, gowns, ruffs and collars, mantles, tags, tassels and -aiguilettes, which made up the wardrobe of this official, whose -ample judicial robe was carelessly thrown over a large high-backed -chair, against which and on which were piled pieces of -armour, swords, gloves, gauntlets, files, poniards, -and wheelock-pistols; showing that, -though a civil officer of state, Redhall -could assume the offensive as well as any swashbuckler or -cavalier of his day; and not many weeks had elapsed since, at -the head of three hundred men-at-arms, he had been severely -repulsed in an attempt to sack and burn the tower of his -neighbour, Sir James Poulis of Colinton, the lord clerk -register. -</p> - -<p> -A jerkin of black velvet, with open sleeves of dark purple -satin, embroidered all over with silver, black trunk breeches -slashed with purple silk, and black hose, with shoes round-toed -and slashed, formed his principal attire. Over the close -jerkin he threw a loose "cassock coate" of black silk, the -collar of which was tied by silver cords under his thick close -ruff, and from thence it was open, though furnished with -twenty-four buttons of Bruges silver. -</p> - -<p> -Over this he hung his shoulder-belt, which sustained a long -and slender walking-sword, having a hilt of curiously-cut steel -and silver net-work; thus, everything about him was either -black or silver, save the solitary white feather which adorned -his black velvet bonnet, and gave a smart and lofty bearing to -his noble head, which a grave dark visage, piercing eyes, and -fierce moustache completed. -</p> - -<p> -His ruffian dependent, who to his public official duties -limited the private one of valet, had scarcely given the last -finishing-touch to his elaborate costume when the clatter of -hoofs drew Redhall to the window, and he saw the master of -the ordnance, with his plumes waving, his polished corselet, -his embroidered dress, and rich gold aiguilettes glittering in -the sunshine, ride up the street. A tall, stout serving-man, -clad in a half suit of ribbed armour, wearing that kind of close -helmet which was then called a coursing-hat, and carrying -over his shoulder a mighty two-handed wall-sword, nearly as -long as himself, followed close at his heels, running as if for -his life. -</p> - -<p> -(This armed valet was no other than the Earl of Ashkirk.) -</p> - -<p> -Almost at the same moment, as if she had been watching -for the sound of the hoofs, Jane Seton appeared at an opposite -window, which she threw open. There was a radiant smile -on her bright face as she kissed her hand to the handsome -cavalier, who uncovered and bowed to his horse's mane; and -there was a happy expression in his eyes, a gallant and -adventurous air about him, that, with the splendour of his attire, -failed not to impress even Redhall; for, as Vipont saluted his -charming mistress, the spirited animal he rode approached -her sideways, keeping his front to the windows, curveting, -prancing, and shaking his flowing mane and the silver -ornaments of the embossed bridle. -</p> - -<p> -"St. Mary!" muttered the advocate, while he bit his thin -lips, and a fierce smile twinkled in his eyes, "how she -welcomes him!—an empty fool, who hath no thought beyond his -ruffs and his aiguilettes, and who, though he hath scarcely a -cross in his pouch, is doubtless ready to cut the throat of any -man who doubts him rich as Croesus, and able to purchase the -three Lothians." -</p> - -<p> -Charged with an invitation, secretly obtained from the -queen, for the ladies of Ashkirk, Roland was in high spirits, -for he had procured it through the influence of Madame de -Montreuil, the governess of Magdalene; and, with his face all -smiles, he sprung from his horse and entered the mansion. -</p> - -<p> -Lady Jane disappeared from the window. -</p> - -<p> -Then Redhall ground his teeth, and turned furiously away, -for then he knew the happy lovers had met, and were together. -</p> - -<p> -He hurriedly left his house, and descending the Blackfriars -Wynd to the Archiepiscopal Palace, a fragment of which is -still prominent by its large octagon tower which overhangs the -Cowgate, he was admitted by the cardinal's armed vassals, or -guards, at a low-browed doorway, surmounted by the coat -armorial of Bethune and Balfour, over which was the -broad-tasselled hat, which indicates a prince of the holy -Roman empire. -</p> - -<p> -There, at dinner, Redhall heard from his friend, the Abbot -of Kinloss, the rumour which was then current in the city, -that "the master of the king's ordnance had been most -malapertly beset upon the Hiegait by a party of the Douglas -traitors," from whom he had been only saved by a miraculous -exertion of valour; for (as Buchanan relates) whatever -happened in those days was invariably placed to the score of the -Douglases. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap08"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VIII. -<br /><br /> -THE QUEEN'S MASQUE. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Old Holyrood rung merrily<br /> - That night with wassail, mirth, and glee:<br /> - King James, within her princely towers,<br /> - Feasted the chiefs of Scotland's powers."—<i>Marmion.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Attended by Ashkirk, who carried the tremendous sword -before mentioned, and was arrayed in clothes somewhat -sad-coloured, but in fashion between those of a valet and esquire, -Roland, agitated by no ordinary fear and exultation, -approached the illuminated hall of the palace—fear, because, -despite every warning, the madcap noble insisted on -accompanying him—and exultation, because Jane Seton and her -companions were all to be there; though the haughty old -countess had coldly declined, on the plea of age and ill health, -which, in reality, was caused by dread of the risk so foolishly -run by her son, whom she had implored, with tears, to seek -shelter among his own vassals in Forfarshire, if he could not -regain the court of England; for the frontiers were said to -be closely watched. -</p> - -<p> -With his doublet of cloth-of-gold, all dotted with seed -pearls, a short purple velvet mantle, lined with yellow satin, -dangling from his left shoulder, his gold aiguilettes, ruff, and -sword, Roland had donned his best bravery, curled his dark -locks, and pointed his moustaches with particular care on -this auspicious evening. He carried his bonnet in his hand, -as they traversed the crowded courts of the palace; and every -minute he turned to look anxiously at Ashkirk; but his -peculiar helmet, with its low peak, and the thick beard, which -he had permitted to grow long for disguise, together with his -bombastic doublet, completely transformed him, and he -marched behind, bearing his six-foot rapier with imperturbable -gravity. -</p> - -<p> -The gloomy and antique courts, overlooked by grated windows -and heavy roofs of stone, the cloistered passages and vast -stone stairs of this ancient palace (which was burnt by the -English), were lighted with numerous coloured lamps. The -king's guard, wearing their blue bonnets, stockings and -doublets of scarlet, slashed and faced with black, and armed with -pike, poniard, and arquebuse, formed two glittering lines from -the palace gate to the main entrance, and from thence along -the passages to the head of the grand staircase, where stood -their captain, Sir John Forrester of Corstorphine, a handsome -and reckless-looking young gallant, clad in the uniform colours -of the guard (a jerkin of scarlet velvet, richly lined with -Venetian gold), and having twelve short aiguilettes on each -shoulder of his trunk sleeves, which terminated in steel -gauntlets, for he wore his gorget, and, being on duty, had an -esquire near him, who carried his helmet. -</p> - -<p> -His lieutenant, Louis Leslie of Balquhan, in the Garioch, -was similarly arrayed; and both were remarkably elegant and -military-looking young men. -</p> - -<p> -"Holy mass!" said Forrester, looking down the long staircase, -"here cometh Vipont, and his new valet with the -outrageous sword!" -</p> - -<p> -"'Fore God! he looks like one of the twelve peers of -Charlemagne," said Leslie, with a loud laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"Ho! Vipont, where the devil didst steal that ancient -paladine?" -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis the excalibur of King Arthur he carries," said Leslie. -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis the lance of Urganda the Unknown!" -</p> - -<p> -And the young men laughed aloud as their friend ascended -the stair with his tall valet three paces behind. When he -drew near, Forrester playfully made a pass with his sword -at Roland's face, a second at his breast, and a third at his -ruff, keeping him down the stair. The cannonier immediately -unsheathed his rapier, and simply saying— -</p> - -<p> -"Guard!" attacked his assailant in the same playful -manner; and they fenced for more than a minute, while Louis -Leslie held his sides, and laughed boisterously on seeing that -Vipont found the impossibility of ascending, and was -beginning to lose his temper. -</p> - -<p> -The approach of Cardinal Beaton, who was surrounded by -a large body of vassals wearing his own livery, put an end -to this dangerous frolic; and though openly saluted by the -king's soldiers, the cardinal's guards were secretly greeted -with haughty and supercilious glances as they marched -between the double ranks that led to the foot of the grand -staircase, jostling as they ascended the train of Sir Thomas -Clifford, the ambassador of England—a country which the -cardinal abhorred, politically and religiously. -</p> - -<p> -"Harkee, Forrester," said Roland, as he passed; "have -the ladies of Ashkirk arrived yet?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, some ten minutes ago. I was thunderstruck to see -them!" -</p> - -<p> -"Wherefore?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hast thou not heard the rumour?" -</p> - -<p> -"Of what?" -</p> - -<p> -"That the Earl of Ashkirk is among us here, in the good -town of Edinburgh." -</p> - -<p> -"Twenty devils! dost thou say so?" -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis a fact—on some treasonable mission from English -Henry—at least, so sayeth my lord advocate." -</p> - -<p> -Roland's blood ran alternately hot and cold. -</p> - -<p> -"This demon advocate hears of everything!" said he to -the earl, as they passed along the corridor. "My God! lord -earl, if discovered——" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou canst save me, perhaps," said the earl, who was -himself a little alarmed. -</p> - -<p> -"If not?" -</p> - -<p> -"I can die then, with my sword in my hand," replied the -earl, through his teeth. "But art thou not rich in the favour -of this holiday king?" -</p> - -<p> -"In that alone; otherwise I am poor enough, God wot." -</p> - -<p> -"Thy father left thee——" -</p> - -<p> -"His sword, his arms, and motto—nothing more. The -first is here at my side—the second, I know by heart, having -nought else whereon to grave them—<i>gules</i>, six annulets <i>or</i>." -</p> - -<p> -"Tush! thou wilt build thee a castle some day, and put -the crest above the gate." -</p> - -<p> -"A swan'shead winged, rising from a ducal coronet—ha! ha! my -father was a soldier, and poor, as we soldiers always are." -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis a madcap adventure, this, I know right well," said -the earl; "but I have armed me (sans leave) with your best -corslet; and as I have a strong affection for my poor head -(which is, in fact, of no use to any one save myself), they -shall never possess it if my hands can keep it. If I am beset -to-night—fiends! I would mow them all down with this long -blade, like death with his scythe." -</p> - -<p> -"St. Mary! use it warily," said Roland, laughing; "thou -wilt punch a hole in the roof else." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou lovest this King James well?" -</p> - -<p> -"Love him—yes. I am ready to be cut in pieces for him -to-morrow." -</p> - -<p> -"Still thou art poor!" -</p> - -<p> -"I have quite made up my mind to be rich at some future -day, but when that day shall come, the Lord alone knows," -replied Roland, without perceiving that the earl was covertly -ridiculing his loyalty to James. -</p> - -<p> -Notwithstanding his disguise, the whole air and bearing of -Ashkirk were eminently noble. Though brave and passionate, -he veiled a promptitude to anger under an outwardly impassible -equanimity of temper; thus, while he could be at one time -rash to excess, at another he could affect to be doggedly cool. -He had innumerable excellent qualities of head and heart, -which would have rendered him of inestimable value to such a -prince as James V.; but his blind devotion to the faction of -Angus (a faction of which we will treat more at large -elsewhere) rendered them nugatory. Though considerably above -the middle height, he was strong, elegant, and graceful. His -nose was almost aquiline; his eyes were dark and piercing; -his mouth was like that of a Cæsar; and his well-defined chin -was indicative of that obstinacy of purpose, which is a leading -feature of the Scottish character; and, like every gentleman of -his time, he rode, fenced, and danced to perfection. -</p> - -<p> -Roland sighed when he thought on all these lost good qualities, -and bestowing a parting glance on the earl, who, as his -valet, was obliged to leave him at the large gothic door of the -hall, he passed through with the guests, who were ushered -between a double line of pages and liverymen. The -chamberlain of the household waved his wand, and announced— -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Roland Vipont of that ilk, master of the king's ordnance." -</p> - -<p> -In one little heart only, amid all the gay throng in that -magnificent hall, did the name of the king's first favourite -find an echo. -</p> - -<p> -Two hundred wax-lights, in branching chandeliers, -illuminated the high arched roof and lofty walls of the vast -apartment, which was decorated with all that florid -ornament and grandeur which we find in the palaces of James V. -It was one of his new additions to the regal mansion which -his uncle Albany, and his father, James IV., had first -engrafted on the old monastic edifice of the Holy Cross. In -honour of the queen, the walls were hung with arras composed -of resplendent cloth-of-gold and silver, impaled with -velvet, and the floors were covered with Persian carpets, -which were among the gifts received by James V. from -Francis I.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* "<i>Item.</i> Foure suitts of rich arras hangings -of 8 pices a suitt, wroght with -gold and silke. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -"<i>Item.</i> Foure suitts of hangings of cloth-of-gold-silver, -impaled with -velvett. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -"<i>Item.</i> 20 Persian carpets, faire and large,"—See -list of "gifts and propynes," -<i>Balfour's Annales</i>, vol. i. pp. 266-7. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -On one side the arras was festooned to reveal the -refreshment-rooms which lay beyond, and the long tables, whereon -lay every continental delicacy, with the richest wines of -France and Italy, all of which the poorest Scottish artizan -could procure duty free before the union. There, too, lay one -of the queen's cupboards of silver plate, which was valued at -more than a hundred thousand crowns, and watched by four -of the royal guard, with their arquebuses loaded. Chairs -covered with white velvet, brocaded with gold, and surmounted -by imperial crowns, with sofas or settles of purple -velvet, were ranged along the sides of these rooms; but the -great hall was cleared of all obstruction for the dancers. The -king's musicians, among whom were the four drummers, the -four trumpeters, and three flute-players of the queen's French -band, all clad in yellow satin, occupied the music gallery, -and were just striking up king James's favourite march, -<i>The Battle of Harlaw</i>, which was then very popular in -Scotland, and remained so down to the time of Drummond -of Hawthornden. -</p> - -<p> -Amid the crowd of ladies, nobles, and splendidly-attired -cavaliers, who thronged the vast length of that great -apartment, seeming as one mass of velvet, silk, satin, and waving -plumage of every hue, mingled with jewels that sparkled and -lace that glittered, aiguilettes, swords and mantles, poniards -and spurs, trains, ruffs, and knightly orders—surrounded by -a sea of light, for the gleaming cloth-of-gold that covered the -walls seemed nothing else—Roland looked anxiously, but in -vain, for Lady Seton, as he walked straight towards the -upper end, to present himself to the king and queen. -</p> - -<p> -James leaned on the side of Magdalene's chair, conversing -with her and the six privileged ladies of honour, who sat -near her, three being on each side, occupying little stools, -which were covered with blue velvet, and called tabourettes. -Among this group were Madame de Montreuil, Mademoiselle -de Brissac, and several noble Frenchwomen, who had known -Vipont in France, and greeted with a smile of welcome. -</p> - -<p> -James was magnificently clad in his favourite dress of -white brocaded satin, slashed with rose-coloured silk. His -four orders (the first in Europe) sparkled on his neck, and -the band of his slouched blue bonnet shone like a zone with -diamonds. His rich brown hair fell in ringlets on his ruff, -and his dark hazel eyes were bright with gaiety and pride. -He wore a short mantle, a long sword, sheathed in blue -velvet, buff boots, and gold spurs. His white silk stockings -were the first seen in Scotland, and the motto of the Garter -encircled his left leg. -</p> - -<p> -With that frankness which made him so charming to all, -this handsome young monarch immediately approached Sir -Roland, and met him half way. -</p> - -<p> -"Here comes my Vipont!" said he; "ah! thou art a fine -fellow, Roland. I would know thee for a noble, or a soldier, -at a league's distance, by that inimitable bearing of thine." -</p> - -<p> -Roland bowed profoundly; but the king took his hand, -while many a fierce glance was exchanged between the various -nobles who beheld the warm reception of this rising favourite. -</p> - -<p> -"And so, my poor Vipont, thou wert attacked last night?" -</p> - -<p> -"A mere joke, your majesty." -</p> - -<p> -"Three daggers are no joke; but you were wounded?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, a mere scratch with a pin." -</p> - -<p> -"Dost suspect any one as having caused it?" -</p> - -<p> -"Your majesty alone," replied Roland, with a peculiar -smile at the group around the king; "for your favour is -ever fatal to your friends." -</p> - -<p> -"Doubtless," said James, with a darkening brow, "it hath -been some of those accursed——" (Douglases he was about -to say, but on seeing how quickly the colour mounted to -Vipont's brow he said) "cloak-snatchers and cutpurses, -who make their lair in the Burghmuir-woods, and elsewhere; -but this must be looked to, sirs! such doings cannot be -permitted in our burghs and landward towns." -</p> - -<p> -They conversed in the old-court Scots, then "the language -of a whole country" (says Lord Jeffrey in one of his able -essays), "an independent kingdom, still separate in laws, -character, and manners; a language by no means common -to the vulgar, but the common speech of the whole nation in -early life, and connected in their imagination, not only with -that olden time which is uniformly conceived as being more -simple, pure, and lofty than the present, but also with all the -soft bright colours of remembered childhood and domestic -affection." -</p> - -<p> -Roland advanced at once towards the young queen, who -gave him her hand to kiss, and received him with her -brightest smile; for his face had become familiar to her in -the king's train at her father's court. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! Monsieur le Maître d'Artillerie," she said, in a very -sweet voice, "thou seemest quite like an old friend, and -remindest me so much of my father's house at -St. Germain-en-Laye—that pretty -little hunting-lodge, near the Seine, -where I was so happy—though not so happy as I am here—<i>O -Dieu me pardonne</i>, no," she added, with covert glance at -the king full of the utmost affection. -</p> - -<p> -"My dear Madame de Montreuil," said Roland, in a low -voice; "express for me to her majesty the thousand thanks -I owe you and her for the favour shown to my friends." -</p> - -<p> -This charming daughter of Queen Claud the Good was (as -we have elsewhere said) only in her sixteenth year. Her -fair brown hair, of which she had a great profusion, was -most becomingly arranged in plaits and curls; her eyes were -of the most beautiful blue; her small velvet cap, squared at -the temples, and falling straight down each cheek, was blue, -lined with satin, and edged with little pearls; her skirt was -all of frosted cloth-of-gold, with a body of violet-coloured -satin, embroidered also with gold, and having hanging sleeves -of the richest lace lined with latticed ribbons; her gloves -were highly perfumed; and around her neck was a gift of -the Countess of Arran—a string of those large and snow-white -pearls, that in the olden time were found in the burn -of Cluny. She frequently sighed, as if with pain and -weariness, and pressed a hand at times upon her breast. -</p> - -<p> -Having now paid his devoirs to the young queen, Roland -scrutinized the glittering throng for the fair form of her who, -though perhaps less beautiful than the gentle Magdalene, -was to him the queen indeed of all the ladies there. -</p> - -<p> -"Vipond," said the king, coldly, as he drew Roland aside, -"I know for whom thou art looking—for one whose brother -is under sentence of forfeiture, the price of his head being at -this moment written on the palace gates; for one who, I -can assure thee, Sir Roland, should not have been under the -roof-tree of Holyrood to-night, but for the kind wishes of her -majesty and Madame de Montreuil, whose weak side I see -thou hast attained, as any handsome gallant may easily do." -</p> - -<p> -Roland's heart sank at these words. -</p> - -<p> -"Alas! your majesty," he replied, in the same low voice, -"are the houses of Douglas and Seton fallen so low, that a -fair young being, who unites the blood of both in her pure -and sinless heart is merely tolerated in Holyrood? Your -royal sire, around whom so many brave men of both these -names fell on that dark day at Flodden, foresaw not a time -like this." -</p> - -<p> -"There is truth in this, though I have the deepest cause -for enmity to these families that ever king had to a subject," -replied James, frankly. "The mere rebellion of Earl John -of Ashkirk I might have forgotten, and that of his son I -could have forgiven, but his leaguing with Englishmen never! -And yonder stands my little rebel, Jane of Ashkirk; faith, -she is beautiful—yea, as love herself!" -</p> - -<p> -"I think her inferior to the queen." -</p> - -<p> -"With all thy partiality? Rogue, thou flatterest me! -A true lover should deem his lady-love inferior to none under -God!" -</p> - -<p> -"I have heard that she is as much famed for her beauty -as her mother is for her salves and recipes," said a -Hamilton, with a very unmistakeable sneer. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, Sir John of Kincavil," said the king, "thou art -too severe to be gallant. I will swear that her hair is the -finest I ever saw." -</p> - -<p> -"And her teeth," said young Leslie of Balquhan. -</p> - -<p> -"And her skin, which is like the finest velvet!" said -Roland, simply. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, the devil! thou hast discovered that!" said the -king—and several courtiers and soldiers laughed. "I must -really see this fair one," he whispered; "she looks at -Sir Roland. Ah! I see—'tis the unmistakeable glance of a -woman at the man she loves. I find I am about to lose my -master of the ordnance." -</p> - -<p> -"Sir John of Kincavil," said Roland, in a low voice, as he -passed that tall and brilliantly attired knight; "at noon -to-morrow I will be waiting you at the Water Gate." -</p> - -<p> -"I shall bring my best rapier," replied the other, with a -bow. -</p> - -<p> -"And a pot of the countess's salve," said Roland, with a -dark smile, as they mutually bit their gloves in defiance, and -passed on. -</p> - -<p> -During the presentation of Roland to the queen and this -colloquy with the king, Lady Jane Seton, who had not yet -been presented to Magdalene, felt herself somewhat unpleasantly -situated. Her companions, Marion Logan, and Alison -Hume, had both disappeared in the crowd, the first with the -well-known Norman Leslie, Master of Rothes, and the second -with Sir John Forrester, of the king's guard; while, quite -oblivious of the many hostile eyes around, the beautiful Sybil, -with a large fan outspread before her, had thrown aside her -usual sadness, and, exhilirated with the gaiety of the scene, -was coquetting and smiling to a gay crowd of young cavaliers, -to whose jests and gallantries she was replying, however, -with the words alone, for her thoughts were concentrated on -the tall valet, whom she had seen more than once at the -opposite doorway, armed with his portentous rapier. -</p> - -<p> -The hostile eyes were those of the Hamilton faction, which -was always in the ascendant when the power of the Douglases -were at a low ebb; and thus, marvelling how the sister -of the exiled earl had found her way into their privileged and -exclusive circle, cold, haughty, and inquiring glances met those -of the timid Jane, whose cheeks began to crimson with anger. -She had now lost the thoughtless Sybil; she saw not her -lover; and amid that vast crowd found herself utterly alone. -Margaret Countess of Arran, the ladies of Barncleugh and -Evandale, Dalserf, and Drumrye, of Raploch, and others, all -wives and daughters of knights and gentlemen of the hostile -surname, were gazing stolidly upon her. -</p> - -<p> -Cardinal Beaton, clad in his scarlet cope and baretta, with -a gold cross upon his breast, was standing near her, conversing -with a prelate in purple. This was the French Bishop -of Limoges, in the Vienne, to whom, with his right forefinger -laid on the palm of his left hand, he was impressively holding -forth on "the damnable persuasions of the English heretics, -whose perverse doctrines were spreading schisms and scandals -in the holy church in Scotland." His large, dark, and -thoughtful eyes, which were (inadvertently however) fixed on -Jane, completed her confusion. The great and terrible -cardinal was evidently speaking of her; she felt almost sinking -when the crowd around fell back, and the king, with her -lover, approached to her relief. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap09"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IX. -<br /><br /> -LA VOLTA. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Yet is there one, the most delightful kind,<br /> - A lofty jumping, or a leaping round,<br /> - Where, arm in arm, two dancers are entwined,<br /> - And whirl themselves, with strict embracements bound,<br /> - And still their feet an anapest do sound:<br /> - An anapest is all their music's song,<br /> - Whose first two feet are short, and third is long."<br /> - <i>Orchestra</i>, by Sir J. DAVIES, 1596.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"May I present to your majesty," said Roland, "the Lady -Jane Seton, the only daughter of brave Earl John of -Ashkirk——" -</p> - -<p> -"Who thrice saved my father's banner at Flodden—a right -royal welcome to Holyrood, madame," said James, bowing -gracefully and low, while all his hostility vanished as he -gazed on the pure open brow and clear eyes of Jane; "but -how is this, Sir Roland? thou oughtest to have introduced -me to the lady, not the lady to <i>me</i>—the knight to the dame—the -inferior to the superior. But hark! the music is striking -'Kinge Willyiam's Notte;' 'tis a <i>round</i> we are to dance—Lady -Jane, wilt favour me—your hand for this measure; see, -my Lord Arran is leading forth the queen." -</p> - -<p> -And thus, almost before she had time for reflection, Jane -found herself led to the head of that shining hall, the -partner of King James, who had seen the hostile eyes that were -bent upon her, had seen how their cold glances thawed into -smiles at his approach, and resolved, by a striking example, to -rebuke the malicious spirit he despised. -</p> - -<p> -Roland finding himself anticipated, had now no desire to -dance, and wishing to follow Jane with his eyes, retired -among the spectators, whose hostile remarks more than once -made him bite his glove and grasp the pommel of his poniard. -</p> - -<p> -The dancers were performing the round, a species of -country-dance, which continued in fashion while quadrilles were -in futurity, and until the time of Charles I. -</p> - -<p> -The king's principal favourite, James Hamilton, Earl of -Arran (afterwards the Regent Duke of Chatelherault, knight -of St. Michael), a stately noble, arrayed in dark -violet-coloured velvet, becoming his years and grave diplomatic -character, led forth the bright young queen. There were -about thirty couples on the floor, all the gentlemen wearing -high ruffs, short mantles, and immense long swords. The -captain of the guards, and Leslie, his lieutenant, were with -Alison Hume and Marion Logan. At a given signal, a burst -of music came from the balcony, and the dancers began with -that spirit and grace which belonged to the olden time, and -then the whole hall vibrated with joy and happiness, brilliancy -and praise; for if the king was the most finished cavalier in -Scotland, Magdalene was assuredly the fairest young being -that had ever worn its diadem. -</p> - -<p> -The great Earl of Arran acquitted himself, however, very -much to the queen's dissatisfaction; for this thoughtful -statesman and favourite minister was confounded to find Lady Seton -dancing with the king, and knew not what to think of this -sudden and dangerous change in his sentiments towards the -Douglas party. -</p> - -<p> -Above the well-bred hum of modulated voices in the hall, -a loud uproar of tongues in one of the courts below drew -Roland to the windows more than once. -</p> - -<p> -"By Heaven, they have discovered Ashkirk!" was his first -thought. But the noise was occasioned by the king's jester, -Jock Macilree, frolicking among the pages, lacqueys, and -yeomen of the guard, with his cap-and-bells, bladder, and -fantastic dress, exercising on the poor black page, Sabrino, -that wit which, for the present, was excluded from the royal -circle, as his rough jests, boisterous laughter, and grotesque -aspect terrified and agitated the timid young queen. -</p> - -<p> -"God keep you, Sir Roland Vipont," said a flute-like voice -(with the usual greeting for which our more homely "How -are you?" is now substituted). Roland turned, and bowed -on encountering the grave face and keen dark eyes of the -lord advocate. -</p> - -<p> -"God keep you, Sir Adam," he replied, rather coldly, as -may be easily supposed. "Understanding that you laboured -under a severe illness, I did not expect the pleasure of -meeting you here." -</p> - -<p> -"As little did I expect the honour of meeting <i>you</i>, having -heard that you had received an unfortunate wound." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! a scratch, as your lordship heard me tell the king," -replied Roland, colouring with indignation; but the face of -Redhall was impassible as that of a statue. -</p> - -<p> -"Courtiers must expect such scratches at times." -</p> - -<p> -"Under favour, my lord, I am no courtier." -</p> - -<p> -"No, excuse me—better than a thousand courtiers—thou -art a brave soldier." -</p> - -<p> -Roland bowed. -</p> - -<p> -"He flatters me for some end," thought he. There was -a mixture of politeness and disdain in the manner of Redhall -that was fast provoking Roland, for they had never spoken -before, save once, more than a year ago, on the king's -service. "Can this really be the villain who attempted to slay -me," he reflected, "or hath the hostility of Ashkirk led his -ears into error? I think not; for, strange to say, my wound -<i>smarted</i> the moment he addressed me. Doubtless, had I -been dead, it would have bled at his touch." -</p> - -<p> -"You know, Sir Roland, 'tis my peculiar province to have -the laws enforced. Have you any suspicions of who your -assailant was?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, the instigator of the assault is here to-night—yea, -in this very hall!" -</p> - -<p> -"His name?" -</p> - -<p> -"Is written on the blade of my sword, where I am wont -to keep such memorandums," replied Roland, with a glance -which made the official start, change colour, and raise his -eyebrows with an expression of surprise, as he turned away; -for at that moment the king came up, the dance having -ended, and the blood mounted to the temples of Redhall, for -Lady Jane Seton was leaning on his arm. -</p> - -<p> -"How now, lord advocate?" said the frank monarch, -"why so grave and so grim? Thou art a sorely changed -man now! Dost thou remember when we two were but -halfling callants at our tasks together, in the barred chambers -of David's tower, trembling under terror of old Gavin's -ferrule—Gavin Dunbar; the poor prisoner of my uncle Albany?" -</p> - -<p> -"And how oft we played truanderie together," replied -the advocate, with a faint smile. -</p> - -<p> -"To seek birds'-nests in the woods of Coates, throw -kail-castocks down the wide lums of the Grassmarket, and fish -for powowets in the Nor'loch, By St. Paul! those were -indeed the happy days of guileless hearts; for, if we quarreled, -we beat each other until we were weary, and thenceforward -became better friends than ever. But how cometh it that -thou, my gay cannonier, hast not had a measure to-night, -and when no dance seems perfect without thee? Madame -de Montreuil and some of our French demoiselles are anxious -to dance <i>la volta</i>, which was all the rage at the fêtes of King -Francis; but not one of our Scottish gallants knoweth the -least about it save thyself." -</p> - -<p> -"I am sure the Lady Jane does, and if she will favour me -with her hand, and your majesty will spare her——" -</p> - -<p> -"To thee only will I, for I long now to speak with mine -own true love," and, with a graceful smile, James retired to -the group that remained around the young queen and her -dames of the tabourette. -</p> - -<p> -The feeble health of Magdalene was apparent to all by the -languor and alternate flushing and pallor of her face, after -the trifling exercise of <i>la ronde</i>. -</p> - -<p> -As Vipont led away Lady Jane, Redhall turned to conceal -his sudden emotion. He faced a mirror and was startled at -his own expression. Swollen like cords, the veins rose on his -forehead like lines painted there. Jane had gone off without -even bestowing on him a smile or a bow. She had quite -forgotten his presence. He felt painfully that in her mind there -would, doubtless, be a mighty gulf between himself and this -gay young soldier, whose light spirit and chivalric heart were -so entirely strangers to that burning jealousy and passionate -desire of vengeance that struggled for supremacy with love. -He passed a hand over his pale brow, as if to efface the -emotion written there, and turned again with his wonted smile of -coldness and placidity to address the person nearest him. -This chanced to be no other than his gossip, the abbot of -Kinloss, a peep-eyed little churchman, whose head and face, -as they peered from his ample cope, so strongly resembled -those of a rat looking forth from a hole, that no other -description is required. -</p> - -<p> -The ambassador of the great Charles V., a richly-dressed -cavalier in black, on whose breast shone the gold cross of -Calatrava and the silver dove of Castile, and whose scarf of -scarlet and gold sustained a long spada of the pure Toledo -steel, now appeared on the Persian-carpeted floor, leading -Madame de Montreuil, a gay little Frenchwoman in white -brocade, which stuck out all round her nearly six feet in -diameter; Roland and Lady Seton were their <i>vis-à-vis</i>. All -eyes were upon them, for the dance was so completely new, -that none in Scotland had ever seen it, and the expectations -were great as the music which floated through the oak-carved -screen of the gallery seemed divine. The right arm of each -cavalier was placed round the waist of his lady, while her -right hand rested in his left, and was pressed against his -heart; in short, <i>la volta</i>, which had thus made its appearance -in old Holyrood on the night of the 20th May, in the year -of grace 1537, was nothing more than the vault step, now -known, in modern times, as the waltz. -</p> - -<p> -There was a pause; the music again burst forth, rising and -falling in regular time, and away went the dancers, round and -round, in a succession of whirls, the little red-heeled and white -velvet shoes of the ladies seeming to chase the buff boots and -gold spurs of the gentlemen; round and round they went, -rapidly, lightly, and gracefully. The tall Spanish ambassador -and little Madame de Montreuil acquitted themselves to -perfection; but Roland and Jane, to whom he had only given -a few lessons during the preceding forenoon, perhaps less so; -but none there observed it, and a burst of acclamation -welcomed this graceful dance, which was now for the first time -seen in Scotland, but which the prejudices of after years -abolished till the beginning of the present century. -</p> - -<p> -"What thinkest thou of this new spring, father abbot?" -said Redhall, with a cold smile in his keen eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"There is sorcery in it, by my faith there is!" whispered -the abbot, lowering his voice and his bushy eyebrows; "there -is sorcery in it, my lord advocate, or my name is not Robin -Reid, abbot of Kinloss." -</p> - -<p> -"Ha! dost thou think so?" -</p> - -<p> -"Think so? Ken ye not that it hath been partly condemned -by the parliament of Paris (whom we take for our -model in all matters of justiciary), for it originated in Italy, -from whence it was taken into France by the witches, who -dance it with the devil on the Sabbath. Ah, 'tis well worth -making a memorandum of," continued this meagre little -senator, perceiving that Redhall was writing something in his -note-book or tablets, behind the shadow of a window-curtain. -</p> - -<p> -"But the Spaniard is a knight of a religious order," urged -Redhall, pausing. -</p> - -<p> -"A religious order!" repeated the testy abbot; "'tis such -a cloister of religieux as our knights of Torphichen, who spend -night and day in drinking and dicing, fighting anent their -prerogatives, and debauching the country maidens on their -fiefs and baronies. Were he not ambassador of Charles V., -I would vote for having him under the nippers of Nichol -Birrel; for if ever a sorcerer trod on Scottish ground, 'tis he. -He dabbles in charms and philtres, and every night 'tis said -his chimney in St. John's Close emitteth blue sparks, which -are those of hell, as sure as I am Robin Reid, abbot of -Kinloss. He and father St. Bernard are ever searching among -the baser minerals for the spirit of the gold; at least so say -the prebendaries of St. Giles's." -</p> - -<p> -"Um! he is confessor of the Lady Ashkirk," muttered -Redhall, making another memorandum. -</p> - -<p> -"As we were talking of sorcery, what hath the high sheriff -of Lothian done with your vassal, the forester of Kinleith, -who buried a living cat under his hearthstone, as a charm -against evil?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah," said Redhall, with a smile, "Birrel soon found such -proofs against him, that he is sent to the justiciary court." -</p> - -<p> -"Ho! ho!" said the little abbot, rubbing his hands; -"Sanders Screw and his concurrents will bring mickle to -light, or my name is not Robin——" -</p> - -<p> -But here the advocate hurried abruptly away, for at that -moment the dance ended; and flushed, heated, and fatigued, -the two ladies were led away—De Montreuil, by her cavalier, -into the adjoining apartment, and Lady Jane towards a -staircase which descended from the hall to the level and grassy -lawn, that lay between the palace and the foot of the craigs -of Salisbury. -</p> - -<p> -The green sides of the silent hills and rocky brows of those -basaltic cliffs, which seem but the half of some vast mountain -which volcanic throes have rent and torn asunder, were bathed -in the splendour of the broad and cloudless moon; the palace -towers and vanes stood forth in strong white light, while the -curtain walls and cloistered courts were steeped in sable -shadow. On the right were a cluster of small antique houses -where some of the royal retainers dwelt, and where Roland -had his temporary domicile. This was called St. Anne's Yard; -on the left, apparently among the hills, two red lights were -shining. One was from an ancient mansion at the foot of -Salisbury craigs, where Robert, abbot of the Holy Cross, -dwelt; the other was from the illuminated shrine of -St. Antony's Hermitage. -</p> - -<p> -Several revellers were lounging on the green sward in the -moonlight, or sitting on the carved stone benches that were -placed against the palace wall, and the lovers took possession -of the most remote, where the south garden of the king -bordered the burial-ground of the abbey. -</p> - -<p> -"Jane," said Roland, as he gazed fondly on her pure brow -and snowy skin, which seemed so dazzlingly white in the clear -moonlight; "your smiles to-night have done more to raise -the Douglas cause than twenty thousand lances. How my -heart leaps! I seem to tread on air! I knew well that -James had but to see you, to appreciate your worth and -beauty. He has done so; and now old dame Margaret of -Arran, and all the Hamiltons of Cadyow and Clydesdale, will -be ready to burst their boddices and die of sheer vexation." -</p> - -<p> -"But if Archibald should be discovered——" -</p> - -<p> -"Chut! dost think that James would dance with the sister -over-night and decapitate the brother in the morning?" -</p> - -<p> -"The king never once referred to the frightful position in -which he is placed." -</p> - -<p> -"He is much too courtly to do so. But say, art thou not -happy, dearest?" -</p> - -<p> -"Happy? with a proclamation on this palace-gate offering -a thousand merks for my brother's head! Oh, Roland, -Roland! I would justly merit contempt to be so. I came -not hither to rejoice, or with any other intention than to beg -his life and pardon from the king. The figures of a dance -were certainly not the place to prefer such a solemn -request—Mother of God! no; and, as my mother says, but with a -different meaning, I am yet biding my time. My heart -sickens at the splendour of that glittering hall, when I -bethink me that the gallant earl, my brother, whose plume -should have waved among the loftiest there, is now the -companion of lacqueys and liverymen—the retainers of our actual -enemies and oppressors—the butt, perhaps, of their coarse -mirth and ribald jests, and fearing to repel them with the -spirit he possesses, lest he should be discovered and unmasked -by those whose innate hatred of the Seton and the Douglas -require not the additional incentive of King James's gold." -</p> - -<p> -"It was, I own, a madcap adventure, his coming here to-night; -but thou knowest that he is headstrong as a Highland -bull. However, Lintstock, my servant, a wary old gunner of -King James IV., is with him, and will see he is neither -insulted nor discovered." -</p> - -<p> -"Anything is better than suspense," said Jane, sobbing. -"Would that the king were here." -</p> - -<p> -"I will bring him if you wish it," said Roland, rising and -taking both her hands in his; "he would come in a moment, -for to him a lady's message is paramount to one from the -parliament. But would you say that the earl is in -Scotland—here among us in Edinburgh?" -</p> - -<p> -"I would, Roland—yes, for such is my confidence in the -honour and generosity of the king." -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis not misplaced, for James is alike good and merciful; -but 'twere better to ask his French bride, whom he loves too -well to refuse her anything—even to become the ally of his -uncle, English Henry; and certes! the pardon of a gallant -Scottish noble is no great boon to crave of a generous -Scottish king." -</p> - -<p> -Roland started, for at that moment the voice of James was -heard at one of the open windows of the hall just above them. -</p> - -<p> -"Vipont! Sir Roland Vipont!" he said. -</p> - -<p> -"I am here, at your grace's service," replied Sir Roland, -raising his bonnet. -</p> - -<p> -"Wilt thon favour us a moment? here, my lord the bishop -of Limoges and I have a dispute as to whether our old gun -of Galloway, Mollance Meg, or the Devil of Bois le Duc, -carry the largest ball. I say Meg; the bishop says the -Devil; and as 'tis thy office to know all points of gunner-craft, -come hither, if that fair dame will do us the honour to -spare thee for one moment, for we have laid a hundred lions -Scots on the matter." -</p> - -<p> -Loth to leave Jane, and anxious to please the king, Roland -hesitated, till she said— -</p> - -<p> -"Obey the king, and I will wait your return; luckily, yonder -is my cousin Sybil and Louis Leslie of the king's guard." -</p> - -<p> -Roland pressed her hand, sprang up the flight of steps, and -the moment he was gone Lady Jane found some one standing -at her side. -</p> - -<p> -She turned, and encountered the sombre figure of Redhall, -the sad glance of whose piercing eyes ran like lightning -through her veins; and she trembled at the double reflection -that she was almost alone, and that he might have overheard -their dangerous conversation concerning her brother. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap10"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER X. -<br /><br /> -LOVE AND ABHORRENCE. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Ah! who can e'er forget so fair a being?<br /> - Who can forget her half retiring sweets?<br /> - God! she is like a milk-white lamb that bleats<br /> - For man's protection."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -When Jane thought for a moment of how long this great -political inquisitor and public prosecutor had been the feudal -foe and legal oppressor of her mother's kinsman and her -father's house, and that he had but recently (as she had -gathered from her brother) meditated or attempted the -assassination of her lover,—as he had previously done the chief of -the Maclellans,—she felt her whole heart recoil from him as -from a serpent, with terror and abhorrence. Nevertheless, -finding that Sybil and her cavalier had disappeared among -the groups of revellers who dotted the moonlit lawn, she -had sufficient tact to veil her inward repugnance and -suspicions under an outward politeness, and to incline her head -slightly when he bowed and assumed a position for conversing -by leaning his handsome and stately figure against the stone -arm of the sofa, which was formed of a wyvern with its wings -outspread. -</p> - -<p> -He was dazzled by the splendour of her beauty, which the -unwonted magnificence of her attire had so much enhanced; -and remained silent and embarrassed, till Jane said— -</p> - -<p> -"I did not imagine that so grave a man as Sir Adam -Otterburn would have much to amuse him among these gay -frivolities." -</p> - -<p> -"Nor have I, madam, for my mind is usually filled with -thoughts of deeper and more vital import than the comely -fashion of a ruff or mantle, or the curling of a pretty ringlet. -I came but to steal a few moments from my unhappy destiny; -and I swear by my faith, that to see you dancing with the -king was the only tranquil joy I have had for many a day. -Ah! madame, you excelled yourself; you outshone them all, -as yonder moon outshines the stars around it!" -</p> - -<p> -Lady Jane bowed again, and glanced uneasily at the staircase; -there was no appearance of Roland, and knowing intuitively -the dangerous topic to which the speaker was inclining, -she trembled for what he might say next, for Redhall was -not a man to dally much when he had any end in view. -</p> - -<p> -He had seen her dancing with Roland Vipont; he had -heard those whispers by which the whole court linked their -names together as lovers, yet an incontrollable folly or fatality -led him blindly on. -</p> - -<p> -"Notwithstanding that we were such good friends when -last we met," said he, in his soft and flute-like voice, while -bending his fine dark eyes on the green sward, "you have -shunned me so much of late, Lady Jane, that I have had no -opportunity of begging your permission to renew that -conversation in which I presumed first to say—that—that——" -</p> - -<p> -"What?——" -</p> - -<p> -"That I loved you"—his voice sank to a whisper at the -abruptness of the declaration. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh! Sir Adam; thou followest a phantom." -</p> - -<p> -Redhall sighed sadly and bitterly. -</p> - -<p> -"There was a time, dearest madam, when I did not think -so," he continued slowly and earnestly—"a time when I -almost flattered myself that you loved me in return." -</p> - -<p> -"I!" said Jane, faintly. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Thou</i>," he replied, impressively, fixing upon her his -piercing eyes with an expression which fascinated her. "It was -in the garden of my lord the abbot of Holyrood, at his -mansion near yonder craigs, some nine or ten months ago, about -the vesper time; it was a glorious evening, and a broad yellow -harvest-moon was shining in the blue heavens, among -golden-coloured clouds; the air was pure, and laden with perfume -and with the fragrance of yonder orchards, and these fields -covered with the grain of a ripe harvest. Abbot Robert had -given a supper to Henrico Godscallo, the ambassador who -came to offer as a bride Mary of Austria or Mary of Portugal -to King James. Oh! thou canst not have forgotten it. We -walked together in the garden, and you did me the honour -to lean upon my arm. I bent my head towards you, and -your beautiful hair touched my forehead. My heart beat -like lightning—every vein trembled! Oh! I have never -forgotten that night—that hour—the place—the time! -You seemed good and kind, merry and gentle with me. I -was on the point of declaring myself then—of saying how I -loved you—how I worshipped you; and your charming -embarrassment seemed to expect the avowal; when the countess's -page—yonder black devil with the rings in his -ears—approached, and the spell was broken. My God! the same -moment, the same soft influences and adorable opportunity -have never come again!" -</p> - -<p> -"My lord advocate, you can plead ably for yourself," -replied Jane, coldly. -</p> - -<p> -"My soul is in the cause at issue," said he, looking at her -anxiously; "'tis very true, I am very miserable. I am as -one in a dream. I love the air she breathes—the ground she -treads on." He was speaking to himself. In the very depth -of his thoughts he forgot that she was beside him. -</p> - -<p> -"My lord, my lord, 'tis the rhapsody, this, of Sir David -Lindesay, or some such balladier." -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, nay; oh! do not mock me. It seemeth as if my -love for you is not the common love of this cold and utilitarian -world; for if ten ages rolled over our heads, I feel sure -that my love would be the same; nor time, nor circumstance, -not even despair, can overcome it. Oh! lady, believe me, -there is no other man loves thee as I do." -</p> - -<p> -Jane thought of Roland, but either the fury or the profundity -of the speaker's passion awed her into silence, for she -made no reply; and thereby encouraged, he continued— -</p> - -<p> -"Pride and ambition are strong within me; but, believe -me, my breast never had a passion so deep, so pure, as my -love for thee. There is a silent strength in it that grows out -of its very hopelessness. Canst thou conceive this? Every -glance, and smile, and word of thine I have treasured up for -years, and in solitude I gloat over them, even as a miser -would over his gold and silver." -</p> - -<p> -Covered with confusion, and trembling excessively, Jane -made an effort to withdraw. -</p> - -<p> -"Beautiful tyrant!" said he, haughtily and firmly, as he -stepped before her, "thou knowest thy power, and findest a -cruel pleasure in its exercise; thy lips are full of pride as -thine eyes are full of light, and with the very smile of a -goddess thou repayest the homage of all but me. Yet with all -these charms I can conceive that no passion can dwell within -thee, for thou art cold and impassible as the marble of that -fountain which sparkles in the moonlight—vain as vanity -herself, and selfish as Circe. While weaving thy spells thou -thinkest not of me, or the fatal power of thy beauty, which is -destroying me." -</p> - -<p> -"Holy Mary!" said Jane, in terror at his growing excitement; -"did I tell thee to love me? Am I to blame for this -unruly frenzy?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh! my passion is very deep," he continued, clasping his -hands, and fixing his dark eyes on the stars. "My God! my -God! It besets me—it transfixes and transforms me into -the object I love—our existence seems the same." -</p> - -<p> -"What!" cried Jane, laughing, "hast thou transformed -thyself into me?" -</p> - -<p> -Redhall did not anticipate having his high-sounding sophistry -so acutely criticized; he started as if a viper was beside -him, and fixing upon her his eyes, which were fired with a -strange mixture of sternness and ardour, he said in his slow -calm voice— -</p> - -<p> -"Strong and serene in thy boasted purity and pride, thou -laughest at me; and by that laugh," he continued, in a hoarse -and bitter voice, "I know that all is over with me; but -beware thee, proud woman—for love and illusion may die fast -together." -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Adam Otterburn," replied Jane, haughtily, attempting -again to retire, "for the last time I tell thee, that death -were a thousand times preferable to thy love! Art thou not -the sworn foe of my brother?" -</p> - -<p> -"But not <i>thine</i>," replied the advocate, with a lowering -brow; "make me not <i>that</i>, I pray thee." His heart glowed -alternately with love and fury at her unmoved aspect. His -self-importance was wounded by her apathy; and his galled -pride was fast kindling a sentiment of hatred in his heart—a -hate that grew side by side with his love—if such a state of -heart can be conceived. "Thy brother's enemy?" he repeated, -with a bitter laugh; "if I were indeed so much his enemy, I -might astonish the Lord Arran and his Hamiltons to-night." -</p> - -<p> -"My God!" thought Jane, as her heart sank within her; -"he has overheard us, and learned our terrible secret!" -</p> - -<p> -Alarmed by the ghastly expression of his face, which was -white as marble, all save the jetty moustaches and the -eyebrows that met over his finely-formed nose, Jane glanced -anxiously towards the stair which ascended to the hall, and -Sir Adam observed it. A smile curled his pale lips, but the -fire of the most ferocious jealousy kindled in his dark and -deep-set eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"I know for whom thou art looking," said he, grasping -her by the arm; "for yonder brainless fop, who thinks of -nothing but his ruff and his plume and the glory of being -master of the king's ordnance—a wretched worm, whom the -heat of our Scottish wars hath nourished into a gilded butterfly, -and who dares to cock his bonnet in our faces with the -bearing of a landed baron." -</p> - -<p> -"Gramercy!" said Jane, waggishly; "I knew not that a -butterfly wore a bonnet." -</p> - -<p> -"Hah!" he muttered, fiercely, "the lover who is once -laughed at <i>is lost</i>!" -</p> - -<p> -The grasp of his strong hand compressed her slender arm -like a vice; there was an oath trembling on his lips, and fury -flashing in his eye, for love and hatred, as they struggled in -his heart, made him both selfish and savage. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh Mother of Mercy!" murmured Jane; "away ruffian! or -I will shriek that thou art a vampire!" -</p> - -<p> -At that moment the shadow of a tall figure, armed with a -prodigious sword, was thrown by the moon along the velvet -sward; and Redhall was prostrated by a blow on the ear, -dealt by a ponderous and unsparing hand. Jane turned with -terror, and saw her brother, the earl, spring back and -disappear under the cloister arches of the abbey; while, at the -same moment, Roland Vipont leaped down stairs from the -hall, taking four steps at once. -</p> - -<p> -"A thousand pardons, dearest Jane, and a thousand more," -he exclaimed, drawing her arm through his, and leading her -away; "but this tiresome argument concerning old Mollance -Meg and the Devil of Bois le Duc (plague take them both!) -occupied more time than I had the least idea of; and my -lord the bishop of Limoges hath lost on the matter a hundred -silver livres, which the king means to give the Franciscans -to-morrow. But thou art not angry with me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Angry? oh, no! I know thou art sufficiently punished, -minutes being ages when absent from me." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, thou art right, for my sojourn in Paris was a very -eternity." -</p> - -<p> -"Then let us join the dancers, and be merry while we may," -said she, with a gaiety which was scarcely assumed, for she -was but too happy to hurry him into the hall, without -observing the lord advocate, who, stunned by the effects of -the blow, lay for a second or two unseen, and somewhat -ignominiously, upon a parterre of rose-bushes, from whence he -arose with fury in his heart, and his sword in his hand, but -to find himself alone—a fortunate circumstance, as he would -infallibly have slain the first man near him. He adjusted his -ruff and doublet, brushed a speck or two from his trunk -breeches, and shaking his clenched hand, said hoarsely, under -his moustaches— -</p> - -<p> -"Either Roland Vipont or the Earl of Ashkirk dishonoured -me by that blow. Be it so—I have them all in my grasp! -Revenge is a joy for gods and demons, and, by the Holy -Rood, I will be avenged, and fearfully, too!" -</p> - -<p> -By this time the ball was nearly over, for the good people -of those days had not yet conceived the idea of turning day -into night; and as the king and court were to depart on a -grand hawking expedition on the morrow, and, as usual, had -to be all up with the lark and the eagle, the bell-clock of the -neighbouring abbey church had barely tolled twelve when the -dancing concluded, and the guests began to retire in rapid -succession, each paying their adieux to the king and queen as they -departed, and paying them with a solemnity and parade such -as one may see nowhere now, save in Old Castile. -</p> - -<p> -"Take courage, my sweet flower, Jane, for now is your -most fortunate time to prefer to Magdalene your request that -Ashkirk may be pardoned. She will never, by refusal, send -away her principal guest ungraciously," said Roland, as, -hurrying through the festooned arras from the refreshment-room, -where they had been tarrying for a time, they joined -the stream of departing revellers who promenaded round the -hall, and approached their royal host and hostess somewhat -like a glittering procession. James and Magdalene were -standing at the head of the hall, just as when the -entertainment began. His bonnet was in his right hand, his left -rested on his sword, and was hidden by his short mantle; -the queen leant on his arm, and he bowed low to each of the -nobles, and lower still to their brocaded ladies. The Scottish -and French ladies of honour were grouped a little behind, all -beautiful, young, nobly born, and brilliantly attired. -</p> - -<p> -"If she procures me this boon," said Jane, "I will say nine -prayers for her at the altar of St. Magdalene to-morrow, when -we go to St. Giles's. Of course you go with us to hear father -St. Bernard's oration on the patron saint of the city?" -</p> - -<p> -"Wherever you go I shall go; but the hour?" -</p> - -<p> -"One o'clock; but you will come at noon and see me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Plague on it, I have a meeting." -</p> - -<p> -"A meeting?" said Jane, anxiously. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, a duty, dearest—an indispensable duty to perform," -said Roland, remembering his brief challenge to Kincavil. -</p> - -<p> -"What duty is this, of which I hear now for the first time?" -</p> - -<p> -"To see those fifty-six pieces of cannon which King Francis -hath sent to King James; they are to be landed from Sir -Robert Barton's ships, and conveyed to the Gun-house -to-morrow. A most important duty, Jane; they are all beautiful -brass culverins, royal and demi; 'twould do your heart -good to see them!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, if James and the queen should refuse me this!—we -are close to them now." -</p> - -<p> -"Refuse you? they will refuse nothing that is asked in a -voice so soft and so gentle." -</p> - -<p> -As they drew near the royal group, Jane felt her heart -almost failing her; she clung to Roland's arm, and watched -the expression in the face of Magdalene. She seemed now -very pale; her eyes were humid and downcast; gentleness -and languor pervaded her beautiful features; she was overcome -with lassitude and sinking with fatigue—the weakness -incident to that hereditary disease which fast and surely was -preying upon her fragile form. The proud nobles, to whom -the king spoke occasionally as he bade them adieu, received -his courtly attentions as a tribute due to their patriotic and -lofty ancestry, and their proud bearing seemed to say, plainly, -"I am George Earl of Errol, Constable of Scotland," or "I -am William Earl of Montrose, and come of that Graeme whom -King David knighted when the Stuarts were but thanes of -Kyle and Strathgryfe;" for it was an age when the king was -only a great baron, and every baron or laird was a king and a -kaiser to boot. -</p> - -<p> -As they approached, Roland could perceive that cold glances -welcomed Jane Seton from the ladies of honour, who were all -enemies of her house, and whose fathers and brothers enjoyed -many fiefs of the Douglas lands and fortresses, defacing the -crowned heart on their battlements and substituting the three -<i>cinque-foils</i> of Hamilton; but, to crown all and increase the -poor girl's perturbation, she perceived Redhall standing near -the king, seeming, with his dark figure and pallid visage, like -her evil genius, cold, impassible, and dignified as if the startling -episode we have just related had never taken place. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Ah ma bonne!</i>" they heard Magdalene say to Mademoiselle -de Brissac, "how tired I am, and excessively sick of all -this parade!" -</p> - -<p> -"Now be of good heart, my sweet Jane," said Roland, -pressing her arm, "and prefer your request firmly; for -Madame de Montreuil has explained to the queen all that we -wish." -</p> - -<p> -When she drew near the beautiful young girl that leaned -on James's arm, instead of bowing and passing on, Jane sunk -on one knee, and said— -</p> - -<p> -"I beseech your grace to crave my brother's pardon from -our sovereign lord." -</p> - -<p> -"I know that he cannot refuse me anything," said the -young queen, with girlish simplicity, as she looked up lovingly -and trustingly in the king's face, while stretching out her -hand to Jane. The latter pressed to her beautiful lips -that fair little hand which was dimpled like that of a child, -and the king was about to speak (and benignly, too, for every -feature of his fine face said so), when Magdalene, overcome -by her recent illness, by the close atmosphere of the hall, -which was perfumed to excess, and by the glitter of innumerable -wax-lights, uttered a faint cry, and fell backwards into -the arms of Mademoiselle de Brissac. -</p> - -<p> -Consternation and concern were visible in every face; the -queen was borne away senseless, and James hastily followed her -almost inanimate figure; the crowd behind pressed on, and -Roland and Jane were carried before it. Redhall smiled, and -said to the abbot of Kinloss, in James's hearing— -</p> - -<p> -"Did I not tell you, my lord, how rash it was to have the -Lady Seton here?" -</p> - -<p> -"Agnus Dei! yea, verily, for her mother deals in salves -and philtres; and there was sorcery at work just now, Sir -Adam, or my name is not Robin Reid." -</p> - -<p> -These words made a deep impression on the few who were -meant to hear them, but chiefly on the king, who darted an -angry glance after Jane Seton, and turned on his heel. -</p> - -<p> -At the palace gate the discomfited pair met Marion Logan, -Alison Hume, and Sybil Douglas, who were all muffled in -their hoods and mantles, and surrounded by an escort of -serving-men, armed with steel caps and bucklers, swords, and -wheel-lock dagues, and who bore lighted links. A few -cavaliers with whom they had danced (Roland among them, of -course) accompanied them, and in this order they hurried -home on foot, for wheeled vehicles were as yet unknown in -the kingdom. -</p> - -<p> -Terrified by the practical jokes of the king's jester and the -din of his bladder and bells, Sabrino had long since fled the -precincts of the court, and taken refuge in his usual -sleeping-place (a small alcove near the door of the countess's -apartment), which he shared in common with a large black -stag-hound. -</p> - -<p> -"Come early to-morrow, dear Roland, and we will talk -over the adventures of the last few hours," whispered Jane, -as she bade adieu to her lover; "alas! father St. Bernard -warned me against going to-night; but I have gone, and -what has been the result?" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap11"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XI. -<br /><br /> -SWORDBLADES AND SALVE. -</h3> - -<p class="poem"> - "Quhen Marche with variand windis wes past,<br /> - And Apryll had with her silver shouris<br /> - Tane leif of Nature with an orient blast;<br /> - And lusty May, that mother is of flouris.<br /> - Had maid the birdis to begyn their houris,<br /> - Amang the tender odouris red and quhyt,<br /> - Quhais harmony to heir it was delyt."<br /> - DUNBAR'S <i>Thrissal and the Rois</i>, 1503.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The next morning was bright and beautiful; the birds sang -merrily in the old orchards of the palace and the older oak -trees of the abbey of Sancte Crucis. The sunlight, as it -poured over the dark craigs of Salisbury, and through chasms -and fissures in their rocks, shone upon the green valleys -below like a golden haze, and tipped with yellow light the -grey masses of the strong old city. The fresh grass and the -open flowers loaded the soft west wind perfume, and gladdened -the hearts of the happy hawking party, which left the -palace an hour after sunrise, and all gaily mounted, with -bugles sounding, horses prancing, plumes waving, and -accompanied by a dozen of falconers in the royal livery, running -on foot, with perches of hawks slung on their shoulders. -</p> - -<p> -As they rode eastward, by the base of Arthur's Seat, and -past the green and mossy bank where, among the clambering -wild roses, stood the little pillared well, dedicated in the old -time "to the good Saint Margaret, queen of Scotland, and -mother of the poor," and pursued thence their merry route -towards the Loch of Restalrig, which lay amongst its rocks -and sedges, like a lake of blue and gold, Roland was -compelled, by the cold manner of the king, to retire from his -side. He saw with pain that the clear and benevolent eye of -the monarch was clouded—that anger, unmistakeable anger, -lowered upon his open brow. The inquiries of Roland for -the health of the queen were received so haughtily, and replied -to so briefly, that, with a heart full of wrath and pride, before -the first heron had been raised from among the rushes and -water-lilies to do battle in the air, he turned abruptly away, and -resigned his place to Sir Adam Otterburn of Redhall, whose -face was lighted with an indescribable smile, as he pressed -forward to the side of the young king. -</p> - -<p> -The bells of the Carmelites, on the north side of the city, -of the Dominicans on the south, of the Franciscans in the -Grassmarket, and other large establishments, were all ringing -for morning mass, when the cavalcade returned; and Roland, -sick at heart, and dispirited, without bidding adieu to the -king (who with his company passed on to prayer in the -abbey church), dismounted at the door of his own lodgings, -and throwing the bridle of his horse to his servant, demanded -breakfast, for he was in too furious a mood to attend mass. -He was anxious to see Lord Ashkirk, but, encouraged by his -disguise, and trusting implicitly in the old domestics of the -house, that rash noble had gone to visit his family. -</p> - -<p> -Breakfast was prepared and laid on the table by Roland's -servant, Linton Stock, whose name had been professionally -shortened into Lintstock. He was an old, iron-visaged -culvernier, of King James IV.'s days (as the countess would -say), hard-featured, wiry-haired, weather-beaten, and -empurpled with hard drinking. It was his constant boast that -he had levelled one of Borthwick's Brass Sisters on the field of -Flodden, and thrawn Mow at the siege of Tantallan. Like -Hannibal, this veteran had only one eye, for Mow (a famous -cannon of Scottish antiquity) lost a piece of her muzzle every -time she was discharged; and one of the said pieces deprived -Lintstock of his dexter eye, which, as he said, ever after saved -him the trouble of closing it when taking aim, or adjusting -the quoins under the breach of a culverin. For wages he had -all his master's cast cloaks, doublets, and breeches; and being -borne on the muster-roll of the king's gunners, his pay, which -was somewhere about three-halfpence Scots per diem made -him independent of all mankind. -</p> - -<p> -On the anniversary of a Scottish victory this one-eyed -patriot invariably got himself uproariously drunk, and broke -the windows of the English ambassador: on the anniversary -of any of our defeats he was invariably ditto from vexation; -and as these alternate sources of joy and grief occurred pretty -often, the ancient warrior was seldom long sober. -</p> - -<p> -Neither Roland's auger at the king, nor his intended combat -with Kincavil, prevented him from making an excellent -breakfast on broiled fish, cold meat, and bright brown ale. -Before setting down he selected the strongest and longest of -some half-dozen swords that hung in a corner. It was a large -double-edged weapon, with an ample hilt of steel; the blade, -being inlaid, was one of those called damasquinêe, from the -Asiatic art just then introduced into Europe by the famous -Benvenuto Cellini. It was a beautiful rapier, which he had -taken in battle from an Italian cavalier when serving under -John Stuart Duke of Albany, when, at the head of ten -thousand French men-at-arms, that gallant prince invaded the -kingdom of Naples. Roland never used it save on important -and desperate occasions, and remembering that Kincavil was -an able swordsman, he took it down and handed it to Lintstock -to polish; a duty which he performed in silent precision, -with the aid of an old buff belt. Thereafter, with true -military coolness, he tore a shirt into bandages, and prepared -some lint against his master's return. -</p> - -<p> -"How many pots hast thou of that rubbish Lady Ashkirk -sent me?—the salve, I mean," asked Roland, with his -moustaches whitened over by ale froth. -</p> - -<p> -"Three, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"Dost thou know the laird of Kincavil's lodging?" -</p> - -<p> -"Aboon the Tron—yes." -</p> - -<p> -"Then leave the pots there to-day, with my best commendations; -for, by my faith, he will need them all." -</p> - -<p> -Lintstock continued to rub, and watched the polish of the -sword. -</p> - -<p> -"Thou knowest I expect two friends to supper, and must -trust to thy ingenuity, for, 'fore God! I have not a testoon -in the world." -</p> - -<p> -"Be easy, Sir Roland, I'll provide supper for the king -himself, if he come, and plenty Bordeaux to boot, forbye and -attour the Rochelle," replied Lintstock, with a nod and a -knowing wink of his solitary eye. -</p> - -<p> -The moment breakfast was over, Roland crossed himself -and wiped his moustaches. Receiving his sword, he placed -it in his belt on the left side, hung a long armpit dagger on -the right, stuck his bonnet rather over the right eye, clasped -his doublet carefully to the throat, and giving his curls a last -adjust, for he was somewhat of a beau, whistled the "March -to Harlaw," as he issued forth, with the fullest intention of -perforating the laird of Kincavil like a pepperbox. -</p> - -<p> -He passed the long and irregular façade of the palace, the -strongly-grated windows of which were glittering in the -bright sunshine that bathed the varied architecture of its -courts and towers. Clad in their red doublets slashed with -black, and wearing caps and gorgets of steel, the sentinels of -the king's guard were leaning on their heavy arquebuses, the -rests or forks of which were slung in their sword-belts; and -they stood in the bright blaze of the sun, as listlessly and -still as the banner of the red lion that waved above the gate. -Beyond the precincts of the palace, the street, which is -overlooked by gable-ended houses, in the old Flemish taste, -becomes much wider. He turned to the right, and passed -through the Watergate, the most eastern barrier of Edinburgh. -This strong and venerable porte obtained its name because -the king's horses were led out that way every morning to -water, in a large pond near it. On quitting this ivied and -grass-tufted archway, Roland found the open space allotted -for tennis-players lying on his right hand, the horsepond lay -on his left, and before him the verdant Calton reared up its -lonely ridge. -</p> - -<p> -The whole place was then quite solitary enough for such a -meeting, though now the site of the pond, the tennis court, -and even the hill itself, are covered with houses. -</p> - -<p> -Roland's anger was somewhat increased by perceiving that -his adversary was already on the ground, and whiling away -the time by skimming flat stones across the pond. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! thou villanous Hamilton," thought he, "how I -long to be at thee! My sword is like a razor, my wrist is -like steel, this morning, and I will curry thee in such fashion, -that thou shalt tremble at the name of Jane Seton or a -salve-pot ever after." -</p> - -<p> -"God be with you, Sir Roland; you have not kept me -waiting long," said Kincavil, bowing with cold politeness. -</p> - -<p> -"I am glad of it." -</p> - -<p> -"You have been at mass this morning with the king, I -think?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, faith!" said Roland, knitting his brows as he thought -of the hawking party. "I feared there would be no room -for me among so many Hamiltons, panders, and parasites." -</p> - -<p> -"Then I hope you said prayers at home," replied Kincavil, -whose eyes flashed as he unsheathed his sword. -</p> - -<p> -"As usual; but I forgot to bring for your use a pot of -that notable salve of which you made a jest last night." -</p> - -<p> -"Keep it for yourself, Sir Roland—guard." -</p> - -<p> -"Come on, then—you <i>will</i> have it." -</p> - -<p> -They saluted each other, the bright blades clashed, and -they both engaged with great address and skill. Clad in -blue velvet and gold, Kincavil was both strong and handsome; -but as a swordsman considerably inferior to Roland, -who had studied his thrusts at the court of Francis I.; and -thus, three passes had scarcely been exchanged on the right, -when he made a sudden <i>appel</i> on the left, and quickly -disengaging to the right again, passed his sword completely -through the body of his adversary, who bent forward over -it, and sank upon his knees. He made a futile effort to rise, -but the moment Roland's blade was withdrawn, sank prostrate -on the grass, with the blood gushing from his wound. -</p> - -<p> -"Ask me not to beg my life, Sir Roland," said Hamilton -in a broken voice, "for I will rather die than condescend -so far." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art a gallant man, Sir John Hamilton; and may -the devil take me if I make any such request; but methinks -I have taught you the danger of jesting with the names of -noble ladies." -</p> - -<p> -"My Heaven! yes. I am bleeding fast; and yet, if the -Lady Ashkirk doth really make that precious salve," said -Kincavil, with true Scottish obstinacy, "tell her, for God's -love to send me a pot thereof, for I am enduring the torments -of hell!" and he reclined against a stone, pale and motionless, -with his beautiful doublet of blue velvet drenched in blood. -</p> - -<p> -Roland carefully wiped and sheathed his favourite Italian -sword with the air of a man who was used to such encounters; -and after vainly endeavouring to staunch the crimson -torrent, he hastened to the Watergate, from whence he sent -the under-warders to look after the wounded man, and then -walked up the street towards the house of the countess, as if -nothing had happened. -</p> - -<p> -A thrust or so through the body was a mere nothing in -those days. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap12"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XII. -<br /><br /> -EDINBURGH IN 1537 -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Installed on hills, her head near starry bowers,<br /> - Edina shines amid protecting powers;<br /> - Religious temples guard her on the east.<br /> - And Mar's strong towers defend her on the west;<br /> - For sceptres nowhere stands a town more fit,<br /> - Nor where a queen of all the world might sit;<br /> - Be this thy praise, above all be most brave,<br /> - No man did e'er defame thee but <i>a slave</i>."<br /> - ARTHUR JOHNSTONE, 1680.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The Countess Margaret was attired in her great capuchon of -James the Fourth's days; it was turned back above the apex -of her stupendous coif, and flowed over her shoulders. Her -lofty figure and towering head-dress completely dwarfed Jane -and her companions, whose triangular velvet hoods were of a -less imposing form. The whole family and household were -about to set forth for St. Giles's, and Ronald met the -procession in the archway. The old lady was looking unusually -grave, for that morning she had put on her stockings with -the wrong side outwards—an infallible omen of misfortune. -We have said the whole household, for in addition to several -female attendants and the black page, there were Gilzean -Seton, the countess's esquire, or seneschal, and six or eight -tall fellows in steel bonnets or corslets, armed with Jedwood -axes and wheel-lock pistols—a new weapon, which had just -been introduced from Italy, and was esteemed one of the -wonders of mechanism. These were all of iron, butted like -the pommel of a poniard, and were fired by the rapid revolution -of a wheel against a piece of sulphuret of iron, which was -secured like the flint of a modern musket, but had the cock -on that side where of late we have seen the pan. -</p> - -<p> -Gilzean and his companions were all clad in the countess's -livery (rather worn-looking certainly), but all having on their -sleeves the coronet and the green dragon of the Setons, -spouting fire. -</p> - -<p> -The earl, still disguised, and bearing his long sword, -marched among them; but by their whispers and subdued -manner in his presence, it was evident to Roland that the -secret identity of his new valet was known to them all. -</p> - -<p> -"Rash lord!" thought he; "if one of these should prove -a traitor." -</p> - -<p> -"I see reproach in your eye," said the earl, in a low tone, -and with an acuteness that somewhat startled Roland. "But -think you that my father's roof ever sheltered a slipper-helmet -so pitiful that he would betray his son? I trow not. -Nay, nay, Sir Roland, the vassals of our house are all good -men and true." -</p> - -<p> -"And such my husband ever found them," said the countess, -looking with a proud smile from her tall son to his stately -followers; "for the fathers of mair than one of these my -buirdly lads died by his bridle-rein under King James the -Fourth, of gude and gallant memorie." -</p> - -<p> -"Now, Sir Roland," said Lady Jane, as she took his proffered -arm, with a smile on her coral lip; "you come not by -stealth to visit us to-day. The king and his displeasure——" -</p> - -<p> -"May go to the——" -</p> - -<p> -"Fie! I hope thy debarcation of cannon is over, and that -thou art free to bask in my smiles for the rest of the day?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is over," replied Roland, avoiding the eye of the earl, -who perceived a sword-thrust in his doublet, and a rent in -his velvet mantle, where none had been visible the day before; -"and to-morrow I am to show them all to the queen, and -must, with my own hands, fire off the great gun Meg for -her behoof. By Jove! I will carry off the cock from -St. Anthony's spire at Leith!" -</p> - -<p> -"And what of this dainty dame," said the Countess, as they -proceeded up the street; "hast heard how her health is this -morning?" -</p> - -<p> -"I have not; but if I am to judge from the unwonted -reserve of the king, I should deem her poorly enough." -</p> - -<p> -"His reserve?" said the earl, scornfully; "and thus he -vents his petulance on a gallant knight, as he would upon his -pimps of the house of Arran—those rascally Hamiltons," he -added, with eyes flashing fire, "who, gorged to their full -with the plunder of our kinsmen, and building unto themselves -strengths from which even our valour can never drive -them—castles and towers, to which the palaces of Lochmaben -and Linlithgow are but huts and sheilings." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh! hush, ye unwise bairn," said the countess; "hush, -and take your place among the serving-men, lest we be seen -conversing, and so excite suspicion. Let us not talk harshly -of this puir French stranger, whom, father St. Bernard tells -me, hath a deadly disease, which preyeth upon her vitals, -and will, ere long, bear her to the grave." -</p> - -<p> -"Disease!" exclaimed Jane and her companions, with -surprise; "and what is this disease?" -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis a catarrh, which descendeth daily into her stomach, -and must, sooner or later, cause death, for it hath defied the -most skilful physicians and apothegars of France and Italy. -Yet, were she mine ain bairn, or had I the place o' that -fashionless body, Madame de Montreuil, I would soon make -her whole and well." -</p> - -<p> -"How, how, Lady Ashkirk?" asked Sybil and the others, -who put great faith in the countess's skill as a leech; and -really, at salving a slash from a sword, or staunching a thrust -from a poniard, few in Edinburgh equalled her; and it was a -time when she found plenty of patients. -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis a great secret, and yet withal a simple one; for with -it my mother, the Lady Jane Gordon of Glenbucket (quhom -God assoilzie), made a whole man of her sister's son, the -abbot of Pluscardine, who hath now departed to the company -of the saints. 'Tis the first egg that a pullet hath laid -(and mark, ye damsels, it must be laid upon a Friday), beat -up widdershins with the first dew of the morning, and with -thirteen drops of holy water, for ye ken there is a charm in -that number; and this simple, if taken as the first food for -nine successive mornings, would cure her. Gif it failed, there -is one other mode—by applying a stone called a <i>magnet</i>, of -potent and miraculous power, to the pit of the stomach, and -repeating the word <i>Abrodœtia</i> three times; whilk failing, we -must trust to God, for then it can be no other than the demon -<i>Archeus</i>, who, at times, takes possession of the stomach, as the -learned Paracelsus told father St. Bernard, when he dwelt with -him at the Scottish cloister of Wurtzburg, in the year 1528." -</p> - -<p> -"Mother of God!" exclaimed all the girls, looking at each -other with fear, for the countess's manner was so serious, and -she quoted such imposing names, that even Roland put his -hand to his waist-belt, as if to assure himself that there was -no such tenant as the said Archeus under it. -</p> - -<p> -"I shall die with fear if ever I feel ill after this," said Sybil; -"I shall be sure to think I am possessed of a demon. Wouldst -thou not, cousin Archibald?" -</p> - -<p> -"Mass!" replied the earl, "I would drown the demon in -good wine, and if that failed, should exorcise him in warm -usquebaugh." -</p> - -<p> -Roland could not restrain a sensation of uneasiness during -this conversation; for though deeply imbued with superstition, -like every man at that time, and as a soldier believing a little -in suits of charmed mail, that rendered the wearer invulnerable, -he knew that the vulgar regarded the countess (like -the lady of Buccleugh in the next age) with some terror for -her abstruse knowledge; and at the present crisis he had no -wish, certainly, that this suspicion should be increased. -</p> - -<p> -The High-street, which had just been paved for the first -time, was gay and crowded, for all the <i>élite</i> of the court and -city, with their attendants, were thronging towards the church -of St. Giles. All the balconies erected for the queen's -entrance had been taken down, the banners were long since -removed, but the garlands yet displayed their faded flowers -around the various crosses which then encumbered the central -street—though less so, certainly, than the innumerable -out-shots and projections, outside stairs, turnpike towers, round, -square, and octagon; wooden balconies and stone arcades, -which imparted an aspect so picturesque to the High-street -and Canongate. The total absence of all manner of vehicles, -or other obstruction (save watermen with their barrels, or a -few equestrians), made the middle of the street—or, as it was -popularly named, "the crown of the causeway," the most -convenient place for walking, as well as the most honourable. -Thus the possession of it was frequently disputed at point of -sword, for in these good old times no man of equal rank -would yield to another the breadth of a hair unless he was of -the same name—for clanship was the great bond of brotherhood—the -second religion of the Scottish people, by which the -humblest in the land can yet count kindred with their nobles. -</p> - -<p> -As a lady, there was little chance of the countess being -obstructed, unless some noble dame of the opposite faction -was descending with <i>her</i> train towards the palace; and now, -as she had reached the more crowded thoroughfare, she took -the arm of Sir Roland Vipont; her daughter, with the ladies -Alison, Logan, and Sybil, followed; while the armed servants -marched before and behind, with axes shouldered. -</p> - -<p> -Crowds attired in velvet cloaks and plumed bonnets, satin -hoods and silk mantles; Dominicans in black robes, and -Carmelites in white; Hospitallers of St. Anthony, and Franciscans -in grey, were seen pouring like a living flood into the -various doors of St. Giles; and, though it was then apparently -destitute of shops, the vast High-street seemed to glitter with -gaudy dresses in the gay sunshine. The places where the -merchants sold their wares were mere dens, to which stairs -descended abruptly from the pavement; the goods were thus -exposed for sale in those stone vaults which formed the -superstructure of every Scottish edifice. All the principal markets -were kept in other parts of the town, for, in the year of grace -1477, when the potent and valiant knight Sir James Crichton -of Ruthven was lord provost of our good city, it had been -ordained that hay and corn should be sold in the Cowgate, -and salt in Niddry's Wynd; that the craimes, or booths, for -the retail of goods, should be ranged from the Bellhouse to -the Tron; that wood and timber should be sold westward of -the Grey Friary. The shoemakers' stalls stood between -Forrester's Wynd and the dyke of Dalrymple's yard; and the -nolt-market, where also "partrickes, pluvars, capones, and -conyngs" were sold, occupied Blackfriars Wynd; the -cloth-merchants and bonnet-makers dwelt in the Upper Bow; -while the dealers in all manner of irongraith, dagger, and -bow-makers, dalmascars of swords, armourers, lorimers, and -lock-makers, were domiciled under the shadow of that strong -and stately barrier, the Netherbow. -</p> - -<p> -There, immediately below the arcades of a tenement bearing -the arms of the Lord Abbot of Kinloss, stood a shop, the -small deep windows of which were secured by gratings, that -were each like an iron harrow, built into the ponderous -masonry. In the good town, we still build our walls three -feet thick; but in the days of James V., they built them six, -and even seven feet thick. A board over the door announced -it to be the shop of <i>John Mossman, Jeweller, and Makkar of -Silverwork to ye King's Majestie</i>; and here the countess and -her party tarried a moment to see the new crown of Queen -Magdalene, whose coronation was to take place in a month -or so. -</p> - -<p> -Master Mossman, a short and pursy, but well-fed burgess, -clad in a cassocke-coat of Galloway cloth, was just in the act -of giving the finishing touches to a silver maizer, or -drinking-cup. He rose up with all his workmen and apprentices on -the entrance of the countess, and welcomed her to his shop -with studious politeness, though his chief patrons were the -Hamiltons. His premises were vaulted with stone, and -painted with various ornamental designs between the glazed -cupboards of oak, which contained chased and elaborate -vessels of silver, sword and dagger-hilts, buckles, and falcon-bells -of every pattern and device. A small statue of St. Eloi, -the patron of his craft, occupied a gothic niche above the -fireplace, so that the silversmith might warm himself when -saying his prayers in winter, which was a saving of time; and -on each side thereof hung the steel bonnets, swords, and axes -with which he and his men armed them for weekly duty, as -municipal guards within the eight Fortes of the city. -</p> - -<p> -"Good Master Mossman," said Roland, on seeing that the -wealthy artificer looked somewhat uneasily at the jackmen, -whose swords and axes made such a terrible clatter on his -stone floor, "our lady the Countess of Ashkirk would be -favoured with a view of the queen's new crown, that she may -judge of thy handiwork, anent which we hear so much -daily." -</p> - -<p> -The jeweller, who had feared that the countess (whose -circumstances he knew were the reverse of flourishing) had come to -order a quantity of plate, breathed more freely, and bowed almost -to his red garters; whereupon the countess curtseyed, for he was -known to be one of the richest burgesses and freeholders in -Edinburgh, and his voice bore all before it at the council-board. -From a round box, strongly bound with brass and lined with -purple velvet, he drew forth the glittering diadem for the -queen consort—the same crown which James VI. took to -London in 1603, and which the government ought in honour -to restore to the Castle of Edinburgh. It is composed of -pure gold from Crawfordmuir, and is enriched with many -precious stones and curious embossings. -</p> - -<p> -"It is a fair gaud," said the countess, sighing; "but my -mind misgives me sorely that the puir bairn for whom it is -intended may never live to wear it." -</p> - -<p> -"Poor little queen!" said Jane, with moistened eyes, "if -all be as thou sayest, her days are indeed numbered." -</p> - -<p> -The silversmith seemed surprised, and his men raised their -heads to listen; but the delight expressed by the ladies at -the jewels and workmanship of this new addition to the regalia -gratified the artificer, a smile spread over his jovial visage, -and he gallantly held it over the head of Lady Jane, saying— -</p> - -<p> -"My fair lady, it would become thee as well as her for -whom it is intended." -</p> - -<p> -"By my soul, Master Mossman, thou hast more the air of -a gallant than a mere worker of metals," said Vipont, pleased -with the compliments of the silversmith, but, like every soldier, -unable to conceal how lightly he valued the mere mechanic; -"and I marvel much that thou didst not in thy youth -renounce the hammer and pincers for the helmet and partisan, -as being better suited to one who could so compliment a fair -demoiselle." -</p> - -<p> -"You wrong me, noble sir," said the silversmith, calmly; -"I <i>have</i> borne arms in my youth——" -</p> - -<p> -"Under our gude King James IV.?" interposed the countess. -</p> - -<p> -"Yea, madame," replied the burgess, with a kindling eye; -"three hundred of us marched to Flodden under the banner -of Provost Lauder; but few, unco few, ever again heard the -ding o' the Tron-bell. But, as deacon of the honourable -corporation of hammermen, I deem myself nowise inferior, Sir -Roland, to what I was in my youth." -</p> - -<p> -"Assuredly not, good Master Mossman," said the countess, -"for I have ever esteemed thee an honest and worthy citizen; -and we may remember how, at the last feast of St. Eloi, our -good father St. Bernard illustrated the great honour which -God hath bestowed on artisans in all ages." -</p> - -<p> -"True, madame; Tubal Cain was a cunning artificer in all -manner of brass and iron work; Porus, king of the Indies, -was the son of a shaver, and worked himself as a puir tinkler-body -and mender of kail-pots; Agathocles, king of Sicily, was -a potter and maker of crocks, cans, and milk-luggies; Zeno of -Constantia was a puir wabster, that clothed the naked from -his ain loom; and Artagorus, lord of Cyconia, was the son -of a cook; nor must we forget Joseph the carpenter, the -spouse of the blessed Virgin, whilk, as my neighbour Deacon -Plane sayeth, will ever redound to the immortal honour of his -craft, the wrichts." -</p> - -<p> -Sir Roland, who did not expect such a volley of hard names -to be opened upon him, had nothing more to urge, but bowed -with a pleasant smile as they retired, leaving the king's jeweller -master of the field. -</p> - -<p> -At the same moment Nichol Birrel, who had been inquisitively -peering through the grated window, hastened away and -mingled with the crowd. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap13"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIII. -<br /><br /> -SAINT GILES. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "You might have heard a pebble fall,<br /> - A beetle hum, a cricket sing,<br /> - An owlet flap his boding wing,<br /> - On Giles's steeple tall.<br /> - The antique buildings climbing high,<br /> - Whose gothic frontlets sought the sky."<br /> - <i>Marmion</i>, Canto V.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -At the great entrance of St. Giles's church (a deep and lofty -gothic doorway) the steps of which were yet stained with the -gallant blood of M'Clellan of Bombie, among the gaily-attired -crowd that was pressing up the flight and into that -magnificent fane, the countess, with her friends and followers, -encountered Redhall, with <i>his</i> friend (Kinloss), and his -followers, Nichol Birrel, Dobbie, and Sanders Screw, whose -official capacities did not prevent their appearance among his -retinue, like whom, they wore steel bonnets, and were barbed -to the teeth. -</p> - -<p> -The king's advocate bowed profoundly, and, with all respect, -fell back a pace or so, while the countess and her ladies -swept into the church like a frigate followed by four cutters. -A true gallant of the day, Roland dipped his hand into the -font, and assisted Jane to holy water, scattering the rest over -the poor people who knelt at the doorway, looking for alms -in silence. -</p> - -<p> -All the windows of this great edifice were then filled with -stained glass; thus the prismatic hues of many a martyr's -robe, many a blood-red cross, many a glorious halo and gaudy -armorial blazon were thrown on the silent throng who crowded -the choir, the nave, and the transepts of this majestic church. -Now it is divided into three; then it was open, and -unincumbered by galleries, stood in all the pristine glory of its -gothic architecture, two hundred feet in length by one -hundred and twenty in breadth, the four arms of the vast cross -being open under the stupendous central arches which sprung -away aloft, upholding the square tower and mural crown of -its spire. There stood the great altar, the splendid canopy -of which uprose from columns of burnished brass. Underneath -was the pix of gold, where the host was kept; above -this stood a gigantic crucifix of silver, and the solid -candlesticks of the same metal, which were of great size and weight. -At the Reformation, these and all other sacred utensils were -seized by the provost, who ordered the brazen pillars to be -cast into cannon for the ramparts of the city. -</p> - -<p> -The pulpit was yet unoccupied; but round the four sides -of the great altar were many persons kneeling in prayer. -Five streams of brilliantly-coloured sunlight fell from the -south aslant the great church, from the five vaulted chapels -which Johne Skayer and Johne of Stone, two cunning masons, -built during the provostry of that "good man and noble," -the Laird of Netherliberton. Then the church was without -other seats than those cushions and stools which were borne -by servants, or by cavaliers for the use of the ladies they -accompanied. Many a group in velvet cloaks and high -ruffs, with satin trains and hoods of crammasie; many a -moustachioed and belted man, half noble and wholly soldier, -many a shaven friar, and many a sweet young girl with that -fair hair so famed in Scottish song (the golden hair which -Raphael loved so well), were kneeling before the lesser altars, -of which that great temple, "our mother kirk of old -St. Giles," boasted not less than forty. -</p> - -<p> -The most magnificent were those of the Holy Blood, the -Holy Cross de Lucano, Nostre Domine, St. Michael de Monte -Tomba, Our Lady of Piety, and St. Eloi, the most eastern -shrine, which belonged to the gallant craftsmen, as being -that of their peculiar patron. Behind it they had placed a -window, whereon were painted the elephant and crowned -hammer of the principal corporation; and before it hung a -beautiful lamp of silver, which was said to have been brought -by them from the sack of Jerusalem, and the light of which -was never extinguished. The most beautifully-decorated -columns of the church are four, where this altar stood. -Like the branches of a forest, the ribs of the groined roof -sprung away aloft into the dusky clerestory, through the -deep windows of which fell many a flake of light of every -rainbow hue, revealing many a grotesque carving and many -a grim old head. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Many a scutcheon and banner riven"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -decorated the side chapels, and many a sword and helmet -were rusting above the tombs of departed valour. Many -marble statues of saints and warriors, of mitred abbots and -good old citizens, were standing there in niches, with their -hands clasped in one eternal prayer; for there now lie the -dead of more than seven hundred years, with the wise Moray, -and Montrose the loyal; for many a proud peer and valiant -warrior, the faithful and the false, the just and the unjust, -the impious and the true, the beautiful and the deformed, -all blent in one common and undistinguishable dust, have -mouldered beneath the pavement of its deep vaults and -solemn aisles. -</p> - -<p> -Bowing to the great altar, the countess, with all her train, -passed down the church towards the north-east pillar, which -is called <i>the king's</i>, as it bears the arms of James II., where -she usually sat, for her husband, Earl John, lay near it, before -the altar of St. John the Baptist. The servants arranged -the kneeling cushions, and the countess received her -velvet-bound missal from Sabrino, who sat down behind her, not -on his knees, but <i>à la turque</i>, which made the people, who -viewed the poor negro with fear and hostility, mutter among -themselves. -</p> - -<p> -"Gudesake! she bringeth her black devil into the very -kirk wi' her!" said Deacon Plane, under his thick beard, to -his better half. -</p> - -<p> -"I could have sworn upon the gospels, gudeman, that the -holy water hissed when she dipped her hand in the font." -</p> - -<p> -"Her finger, ye mean, neibour," said another, behind his -bonnet; "think ye a wizard-body would dip in mair than they -could help?" -</p> - -<p> -"Wheesht, Elsie—Losh keep us, the thing is looking at ye!" -</p> - -<p> -"Weel, I carena a bodle—let it look!" replied the woman -confidently, while feeling for a blessed relique of St. Roque, -which she carried in her bosom; but Sabrino grinned, and -showed all his white teeth, and, what was still more appalling, -an almost total absence of tongue—the poor being was a -mute, or nearly so—upon which the woman shrunk close -to her husband, and began to cross herself with great energy; -while at the same moment the Provost of St. Giles and the -sixteen prebendaries, preceded by their curate and cross-bearer, -the sacristan ringing a bell, the beadle, the minister -of the choir bearing a standard, four choristers, and eight -tapers, passed through the church, in procession, to their -stalls within the sanctuary, softly and noiselessly, while all -the vast congregation knelt, and when again they rose, Father -St. Bernard was in the pulpit, which projected from one of -the four great columns sustaining the spire. -</p> - -<p> -He was a mild and benevolent-looking old priest, whom -all the citizens loved for his piety, goodness, and attention to -the sick and poor during the frightful pestilence of 1520. -His hair was white as snow, his grey eyes were bright and -gentle. Father St. Bernard was now in his sixtieth year; -and, when accompanying the Scottish army as a confessor, -had seen the battles of Sauchie, of Flodden, and Linlithgow. -</p> - -<p> -On this day he had elaborately decorated and lighted the -shrine of St. Giles, and his statue, the same which the -reformers threw into the North Loch, was encircled by a wreath -of roses, made by Jane Seton and her companions; around it -was hung a piece of red cloth, then known as "Sanct Geiles' -coat," and before it, in a casket of chased silver, lay his -skeleton arm—a relique which the Knight of Gourtoun had -received from Louis XI. of France, and bequeathed to the -church. -</p> - -<p> -Oblivious of the oration he had come to hear, of the -magnificent manner in which the church was decorated, and of -the attentive crowds that filled it, Redhall leaned against a -column not far from the king's, and watched attentively the -group which knelt beside the countess. When Father -St. Bernard prayed, Jane and Vipont read from the same missal, -and their heads were so close that her forehead touched his -ear. Redhall ground his teeth; and when they turned to -each other and smiled (for they could sympathize without -speaking), he felt his heart swell with suppressed passion. -His attention, however, soon became divided between Jane -and her lover's attendant, who had placed his long sword -against the king's pillar, and while affecting to be listening -to the panegyric on St. Giles, was in reality studying intently -the vast assemblage, and dealing covert glances of hostility, -for everywhere he recognised the colours, the crests, and -badges of the Hamiltons. -</p> - -<p> -"Despite that voluminous beard, and these painted eyebrows, -yonder fellow is either the Earl of Ashkirk or the -devil!" thought Redhall; "but let me be wary, for he is -slippery as an eel. So, so! our good Sir Roland Vipont, the -king's favourite minion, is a resetter of rebels—hah! I have -it now." -</p> - -<p> -He almost said this aloud, so bright, or rather so dark and -so devilish, was the thought that flashed upon his mind. -Beckoning to his henchman and factotum— -</p> - -<p> -"Nichol," said he, "thou seest that valet in the livery of -Sir Roland Vipont?" -</p> - -<p> -"He wi' that beard like a colt's tail?" -</p> - -<p> -"The same. I would fain have him committed to sure -ward—privately though; not in the castle, for there every -one would hear of it an hour after, but quietly, in the vault -of my own house here. Dost thou understand me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Wi' ease can we do so, my lord," replied Nichol, with a -grin on his mastiff mouth, "for by the use o' my long lugs I -have just learned that he is to attend the Lady Seton on a -visit to St. Katherine's convent to-night." -</p> - -<p> -"'Slife! dost thou say so? And that captain of the -ordnance, doth he go too?" -</p> - -<p> -"No." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! and wherefore?" -</p> - -<p> -"Because it seems that the captain of the king's guard -and that gay buckie, Leslie of Balquhan, are to sup with -him to-night." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art sure of this?" said Redhall, whose heart -glowed, and whose eyes sparkled. -</p> - -<p> -"Sure as I am a born man." -</p> - -<p> -"Watch well, then, and learn more, if you can. Oh, -Nichol Birrel, thou art worth thy weight in gold to me—yea, -gold trebly refined! Continue to watch them strictly while -I go to his eminence the cardinal concerning a raid against -the Douglases; for, mark me, both the Lady Seton and -yonder valet of her squire must be safe within our bolts and -bars to-night. I have suspected that long beard concealed -something for these some days past." -</p> - -<p> -"And so have I, your lordship." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed—remarkable! and you think——" -</p> - -<p> -"As your lordship doth." -</p> - -<p> -"That he is no other than the Earl of Ashkirk?" -</p> - -<p> -The brodder—who, in fact, had never bestowed a thought -upon the matter—now opened his eyes wide with astonishment. -</p> - -<p> -"Deil gae owre us! <i>he</i> is worth a bushel o' silver merks." -</p> - -<p> -"Which I will pay thee privately, for thy secrecy and -assistance." -</p> - -<p> -"And by-and-bye, I may get the other thousand from the -council—eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"Of course." -</p> - -<p> -"And Sir Roland?" -</p> - -<p> -"Is about to be sent on a fool's errand into Douglasdale." -</p> - -<p> -"Disguised as a black friar, I sought admittance to his -lodging at St. Anne's-yard while he was yet a-bed; for I was -bent on probing his wound anew," whispered this bloodhound, -with a terrible smile; "but his servitor, a wary auld birkie, -that hath served in the border wars, said, 'Na, na, my master -needs na ghostly counsel, gude father; indeed he seldom -confesses, save now and then to Father St. Bernard.' 'But I -am a notable apothgar,' said I, under my cowl, 'and cure a' -manner o' sword wounds, forbye and attour shot-holes.' 'Ouaye,' -he replied, 'but my master hath got from the -Lady Ashkirk a notable red salve, that cures a' thing, frae a -prick wi' a pin to a slash wi' a Jethart axe. He had but a -clean stab frae a poniard, and the salve hath made him whole:' -and so, my lord, I came away like a hound that loses the -scent." -</p> - -<p> -"Good!" muttered the advocate, opening his note-book. -"Vipont seldom goes to confession (that will be information -for the cardinal and Fynnard the grand inquisitor), save to -the Father St. Bernard (<i>that</i> looketh like conspiracy); and -he hath actually received a pot of salve from the Countess of -Ashkirk, which savoureth of sorcery and working by damnable -charms. By my soul, Nichol Birrel," said he, closing his -tablets, "thou art an invaluable fellow. The cardinal would -give his best benefice for such a spy. I will find military -service for the master of the ordnance, and can also dispose -of the countess. I have them all in my grasp! Oh, how -subtly the web is weaving, and how tangled are the meshes -of the plot that will lay them all at my mercy!" -</p> - -<p> -Redhall unwittingly thought aloud, and his fierce whisper -was heard by Birrel. Under the tufted masses of his shock-head, -the ruffian gave a leer of delight and intelligence, at -least so much as his yellow bilious visage could express, and -drew nearer the countess, while Redhall, softly and on tiptoe, -lest the jingle of his silver spurs might be heard, hastened -from the church, to seek the lord chancellor (to whom James -intrusted everything) concerning the proposed raid to -Douglasdale and other projects, of which the reader will soon -learn more. -</p> - -<p> -During this conversation, Father St. Bernard had proceeded -far with his oration on St. Giles, the abbot and confessor, -with a pathos and power of oratory that enchained -the attention of his hearers while it fired and enchanted them. -Unacquainted with care, and long separated from the world, -the aspect of this venerable prebendary was singularly saintly -and winning; his eye was alternately mild and penetrating, -and his voice was soft and persuasive. All were irresistibly -drawn towards him; and while he spoke, the most profound -silence reigned throughout the long dim aisles and misty -perspective of that vast and crowded church. With all that -filial love and respect which of old a Catholic girl felt for her -confessor, Lady Jane Seton kept her bright eyes fixed on -St. Bernard's face. She was proud of his oratory, his clear and -beautiful language, his fervid enthusiasm, and deep research -into abstruse writing and the lore of ancient days. -</p> - -<p> -We can give but an outline of how the good father traced -the earthly pilgrimage of the city's patron saint, from the -day when his eyes first opened to the light in ancient Athens. -"It was towards the close of the seventh century," he -continued, "and his birth was noble as any in old Cecropia. The -dwelling of his father stood near the temple of the Eumenides, -and under the brow of that very platform from whence the -blessed apostle Paul had preached to the Athenians." -</p> - -<p> -He described his extraordinary learning, his deep and -solemn piety, which won for him the admiration of Greece, -and other countries far beyond his native province of Achaia; -so much so that it soon became impossible for him to enjoy -in his splendid home the retirement and meditation for which -he longed. Shrinking alike from the applause of men and -the dangerous temptations of wealth and prosperity, he gave -all he possessed to the poor, and bade farewell for ever to Athens -and Achaia the beautiful. Sailing towards France, he landed on -the open and desert shore near the Rhone, from whence, with -a cross on his staff, he travelled into wild places, teaching the -blessed gospels to the pagan Gauls, until he reached a forest -in the district of Nismes, where then stood a city built by -the Roman warriors of Augustus; and there still men and -beasts fought like demons in the amphitheatre of Arennes, -and the poor pagans worshipped their graven idols in the -temple of Diana—for the savage Goths then held the city -and all the land around it. -</p> - -<p> -"There, in the vast forest which had been growing since -the deluge, St. Giles built him a hermitage, and there," -continued the preacher, "subsisting on the berries and other wild -fruits of the desert, with water only for his drink, he passed -many years in the voiceless solitude, till, purified by prayer, -disengaged from earth, and filled with the ardour of his holy -meditations, he became as an angel rather than a man." He -related, too, how the saint planted his cross-staff before the -door of his hermitage, and watered it daily, until it took root, -sprouted, and grew into a stately orange-tree; and how (like -the holy St. Aicard), having once in forgetfulness shaved -his bald crown so late on a Saturday night that he encroached -on the Sunday morning, when turning about he saw the -devil—and here every one crossed themselves—yea, the devil, -busily picking up every atom of hair, to produce the whole -against him at the divine tribunal: and how severely he was -punished thereafter; for a savage Gothic chief had him seized, -scourged, and thrown into one of the Roman towers of Nismes, -where he prayed to his Maker in great agony of spirit. -</p> - -<p> -Lo! in the night a halo shone around him, his fetters fell -off, the doors of his dungeon revolved, and the clear light of -the stars beamed upon him. A deep slumber fell upon his -guards, and St. Giles walked forth in peace, to seek once more -the shade of his miraculous orange-tree and his beloved -hermitage near the dark green woods and bright blue waters of -the Rhone. -</p> - -<p> -Now, spreading fast in Gaul, the Goths had made themselves -lords of the two Narbonensis and the three Acquitani: -in their wild ravages they destroyed even the forests, and by -these and their cruelty brought so sore a famine upon the -land, that even the saint, in his extreme old age, would have -perished, but for the fruit of his orange-tree, and the milk of -a doe, which visited him daily, sent doubtless by the Lord, -and which became his sole companion and sustenance; and it -chanced that when Wamba, king of the Goths, was hunting -one day in the forest of Nismes, he was about to slay the -doe, but spared her at the saint's intercession; upon which -Ionie, his queen, who was almost dying of a grievous sickness, -became straightway restored to her former strength and beauty. -</p> - -<p> -St. Giles outlived the famine, and by the miracles he -wrought became famous throughout all the land of Gaul, -and died at a wondrous old age in that year when the infidel -Saracens sacked Nismes; the recapture of which by Charles -Martel, mayor of the palace, and the great victory of the -Christian knights between Tours and Poictiers, in the year -of our redemption 728, he foretold, with his last breath; and -so, in the full odour of sanctity, he passed away to heaven. -</p> - -<p> -"The doe, the companion of his solitude, was found lying -dead by his side; but to this day," continued the venerable -priest, in conclusion, "in memory of the saint, we may yet see -her retained in the banner of this good city, upon which the -blessed St. Giles is now looking down, as upon that of his chosen -children, through the dim vista of eight long centuries!"* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* St. Giles was the crest of Edinburgh until 1560, when an anchor was -substituted by the Reformers; but the doe still remains as a supporter. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -He then blessed the people, and descending into one of the -side aisles, disappeared. -</p> - -<p> -The vast multitudes who thronged the church now poured -from all its doorways like a flood upon the streets, and down -the steep old burial-ground that descended on the south -towards the Cowgate (a place of interment coeval with the <i>first -huts</i> of the city), and where a little doorway in the wall, at -the bottom, gave egress to that thoroughfare, then so fashionable. -It stood just beside the little chapel of the Holyrood, -which survived till the end of the sixteenth century. -</p> - -<p> -As closely as they dared, Nichol Birrel and his friend -Dobbie, with their poniards in their belts and wooden rosaries -dangling at their better wrists, followed the countess and her -party home to her residence, near the court end of the town; -and thereafter stationed themselves at the <i>Cross and -Gillstoup</i>, a small change-house, the low grated windows of which -commanded a view of the archway, whereon were carved the -coronet and arms of the Setons of Ashkirk; and there the -two worthy followers of Redhall sat down to drink and watch -for the remainder of the afternoon. -</p> - -<p> -At six o'clock, Sir Roland Vipont, with his bonnet on one -side, his feather erect, and his rapier tilting up a corner of his -mantle, like a true dandy of the sixteenth century, came forth -alone, and descended the street towards Holyrood. -</p> - -<p> -"Brawly!" muttered Dobbie, rubbing his large misshapen -paws with exultation; "the dare-devil's awa, but the valet -is yet there." -</p> - -<p> -"Yea; and the visit to the sister of the Sheens yet holdeth -gude. But have ye any money?" asked the pricker. -</p> - -<p> -"Nocht but a Flemish rydar, and three of old King James's -gowden pennies." -</p> - -<p> -"Ho there, gudewife!" cried Birrel, with a grin of delight -on his mastiff mouth, while he clattered on the hard table -with his rosary; "fetch us twa mair mutchkins of your -wine—that red wine, which I ken right well ye get smuggled -contrary to the act, straight frae the Flemmings o' the -Dam—quick!" -</p> - -<p> -And while their slipshod attendant was bringing the fresh -supply, these worthies proceeded to examine their poniards, -in case they should be required, and tried whether the guards -were true, the points sharp, the hilts fitting well to the -blades, and the blades to the hilts; for to them deeds of -outrage and cruelty were the business of life; and we may -add that, by the loose lives of the clergy prior to the -Reformation—a measure which that very laxity of discipline brought -about—religion and morality were fast sinking to a low ebb -in Scotland. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap14"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIV. -<br /><br /> -THE CHANCELLOR OF SCOTLAND. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "I made such service to our Sovereign King,<br /> - He did promote me still to high estate;<br /> - A prince above all priestis for to reign,<br /> - Archbishop of St. Andrew's consecrate.<br /> - To that honour when I was elevate,<br /> - My prideful heart was not content withal,<br /> - Till that I was created cardinal."<br /> - Sir D. LINDESAY'S <i>Tragedie of the Cardinal</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -With his long rapier under his arm, and his bonnet drawn -well over his face, the lord advocate, with all the air of a -man who has found a clue to something, or is mentally -pursuing a distant object, hurried, as we have said, from the -church, and threaded his way between the fleshers' stalls, -which encumbered both sides of the street about the -Nether-bow and arch of the Blackfriars Wynd. -</p> - -<p> -Descending the latter, he reached the residence of Cardinal -Beaton, where, through the medium of several pages, esquires, -and pikemen, he sent up his name, requesting an audience, -and was immediately admitted. -</p> - -<p> -David Beaton was then in the prime of life; his stature -was commanding, his air was dignified, his bearing noble. As -we may see by the portraits of him, still preserved at -Edinburgh, his face was grave, dark, and eminently handsome; -his eyes were bright and piercing, and he wore his beard and -moustaches pointed <i>à la cavalier</i>, rather than shaven off like -a priest. He was seated in an easy-chair, and wore his red -baretta, black cassock, and gold cross. His large scarlet hat -lay upon a side table, near the two-handed sword of his -grandfather, old Sir David of Pitmilly. -</p> - -<p> -Our Scottish Wolsey was seated near a table covered with -books and papers; there were several portfolios marked with -the fleur-de-lys, the rose, the eagle, &c., containing the -memorandums of correspondence with France, England, the -Empire, and so forth. The apartment, which was little and -elegant, was hung with green damask flowered with leaves of -red and gold; his patrimonial arms, the blazon of "Bethune's -line of Picardie," appeared above the mantelpiece. There was -no fire, for the season was summer, and the andirons were -burnished bright as silver. A book was half open in his -hand, but his eyes were thoughtfully fixed on a window, -through which he saw the antique buildings of the opposite -street, a steep wynd, that led towards the Dominican monastery, -the square tower and slated spire of which shone in the -light of the western sun, and terminated the view. His -daughter, the Lady Margaret Beaton, a charming young -girl with blue eyes and dark brown hair—the same who, five -years after, became the bride of the young Lord Lindesay—was -sitting on a little tabourette by his side, decorating a -little kitten with ribbons. -</p> - -<p> -As she had been born prior to his taking vows of celibacy, -the cardinal had no reason to conceal her; but as soon as Sir -Adam Otterburn entered, at a sign from her father, she kissed -his hand, snatched the kitten, which she considered her -peculiar property, placed a chair for the visitor, and withdrew. -</p> - -<p> -"God be with your eminence!" said Redhall, half kneeling, -as he saluted the cardinal. -</p> - -<p> -"And peace with you," replied Beaton, with a gracious -wave of the hand, which, while it pointed to a seat, passed -also for a priestly benediction. He closed his book "La -Legende de Monseigneur Saint Dominique," &c., an old -black-letter quarto, "<i>Imprimé à Paris</i>, 1495," and continued—"Have -I the pleasure of seeing Sir Adam as a friend, or in -his official capacity?" -</p> - -<p> -"I trust your eminence will never consider my visits the -less friendly because I come so frequently on the service of -the state; but now mine errand closely concerns the latter." -</p> - -<p> -"I think that thou, as lord advocate, and I, as lord chancellor, -ought to be collared together, like a couple of questing -dogs. Well, what in God's name is astir now?" -</p> - -<p> -"Treason!" -</p> - -<p> -"That is nothing new." -</p> - -<p> -"Trafficking with the English—and it may be sorcery!" -</p> - -<p> -"My God! dost thou say so? Those accursed Douglases, -I warrant me?" -</p> - -<p> -Redhall gave an emphatic nod, and put one leg over the -other. The cardinal let fall his book, grasped the knobs of -his chair, and reclined his head back as if he expected to hear -something momentous. "Well, my lord, and what now of -this turbulent tribe?" -</p> - -<p> -"I seek a <i>carte blanche</i> warrant of arrest and committal to -ward—or rather, concurrence with it—does your eminence -understand?" -</p> - -<p> -"Agnus Dei!" said the cardinal, crossing, and speaking -with great bitterness and energy; "how sad it is that, from -being the bulwark and buckler of Scotland, the house of -Angus and its allies have become her sworn foes! Too blindly -the enemies of Arran, they never rest while a Hamilton lives, -and are too much in Henry's interest ever again to be true to -Scotland. How was it when James assumed the government, -and, by the intercession of Wolsey and myself, so unwisely -permitted the ambitious Earls of Ashkirk and of Angus to -return home? No sooner were their feet on Scottish ground, -than, ever restless, they raised a faction to expel the -queen-mother and the minister Arran, and came at once to blows -about where the Parliament should meet. 'I will hold it -here,' said the determined Arran. 'Thou shalt hold it <i>there</i>,' -said the imperious Angus. Then were banners displayed and -lances lifted; and Angus and Ashkirk feared not to bend -their cannon against the royal castle of Edinburgh, where the -young king, the queen-mother, and their prime minister were -residing. Then came trooping and hosting, and castles were -stormed, and garrisoned, and stormed again; towns were -burned and tenants plundered. The high-sheriff of Ayr slew -the Earl of Cassilis; the islesmen of Orkney expelled and -slew the Lord Caithness; the knight of Tulliallan slew the -Abbot of Culrosse; and some ruffian of hell murdered my -steadfast friend and true, Sir Thomas Maclellan of Bombie, at -the door of St. Giles. (Redhall felt himself grow pale.) The -Douglases pillaged the castle of St. Andrews and the abbey -of Dunfermline; they fought the battles of Melrose and -Linlithgow, where the good Earl of Lennox was so cruelly -run through the body after he had surrendered. The whole -country seemed to be hastening to destruction, for the swords -of the Douglases bore all before them, and every post, place, -and perquisite under the crown, every royal castle and office -of state, was held by a Douglas. The royal guards were all -Douglases; and the young king was their prisoner, while his -people were reduced to slavery. Well! I then thought the -time had come to bestir me," continued the cardinal, with a -smile of satisfaction. "I did so; and the king escaped from -the tower of Falkland. He summoned the nobles in arms at -Stirling; the wheel of fate revolved again, and, deprived of -place and power, the Douglases were proscribed, forfeited, -and driven into England—England, whose kings have ever -rejoiced in fanning the flame of Scottish civil war—the policy -of hell, which none have adopted more than the present -atrocious tyrant, their eighth Henry." -</p> - -<p> -"All this I know well," said Redhall, endeavouring to -repress his impatience at this retrospective reverie. -</p> - -<p> -"There, fostered by this heretic prince, they have become -the enemies of their fatherland, the believers of a false -doctrine, the rebels of their king and the accursed of their God. -None has done more than the Lord Ashkirk to further a -marriage between King James and a daughter of the mansworn -Tudor; but happily, I have ever been victorious; for the -honour and policy of Scotland and France require that they -must league together against the grasping ambition and -centralizing greed of England. Thou knowest that I have ever -been for France, and bear about as much love for England as -a tiger doth to a panther. When Henry offered his daughter -to James, with the office of lieutenant-general of all England -and Ireland, happily, I warned him of the gilded snare, and -dismissed the ambassador, Howard, with a remembrance of -how England had treated the shipwrecked James I. When -Godscallo came from the Emperor Charles to offer his sister -Mary of Austria as a queen for Scotland, who defeated him, -and turned his dangerous eloquence against himself?" -</p> - -<p> -"Your eminence," said Redhall, putting the left leg over -the right. -</p> - -<p> -"When he offered Donna Maria of Portugal, the daughter -of Eleonora of Austria," resumed Beaton, with a smile of gratified -vanity, "and boasted of her beauty and the sixty battles -of her victorious uncle, who waived all his sophistry by a -word?" -</p> - -<p> -"Your eminence of course," sighed Redhall. -</p> - -<p> -"When Christian II. of Denmark offered his daughter, the -Princess Dorothea, though she was already contracted to the -beggarly Elector Frederick, I dismissed him, and briefly too; -for my whole soul was bent on preserving the ancient league -of amity, that together the banners of Scotland and France -might be turned against their common enemy; and by my -own energy, assisted by God and our Blessed Lady, I had the -young Queen Magdalene espoused to James; and NOW let the -Douglases do their worst, for, ratified before the holy altar of -Notre Dame de Paris, that alliance can never be broken!" -</p> - -<p> -"Death will break it," said the advocate, revengefully, for -he was somewhat irritated by this long preamble. "Magdalene -is dying by inches, and there are abroad such rumours of -sorcery in the matter that I crave a warrant to seize——" -</p> - -<p> -"Whom?" asked Beaton, with a terrible glance. -</p> - -<p> -"The Countess of Ashkirk and her daughter, the Lady Jane -Seton," said Redhall, with a sinking heart. -</p> - -<p> -"Margaret of Ashkirk?" said the cardinal, with a look of -blank astonishment, "the widow of the good Earl John? -Beware thee, my lord, lest zeal outrun discretion. Her -husband was a stout knight and true to Scotland." -</p> - -<p> -"As I tell your eminence that his widow is an ill-woman -and false! Her son, the outlawed earl, hath again re-entered -Scotland by the Middle Marches." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou dost not say so?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sure as I live and breathe." -</p> - -<p> -"On what errand?" -</p> - -<p> -"Can you ask?" said Redhall, with a smile; "treason, -civil war, and the destruction of the Hamiltons, no doubt. -And with the knowledge that he is an outlawed traitor, the -countess hath reset him." -</p> - -<p> -"Natural enough, he is the poor woman's son." -</p> - -<p> -"But the master of the ordnance hath likewise done so." -</p> - -<p> -"Natural enough, too, for he is said to love the earl's -sister." -</p> - -<p> -"Your eminence is strangely cool in this matter," said -Redhall, grinding his teeth; "but you know not all that -common rumour sayeth." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! what the devil says it now?" -</p> - -<p> -"That the young queen is dying," replied the advocate, -drawing near, sinking his voice impressively, and presuming -even to grasp his arm; "sorcery is at work; every man who -looks upon her reads death in her face, and the hopes of Henry -that James may yet marry his daughter are rising again." -</p> - -<p> -"Hah!" There was a brief pause. -</p> - -<p> -"And what wouldst thou have?" asked Beaton. -</p> - -<p> -"Permission to seize and commit to sure ward the Countess -of Ashkirk and her daughter—a measure demanded by the -safety of the nation." -</p> - -<p> -Beaton shook his head. -</p> - -<p> -"Rumour is busy, and avers that the earl is concealed -within the ports of Edinburgh," continued the wily advocate, -who, for his own ends, did not choose to say <i>where</i>; "my -spies inform me that he has been heard to boast of being, ere -long, at Stirling bridge with an army of English borderers, -for he hath made a vow to sup——" -</p> - -<p> -"Where?" -</p> - -<p> -"In thy tower of Creich." -</p> - -<p> -The dark eyes of Beaton flashed fire; for in the tower of -Creich, rumour (which in those days supplied, somewhat -indifferently, however, the place of the public press) asserted -that the cardinal kept quite a seraglio. It touched him in -the quick. -</p> - -<p> -"The earl said so—ha!" he muttered, opening his -portfolio; "indeed—um—um—and where dost thou wish the -countess committed to ward?" -</p> - -<p> -"Your eminence's castle of St. Andrew is a sure place." -</p> - -<p> -"I send none there but heretics; the tower of Inchkeith is -a stronger fortlet." -</p> - -<p> -"The Knight of Barncleugh is captain there—a Hamilton -too." -</p> - -<p> -"Very suitable," continued the cardinal, writing on a slip -of paper a warrant to arrest and imprison, 'during the king's -pleasure, Margaret Countess Dowager, and the Lady Jane, -daughter of the umquhile John Earl of Ashkirk, together -with Archibald Seton, sometyme designated of Ashkirk, but -now under sentence of forfeiture.' "Send the Albany herald -to the countess, and let him take some fifteen pikes of my -guard; one of Sir Robert Barton's boats will convey the -ladies to the Inch. Of late, James has shown over much -favour to this family, whose besetting sin has been their -leaguing with England; and I hope that, ere long," continued -Beaton, thinking of the tower of Creich, "this troublesome -young lord will pay the penalty of his insolence to me -and his crimes against the state——" -</p> - -<p> -"My lord the Bishop of Limoges," announced the young -Lord Lindesay, the cardinal's favourite page, ushering in that -reverend prelate. -</p> - -<p> -"Your eminence will not omit to send the requisite troops -and cannon towards Douglasdale to-morrow, for Ashkirk may -be there," said the lord advocate, rising. -</p> - -<p> -"Before vespers, Sir Roland Vipont shall hear from me," -replied Beaton, as Redhall sank on one knee, kissed the ruby -ring on his finger, and hurried away with a hasty step and a -beating heart. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap15"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XV. -<br /><br /> -THE NOON OF LOVE. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "He looked upon her, and her humid gaze<br /> - Was at his look dropped instant on the ground:<br /> - But o'er her cheek of beauty rushed a blaze,<br /> - Her bosom heaved within its silken bound—<br /> - And though her voice is trembling as I sigh,<br /> - Love triumphs in her smile and fond delicious eye."<br /> - CROLY'S <i>Angel of the World</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The sun was in the west, and threw the long shadow of the -Netherbow so far down the vista of the Canongate that it -almost reached to the Girth-cross of the Holyrood. Save -when the summer wind made strange sounds among the -peaked roofs and enormous chimneys of the narrow closes, the -streets were still and quiet. A hoof rang occasionally, just -as if to remind one that they were recently paved for the first -time; or the distant cries were heard of those who sold curds -and milk at the cross, or cockles and whelks at the Tron, as we -may learn from William Dunbar's poem in the year 1500. -</p> - -<p> -The countess and her family had just adjourned from the -dining hull to that tapestried chamber in which we had the -honour of first introducing them to the reader. With no -foreboding of the mischief that was then brewing against -them at that moment in the little turret-room of the cardinal's -mansion, the good old Lady Margaret and all around her -were very happy. -</p> - -<p> -Roland instinctively drew to the side of Jane, who approached -her embroidery frame, for ladies were never idle in -those industrious days; Earl Archibald seated himself by the -side of Sybil, where he could very well have spared the -additional company of her companions, Marion and Alison, who -seated themselves near, to hear her perform on the virginals; -and the countess assumed her accustomed and well-cushioned -bench, in the sunny corner of a window, where the shadows -of the thick basket grating were thrown upon her face. -Drawing her spinning-wheel towards her with one hand, she -made a motion with the other to Father St. Bernard to sit -near; for the confessor had that day been invited to dinner -the moment his oration concluded. -</p> - -<p> -"I pray Heaven I may not hear some evil tidings," said -the countess, "for the wind is so high." -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, fear not, madam, for this is Friday," replied the -old priest, "and the festival of Queen Ellen to boot." -</p> - -<p> -"And yet I remind me, father, that in the days of King -James IV., I heard the wind soughing just so, and in two -hours thereafter news came frae the west countrie that my -kinsman, Sir John Colquhoun of Luss, who was lord chamberlain -and ambassador to England in 1487, was killed at the -siege of Dumbarton, by a ball from a culverin." -</p> - -<p> -"In 1489—yea, madam, I mind that leaguer well, as if -twere yesterday." -</p> - -<p> -"Eight-and-forty years ago," said the counters. "St. Mary! -I was but a wee tot at my mother's knee in the auld tower -of Kilspindie then!" -</p> - -<p> -"Udsdagger!" whispered the earl to Sybil, "the old lady -my mother is full tilt again at her musty recollections of -James IV." -</p> - -<p> -"She will soon dose poor Father St. Bernard with her -salves, her charms against witchcraft, and prosy reminiscences -of Flodden and Queen Margaret." -</p> - -<p> -"And he will reply with scriptural texts and astounding -miracles. On my honour, they are a pair of the most veritable -prosers between the tower of Creich and the tower of Babel!" -</p> - -<p> -"Hush! to mention that tower of Creich in the cardinal's -hearing makes one his enemy for life." -</p> - -<p> -"Fiend take the cardinal and his red hat to boot!" whispered -the earl, "for in England I have learned to laugh both -at red legs and shaven crowns. But now, my own fair cousin, -sing me, I pray, the old song of Duke Albany's days, that -song my father loved so well. In Holyrood it might be -treason to sing of a French minion's fall, but none are here -save friends; and oh, my dear Sybil, thou knowest not how -blythe I am to hear thy soft low voice again. Do not refuse -me," he added, seeing that she was about to object; "for in -a day or two I go to exile again, and we may meet no more." -</p> - -<p> -The young noble gallantly kissed a handful of Sybil's long -dark hair; and in the desire to please her handsome lover, she -at once commenced one of those old songs, to which -something of a melancholy interest will ever cling, when we -consider that they cheered or soothed our Scottish sires three -hundred years ago— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "God send that the duke had byded in France,<br /> - And the Sieur de la Beaute had never come hame,<br /> - With his tall men-at-arms, by banner and lance,<br /> - The Douglas, the Home, and the Seton to tame."*<br /> -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See VEDDERBURNE'S <i>Complainte of Scotland</i>, -printed at St. Andrew'*, A.D. 1549. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The voice of Sybil was worthy of her name; it was -bewitchingly soft and low and sweet; but the sharp, wiry, and -somewhat unmusical accompaniment of the virginal, rather -injured than improved the effect of her performance, which -was admirable; for the frank girl was at no pains to conceal -the amiable wish to please her kinsman and lover. Seated -very erectly upon a high-backed chair, her white hands tinkled -over the keys of this old-fashioned instrument, which, perhaps, -obtained its name from being played upon almost solely by -young ladies. Though externally not unlike our modern -pianoforte, the virginal was internally more like the spinet of -the succeeding age, which formed, in fact, the link between -the two. -</p> - -<p> -That on which Sybil played had been presented to Jane -Seton by Anne de la Tour, the late Duchess of Albany. The -case was of cedar, covered with blue Genoese velvet, and clasped -by four large gilded locks finely engraven with the arms of -Scotland and France. The whole of the front was magnificently -enamelled, and had forty keys provided with jacks and -quills, twenty being of ebony tipped with silver, and twenty -of ivory tipped with gold, to mark the semitones. Supported -by two dragons of oak, it was only five feet long by twenty -inches deep; but as there were but few virginals in Scotland, -its splendour formed one of the topics of the day; and those -evil minds were not wanting who affirmed that it was merely -a box of devils who played at the command of the black page. -</p> - -<p> -Thus, while singing and soft glances were the entertainment -in one corner of that tall tapestried room, miracles and -omens in another, a quiet little flirtation was proceeding in a -third, where Lady Jane was sitting, to all appearance very -intent upon her embroidery, while her lover leant over the -back of her chair, conversing in low tones, looking kisses and -all manner of soft things, and contriving to say a good many -too, under cover of Sybil's musical performance, notwithstanding -the presence of Father St. Bernard, whose apostolical -aspect was sufficiently imposing. -</p> - -<p> -"And so, my gentle Jeanie, thou art still bent on visiting -this convent of Sienna to-night?" -</p> - -<p> -"Have I not told you ten times that I have promised this -book as a birthday gift to the reverend mother ever since the -martyrdom of St. Victor—more than a month ago," said Jane, -reckoning the time on her pretty fingers; "and she has never -yet received it. By-the-bye, sir—of all the world, I think thou -oughtest to accompany me to-night." -</p> - -<p> -"Impossible, my own sweetheart." -</p> - -<p> -"What would you say if I were to be carried off?" -</p> - -<p> -"Carried off! Bah! I should like to see any one carry -you off." -</p> - -<p> -"It would be very unpleasant," said Jane, shrugging her -shoulders; "and within a month of our marriage, too." -</p> - -<p> -"Adorable Jane!" -</p> - -<p> -"Hush! Father St. Bernard—you forget." -</p> - -<p> -"You know well how gladly I would go; but as I have -said, both the captain and lieutenant of the king's guard have -sent to say, they will do themselves the pleasure of supping -with me to-night, and hospitality requires that I should not -decline, for we are three <i>bon camarados</i>, and have made a -compact to dine and sup with each other alternately whenever our -cash was low." -</p> - -<p> -"Then the cash of these wild gallants is gone?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sunk to the lowest ebb, Jane. I met them this morning, -swearing like Turks, for they had lost all they possessed, even -to their rings, at the French ambassador's. With the earl -and his enormous Tizona, and these tall trenchermen, who -are always lounging about the kitchen-fire and stable-yard, -none will dare to molest you to-night." -</p> - -<p> -"Be not too certain. Oh, I have so many lovers, that I -dare scarcely look from under my hood, lest I add one to the -number. Abduction is not so uncommon, surely. Did not -King James carry off the lady of Lochlevin on her bridal -night? Is not the Knight of Casche now a prisoner in the -castle for carrying off the wife of Sir David Scott, whom he -slew in the kirk of Strathmiglo? And 'tis only six days -since Kincaid of Coates forcibly abducted the poor wife of -master Quentin Smebard, when she was cheapening her a -new hood at the Tron—yea, in the High-street, and at -noon-day." -</p> - -<p> -"Tush! a pitiful clerk of the chancery," said Roland, -playing with her curls. "Believe me, my little ladykin, that -none will dare meddle with thee who see the livery of thy -followers, and remember thou art the affianced bride of Sir -Roland Vipont. So in vain, cunning fairy, thou wouldest -frighten me from performing what friendship and hospitality -require. But what is this book, for which madam the prioress -of St. Katherine is so anxious?" -</p> - -<p> -"See, it is <i>The Lyf of St. Katherin of Sienna</i>," said Jane, -opening a little volume of Wynkyn de Worde's, the velvet -cover of which she had embroidered beautifully with gold -upon crimson. "Thou canst read this black letter, of course?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why, thanks to fortune and my good friend the father -here, I learned the <i>Grace Buke</i> and <i>Prymar</i>, at the principal -grammar school of this good burgh, when it was first opened -by Provost Logan of Coatfield." -</p> - -<p> -"In the year of grace 1519," said the countess, "just six -years after the death of the good King James, whose -munificence founded it—woe's me!" -</p> - -<p> -"And why doth this prioress not embroider her own books? -How, i' the devil's name, do they spend the long dull day in -yonder convent; for I vow 'tis a fortress all walled round like -the city of Lisle—and I suppose the fair sisters are never -beyond it." -</p> - -<p> -"Save when sickness or sorrow, want or misery, call them -into the world; for they are of inestimable service to the poor. -Ah! had you seen them in time of the plague. The Prioress -Josina—thou rememberest the beautiful Josina Henrison, -who with me was a damoiselle of honour to madam the -Duchess Anne of Albany? Ah! she is a very angel of -goodness. Now, do not look in that way, as if you were just -about to laugh at me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Who—I? Mass! I would almost have fallen sick on purpose, -to have had such a nurse as the pretty Josina—had I -not——" -</p> - -<p> -"What, sir?" -</p> - -<p> -"Loved thee, and consequently been sure of another." -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis well you say so," replied Jane, playfully, pinching -his ear. "Ah! my mother is watching us!" -</p> - -<p> -"God bless ye, bairns!" said the old countess, kindly and -fondly; "for ye were born under the same star, ilk being -destined for the other." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Pax Domini sit semper voliscum</i>," said Father St. Bernard, -with closed eyes, and waving his right hand towards them. -</p> - -<p> -"Plague take thy Latin," muttered the earl. -</p> - -<p> -"Which meaneth, the peace of the Lord be about you," -continued the priest. -</p> - -<p> -"I never tried Latin but once, good father, and then it -was to curse roundly when my Scottish failed—<i>in nomine -patris et filii</i>, and so forth." -</p> - -<p> -"And when was this, my sou?" -</p> - -<p> -"Retreating up Yarrow-braes from Cessford's spearmen, -with two bullets and three arrows sticking in my body." -</p> - -<p> -The old priest crossed himself, and turned up his eyes; -but those of the countess kindled as her son spoke, and some -fiery remark was hovering on her lips, when her bower-woman, -a demure looking abigail, clad in solemn black taffety, raised the -arras, glided in on tiptoe, and whispered something in her ear. -</p> - -<p> -Lady Ashkirk turned very pale. -</p> - -<p> -"Mother dear," said Lady Jane, tenderly, "what has -happened?" -</p> - -<p> -"That hen hath crowed again, as Janet tells me." -</p> - -<p> -"Hen—what hen?" said the earl. -</p> - -<p> -"An ill-omened hen in the poultry-yard, whilk hath now -crown thrice since you came amongst us. Oh! my doo -Archibald! my doo Archibald!—it's a sad boding of evil, -whilk the Mother o' God avert." -</p> - -<p> -"Amen!" said the old priest, "<i>pax domini</i>——" -</p> - -<p> -"Friend Roland," said the earl, with a smile, "did you -ever know any one who dwelt in such an atmosphere of omens -and predictions, salves and recipes, as the good lady my -mother? 'Tis very perplexing, to say the least of it." -</p> - -<p> -"Hush, lord earl!" said the countess, with some asperity; -"every bairn kens that the crowing of a hen bodeth evil, and -that no house can thrive where the hens are addicted to sic -an ungodly and unnatural amusement. Harkee, Janet, let -its neck be drawn, and bestow it as an almous on the first -Franciscan who comes hither wi' his begging box." -</p> - -<p> -This episode was rather "a damper" to the ladies; but -Roland endeavoured to divert them, by engaging and vanquishing -them all successively at the old French military game of -<i>passe dix</i>, which was played with three dice, at which (as we -learn from the <i>Complete Gamester</i>, 1680) "the caster throws -continually till he hath thrown doublets under ten, and then -he is <i>out</i>, and loseth, or doublets above ten, and then he <i>passeth</i>, -and wins." At this simple game fortune favoured Roland, -and he swept off the entire passbank, which was composed of -little <i>bon-bons</i> of honey and flour, for sugar was then growing -in the mist of futurity—at least, it was unknown in Scotland. -The time stole swiftly on; at last the ringing of vespers -warned him that he must retire, as his friends, who had so -annoyingly invited themselves, would be awaiting him. -</p> - -<p> -"Say a prayer for me at St. Katherine's to-night, my dear -Jane," said Roland, as he buckled on his rapier. "I fear me -I am a sad rogue, and often omit to pray for myself in these -stirring times, when one's armour is so rarely off: and of all -things forget not to give my very best commendations to the -fair Josina." -</p> - -<p> -"Sirrah! thou wantest thine other ear well pinched." -</p> - -<p> -"And you return?" -</p> - -<p> -"To-morrow, at noon." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah—the devil! and shall I not see thee till then?" said -Roland, scared at the prospect of an eighteen hours' separation. -</p> - -<p> -"Thou wilt not die of despair in that time, surely?" -replied Jane, archly. -</p> - -<p> -"Then to-morrow, at noon, I will be at the convent -gate, or under the old lime-trees that border its pathway, -near the loch; and so till then, my sweet flower, farewell." -</p> - -<p> -After paying his adieux to all with that grave formality -which French intercourse had impressed upon the manners of -the Scottish noblesse, he retired; whereupon the messieurs -Birrel and Dobbie ordered in the additional stoup of Flemish -wine, as we have related in the thirteenth chapter of this -history. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap16"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVI. -<br /><br /> -VIPONT'S HOUSEHOLD. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "At length they to the house retreated,<br /> - And round the supper soon were seated;<br /> - When the time quickly passed away,<br /> - And gay good humour closed the day."<br /> - <i>Dr. Syntax</i>, Canto XIV.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Having lost all their money at play with the French and -Spaniards, Roland's two comrades, the captain of the arquebusiers, -and Leslie, his lieutenant, had both invited themselves -to sup with him on that evening, according (as he has already -stated) to an arrangement the three friends had made—that -he whose exchequer was low should dine or sup with the -others. But now it chanced that Roland's purse was drained -too; and though hospitality and the manners of the time -forbade the least evasion of this visit, or rather visitation, old -Lintstock had fully participated in the consternation it -occasioned his master. Lintstock, however, with the coolness of -an old soldier who was well used to foraging, begged Sir -Roland to keep his mind at ease, as he would provide an -adequate supper by the hour of the cavaliers' arrival. -</p> - -<p> -Roland knew not what to make of this; but he was aware -of the fertility of his valet's resources, and that the cunning -old vender of projectiles had made love to an inn (as he -said), or rather an innkeeper's widow, whom he had been -intending to espouse for the last live years; thus he doubted -not Lintstock would provide the viands if Heaven did not. -</p> - -<p> -Roland lodged with the widow of one of the king's falconers; -but the pittance he received per month from the exchequer -(for although styled master of the ordnance, he was in reality -only captain of a few hundred cannoniers, who were scattered -throughout the royal castles) afforded little more than what -soldiers usually term comforts—<i>i.e.</i>, plain bed, board, and -quarters. He was never so much in camp or garrison as to -lose the polish of the courtier or relish for the society of ladies. -The "rough and round" of a soldier's life never discomposed -him; he wore his heavy armour as easily as Jane Seton did -her gloves of Blois; and his love for her threw a poetry -around all that plainness and positive discomfort which -generally surrounded him, but of which she was totally ignorant. -Soldiering had, of course, considerably sharpened his faculties; -but Roland never forgot the gentle bearing of the perfect -cavalier; and though perhaps inferior in head to such a man -as Sir Adam Otterburn, he was immensely superior in heart -and straightforwardness of purpose. -</p> - -<p> -Roland's windows overlooked the Abbey Close, and the -setting sun shone partly through them. They were strongly -grated, and lighted a room which was wainscoted with -Scottish fir, and furnished with six hardwood chairs and a -table of oak. An almerie or corner cupboard, a boxed bed -within a recess, a suit of bright armour, and a quantity of -other harness for horse and man, with various weapons, hung -upon pegs; a few books of old romances, and a French -<i>Manuel de l'Artilleur</i>, made up its furniture. -</p> - -<p> -"What the devil shall I do, if Lintstock has failed?" -thought Roland, as he entered his domicile. "Hallo, old -Ironhead, how goeth the supper?" (People supped then at -seven o'clock.) -</p> - -<p> -"Right weel, Sir Roland, as ye may see for yoursel," replied -the old fellow, over whose broad visage and solitary eye -there spread a brilliant smile of self-satisfaction. -</p> - -<p> -A snow-white cloth covered the old oak-table; a knife, a -drinking-horn, and platter were laid for each of the friends; -a silver salt-cellar occupied the centre; a plate, with four -roasted ducks, stood on one side thereof, a tart and stewed -pigeons on the other, with a joint of veal daintily roasted; -while an eel-pie and two large manchets of white flour, with -other et cetera, appeared on the side buffet, with a row of -wine flasks in fair battaglia, side by side, telling by their -gaudy badges that they were from France, and such wine as -was then sold by the retailers at sixpence Scots (one half-penny -sterling) the pint, under penalty of having the head of -the cask beaten out, as an edict of the provost and baillies in -1520 remains to show. -</p> - -<p> -"By Jove, thou art the very fiend himself!" said Roland, -lost in astonishment at the sight of all these good things; -"how else couldst thou get these gallant bottles of Rochelle -and Bourdeaux from that old curmudgeon of the <i>Cross and -Gillstoup</i>—for I see they bear his mark. On my honour, I -am mightily tickled by thine ingenuity!" -</p> - -<p> -"I said we would pay——" -</p> - -<p> -"<i>We?</i>" -</p> - -<p> -"That is, your worship would pay them at even tide, the morn." -</p> - -<p> -"Why, Lintstock, I have not had a cross for these three -days." -</p> - -<p> -"But there is a rumour about the palace," said Lintstock, -closing his remaining eye, "that we march by daylight, the -morn, for Douglasdale, or thereawa; and sae the auld screw -of an hosteller may whistle on his thumb for the money till -we come back again." -</p> - -<p> -"March! oh, impossible—for I have not heard a word of -it; and how then shouldst thou? I warrant me the old -cullion grumbled." -</p> - -<p> -"Like a boar in a high wind. 'Thou false knave and -loon,' said I, with a hand on my dirk, just so; 'these twelve -flasks are for the captain, my master.' 'He owes me thirty -crowns and mair,' replied the dour carle. 'If he owed thee -ten times as muckle, 'tis all right, for he will pay thee some -day, and nobly too; so hand me over the flasks, or I will set -the house on fire, and flay thee like St. Bartholomew!'" -</p> - -<p> -"But the veal and the ducks?" -</p> - -<p> -"I fished for one, and borrowed the other—but here come -our gentlemen." -</p> - -<p> -Roland gave Lintstock one of the flasks to rejoice over, -and laughed. He knew well what the old forager meant, for -the royal poultry-yard was close by, and Lintstock, with a -piece of meat tied to a string, as a lure for King James's -full-fed ducks, had many a time and oft towed them in at the -back-windows, with outspread wings; and more than one -dozen of fowls had disappeared thus, to the astonishment of -the royal poulterer. -</p> - -<p> -"But the pigeons?" -</p> - -<p> -"I shot with my arblast at Redhall's dovecot." -</p> - -<p> -"And the eels?" -</p> - -<p> -"I borrowed them frae the abbot's eel-arks, at the -Canonmills loch." -</p> - -<p> -"Mass! thou'st had a busy day on't. Never mind; when -I have the mains of Ashkirk with—tush, I will repay all -these debts and borrowings with usury." -</p> - -<p> -With a towel under his arm, the old gunner drew himself -up like a post, as the two cavaliers entered, attired in velvets -richly laced and slashed, and looking very gay and smiling. -</p> - -<p> -"Welcome, Sir John Forrester!—and thou too, my gay -Leslie! Ah! where didst get that scratch on thy nose?" -</p> - -<p> -"From the fan of little Sybil Douglas, at the queen's -masque yesterday." -</p> - -<p> -"The little firefly! Seats, gentlemen, seats! By my -faith, you are in ill-luck. 'Tis quite a fast-day with me, this, -and you will sup like starveling Franciscans." -</p> - -<p> -"Fast!" said tall Forrester, as he threw aside his cloak -and plume: "by St. Roque! if this is a fast-day, what are -thy festivals? But who is thy provant master—thy <i>fourrier -de campement</i>?" -</p> - -<p> -"My servitor—my trusty Lintstock." -</p> - -<p> -"Mass! would that I had such a valet as thou, and such -noble credit with my wine-merchant. Thou seest, Leslie, -what it is to be the king's favourite. Verily, Sir Roland -Vipont carries a coronet on the point of his sword. -Rogue! thou must pray well to have all these good things." -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, nay," said young Leslie, with a burst of reckless -laughter, "he pays old Father St. Bernard to do all that -for him." -</p> - -<p> -"Hast heard the news?" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, what news, Sir John?" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art to boune thee for the borders; for the king -swore in my hearing he would find other work for thy sword -than killing his most favourite courtiers." -</p> - -<p> -"These rascally Hamiltons? But Kincavil is not dead, -I hope?" -</p> - -<p> -"Far from it," said Leslie; "but the apothegar, from -whom I was purchasing some perfumes for little Sybil -Douglas, averred to me that he is in a perilous bad way." -</p> - -<p> -"When did these knaves of leeches ever aver a man was -otherwise?" said Roland, seating himself. "To table, -gentlemen, and pray do justice to the industry of my -fourrier, and the comforts of my poor den, or hermitage, which -you will; but prayer or no prayer, take care the cardinal -heareth not of your jesting, Leslie—about prayers, I mean." -</p> - -<p> -"The cardinal, that scarlet bugbear of the heretics? Oh, -I don't fear the cardinal; he is the steadfast friend and true -of my kinsman Norman, the Master of Rothes." -</p> - -<p> -"A slice of this veal, Leslie?" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, I thank you; this roasted duck is quite admirable." -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis from my estates in the country somewhere." -</p> - -<p> -"Rochelle—or Bourdeaux?" -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you—what news are abroad?" -</p> - -<p> -"Nothing," said Forrester, "but of the queen having -fainted twice to-day—poor little woman—to the consternation -of Madame de Montreuil, De Brissac, the king, and -all his court." -</p> - -<p> -"How pure this Bourdeaux is—spiced, too!" said Vipont. -"His eminence the cardinal (whom God long preserve!)——" -</p> - -<p> -"Save us, friend Roland!" said Leslie; "thou art turning -very religious." -</p> - -<p> -"Is about to take such measures as shall assuredly exterminate -the followers of those heretics, Resby, the Englishman, -and the abbot of Fearn. Master Buchanan is now in -the oubliette of St. Andrew's, where he will likely pay dearly -for his satire <i>Franciscanus</i>." -</p> - -<p> -"His eminence should confine himself to the pretty little -amusements afforded by his country-house at Creich," said -Forrester. -</p> - -<p> -"Didst thou see that poor devil drowned to-day?" -</p> - -<p> -"Who, Leslie?" -</p> - -<p> -"He whom the king's advocate discovered burying a cat alive." -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, I was hawking with the king on the Figgate-muir—the -more fool I! Lintstock, thou knave!" cried Vipont -to that functionary—who stood erect as a pike behind his -chair—"uncork me half-a-dozen of these flasks. Drain, -gentlemen, and replenish again; wine is a specific for -care—worth a thousand homilies!" -</p> - -<p> -"Lucky dog!" said Forrester; "thou drinkest out of -horns hooped with silver, while I, who am lord of -Corstorphine and Uchtertyre, must content me with plain beech -luggies." -</p> - -<p> -"Lintstock found them during our last raid into -Westmoreland. Nevertheless, Sir John, thank Heaven that you -were not, like me, born with a most portentous wooden spoon -in your mouth. I was an unlucky brat, and cried, it seems, -like a pagan at my baptism; a bad omen, as the Lady -Ashkirk told me. Fill again; but excuse me—my wound, you -know." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! that dainty dagger-thrust; but it is healing fast?" -</p> - -<p> -"By the total absence of an apothegar—yes. Hah! yonder -is a gay dame, followed by an esquire with the argent -and gules in his bonnet, crossing the Abbey Close. My -faith! 'tis Lady Anne of Arran, whom rumour says thou -lovest, Leslie." -</p> - -<p> -"How! that muirland-meg, Anne Hamilton? Ah! what -a taste I must have!" replied Leslie. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, thou wrongest him, Vipont," said Sir John of -Corstorphine; "'tis Marion Logan of Restalrig, who hath thy -heart; is it not, lieutenant of mine?" -</p> - -<p> -Leslie laughed, and coloured as he replied— -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis Marion whom we see, and not the Lord Arran's -daughter." The three gallants hastened to the window, as a -lady, holding up her brocaded skirt in that fashion which the -witty Knight of the Mount reprehended in his satires, passed -into a door of the palace. -</p> - -<p> -"Hast thou seen what Lindesay's new poem says of yonder -fashion of skirt-bearing?" said Forrester:— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "I trow St. Bernard, nor St. Blaise,<br /> - Caused never man bear up their claise;<br /> - Nor Peter, Paul, nor St. Andrew,<br /> - Bore up their tails like these, I trow;<br /> - But I laugh most to see a nun<br /> - Cause bear her tail——<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"The rest is vile ribaldry," said Vipont. -</p> - -<p> -"And by St. Bernard, and St. Blaise to boot, Sir David -deserves to be run through the body for so severely satirizing -the ladies of Holyrood. Ha! who cometh next?—the -cardinal!" -</p> - -<p> -As he spoke, Beaton, with a cavalcade of horsemen, passed -through the Abbey Close on an evening ride. -</p> - -<p> -"He sits on his horse like a true cavalier," said Vipont, -withdrawing a pace, as he observed the cardinal scrutinizing -his windows. -</p> - -<p> -"But observe the Abbot of Kinloss; he always rides -faster than his horse, and hangs on the bridle like a drowning -man." -</p> - -<p> -"His roan nag is covered with foam, while those of the -cardinal and his gentlemen are fresh as when they left their -stalls." -</p> - -<p> -"The daughter of his eminence and the young Lord Lindesay -are riding together," said Vipont; "a love case that, I -think." -</p> - -<p> -Amid jesting and laughing—for their light hearts and the -somewhat reckless manners of the time, when the sword was -rarely out of men's hands, imparted an almost boisterous -gaiety to the supper—the evening closed in, cloudy and -grey; darkness approached, and candles were lighted. The -clock struck half-past eight; but there were still four flasks -uncorked, when Lintstock entered, with a portentous expression -in his remaining eye, and laid before his master a square -packet, tied with blue ribands, which, like the edicts of -council, were officially sealed with green wax. -</p> - -<p> -"The devil! now what doth this portend?" muttered his -friends. -</p> - -<p> -"If the king knows that I have harboured a rebel lord!" -thought Roland, breathlessly, "my commission would be -worth about as much as my head. By the faith of Vipont! 'tis -in the name of the king, and countersigned by the -cardinal too!" -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -"<i>To our trusty friend, Sir Roland Vipont, of that Ilk.</i> -<br /> -"JAMES REX. -</p> - -<p> -"Right trusty friend, we greet you well and heartillie. -</p> - -<p> -"It is our royal will and pleasure, that with one hundred -arquebussiers of our guard, under Louis Leslie of Balquhan, -and two brass culverins, with their powder, shot, and -cannoneers conform, you do march to-morrow at daybreak unto -Douglasdale, for the capture, dead or alive, of Archibald -Seton, sometime Earl of Archkirk, our rebel and traitor, who -is rumoured to be resett in that district; where, without fail, -you will give all to fire and sword, be it castle or be it cottage, -wherein the said lord findeth shelter; for which you have this -our warrant. Hoping that you will do your devoire truly and -valiantly, according to the custom observit of auld, we commit -you to the protection of God. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -"DAVID, -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - "<i>Cardinal, Sancti Andrea, Commendator de Arbroath,<br /> - Chancellor of Scotland.</i>*<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - "From our Palace of Holyrood,<br /> - the 20th day of May, 1537."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* It is thus the Cardinal signed his name -to more than one document in the -author's possession. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"There, now, was not rumour right for once?" said Forrester. -</p> - -<p> -"Still the same enmity to my unfortunate friend!" said -Roland, whose face became pale, and whose teeth were clenched -with anger. -</p> - -<p> -"So we are to search for Lord Ashkirk among the Douglases," -laughed Leslie; "a right perilous expedition. Take -thy tall valet with thee, Vipont. 'Fore Heaven! that fellow, -with his prodigious sword, were worth a troop of lances on -such a service." -</p> - -<p> -Roland glanced keenly at the speaker. Had he penetrated -the earl's disguise? but there was nothing to be read but -pure honesty and candour in Leslie's handsome features. -He suspected not that the dictators of the order he had just -received knew well that the earl was much nearer than -Douglasdale. -</p> - -<p> -"Ha! do you not hear something?" said Roland, rising -up and listening. -</p> - -<p> -"The cry of a woman, as I live!" replied Leslie; "shrill -and deathly, too, as of one in sore distress; and there, now, -is the patter of pistolettes!" -</p> - -<p> -"Look out, Lintstock—thy one eye is worth a dozen—at -the back window—what seest thou?" -</p> - -<p> -"Torches moving about on St. John's Hill, the gleam of -steel, and I hear the cries of a woman; eh, sirs, but she -scraighs dreichly and eerilie!" was the reply of Lintstock, as -he snatched up a partisan. -</p> - -<p> -"To your swords, and away, gentlemen!" cried Roland, -unhooking his rapier from the wall; "'tis a woman in distress! -Meanwhile, Lintstock, away thou to the castle, seek -my firemaster and his matrosses, and desire that two pieces -of cannon and sixteen men in their armour, with horses and -all in fighting order, be before the palace by daybreak -to-morrow; look well to my own horses and new coat of mail -too. And now, sirs, let us go, in God's name!" and with -their mantles rolled round their left arms, and swords -unsheathed, they sprang down stairs, and dashed up the south -back of the Canongate, towards the base of St. John's Hill. -</p> - -<p> -They saw no one: the place was desolate, and perfectly -silent. -</p> - -<p> -The moon, which had been partially obscured, shone forth -for a moment, and revealed a pool of blood on the dusty road -which skirted the base of the hill. Near it lay a lady's -glove, and a man's bonnet of coarse blue cloth, but no traces -of a fray. -</p> - -<p> -On the bonnet was a pewter badge. -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis the cognisance of Redhall," said Roland, tossing the -bonnet away, and placing the glove in his belt. -</p> - -<p> -After frequently hallooing, and searching long and fruitlessly, -the three friends again sought St. Ann's Yard, but -not to finish the remaining flasks; for Roland and Leslie had -to prepare for their march by daybreak on the morrow, and -now the hour was late. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap17"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVII. -<br /><br /> -A LORD ADVOCATE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "<i>Camilla</i>. Thou execrable man, beware!—<br /> - "<i>Cenci</i>. Of thee?<br /> - Nay this is idle:—We should know each other.<br /> - As to my character for what men call <i>crime</i>,<br /> - Seeing I please my senses as I list,<br /> - And vindicate that right with force of guile,<br /> - It is a public matter, and I care not<br /> - If I discuss it with you."—<i>The Cenci</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The young earl and Lady Sybil were loth to part, for they -had met but recently; and after a long and painful -separation—painful by its danger and uncertainty—and full of -themselves and their plans for the future, the hours stole swiftly -past them. Thus the earl delayed so long in accompanying -his impatient sister, that the dusk had almost set in before -they left the house, on their promised visit to her friend at -St. Katherine's, where Jane proposed remaining until the noon -of the next day. -</p> - -<p> -The night was cloudy, and the streets were dark and misty, -so that two men, who emerged half tipsy from the <i>Cross and -Gillstoup</i>, following them softly and warily, and at the gate -of Redhall's house were joined by five others, were quite -unobserved. -</p> - -<p> -The earl was still disguised and liveried as Vipont's valet. -He wore a cuirass below his doublet, and carried the -conspicuous long rapier over his shoulder. Jane was muffled in a -close hood, so as to be completely unknown to the few -persons who were abroad in the dusk; and thus with security -she accompanied him, and leant upon his arm. Two servants -of their own name, from the earl's barony in Forfarshire, -marched before them with lighted links. Both these men -were tall, athletic and well armed, with jacks and caps of -iron, swords, daggers and hacques, or small handguns, about -three-quarters of a yard long. In those dangerous times -every trifling visit and affair had quite the aspect of a -conspiracy. -</p> - -<p> -The brother and sister were chatting merrily, and each was -speaking of the person whose image and interest lay nearest -their hearts: thus Jane spoke of Roland, his courage and -sincerity, his truth and hope; and of King James's ingratitude -in neglecting to reward his valour and loyal service. -</p> - -<p> -The earl spoke of his dark-eyed Sybil, and how he would -one day place his father's coronet on her brow; and would -do so on the morrow, if she would but fly with him to -England, where they might wed without that dispensation which -was yet required in Catholic Scotland, as they were both -within the prohibited degrees—a dispensation which the -cardinal's hostility, he feared, would withhold for ever, for -Beaton was legate of Paul III., north of the English -frontier. -</p> - -<p> -Rendered wary by necessity, and from the nature of the -times instinctively cautious, the earl looked back more than -once to observe whether they were followed. The streets -were almost deserted, and echoed to no other footsteps than -their own. They descended the Canongate, which was then -more open and less regular as a street than now; and -passing down a narrow loan between hedges, having a barnyard -on one side and a large "Berne-Kilne and Kobill" (the -appurtenances of an ancient distillery) on the other, they found -themselves on the solitary horseway which skirted the city on -the south, and led straight from the Cowgate Porte to the -Palace and St. Anne's Yard. -</p> - -<p> -On one side the craigs heaved up their tremendous front; -on the other rose a lofty ridge, at the north end of which -stood a chapel of St. John, at the south end a chapel -dedicated to St. Leonard, the Hermit of Orleans, and midway -between, the sharp ridgy roof of a large convent—St. Mary's -of Placentia—cut the sky. About its walls grew a number -of willows, planted by the fair recluses, in the spirit of that -beautiful old tradition which tells that our Saviour had been -scourged by willow rods, for which offence the trees had -drooped or wept in sorrow ever after. And there the migrating -crossbills built their nests—a bird, said by another old -legend to have taken its name from the circumstance of -having striven with its little bill to draw forth the nails from -the feet and hands of the dead Christ. -</p> - -<p> -A faint and pale light in the east brought the ridge and -its triple edifices forward in strong outline, and the gigantic -willows were seen waving their graceful branches mournfully -in the rising wind. The darkness of utter obscurity veiled -the front of the craigs, and the deep hollow at their base, -then a rough and savage gorge, round the edge of which lay -the road the earl and his sister were to pursue. -</p> - -<p> -A bell rang. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Archibald, let us hasten," said Lady Jane; "the -nuns are already saying the compline at St. Mary's yonder; -see how the chapel is lighted up!" -</p> - -<p> -"Faith! my good sister, I have dwelt so long under English -Henry's roof, that I have well-nigh forgotten these small -items of our ancient faith. I have seen church lands turned -into fair lay baronies, and more than one stately priory become -an earl's fief, its chapel a dining-hall, its cloisters a -stableyard, its refectory a dog's kennel. But omit not to ask the -fair Josina* to say one prayer for me, though I am such a -reprobate pagan. By all the furies! it seems very droll to -think that my little friend Josina hath become a prioress! I -cannot realize it! She will have quite forgotten me." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Josina Henrison was prioress of the Dominicans, -at the Siennes, near -Edinburgh, in the time of James V. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Do not think so, for she still uses the missal you gave -her before——" -</p> - -<p> -"My kinswoman Sybil came home from the convent at -Northberwick," said the earl, quickly. "Poor Josina!—and -I shall see her once more." -</p> - -<p> -"To-morrow at noon, when you and Roland come for -me—and yet perhaps it were better not." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art right, sister of mine. Poor Josina!" and, with a -sigh that told its own little story, the earl paused. -</p> - -<p> -"A religious life certainly never seemed to be her -vocation; and yet I pray God that she is happy. How now?" he -added, on hearing his followers wind up the wheels of their -hacques by the spanners (as they were named) which were -attached to the locks by small chains; "what dost thou hear, -Gilzean?" -</p> - -<p> -"Footsteps, my lord." -</p> - -<p> -"The echoes of our own, perhaps; but where?" -</p> - -<p> -"Behind; to be forewarned is to be forearmed." -</p> - -<p> -Lady Jane clung to her brother's arm, and drew her hood -closer over her face. They were now in a most lonely part of -the road. Above them, about a hundred and fifty yards up -the hill, towered the convent of St. Mary, with its high black -walls and waving willows; below them, on the left, the lights -of Holyrood were twinkling like wildfire, in the hollow afar -off, at the foot of the Craigs. The clouds were flying in -masses from west to east, and the tremulous stars looked -forth at intervals like red and fiery eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"Turn, my lord!" cried Gilzean, "for armed men are close -behind us." -</p> - -<p> -"Armed?" -</p> - -<p> -"Like oursels. 'Odslife! I heard the clink of iron-graith!" -</p> - -<p> -"Let us halt, then. Look to your arms, and extinguish -the links; for, if friends, we may proceed together; if foes, we -must drive them back. But Jane, in God's name, girl, do -not cling to me thus—release my sword-arm;—tush, lassie, -dost forget thou art half Seton, half Douglas?" -</p> - -<p> -Over his left shoulder the earl unsheathed the long weapon -with which Roland, partly in frolic, had accoutred him; his -two followers wound up their wheel-locks, stood by his side, -and peered into the gloom behind. They counted seven dark -shadows approaching in the starlight. -</p> - -<p> -"I see steel bonnets and Jedwood staves," said the earl. -</p> - -<p> -"And I, drawn whingers and bent pistolettes. Their hints -are alow," replied Gilzean, meaning that their matches were -lighted. "Three to seven!" -</p> - -<p> -"Tush! Gilzean, my good man and true, what matters -that? I will spit the odd four, like so many mavises, on -this long rapier." -</p> - -<p> -"Stand and surrender, or you are three dead men!" cried -one, through the obscurity. -</p> - -<p> -"Zounds!" said the earl, clenching his sword; "surely I -know that voice." -</p> - -<p> -"And I, too," added Jane, trembling excessively. -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis either the Laird of Redhall, or auld Hornie himsel'!" -muttered Gilzean Seton. -</p> - -<p> -"We are right, then—I am discovered at last! and my -lord advocate comes like a common messenger, the vilest of -villains, to arrest me." -</p> - -<p> -"Do you yield, sirs?" asked the same person, who was -now within ten yards of them. -</p> - -<p> -"Not to the assassins of Sir Thomas M'Clelland of Bombie!" -replied the earl, his heart animated by ferocious joy, -while his sister's whole form vibrated with terror. "Keep -aside, close to the fauld-dyke, my good sister, and leave us -freely to deal with these rascals; the first onset is everything!" -</p> - -<p> -Ashkirk led his sister close to the turf wall of the field -which bordered the roadway, and cried to his -followers—"Fire! and fire low!" -</p> - -<p> -Gilzean and his comrade levelled their hacques, the wheels -revolved like lightning, producing fire by the friction of the -pyrites; the combined report of these two handguns resounded -at once, and one man fell on the roadway with a wild cry -that sank into a hollow groan. -</p> - -<p> -The red flashes of three pistolettes replied; with a thousand -reverberations, their echoes died away among the cliffs, and -the bullets whistled harmlessly past the ears of the earl and -his vassals. With the <i>cri de guerre</i> of his family, -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -"Ashkirk and SET ON," -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -the gallant noble and his two devoted followers fell bravely -on their six adversaries, with whom a close and furious -contest ensued. -</p> - -<p> -The earl singled out the leader, and on engaging him, found -that he had three others to deal with at the same time, and -was thus compelled to act merely on the defensive, a perilous -predicament with so unwieldy a weapon. He swayed it with -both hands, according to the best rules then in use for -handling those ponderous wall-swords, and bent low his head -(which was protected by a tempered cabosset of proof), -seeking to discover the faces of his adversaries, but all seemed -blackness. They were masked. Red sparks flew in showers -from their swords, and the sudden emission of more than one -cry of pain acquainted the earl that the few thrusts which -he ventured to give had proved successful. -</p> - -<p> -"Lord earl, yield up your weapon!" cried the clear, full -voice of Redhall. Jane, as she cowered by the wall, recognized -it, and uttered a low cry of terror. "Yield!—yield!" -</p> - -<p> -"To thee?" said Ashkirk, with a scornful laugh. "May -eternal execration lie upon me if I do!" -</p> - -<p> -"Traitor, thou shalt rue this dearly!" replied the other, -wrathfully; "charge me your pistolettes again," he said to -his followers, "and make service surely!" -</p> - -<p> -Ashkirk replied by a tremendous back-handed blow, that -would infallibly have cut the speaker in two; but he sprang -back nimbly, and, by the fury of his stroke, the earl overstruck -himself so far, that, before he could recover his guard, -six vigorous hands were upon him, as many weapons gleamed -darkly at his throat, and then, for the first time, he discovered -that both his faithful followers were slain. Rising to his -full height, and towering above his capturers, he endeavoured -to throw them from him; but his vast strength failed; for, -fearing to let him free, eager to avenge the wounds he had -inflicted, and more passionately eager to serve their lord, -whom (lawless and savage as they were) they loved better -than life, and animated, no doubt, by the bribes which had -purchased their secresy and services, the followers of Redhall -hung upon the hands and throat of the furious earl like -bloodhounds. -</p> - -<p> -In a moment he was hurled to the earth, and pinioned -hand and tongue, for Nichol Birrel tore off his steel cap and -forced over his head one of those iron gags called in Scotland -a pair of branks. Shaped not unlike a royal crown, this -ignominious fetter was composed of four cross hoops, which -enclosed the head by springing from an iron ring that -encircled the neck, and was furnished with a steel plate for -entering the mouth, and forcibly holding down the tongue. -With his strong and regular teeth set firm as a vice, the -unfortunate noble resisted long this last and deadly insult, -but, unhappily, Sanders Screw, the torturer of the High -Court, was among his adversaries. Being well practised in -his profession, this daring ruffian thrust his thumbs behind -the ears of the earl, and thus brutally compelled him to open -his mouth. The gag was immediately forced in, and was held -there by a padlock at the back of his neck. -</p> - -<p> -The moment this was accomplished, four men raised him -by the legs and arms, and bore him off towards the town; -their wounded comrade followed, while the sixth remained -with Redhall. -</p> - -<p> -"Assist me to sweep away these carrion," said he, pointing -to the bodies that lay on the road, with the blood yet oozing -from their wounds; "in that field the corn is high, and they -will feed the crows as well there as hanging on the gibbet at -St. Giles's Grange." -</p> - -<p> -The bodies of the two Setons were raised upon the fauld-dyke, -but the heart of Redhall was too fiercely excited to feel -even a shudder as he and Dobbie flung them far among the -ripening grain, where they lay concealed, until found reduced -to skeletons by the terrified reapers in the harvest of that -year, as an old diary of the period informs us. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, away, for we have not a moment to lose, and this -traitor lord and dame must bide with me! Quick—quick! for -I hear shouts and footsteps!" -</p> - -<p> -Lady Jane, who had clung for support to the turf-wall of -the road during this furious conflict, which just terrified her -(but only in the same degree that a fisticuff battle might -scare a lady of the present day, who is all unused to see the -flash of steel), uttered shriek after shriek when her brother -was beaten down, and she saw no less than six armed men -struggling above him. Believing that they were busy with -their poniards, she rushed wildly forward to interpose, to save -or to die with him; when suddenly she was seized by one -who sheathed his sword, and threw his arms around her. -</p> - -<p> -"My brother! oh, my brother! Who are you that have -dared to do this, and who that dare to grasp me thus? -Cowards—cowards! I am the Lady Jane Seton! Oh, -misery! misery! My brother! my brother! Oh, thou who -wert so good, so kind, so brave—my mother—oh, my -mother—and they have slain him!" -</p> - -<p> -She uttered a shrill cry, and covered her face with her -hands on seeing him borne away; she muttered to herself -faintly and incoherently; for though she did not swoon, she -was perfectly passive, for horror and grief had prostrated all -her faculties, and she hung heavily in the arms of the tall -masked man, who was no other than Sir Adam Otterburn. -</p> - -<p> -The fury which had animated him during the conflict now -passed away as he pressed her to his breast, where a glow of -another kind began to kindle. Though he deemed there was -contamination in the ruffian's touch, he was glad to crave -the assistance of Dobbie, as he bore her away towards the -town; but they had barely reached the southern or back -gate of the Redhall Lodging (as his mansion was named), -when the steps of men were heard rapidly approaching from -the direction of the palace. Sunk deeply in the strong and -fortified wall, which bounded the Canongate on the south -and was overshadowed by a group of venerable chesnuts, this -gate was very much concealed and secluded. -</p> - -<p> -It was barely closed upon the whole party, when three -men passed with drawn swords. -</p> - -<p> -They were Sir Roland Vipont and his two friends, the -captain and lieutenant of the King's Foot Guard. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap18"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVIII. -<br /><br /> -THE CASTLE OF INCHKEITH. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "<i>Prometheus</i>. The tyrant is but young in power, and deems<br /> - His palace inaccessible to sorrow,<br /> - But bear him this defiance: I have seen<br /> - Two hated despots hurled from the same throne,<br /> - And in him I shall soon behold a third,<br /> - Flung thence to an irreparable ruin.<br /> - "<i>Mercury</i>. It was thy proud rebellion brought thee here,<br /> - Else thou hadst from calamity been free."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Half-an-hour after the earl and Lady Jane had set out for -the convent of St. Katherine, old Father St. Bernard -departed; and, after failing to convince the countess that her -belief in omens and predictions was altogether at variance -with the principles of their faith (arguments which she -always silenced by reminding him, that he was one of those -who had seen the spectre which appeared to James IV. in -St. Katherine's aisle at Linlithgow), he departed to his -dwelling among the houses of the prebendaries at St. Giles's, -and bestowed his solemn and usual benediction—"Pax Domini -sit semper vobiscum"—on Janet Seton, the sister of Gilzean, -and all the kneeling household, as he departed. -</p> - -<p> -The dark-haired Sybil, the fair Marion Logan, and the -stately figure of Alison Hume, were all bent over a large -embroidery frame, where they pretended to be working (for the -old-fashioned industry of the countess kept all busy about -her), but in reality they were conversing intently on the late -ball at the palace, and all their white necks and glossy ringlets -shone in the light of the candelabrum, as they were grouped -like the three Graces together. Reclined in an easy chair, -with her feet on a tabourette, and her face so buried in her -vast coif, that her nose (which was somewhat prominent) -alone was visible, the countess was spelling over the pages of -"The joyeuse Historie of the great Conqueror and excellent -Prince, King Arthur, sometyme King of the noble Realm of -England, with the Chivalry of the Round Table." -</p> - -<p> -It was one of those old black-letter emanations from -William Caxton's press, which the abbot of Westminster -erected for him, at the Almonry, in the parish of -St. Margaret, London. Her husband, Earl John, found it when -storming the English castle of Etal, and had given it to his -confessor, as a book of magic; for to the unlettered warrior -of the fifteenth century its strange black characters seemed -the very work of hell, and he had never touched the volume, -save with his gauntlets on. -</p> - -<p> -However, Father St. Bernard had taught the countess -that it was merely the romance of an old Welsh monk, and, -deeply immersed therein, she had just reached the account of -that dreadful battle fought by Arthur against Nero and King -Lot of Orkney, who was so foully deceived by the wicked -enchanter Merlin, and drawn into that strife around the -castle Terrible, where Sir Kaye the seneschal and Sir Hervis -de Revel performed such deeds as none ever achieved but -knights of the Round Table; and where twelve valiant kings -were slain, and buried in Stephen's church at Camelot. The -countess, we say, had just reached this interesting point, and -believing it all implicitly, was crossing herself at the -contemplation of such a slaughter, when her favourite tabby, which -was seated on the table, with its prodigious whiskers bristling, -and its sleepy eyes winking at the wax candles, sneezed -violently, which made her cross herself again three several times. -</p> - -<p> -A dog howled mournfully in the yard. -</p> - -<p> -The countess laid aside her book, took off her barnacles, -and began to think. -</p> - -<p> -"All the dogs in Linlithgow howled on the day James IV. was -killed at Flodden!" -</p> - -<p> -The good old lady was seriously discomposed, and she was -just feeling for an Agnus Dei, which Father St. Bernard had -given her to keep away the nightmare, when Janet her -tire-woman, and Sabrino the page, with his poniard unsheathed, -rushed into the room. The former looked pale as death, and -was almost breathless; the visage of the latter was a ghastly -blue; his eyes were glaring with alarm; he held one finger -on his lips, and pointed downwards with another to the -staircase, where now a sudden uproar of voices mingling with the -clash of swords was heard. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh! madam! madam! my puir dear lady! it's a' a' owre—it's -a' owre noo! They are coming! they are coming!" -cried Janet, with a most prolonged "Oh!" of grief. -</p> - -<p> -"Then my four omens this day have not been for nocht!" -said the countess, rising up to the full extent of her great -stature; while the three young ladies rushed to her side like -startled doves; "but speak, ye foolish woman, speak! Who -are coming?" -</p> - -<p> -"They are coming to arrest you, and we are a' lost! lost! lost! -Oh, the hands of dule and death are spread this nicht -owre the Setons o' Ashkirk." And seizing the hands of her -mistress, the woman kissed them, and then throwing herself -on her knees, buried her face in her scarlet curtsey, rocking -her body to and fro, and exclaiming with that noisy grief so -common to her class, "Oh Archibald—my nurseling—my -son, and mair than my son (for thou art the head of the -name)—thy curly pow will sune be on the Netherbow, wi' -the gleds and the corbies croaking owre it!" -</p> - -<p> -The countess trembled and grew pale; but drawing herself -proudly up (and her height was as towering as her aspect -was majestic), she said calmly, -</p> - -<p> -"Let them come! I have seen my father hewn down -before my eyes, and I have heard the clang of steel upon my -hearth ere now. Let them come—they are welcome; but -more welcome would they be," she added, with an almost -savage flash in her eyes, "if I were among my father's race -in Douglasdale!" -</p> - -<p> -While she spoke, the heavy arras concealing the doorway -was raised, and a number of sturdy legs cased in red -stockings, shoes garnished with enormous red rosettes, and the -butt-ends of partisans, became visible. Then the Albany -herald, a dark and stately man, about forty years of age, clad -in his gorgeous tabard, carrying his plumed cap in one hand -and a paper in the other, entered the room, bowing almost to -the ribbons at his knees. The Bute pursuivant who accompanied -him held back the arras, and revealed four halberdiers -of the provost clad in the city livery, blue gaberdines laced -upon the seams with yellow, and ten men of the cardinal's -guard, wearing the colours of Bethune and the arms of the -archbishopric of St. Andrew's worked upon the sleeves and -breasts of their doublets. They were armed with steel caps, -swords, and partisans, but remained respectfully without the -apartment. One was bleeding profusely from a wound on -the cheek, having had a tough encounter with the armed -servants below. -</p> - -<p> -"Herald," said the countess haughtily, "if you seek the -earl, my son, I swear to you that he is not here!" -</p> - -<p> -The herald hesitated. -</p> - -<p> -"By the forty blessed altars of St. Giles, I swear to you -that he is not!" -</p> - -<p> -"Madam, I do not seek the earl," said the herald, with the -utmost respect; "but I have here an order from his eminence -the cardinal as lord chancellor, and in the name of the -king, for your arrest." -</p> - -<p> -"Mine!" rejoined the countess, thanking God in her -inmost heart that it was not her unwary son they sought; -"for my arrest! on what charge, herald!" -</p> - -<p> -"Treason: the resetting of rebels, and——" he paused. -</p> - -<p> -"What more wouldst thou dare to say?" -</p> - -<p> -"Suspicion of sorcery, or teaching thy daughter sorcery." -</p> - -<p> -"Sorcery?" reiterated the countess, gazing at him with -terrified eyes, and speaking almost with the voice of a dying -person; while the three girls, who clung to her robe, uttered -a cry of alarm. "Daredst thou have said so much to my -father, Sir Archibald Douglas, of Kilspindie?" -</p> - -<p> -"I would have said so to any man under God, whom the -king commanded me to arrest." -</p> - -<p> -"But to a helpless woman?" -</p> - -<p> -"I am in the king's service, madam." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art a Hamilton!" said the countess, scornfully. -</p> - -<p> -"I <i>am</i>, madam," replied the herald, proudly; "I am -John Hamilton, of Darnagaber—a gentleman of the house -of Arran." -</p> - -<p> -"I thought as much," said the countess, curtsying scornfully -again to conceal how her knees bent under her; "the -gentlemen of that house are thick as locusts now." -</p> - -<p> -"Do not look on me thus, madam," said the herald, with -dignity; "I am a gentleman of coat-armour, and brook my -lands as my forbears won them, by captainrie and the -sword." -</p> - -<p> -"Allace!" said the countess, as she obtained a glimpse of -the armed men; "what new dishonour is this? why am I -arrested by the cardinal's guards, who are but mere kirk -vassals?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sir John Forrester and the lieutenant of the king's guard, -could not be found: besides, madam, they are the assured -friends of the master of the ordnance, who——" -</p> - -<p> -"And thou, John Hamilton of Darnagaber, art thou not -ashamed to execute these orders?" said the bold and beautiful -Sybil, fixing her keen black eyes, with an expression of -unutterable scorn, on the calm face of the herald. -</p> - -<p> -"Noble damsel," he answered, quietly, "I have said that -I am in the king's service, and obey but the constituted -authorities of the land; yet I do so, deploring from my soul -this cruel and sad necessity." -</p> - -<p> -"Sorcery!" said the countess, speaking to herself; "by -my father's bones! Sorcery—oh! my God!—sorcery! Woe -worth the deviser of this scheme—for a scheme it is, which -the swords of Ashkirk and Angus shall unravel." She added, -tying on her hood and cloak of sables with trembling hands, -"Alison Hume, do thou look to my jewels and other valuables; -they lie in that strong cabinet; but, Sir Herald, what of these -three noble ladies, my guests and kinswomen; they——" -</p> - -<p> -"Are not included in the warrant." -</p> - -<p> -"Then they shall remain with my daughter here." -</p> - -<p> -"Your daughter, lady," said the herald, confusedly; "nay, -they must be sent to their families under safe escort: my own -sons, who serve in the king's guard, shall convey them with -all honour to their homes. Be easy on that score, madam." -</p> - -<p> -"But thou, my doo—Sybil?" -</p> - -<p> -"I," sobbed Sybil, "oh, dear madam, I go with you." -</p> - -<p> -"To ward?" -</p> - -<p> -"To death, madam—my second mother! for such, indeed, -you have been." -</p> - -<p> -"My puir bairn, thou hast nowhere else to go; for thy -father is in exile, and Hamilton of Dalserf holds his castle -and barony of Kilspindie." -</p> - -<p> -"Lady Ashkirk, where is your daughter, the Lady Jane?" -said the herald, unwilling to say that his cruel warrant -included her also. -</p> - -<p> -"She is at the convent of Sienna, where, I pray you, to let -her hear these heavy tidings gently." The herald bowed with -increasing gravity. "But whither go we now—to the castle, -of course?" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, madam, to the tower of Inchkeith." -</p> - -<p> -"A sure place, and a strong too! The high rocks and the -deep waves were not required surely to fence in a feeble auld -body like mine. Be it so—I am ready! Oh, for a score of -those good men and true, that my husband led to the battle -of Linlithgow! Where now are all the gallant and the -generous hearts of other days?" -</p> - -<p> -"God hath taken them to himself, madam," replied the -herald, whose eyes moistened. -</p> - -<p> -"Your pardon, sir; I knew not that I spoke aloud." -</p> - -<p> -"Lady Ashkirk, your husband spared my life on that -unfortunate field. When the Master of Glencairn, with a -thousand Douglas lances, forded the Avon, and cut the -column of Bardowie to pieces, I had there been slain but for -your husband's valour. I owe his memory a debt of -gratitude—trust to my kindness. Horses are in waiting to convey -you to Leith; and I have orders to see that your household -property is every way respected. All lights and fires are to -be extinguished—all bolts and bars made fast, and I place my -seal upon the doorway." -</p> - -<p> -"God be with thee, Alison, and thee, my bonnie Marion. -Fare-ye-well, my bairns; and thou, too, Janet, my leal servitor—" -</p> - -<p> -"This woman may attend your ladyship." -</p> - -<p> -"Sir, I thank you," said the countess, but Janet could only -weep, and she did so with great vociferation. -</p> - -<p> -The herald took the hand of the countess respectfully; she -leaned on the arm of Sybil, the sable page raised her long -train, the guards fell back to salute her as she passed, and, amid -the sound of lamentation above, below, and around her, she -descended the long stone staircase of her mansion, a prisoner. -</p> - -<p> -Situated three miles from Leith, in the middle of the Firth -of Forth, the ancient tower of Inchkeith (which was demolished -in 1567) occupied the summit of that beautiful isle, on -a rock one hundred and eighty feet above the water. It was -of vast strength and great antiquity, for it was the <i>Caer Guidi</i> -of the venerable Bede. Well defended by cannon and a -barbican wall, which bore the royal arms of Scotland, it was -deemed a place of such importance that the Queen Regent, -Mary of Guise, and the French ambassador, John de Montluc, -the learned bishop of Valence, paid it a visit twelve years after -the date of this our history. Inaccessible on all sides, save -one, this island is fertile on its summit, and is watered by -many springs that flow from its rocks, which are literally -swarming with grey rabbits and fierce Norwegian rats. -</p> - -<p> -The night was dark, but guided by a beacon of turf and -tar-barrels that blazed on the summit of the tower to direct -them (for the cardinal and lord advocate had provided for -everything), eight mariners of the admiral Sir Robert -Barton's ship pulled sturdily across the broad river towards -Inchkeith. Few stars were visible, and a chill wind from the -German Sea blew coldly across the broad bosom of the open -estuary. -</p> - -<p> -The island, with the light gleaming like a red star on its -summit, loomed darkly afar off in the distance, and seemed -to rise in height at every stroke of the oars. The countess -was seated in the stern beside the anxious Albany herald, -whose dread of a rescue made him lose no time in executing -the orders of the lord advocate. -</p> - -<p> -The seamen bent to their oars in sullen silence, and under -their fur caps and shaggy eyebrows gave hostile glances from -time to time at the countess, for the whisper of sorcery was, -in those days of superstition, more than enough to steel every -heart against her. Full of her own sad and bitter thoughts, -she was unaware of this, and sat proudly and erect, with the -cold wind blowing on her fine but pallid features. Within -the last two hours she seemed to have grown much older. -Her nose had become pinched, her cheeks haggard, but her -unmoistened eyes were full of fire; for indignation and -studied revenge -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Had locked the source of softer woe;<br /> - And burning pride, and high disdain!<br /> - Forbade the rising tear to flow."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The graceful head of Sybil reclined on her shoulder; she -wept bitterly; and the countess, who thought of her absent -daughter with more fear and sorrow than for her son, whose -daring character she knew well, pressed the orphan heiress of -Kilspindie to her breast. -</p> - -<p> -She knew not the depth or the daring of Redhall's plot; -that her daughter was included in the same warrant, and that -with him alone lay the power of opening or closing for ever -the door of the prisons which were now to enclose them. -</p> - -<p> -Two torches, which were borne by two of the Cardinal Guard -(for this prelate had found a band of pikemen necessary for his -protection against the assassins constantly employed by -Henry VIII. for his destruction), cast a lurid glare upon the -boat's crew and the seething water, as they streamed in the -night wind; on the steel caps and glancing weapons of the -soldiers, the wiry beards and swarthy visages of the seamen; -on the herald's splendid tabard; on the black, shining visage -of Sabrino, and on the reddened waves of the Forth, which -became crested with foam as they neared the rocks of the isle, -where they were seen dashing like snow over the jagged reefs -of the Long Craig. -</p> - -<p> -The torchlight, the moaning breeze, the lonely water, and -the dark and gloomy sky, all combined to give a wild and -picturesque aspect to the whole scene; which must infallibly -have impressed the countess, and still more so the romantic -Sybil, had they been less occupied with their own thoughts. -Yet one could not repress a shudder, or the other a faint -cry, when at times the frail boat plunged down into the -trough of the dark waves, or rose on their summits, with the -broad blades of the weather-oars flourishing in the air. -</p> - -<p> -The jarring of the boat against the rude rocks of the creek -on the south-west, the only landing-place, roused the countess -from her reverie, and she shuddered still more to see, frowning -stupendously above her, the strong square tower of the Inch, -perched on the very verge of "the Climpers," as the fishermen -name those basaltic cliffs, against which the waves are ever -rolling in one eternal sheet of foam. -</p> - -<p> -The sheer rocks of the creek are perpendicular as a wall, -and are fully sixty feet high, while those of the tower are -exactly thrice that height. In this narrow fissure the troops -of the queen-mother landed in 1549, to drive out the English -and Germans who had lodged themselves there; when Monsieur -de Biron had half his helmet driven into his head by the shot -of one arquebuse; Monsieur Desbois, his standard-bearer, was -siain by another, while the Cavaliere Gaspare Strozzi, captain -of the Italians, and many more, fell before the English were -cut to pieces. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, my winsome bairn—my daughter Jeanie—when again, -shall I ever behold thee?" exclaimed the poor old countess, -as she stretched her trembling hands in the direction of the -city, which being then buried in the gloom and obscurity of -midnight, was totally invisible. "When shall I behold again -thee? But, till then, may that blessed Virgin whose wondrous -sanctity our Lord hath honoured with sae many miracles, -keep a watch over thee!" -</p> - -<p> -"Assuredly, there is no witchcraft here!" thought the -Albany herald. -</p> - -<p> -Rolled up in a warm cloak of couleur-du-roi, Sir James -Hamilton, of Barncleugh, captain of the tower, was ready at -the landing-place with a few soldiers and torchbearers to -receive them. Attended by these and the herald, Lady Ashkirk, -leaning on the arms of Sybil and Janet, with the taciturn -Sabrino following, ascended the zigzag path which leads into -the beautiful and verdant little valley that lies in the centre -of the island, and is sheltered from the cold wind by basaltic -cliffs on the east and west. -</p> - -<p> -Above them rose the dark outline of the tower, with the -large red balefire sputtering on its summit to direct the -homeward-bound ships of Leith. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap19"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIX. -<br /><br /> -THE FORTUNATE SWORD-THRUST. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Adew Edinburgh! that heich triumphant toun,<br /> - Within quhose bounds richt blytheful I have been;<br /> - Of trew merchants, the rout of this regioun,<br /> - Most ready to ressave court, king, and queen.<br /> - Thy policie and justice may be seen,<br /> - Were devotioun, wysedom, and honestie,<br /> - With credence tint, they micht be found in thee."<br /> - LINDESAY OF THE MOUNT.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -In total and happy ignorance of the events of the past night, -Roland awoke next morning. The dawn was struggling -through an atmosphere of mist and fog. Though roused by -the tramp of feet and the lumbering roll of artillery wheels, -he would fain have slept a little longer, for the palace clock -was only striking four; but he sprang out of bed with the -resolution of a soldier, and found old Lintstock all accoutred -in his sleeved habergeon, with gourgerin, salade, sword, -dagger, and priming-horn, ready to dress and arm him, a process -which use and wont made wonderfully short, when we consider -that Roland was to be encased in a complete suit of plate -armour. It was elaborately gilded and engraved with legends -of the Scottish saints, for such was the superstition of the -age, that such devices were deemed a protection greater even -than a coat of tempered mail. His helmet was surmounted -by the crest of the Viponts, a swan's head rising from a ducal -coronet, all of frosted silver, and above it floated his plume. -A belt of perfumed and embroidered leather sustained his -sword and dagger, and in his hand he carried a gilt baton as -captain or master of the ordnance. For breakfast, a slice of -beef and a pot of wine from the relics of the supper sufficed -both him and Lintstock, who said— -</p> - -<p> -"Now that old bundle of roguery, who keeps the <i>Cross -and Gillstoup</i>, will be ready to curse himsel' wi' bell, book, -and candle, when he finds we're awa'; and he may whistle on -the wind for payment." -</p> - -<p> -"Till I return, say, I pray you." -</p> - -<p> -"Of course; we'll pick up some braw things by way o' -contribution. The king's soldiers, gentlemen of the sword, -maun live, and live wi' honour." -</p> - -<p> -"Is the earl here?" -</p> - -<p> -"The earl!" -</p> - -<p> -"Of course; he is going with us." -</p> - -<p> -"To look for himself?" -</p> - -<p> -"Surely—an excellent joke; I meant to take him, where in -reality none expect to find him; for I tell thee, Lintstock, this -march westward is all a trick of mine enemies at court, to banish -me from the king's presence and this good town of Edinburgh, -when they know I would give my ears to remain in it." -</p> - -<p> -"Aha!" said Lintstock, giving under his helmet a shrewd -Scots wink with his solitary eye; "I can see into a millstone -as far as my neighbours; but, certes! I saw na this." -</p> - -<p> -Roland yawned below his visor as he faced the cold breeze -that swept from the sea round Arthur's Seat, and gave a -casual glance at the hundred soldiers of the guard whom his -friend Leslie was arraying with their arquebuses, rests, and -bandoliers; and another at his sixteen gunners, who were all -stout men in steel bonnets and jacks, armed with swords and -glove of plate, and who were tracing the horses, and -preparing two very handsome French culverins for the march. -These were two of those fifty-six beautiful pieces of brass -cannon, presented by Francis I. to his daughter Magdalene -on her becoming queen of Scotland, and which were long -after known in the arsenal by his cipher, which was engraved -on them. -</p> - -<p> -Like all men of the old school (for they have existed in -every age, and every age has had "a good old time" to -regret), Lintstock was scrutinizing these cannon narrowly -with his one eye, and commenting from time to time in sorrow -and with anger on the various innovations they exhibited, -and the multitude of ornamental rings which encircled the -first and second reinforce, the chase and muzzle of each; and -he could not repress a groan at the trunnions with which -they were supported on the carriages, and the curved -dolphins, which served for mounting and dismounting them. -Thrawn-mouthed Mow, which had knocked out his left eye -by her splinters, had been blessedly free (as he remembered) of -all such useful ornaments, and lay on her stock like one log -lying on another. -</p> - -<p> -"By my holy dame! but this dings Dunse!" said the old -fellow, shaking his battered morion; "this world will no do -now for an auld body like me; and the suner I march to my -lang hame the better. Gude-sake! what have they made o' -the aim frontlets?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sic auld-fashioned things are no needed, ye grumbling -carle," said a young cannonier; "especially when the -trunnions are so placed, and the quoins are so low." -</p> - -<p> -"Ye are but a bairn; trunnions! we levelled six-and-twenty -pieces on Flodden field, and devil a trunnion was -among them a'. We were but ten thousand that day, and -the Lord Surrey had six-and-twenty thousand under his -banner: but say nae mair o' Flodden, for I feel as if this -corslet would burst when I think o't." -</p> - -<p> -Roland paid no attention to the old soldier's complaints; -he was intently observing a man who was muffled in a -sad-coloured mantle, and leaned against the wall of James the -Fifth's Tower, watching the preparations for the departure of -this little band. The hour was so early that no other -person was visible about the palace, save the arquebusiers eo -duty in the archways. -</p> - -<p> -"Yonder is either Redhall, or his friend with the horns," -thought Roland. "Now, what errand can bring my lord -advocate abroad at this early hour? Ah, rascal! more than -probable it is to thee I owe this untimeous march, without -bidding once adieu to her who loves me so well." -</p> - -<p> -Being somewhat curious to know wherefore this man, whom -he knew to be his enemy, was lounging there, Roland walked -slowly and deliberately towards him. -</p> - -<p> -A fatality attended Redhall this morning. -</p> - -<p> -Lady Jane and the earl, her brother, were both now safe -in his house—a strong edifice, which, if properly garrisoned, -might have stood a siege of all their faction; and there we -shall, ere long, pay them a visit. The earl he valued at a -thousand merks; but his sister he prized more than all the -wealth of the Indies. Restless and anxious, this arch-conspirator -could not feel sure of his capture, while so enterprising -a pair of comrades as Vipont and Leslie were in -Edinburgh; and burning with impatience to see them fairly -depart (on an expedition from which he was resolved they -should never return), he had never undressed or been in bed, -and had now come to observe if they marched, before the -tidings of the countess's arrest, and the disappearance of her -daughter, spread throughout the city. -</p> - -<p> -In those stirring times, the most daring outrages were -esteemed but casual occurrences, and were thought little more -of than a shower of rain. A day never passed in which a -dozen of castles were not stormed, or petty conflicts fought, -in various parts of the country; and the good folks of -Edinburgh were so much accustomed to the clash of swords, and -seeing men run each other through the body for no better -reason than because their worthy fathers had done the same -before them, that the din of steel on the Hiegait was deemed -scarcely worth raising one's window for. Ten thousand -clansmen might fight a battle now and then in the wilds of -Ross or Argyle, and might even burn Inverness by way of -variety; and two months after, the news thereof would reach -Holyrood. The energy and ability of James V. and the -cardinal established the Courts of Session and Justiciary for -the repression of such outrages; but these tribunals did not -prevent the lord high treasurer from carrying off an heiress, -a ward of the crown, and marrying her, <i>bongré malgré</i>, to his -son; while the next generation saw without surprise the lord -high chancellor murdering the secretary of state under the -very eyes of royalty; consequently, the reader must not -imagine that it was any qualm of fear or conscience either -that disturbed Redhall, and banished sleep from his eyes. -No; restless exultation alone kept him awake. The time to -visit his fair captive had not yet come; the first paroxysm of -her grief and anger had to pass; and then to cool his excitement -and see his rival fairly <i>en route</i> for Douglasdale, he had -walked forth with the first peep of dawn. -</p> - -<p> -Who that saw his grave and thoughtful face, and knew -his stern and lofty character, would have imagined that amid -the sea of vast political matters in which he and the cardinal -were immersed, and amid the busy whirl of their tumultuous -public duties, gentle love had found a passage to his iron -heart? An infernal joy had now kindled a new glow within -it; and there was a wild gleam in his eyes, and a feverish -flush on his cheek, as Roland Vipont approached him. -</p> - -<p> -Sir Adam Otterburn, of Redhall, says an old historian, was -one of the handsomest men of his time; but, notwithstanding -that he knew this well, the aspect of Vipont in his -armour, blending the perfect ease of the cavalier with the -loftiness of a true soldier, kindled in his bosom a glow of -jealousy, not unmixed with envy, and anger that he had been -discovered in his lurking-place. -</p> - -<p> -Turning haughtily, he was about to walk slowly away -towards the great doorway of the abbey church, when the -voice of Roland arrested him with more hauteur than policy. -</p> - -<p> -"Ho! Sir Adam! you are abroad betimes this morning." -</p> - -<p> -Redhall turned and bowed with a cold smile in his eyes, -the ferocious expression of which he vainly endeavoured to -conceal. -</p> - -<p> -"I crave pardon for interrupting your lordship's morning -reveries or orisons," said Roland, with somewhat of mischief -in his eye; "but, 'odzounds! you must know that I permit -no man to pass or avoid me without a pretty weighty reason; -and your lordship has just so served me." -</p> - -<p> -"'S life, sir! dost thou think that I will give any reasons -to one who queries me in such a tone?" -</p> - -<p> -"I did not <i>thou</i> thee," replied Roland, with rising wrath. -</p> - -<p> -"Nor did I seek thee," rejoined Redhall; and then they -paused a moment, and gazed at each other with eyes of hatred: -the soldier with the expression of a lion, the lawyer with that -of a serpent. In his secret soul each nourished a storm of -vengeance that longed to break forth; but Redhall's was -almost subdued by his giddy exultation, and the reflection -that Jane Seton was now, legally and illegally, so doubly in -his power. "Nor did I seek thee," he continued, "and had -I on mine armour, this insolence of first addressing me had -assuredly been chastised." -</p> - -<p> -"Mansworn dog!" exclaimed Roland, trembling with passion; -"thou who cloakest thy cowardice under the wing of -this new-fangled court," he added, seizing Redhall by his -short-peaked beard, and almost rending it from his chin, "am -I thine inferior, that <i>thou</i> shouldst acknowledge me first?" -</p> - -<p> -Redhall's bonnet fell off; his dark eyes gleamed with rage; -his moustaches seemed to bristle, and his black hair waved -about his face like the mane of a Scottish bull. He could -only utter a cry of fury, as he unsheathed his sword, -regardless of the place, and that he was totally without armour; -while Roland was in full mail for active service. -</p> - -<p> -"Come on," he cried, hoarsely, for rage had deprived him -almost of speech; "come on—thou—thou—on your -guard! quick! quick! or I am through you!" Roland hesitated. -</p> - -<p> -"It were a coward's deed to slay thee," he replied, -unsheathing his long Italian sword in self-defence, and feeling -its point with the leather palm of his gauntlet; "though -perhaps it is owing to thee, and such as thee alone, that my -sword now wins more blows than bonnet-pieces in the king's -service." -</p> - -<p> -Redhall rushed to the assault, and both their swords became -engaged from point to hilt; but Roland acted strictly on the -defensive. He knew that to slay Redhall would be both -dangerous and dishonourable; while, if the reverse happened, -Redhall would gain immortal honour at court, and run no -secondary risk. Vipont was a poor soldier of fortune, who -lived by knight-service and the sword; while Redhall was -a powerful baron, allied to many warlike nobles, and a high -officer of state. -</p> - -<p> -Roland parried one <i>counter-en-carte</i> so close to his throat -that it would certainly have slain him where the gorget -met the cuirass; and then, finding that he had to do with no -ordinary swordsman, he endeavoured to twist his own rapier -in his adversary's, and lock-in; but Redhall met his blade in -time; it glided along his own like lightning, and then they -both retired a step. -</p> - -<p> -In the palace yard the trumpet sounded for the march; as -Roland became impatient his anger rose, and he replied to -four terrible thrusts by one which pierced the shoulder-blade -of his adversary, and hurled him to the earth, breaking his -sword like a crystal wand as he fell. -</p> - -<p> -In the sequel it will be seen how fortunate this thrust was -for Jane Seton. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, hold thee, Vipont!" cried Leslie, through his barred -helmet, as he ran up at that moment, "by all the powers, -thou hast slain the king's advocate!" -</p> - -<p> -"Be easy," said Roland, smiling, as he carefully sheathed -his sword; "dost think the devil dies so readily?" -</p> - -<p> -"'S death! art thou not mad, to be fencing here like a -French sword-player when our trumpets are sounding?" -said Leslie, as he assisted Redhall to rise. "You are not -wounded, my lord, I hope?" -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis only a stab like a button-hole—pshaw! I will make -a sure account of it," said Redhall, wrapping his cloak about -him, and striking the hilt of his sword into the top of the -empty sheath. -</p> - -<p> -"A good day to thee, thou hypocrite and assassin in black -taffeta," said Roland, leaping on his caparisoned horse, which -Lintstock led up at that moment. -</p> - -<p> -"Farewell, thou ruffian and cut-throat in plate and -cloth-of-gold," replied Redhall, in the same tone of fierce irony. -</p> - -<p> -"I will remember thy politeness, Sir Adam." -</p> - -<p> -"I will not forget thine, Sir Roland;—adieu." -</p> - -<p> -And thus they separated, with bent brows, and eyes and -hearts full of fire and hatred. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap20"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XX. -<br /><br /> -THE BLACK PAGE. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Ha! there was a fatal evidence.<br /> - All's over now, indeed!<br /> - The morning tide shall sweep his corpse to sea,<br /> - And hide all memory of this stern night's work."—SCOTT.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Leaning on the arm of Sybil, and attended by Sir James -Hamilton of Barncleugh, the Albany herald and their followers, -we left the countess ascending the little valley which -lies in the centre of Inchkeith. They proceeded in silence, -for the path was somewhat perilous; the early morning was -yet grey, though the eastern sky and ocean were fast -brightening with the coming day. A cold wind swept over -the bosom of the waters that girdled in the isle. About the -middle of the valley a cleft in the rocks was reached, through -which the pathway passed at direct right angles with that -they had hitherto pursued; and from thence they continued -to ascend, until they reached the summit of those precipices -which, from the water, seemed to be inaccessible, and where -the iron gate of the barbican stood, with a moss-grown -Scottish lion carved in stone above it. -</p> - -<p> -The light had been rapidly increasing as they ascended, -and now behind bars of golden cloud the broad round morning -sun rose red and gloriously from his bed in the German -Ocean; and then indeed did the beautiful river, that from -Highland hills rolls down on yellow sands, seem one vast tide -of molten gold flowing to the dark blue sea; and beautifully -in the warm sunshine were that bright blue and brighter gold -mingling afar off in the estuary. -</p> - -<p> -The morning smoke and the humid vapours of the past -night yet veiled the close dense masses of the capital; but -the spire of St. Giles's, and the embattled tower of King David, -the loftiest summit of the castle, whereon the St. Andrew's -cross was waving, were visible above the gauzy mist that -veiled the glens below. -</p> - -<p> -Clad in the brightest hues of summer, on one side lay Fife, -its long expanse of sand studded by busy towns and red-tiled -villages, baronial towers and ancient churches, its bold -promontories jutting into the majestic river, and its beautiful -mountains rising behind. On the other lay the three -Lothians, with all their ripening fields and dark-green woods, -the lonely cone of Soltra, the lonelier Lammermuirs, and the -undulating sweep of the far-stretching Pentlands, a long blue -waving chain of heath-clad mountain, that dwarfed the lesser -hills, and threw the wooded cliffs of Corstorphine, the -Calton, the castled rock, and even proud Arthur's basaltic brow, -into comparative obscurity. So deceiving is distance, that -this chain of peaks seemed to start abruptly from the very -margin of the river; and Leith, with all its dense old Flemish -wynds and closes, its marts and shipping, St. Mary's spire -and old St. Anthony's tower, seemed to nestle at their feet. -</p> - -<p> -Westward of the isle lay that armed fleet which had so -recently arrived from France, under the pennon of Admiral -Sir Robert Barton, brother of that other gallant Admiral Sir -Andrew Barton, who, when returning from fighting the -Portuguese, with two solitary ships, was waylaid by Lord Howard -and the whole English fleet in the Downs, where he was -slain by a cannon-ball. -</p> - -<p> -The dawn of day, which had displayed this magnificent -panorama to the countess and Lady Sybil, had also revealed -the sable visage of Sabrino to Sir James Hamilton of -Barncleugh, who had never seen or heard of a black man before; -so he preceded the party, in some perturbation, signing the -cross as fast as if all St. Anthony's imps were behind him, -and marvelling at so hideous a masque. -</p> - -<p> -"Welcome to the tower of Inchkeith, ladies," said he, -turning round, and raising his bonnet at the barbican gate. -</p> - -<p> -The countess replied, "Heaven grant I may soon return -the welcome in my own house, Sir James." -</p> - -<p> -"Though I <i>am</i> a Hamilton?" replied the knight, with a -smile. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, yes; for these dire feuds begin to weary me." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! old fox," muttered the castellan under his beard; -"because thy nose is below the water now. Had we lost, and -the Douglases won the battle of Linlithgow," said he, with a -smile, "I doubt much if the feud had been tiresome to the -Lady Ashkirk." -</p> - -<p> -"She had not been <i>here</i> to-day," replied the countess; -"but how—what does this mean?" she added, with some -asperity, on seeing that two soldiers, in obedience to a sign -from Barncleugh, crossed their pikes before Sabrino, to -prevent his entering the tower. -</p> - -<p> -"It means, madam, that this black thing, quhilk in visage -so closely resembles the promoter of all evil, cannot enter -here." -</p> - -<p> -"Sir James of Barncleugh," said the Albany herald, -interposing, "he is the countess's page." -</p> - -<p> -"Page! ugh! I like not to look upon him. I would do -much for thee, John of Darnagaber, who art mine own natural-born -clansman, and more for the widow of gallant Earl John -of Ashkirk (a Seton and Douglas man though he was), but, -by my holy dame! this black devil, whom I have no order -to receive, shall not enter the tower of Inchkeith, that is flat!" -</p> - -<p> -"Sir James Hamilton," said the countess, with dignity, -"do be merciful, and spare us the humiliation of entreaty. -This poor black boy is faithful and gentle, kind and attached -to me as a spaniel, and assuredly he will die if separated from -me; for he is, I know, an object of abhorrence to the ignorant -and the vulgar." -</p> - -<p> -At this remark, which was unintentional, the commander -of the island gave her a furious look, and cocked his bonnet -over his right eye. -</p> - -<p> -"Madame," said he, coldly, "you will excuse me; I am -but a blunt knight of James III., yet I would never forgive -myself if anything evil occurred." -</p> - -<p> -"Kiss the hand of this gentleman, Sabrino," said Sybil, -"and he will admit you." -</p> - -<p> -Sabrino was a mute, or nearly so; by some law of his barbarous -native land, his tongue had been cut out near the root; -thus he could only utter certain terrible and apparently -unintelligible sounds, and when doing so opened his wide -mouth to its utmost extent, revealing two rows of sharp -teeth, and the black remains of his mutilated tongue, which -he lolled about within the cavity in a manner which, to say -the least, of it, was very appalling. The poor terrified black -was beginning to mutter his thanks in this extraordinary -fashion, and gradually approached the Lord of Barncleugh, -when the latter sprang back, with alarm in his eyes, and his -hand on his sword. -</p> - -<p> -"Get thee behind me, Satan!" he exclaimed. "Away! I will -not be touched by thee. My hand? nay, I will hew it off -first. Hence, imp of darkness! for may I never see God, if -thou abidest in this castle for a moment, or in this island for -an hour!" -</p> - -<p> -To overcome his prejudices, even if the countess had stooped -to flatter them, seemed impossible; therefore, she gave the -herald her hand to kiss, thanked him for his kind courtesy, -entrusted him with messages for her daughter concerning -certain necessaries they required, for she doubted not her -residence on the isle would be a protracted one; and then -begging that he would see the poor black page delivered -safely to the care of Sir Roland Vipont, of the captain of the -guard, or any other of his friends, she entered the tower with -Sybil and Janet, their last solitary attendant. -</p> - -<p> -Then the iron gate was closed and barred until the herald's -boat should have withdrawn from the island. -</p> - -<p> -A sign from the countess had been sufficient for Sabrino, -and with tears and the utterance of many a strange and -unearthly lamentation, he followed the herald and Hamilton -of Barncleugh, who, after taking each a quaighful from a little -keg of whisky that stood in the warder's lodge, descended to -the boat; the disobliging castellan going thither partly from -fear, and partly from courtesy, to see his friend and the page -off together. -</p> - -<p> -"I like this black creature as little as thee," said the herald; -"but I have heard Father St. Bernard, when preaching of -St. Frumentius of Ethiopia, tell us of a land, a hundred -times the size of broad Scotland, where all the tribes were of -this sable hue." -</p> - -<p> -"True—and I have seen such a visage on a banner, ere this." -</p> - -<p> -"Morrison of the Ilk carrieth three," replied the herald; -"I saw them beaten down by the Stewarts of Lennox on that -day, by Linlithgow brig. But, remember thee, that my lord -advocate wished a strict watch to be kept over this creature." -</p> - -<p> -"Then he should have inserted his name in the warrant of -committal to ward. 'Slife! there is an old draw-well in the -barbican, where I could have lodged it very well. Though a -dour carle, I know Sir Adam Otterburn to be an upright man, -an abhorrer of sorcery; and there is in this Seton family -much that smelleth sorely of it. Earl John found a book of -the black art once when on an English foray, as I have heard, -but Redhall——" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, <i>he</i> is a very good man," said the herald, ironically; -"descended, indeed, from one of the apostles, by the father's -side." -</p> - -<p> -"Which?" -</p> - -<p> -"Judas." -</p> - -<p> -"Beware of thy waggery—he is a severe dispenser of -the laws." -</p> - -<p> -"What the devil care I for him, or for the cardinal either -if it cometh to that?" -</p> - -<p> -"My friend, my friend!" said Barncleugh, giving a furtive -glance behind; "assuredly this black thing hath infected thee, -for this discourse savoureth fearfully of the new heresy; -but I forget that thou art a near kinsman of Patrick Hamilton, -the umquhile abbot of Fearn, and so-called martyr." -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, I remember only that I am speaking to a gentleman, -Hamilton, and say what I choose." -</p> - -<p> -"Not always a wise proceeding. But here is the boat, -cousin." -</p> - -<p> -The mariners, who had been in no way pleased at having -Sabrino as a passenger to the isle, and had been mutually -feeding each other's fears and prejudices during the herald's -absence, were very much discomposed by his returning with -the same sable attendant; and on hearing from the cardinal's -pikemen that Sir James Hamilton had declined to admit him -within the tower, their murmurs became loud and undisguised. -</p> - -<p> -The herald shook hands with the knight, and attended by -his pursuivant, sprang on board; but when Sabrino attempted -to follow, the coxswain, a square-visaged and sturdily-built -old fellow, with a long grey beard and shaggy eyebrows, -snatched up a boat-hook, and attempted to push off the -pinnace; then Sabrino, with one hand on the gunnel, and the -other on his poniard, gave him a dark and terrible scowl. -</p> - -<p> -"Awa, awa! thou imp of Satan—hands off, or I will -ribroast thee!" cried the coxswain, somewhat alarmed at his -own temerity. -</p> - -<p> -"Reeve a rope through his siller ear-rings and tow him -overboard," cried one sailor. -</p> - -<p> -"Cast off! cast off!" cried another; "I hae heard o' sic -imps that abide at Cape Non, and eat of ship-broken mariners." -</p> - -<p> -The coxswain raised the iron-shod boat-hook. -</p> - -<p> -"Hold!" exclaimed the herald, springing forward, but he -was too late; it descended like a thunderbolt on the round, -woolly head of Sabrino, and he disappeared like a stone in -the deep fathomless abyss of the creek. "Dolt!" added the -herald, "I have pledged my word of honour for his safety, -and thou hast slain him." -</p> - -<p> -"Heed it not, good fellow; I will owe thee a score of -bonnet-pieces for that," cried Sir James Hamilton, as he -sprang up the steep winding pathway that led towards the -tower, while the oars dipt into the water, and the boat shot -out upon the river, whose waves were dancing brightly in the -glow of a cloudless morning. -</p> - -<p> -Before this, the countess and Sybil, overcome by weariness, -the grief of the past night, and a total deprivation of sleep, -bad fallen into a deep slumber in a chamber of the tower above. -</p> - -<p> -The worthy lady of Barncleugh was somewhat of a termagant, -which was generally averred to be the principal reason -why the good laird her spouse had solicited from the cardinal, -and retained, the solitary castellany of Inchkeith. The lady -never came into the island, and the laird never went out of -it; but consumed the long and dreary days, revelling in the -peaceful monotony he now enjoyed, playing chess with his -seneschal, and drinking usquebaugh mixed with a small -proportion of the brackish spring-water of the isle. A table was -placed near the gate of the tower, at a sunny angle of the -barbican, on the very verge of those cliffs named the Climpers; -and there, with the sea rolling nearly a hundred and eighty -feet below, the seagulls and the Solan geese croaking above -them, they passed the summer afternoons, playing chess and -drinking, with invincible resolution and impenetrable gravity, -till sunset, when the knight was usually borne upstairs and -put to bed, the damp air having stiffened his limbs, as he -always declared next day—an assertion which the seneschal -(who had his own thoughts on the matter) never dared to -deny. -</p> - -<p> -It may easily be supposed that such a castellan was in no -way calculated to relieve the tedium, soothe the grief and -mortification, or lessen the fears, of the countess and Sybil; -for days rolled on and became weeks, and weeks were -approaching a month; and though the opposite coast and the -city, the scene of all their anxieties, were little more than -three miles distant, they remained in total and blessed -ignorance of all that was passing there. -</p> - -<p> -They seemed to be as utterly forgotten as if they had been -in the <i>oubliettes</i> of the cardinal. -</p> - -<p> -The countess heard nothing of her daughter, whom she -had fully expected to join her; and Sybil learned nothing of -her lover; so whether, with the Douglas faction, he was -bearing all before him at sword's point, and waging a -victorious though rebellious war with the king and court; or -whether they had returned to exile at the capital of England, -they knew not. The total absence of all intelligence made -them conclude the latter, and that he had taken Lady Jane -with him to protect her. Then the countess would weep -bitterly at the thought of such a separation; for England -was then a hostile country; and places that are now but a -day's journey distant were then deemed afar off and difficult -of access. A chain of royal castles watched the English from -the south, and the cannon of Berwick and Carlisle, Norham -and Newcastle, frowned towards the Scottish mountains on -the north. Safe conducts and passports were constantly -required on both sides of the frontier, the jealous Scot and his -aggressive neighbour seldom saw each other, save under the -peaks of their helmets; and an exchange of cannon-balls and -sword-cuts was the only traffic in which they were permitted -to deal. Though we can smile at such a state of matters -between the two kingdoms, experience is daily showing that -Scotland will soon require some <i>firmer guarantee</i> for her -national privileges than a British parliament can afford her, -against the march of centralization. -</p> - -<p> -A little rocky island, half a mile in length by the eighth -of a mile in breadth, could afford but few amusements. Sybil -soon tired of watching the white seagulls and the gigantic -Solan geese that floated about the Longcraig, in the fissures -of which the waves were ever roaring with a sound of -thunder. She tired too of watching the passing ships, the -Holland wachters, the Flemish crayers, the Rochellers and -Dunkirkers, with their high poops and great square banners: -the large brown lug-sails of the boats which then fished -between the island and the town of Kinghorn, and of hearkening -to the hum of that song which the fishers of the Forth -yet chant to their oars, the end of each monotonous verse -being— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "The leal gudeman of Aberdour,<br /> - Sits in Sir Alan Vipont's tower."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -She tired of watching the endless waves as they rolled on -the rocky beach, marking every tenth billow as the largest -and most forcible, a phenomenon known since the days of -Ovid; and Sybil sighed for the city, whose lofty castle and -ridgy outline "piled deep and massy, close and high," she -saw daily shining afar off in the summer sun. -</p> - -<p> -More content—for the wants, the wishes, and the hopes -of age are generally few—the countess wiled away the time -in the perusal of her missal, and searching for the four-leaved -clover which she found sometimes in the little valley, -and solemnly pulled, saying, after the old Scottish fashion, -"In nomine Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti," to be preserved -and worn as a charm against the <i>evil eye</i>, which she thought -was observable in Sir James Hamilton of Barncleugh. -</p> - -<p> -"Sybil, my bairn," she frequently whispered, when the -besotted castellan was dosing over his wine and chessboard, -"he hath indeed a most evil eye, and whatever he looks upon -cannot thrive; so keep all thy blessed relics and consecrated -medals about thee. Beware," she would add, smoothing the -jet-like ringlets, and kissing the cheek of Sybil, which -exhibited that peculiar olive tint of the brave old Douglas race, -which is so much richer than the most roseate hue; "beware -thee, too, of approaching yonder end of the valley, for I fear -me mickle the <i>gude-wichts</i> dwell among the rocks;" and in -confirmation she pointed to those bright sparry particles -which frequently stud basaltic masses, and in Scotland are -denominated fairy pennies. "More than once after nightfall, -when sitting at my dreary chamber window in yonder tower, -I have heard melodious sounds, and seen strange gleams of -light emitted from yonder brae. I remember that my -worthy father, Sir Archibald (quhom God assoilzie), once -showed me a knowe near unto the duletree that grew beneath -sur Castell o' Kilspindie, the stones whereof were studded -with these sparry marks, and therein dwelt the gude-wichts -in such numbers as ye will find the sand on the sea-shore. -Quite gude neighbours they were, but wrathful and dangerous -to molest. It happened in the year 1501, as he rode thereby, -in full harness with his visor up, and the red heart fluttering -on his pennon behind him—lo! the whole hillock was seemingly -raised, and stood on twelve pillars, each about four feet -high; and below he saw crowds of wee men and wee women -all dressed in grass green, wi' foxglove and blue-bells on their -heads. Thousands were dancing to the hum o' fairy harps -and drums, while thousands more were airing heaps of gold, -and pushing to and fro great chests full of shining coins. -Sorely amazed at this sight, his hair bristled up below -his helmet, but he bethought him of the patron of our -house. -</p> - -<p> -"'Sancta Brigida, ora pro me!' said he (being all the -Latin he had ever picked up from Father St. Bernard), when -down sank the hill, its grassy side became dark, for light and -sound and fairies vanished; and then the gude knight, my -father, thought it no shame on his manhood to gallop swiftly -away. Ah, me! this was in the time of King James IV., of -gallant memorie!" -</p> - -<p> -Brighter and sunnier June came on; but such and so close -were the measures of the cardinal, and his able second, the -king's advocate, that no tidings reached that lonely little isle -of the events which were taking place so near it. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap21"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXI. -<br /><br /> -JOHN OF THE SILVERMILLS. -</h3> - -<p class="intro"> -"I never met with an adept, or saw such a medicine, though I had -fervently prayed for it. Then, -I said, 'Surely you are a learned physician?' 'No,' -said he, 'I am a brass-founder, -and lover of chemistry.'"—BRANDE. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The king was seated in one of the apartments of that stately -tower of Holyrood, that still bears his name, which until -recently was visible on the front thereof, carved and gilt in -gothic letters,— -</p> - -<p class="t3" style="font-family: Old English Text MT, Times New Roman, serif" > - Jac. Rex. V. Scotorum.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -One window opened towards the abbey hill, an eminence -then covered with apple-trees and other wood in full foliage; -a path ran round its base, and another crossed its summit. -The first led to the castle of Restalrig and St. Margaret's -gifted well: the second was the ancient Easter-road to Leith. -It was then, and for long after, destitute of houses; Gordon, -in his View of Edinburgh, taken in 1617, represents only -eight small dwellings on this now populous eminence and the -Croft-an-Righ that lay between it and the walls of the abbey -church. -</p> - -<p> -The other window afforded a view of the Calton with its -rocks of basalt, then bare, desolate, and unfrequented, with -the eagle hovering over their summits, as if to show that his -prey, the ptarmigan, the red grouse, and the black cock, -were not far off. -</p> - -<p> -The sun was setting, and its warm light fell aslant upon -the waving orchards of Holyrood; the square towers and -magnificent doorway of its church, and the green coppice on -which the king was gazing listlessly, with one hand resting -on the neck of his favourite old hound Bash, and the other -thrust among the thick curls of his auburn hair, as a support -to his head. The passers were few. A mendicant friar, with -his begging-box and staff, came slowly over the hill; a knight, -armed nearly cap-à-pié for travelling, spurred from the -Watergate, and his armour was seen flashing in the sunbeams, -among the foliage as he rode towards Restalrig. The king -was lost in reverie, and sat with his eyes fixed on the sparrows -that twittered on the massive gratings of the large window. -</p> - -<p> -The illness of that fair young bride whom he loved so -passionately pressed heavy on his heart; the more painfully -so, that from its perplexing and apparently mysterious nature, -it seemed utterly beyond the reach of alleviation. She laboured -under a rapid consumption, of the nature of which Francis I. had -repeatedly warned James V.; but young, ardent, and -impetuous, her royal lover would listen to nothing save the -dictates of his passion; and slighting the love of Mary of -Lorraine (his future wife), he had wedded Magdalene. Now, -despite all the skill of his physicians, and the care of her own -attendants, the young queen, within twenty days after her -landing in Scotland, was almost hovering on the brink of the -tomb. -</p> - -<p> -As day by day she sank more and more, the Countess of -Arran declared that the fairies were extracting all her strength; -others averred solemnly and gravely, that she was under the -influence of witchcraft: for it was an age fraught with the -wildest superstition. An illness such as hers, when the secret -source of decay was unseen and unknown to the quack physicians -and astrologers who surrounded her couch, made their -restless credulity readily adopt the idea of mystic agency. -</p> - -<p> -The time was full of fanciful terrors; the dispensations of -God were invariably attributed to magic invocations and -demoniac maledictions; to invisible shafts from the elves -and fairies who peopled every rock, hill, and tree, the only -antidotes to which were the prescriptions and the counter-charms -of impostors and self-deluded dabblers in the occult -sciences. Dreams, in those days, the result doubtless of -ponderous suppers and morbid constitutions, were received as -visions of the future, as solemn forewarnings and divine -inspirations from God—fraught sometimes with happiness, but -more frequently with death and terror, war and woe. -</p> - -<p> -Thus the poor young queen, whose orient eyes while they -sank never lost their lustre, and whose cheek while it grew -hollow still retained its rosy and transparently beautiful hue, -continued to waste and grow thinner; and the king with -agony saw daily how her snowy arms and infantile hands -were wearing less and less, until the bones became fearfully -visible at last. -</p> - -<p> -He sighed, he prayed, and he wept; but still the blasting, -the wasting, the terrible attenuation went on. Her skin was -white as marble, but ever hot and feverish; and though a -gentle smile played ever on her lips, there was a wild, sad -earnestness in her large blue eyes, in the quiet depths of -which two orient stars—the stars of death—were ever shining. -Everything that love could prompt and quackery advise, had -been done; she was bathed repeatedly in the waters of streams -that ran towards the sun; and in those of blessed and -sanctified wells, which the saints had consecrated of old—but -unavailingly. -</p> - -<p> -Barefooted, with bowed head, and candle in hand, the king -had visited many a holy shrine; but still Magdalene became -worse; and it was evident to all that the hand of death would -soon be upon her—unless, as many added, the <i>spell</i> was -broken. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly the arras (which was of green damask flowered -with gold) was shaken. The king started. It was raised, -and there entered a man, whom a few words will describe. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, most worthy deacon and doctor," said James, -springing eagerly towards him; "what thinkest thou of the -queen?" -</p> - -<p> -The new comer mournfully shook his head and stroked his -beard. -</p> - -<p> -The young king clasped his hands, and, pushing a chair -towards the physician, sank into his own. -</p> - -<p> -John of the Silvermills was an old man with keen grey eyes -that twinkled under bushy brows; a long hooked nose; a vast -white beard that flowed over his sad-coloured cassock-coat. -He wore a black velvet skull-cap, on the front of which were -embroidered a cross and a triangle within a circle—being the -emblems of Religion, the Trinity, and Eternity. His form -was bent by age; his back was almost deformed, and one of -his tremulous but active hands clutched a long silver-headed -cane; the other, a small sand-glass, which supplied the place -of a watch with the physicians of that age. -</p> - -<p> -Patronized by King James IV., who had been an eminent -dabbler in alchemy, he was the first deacon of the Barber -Chirurgeons of Scotland, whom that monarch had incorporated -by royal charter in the year 1505; when every guild -brother was obliged to pay five pounds to the altar of -St. Mungo of Glasgow, and prove his knowledge of "anatomie, -the nature and complexioun of everie member of the human -bodie; and in lykwayis, all the vaynis of the samyn, that he -may mak flewbothamea in dew tyme; and alsua that he may -know in quhilk member the Signe has domination for the -tyme;" for then astronomy, astrology, and alchemy formed -the principal part of a medical education; and King James -IV. spent vast sums on the wild experiments of the learned John, -at his laboratory, from which a district of our capital then -obtained and still retains the name of <i>Silvermills</i>. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, my God! and thou,—thou hast no good tidings for -me, my venerable friend?" said the young king, imploringly, -as he seated himself. -</p> - -<p> -"The queen's grace is assuredly in great dolour and sore -pain," replied the physician, resting his chin on the top of his -cane, and fixing his keen eyes on the anxious and beautiful -face of the young monarch; "she complains of an aching -head, of a burning heart, and of a constant weariness and -lassitude which overwhelm her. There is something in all -this which perplexes me, and it seemeth——" -</p> - -<p> -"Beyond thy skill, in short? But oh, say not that!" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, nay," continued the mediciner, who spoke slowly, -while his keen visage shook on the staff where he had perched -it; "but I must give it long and deep thought. I am assured—at -least I hope—there is in my pharmacopœia some simple -that will restore her. That learned apothegar and worshipful -clerk (though I agree with him in few things), Galen, the -physician of Pergamus, possessed a manuscript which enumerated -fifty thousand families of the vegetable world, with all -their restorative or destructive qualities. Oh, for one glimpse -of that glorious volume! In all things following strictly the -rules laid down by the learned Artesius (who lived a -thousand years by that very elixir, the secret of which is, at -this time, enabling Paracelsus to work so many miraculous -cures), in the year 1509, I compounded my <i>nepenthe</i>, a drug -which driveth away all manner of pain, and my <i>opobalsamum</i>, -which was powerful, even as the blessed Balm of Gilead; to -the queen's grace I have administered them both for the past -week, and yet, miraculous to relate, she daily groweth worse." -</p> - -<p> -"My wife! my heart!" said the king, again wringing his -hands; "must I see my poor dear little Magdalene perish -thus? I love her too much, and perhaps God is about to -take her from me. Oh! canst thou do nothing for her?" -</p> - -<p> -"I was at the University of Basil in 1525, storing my -mind with fresh knowledge, when Paracelsus, by the -recommendation of Œcolampadius, was called to fill the chair of -physic and surgery, and was present on that day when he so -presumptuously burned the works of Avicenna and Galen, -assuring us that the latchets of his shoes knew more of -physic than both these learned doctors; and that all the -universities and all the writers of the earth, past and present, -knew less than the smallest hair of his beard; for he had in -his brain the mighty secret which would prolong life for -ever—yea, even unto the verge of eternity—the secret of -Artesius." -</p> - -<p> -"This was the very madness of learning and vanity," said -the king. "Well?" -</p> - -<p> -"Erasmus believed in him, and was cured of a grievous -illness by one drop of the principal ingredient." -</p> - -<p> -"What, Desiderius Erasmus, of Rotterdam, the tutor of -my brother Alexander, who fell at Flodden? Well, -well—and this——" -</p> - -<p> -"Ingredient was a simple used of old by a king of Egypt, -and it is now written in hieroglyphics on the southern side of -the great pyramid." -</p> - -<p> -"And those hieroglyphics?" -</p> - -<p> -"None can read save sorcerers; for Paracelsus on that -day, at Basil, destroyed, with the works of Avicenna, the -sole existing key thereto, and which was written on a blank -leaf thereof." -</p> - -<p> -"May the devil confound thee, Paracelsus, and the great -pyramid to boot! I fear me much, thy musty magic will -never cure the queen." -</p> - -<p> -"I pardon your majesty's anger, for it hath its source in -grief," replied John of the Silvermills, calmly; "nature is -full of mysteries. Our cradle and our coffin may be formed -from the same tree, and yet we be ignorant thereof. -Paracelsus——" -</p> - -<p> -"I say again, Mahound take Paracelsus! but what doth -this trite remark mean?" -</p> - -<p> -"That, like the mass of the unlettered world, your majesty -scoffs at what appears incomprehensible, and——" -</p> - -<p> -The apothegar paused, for the arras was raised by a hand -covered by a glove of fine scarlet leather, and Cardinal -Beaton, who at all hours had the <i>entrée</i> of the king's apartments, -stood before them, and both king and subject knelt to -kiss his ring. -</p> - -<p> -"The peace of the Lord be with thee and with thy spirit!" -said the cardinal, seating himself, and looking kindly at the -king, whose grief and distress were marked in every feature -of his fine face. "In the ante-chamber I have heard how -poorly her majesty is, and Mademoiselle Brissac has just been -imploring my prayers, poor child! But proceed, my learned -doctor," he added, with a slight smile; while the deacon of -the surgeons again perched his chin on the top of his cane, -which was half hidden by his long white beard, and thus -continued— -</p> - -<p> -"Your majesty rails at the learned Paracelsus; I can -afford to pardon that, when I remember me that to him we -are indebted for introducing to the pharmacopœia, the -mercurial, the antimonial, and ferruginous preparations which -act so beneficially upon the organs of our system." -</p> - -<p> -"But is not this Paracelsus, of whom thou boastest, an -impure pantheist," asked the cardinal, "who, while believing -in the existence of pure spirits which are without souls, -receives aliment from minerals and fluids, and whose physiological -theories are a wild mass of the most incoherent ideas, -founded almost solely upon an application of the damnable -mysteries of the cabala to the natural functions of the frame -which God has given us?" -</p> - -<p> -"I do not quite understand your eminence," replied John -of the Silvermills, turning, with as much asperity as he dared, -to the cardinal, whose towering figure and magnificent dress -were imposing enough, without the memory of that important -position held by him; "but I understand, and, with -Paracelsus, believe (what certain malevolent commentators have -denied) that the sun hath an influence upon the heart, as the -moon hath upon the brain; that Jupiter acts upon the liver, -as Saturn doth upon the spleen, Mercury on the lungs, Mars -on the bile, and Venus on the kidneys and certain other -organs. Hence the true apothegar should know the planets -of the microcosm, their meridian, and their zodiac, before he -attempteth to cure a disease. By due attention to them, he -attains the discovery of the most hidden secrets of nature; -for our human bodies are but a conglomeration of sulphur, of -mercury, and of immaterial salt, which rendereth them peculiarly -liable to planetary influences; and as each of these three -elements may admit of another, we may, without knowing it, -possess within us water that is <i>dry</i>, and fire that is <i>cold</i>." -</p> - -<p> -"A subtle sophist," said the cardinal, with a smile. -</p> - -<p> -The king listened in silence, and, full of Paracelsus, the -doctor continued— -</p> - -<p> -"Thus, please your eminence, by identifying himself with -the celestial intelligences, hath this wondrous physician so -nearly attained a knowledge of the philosopher's stone, and, -by curing all diseases, raised to his fame a monument based -on the four quarters of the earth. And doubtless if he -prolongeth his own life, as he doth that of others, in time to -come he will attain the secret of that <i>other</i> powerful ELIXIR, -by which Adam and the patriarchs prolonged their lives -before the Deluge—yea, even unto nine centuries." -</p> - -<p> -"Gramercy me!" said the cardinal; "and beware thee, -John! this man whom thou upholdest glories in the fame of -his sorcery, and openly boasts of receiving from Galen letters -that are dated <i>from Hell</i>, and also of his recent disputes held -with Avicenna at the gate of that dread abode—disputes on -the transmutation of metals, the elixir of the patriarchs, and -the quintessence of the Mithridate; for I heard of all these -things when I was studying the canon law at Paris. He -blasphemously takes as his primary supports the writings of -the holy fathers; and while asserting that the blessed Gospels -lead to all manner of truth, dares to add, that magical -medicine can be learned by the study of the Apocalypse alone." -</p> - -<p> -"Enough of this, lord cardinal," said the king, impatiently -observing that the doctor was angrily adjusting his velvet -cap preparatory to returning to the charge; "enough of this -jargon, amid which my poor Magdalene will probably die." -</p> - -<p> -"It may be so, though God avert it; for the disease is all -but beyond my skill; and I dread to state my suspicions, now -that both my nepenthe and opobalsamum have failed." -</p> - -<p> -"Thy suspicions?" reiterated the cardinal. -</p> - -<p> -"I know them already," said the king, gloomily. "Like -the Countess of Arran, thou wouldest say that she is under -a spell?" -</p> - -<p> -"Which nothing but a counter-spell can break." -</p> - -<p> -"Mother of God!" said the king, "I cannot believe in -such things! Lord cardinal, dost thou?" -</p> - -<p> -"And what manner of charm, deacon?" asked the cardinal, -affecting not to hear the king; for he did not scoff at -sorcery, though he did at Paracelsus. -</p> - -<p> -"A muild, as our peasants call it. She may have trod -upon a muild, which is a powder of potent effect, prepared -from the bones of the dead, and scattered by sorcerers in the -path of their enemies. We all know that, at the Sabaoth -of the witches, sepulchres are violated, corpses are -dismembered, and the limy particles of the bones pulverised to -operate as mischiefs upon mankind. At this time the queen -hath all the symptoms of one who hath trod upon an -enchanted muild, or dieth of pricked images—for they are the -same. A swarting of the heart, a fluttering of the breast. -When the patients will merely sicken they turn red—when -they will die, they turn pale." -</p> - -<p> -"And the queen is pale?" said the cardinal. -</p> - -<p> -"Yea, even as death." -</p> - -<p> -"The cure—the cure?" sighed the king. -</p> - -<p> -"There are two: the first is, to find a certain reptile, -forming one of the six species of salamanders which are -indigenous in southern Europe, in the head whereof is a red -stone, to be taken as a powder. For it is written by -Paracelsus——" -</p> - -<p> -"Paracelsus again!" said James, stamping his foot; "the -second cure?" -</p> - -<p> -"Is to burn the sorcerer." -</p> - -<p> -"Then Sir Adam Otterburn must sift this matter to its -bottom." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, that reminds me," said the doctor, rising up, and -clutching his sand-glass; "I must now retire, with your -majesty's leave." -</p> - -<p> -"To visit Sir Adam? I knew not that he ailed." -</p> - -<p> -"A sword-thrust." -</p> - -<p> -"From whom?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Roland Vipont." -</p> - -<p> -"Vipont again!" said James V., knitting his brows; "thus -it is my friends are ever slaying each other. But he, my -most valiant and true friend, has been quite besotted by those -Setons of Ashkirk." -</p> - -<p> -"He knew not of their arrest," said the cardinal; "it was -a sudden rencontre—a quarrel." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, in that case, I have nothing to do with such little -amusements. The Countess of Ashkirk?" -</p> - -<p> -"Is in Barncleugh's ward at Inchkeith." -</p> - -<p> -"Where I will keep her as long as James I. kept Euphemia -of Ross on Inchcolin. An old intriguing limmer! And the -Lady Jane?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hath escaped to—no one knows where." -</p> - -<p> -"Poor damsel! I feel some compunction for her, and fear -that she hath been sorely misled by that deep old Douglas -her mother. And then the earl?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hath vanished too." -</p> - -<p> -"To England?" -</p> - -<p> -"Most probably." -</p> - -<p> -"But is Redhall's wound severe!" asked James. -</p> - -<p> -The cardinal turned to the doctor. -</p> - -<p> -"A fair run through the body, at the shoulder," said the -physician. "'Twas well for him that Mercury, which -influences the lungs, was not in Abdevinam, or the lord -advocate's gown had been vacant." -</p> - -<p> -"Vipont goeth from bad to worse," said the king, as the -cardinal turned away to conceal his laughter. "Kincavil -run through the body one day, my lord advocate the next. -We must restrain his vivacity. In this spirit, Vipont will -achieve little in Douglasdale; but let him bear in mind the -vow I made when Sir David Falconer, the captain of my -guard, was slain when covering the retreat of the artillery -from Tantallan!" -</p> - -<p> -"I hope your majesty will remember as well your gracious -promise anent the charter, exempting our learned corporation -from watching and warding, and all manner of military -service within the city, save in time of siege." -</p> - -<p> -"Does your eminence hear?" said James, with a smile, to -the cardinal. -</p> - -<p> -"It is just passing the seals," replied the chancellor; "and -I will send the Lord Lindesay with it to-morrow—so, -meantime, farewell." -</p> - -<p> -The cardinal, who had more sense than a thousand such as -Paracelsus or John of the Silvermills, wisely recommended -the king to remove his suffering bride to Balmerino (in -Fifeshire), a Cistercian abbey, founded by the queen of William -the Lion, Ermengarde de Beaumont, whose grave lay there, -before the high altar. In this magnificent old pile, which -was dedicated to St. Mary, apartments were prepared for the -sickly Magdalene. In a rich and pastoral district, it occupied -a beautiful situation, among fruitful orchards and the remains -of an old primeval forest, sheltered on one side by verdant -hills, and fanned on the other by the cool breeze from the -bright blue basin of the Tay. -</p> - -<p> -On a sunny morning in June, under a salute of cannon -from the castle, amid which the vast report of Old Mons or -rather Monce Meg of Galloway was conspicuous, the young -queen, with her anxious husband riding by her litter, and -attended by a select number of courtiers (forming, however, -a long cavalcade of horse), was conveyed from Holyrood to -Leith, where Sir Robert Barton's ship received and landed -her two hours after, on the yellow sands of Fife. From -thence they crossed the deep and fertile glen called the Howe, -and, descending the Scurr Hill, approached Balmerino. -</p> - -<p> -With many deep sighs and portentous shakes of the head, -all indicative of what no one could divine, John of the -Silvermills had to abandon his smoke-begrimed laboratory near the -water of Leith, and accompany the court; carrying his -books of Paracelsus, Galen, and Avicenna, and the anatomical -works of Hippocrates, Herophilus, and of the great -modern, Vesalius (the exposer of the errors of Galen), with -all his retorts, crucibles, chafing-dishes, horoscopes, and other -scientific rubbish, packed on sumpter-horses, by which much -irreparable damage was sustained by certain glass phials and -bottles that contained—the Lord alone knew what; but one -was said to be the famous powder of <i>projection</i>, which when -thrown upon heated mercury or lead, turned them into silver -or gold, and the loss whereof made the patient John rend his -long beard, and passionately bequeath himself to the devil a -hundred times. -</p> - -<p> -"If Magdalene groweth well here," said the king to the -cardinal, as they dismounted at the gate of the monastery, -"to your eminence alone will Scotland and I be indebted for -her recovery; but if she becometh worse, and our suspicions -are confirmed, then woe to the <i>authors</i> of her illness—woe!" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap22"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXII. -<br /><br /> -TEN RED GRAINS. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Yes! in an hour like this, 'twere vain to hide<br /> - The heart so long and so severely tried:<br /> - Still to thy name that heart hath fondly thrilled,<br /> - But sterner duties called and were fulfilled."<br /> - MRS. HEMANS.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Prior to his departure for Balmerino, and immediately on -his leaving the palace, the learned apothegar visited the king's -advocate. -</p> - -<p> -The town house of Sir Adam Otterburn, the Redhall -Lodging, as it was named and as we have before stated, -stood upon the south side of the Canongate, and near to the -eastern end thereof. -</p> - -<p> -At the present day the south side of this venerable street, -the memories of which go back to the days of St. David I., -and the glories of Earl Randolph and Ramsay of Dalhousie, -is still somewhat straggling, irregular, and open; in 1537 it was -much more so. The houses were then detached, surrounded -by gardens, and even parks; for there were several barnyards -in the Canongate, some of which were destroyed by -cannonading during the siege of 1573. -</p> - -<p> -The severe plagues of 1514 and 1520, which followed the -slaughter of Flodden, swept away many of the citizens, whose -houses were demolished to remove all chance of lingering -infection; thus the mansion of Redhall was remarkably solitary. -A ruined and desolate barn-yard lay to the westward; and a -grass park, shaded by many beautiful sycamores, extended on -the east nearly to the foot of the alley known as the -Horsewynd. -</p> - -<p> -It was a strong square five-storied house, with walls of -enormous thickness; its crow-stepped gable and one vast -chimney studded with oyster-shells faced the street; at each -corner was a square corbelled turret, from the tops of which, -in wet weather, two stone spouts disgorged the rain-water -without mercy on the passengers. To the street, the windows -were few, small, and, according to the Scottish custom, secured -with rusty iron gratings. The first and second stories were -vaulted with solid stone, and stone slabs covered the roof. -Externally the edifice was destitute of ornament; but, strong -as rock, it would have withstood a salvo of cannon-balls; -and was one of the most perfect specimens of the old Scottish -house existing, before the introduction of the more florid -French style. Studded with iron, the small door was deeply -recessed in the wall, and protected by four loopholes, splayed -without and within, to admit of a wide range for arrows or -arquebuses; while it was further secured by a tranverse beam -of oak, which superseded all necessity for locks or bolts. -</p> - -<p> -A fortnight had now elapsed since the night on which the -earl and his sister had been carried off; yet in all that -time Redhall had been totally incapable of prosecuting his -schemes either of love or vengeance; for that <i>fortunate</i> -sword-thrust which he had received from the hand of Vipont, -together with the fever produced by his own furious and boiling -passions, had bound him down to a sick bed, from which, -however, by the care or quackery of the learned John of -Silvermills, he was now fast recovering. -</p> - -<p> -Pale, careworn, and feverish in aspect, a day in the -beginning of June saw him again seated at his writing-table, -immersed in his masses of correspondence, his mysterious -portfolios, which were full of strange memorandums in ciphers -and Latin contractions, which none could read, save himself -and the cardinal. His trusty rascal, Birrel, who was always -at hand, and ready for everything, from cleaning his master's -boots to cleaving his enemies' heads with a Jethart staff, was -in attendance as usual, when our acquaintance of the preceding -chapter was announced, and Birrel, starting from Sir Adam's -chair, where he had been in close confab, drew back the arras. -</p> - -<p> -"God save you, Sir Adam Otterburn," said the learned -John, stroking his long beard according to his invariable -custom; "how—again at thy pen, despite mine earnest -injunction?" -</p> - -<p> -"Business of the State—fiend take it! I must attend now, -for a mountain of matter hath accumulated here." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah," said the physician, setting down his sand-glass and -fixing his keen eyes thereon, while his bony fingers were -applied to the pulse of Redhall's left hand—"Ah! thy pulse -is very irregular—thy nerves are burning. Now, nothing -affects the nerves so much as intense thought, and by thine -eyes I see thou hast been thinking intensely. By this, the -vital motions are hurt, the functions disordered, the whole -frame unhinged. Thou must continue to take my potion -night and morning." -</p> - -<p> -"What! more of thy diabolical drench?" -</p> - -<p> -"How, Sir Adam! Dost thou so defame my prescription, -which I have compounded from the identical recipe left by -that worshipful clerk, John of Gaddesden, the worthy author -of the 'Rosa Anglica,' the possessor of that valuable necklace -which when drawn tight cured all manner of fits." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, my friend, Sanders Screw hath another which doth -the very same." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed! thou amazest me," said the physician, resting -his bearded chin on his staff. "John of Gaddesden's collar -was an anodyne necklace, and had the word <i>abracadabra</i> -written thereon." -</p> - -<p> -"But the collar of Carle Sanders is only a stout cord," said -the advocate, with a sardonic grin. -</p> - -<p> -"I blush, Sir Adam, that thou shouldst name this vile -worm in the same breath with John of Gaddesden," said the -physician, indignantly, as he arose and grasped his sand-glass; -"a man whose virtues shone bright as the rays of Acarnan—the -star of Eridanus. Ah! he was a fortunate man, that -John of Gaddesden; he was born when Astroarch, queen of -the planets, was shining in all her glory in Abdevinam—the -head of the twelfth mansion; while I, unhappy! was born, as -I have discovered by the aid of my new astrolabe, on a night -of storms." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou hast brought back my poniard, I hope?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is here," replied the visitor, taking a dagger from his -belt; "the <i>contents</i> of this cause death within two hours -after they are taken." -</p> - -<p> -"Two hours?" -</p> - -<p> -"He who imbibes them," he continued, in a low voice, -"falleth down senseless, lifeless, and dies without a -groan—suddenly as if shot with a hand-gun. Sir Michael Scott had -this secret of a learned clerk at Salamanca, whither he rode in -one night, and ere daybreak was again at his castle of -Balwearie." -</p> - -<p> -"There is a powder, too—zounds! I had well nigh forgot -it: 'the sleeping powder.'" -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis here," replied the physician, taking a packet from the -pocket that hung at his girdle; "this was first prepared for a -caliph of the East, by Geber, the learned Arabian astrologer, -who flourished in the eighth century, and whose three works -on chemistry were published at Strasbourg seventeen years -ago, that is, in 1520." -</p> - -<p> -"Hand it hither: thou weariest me; for, by St. Grisel! all -thy messes seem to be compounded by devils and philosophers." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou still appliest my <i>Unguentum Armarium</i>?" -</p> - -<p> -"Regularly," replied the advocate, resuming impatiently -the writing at which he had been interrupted. -</p> - -<p> -"And thy wound?" -</p> - -<p> -"Is almost closed, thank God!" -</p> - -<p> -"Good—good," muttered the physician to himself; "I -knew well that my ointment, compounded of the ashes of -that written charm, brayed with those of the dried Zusalzef -of the Arabians, would cure the deadliest wound; 'tis a potent -fruit, for it ripens in the sun, and the sun acts upon the heart, -the source of life." -</p> - -<p> -"I would fain see some of this wonderful fruit." -</p> - -<p> -"I have one in my pouch—behold!" -</p> - -<p> -"'S life! 'tis but a common prune!" -</p> - -<p> -"The <i>prune</i> of the unlettered is the <i>Zusalzef</i> of Geber and -Paracelsus; but farewell, Sir Adam, I go; and omit not to -continue the potion and the <i>Unguentum Armarium</i>." -</p> - -<p> -"Devil go with thee for a plague," muttered the advocate, -as he seemingly bowed with courtesy, and became again -immersed in his writing. -</p> - -<p> -Nichol Birrel again approached. -</p> - -<p> -"And this was all thou hadst to tell me?" said Redhall; -"that no tidings had arrived from Douglasdale; and that, in -short, neither Vipont nor young Balquhan had come to blows -with any of the Douglas faction." -</p> - -<p> -"Exactly sae, my lord." -</p> - -<p> -"And that they spent their time in hunting and hawking, -with free inquartering for horse and man, wherever it pleased -them to halt." -</p> - -<p> -"Just sae," replied Birrel, with an obsequious nod. -</p> - -<p> -"Thou knowest the lands of my kinsman, Fleming of the -Cairntable, whose bounds they are approaching?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, my lord." -</p> - -<p> -"Then take a good horse, and ride for your life and death; -and take with thee these three-hundred groats of the -fleur-de-lys to pay thy way. Tell my kinsman Fleming, that I -wish this viper, this Vipont I mean, should take up his last -abode in Douglasdale." -</p> - -<p> -"In the kirkyard thereof?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, yes; set them by the ears if thou canst; I will see -Fleming skaithless, even though he resists the royal banner; -but either by fair means or foul, keep Vipont from returning -here. Dost thou see this poniard which the apothegar hath -just left? observe me, and observe narrowly." -</p> - -<p> -He unscrewed the pommel, and showed Birrel that the -steel knob, which was hollow, contained several large red -grains. -</p> - -<p> -"Each of these grains," said he, carefully rescrewing it, -"is a human life; there are <i>ten</i>, and Sir Roland Vipont hath -but one life; take it in thy belt to Douglasdale, for they may -prove useful if the blade fails. One word ere thou goest: -how is the Lady Seton this morning?" -</p> - -<p> -"Composed and quiet, as weel she may be, after the girning -and graning of a fortnight." -</p> - -<p> -"Tib, thy niece, Tib Trotter, from Redhall, still attends -her with care, and Dobbie keeps watch?" -</p> - -<p> -"Like a deerhound, my lord; and I forewarned Tib that -the lady she was to attend was a puir demented and brain-braised -creature, that would tell her a' kind o' queer stories -about you, Sir Adam—stories o' whilk, on peril of her life, -she was to tak nae heed; and I said that death would be as -nothing to her doom, if the daft lady (whom I call a kins-woman -of your ain, frae the north countrie) fled; and as puir -Tib is mair frightened for you than for the devil himself, she -scarcely sleeps for fear that her charge escapes." -</p> - -<p> -"And Dobbie?" -</p> - -<p> -"Considers her a State prisoner awaiting a private -precognition." -</p> - -<p> -"Good—I will ere long requit this trust, and amply too; -meantime, away thou for Douglasdale: remember all my -instructions; and now give me thy thumb on them, that thou -wilt be for ever my firm man and true." -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Adam! Sir Adam!" said the pricker, presenting his -thumb reproachfully, "surely this was na' needed frae me." -</p> - -<p> -But the cautious baron ratified their despicable compact by -that mysterious pressure of thumbs, without which no bargain -in Scotland, either for good or for evil, was ever held binding.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See Note. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -During this conversation, Redhall had never ceased writing -with the utmost rapidity, that he might lose no time; but the -moment Birrel retired to prepare for his embassy, he closed -his portfolio, and stepped into the little dressing closet which -opened off the study or library. -</p> - -<p> -He examined his face with scrupulous accuracy, and a -foppishness at which he smiled, as if in contempt of himself. -With some concern he observed, that confinement and his -wound had rendered his features paler and more haggard than -ever. That wound! Every time he thought of it, and of the -blood, the pain, and anxiety it had cost him, he ground his -teeth vengefully; but after arranging his long dark hair, and -carefully pointing and perfuming his handsome beard and -moustaches, he concluded there were many worse looking -men in the city. Although his nether man was cased in -sad-coloured hosen, he put on a full-skirted doublet of blue velvet, -with loose hanging sleeves and a broad rolling collar of -ermine; he wore diamond-studded ruffs at his wrists, a vest -with sleeves of cloth-of-gold, and the collar of his shirt, which -was pinched and embroidered with red silk and gold thread, -was spread over the ermine. His sword was sheathed in -crimson velvet, his poniard sparkled with jewels, and he was -perfumed to excess, for it was the fashion of age. -</p> - -<p> -Tall and stately, pale and dark, his aspect was alike -magnificent and impressive; as thus deliberately prepared with a -foppery of which he could not have believed himself capable, -he took his way for the first time toward the chamber of his -fair prisoner. -</p> - -<p> -He felt that his step was feeble as he walked; the room -swam around him; and ever and anon an admonitory twinge -shot through his wounded shoulder. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap23"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIII. -<br /><br /> -THE FIRST VISIT. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Ah! false and cruel fortune! foul despite!<br /> - While others triumph, I am drowned in woe.<br /> - And can it be that I such treasure slight?<br /> - And can I then my weary life forego?<br /> - No! let me die; 'twere happiness above<br /> - A longer life, if I must cease to love."—<i>Orlando Furioso</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Sunk in an abyss of deep and gloomy thoughts, Jane Seton -sat at a window of the apartment which had been allotted to -her, until Sir Adam Otterburn could have her removed to his -house of Redhall, a strong square tower, situated on an -eminence near the village of Hailes, a few miles south-west of -Edinburgh. -</p> - -<p> -This he intended to have done the moment he was able to -ride; and nothing but his wound—"that accursed wound," -as he called it—prevented the removal of the lady and her -brother, on the very day succeeding their capture, to this -lonely fortlet, which stood among thick woodlands above the -Leith, and just where a modern mansion occupies the site of -that more ancient Redhall which the soldiers of General Monk -besieged and destroyed. -</p> - -<p> -A stupid but good-natured country girl from his barony—one -who stood in dread of Sir Adam, regarding him as a -demi-god and superior being, rather than a mere man and -master—attended Jane; and, considering her a poor deranged -lady, had been most provokingly sympathetic, and inaccessible -to bribes, to threats, and entreaties; while Dobbie, like a -watchful bull-dog, sat always in a niche near the door, with a -small barrel of ale to solace him, and a pack of cards, with -which he practised tricks and sleight-of-hand against himself. -</p> - -<p> -The walls were of enormous thickness, and the small windows -were massively barred; the apartment was hung with -rich cream-coloured arras, studded with gorgeous red flowers; -the cornices, the chairs, the panelling of the doors and -shutters were all profusely gilded; a gittern, an embroidery -frame, a few black-letter books of poetry and romance, and a -few vellum illuminations of Scripture, with various other -things which might serve to wile away a lady's time, were -scattered on the buffets and window-seats; while several boxes -of the most splendid jewels which the art of Master Mossman -could produce, stood most alluringly on the table, with their -lids open, but all unnoticed. -</p> - -<p> -The window at which Jane sat faced the south, but the line -of venerable chesnut-trees obstructed the view of the Craigs -and of St. Leonard's Hill. A grass park, some hundred yards -in length, extended to the wall, which these trees overhung, -together with a mass of ivy and wild roses. Ruined and -deserted houses lay on the right and left; and thus, for -fourteen days, had the poor girl sat at that window, without an -hour's cessation, watching for a passenger to whom she might -cry for succour; but though the chamber was lofty, the height -of the surrounding wall, the thickness of the trees, and the -loneliness of the path which passed under them, had prevented -her from seeing a single person (though several passed that -way daily), save the girl who attended her, and occasional -glimpses of the indefatigable Dobbie, on guard outside; neither -of whom could afford, even to her most piteous entreaties, -a single word concerning the fate of her brother; why she -was thus confined; or what had become of Sir Roland Vipont, -for whose silence and inertness she could in no way account, -unless that he was in a State prison for the wound which she -understood he had given Redhall, whose consequent illness -had agreeably accounted to her for his absence. -</p> - -<p> -On the table lay fourteen notes, being those he had sent -every morning, containing compliments, condolences, and -entreaties to be forgiven for that rash act, to which the excess -of his love, and the feverish dread of losing her, his hopes -that she might yet learn to esteem him, and so forth, had -driven him; but of these laborious epistles not one had been -read, and the fourteen lay on the table unopened. -</p> - -<p> -These fourteen days had soothed the first burst of her grief -and anger; intense weariness and bitter impatience had -succeeded: yet she could not but acknowledge that in all, save -the loss of liberty, she was treated with the utmost delicacy, -attention, and respect. -</p> - -<p> -It was evening now—the evening of the fourteenth weary -day, as she was reckoning, for the thousandth time, on her -fingers; the sun was setting on the flinty brows of Salisbury; -and the leaves of the trees, as they fluttered in the wind, -seemed formed alternately of green and gold. A mass of -verdure overhung the walls which surrounded the tall old -mansion, the cold dewy shadow of which fell far to the south -and eastward. Haggard in aspect, wearied with weeping, -and though the month was June, benumbed and cold by -want of rest, Jane, who for these fourteen days and nights -had never dared to undress, or to avail herself of the luxurious -couch provided for her, and who had never dared to sleep, save -by snatches in an arm-chair, now turned with a wild, startled, -and almost fierce expression of inquiry to Sir Adam Otterburn, -as he entered; for never was there a face more admirably -calculated to express the two very opposite aspects of mildness -and disdain than hers. -</p> - -<p> -"Proud, relentless, and pitiless woman!" thought this bold -abductor, as he approached, "at last I have thee completely -in my power—at my mercy, utterly!" -</p> - -<p> -Lady Jane had risen full of anger and defiance, but there -was an expression in the eyes of her admirer that terrified her; -and feeling completely (as he had thought) at his mercy, she -could only cling to her chair, and falter out— -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, my God! Sir Adam Otterburn, what is the meaning -of all this?—why am I imprisoned here?—and what seek -you from me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Pardon," said he, in his gentlest voice, and with clasped -hand, bending his eyes on the ground—"pardon for this -wrong, which the excess of love alone has committed." -</p> - -<p> -"And why hast thou dared to do me this wrong?" -</p> - -<p> -"I dare do anything, fair Jane, but excite your displeasure. -For heaven's sake be composed. Oh, spare me your hatred, -and look not so wildly. Think of the depth and of the ardour -of my sentiments—the sincerity of my intentions towards -you. Long, long have I borne this fatal love in my heart, -as a secret—a secret to brood over, since those days when -you so thoughtlessly permitted me to nourish it." Jane -would have spoken, but he continued, sadly and energetically: -"Amid the splendid pageants, the costly banquets, the stately -mummeries of a court, and the dull tedium of public business, -it has ever been in my heart, in my soul, and on my lips—this -secret, which I would have given the world to muse over -in some noiseless solitude, where nothing would dispel the -bright illusions love raised within me. Ever among the -crowds of the city, and the debates of the parliament, it came -to me—a soft, low whisper of your name. I heard it only; -and the voices of those around me became as a drowsy hum, -and sounded as if afar off, for my whole soul was with thee. -Oh, Lady Jane, this secret has been a part of my very being. -Night after night I have prayed for you, and have laid my -head on its pillow without consolation; day after day I have -blessed you, on awaking to a world that was without hope -for me, and yet I have lived, and loved, and lingered on. -But pardon me—I am grieving you." -</p> - -<p> -He paused on seeing that Jane, overcome either by her -feelings or by exhaustion, had again punk into a chair. Her -alarm subsided at the sound of his sad, solemn, and -harmonious voice; and something of pity rose in her bosom, for -she saw that he was indeed frightfully pale and careworn. -</p> - -<p> -"My brother," said she; "and what hast thou dared to do -with him?" -</p> - -<p> -"Nothing, dear madam: he is safe." -</p> - -<p> -"But where?" -</p> - -<p> -"Below us." -</p> - -<p> -"Below? Gracious me!" said Jane, breathlessly, as her -horror and hatred revived; for she saw the cruel game about -to be played by Redhall. "Wretch! and to coerce the -miserable sister, thou holdest in thy guilty hands the life and -death of the brother!" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, do not think me so base; warrants are out for the -apprehension of the earl as a traitor, and nowhere is he safe -save in the secresy of this abode, which, however, both you -and he will soon change for the sunnier atmosphere of my -country tower at Redhall." -</p> - -<p> -Lady Jane's anger at the coolness with which this was -intimated, prevented her making an immediate reply; but she -looked all she felt, yet only for a time; there was again in -the black eyes of Sir Adam that magnetic—that almost -superhuman glance, which terrified her. She thought of her -mother's legends of the "Evil Eye;" and unable to sustain -the powerful gaze of this remarkable man, she paused, and -her eyelids drooped, to be raised again with hesitation; for -the basilisk expression of his eyes was no less singular than -the melodious tone of his soft and modulated voice was -pleasing and subduing. -</p> - -<p> -"Lady Jane Seton, you cannot have forgotten our last -meeting, and the interview to which I referred at Holyrood; -that interview which occurred now nearly a long year ago, in -the garden of the abbot. Do you still remember that soft -moonlight night, and the tenor of our conversation—a -conversation, to me, so full of hope, of joy, of tumult, and of -giddy expectation. Ah, you did not then repel me with eyes -of proud disdain, or words of studied scorn. That night, -whenever I spoke, you were all earnestness, all smiles, and all -attention." -</p> - -<p> -"Because, Sir Adam—and I call Heaven to be my witness,—I -knew not that your words meant more than the mere -gallantry of a well-bred man when conversing with a pretty -woman." -</p> - -<p> -"This is mere coquetry," said he, emphatically; "but -since that night I have been a dotard—a fool—the moon-gazing -slave of an illusion. My God! on that night I could -not believe in the excess of my joy, when I thought you -were permitting me to love you: nor have I since been able -to realize the full extent of my misery and suspense. Oh, I -have been as one in a dream—a long and fearful dream; for -in a dream we feel so much more acutely than when awake!" He -paused; and, clasping his hands, continued again: -</p> - -<p> -"Listen! I have a high office in the kingdom; my power -is nearly equal to that of his eminense the cardinal. I am -the grand inquisitor of the state, and the interrogator, the -questioner, the torturer of all alleged criminals. I may -throw the highest in the land into a dungeon, with or without -a charge, if it suits my purpose or my fancy so to do; and I -have at all times the ear of the king and his chancellor. -Ponder over this, dear lady, for thou art the daughter of a -fallen race. I have a noble estate, which ere long will be -erected into an earldom——" -</p> - -<p> -"On the ruin of my gallant brother's—hah!" -</p> - -<p> -"On the ruin of none: but won honourably." -</p> - -<p> -"I despise all earldoms that are not won as my forefathers' -were, by the sword." -</p> - -<p> -"There spoke thy mother's haughty spirit, lady, and I -love it well; but if thou didst know, fully and sorrowfully -as I do, the irreparable destruction which hovers over thee -and thine—a destruction which I alone can avert—thou -wouldst listen to my sad, my earnest, my honourable proposal, -with more of patience, and less, perhaps, of petulance -and pride." -</p> - -<p> -"And I say unto thee, Adam Otterburn of Redhall, that -if thou knewest the horror and repugnance with which a -virtuous woman—one whose heart, in all its first freshness -and the first flush of its feeling, is wholly with another—listens -to the accents of love from any but the chosen of that -heart, thou wouldst know what I endure in hearing these -laboured addresses of thine." -</p> - -<p> -Stung to the very soul by this studied reply, which was -alike calculated to kindle his jealousy and extinguish his -hopes, the face of that dark and stern man assumed a white -and ghastly expression; his basilisk eye again terrified her, -and she shrunk within herself. -</p> - -<p> -"Impossible!" said he, as he grasped her arm, and a -deadly smile curled his thin but finely-formed lips; "it is -impossible that you, so pure in mind, so high in spirit, so -accomplished and refined, can love this fop, this fool—this mere -soldier, of whom you know so little. Your love for him is a -mere childish fantasy, of which you are the victim. Ever -brawling and fighting, this hair-brained cut-throat will -probably never return from Douglasdale, whither he has marched -on the king's service; but doubtless you think that this gay -cavalier, this Vipont, with his tall plume and gilt armour, -would make a much more romantic spouse than your most -humble and more matter-of-fact serviteur." -</p> - -<p> -Jane heard only one part of this rude sneer—that which -informed her Roland was gone to Douglasdale. She felt -consoled; his absence was thus accounted for. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, my gallant Vipont!" said she, unable to resist the -ardour his name kindled within her, and the temptation to -sting his enemy; "hadst thou been in Edinburgh, I had -long since been free, avenged, and at my mother's side." -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis time to put an end to this folly," said Redhall, -gnashing his teeth. "Listen! Thy mother's side? Thy -mother is a prisoner in the castle of Inchkeith; there in -ward, under Hamilton of Barncleugh, charged with treason, -and resetting the traitor her son." -</p> - -<p> -"My mother! oh, my poor mother!" faltered Jane, clasping -her hands. -</p> - -<p> -"The same warrant included the arrest of you, lady, and -of the unfortunate earl, your brother; but the people deem -that thou and he are fled. But better were thou and he in -the grave, than living to encounter all that fate has in store -for you on falling into the hands of that government to -which I can surrender you both in an hour!" -</p> - -<p> -"My brother—who will dare to touch my brave brother?" -</p> - -<p> -"Who?" replied Redhall, with one of those cutting -smiles which sometimes exasperated even his best friends; -"the worthy gentlemen who handled him so roughly a few -nights ago." -</p> - -<p> -"And what awaits him?" -</p> - -<p> -"Can you ask me? The dungeon of the castle—the high -court of parliament—the solemn sentence—the ignominious -scaffold—the spiked head—the blighted name, and the torn -banner; yet each and all of these I can avert, if—if——" -</p> - -<p> -"What?" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou wilt only try to love me!" -</p> - -<p> -"Horrible! love thee? Oh, this is mere insanity!" -</p> - -<p> -"I, who have done, can undo. I will restore him to his -power at court, his coronet, his castles, and his baronies, to -his seat in parliament, his offices of great cupbearer to the -king and governor of Blackness; I will restore him to the -world, to rank, to honour, yea, to life itself, I may say, for it -is doubly forfeited, if thou wilt but love me. Thy mother, -old, infirm, and broken in spirit by grief, by shame, and -wounded pride, I will take from that lonely island prison, -where she is exposed to so many severe degradations and -privations, from the damp mists of the German Sea, and many -other miseries that old age cannot long endure, and will -restore her to her wonted place, as mistress of the household -and first lady of the court, if thou wilt but love me. A -hundred gallant knights of her father's house, with the great -Angus himself, shall be restored to place, to power, to home, -to happiness, and to honour, and the Hamiltons of Arran -shall be subverted and exiled to Cadyow and Kinniel, even -though I should unroll my own banner against them, if thou -wilt only permit me to love thee in return. Still no reply! -Think, lady, think of all I say, for these things are well worth -pondering over. All these may be done by a word, but -withhold that word, and they shall remain undone. Dost thou -hear me, lady?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; I have heard that thou who hast <i>done</i> can <i>undo</i>!" -</p> - -<p> -"And thine answer?" -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Is</i>—that I despise and abhor thee, from whom my kinsmen -of Seton and Douglas have endured so much;" and she -turned haughtily away. -</p> - -<p> -"Be it so," said he, calmly but sternly. "Then, let -banishment and proscription, the headsman's axe and the -doomster's hand, hang over the lords and barons, the knights -and adherents of Ashkirk and of Angus; let infamy and -vengeance, destruction and death, dog them close, since thou hast -abandoned them—thou who by a word could have saved them -all. They are each but as puppets in my hands—puppets -whose destiny I may lengthen or shorten as I choose, for the -strings of their fate are in my power, and I will be merciless to -them, as thou, Jane Seton, hast been this day to me!" -</p> - -<p> -Jane trembled, and her heart swelled as if it would have -burst; for she knew too bitterly the truth of all Sir Adam -said, and she felt that, hated and bloodstained, cool, -calculating, and detestable, as this man was, she could have -sacrificed herself to his insane passion to save her mother, her -brother, her family and kinsmen—for kindred blood was then -a sacred tie in Scotland—but for Roland. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Vipont! Vipont!" she sobbed, and buried her face in -her hands; "my heart is sorely tempted to abandon -thee—but in vain!" -</p> - -<p> -Then Redhall, lest he might say more to widen the gulf -between them, and with lover-like indecision repenting even -what he had said, retired abruptly, and left her bathed in -tears, and with a bosom full of the most clamorous anxiety -and alarm, not for herself, but for her mother and the earl. -To know that the former was a captive in the castle of the -Inch, and that she, her only daughter, was not beside her to -soothe and console her grief and pride; that her brother, too, -was separated from her only by a stone wall; and that they -were both prisoners in the midst of a dense population—but -a few feet from a busy street, where so many strong hands -and stout hearts might easily be summoned to their -rescue—prisoners in the hands of one so deep and stern in purpose, so -relentless in his vengeance, as Redhall,—caused her the most -complicated emotions of agony and dread. -</p> - -<p> -For the thousandth time she examined the bolted door, the -tapestried walls, and the grated windows, for a means of -escape, but found them all as before; and then, after once -more failing by the offer of all her rings and brooches to -overcome the inflexible integrity of Tib Trotter, hopeless and -despairing, she knelt down to pray and to weep. -</p> - -<p> -"Come hither, Tib," said Redhall to this niece of his -trusty henchman, as he retired; "the young lady, my -kinswoman, is I fear, seriously indisposed; put this powder in her -milk posset to-night; but on peril of thy life neither allow -her to see or know aught of it." -</p> - -<p> -With a low curtsey, and a downcast glance of the deepest -respect, Tib received the little packet, and Redhall hurried -back to his writing chamber and his portfolios. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap24"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIV. -<br /><br /> -THE KNIFE. -</h3> - -<p class="intro"> -"Cunning is a crooked weapon; and nothing is more hurtful than when -cunning men pass for wise."—BACON. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The Earl of Ashkirk occupied an apartment immediately -below that of his sister; but one which was certainly of a -very different aspect and description. -</p> - -<p> -After their capture, it was not until daylight broke that he -discovered he was only in the strong house of Redhall, scarcely -a hundred yards from his own gate, and not (as he had -first supposed) either in the towers of the castle or the -Tolbooth of the city. In the scuffle preceding his capture he -had been so severely handled, as to become insensible; thus, -on sense returning, he found that, though the infamous gag -(the thought of which made his fierce blood boil with wrath -and shame) had been removed, as well as the cords which -had secured his hands, his mouth had been severely cut by the -iron tongue of the former, and his wrists wore swollen and -livid by the merciless application of the latter. -</p> - -<p> -The capture of his sister by Redhall, and the certainty -that she too was confined in the same mansion among the -trained minions and obsequious vassals of this arch conspirator, -sufficiently informed him that his ancient enemy had -some ulterior motive, which he could not at that time fathom. -Daring as he was, and courageous to a fault, the first thoughts -of the young earl were those of terror for his sister, and -some little concern for himself. He now saw and regretted, -unavailingly regretted, his rashness and folly, in venturing -within the walls of Edinburgh at such a time, when the -tidings of his recent raid on the borders were fresh in the -minds of the people; and still more did he deplore his second -folly, in continuing to abide there, as if in defiance of -suspicion and of fate: thus selfishly compromising the safety of -his dearest friends as well as his own. -</p> - -<p> -"I must have been mad, and Vipont was worse than mad -to permit me! Let me sleep if I can," thought he, "fresh -energies will come with slumber; and I, who have escaped -from English Norham, and from the castle of Stirling, too, -where once old Barncleugh had me fast in the Douglas chamber, -will surely find a passage from this house—or the devil's -in it!—and adieu my plans of vengeance for a time." -</p> - -<p> -And thus, acting upon principle, the light-hearted young -noble, whose bold heart had never known either fear or despair, -lay down on the stone floor of his prison, closed his eyes, and -courted sleep as if nothing had happened; and sleep came; -but his slumbers were a mere nightmare, so full were they of -hideous dreams, buffets, and combats; and, more than once, he -started with the certainty that he had heard his sister's cry. -</p> - -<p> -"Bah!" said he, "let me sleep. She is her mother's -daughter, and hath too much of Black Douglas and the -devil in her, to endure insult from such a poor hang-dog as -Redhall! Besides, if he dared to——" and he felt a gleam -pass over his eyes in the dark, at the idea that occurred to -him. -</p> - -<p> -At an early hour Lord Ashkirk awoke, and proceeded at -once to the examination of his prison. The walls and arched -roof were of massive and unplastered stone; the floor was -paved; the window and the chimney were grated; while the -door, which he sounded with his hand, seemed a mass as solid -as could be formed of oak planks and iron bolts. -</p> - -<p> -"Ten devils!" thought he; "at Norham I had the tongue -of a waist buckle, and at Stirling a spur of steel; but here -are neither buckle nor spur, knife nor nail, to loosen a stone -or saw a stanchel." -</p> - -<p> -Between the trees he could see the rising sun gilding the -top of Arthur's Seat. The solitary window, which was little -more than ten inches square, was crossed by three bars built -into the stone; he saw with satisfaction that it was only -about fifteen feet from the ground, for his chamber was on -the second vaulted story. -</p> - -<p> -"Good!" said he; "this wall is not like the rock of Stirling; -but there I stole the cord of the flagstaff." -</p> - -<p> -He heard all the bells of the city ringing for morning -prayer: and these sounds of life without made him feel, for -the first time, some anger and impatience at the vigorous -restraint imposed upon him. An hour after this, although -he had not heard the approach of footsteps (so thick and so -closely-jointed were the walls that encompassed him), the -door of his vault was unlocked, and a sturdy fellow with a -Jethart axe, secured to his wrist by a thong, in case of -accidents, entered, bearing a pewter basin of water, a towel, &c., -for the performance of the morning ablutions. The moment -he entered, a door at the further end of the passage was closed -and locked; thus securing him, as well as the prisoner, of -whose name and rank he appeared ignorant; for with these -the politic Redhall had acquainted only his favourite, Birrel, -and one or two more on whom he could implicitly rely. -</p> - -<p> -Prolonging his toilet to the utmost extent, the earl -scrutinized the visage of his attendant, who was a strongly-built -fellow, about five-and-twenty years of age, with a rough -red beard, and whiskers that grew up to his high cheek bones, -on each of which a bright red spot was visible. He wore his -bonnet drawn over his shaggy brows, and his eyes, though of -a pale grey, betokened a native sharpness over which the earl -saw at once he would be able to achieve very little. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, fellow," said he, "art thou appointed to attend me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ay, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"Then what is thy name, for I must know it?" -</p> - -<p> -"What would ye be the better of knowing?" he asked, -cautiously. -</p> - -<p> -"Very much; as we may see each other often; but, -doubtless, thou art ashamed of it." -</p> - -<p> -"Ashamed o' my name? Deil choke sic impudence. No, -faith! It is as gude as your ain, and better, maybe. My -name is Tam Trotter, and I am forester up bye at Kinleith, -where my father (God rest him!) was forester before me, -though folk did ca' him uncanny." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, friend Tam, couldst get me a razor, in addition to -this splendid toilet apparatus? I have a fancy for shaving -off my beard this morning." -</p> - -<p> -"Aha!" laughed Tam, with a knowing Scots wink, as he -seated himself on the table, with his Jedwood axe under his -arm; "I can see as far into a millstone as you, my quick -gentleman; so keep on your beard, it will be a warm ruff for -you in the winter nights." -</p> - -<p> -"Winter nights! What the devil dost thou tell me? Thy -master cannot think of keeping me here till the winter nights -come on." -</p> - -<p> -"No here, maybe, but out at Redhall. This morning I -rode in with ten braw fellows, with axe and spear, to take ye -out there to the auld tower; but lo! his lordship, our master, -came home not an hour syne, wi' his doublet drookit in bluid, -and his body run through by——" -</p> - -<p> -"By whom?—by whom?" cried the earl. -</p> - -<p> -"The master of the king's ordnance, who (everybody says) -is a fast friend of the Lord Ashkirk; but, God's death! if -ever the one or the other come under my hands—if I can -just get one canny cloure at them—neither will ever need -another!" and, setting his teeth, the fellow assumed an aspect -of ferocity, and hewed a large piece off the table with his -sharp-bladed axe. -</p> - -<p> -"Friend Tam, thou seemest very savage and blood-thirsty," -said the earl, in his bantering tone; "but I must request thee -to restrain thy troublesome vivacity, and not so damage my -furniture, the stock of which is somewhat limited. Ha! ha! and -so Vipont hath pinked thy master?—and where?" -</p> - -<p> -"Here—just in the shoulder; but it seems braw news for -you," replied Trotter, sulkily. -</p> - -<p> -"The thrust is not near the heart, I hope?" said the earl, -almost leaping with joy; "not near his amiable heart—oh, -do not say so—I shall quite expire if thou tellest me that!" -</p> - -<p> -"Devil take me, if I ken what to make o' you," said Tam, -with a face half comical and half angry; "for, by my faith, you -are a queer chield!" -</p> - -<p> -"And thou art a good-hearted fellow?" -</p> - -<p> -"My mother aye says sae, though she bangs me wi' the -beetle, for being fonder o' porridge than plowing in the -morning." -</p> - -<p> -"So his mother beats him?" muttered the earl; -"good!—the fellow is a mere simpleton." -</p> - -<p> -"Is he?" rejoined Trotter, closing one eye, with his -tongue in his cheek, and kicking his iron heels together; -"try me, and you will see if I am sic a simpleton?" -</p> - -<p> -"Excuse me, friend Trotter; by simpleton, I merely mean -one who is neither subtle nor abstruse—nor steeped in guilt, -like the rascal, thy master." -</p> - -<p> -"The rascal, my master, hath <i>you</i> nicely under his thumb, -however," grinned Trotter; "and a civil tongue, sir, would -be baith advisable and becoming—a' things considered." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, let us not quarrel. Thou seest this ring—'tis -worth three hundred gold crowns of James III.; and it will -be thine, if thou tellest me all thou knowest about the lady -who was brought here last night." -</p> - -<p> -"Weel—give me the ring, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis a carbuncle, my friend, that once gleamed on the -hand of a gallant earl." -</p> - -<p> -"And it is mine, for all I ken—eh?" said Thomas, -contemplating the jewel on the top of one of his great fingers -with a leer of satisfaction; "the carbumple wad be a bonny -die for Else' Gair; and 'tis mine, for a' I ken?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—yes." -</p> - -<p> -"Then a' I ken just amounts to nothing," said Tam, with -a laugh; "so I might cheat you if I chose; but, though a -puir chield (and a simpleton too), I would despise mysel' if I -took your ring—so tak' it back, sir——" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, nay, fellow, I cannot accept it again." -</p> - -<p> -"Weel, it may lie there on the table, for I winna touch it. -Men would say, if I took it, that I had betrayed my master." -</p> - -<p> -"True," said the earl, as he replaced the jewel; "but I will -be in thy debt three hundred Scottish crowns. And now let -me have breakfast; for no vexation was ever so great that it -deprived me of my appetite." -</p> - -<p> -Cold beef, bread, cheese, eggs, fish, and spiced ale formed -a repast which greatly comforted the earl, who saw with -regret, however, how scrupulously the single knife that was -allowed him was watched and removed by the careful Trotter. -But the moment this meal was over, and his attendant had -withdrawn, he recommenced a most minute examination of -his prison, and was gradually forced to acknowledge, with a -sigh of bitterness, that though neither so strong as Norham, -nor so loftily situated as Stirling, its capabilities for escape -were very limited indeed. -</p> - -<p> -Several days passed monotonously away. -</p> - -<p> -The earl became horribly impatient; he had shaken every -window-bar for the hundredth time; and for the hundredth -time also, with the heel of his boot, had sounded every slab -of the pavement, and every stone of the walls, but all were -solid as a mass of rock. -</p> - -<p> -"Friend Thomas," said he, half banteringly and half -savagely, on the thirteenth day of his confinement, "how long -does that prince of villains, thy master, mean to keep me -here?" -</p> - -<p> -"As long as he pleases, I suppose." -</p> - -<p> -"A vague term, that—most unpleasantly so. I should -like much to have been a little consulted in the matter; -but as he omitted this politeness, I mean to escape on the -first opportunity, and without formality." -</p> - -<p> -"Escape?" reiterated Trotter, with a grin. -</p> - -<p> -"The walls——" -</p> - -<p> -"Are six feet thick, and the window hath three bars, ilk ane -like the shaft of my Jethart staff." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; but some day I may pull out the stones of the -wall, or saw through the bars of the window. Have you -never heard of such things?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ay have I, when a man had saws or files, or hammers, -but never when he had only his bare hands and nails." -</p> - -<p> -"I will steal a knife from you." -</p> - -<p> -"Will you?" said Trotter, with his knowing wink. -</p> - -<p> -"Thou shalt see; and once through the window, I will -drop——" -</p> - -<p> -"Into the draw-well! Ha! ha! my bauld buckie, the -draw-well, forty feet deep, is just below it." -</p> - -<p> -"What? Just under my window?" -</p> - -<p> -"Eight doon, as a plummet would sink." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, the devil! What a judicious villain thy master is!" -</p> - -<p> -"You see, sir, that unless you could change yoursel' into a -spider or a bumbee, here you maun just bide," replied Tam, -with a loud laugh, which galled the earl to the soul; but -seeing the futility of anger or hauteur, he controlled his rising -temper, and said, in his usual manner— -</p> - -<p> -"Well, let me have dinner; for assuredly I am weary of -having nothing to look forward to, but from breakfast to -dinner, at mid-day; from dinner to supper, at even; and from -supper to bed—and so on. I assure you, friend Trotter, it -would tire even a Carthusian." -</p> - -<p> -"And tiresome I find it, too! Cocksnails! I would gie -my very lugs to be again kicking my heels owre Currie Brig, -or Kinleith Craig, for I am wearied o' holding watch and ward -here, like the javellour of a tolbooth or the warder of a tower." -</p> - -<p> -As Trotter returned with the dinner upon a broad wooden -tray, which usually held the platters, covers, and one small -knife, the earl contrived to place his chair in such a manner, -that the attendant was tripped by it, and stumbled forward, -by which the manchet, or small loaf (in those days the invariable -substitute for potatoes), slipped from the tray, and fell -upon the floor. While Trotter, after depositing the tray, -stooped to pick up the manchet, the earl, like lightning, -possessed himself of the knife, and thrust it up his sleeve. -</p> - -<p> -"Look again, friend Trotter," said he, removing the first -cover, "thou hast dropped the knife, I think?" -</p> - -<p> -"Have I?" said Trotter, searching all round the table. -"Surely no!" -</p> - -<p> -"You must have done so, for I vow 'tis not here." -</p> - -<p> -"I could have sworn it was on the trencherboard when I -brought it in," said the fellow, gaping with alarm. -</p> - -<p> -"If you think so, look again." -</p> - -<p> -"By St. Giles! there is nae knife here!" -</p> - -<p> -"Then quick, call for another, or these dainty pullets will -be cold as pebble stones." -</p> - -<p> -Trotter turned to call for another knife; and the moment -he did so, the earl stepped back, and concealed that which he -had secured in a nook of the chimney, which had been -discovered during a previous inspection. -</p> - -<p> -A second knife was brought by Dobbie, who had heard -Trotter call for it. -</p> - -<p> -The earl made an unusually good repast, and as he picked -the pullet's bones, and drank his pint of Bordeaux, he jested -merrily with his attendant, who leant against the door, from -whence he cast ever and anon furtive and uneasy glances -below the table, in search of the missing article, for he had -his own suspicions. -</p> - -<p> -"Take care, my trusty Tam, take care; for now I have got -that knife, and I mean to make a good use of it on the first -opportunity. Truly thou art a simple fellow, and will be -beetled by Redhall, in such wise as thy mother never beetled -thee! ha! ha! Zounds! dost thou think this paltry house -would hold me, who escaped from the Douglas room at -Stirling, where the cardinal confined me after the battle of -Linlithgow? I trow not! Be easy; compose thyself, friend -Thomas, for I assure thee I have got the knife, and will -begone to-morrow." -</p> - -<p> -"In your pockets?" said Tam, advancing. -</p> - -<p> -"Pockets! Nay, dost thou think a gentleman has pockets -in his breeches and doublet to hold bread and cheese, like a -rascally clown; but come hither, thou mayst feel my garments." -</p> - -<p> -Trotter passed his hands over the breeches and doublet of -the prisoner. -</p> - -<p> -"The devil a knife is here," said he, perfectly reassured. -</p> - -<p> -"Nevertheless, I have it." -</p> - -<p> -"Where?" -</p> - -<p> -"In my stomach. Bring me a sword, or lend me thy -poniard, and I will swallow them both also. It runs in the -family. I had an uncle who could digest cannon balls." -</p> - -<p> -Tam uttered another of his hoarse laughs, and, bearing -away the wooden tray, retired, and secured the double doors -as usual. * * * * * -</p> - -<p> -Next morning, at the early but accustomed hour, he undid -the accumulated bolts and locks of the inner doorway (while -Dobbie secured the outer), and entered, with breakfast on the -trencher. -</p> - -<p> -A cry burst from him, and he started back aghast on finding -the place void, for one glance sufficed to show that it was -empty. -</p> - -<p> -The earl was indeed gone! -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, the <i>knife</i>!" thought Trotter, as he rushed to the -window. Every bar was in its place, and the undisturbed -cobwebs of years were still woven between them. Not a flag -of the floor, not a stone of the wall, appeared to have been -displaced; and, terrified by such a phenomenon, Tam Trotter -uttered a stentorian howl of dismay, and fled from the empty -chamber. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap25"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXV. -<br /><br /> -DOUGLASDALE. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "But you, dear scenes! that far away<br /> - Expand beneath these mountains blue,<br /> - Where fancy sheds a purer ray,<br /> - And robes the fields in richer hue,—<br /> - A softer voice in every gale,<br /> - I 'mid your woodlands wild should hear;<br /> - And Death's unbreathing shades would fail<br /> - To sigh their murmurs in mine ear." LEYDEN.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The sun of a morning in June shone brightly upon Douglasdale, -as a valley of the middle ward of Lanarkshire is named—the -country of the puissant Douglases. The pure air, the -bright sunshine, the fresh meadows, the fragrant wind that -stole along the uplands, were all indicative of that delightful -season when the trees are heavy with their richest foliage, -and the voices of the mavis, the merle, and the wood-pigeon -are heard within their deep recesses. Under golden masses -of the dark green broom, the white hawthorn, and the wild -rose, the Douglas water stole, over its pebbled bed, towards -the west. -</p> - -<p> -Hot and cloudless, the rays of the glorious summer sun -poured over the giant summit of the Cairntable, and played -along the pastoral glens below, to be reflected by the gleam -of arms and the glitter of armour descending from those -heights which overlook the towers of the Douglases—the -"Castle Dangerous" of chivalry and romance. -</p> - -<p> -The lairds and warders of the various towers which overhung -the valley, were all on the alert, and had barred their -gates, drawn up their bridges, and prepared their armour, with -not the less care, because they could perceive the royal -standard with the red lion waving above the copsewood below. -</p> - -<p> -With their swords sheathed and visors up, Roland Vipont -and Louis Leslie rode together at the head of their little -column, which had passed a peaceful campaign of nearly three -weeks in Lanarkshire, without being molested by any one; -and, of course without hearing tidings of the Earl of Ashkirk, -for whom, as in duty bound, they made the most minute -inquiries—Roland being the more rigid in his search, because -he believed him to be in safe concealment at Edinburgh. The -horses of the artillery looked sleek and well fed; and the -cannoniers, with Leslie's hundred men of the guard, had all -their harness and arquebuses as bright as on that day when -they marched from Holyrood. -</p> - -<p> -"'S life! but we spend our time wearily! Will nobody fight -with us?" said Roland, with a yawn, as they wound down the -valley, by the banks of the Douglas. "St. Mary! I feel a -violent inclination to maul some of those towers, that from every -rock and hill-top look down so saucily on our line of march." -</p> - -<p> -"What?—the houses of thy Douglas friends?" -</p> - -<p> -"Assuredly." -</p> - -<p> -"And why?" -</p> - -<p> -"Just to keep us in practice and because they are held by -Hamiltons." -</p> - -<p> -"Lucky it is, for us, that they are so. Long before this, -had the Douglases possessed the same power in Lanarkshire -that they did ten years ago, we had been eaten up." -</p> - -<p> -"True, in 1527, a hundred men, with two pieces of cannon, -if they had once ventured into the middle ward on such an -errand as ours, had never come out of it again." -</p> - -<p> -"Yet 'tis very hard that no one will just fire one little shot -at us, just to afford an excuse——" -</p> - -<p> -"For blowing the house about their ears. A most amiable -wish!" -</p> - -<p> -"Thy nag looks weary, Leslie." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, 'tis a bay I picked up during our raid against the -Annandale thieves last year. My blockhead of a groom lost -me a beautiful roan horse at Leith, last Lammastide, where I -sent it to be bathed, at sunset, in the sea."* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* A superstitious custom, suppressed, -by order of St. Cuthbert's kirk session, -in 1647. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Where dost think we will dine, for my stomach crieth -cupboard already?" -</p> - -<p> -"At the Barmkyn of Cairntable. I have heard that the -gudeman there keepeth open house and free; besides, he -is a kinsman of Redhall, and if we empty his girnels and -broach his casks, what matter? Is it not for the king's -service? and all Scotland knows," added Roland, with a smile, -"how zealous the advocate is for the public weal." -</p> - -<p> -"Let us halt here for one moment," said Leslie, reining up -his horse beside a little rustic well, which flowed near a -cottage wall; "this water looks fresh and pure; 'tis -south-running, too, and I am thirsty as a sack of flour." -</p> - -<p> -"Lintstock, bring hither the flask of French brandy." -</p> - -<p> -From a gun-carriage, Lintstock unslung a large leathern -bottle, and brought it to his master, ogling it by the way -with all the ardour of which his solitary eye was capable; -and thereafter, from his havresack, he produced a beechwood -luggie. -</p> - -<p> -"Gudewife," said Leslie, to a woman, who was grinding -corn in a wooden quern at the cottage door, and who wore -one of those pointed Flemish caps which had been introduced -into Scotland by Mary of Gueldres, "how name you this -well?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sanct Bryde's of Dowglass," replied the woman, briefly -and sulkily, for she was one of that hostile race. -</p> - -<p> -"A consecrated well! I thought so—'tis fortunate you -asked," said Roland; and, after first dipping their fingers in -the fountain, they crossed themselves, and then mixing the -blessed water with the brandy, took each a draught, and gave -a third to Lintstock. -</p> - -<p> -"Hallo!" cried Roland, to a horseman who came up at a -rough trot, and whose grey plaid, blue bonnet, and white -Galloway doublet, as well as his gambadoes, or riding boots -of rough calf-skin, declared him a plain countryman; "a good -day, friend. Wilt thou have a tass of brandy?" -</p> - -<p> -"God keep you, my captain—wi' mony gude thanks," -replied the horseman, pulling up his nag, which was a strong -Flanders mare. "Health to ye baith, sirs," said he, pulling -his bonnet well forward, instead of raising it, as he nodded to -each knight, and drained the vessel. "By my faith, but that's -braw stuff!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ay, I daresay. 'Tis not often the burnt wine of Languedoc -runs over thy Lanarkshire throat," said Roland, laughing; -"dost thou travel our way?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sir knicht, that just depends upon which way yours may -be," replied the fellow, dryly, drawing his plaid well over his -face. -</p> - -<p> -"We are going to the Barmkyn Cairntable," said Roland, -looking keenly at him under his helmet. -</p> - -<p> -"And so am I, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, thy nag seems fresh, and thou art not, as we are, -cased in armour; so ride fast, I pray you, and inform the -gudeman of the Barmkyn that a party of the king's soldiers -will halt there about dinner-time—say a hundred men or -so—and that we will thank the gudewife to look well to her -larder and kitchen——" -</p> - -<p> -"To kill the fatted calf, and set her best casks a-broach," -said Leslie, laughing. -</p> - -<p> -"To select the hens that roost next the cock—the most -delicate pullets——" -</p> - -<p> -"To examine her eel-arks—ha! ha!" -</p> - -<p> -"To prepare the most dainty pasties, and highly-seasoned -patties—ha! ha! ha!" continued Roland, in the same merry -tone; "for as both gudewife and gudeman are friends of the -good and amiable lord advocate, they cannot but rejoice to -make welcome those who come among them on the king's -service." -</p> - -<p> -"And in whose name shall I give the message?" -</p> - -<p> -"In the name of Sir Roland Vipont, master of the ordnance." -</p> - -<p> -"Without fail," replied the horseman, putting spurs to his -nag and galloping off; "but may the devil ryve the saul out -of thee (and me too), if thou gettest not a reception as warm -as auld Bauldy Fleming can give thee!" added Nichol the -brodder, for the stranger was no other than he. -</p> - -<p> -"That fellow's laugh bespeaks him a rascal," said Leslie, -who had been narrowly observing all that could be seen of -Birrel's face; "how different it was from the broad grin of -an honest yeoman." -</p> - -<p> -"Dost think so?" said Roland, looking after him as he -galloped over an adjacent brae, and disappeared; "dost thou -think he will play us false after our kindness?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, perhaps—but the committal of thy message to a -stranger in these times, and in this place, is, to say the least -of it, rather unwary. We might be entrapped and cut off." -</p> - -<p> -"A hundred chosen soldiers, with two pieces of cannon—bah! -I should like to see any one attempt it, Leslie. We -should sell our lives dearly; and yet my mind misgives me -sorely, that it was for no other purpose that subtle villain -Redhall sent so small a force into this wild and hostile -district." -</p> - -<p> -"Eh, gentle sirs! Gude guide us, your horses are eating -a' my corn!" cried the cottager, running to her quern, which -she had left for a moment; "shoo! shoo! awa' wi' ye!" -</p> - -<p> -"Well, thou old devil," said Leslie, "may not soldiers' -horses eat what they like?" -</p> - -<p> -Roland threw a few pence into the quern; and then, both -putting spurs to their horses, hurried after their soldiers, who -were now some distance in advance. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap26"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXVI. -<br /><br /> -THE BARMKYN OF CAIRNTABLE. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Dark grew the sky, the wind was still,<br /> - The sun in blood arose;<br /> - But oh! how many a gallant man<br /> - Ne'er saw that evening close!"—HOGG.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -A few hours' march among the knolls and hollows, which -exhibited here and there a solitary square tower, or an old -thatched sheep farm, shaded by ash trees, and nestling on -the holm land of the strath through which the Douglas -winds, brought the soldiers of Vipont to the base of the -Cairntable, a beautiful green mountain, sixteen hundred feet in -height. One half was darkly rounded into shadow, on the -other shone the bright splendour of the meridian sun, which -lit up all the windings of the various little pastoral glens, -through which the Peniel, the Glespin, the Kinnox, and other -mountain tributaries, flowed to feed the Douglas at its base. -</p> - -<p> -On a small spot of table-land, a shoulder of the hill, and -sheltered by its giant ridge from the south-west wind, which -usually prevails there, stood the fortified grange, or barmkyn, -of Baldwin Fleming. -</p> - -<p> -Boasting of his lineal descent from Theobald le Fleming, -who is said to have possessed all that country before the rise -of the Douglases, and their gradual acquisition of the whole -district, this sturdy retainer of the encroaching Lords of -Angus, though neither laird nor lesser baron, but merely a -goodman, who held his feu of a feudal chief, and followed his -banner in battle, had procured (through the good offices of -his kinsman Redhall) a crown charter, empowering him to -fortify his farm, which he had done with a strength that -made it second only to Castle Douglas, and the envy of all -the fierce barons in that warlike district. -</p> - -<p> -This vast building formed an exact square, and had four -square towers on each of its four faces. These were all -strongly vaulted for holding grain, while the great yard within -served for securing cattle. The twelve towers, and the -curtain walls between them, were battlemented on the top, -studded with loopholes below, and all strongly, though -roughly, built with stone quarried from the adjacent rocks. -</p> - -<p> -The most perfect example of a similar edifice now in Scotland, -is the fortified grange of Sir John Seton of Barns, which -crowns a height southward of Haddington, where its ruined -towers resemble the remains of an ancient city, from their -strength and extent. -</p> - -<p> -Within the barmkyn, on one side, stood the strong and -substantial, but thatched, dwelling of the farmer; along the -other three sides were barns, stables, and houses for his men. -At a certain distance round the whole, a deep ditch was -drawn; the margin was used as a kitchen garden, and was -stocked with common potherbs, and a few small fruit trees, -sheltered by boor-tree hedges and stockades. -</p> - -<p> -The bridge was up; and opposite the gate stood a clump -of large oak trees; and on a branch of one, which was -conspicuous for its size and foliage, the dead body of a man was -hanging by the neck, with the gleds flying about it. -</p> - -<p> -"Oho!" said Roland, as a turn of the glen brought him -suddenly in view of this goodly farm; "so the goodman of -this grange hath a power of pit and gallows! His oaks bear -other fruit than acorns." -</p> - -<p> -"A peasant rascal!" replied Leslie; "and yet he tieth a -tassel to his tree, like the best feudal lord in the land." -</p> - -<p> -While approaching this formidable edifice, they had heard -the distant blowing of bugle-horns, the springing of wooden -rattles, and the incessant jangle of a large bell. These notes -of alarm, together with the appearance of armed horsemen, -galloping in various directions over the green hill sides, -lessened the surprise of Vipont and his soldiers, when, on -coming in view of the grange of Cairntable, they saw the -whole line of its walls glistening with pike-heads and glittering -with steel caps; while a scarlet banner, bearing the chevron -of the Flemings within its flowering and counterflowering -fleurs-de-lys, was unfurled in defiance; for (thanks to the -cunning and amiable intentions of Nichol Birrel) such was -the dinner prepared by the sturdy proprietor for his -unwelcome visitors. -</p> - -<p> -What the tenor of Birrel's falsehoods and misinformation -may have been, we have now no means of ascertaining; but -they were such, that the gudeman had all his horses secured -in stall; his vast herds of cattle in their pens, his stacks of -grain stowed away in vault and barn; while all the men over -whom he had authority, to the number of three hundred, with -their families, were in garrison, and stood to their arms, with -the intention of resolutely obeying his orders, whatever they -might be. -</p> - -<p> -A brownie, in the shape of a little rough man, with a broad -bonnet and long beard, attended the family of Fleming. He -rocked the cradles of the infants, and performed various other -kind and domestic services; especially foddering the horses -and cattle, sweeping the kitchen floor, and filling the -water-stoups for the servant girls; all of which self-imposed duties -were performed by this goodnatured imp in the night, for the -brownie was a being unseen by day; and to propitiate him, a -libation of milk and wort were nightly poured into a rude -font in the yard, called the <i>broonie's stane</i>—for in those days -every thrifty housewife set apart a portion of food for the -brownie, that his favour and protection, as well as his future -services, might be thereby ensured. If a piece of money were -left, an eldritch yell announced that the insulted brownie -had found it, and fled in resentment—for from that moment -he invariably abandoned the family and for ever. This familiar -and usually amiable spirit, with which Scottish superstition -furnished the household of every old race, was pacific, -generous, and unvarying in his services; but if once -offended, implacable in his revenge. -</p> - -<p> -On the night preceding this eventful day, the brownie of -Cairntable had been heard to utter the most doleful lamentations, -and "the wee manikin with his lang beard and braid bannet," -had been seen (as several of the servitors averred) to pass -round the towers of the barmkyn, wringing his hands and -weeping piteously, which had caused the gudeman to look -well to his defences, and to his horses and armour. Thus in -two hours after the arrival of his kinsman's follower, Nichol -Birrel, everything was in fighting order within the grange -when the king's troops approached it. -</p> - -<p> -"Halt!" cried Roland Vipont. -</p> - -<p> -"By my faith!" said Leslie, "we shall have no dinner -here to-day, which I regret exceedingly, as this hath all the -aspect and reputation of being an exceedingly well-stocked -grange." -</p> - -<p> -"There is some mistake here. They surely have not seen -the royal standard," said Vipont, angrily, as he shaded his -eyes with his hand, which was cased in a glove of steel. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! you wished for some fighting!" -</p> - -<p> -"Just now I wish most for dinner; and so, Balquhan, ride -thou forward with a white flag, and make open door for us." -</p> - -<p> -"Dost think I am another St. Colm, to make bolts unbar -and doors open by simply signing the cross?" -</p> - -<p> -"No; but by threatening them with cannon shot." -</p> - -<p> -Leslie tied a white handkerchief to the point of his long -sword, and galloped fearlessly forward to the edge of the -ditch, from whence he could distinctly see the grim faces -that, from under battered morions, peered at him between the -embrasures of the wall above; while from the deep-mouthed -loopholes below peeped forth the keen pike-heads and the -iron muzzle of many an arquebuse and pistol. -</p> - -<p> -"Art thou the gudeman of the Cairntable?" asked Leslie -of a stout man of great stature, whose polished coat of mail -betokened a superiority over the others around him. -</p> - -<p> -"At your service, my braw gallant," he replied, bending -over the tower; "but what may your errand be here?" -</p> - -<p> -"To learn wherefore ye receive the king's soldiers in this -fashion, with closed gates, and your helmets on?" -</p> - -<p> -"Gif gaff makes gude friends," replied the other, surlily; -"but I trow, gif gaff shall make you none here; so, in God's -name, pass on in peace. Here ilka man must just ride the -ford as he finds it." -</p> - -<p> -"Dost think we will burn thy house after it hath lodged -us, poor devil!" said Leslie, with a lofty and patronizing air. -</p> - -<p> -The buirdly farmer laughed hoarsely, as he looked to the -right and left along the strong walls, which were lined by so -many tall fellows in helmets and breast-plates. -</p> - -<p> -"Away, away!" said he, waving his gauntleted hand; -"what brings ye frae Holyrood to this puir sheep country? -It's a gay place, that Holyrood! Ah, there are plenty of -vacant priories, lay abbacies, captainries of castles, and other -braw perquisites to be picked up there; so I marvel mickle that -you left so pleasant a climate, to come here among the -spirit-broken and impoverished Douglases, and the fogs o' the -Cairntable, where there's nothing but rocks, whinstones, and cold -iron to be had." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you will not lower your bridge, and afford free -entrance to the king's soldiers." -</p> - -<p> -"If a' the fiends of hell came, I carena a brass bodle; so -away wi' ye, or ye may fare the worse. Tell thy captain my -name is Baldwin the Fleming—as good a man as he." -</p> - -<p> -"Peasant hound, thou shalt rue this dearly!" replied Leslie, -who was about to turn away, when he perceived the rascal -whom they had met at St. Bryde's Well levelling an arquebuse -full at him, from a loophole; and he had just time to -make his horse rear, so that the ball, which would have -pierced his own breast, entered that of the poor animal, which -snorted and plunged wildly. Escaping, however, several other -balls which whistled past him, Leslie forced it back at full -speed to the side of Roland, where it fell down, and was dead -almost ere the rider could disengage himself from the stirrups. -</p> - -<p> -"To your arquebuses, Leslie," exclaimed Roland, "while -I shall unbend my cannon. Ah, white-livered cowards!" he -added, shaking his clenched hand towards the hostile grange, -"I will maul you sorely for this defiance! Soldiers! they -are all traitors to the king, for they have fired on his royal -standard. To your guns my brave cannoniers—to your -linstocks, and unlimber! Quick! and make me good service -against this contumacious villain and his foolish knaves." -</p> - -<p> -While the cannon were wheeled round, the tumbrils cast -off, the magazines opened, and powder and shot taken -therefrom; and while the cannoniers commenced pointing and -charging them home, Leslie formed his hundred arquebusiers -behind a knoll, where they fixed their rests into the turf, and -opened a fire as close and rapid as it was possible for soldiers -to maintain with these cumbrous fire-arms, which carried -balls of two, and even three ounces; which were loaded by -means of a powder-horn; were levelled over forks, and were -fired by means of a matchlock. The reports were loud and -deep, and the rocks of the Cairntable repeated them with a -thousand reverberations. White as snow, the smoke of -arquebuse and pistolette broke (but at long intervals) from -the strong dark walls of the grange, and their balls tore up -the soft turf, as they fell among the little band of besiegers, -or whistled over their heads; for so well were they posted, -that during two hours of incessant firing not one was ever -touched. -</p> - -<p> -"Batter me down the entrance-gate!" cried Roland to -his gunners; "'Tis easier to punch holes in an oak plank than -a stone rampart; so down with it, my brave cannoniers—for -this night we will carry the place by assault or die in its -ditches!" -</p> - -<p> -"Art thou quite prepared for that?" asked Leslie. -</p> - -<p> -"A true soldier is prepared for everything," replied the -elated Vipont; "let us only have yonder gate beaten down -by daylight, and, with my sword for a wand, I will act your -gentleman usher when night falls." -</p> - -<p> -The cannon were carefully levelled and pointed; fire flashed -from their muzzles; smoke curled up in the sunshine; and -their reports rang like thunder among the windings of the -Douglas. One shot crashed through the massive gate, beating -a large hole in it; the other struck the battlements, and -threw down a heap of masonry, which fell, amid a cloud of -dust, into the ditch below. Hereupon high words ensued -between old Lintstock and the lance-spesade, whose thumb was -placed upon the vent of the culverin, which he was reloading. -"It ill becomes a gle'ed gunner like you," Roland heard -him say, "to heed me less than an auld pair o' boots; but -lang enough before you saw the blessed light o' day I had -levelled everything like a cannon, frae a quarter Moyenne up -to auld Monce Meg herself; and here now, I will wager you -a stoup o' Bourdeaux, that my next shot will go straight to -the keyhole." -</p> - -<p> -"Done!" replied the lance-spesade; "twa stoups if you -like—and here is my thumb on't." -</p> - -<p> -The lance-spesade levelled the culverin; applied his right -eye to three sides of the breech, carefully adjusted the quoins, -and fired. The ball struck a coat of arms above the gate, -and threw a cloud of splinters around it in every direction. -</p> - -<p> -"She throws high," said the soldier, throwing down his -match, discomfited. -</p> - -<p> -Lintstock grinned as he reloaded, and thereafter applied -his single orb to the breach and quoins, looking carefully -along the polished brass gun. At that moment the ball of a -falconet came whizz from the barmkyn, and was splintered on -its muzzle; but the cool old soldier, whose brains had so -narrowly escaped being dashed out by it, neither winced nor -appeared the least disturbed in his aim; but took one pace to -the left, stretched out his right hand with the match, and in -his turn fired. Then, where the dark keyhole of the ponderous -gate had been but a moment before, a large round breach was -visible, with the sunshine streaming through it. Upon this, -a shout arose within the barmkyn, and the shrill cries of -women and children were distinctly heard. -</p> - -<p> -"Well done, my true cannonier!" said Roland. "A few -more of these bitter almonds, and the gudeman of the -Cairntable will be forced to afford us open house, whether he -will or not. To thy cannon again, my old Lintstock: for -thou hast but one eye—Saint Mary! 'tis the eye of a -gazehound. Aim well with your cannon and arquebuses, my -gallant comrades—aim well, and level low! There are many -good things in yonder walls, all of which are yours by the -law of war. How now, my bold Balquhan—art thou shot?" -he asked, on seeing Leslie reel. -</p> - -<p> -"As surely as if with an elf-arrow," replied the lieutenant, -whose left arm had been wounded by the ball of a hand-gun, -which had beaten his armour into the orifice, and caused -him excessive pain; "but it matters not—four of my best -men are lying stiff enough, among the broom, now." -</p> - -<p> -"Zounds! this night's lodgings is likely to cost us dear!—but, -'fore God, I will make it dearer to the rascal who holds -yonder barmkyn against us." -</p> - -<p> -With his scarf, Roland bound up Leslie's arm; and having -decided on his tactics, commanded the arquebusiers to cease -firing; to lie down close under the brow of a knoll, and to -reserve their arms and matches for service at night. -Meanwhile, the culverins incessantly battered the barmkyn, the -gate of which, by the time that the setting sun reddened the -wild summit of Cairntable, was beaten down, with a great -part of the wall, thus affording an open passage into the -heart of the place. -</p> - -<p> -"Thank Heaven, the night will be cloudy and dark!" said -Roland, looking at the sky; "so, by day-dawn, I will show -thee, Balquhan, the Red Lion waving where the chevron of -Fleming floats upon yonder barmkyn. A thousand thanks, -my brave cannoniers—and chiefly thou, old Lintstock, for -a troop of knights might ride abreast through yonder breach." -</p> - -<p> -"True; but thou forgettest the ditch," said Leslie. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay; I have bethought me of that, too." -</p> - -<p> -Black and gloomy the night came on; a high wind growled -along the valley; and with the deepening obscurity, it seemed -as if the brawl of the Douglas over its stony bed became -louder, for its rush was heard distinctly amid the dark and -dewy hills, from which it descended into that lonely and -pastoral strath through which it winds. -</p> - -<p> -Pale and sharp as a spear-head, a horn of the new moon -appeared at times above the black outline of the Craintable; -and when old Lintstock saw it, he carefully took out his purse -(which, however, contained only four of James the Third's -black farthings), and having turned it over thrice, wished -himself good luck, according to a Scottish superstition existing -unto the present day. -</p> - -<p> -When the gloom had deepened, so that nothing could be -discerned of the barmkyn but its bold outline and sable -towers, standing on a shoulder of the mountain, Roland -ordered the arquebusiers to pile their arms, and to tear down -the roof and planking of an old barn that stood near; and -thereafter to bind some ten or fifteen of the rafters together -with ropes of straw, so that, being laid close together, they -should (with the assistance of a few planks) form a temporary -bridge, or passage, across the fosse of the barmkyn, the -breadth of which, with military exactness, he had measured -with his eye. -</p> - -<p> -Two hours sufficed for this, and, about midnight, he prepared -to assault the place, resolving to chastise the gudeman -severely for his resistance. Notwithstanding his wound, the -gallant Leslie insisted on accompanying him, and, armed with -a Jethart staff, Lintstock left the cannoniers to follow his -master. -</p> - -<p> -As the arquebusiers approached in close order, the glow of -their lighted matches must have announced their approach, -for although all was still in the barmkyn (save the incessant -lowing of the cattle in their pens), the moment they were -within range, a storm of missiles was poured upon them. -Arquebuse and pistolette, hacque, dague, and iron-drake, -flashed redly upon the darkness of the night, and many an -arrow, and many a bullet, whistled among the close ranks of -the Guard. Several fell, killed or wounded; but the rest -pressed forward bravely, and Roland, with his helmet closed, -and sword in hand, led them on. -</p> - -<p> -Thick and fast fell bolt and bullet, and the hearty shouts -of the little band of stormers were soon lost in the roar of -tumultuous sounds that arose within the barmkyn; for the -cries of Fleming's followers and kinsmen, as they animated -each other at loophole and battlement, the shrieks of their -wives and daughters, the lowing of the cattle, the barking of -dogs, and the ceaseless ringing of a large alarum bell, added -to the incessant explosion of fire-arms, made a united din, that -gave a strange horror to a scene which had no other lamps to -light its dangers than the flashes of those deadly weapons, -which shot forth their contents from every nook and angle of -the strong dark walls. -</p> - -<p> -"Down with the posts and planks! Quick—Quick!" cried -Roland, through his helmet. "Close your ranks, and now -again to your arquebuses! Fire, and club them! Club them, -and on—on, for Vipont and the King!" -</p> - -<p> -This rude substitute for a bridge was laid, and the ditch -crossed, in less time than we have taken to relate it. Shoulder -to shoulder, in the gap of the gate and drawbridge, stood a -close array of pikemen; but, being somewhat less accustomed -to arms than the soldiers of the Guard, they were thrown into -immediate confusion by a volley from the arquebuses, which -were instantly clubbed against them for close combat. -</p> - -<p> -"Forward! forward!" cried Roland, hewing a passage with -his sword, and shredding down the pike heads like ears of -wheat; his strength, stature, weight of arm, and admirable -coat of mail, rendering him invulnerable, like a knight of -romance. -</p> - -<p> -In the court of the barmkyn, and just within the gate, a -close and terrible conflict ensued in the dark; for there the -sturdy farmer met the assailants in person, at the head of his -hynds and followers, all cased in iron, cuirassed and barbed to -the teeth. -</p> - -<p> -A powerful man, of vast bulk and height, Fleming was -sufficiently formidable, without his other accessories of a coat -of mail of the fifteenth century, jagged with twelve iron -beaks, and one of those enormous iron-studded mauls, which -were used in Scotland until the battle of Pinkey, where they -proved perfectly futile against the Spanish and German -hackbuttiers, who were the main means of winning that battle for -the English. The giant was giving all around him to death -and destruction; three soldiers, the best men of the Guard, -had fallen before him; for, by three separate blows, their -brains and casques had been crushed like ripe pumpkins, -before Roland could reach him through the press; and, with -no other sentiments in his heart than those of rage, the -blind and clamorous longing to avenge and to destroy that -is sure to arise in one's heart at such a time, he fell furiously -upon him. -</p> - -<p> -At this crisis, Roland could perceive a man in a close -helmet, who, armed with an arquebuse, kept close behind -Fleming, and more than once fired in the most cowardly -manner over his shoulder. One ball tore the cone of Roland's -helmet, and another grazed his shoulder. -</p> - -<p> -"Notch me the head of that rascal with thine axe, Lintstock," -cried he; "and leave me to deal alone with this rough -tilter." -</p> - -<p> -Swaying his enormous maul like a giant warrior of the -dark ages, Fleming made many a feint, before pouring forth -all his strength and fury, by swinging his club from the back -of his head in one sheer downward blow, that in a moment -would have annihilated Vipont, had he not sprung nimbly -back, and escaped it as well as another shot from the fellow -with the arquebuse, who killed the lance-spesade, and so -deprived Lintstock of his stoup of Bordeaux. But ere Fleming -could recover his guard, Roland darted forward, and by one -tremendous lunge drove his long keen rapier through his -body, just one inch below the corselet. Fleming fell instantly -to the ground, and the soldiers pressed forward over him; -but as Roland passed, the tremendous grasp of the dying man -was fastened on his foot, and he was dragged to the earth, -where a furious struggle ensued between them. -</p> - -<p> -In the dark, Roland's fall was unseen by his soldiers, who -advanced fighting hand to hand into the heart of the -barmkyn, driving before them the retainers of Baldwin Fleming. -Groaning with rage and pain, and wallowing in his blood, the -latter rolled over Roland, and retained him in a grasp which -gathered fresh energy from the pangs of death, till it seemed -to possess the power of an iron vice. One hand encircled his -throat; the other grasped a poniard, with which he made -many a fruitless effort to stab him to the heart. Five times -he struck, and, glancing from the tempered corselet, five -times the dagger sunk harmlessly into the ground. -</p> - -<p> -During this struggle there suddenly burst upon the darkness -a broad and lurid gleam of light, that illuminated the -whole arena of the barmkyn, its battered gate and ruined -wall, its corpse-strewn court and striking architecture; and -then Roland could perceive the ghastly visage of that -powerful foe who grasped him—powerful even in death, for sight -had all but left his glazed and sunken eyes; yet the vengeance -of a demon seemed to burn in his despairing heart, and to -add strength to his muscular gripe. In confusion and agony -he had dropped his poniard, and now with both hands he -clutched Roland's throat, and frantically endeavoured, by -compressing his steel gorget, to strangle, since he had -failed to stab him; and with every futile effort, the hot -fierce blood welled forth from his gaping wound and clammy -mouth. -</p> - -<p> -Tighter and tighter grew that deadly clutch; the yielding -steel compressed at last, and Roland felt his eyes starting -and his brain whirling, while a thousand lights began to -dance before him. An icy terror, such as never had been -there before, now thrilled through his heart; he thought of -Jane; and made one superhuman effort to free himself and -to shout for succour; but both failed, and he thought that -all was now over and for ever, when the gleam of light which -shot through the barmkyn saved him. For a moment, -attracted by this strange glow that flashed upon his sightless -orbs, strong Fleming relaxed his iron grasp, and, fatally for -himself, permitted Roland to respire. -</p> - -<p> -Bearing in mind his master's injunctions, Nichol Birrel -had thrice taken a deadly aim at Roland, and thrice had -failed, for his bullets slew other men, when his arquebuse was -dashed aside by Lintstock's Jethart axe. Then, finding that -he was not likely to achieve much by dint of arms, on -observing the strange combat between Roland and Fleming in -the gateway—a struggle which he alone had observed, a new -idea occurred to him; and, rushing to the summit of the -walls, he cried: -</p> - -<p> -"The kye! the kye! save your kye! or they will all -become the prize and spulzie of the soldiers!" From the -parapets he threw down several enormous bundles of blazing -straw among the close-packed herds: already excited and -terrified by the din of the combat and the report of the -firearms, they were at once driven mad and furious by the descent -of this burning shower. -</p> - -<p> -Like a living torrent they poured into the court and -rushed through the gateway, in their flight and terror -plunging and galloping, jostling, crushing, and goring each -other with their horns, as they irresistibly swept all before -them, trampling the dead and the wounded in the mire of -their track. -</p> - -<p> -"St. Mary's knot!" cried Lintstock, hewing at their heels -with his Jethart axe; "hough and hamstring! tie their legs -with St. Mary's knot!" -</p> - -<p> -Five hundred head of infuriated cattle poured from the -barmkyn into the dark glen below, where they spread over -the mountains in all directions. -</p> - -<p> -Practised to such tactics in the Border war, the blaze of -the straw and the wild lowing of the cattle instantly -acquainted Roland with what was to ensue; but unable to free -himself from the Herculean grasp of Fleming, he suddenly -clasped him in his arms. Then by one tremendous effort he -dragged his body over himself, and there retained it as a -shield from the forest of legs and hoofs that, rushing from -the pen, like a living whirlwind swept over them in hundreds -for the space of five minutes; but long before the fifth of -these minutes had passed, the nervous grasp of Fleming had -relaxed, and his fierce spirit had fled. Breathless, panting, -and infuriated by the whole encounter, Roland Vipont rose -from the gory mud and mire, regained his sword, and with a -tottering gait and swimming head looked around him for his -followers. -</p> - -<p> -By this time the conflict was over, and his little band of -brave soldiers had gained complete possession of the barmkyn, -the whole surviving defenders of which had effected their -escape by one of those subterranean sally-ports with which -every fortified house in Scotland was furnished, as a means of -secret egress in the last extremity. -</p> - -<p> -The lance-spesade of the cannoniers and fifteen soldiers of -the Guard are said to have been slain in the assault. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap27"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXVII. -<br /><br /> -THE POMMEL OF THE PONIARD. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "He gained—he gained (why stops my story?) then,<br /> - A deadly opiate from the convent men,<br /> - And bore it to his cave."—<i>Marcian Colonna</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Now, blessed be Heaven and our own stout hands, we have -made our quarters good here at last!" said Leslie, at that -moment approaching Vipont. "How is this? Zounds! thou -cuttest a rare figure, all smeared in mud and mire. Art -thou wounded? No reply? Vipont, Vipont, dost hear me? -Why, thou art mute as a fish. But come with me to the -hall, for I have discovered my way there, and, what is better, -a gallant demi-john of Rochelle, that would gladden the -hearts of ten friars; one cup of it will set thee all right; so, -come along, my friend." -</p> - -<p> -Confused and stunned by his protracted struggle with -Fleming, and the whirlwind that had swept over them, -Roland could scarcely articulate a word, and when he did -speak, his voice was lost in the hollow of his helmet. -</p> - -<p> -Assisted by Leslie's arm, he ascended a stair to the hall of -the barmkyn, where their entrance stilled, for a moment, the -uproar and rejoicing of their plundering and half-famished -soldiers. -</p> - -<p> -Built in an age when the sole idea on which a Scottish -house was constructed was the resistance of armed assault, -the walls of the barmkyn were of enormous thickness, and, -in the recesses of the deeply-embayed windows were little -square cupboards for holding household utensils. The vast -fireplace contained two tall andirons, which, together with -the great dinner-table, and a number of clumsy chairs and -buffet-stools, formed the sole furniture of the farmer's hall. -The strong and bare stone walls were as destitute of -ornament as the roof, which rested on twenty-four round stone -corbels, and was composed of twelve beams of oak, plainly -boarded over, to form the flooring of a vast hay-loft above. -</p> - -<p> -A fox's face and horse-shoe were nailed above the door, to -exclude witches; while a cross of elder-tree twigs was fastened -above the lintel as a charm against fascination, for the age -was full of the wildest superstition. -</p> - -<p> -Torches had been lighted in the tin sconces which hung on -the walls; bread, beef, cheese, and every edible on which the -soldiers could lay their hands, had been piled on the long -table; and, with their helmets off, some were crowding round -the demi-john of Rochelle which Leslie had mounted on a -binn in the centre of the floor, while others hewed down -doors and window-shutters with their swords, and lighting a -fire, began to cook with all the eagerness of hungry men. -Meantime, a guard and sentinels had been posted on the -walls without, in case of a rally or surprise. -</p> - -<p> -On removing his helmet, and imbibing a draught of wine, -Sir Roland was completely restored; but he was too much -exasperated by the resistance of Fleming and the loss of life -he had occasioned, to care a jot for the manner in which his -goods and gear were going to rack and ruin. -</p> - -<p> -"Drink, my soldiers!" he exclaimed, as he seated himself -on the table, that he might the more easily overlook the -frolics and revelry, "to your hearts' content; drink deep, for -this is the wine of a false traitor; but let drunkards beware -of the truncheon that awaits them on the morrow. -Lintstock! hallo, Lintstock! where are you, old ironhead?" -</p> - -<p> -"Here, Sir Roland," replied the veteran, who at that -moment entered the hall, dragging in a man whose head he -was menacing at every step with his Jethart axe, and at whom -he darted such scowls of wrath as he could concentrate into -his solitary eye. -</p> - -<p> -"A prisoner!" -</p> - -<p> -"Whom I found skulking there without, and whom I am -ready to vow on the blessed Gospels, is the loon that thrice -levelled his arquebuse at you; and by shooting puir Laurie, -our lance-spesade, hath cheated me of a stoup of wine -whilk I won lawfully," he added, savagely shaking Nichol -Birrel, who gave him a deep glance of hatred from his sullen -eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"It would seem to me, fellow," said Roland, who still -occupied his elevated seat on the edge of the table, and before -whom the soldiers dragged Birrel, "that I have seen thy face -before. In the streets of Edinburgh, perhaps?" he added, -sternly scrutinizing that worthy, who, having been deprived -of arms offensive and defensive, save a small-sword, appeared -before them in the attire of a peasant. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, I am but a puir sheep-farmer of Galloway, and you -never set eyes on me before, Sir Roland." -</p> - -<p> -"A lying varlet!" said Lintstock: "we wasted a gude tass -o' brandy on ye at St. Bryde's Well." -</p> - -<p> -"Oho! I remember thee, now," said Roland, with a terrible -frown. -</p> - -<p> -"And so thou art the villain who shot my poor horse," -said Leslie. -</p> - -<p> -"This is not the case," replied the dogged ruffian, in some -perturbation; "but even if it were so, should a brave soldier -commit such acts to memory, Laird of Balquhan?" -</p> - -<p> -"Now, by the devil, my Galloway Scot, how camest thou -to know my name?" -</p> - -<p> -Birrel saw his mistake, and remained silent. -</p> - -<p> -"Harkye!" said Lintstock again, "are ye not the runion -who drove all the cattle mad, and hounded them out upon -the hills? where all the collies and dogs in Lanarkshire will -never collect them again; for mony a gude score hae -tummelled owre the craigs of the Cairntable, and are drowned in -the Douglas burn." -</p> - -<p> -"Oho, my friend," said Roland, setting down his wine-cup, -and gazing sternly on the brutal and bilious visage of his -prisoner, every twitch of whose square mouth, and every -glance of whose twinkling eyes indicated the mass of bad -thoughts that festered in his heart, "the charges are coming -thick and fast against thee; so 'tis to thee we owe the loss -of our lawful prize—those prime herds and fattened -hirsels?" -</p> - -<p> -"Say rather to witchcraft; for ken ye, sir, that when I -arrived here, three were found to be elfshot, and the rest were -under spell; for the gudeman Fleming was dropping upon -their horns the blessed wax of a paschal candle, the half -whereof is yet remaining——" -</p> - -<p> -"In the pen; he speaks the truth," said Lintstock, "for -I saw it there mysel; but sure as I am a living man, it was -you who threw the blazing straw-wisps owre the parapets of -the bartizan." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, rascal, and didst thou give my message to the -bull-headed proprietor of this dwelling?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yea, Sir Roland Vipont, by Heaven I did, word for word." -</p> - -<p> -"So thou knowest <i>my</i> name too, eh? (hold him fast, -Lintstock)—well?" -</p> - -<p> -"And he made me prisoner." -</p> - -<p> -"I verily believe, peasant, thou liest; for the Laird of -Balquhan avers that he saw thee on the walls in armour." -</p> - -<p> -"True, for I armed me in my own defence." -</p> - -<p> -"But thou didst thrice try to shoot me with an arquebuse, -as Lintstock here is ready to swear." -</p> - -<p> -"Lintstock hath but one eye." -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis gude as a dozen, d—n ye," growled the old soldier. -</p> - -<p> -"How the devil is it this fellow wears a sword like a French -barber?" said Leslie. -</p> - -<p> -"Ay, how is this, thou, who art not a gentleman?" -</p> - -<p> -"I am travelling, and wear it for mine own security." -</p> - -<p> -"A cudgel would better become such a clown as thee; but -take it away, Lintstock, and keep it for thy pains. Now, -fellow, my mind misgiveth me sorely that thou art playing us a -false trick; but as for thy attempts upon my own life, I say -let them pass; being done under armour, and in close fray, -it would ill become Roland Vipont to bear malice for such -trifles—for trifles they are, to a man who feels himself as -I do—with the blade of his sword. Though, as thou knowest, -man, I might hang thee from one of those beams, for resisting -the king's troops, who are empowered" (he added, with a -covert smile at Leslie), "to search every stronghold in -Douglasdale for the traitor, Ashkirk; I forgive thee, instead; -and, as lord and master of this barmkyn, for one night at -least, by the laws of conquest, and appropriation, I say thou -art welcome to a cup of wine, a slice from yon savoury roast, -and a seat by the fire till dawn, when may God speed thee to -thy native Galloway, and keep us from again meeting under -harness. I never bore malice to living man, for blow struck, -or bullet shot, after the fray was over, and so bear none to -thee. Now, fellow, what is thy name?" -</p> - -<p> -"John—John Dargavel," replied Birrel, cautiously. -</p> - -<p> -"Then give me thy hand, John Dargavel, and here is -mine," replied Roland. -</p> - -<p> -Each kissed his right hand, and presented it to the other. -</p> - -<p> -"This is the generous frankness of a gallant soldier," said -Leslie, as Birrel slunk away; "but, I doubt me, 'tis sorely -misplaced, for that fellow hath the eye of a very ruffian. -St. Mary! I could not have believed my haughty Vipont -would have condescended thus—even though a friar had -sworn it." -</p> - -<p> -"The faggots of hell encompass thee!" muttered Birrel -(uttering the favourite curse of those days), as he overheard -Leslie; "but I may, ere the morning, serve my lord and -myself by avenging all this! Praise God, I have still my -poniard, with ten lives in its pommel!" -</p> - -<p> -He drew near the great fire, and mingled with the soldiers, -who were busy spitting strings of pullets, broiling eggs, -basting a lordly roast, toasting cheese, and mulling wine, amid -such jesting and revelling as none but soldiers can indulge in -after danger dared and slaughter past. There were several among -them who no doubt would have recognised him as the witch-pricker -of Edinburgh, had they been less occupied with the -pleasant task of satisfying their appetite, or had they more -closely examined his face, the vile expression of which was -considerably increased by the manner in which he had smeared -it with dust and mud for concealment; but Lintstock, who -had some undefinable suspicions concerning him, kept a strict -watch over all his movements, and never once lost sight of -him, even for a moment, during the whole night. -</p> - -<p> -The feasting was over, the demi-john had been drained, -fresh guards had been posted, and the soldiers lay down to -sleep, for Roland had announced they were to march by sunrise, -and desired Lintstock to prepare a spiced posset of wine for -his friend Leslie and himself, against the time when the -morning trumpet should sound. -</p> - -<p> -Two box beds opened off the hall, and each officer, without -removing his armour, occupied one of them; while their -soldiers slept on the floor, lying close together, with their -swords and arquebuses beside them; and as the pavement -was somewhat cold (even though the month was June), the -staves of the demi-john, a few sturdy oak chairs, and several -other articles of furniture, had been heaped in the chimney, -where they were all blazing in a sheet of flame, like a -yule-nicht fire. -</p> - -<p> -Rolled up in his grey maud, Nichol Birrel reclined in a -corner of the ingle, with his bonnet drawn over his eyes; but -instead of being asleep, as he pretended, he was intently -watching the groups that slept around him. In a more remote -corner lay Lintstock, partly under the hall table, with his -axe and sword under his head as a pillow, and his keen bright -eye fixed on the shaggy-headed brodder, who had not the -least idea that he was either watched or suspected. -</p> - -<p> -And thus the two men lay, for nearly two hours. The -brodder watching the sleeping soldiers, and Lintstock watching -him. The one-eyed veteran had conceived an invincible -mistrust and repugnance of their new acquaintance, and lay -awake like a lynx. -</p> - -<p> -The fire began to sink and smoulder; and the objects in -the hall, its great and sturdily-legged table, the sleeping -groups in their conical corslets and red doublets, the yawning -fire-place and the rough arch of the mantelpiece, the -ponderous beams of the ceiling and the deep embrasures of the -windows, assumed various shapes to the half-closed eye of -Lintstock. The shadows became black, while a fainter red -began to flicker on the walls as the embers died, and -everything became grotesquely indistinct. -</p> - -<p> -Sleep was fast overpowering the drowsy veteran; but before -yielding to it, he gave one last glance at the witch-brodder, -and, starting, grasped the shaft of his Jethart axe. -</p> - -<p> -Birrel had arisen and thrown off his plaid. The last glow -of the sinking embers shone full on his strong squat figure, -his bilious visage, matted beard, and muscular hands, giving -him the aspect of an enormous gnome in their uncertain light. -</p> - -<p> -"Ha! what now, sir?" muttered Lintstock, quietly. -</p> - -<p> -Birrel unsheathed his dagger; the blade gleamed redly in -the flame; but instead of grasping the hilt in the usual way, -he unscrewed the pommel; and then fortunately a current of -wind which streamed down the wide chimney and fanned the -embers into a sudden flame, showed Lintstock how he took -from the hollow ball a few red grains, and shook them into -the posset-cup which had been prepared for Sir Roland and -his friend, and which stood near the fire upon the warm hearth. -</p> - -<p> -Lintstock grasped his axe tighter. -</p> - -<p> -For a moment the wine-posset frothed and foamed in the -light; then the fermentation subsided, and with the last gleam -of the exhausted fire Lintstock saw the brodder envelop -himself once more in his plaid, and, after stretching his limbs -upon the warm ingle-seat, go composedly to sleep. -</p> - -<p> -The firelight had expired, and then Lintstock could perceive -the first faint grey of the morning, brightening coldly and -steadily beyond the strong iron gratings of the hall windows; -and being well aware that the sentinels would permit none to -pass without Sir Roland's order or permission, and thus that -the captive prisoner could not escape, Lintstock also addressed -himself to sleep for the short two hours that intervened -before the usual time of marching. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap28"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXVIII. -<br /><br /> -A DRAUGHT OF WATER. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Now light is my song, as I journey along,<br /> - Now my perilous service is o'er;<br /> - I think on sweet home, and I carol a song,<br /> - In remembrance of her I adore."—TANNAHILL.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -With the first peep of the sun's red disc above the Cairntable, -the trumpet sounded in the court of the barmkyn; and -starting at once to their arms, the arquebusiers, with the -ready resolution of soldiers accustomed to be roused on a -moment's warning at all hours and in all seasons, hastened -from the hall, and began to fall into their ranks in the yard. -</p> - -<p> -Many dead bodies, and that of the stalwart Fleming among -them, were lying among the mire, where the fugitive cattle -had trod them; a lance-spesade proceeded to call the roll, -while the fourrier broached a cask of ale, from which every -man took a long horn before marching. -</p> - -<p> -Roland Vipont was the first who started at the sound of -the trumpet. -</p> - -<p> -"Hollo, Lintstock," cried he; "my sword and helmet, and -bring hither the wine-pot. Come forth, my light Leslie; the -trumpet hath blown." -</p> - -<p> -Lintstock brought the posset to his master, who was about -to divide it, by pouring a portion into another cup for Leslie; -when the wakeful servant whispered into his ear, while lacing -on his helmet— -</p> - -<p> -"Hold ye, Sir Roland, and invite our new friend in the -border maud to taste of it first." -</p> - -<p> -"Methinks muddy ale, or ditch-water, would better suit -his knave's throat; but why this request?" -</p> - -<p> -"There hath been foul play in the night." -</p> - -<p> -"Oho!" said Roland, changing colour and setting down -the cup; "do you say so?" -</p> - -<p> -"Poisoned?" asked Leslie, in a low, fierce voice. -</p> - -<p> -Lintstock winked, and nodded towards Birrel, who, at that -moment, for the third or fourth time, was endeavouring -stealthily to leave the hall, with the last of the soldiers. -</p> - -<p> -"Come hither, friend Dargavel,—for so I believe them -callest thyself,"—said Roland, filling a wooden bicker from -the large pot of mulled wine; "is it thus thou stealest away -without bidding adieu to me, who am thy host; for thou -knowest that I command all here while within the walls. -Come, drink with us, friend; 'tis a bad maxim to ride with a -fasting stomach, so thou art welcome to a share of this posset, -which has simmered overnight by the fire. Dost thou hear -me, fellow? Art thou deaf?" -</p> - -<p> -Birrel's visage turned deadly pale, and a perspiration -suffused the roots of his hair and matted beard. -</p> - -<p> -"I never drink aught that is stronger than water—never, -at any time," said he, with a quavering voice. -</p> - -<p> -"This is false," said Leslie; "for I saw thee dipping thy -moustaches, yea, and thy whole beard, in the demi-john last -night." -</p> - -<p> -"True—but in the morning I never drink either ale, wine, or -usquebaugh—never, sir knights—wi' mony gude thanks for -your courtesie?" -</p> - -<p> -"Tarry with us, friend; be not in a hurry," said Roland—at -a sign from whom Lintstock placed himself in the doorway—"of -what, in the devil's name, does thy morning draught -usually consist?" -</p> - -<p> -"Milk," replied Birrel, becoming blanched with fear, and -looking round for some friendly hole wherein to hide himself. -</p> - -<p> -"A very hermit in temperance! I regret that, in consequence -of all the cattle having escaped, we cannot accommodate -you, my pretty man, with a draught of your favourite -beverage. But hark you, sir," said Roland, unsheathing his -formidable sword; "thou seest this blade?—well, if thou -dost not drain this cup of wine to the bottom, I will pass -this weapon to the hilt—yea, sirrah, to the very hilt, through -thy body!" -</p> - -<p> -"Of all the sights of horror and disgust," says a popular -writer, "villany transformed at the death-hour into its natural -character and original of cowardice, is among the most -appalling." The witch-finder trembled in every limb, and seemed -frozen to stone by this command. -</p> - -<p> -"Ha! thou unfanged reptile, so we have thee by the -throat?" cried Roland, withdrawing his keen, sharp weapon -for the death-thrust; "off with it, to the dregs—yea, to the -very dregs?" -</p> - -<p> -The tongue of Birrel clove to his palate, for the fear of -death and love of life were strong in his breast; he had -dropped ten grains into the goblet—and he remembered the -words of his master, that <i>each grain</i> was the life of a man. -He gasped for breath, but could only utter inarticulate -murmurs. He turned towards the doorway, and there stood -Lintstock with his eye full of ferocity and his axe uplifted. -</p> - -<p> -"Harkee, hound! dost thou hear me?" said Vipont, spurning -him with his foot. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Sir Roland, have mercy, have mercy! The servant -is not responsible for what he does by the orders of his -master?" -</p> - -<p> -"A pleasant rascal this!" said Leslie. "So thou hast a -master, eh?" -</p> - -<p> -Birrel stammered, and paused; for, villain as he was, he -meant not to betray Redhall. -</p> - -<p> -"Think not that, by divulging his name, thou wilt save -thy hang-dog life!" said Roland—who mistook his delay—"for -I swear by the God that is in heaven! if thou drainest -not this draught to the very bottom, I will run thee through -the heart without more preamble. So quick! quick! swallow, -swallow! dost think we have time to trifle about crushing a -reptile so despicable as thee!" -</p> - -<p> -The villain sank upon his knees, for they refused to sustain -his weight; fear froze the very pulses of his heart, and palsied -his tongue; his countenance became livid and clayey; his -eyes sank, and his lips became blue. -</p> - -<p> -"How frightful this villain is!" said Leslie. "Did ever a -brave man look thus in the face of death?" -</p> - -<p> -"Mercy, sirs! mercy! I will sin no more; I will be a -gudeman and true—I will tell ye all—my master's -name—but mercy, sirs! mercy!" -</p> - -<p> -"Thy master's name! we seek it not," said Roland, as he -smote him on the mouth with his gauntleted hand; "we -seek it not; for then our honour would compel us to slay -him wherever we met him, by holm or hillside, at kirk or in -market; and I wish not to stain my father's sword with the -blood of villains." -</p> - -<p> -"A priest! then let me have a priest! but five minutes -wi' a priest! for, oh, I have mickle to say, and muckle to -repent o'!" -</p> - -<p> -"Dog! thou art a Protestant, I believe, and requirest not -a priest. No, go down to thy grave with the curse of the -God of the living and the God of the dead on thy brow—that -dogged front where the mark of hell is written! -Drink! drink! dost thou hear me, Cain?" -</p> - -<p> -Roland held the dreadful cup before his eyes by one hand, -while, with the other, he gave him a violent prick in the -breast with the point of his sword. -</p> - -<p> -Birrel uttered a shriek like a fiend; and, draining the cup -to the bottom, flung it full at the face of Roland, who stooped -his head, and the wooden vessel was dashed to a thousand -shreds on the opposite wall. -</p> - -<p> -"Now I have but two hours to live!" he cried, with the -voice of a damned one; "two hours! two hours! two hours!" -and, darting through the doorway, he hurled Lintstock from -his path as he would a child, and, with one bound sprang -down stairs into the courtyard, where he passed through the -startled soldiers like a whirlwind, with his visage overspread -by the blue pallor of death, his mouth covered with foam, and -his matted hair streaming in elf-locks behind him. -</p> - -<p> -Snatching up a cord that lay in his path, he cleared the -fosse with one bound, like an evil spirit; and, uttering a -succession of frightful cries, plunged down the steep bank, towards -the rough rocky bed of the Douglas. -</p> - -<p> -"How now! is the fellow going to hang himself?" said -Roland. -</p> - -<p> -"Faith, poisoning might surely satisfy him," replied -Leslie. -</p> - -<p> -Master Birrel certainly was about to hang himself, but -not by the neck. -</p> - -<p> -"I must live—I must live—oh, yes, I must, for vengeance!" -he yelled; for, coward as he was, he felt that he -could have died happy, if, by so doing, he could destroy -Roland Vipont and Jane Seton—yea, and his master too, who -had sent him on an errand so fatal in its termination. -</p> - -<p> -While some of the soldiers were burying the dead, and -others were tracing the horses to the artillery, the poisoned -ruffian ran wildly to a solitary part of the river, where he -threw himself on his face, and imbibed an inordinate draught -of cold water—drinking, drinking, drinking—as if he was a -mere hollow pipe. Loosening his waist-belt, and untying -the points of his doublet, he stooped and drank deeply again, -burying his face in the water until his distended stomach -felt swollen as if to bursting, and when he arose the whole -landscape swam around him. Then, selecting the branch of -a tree, he clambered up to it with the utmost difficulty, for -he had turned himself into a mere water barrel. -</p> - -<p> -Then, in a horror of anxiety—for every moment wasted -seemed an eternity—he tied his ankles to the branch, and -lowering his body perpendicularly till his hands rested on the -turf, he remained suspended, head downwards, in the hope -that, with the ocean of water he had drunk, he might disgorge -the frightful poison he had been compelled to swallow. -But long before this hideous operation was over, Roland -Vipont, Leslie, and their soldiers, with the royal banners -displayed, and their bright armour gleaming in the sun, were -marching down the pastoral valley, on their route to -Edinburgh, having now traversed the whole dale of the Douglas -without discovering the Earl of Ashkirk. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, fare ye well, Lanarkshire, and welcome the dun -summit of Arthur's Seat," thought Roland; as, full of the -most brilliant anticipations of happiness, he spurred his -gallant horse and patted its arching neck. "In three days I -will be with my dear Jeanie; and, in a month from this, -whether the king sayeth yea or nay, she shall be my winsome -bride!" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap29"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIX. -<br /><br /> -THE SECOND VISIT. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Give me again my innocence of soul;<br /> - Give me my forfeit honour blanched anew;<br /> - Cancel my treasons to my royal master;<br /> - Restore me to my country's lost esteem,<br /> - To the sweet hope of mercy from above,<br /> - And the calm comforts of a virtuous heart."<br /> - <i>Edward the Black Prince</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The soothing or sleeping draught had been duly administered -by Tib Trotter, and Jane Seton slept. -</p> - -<p> -Everything of late had happened most favourably for the -intriguing lord advocate. The queen's delicate health, the -king's anxiety, his fear and suspicion of the Douglases; the -imprisonment of the countess of Inchkeith, and the retirement -of the court to the Abbey of Balmerino; but chiefly the -young earl's proscription, the banishment of all his retainers -from the city, and the protracted absence of Roland Vipont -in Douglasdale, from whence it was to be hoped Birrel would -never permit him to return alive, left Archibald Seton and -his sister utterly at the mercy of Redhall, the chambers of -whose mansion were as secret and secure as those of the -recently-established Holy Office at St. Andrew's. -</p> - -<p> -Animated by no new evil intention, but solely by his -clamorous desire to see her, to be near her, that he might -touch her hands or kiss her cheek unrepelled, Redhall had -administered the narcotic to his fair captive, whom he now -prepared to visit. -</p> - -<p> -It was midnight; his whole household was buried in -slumber; and as the moment approached when he had proposed -to pay this somewhat equivocal visit, a tremor took -possession of his heart, a dimness came over his eyes, and he -imbibed more than one glass of wine, to string his nerves and -still his agitation. -</p> - -<p> -"Poh!" said he, as his cheek reddened; "all this excitement -about visiting a girl—a girl who is asleep, too." -</p> - -<p> -Like many other Scottish houses where the walls were -strong, Redhall's mansion was furnished with several narrow -wheel-staircases, which, like gimlet-holes, perforated the -edifice from top to bottom, communicating with the various -stories. One of these descended from the door of his -apartment to another which gave entrance to Jane Seton's, -opening just behind the arras of her bed. -</p> - -<p> -Redhall laid his poniard on the table, from which he took -a candle, and treading softly in his maroquin slippers, found -himself at the door of Jane's apartment, and there he paused. -Though not a current of air swept up the narrow staircase, the -candle in his tremulous hand streamed like a pennon, while -a glow of fear and shame traversed his heart like a red-hot -iron. -</p> - -<p> -Tib had informed him that Lady Jane kept candles burning -in her room all night; so extinguishing his, he noiselessly -opened the little private door, and drew back the arras. A -sense of flowers and perfume, mingled with the closer -atmosphere of the chamber, was wafted towards him, and, by the -light of two candles which, in massive square holders of -Bruges silver, burned on the toilet-table, he was enabled to -make a survey of the whole dormitory on which he was -intruding. Though he was unconscious of any guilty -intention, there was (he mentally acknowledged) something -equivocal in the time and manner of his visit that appalled his -heart. He felt shame glowing on his cheek: he saw spies -in every shadow, and heard a voice in every echo of his own -footfalls. -</p> - -<p> -Softly he let the arras drop, but, in his excitement, forgot -to close behind him the door which it was intended to -conceal. -</p> - -<p> -Unused, from the first hour she had occupied the chamber, -the magnificent bed prepared for Jane Seton had not been -disturbed, and with its cornices of carved oak, its festooned -hangings and aspiring feathers, its heraldic blazonry and -grotesque devices, it towered upon its dais like a monument in -some old abbey aisle. -</p> - -<p> -Placed on each side of a mirror, the two candles reflected -a bright light upon the warmly-coloured tapestry of the -apartment; the Persian carpet of its floor, the fresh flowers -that, in jars of Venetian glass, decorated the mantelpiece, -and all the innumerable little ornaments with which the taste -and policy of Redhall had furnished it, to beguile the tedium -or flatter the vanity of his unwilling prisoner. -</p> - -<p> -"She sleeps!" said he, advancing on tiptoe, and shading -his eyes with his hand, "she sleeps, and soundly too. Oh, -how beautiful she is! How pure, how innocent she looks," -he added, gazing upon her with eyes of adoration, for he -loved her exceedingly, and with a depth of regard which, -though not based on the same sentiments of esteem, was -no-wise inferior perhaps to that of the more favoured Roland -Vipont. -</p> - -<p> -She was seated in a large arm-chair of the most luxurious -description. Carved like a gigantic clamshell, the back, with -its arms and sides, were of damask, stuffed with the softest -down, and the woodwork was elaborately gilt. She reclined -within it, with a hand, white as alabaster, resting on each of -the arms; her head lay somewhat on her right shoulder, over -which her unbound hair poured in a shower of ringlets, -which, from her recumbent position, reached nearly to the -ground. Her face was pale as her hands; but some vision -was rising before her, through the depth of her slumber, and -a soft smile played on her beautiful mouth. -</p> - -<p> -Though feeling certain that, under the influence of what -she had imbibed, Jane would not awake, Redhall scarcely -dared to breathe; but, impelled by the delirium that was -rapidly mounting to his brain, a devouring longing to touch, -to embrace her, possessed him; and, kneeling before his -sleeping divinity, he kissed both her hands repeatedly and -affectionately. Then he became giddy, and his heart beat -furiously; pulses rang in his ears, and all his senses began to -wander wildly; he gently encircled her with his arms, pressed -her to his breast, and kissed her soft cheek again and again. -A blindness seemed to come over him. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, beautiful, indeed, thou art, and most adorable, too; -but proud and pitiless to me—to poor me, that loves thee so -well!" he murmured, becoming almost maudlin; "why hast -thou so great a horror of a poor being that would kiss the -very dust whereon thou treadest? Oh, this love is bewildering -me—I am not the same man—oh, no,—'tis a torment—a frenzy." -</p> - -<p> -His hot, dry eyes became moistened, and one large tear fell -upon the cheek of Jane. -</p> - -<p> -She suddenly opened her large startled eyes, and fixed -them upon him with an expression of terror and stupefaction; -while his own astonishment was so great that he forgot to -release her from his embrace. -</p> - -<p> -The draught had been less potent than the apothegar -intended. -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis a dream!" she muttered, and closed her eyes; -"another dream, but always that face of horror!" -</p> - -<p> -Then, becoming more awake, and more alive to her situation, -and feeling that the arms of some one encircled her, she -shuddered, and, in great alarm, attempted to rise, but her -limbs were powerless, and a strange numbness tied her to her -chair. She made a superhuman effort to cry, but her tongue -was powerless. -</p> - -<p> -"Mother! mother! what is this? Assist me, for I am -wholly at his mercy! I am in the power of a demon, who -will fascinate me with his eyes." -</p> - -<p> -Laying her gently back, his first impulse was to retreat -before perfect consciousness returned; but she seemed so -agitated, so woe-begone, and so frightfully pale, that he dared -not leave her; and, on his knees, began to chafe in his her -soft and dimpled hands. -</p> - -<p> -Gradually, the truth forced itself upon Jane. Her actual -tormentor, and no vision, was before her. She began to weep, -and covered her face with her snow-white hands, over which -her hair fell like a glossy veil. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, despair! despair! am I abandoned for ever? Roland, -Roland! come to me, dearest Roland!" she exclaimed, -incoherently. "Oh, man, man! why dost thou persecute me -thus?" -</p> - -<p> -Sir Adam Otterburn was stung to the heart by her words; -but, sighing deeply, he gently parted her dishevelled hair, and -said— -</p> - -<p> -"Lady Jane, I am aware that I am guilty of great wrong -towards you; but it is the guilt of love, and love should -pardon the frenzy it has caused." -</p> - -<p> -"I can pardon your love, but can I pardon the misery it -hath caused me? It is not the love of a sane man, but the -fantasy of a madman. I am thy prisoner, lawlessly thy -prisoner; but thou hast infamously violated the ties of honour -and hospitality in breaking the privacy of a helpless woman. -Fie upon thee, man! for I will raise upon thee even thine -own detested household!" -</p> - -<p> -She rose, staggering, and more than once passed her hand -across her forehead, for her faculties were as yet obscured by -the potion. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, deem me not so vile!" said Redhall, clasping his -hands, and looking upon her with the most sad and solemn -earnestness. "I came but to see, to touch, to be near you, -to breathe but the same air with you, to look upon you -without being repulsed, to sit by and worship you; and I have -done so with such adoration as I have never felt even before -the altar of my God; and I call Him to witness, if in my mind -there was kindled one impure or one unholy thought." -</p> - -<p> -"Fool!" said Jane, bitterly, for she was full of angry -alarm; "thou ravest like one of Lindesay's playmen. Thy -purity of thought should have made thee respect as sacred -the chamber to which I am consigned. Sir Adam, in all thy -love-making there is a fustian sophistry, which shows thou -art immensely inferior to my Vipont; and he, though but a -rough soldier, never dared resort to blasphemy in expressing -his love for me." -</p> - -<p> -Jane saw the agony that Vipont's name always occasioned -her tormentor, and could not forbear to sting him with it. -A cold moisture studded his pale forehead with diamond-like -drops; a satanic smile lit up with a gleam of undisguised -jealousy his dark and homicidal eyes. -</p> - -<p> -In this taunt she felt her strength; but saw not the danger -of driving to despair a heart so fierce, so proud, so jealous and -resentful. He approached, but she drew back with a haughty -look. -</p> - -<p> -"Beware, Sir Adam," said she; "for even if the king and -his court forget that I am the daughter of John, Earl of -Ashkirk, I have a dear brother, and a dearer <i>friend</i>, who, if -they cannot at present protect, will one day surely and -fearfully avenge me!" -</p> - -<p> -"Proud lady," he replied, with calm fury, "if neither -Heaven nor hell can protect thee, dost think that thy brother, -who is my prisoner, and whose life is in my hands; or that -other miserable moth—that holiday captain, in steel plates -and gilded scales—will succour, save, or avenge thee?" -</p> - -<p> -"They will, they will, I tell thee, false baron and craven -man; thou corrupt counsellor and cowardly Otterburn! And -when Vipont returns, thou and all thy kindred may tremble, -for neither the Otterburns of Redhall, nor Redford of -Auldhame or Avondoune, will be able to withstand him." -</p> - -<p> -He smiled sourly; and she uttered a scornful laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"Woman, how pitilessly thou plantest poniards in a heart -that loves thee well. Oh, beware! beware! for a single drop -will make the cup that brims to overflow. My heart can -know no medium; it is capable of only two extremes. Love -the most blind, hatred the most insane; and at times I feel -that it vibrates between them. Beware of the last; and, -oh! beware of thrusting this rival in my face, for slowly, but -surely, drop by drop, as it were, a savage longing for revenge -will gather in my heart; yea, drop by drop, till it swells -into a flood—a fierce, a furious flood, that, bearing all before -it (like a mountain torrent), will drown alike the stings of -conscience and of pity, and, like a feather on its surface, will -sweep you away with it." -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Roland Vipont is a gallant soldier, who will laugh -alike at thy vengeance and thy bombast. True, wretch! thou -mayst murder him, as thou didst M'Clellan of Bombie," she -continued, with eyes full of tears and fire; "but even then -we will find hearts and hands to avenge us." -</p> - -<p> -Redhall remained for some moments speechless with passion -and confusion. -</p> - -<p> -"Bombie!" he reiterated, turning ghastly pale; "what -leads you to suppose I ever committed a crime so frightful? -Speak! But this is the wordy anger of a woman. You talk -of an affair which happened eleven years ago, when you must -have been but little more than a child. Lady, these words -are rash and unadvised. Oh! I implore thee to beware of -exciting in my heart the hatred of which I spoke, and of -which I feel it capable." -</p> - -<p> -"Then I will repeat them a thousand and a thousand times, -thou murderer of the brave Sir Thomas M'Clellan, my father's -long-loved friend. I need care little for thy <i>hatred</i>, when thy -mad love costs me so dear." -</p> - -<p> -"My hatred—beware, I implore thee once again—beware -of it!" -</p> - -<p> -Lady Seton laughed; and a gloomy expression gathered in -the dark solemn eyes of Redhall. -</p> - -<p> -"Think, dear lady—think," said he, "of the ruin that -hangs over thee and thy house." -</p> - -<p> -"Do thou rather reflect on that, and remember that, were -I to wed thee, for ever wouldst thou lose the favour of James, -the cardinal, and their obsequious parliament; destroying -thyself without lessening one iota the thousand pitiless -severities to which the knights and barons of our faction are -subjected." -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, lady, nay; I who have done, can <i>undo</i>. Many of -those acts of proscription and severity were enacted by my -advice and by my influence." -</p> - -<p> -"Another incentive to abhor thee." -</p> - -<p> -"But I can restore the banished to their homes,—the -dishonoured to honour—the unhappy to happiness—the -ruined and despairing to wealth and affluence; and to do all -this by a word lies with thee alone." -</p> - -<p> -"St. Mary! I know not whether to weep with vexation -or laugh at thee with scorn," said Jane, in great distress and -perplexity, for she could not but acknowledge mentally that -he spoke the truth. "Oh, Vipont! Vipont!" she added, in a -low voice, "assuredly thou hast abandoned me." -</p> - -<p> -Another wild gleam passed over the eyes of Redhall. -</p> - -<p> -"Rash woman, how thou bravest me! if thy heart, insensible -as it is, has neither love for me, nor pity for the knights -and nobles of thy race, surely at least it will tremble for thyself! -Behold this warrant," he continued, drawing a parchment -from his bosom; "from this house, Jane Seton, thou canst -only pass to the castle of Edinburgh. Here are accusations of -treason; of conspiring with the English; of resetting rebels; -and worse, oh! worse a thousand times than all—sorcery, and -compassing, by spell and charm, the life of Queen Magdalene." -</p> - -<p> -He paused, and his lowering countenance assumed a diabolical -expression; for his stormy passions were wavering (as -he had said) between excess of love and excess of hate. -</p> - -<p> -"Ponder well upon my offer, and deeper upon my threat; -respect the first, and—fear the second. Life, honour, power, -and happiness are in my right hand; trial and torture, -disgrace and death, the stake and the gibbet, are in my left. -Here, love the most tender and most true; there, revenge -revelling like an unchained fiend! Think, think, oh! for -mercy's sake—for pity's sake; and for the love of God, think, -ere thou dost for the last time pause or repel me." -</p> - -<p> -Trembling, and scarcely able to restrain her tears— -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Adam Otterburn," she replied, "I despise alike these -offers and those threats; for if not a villain, and a cruel one, -thou art (and, Heaven protect me!) assuredly a madman." -</p> - -<p> -His countenance became livid, and his eyes sad. -</p> - -<p> -"Then so be it—a <i>madman</i>! Then, as a madman, let me -have but one soul, one thought, and one desire—vengeance! the -deep, thirsty vengeance of madness, of jealousy and -despair!" -</p> - -<p> -Terrified by his aspect and his fury, Jane had withdrawn -to the farthest end of the apartment, when a new gust of -passion seized him, and he sprang towards her. -</p> - -<p> -"There is but one way left me now. Am I a child, a boy, -a fool, that I trifle with thee, who art pitiless as a panther, -and inanimate as marble?" he exclaimed, as he seized her, and -endeavoured to encircle her with his arms; "in this house -thou art completely in my power as in the midst of a desert, -and now—and now——" -</p> - -<p> -"Mercy!" cried Jane, filled with a sudden sense of new -danger, as she endeavoured to elude his wild grasp, and the -gaze of his large, dark, gloating eyes, and prayed aloud for -safety and protection. -</p> - -<p> -"Ay, invoke and cry, and pray to God or to man, as thou -pleasest; but will either hear thee?" -</p> - -<p> -"Vipont! Vipont! -</p> - -<p> -"Ha! ha! the hand of Birrel is in his heart." -</p> - -<p> -"Archibald!" she panted, sinking down against the wall, -and overcome with terror. "Oh, Archibald, my brother, my -brother!" -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Here!</i>" cried a voice like a trumpet; the arras was -torn aside, and a man sprang forward—there was a flash as -a poniard was buried in the breast of Redhall, and the black -velvet of his doublet was stained with red, a cloud of darkness -descended upon his eyes; and as he fell weltering in his -blood, Jane was borne away by the strong intruder. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap30"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXX. -<br /><br /> -SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY! -</h3> - -<p class="poem"> - "A strange emotion stirs within him—more<br /> - Than mere compassion ever waked before;—<br /> - Unconsciously he opes his arms, while she<br /> - Springs forward, as with life's lost energy."—<i>Lalla Rookh</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The Earl of Ashkirk, on finding that he was actually possessor -of a small steel knife, could scarcely repress his joy till -nightfall, or refrain from indulging in a merry song; so his -exuberance expended itself in whistling, and drawing on the -walls a variety of caricatures of Redhall hanging upon a -gallows, invariably appending to his face an enormous nose; -for that feature of the lord advocate, though straight and -singularly handsome, was, to say the least of it, somewhat long -and dignified. -</p> - -<p> -As the sun set, he employed himself in tapping with the -handle of the knife the various stones of the partition wall, -for the idea of effecting a breach through the vast solidity of -the external barrier never occurred to him. -</p> - -<p> -There was one part of the inner wall which was jointed -with remarkably large and square stones, where, by the -frequent sound of feet ascending and descending, he felt assured -there was a stair behind; and there he resolved to commence -operations the moment he was confident of being left -undisturbed for that night. -</p> - -<p> -He was singularly facetious with Tam Trotter when the -latter, as usual, left him for the last time about six o'clock, -and secured all the doors. By this time the earl had decided -upon which stone to operate, and selected one about four feet -from the floor; he marked it with a cross for good luck, and -after viewing his treasured knife for the thousandth time, -repaired to his little window to watch the lagging sunset. -</p> - -<p> -Never, even when longing for a meeting with Sybil, did -the moments pass so slowly. -</p> - -<p> -The evening was still and calm, and not a leaf was stirring -in the venerable chestnuts and sycamores at the foot of the -little park which extended towards the south, behind the -house of Redhall. The sunlight died away on Arthur's Seat, -and the sky gradually deepened to a darker and more cerulean -blue, and one by one the stars came out of its bosom; the -hum of the city, and other sounds of life without, ceased -gradually, and nothing was heard but now and then the -striking of a friary clock, or the jangling bells in the convent -of Placentia. Night—the short but beautiful night of -June—had come on; and one might have imagined that another -and a softer day was dawning in the glorious light of the -midsummer moon, as it rose in unclouded magnificence above -the craigs of Salisbury; then, with the first ray that shone -into his chamber, the earl, whose heartbeat rapidly and almost -fiercely with anxiety, and whose hands trembled, but with -eagerness, drew forth his treasured knife, and commenced the -arduous and exciting work of escape. -</p> - -<p> -Fitted close as books on a shelf, squared and built with -little mortar, the task of loosening and completely disengaging -one stone occupied hours. The knife bent like a willow wand; -and the earl's heart almost sunk with fear lest it should -break, and that if he failed or was discovered at such a task, -a stronger prison, perhaps a hopeless dungeon, might be -apportioned to him. Loosened on all sides, the stone he had -selected was a block a foot high by eighteen inches broad; it -vibrated to the touch, but the utmost exertion and art he -could put in practice failed to coax it one inch from its deep -bed in the wall; the knife, his nails, his fingers, were all -resorted to successively again and again, but in vain—it shook, -it vibrated, but obstinately remained in its place, till in a fit -of fury, and when about to abandon the task in despair, he -uttered a malediction, and gave the stone a violent push with -both his hands! Then, lo! it shot through the wall to the -outside, and disengaging others in its passage, fell upon what -Lord Ashkirk discovered in a moment to be a step of one of -those narrow stairs we have described in the preceding chapter. -</p> - -<p> -The echoes of its fall died away in the stony windings of -the stair; and grasping his knife, the earl stood for a moment -petrified, lest all his labour and anxiety were lost, and the -noise should rouse the household; but fortunately (save their -master) all the members of it were buried in profound repose. -The earl could hear his heart beating, as the blood rushed -back tumultuously upon it; but all remained still as death, -and he could hear the corbies croaking as they swung in their -nests among the foliage of the ancient trees without. -</p> - -<p> -There was not a moment to be lost. -</p> - -<p> -With some difficulty he crawled through the aperture, and -found himself in a dark and narrow stair. His first thought -was to replace the heavy stone, which he did with ease, for -this gallant young noble was strong as a Hercules; thus, as -the breach was immediately behind the door, it was concealed -from those who might enter the chamber; and hence the -dismay of Tam Trotter on the morrow, when he found it -void, without knowing or perceiving how. -</p> - -<p> -The earl was naturally about to descend, when the cry of a -female arrested him; and though he knew not with certainty -that his sister Jane was in the power of Sir Adam -Otterburn, the voice made him experience something like an -electric shock; and he sprang up the stair, taking three steps -at a time. -</p> - -<p> -The first apartment he entered was empty; a light burned -on the table, which bore a pyramid of letters and papers; -the walls were shelved, and covered with vellum-bound -volumes—it was the study or library of the lord advocate. -A Flemish clock, in workmanship and aspect little superior -to a common roasting-jack of modern times, hung above the -mantel-piece, and pointed to the hour of twelve. -</p> - -<p> -Above him the earl heard voices, whose purport he could -not discover, but whose tones seemed familiar to his ear. -</p> - -<p> -Appropriating to himself a handsome poniard that lay on -the table, just where Redhall had placed it about an hour -before, he sprang to the next story, at the door of which a -candle was burning on the floor: it streamed in a current of -air, which announced to the observant earl that there must -be an external door below. -</p> - -<p> -The voices were those of his sister Jane and their enemy, -Redhall. -</p> - -<p> -A storm of passion filled his heart; and at the very -moment she was exclaiming—"Archibald! oh, Archibald, my -brother!" he tore aside the arras, and striking Redhall to -the floor with his own poniard, seized his sister by the hand, -and led, or rather dragged her forth, and down the steep -stair, at the bottom of which they found themselves in the -vaulted stone lobby of the mansion. Everything was yet -silent. -</p> - -<p> -The flaring light of a smoky oil lamp which stood on a -grotesque stone bracket projecting from the wall, revealed its -furniture, which consisted of little more than a few sturdy -oak chairs, and a stout binn, whereon stood an ale barrel, -with a quaigh hanging on its spigot, wherewith the servants -of visitors, or whoever chose, might quench their thirst; for -such was the hospitable fashion of the olden time. At the -further end of the lobby* was an arch closed by a strong -door, which was secured by one ponderous wooden bar, that -crossed it transversely, and had a solid rest in the walls at -each side. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Scottish for an entrance-hall; derived, -I believe, from the German <i>laube</i>: -a gallery, or walking-place. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -To shoot back this bar of oak, to open the heavy door, and -rush into the Canongate, were but the work of a moment—and -then Lord Ashkirk and his sister were free. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Archibald! Archibald!" cried Jane, as she threw -herself into the arms of her brother in a transport of grief -and excitement—"am I quite saved—and by you?" -</p> - -<p> -"I have not a moment to lose, dear Jeanie, for the -bloodhounds of Redhall will be upon my track. Yonder is our -house. I dare not enter it; but once there, thou at least -art safe." -</p> - -<p> -"With my mother—oh, yes; when with my mother I will -fear nothing. Our dear mother! but thou——?" -</p> - -<p> -"Must hasten hence. Edinburgh will be too hot to hold -me after this affair; and already I have been too rash in -residing here. Hah!" he exclaimed, half savagely, but with -a shudder, as he held up his hand, "this is the blood of -Redhall! There will be a vacant gown in the High Court -to-morrow—one villain less in that tribunal of cowards! -Here, then, thou art safe. I will cross into Fife, even should -I swim the Firth, and will retire towards the Highlands, as -the king will be sure to look for me on the Borders. Tell -Vipont of this, and intrust yourself to him, for he alone can -protect thee now. I can no more." -</p> - -<p> -"But Roland is in Douglasdale, and our mother a prisoner -in the castle of Inchkeith!" -</p> - -<p> -The earl gnashed his teeth with passion. -</p> - -<p> -"How many wheels hath this dark conspiracy!" said he. -"Ha! 'tis well I struck deep to-night." -</p> - -<p> -"See, Archibald, our house is dark and deserted; the gates -are locked. Oh! such silence and desolation!" -</p> - -<p> -"What shall we do now? If I stay with thee I shall be -taken, and if taken, shall indubitably be hanged, <i>red hand</i>. -See, this horrible poniard is actually glued to my fingers!" -</p> - -<p> -"Away thou to the hills, and leave me. Oh, Archibald! seek -shelter anywhere. Thou art the last hope of us all, -Archibald! with thee our father's name, and fame, and race -would perish." -</p> - -<p> -"True; and, what is worth them all, our hopes of -vengeance on the Hamiltons. I must live for that! This -night hath commenced it; and my hand has struck one from -the list of Angus's foes and Arran's friends. Jane, we are -now past the Girth Cross; thou art safe now, for not even -Redhall would dare to violate the holy sanctuary. Its girdle -will protect thee like a magic zone. Remain in the abbey -church till daybreak, and then Sir John Forrester, who is -Roland's friend—a good man and a gallant knight, will see -thee in safety to our mother's side. One kiss, dear Jeanie, -and then a long farewell till better times." -</p> - -<p> -Jane thought of the terrible warrant which Redhall had -held before her eyes; but fearing to delay her brother, or to -alarm him more, she tendered her soft cheek, against which -he pressed his long rough beard, and there they parted, in -the middle of that dark and deserted street; for the light of -a pale and waning moon threw the sombre shadow of the -ancient Mint far beyond the Girth Cross, which, on its shaft -of stone, stood in the centre of the street. Reflected from -the large masses of white clouds that were scudding over the -city, the cold moonlight shone on the vanes of the palace -gate, and the square towers of the abbey church, for it then -had three—a great rood tower, and one on each side of the -entrance. -</p> - -<p> -Intimate with all the localities of the town, the earl -avoided the Water-gate, where he knew a sentinel was posted; -and passed down a narrow close overhung by many a "sclaited -lodging" and antique "timber-land;" he reached the wall at -the bottom unseen, scaled it with agility, and found himself -close to the hospital of St. Thomas, which was then in the -course of erection, by George Crichton, Bishop of Dunkeld, -and dedicated to the Virgin and all the saints, for the health -of his own soul and the souls of the kings of Scotland, for so -runs the charter of its foundation. From thence he bent his -steps towards Leith, hoping with the dawn to cross the Forth -by the first ferry-boat that departed for Kinghorn. -</p> - -<p> -Though weak, feeble, and sinking with terror, Jane Seton, -instead of hurrying at once to Holyrood, the dimly-lighted -shrines of which were visible through its western windows -and doorway (for then church doors stood permanently open), -lingered affectionately so long as her brother was in sight, -nor turned away until he had disappeared. -</p> - -<p> -At the porch, which served both as an entrance to the -ancient abbey and to the new palace, was a doorway, where -hung a certain bell, which was only rung by those claiming -the ancient and still sacred privilege of sanctuary. Opposite -was an edifice occupied as a guard-house by the king's -arquebusiers. -</p> - -<p> -"Mother of Mercy, be praised!" she exclaimed, with a -heart full of thankfulness, as she raised her hand trembling -with eagerness to the bell-rope, when, lo! swift as light, a -man sprang into the archway, cut the cord, and seized her -by the arm. Jane uttered a faint cry, and sank against the -wall, on seeing the hateful visage of Dobbie, the doomster, -and hearing his false and hollow laugh in her ear. There -was a savage leer in his eyes, and he lolled out a long red -tongue through his short wiry beard, as he arrested her. -</p> - -<p> -On one side lay the porter-lodge of the abbey, where she -would have received a sanctuary; on the other lay the -guardhouse of the soldiers; and she knew that if discovered by -them, after what Redhall told her, she would indeed be lost. -On one hand lay life—on the other death! -</p> - -<p> -"Sanctuary!" she cried with a despairing voice, as she -clung to the handle of the door; "sanctuary, father -abbot—good master porter! In the name of the blessed Trinity, -sanctuary! For the love of God and St. Mary, sanctuary! -sanctuary! Oh, man, man!" she continued, wildly, as the -wretch threw his arms around her, and forcibly dragged her -away, "what wrong have I ever done thee? Oh, for my -brother's dagger now!—pity, pity! I am very weak and ill. -Sweet Mother of Compassion have mercy upon me, for others -have none!" -</p> - -<p> -Her voice failed and sense began to leave her. -</p> - -<p> -"How now—what the devil!" cried a rough voice, "whose -brittle ware may this lass be?" -</p> - -<p> -"By St. Girzy, a fair strapping dame!" cried another. -</p> - -<p> -"Let go the lass, rascal, or I will brain thee with the -boll of my arquebuse!" exclaimed a third, as several soldiers -of the guard came hurriedly out of the porch with their -swords drawn and matches lighted. -</p> - -<p> -Jane's eyes were closed, but she felt several hands laid -roughly upon her, as she was dragged into the court of guard. -</p> - -<p> -"Ho! ho!—blood!" said one; "hath this squeeling mudlark -committed a murder? see, there are red spots on her -crammasie kirtle." -</p> - -<p> -"Yea, and worse," said Dobbie; "she is a sorceress of the -house of Seton; and here is my lord the cardinal's warrant -for her committal to ward, signed and sealed wi' his braid -hat, tassels and a'." -</p> - -<p> -"A sorceress!" muttered the soldiers; and Jane felt their -hands withdrawn as they shrunk back; and at that moment -a deadly faintness came over her..... -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile, passing under the dark brow of the Doocraig, -a rock of the Calton, and past the old street and chapel of -St. Ninian, which lay on the opposite eminence, the earl -hurried down the long pathway then known as the Loan, -which led to Leith. St. Anthony's Gate, which closed the -seaport towards Edinburgh, was shut, but with the first peep -of dawn it was opened by the warders; and as the earl had -bestowed the interval in cleansing himself from several spots -of blood, and adjusting his toilet, he passed without question -the keepers of the barrier, and several of the old hospitallers -of St. Anthony, who, even at that early hour, were perambulating -the Kirkgate in their long black cassocks, which had a -large T and a bell shaped in blue cloth on the breasts thereof. -</p> - -<p> -At the pier—an ancient erection of wood which was burned -by the English during Hertford's wanton invasion seven years -after—the earl found the Kinghorn sloop just about to sail, -and sprang on board, descending from the pier to the deck -by one of those old-fashioned <i>treenebrigges</i>, which, by an act -of the legislature in 1425, all ferriers were bound to have -prepared for the safe shipment of horse and man. Unchanged -since the days of James I., the fare was then only twopence -Scots for a man or woman, and sixpence for a horse, under -pain of imprisonment in the Tolbooth, and the forfeiture of -forty shillings to the crown in case of extortion; thus the -earl, though his funds were low indeed, easily passed on -board, among the Fifeshire cottars and Burrowtown -merchants of small wares, who crowded the low waist of the -little vessel, which in a short time was running past the -Mussel Cape and the Beacon Rock (whereon the martello -tower now stands), and bearing away for the quaint and -venerable town of Kinghorn, which lies on the opposite shore. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap31"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXXI. -<br /><br /> -THE PORTE OF THE SPUR. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "What! no reprieve, no least indulgence given,<br /> - No beam of hope from any point of heaven?<br /> - Ah, mercy! mercy! art thou dead above?<br /> - Is love extinguished in the source of love?"<br /> - <i>The Last Day</i>, Book III.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Redhall's second wound was of the most dangerous kind. -It was below that inflicted by Roland, but nearer the region -of the heart; it bled profusely; and his blind passion and -fury on discovering that Lady Jane had really escaped, carried -him beyond all bounds. While Trotter sprang on horseback, -and galloped off for John of the Silvermills, and Dobbie, -armed with the warrant, was despatched to recapture the -fugitive Jane and her brother the earl, and have them secured -in the castle of Edinburgh, Redhall, in a paroxysm of rage -and despair, so great that it rendered him supine and -powerless, lay on his bed as in a swoon, until the arrival of the -physician, on whom, as on all, he enjoined (under the most -tremendous threats) solemn silence concerning a wound, the -inflicter of which he declined to name. -</p> - -<p> -The strong emotions of anger and revenge, which, with -every fresh interview, rejection, and defeat, had been gradually -gathering in his heart, had now indeed swollen, drop by -drop, to the torrent he had predicted; and, like the reed upon -the current, she was about to be swept away with it. -</p> - -<p> -"Harkye, Dobbie!" said he, through his clenched teeth, -between which the blood was oozing, as he writhed in agony -on his bed; "harkye! give me thy thumb; silence on all -this—as thou livest, my good man and true—silence on this -matter—I tell thee <i>silence</i>! Here is the warrant—seek the -Albany herald and captain of the guard—quick! have this -woman committed to ward, as it imports!" -</p> - -<p> -"Should she say she has been our prisoner already?" -</p> - -<p> -"Begone, fool! who would believe her? Hence—hence, -my God!—go, wretch," he added, in a low, hissing voice, as -Dobbie hurried away; "go, and accomplish this my work of -vengeance; and, one day or other, I shall brush thee, too, -from my path, like the bloated spider thou art!" -</p> - -<p> -In half an hour the physician arrived; and the light of -the dull grey dawn presented a figure which certainly had -something very appalling in it, for, in his haste, he had come -away wearing a mask which was furnished with two large, -green, globular glass eyes, to protect his face from the poisonous -air and scorching heats of his laboratory. His high and -wrinkled forehead lowered above it, and his long beard flowed -below. -</p> - -<p> -The wound was speedily bathed and salved; and lint, with -a bandage, was applied. -</p> - -<p> -"Thou seest, friend, that I find this new office of king's -advocate no sinecure," said Redhall, with a fierce smile. "A -thousand furies—how the wound smarts!" -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis the <i>unguentum armarium</i>," replied the learned John, -with medical composure; "one touch is sufficient to make -such a wound as this shrink to the size of a pin-thrust, and -two ought to efface it." -</p> - -<p> -"I feel as if the dagger was still in my heart! Two touches -cure, sayest thou?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yea, my lord." -</p> - -<p> -"I pray they may do so." -</p> - -<p> -"They must, Sir Adam, if thou followest rigidly my -prescriptions, which are here," and from his pouch he produced -various phials marked with those cabalistic figures which are -still so much in vogue among apothecaries. These he drew up -in line, with their labels hanging like shields before them. -"Here is my Elixir of Life, which the care of many a long -year hath yet failed to perfect, for the lack of a certain herb -which groweth in Arabia Petræa, and is the real <i>arbor vitæ</i>—the -tree of life of the patriarchs; but still, its restorative and -strengthening properties are wondrous! Here are my mercurial -balm and the essence of acorns, which last giveth to -the bones the strength of the oak tree, and to the nerves and -sinews the toughness and tenacity of the ivy. A spoonful of -each are taken night and morning, dissolved in a little warm -water; and doubt not, Sir Adam, that this day week will -behold you a strong man, and well—yea, with redoubled -energies, like those whom the Cassida of the pagan Romans -restored to life." -</p> - -<p> -And with these words the physician retired, leaving -Redhall to writhe and struggle, in solitude, with his mental -and bodily agonies—the former outdoing the latter by a -thousand-fold. -</p> - -<p> -Our learned astrologer enjoyed a great reputation in -Edinburgh, and doubtless would have enjoyed a still greater in -the present day, if we may judge of the success of southern -quacks and quackeries; as they, like everything that is -English, enjoy a vast popularity among the Scottish vulgar. -</p> - -<p> -At this time Lady Jane Seton was at the porch of the -palace, from whence Dobbie had dispatched one soldier for -the Albany herald, and another to Sir John Forrester. On -reviving, she found herself surrounded by arquebusiers in their -steel caps, gorgets, and bandoliers, gazing on her with bold -and scrutinizing eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"What manner o' lassie is this?" said they, crowding -round her chair, and winking to each other. "A dainty -bird—i'faith!" said one. -</p> - -<p> -"What hands;—how white!" said another. -</p> - -<p> -"What ankles!" said a third connoisseur, stooping down. -"Soul o' my body! but a glisk o' these would damn -St. Anthony and St. Andrew to boot!" -</p> - -<p> -"I am Jane Seton of Ashkirk," said she, suddenly opening -her eyes, and looking wildly and imploringly upon them; -"oh, where is your captain, my good soldiers—where is Sir -John of Corstorphine?" -</p> - -<p> -"He will be here immediately, madam," said one, while -the rest fell back respectfully and abashed, and several felt -themselves constrained to uncover before her, and remove their -helmets. Though every man in the ranks of the royal guard -was a born vassal and kinsman of the house of Hamilton, that -inborn respect for gentle blood which the Scots possess in a -high degree, together with that generous frankness which the -camp always teaches, impressed with silence the thirty soldiers -who occupied the court-of-guard; and the noisy jests and -laughter, which first greeted and surrounded Lady Jane, -immediately became hushed. -</p> - -<p> -Seeing that she was faint and pale, one, without being -asked, filled his drinking-horn with water, and brought it to -her. Her fine eyes gave him a look of thankfulness that -sank deep into the honest fellow's heart, and then she drank -thirstily. -</p> - -<p> -Pulling a ring from her finger, she offered it to him, but -he shook his head, and drew back, saying, with a smile:— -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, lady; a die sae braw is useless to the like o' me, a -puir soldier-lad." -</p> - -<p> -"But I owe thee something for thy kindness." -</p> - -<p> -"You owe me nothing, Lady Jean; my mother was a Seton." -</p> - -<p> -At that moment Sir John Forrester, who had been summoned -from his lodgings in the palace, and had come forth -armed with soldier-like alacrity, entered, with his visor up, -displaying the sad and dark cloud that hovered on his brow; -for the watchful Dobbie had met him in the palace-yard, and -placed in his hand the warrant for Lady Jane's arrest and -"committal to ward," as they phrased it in those days. -</p> - -<p> -"To your arms!" said he, waving his hand to the soldiers, -who immediately took their arquebuses from the rack, where -they stood in a row, and leaving the guard-house, fell into -their ranks before it. -</p> - -<p> -"My dear Lady Jane," said the courtly knight, taking -both her hands in his, the moment they were left alone; -"from what has all this frightful affair arisen?" -</p> - -<p> -Jane answered only with her tears. -</p> - -<p> -"Lady—dear lady, of what are you guilty?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ask the leaders of your faction, Sir John," she replied, -bitterly; "but ask not me." -</p> - -<p> -"My faction, lady?" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou servest the Court?" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, madam, I serve the king, like Sir Roland Vipont, -whose fast friend I am; and as such, I beg permission to be -thine." -</p> - -<p> -"I thank you, Sir John Forrester," replied Jane, with -another passionate burst of tears; "but were my father and -the Lord Angus here, as of old, I had needed no other friends; -but, alas! the one lieth now in his grave at St. Giles's, while -the other is a poor and impoverished exile, compelled to eat -the bread of Englishmen. Alas! I am now totally forsaken." -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, lady; for here stand I, John Forrester of Corstorphine, -ready to be your champion; and as such, to maintain -your innocence against all men living, body for body, -according to the laws of battle and of arms." -</p> - -<p> -"A thousand thanks, Sir John; but remember, Sir Roland -Vipont claims priority in that. Meanwhile, let me leave this -place." -</p> - -<p> -"And dost thou know for where?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, yes," she replied, with a bitter smile; "for the castle -of Edinburgh; be it so; I am not the first of my race who -has paid clearly the penalty of opposing tyranny. There -were Sir John de Seton, and his kinsman Sir Christopher de -Seton, captain of Lochdoon, who were so barbarously -murdered after surrender by English Edward, and my grandsire, -William Seton, who fell at Verneuil, fighting against the -English, under Lord Buchan, the Constable of France. Let -us go—let us go! the sooner this frightful drama is ended -the better. Oh, they are good men and gallant soldiers, -those courtiers of King James—those slaves and parasites of -Arran. Sir John, I await you." -</p> - -<p> -"But you cannot go thus—on foot, lady. Excuse me, but -for a moment." -</p> - -<p> -He dispatched a messenger to the palace for a horse and a -pillion, and to beg the favour of a riding-cloak from the Lady -Barncleugh; both of which were brought in a few minutes. -</p> - -<p> -In this interval, Jane, with great energy but incoherence, -and amid frequent bursts of tears and indignation, had related -the story of her abduction and retention by Redhall; but, -dreading to criminate her brother, or afford, even to this -friendly gentleman, the least clue to his flight, she blundered -the whole episode of her escape, and became so perplexed and -confused, that Sir John Forrester considered the whole affair -as a mere hallucination, and listened with a face expressive -only of pity and sincere sorrow; and thus she found her tale -received by all to whom she afterwards ventured to relate it; -for the reputation for high moral worth and sterling integrity -enjoyed by Redhall, placed him as on a lofty pedestal, above -the reach of ordinary calumny, though some men did at -times shake their heads and look mysteriously at the mention -of the gallant Sir Thomas of Bombie, whose blood stained the -steps at the north door of St. Giles for many a year after the -era of James V. -</p> - -<p> -The sun was up and shone joyously on the palace towers -and the vanes of its ancient porch, on the battlements of the -traitor's tower (which Moyse speaks of in his memoirs), and -the beautiful façade designed by Hamilton of Fimart, when -Lady Jane was led forth from the pointed archway. -</p> - -<p> -She was mounted on the pillion behind Sir John Forrester; -and thereafter followed by the Albany herald with the -warrant, and a party of the guard marching with matches -cocked and lighted, she proceeded at a rapid pace towards -the castle; for even at that early hour the High-street was -beginning to be busy. The guards and warders were unclosing -the portes and barriers; the merchants were opening -their booths, and displaying their wares under those long -arcades which then were on both sides of the street, and -remnants of which still exist in several places; farm horses -laden with barrels, baskets, and boxes were pouring into the -markets, and the water-carriers were crowding round the -fountains at the Cross and the Mile-end. -</p> - -<p> -A party of the king's guard, with a knight in full armour, -and a female prisoner riding behind him, drew the burgesses -from all quarters to the centre of the street. -</p> - -<p> -"Jean Seton of Ashkirk," flew from mouth to mouth, -mingled with mutterings of commiseration and hatred, as -the sympathies or antipathies of the rabble led them. Many -there were who mourned that one so young and fair should -be made another sacrifice to the animosity avowedly borne by -the king and the court against that humbled faction which -had triumphed over both so long, and many there were who -remembered the deadly strife of 1520:— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "When startled burghers fled afar,<br /> - The furies of the border war;<br /> - When the streets of high Dunedin,<br /> - Saw axes gleam, and falchions redden;"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -when, sheathed in full mail, her father, at the head of a -hundred barbed horsemen, had thrice hewn a passage through the -barricaded streets, giving to death and defeat the spearmen -of Arran. Many women, whose husbands and fathers, lovers -and brothers, had fallen on that terrible 29th of April, -recalled their treasured hatred as keenly as if the strife of -seventeen years had been enacted but seventeen hours ago, -and openly, bitterly, and unpityingly reviled her. -</p> - -<p> -"A Hamilton! a Hamilton!" -</p> - -<p> -"Doon wi' the Setons! doon wi' the Douglases! doon wi' -the star and the bluidy heart!" -</p> - -<p> -"Set her up, wi' her lace and her pearlings sae braw, when -an honest wife like me wears but a curstsey o' flannel!" -</p> - -<p> -"Holy Virgin!" cried another crone in a grey cloak and a -flanders-mutch; "and to think I hae taen an awmous frae -this Seton sorceress! 'Twas weel I had my relique o' blessed -St. Roque aboot me!" -</p> - -<p> -"Fie upon thee, thou fause Seton! Death to the witch! bones -to the fire, and soul to Satan!" -</p> - -<p> -Full of horror at these frightful and opprobrious cries, this -poor being, whose gentleness had never created her a -personal enemy, surrounded by her guard and a vast mob that -every moment grew more dense as the street narrowed, -arrived at the Castle-port, an ancient and massive archway in -the Spur, which then lay between the castle and the town, -covering the whole of what is now called the Esplanade, and -surmounted by a round bastion, displaying a flag and more -than twenty pieces of brass cannon. -</p> - -<p> -There the governor of the fortress—the strong towers of -which were looming redly and grimly in the morning sunshine -above the parapets and glacis of this hornwork—received -Lady Jane, as the king's prisoner, from the herald and captain -of the guard, who drew his soldiers across the Castle-hill-street, -to bear back the tumultuous crowd, whose clamour -reverberated with a thousand echoes in that high and narrow -thoroughfare. -</p> - -<p> -Bareheaded and ungloved, the castellan, Sir James Riddel, -of Cranstoun-Riddel, a gallant and courtly soldier, received -her with the utmost respect, and assisted her to alight. As -she did so her riding hood fell back, and her pale and -beautiful face was revealed to the people, who began anew to -murmur variously. Then it was (such is the power of beauty) -that many pitied, though more still hated and upbraided her; -for the tide of common clamour in Edinburgh was against -the Angus faction, among whom, in camp and council, her -father and brother had borne a prominent part, having more -than once, at the point of the sword, thrust their vassals as -magistrates upon the people. -</p> - -<p> -Confused and terrified by a scene so unusual, Jane -murmured she knew not what, as her thanks and adieux to Sir -John Forrester, and gave her hand to the governor, who led -her within the archway, on the battlements of which was -seen the head of the Master of Forbes, who a short time before -had been beheaded for raising a sedition in the Scottish camp -at Fala, and attempting to shoot King James with an arquebuse. -Though pale and exhausted by the terrors of the night, -with eyes purple and inflamed by weeping, she gave a sad and -perhaps scornful smile at that strong arch, the massive wall, -and iron-jagged gate, whereon her father once had nailed his -glove in defiance of Arran; but her heart sunk when she -really found herself within those lofty walls, where so many -had pined in hopeless captivity; nor could she repress a -shudder when the rattling portcullis closed behind her, sinking -slowly down with a jarring sound between its stony grooves. -</p> - -<p> -The Lady of Cranstoun-Riddel, a kind, and (as the Scots -term it) "motherly body," now approached her, and said,— -</p> - -<p> -"Lady Jane Seton, in the name of the blessed Mary, what -is the meaning of all this?" -</p> - -<p> -"Dearest madam, I know as little as thee," said Jane, -throwing herself upon the bosom of this kind matron, rejoicing -to find that one of her own sex, who, though even an -entire stranger, could sympathize with her, and who, in age, -appearance, and manner so nearly resembled her beloved -mother. "Indeed, madam," continued Jane, sobbing, "I -swear to you that I am ignorant of the cause; but I am -accused of murder, of sorcery, of treason, and I know not what -more,—I, that have not the heart to kill even the smallest -insect. There must indeed be sorcery in this, but not with me." -</p> - -<p> -"My puir bairn! my pair bairn! thou must thole mickle -ere these dark charges are cleared and refuted." -</p> - -<p> -"Yea, madam; for, as my brother truly said, we are but -the victims and playthings of tyranny and misrule." -</p> - -<p> -"Lady," said Sir James Riddel, gravely, but respectfully, -"you are here by the orders of James V. and his eminence -the cardinal, who fourteen days ago sent me instructions to -receive you, but you had disappeared on the very night his -warrant was issued. Remember, lady, that the king is king; -besides, my lord advocate—pardon me if my words disturb -you, for I am a rough old rider of James III.'s days, and -unused to speaking daintily." -</p> - -<p> -Jane shuddered at the name of her persecutor; and hurriedly, -but with more coherence than before, began the story -of her recent abduction, and more recent escape. Again, to -her infinite chagrin, she found that she was utterly disbelieved, -for the knight regarded her with a kind but sad smile of -commiseration, as one whom terror had slightly "demented;" -she saw him elevate his eyebrows, and nod perceptibly as he -exchanged a glance with his lady, who kindly smoothed Jane's -glossy hair, kissed her again as a mother would have done, -and led her through the Spur, and up the Castle-rock towards -King David's Tower. Stung to the soul by this provoking -disbelief, she became immediately silent, and resolved to -explain no more. -</p> - -<p> -As they proceeded through the vast hornwork, which, as -we have said, covered the whole Castle-hill, between the -loopholes and embrasures she obtained glimpses of the rough -bank that shelved abruptly down to the loch on the north, -and of the reedy loch itself, where the wild ducks and swans -were floating, and of the bare ridge of pasture-land where now -the modern city is built. -</p> - -<p> -"So I am now a captive in the castle of Edinburgh, while -my poor mother pines on Inchkeith! Where will the events -of this dark drama end?" thought she; and her heart sank -lower still as the gigantic gates of the Constable's Tower were -closed and barred behind her. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap32"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXXII. -<br /><br /> -THE THREE TREES OF DYSART. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "I launched my spear, and with a sudden wound<br /> - Transpierced his back, and fix'd him to the ground;<br /> - He falls, and mourns his fate with human cries:<br /> - Through the wide wound the vital spirit flies."<br /> - <i>Odyssey</i>, Book X.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -At the time when the fugitive earl bent his course towards -the county (or, as it is popularly named, the kingdom) of Fife, -the whole length and breadth of it, from the gates of -St. Andrew's in the east neuk to those of Dunfermline in the west -neuk, and from the waters of the Forth on the south to those -of the Tay on the north, was full of terror by the ravages of -an enormous wolf, which had established his quarters in the -old forest of Pittencrief; from whence he extended his visits -as far as the woods of Donnibrissal and Falkland, and along -the winding coast even so far as the cave of St. Monan. He -was somewhat particular in his taste, and always preferred -little children, when they could be had, as being more tender -than either sheep or calves. He prowled about the most -populous burrow-touns, and sometimes darted through their main -streets at midday, making a passing snap at whoever chanced -to be in his way; thus those little ones whose occupation it -was to fish for pow-wowets in the pools of water which then -encumbered the streets, or made dams and dirt-pies in the -gutters, were in imminent danger, for his foraging excursions -extended along the whole Howe of Fife. -</p> - -<p> -The wood-cutters were afraid to venture into the forests, -which made firing so dear, that one or two hapless "heretics" -in the castle of St. Andrew were not burnt for a whole week -after the Laird of Fynnard, High Inquisitor under Paul III., -had solemnly delivered them over to the devil and the devouring -element. The little birds held jubilee in every hedge and -hawthorn tree, for their nests were now respected by truants -and harriers; while the people nailed additional horseshoes, -rowan-twigs, and foxes' faces on their doors at night; and old -wives pinned their stockings and garters crosswise at their -pillows to keep away evil. If the wind rumbled in the chimney, -as it often did (for <i>lums</i> were of enormous size in those days), -gudeman and gudewife trembled together in the secrecy of -their snug box-beds; for they were assured it could be nothing -else than the wolf bellowing at the sailing moon. -</p> - -<p> -The wise men of St. Monan's kept their kirk bell (which -was thought to have miraculous powers) ringing all night to -scare away the prowler; but this was soon likely to cause a -rebellion among the Crail and Kinghorn fishermen, who -declared that the noise would scare all the herrings from -the coast. -</p> - -<p> -Every night the wolf was heard roaring somewhere, and -next morning the bones of children or sheep were found on -the highways, picked as clean as ivory. Superstition increased -the terrors of the people, who averred that it was visible in -many places at once. It was said by some to be red, by others -to be black; some declared that its mouth was like that of a -hound, others like that of the great cannon, Meg of Threive, -or, as it is erroneously named, Mons Meg. It had the claws -of an eagle, by one account; a barbed tail, by another; it -vomited fire; it was a griffin; the devil—everything frightful -that folly and fear could make it. -</p> - -<p> -The best and bravest huntsmen had failed to slay or capture -it; the sharpest spears had been blunted on its side, which -the hereditary forester declared to be like a coat of mail; the -fleetest dogs had been outrun by it, and the fiercest torn by -its fangs when brought to bay; even Bash and Bawtry, the -two great hounds of James V., on which Sir David of the -Mount made many a witty rhyme, failed with this terrible -wolf; and the unhappy Fifers were reduced to the verge of -despair. -</p> - -<p> -In the days of King James II. (A.D. 1547), a law ordained -that for the destruction of wolves the sheriffs of counties -and bailies of towns and regalities were empowered to convene -the men of their districts thrice yearly, "betwixt St. Mark's -day and Lambmass, for that (saith the act) is the time of -the quhelpes;" and every huntsman who slew a wolf was to -receive from each parishioner one penny; and whoever brought -the wolf's head to the sheriff, lord, baron, or bailie, should -receive six pennies. -</p> - -<p> -Conformably to this law, passed eighty years before, and -led in person by the gallant king (who was compelled for one -day to leave his Magdalene's couch of sickness and of suffering), -the whole male population of Fife, with horse and hound, -spear and horn, bow and arquebuse, had made a vengeful and -simultaneous search by hill and howe, by wood and wold, for -this obnoxious denizen; but their efforts proved perfectly -futile; and the night descended upon a hundred hunting -bands without their having had even a glimpse of the enemy—at -least so far as was known of those around the burgh of -Kinghorn, where the earl had landed about noon that day; -for an adverse wind had long detained the little sloop which -plied at that ancient ferry. -</p> - -<p> -On disembarking, he repaired to an hostel house, which -bore the sign of <i>The King's Horn</i>, for an old tradition asserts -that as the earlier Scottish monarchs had a castle there, the -frequent winding of the king's horn, as he sallied out to the -chase, had given a name to the little town that nestled on -the shore; but the <i>cean-gorm</i>, or blue promontory of the -Celtic Scots, still frowns above it, to contradict the tale. -Then, as now, Kinghorn was a steep and straggling burgh of -strange and quaint old houses, piled over each other, pell-mell, -on the brow of a hill, and was traversed by a brawling mountain -burn, that turned the wooden wheel of many an ancient -mill. It is overlooked by the lofty and rugged precipice, from, -the summit of which Alexander III., when riding from -Inverkeithing to his castle of Kinghorn, having mistaken his path -in the forest, fell and broke his neck; a catastrophe which -ended the old line of the Macalpine kings, and began the -long wars and woes of the Scottish succession. -</p> - -<p> -After a slight repast of cheese, bran-bannocks, and a draught -of mum-beer, at the hostel, the earl became alarmed on -discovering a proclamation, descriptive of his person, pasted on -the wall immediately above his head. The unfortunate noble -became still more apprehensive of suspicion or discovery, as -the thirty huntsmen who filled the burrow-toun came crowding -into the hostel, and on perceiving that two or three were -beginning to whisper and observe him, for his whole aspect -was wild, haggard, and disordered; he resolved, if questioned, -to pass for a forester like themselves, and, if attacked, to sell -his life as dearly as possible. -</p> - -<p> -Appropriating to himself a stout hunting-spear which stood -in a corner of the kitchen, he bade adieu to the sign of <i>The -King's Horn</i>, and, quitting the town, struck into the old -horseway that traversed the heights overhanging the coast. -</p> - -<p> -The sun was now setting. -</p> - -<p> -Remembering how suspiciously he had been eyed in the -little hostelry, he grasped the hunting-spear, looked warily -about him, and walked quietly to the eastward, anxious to -leave Kinghorn as far as possible behind him. -</p> - -<p> -The sun set darkly and lowering as he progressed, and the -last flush of its light fell with a dusky yellow upon the long -expanse of Kirkaldy sands, and the gigantic castle of Ravenscraig, -with its round and square towers—a stronghold of the -Sinclairs—which terminated them. -</p> - -<p> -"I have neither money, food, nor shelter," thought the -earl; "but, praised be fortune, I am at least free!" -</p> - -<p> -The wind growled along the hollows; the Firth grew black -as ink, and its waves rolled white and frothy upon the circular -sands, where more than one small vessel had dropped all her -anchors, and made everything secure aloft and below, to brave -the coming tempest. That vague and indescribable murmur, -the sure forerunner of a rising storm, was floating over the -dark-green bosom of the German Sea, and he heard it mingling -with the hiss of the breakers. A tempestuous night was at -hand, and the hapless earl knew not where to look for refuge; -the castle of Kirkaldy-grange, the dwelling of the lord high -treasurer, crowned an eminence on his left; the fortlet of -Seafield, where dwelt the hostile race of Moultray (hostile, -at least, to him), overlooked the beach on his right; so -avoiding both, and the little fane called Eglise Marie, which then -occupied the hollow between them, he descended the wild and -then uncultivated shore, and skirting the long straggling town -of Kirkaldy, hoped to find a shelter in one of those innumerable -caverns with which, in many places, the coast of Fife is -completely perforated. -</p> - -<p> -The scudding clouds became blacker and denser; and their -shadows darkened all the foam-flecked estuary. Night came -rapidly on, and by the time when Lord Ashkirk had traversed -the long and winding sands, and found himself near those -stupendous cliffs which were crowned by the great castle of -William Lord Sinclair, baron of Dysart and Ravenscraig, the -most perfect gloom had enveloped both sea and shore, while -the red and fiery glow of several salt-pans on the beach -imparted a singular effect to the scenery. -</p> - -<p> -As yet no rain had fallen; but now one of those appalling -gusts of wind which uproot the strongest trees, and lay bare -the scalps of mountains, rushed along the bosom of the Forth, -hurling its waves upon the beach, rolling them sea on sea far -along the level sands, and pouring them in a whirlwind of -spray against the grey and lofty summit of the Ravenscraig. -Startled by the din of the encroaching waves, the earl, by a -winding path, was rapidly ascending the headland, when a -wild cry from the ocean—for there the river was indeed an -ocean—made him pause and look back. -</p> - -<p> -"Mother of Mercy!" he exclaimed, as he held his bonnet -on his head, struck his spear in the earth, and turned to face -the storm. -</p> - -<p> -A terrific glare of lightning revealed for a moment the -deep dark trough of seething water, where, in flames and -fragments, as the levin brand had scorched and rent her, a -strong and stately ship, with all her masts and yards, her -gilded sides, and tier of cannon, sank down for ever! The -vision came and went with that flash of forky light; and -then no more was seen, and nothing more was heard but the -thunder pealing away over the mountains, the roaring of the -angry wind, and the deep boom of the angrier sea. -</p> - -<p> -The earl looked wistfully at the vast and opaque outline of -Ravenscraig, with its stupendous keep and flanking towers, -amid whose stony depths many a warm red light twinkled, -indicative of comfort within; but there an avowed foeman -dwelt; and he passed the gate without knowing where other -shelter might be found. He now became more anxious, for -a few large and warm drops, which plashed upon his face, -announced that a drenching summer thunder-shower was -about to fall. -</p> - -<p> -He had now attained such high ground that even the -turrets of Ravenscraig were below him, and the wind swept -over it with redoubled force; for then the promontory was -all desolate and bare, though in the Druid days a vast forest -had covered it. Beneath him lay the little town of Dysart, -a closely-packed and antique burgh, nestling on the steep and -strangling shore, full of quaint old-fashioned houses, roofed -with stone, and built upon broad and low arcades, where the -merchants exposed their wares; but, save where a ray of light -shone from an open shutter or an upper window, the whole -town was buried in murky obscurity. -</p> - -<p> -The roaring of the winds, and the din of the breakers -against the promontory, prevented the earl hearing the sound -of his own footsteps; and in the gloom he paused irresolutely -on the brow of this rugged eminence, for now the tall and -beautiful tower of Saint Denis started up from amid the -architectural masses of the Black Friary, and seemed to be -immediately below his feet, yet it was fully a quarter of a -mile distant. -</p> - -<p> -He was about to descend and claim the shelter and sanctuary -which the Dominican fathers were bound to afford him, -for one night at least, when a wild and frightful cry, that -was borne on the wind past his ear, made him pause once -more, again grasp his hunting-spear, and gaze around him. -</p> - -<p> -All was darkness and obscurity behind; no object met his -eye save three large and beautiful oaks, which stood -equi-distant on the hill-side; and against the gloomy sky he saw -their gloomier outline, twisted, torn, and shaken as if by the -hand of a giant, and every moment their wet leaves were -swept past him on the whirling blast. -</p> - -<p> -These were the <i>three trees of Dysart</i>. The earl remembered -the tradition concerning them, which, with the place, -the time, and the cry, caused a clamorous terror to rise -suddenly in his breast; for he was far from being free of the -superstitions incident to the age and country. -</p> - -<p> -When all that district was covered by an old primeval -forest, three sons of Henry Lord Sinclair, who was baron of -the Ravenscraig, and justiciar of Kirkwall, were said to have -met on that spot unexpectedly, and at midnight. Being all -in their armour, amid the obscurity of the foliage, and under -a moonless and starless sky, they mistook each other for -robbers, and a deadly combat ensued. Two were slain on -the instant, and the third fell mortally wounded, surviving -only till morning, when they were all buried at the foot of -the trees below which they were found. And tradition further -states, that when the forest was cleared away in course of -time, these three oaks were left as a memorial, to mark the -former state of the ground, and the place where the three -brothers lay. Lord Sinclair fell at Flodden, fighting against -the enemies of his country; prior to which he had granted -many a Scottish merk to the monks of St. Denis, to say -prayers and masses for the souls of the three fratricides, his -sons. -</p> - -<p> -The story came back to the earl's mind with all the additional -impressions that the darkness of the night, the storm, -and the time could lend it; and though the unearthly cry -made his pulses pause and his ears tingle, he was too brave a -man to shun any object of terror; and drawing his bonnet -well over his eyes, to prevent its being swept away by the -furious blast, he turned back, and resolutely advanced to -where the three tall oaks were tossing their solemn masses -of foliage against the louring sky. -</p> - -<p> -A dead man lay below each, and the long rank grass which -covered him was whistling in the dreary wind. -</p> - -<p> -"My God!—<i>the wolf!</i>" cried the earl, as a sudden gleam -of lightning revealed to him the monster which so long had -been the terror of Fife and Kinross. It was of gigantic size; -but, appalled by the fury of the elements, was cowering against -the centre tree, gnashing its fangs and darting fire from its -eyes, with all the hair of its neck and back erect like the -quills of a porcupine. -</p> - -<p> -Aware that unless he slew it with the first thrust of his -spear all in a moment would be over with him, the brave -young noble charged his weapon breast high, and rushed -upon the wolf. With a ferocious howl it sprang aside; the -weapon struck the trunk of the tree, broke, and the earl fell -headlong among the wet grass of the grave below it. Then, -with the rapidity of light, the frightful animal was upon him. -There was a cloud of fire before his eyes, and a wild humming -in his ears; but neither the stunning fall, nor the terror of -having such an antagonist, appalled him so much as to deprive -him of his usual presence of mind, for at the very moment in -which it sprang upon him, and when he felt its sharp claws -in his shoulders, and its hot fetid breath in his face, he buried -his dagger—that long dagger, so recently wet with the blood -of Redhall—in its body up to the very hilt; and then its -hotter blood came like a deluge over his hand and arm. -</p> - -<p> -A vital part had been struck, and the wolf rolled over, -tearing the grass with its teeth, and wallowing in its blood. -Then, full of rage for the temporary terror with which it had -inspired him, the fierce earl sprang upon it, and buried his -sharp dagger again and again to the cross-guard in its body, -though he received more than one terrible laceration from its -claws, as the agonies of death alternately convulsed and -relaxed them. Clutching its lower jaws by the shaggy fur, -with three deep gushes he completely shred off its head, and -then reclined breathlessly against the tree. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, and so I have conquered thee!" he exclaimed, triumphantly, -as he spurned the carcase with his foot. "Devilish -monster, to me thy head is worth a penny from every man in -Dysart—a goodly sum for an earl, forsooth! But as I lack -these pennies sorely to pay my way to England, to the -Highlands, or elsewhere, I will even seek the prior of -St. Denis with my prize, midnight though it be." -</p> - -<p> -Tying the four corners of his mantle together, he put the -head into it, and arming himself with a fragment of his spear, -descended to the gate of the Black Friary; but, as the wind -still blew, the rain lashed the stone walls and grated windows, -while the sea boomed on the rocks below, and the worthy -master-porter slept like a dormouse, the din made by the earl -at the door was unheard. -</p> - -<p> -"The great devil confound thee!" he muttered, turning -away; "for I must even go without my pence and my supper -to boot." -</p> - -<p> -Remembering his first project of the caverns, he scrambled -along the rocky and shingly beach for more than two miles, -until a ray of light, which streamed from a fissure in the -bluffs, far across the wet sands and tumbling billows, attracted -his attention. -</p> - -<p> -Turning to the left, he approached it—the fissure widened, -and entering boldly, he found himself in one of those long -and deep weems, or caverns, which are there so numerous; -and immediately a band of outlaws and smugglers surrounded -him. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap33"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXXIII. -<br /><br /> -THE WEEM. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Blow ye horns,<br /> - And rouse each wilder passion of the soul,<br /> - To drown the voice of Nature! He must die!<br /> - He who puts forth his hand to seize a crown<br /> - Must stake his all upon the mighty game."<br /> - KÖRNER'S <i>Expiation</i>, a Drama.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Oho! here cometh <i>another</i> guest, whom the high wind -bath blown us this eerie night!" cried one of the occupants -of the weem, as the whole party arose and stood around the -intruder. -</p> - -<p> -Tall, strong, armed with a broken spear, smeared with mud -from the paws of the wolf, and covered with gouts of its -blood, which hung upon his matted hair and bushy beard, the -aspect of the earl was sufficiently formidable to command the -respect of the desperadoes among whom he had intruded; -and, at a wave of his right hand and arm—the latter being -drenched in blood to the elbow—they all shrunk back -instinctively and grasped their clubs and poniards. -</p> - -<p> -The enormous weem he had entered was one of those -caverns from which a part of the coast obtains its -name—Wemyss; and though the outer part of it was brilliantly -illuminated by a fire of drift wood and pine-logs that blazed -on the rocky floor, on progressing, the earl was impressed -with a feeling of awe by the uncertainty of the vast -profundity to which it penetrated; for the inner end of this -frightful chasm or fissure yawned away obscurely and horribly -into the bowels of the earth. It had, doubtless, been formed, -like many others along the rocky coast, by that wondrous -upheaval of the Scottish shores, which geologists suppose -must have taken place some two thousand years ago, or when, -the sea receded thirty feet from its ancient margin, which to -this day is visible along the summits of all the headlands in -Fifeshire and Lothian. -</p> - -<p> -Though several culinary utensils, Dutch kegs and tubs -were placed in little cupboard-like recesses, the cavern did -not seem to have been long occupied by its tenants, who -were six in number, strong and muscular men, whose long -matted beards flowed nearly to their girdles; and whose -attire declared them to be partly beggars, partly robbers, and -wholly desperadoes. That they lived at enmity with their -fellow-subjects was apparent from the multiplicity and aspect -of the swords, poniards, and poleaxes with which they were -armed. -</p> - -<p> -The earl found, when too late, that he had made an unfortunate -choice of hosts, when such a price was on his head, but -grasping his broken spear with one hand, and his gory bundle -by the other, he confronted them resolutely. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, who are you?" asked one who seemed to be the -leader. -</p> - -<p> -"It matters nothing to thee, thou dour carle, so lay down -thy maul, or beware!" replied the earl. -</p> - -<p> -"Then, what are you?" -</p> - -<p> -"A gaberlunzie—a beggar!" said Ashkirk, bitterly. -</p> - -<p> -"Then, where is thy parish token?" -</p> - -<p> -"I spoke but metaphorically, for I Lave not yet taken me -unto <i>that</i> trade; and when I do, I will see King James at -Jericho, and his parliament too, before I will sew a pewter -badge on my doublet, tattered though it be. I will not -conform to this new law, believe me, brother rogue. But I -repeat, nevertheless, that I <i>am</i> a beggar, because I seek food -without having the wherewithal to pay for it; and, -moreover, that I am, like thyself, an outlaw." -</p> - -<p> -"Gude and better!" replied the other; "but there is -blood on thy sleeve; why man, thou art red handed!" -</p> - -<p> -"Blood! true—I shed a little in my own defence, and -what then? I have committed no murder. Believe me, -fellow, there is more blood on thy soul than on my fingers. -But, enough of this. I seek what every man who hath them -not hath a right to seek from those who hath—food, fire, -and shelter." -</p> - -<p> -"What is this in your cloak?" -</p> - -<p> -"Something that thou hast no concern with." -</p> - -<p> -"We will soon see that," cried several, laying hands on -their knives and daggers. -</p> - -<p> -"If thou darest!" replied the earl, raising his truncheon, -and confronting the strongest and the boldest. -</p> - -<p> -"Byde and haud ye! Nay, nay," cried the others, laughing; -"honour among thieves. Hath he not said that, like -oursels, he is an outlaw? besides, ye will waken that chield -in the corner." -</p> - -<p> -"Sit down again, you quarrelsome loons," said the leader; -"and seat thyself, too, my bold gaberlunzie, with a welcome -to bite and to bicker." -</p> - -<p> -As the earl seated himself, carefully placing his bundle -behind him, he now for the first time perceived a cavalier, in -a rich velvet mantle, lying asleep in a nook of the weem, -which sheltered him both from the night wind, that blew -the smoke and brands of the fire into the recesses of the -rocks, and from the damp atmosphere of the sea, which -burst like thunder every moment on the adjacent beach. The -boots of the sleeper were of spotless white leather, adorned -with spurs of gold, polished and richly chased, with rowels of -glittering steel. Beside him lay his sword, which was -sheathed in blue and embroidered velvet. -</p> - -<p> -"Who may this gay gallant be?" asked the earl, as he -warmed his hands, and, making himself quite at home, kicked -up the brands to make a blaze. -</p> - -<p> -"One of our king's dainty courtiers," replied the principal -ruffian; a patch over whose left eye nearly concealed the -little of his frightful visage which was not overgrown with -hair. "St. Mary! thou mayest see he is Falkland bred, by -those cork-heeled boots and gowden spurs. There hath been -a brave hunt after the wolf of Pittencrief, and all the court -and countryside have driven horse and hound nearly to death, -without getting even sight or scent of the monster; so either -the wind, the storm, or the darkness of the night, his evil -chance, or our good luck, hath brought this gay galliard -hither for a shelter and supper, which," he added, sinking his -voice, "both his cloak and purse——" -</p> - -<p> -"Breeches and doublet," said another, in the same -whispering tone. -</p> - -<p> -"With his horse, which we have stabled in yonder -hole——" -</p> - -<p> -"Yea," chimed in the earl, "and those dainty boots and -spurs, shall pay for. Is it not so?" -</p> - -<p> -"Right—we'll all have a share!" and here the six uttered -a brutal laugh, and all exchanged glances and winks -expressive of fun and ferocity. -</p> - -<p> -"Meantime," said the leader, "waken up his worship, for -supper is ready." -</p> - -<p> -Here one pulled the wearied cavalier by the cloak. He -started up, and revealed a handsome young face, aquiline -features and dark hazel eyes, close clipped beard and dark -moustache. He wore (very much on the right side) a smart -blue bonnet, with a white feather springing from a diamond -St. Andrew's cross. -</p> - -<p> -"Mercy! <i>the king!</i>" said the earl, in the inmost recesses -of his heart, as he respectfully gave place at the fire to the -gallant and adventurous James V., who had not the most -remote idea that he was recognised by any one there, and -passed for nothing more than a private gentleman; the whole -adventure being one of that romantic kind in which he—our -Scottish Haround Alraschid—delighted. Before seating -himself on the stone which was to be his chair, he signed the -cross upon his breast and said: "<i>Benedicite.</i>" -</p> - -<p> -A mess of rabbits and fowls stewed together in a kailpot, -another of broiled fish, with cheese and bannocks, which, like -the small kegs of ale and usquebaugh, had merely cost the -trouble of carrying them off (at a time when the -burgh-merchants had no other police than their own eyes and -hands), were freely shared by the thieves with their illustrious -guests, one of whom they had foredoomed to death. The -other, they deemed already as one of themselves; for the earl, -the better to conceal his real character, assumed a strange -dialect, and talked, laughed, sung and swore, till he drew -upon him the marked attention of the king; but under that -matted beard and tattered attire, disfigured by many a gout -of blood, the monarch failed to recognise the outlawed noble. -</p> - -<p> -With a hunting clasp-knife, one of those made and -inscribed by Jacques de Liege (whence comes our Scottish -<i>Jockteleg</i>), the king was carving for himself a chicken which -he had laid on a broad bannock, and was evidently enjoying -the repast like a huntsman and soldier, for he was both. -</p> - -<p> -"By my faith! knave of the pot," said he to the robber -who had cooked, "thou hast done thy duty well." -</p> - -<p> -"Ouaye; we fisher chields can turn our hands to anything." -</p> - -<p> -"Then turn them to mending the fire; for dost thou not -see 'tis all gone to cinders?" -</p> - -<p> -"As we shall when we gang to auld Clootie," replied the -cook, whose reply was greeted by a roar of laughter, the -echoes of which seemed to rumble away into the heart of -the rocks. -</p> - -<p> -"Friend Bloodybeard," said the king to the earl, "hand -over that keg of usquebaugh; wilt drink with me? thy health, -friend Bloodybeard." -</p> - -<p> -"Thine, my gentleman of the white feather." -</p> - -<p> -"How gallantly thou drainest thy bicker!" said the king, -on seeing how the earl emptied his tass of raw spirits; -"didst thou ever taste pure water, fellow?" -</p> - -<p> -"Once, when an infant; but, as it nearly choked me, I -have never tried it since. Tush! wine costs us no more than -spring water. Like James and his courtiers of Arran, we help -ourselves to our neighbours' goods and gear, whenever -we lack." -</p> - -<p> -The broad brow of the king knit, but he laughed, and said— -</p> - -<p> -"Have the courtiers not wealth enough and to spare, -sirrah?" -</p> - -<p> -"Wealth—ah, that is the greatest and most respected -quality in man." -</p> - -<p> -"But beside wealth, hath not King James many virtues?" -</p> - -<p> -"Tut! these are but a silly habit of differing from such -merry men as we; but I fear me we scare thee, my dainty -gentleman, by the din we are making." -</p> - -<p> -"By my word, no; I should like to see the men who would -scare me," replied the king, fishing another pullet out of the -pot; "I am but fulfilling the injunctions of the great Plato, -who said, 'live with thine inferiors as with unfortunate friends.' -Ho! by St. Anne, Bloodybeard, knock the bottoms out of -these broiled eggs, or all the Fife witches will be sailing over -to Lothian in them; dost hear me? quick, or I shall report -thee to the cardinal and his grand inquisitor." -</p> - -<p> -"The inquisitor—faugh! he is but a Hamilton," said the -earl, who could not jest with the names of his enemies; "and -as for the cardinal, I say, bah! he is a mere cannonier in -canonicals—a devil in a broad red hat." -</p> - -<p> -"Beware how ye get under its shadow, my fool-hardy -knaves," said the king, laughing. "Have you looked well to -my horse?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yea, sir, as a man looketh after his <i>own</i>," replied one -fellow, whose ears bore visible marks of the nails which so -frequently had fastened them to many a burgh cross; and at -this significant reply there was uttered another of those low, -ferocious laughs, which soon served to put the unwary monarch -on his guard; for, like each of his forefathers, James V. was -brave as a lion. -</p> - -<p> -"My gallant grey!" said he; "'tis a gift to me from the -Laird of Largo, who took him from the Lord Cassilis at -Linlithgow Bridge, on the day of that unhappy battle. I have -ridden him forty miles to-day,—not a rood less, I am sure." -</p> - -<p> -"After such sore toil," said the earl; "his nostrils should -be bathed with vinegar, and his breast with warm wine." -</p> - -<p> -"Oho! thou knowest something of stablecraft, my smuggler, -it would seem." -</p> - -<p> -"Few in broad Scotland know better." -</p> - -<p> -"And now I have supped right gloriously!" said the king, -reclining back against the great cyclopean wall of the weem. -"Friend robber, thy crail capons and stewed pullets have -been done in such wise, that even King James's cook might -envy thy skill; and in England, I doubt not, Henry the king -would have made thee a belted earl; for he hath just made a -baron of his cook for the exquisite manner in which he broiled -a mackarel—at least so my friend the English ambassador -said to-day, as we rode together near the old castle of -Balwearie. Hand over that keg again, Bloodybeard," said the -king, and, on receiving it, he began to sing a popular ditty of -the day:— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "King James rode round by the Mere-cleugh-heid,<br /> - Booted and spurred as we a' did see;<br /> - But he dined and supped at Mossfennan yett,<br /> - Wi' the bonny young Lass o' the Loganlee.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Her hair was like the gowd sae braw,<br /> - Like a lammer bead her deep dark e'e,<br /> - Nor Falkland tower, nor Lithgow ha',<br /> - Had a dame like the Lass o' the Loganlee.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'Oh, where is the king?' quoth all the court,<br /> - From the great cardinal to the fool, M'Ilree;<br /> - But the devil a one knew where he was gone,<br /> - With the bonnie young Lass o' the Loganlee."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Here the merry king lay back and laughed excessively at -this hunting song, which had been composed on one of his -own amorous adventures. -</p> - -<p> -By this time the thieves had drunk deeply, but their hilarity -began to subside, and their ferocious glances warned their -guest that something unpleasant was about to terminate the -noisy repast. Under his mantle the king felt secretly for his -sword, and grew pale as death on discovering that, either by -accident or design, when he was asleep, the blade had been -broken in the sheath—leaving him defenceless, with seven -armed outlaws, in a lonely cavern. He was in the very act -of looking hurriedly round for some other weapon to snatch -up in case of need, when lo! one of the ruffians held before -him a plate, whereon (according to an ancient and barbarous -custom) lay two naked poniards, as a signal that he was to -be sacrificed, and might choose with which blade he was to die. -</p> - -<p> -Instead, as they expected, of being appalled, with the -rapidity of lightning the gallant king clutched one in each -hand, and striking to the right and to the left, buried both -weapons in the breasts of the ruffians next him. -</p> - -<p> -"Dogs and villains!" he exclaimed, "slipper-helmetted -dastards! come on, if you dare!" -</p> - -<p> -Armed with mauls and axes, the other four fell furiously -upon him, and he must inevitably have been slain had not -the earl, with the truncheon of his spear in one hand, and a -burning brand in the other, attacked them in the rear, and -with such impetuosity that, by two blows he broke the arm -of one, the head of a second, and drove the whole from the -cavern. Thus, in less than one minute, the king and he found -themselves, with two dead bodies, the sole occupants of -the place. -</p> - -<p> -"Well done, friend Bloodybeard!" exclaimed the breathless -king; "by my soul, I thought thee one of them; and well it -is for me thou didst strike in such good time. Complete me -now thy service by cutting out the tongues of these two -carrion, that I may give them to my hounds," he added, kicking -the dead bodies, and untying his purse from his girdle. "I -have here only twenty French crowns, but if thou wilt come -to Falkland to-morrow, and ask fer—for——" -</p> - -<p> -"His majesty the king," replied the earl, whose eye moistened, -and whose heart swelled, as (instead of kneeling) he -drew himself proudly up to his full height; "replace your -purse, James Stuart; surely Archibald Earl of Ashkirk hath -not sunk so far as to be paid thus for fighting in the service -of his king." -</p> - -<p> -"Ashkirk!" said King James, less astonished that he was -recognised than at this rencontre and discovery. "Ashkirk, -is it indeed thee, thou traitor and son of a traitress?" -</p> - -<p> -"I am no traitor, neither am I the son of a traitress; but -an outlaw, certainly; and why? Because I am the hereditary -foeman of the house of Hamilton. False king, thou wrongest -me sorely by such epithets as these." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Thou</i>, Ashkirk? it is impossible!" said James, filled with -pity at the deplorable aspect of his long-dreaded rebel. -</p> - -<p> -"Look at me, king! My years are not yet thirty, and -my brow is wrinkled; for the hand of a tyrant, less than time, -hath touched it." -</p> - -<p> -"A tyrant?" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou!" -</p> - -<p> -"Darest thou say so to my teeth?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ay, thou, James V.; for thou wagest the quarrels and -the feuds of the fathers upon their children. By war and -death thou dost; revengefully and remorselessly. Thou hast -put a price upon my head, and hunted me, even as a wild -beast, from place to place. But think not that I will ever sue -for pardon; I will live as my fathers hath lived, or die, sword -in hand, as my fathers have died. Never shalt thou see a -Seton of Ashkirk among those fawning slaves of the house of -Arran, who, watching for every passing smile, crowd round -thy throne like sycophants—never! never!" -</p> - -<p> -"This to me!" cried the king, snatching up a sword; "to -me from thee, thou parricide, who hast carried fire and sword -into the heart of thy fatherland! Must I tell thee, false earl, -that, in addition to thy rebellion, all assurance and friendship -with Englishmen is <i>treason</i>; that the residence of a Scot in -England is treason; that buying from or selling to Englishmen -is <i>treason</i>; that all travelling or trafficking with -Englishmen, by word or writing, <i>is treason</i>; incurring the -penalties of proscription and death! Not content with the -committal of all these crimes, and with levying war against -our wardens with lances uplifted and banner displayed, I find -thee the boon-companion of thieves and outlaws, who live -by slaughter and robbery; by stealing pikes from ponds; by -breaking dowcots and orchards; by lifting sheep and slaying -parked deer; all contraventions of the laws passed by my -father, James IV., for the security of property; and involving -the penalty of the scourge." -</p> - -<p> -"The scourge!" reiterated the earl, with a bitter laugh; -"I can respect the name of James IV., for he was my father's -friend, and side by side they have often fought like two brave -comrades; but thou, his son, the ruthless oppressor of the -bravest nobles Scotland ever saw—who hast thrown the -sceptre into the scales that justice might be overborne, never! -The scourge? I am indeed degraded, when even a king dare -mention it to me. Proud and ungrateful prince, hast thou, -indeed, forgotten all that thou and thy forefathers owe to the -houses of Seton and of Douglas?" -</p> - -<p> -"I have not," said the king, standing on his guard; "it -is, indeed, a debt of vengeance, so take up a sword and come -on. Here, man to man, I defy thee, and repay it." -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, nay; it shall never be said that the royal blood of -Scotland stained the hand of a Seton. Ten minutes ago I -might have slain thee in the <i>mêlée</i>, and there had ended thy -Stuart line for ever." -</p> - -<p> -"To place thy feudal foe of Arran on the throne—eh? -That would not have mended matters with thee and Angus, I -think. But what does royal blood signify? Art thou not -at this moment covered with the blood of my subjects? Just -now, earl, I tell thee, thou hast all the aspect of a gory -murderer." -</p> - -<p> -"Then, behold the head of my victim!" said the noble, as -from his mantle he rolled at the king's feet the enormous and -grisly head of the wolf. "Behold that <i>other</i> head, on which, -as on mine, your majesty has placed a golden price." -</p> - -<p> -Admiration flashed in the eyes of James V.; he threw -away his sword, and took the earl's hand in his. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Ashkirk, Ashkirk! thou triest me sorely; oh, why -art thou nob my friend?—but it cannot be; for thy wrongs -against thy country, its parliament and crown, are too deep to -be easily forgiven. For the gallant deeds of this night, I feel -that I could forgive them all; but what would my people say, -and what my peers, Cathcart and Lennox, Darnley, Hailes, -Lyle, and Lorn,—all of whom are hostile to thy house? -Besides, I have sworn—solemnly and irrevocably sworn—never -to forgive the crime of man or of woman in whose veins there -is one drop of the Douglas blood; and too surely, at this hour, -at my own hearth and home, I feel that thy mother and thy -sister are Douglases. My poor Magdalene!—Lord earl, thy -crimes I might afford to forgive freely, for they are only -those of a rash and headstrong Scot; but the other crimes of -thy family never—never!" -</p> - -<p> -And here, stung deeply by the thought of that supposed -sorcery which was bringing his queen to the grave, James -paused, and pressed his hands upon his brow; and the earl, -who was ignorant of what he referred to, remained silent and -perplexed. -</p> - -<p> -"Still I could forgive thee, for the memory of my father's -friend, Earl John,—that arm of steel and heart of fire—but -my vow!—it cannot be. Here let us part; go on, pursue thy -wandering way, unfriended and unhappy lord, and may Heaven -keep thee! Here, take these thirty crowns from me,—not -as the price of this wolf's head, which I will bear with me to -Falkland, with the story of thy prowess, to shame my carpet -knights, but as that gift, such as one friend, one gentleman, -may freely bestow or freely accept from another. There are -proclamations for thine apprehension posted on every city -cross, on every burgh-barrier and tolbooth-gate, throughout -the length and breadth of the land; if thou escapest, I will -rejoice; and if thou art taken, I will sorrow; for, by my father's -soul, I must then behead thee before the gates of Stirling. -So away! to France, to Flanders, to Italy—anywhere but -England, the land of our enemies; and may the blessed God -grant that we shall never meet again.—Farewell!" -</p> - -<p> -And leading forth his horse, for the storm had now died -away, and the early sun of June had risen, the king put his -foot in the stirrup, saying,— -</p> - -<p> -"My adventures are wild and strange; and assuredly, if -ever old Scotland hath a Plutarch, James V. will live in his -pages. Adieu!" and with these words, placing the wolf's -head at his saddle-bow, the king put spurs to his grey horse, -and galloping along the sandy beach, rode over the adjacent -hill in the direction of Falkland, which lay on his road to the -Cistercian abbey of Balmerino. -</p> - -<p> -The earl stood near the mouth of the cavern on the desolate -beach, and gazed after the king's retiring figure, with mingled -feelings of sadness, hostility, and admiration. Then, after -long musing and much hesitation, he took up the purse of -crowns which lay at his feet, and kissing his hand towards the -castle of the Inch—the prison of Sybil Douglas and his -mother—walked slowly and thoughtfully along the beach. -</p> - -<p> -The storm had completely lulled. The sea was mirrored -around the rocks and isles; the sky was blue and cloudless. -The chafing waves broke with a dreamy ripple on the yellow -sands. The green headlands and bold promontories, the rustic -villages and quaint old fisher-town that nestled between them, -were all shining in the silvery haze of that beautiful summer -morning; but the soul of the young earl was sad. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap34"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXXIV. -<br /><br /> -THE DEATH OF MAGDALENE. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> -"Envy and calumny will destroy innocence -and pleasure; the oppressed -will be sacrificed to the oppressor; -and, in proportion as tyranny makes kings -distrustful, judicial murders will -depopulate the state."—<i>Telemachus</i>, Book XX. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -During these passages the young queen, Magdalene, had -daily become worse, and the "catarrh, which descended into -her stomach," as Madame de Montreuil says in one of her -letters, had brought her to the verge of the grave. -</p> - -<p> -The sorrow and alarm of James were great; and remorsefully -he now remembered the warnings of Francis I., contrary -to whose most urgent advice he had espoused her, instead -of the blooming Mary of Lorraine. Foreign physicians were -sent by their kings from distant courts and cities, even from -Syria and the remote countries of the east, and daily they -crowded the antechamber with their long beards and longer -garments, their grave visages and solemn quackeries; but -their presence had no other effect than to bring lower and -lower the health of poor Magdalene, and to excite the wrath -and jealousy of John of the Silvermills, who (as the king's -apothecary, and deacon of the barber-chirurgeons of Edinburgh), -by the presence of these strangers, felt his dignity -encroached upon, and his reputation impugned. -</p> - -<p> -The love of the amiable French girl for her gallant young -husband was excessive; it strengthened as her strength -decayed; and finding that matters of state separated them long -and frequently, contrary to all advice, she left Balmerino, with -its shady woods and mellow air, and, to be near her beloved -James V., returned to the grey and solemn courts of -Holyrood on the eighth day of June. -</p> - -<p> -There, to the joy of her husband, she seemed to revive a -little; and the preparations for her coronation (which was to -be on a scale of magnificence hitherto unknown in Scotland) -had been resumed with renewed vigour; but alas! on the -tenth of July, three days after the arrest of Lady Jane Seton, -she suddenly threw up her hands to heaven and expired, at a -moment when, stooping over her couch, the king, her husband, -was playfully caressing and conversing with her; and the -great solemn bells of St. Giles's, and those of the abbey church, -the Dominicans, the Cistercians, and other friaries, as slowly -and sadly they tolled a knell, warning all good people to pray -for the passing soul, announced that direful event which -plunged the whole land in sorrow; for James V., "the king -of the poor," was really a monarch who reigned in the hearts -of a people who were then loyal and generous as they were -brave. -</p> - -<p> -She was solemnly interred by torchlight in the royal vault -at Holyrood; and, in her strong prison, Jane Seton heard -the deep hoarse boom of the minute guns, as they broke upon -the still midnight sky from the towers of King David, -St. Margaret, and the ramparts of that stately fortress which -enclosed her. -</p> - -<p> -So great was the grief of the nation, that this was the first -occasion of a general mourning in Scotland; and in the -accounts of the lord high treasurer there are still preserved -numerous entries of the Scottish and Holland cloths, French -blacks, white crosses upon sable velvets, and many other -articles for the court, together with the expenses of -Magdalene's magnificent obsequies, the dirges sung and solemn -masses said on that melancholy event, which became the -all-absorbing topic of the time. -</p> - -<p> -The whole nation mourned with the king; and everywhere, -at kirk or market, on highway or in burgh-town, black cloaks -and sable feathers had replaced the gaudier colours and fashions -of the age. A great funeral escutcheon hung in each of the -eight cathedrals, and over the gates of all the royal palaces. -Like those used in France and Germany, they were lozenge-formed, -bearing the royal arms of Scotland on a black ground, -surrounded by those of the sixteen families from whom the -queen was descended. At the four corners were placed (as -usual among us at the present day) mort-heads, and the black -interstices were <i>semée</i> with powdered tears. -</p> - -<p> -After the funeral, King James, with a small retinue, retired -to the solitude of his beautiful country palace at Falkland. -</p> - -<p> -If the hidden cause of the queen's illness had puzzled the -learned physicians and astrologers who had gathered around -her couch, as it were, from the four winds of heaven, it -occasioned greater speculation among the superstitious people of -Scotland, and a universal whisper of <i>sorcery</i>, followed by a cry -for vengeance on the cause of an effect so dire, went throughout -the land, from the Caledonian to the German Sea. -</p> - -<p> -Fettered to a sick bed, suffering under the extremes of -mental and bodily agony—the double wounds, received first -from Roland Vipont, and secondly from the earl, all combined, -and acting upon a frame weakened by a previous illness, had -brought Sir Adam Otterburn to the brink of the grave. -</p> - -<p> -His hours of delirium were full of visions either of love and -delight—of Jane Seton and a successful suit, or of sanguinary -horror—of conflicts, tortures, and executions; while the hours -of comparative calm that succeeded—the mere result of utter -exhaustion—were occupied by deep-laid schemes of avenging -himself upon the authors of so many miseries. -</p> - -<p> -His mind had now but two thoughts—a delirium of love -and a delirium of hate; and they corroded his heart between -them. -</p> - -<p> -He had cast off Jane Seton; for so he strove to think, and -so, unto himself, he said a thousand times; he had rent her -from his heart, and abandoned her to the terrors in store for -her. Then love would come again, and he strove wildly to -stifle it like a rising flame; for he had given the first impulse -to the ball of fate, and he resolved to let it roll on its course -to destruction. -</p> - -<p> -In his moments of calm agony, when every voice in his -heart was still but those which whispered of jealousy and -revenge, he deliberately dictated, and drew up with bitter -care, certain articles of accusation, implicating Jane Seton -wholly and solely in the death of the queen, by sorcery of the -most malignant character; and, armed by a warrant, the -town mansion of the Ashkirk family, which had not been -opened since the Albany herald, John Hamilton of Darnagaber, -had placed his seal on every door and lockfast place thereof, -was opened and searched by that unwilling functionary and -the witch-finder, Nichol Birrel. -</p> - -<p> -After the dose he had been compelled to swallow at Cairntable, -the latter, it may be supposed, had reached Edinburgh -with considerable difficulty; and, like his master, animated -by personal and implacable vengeance against Sir Roland -Vipont, he entered with heart and soul into the public -prosecution. Thus, when by order of his lord and patron, Redhall, -he was searching the house of the Setons, he contrived most -opportunely to discover in the boudoir of Lady Jane a little -wooden image bearing a crown, and marked with the initials -M.B. It was stuck full of pins, and was partly scorched by -fire; but after being duly sprinkled with holy water, and -exorcised by the late queen's French confessor, was deposited -in the hands of the lord advocate, who sealed it up in a box -marked with the cross, as being the most tremendous and -damning proof of guilt that had ever come under the notice -of the newly-constituted College of Justice. -</p> - -<p> -With one voice the whole city now accused, and without a -moment's hesitation condemned, Jane Seton. The preparations -for her trial went on rapidly; and the king, who was -absorbed in his own grief, and remained secluded among the -woods of Falkland, abandoned her to her fate; but the -wretched Redhall suffered more than either the hapless Jane -or the bereaved king, for remorse grew side by side with his -anger. -</p> - -<p> -Those sentiments of generosity, of pity, and of lingering -love, which ever and anon dawned in the arid desert of his -heart, and impelled him to free her, to sue for pardon, or to -fly his country, were invariably stifled under a torrent of -jealousy and hate when he thought of Roland Vipont; and -then his half-healed wounds would sting him anew, as if -probed by poniards; the perspiration would burst from his -temples, and he writhed on his sick bed in an agony -indescribable. -</p> - -<p> -"She is indeed a sorceress!" he would exclaim; upon which -his nurse and housekeeper, an old and wrinkled dame who -attended him, and who never left his bedside, would make -signs of the cross, and feel for the reliques which were sewed -in the lining of her long piked stays, which, with her ruff and -coif, made her resemble those quaint figures which still live -in the pictures of Holbein. -</p> - -<p> -Credulity has existed in every age of the world; and thus -chiromancy, astrology, physiognomy, and the wildest theories -of abstruse science, have risen and flourished on the ignorance -and folly of the human mind; but there were none that -equalled the <i>witch-mania</i>, which, strange to say, grew in -Scotland, and flourished side by side with religious freedom and -reform. -</p> - -<p> -It is a curious fact, that before the epoch of Knox sorcery was -almost unknown among us. In our earliest record of criminal -trials, that comprehending the years 1493-1504, there is -not one prosecution for sorcery. In the days of James V. it -began to be much spoken of, and rapidly became a source of -terror. Lady Jane's was nearly the first indictment; but -the earliest statute against it was passed in 1563, by the first -reformed parliament, and that portion of the law which refers -to consultations "with sorcerers and witches" was not enacted -until 1594—fully thirty years after the Reformation had been -established by the law of Scotland. -</p> - -<p> -Then, indeed, from that period, kirk sessions and presbyteries, -ministers, elders, sheriffs, and justiciars, went with -heart and hand into the matter; for in the <i>witch-mania</i>, that -atrocious madness which spread over Europe, though Scotland -was the last to catch the contagion, she was in no way behind -neighbouring countries in the cruelty of her prosecutions. -</p> - -<p> -According to Barrington, thirty thousand witches were -burned in England, five hundred perished in three months at -Geneva, and a thousand at Como in one year. The number -committed to the flames in Scotland is incalculable, but no -less than six hundred witches were indicted during the sitting -of one parliament at Edinburgh. Suspicion, abhorrence, -accusation, trial, and death followed each other with appalling -rapidity. -</p> - -<p> -Thus we find in history, that the savage spirit of ignorance -and credulity which impelled the great Cardinal Beaton to -burn six men at the stake, on the charge of heresy, was -out-Heroded by the still greater ignorance and credulity of his -successors, who, for each of these six, sacrificed more than -thousands for the imaginary crime of witchcraft. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap35"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXXV. -<br /><br /> -THE COLLEGE OF JUSTICE. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "No! in an accursed spot—our magic tree,<br /> - Where devils from of yore their sabbath keep—<br /> - Has all this been contrived; there did she sell<br /> - Her soul to the eternal fiend, to be<br /> - With brief vain-glory honoured in this world.<br /> - Bid her stretch forth her arm, and ye will see<br /> - The puncture, by which hell hath marked its own."<br /> - SCHILLER'S <i>Maid of Orleans</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The summer solstice was passed. -</p> - -<p> -Heavily and louringly the 15th of July dawned over -Edinburgh; and one hour after the portes were unclosed, the -Right Honourable Knight, Sir Simon Preston of Craigmillar, -the new Lord Provost of the city and Admiral of the Forth, -entered by the Kirk-of-field Wynd, sheathed in full armour, -with a party of horse; when, conformably to the orders of his -eminence the cardinal, John Muckleheid, senior bailie, joined -him with three hundred archers—the same burgher-archers -who had lined the streets exactly two months before, on the -entrance of Queen Magdalene. -</p> - -<p> -A tumult was expected; very few merchants or chapmen -opened their booths on this morning; and those between the -Bell-house and the Tron remained closed. Sir John -Forrester's guards were doubled at the palace, the Mint, the -castle-gate, and elsewhere; and after arming themselves with -more than usual care, vast crowds of burghers poured towards -the Exchequer Chambers, or <i>'Checquer Chalmers</i>, as they -then named them. The stacks of heather, broom, whins, and -of other fuel, which were then permitted to encumber the -street, either as being the property of householders, or for -sale, bore each on their summit a load of urchins, whose yells -and outcries served to increase the general clamour. -</p> - -<p> -A flag was flying on the steeple of the Tolbooth, which had -been built fifty years before, by John Mercer, master mason; -and thirteen shops (formed at the same period), in the vaults -below the edifice, remained closed and barricaded. -</p> - -<p> -The respect his garb ensured him, and the liberal manner -in which he said "Pax vobiscum" to all, enabled the anxious -and excited Father St. Bernard, on leaving his dormitory in -the house of the prebendaries, to force a passage through the -dense crowd which occupied the High-street, around the -Exchequer, the Tolbooth, and Council-house, spreading even -down the steep churchyard of St. Giles. -</p> - -<p> -The provost's kinsman, Sir Andrew Preston, of Quhite-hill -and Gourtown, with a squadron of horsemen, overawed -the crowd. Clad in a suit of rich armour, he rode up and -down the thoroughfare with his long lance, ordering and -threatening some, or courteously giving admittance to others. -The priest procured a place within the large hall of the -Exchequer, where, for some reason now unknown, the trial of his -unhappy penitent was to take place. A strong guard of -archers occupied the hall-door and the turnpike-stair below, -permitting none to enter without the closest scrutiny, lest -armed Setons or Douglases might penetrate into the heart of -the place; for rumours of rescue were abroad in the city. -</p> - -<p> -Roofed with beams of oak, painted and gilded, the hall was -lighted by two rows of windows, lozenged and stained with -brilliant coats of arms. Those on the east faced the dark -buildings of a narrow close; those on the west overlooked the -churchyard of St. Giles; thus, as the sun could not (until -mid-day) penetrate its recesses, the light within the hall, at -the early hour of eight, when the court began to assemble, -was of the most subdued and sombre kind. -</p> - -<p> -At the upper end were fifteen chairs, behind a bench, all -covered with scarlet cloth, whereon sat Walter Mylne, abbot -of Cambuskenneth, lord president of the recently instituted, -and then eminently obnoxious court of judicature, with his -fourteen lords—viz., the abbot of Kinloss, the rector of -Ashkirk, the provosts of Dunglass and of the Holy Trinity; the -deans of Brechin, Restalrig, and Dunbar, who sat on his right -hand; while the remaining seven, who were laymen—the -knights of Balwearie, Lundie, Easter-Wemyss, Oxengangs, -and of the Highriggs, Sir Francis Bothwell, and Otterburn -of Auldhame (a cousin of Redhall)—sat upon his left. These -were the first fifteen senators of the College of Justice in -Scotland; and, save the churchmen, few of them could sign -their names. They were all men advanced in life; and, with -their black caps and scarlet gowns, looked grimly over the -half circular bench, which was raised on a dais several feet -above the floor of the hall. -</p> - -<p> -Headed by Lord David Hamilton (a son of the Earl of -Arran), their chancellor, or, as we would now turn him, their -foreman, the jury, which was principally composed of Hamiltons, -occupied a recess on one side of the hall; while the ten -advocates, in gowns of Paris black, with a number of sworn -notaries, had the privilege of occupying the other. A tall -wax candle, painted over with religious emblems, burned on -the right hand of the president; and coldly its light fell upon -his pinched and stern features and the gold crucifix which -glittered upon his breast. -</p> - -<p> -Before him, on one hand, was a table where the clerks of -court sat, intrenched up to their ears in papers; on the other -stood an uncouth machine, covered by a black cloth. There -was something in its aspect that made the blood run cold; it -was the rack, with other instruments of torture. They were -then in full use by the new court, but were last applied in -Edinburgh by order of William III., whom the Scottish -people will ever remember as the assassin-king—the butcher -of Glencoe. -</p> - -<p> -Near this, in a large arm-chair, hidden from the view of -all save the lords, sat Redhall, buried in thought. -</p> - -<p> -Macers in black gowns, and archers in steel caps, were -visible here and there; but everywhere behind the bar was a -dense crowd, whose heads were overlooking each other in -close rows, like piles of cannon-shot. The whole court sat in -the form of a horseshoe; and every lord's mouth, and every -juryman's too, bore some resemblance to the same figure; for -gloom, anger, and severity were impressed upon them all. -</p> - -<p> -The bar enclosed the ends of this great horseshoe; and -there, between two arquebusiers of the king's guards, sat -Lady Jane Seton. -</p> - -<p> -Destitute of every ornament save an amber rosary, she was -plainly attired in a deep-skirted and close-bodied dress of blue -silk, with hanging sleeves, each of which, from the elbow, -had three rows of broad lace; and beneath these, from elbow -to wrist, her round white arms were bare. A simple -angular cap, of that graceful fashion which we see in the old -portraits of Anne Boleyn, covered her head. She was pale as -death, and the plain braids of her dark, almost black-brown -hair, made her seem paler still. She had become fearfully -thin and hollow-cheeked, but the character of her beauty was -rather increased than impaired by this attenuation. -</p> - -<p> -There was an expression of intense sadness in her quiet -and limpid eye, and of sorrow on her lip; but there were -times when her eyes flashed and her lip quivered with -surprise and contempt, or a cloud of horror would descend upon -her brow at the various proceedings of this new court, and -the bitter humiliation to which it subjected her. But now, -nearly broken in spirit, crushed, and feeling that she was for -ever degraded by the frightful accusation brought against -her, in general she was careless of what was done, or said, or -thought of her. -</p> - -<p> -There was something antique in her beauty; but nothing -could be softer, purer, or more delicate than its aspect. -</p> - -<p> -In silence she heard the low muttered revilings and exclamations -around her; when harassed by the stern questions of the -hardhearted and the credulous, or confounded by their energy -and ferocity, their determination and their sophistry, she -became utterly silent, and sought to bend all her thoughts on -inward prayer. -</p> - -<p> -A maze was before her eyes, and amid the maze were -fifteen scarlet spots, her fifteen judges; a confused murmur -was in her ears, but amid that murmur she could hear the -beating of her own heart. In its inner recesses there was but -one thought—<i>Roland</i>; and her heart only shrunk when her -chain rattled; for they had chained her. -</p> - -<p> -She was a witch!..... -</p> - -<p> -Many a familiar face was in the crowd, yet not one deigned -to look on her with kindness or with friendship. The terrible -accusation had frozen the hearts of all; thus she saw less -perhaps of sorrow than of indignation in every face; while, -generally, a silence the most profound reigned throughout the -whole assembly. -</p> - -<p> -In Scotland trials for sorcery were mere formalities; the -same blind terror and insane credulity which brought forward -the accusation and hurried on the decision, led at once to the -frightful condemnation. When first indicted, Jane had some -hope of mercy, and that her perfect innocence might avail -her; for sorcery was then a new crime, and there were many -who totally denied its existence; but the moment she entered -the court, and looked on the faces of her judges, and saw that -there were eight Hamiltons in the jury-box, she felt that her -doom was written, and gave herself up for lost—as the -majority of votes form the opinion of a Scottish jury. -</p> - -<p> -The proceedings of the Supreme High Court of Justiciary -in 1537, the year of its birth, were, in detail, widely different -from what they are to-day; and such was its informality, that -there was not one witness for the defence, the counsel for -which based his arguments solely on the blameless life, the -innocence, and conscious rectitude of the accused. -</p> - -<p> -"I am innocent!" Jane would sometimes repeat to herself; -"and they dare not punish me—God will not permit them!" -</p> - -<p> -The clerk of the court now stood up to read the indictment, -which was written on a strip of parchment:— -</p> - -<p> -"Jane Seton, most falsely designated lady and of Ashkirk, -thou art delated by the king's advocate for procuring the -death of umquhile the queen's grace (whom the blessed Lord -assoilzie!) by sorcery and incantations procured from hell; -thou art accused of having a familiar spirit; of having -renounced thy baptism, and having upon thee the mark by -which Satan distinguishes all who have sold themselves unto -his service." -</p> - -<p> -"Of these crimes against the laws of God and of man, of -nature and our holy Christian church, Jane Seton, art thou -guilty, or art thou not guilty?" asked the abbot Mylne, sadly -and solemnly. -</p> - -<p> -Thrice the question had to be repeated before she was -roused from her apathy to reply. -</p> - -<p> -"Guiltless, father abbot—guiltless of such crimes—even as -the blessed Mother of all compassion herself was guiltless," -she replied, gently but energetically; "and this day I call -upon her to hear the truth of my assertion; and the unhappy -never seek her aid in vain." -</p> - -<p> -A murmur floated above the crowd of spectators; and -Jane's head sank on her breast. -</p> - -<p> -Like a sharp poniard, her voice sank into the heart of -Redhall. He now arose, and with a paper in his hand—a paper -which he nervously folded and unfolded—prepared to speak. -He looked like an animated corpse; his long flowing gown -of black Parisian cloth, the sable hue of his beard and -moustache, contrasted forcibly with his livid complexion. His -eyes were hollow, and a ghastly agony was impressed on every -lineament of his face; but attributing these appearances to -his long and recent illness, the whole court, from the lord -president down to Sanders Screw, the torturer, pitied his -sufferings, and admired his worth and unflinching energy as an -officer of state. -</p> - -<p> -He dared not turn towards the prisoner, but spoke with -averted eyes, which the court attributed to his gallantry and -extreme delicacy of feeling. He endeavoured to condense the -whole hatred of his heart against her; but love would come -again, and they wrestled fiercely for the mastery. His heart -swelled within his breast, and his brain became wild. He had -two existences, and two hearts—one which loved, and one -which hated—one that longed to possess, and another that -longed to destroy her. -</p> - -<p> -Then it would seem that he loved her as of old, and was -prompted to avow his passion and his guilt, and, asserting -her innocence, poniard himself before the court; but again -his mad and murderous longing for revenge would come back -upon his heart like a devouring fever, and thus he loved and -thus abhorred in the same moment. Strange, wild, and -inconsistent, his was the love of the devil united to the frenzy -of a destroyer; he felt that it was so, and there were times -when he doubted his own sanity. -</p> - -<p> -The die was cast now, and a thousand eyes were bent upon -him, and a thousand ears were listening. He made a -tremendous effort to master his fierce emotions and open the -prosecution; and being aware that there were many among -the judges who doubted, and even denied the existence of -witchcraft, he bent all his dangerous eloquence to prove the -first position. -</p> - -<p> -"My lords," said he, with a voice that, from being soft -and flute-like, had now become hoarse and hollow, though it -sounded like a serpent's hiss to Jane. "My lords, there -may be among us those who decline to admit that witchcraft -existeth in the world; albeit, divines cannot doubt it, for have -not the words of God admitted that such things may be? -In the eighteenth chapter of Deuteronomy, we are told that -diviners, enchanters, consulters with familiar spirits, witches, -necromancers, 'are an abomination unto the Lord;' and further, -the twentieth chapter of Leviticus saith, 'the soul that -turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, -<i>I will even set my face against that soul</i>, and will cut him off -from among the people;' while the Mosaic law emphatically -ordained that no witch shall be suffered to live. We need not, -most reverend and learned lords, look so far back for proofs that -sorcerers and charmers existed, and do exist: it must be -apparent to every reasonable being that what hath once been -may be again, for nothing is impossible either to God or -the devil; and the ancient chronicles of Scotland, and of every -other kingdom, teem with proofs of sorcery. The heathens -of the olden time visited witches with the most dreadful -punishments; the Persians dashed out their brains with -stones; while we know that the Assyrians, Chaldeans, the -Indian Gymnosophists, and the Druids of Caledonia, were addicted -to the deepest sorcery. By the laws of Charlemagne, a witch -who ate human flesh escaped for two hundred sous, which -shows (as in the present case) that sorcery was not confined -to the lower class of society. -</p> - -<p> -"The emperor Manuel Comnenus punished sorcerers with -the utmost rigour; and the blessed St. Patrick procured fire -from heaven to destroy nine of them. St. Colme saw a wizard -milk a bull, as we are informed by St. Adamnan, for the saints -are constantly watching Satan, the prince of hell and promoter -of mischief; and if so, how much more ought we, who are -<i>their</i> servants, to watch sorcerers and witches, who are the -slaves of the devil! -</p> - -<p> -"The witch of Endor feared to practise her sorceries before -the king, because he had put to death all who had familiar -spirits; and so great was the indignation of God against the -sin of sorcery, that he cut off the ten tribes of Israel because -they were wedded unto its abominations. John de Fordun -records, that in the days of that good knight and gallant king, -William the Lion, a wizard who perverted the vision of the -people, was defeated by a holy man reading even a passage -from the blessed Gospels. -</p> - -<p> -"Among the Romans, Publius Marcius and Pituanus were -executed for this crime; as also were Publicia and Lucinia, -with threescore and ten other citizens, as Valerius Maximus -informs us in the third chapter of the sixth book. Hence, to -deny the existence of witches, is to deny the veracity of all -history, ecclesiastical as well as secular; and thus sorcery, -being the greatest of all human crimes, as it includes heresy, -blasphemy, and treason against God, involves the most severe -of all human punishments—death by fire—for fire is the -emblem of purification. -</p> - -<p> -"Picus of Mirandola, who lived in the last century, asserts -in his writings, that 'magic is not founded on truth, since it -depends upon powers that are enemies to truth;' and further, -'that there is no one power in heaven or earth but may be -put in motion by the words of a magician;' and he proves -that words are effectual in incantations, because God made -use of words in arranging the universe." -</p> - -<p> -"My lord advocate, to the point," said the president, dryly; -"in many parts of his writings, Francisco Picus was a rank -blasphemer." -</p> - -<p> -"The prisoner at the bar is accused of procuring by sorcery, -and the aid of magic images, the death of umquhile the -queen's lamented grace, whom Heaven assoilzie! I accuse -her of this, and boldly." -</p> - -<p> -"To the proof," said the abbot of Cambuskenneth, as -Redhall paused, and faltered. -</p> - -<p> -"No difficult task, my lords," he resumed. "I need not -expatiate on the hereditary hatred borne to the king, the -queen and court, by the houses of Ashkirk and of Angus. -Consanguinity is ever a strong proof of sorcery. The countess -dowager of Ashkirk hath long sustained an evil reputation as -a dabbler in magic. If the mother be a sorceress, we hold it -in law, that the daughter must infallibly be so too. It is the -inheritance of hell, and descends, as the children of married -saints inherit a share of heaven. Arrian records that prophecy -was hereditary, like disease, and why not sorcery?" -</p> - -<p> -A murmur of assent replied. -</p> - -<p> -"Hence, reared by her mother, the prisoner brought her -damnable and abstruse studies to greater perfection; the pupil -surpassed her teacher; and it was in her boudoir that this -image, which is coated over with wax and stuck full of pins, -was yesterday discovered by an officer of this high court—an -officer whose veracity and worth none will dare to gainsay." -</p> - -<p> -Here Master Birrel smoothed his shock pate; pulled up -his ruff, which was stiffened with whalebone, and looked -complacently around him. -</p> - -<p> -"The good queen's gradual illness and wasting away from -the hour of her landing, was the slow but matured work of -sorcery; and such the most learned physicians and apothegars -have declared it to be. My lords and gentlemen, here are -written copies of the proofs," he added, as his clerks and -scribes distributed to the bench and jury a number of written -papers; but the said clerks or scribes might have saved -themselves the trouble, as few of the learned lords, and not one of -the intelligent jury, could either read or write. Neither had -yet become fashionable or necessary accomplishments. "There -you will find," continued the lord advocate, "that the queen's -grace was first bewitched at the ball in Holyrood, where the -Lady Seton induced others to dance a measure diabolique, -which is well known to be in use among the witches of -France; and as they danced, so the queen's illness increased -with wondrous rapidity. That night her majesty kindly gave -the prisoner her hand to kiss; then lo, again, the power of -hell! the kiss burned into her heart, and she sank into a -deadly faint. In both kiss and dance, my lords, we will -prove there was sorcery, as the abbot of Kinloss assured me -at the time. We all know how much Satan hath achieved -by the agency of dancing, on looking back to the fits and -visions of the Convulsionists, who in 1373 appeared at -Aix-la-Chapelle. There is a certain mountain of the Harz chain -in Almainie, where, on the 1st of May, every year, all the -witches and wizards of the earth rendezvous to dance on -<i>Valpurgis night</i>, as they name it. Now, <i>La Volta</i>, the hell-dance, -was the ancient measure of the orgia, the feasts of Bacchus, -a god of the pagans—a demon who loved wine. It came -from Italy to Spain; from Spain to France; from France to -Scotland. -</p> - -<p> -"To the second proof. The prisoner with others visited -the booth of Master Mossman, jeweller to the king's majesty; -and there, placing on her head the queen's new crown (a notable -piece of Douglas presumption), said certain words, to the -effect that <i>she would never live to wear it, for her days were -numbered</i>, and these ominous words we have here six witnesses -to prove. Oh, my lords, did they not clearly and prophetically -indicate a foreknowledge of the queen's death, obtained -by the assistance of that familiar spirit who resided with her -in the quality of page? Lastly, this image, half roasted and -perforated by ninety-nine pins, and marked with a crown and -the letters M.B., for Magdalene Bourbon. My lords and -gentlemen, can other proof be wanting?" -</p> - -<p> -Here he held up to view, between a pair of small iron tongs, -a little wooden figure, about eight inches long, having on its -head a crown. -</p> - -<p> -"Mother of God!" muttered the people, crossing -themselves with horror at these accumulated proofs. -</p> - -<p> -"That death may be produced by wasting images, I could -adduce a thousand instances; but less will suffice. In the -year 980, our own King Duff, who pined under a grievous -illness in Murrayshire, was rescued from death when the witch -was burned and her images broken. The severe illness of -Charles VI. of France was caused by sorcery, and the witch -was burnt; so was another, who, in conjunction with the -devil, forged a deed in favour of Robert of Artois. The -powers of inflicting and of allaying diseases were peculiar to -sorcerers; the mother allayed—the daughter inflicted. -Solomon could allay disease by incantations, and Phyrrus, -king of Epirus, did so by one touch of his great toe. Magic -water may have been thrown on the queen's person; for we -know that a few drops from Chosopis, the enchanted river of -the Persians, brought death to all on whom they fell. As -the fire scorched and wasted this image, even so did the poor -queen waste and sink. Observe, my lords, it is formed of -<i>pine</i>." -</p> - -<p> -"The pine was consecrated, by the heathens of old, to Pluto, -King of Demons," said Lord Auldhame. -</p> - -<p> -"And wherever the unhappy queen endured the most -severe pains,—in her head, in her heart, or the region of the -stomach, there we find the greatest number of torturing pins. -There are seven in each eye, and, like three, seven is a mystical -number. I have but one remark more, my lords. This -image was originally that of one of the three kings of Cologne; -it has been abstracted from the rood screen of St. Giles's, and -made to serve for that of her umquhile majesty Queen Magdalene." -</p> - -<p> -"Sacrilege! sacrilege!" cried the crowd of listeners; -"blasphemy and heresy!——" -</p> - -<p> -"All of which assuredly require the most severe penalty -your lordships can inflict—death at the stake!" and as the -lord advocate sat down, pale and exhausted by his long -harangue, and by the wild misanthropy of his desperate soul, -the horror waxed strong in the hearts of his hearers. -</p> - -<p> -"Holy Mary!" exclaimed the lord president, raising his -hands and eyes to the oak ceiling, "can this woman, this -being abandoned of God and of man, be a daughter of that -gallant race, every chief of which has bled for Scotland and -its king? Oh, what a wondrous—what a vast amount of sin -is here!" -</p> - -<p> -Master Robert Galbraith and Master Henry Spittal, the -most able of the ten advocates, spoke in the defence of the -accused long and ably, but all their arguments were overborne -by the sophistry and eloquence of Redhall, and by the -cloud of witnesses for the prosecution, which proceeded with -such rapidity, that they were soon silenced, and sat down -completely baffled. Then a long and anxious pause succeeded. -</p> - -<p> -Father St. Bernard was in despair. -</p> - -<p> -A senator now spoke; he was the rector of Ashkirk. -</p> - -<p> -"My lords," said he, "in all that I have this day heard, -there is much that perplexes me sorely; for it seemeth that -the same faculties which were <i>miracles</i> when exercised by the -saints, we style <i>sorceries</i> when assumed by others. St. Servan -of Lochleven converted water into wine, and from the bosom -of the arid earth a fountain sprang at the voice of St. Patrick. -St. Baldred of the Bass used as a boat that rock which we -may still see fixed in the sea near his island; the wooden altar -of St. Bryde of Douglas sprouted and put forth leaves at her -holy touch; the robe of St. Colme procured rain in Iona; -and, in the winter time, St. Blaise could strike fire with his -fingers——" -</p> - -<p> -Here a stern glance from the Abbot Mylne cut him short, -and he paused. -</p> - -<p> -"The blessed saints of whom thou speakest, my lord, -wrought those wonders by the aid of Heaven alone, and not -by the agency of a black spirit. Of late, the devil hath -frequently appeared at the preachings of the Reformers as a black -cat, and why may he not appear elsewhere as a black boy?" -said the president. -</p> - -<p> -"True, most reverend and learned lord," rejoined the meagre -little abbot of Kinloss, "need I remind your lordships how -my predecessor, Abbot Ralph, now in company of the saints, -when holding a chapter of the Cistercians at Kinloss, -A.D. 1214, beheld the devil, yea, as surely as my name is -Robin Reid, beheld him, in the shape of an Ethiopian, enter -by a window; but, on being exorcised in good Latin, he -vanished in smoke."* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See John de Fordun's "Scotichronicon." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"True, true," continued Redhall, incoherently; "and by -a devilishly devised compact with this familiar, she assigned -her soul to Satan for the powers given——" -</p> - -<p> -"Proof?" said the doubting rector of Ashkirk; "where is -this contract?" -</p> - -<p> -"In the archives of hell—therefore, how can we produce it?" -</p> - -<p> -The judge sat down silenced, and a cold smile flitted over -the face of Redhall, whose usually impassible front the -Cumæan sybil herself could not have read; but he looked -anxiously at the abbot of Cambuskenneth. -</p> - -<p> -"Would that I knew what is passing in thy bald head, -thou shaven dotard!" thought he. -</p> - -<p> -"Familiar spirits are usually black," said the president; -"the vile imposter, Mahomet, had one in the shape of a black -cock, which, when it crew, set all the cocks in the world -crowing; and the Lord Hugh of Zester had a black demon named -<i>Gudeshovel</i>, who dug for him his goblin hall beneath the -surface of the earth. The unhappy prisoner having persisted in -denying her guilt, I require a slight application of the torture, -and an examination for the devil's mark, that the ends of -justice may be duly satisfied." -</p> - -<p> -Redhall, who had been but half prepared for this, felt his -heart die within him, and he made a convulsive start. -</p> - -<p> -"The torture! the torture! Oh, rather let me die! Holy -abbot—my lords—I ask you not for pardon, because I am -innocent. I think not of vengeance, because I am a woman—and -though an earl's daughter and an earl's sistar, a poor -and helpless one—but I implore death, because ye have -dishonoured me by these accusations and by these bonds—cruelly -and falsely dishonoured me. Put me to death, but not to -the torture; for oh, I am weak, very weak, and will tell you -anything. Let me die! let me die! Oh, save me, Sir Adam -Otterburn—oh yes, everything—thou who hast done it all, -save me from these frightful men!" -</p> - -<p> -As Birrel and Sanders Screw approached the shrinking -girl, with their stolid visages and huge hands, though half -suffocated by sobs, she gave a low, wild cry of agony and -horror, and closing her eyes, became perfectly passive. The -judges looked on unmoved; a thrill pervaded the hearts of -the people, and Redhall felt the perspiration trickle over his -brow, though his blood ran cold through his veins. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Roland, Roland! my love! my love! I am dying -now," said Jane, in a low voice (that was heard by Redhall -alone), as she was lifted from her seat. -</p> - -<p> -Redhall's momentary pity died; he sat down with one of -his freezing smiles—such smiles as can only be given by one -who has alike outlived the hopes of his heart and the feelings -of humanity. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>The torture,</i>" repeated the lord president. -</p> - -<p> -Redhall dipped his pen mechanically in the inkstand, and -Dobbie uncovered the rack; then, as every man respired -more freely, a low, but unintentional hiss seemed to pervade -the hall. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap36"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXXVI. -<br /><br /> -THE RACK—THE DEVIL'S MARK. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "If on the rack you strain our bursting sinews;<br /> - If from the bleeding trunk you lop our limbs;<br /> - Or with slow fires protract the hours of pain,<br /> - We must abide it all."—<i>Boadicea</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -As yet neither the boot nor thumb screws had been adopted -by the Scottish courts; the ancient rack alone was the -instrument of torture, and now it stood before the eyes of the -startled people in all its naked and mysterious horror. -Though totally repugnant to the fundamental laws of Scotland, -which are based on those of Rome, the practice of -obtaining confessions by torture in the Privy Council and High -Court of Justiciary was not discontinued until a hundred and -sixty years after the date of our history, in the reign of -William III., who, whatever he was in South Britain, will -ever be remembered in the north as one who was merciless as -a Mohawk. -</p> - -<p> -The rack, which Dobbie had uncovered, was a large frame -of oak, raised three feet from the floor, like a long, narrow -bed without spars, but having two rings at the head and two -at the foot. The aspect of this engine, with all its -accompanying blocks, pulleys, chains, and handspikes in the sockets -of the windlass, froze Father St. Bernard with horror. He -crossed himself, beat his breast, and closed his eyes. -</p> - -<p> -Old and withered, with a long beard and a hollow-jawed -sardonic visage, with leering eyes, a fangless mouth, and -bandy legs, Sanders Screw, the torturer and headsman—the -presiding genius over this infernal machine—looked like an -overgrown imp, as, with his concurrents, he hurried agilely -from ring to ring, and from rope to rope, putting the whole -in working order. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Agnus Dei!</i>" muttered the old priest, who, in a little -volume which he wrote, has transmitted an account of these -things to us; "all this for one frail body! May Heaven -make it without feeling, even as the hearts of those around -us." -</p> - -<p> -Powerless and unresisting, Jane was borne between Sanders -Screw and Nichol Birrel towards the rack, and placed within -its frame. Birrel remembered Roland Vipont and Douglasdale; -and, trembling with joy and revenge, made himself -more than usually active. The costume of Screw and his two -concurrents had something strikingly horrible in it; their -doublets were scarlet—the judicial colour in Scotland—but -their brawny arms were bared to the elbow; and they wore -dirty leather aprons, extending from their necks to their -knees. Lady Jane's garments swept the floor, and her long -hair, which became unbound as her triangular cap fell off, -floated over the shoulder of Screw as he adjusted her in the -frame. Then a shudder came over her as the rings and cords -were secured to her ankles and wrists, her beautiful arms -being extended at full length above her head, revealing the -exquisite rounding of her bust and waist. The whole -arrangement did not occupy a moment. -</p> - -<p> -While in this frightful and humiliating position, with her -head supported in the hands of Screw's apprentice, and her blue -silk skirt drooping on the floor, Redhall dared not look towards -her, but sat down beside the rack, and bent his bloodshot -eyes upon the blank sheet of paper, whereon the coming -confession was to be written. He trembled excessively. On -the other side was the physician, who attended all such -<i>questioning</i>—John of the Silvermills—clad in deep mourning, -like all the courtiers and dependents of the king, with a white -St Andrew's cross on his black velvet mantle, and having a -large pouch at his girdle, wherein were various revivifying -drugs and essences. -</p> - -<p> -Gently, but unceremoniously, the greater part of Jane's -attire had been loosened by the rapid application of a pair of -scissors. -</p> - -<p> -"Now then, the devil's mark," said the lord president, -shading his eyes with his hand, and peering forward over his -desk. -</p> - -<p> -Nichol Birrel, sworn pricker of the High Court, now -approached with his needle, and ruthlessly uncovered the whole -neck, shoulders, and bosom of the unhappy girl. Her skin -was dazzlingly white, and shone like polished ivory in the -sunlight which streamed through the deep mullions of the -windows above her in many hazy flakes. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh!" she murmured, and shuddered, while the hot, bitter -tears were seen to ooze from her closed eyelids. An icy -sweat burst over Redhall, to behold that beautiful figure -extended, almost nude, before so many unpitying and so many -voluptuous eyes. His agony was frightful. He could have -screamed aloud; and, to prevent himself doing so, buried his -fingers in his breast beneath his robe. And there she lay, -with a form that might have passed for Venus—one so delicate -by nature and nurture, with her slender wrists and round -white ankles enclosed by strong iron bands, and her uncovered -bosom submitted to the eyes of so many men, and the rough -paws of the ruffian Birrel. -</p> - -<p> -There were a few generous hearts in the crowd who cried -"<i>shame!</i>" and more than one gallant hand sought the hilt -of a sword. -</p> - -<p> -A pink spot, like a little rose-leaf, was discovered between -her bosom and her waist, and to this the pricker, after making -the sign of the cross and other preparations, applied his brod, -or needle, which was three inches long, and, to the horror and -astonishment of all, it sank up to the very handle in the -mark, without Lady Seton wincing once, or seeming even -aware that she was touched by the instrument. -</p> - -<p> -Again and again the operation was repeated, and the pity -of the generous few became blended with the fear and -repugnance of the many. -</p> - -<p> -"The mark of hell—the signet of Satan is always thus," -said the Lord Kinloss; "for it is lost to all sensation, and -deadened to the touch of every instrument—it is bloodless." -</p> - -<p> -The long sharp needle of Birrel was pure and bright, as -well it might be; for it was constructed like a theatrical -poniard, to <i>retire</i> into the handle with the slightest pressure. -</p> - -<p> -Blank dismay was impressed on every face. -</p> - -<p> -Thrice Redhall asked her, in a hoarse and hollow voice, to -confess, and thrice she gazed at him wildly, but made no -reply; for the powers of life seemed already to have forsaken -her. He then made a signal to Sanders Screw, and turned -away his head. -</p> - -<p> -Sanders, with his wrinkled and fibrous hands, grasped the -handspikes of the windlass as a seaman would previous to -starting an anchor. Then, with the whole weight and -strength of his meagre body, the wretch suddenly depressed -them, and every joint of the unhappy being cracked in its -socket. -</p> - -<p> -Father St. Bernard muffled his head in his cowl, to shut -out the fearful sound. -</p> - -<p> -She uttered a cry, the horror of which contrasted strangely -with the sweetness and melody of her voice. Redhall felt as -if he could have expired; and, in unison with her, he uttered -a groan so painful and full of despair, that it must have -startled all, had it not been blended with the cry of Jane. -</p> - -<p> -"Mother of God! Mother of God! I will confess—I will -confess! Oh, Roland, Roland!" -</p> - -<p> -At these words Redhall bent his head towards the floor, for -he felt that he had the face of a Nero, the eyes of a fiend, -and he gave another of his horrible smiles. The name of -Roland recalled his hatred, and that hatred triumphed over -terror and compunction, as ferocity did over feebleness. -The bars were a little relaxed, but she was not loosed until -the following questions were answered:— -</p> - -<p> -"Jane Seton," said Redhall, in a calm voice, and with an -equally calm visage, for, being master of himself, his whole -aspect was now as still as it the stormy passions which convulsed -his heart were dead; "Jane Seton, dost thou confess to the -damnable, the treasonable, and blasphemous sin of compassing -and procuring, by sorcery and idols, the death of -umquhile the queen's grace, of good memorie?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, have mercy upon me!" she murmured. -</p> - -<p> -"Dost thou confess it?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"Attend, clerks of court. Thou dost confess to having a -familiar imp in the shape of a black page, who became the -father of thy little devils?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"Um—um—<i>coitus cum diabolo</i>," muttered a clerk of court, -writing. -</p> - -<p> -"How many?" -</p> - -<p> -"I know not." -</p> - -<p> -"Another proof of deep sorcery," said the lord president, -"for the witches of Germany have been known to have twelve -imps at a birth." -</p> - -<p> -"And thou didst suckle these uncounted devils at the -mark on thy bosom?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, yes; oh, hast thou no pity?" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou false heretic, apostate, liar, and renouncer of thy -baptism, thou dost confess to having read English books, -containing the dark and damnable heresies of——" -</p> - -<p> -"This belongs to another court," said the abbot Mylne. -"My Lord Advocate, we have no jurisdiction here in -ecclesiastical matters. Surely, my lords, no further proofs are -required?" -</p> - -<p> -The capped or cowled heads of the fourteen lords shook or -nodded an assent, and, at a word from Redhall Jane was unbound -and replaced on her seat; where, with a pale, distorted -face, and half insane aspect, she gazed about her, with -terrified eyes, between the dishevelled masses of her hair. Her -hands, weak, trembling, and almost dislocated, endeavoured -to restore the disorder of her dress, but failed in their office. -</p> - -<p> -The physician kindly parted her hair, and drew her -disordered dress over her uncovered shoulders. -</p> - -<p> -"Unhappy lady," he whispered, putting something between -her lips, "take this comfit—it renders one almost invulnerable -to pain; though it be not such as those to which the -divine Artesius owed his eternal youth and health. But it is -the essence of a wondrous herb; for whatever God planteth, -hath its good or bad qualities." -</p> - -<p> -Without hearing him, intent only on retracting her rack-extorted -confession, she gathered her hair back from her pallid -face with trembling hands, and arose, but only to sink -powerlessly on her seat, for her limbs now refused to sustain her, -as her tongue refused to speak; for though her bloodless lips -were moving, they uttered no sound. Forced by the torture, -a bright streak of pink was oozing from her nostrils. -</p> - -<p> -Again she essayed to speak, but now the jury, without -being charged, and without retiring—for such were not then -the customs—by the voice of their chancellor, unanimously -declared her guilty; and after a brief muttering and bending -together of cowled heads, the abbot of Cambuskenneth -proceeded at once to pass the sentence. -</p> - -<p> -Taking off his black monastic cap, he raised his eyes, and -was heard muttering something. "In nomine Patris, et Filii, -et Spiritus Sancti, et benedictæ Nostræ Dominæ Sanctissimæ -Mariæ. Thou false sorceress," he said, suddenly resuming -his cap and raising his voice,—"thou heretic, blasphemer of -thy God, and renouncer of thy baptism, for the crimes -committed and this day doubly proved against thee by witnesses -and from confession, I adjudge thee to be taken to the Castlehill -of Edinburgh at twelve o'clock on the night of the feast -of St. Margaret the martyr, five days from hence, and there -to be burned at a stake, until thou art consumed to ashes, -which shall be scattered to the four winds of Heaven, AND -THIS I PRONOUNCE FOR DOOM!" -</p> - -<p> -The priestly president ended his sentence by extinguishing -the candle which stood at his right hand—an emblem of -death, or that hope was gone for ever. Thereupon, Dobbie -the Doomster, clad in sackcloth braided with white cord, and -having a white cross and skull sewn on his back and breast, -approached, and laid a hand upon her shoulder, signifying -that she was now his peculiar charge. -</p> - -<p> -Those lords who were priests waved a benediction to the -people, so much did they (by mere force of habit) mingle -religious with civil ceremony; then the whole bench arose, -and the macer shouldered his mace; but at that moment the -clash of swords was heard, and a violent uproar arose at the -door of the Exchequer Hall. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap37"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXXVII. -<br /><br /> -THE GAGE OF BATTLE. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "In an evil hour I left her,<br /> - Left her! more I need not say;<br /> - Since in my absence came another<br /> - Lover, all my peace to slay.<br /> - I a captive, he a freeman,<br /> - Ah! our fates how different;<br /> - Since your arm hath made me captive,<br /> - See how justly I lament."<br /> - CALDERSON'S <i>Constant Prince</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Above the clang of steel and the trampling of feet, a voice -was heard that thrilled Jane to the heart; and though feeble, -aided by the iron railing of the bar, she suddenly arose, with -her hands outstretched and her beautiful eyes bent towards -the doorway, where the pike-points were glittering above the -heads of the crowd. Love and despair gave to her aspect a -courage and sublimity which vividly impressed the hearts of -all. Between the thick stone mullions and grotesque tracery -of a tall gothic window, and through the painted glass, the -forenoon sun shone bright and joyously, lighting up her -features with a radiance and beauty, the more remarkable by the -fantastic prisms of the oriel, and she stood like a beautiful -Pythoness. -</p> - -<p> -As she turned away, Redhall ventured to gaze upon her, -which he had not yet dared to do; for he felt that he -trembled whenever her glance fell on him. She was but the -spectre of what she was, and it was he that had made that -havoc! A beautiful though hectic colour had momentarily -replaced her frightful pallor, but he knew the emotion that -caused it. The old whirlwind of passion arose in his heart, -and he sank into a chair. -</p> - -<p> -The clank of armour, the noise and swaying to and fro of -the crowd continued. -</p> - -<p> -"A rescue!" said the president, and all his brother senators -drew towards him, and grew pale. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, think not of it, my lord," said one, the Knight of -Auldhame, loosening his sword in its sheath; "for those -lances of Sir Andrew Preston are more than guard enough." -</p> - -<p> -At that moment Roland Vipont, master of the king's ordnance, -broke through the mass of people, and approached the -bench, with his armour rattling and his spurs clanking as he -walked. He was cap-à-pié, with his visor up, and his plume -was covered by the dust of a long summer march. With his -sword drawn in one hand, and his gauntlet in the other, he -appeared before the startled tribunal. -</p> - -<p> -Ghastly and pale with fury and fatigue, he looked grimly -at the bench beneath the steel bars of his aventayle; and -with an air which he alone, above all the Scottish noblesse -possessed, confronted them like one valiant Trojan in a -Grecian camp. -</p> - -<p> -"Father Abbot, my Lord President, justice—I sue for -justice!" said he. -</p> - -<p> -"And how darest thou come hither in armour to seek it?" -demanded the president, with kindling eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"Armour is my garb, because I am a knight and the -king's soldier; besides, I dare do whatever becometh a -Scottish man," replied Vipont; "and I this day stand before you -to demand justice at the sword's point!" -</p> - -<p> -"It has already been given!" -</p> - -<p> -"Priest and judge though them art, I tell thee them liest! -And here I lay down the gage of battle in accordance with the -laws of Scotland, of justice, and of chivalry, binding myself -to maintain with the edge of this good sword, and by the aid -of the blessed God, on foot or on horseback, in the lists of -Edinburgh, or at the Gallowlee of Leith, that Lady Jane -Seton is pure and innocent of the crimes alleged against -her—pure as when Heaven created her, and that all men who -uphold the contrary lie—foully lie! Here lies my glove!" -and he hurled the steel gauntlet on the table with a clash -which made the clerks of the court start from their seats -with dismay; for, like all limbs of the law, they had a mortal -aversion to cold iron in every shape. -</p> - -<p> -There was a momentary pause; and Redhall, who gazed -with gloating eyes upon the lover's agony, felt half-inclined to -take up the gage, for notwithstanding his unruly passions -and studied vengeance, he was both brave and rash; but the -stern voice of the president arrested him, saying— -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Roland Vipont, this claim for the ordeal of battle -comes too late, and cannot be admitted. She has fully and -amply confessed; besides, this man hath found the mark of -hell upon her bosom!" -</p> - -<p> -"Her bosom—this man—John Dargavel!" exclaimed Roland, -startled on perceiving the person whom he had -compelled to swallow his own poison. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay—no John Dargavel, but a reputable officer of court," -said the president, who felt some compassion for the agony -expressed in the young man's face. -</p> - -<p> -"A villain, who excited the lieges to rebellion in -Douglasdale, and to a resistance of the royal standard, which -occasioned me the killing and wounding of a dozen brave -soldiers." -</p> - -<p> -"We have had enough of this," said the president, impatiently; -"the poor youth is so blind with passion, that he -would not know a hawk from the heronshaw. Break up the -court. Away, sir! torture hath been applied, and the ends of -justice are satisfied." -</p> - -<p> -"Torture—justice!" reiterated Roland, in a voice like a -shriek, and looking with terror at Jane, who stretched her -feeble arms imploringly towards him. "Lord, Lord, look down -upon me, and preserve my senses. Oh, have ye dared—— Cowards -and slaves! is it justice by rack and torture to -wrench confession from the lips of a poor and helpless woman? -Smooth-fronted villains, is there not one among ye who will -dare to take up my gage? Sir William of Balwearie, Sir -John of Lundie, Sir Adam Otterburn of Auldhame, do you -hear me?" -</p> - -<p> -Not one of the seven lay senators moved. -</p> - -<p> -"Truly, thou art either a madman or a hero!" said the -old president, gazing on the armed knight with admiration; -"but doom hath been pronounced, and the sorceress must -die!" -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Die!</i>" repeated Roland, with a fierce smile. "And -coldly thou sayest this? Oh, lord abbot! dastard judge! dost -forget that thou growest old, and a day cometh -when thou too shalt die, and be called to account for this -misused authority. Art thou a god to create, that thou -darest thus coolly to destroy; not like a gallant soldier in the -heat of battle—but coldly, calmly, and without anger? But -I see it all now; and though this moment be my last, I will -avenge Jane Seton on Redhall—the angel on the demon! -See how the pale coward is before the brave man! Art thou -blanched, Sir Adam, with fear, with fasting, or remorse? -Wretch and villain! who makest use of the laws to cloak -thine own infamous projects of lust, ambition, and revenge; -thus in face of thy deluded compeers, the just God gives thee -over to me—at last—at last I have thee!" -</p> - -<p> -And rushing upon the lord advocate with his long sword -drawn back for a deadly thrust, he had infallibly run him -through the body, had not two of the provost's guard resolutely -interposed their halberts, the heads of which he hewed -off by one blow. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, the fule!" said the host of the <i>Cross and Gillstoup</i>, -who was among the crowd. "My thirty crowns! I may -whistle on my thumb for them noo!" -</p> - -<p> -A cry of mingled fear and admiration arose from the people; -it drowned poor Jane's far wilder one of terror: and she made -frantic efforts to free herself from the arquebusiers, and to -succour or die with her brave lover, who, on being pinned against -the wall with more than twenty long pikes, was soon beaten -down, pinioned and disarmed. -</p> - -<p> -As he fell, Jane thought they had killed him, and uttered a -cry of despair; all her energies, so briefly recovered, -immediately forsook her; the light left her eyes; her heart forgot -to beat. She became perfectly insensible, and was re-conveyed -to the Castle of Edinburgh in a litter, under the care of -Father St. Bernard and John the physician. -</p> - -<p> -"It matters not, this poor victory!" said Roland, with a -bitter smile; "it matters not, Redhall. I will unmask thee -yet, thou subtle villain, and show our too-credulous king the -true aspect of the viper he has nourished so long." -</p> - -<p> -"Guards! away with him—to ward!" cried the advocate, -furiously, as he signed a hastily-written warrant: and in one hour -from that time Roland found himself committed to the care -of Sir James Riddel of Cranstoun-Riddel, on a charge of high -treason, and attempting to murder in open court Sir Adam -Otterburn of Redhall. -</p> - -<p> -The excitement in the city was great. -</p> - -<p> -The whole garrison of Sir James stood to their arms, and -buckled on their harness; the brass culverins of the Spur -were loaded; the gates were closed, and bridges drawn up; -while a crowd composed of thousands covered the south and -north sides of the Castle-hill up even unto the very ramparts -of the hornwork, nor dispersed until long after the lingering -sun of July had set behind the hills of Dunblane. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap38"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXXVIII. -<br /><br /> -THE EARL'S DARING. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - Dione, then: Thy wrongs with patience bear;<br /> - And share those griefs inferior powers must share;<br /> - Unnumbered woes mankind from us sustain,<br /> - And men with woes afflict the gods again."<br /> - <i>The Iliad</i>, Book V.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -A few chapters back we left the Earl of Ashkirk alone upon -the solitary beach near the cavern, on the morning of that -day which beheld his unhappy sister for the first time an -inmate of the Castle of Edinburgh. -</p> - -<p> -His more bitter feelings of hostility to James had been -soothed, for the monarch possessed the charm of the Stuart -race—that charm which won the hearts of all whom they -addressed; but, being still unforgiven, Lord Ashkirk felt -himself an outlaw, with the axe of the doomster hanging over -his head, while he had to suspect a spy or a foeman in every -man he met. -</p> - -<p> -With his eyes fixed on the island castle where his mother -and Sybil Douglas of Kilspindie were imprisoned,—with all his -thoughts centred there, and bent on visiting and freeing them -from the thraldom and captivity of a Hamilton, he walked -along the sandy shore, revolving a thousand rash but gallant -plans and projects. -</p> - -<p> -He was buried in deep thought, and gradually his head -sank upon his breast. -</p> - -<p> -A draught of water from a spring, a bannock and a piece of -cheese received at a cottage where he tarried, and, in the -hospitable fashion of the olden time, asked for it without shame -and obtained it with a welcome, sufficed him for food; and, -retracing his steps, he wandered westward up the margin of -the broad river, until he reached the little kirktown of -Wester-Kinghorn (which now bears another name), lying behind the -Burnt-island, nestling under the brow of hills that are upheld -by basaltic columns, whose summits have been scorched by -volcanic fire, and whose rifted sides have repelled the waves of -the antediluvian world. -</p> - -<p> -On the high and rocky island, which, though it has now -become a promontory, was then completely surrounded by the -sea at high water, stood a tower belonging to the Duries of -Durie. -</p> - -<p> -Crossing the sandy neck or isthmus while the tide was low, -the earl concealed himself among the copsewood which covered -the island on the eastward, from whence he had a view of -Inchkeith, distant about three miles, reddened by the setting -sun which covered with a golden tint the calm, broad waters -of the Firth.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Firth, from <i>Fiord</i>; not <i>Frith</i>, from <i>Fretum</i>, -as Dr. Johnson erroneously supposed. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The wood was in full foliage, and cast a pleasant shade -upon the rocks, which were spotted with grey lichens or -covered with verdant moss. Here passed the day; and evening -came, with silence and darkness, for even the stillness of -that lonely isle became more still. The wild bees and the -buzzing flies forsook the caps of the closing flowers for their -homes in the hollows of the old pine-tree; the notes of the -mavis and merle died away; the deer came no more to drink -of the stream that trickled from the rocks, and the foliage -of the isle became moist with the falling dew. -</p> - -<p> -As if in contrast to the storm of the previous evening, the -night came on clear, cloudless, starry, and beautiful. -</p> - -<p> -Avoiding that side of the isle which was overlooked by the -Duries' castle of Ross-end, the earl sought the beach, where a -few fisher-boats were moored to rings in the rocks of a lonely -creek. -</p> - -<p> -The place was deserted, and not an eye beheld him. His -resolutions and execution were brief: selecting the smallest, -he sprang on board, cast off the painter, and seizing a pair of -oars, each one of which would have required an ordinary man -to handle it, he pulled away from the shore with a strength -and activity that the sturdiest of our fisher-wights might -have viewed with satisfaction and envy. Though as accomplished -a knight as ever rode to battle, the earl was somewhat -of a seaman, for his father's castle in Forfarshire looked -down on Lunan Bay. -</p> - -<p> -He was master of the little bark both by sail and oar; and -knowing somewhat of the dangerous navigation of that stately -river, avoiding those perilous rocks known as the Gunnel, on -gaining the mid-stream he set the brown lug-sail, which the -unsuspecting proprietor had prepared for the little fishing -voyage of the morrow, and, favoured by the ebb-tide, the -current, and a soft west wind, bore with the speed of a -seagull straight down towards Inchkeith. -</p> - -<p> -If the wind freshened, he had a thousand chances to one of -being swept helplessly out into the German Ocean; but the -bold earl never thought of that. -</p> - -<p> -Alone in the middle of the broad and rapid Firth, its aspect -seemed to him magnificent, as the deep red light that lingered -behind the western Ochills tinged all its waves with a purple -hue; but their foam became a shower of silver, and white as -winter frost, when it broke against the shining cliffs, whereon -rose the castle at the west end of the island. -</p> - -<p> -As the earl had resolved on freeing his mother and Sybil -from their captivity, his natural boldness prevented him from -seeing any difficulty in achieving this project, though he was -alone in the enterprise, armed only with his poniard and an -old sword which he had picked up in the brawl of the -preceding night, and though the castle was commanded by Sir -James Hamilton of Barncleugh, with a small but chosen -party of soldiers. -</p> - -<p> -"If a Seton could fear, I should certainly be afraid now," -said the earl, on seeing how the waves burst in foam on all -sides of the Inch—one moment sinking low, to show the -reefs, which rose like jagged teeth above them, and the next -dashing in torrents against the black volcanic bluffs. "Tut! by -the pope! what a mouthful of salt-water!" he added, as -the spray was blown in his face, when he dashed his boat -through the breakers, and then, running along the lee of the -shore, struck his sail and slowly crept near the little creek, -which there forms the only landing-place; for on the east -rushes the whole current of the Firth, and on the west breaks -the thundering force of the German Sea. -</p> - -<p> -The night had now come on, and solemn stillness reigned -upon the isle. -</p> - -<p> -The gates of the square tower which crowned its highest -summit were closed; but here and there a red ray glimmered -from the deep windows of its dusky mass. -</p> - -<p> -"One of these lights," thought the earl, as he gazed -upward, "may shine on my dear Sybil's dark glossy hair and -snow-white brow." -</p> - -<p> -The tide was low, and he ran the boat into a little cavern -which lay near the creek; it was, in reality, but the top of a -deep chasm in the rocks, having a clear sandy bottom, where -he could distinctly perceive the layers of dark pebbles, of bright -shells, and waving sea-weed, far down below, when the clear -moon rose above the Lammermuir, to shed its radiance on -the heaving water. -</p> - -<p> -Resolving to wait till midnight, when all the inhabitants -of the town most probably would be asleep, and when, with -more security, he could make a reconnaissance of the isle and -the barbican wall, the earl guided his boat into the narrow -little fissure, which is one of many that perforate the island. -While endeavouring to prevent its jarring on the flinty rocks, -he was greatly alarmed by perceiving a human figure spring -off a shelf of the volcanic wall, and plunge heavily into the -deep dark water of the chasm, which penetrated, he knew not -how far, into the heart of the island, but which, as it receded, -became more appalling by its utter obscurity and subterranean -character. -</p> - -<p> -Incident to the age, rather than the man, the earl's supernatural -fears of kelpies, gnomes, and water-spirits, now became -altogether secondary to the dread of having been discovered -by some human denizen of the place. He felt for his poniard, -and paused. Behind him yawned the pointed arch of the -cavern, with the distant sea-beach shining in the moonlight; -before him lay rocks and water buried in darkness. He -lingered, oar in hand, scarcely daring to breathe, but heard -only the ripple of the rising tide as it chafed on the walls of -the chasm. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly, another sound smote his ear, that as of a diver -rising to the surface; then came a hard breathing on the -water, and the regulated plashing as of some one swimming -away into that very obscurity which the earl's eyes ached -with regarding, but failed to penetrate. His hair bristled, -and his heart quailed with momentary terror of a spirit, or -evil thing; but from that very terror he gathered a courage, -and, by his oar and hands, feeling the rocks on each side, shot -further in his sharp-prowed boat, intent on overtaking the -swimmer, and discovering whether it was a man or devil; but -he had not gone twenty yards when the chasm terminated in -a sheer wall of rock; and again he paused to listen. The dash -of the water had ceased. -</p> - -<p> -He thought he heard other sounds, like those of footsteps -clambering up the rock; but feared he was mistaken, for all -became immediately still, and he heard only the murmur of -the water as it boiled among the reefs without. -</p> - -<p> -"Tush!" thought he, reddening with shame at his own -alarm; "it has only been some poor seal or sea-dog basking -on the rocks in the summer moonlight. By midnight the -moon will be in the west—till then let me sleep, for these -last two nights I have never closed an eye;" and looping a -rope round a pinnacle of rock, he securely moored the boat, -and reclined within it to sleep. -</p> - -<p> -Such was the effect of the weariness oppressing him, that -in three minutes he was buried in profound slumber, rocked -by the motion of the boat, which gently rose and fell on the -undulations of the water; for though around the isle the swell -was heavy, the waves being broken by the jutting of the -rocks at the cavern mouth, they rolled gently and smoothly -into its dark recesses. -</p> - -<p> -Now while the earl all unconsciously was sleeping, this -little cavern of the sea was filling fast; for as the rising tide on -the German Ocean met the downward current of the Forth, -the water rose rapidly against the impending walls. -</p> - -<p> -Ashkirk knew not how long he slept, when he was suddenly -awakened by an unusual sound, and, on attempting to rise, -struck his head with violence against the stone roof of the -cave, close up to which his boat had floated on the rising tide. -</p> - -<p> -His situation was fraught with danger and horror. -</p> - -<p> -Moored fast to a point of rock now far beyond his reach, -the boat was wedged between the top of the cavern and the -surface of the swollen water, leaving him thus imprisoned, -coffined, as it were, in utter darkness, and with the deadly -fear that the whole of this now submarine grot would be -covered by the gurgling tide, in which case he would -assuredly be drowned, "and die the death (as he thought) of a -rat in a drain." -</p> - -<p> -The partial gleam of moonlight which had illuminated the -mouth of this frightful trap had now passed away, and the -darkness within and around it seemed palpable and opaque. -He could no longer discern where the entrance lay, and his -heart sank in the fear that the water had risen over it. He -now heard the wavelets rippling, with a thousand hollow -echoes, in the fissures and recesses, and gurgling with a -sucking sound as they filled each in succession, and rose towards -the gunwale of his boat, which had become perfectly -immovable. -</p> - -<p> -And the tide was still rising! -</p> - -<p> -He found that he could not survive ten minutes longer. -Already the air was stifling, and the necessity of making one -desperate struggle for life became immediately apparent. -Lying almost on his back, he groped breathlessly around him, -and discovered a vacant shelf of rock upon his right. Clambering -within it, he found with joy that it led to an inner and -upper cavern. He had scarcely left the boat when, with a -hoarse gurgle, the tide rushed in and filled it. -</p> - -<p> -As he ascended, a faint red light now flickered on the dark, -stony walls of this slimy retreat; then, indeed, the heart of -the gallant earl began to tremble, as his dread of supernatural -beings returned. He remembered the strange figure which -had disappeared so suddenly into the lower cavern when he -first entered it. Again the terror of the water-kelpie came -vividly upon him; for, in that time, all Scotsmen feared that -evil denizen of their native seas and lakes. -</p> - -<p> -Though dark, damp, and slimy, it was evident to the earl -that the water did not usually rise so far as this upper retreat; -and as the light reddened and increased around him, it -revealed the solid masses of whinstone rock which composed -the enormous walls of this subterranean vault. Here and -there were columns of basalt, or perpendicular lava, with -masses of sparkling spar, pitchstone, and porphyry. Still -this strange and crimson light brightened and wavered, dying -and growing again, till, overcome by dread of dwarfs and -fairies, or spirits still more fell, several seconds elapsed before -the earl removed his hand from his eyes, and looked steadily -around him. -</p> - -<p> -At the upper end of the grotto, which measured somewhere -about twenty feet square, there burned a fire of wood, green -bushes, and crackling sea-grass; and thereat was seated—neither -a witch brewing hell-kail, nor a wizard working spells; -neither a stunted dwarf forging fairy trinkets, nor some fair -water-spirit rising in her naked beauty from a silver shell, -but simply a man roasting one of those wild rabbits with -which the island has in all ages abounded, and who, with his -breath, was blowing aside the smoke, which curled to the -upper air through a chasm in the roof. -</p> - -<p> -Lord Ashkirk paused irresolutely; for, in advancing, he -might fall upon an enemy, and in retiring, he would inevitably -fall into the water, which murmured angrily in the cavern -below. The whole aspect of this subterranean cook was wild -and strange; and though he stooped immediately over the -red embers that gleamed on a shelf of basalt, the intruder -failed to discover his features. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly, something familiar in the attitude flashed upon -his memory. -</p> - -<p> -"Sabrino!" he exclaimed, and approached him. -</p> - -<p> -Sabrino—for this mysterious personage was no other—turned -round, and bounded backward with a terror which -was ludicrously expressed by the blue aspect of his usually -sable visage, his dilated yellow eyes and expansive mouth, in -the recesses of which he rolled about the voiceless fragment -of his mutilated tongue. -</p> - -<p> -"O—ah!" he stuttered, capering with terror, "O—ah—ees a-mee!" -</p> - -<p> -"Now, by St. Mary! I thought thee the devil himself -roasting some poor man's child. Why art thou not -attending my mother in that rascally old tower above us? How -camest thou to be hiding thus, and in a condition so -dilapidated? But, first of all, how is my Lady Sybil—tush! I -waste my time in questioning thee, poor pagan, who art -incapable of Christian speech." -</p> - -<p> -As Sabrino's whole vocabulary consisted of a few guttural -sounds, a vast number of contortions of visage and shark-like -grins, which were seldom very intelligible to any one save the -countess or Lady Jane, who had acquired a knowledge of his -meaning by habit, an answer to the earl's three questions was -not to be expected. After his first terror and the extravagance -of his after-joy had subsided, his story, if he could -have told it, might have been related in a few words. -</p> - -<p> -The blow inflicted by the oar had neither killed nor stunned -him; for, luckily, that portion of his frame whereon it fell, -namely, his head, was stronger, by nature, than a casque of -steel; thus, he merely sank to come up again a few yards -distant; but he dared neither to swim after the boat, nor -return to the tower where his mistress was imprisoned, and -from which he had been so unceremoniously repulsed. Full -of hatred and fear of the white men among whom his evil -fortune had cast him, the unhappy black page had found this -shelter when pursuing a rabbit by moonlight among the rocks. -Externally, a thick clump of whin-bushes concealed the -fissure that gave admittance to this upper grotto, where, for -fourteen days, Sabrino had lurked, coming forth only at night -to pick up fuel and shell-fish, crabs, mussels, whelks, and other -<i>debris</i> of the ocean on the beach, and to catch the wild -rabbits as they slept among the long reedy grass in the -moonlight. -</p> - -<p> -During the day he remained close in his retreat; for he -knew well that Sir James Hamilton's men in the tower -would have thought as little of shooting him, by bow or -arquebuse, as of winging a Solan goose. -</p> - -<p> -In these fourteen days, much of the original savageism of -the African's aspect and disposition had returned. He looked -wild, haggard, and strange, as his glassy eyeballs, and the -gold earrings with which the countess had adorned his large -ears, glittered in the light of the embers. On his thick -woolly head was a cap or crown, which he had woven of -seaweed, and ornamented with the crabs' claws and the cockleshells -of his late repasts; his once gay doublet of white satin -slashed with scarlet silk and laced with gold, his tight white -hose and trunk breeches, together with the metallic collar of -thrall, which had the Countess Margaret's arms and cipher -engraved thereon, were all wofully changed in aspect, the -former being torn to rags, and the latter encrusted with salt -by the saline atmosphere of the Firth. -</p> - -<p> -All this and much more the poor mute endeavoured to explain -by signs, which were totally unintelligible to the Earl -of Ashkirk; who, however, understood one point of the -narrative, the necessity of remaining closely concealed. -</p> - -<p> -As Sabrino, to avoid discovery, had to cook all his viands -in the night, another rabbit was put to the spit before his fire, -on which he threw some of the driftwood and dried seaweed -procured from the creek; and there can be little doubt that -the glow of this subterranean fire, appearing at times through -the fissure in the rocks that bounded the western side of the -little valley, formed the gleams of fairy light, which were the -source of such alarm to the countess. -</p> - -<p> -Her outlawed son made a hearty meal, which passed for -both supper and breakfast, as by the time it was concluded -Sabrino had carefully extinguished his fire, for morning had -dawned, and the beams of the rising sun shone far into the -lower cavern, glittering on its wet walls, and casting their -reflection on its slimy recesses. The tide, which in full flow -completely filled it, had now ebbed; but there were many -fathoms of water, dark and deep, in the chasm where the -earl's boat lay floating, swamped and brimful to the gunwale; -and the task of baling it with his bonnet, for lack of another -vessel, was a long and protracted one. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, my friend Sabrino," said he, "dost thou know what -has brought me to this rascally island?" -</p> - -<p> -A knowing leer glittered in the shining eyes of Sabrino; -and pointing to the tower, he kissed his hand, laid it on his -heart, and then pointed to the water. -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art right: to take my black-eyed Sybil from that -villanous prison-house. By my faith, thou wouldst make a -glorious lover! what a bright leer thou gavest! I would give -a hundred golden unicorns to find a sable Venus for thee, my -poor Sabrino; and who knoweth, but through the kind offices -of the prior of Torphichen and other knights of Rhodes, I -may do so. Now, dost thou know in what part of yonder -tower Lady Sybil Douglas and the good lady my mother -dwell?" asked the earl, pointing to the castle of the Inch, -from the whin-bushes which screened the entrance to their -hiding-place, and faced the little valley overlooked by the -island fortress, and the winding path which ascended to it. -"Not those chambers which overhang the ocean, I hope?" -he added, anxiously. -</p> - -<p> -Sabrino nodded his head sorrowfully. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! twenty furies! dost thou say so? How shall I ever -reach them, unless I become a hoodie-crow or a Solan goose? -Do they ever walk in the valley?" -</p> - -<p> -Sabrino nodded again. -</p> - -<p> -"Close to these rocks—eh?" -</p> - -<p> -Sabrino shook his woolly head. -</p> - -<p> -"Are they guarded? The devil! thou noddest thy head -again. Indeed, this wary old trooper, Barncleugh, keeps a sure -watch over them. By Satan's horns! I may mar his wardship -yet. Do he or they know that thou art here?" -</p> - -<p> -Another shake of the head replied in the negative. -</p> - -<p> -"Sabrino, my dark-complexioned friend, listen and look; -open thy huge eyes, prick up thy capacious ears, and attend -to me. To-night I will scale that castle wall, and thou shalt -assist me." -</p> - -<p> -"Ees." -</p> - -<p> -"I have observed that the windows on that side are not -barred, because they overlook the water. Thou wilt clamber, -and not be afraid?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ees—ees," replied the negro, capering about. -</p> - -<p> -"But we may be shot by the arquebuses of the watchmen." -</p> - -<p> -"O—ah!" howled Sabrino, scratching his woolly head. -</p> - -<p> -"But do not let that affright thee, my Ethiopian; for it hath -been the hap of better men before us. An unlucky cannon slew -King James II. at Roxburgh, at the very moment he was passing -a jest with my gallant grandsire. What matters it whether we -are shot now, or die quietly twenty years after this, for in -the twenty-first year time would be all the same with us, at -least so far as I am concerned personally; but I have it -imperatively upon my mind to send certain Hamiltons to -the other world before me, ere I can give up the ghost in peace." -</p> - -<p> -The eyes of the negro gleamed, and he laid his hand on his dagger. -</p> - -<p> -"How readily thou snuffest blood, my sable devil. I doubt -not thou gottest it with thy mother's milk; for, among the -knights of Torphichen, I have heard it said, that in the -far-away land from whence thou camest, a child receives its first -food on a spear, even as our fierce clansmen in the north give -the young Celt his first food on the point of his father's -claymore. Well, then, listen. Thou seest the wall of yonder -barbican, all grey, weatherbeaten, and tufted with grass; well, -where that wall joins the tower, I will ascend, and so reach -the windows of their apartment. Thou starest. Ah, my -friend, thou knowest not my capabilities in the climbing way. -I have done as much before for the mere love of life, and -shall I not do thrice as much again for the love of Sybil -Douglas, who is dearer to me than a thousand lives?" -</p> - -<p> -The negro clapped his hands, lolled out the fragment of his -tongue, and danced about to the jangle of his long earrings, -which clanked on his metallic collar. -</p> - -<p> -Being naturally at all times of a sociable and convivial turn, -the young earl, to while away the time, talked constantly to -the poor mute, gravely and with drollery by turns, amusing -himself with his childish wonder and savage simplicity, for -they served to pass the otherwise dreary day; and gladly -Ashkirk beheld the sun sink, and the hour for more active -employment draw near. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap39"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXXIX. -<br /><br /> -THE EARL'S SUCCESS. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "You will quickly find<br /> - I'll reach its gates, although, volcano-like,<br /> - With thickest clouds it strikes the bright sun blind,<br /> - And lightnings flash, and bolts around me strike."<br /> - CALDERON.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -During the whole of that day, from his secret hiding-place, -the earl watched the little green valley that lies in the bosom -of the island, and the narrow winding path that ascended -from it to the round gateway in the barbican wall of the -tower. The latter was an exact square of considerable height, -surrounded at the summit by a heavy battlement, having -little tourelles at the angles, a row of those brass cannon then -known in Scotland as <i>chalmers</i>, and a staff, from which was -displayed the blue national standard, with the white cross -of St. Andrew. But the anxious earl watched fruitlessly; -for on this day, neither at the windows, on the ramparts, on -the pathway, nor in the valley, did the countess or Sybil -appear. -</p> - -<p> -About mid-day, Sir James Hamilton of Barncleugh, the -governor of the little stronghold, came forth, and at the gate -sat down to his daily employment of playing chess with his -seneschal, and drinking Rochelle, while a few of his soldiers -solaced themselves by a game with quoits in the valley -below, where, as Sabrino endeavoured to acquaint the earl, -the same men had played at the same game, at the same time, -every day since he had been on the island; for so passed the -time in this little isolated and monotonous place; and nothing -ever disturbed the perfect equanimity of its governor (who -was content to vegetate like a fungus or a mussel on the -rocks), save when the Leith provision-boats brought some -waggish rumour that his lady, who was a dame of the -tabourette at Holyrood, intended to join him—the very idea of -which made the bluff old knight tremble in his wide trunk -base. -</p> - -<p> -So close were the quoit players to the place of the earl's -concealment, that more than once he shrunk back with alarm, -expecting instant discovery, when any of them overshot the -mark, and hurled his iron discus to the very verge of the dark -whins which shrouded the mouth of the cavern. This group -of men continued to play with ardour until sunset; for of -this game (which was famous of old among the ancients) -the Scots in all ages, as in the present day, have been -passionately fond. -</p> - -<p> -While the earl, lover-like, was wasting his time in gazing -at the tower which contained Sybil, the black page sat near -him, cross-legged, engaged in knotting a ladder from a coil of -rope he had found in the boat, and formed it very ingeniously -by loops equidistant on each side of the shaft of a stout -boat-hook, solacing himself the while by a deep guttural croaking, -which he meant for a song, and grinning from ear to ear with -delight as his work progressed. -</p> - -<p> -As the sun set behind the Ochills, a culverin was fired from -the high carved poop of the Admiral Sir Robert Barton's -ship, and St. Andrew's cross was hauled down from the -bartizan; the governor and his little garrison retired to supper, -the gates of the tower were closed, and then a perfect stillness -reigned throughout the island, which exhibited no sign of life, -save when a seagull flew screaming round the tower above, or -a wild rabbit shot like an evil spirit across the darkening valley -below. -</p> - -<p> -The night came on calm, still, and solemn, and the stars -were reflected on the broad blue bosom of the Forth. The -moon seemed to linger long behind the distant Lammermuirs; -but the myriad of stars that dotted the canopy above shed a -clear white light on the magnificent river, the bordering hills, -and all its rocky isles. Here and there a red spark, twinkling -afar off, marked where a town or hamlet lay, for thickly -were they scattered along its fertile shores. -</p> - -<p> -The blue waves were rolling in silver light against the -black rocks and volcanic columns of the isle, as the earl -guided his boat from its place of concealment, and moored it -by the beach; for on this night he had resolved to attempt -one of those rash and bold essays of which his life was one -continued and exciting succession. With anxious and longing -eyes he gazed at the square and lofty tower which stood -in dark outline between him and the west, where, above the -distant chain of the Ochill mountains, a red light lingered -like the last flame of a dying conflagration. -</p> - -<p> -It marked where the sun had set. -</p> - -<p> -"Now," said the earl, as he sprang ashore, "thank heaven, -Sabrino, I have bidden adieu to thy dark and dirty foxhole!" -</p> - -<p> -Armed with his sword and poniard, and carrying with him -a stout rope and the boat-hook, which, like the boat itself -(acting under the law of necessity), he had appropriated to -himself, the adventurous earl, accompanied by his sable -follower, stole up the dark valley, across which fell the sombre -shadow of the tower (for though rising, the moon was not yet -visible), and crept softly close to the rampart of the barbican. -</p> - -<p> -From thence they piloted their way along the base of the -wall, until they reached an angle that overhung the water, -which, at the frightful depth of a hundred and sixty feet -below, was chafing in foam against the foot of the cliffs, -beetling on the very verge of which the tower was founded. -According to Sabrino, the windows of the apartments occupied -by Sybil Douglas and the countess overlooked this -comfortable abyss. -</p> - -<p> -To pass the corner of the wall which overhung the precipice -was the most dangerous part of the adventure; and, observing -that his leader paused with perspiration on his brow and -perplexity in his heart, the negro pulled the skirt of his -doublet, and made a motion indicative of advancing himself. -</p> - -<p> -"My trusty imp!" said the earl, "where a Seton lingers, -it will never do for thee to take the lead; and yet, without -the wings of a crow or the claws of a cat, I know not how -the devil I shall pass this hairbreadth precipice!" -</p> - -<p> -While Ashkirk was speaking, Sabrino, who on many a night -before this had scrambled like a squirrel over every part of -the island, shot past, and, with his arms embracing the corner -of the wall, achieved the feat, and with a guttural laugh held -out his hands to assist the earl round. -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art certainly a son of our old friend with the horns; -but, by my faith, fall or not, I follow thee!" and grasping -the hand of the agile African, with one stride the earl was -beside him. -</p> - -<p> -Then he found himself upon a shelf of rock scarcely eighteen -inches broad, with the waves of the Firth hissing in foam -far down below—so far, that their angry boom was but faintly -heard, while the scared seagulls and gigantic Solan geese, -flapping their wings like thunder, flew out of their eyries, -plunging and screaming in the abyss beneath. -</p> - -<p> -About three miles off, the lights of Leith were faintly -glimmering through that haze which often shrouds its shores. -</p> - -<p> -Though eminent for courage in a gallant age, the earl felt -his heart grow sick for a moment at his perilous position. -At his back was the wall of the keep, some seventy feet in -height; and twenty feet from where he stood was a large -window secured by two bars of iron in the shape of a cross; -and there Sabrino indicated, by a multitude of signs, -contortions, and guttural sounds, the countess resided. -</p> - -<p> -"I have thrown a lance six ells long, at a smaller mark -than that window," said the earl; "and I must be blinder -than a bat to miss it; but as thou knowest, Sabrino, the -business just now is not to hit the window, but to click the -boat-hook to the bars. Ah, plague! if we should only break -the glass, and the window be, after all, that of Sir James -Hamilton, or some of his fellows! my blood runs cold at the -thought; they could pop at us so leisurely with their -hand-culverins; and I assure thee, I have no wish to be shot like -a poor pigeon here." -</p> - -<p> -As the earl spoke, he secured one end of the rope to the -ladder which had been formed of loops on the shaft of the -boat-hook, and tied the other round his waist; he then, with -all the force that his dangerous footing permitted him to -exert, shot up the hook towards the window; but missing it, -was nearly thrown over the cliff by the jerk of its descent. -</p> - -<p> -"Courage!" said he, grasping it again; "I am only twenty -feet from thee, my dear Sybil." -</p> - -<p> -Again he threw, and with joy beheld the steel hook attach -itself to the iron cross-bar of the window. Then he waited -breathlessly to hear if the noise caused any alarm; for there -was as much chance of a moustached soldier appearing at -the window as of Sybil Douglas presenting her fair face and -startled eyes. All remained still but the screaming of the -sea-birds around them, the dash of the breakers below, -and the dull hum of the rising wind as it swept along the -Firth. Then fearlessly the brave earl began his ascent. On -the strength of the rope, the hook, or the shaft, he never -bestowed a thought; but solely intent on seeing his mother -and Sybil, clambered eagerly but carefully up the rough wall, -which was grey and weatherbeaten by the saline atmosphere -and ocean storms of many a century, and against which the -ladder swung frightfully to and fro, until he reached the -window, grasped its massive cross-bar, and gained a -comparatively secure seat on its deep, broad sill. -</p> - -<p> -He peered in, and listened, as well as the thick panes of -coarse and encrusted glass, which filled the window, would -permit, and between the yellow damask curtains saw a -plainly-furnished sleeping apartment, in which Sybil and his mother -were kneeling at prayer, before retiring. Their rosaries were -at their wrists, and they knelt before one of those little altars -which then formed a part of every Scottish household; as -they do in Catholic countries still. It was somewhat like a -cabinet, and had a figure of the Madonna, bearing in her arms -the little infant Jesus. Upon her head was a wreath of -freshly-gathered flowers, and before her burned two little -wax-tapers, which had been consecrated at the last candle-mass by -the abbot of Inchcolm. -</p> - -<p> -The earl waited until their orisons were over; and while -they prayed his heart swelled within him at their unaffected -piety; for his memory went back to other days, when, in -their secluded home at Ashkirk, in Angus, he had knelt by -his mother's side, and first learned to lisp the very prayers -she was now repeating. An emotion of shame came over -him, on reflecting that in the wandering life he had led, -and especially during his exile at the court of the libertine -Henry VIII. of England, he had neglected every office of -religion. He observed that his mother had become paler and -thinner, and that her hair seemed to be silvered with white; -but that might have been the effect of fancy, or of the dim -light of the apartment. -</p> - -<p> -Sybil had lost somewhat of her rich bloom; but her dark -eyes were bright as ever. Her black hair flowed from under -her triangular cap, and hung like a silky veil over her shoulders, -the curve of which, as she knelt with her head bent forward, -was eminently beautiful. The edge of each large ringlet, the -pearls of her cap, and the top of her smooth forehead, were -all tipped with pale light by the tapers. She wore a long -dress of purple satin, with an open neck; and in the light -and shadow its folds seemed to glitter with many prismatic -hues. It is impossible to say whether it was the brilliant -and piquant expression, the noble features, and pure -complexion of Sybil's face that made her adorable, but, taken -together, these attributes of the old Douglas race made her -singularly so. -</p> - -<p> -The moment their orisons were over, the old countess arose -to the full extent of her great stature; and though aged, -being unbent, her figure was remarkably elegant, its height -being increased by her shoes—the "cork-heeled shoon" of -our old national ballad—and after solemnly crossing herself -three several times, she extinguished the tapers on the altar, -and kissed Sybil with all the affection of a mother. -</p> - -<p> -The sole light in the chamber now came from two -wax-candles, which were held in the outstretched arms of a -grotesque figure of Florentine workmanship, placed on the -dressing-table at the farther end, and immediately opposite -the window where the earl had perched himself. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap40"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XL. -<br /><br /> -SYBIL. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Come, my Antonia, come,<br /> - I'll lead thee to the blissful land of love,—<br /> - I'll lead thee to the pinnacle of joys,<br /> - Where round thy path the fairest flowers of earth<br /> - Shall bloom in radiant beauty to reward<br /> - Thy noble deed—come, dearest."—THEODORE KÖRNER.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -A guttural laugh announced to the earl that Sabrino had -also ascended the ladder, and was rejoicing at the sight of his -mistress. -</p> - -<p> -"Hold fast! by my faith, thou hast the hands and feet of -a marmoset. Hush! I would hear them talk a little," said -the noble, adjusting himself upon his giddy perch. "By -Jove! we are like a couple of crows up here—thou like the -black, and I like a white one." -</p> - -<p> -"Ees," grinned Sabrino, whose whole vocabulary was nearly -comprised in that sound. -</p> - -<p> -The moment their orisons were over, Sybil went to the -opposite window, and, withdrawing the curtains, gazed -steadfastly towards the eastern end of the little valley. -</p> - -<p> -"Dost thou see it again, bairn—that ill-omened light?" -asked the countess, approaching. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; oh, yes!" replied Sybil, with a voice of surprise -and fear; "brighter to-night than ever before." -</p> - -<p> -"Then it must be either a corpse-licht, that burneth on -the grass, to mark where a slain man sleeps, or a fairy-candle, -at the rock where the whin-bushes grow. Corpse-lichts burn -blue, and fairy-candles are siller white." -</p> - -<p> -"But this burns redly, and it brightens fast!" -</p> - -<p> -"By the Lord!" said the earl, with alarm, "in our hurry -to-night thou hast forgotten to extinguish our fire, master -Sabrino; and we have widened the aperture at the chasm. -Mass! if the knaves of watchmen see it, we shall be discovered -and taken!" -</p> - -<p> -Sabrino turned skyblue in the dark at this terrible -suggestion. -</p> - -<p> -"There is a knowe among the hazelwoods near our castle -of Ashkirk, where the gude neibours dwell; and ever and aye -on St. John's night, a light of siller white shines among the -grass that grows beneath the thick dark trees. Now it -chanced that, on the eve of that blessed festival, in 1510 -(oh, waly! only three years before dreich Flodden-field, and -good King James's death), Hughie o' the Haugh, a poor -cottar-body, who dwelt at the glenfoot, was coming home -from the next burrow-toun with a bag of barley on his -horse's back, and trudging, staff in hand, behind, lamenting -sorely at the tidings he had that day heard at the market-cross; -for brother Macgridius, of the blessed Order of Redemption, -had seen his son, a puir sailor lad, taken prisoner -by the cruel pagans at Barbary, who demanded a hundred -pieces of gold for his ransom. Hughie could as easily have -raised the Bass Rock as a hundred pieces of gold; and he -went homewards, with his bonnet owre his eyen, groaning in -great anguish of mind. Oblivious of all but the loss of his -only son, poor old Hughie followed his horse, which knew -right well the drove-road that led to his thatched stable, at -the back of the auld farm toun; when suddenly, at the fairy -knowe, the animal pricked up its ears, trembled, and stopped, -as a wee diminutive mannie, not two feet high, and wearing -an enormous broad blue bonnet, and a long beard that reached -to his middle, rose off the stone dyke, and bade Hughie hail. -</p> - -<p> -"'Gude e'en, Carle Hughie,' said he; 'how went the -markets?' he added, with an eldritch laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"'Sorrowfully for me,' replied the other, wiping his eyes -with the neuk of his plaid. -</p> - -<p> -"'Wherefore, Hughie, wherefore, ye silly auld carle?' -quoth the little man. -</p> - -<p> -"'Because I come back with a light purse and a sorrowfu' -and heavy heart,' replied the poor cottar, peering under his -bonnet, and terrified at the wee figure; for he knew it was one -of those unco creatures whom it was dangerous to seek, and -still more dangerous to avoid or to offend. -</p> - -<p> -"'I am sorely in want of barley, carle,' said the mannikin, -stroking his long white beard; 'ye must sell me that load, -and at mine ain price, too.' -</p> - -<p> -"'I lack siller, gude sir, as sorely as ye can lack the -barley,' urged the poor crofter, who feared that the payment -might be fairy-pennies or pebble-stones. -</p> - -<p> -"'I never was hard on a puir man yet,' replied the little -mannie, testily; 'and I have dealt wi' your race, Hughie, -for many a generation. When grain is plenty I buy it; for -I tell ye, carle, that a time of sad and sair scarcity for puir -Scotland is fast coming. So, here! I ken what ye are -graning for, ye greedy body,' quoth the creature, plunging -each of his hands into the enormous pockets of his doublet, -'here are a hundred pieces of good red gold; ransom your -son, and give me a help wi' the barley pock; my back hath -borne a load like that, and mair.' -</p> - -<p> -"With fear and joy mingled, Hughie received the gold, -and transferred the bag of barley from the back of his horse -to that of the little man, of whom it left no part visible, save -his bandy legs, his walking staff, and the end of his long -white beard. -</p> - -<p> -"'Gude e'en to you, Carle Hughie; a safe voyage hame -to you, son,' said the awesome buyer, and manfully striking -his staff into the ground, he trudged up the steep knowe, and -disappeared below the dark trees. -</p> - -<p> -"Hughie hastened back to brother Macgridius, and, with -joy, paid him the hundred pieces of gold for his son's -redemption from slavery; and not without many a fear that before -his eyes the coins would turn into birch leaves or cockleshells; -but that was impossible, for they were ilka ane our gude -Scottish gold, but six hundred years old, for they bore the -name of king Constantine IV., who was slain at the battle of -Cramond." -</p> - -<p> -"And Hughie's son was released?" said Sybil. -</p> - -<p> -"Yea, child, and is now master gunner of Sir Robert -Barton's ship at Leith." -</p> - -<p> -With his legs dangling over the surf, and being in imminent -danger of drowning, it may easily be supposed that the -earl listened to this fairy legend with the utmost impatience; -but while his mother spoke, and Sybil listened with the -utmost good faith and reliance (for in those days, as at this -hour, in some parts of Scotland, one might as well have -doubted their own existence as that of fairies and other spirits -of good or evil), the earl had gently raised the heavy and -massive sash of the window, slid into the room, and concealed -himself behind the thick damask curtains, his heart beating -the while with the mingled desire of rushing forward to -embrace his mother and Sybil, and a fear that their alarm might -be communicated to the inhabitants of the tower, many of -whom had not yet retired to rest. -</p> - -<p> -"Look, look, Sybil!" exclaimed the countess, "the whins -are on fire. Surely that is no fairy light!" -</p> - -<p> -As she spoke, a watchman on the tower-head sounded his -horn. -</p> - -<p> -"Hark! the castle is alarmed!" said Sybil. -</p> - -<p> -The earl saw that not a moment was to be lost now. Their -fire in the cavern had by some means communicated itself to -the whin-bushes at the entrance; an alarm had thus been -given, and immediate action became necessary. -</p> - -<p> -"Sybil," said he, "Sybil——" -</p> - -<p> -"Just Heaven! my son's voice!" exclaimed the countess, -becoming deadly pale, and feeling in her bosom for her case -of reliques. "It is a spirit—a warning! It is a spirit!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ten devils, lady mother! do not cry out!" implored the -earl, gradually emerging from his hiding-place; "I am not -yet a spirit, thank Heaven, and have no wish to be one." -</p> - -<p> -"Then, oh, Archibald, how came you here?" she exclaimed, -throwing her arms around him. -</p> - -<p> -"By the window," he replied, embracing Sybil in return; -"by the window, as you may see." -</p> - -<p> -"And Sabrino, my poor Sabrino!" -</p> - -<p> -The black sank upon his knees to kiss her hands, and then -danced about the room, performing the most extravagant -capers to the sound of his long clanking earrings. -</p> - -<p> -"By my soul, mother, the times are sorely changed with -the Setons, when my father's son comes to visit thee and his -betrothed wife like a rascally stoutriever by the window -instead of the door—in the night instead of the day. -</p> - -<p> -"The window!" they repeated, and became speechless for -a moment, as they thought of the precipice, and the water at -its foot. -</p> - -<p> -"Faith, very few, I believe, would have dared what -Sabrino and I have dared and done—but it was for thee, -mother, and thee, my life, my love, my dear Sybil!" said -Ashkirk, kissing her olive cheek. -</p> - -<p> -"My brave Archibald, did the power of sorcery or of -Providence bring thee to this prison island?" -</p> - -<p> -"Neither, lady mother, but a smart boat, which, in another -hour, shall convey you hence, with a fair breeze and a flowing -sail." -</p> - -<p> -"But how?" -</p> - -<p> -"I know not yet, for we have to leave this tower, and -baffle the old bear, its governor, the Laird of Barncleugh." -</p> - -<p> -"My son, here have we dwelt for more than two weary -weeks, and never a letter nor message hath come from thee -or Roland Vipont." -</p> - -<p> -"Vipont is on the king's service in Douglasdale, and for -fourteen days I have been a prisoner in the house of Redhall; -for the other two I have been vagabondizing." -</p> - -<p> -"And Jane," said Sybil, "your sister Jane?" -</p> - -<p> -"Is safe, I trust; but whether with Marion Logan, at -Restalrig, or with my old friend Josina, the fair prioress of -St. Catherine, I cannot for the life of me say. Now, pretty -rogue, at what art thou laughing?" -</p> - -<p> -"At thy figure, lord earl; 'tis like the satyrs on some old -tapestry; thou art quite a wild man." -</p> - -<p> -"True, cousin; I am scarcely fitted for appearance at -Falkland or Holyrood, or in the Hall of the Three Estates, -unless it were, as it may too soon be, at the bar. But ah, -Sybil, my dear Sybil, what pleasure the sound of your voice -gives me! 'tis like the dream of—— Hark! what an uproar! the -burning whins have alarmed old Barncleugh and all his -fellows. Come now, Sabrino, my man of the earrings, a truce -to these mad capers—dost thou hear me?" -</p> - -<p> -Sabrino stopped a fandango which he was performing on his -head and hands, and pricked up his enormous ears. -</p> - -<p> -"Quick with our rope ladder, for thou, my mother, and -Sybil too, must descend from this window on the dark side of -the tower; it is not more than fifteen feet from the ground, -I think." -</p> - -<p> -"But the barbican gate?" said Sybil. -</p> - -<p> -"I will unlock it with the point of my sword," replied the -fiery earl, as a savage gleam shot from his eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, nay," said the countess, crossing her hands, and -standing very erect, "I cannot think of flying thus; the king -has placed me here, and the king must release me." -</p> - -<p> -"What frenzy is this? Besotted by his French marriage, -the king hath become a fool. Quick, Lady Ashkirk, we have -not a moment to lose. Hark! the whole tower is silent now, -for its inmates are away down in the valley, seeking the source -of that sudden fire. Oh, if the knaves should discover my -boat! Quick!—are you a coward, my mother—the widow of -my father?" -</p> - -<p> -"A coward never came of the line of Kilspindie, and a -coward had never slept in your father's bosom, Lord Archibald," -replied the tall matron, proudly, and with asperity, as -her eyes filled with tears. "Thou knowest not, my son, how -life sometimes rises in value with the unfortunate; but it is -neither the love of life nor the fear of death that restrain me -now, but a shame to fly, like a thief in the night, from the -wardship of either king or clown." -</p> - -<p> -"Now, by the faith of Seton! these are pleasant remarks -to me, who have been skulking like a thief and a vagabond -too, for the last few years—a creditable occupation for an -earl! If thou stayest, here will I stay too," said Ashkirk, -and seating himself, he folded his arms; "if Barncleugh find -me, thou knowest my doom, for I shall die the death of an -outlaw and traitor. By my soul! 'tis outrageous, this!" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art right," replied the old lady, trembling with -sudden alarm; "I thought not of that. Quick, then! Old -as I am, thou shalt see that now, as in the days of James IV., -of gude memorie, I am a true daughter of old Archibald -Greysteel." -</p> - -<p> -"We have lost ten good minutes already," replied the earl, -lowering his rope ladder from the small window, which, luckily, -was ungrated, being within the barbican. Fortunately a -gusty wind had risen, and the moon, which was partially -obscured by passing clouds, having verged far to the south-east, -threw the sombre shadow of the tower over that part of the -court into which the fugitives were about to descend. The -little castle was almost deserted, the iron gate of the barbican -stood wide open, and the barking of dogs and hallooing of men -ascended from below, where Barncleugh, with ten or fifteen -of his followers, searched the valley for the source of that -nocturnal fire which, on this occasion, had become so palpable, -and caused such alarm. -</p> - -<p> -"I will descend first, and hold steady the foot of the ladder; -and do thou, Sabrino, my gallant imp, hold fast its top," said -the earl, as, with his drawn sword in his teeth, he slid in a -moment to the ground; "come, dearest Sybil, do thou set my -mother an example." -</p> - -<p> -With Sabrino's assistance, the young lady got out upon -the ladder, which she clutched with a death-grasp, while the -wind expanded her dress, and blew all her long black hair about -her face. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, cousin Ashkirk!" she exclaimed, in great terror. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, cousin Sybil!" replied the earl, jestingly, in the same -tone, to reassure her; "I will swear that thou hast the -handsomest ankles and the handsomest leg in all the -Lothians." -</p> - -<p> -This intimation made her come down very quickly, and the -earl received her in his arms with joy. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, my lady mother, quick, bestir thee," said he, in a -low voice. But terror seized him when a cry from his mother -replied, and the explosion of a petronel followed; then Sabrino -sprang from the chamber, and descended the ladder with the -rapidity of light, and with his poniard in his hand. -</p> - -<p> -There was blood on its blade! -</p> - -<p> -A servant of Barncleugh had rushed in, and, surprising -them, had fired his petronel at the negro, who, springing -at him like a tiger-cat, inflicted a deadly wound with his -poniard. -</p> - -<p> -"Away, Sybil! come away! We have not a moment now to -lose!" said the earl. -</p> - -<p> -"But your mother, your poor mother!" she urged. -</p> - -<p> -"Her own folly has done it all; those ten minutes had -freed her; but she must be left for the present;" and, almost -dragging Sybil, he led her out of the barbican and down the -valley, keeping carefully on its shadowy side, which, -fortunately, lay towards the beach. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap41"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XLI. -<br /><br /> -A HAMILTON! A HAMILTON! -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Oh, stay at home, my only son,<br /> - Oh, stay at home with me!<br /> - For secretly I am forewarned<br /> - Of ills awaiting thee!<br /> - Last night I heard the deid bell sound,<br /> - When all were fast asleep;<br /> - And aye it rung, and aye it sung,<br /> - Till all my flesh did creep."<br /> - THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Unobserved, they reached the verge of the beach, and were -about to descend, when Sabrino suddenly grasped the arm of -the earl. -</p> - -<p> -He turned. -</p> - -<p> -The negro had his poniard in his right hand, and placed a -finger of his left on his lips, in token of silence; there was a -savage gleam in his shining eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, Sabrino, what dost thou see now?" -</p> - -<p> -Sabrino pointed, and, a few yards below, the earl saw a -man, having in his hand a drawn sword, which glittered in -the moonlight. That he was a gentleman was evident by his -dress—a plum-coloured doublet, orange hose, a blue velvet -mantle, and waving feather. He was ascending straight from -the little creek, where the boat was moored to a fragment of -rock, and had, beyond a doubt, discovered it. -</p> - -<p> -"My lord!" said Sybil, breathlessly; "'tis Sir James of -Barncleugh himself." -</p> - -<p> -"Oho! I have not met this worthy laird since we broke the -pikemen of Arran at Linlithgow brig. He owes me more than -one sword cut; and I do not like debtors of that kind." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh! if possible, avoid him." -</p> - -<p> -"My dear Sybil!——" -</p> - -<p> -"Death will come of it!" -</p> - -<p> -"A little prick with a poniard will do him no harm." -</p> - -<p> -"But while you fight, his people will come upon us. Now, -dear Archibald, pray——" -</p> - -<p> -"I am not in the sweetest of tempers just now: -and—soho! thou Hamilton! clear the pathway, or I will trounce -thee soundly." -</p> - -<p> -"Who are <i>you</i>?" asked Sir James, standing on his guard, -right in the centre of the path that led to the boat; "and -what seek you here, sirrah?—stand and answer." -</p> - -<p> -"I sought Sybil Douglas, Sir James." -</p> - -<p> -"What do I hear—the Earl of Ashkirk! Now, by the -soul of Arran! thou leavest not this island but in a coffin. -Pardon me, my young lady of Kilspindie," said the old -governor, courteously raising his blue velvet bonnet to Sybil; -"pardon me, but this rash gallant must pay the penalty of -coming uninvited here. Hallo! <i>a Hamilton! a Hamilton!</i>" -</p> - -<p> -"Dishonour dog your heels, base Barncleugh! and may -that accursed slogan never be heard but in shame and defeat!" -exclaimed the earl, infuriated to find him thus crying aloud to -summon his men, who were scattered over the island, and -many of whom were visible in the moonlight, and not far off. -"To the boat, Sybil, and leave me to deal with this rough -tilter! To the boat; see to it, Sabrino. Sir James Hamilton, -I have fought fifteen times, and three of my adversaries are -dead; thou shalt make the sixteenth combatant I have -encountered, and the fourth I shall have slain; and, as God be -my judge, unwillingly. Come on!" -</p> - -<p> -Both drew their daggers, and stood with their swords on -guard. -</p> - -<p> -In the sixteenth century, fencing in Scotland was very -different from what it is to-day—a pastime for boys. It was -then the indispensable accomplishment of the soldier and -gentleman, for every gentleman was then a soldier. Long, straight, -and heavy, the swords were double-edged; consequently, there -were as many cuts as thrusts; and being furnished with long -arm-pit daggers, the left hands of the duellists alternately -acted offensively and defensively, and very often gave the -finishing blow, when the sword of one adversary had beaten -down the other's guard, and the combatants came to closer -quarters. -</p> - -<p> -Alarmed lest the voice of Barncleugh should have reached -his people, excited by the imminent danger of his position, -and by the instinctive feudal hatred of Sir James Hamilton, -the earl attacked him with the utmost fury, assailing him -with point and edge; and warily the older swordsman received -him, warding the cuts with his rapier, and parrying the -thrusts with his poniard. The steel rang and flashed like -blue fire in the bright moonlight; and a shower of red sparks -flew from either weapon as their keen edges met, and made -the arm of each combatant tingle up to the shoulder blade. -</p> - -<p> -Somewhat older fashioned, and more stiff than the earl, the -knight of Barncleugh was unable, like the former, to lengthen -and shorten himself—one moment to spring agilely to the -right, and the next to make a furious assault on the left; or, -in avoiding a breast-high thrust, to lie so far back that his -dagger-hand rested on the turf. Firm and erect, the old -laird stood like a tower; and the whole of his skill (which -was not little) lay in his sharp and unerring eye, his strong -but pliant wrist. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile, Sabrino had placed Sybil in the boat, and -standing in the water, which came up to his armpits, held -the bow to the edge of the rock, that the earl might readily -leap on board. -</p> - -<p> -The result of a combat between two such well-matched -swordsmen was a number of mutually inflicted cuts and -scratches, which exasperated them both. But their animosity -had different incentives—Barncleugh fought for honour alone: -but the earl fought for his honour, life, liberty, and possession -of Sybil Douglas; a cry from whom, together with a distant -"Hallo" informed him that the conflict was observed by several -of Barncleugh's soldiers, who were hurrying down the steep -pathway that led to the creek. This made the earl fall on -with such fury, that the calmer Barncleugh ran his sword -through his doublet (and grazed his ribs) up to the very hilt. -</p> - -<p> -Imagining that he was run through the body and slain, -the earl seized the guard of Barncleugh's sword, to retain it -in his body, and closing up with his own sword shortened in -his hand, buried the point in the breast of Barncleugh, -whose plum-coloured doublet was covered with blood in a -moment. Then hurling him to the earth, he sprang wildly -on board the boat, with one sword in his hand, and another, -to all appearance, in his body. -</p> - -<p> -At the same moment, a loud "Hallo!" again rang in his ears—a -rapid explosion followed, and the balls of three arquebuses -whistled past his head. Thinking only of Sybil, he pushed -off the boat, forgetting altogether the poor black page, whose -tongue was unable to cry either for pity or succour; and thus -Sabrino was left behind again. -</p> - -<p> -Raising himself on his left hand, while with his right he -endeavoured to staunch the blood that flowed from his -wound, Sir James Hamilton cried hoarsely and feebly— -</p> - -<p> -"To your arquebuses again, ye knaves—again! Shoot, -and shoot surely! See, 'tis the black devil -again!—there—there—in the water! -To your arquebuses—shoot, shoot, with -a wannion upon you!" -</p> - -<p> -The three arquebusiers stuck their forks in the sand, and -levelled their heavy fire-arms over them. Again two large -bullets whistled after the earl, and one dashed the spray -about the black woolly head of Sabrino, which was visible on -the moonlighted water; but he dived like a duck and -disappeared. The reports of these large fire-arms rang with a -hundred reverberations among the cliffs and caverns of the -isle, and in the fissured rocks of the Longcraig (a reef which -guards it on the east), until they died away on the winds that -blew freshly down the river from the west. -</p> - -<p> -"To the boat! to the boat!—follow, and shoot! <i>A -Hamilton! a Hamilton!</i>" cried Barncleugh, as he sank back -choked in blood. -</p> - -<p> -"Seton, and <i>Set on</i>!" replied the earl, with the punning -slogan of his house; "for, by St. Andrew, there is one -Hamilton less in the world!" and with savage glee he plucked -from his doublet, and flung back to the shore, Sir James's -sword. -</p> - -<p> -Then snatching his oars, he placed his feet firmly against -the stretchers in the bottom of the boat, and intent only -on leaving the island as far behind as possible, pulled with all -strength away from its rocky shores. -</p> - -<p> -After some delay, Barncleugh's followers unmoored their -boat, which, by a chain and padlock, was secured to an iron -ring; and then pushed off, two plying their arquebuses, while -four plied their oars. Away they came, with a shout that -floated far over the still water; but by this time the earl was -nearly half a mile from the island, and, acting under a natural -reaction of feelings, Sybil waved her handkerchief, in token of -the triumph and defiance which had replaced her previous -terror. -</p> - -<p> -Lustily pulled the brave earl, and even Sybil would have -put her dimpled hands to the oars to assist him, had she not -soon required both to grasp the seat beside him, as their little -boat rose like a cork on the heavy ground-swell that rolls -between the island and the shores of Lothian. -</p> - -<p> -The wind was rising. -</p> - -<p> -It blew freshly down the Firth, and as the tide was ebbing -now, a strong current ran seaward—a current against which -the solitary rower struggled in vain; for in fifteen minutes he -found they were swept far below the island. -</p> - -<p> -He saw the four oars of his pursuers flashing in the moonlight, -and the glitter of steel announced that they were well -armed; while every successive gust of wind that swept over -the curling water brought nearer and nearer their triumphant -shout; and he could see how, at times, they paused, and -complacently looked over their shoulders to contemplate the -distance as it lessened by their efforts. -</p> - -<p> -And it was lessening fast! -</p> - -<p> -The earl thought of Sybil, and of what her feelings would -be if he was taken, and of what she and his mother would -experience if he was brought back to the island a breathless -corpse. These anxieties received an additional impulse by the -flash of an arquebuse from the pursuing boat; and the earl -saw that the bullet skipped over the waves far ahead of him. -</p> - -<p> -There was now but one alternative, and he did not hesitate -to adopt it. -</p> - -<p> -Stepping the little mast, he hoisted the lugsail, squared it -to the western breeze, grasped the tiller, while Sybil threw her -arms around him; and now their boat, sharp-prowed and -clinker-built, like all the Scottish fisher craft, favoured by the -wind, by the ebbing tide, and the fast flowing river, flew like -a gull down the widening Firth; and then a shout of anger -announced that the followers of Barncleugh were left far -behind. -</p> - -<p class="thought"> -* * * * * -</p> - -<p> -Grasped by a watchman of the tower, when in the very act -of attempting to descend, the Countess of Ashkirk, as we have -related, had been left behind; but she saw from her window -the flash of steel on the beach; she heard the shouts and -outcries of the Hamiltons, and prayed and trembled for her son. -She saw the two boats which shot off from the island, on the -bright surface of the glittering river, which was all shining -like a mirror, save where a flitting cloud obscured it. She had -seen these boats lessening in the distance; and again on her -knees she implored St. Bryde of Douglas to watch over the -safety and escape of her son, vowing to endow in her name -a yearly mass and an altar in the great church of St. Giles. -</p> - -<p> -The countess knew not that her "brave rash bairn," as she -called him, had achieved both his safety and escape, until Sir -James Hamilton was carried into the tower bleeding profusely, -and almost dying. Now it was that the fierce feudal -hatred in which she had been nurtured, and in which she had -reared her own son, jarred with her natural kindliness and -pity; and it was with a strange, and, as she often thought, -unchristian sentiment of joy and triumph, mingling with her -tenderness and compassion, she prepared lint and bandages, -with some of her favourite salves and recipes, for the wounded -castellan, whose sword-thrust she proceeded to probe and dress. -</p> - -<p> -The moment Sir James's wound (which was a deep, but -not dangerous stab in the breast) was dressed, she hurried to -the tower-head, and looked towards the east, but neither of -the boats were visible. The moon had become obscured, the -rising wind howled drearily through the embrasures of the -battlement, and the dusky shadow of a dark cloud rested upon -that part of the Firth where the boat of the earl had last -been visible. -</p> - -<p> -The heart of Lady Ashkirk became oppressed by vague -terrors; and after praying as only the people of the olden -time could pray, when faith was strong in the land, and -superstition was stronger, she returned to the bedside of her -patient; and such was her care and skill, that in three days -the hardy old knight was again seated at his little tripod -table by the tower gate, with the ocean below, and the gulls -around him, drinking his peg tankard of spiced Rochelle, and -playing chess with the seneschal of the establishment, who -knew his duty too well ever to attempt to win a game; thus -that easy-tempered personage allowed himself to be defeated -ten times a-day, if nine victories did not satisfy the old knight, -his master and antagonist. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap42"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XLII. -<br /><br /> -DAVID'S TOWER—THE PHYSICIAN. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Ah, no more can gladden me<br /> - Sunny shores or dark projections,<br /> - Where in emulous reflections<br /> - Blend the rival land and sea;<br /> - Where alike in charms and powers,<br /> - Where the woods and waves are meeting—<br /> - Flowers with foam are seen competing—<br /> - Sparkling with the snow-white showers."<br /> - CALDERON'S <i>Constant Prince.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -In the reign of James V. the Castle of Edinburgh was -composed of numerous round and square bastel-houses, which, -connected by curtain walls, surrounded the summit of the -rock, and were built in various ages by successive princes, and -presented the various cadences of architecture, from the strong -grim peels of Malcolm Ceanmhor to the florid Scoto-French -towers of the fourth and fifth Jameses. -</p> - -<p> -The principal of these bastel-houses was named King -David's Tower. -</p> - -<p> -It was erected by David II. in 1357, and therein he died -on the 7th May, thirteen years after, when planning a new -crusade. This keep was of great height and strength, and -overhung the cliff, which now looks down on the gardens of -Princes-street, two hundred feet below. One of its lofty -turrets was struck by lightning during a terrific storm, on -All Saints' Day, 1524; the shattered fragments fell into the -loch, and the electric fluid set the apartments of the -queen-dowager Margaret on fire. On its summit James V. placed -thirty pieces of cannon. The larger chamber within it was -named the Lords' Hall; another was styled the New Court -Kitchen;—but its first apartments were a range of dreary -vaults; for the whole edifice was a veritable castle, with its -dungeons below and battlements above. On the latter were -a flag-staff, and an iron baile to herald foreign invasion to -the shores of Fife and Stirling; just similar to one which -still remains on Mylnes-mount below the Argyle battery. -</p> - -<p> -In the same vaulted apartment wherein James V. had, six -years before, confined John Scott, a miracle-monger, who -pretended that the Virgin Mary could maintain him for any -length of time without food, Lady Jane Seton had been detained -since her condemnation. Though the strength of the tower -was great, its walls of stone being ten feet thick, its doors of -iron deep and narrow, and having other securities in the shape -of high curtain walls, higher rocks, cannon, towers, and -portcullises, the Master Porter of the castle (that supernatural -guards might not be wanting) had painted on the chamber -door a flaming red cross; and thereafter nailed on a horseshoe, -a fox's face, with a bunch of rosemary and rowan-tree, -all of which, he had no doubt, would do more than stone -redoubts and iron doors to keep the witch in and the devil out. -</p> - -<p> -Let us take a view of her as she appeared on the second -day after her trial, for it was now the second, and she had -but three days to live. -</p> - -<p> -It was evening now, and the kirk and convent bells of the -city below were floating upward to her grated window, which -was open, for the season was the sultry month of July. The -whole apartment was as bare and stony in its aspect as the -arch of a bridge, or any of those caverns in which we have -seen Lord Ashkirk hiding; for the groined arch, the low -massive walls, and the floor, were all composed of squared -blocks of freestone, quarried from the rocks in the neighbourhood. -Its whole furniture consisted of a chair and table, the -latter being composed of mere fir planks; a leather jar of -water, and a bed situated within an arched recess, like a -pedestalled tomb in some old church; but, being destitute -of curtains and bedding, it was a mere paillasse. Everything -was inferior to what was used by the king's soldiers. -</p> - -<p> -A witch required little. -</p> - -<p> -All shrunk from her now; even Lady Cranstoun Riddel, -who had formerly been so kind, avoided her; while her -husband, the governor, having before his eyes the wrath of the -king and the cardinal (who was more dreaded than ten kings), -also remained aloof. Thus no visitor ever disturbed her sad -and solitary reflections, save the under-warder, who came -hastily and stealthily to deposit her food—a coarse bannock -and water tinged with a little wine—and as hurriedly withdrew, -fearing to meet a glance of her eye—-for witches were -thought to possess eyes of evil power. -</p> - -<p> -The coarse bannock, the sole food offered her, remained -untasted, for it was salt and bitter; the water was her only -nourishment, for assuredly it contained but little wine; as -the warder, who prepared it, drank the greater part; for a -sorceress, who was to be burned in three days, might do very -well, he thought, without wine. -</p> - -<p> -Thus agony of mind, pain of body, and lack of food had -sorely reduced her. She became apathetic, and sank into a -stupor so deep, that it seemed as if no change of circumstances -could ever tranquillize or restore her to existence and the -sunshine of life. -</p> - -<p> -Her large dark eyes were dry, hot, and tearless. In their -stony aspect, they seemed never to have beamed in joy, or -wept in grief. Her face had the pallor, the lividity of death, -and her cheeks had become frightfully hollow, while her thin -lips were a vivid and unnatural scarlet. They seemed to have -shrunk, and showed more than before of her teeth; and even -these seemed larger and, if possible, whiter than usual. There -was something dry, arid, and parched in her whole aspect—as -if the fire of inward grief was consuming her. As her -stooped head rested on her hand, with eye fixed and jaw -relaxed, her expression, at times, grew altogether vacant. -</p> - -<p> -She had on the same dress in which she had appeared before -Abbot Mylne and his tribunal, and the same pretty little -angular cap, below which her fine hair was simply braided. -She was destitute of ornament, having been robbed or deprived -of all her rings and bracelets by Sanders Screw and others, -into whose hands she had been so ruthlessly consigned. -</p> - -<p> -Her haggard beauty was appalling, as the calmness of her -despair was unnatural. Her whole mind seemed to be -unhinged. -</p> - -<p> -Her cheek reclined in the hollow of her right hand, and -her elbow rested on the table; her vacant gaze was fixed on -the landscape, which extended to the north and westward, for -her chamber had two windows, and, from the west, the cool -soft wind played on her hot, white cheek, and lifted her heavy -hair. -</p> - -<p> -The glorious plain that from the foot of the steep Castle -Rock stretches almost to the gates of busy Glasgow, was yet -hazy with the humid summer mist, from amid which stood -boldly forth the lordly Pentlands, with their peaks of brilliant -emerald green, or heath of russet brown, and the rugged rocks -of Corstorphine; while afar off, and dim in the distance, among -the Highlands of Stirlingshire, rose the pale blue cone of Ben -Lomond, the king of the Scottish hills, then the fastness of -the fierce Buchanans. -</p> - -<p> -The sun was sinking behind the Ochills, and those who have -seen it so sink behind those beautiful mountains in summer, -will cease to boast of Roman skies and Venetian sunsets. A -thousand hills, and isles, and rocks were mirrored in the -bosom of the Forth, as a flood of sunlight was poured along -its winding waters, kissing the wooded shores and dancing -waves, throwing into light its bold headlands and forest -vistas, or into partial shade the long deep glens and forest -dells, where herd and hirsel grazed, "and the wee burnie was -stealing under the lang yellow brume," as a beautiful old song -has it. -</p> - -<p> -Rock, isle, and ship seemed floating on its bosom, amid all -the sparkling colours of the sun, till it sank behind the -mountains, leaving a million of radiations shooting upward behind -the dark peak of Dumiat. Then the Forth turned from gold -to blue, and its shores from green to purple; and then, as the -hills of Fife grew dark, the Lothian woods grew darker still, -and the gentle star of evening rose above Corstorphine to -replace, by its mild beauty, the brighter glories of the day -that had passed. -</p> - -<p> -Of all this magnificent effect of scenery and of sunset, Jane -saw nothing; for her eyes were turned back (as it were) -within her heart, and she saw only her own thoughts. The -events of the last few weeks seemed all a horrible dream—a -dream from which she had yet to awaken. A chaos, incoherent -and fantastic, like the time of a fever and delirium. Amid -this chaos came forth the figure of Roland—Roland, who was -ever uppermost in her thoughts. Where was he? What -was he doing? Or what had been done with him since that -frightful day when, under twenty weapons, she had seen him -beaten down and slain, as she then thought, before her very -eyes. -</p> - -<p> -She considered, then, the doom to be endured—the -punishment by fire. She remembered the burning of Sir David -Straitoun and of Father Norman Gourlay, two hapless -Protestants, who, on the 27th of August, three years before, had -suffered martyrdom at the Rood of Greenside, below the -western brow of the Calton; and those who witnessed that -frightful <i>auto-da-fé</i>, had described how like parchment scrolls -the limbs of the victims shrivelled; how their stomachs burst -and fell down among the hissing embers; and how the forky -flames shot up between their scorched and blackened ribs, and -were vomited forth at their open jaws and eyeless sockets, till -even the morbid crowd, hardened as they were by the daily -executions of that unhappy age, became sick and turned away -with horror. -</p> - -<p> -She thought of these things; she grasped her temples and -endeavoured to pray; but the terrors of a death so awful -paralyzed her, and she could not collect her energies -sufficiently to address even that God before whom she was so -shortly to appear. All she had endured, and was then -enduring, seemed trifles to the sufferings that were yet to -come—the stake—the faggots! -</p> - -<p> -The strong chain that secured her wrists to each other, -retaining them a yard apart, and that yet stronger fetter which -secured her left ankle to the wall of her bed, holding her in -childlike helplessness; the frequent entrance of Sanders -Screws and his assistants, or the equally brutal warders, -outraging and violating all her privacies by day and by night; -the desertion of her friends; her hopelessness of rescue, of -mercy, and of life, were all merged in the terrors of her coming -execution. -</p> - -<p> -"Three days! three days! three days!—my God! Oh, my -God!" she exclaimed, "only three days!" -</p> - -<p> -And falling on her knees, she buried her face in her hands; -but, poor being! her thoughts were too incoherent for -utterance, or relief in prayer. -</p> - -<p> -To one in such extreme misery, death could not in itself -be very appalling; but it was the thought of Roland, of her -mother, of her brother, of her family honour, and her own -blighted name—blighted at least for a time, by the studied -vengeance of one whom she deemed all but insane, that racked -her heart with agony; while the mode of death by which she -was to die, filled her whole soul with terror. Of its ignominy -she thought little; for she had a bright certainty that her -innocence would one day be asserted, if not by the blessed -hand of Heaven, by the good sword of her gallant lover—for -Jane Seton thought like a true Scottish woman of the -sixteenth century. -</p> - -<p> -While stooping over the only chair her chamber contained, -on her knees, and in the paroxysm we have described, some -one, whose entrance she had not heard, touched her on the -shoulder. She looked up with a stupefied aspect, and beheld -John of the Silvermills, with his long solemn beard, -portentous visage and wizard-like cap, embroidered with the emblems -of the Trinity, eternity, and religion—the triangle, the circle, -and the cross. He wore a long black cassock-coat, trimmed -with white fur; a large pouch hung at his girdle, and he -leaned on a walking-staff. He raised his high cap, and -partly with respect, and partly with fear, assisted her to rise -and to seat herself. -</p> - -<p> -Jane had become so faint, and had sunk so much since the -day of trial, that the unglutted and unmerciful authorities -feared she might escape the fangs of justice, by dying before -the festival of St. Margaret the Martyr—that night to which -all Edinburgh, indeed all in the three Lothians, looked -forward with tiptoe and morbid expectation: thus the learned -and deeply read physician of the royal household, John of the -Silvermills (or, as he signs his name in various documents of -that age, "Jhone o' ye Sillermylne"), was ordered to attend -and prescribe for her health. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, good Master Apothegar!" she exclaimed, while the -tears almost started into her arid eyes at the sight of a face -that was familiar, and which seemed to regard her with -something akin to commiseration. "Oh, Master Doctor," she -added, taking his hands in her own, "dost thou think they -will destroy him too?" -</p> - -<p> -"Him—who?" stammered the apothegar, disengaging his -lean and bony fingers from her cold and clammy grasp, as -gently but decidedly as he could, "who, madam?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Roland Vipont," replied Jane, disdaining to notice -this undisguised dread or aversion, though her heart fired at it. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor butterfly! whom one more revolution of the wheel -of fate will crush—thou thinkest not of thyself——" -</p> - -<p> -"I think only of him, and of nothing else; I live but for -him now—'tis three days—only three days!" She added, -incoherently, "What is said in the town, at the court, at the -palace? Will he be punished for defending me so boldly, so -valiantly? My dear Roland—three days—oh, who is like -thee? None—and none will ever be like thee!" -</p> - -<p> -"I will recast his horoscope, for I know, lady, the star of -his nativity. This night it will be in Azebone, the head of -the sixteenth mansion, and by its digression I will judge me -of his fate. It will require a long and careful calculation, -lady," said the deacon of the apothegars, shaking his long -beard, solemnly, "and yet, gramercy me! I have known as -mickle foreseen by coscinomancy, which meaneth divination -by a sieve; but <i>that</i>, as thou knowest, is altogether beneath -one like me, who knoweth the difference of sublimities and -the distance of the stars." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Roland—Roland!" murmured Jane (who understood -not a word of all this), as she pressed her trembling hands -upon her heart, "I love thee now with the love of the unfortunate; -and that, indeed, is a strong love, for by few are the -unfortunate loved in return." -</p> - -<p> -"Thy pulse is quick and low," said the physician, placing -his bony fingers on her white and slender wrist, which was -fretted and chafed by the detestable manacle that encircled -it; "thou sighest deeply, thou flushest and becomest chilly -by turns. Is thy tongue dry, and is thy brain giddy? Yes, -I know they are. By the mass, I know thou art intensely -feverish. Now the pulse flutters, and the skin becomes -moist—fever—fever—nervous fever! Didst thou take the -metheglin my servitor brought thee?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said Jane, mechanically. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! and were much the better thereof?" -</p> - -<p> -"I really do not know." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, you must have been; 'tis a compound of wort, -herbs, honey, and spices, forming a wondrous and soothing -restorative." -</p> - -<p> -"What need of a restorative, sir? In three days all will -be over." -</p> - -<p> -"We know not what the womb of Time may bring forth, -lady: for, verily, it is fruitful of events." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, that Father St. Bernard was here!" thought Jane; -"how terrible this cold physician is!" -</p> - -<p> -"Continue the metheglin," said her adviser, putting on his -conical cap, and resuming his staff, "and from this phial -take daily one karena, whilk meaneth, the twentieth part of -a drop——" -</p> - -<p> -"Sir, thou art most kind; but remember that in three -days I shall be beyond the reach of thy skill; so farewell, -and omit not to pray for me." -</p> - -<p> -"Such is life!" replied the other, dreamily. "Oh, that -my elixir were complete, and then all mankind might live for -a thousand years—even as Artesius, the godlike Artesius, -lived! A thousand learned doctors have withered up their -brains searching for this elixir; but there is not one among -to whom Heaven hath been so propitious as myself. -Rejoice with me, lady, rejoice! for it is nearly complete! -Having failed to discover an herb or mineral to finish it, I -have plunged into the mazes of entomology; for there are -many insects whose brains or bodies, wings or claws, possess -charms of potency. Moses, Solomon, Hippocrates, and -Aristotle found wondrous properties in locusts and creeping -things; and Ælian, the Greek, expatiates at great length on -those contained in the brains and tongues of crickets, wasps, -and cantharides; and there were Democritus, Neoptolemus, -Philistus, Nicander, Herodius, to say nothing of Albertus -Magnus (whose book, printed at Venice in 1519, has just been -sent to me by the Spanish ambassador), all of whose writings -I have yet to search; and doubt not, lady, that therein I -must discover that which shall complete my elixir, and make -my poor little laboratory, at the hamlet of Silvermills, more -famous by a thousand degrees, than ever was that of Claudius -Galenus, the physician of Pergamus." -</p> - -<p> -And with this flourish, after reiterating his directions -concerning that precious decoction, which he styled metheglin, -to be taken with one karena from the phial, this homœopathist -of the sixteenth century withdrew, leaving the poor -little captive stupefied and stunned by the energy and fustian -of his conversation. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap43"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XLIII. -<br /><br /> -DAVID'S TOWER—THE PRIEST. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "There's but one part to play; shame has done here,<br /> - But execution must close up the scene;<br /> - And for that cause these sprigs are worn by all,<br /> - Badges of marriage, now of funeral."<br /> - ROWLEY'S <i>Noble Soldier</i>, 1634.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -As the physician retired, Father St. Bernard, Jane's confessor -and daily visitor, and, of all the hundreds whom she knew, -her only friend, glided softly in, and approached; for such was -the terror excited by the accusations against her, that neither -Marion Logan nor Alison Hume had dared to visit her; -though they had sent many a message, saying, "how they -wept and prayed for her," and so forth. -</p> - -<p> -She raised her heavy head, and with an expression almost -of joy, extended her hands towards him; but the ponderous -fetters weighed them down. -</p> - -<p> -The priest lifted the chain, and smiled sadly but kindly -upon her. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Pax Domine sit semper vobiscum</i>," said he, making use of -his invariable phrase. -</p> - -<p> -"Good Father St. Bernard!" she exclaimed, "can this be -the work of Heaven or of the fiend?" -</p> - -<p> -"Of the fiend, daughter—canst thou doubt it?" -</p> - -<p> -"I endure agony that is unutterable when thinking of -Roland and of my mother. Oh, that she might hear nothing -of all this! I have yet so much to suffer!——" -</p> - -<p> -The old priest covered his face with the wide sleeve of his -cassock, and wept, for he had still warm and acute feelings, -though a long and ascetic life had somewhat blunted them -and estranged him from the world. -</p> - -<p> -"Can a merciful Heaven afflict me thus, father?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hush, lady; whatever his miserable creatures may do, -God is ever merciful and just. We know not but this -visitation, terrible though it is, may be the means of averting -some still greater calamity." -</p> - -<p> -"Can any calamity be greater than death?" -</p> - -<p> -"To the unrepentant? no. But pray, child, pray; for the -Christian gathers hope from his prayers, while the poor -heretic dies despairing and blaspheming." -</p> - -<p> -"Good Father St. Bernard, if I could have been base—if -I could have stooped, and been coward enough to abandon -my poor Roland, and wed this frantic, this furious persecutor, -all this misery might not have happened. It is a frightful -alternative—a terrible reflection!" -</p> - -<p> -"My good child, fear nothing and regret nothing. Think -of St. Theckla, and of all she endured for shunning the love -of one she detested; and now let the bright example of her -whom St. Isidore of Pelusium styled the protomartyr of her -sex, and the most glorious ornament of the apostolic age, be -as a star and a beacon to thee. Shall I tell thee her story, -as an old monk of Culross told it to me?" -</p> - -<p> -Jane bowed her head, in token of assent. -</p> - -<p> -"She was the pupil of St. Paul," said the prebendary, -gathering energy as he spoke, "and, amid pagans, grew in -holiness like a flower in the desert. Men called her beautiful, -but she was good as she was beautiful, and gentle as she was -good. A young noble of Lycaonia loved her; but the love -of God, sayeth St. Gregory of Nyssa, burned too strongly in -her bosom to admit of a human passion. She repelled his -love, and, by the practice of every austerity, overcame all -earthly affections, and subdued her passions in such wise that -she became dead to the world, living upon it, but not in it—as -a beautiful spirit, but one having no kindred feelings to -those around her. The most endearing caresses, the most -ardent protestations, the most brilliant flatteries and gorgeous -presents failed to win her love to this young noble; and lo! from -tender persuasions he betook himself to the most terrible -threats; and thereupon, abandoning the stately house of her -father, with its Grecian luxuries, its chambers of marble, -with gilded ceilings and silken carpets, its Tyrian hangings, -precious sculpture, and vessels of fine gold; abandoning home, -friends, country, everything, she retired into the recesses of -a forest to pray for Greece, and to commune with the God of -the Christians amid silence and solitude; for such was the -blessed example of the apostles. -</p> - -<p> -"But there her lover, the young Lycaonian, discovered -her; and, full of wrath and vengeance, accused her of certain -heinous crimes before the magistrates of Isauria, who -sentenced her to be torn limb from limb and devoured by wild -beasts, in the public amphitheatre of the city. The day of -doom arrived; and, naked in the vast arena, with no other -covering than her innocence, and her long flowing hair that -almost enveloped her, this tender being was exposed to twice -ten thousand eyes. Undaunted in heart and high in soul, -she stood calmly awaiting her fate from the fangs of those -wild animals, whom goads of steel had urged to frantic madness, -and whose deep, hoarse bellowing filled even the morbid -multitude with dismay. -</p> - -<p> -"The iron gates were withdrawn, and the mighty assemblage -were awed and frozen into silence, when three enormous -lions and three gigantic panthers, with manes erect and eyes -of fire, bounded into the wide arena, where the helpless -virgin stood in all her purity and resignation. With a -simultaneous howl they rushed upon her; but lo! the mighty hand -of Heaven was there! The lions forgot their ferocity, and -the panthers the rage of their hunger; and gentle as lambs -they crouched before St. Theckla, and grovelled in the dust -to lick her snow-white feet. -</p> - -<p> -"The vast multitude, their cruel magistrates, and the more -cruel Lycaonian lord, were overcome at the sight of this -wondrous miracle, and permitted her to depart in peace; and -she died, at an extreme old age, in Seleucia, where, above her -grave, may yet be seen the church of the first Christian -emperors." -</p> - -<p> -Jane listened attentively, and with the utmost good faith, -to this legend. It was one of the many miraculous tales -which then formed the staple subjects for the discourses of -the old clergy on Sundays and festival days. -</p> - -<p> -"I thank you for this bright example," said she, "but I am -altogether unlike St. Theckla, for I am not above an earthly -passion; and none know how dearly and how truly I love -him to whom I am betrothed. Just Heaven! I have all that -last frightful day yet vivid in my memory. The court, so -calm, so orderly, so formal, so satisfied with themselves, and -so full of morbid curiosity; the spectators' countless eyes; -the judges, so serious and so solemn; their ten sworn advocates, -so silent and so dreamy; and those cold-eyed clerks of -court who gazed at me from time to time so stolidly, and with -a self-satisfied air—at me, a poor helpless creature, abandoned -to them, overwhelmed with desperation, and blind with fear -and sorrow." -</p> - -<p> -"Would that I could die for thee, Lady Jane. I am but -a poor old prebendary; the years of my life are many, though -the days of my joy have been few—few indeed. I would -leave no one to weep for, and have none that would weep for -me. I have long been sick of the world; I have nothing in -it now to regret, and, save thyself, know none that would -regret old Father St. Bernard, unless I add a few aged -alms-people, my poor penitents. My time in it cannot be long -now, and willingly would I give my life for thine, if such a -thing might be. Oh, my child, thou so nobly born, so carefully -nurtured, so innocent and so gentle, the most guileless -and most docile of my penitents! Oh, this vile man, this -Redhall, is a fiend! a monster!" exclaimed the priest, -suddenly giving way to unwonted passion; "may the heaviest -curses of God fall upon him! May he inherit the leprosy of -Gehazi, and the despair of Judas! May the earth swallow -him up, like Dathan and Abiram! May he sorrow like Cain, -and may the wrath of God ever be upon him for the misery -his unbridled passions, his blind vengeance and savage hate, -hath caused unto thee!" -</p> - -<p> -"Alas! good Father St. Bernard," said the gentle being, -terrified by the old man's energy, "ought we not rather to -pray for him?" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art right, my daughter, and thy resignation shames -me!" replied the priest, whose indignation had, for the -moment, borne away his better feelings. "Right, right—we are -commanded to pray for those who persecute and despitefully -use us. Thou good soul!" he added, signing the cross upon -her brow, "may the angel of all purity watch over thee, for -thou, in thy goodness of heart, art more like unto the angels -than mortals." -</p> - -<p> -"But, oh! that mode of death—by fire—by fire! It is so -frightful!" -</p> - -<p> -"The good should fear nothing. The hand which tempers -the wind to the shorn lamb, may temper the flames to -thee." -</p> - -<p> -She covered her face in her hands, and began to weep. Her -tears relieved her. -</p> - -<p> -"And I must really die—so young! Oh, Roland, Roland." -</p> - -<p> -"Child, thou thinkest more of him than of the will of -Heaven. There is a sin in this." -</p> - -<p> -"Heaven's will be done, father. I am not a heroine.' -</p> - -<p> -"Its ways are inscrutable," replied the priest, looking upward. -</p> - -<p> -"Hast thou not even once seen Roland, father?" -</p> - -<p> -"Roland, again!" -</p> - -<p> -"Pardon me, but I cannot help it. I fear his name will be -the last on my lips—his image the last in my heart. Oh, -forgive me this; but I cannot help it." -</p> - -<p> -"They have accused him of treason." -</p> - -<p> -"But there is hope of mercy for him, surely?" -</p> - -<p> -"The proud are ever ungrateful; and say, who can count -on the gratitude of kings? They may forget; but God never -forgets." -</p> - -<p> -"Another day has come and gone—a bright one it has been -to all the world but poor Roland and me; the air so soft, so -bright, so balmy; the leaves so green, the water so blue, the -flowers so fresh and smiling. Can all my griefs be possible? -Another day, and another—and where shall I be then?" -</p> - -<p> -"This is the very selfishness of grief. Dost think thai -thou and Roland Vipont are the only two unhappy persons in -the world?" -</p> - -<p> -The night was far advanced before Father St. Bernard left -her; and before that time, his conversation had proved so -soothing, that in less than an hour after he was gone, she -committed her aching head to the pillow of the hard -palliasse, which we have before described as being in a stone -recess of the apartment, and sank into a deep, but quiet -slumber. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap44"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XLIV. -<br /><br /> -DAVID'S TOWER—THE LOVER. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "I kist with ane sigh the ringlet fair,<br /> - That I shred frae my Marie's golden hair,<br /> - And I thought that I never would see her mair.<br /> - And when I try it to rest on my bed,<br /> - The visions of night surrounded my head.<br /> - But had I the wings of a dove to flee,<br /> - They had nae parted my Marie and me."<br /> - HENRY SCOUGALL, 1674.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -In another chamber of that vast bastille-house, and at the -north-west corner thereof, which overhung the hollow where -the church of St. Cuthbert lay, and the marsh that bounded -the western end of the loch, sat Roland Vipont. -</p> - -<p> -The furniture and appurtenances of his apartment, without -being very magnificent, were certainly better by many degrees -than those afforded to his unhappy betrothed; but then it -must be remembered that she was accused of sorcery, while -he had merely committed high treason; and like hamesucken, -or rising in arms, high treason was but a trivial action among -the Scots of 1537. -</p> - -<p> -He was not allowed to visit Jane Seton; the chamber to -which the warrant of Redhall had consigned him was one of -the strongest in the fortress; and Sir James Riddel was -answerable for his body, dead or alive, when demanded, under a -penalty of ten thousand merks. -</p> - -<p> -Deprived of everything in the shape of weapons, even to -his spurs, the lover sat with his arms folded on his breast, his -chin (which exhibited an untrimmed beard) resting on his -breast, his brows knit, and his eyes full of fire, revolving, as -he had been for the last two days and a sleepless night, and -re-revolving in anger and grief, a myriad of futile projects. -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - "Gloomy as death, and desolate as hell,"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -his thoughts were too impetuous and incoherent to take any -permanent or useful form; but when his eyes rested on the -enormous iron grating which secured his window, or endeavoured -to fathom the tremendous abyss that yawned below—that -abyss where the loch was rolling, every hope died within -him, and he became sick; while the recollection made him -become frantic, that, though he remained inert, secured and -shut up within a few feet of him there breathed, suffered, and -wept one whom he loved to adoration. -</p> - -<p> -All his recent adventures in Douglasdale—the storming of -Fleming the farmer's barmkyn—the poisoning of Nicholas -Birrel—the horrors of his return—the trial—his defiance of -the court—his challenge, and its rejection, had all passed -away from his memory, which retained but one episode, one -vision—Jane, as she appeared before that cruel and -determined tribunal—so pale, so ghastly, so helpless, and so -beautiful. -</p> - -<p> -The recollection was a frightful one. -</p> - -<p> -"And the king, he who loved me so well," thought he; -"has he too forgotten me? James Stuart—James Stuart! the -Douglases have said truly, thou art ungrateful; and more -truly and more wisely hath the good old countess said unto -me a hundred times, 'Put not your trust in princes.' Who -now thinks of the ancient wealth and valour of the Viponts?—who -of their courage and patriotism? The honour of their -name lies buried in the church of St. Colme, and beneath the -moss that clusters on Aberdour—my patrimony gifted many a -year ago to the grasping house of Morton. How unhappy -am I! My whole life has been a struggle between poverty -and pride, earning by wounds, and blood, and toil, hardly and -severely, at sword's point, every penny that clinked in my -pouch; for I have been a soldier of fortune, or misfortune -rather, from my boyhood to the present hour. But have I -not had some bright moments too? Ah, yes—yes! those I -have passed with Jane—with my dear Jeanie; but they have -been like the meteors that have shot over a dark winter sky; -they are passed now, and a double gloom remains behind." -</p> - -<p> -His apartment had two windows, one which opened to the -west, and another to the north; and through both shone the -last flush of the red sunset. -</p> - -<p> -Now two voices beneath the west window, by attracting -his attention, interrupted his sad thoughts, and he listened. -</p> - -<p> -The speakers were in familiar conversation; but there was -something so hateful in their tones, that his heart trembled -with rage as he recognised them; and, impelled alike by hatred -and a fearful curiosity, he drew near to listen. -</p> - -<p> -In an angle of the ramparts, where the curtain wall joined -a corner of the tower, the two gossips were seated on the stock -of a large brass culverin: they were Nichol Birrel and Sanders -Screw. -</p> - -<p> -The yellow, livid visage, matted hair, and enormously thick -beard of the former, and the shrivelled legs, nutcracker visage -of the latter, were distinctly visible in the clear summer -twilight; and there was a broad grin on the face of each as they -conversed on a subject which, as it was pecuniary, interested -them both in a high degree. -</p> - -<p> -"Twenty merks and fifteen mak five-and-thirty merks," -said Birrel, counting on his huge misshapen fingers. -</p> - -<p> -"Ay," responded Screw, with another wide grin, as he -held a piece of paper up to the light, which came from the -west. -</p> - -<p> -"The deil!" said Birrel, "ye dinna mean to pretend that -ye can <i>read</i>, friend Sanders?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, but I ken ilka item off by heart." -</p> - -<p> -"Let me hear, then." -</p> - -<p> -"First," said Sanders, pointing with a finger to the crumpled -paper, which he ogled with the corners of his bleared -eyes, as he indicated each item in succession, "first: 'Accompt -of the haill expenses for ye burning of Lady Jane Seton, -umquhile of Ashkirk, at ye staik, Saint Margaret's Day, fifteen -hundred and thirty-seven——'" -</p> - -<p> -"Weel?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hoolie, man!" responded Sanders, scratching his head. -"'<i>Item</i>; for one staick of aik tree, a penny. -</p> - -<p> -"'<i>Item</i>; for twelve bundles o' faggots, saxpence. -</p> - -<p> -"'<i>Item</i>; for three barrels o' tar and tallow, ten shillings. -</p> - -<p> -"'<i>Item</i>; for greased flax and gunpowder, sax shillings. -</p> - -<p> -"'<i>Item</i>; for an iron chain to bind her to the staik, twenty -Flemish rydars. -</p> - -<p> -"'<i>Item</i>; for a pair o' steel branks and one padlock, to -Jhone, the lorimar, at ye Tron, aucht shillings of our Scots -monie. <i>Summa</i>——'" -</p> - -<p> -"Hech! ye'll hae gude profit off a' this; for I ken ye saved -as mickle tar, flax, and faggots frae the burning and worrying -o' fat Father Macgridius as will put ye owre this job, and -mair." -</p> - -<p> -"Never <i>you</i> heed that," replied Sanders, pawkily; "how -mickle got ye for the brodding o' her?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sax pund Scots." -</p> - -<p> -"Sax pund! my certie, think o' that! Witch pricking is -profitable wark." -</p> - -<p> -"Had ye seen Friar Gourlay," said Dobbie, with a leer, as -he came up and joined them, "by my faith! <i>he</i> burned brawly -when the cardinal had him harled to the Calton and worrit -for his foul heresies. We put a tarred frock on him, sewit -owre wi' bags o' grease and powder, and piled the weel oiled -faggots knee-deep about him. We then fastened up his body -to the stake by three iron cask-hoops that held him erect as -a lance, and the fire bleezed round him like a war beacon. -His yell and skirls were awsome to hear; but the smoke and -the heat soon chokit him; and then, when the breeze blew -the fire aside, we saw him standing upright and stark in the -middle o't. Then his belly fell out, and the flames shot up -between his birselled ribs and out at his scouthered jaws, his -eyen and ear-holes! By my soul! gossip Birrel and gossip -Screw, it was an awsome sicht, and one to be haud in -memorie!" Even Dobbie, connoisseur as he was in these -matters, shuddered at the recollection of this extra-judicial -atrocity. -</p> - -<p> -"But come," said Birrel, "there is St. Cuthburt's bell -striking ten, and we have muckle to do wi' this dame ere -morning peeps." -</p> - -<p> -The trio then knocked at the iron gate of David's Tower, -to which they were admitted. -</p> - -<p> -Roland had heard but a part of their frightful conversation; -it was beyond the power of human endurance to listen -to all those wretches said. He rushed into the farthest -corner of his apartment, covered his ears with his hands, and -wept and groaned aloud in the utter impotency of his rage -and grief. But how much wilder would that rage and grief -have been, had he known that they were all gone to visit his -hapless mistress, for the double purpose of performing some -of those additional tortures to which those accused of sorcery -were usually subjected, by order of the supreme tribunal in -Scotland, and at the same time to accomplish another cruel -plan of Sir Adam Otterburn's device. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap45"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XLV. -<br /><br /> -THE BOON. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Now is't a deed of mercy brings thee here,—<br /> - Of mercy to a suffering fellow man,<br /> - Or is't his rank that summons all thy pity,<br /> - And lends thy tongue its load of eloquence?"—<i>Old Play</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -On leaving King David's Tower, Father St. Bernard passed -through the Spur, by the Castle Port, and descended the -Castlehill-street into the city. -</p> - -<p> -The bells tolled the hour of nine in the Maison Dieu, at -the head of Bell's Wynd, as he passed it, and he saw the -lights gleaming in the chapel of this edifice, which stood on -the south side of the High-street. -</p> - -<p> -The vast height of its buildings cast a dusky shade over -this thoroughfare; and the steep narrow closes which diverged -on each side from it were almost buried in obscurity. In -each of the small round archways, which gave admittance to -these deep and ghostly alleys, when the night advanced an -oil lamp was lighted, a remarkable improvement at this early -period, when neither London nor Paris could boast of such -an advance in civilization, for which our citizens were solely -indebted to their good King James V. -</p> - -<p> -Finding that Edinburgh was becoming a place of resort -from all parts of the kingdom, in 1532, the monarch so far -influenced the town Council, that the High-street was well -paved with large stones, quarried among the craigs of -Salisbury. Many of the more ancient tenements were removed, -renovated, or made more ornamental; while, as before stated, -the citizens had to hang out lanterns to light the narrow -thoroughfares; but as these were made of horn and were fed -with oil, they shed but a dim and wavering radiance on the -enormous stone bastilles and overhanging Flemish fronts, -which are still the leading features of the old grey city of the -Stuarts and Alexanders. -</p> - -<p> -The watching was performed by the burghers. Every man -within the barriers being on guard every fourth night; thus -the whole citizens had to perform military service in rotation, -armed as infantry soldiers of the period, with helmet, corslet -and steel gloves, arquebuse and dagger, or with sword, -pole-axe, and partizan. The citizens of Edinburgh enjoyed the -distinction of wearing "quhite hatts," <i>i.e.</i>, helmets of -burnished steel; and the whole were arrayed under their baillies -four times in the year at a general weapon-show. But to -return. -</p> - -<p> -The prebendary descended the Blackfriars Wynd, at the -foot whereof projected the turret which still indicates the -cardinal's dwelling. Grasped by the teeth of a grotesque -stone monster, a lantern hung above the doorway, and lighted -a large stone panel, whereon were carved and gilded the -armorial bearings of Bethune of Balfour, overshadowed by -the cardinal's tasselled hat. Here the poor priest paused for -a moment, and muttered a fervent prayer for the success of -his merciful errand, and then he tirled the pin, timidly at -first, but boldly afterwards. -</p> - -<p> -After a brief reconnaissance being made of his person -through the vizzying hole, the door was opened by one of -the cardinal's guards, who wore the arms of the archbishopric -on the breast of his purple doublet. -</p> - -<p> -"Is his eminence at home?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yea, father," replied the pikeman, falling back a pace, -with a profound salute. -</p> - -<p> -"Please to announce that Father St. Bernard of St. Giles's -craves the honour of speaking with him alone." -</p> - -<p> -"Deliver this message to my young Lord Lindesay," said -the pikeman to another of the guard, who had overheard the -request; and in less than a minute that young noble, who -was the betrothed of Beaton's daughter, and who acted as -his page and equerry, appeared, bonnet in hand. -</p> - -<p> -"His eminence desires me to say, that Father St. Bernard -is welcome at all times," said he. -</p> - -<p> -Ascending the narrow stone stair of this antique mansion, -and preceded by young Lindesay, whose crimson velvet mantle -and peach-coloured doublet were covered with glittering -embroidery, the prebend, on passing through an opening in a -gorgeous arras, found himself in presence of the primate of -all Scotland, the legate of Paul III. -</p> - -<p> -Brilliantly lighted by candles of perfumed wax, which -burned in rose-coloured globes of Venetian glass, the chamber, -in which we had the honour of introducing the reader to -the foe of Henry VIII., and the terror of the Calvinists, to -the eye of the poor priest, formed a striking contrast to his -own humble dormitory at St. Giles's; but he was not a man -to permit such thoughts to dwell an instant in his mind; -and dismissing them at once, he knelt before the cardinal's -chair, to kiss the white hand which that great and luxurious -prince of the church extended graciously towards him. -</p> - -<p> -He was seated in a large and easy chair of stuffed velvet; -his feet were encased in slippers of morocco, red as his -stockings, and rested on a gilded footstool. Two vases of Italian -glass, exquisitely carved, and glittering with the -golden-coloured and purple wine they contained, together with two -silver baskets, one full of honied biscuits and the other of -grapes, showed that his eminence had been solacing his -solitary hour; for a gittern that lay on a chair announced that -his daughter, the Lady Margaret, had just retired, and the -young Lord Lindesay, having no occasion to remain, followed -her; thus the priest found himself alone with the cardinal, -before whom all his confidence vanished; for, despite his -conscious rectitude of heart and goodness of intention, in -presence of the second man in Scotland, the poor prebend -became timid as a child. -</p> - -<p> -"Welcome, Father St. Bernard!" said the cardinal, pointing -to a seat near his own: "you look pale and fatigued. Here -are red and white Italian wines, and these are better than our -ordinary Rochelle or Bordeaux. To which shall I have the -pleasure of assisting you? and then we will to business after; -for I am certain thou hast come to me on business; no -one," continued the studious cardinal, closing a book he had -been reading, "no one, save my Lord Lindesay, comes near -David Beaton for mere friendship, I find. Red wine or -white?" -</p> - -<p> -"Either, please your eminence—the flask that is next you." -</p> - -<p> -Reassured by the frank manner of the cardinal, and by the -luscious <i>Greco</i> that moistened his tongue, which had been -parched and dry, St. Bernard was about to speak, when the -cardinal again addressed him. -</p> - -<p> -"Dost thou come with new tidings of this Calvinistic heresy, -which spreadeth, even as foul leprosy, over Scotland; or," he -added, re-opening his volume, which was <i>The Franciscan</i>, of -George Buchanan, "or comest thou merely here, as this -arch-heretic sayeth, to exhibit— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - 'The greasy shaven heart,<br /> - A gloomy friar, with flowing gown outspread!<br /> - The twisted girdle, and the hat's broad brim,<br /> - The opened shoe dressed out in monkish trim;<br /> - Below the garb, where we so oft will find<br /> - A brutal tyrant, whom no law can bind;<br /> - The robber, who oppression's armour wields,<br /> - The sensual glutton, to excess who yields,<br /> - To deck the husband's brow, the night will spend;<br /> - The faithless lover, and deceitful friend!<br /> - His modest face, though false, worn as a cloak,<br /> - To gull the plebeian, and delude the flock;<br /> - Ten hundred thousand crimes, wild, dark, and deep.<br /> - He hides beneath the clothing of the sheep!'<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -Holy mother of God!" exclaimed the cardinal (who had -read this passage ironically and emphatically), as he flung -the volume to the farthest end of the apartment, "and -thou permittest this wretch to encumber the earth! Holy -St. Francis of Assisium! thou whose life was a miracle of -humility; who, in a glorious vision, beheld our Saviour -hanging on his cross; and thou hast permitted the heretic dog, -who writes thus of thy clergy, again to escape me!" -</p> - -<p> -"I heard that he had broken forth from your eminence's -archiepiscopal castle of St. Andrew's some months ago." -</p> - -<p> -"True,—while my guards (the drunken rascals!) slept; -but I should have made them answer for him body for body. -Truly, the college of St. Barbe hath reason to be proud of its -professor, this learned Buchanan, for there he is at present -teaching grammar and the humanities; and now I hear that -the Earl of Cassilis (whom I know to be an arch-heretic, -traitor, and corresponder with Henry of England) is about -to secure him from me in his castle of Culzean, as a tutor for -his son, the Lord Gilbert Kennedy. By the cross, he is a -rare tutor! But let this lord beware; for though he is -brother of Quentin Kennedy, that good abbot of Crossraguell, -whose pieties are those of a saint, the people of Scotland shall -see whether a cardinal's hat or an earl's coronet will weigh -the heavier in the scales of justice and of Heaven." -</p> - -<p> -The cardinal was both exasperated and satirical. Father -St. Bernard found that he had chosen an unfortunate time to -prefer his request, and while he was rallying all his thoughts -to introduce a more pleasing topic of conversation than that -broached by the cardinal, the latter said, suddenly, but in a -milder tone: -</p> - -<p> -"And now, my good old friend, St. Bernard, what dost -thou wish me to do for thee?" -</p> - -<p> -"May it please your eminence to grant me your patience -and pardon." -</p> - -<p> -The cardinal put one leg over the other, laid his hand upon -the wine-cup, and nodded, as much as to say—"Good: I see -the reverend father has some request to make of me." -</p> - -<p> -"My Lord Cardinal, dost thou remember the 30th of -August, 1534?" -</p> - -<p> -"The 30th of August, 1534!" repeated the cardinal, -pondering. -</p> - -<p> -"That 30th of August, when I implored your eminence -not to pass through Fife to St. Andrew's." -</p> - -<p> -"I do," said the cardinal, becoming suddenly animated, -"for there were certain mysterious circumstances—but what -of that now? 'tis three years ago." -</p> - -<p> -"My lord, I know not whether that which I am about to -reveal be a sin, or whether, by so doing, I am breaking the -irrevocable seal of confession; the man who told what I am -about to relate, made afterwards a public confession, when he -was expiring in the streets of Kinghorn, but of all the crowd -around him, I alone understood to what he referred—unhappy -being!" -</p> - -<p> -"Go on," said the cardinal, sipping his wine, "I am already -all ears and impatience." -</p> - -<p> -"On the evening of the 26th of August, just the day before -Straitoun and Gourlay were burned for heresy at Greenside, -I was seated in the public confessional at St. Giles's, when -a man entered in great agony of mind, and knelt down before -me. This man, my lord, was one whom the secret orations -of the Reformers and the mal-influence of his chief, for he -was a follower of old Sir John Melville of Raith, had partly -led astray from the fold of the true faith. He was James -Melville, the gudeman of Pitargie. The blessed hand of God -was in it! Like a dark cloud, remorse had descended upon -this lost one, and he informed me, that with sixteen others -he had sworn to slay your eminence as you passed along the -road to St. Andrew's on the morrow; and that this -ambuscade of assassins was to be in waiting near the tower of -Seafield, to the eastward of Kinghorn. In vain did I command -him not to criminate others; but he told me, that your -deadliest enemies, John Leslie of Parkhill, Peter Carmichael of -Kilmadie, Sir James Kirkaldy of the Grange, the Melvilles -of Raith and of Carnbee, the Lord Rothes, and the Laird of -Kinfawns would be there. That Henry of England was in -the plot, and had offered them magnificent bribes; and that -one of his ships lay cruizing at the East Neuk, to secure for -these seventeen conspirators a safe retreat to his own -dominions, whither they were to bring your eminence's scarlet -cope, drenched in blood, as a token that the deed was done, -that their lust of vengeance had been sated, and that thou, -like another Becket, had fallen beneath their swords. -</p> - -<p> -"As the conscience-stricken assassin proceeded, I became -frozen with horror. With groans and with tears he concluded -his dark narrative, and beating his breast, implored me to -make what use of his confession I pleased, but at all risks to -save your eminence. To warn you was impossible, for the -confessional sealed my lips! And I saw you—you, the -greatest hope of our sinking church, and the chief pillar of -the Scottish throne, its bulwark against English aggression, -and Henry's grasping and heretical spirit, about to fall! -Your eminence was to be shot by arquebuses, after leaving -the ferryboat at Kinghorn. After long and deep thought, -the penitent begged that I would use all my little influence -to detain your eminence for two hours upon your journey, -and you may, perhaps, remember——" -</p> - -<p> -"Thy coming to me on the second day after the <i>auto-da-fé</i> -at Greenside, and imploring me to delay by two hours my -journey into Fife," said the cardinal, as he arose and took in -his the hands of the priest. "Thou good and venerable man! -I remember well thy diffidence, confusion, and timidity; thy -fear of being ridiculed and thy dread of offending me; and -how I railed and stormed at thy superstitious presentiment, -as I now remember with regret I named it! Well?" -</p> - -<p> -"At twelve o'clock, on the 30th of August, the knights -and gentlemen I have named, with others, to the number of -sixteen persons, all fleetly mounted and well armed with -arquebuses and wheel-lock calivers, posted themselves among -the copsewood that overhang certain thick hedge-rows, which -lies between Kinghorn and Sir Henry Moultray's tower at Seafield. -The king of England's ship, with all her sails set, was -verging near the shore, while a Scottish flag, to mask her -nation and purpose, was displayed from her mainmast head. -The conspirators loaded their firearms with poisoned balls, -and carefully blew their matches as the bells of St. Leonard's -tower tolled twelve. It was the time at which these assassins, -who were posted eight on each side of the way, expected your -eminence. -</p> - -<p> -"The twelfth stroke of the hour was scarcely given, when -they perceived a man, attired exactly like your eminence, in -a baretta, cope, and stockings of scarlet, come riding up the -narrow horseway, between the dark green hedgerows——" -</p> - -<p> -"What is it thou tellest me? My wraith!" -</p> - -<p> -The priest smiled. -</p> - -<p> -"The seeming cardinal came on, riding fast, as if in advance -of his followers! when, lo! sixteen arquebuses and -calivers flashed from the screens of thick hawthorn and dark -green holly, and prone to the earth fell horse and man, -wallowing in their blood." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Agnus Dei!</i>" -</p> - -<p> -"With a shout, the assassins rushed forward to imbrue -their hands yet further in blood, and found that they had -slain—not David Beaton the cardinal, but one of -themselves—Raith's own kinsman, James Melville, the gudeman of -Pitargie! He was carried to Kinghorn, and there, as I have -said, he died. Without informing me of his project, further -than to delay you, he had thus been guilty of self-immolation, -as having no other method of punishing his own crime and -saving your eminence. And so you were saved. I delayed -you at the pier of Leith for two hours, and at the very -moment you embarked, the mock cardinal was shot on the shore -of Fife. On returning, your eminence was pleased to -remember kindly my warning and presentiment, as you still -named it: then, my lord, you promised me, that if ever I -wished a boon that was in your power, I should consider it -as already granted." -</p> - -<p> -"True—true, my good friend, my reverend brother, I -remember it all." -</p> - -<p> -"You spoke of many a deanery, and many a rectory that -were vacant in Angus, Mearn, and Buchan; but I still find -myself the poor prebend in the parish kirk of St. Giles——" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, yes—I feel that I have been ungrateful, and thou -justly upbraidest me," said the cardinal, hastily opening a -portfolio, "there is the Benedictine Priory of St. Mary, at -Fyvie, the superior of which——" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, Lord Cardinal, nay! Our Lady forbid I should -ever presume to upbraid thee. I am but too glad that among -the maze of more important matters my service has been -forgotten! and thus that I can still appear as a creditor, and -request the fulfilment of your promise." -</p> - -<p> -"Full of shame for having so long forgotten it, I swear to -grant whatever you ask, that may lie in my power to bestow." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, my Lord Cardinal, I seek nothing for myself," said -the poor priest, glancing (like Sterne's Franciscan) at the -sleeve of his threadbare garment; "my wants are few, though -my years are many, and I have neither desire nor ambition, -but in the service of our Master who is in Heaven." -</p> - -<p> -The old man paused, and the great prince of the church, -surrounded by wealth and luxury, grasping all but regal power, -and loaded by the rank and riches of his Scottish, his French, -and Italian titles, felt how great was the gulf between -himself and this humble but purer follower of the apostles. -</p> - -<p> -"If in my power," said he, "thy boon is granted." -</p> - -<p> -"I seek the pardon of my poor penitent," replied St. Bernard, -clasping his hands: "I seek the pardon of Lady Jane -Seton." -</p> - -<p> -The cardinal started. -</p> - -<p> -"Impossible!" he replied, "for the life of this woman is -not in my hands." -</p> - -<p> -"But it is in the hands of the king; and being so, is, I -may say, also in thine, my lord. Thou alone canst save her, -for, selfish in his grief, our good king has abandoned -everything to his ministers." -</p> - -<p> -"Forgiveness for her—a Seton—the daughter of a Douglas, -and the grandchild of old Greysteel! Friar, thou ravest! the -thing is not to be thought of; besides, from all my lord -advocate has told me, she must have been deeply guilty." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, good my lord cardinal, dost thou, in the greatness of -thy mind, conceive that such a crime as sorcery may be?" -</p> - -<p> -"I do not—I believe too implicitly in the power of God -to yield so much to that of his fallen angel; and I believe, -that as Calvinism spreads in Scotland, so will this new terror -of sorcery. I have not studied the trial, but shall do so -to-night, and with care." -</p> - -<p> -"A thousand grateful thanks." -</p> - -<p> -"Immersed as I am among the affairs of this troublesome -state (for its chancellorship costs me dear), and sworn as I -am to extinguish by fire and sword the heresies of Calvin, -which are spreading like a wildfire among our Scottish towns -and glens, I can afford but little time for the consideration of -minor matters, such as this trial. Thou art, indeed, an auld -farrand buckie," added the cardinal, with a smile; "and well -hast thou played thy cards; so rest assured, that if David -Beaton can save thy penitent, with justice—<i>she is saved</i>." -</p> - -<p> -Father St. Bernard's heart was too full to reply: he raised -his mild eyes to the ceiling, and crossed his wrinkled hands -upon his breast. -</p> - -<p> -"On Sunday first, I am to say a solemn mass for Queen -Magdalene in my cathedral church at St. Andrew's," resumed -the cardinal. "Sorely I regret that poor girl's death; but -dost thou know that the Scottish church had much to fear -from her; for, reared and educated as she had been by her -almost heretic aunt, the Queen of Navarre, she was inclined -to view too leniently this clamour raised by the heretics for -liberty of conscience, as they are pleased to term their -abominable creed—a creed by which they make our blessed Gospels -like the bagpipe, on which every man may play a tune of his -own devising. On my way to St. Andrew's, I will visit the -king at Falkland, and this time, rest assured, my reverend -friend, my promise shall not be forgotten." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, my lord!" murmured the now happy old man; -"your eminence overwhelms me." -</p> - -<p> -"There is now little time to lose. Young Balquhan and -twenty arquebusiers of the king's guard must accompany me, -in addition to the pikemen of my own; and the moment the -pardon or order of release (if I deem her worthy of it, and -receive it) is expede, Leslie shall return with it on the spur -to Sir James of Cranstoun-Riddel;" and, as a sign that the -interview was over, the cardinal, with an air of elegance and -grace, which he possessed above all the courtiers of his time, -gave the priest his jewelled hand to kiss, and thankfully and -reverently this good old man, who was enough to be his -father, kneeled down and kissed it. -</p> - -<p> -"A thousand blessings on your eminence! <i>Dominus -vobiscum</i>," said the priest. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Dominus vobiscum, et cum spiritu tuo</i>," said the cardinal, -and stretched out his hand to a silver bell, which he rang. -</p> - -<p> -Hurrying out from an inner chamber, Lord Lindesay drew -back the arras which covered the doorway. -</p> - -<p> -Then, as the priest with a joyous heart was about to retire, -he was appalled by the spectral figure of Redhall (who had -the private entrée of the cardinal's apartments at all hours), -standing close behind the thick, heavy tapestry. -</p> - -<p> -He started hurriedly forward, and the friar saw but too -well that he had not only been listening, but had overheard, -perhaps, the whole of their conversation. -</p> - -<p> -His aspect was fearful; remorse, terror, and despair had -wrought their worst upon him. His jaws had become haggard -and his visage pallid; but the priest thought that he -read a gleam of hatred and rage in his eyes as he passed him. -</p> - -<p> -"If he has been listening, and should undo all I have -done!" thought St. Bernard, breathlessly, as he hurried down -into the dark Wynd of the Blackfriars; "but his eminence -has promised, and blessed be him, my poor little child is -saved!" -</p> - -<p> -Full of joy, and feeling as if a mountain had been removed -from him, the good old prebend knelt down in the dark and -deserted street, and baring his bald head, returned thanks to -Heaven and his patron saint for having inclined the lord -chancellor to hear favourably the prayer he had just preferred. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap46"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XLVI. -<br /><br /> -THIRST! -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "'Twas thou, O love! whose dreaded shafts control,<br /> - The hind's rude heart, and tear the hero's soul;<br /> - Thou ruthless power, with bloodshed never cloyed,<br /> - 'Twas thou thy lovely votary destroyed:<br /> - Thy thirst still burning for a deeper woe,<br /> - In vain for thee the tears of beauty flow."<br /> - <i>The Lusiad of</i> CAMOENS.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Aware that he had been seen by the friar in the act of -listening, the lord advocate decided in a moment upon the course -to pursue. He resolved that the promised pardon should -never reach Edinburgh; but being too wary to make any -reference to the conversation he had just heard, after simply -giving the great cardinal a paper concerning an annual -subsidy from the clergy, which was to be presented to James -V. at Falkland on the morrow, he retired, and hastened to his -own house in the Canongate, where, with the utmost impatience, -he awaited the return of Nichol Birrel, whom, with -Dobbie and Sanders Screw, he had sent on a devilishly -contrived mission to the Castle of Edinburgh, whither we shall -return to observe them. -</p> - -<p> -From his window Roland had seen them enter David's -Tower by the iron gate at the bottom of the stair, by which -they ascended straight to the chamber where Jane Seton was -confined. -</p> - -<p> -After the priest had left her, the latter had become more -calm, though St. Bernard had not held out to her the faintest -hope of mercy or compassion from those powers which had -abandoned her to die, or of rescue from that once terrible -faction to which her family belonged—that faction now so -scattered, crushed, and broken. -</p> - -<p> -In her prison this sad and lonely being had watched the -woods and water darkening far below her; had watched the -stars as one by one they sparkled out upon the night; and -she envied the airy freedom of the passing clouds as they -rolled through the sky—the blue twilight sky of a still and -beautiful summer gloaming. In masses of fleecy white on -pale gold, as they were tinted by the rising moon, they sailed -on the soft west wind in a thousand changing forms. -</p> - -<p> -The very weariness of long grief overcame her, and she lay -down on the humble pallet afforded her by the orders of the -castellan, to sleep—for she had not slumbered during many -nights, and on this night, like her thirst, her fatigue was -excessive. -</p> - -<p> -Her couch was a mere paillasse, with a pillow; for in -everything she was made to feel painfully that she was -the—condemned witch! -</p> - -<p> -The bread given her during the two past days had been -unusually salt and bitter; she endured great thirst; but the -warder had removed the humble vessel that contained the -water for her use, and now, without a drop to moisten her -parched lips, she lay down to sleep. Her bread had been -purposely salted to excess, and thus, having been many hours -without a drop of water, her sufferings were greatly increased; -and when she slept there arose before her visions of streams -pouring in white foam, of verdant banks or moss-green rocks, -of fountains that gushed and sparkled in marble basins, which -most tantalizingly receded or vanished when joyfully she -attempted to drink of them. At other times her kind old -mother or Roland Vipont, with their well-remembered smiles -of love, approached her with cups of water or of wine; but -these dear forms faded away when the longed-for beverage -touched her lips; and then she started and awoke to solace -herself with her bitter tears—the only solace of which the -cruel authorities could not deprive her. -</p> - -<p> -She slept lightly, as a bird sleeps on its perch; but not so -lightly as to hear her prison door opened by the -Messrs. Birrel, Dobbie, and Screw, whose faces were made more -villanous and sinister by the yellow rays of an oil-lamp, which -darted upwards upon them. Birrel's visage, square and -mastiff in aspect, livid in colour, and surrounded by a forest -of sable hair above and below; Dobbie, with the eyes and -moustaches of a cat; and Sanders Screw, though utterly -destitute of any such appendages to his mouth, exhibiting in -his nut-cracker jaws and bleared eyes a sardonic grin of cruelty -and intoxication. -</p> - -<p> -He carried a large Flemish jar, which, strange to say, was -brimful of pure cold <i>water</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Birrel raised his lamp, the lurid flame of which made yet -more livid his yellow visage and ruffian eyes; and its sickly -rays fell on the face of Jane; but the calm and divine smile -that played upon her thin and parted lips, failed to scare -from their purpose these demons, hardened as they were in -every species of judicial cruelty. -</p> - -<p> -Jane was dreaming of her lover, and in her self-embodied -thoughts originated that beautiful smile. -</p> - -<p> -Softly, but soundly, after all she had endured, this poor -victim of superstition and revenge was sleeping now, and -dreaming fondly and joyously—for in a dream every -sensation is a thousand times more acute than it could be in -reality—dreaming of that long life which was denied her, on -this earth at least; she felt on her cheek the kiss of her -young and gallant lover; she saw his waving plume and his -doublet of cloth-of-gold; his voice was in her ear, and it -murmured of his faith and love, that, like her own, would -never die. -</p> - -<p> -Her lips unclosed—an exclamation of rapture would have -escaped her, when Birrel's iron fingers grasped her tender -arm—and she awoke with a start and a cry of despair. -</p> - -<p> -"Gude e'en to ye, cummer Jean," said he, insolently; "byde -ye wauken, or fare ye waur; for gif ye sleep, see, madam the -sorceress," and he shook before her eyes the steel brod, or -needle, which was the badge of his hateful office. -</p> - -<p> -Seated upon one side of her bed, Jane recoiled from these -men, who regarded her with eyes that to her seemed as those -of rattlesnakes, for they were pitiless in heart, and merciless -as the waves of the sea. -</p> - -<p> -We know not if we possess the power to describe the passages -of that night in the vaulted chamber of David's Tower. -</p> - -<p> -In the days of the witch-mania in Scotland it was the -custom, at the desire of the lord president of the college of -justice, of the lord advocate, of the sheriff, or baillie of baron, -or regality, or whoever had tried and condemned a sorceress -to subject her (even after trial) to a further ordeal; for no -persecution, even unto the last hour, was deemed too severe -for those unhappy beings who were accused of the imaginary -crime of selling their souls to Satan, and thus irrevocably -dooming themselves to a punishment that was everlasting. -</p> - -<p> -Two of the most favourite modes of prolonged tortured -were, to prevent the prisoner from sleeping by every device -that the most infernal ingenuity could suggest, and to feed -them on bread salted most liberally, to produce an intense -thirst, to assuage which the least drop of water was denied -them. -</p> - -<p> -Under this treatment many became insane, for the kirk -sessions carried it to the most ferocious excess in the -seventeenth century. -</p> - -<p> -On being awakened, and partially recovering from her -terror, Jane's first sensation was an inordinate desire for -water; her thirst was excessive. Her tongue was parched -and painful, for her food during the two past days had been -coarse dry wheaten bannocks, rendered bitter by the plentiful -supply of salt used in their composition. She had been too -much accustomed to the most cruel and unceremonious intrusions, -to express her keen sense of the present one, otherwise -than by her flashing eyes and dilated nostrils, for her heart -swelled with indignation; but, on perceiving the jar in the -hands of Sanders Screw, her first thought was to satisfy her -thirst, and she implored them to give her a cup of water. -</p> - -<p> -At this plaintive request, a grin spread over the weasel -visage of Screw and the cat-like eyes of Dobbie, while Birrel, -who was somewhat intoxicated, replied with his habitual tone -of insolence— -</p> - -<p> -"By my faith, cummer Jean, ye shall be thirstier and -drouthier than even was I in Douglasdale, ere a drop rins -ower your craig." -</p> - -<p> -Screw set down the jar, placing himself between it and -their victim. The lamp was also placed on the floor, and -seating themselves around it, Dobbie produced from his wide -trunk hose of buckram a pack of dirty and dog-eared cards. -Each worthy official then placed beside him a flask of -usquebaugh, the cards were dealt round, and the campaign of the -night commenced with an old game at which the three might -play, and Birrel could cheat to his heart's content, -notwithstanding that Dobbie knew the backs as well as the front -of his favourite pack of cards. -</p> - -<p> -For a time Jane gazed at them with the same startled and -dismayed expression that the sudden appearance of three -reptiles might have excited; and again she begged a cup of water, -for her thirst (which had been increasing the live-long day, -and to which her salted food, the drugs of the physician, and -the grief that preyed upon her, all alike conduced) had now -attained a degree of torture and intensity which hitherto she -could not have conceived. -</p> - -<p> -Her entreaties were replied to with laughter; and it seemed -as if the sight of the liberal draughts imbibed by the trio -from their flasks increased the desire of the poor captive; -but her prayers and tears were unheeded, and noisily the -game went on. -</p> - -<p> -Two hours passed thus! -</p> - -<p> -The players had drained their flasks, and amid much -cursing, quarrelling and vociferation, the loose change had -rapidly passed from hand to hand, until the whole, amounting -to somewhere about ten crowns, a few fleur-de-lis groats, and -white pennies of James III., were lodged in the pouch of -Birrel, who trimmed the lamp with his fingers, and offered -a brass bodle to each of his companions that the game might -begin anew; but, as the cards were being redealt, he -perceived that, despite their brutal uproar, overcome by -weariness and torture of mind and body, the unhappy girl had -again fallen into an uneasy slumber. -</p> - -<p> -Upon this the brodder arose with a growl, and drawing his -needle from its sheath, gave her a severe puncture in the arm. -The pain of this made her again, with a shriek, start up -wildly from her sitting posture; and, uncovering her snow-white -arm to the elbow, she found that blood was flowing from -the deep incision. -</p> - -<p> -With her imploring eyes full of horror, she turned towards -Birrel and endeavoured to speak, but her tongue, which clove -to the roof of her mouth, failed, at first, to articulate a -syllable; and her lips were hard and dry. -</p> - -<p> -"Did I not tell ye quhat ye micht expect gif ye dared to -sleep," said Birrel, savagely. -</p> - -<p> -She made a gasping effort to speak. -</p> - -<p> -"Water!" she said, in a husky whisper, "water!—a single -drop, for the love of God!" -</p> - -<p> -"Oho!" grinned Screw, "the saut bannocks are now telling -tales!" -</p> - -<p> -He held the Flemish jar of polished pewter before her eyes -and shook the limpid water till it sparkled in the light. -</p> - -<p> -"The haill o' this is for you, dame Seton," said Birrel, -"but there is a sma' bit ceremony to be gone through first." -</p> - -<p> -"Water! water!" moaned Jane, in a whispering voice, -feeling as if her throat was scorched, and her dry, parched -tongue was swollen to twice its usual size. "Oh, man, man!" -she added, clasping her hands, "I will pray for you—I will -bless you in my last hour, with my whole heart, and with my -whole soul, for one drop, a single drop of water!" -</p> - -<p> -There never was a villain so bad as to be without one -redeeming trait; thus, even Dobbie the doomster had his; and -now the piteous tone of Jane's husky voice, her pallid face, -her entreating and bloodshot eyes, had stirred some secret -chord of human sympathy in the recesses of his usually iron -heart. He poured a little water into a cup, and approached -her. Jane's eyes flashed with thankfulness and joy; but -Birrel dashed away the cup with one hand, and laid the other -on his poniard. -</p> - -<p> -Jane uttered a tremulous cry of despair. -</p> - -<p> -"Then false coof and half-witted staumrel!" exclaimed the -witchfinder; "is it thus ye obey the orders of Redhall, who -is our master? Look ye, good mistress, subscribe this paper -and we leave you wi' the water-stoup, to drink and to sleep -till your heart is contented. But refuse, and woe be unto ye! -For here sit we doon to watch by turns, to keep ye, waking -and sleepless, with thirst unslackened, till <i>the hour of doom</i>, -and so, my Lady Seton, ye have the option; sign and drink, -or refuse and suffer." -</p> - -<p> -With one hand he held before her the large and brimming -jar; with the other he displayed a paper whereon something -was written. -</p> - -<p> -Within the deep jar the water seemed cold and pure, limpid -and refreshing; while her thirst was agonizing, and her -whole frame felt as if scorched by an internal fire. Her brain -was whirling, a sickness was coming over her, and human -endurance could withstand the temptation no longer. -</p> - -<p> -For a moment she reflected that it was impossible for any -avowal, verbal or written, to make her more utterly miserable -or degraded than her sentence had already made her, and -aware that nothing now could change the current of her fate -save the royal pardon, of which she had not the shadow of a -hope, she could only articulate— -</p> - -<p> -"A pen, a pen!—the water!—the water! I am dying—dying -of thirst!" -</p> - -<p> -Promptly Birrel produced a pen, which he dipped in a -portable inkstand. -</p> - -<p> -She took it with a trembling hand and paused. -</p> - -<p> -He temptingly poured some of the sparkling water on the -floor. A gleam passed over her eyes, and in a moment she -placed her name, <i>Jane Seton</i>, to the paper, vainly -endeavouring, as she did so, to see what the lines written above -her signature contained; but there was a mist before her eyes, -and now they failed her. She threw away the pen with a -shriek, and stretched out her hands towards the vessel of -water. -</p> - -<p> -"What would ye think, now, if I spilled it all on the -flagstones?" said Birrel, with a grin, as he withheld the jar. -</p> - -<p> -At this cruel threat she could only clasp her hands, and -gaze at him in silence. -</p> - -<p> -After enjoying her agony for a few moments, he handed -her the jar, from which she drank greedily and thirstily. -</p> - -<p> -"Hechhow!" said Birrel, with a triumphant growl, "now -ye drink, cummer, as I drank of the Douglasburn, at the foot -of the Cairntable," and, extinguishing their lamp, the three -wretches retired, and she was left to her own terrible thoughts. -</p> - -<p> -Again and again she drank of the water, but the thrill of -delight its coolness and freshness afforded her soon passed -away; and setting down the vessel carefully, she gazed at it, -and then burst into a passion of tears. -</p> - -<p> -The paper she had signed, what could it mean? -</p> - -<p> -At that moment the clock of St. Cuthbert's church, which -stood in the hollow far down below the Castle, on the west, -struck slowly and solemnly the hour of four, and this sound, -as it ascended to her ear, recalled her to other thoughts. -</p> - -<p> -The morning was shining through the rusty grating of her -window—the morning of another day. She thought bitterly -of the paper she had signed; and deploring her lack of -strength and resolution, buried her lace in her pillow, and -gave way at last to a wild paroxysm of despair. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap47"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XLVII. -<br /><br /> -WHAT THE PAPER CONTAINED. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Oh, misery!<br /> - While I was dragged by an insidious band<br /> - Of pyrates—savage bloodhounds—into bondage.<br /> - But, witness, heaven! witness, ye midnight hours,<br /> - That heard my ceaseless groans, how her dear image<br /> - Grew to my very heart!"—<i>The Desart Island</i>, 1760.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Sleepless, and with the horrible conversation of Birrel and -Dobbie still tingling in his ears, Roland passed the night in -that frame of mind we have endeavoured to describe, though -it can be better conceived. -</p> - -<p> -The morning dawned, and the thick gratings of the -windows appeared in strong relief against the saffron sky, and -sounds of life arose from the waking city below. The bright -sun was gilding the vane of St. Giles, the spire of the -Dominicans, the square tower of St. Mary-in-the-Fields, and the -lofty summits of the town, while, like a golden snake, the -Forth was seen winding afar between the wooded mountains -of the west. -</p> - -<p> -With arms folded, his head sunk upon his breast, and his -hollow eyes fixed dreamily on the floor, Roland was immersed -in a chaos of gloomy thoughts, when a noise occasioned -by a hand raising a window opposite startled him. He looked -up, and a letter fell at his feet. -</p> - -<p> -He clutched and tore it open. -</p> - -<p> -"Jane! from Jane—from my dear Jane?" he exclaimed, -huskily, and pressed her signature to his lips. "It is signed -by herself (how well I know that dear signature!) but -another has written it—St. Bernard, perhaps. Ah, my God! she -is too ill to write, and they separate me from her. -Jane—Jane!" -</p> - -<p> -Now Sir Roland Vipont, though a poor gentleman and -soldier of fortune of the sixteenth century, knew enough of -scholarcraft (which, like every other craft, was not held then -in much repute) to enable him to decipher the letter of Jane -Seton, or rather that letter which, by the order of Redhall, -Birrel had compelled her to sign by the bribe alternately -offered and withheld—a draught of cold water. -</p> - -<p> -For a time there was an envious mist before the hot dry -eyes of Roland Vipont; and thrice he had to pause before he -so far recovered his energies as to be able to read this epistle, -which had been thus delivered to him by the hand of a friend, -as he did not doubt. Literally, it ran as follows: -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -"MINE OWN SWEET HEART, SIR ROLAND, -</p> - -<p> -"Abandoned now by my evil Mentor, and inspired -by the blessed saints, who know all things, uninfluenced by -any man, and of mine own free will, I hereby confess, certify, -and make known unto you, that I have indeed been guilty of -the sorcery and witchcraft of which I am accused; and that -queen Magdalene died by the same magic and power of -enchantment which forced thee to love me. Thus, the strong -regard thou bearest me is in no way attributable to any -beauty, manner, or apparent goodness, with which nature -hath gifted me; but solely to my diabolical arts and sorceries. -At this thou wilt be sorely grieved, but cannot be surprised, -mine own sweet heart, when thou thinkest of the myriad -infernal deeds that are permitted by Heaven and brought -about by the instigation of Satan, to whom I have borne -more than one brood of imps. I saw that thou wert simple, -guileless, good, and brave; and thus were fitted to fall easily -into my snares, where many have fallen before thee; but -Heaven, by revealing my sins, hath saved thee in time. And -I do further confess that I am a false traitor, a dyvour heretic -and renouncer of my baptism. Written for me, by a learned -clerk, at the Castle of Edinburgh, the 17th day of July, in -the year of God I^m V^c xxxvii. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -"JANE SETON." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"My Jane! my Jane! oh, this is hell's own work!" -exclaimed the unhappy young man; who became stricken with -terror at avowals which were so startling and so well -calculated to make a deep impression on any man, and on any -mind of his time, when a belief in the power of the devil was -so strong. "This agony, and not the love I bear thee, is the -work of sorcery. It is a forgery—I will never believe it; -and yet her signature is there! and after trial, when torture, -shame, and agony were past, what could bring forth an avowal -such as this? Oh, what but remorse for deceiving one who -had loved thee so well! The mother of fiends! she so good, -so charitable, so religious, who never missed a mass or festival. -I shudder and laugh at the same moment! A sorceress—Jane -.... where is the Jane I loved—the good and -gentle? She confront the terrors of hell—the touch of -Satan?—impossible—frenzy and folly; and yet, and yet, and -yet my brain is turned, and I feel as if a serpent had thrust -its head into my heart." -</p> - -<p> -Thus thought Roland, incoherently. -</p> - -<p> -All the implicit trust of a lover, and the blind chivalric -devotion of a true gentleman of the year 1537, failed to bear -up Vipont against the chilling superstition which then -overshadowed every mind and everything, and which tinges the -writings of the most subtle casuists and philosophers of those -days; and assuredly one could not expect much deep casuistry -or philosophy either to be exhibited by Roland, whose school -had been the camp, and whose playground in boyhood had -been the corpse-strewn battle-fields of France and Italy. It -was an age of fairy spells and magic charms, mysterious omens, -and gliding spectres—of ten thousand deadly and now -forgotten terrors; and we must enter fully into the feelings of -the age to appreciate or conceive the frightful effect this -unsought for and unexpected avowal of supernatural crime -produced upon the mind of Roland Vipont. -</p> - -<p> -His first impulse was to stigmatize the letter as the most -deliberate of forgeries, to rend it into a hundred fragments, -and to scatter them from the window on the waters of the -loch below; but the memory of the words those fragments -contained, and their terrible import, remained as if written -with fire upon his soul, and wherever he turned he saw them -palpably before him; thus, at times, the most cruel doubts -were added to his former despair. -</p> - -<p> -He felt that his mental agony was rapidly becoming too -great for endurance; and he shrunk, as it were, back within -himself with terror at the idea that he might become insane. -</p> - -<p> -The pride of his strong and gallant heart—a heart that -had never quailed amid the boom of cannon and the shock of -spears, the rush of charging squadrons and the clang of -descending swords—was now bowed down; and covering his -face with his hand, he wept like a child, and with that deep -and deathlike agony that can only be known by the strong -man when forced to find a refuge and relief in tears. -</p> - -<p> -Redhall, that tiger-heart, had calculated well and deeply. -The sight of those tears, produced by the letter he had so -cruelly and so subtly contrived, would have been as balm to his -heart, and as "marrow to his bones;" for he laughed aloud -when Nichol Birrel, by dawn of day, related, in exaggerated -terms, the agony of Vipont, which he had neither the means -of observing or ascertaining; for he had simply, by the -assistance of a ladder, dropped the letter into his apartment, -and hurried away. -</p> - -<p> -"The measure of my vengeance against this man is now -almost full!" said he; "woe be to him who would lessen it! -To have destroyed her while this Vipont believed in her -innocence would have left that vengeance but half sated. Now -have I fairly robbed her of her honour and her very soul—at -least, in the eyes of this gilded moth, who loves her, as I -know, even to adoration; but not more than I do—oh, no!—not -more than I, who am her destroyer, and on whose hands -her blood will lie. Oh, Jane!...." -</p> - -<p> -His head fell forward on his breast. -</p> - -<p> -"But harkye, Birrel," said he, suddenly recovering; -"to-day the cardinal goes to Falkland, to seek her pardon from -the king; and this pardon (if granted) young Leslie of -Balquhan is to convey straight to Sir James Riddel, at our castle -here. Now mark me, Nichol Birrel, and mark me well, this -pardon must be brought to me, and to me alone. 'Tis an -insult of this meddling cardinal to send it to Cranstoun-Riddel, -the castellan, while I am lord advocate. This very -day, after morning mass, his eminence and this holiday -lieutenant of the guards, set out for Falkland. Do thou, with -Trotter and fifteen, or as many good horsemen as you can -muster, follow, and watch well for Leslie's return. Be more -wary than you were in Douglasdale, or what avail your -promises of service? Between this and Falkland there is many -a mile of lonely muirland, where blows may be struck, or bones -broken, and where a slain man may sleep undiscovered till the -judgment-day—see to it! This Leslie is in your hands, as -Vipont was before. A hundred French crowns if thou bringest -me the pardon. Stay!—there is the Laird of Chitto, who hath -a plea before the lords; tell him, that if he wishes well to his -ease, a <i>certain horseman</i> must not pass the Lomond-hill; -there are the Lindesays of Kirkforthar and Bandon, who are -the sworn foemen of the House of Balquhan. I know thy -skill and cunning—ride and rouse them! Ride and raise all -the Howe of Fife on the king's messenger; and here is my -thumb on't, Nichol Birrel, my three best crofts at Redhall -shall be thine of a free gift, heritably and irredeemably, to -thee and thine heirs for ever." -</p> - -<p> -In one hour from that time this indefatigable ruffian had -Tam Trotter and fifteen other horsemen completely armed, -with helmets and cuirasses, gorgets, and gloves of steel, swords, -lances, and petronels, awaiting his orders (and the cardinal's -departure) in the stable yard of Redhall's lodging in the -Canongate. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap48"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XLVIII. -<br /><br /> -THE CROSS AND GILLSTOUP. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "But the curtain of twilight o'ershadows the shore,<br /> - And deepens the tint on the blue Lammermuir;<br /> - The tints on Corstorphine have paled in their fire,<br /> - But sunset still lingers with gold on its spire;<br /> - The Roseberry forests are hooded in grey,<br /> - And night, like his heir, treads impatient on day—<br /> - And now, gentle stranger, if such be thy mood,<br /> - Go welcome the moonlight in sweet Holyrood."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -On the night, with which our last chapters have been chiefly -occupied, at the identical time when Father St. Bernard was -concerting with the cardinal, anent procuring a pardon for -Lady Jane, two other kind friends were elsewhere concerting -the escape of her lover—but planning it like soldiers, by -escalade and at point of the sword. -</p> - -<p> -In the course of the present history we have, more than -once, referred to a certain flourishing tavern, named <i>The Cross -and Gillstoup</i>, which, in those days, displayed its signboard -to the public eye on the south side of the then somewhat -suburban street, the Canongate. -</p> - -<p> -Though the host of this establishment was vitally interested -in the freedom of the master of king James's ordnance, in so -far that he owed him the sum of thirty crowns for wine, it -was not deemed advisable to take him into the conspiracy. -In a little chamber of this tavern, vaulted, like all the first -stories in old Edinburgh, having a sanded floor, a plain wooden -table, and fir chairs of capacious dimensions, a little figure of -the Madonna in a corner, beneath which was a begging-box, -belonging to the Franciscans, inscribed, "Help ye puir, as ye -wald God dit you," sat Sir John Forrester, captain of the -king's arquebusiers, and Leslie of Balquhan, his lieutenant; -though it was past the hour of nine, when, by the laws of -James I., no man was to be found in a tavern after that hour -rang from the burgh bell, under a penalty of warding in the -Tolbooth, or paying "the king's chamberlane fiyftie -schillinges." -</p> - -<p> -Being gentlemen, and moreover officers of the guard, these -two cavaliers considered themselves above such vulgar rules, -and were quietly sitting down to supper. Their bonnets and -mantles, their unbuckled swords and daggers, lay on a side -bench; each had a knife and platter of delft ware, with a -silver-rimmed drinking-horn, before him; and between them -stood a savoury powt pie, with a great pewter jug of wine, -the said pewter jug being polished to the brightness of a -mirror; and Leslie used it as such, to point up his -moustaches; for the hostess of <i>The Cross and Gillstoup</i> prided -herself particularly on the brightness of her pots and -kettles—and then, be it remembered, pewter was a luxury. -</p> - -<p> -Seated at another table in the background, but helped -liberally from the before-mentioned powt pie and the gallant -pewter jug, old Lintstock, the ex-cannonier, with his steel -cap and Jedwood axe laid beside him, his white hair glistening -in the light of three long candles, and his eye looking -very fierce and red, was eating his supper with a stern and -disconsolate but nevertheless very determined aspect; for he -had thoroughly resolved on doing something desperate, though -he had not exactly made up his mind as to what that -desperate thing should be. Ever since his master's arrest the -forlorn old soldier had been protected by Sir John Forrester, -who remarked, as they proceeded to supper— -</p> - -<p> -"A whole day has passed, and yet, Leslie, we have resolved -on nothing; and now our resolutions must needs be sharp -and sure, for high and overstrained in their newfangled -notions of civil authority, the abbot Mylne and Redhall will -come swoop down like a pair of ravenous hawks on poor -Vipont, for his escapade on that devilish day of Lady Jane's -trial." -</p> - -<p> -"I am aware of that." -</p> - -<p> -"Then why did you not come sooner?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sooner? Why, Sir John, I have never had time to cross -myself to-day." -</p> - -<p> -"Busy—thou?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I had a score of matters to attend to. First, I had -to buy me a pot of rouge at the Tron for Madame de Montreuil, -who complains that her complexion hath gone since -the late queen's death; then I had to escort the Countess of -Glencairn and little Mademoiselle de Brissac, who must needs -go on a pilgrimage to the chapel of St. James; then I had -to get a pint of wine at Leith to refresh me; then I had to -write a song for Marion Logan, and to ride to John of the -Silvermills, anent some matters for bonny Alison Hume." -</p> - -<p> -"I knew not that she was ailing." -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, 'twas only to get some almond paste for her dainty -hands, and oil of roses for her hair." -</p> - -<p> -"Plague on thee and them! Canst think of such cursed -trifles when our best friends are in such deadly peril?" -</p> - -<p> -"Now really, Corstorphine," said Leslie, as he spread the -white linen serviette over his red satin trunk breeches; "is -the whole world to stand still because Roland Vipont is laid -by the heels? Or dost thou think that the king will bring -to death, or even to trial, so brave a fellow as our captain of -his ordnance?" -</p> - -<p> -"The devil! thou talkest as if brave fellows were scarce in -Scotland. But the Lady Seton, her chances of life——" -</p> - -<p> -"Are small indeed; but let us only have our Vipont free of -Cranstoun-Riddel, on horseback beside us, with his helmet -on, and his sword drawn, and we shall carry the lady off in -face of all Edinburgh! What care we for the burgher guard, -or the lances of the provost!" -</p> - -<p> -"The king——" -</p> - -<p> -"Will love a deed so bold, and so much after his own -heart." -</p> - -<p> -"If we were to fail?" -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis but dying like bold fellows in our corslets." -</p> - -<p> -"Thy hand, my brave Leslie, for thou art an honour to -thy name," replied Sir John Forrester, with admiration. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor Marion Logan has quite spoiled her fine eyes by -crying for three days and nights consecutively about her -friend." -</p> - -<p> -Here something between a sob and a growl proceeded from -the corner, where Lintstock was gulping down his supper and -his sorrows together. -</p> - -<p> -"Why, Lintstock, my old Cyclop," said Leslie, "thou art -looking grave as a German lanzknecht. Tuts! cheer up; thy -master will soon be out of David's Tower; and then, let Sir -Adam of Redhall look to himself." -</p> - -<p> -"Ay, Balquhan, but let him look well to himself before -that cometh to pass!" -</p> - -<p> -"How, old Tartar! wouldst thou give the king's advocate -a sliver with thine axe?" -</p> - -<p> -"I will hew him to the brisket for having dared to look at -my master's lemane! By St. John! if any man dare look -aboon his rosettes, when passing my master's next lady-love -at kirk or market——" -</p> - -<p> -"Oho!" said Sir John Forrester, hastily; "thou seemest -better acquainted with this matter than most of us. But be -wary, carle, thy head may run under a noose. Some more -pie?" -</p> - -<p> -"If it please ye, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"If it pleases thee, rather. Eat well, my old cormorant; -for it hath been a fast with thee since thy master's arrest. -Now, Leslie, to return to what we were talking of. I know -of no other means of procuring admittance to Vipont's prison -but in disguise. If Father St. Bernard would lend me his -cassock——" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art too tall by eight inches. I know my Lady -Cranstoun-Riddel's little tire-woman," said Leslie, winking, -and clanking his gold spurs. -</p> - -<p> -"I' faith! a nice little dame, with black eyes and pretty -teeth." -</p> - -<p> -"But a saucy darnstocking, spoiled at court by the pages -and archers." -</p> - -<p> -"Through her something might be achieved though." -</p> - -<p> -"Is she particular?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not at all! If she would only conceal me in her room -for one night——" -</p> - -<p> -"Once there, rogue, thou wouldst forget all about poor -Vipont, thy mission, and the coil of stout rope wherewith -thou proposest to line thy trunk breeches." -</p> - -<p> -Here the noise of a window being raised behind them made -Leslie turn his head. -</p> - -<p> -"What is that? Mother of God! what is <i>that</i>?" he -exclaimed, in alarm, with his sword half drawn, on seeing a -black visage, with shining eyeballs, a row of sharp white -teeth, and two black paws, appear between the lifted sash -and the window-sill. -</p> - -<p> -Forrester started, and Lintstock snatched up his axe. -</p> - -<p> -The head grinned and bowed, and waved its black paws -with a grotesque air of respect and deprecation. -</p> - -<p> -"By my soul! 'tis Lady Ashkirk's ill-omened page!" said -the captain, bursting into a fit of laughter. -</p> - -<p> -"How—the evil spirit, anent which we have heard so -much of late?" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, no evil spirit, but a poor denizen of those countries -which lie beneath the sun. Sir Robert Barton, the admiral, -swears they are half men and half marmosets; but Father -St. Bernard told me they were the descendants of Cain. I -am not afraid of it—nay, not I," said the tall knight of -Corstorphine, as he drew on his military gloves, and—but not -without some repugnance—seized the hands of Sabrino, and -drew him into the room. -</p> - -<p> -The poor black boy, whose aspect was now deplorable, fell -on his knees, and poured forth his thanks in frightful mutterings, -that seemed to come from the bottom of his throat, and -lolled out the fragment of his tongue in a way that produced -a striking effect on old Lintstock, and, to say the least of it, -was very unearthly. The old cannonier clenched his axe in -one hand, his wine-pot in the other, and recoiled as from a -snake. -</p> - -<p> -"Lintstock," said Forrester, "thou hast seen this creature -before; dost understand its gibberish?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is thanking you, as I think, sir; but it looks gey -wolfish-like at the last of the powt pie." -</p> - -<p> -"Right, Lintstock," said Leslie, placing the dish before -Sabrino. The famished negro gave him a glance of intense -thankfulness, and straightway plunged his black fingers into -the pie, of which he ate voraciously. -</p> - -<p> -After the night of the earl's adventure on the island, of the -countess's baffled flight, the duel with Sir James Hamilton, -and of Ashkirk's disappearance with Sybil in the boat, Sabrino, -who had escaped all the arquebuse shots by ducking in the -water and clinging to the weed-covered rocks, next day -found himself under dangerous circumstances, for the cavern -which had formed his hiding-place being now discovered and -searched, he had no longer any place of concealment; thus -hunger and the danger of death made him resolve to put in -practice a plan he had frequently conceived, but had not yet -dared to execute. -</p> - -<p> -At certain periods a large boat came regularly from Leith -in the morning with provisions for the garrison, and generally -returned in the evening. An opportunity soon occurred, and -Sabrino, diving under the counter of this barge at the very -moment it left the creek of the Inch, lashed himself (with a -fragment of rope) to the iron pintles which fastened the -rudder to the sternpost. In the summer atmosphere of a -warm July, the water of the majestic Forth was calm and -warm, and the motion was pleasant and easy as the oarsmen -shot their lightened boat across its broad and glassy surface, -on which the setting sun was shining. Though half choked -at times by the salt spray that flew from the oars, beneath -the counter, where he hung, Sabrino, with unflinching -resolution, endured the danger of being towed for three miles, -and was glad to find that the dusk had fairly set in before -the boat was moored to the old wooden pier which then -terminated the ancient harbour under the rampart of the round -tower. -</p> - -<p> -Poor Sabrino knew that all the white men feared and hated -him; but he knew not that he was regarded as little less than -the devil himself—for such he had been considered and -declared to be by the wise and learned of the College of Justice. -Avoiding every person, he had the sense to thread his way -into the city by some secret passage, and went straight to -the mansion of the Ashkirk family. It was silent and -deserted, for the spiders were already spinning their cobwebs -on the lock of its iron gate. Failing also to find Sir Roland -Vipont, and fearing to encounter others, the unhappy mute -had instinctively sought the tavern, where in palmier and -more privileged days he had so frequently brought him -messages from his mistress. -</p> - -<p> -Sabrino knew well the approaches to the place, and entering -the Horse Wynd, cleared at a bound the wall of the kail-yard, -and, reaching the window of the old familiar room, -obtained egress,—not from Roland Vipont, as he had -expected, but by the assistance of Sir John Forrester, as we -have just related. -</p> - -<p> -"Drink," said that frank and stately soldier, handing to -the wet, weary, and famished being a cup of wine, when he -had eaten to his satisfaction; "but now, what in the fiend's -name shall we do with thee? I would not for all my mains -and mills at Corstorphine thou wert found by Redhall living -under my protection; and yet 'twere a foul shame to drive -thee forth, the more so as all men's hands and voices are -against thee." -</p> - -<p> -Sabrino understood Sir John, and hung his head sorrowfully. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, poor devil," he added, kindly, "thou shalt byde -with me, and I bite my glove at all who dare say nay." -</p> - -<p> -"Could we not paint him, or dye him, or scrub him well -with hot water, so that, in colour, at least, he might be like -other men?" -</p> - -<p> -"We shall see," replied the captain of the arquebuses; "I -will talk with my old confessor about it—he knows everything. -But it hath such capacious eyes, and such a nose!" -</p> - -<p> -"By Jove! its face is like a Highland buckler!" added -the other; and they paused to regard Sabrino with all the -curiosity a new species of animal would have excited. -</p> - -<p> -"Sir John Forrester," said Lintstock, "I ken weel that -this creature can clamber like a squirrel; and gif we show him -the tower wherein my puir maister girns and granes for his -luve and his liberty, I warrant he'll sune rax to the window, -Put a saw between his teeth, a coil o' stout rope on his back, -and I warrant me we shall hae Sir Roland Vipont beside us in -three hours after." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou art right, Lintstock," said Leslie, while Sabrino, -on hearing himself referred to, looked fixedly at the one-eyed -gunner; "this creature's black hide hath brought thy brave -master and his fair mistress into sore trouble, and I know of -none who ought to exert his energies more than he in their -service. It is agreed; we shall show him the rock, the tower, -the window, and that by daybreak to-morrow." -</p> - -<p> -Sabrino understood them perfectly, while he gazed at them -with the painful and speechless anxiety which his face depicted -at times so powerfully; and, anxious to express his gratitude, -his eyes shone, while he grinned and nodded, saying— -</p> - -<p> -"Ees—ees—ees!" laid his hands repeatedly on his breast, -and placed the hand of Sir John Forrester on his woolly -head, in token that he was their liege and true man. -</p> - -<p> -At that moment a loud knock was heard at the door. -</p> - -<p> -"Under the table, Sabrino—hide, hide," said Leslie; "I -would not for my helmet full of gold pieces, thou wert seen -with us—quick!" -</p> - -<p> -Sabrino dived below the table, and again the knock was heard. -</p> - -<p> -"Who is there without?—come in," said Sir John. -</p> - -<p> -Carrying in his hand his bonnet, which was adorned by a -long white feather, a graceful young man, attired in the most -gorgeous and extreme of the fashion of that age, a doublet of -peach-coloured velvet, sewn with seed pearls, and stiff with -silver lace, a Genoese mantle of blue velvet, and trunks and -hose of the palest yellow satin, appeared. -</p> - -<p> -"My Lord David Lindesay!" said the two officers of the -guard, as they started from their seats. -</p> - -<p> -"A message from the cardinal," said the young lord, who -was soon to become the primate's son-in-law. "His eminence -sets out to-morrow for Falkland Palace, to visit the king, and -begs the favour of some twenty arquebusiers, under your -guidance, Laird of Balquhan, as the roads are neither safe -nor sure at this time." -</p> - -<p> -Leslie looked at his captain. -</p> - -<p> -"Half the guard are at Falkland already, under the other -lieutenant, the Laird of Bute," replied Forrester: "but my -friend Balquhan will be at the disposal of his eminence -to-morrow with twenty arquebusiers. At what time do you -mount and ride?" -</p> - -<p> -"After morning prayer," said the young lord: "you know -how unsafe the country is around Falkland—for his eminence, -at least." -</p> - -<p> -"True; the Kirkaldies of Grange, the Melvilles of Raith, -and the Seatons of Clatto, are no friends of his." -</p> - -<p> -After a few more words of course, and tasting their wine, -the heir of the princely line of Crawford bowed and retired. -</p> - -<p> -"A hundred devils!" said Leslie, as he buckled on his -sword. "This duty will prevent me assisting in the escape -of our poor Vipont." -</p> - -<p> -"It matters not, my true Leslie, for I alone will see to -that. But how, a-God's name, am I to get our sable friend -conveyed to my quarters in the palace? If our fat host of the -<i>Cross and Gillstoup</i> should see him, all will be over with him." -</p> - -<p> -After some consideration to preclude his being seen, and -avoid the dangerous surmises consequent thereto, it was -arranged that Sabrino should retire in the same manner as he -had entered—by the window, which he immediately did. -</p> - -<p> -Thereafter, having met the captain and lieutenant of the -guard at the low wall which then bordered the west side of -the Horse Wynd at the foot of the Canongate, Leslie muffled -him up to the eyes in his velvet mantle, and he was taken -past the guards, pages, &c., into the inmost court of the -palace, where Forrester concealed him in an apartment, the -key of which [Transcriber's note: last line of paragraph -was missing from source scan.] -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap49"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XLIX -<br /><br /> -THE CASTAWAYS. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "'Tis very certain the desire of life<br /> - Prolongs it: this is obvious to physicians,<br /> - When patients, neither plagued with friends nor wife,<br /> - Survive through very desperate conditions,<br /> - Because they still can hope, nor shines the knife,<br /> - Near shears of Atropus before their visions:<br /> - Despair of all recovery spoils longevity,<br /> - And makes men's miseries of alarming brevity."—BYRON.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -We have related how the Earl of Ashkirk, as the only means -of avoiding death or recapture, had spread the lug-sail of his -boat to the western breeze, and was borne down the Firth of -Forth. -</p> - -<p> -The gale was freshening, and it blew the white foam from -the waves, as they rose and fell, and rose again in rapid -succession, as if to meet the sharp prow of the boat, which shot -through them like an arrow through a wreath of smoke. -The boat of the Inch was left behind; for unwilling to run -the risk of being carried out to sea, its crew gave up -the pursuit in despair. The earl laughed in triumph, and to -his breast folded Sybil, who was trembling with terror at the -world of water that whirled around them. -</p> - -<p> -Dim and distant, the hills of Fife and Lothian seemed soon to -be afar off; the isle the fugitives had left seemed also sinking -fast, and little trace of the shore remained, after the moon -sank behind the peaks of Stirlingshire. The earl now -attempted to turn shoreward; but in a moment found the -impossibility of making the least headway against the strong -and increasing wind, the ebbing tide, and the fierce current of -the mighty Firth, which had there expanded to an ocean. -</p> - -<p> -"The shore—the shore now. Oh, good, my dear earl, turn -towards the shore!" implored Sybil, in great terror, as she -clung to her companion. -</p> - -<p> -"It is impossible! Against such a wind as this, I should -merely have our boat upset, and this, dearest Sybil, would -not be very pleasant." -</p> - -<p> -"Mercy! we shall be swept out into the homeless ocean!" -she continued, with increasing fear, as the boat rose suddenly -up, or surged as swiftly down into a deep, dark, and watery -hollow, while the heaving of the waves increased every -moment. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, now, Sybil, afraid!—thou a Douglas of Kilspindie? -I will never believe it. Let us bear right on towards the -bonny Bay of Aberlady, which will soon receive us, and lo! we -shall find ourselves just under your father's castle of -Kilspindie." -</p> - -<p> -"Better are we here," replied Sybil, with a kindling eye: -"know you not that, like Tantallon, it is garrisoned by a -party of Hamiltons?" -</p> - -<p> -"Now, God's malison be on this tribe, for they have come -out of their native Clydesdale to spread even as locusts over -all the Lowlands." -</p> - -<p> -"But there is many a crofter at Kilspindie, and many a -stout fisherman at Aberlady, who will shelter us for the love -they bear our grandsire Sir Archibald Douglas, and for the -sake of the old race. They are all leal men and true to the -Douglas name." -</p> - -<p> -"I have sufficiently perforated one Hamilton to-night, and -have no wish to come to handyblows with another, especially -while having thee, my little lady, to protect." -</p> - -<p> -"And dost thou think, cousin Archibald, that I can neither -fire a petronel, or unwind a pistolette, as my aunt, your -mother, doth?" -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, Sybil, thou wouldst surely shut fast those black -eyes of thine, when the wheel whirled and the sulphuret -sprung; for thou hast seen less of blood and blows, of men -unhorsed and armour riven, than the countess, my mother; -for thou never sawest the Douglas banner in its glory, in the -days of James IV., as she tells us many a time and oft. -Why, bethink thee, Sybil, two hundred gentlemen, Douglases, -all dubbed knights of name, and wearing spurs of gold, were -found lying slain on Flodden field—that fatal field where -bold King James, with ten thousand of the Scottish noblesse, -fought till going down of the sun, against six-and-twenty -thousand Englishmen." -</p> - -<p> -The earl spoke of these and other things to draw Sybil's -attention from their present danger; but the wind was still -increasing, and he had thrice lessened the sail since leaving -Inchkeith; the moon was gone, the waves were becoming gloomy, -and though Sybil was too much accustomed to boating to be -sick, she trembled at the increasing tumult of the Firth, and -shuddered in the cold night wind that blew over it, for the -plaid in which the earl enveloped her failed as a protection -against the chill ocean atmosphere. This plaid—a plain -Border maud of black and white cheque, he had long worn as -the best of disguises, for it was a warm and ample, though a -coarse and humble garment. -</p> - -<p> -For a full hour the boat beat fruitlessly against the wind, -which now blew off the land, and again the earl was forced to -run her before it, to avoid being swamped by the fierce and -foam-headed waves, that careered ahead and astern of her; -and now the dark, shadowy outline of Gulane Hill came out -of the dusky vapour that rested on the face of the water to -the east. Aware that the little sandy Bay of Aberlady lay -below it, he trimmed the lessened sail and grasped the tiller, -in the hope of beaching the boat upon its level shore; but, -lo! the envious wind veered suddenly a few points more to -the south, and blew directly off the coast, and with such -sudden fury, that the boat was nearly overset. -</p> - -<p> -Instantly securing the tiller by a rope, the earl rushed to -the lug-sail to take in its last reef, and fearing to be dashed -on the rocks that fringe the coast, he was now compelled to -pass the wished-for haven, and lie still further off, with his prow -turned towards the pathless waste of the German Sea. Then, -but only when he thought of Sybil and what she was suffering -from cold and terror, did his brave heart sink with -apprehension. Muffled completely in the plaid, she endeavoured -to shut out the sight of the black tumbling waves and their -foam-flecked summits, the sound of the moaning wind and -the creaking of the labouring boat, but every instant the noise -increased, and every shower of spray that flew over her was -heavier than the last. She prayed with fervour; and the -impetuous earl, who was rather inclined to swear, both at the -sea and wind, more than once, amid the wild discord of the -waves, heard her small soft voice raised in prayer to God, and -to St. Bryde of Douglas, the patron of her race, the virgin -of Kil-dara. -</p> - -<p> -The castle of Kilspindie, with its great square tower and -sandy shore, the beautiful Bay of Aberlady, with its sheltered -village, were now astern; and nothing was seen but the bluff -headland of Gulane-ness, with the white foam rising like -smoke against its tremendous front of rocks. -</p> - -<p> -Wan gleams of uncertain light shot over the desolate -estuary; the whole prospect was dreary and alarming. Strong, -active, and determined, Lord Ashkirk might have reached the -shore by swimming, but Sybil—— -</p> - -<p> -He struck his sail almost in despair, and now bent all his -unwearying energy to bale out his little craft; for she was -filling fast, and he fully expected to be swamped by every -mountain-like wave, that with its monstrous head curling -aloft, and snowy with foam—a foam rendered yet more terrible -by the gloom and obscurity around it—rolled on towards the -rocks of Grulane-ness, drenching the labouring skiff in its -passage, and threatening to engulf it in an abyss for ever. -</p> - -<p> -He was without fear for himself; but when he beheld Sybil -crouching down beside him, his heart filled with anxiety and -dread, with suspense and remorse; and he reflected that were -the catastrophe, which he dreaded and expected every moment, -to happen—he thrust away the thought as too horrible -to contemplate, and baled on with renewed energy, pausing -only to kiss the upturned brow of Sybil, or press her trembling -hands. They were becoming very cold. -</p> - -<p> -A thousand thoughts of home and friends, of love and life, -came vividly on her mind; and Sybil reflected that she was -happy even on yonder closely guarded island, when she -contrasted the security and hope it afforded with the danger and -hopelessness of their present predicament. -</p> - -<p> -Day began to dawn in the east, and with joy poor Sybil -hailed it; for though helpless and feeble, she had seen and -admired the unwearying energy of her lover, in keeping the -boat alive in such a frightful sea. His exertions were almost -superhuman, for her existence depended upon them. -</p> - -<p> -They were now past that tremendous promontory. -</p> - -<p> -Uninfluenced by its bold abutment, the waves were more -smooth; and again the earl spread his sail, and made another -vain attempt to gain the southern shore. -</p> - -<p> -A sickly yellow glow spread over the east, as the sun arose from -the ocean enveloped in watery clouds; the wind had not yet -spent its fury; the whole aspect of the sky and water was -dark and dreary The summit of the land was veiled in mist; -its shore was fringed with rocks, on which the surf was -beating; and from these rocks the wind blew fierce and strong. -No vessel was in sight; and not a living thing was visible -but the startled seamews and kitty-wakes, the gannets and -cormorants, that were whirled past them, screaming on the -wind, which often dashed them into the bosom of the -upheaved water. -</p> - -<p> -"Now Heaven be thy protection, my Sybil!" exclaimed -the earl, as he sank exhausted beside her; "for I can do no -more." -</p> - -<p> -Worn out by toil, and exhausted also by loss of blood from -a flesh wound received from the sword of Barncleugh, and -still more overcome by his frantic and unaided exertions -during so many hours to trim the boat and keep her floating, -he now found himself conquered, and completely overcome. -He was pale as death, his hands trembled, his eyes were -bloodshot, and the blood that trickled from his nostrils declared -painfully how far he had overtasked his strength. -</p> - -<p> -"God protect thee, Sybil!" he repeated, as he pressed his -trembling lips to her brow; "God protect thee, for all my -poor strength has failed me now." -</p> - -<p> -He burst into tears, from excess of weakness; but this was -the emotion of a moment only; he smiled sadly, and -encircling Sybil with his arms endeavoured to warm her. -</p> - -<p> -Again he gathered courage, and setting a few feet of sail, -grasped the tiller, and strove fruitlessly to keep the boat to -the wind; but filling fast with every wave, she laboured -heavily; and now the tumult of the water increased; for -right ahead rose Ibris, Fidra, the Lamb, and Craigleith, four -little rugged isles that lie at the very mouth of the Firth. -On Fidra stood a little chapel, and amid its ruins (which are -yet visible) a myriad of gulls and gannets build their nests, -and thick as gnats in the sunshine the sea birds were flying -around its rocks on the stormy wind. -</p> - -<p> -These four isles are but enormous masses of basalt; and -against them the Firth and ocean poured their adverse tides -in ridges of foam; then seeing the utter futility of attempting, -in such a gale, to weather them, the earl let slip his sail, -and with a crack like the report of a musket, the braces flew -through the blocks, and the nut-brown canvas vanished into -the air. -</p> - -<p> -He now resigned the boat to its fate, and expected every -moment to see it dashed upon the isle of Ibris, or swept -through the little channel that lay between it and the shore, -and through which a strong current was running. -</p> - -<p> -By a miracle they passed these isles, and were swept to the -seaward. -</p> - -<p> -"A ship! a ship! dear Archibald—look, my lord—a ship!" -exclaimed Sybil, as, with an expression of the most extravagant -joy, she threw her arm towards it—"a rescue from the -jaws of death!" -</p> - -<p> -Eagerly the earl raised his drooping head; and lo! a stately -merchant ship, with her large foresail set, but her topsails -and square spritsail close reefed, was standing northward -across the Firth from the harbour of North Berwick. Ashkirk -waved his grey plaid, and in a few minutes, by the altered -course of the vessel, it was evident they had been observed by -the mariners, who were seen crowding the high forecastle, the -still higher poop, and low waist, which was profusely covered -with religious emblems, and she had a large blue Scottish -cross painted in the centre of each of her sails. -</p> - -<p> -"If it should be a ship of the king—one of Barton's fleet!" -muttered the earl; who, before her appearance, had been -entertaining visions of founding a chapel to St. Bryde of Douglas, -on the bleak rocks of Fidra, if they escaped from their present -perils. -</p> - -<p> -On came the ship, looming largely, with the water plashing -under her gilded bows, which rose and fell on the heaving -water. -</p> - -<p> -Manned by eight stout mariners, a boat shot off towards -the castaways, and in a short time the half-lifeless Sybil and -the earl, scarcely less exhausted, were conveyed on board -the strange ship, which proved to be the <i>Saint Adrian</i>, a -large vessel belonging to the monks of the May, who in those -days possessed many trading barks, and trafficked largely with -the Hanse Towns, Flanders, and the Baltic. Once safely on -board, the necessity of caution prevailed over the earl's piety, -and concealing the rank of Sybil and himself under feigned -names, he merely stated that they had been accidentally -blown off the coast. -</p> - -<p> -A run of a few hours brought the ship to the Isle of May, -whose cliffs of dark green rock, with the seafowl floating in -clouds above them, rise precipitously on the east, and descend -to foam-beaten reefs on the west. -</p> - -<p> -On this verdant island stood a chapel dedicated to St. Adrian, -who had been murdered there in his hermitage, by the pagan -Danes, in the year 870; near it stood a priory belonging to -St. Mary of Pittenween, the monks of which received the -rescued fugitives with every hospitality; and there necessity -compelled them to reside for several weeks; for in that remote -place there was seldom any intercourse with the main land. -</p> - -<p> -Of all that was passing in the capital Sybil and her lover -were happily ignorant. -</p> - -<p> -Communication between places was slow in those days, and -continued to be so for many a generation after. Even a -hundred and fifty years later, the abdication of James VII. from -the British throne was not known in some parts of Scotland -until four months after the usurper had installed himself in -his Palace of St. James. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap50"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER L. -<br /><br /> -FALKLAND. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Where Ceres gilds the fertile plain,<br /> - And richly waves the yellow grain;<br /> - And Lomond hill wi' misty showers<br /> - Aft weets auld Falkland's royal towers."<br /> - RICHARD GALL.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -At the foot of the beautiful Lomond hills, lie the town and -palace of Falkland—a palace now, alas! like Scotland's -ancient royalty, among the things that were. -</p> - -<p> -Many old trees in the neighbourhood, the remnant of the -ancient royal forest of Falkland, still impart to the fragment -of the palace an air both melancholy and venerable; for it -is but a fragment that survives, and makes one think with -sorrow and anger of that remorseless system of absorption -which is laying Scotland bare, and, year by year, sweeps -southward some portion of her money and vitality. A day -is coming, perhaps, when Holyrood, the last and least beautiful -of our Scottish palaces, may be abandoned like the rest, -if not to some ignoble purpose, at least to ruin and decay. -The fine old pile of Falkland was successively engrafted on the -ancient tower of the Thanes of Fife, by the third, fourth, and -fifth Jameses, until it formed a quadrangle, one side of which -alone survives the decay consequent to its desertion, and the -neglect with which every feature of Scotland's ancient state -is treated by the partial and (so far as <i>she</i> is concerned) -penurious government to which she yearly hands over the six -millions of her revenue. -</p> - -<p> -Lying under the northern brow of a mountain, and so -situated as to be concealed from the sun during a considerable -portion of the winter, Falkland is a quaint-looking place, -removed from any great thoroughfare, and still inhabited by a -primitive race of weavers, who have, generation after generation, -followed the same trade as their fathers. Their dwellings -are thatched; each cottar has his kailyard; and, with -much of our old Scottish simplicity and contentment, they -jog through life as their "forbears" did before them; and it -is no uncommon thing to hear the older burghers quoting the -learned sayings, and relating the quaint doings of his Majesty -James VI., as if he still kept court amongst them. -</p> - -<p> -Lying at the foot of the steep eastern Lomond, with its -vanes and carved pinnacles overtopping the foliage of its old -green copsewood, the ruined palace of Falkland, when seen -from a little distance, resembles an ancient Scoto-French -chateau, and the white smoke of its burgh-town (now diminished -to a village), as it curls from the green foliage that -fringes the glen, makes rustic and beautiful this solitary place, -which was the scene of many a sorrow and many a joy to the -illustrious line of our ancient kings. -</p> - -<p> -The blending of the solid Palladian with the lightness of -Gothic architecture, imparts to the fragment of the palace -now remaining a singularly pleasing effect. On each floor of -the most ancient portion there are six windows, divided by -stone mullions, beautifully moulded, and between them are -buttresses formed by foliaged columns and Tuscan entablatures, -which support inverted trusses covered with the most -elaborate carving. Designed by the same unfortunate -architect who planned the Tower of James V. at Holyrood, the -western front is in the castellated style, and exhibits two -finely proportioned round towers, between which is the lofty -archway forming the entrance to what was once the grand -quadrangle. In former times, this arch was closed at night -by strong gates, and was defended by loopholes in the towers -which flank it. Medallions in exquisite relief, the frequent -initials, crests, and arms of James V. and Mary of Guise and -Lorraine, the gallant thistle with its imperial crown, deep -panels with many a coat armorial, grotesque waterspouts and -gothic pinnacles, with many an elaborate niche and beautiful -statue, all combine to show that Falkland, if not the largest, -was one of the most beautiful of Scotland's ancient palaces. -</p> - -<p> -The gay cardinal had tarried on his way from Edinburgh, -having made a little detour round the Moss of Kirkforthar -to visit a certain fair dame, who is still known in Fifeshire -tradition as the Lady Vane; thus it was the forenoon of the -24th July, before he approached Falkland; and on the next -night Jane Seton was—to die. -</p> - -<p> -Matters of state, rather than her safety, had drawn the -cardinal to Falkland. An ambassador was coming from England, -and against that ambassador he had resolved to bias the -mind of James V. -</p> - -<p> -Despite his ecclesiastical severity, and despite all that has -been urged against the character of this determined prelate—our -Scottish Wolsey—we must assert fearlessly, that he -was as true a Scotsman as ever breathed: and that should -go far to redeem his errors in the present day, when Scottish -spirit and Scottish patriotism are somewhat scarce commodities. -Beaton was the sternest, the most active and distinguished -ecclesiastic of his time. The Protestant faith recoiled -before him, and its defender "by the grace of God," -Henry VIII. of England, laid fruitlessly many plots for his -death by assassination; but Beaton's master mind circumvented -them all. He was too sagacious, and perhaps too -worldly, to be superstitious, even at that time; and whatever -may have been his errors and his failings (and these, God -wot, were not few), his steady maintenance of our Scottish -honour and independence should ensure him some little -credit, even in the present age. It cannot be denied that he -viewed the tenets of the Calvinists with contempt, for he -considered them as the natural enemies of Scotland, of her -church, and of himself; hence his indomitable attachment to -that church which he considered the only true path to Heaven, -and whose tenets he upheld by death and fire, and sealed by -his own blood. -</p> - -<p> -Cardinal Beaton had a grave, firm, warm, and confident -mode of expression, which was never used without producing -a due effect on the frank and manly James V., who admired -his lofty spirit, his keen perception in the field and cabinet, -the vastness and profundity of his political projects; his -staunch maintenance of the national dignity against English -aggression, his avowed hostility to Henry VIII., which, with -his bold and reflective character, together with his merciless -persecution of all schismatics, combined to make him the first -man in Scotland, and the most formidable prince of the church -in Europe. -</p> - -<p> -The summit of the steep and lofty Easter Lomond, which -rises abruptly up from Falkland, was veiled in mist, but below -the sunbeams glanced along its sides of dark brown heath, as -the cardinal's train rode through the stately park of the -palace. It was a glorious summer day; that morning a -shower had fallen, and everything looked fresh and beautiful; -the Rose-loch, with its flowery islets, where the snowy swan -and dusky ouzel built their nests among the water-lilies, was -glittering with light; and the old woods of Falkland and -Drumdreel rustled their heavy foliage in the gentle wind. -</p> - -<p> -James V. sat in the recess of a mullioned window, and -gazed listlessly at the summer landscape, which included the -whole strath of Eden, the fertile and magnificent Howe of -Fife, from Cupar to Strathmiglo, spread before him, bright -with verdure and glittering with sunlight; but James was -caressing a little dog that had belonged to his Magdalene. -A ribbon encircled its neck; and, though worn and faded, he -would not permit it to be removed, "for," as he said, "her -dear pretty hands had tied it there." Again and again -James looked sadly at the ribbon, and thus he saw neither -the vast landscape nor the cardinal's glittering train, which -(headed by Leslie of Balquhan) swept round the palace on -the soft sward, and entered the quadrangle. -</p> - -<p> -James was in deep mourning for the queen. His doublet, -trunk breeches, hose, and rosettes were of black satin, lightly -laced. His mantle was of black velvet, with a cross of white -silk sewn thereon. All the ornaments of the apartment had -been removed, save a large crucifix, which stood on the ebony -table, and a portrait of his grandfather James III., whose -golden locks made him the original of "the yellow-haired -laddie," a song and air composed for him by his favourite -musician Rodgers. The walls were covered with rich French -tapestry, exhibiting landscapes embroidered with green and -gold. The furniture was all of the darkest walnut wood, -elaborately carved in the fashion of James III., and inlaid -with mosaics from Florence—the thistle and the fleur-de-lis -studded with their golden leaves the oak beams and deep -panels of the ceiling. -</p> - -<p> -Moulded, and cusped with stone, the gothic windows were -filled with lozenged panes in leaden frames, stained with arms -and devices; and the curtains which shaded them were of -Venetian brocade. -</p> - -<p> -Absorbed in his grief, the king for some time past had -abandoned all his favourite amusements—horses, hounds, -hawks, music, and masquerading, had all been forgotten; for -the livelong day he sat alone and brooded over the memory -of Magdalene of France. This lethargy communicated itself -to the court. The dogs lay sleeping in the yard; the -hooded hawks winked and nodded on their perches; the -royal standard hung still and unwaven on the gateway; -the swans seemed to sleep on the loch; and the arquebusier -at the archway leaned on the boll of his weapon, and dozed, -while the pages, who had been playing with quoits in the -park, slept on the sunny benches before the gate. -</p> - -<p> -The approaching train electrified the inhabitants of the -palace. -</p> - -<p> -"The cardinal himself, or may the devil take me!" cried -little Lord Claud Hamilton, the king's favourite page, a -saucy boy of sixteen, with a long feather in his cap, and a -precocious moustache on his upper lip, as he sprang off the -bench, and all the pages rushed into the palace to announce -the intelligence. -</p> - -<p> -The dogs barked, and the hawks screamed and flapped -their wings. -</p> - -<p> -The arquebusier shouldered his arquebuse, and turned out -the guard; the arms rattled on the pavement; the drum -beat; and the whole palace of Falkland was aroused like -that of the sleeping beauty in the wood. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap51"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER LI. -<br /><br /> -THE KING AND THE CARDINAL. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Ne'er should be a vassal banished,<br /> - Without time to plead his cause;<br /> - Ne'er should king his people's rights<br /> - Trample on, or break the laws:<br /> - Ne'er should he his liegemen punish,<br /> - More than to their crimes is due;<br /> - Lest they rise into rebellion—<br /> - That day sorely would he rue."<br /> - <i>Rodrigo of Bivar.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"His eminence the cardinal, may it please your majesty," -said the little Lord Claud, announcing the visitor. Setting -down the lap-dog, King James started from his seat, and, -without any further preamble, the tall and stately figure of -Beaton approached him. James knelt for a moment to -receive his blessing, and then pressed his hand in silence. -</p> - -<p> -The poor king looked paler, thinner, and sadder than when -the cardinal had seen him last in Holyrood, beside that grave -over which a nation mourned; but this did not prevent the -perfect courtier from saying— -</p> - -<p> -"I rejoice to see your majesty looking so well." -</p> - -<p> -"It is not merely to flatter you have disturbed my sad -retirement," said James, with one of his old smiles; "but -welcome heartily, Lord Cardinal; I have longed to converse -with you anent many things." -</p> - -<p> -The little dog whined, and the king took it again in his -hands to caress it, while the page withdrew, and the cardinal -seated himself. "Here are splendour and magnificence," -thought he, "saloons full of guards, and chambers full of -courtiers, pages, lacqueys, wealth, and rank—but where is -happiness?" -</p> - -<p> -"My lord," said James, "I have many questions to ask -you concerning my poor Vipont, the trial of the Lady Seton, -and her mad brother's invasion of Inchkeith single-handed. -Faith! he is quite a devil of a fellow! But first tell me -what rumour is this, of cannonading in the river Forth, which -reached me this morning." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, it was merely Monseigneur Claude d'Annebault, admiral -of France, who has brought the new ambassador, escorted -by eight frigates, which have anchored off the Beacon rock -at Leith, where they saluted the Scottish flag, and the ships -of Sir Robert Barton replied by their culverins." -</p> - -<p> -"France," said James, sadly; "and this ambassador?" -</p> - -<p> -"Will pay his respects to your majesty to-morrow." -</p> - -<p> -"By my soul, I thought it was the Lord Howard with the -fleet of my uncle Henry; and that he had come to blows with -stout Sir Robert." -</p> - -<p> -"A new ambassador from England is also coming hither." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah!—and concerning what?" -</p> - -<p> -"A league with Henry. Need I implore your majesty," -said the cardinal, in the most impressive tones of his -persuasive voice, "need I implore you to beware! He comes to -crave an interview, that Henry may instil into your heart his -own hatred of France and heresy to God." -</p> - -<p> -"Hatred to the France of my Magdalene—the France of -Scotland's old alliance! Nay, my Lord Cardinal, I need no -warnings. There is a grasping and aggressive spirit in -England, of which Scotland should beware; but can my heretic -uncle imagine that he will induce me to bring about here the -same change of religion that he, by a single word, has wrought -in England?" -</p> - -<p> -"He cannot; but he thinks that England will never be -thoroughly Protestant, or at least opposed to Rome, while -Scotland remains Catholic and true; thus his whole soul is -bent on breaking that continental alliance which aggravates, -as he thinks, our old and just hostility to his people." -</p> - -<p> -"Is not the alliance broken? My poor little Magdalene!" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou hast most unwisely and unjustly permitted Sir -David Lindesay of the Mount, George Buchanan, and others, -to satirize the bishops and orders of clergy: yet, in the name -of the latter, I have this day approached your majesty, to -offer an annual subsidy of fifty thousand crowns from the -rents of the kirk, to enable you to defend yourself more ably -against England and her allies the Portuguese." -</p> - -<p> -"This is well! the crowns are right welcome." -</p> - -<p> -"An ambassador——" -</p> - -<p> -"What—another?" -</p> - -<p> -"Is coming from Rome, with a consecrated sword, which -with his own sacred hands his Holiness has whetted on the -altar-stone of St. Peter—yea, whetted against the English -people and their king, whose fleet is now out on the high -seas to intercept the envoy and his gift." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed!" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou seest how far these English will dare." -</p> - -<p> -"If the ambassador is taken before Barton can reach the -Downs, then, d—n England—we'll go to war with her! and -here into your hands I commit the books written by Henry, -and brought hither by the Welsh bishop of St. David's, -wherein he defends so boldly the principles of Luther." -</p> - -<p> -"Good; I shall burn them on the first occasion, before my -gate at St. Andrew's," replied the cardinal, as he threw them -outside the chamber door to his page who waited in the -gallery. -</p> - -<p> -"With thy advice I broke off the meeting which Henry -proposed at York; so we may now prepare for war in earnest—a -war that will pour forth our Scottish blood like water; -but on the plains of our hereditary foe. The Scottish people -should be ever like a drawn sword—the king being the hilt, -his subjects the blade." -</p> - -<p> -"Gladly will I head the army," said the cardinal, whose -eyes sparkled. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay," replied James, dryly, and with a smile; "should -war be resolved on, I shall lead the army in person, as my -predecessors have always done. What say the laws of the -church on prelates leading armies?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is forbidden by the canons of John VIII." -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Oliver Sinclair of Ravensheugh is a brave serviteur -of the crown, and he may be my lieutenant-general." -</p> - -<p> -"Sire, Sir Oliver of Ravensheugh is a mere laird, and no -lord will follow him to the field. But we are well prepared -for any emergency. The Earl of Buchan commands on the -eastern marches, the Lord Sanquhar on the west; and the -Lord Tester commands the middle. Their paid bands of -horse and foot are ever on the alert. Our ships of war are -not so numerous as they soon shall be; but they fully equal -those of England in every respect, for the <i>Unicorn</i>, the -<i>Salamander</i>,* the <i>Morischer</i>, and the <i>Great Lion</i>, are each as large, -if not larger, than the boasted <i>Harry</i>. Then we have the -little frigate taken by Sir Robert Barton from the Admiral -Howard, in Yarmouth Roads." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* These two were burnt by the English, in 1544. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"The <i>Mary Willoughbie</i>?" -</p> - -<p> -"Mounting twenty culverins, besides arquebuses and -crossbows; and we have six others on the stocks at the New -Haven. Including those which came from France," continued -the cardinal, consulting his note-book, "we have one -hundred and fifty pieces of cannon in our arsenal; and -Scotland was never better prepared for war than at the present -hour—nay, not even in the days of James IV." -</p> - -<p> -"For which I thank the ability of your eminence," replied -James, who cordially disliked his uncle Henry. "My father, -James IV., entered England, whenever he chose, at the head -of an army; but I, unfortunate! have a stiff-necked people, -who, much as they love me, will not fight unless their -parliament tells them to do so; and, worse than all, cardinal, -the people—hate thee!" -</p> - -<p> -"Faith, sire, they are ready to hate any one—the rabble." -</p> - -<p> -"Impatient of thy power and princely offices, they think -the royal authority will soon sink to nothing beneath the -shadow of so great a minister. But what matters it? I long -for war, because I am weary of life; while thou longest for it, -simply because thou hatest the English. Lord cardinal, I -am come of a doomed race," said James, with a shudder, as -the vague terror that his house was fated to fall with himself -came upon him, and a gloom spread over his manly brow. -"I remember me of a prophecy that was made by a weird -woman of Strathgryffe to Allan the great steward, 'that -never one of his race should comb a grey head;' and -fearfully hath that prophecy been verified!" -</p> - -<p> -The eyes of the good king filled. -</p> - -<p> -"Come my time when it may," he continued, "I know -that my dear Scottish subjects will remember me long. -Cardinal, my people call me <i>king of the puir</i>, and I am prouder -of that title than the thorny crown the Alexanders, the -Constantines, and the Braces have left me. The blessings -of the poor and the lowly attend me when I walk abroad, -without guards, without retinue, without arms. <i>I hate the -nobles</i>, for they are ever ready to barter their country and -their God for foreign gold: and Scotland's nobles will one -day be Scotland's destruction. Pardon this honest vanity; -but I feel that to reign in the hearts of my people is a great -and glorious thing. There are many kings in Europe, but -not one is called the father of his poor but James Stuart of -Scotland. I am ever among them. I visit the highways and -the byways, the gloomy streets, the miserable garrets, and the -famished cottages where pestilence, or poverty, or tyranny -have been. I know where misery is, or wrongs are endured. -Disguised as a beggar, I discover them; as a king and a -gentleman I alleviate or avenge them. The hard hands I have -shaken, and the humble hearts I have gladdened, will serve -me to the last gasp; and the ingleside where a king has sat -and supped his kail with the gudeman, or toyed with his -bairns, will long be remembered in tradition when the king -and the clown are blended in one common dust. Thus I feel -with joy that I shall go down to my grave at Holyrood with -the blessings of my people, and shall be remembered long in -the land, which my father bequeathed me from the Field of -Flodden." -</p> - -<p> -The king paused; and the cardinal, remembering his pledge -to Father St. Bernard, deemed this the best opportunity for -opening the trenches. -</p> - -<p> -"Sire, this is a good and holy frame of mind," said he, -"and I sometimes see the truth of what Buchanan teaches -(heretic and republican though he is) that impulses to good -or evil are common to all ranks of men, and in these respects -all men are equal." -</p> - -<p> -"Cardinal, all men are equal, too, in the grave. Were a -beggar laid beside me at Holyrood, he would be as great as -me, and I no greater than he." -</p> - -<p> -The cardinal could scarcely repress a gesture of impatience. -</p> - -<p> -"I fear me," said he, "that the solitude of Falkland -oppresses your majesty's mind?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is in solitude that God speaks most to man; and I, oh -cardinal, have been in solitude since my poor Magdalene was -lost," replied James, kindly caressing the little dog. -</p> - -<p> -"She is not lost, but gone before." -</p> - -<p> -"Cardinal," said James, looking up with his hazel eyes full -of tears, "I pray for her daily." -</p> - -<p> -"One act of mercy performed in her name and memory, -will do more for the soul of Magdalene than a thousand -prayers." -</p> - -<p> -The king looked earnestly, perhaps suspiciously, in the dark -and majestic face of Beaton, and said,— -</p> - -<p> -"Your eminence actually means this?" -</p> - -<p> -"Most solemnly!" -</p> - -<p> -"Then what is this act of mercy?" -</p> - -<p> -"A pardon for the Lady Jane Seton." -</p> - -<p> -James's bright eyes flashed with fire, and he twisted his -brown moustache with anger. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, by the Holy Communion, this is too much; a -pardon for the destroyer of Magdalene of France—for this -daughter of a Douglas, and sought in this tower of Falkland, -the very chamber where her sire the Lord John of Ashkirk, -and her grandsire Sir Archibald of Kilspindie, detained me -once a prisoner, with a guard of some five hundred Douglases, -from whose surveillance I had to fly like a thief in the night! -Lord cardinal, it is impossible." -</p> - -<p> -It was seldom that James refused him a favour, and his -eminence was piqued. -</p> - -<p> -"There is but one day now, and I beseech your majesty to -consider well." -</p> - -<p> -"I have considered well. The Countess of Arran and I -talked over the matter for three hours yesterday." -</p> - -<p> -"The Countess of Arran!" muttered the cardinal; -"women—women! there is ever mischief where they are concerned. -It would have been well had they been altogether omitted -in the great plan of human society." -</p> - -<p> -"And to lessen this evil to the public thou keepest a dozen -of them shut up in the tower at Creich, all fair and jolly -damosels," said the king, with something of his old raillery; -"truly, lord cardinal, my subjects of Fife are much indebted -to thee." -</p> - -<p> -"I assure your majesty," said the cardinal, with increasing -pique, "that to the best of my knowledge the whole trial and -accusation hath been the prompting of revenge in Sir Adam -Otterburn of Redhall." -</p> - -<p> -"Of my lord advocate? Impossible! why, the man is -virtuous as Scipio, and upright as Brutus." -</p> - -<p> -"But in their excessive zeal, the judges have wrongly -construed the depositions. I implore you to reflect; her death -will make an irreparable breach between the races of Stuart -and Douglas. War alone will not make a monarch illustrious. -The splendour of valour and chivalry dazzles for a time; but -a noble action lives in the memory of the people for ever." -</p> - -<p> -"True; but beware, lest I deem thee a follower of Angus." -</p> - -<p> -"I follow a Master who is greater than all the princes of -the earth," replied the stately prelate, warming; "and the -opinions of the poor worms that crawl on its surface are -nothing to me." -</p> - -<p> -"Is this the fag-end of some old sermon?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sire, thou mockest me, and I have not deserved it of -thee," said the cardinal, rising with dignity; "but let not -the ambassadors of foreign princes see thy weakness, and how -thou carriest thy vengeance even against a helpless woman. -Was it for such an act as this, that Francis the Magnanimous -sent thee the collar of St. Michael; that the great Emperor -Charles, the victor of sixty battles, sent thee the Golden -Fleece; and English Henry, his noble Order of the Garter? -I trow not. Glory and virtue cannot exist without mercy—the -first is but the shadow of the other two. In this case, -close thy heart against hatred, and thou wilt soon become -merciful, even to these hated Setons and Douglases. Sire, -sire, to thy many good actions add but this one more." -</p> - -<p> -"Cardinal, thou pleadest well; but sayest nothing of my -gallant Vipont, my comrade in many a hairbrained French -adventure. I would have given my best horse and -hound—even Bawtie, to have seen him confronting Abbot Mylne and -his fourteen black caps! But the sorceries, the vile sorceries -of his lady——" -</p> - -<p> -"Are about as true as the miracles of Mahomet." -</p> - -<p> -"How! Did she not confess them to the whole bench?" -</p> - -<p> -"True," replied the cardinal, with a smile; "when her -tender limbs were being rent asunder by the rack." -</p> - -<p> -"The rack! the rack! Oh, was it only on the rack she -confessed these things?" -</p> - -<p> -"As thou, sire, or I would have done, under similar -circumstances." -</p> - -<p> -The king seemed thunderstruck. -</p> - -<p> -"A pen! a pen! though a Seton, and a Douglas's daughter, -too, I forgive her—she is saved." -</p> - -<p> -A few hours after this, when the sun was setting on the -East Lomond, Lewis Leslie of Balquhan, mounted on a fleet -horse, with the pardon, signed, sealed, and secured in a pouch -that hung at his waist-belt, was galloping through the parks -of Falkland, on his way to the capital. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap52"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER LII. -<br /><br /> -THE LAIRD OF CLATTO. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Farewell Falkland, the fortress of Fyfe,<br /> - Thy polite park, under the Lawmound law;<br /> - Sumtyme in thee I led a lusty lyfe,<br /> - The fallow deer to see thaim raik on raw,<br /> - Court men to cum to thee, they stand grait aw,<br /> - Sayand thy burgh bene of all burrowis baill,<br /> - Because in thee, they never gat gude aill."<br /> - <i>Complaynt of the Papingo.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -By the machinations of Redhall, and the subtle ability of -Birrel, his messenger, there lay many a deadly barrier, and -many a sharp sword, between the gallant Leslie and the city -of Edinburgh. -</p> - -<p> -The last rays of the sun had vanished from the furzy sides -and green summit of the East Lomond, once called the Hill -of the Goats, in the language of the Celtic Scots, when he -quitted the park of Falkland, and struck into an ancient -horseway, which, under the shadow of many a venerable -oak-tree, led him towards Kirkforthar; and soon the hill of Clatto -became visible as it rose about five miles distant on his left. -</p> - -<p> -At that very time a party of horsemen, well armed with -lances, two-handed swords, and daggers, and wearing steel -caps, with jacks of mail, rode round by the edge of a great -and dreary peat-moss, which then lay at the base of Clatto -Hill; and passing the old chapel of Kirkforthar, concealed -themselves in a thicket of beech-trees, near an ancient mill, -some moss-grown fragments of which are still remaining in -the highway. There two of their number dismounted, and -borrowing a couple of shovels from a neighbouring cottage, -with the utmost deliberation, after carefully removing the -green turf, proceeded to dig a <i>grave</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Of these horsemen, fifteen were Redhall's own vassals, led, -not by Birrel, for that arch-conspirator had reserved unto -himself another part in this cruel and cowardly drama, but -by Tam Trotter and Dobbie, both of whom felt their personal -importance and dignity increased to an unlimited extent by -this command; and Dobbie's cat-like visage wore a comical -expression of martial ferocity, as it peeped out of the depths -of a vast helmet of the sixteenth century. -</p> - -<p> -The other horsemen were led by John Seaton of Clatto, the -representative of a family which had long been infamous for -its lawless acts and readiness to perform any outrage. The -ruins of their tower are still to be seen at the south-east end -of Lathrisk, as the parish was then named. -</p> - -<p> -The old road from Cupar to Kinghorn passed through a -gorge, called Clatto Den, and in the face of the mountain -which overhung that narrow bridlepath there lay a cavern, -the mouth of which was concealed, but whose recesses afforded -a subterranean communication with the vaults of the strong -tower above; and there the bandit family of Clatto were wont -to rush out and butcher those unsuspecting persons who -rashly passed through the den alone, either by night or by -day. James IV., when travelling with two esquires, had -narrowly escaped assassination there; but cutting a passage -through, escaped, leaving one of his assailants minus a hand. -In his ignorance of the owner's free propensities, the king -took shelter in the tower, when finding that Seaton's sixth -son was maimed, the guilt of the family came to light; the -secret passage to the tower was discovered; the old ruffian -laird and all his sons were hanged, save John the youngest, -who, being then a child, escaped to figure on the present -occasion. -</p> - -<p> -Justice was more severely administered under James V.; -thus, the exchequer of the Laird of Clatto being somewhat -low, the accoutrements of his fourteen horsemen were rather -dilapidated and rusty; but, like their riders, the horses of his -troop were fresh, strong, sinewy, and active. Having a plea -anent meithes and marches with the Boswells of Dovan, the -promise of a decision in his favour had drawn him from his -lair on the dark errand of Redhall. -</p> - -<p> -The cavern that lay below his tower is now concealed, by -the impending side of the den having fallen down a few years -ago, and choked up the entrance; but the peasantry still -point to the place with fear and abhorrence. -</p> - -<p> -Rendered thirsty by a six miles' trot from the tower of Clatto, -John Seaton, while his men were coolly digging a grave, went -boldly to the mill of Kirkforthar and demanded a cup of ale, -upon which the miller gave it submissively, and without -asking a question, for he knew that it was as much as the lives -of his whole family were worth, to ask on what errand the -Laird of Clatto was abroad in the gloaming. -</p> - -<p> -"Harkee, miller," said he, with a grin, exhibiting (between -his bushy moustaches and beard, which almost concealed the -cheek-plates of his open helmet) a set of those sharp white -teeth, which bespeak a strong healthy fellow, who is often -hungry but always happy: "Harkee, carle miller; haud fast -your yett, steek close your een and lugs, and steek them -ticht, for the next twa hoors; and tak' ye tent to hear nocht -else, but ablins the splash o' your milnwheel, till the mune -glints abune the moss." -</p> - -<p> -"Langer, gif it please ye, laird," replied the poor miller, -trembling. -</p> - -<p> -"Ou, that will be lang enow; but tak' tent o' my words; -hear ye nocht, and see ye nocht; or I may come doon by the -Mossend some braw nicht, and the mill o' Kirkforthar will be -toom o' a tenant in the morning; keep close by your ingle -cheek, carle, for the chields o' Clatto winna thole steering." -</p> - -<p> -And carefully wiping a few drops of ale from his cuirass, -which was magnificently cut, worked, and inlaid with the -most rare damascene work, he left the low thatched mill, and -sprang on horseback. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile Leslie was galloping by the northern base of -the East Lomond. His horse was a strong and active roadster, -which he had received from the king's master-stabler. -Fortunately he had taken the precaution to retain his armour, -which was a ribbed Italian suit, studded with gilded nails, -and on the globose cuirass of which his coat of arms were -engraved. His gauntlets were overlapping plates, without -finger-scales, thus, with the ample steel hilt of the sword, forming a -double protection for the right hand. His arms were a long -straight rapier and dagger, and at the bow of his demipique -saddle he had a pair of firelock dagues, or pistols. The latter -every gentleman carried when travelling; and the former were -as necessary to a cavalier of the time as his feather or spurs. -</p> - -<p> -His horse having lost a shoe, the delay caused by the -necessity of having this loss repaired by a roadside Vulcan made -the evening dusk before he approached the mill of Kirkforthar. -The summer moon shone brightly in the blue sky, and clearly -and strongly the outlines of wood and mountain rose against it. -</p> - -<p> -On Leslie's right rose the steep Lomond; and on his left -extended the vast moss, amid the wilderness of which many -a deep pool of water lay gleaming in the moonlight. The -district was desolate and wild; but no idea of danger or of -molestation occurred to the mind of the solitary horseman, -who rapidly approached the mill of Kirkforthar, where the -dark foliage of some old beech-trees overshadowed both sides -of the way; and where, save the cry of the cushat-dove, all -was still as death. A red spark that glimmered among the -trees, alone indicated where the mill lay. -</p> - -<p> -Leslie checked the speed of his horse, as the road plunged -down into this obscurity, which he had no sooner penetrated, -than he found his course arrested by two bands of horsemen, -who wheeled round their ranks from each side of the road, -barring their passage by their levelled lances and uplifted -swords. Well was it for Leslie that his fiery horse made a -demi-volte, giving him time both to escape their weapons and -unsheath his own. -</p> - -<p> -"Make ye way, sirs! I am on the king's service!" he exclaimed, -still backing his horse, but disdaining to fly. "Plague! the -sheriff of Fife has surely bad deputies! But, whoever -you are, rascals, the life of Balquhan for the best life among -ye!" -</p> - -<p> -And dashing spurs into his horse, he broke through the -whole band like a whirlwind, thrusting one through the body, -bearing down another, unhorsing a third with his foot; and -passing unhurt through the hedge of steel around him, left -John of Clatto and his ruffians to deposit one of their own -number in the grave they had dug so carefully in the thicket -near the mill. -</p> - -<p> -He heard behind a storm of oaths and outcries, mingled -with the clash of arms, and the rush of galloping hoofs, as -the horsemen broke tumultuously out of the wooded hollow, -and poured along the highway, in fierce pursuit of him. -Heedless of their taunts and shouts, Leslie spurred on: he -had now been made aware that there were those upon the -road whose interest it was to intercept him. On, on he went -by the skirts of the desolate and moonlighted moss, and his -anxiety was not lessened by the reflection that he had to pass -by the Tower of Bandon, whose proprietor was his enemy; -and in a few minutes he saw the square outline of this -fortalice, with its angular turrets and grated windows, rising -above the roadway, among a group of old ash-trees. -</p> - -<p> -The pursuers were close behind. -</p> - -<p> -Leslie was almost tempted to turn towards the moss; but -to one so ignorant of its paths, such a measure might prove -a certain death, while the risk was scarcely less in keeping -near the barony of Bandon. Half-a-mile before him, on the -open muirland, he saw several men on horseback, and his -practised eye soon discovered that they were twelve in -number, and armed, for the moonbeams were reflected from twelve -helmets. Then his heart became filled with rage; for though -he knew not why his path was thus beset, he knew that if he -were slain, and the pardon was not delivered by a certain -hour in Edinburgh, the unhappy Jane Seton, the promised -bride of his friend, would assuredly be led forth to perish by -a shameful and frightful death. -</p> - -<p> -Many of the troop from which he had escaped, not less -than twelve, perhaps, were scarcely a hundred yards behind -him; now he saw as many more in front, and his forebodings -told him they were the Lindesays of Bandon. At Balbirnie -there stood an ancient cross, erected by a gentleman of the -neighbourhood who had slain another at that place; and this -cross (which is still standing) Leslie knew would afford him -a sanctuary, if his pursuers were old Catholics; but he -remembered that the Reformation had made vast progress in -Fife, and that its proselytes would not hesitate to violate any -sanctuary; so, instead of pressing onward to gain this bourne, -supposing that the direct road might be beset still further -on, he turned abruptly to the left, and plunged down a narrow -strath, which led, as he was aware, towards the village of -Markinch and the strong castle of the Lundies of Balgonie. -</p> - -<p> -A shout burst from the horsemen on the muir, on finding -that he thus avoided them; and, joining with those who came -from Kirkforthar, they all urged their horses to the utmost -speed to intercept the gallant messenger. Many a dague -and petronel were fired after him, and he heard the balls, as -they whistled sharply past his ear, crash among the branches -of the wayside trees, or sink into the flinty road; but after -some twenty or thirty shots, the firing ceased, as the troopers -rode in such haste that they had not time to reload their -firearms. On, on came horses and men at headlong speed, -rushing, a troop of evil spirits, along the moon-lighted strath; -now dashing through coppice and underwood, then splashing -through a brawling mountain burn; now sweeping noiselessly -over the yielding moss and heather muirland, and anon breasting -gallantly up the pasture braes: but Leslie, being mounted -on one of King James's best horses, fresh from its stall at -Falkland, though he did not leave his pursuers altogether -behind, was yet enabled to keep a considerable distance -between them and himself. -</p> - -<p> -And now, upon a little eminence, the village of Markinch, with -its venerable square steeple of the eleventh century, arose before -him, and near it he fortunately left almost the half of his -pursuers, floundering up to their girths in the deep and dangerous -marsh which encircled the village on every side save one. -Here to halt was vain; for the unscrupulous Lairds of Clatto -and Bandon had men enough to sack and destroy the whole -kirk-hamlet; so forward pressed the fugitive, intent on -reaching the castle of Balgonie, or the ancient mansion of the -Beatons of Balfour, where the archbishop of St. Andrew's -and his nephew, the great cardinal, were born. On, on -yet! and he soon found himself among the woods of the Leven; -dark and thick, old and stately, the beeches were in the full -foliage of July, and the dense old Scottish firs intertwined -their wiry branches with them: and now the river, broad, -deep, and hoarse, in the full fury of its summer flood, swollen -by a night of rain, lay rolling in foam before him; and upon -its opposite bank rose, from a wooded eminence, the strong -and lofty donjon tower of that time-honoured, but now -extinct race, the brave old Lundies of Balgonie. -</p> - -<p> -Glittering in the moonlight, like a silver torrent, the -beautiful Leven swept out of the far and dark obscurity of its -foliaged dell, and in its crystal depths (save where the foam-bells -floated) the sombre outline of the castle, with its turrets, -and the steep knowe on which it stood, with all its waving -trees, were reflected in the deep and downward shadows. -</p> - -<p> -There were not less than twenty mounted spearmen still -upon his track, and, lo! a deep, fierce current lay foaming in -his front. On a level sward, Leslie paused with irresolution, -and before plunging into the stream, surveyed it, but surveyed -in vain to find a ford. -</p> - -<p> -He looked back. The hill he had descended was covered -with whins and scattered trees; and there, far in advance of -their comrades, came four horsemen, who were now close upon -him. With a fervent, almost a ferocious prayer to Heaven, -he drew his sword and awaited them, for at the first glance -he discerned that one of the four was his enemy Bandon, -who, to breathe his panting horse, advanced leisurely at a trot -before his three immediate followers. -</p> - -<p> -"Guid e'en to thee, my light-heeled Leslie," said he, with -a sardonic grin; "thou hast gien us a fast ride and a far one!" -</p> - -<p> -"Beware, Bandon; I ride this night on the king's service." -</p> - -<p> -"I ken that well." -</p> - -<p> -"And still thou darest to molest me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yea, would I, though ye rode on the errand of the king -of hell instead of that of the King of Scotland. Have at -thee—for thou art a Leslie of Balquhan!" -</p> - -<p> -"Beware, I tell thee, beware! My life is not my own to-night," -cried Leslie, guarding the impending stroke of Lindesay's -uplifted sword; "beware thee, till to-morrow only. I -am the bearer of a royal pardon to Edinburgh." -</p> - -<p> -"To thy grave alone thou bearest it!" cried the other, -furiously. -</p> - -<p> -Leslie parried the blow, and then replying by a thrust at -the throat of his antagonist, before withdrawing his sword, -bestowed a backhanded stroke at another horseman, who had -covered him with his brass petronel, a stroke which rendered -his better arm useless. Another deadly thrust relieved him -of a second enemy, and then he had but two to deal with. -</p> - -<p> -Round and round him they both rode in circles, but by -point and edge he met their cuts and thrusts; till observing -that Bandon was close to the edge of the stream, he suddenly -put spurs to his horse, and charging him with the utmost -fury, by a blow of his foot forced him right over the bank, -where his horse fell upon him, and with its rider sank into -the river. There Lindesay became entangled beneath the -animal, which snorted, kicked, and plunged so violently, -that he was swept unresistingly away with the current and -drowned. Next morning the miller of Balgonie, on finding -his machinery stopped and the dam running over, was horrified -to see a horse and its rider, in armour, lying drowned -and jammed under the great wooden wheel of his mill. -</p> - -<p> -A volley of petronels from the bank above Leslie left him -no time for further defence or reflection; and with a shout of -defiance he leaped his horse boldly into the stream, and, -regardless of the bullets which plunged into the water -incessantly, exerted every energy to gain the opposite bank, using -his hands and knees, half swimming, to relieve the animal of -his burden (which was not a light one, the rider being in -armour): keeping its dilated nostrils above water, and yielding -a little to the current, he ultimately crossed, successfully -and securely. -</p> - -<p> -With flattened ears and upraised head, the broad-chested -steed breasted gallantly the foaming water, and snorted with -satisfaction on feeling the firm ground at the opposite side, -where Leslie uttered a shout of triumph as he scrambled up -the bank, and thus by one bold effort found himself free. -</p> - -<p> -Oaths and cries of rage resounded among the woods behind, -and many a trooper urged his horse towards the brink, but -their hearts failed them, and not one dared to cross the deep -and rapid Leven, by which their intended victim had been -saved and their leader swept away before their eyes. The -lieutenant of the king's guard now leisurely examined the -knees of his horse and the girths of his saddle; looked to -his sword-belt and spur-leathers; recharged his petronels, -and glanced at the pouch which contained the pardon of -Jane Seton. He then wiped his sword and remounted. -</p> - -<p> -Reflecting that the river was now between him and his -enemies, that he was several miles out of the direct road, and -that (except the ducking) he was not in the least the worse -either of the ride or the combat, he resolved, instead of -seeking shelter either at the place of Balfour or the castle of -Balgonie, to push onwards to Kinghorn. -</p> - -<p> -The ramparts of this stronghold, which are eighty feet in -height, were glimmering in the moonbeams, above the tossing -foliage, as he descended into the hollow which lies to the -south of it, and then turned westward, little thinking that -the ferocious Laird of Clatto, with Dobbie, Tam Trotter, and -some fifteen horsemen, in anticipation of such a measure, had -long before wheeled off to the right, and were pushing on the -spur towards the Kinghorn road to intercept him. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap53"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER LIII. -<br /><br /> -THE FIGHT AT INVERTEIL. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Let us hasten to receive them,<br /> - Placing in the foremost ranks,<br /> - Those who bear the arquebuses;<br /> - Let the horsemen next advance,<br /> - With the customary splendour<br /> - Of the harness and the lance."—CALDERON.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -With a heart divided between emotions of rage and exultation, -the fugitive messenger rode towards Kinghorn. -</p> - -<p> -The aspect of the tract of country he crossed is very different -now from what it was in those days. Many places that are -bare pasture lands were then covered by dense thickets of -natural wood; other places, that are now fertile and arable, -were covered with broom and whins of such gigantic size that -horsemen might have been concealed among them; while all -the straths and glens were filled with the water which then -flowed through innumerable mosses and marshes. Streams, -which were then impassable rivers, have now, by the drainage -of the land and other agricultural improvements, shrunk to -mere burns or mountain runnels; while those which were -then burns and trouting streams, have in many instances -totally disappeared; and waters, such as those of the -Boathouse bridge in Linlithgowshire and the Eden in Fifeshire, -which had ferry-boats plying upon them, are now scarcely -deeper or broader than a wayside drain. Thus, when, to -save time and the trouble of riding round in search of fords -or bridges, the brave Leslie, all heavily armed as he was in -Italian plate, boldly swam the winding Loctie and the Ore, -near the Spittalcots, he performed two gallant feats, for then -those waters foamed in deep, broad currents between torn and -rugged banks, with a breadth and force very different from -what they exhibit in the present day, even during the fury -of a winter speat. -</p> - -<p> -But before he had entered on the moss and moor that lay -between the Ore and an old mansion named the Temple Hall, -which then belonged to the knights of Torphichen, the waning -moon was disappearing behind the hills, and shed a cold, pale -light on the dreary waste that spread before the solitary rider. -</p> - -<p> -Having lost all traces of the ancient drove-road, which had -guided him thus far, Leslie walked his horse forward with -caution, to avoid the peat-bogs and pitfalls that now -surrounded him; while, impelled either by the dreariness of the -solitude on which he was entering, or by some vague presentiment -of danger, he narrowly observed every bush and hillock -as he approached, and listened for any passing sound. -</p> - -<p> -The moon seemed to rest on the summit of the distant -hills, the solid outline of which rose blackly against the blue -sky. Light clouds were floating across her surface; but a -clear white light was shed along the countless ridges of the -muir—the moss-covered roots of an old primeval forest—which -resembled the waves of a motionless sea. -</p> - -<p> -A sharp, low whistle on his left, and somewhat in advance -of him, made Leslie look in that direction; and he saw the -moonbeams reflected back from something bright, that too -evidently was not moss-water, but polished steel; while two -or three light puffs of smoke curled upward, showing where -the matches of petronels were being blown for active service. -</p> - -<p> -The moss was full of armed men! -</p> - -<p> -"Fool that I was not to byde me at Balgonie!" thought -Leslie, as he put spurs to his jaded horse, and quickened its -speed to a hand-gallop. By his devious route he had now -ridden fully twenty miles, over a frightful tract of country, -full of steep hills and rocky glens, deep morasses, brawling -torrents, and hills covered with forest and brushwood; he had -forded three swollen rivers, and thus, like himself, his horse -was already becoming exhausted. -</p> - -<p> -"Hollo, Balquhan!" cried a mocking voice; "whither so -fast? Is your lady-love sick, or is your house on fire?" -</p> - -<p> -A shout of derisive laughter, together with the explosion -of four long petronels, followed this remark; and Leslie -became aware, from the sudden bound and snort of pain given -by his horse, as it shot away like the wind, that the poor -animal was wounded; one bullet had penetrated its near -flank, and another had grazed its ears. -</p> - -<p> -"The devil! 'tis quite an arquebusade! But I am getting -used to such music to-night," thought Leslie, as he gave a -wistful glance at the Temple Hall, which was not far off. All -property which belonged to the Knights of St. John in Scotland -afforded a safe sanctuary from debt and danger, and did -so until a recent period; but Leslie knew too well that his -present pursuers would violate the holiest shrine between -Cape Wrath and the English frontier to reach him; and that -he had nothing to trust to but the blade of his sword and the -heels of his horse; for by the number of ambuscades, prepared -in every direction, it became evident that his enemies, -whoever they might be, were bent on his destruction. -</p> - -<p> -Tall lances and bright helmets flashed in the moonlight, -as the dark forms of many a horse and man arose from -behind the heather knowes and clumps of moss and whin to join -the chace; and Leslie found that again the ferocious John of -Clatto, with all his band, was riding on his trail. -</p> - -<p> -Though the balls which had wounded his horse caused a -great effusion of blood, they acted as spurs of fear and pain -to accelerate its speed; and Leslie soon heard the shouts, the -clank of arms, and the rush of galloping hoofs growing fainter -and fainter with every bound that his fierce strong charger -made. The banks of the Ore, the desolate muir, and the grey -Temple Hall soon vanished in the distance; and he saw the -spire of Kirkaldy, and its long and straggling town, rising on -the left, from the low flat shore of the Firth, which lay -beyond it, glimmering in the last light of the moon, and bringing -forward, as from a brilliant background, the innumerable roofs -and gables, clustered chimneys, and turretted edifices of the -venerable burgh. Near him rose the hill and castle of Raith, -where Sir John Melville, the great Reformer, dwelt; and -nearer still, embosomed among summer woods, lay the -Abbotshall, a seat of the abbot of Dunfermline, the site of -which is still indicated by an old stupendous yew that grew -before its gate. Right in the fugitive's front lay the broad -green links of Kirkaldy, and the glittering estuary, with the -black rocky promontory of Kinghorn jutting boldly into its -waters. -</p> - -<p> -The strength of his horse was failing fast; its eyes were -blinded, and its head was drenched in the blood flowing from -its wounded ears; and he felt certain that, to turn from -his straightforward course, to seek shelter in the neighbouring -town, would only serve to exhaust it more. He knew well -that the brave animal was dying beneath him, for with every -convulsive bound of its foam-covered haunches, the blood-gouts -gushed forth upon the sandy turf. -</p> - -<p> -Balwearie, in older times the birthplace of the wizard, -Michael Scott, was left behind; and now the hoarse brawl of -the Teil—a flooded torrent—rang before him. He gave his -horse the reins, and furiously applying the spurs, keeping his -head back and his bridle-hand low, as he urged it to the flying -leap. Lightly it rose into the air, cleared the stream, with -all its banks of rock and bed of stones, but reached the -opposite side only to die; for the noble horse sank down with -its forehead on the turf, and after making more than one -fruitless effort to rise, rolled heavily over, stretched out its -legs convulsively, and with that mournful cry which few hear, -but a horse alone can give, expired. -</p> - -<p> -At that moment, with brandished swords and panting -steeds, six horsemen appeared on the opposite bank; and the -exhausted Leslie knew that nothing now remained for him -but to sell his life as dearly as possible. -</p> - -<p> -He was now but two miles from Kinghorn, and after all his -exertions, he felt how hard it was to die; and reflected that, -with his life, the pardon of poor Jane Seton would be futile, -or forfeited, as she would inevitably be put to death before -additional tidings of the king's favour came from Falkland. -The very excess of his bitterness gave him a superhuman -courage, and alone, on foot, he resolved to confront them all; -but in doing so, to use every stratagem. -</p> - -<p> -With the rapidity of thought, and unseen by them, he -threw himself close beside his dead horse, the body of which -was greeted by a shout of fierce exultation. -</p> - -<p> -"Awa and on!" cried John of Clatto; "for gif ance he -wins the burgh o' Kinghorn, the tulzie will be owre, and I sall -tyne my plea anent the meithes and marches. On, on, ye -fashious fules; hae your naigs nae mair mettle than the -mules o' monks?" -</p> - -<p> -Leslie grasped his drawn sword with both hands, and as -the Laird of Clatto leaped the Teil, with one fierce backhanded -stroke hamstrung his horse the moment its hind heels -alighted near him. -</p> - -<p> -With a tremendous curse, this ferocious rider with his steed -tumbled prone to the earth; and as they fell, Leslie sprang -up, and by the same daring manoeuvre, unhorsed another, and -slew him as he fell. Then rushing to the summit of the -bank, that he might have all the advantage the acclivity could -afford him, he stood resolutely on his guard. The rest of the -band were yet far off, and by their leisurely trot it was -evident that their horses were breathless and blown. "John of -Clatto!" exclaimed Leslie, as he engaged that person furiously, -each swaying his sword with both hands on the hilt; "thou -unhanged thief and son of a thief! now—now shalt thou -receive the coward's reward." -</p> - -<p> -"Fause coof!" retorted the other, with one of his ferocious -laughs, as with a deadly coolness and activity he dealt -his thrusts, while the force of his parries announced that his -eye was sure, and his wrist was of iron, as he hewed away -with his long and trenchant sword; "Coward? ha! ha! 'tis -a name never kent by a son o' auld Symon o' Clatto. Strike -weel and surely, my bauld Balquhan, for by God and Macgriddel, I -sall handsell thy braw harness in thy hettest bluid." -</p> - -<p> -"Dog! it hath been handselled by the swords of better -men!" exclaimed the furious Leslie, as by a single sweeping -stroke his heavy sword beat down the guard of his adversary, -breaking his blade like a withered reed, and, cleaving his -helmet through the very cone, killed him on the spot. A -curse was half uttered by its quivering lips, as the body fell -backwards over the bank, and lay half merged in the water -of the Teil. With his great natural courage exasperated to -a terrible pitch by the knowledge that he must inevitably -perish at the hands of these cowards, Leslie fiercely met the -horsemen as they leaped the stream, and in succession fell -sword in hand upon him. A shower of blows rang upon his -tempered helmet, his eyes swam, and, amid a cloud of fire, it -seemed as if a myriad of men and horses had assailed him, -and as if as many swords were ringing in his ears, and -flashing before his eyes. -</p> - -<p> -He was soon beaten to the earth, and several men sprang -from their horses to despatch him, when the shots of two -petronels were heard, and two assailants sank heavily, dagger -in hand, beside him, tearing up the grass with their hands -and teeth in the agonies of death. A rush of horses followed, -and Leslie found himself free! -</p> - -<p> -Clatto's men had fled; and a young cavalier stood before -him richly clad, with three tall feathers in his bonnet; he -was mounted on a superb black horse, and in each hand had -a petronel, from the barrels of which the smoke was curling. -The drawn swords of his six mounted attendants were gleaming -in the bright twilight of the July morning, for day was -already glimmering over the far horizon of the German Sea. -The features of this deliverer were noble, but delicate; his -eyebrows and closely-clipped moustaches were coal-black, his -lips were red, and cut like those of a woman, but his large -dark eyes sparkled with courage and animation. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, by Heaven, 'tis our loving cousin and clansman, -Balquhan!" he exclaimed; for in those days, "when old -simplicity was in its prime," every man of the same name in -Scotland was designated <i>loving cousin</i>. -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Norman Leslie," said the lieutenant of the guard, as -with thankfulness and respect he greeted the gallant Master -of Rothes, the son and heir of the earl, his chief, "thou hast -saved me from a cruel and bitter death! what do I owe thee?" -</p> - -<p> -"Two brass bullets at a similar juncture." -</p> - -<p> -"May it never happen!" said the young baron, to which -the master replied with a reckless laugh, in which his -followers joined. -</p> - -<p> -"Balquhan," said he, "this gentleman is your cousin—my -uncle, John of Parkhill. Here are three men and two -hamstrung horses lying on the grass! By St. Mary! my true -Leslie, thou hast this night handled the sword as if it had -been thine own invention." -</p> - -<p> -"Anent what hath all this been?" asked John Leslie of -Parkhill, an elderly gentleman, sheathing his sword. -</p> - -<p> -"Heaven only knows, sir," replied Leslie, as he caught the -bridle of a riderless horse, and leaping into the saddle began -to examine the petronels that were attached to it. -</p> - -<p> -"They seem to have found you a rough jouster!" -</p> - -<p> -"I am riding on the king's service, with a pardon for the -Lady Seton." -</p> - -<p> -"The Lady Seton!" they all repeated, in varying tones of -astonishment and satisfaction. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, sirs, I am bound for Edinburgh, and have been -thrice beset by horsemen, and thrice have swum a river, the -Leven, the Ore, and the Lochtie!" -</p> - -<p> -"Sheriff of Fife, what say you to this?" said Parkhill to -Norman Leslie. -</p> - -<p> -"That it shall be looked to, and that sharply," replied the -young Master of Rothes, as he replaced his pistols in the -holsters; "a harmless rider, a messenger of mercy on God's -own service, to be molested thus!" -</p> - -<p> -"Besetting the highway—'tis a capital crime." -</p> - -<p> -"Perhaps John of Clatto (for it was he) thought that -messengers of mercy, or of Heaven, seldom ride in coats of -mail." -</p> - -<p> -"To thy spurs, Balquhan, and on!" said the master; "the -poor dame Seton will assuredly fall a victim to the malice of -the Hamiltons at midnight—<i>this midnight</i>, for see, the day -is dawning. They were setting the stake, and tearing the -faggots, on the castle bank, as we left Edinburgh by the -West Port last night." -</p> - -<p> -"I go to the <i>King's Horn</i> hostel," said Balquhan; -"would I were there, for I am drenched like a water-dog, -and well nigh wearied to death. Farewell." -</p> - -<p> -"Take ye care, sir!" cried John of Parkhill. -</p> - -<p> -"Come now, you jest, my cousin," said the lieutenant, -jocularly; "does a Leslie ever fall from his horse?" -</p> - -<p> -"I only mean, beware thee while at Kinghorn, and keep -thine errand secret; for there are several men of the house of -Arran in the burgh, and their nags are stabled at the very -hostel thou hast named." -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, nay, uncle of mine," said the fiery Norman, "no -Hamilton would arrest the pardon of any woman; then how -much less that of a lady of high name and gentle blood!" -</p> - -<p> -"Nephew Norman, we know not the tricks of which the -Lord Arran and his faction are capable; and to whom shall -we attribute this treble molestation of our cousin, the king's -messenger?" -</p> - -<p> -"True—adieu." -</p> - -<p> -"Adieu, sirs, with many fair thanks for this good service." -</p> - -<p> -They separated, and Balquhan rode on, feeling in his heart -that he could slay all who bore the name of Hamilton; for -the idea that Redhall was his evil genius never once occurred -to him. -</p> - -<p> -Those Leslies who had saved him were, nine years after, -among the conspirators who slew the great cardinal in his -castle at St. Andrew's, less to avenge the frightful deaths of -the early martyrs, than as the hired assassins of Henry VIII.; -and twenty years after, the fiery Master of Rothes died in -the battle of St. Quentin, fighting valiantly at the head of -thirty Scottish gens d'armes. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap54"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER LIV. -<br /><br /> -THE KING'S HORN. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Be yet advised, nor urge me to an outrage;<br /> - Thy power is lost—unhand me."<br /> - <i>Edward the Black Prince.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The clock of St. Leonard's tower struck three as Leslie -entered the old burgh of Kinghorn, and rode through its -steep and straggling, narrow and deserted wynds, to the -hostelry with which the reader is already acquainted. Though -a vast sheet of pale light was spread across the east, sunrise -was nearly an hour distant, and the whole town was silent as -some ruined city in a desert; every door was closed, and not -a single face appeared at the rusty gratings of the street -windows. -</p> - -<p> -It was not until after much noise and vociferation with the -drowsy peddies and stable-boys that Leslie gained admittance -to the inn-yard, and from the yard obtained ingress to the -mansion, where his whole aspect excited fear and suspicion. -His armour was dimmed by water and rusted with dew, cut, -hacked, and bloody; the straps were loose and torn; he was -feverish and excited; and there was a stern determination in -his bearing, as he carefully took his petronels from his -saddle-bow, and, ordering the attendants to look well to his horse -against the time of the ferry-boat sailing, entered the first -empty chamber that offered itself. -</p> - -<p> -He looked first to the pardon, which, notwithstanding his -frequent immersions, was dry and secure; he looked next to -the wheel-locks of his fire-arms, which he laid on his pillow -ready for immediate service. Thereafter, he examined his -apartment. The window was two stories from the ground, -and a harrow-grating amply secured it. Like all others in -that age, the door was secured by a multiplicity of bars, all -of which he shot into their sockets; and thereafter piled -behind them all the available furniture—a great oak almrie, a -meal-girnel, four chairs, and, lastly, the table. -</p> - -<p> -He then took off his armour, and found that his clothing -was almost dry. -</p> - -<p> -"Come, 'tis well," thought he; "save three pricks and four -scratches, I am not a whit the worse, and have still six hours -for sleeping and dreaming of merry Marion." -</p> - -<p> -And after assuring himself that he could not be taken in -flank either by trap-door or sliding-panels, this brave and -wary soldier threw himself on the bed, and behind his -barricades slept soundly and securely. -</p> - -<p> -The ferry-boat was to sail at ten in the forenoon. -</p> - -<p> -Half-an-hour before that time Leslie awoke, and sprang up -quite refreshed. His first glance was at his barricade. -</p> - -<p> -"Oho! I have been beset even here!" said he, on perceiving -that the door had been forced, and the heavy almrie and -girnel pushed about three inches inwards, by which the chairs -had been overturned, thus baffling the assault, as their fall -had scared the intruders. -</p> - -<p> -The sun was shining brightly on the river, and the merchants -were opening their booths and displaying their goods -under the stone arcades of the principal wynd. -</p> - -<p> -"This devilish piece of paper is likely to cost me dear. I -find I must still be guarded," thought Leslie, as he minutely -examined his iron trappings, stuck his petronels in his belt, -and, with his sheathed sword under his arm, descended to -the hall of the hostel and ordered breakfast, but without -mentioning the attempt which had too evidently been made -to disturb his privacy. Looking sharply around, he seated -himself at the arched ingle, where a comfortable fire was -blazing, and above which appeared a rude fresco painting, -which represented St. Leonard, the patron of Kinghorn, -surrounded by a swarm of churubs in the forest of Limoges. -</p> - -<p> -"Quick, old hag—my breakfast," said the traveller to the -landlady; "let your rascals look well to my horse, or look -well to themselves if they fail." -</p> - -<p> -The gudewife—a slipshod and sullen-looking crone, with a -nose and chin that were nearly meeting, a coif of the time of -James III., and an enormous bunch of keys—being a little -scared by the stern and distrustful aspect of Leslie, who sat -down by the table with his helmet on, left a buxom damsel -to attend on him, and retired. The young soldier found that -his indignation could no way extend to her substitute; for -her cheeks were blooming and her eyes sparkling with health -and good-humour; she wore a very piquant, short linen -jacket, short petticoat, and her brown hair tied up in a blue -silk snood, after the fashion of unmarried girls in Scotland. -</p> - -<p> -A fowl, from among several that were roasting on the spit, -cheese, cakes, and honey, cold beef, eggs and bacon, with the -addition of ale, formed then, as now, the staples for breakfast, -and while it was preparing, Leslie solaced himself by whistling -the <i>March to Harlow</i>, and by means of a piece of half-burned -wood, decorating with an enormous pair of moustaches each -of the fat little cherubim which surrounded the figure of -St. Leonard; an amusement which neither the gudewife nor the -diminutive gudeman, whom she seemed to rule with "a rod -of iron," dared to interrupt. -</p> - -<p> -"This is for thee, my rosy belle," said Leslie, kissing the -plump cheek of the waiting-maid, after breakfast, "together -with this French crown; as for the rascal, thy master, and -the hag, thy mistress, let them rejoice that I have not burned -the house about their ears, were it but to smoke out certain -Hamiltons, who, I am assured, are within it. Thou hearest -me, fellow?" added Leslie, as he passed the landlord, who, -sheepishly, and bonnet in hand, was standing at the door of -the house. -</p> - -<p> -"I do, gude sir, but understand ye nocht." -</p> - -<p> -"Nor do I you; but wherefore was my door forced last -night—this morning, I should say—eh, thou rascally -Fifer?" -</p> - -<p> -"I swear to ye, noble sir, that, under God, I ken nocht -o't," replied the poor man, with the utmost earnestness. -</p> - -<p> -"It may be so, for I see that, in thine own house, thou art -but Joan Tamson's man, as the saw has it." -</p> - -<p> -The landlord gave a sickly smile. -</p> - -<p> -"Harkee, gudeman, is thy better-half a Hamilton?" -</p> - -<p> -"To my sorrow, I ken she is, sir," sighed the hosteller, in -a whisper; "for never one of her name enters Fife, between -the East and West Neuk, without lying a week and mair at -the <i>King's Horn</i>, and never a bodle will she take for the -lawing, for they are a' her cousins to the hundredth degree, -and will scarcely let me call my soul my ain." -</p> - -<p> -"Then, which of her worthy cousins are here now?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sir John Hamilton of Kincavil," replied the gudeman, -setting his teeth on edge. -</p> - -<p> -"And his room?—" -</p> - -<p> -"Was the next to yours." -</p> - -<p> -"Hum! indeed; and this Sir John extends his patronage -to you, gudeman—eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"He pays like a prince, to be sure; for he had a fancy for -my gudewife in her young days." -</p> - -<p> -"He is a man of taste, Kincavil!" said Leslie, smiling; -"but where is my horse?" -</p> - -<p> -"My son holds it at the gate." -</p> - -<p> -"How, the devil! is that tall fellow thy son?" -</p> - -<p> -"No," replied the little man, with a grin of bitterness; -"he is the son of my wife." -</p> - -<p> -As Leslie slipped another crown into the hand of the host, -and was turning away, a tall, swaggering cavalier—the same -whom Roland Vipont had fought with and wounded near the -Water Gate, as related in a preceding chapter of this -history—brushed past him somewhat unceremoniously. -</p> - -<p> -"Sir John of Kincavil!" said Leslie, with angry surprise. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, sir! at your service," replied the other, swelling -up his rose-coloured doublet, and resting his left hand in the -bowl-hilt of his long rapier, as he assumed a lofty attitude. -</p> - -<p> -"Is this to be taken as an insult?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is to be taken just as you please," replied the other, -twirling his moustache. -</p> - -<p> -"Take care, sir. I am on the king's service." -</p> - -<p> -"Does that entitle you to occupy the whole doorway of -the <i>King's Horn</i>?" -</p> - -<p> -"We are not equally armed—you see my coat of mail." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, that matters little—behold!" said Kincavil, as he -opened the collar of his doublet, and displayed below it a mail -shirt of exquisite workmanship. "We are quite equal, my -friend," he added, clapping Leslie with easy familiarity on the -shoulder, while a number of armed men, who, by their badges, -seemed to be his followers, crowded ominously round them. -</p> - -<p> -"Kincavil!" said Leslie, scornfully, "the next time thou -touchest me, pray do so with a hand that is gloved." -</p> - -<p> -"A thousand pardons," sneered Kincavil, whose insolence -was as proverbial as his deadly skill and admirable -swordmanship, "I forgot thou wert <i>Falkland bred</i>." -</p> - -<p> -This was a phrase of the time to signify foppery, affectation, -and refined manner. Leslie's eyes flashed with rage, -but he leaped on his horse, saying— -</p> - -<p> -"I know your object well, villain, to involve me in a -brawl; but you will fail. Taunt me as you please, I will not -draw my sword unless I am molested; and woe unto them -who do so. To-morrow I will be a free man, and at noon will -await you, braggart, on the sands of Leith, near the chapel -of St. Nicholas, where seek me if you dare." -</p> - -<p> -A shout of derisive laughter followed him; but, stifling his -rage, he heard without heeding it, and in ten minutes more -was on board the ferry-boat, which he endeavoured to beat -across the river against a strong head-wind. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap55"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER LV. -<br /><br /> -THE BLUEGOWN. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Bless your honour, noble gentleman,<br /> - Remember a poor soldier."—<i>Auchindrane</i>, Act I.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -We have now the events of only one night to relate, but -these events are of the most varied description. -</p> - -<p> -Father St. Bernard, the kind and philanthropic old clergyman, -had prayed fervently that the cardinal, among the multitude -of public matters that weighed upon his master-mind, -would remember his promise; and as earnestly had he -implored Providence to inspire the heart of James with more -than his usual mercy, that a pardon might be granted to his -poor penitent, for so a confessor always termed those under -his care in the olden time. -</p> - -<p> -Every hour after the cardinal's departure he had sought -Sir James Riddel, in the hope that tidings had arrived from -Falkland: but hour after hour passed; two weary days, and -two still more weary nights elapsed; but no tidings came of -the pardon, and no messenger. -</p> - -<p> -Could the cardinal have forgotten his promise? or had he -failed in his purpose? The poor friar racked his invention -with suggestions, but hope died as the evening of the fatal -25th drew on; and Father St. Bernard was forced to confess -to himself that she was lost; for the hour at which the -ferry-boat usually arrived at Leith was long since passed. From -the rampart of David's Tower he had seen it pass the Beacon -Rock and enter the harbour, and with a beating heart he -waited, but Leslie never came. -</p> - -<p> -He saw the people already gathering in groups and crowds -to witness the frightful execution, and the old man wept as -he sought the knightly governor of the fortress for the last -time, and turned away hopeless. -</p> - -<p> -"Thou good and pious priest!" said Sir James Riddel, -touched by the old man's grief, and warmed into a betrayal -of his own religious opinions, "why art thou not, as I am, a -Protestant?" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou good and valiant soldier! why art thou not, as thy -father was before thee, a pious Catholic and true?" asked the -prebend, in the same tone, as he descended from the citadel -towards the gate of King David's Tower, to visit Jane Seton -for the last time. At that moment the great copper bell of -the fortress, which swung at the gable of a tower called the -Gunhouse, tolled the hour of nine. -</p> - -<p> -She was to die at twelve. -</p> - -<p> -Among all the snares laid for the destruction of Leslie, and -to obtain the document he carried, Birrel had reserved unto -himself the last, and, failing others (which he scarcely -believed could fail), the surest, and perhaps most deadly plan -for his death. -</p> - -<p> -The road between Edinburgh and Leith was then a lonely, -and (after dusk) unfrequented place. Between the monastery -of Greenside, which lay at the foot of the Calton Hill, and -almost in the very gorge that descends to the foot of Leith -Wynd and the Port St. Anthony, there was not a house or -edifice save a little wayside oratory; and thus between the -Loch and village of Restalrig on the east, and the old house -of Roystoun, near the shore, on the west, all the country was -open pasture-land, links, or muir, with here and there a small -farm-cot at its boundaries, with a kailyard and oxgang of -arable land, watered by the runnels that ran into the river -Leith, which then was twice, and in some places four times -its present breadth, covering great pieces of holm-land at -Comely-bank, and the Canon-mills, where the old scaurs that -overhung its margin are still visible. -</p> - -<p> -The few persons who traversed Leith Loan on the 25th -July, 1537, could not have failed to remark a man wearing -the well-known garb of a Bluegown, one of the privileged -mendicants of the charitable olden time. These received a -new cassock on every anniversary of the king's birth, -together with a penny for every year of his age. The Bluegowns -of the Stuart times seldom received much, as the monarchs -of that gallant race were generally cut off in early life by -war or misfortune; but the Bluegowns of later years, when -kings have been more economical of their persons, have been -wont to hail the day of his birth with joy; and those of -George III. drew more shillings Scots than ever did other -beadsmen since the society was instituted. -</p> - -<p> -With a black cross sewed on the breast of his long blue -cassock, as an emblem of sorrow for the late queen's death, -and his face concealed in his hood, the beggar, who appeared -lame in his left, and also lacked the right hand, which was -hidden in the folds of his ample garment, sat by the -wayside; and whenever a person passed (which was very seldom) -he either begged for alms in a low peevish voice, or repeated -an Ave to show how very good and pious he was, notwithstanding -the hardness and humility of his lot in life. -</p> - -<p> -This beggar was no other than Nichol Birrel. The hood -concealed his yellow visage, his cunning eyes, and matted -beard, as the blue gown did a shirt of mail, a belt full of -daggers and pistolettes, and his right hand, which grasped a -dague, loaded with two brass bullets. Being certain that -Leslie could not escape all the ambuscades prepared for him -in Fife—where Dobbie and Trotter, with fifteen troopers from -Redhall, John of Clatto, with his lawless men, Lindesay of -Bandon, with <i>his</i> ruffians, and lastly, Kincavil, a deadly fencer -and professed duellist, were all induced, under various -instigations, and from various motives, to beset his path—Birrel -kept but a careless watch, looking upon Leslie as one whom -he had not the least expectation of seeing. -</p> - -<p> -It was one of those beautiful evenings which are common -to July; and, at a part of the road which afforded him a -view of St. Anthony's Port, he lay on a grassy bank, where a -thicket of hawthorn overhung the roadway, which was then -but a narrow, deep, and rugged bridle-path. -</p> - -<p> -Behind lay Lochend and the house of the Logans, perched -on a rock; before him stretched the level muir and pasture-land -which joined the Firth at the New Haven, which had -been constructed by James IV., all an open and unenclosed -prairie; and across it shone the hot rays of the sun, then -sinking towards the dark peaks of the Ochil mountains. -The air was close and still; there was no sound but the casual -rustle of a leaf, or the "drowsy hum" of the mountain bees -as they floated over the verdant grass, and the air was filled -with the perfume of the fragrant hawthorn. -</p> - -<p> -The whirr of the nut-brown partridge, as it rose from among -the long grass; the voice of the blackbird and thrush, as -they sang joyously among the gnarled branches of an aged -thorn-tree; the solitude of that place, though it lay between -a fortified capital and its thriving seaport, had no charm for -the disguised ruffian, nor could they wile him from his deadly -purpose. -</p> - -<p> -Thrice that day had horsemen left the Port St. Anthony, -and thrice had the assassin grasped his weapon with the fellest -intent. The first was the young Lord Lindesay, and he -dashed up the Loan with all his feathers waving, and -embroidery glittering in the sun. He had not gone to Falkland, -because the Lady Margaret Beaton remained at her father's -archiepiscopal palace. The second rider was a knight of -Torpichen, in his black mantle, with its white cross; and the -third was Sir Andrew Preston, of Gourtoun. None of these -were in armour, as Birrel knew Leslie was sure to be, so, at -their approach, his hand three times relinquished the -pommel-butt of his dague. Each, as he passed, threw arms to the -supposed beadsman, and disappeared in the gorge that led -towards the city. -</p> - -<p> -Mid-day passed, and heavily the still sultry afternoon -lagged on. The Bluegown took from his wallet some bread -and cheese, a roasted fowl, and flask of usquebaugh, and -proceeded to dine under the bower of sweet hawthorn. -</p> - -<p> -While engaged in this pleasing occupation, the sound of -voices and hoofs arrested his attention; he looked up, and -beheld a young lady, with several attendants on foot and on -horseback, dashing straight towards him across the level muir, -from the east, and continued a rapid gallop until she gained -the opposite bank of the roadway, where she reigned up her -horse, and looked hurriedly around. -</p> - -<p> -She was a tall and stately-looking girl, with bright blue -eyes, a blooming complexion, and a profusion of flaxen-coloured -hair, that fell in heavy ringlets from under her scarlet velvet -hood. She was richly attired; and as no one could then be -completely dressed for company, for riding, or promenading, -without a leather glove, with a hawk sitting thereon, she bore -one on her right hand, while her left grasped the reins of -her fiery and spirited horse. The bold and beautiful girl was -Marion Logan of Restalrig. -</p> - -<p> -A cloud rested on the usually happy aspect of her broad -fair brow, and her sunny smile was gone, for her thoughts -were full of the misfortunes that encircled her friend Jane -Seton. Two men on foot ran after this party with all their -speed; strapped over his shoulders, each had a square frame -of green-painted wood, on the spars of which sat a number -of hawks of various breeds, accoutred with plumed hoods, -through which their fierce red eyes were glancing, and having -little silver bells, which jangled with every motion. Around -their necks were silver collars, whereon was engraved the -legend—"Zis gudelie hawk belangis vnto ye Knicht, Schyr -Robert Logan of Restalrig and zat ilk." -</p> - -<p> -"Dost thou see nothing of my father?" asked the young -lady of her attendants. -</p> - -<p> -"I see nocht, madam," replied an armed horseman, who -wore the Logans' livery, and had their crest embroidered on the -sleeve of his pyne doublet, "but this auld Blewgoon may. -Harkee, puir body," he added, addressing the disguised Birrel; -"saw ye oucht o' a gentleman in a suit o' plum-coloured -taffeta, wi' a white ostrich feather in his bonnet?" -</p> - -<p> -"Had he a blue mantle?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"Laced wi' siller pasements?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—the very same." -</p> - -<p> -"Riding——" -</p> - -<p> -"A roan-coloured horse." -</p> - -<p> -"With siller bells at his bridle?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—yes!" -</p> - -<p> -"Well, then, I havena seen oucht o' him." -</p> - -<p> -"God confound thee! thou wordy carle, dost laugh at us?" -said a falconer, angrily, as he shook his long pole threateningly -towards Birrel, whose natural insolence could not omit -this opportunity of indulging itself a little. -</p> - -<p> -"'Twas an evil day this to come forth hawking," said the -young lady; "the day on which my dearest friend is to -die——" -</p> - -<p> -"Now haud ye, Lady Marion," said the white-haired falconer, -cautiously; "for ken ye not, that noble though that -lady be, it's far frae being safe or wise to claim friendship wi' -her at the present time. If Sir Robert turned towards the -Corstorphine marshes——" -</p> - -<p> -"I hope not, for they are both dangerous and deep," said -the young lady, looking westward, and shading her large blue -eyes with an ungloved hand, that was white as the hawthorn -blossom. "God knoweth how sadly and unwillingly I came -forth this day; and it was but to please him that I forsook -our little oratory for the saddle. Thou knowest my father, -Steenie——?" -</p> - -<p> -"Aye, the auld knicht winna thole steerin," replied the old -falconer, as he also shaded his sunburned face with a large -brown hand, and scanned the glowing west. -</p> - -<p> -"'Tis very strange, Steenie—where was my father seen -last?" -</p> - -<p> -"Galloping over the mains, after his favourite hawk, -madam," replied a servitor, touching his bonnet. -</p> - -<p> -"Mercy! if he should have mistaken the way, and fallen, -into the moss of Craigcrook." -</p> - -<p> -"Toots, bairn!" replied the falconer; "he kens owre well -the dreich hole where, last Lammastide, we saw young Adamson -o' Craigcrook gae down in the floe, baith horse and man, -till even the point o' his lance vanished; and there they lie -yet!" -</p> - -<p> -"Look, Steenie; is not yonder bird a hawk? See how it -ascends from Pilrig—up and up!" -</p> - -<p> -The tramp of a horse arrested their attention. -</p> - -<p> -A man on horseback, who left the gate of St. Anthony, -came galloping from Leith; his armour flashed in the -setting sun, and a cloud of dust rolled under the hoofs of his -horse. -</p> - -<p> -"In harness," said one falconer. -</p> - -<p> -"He is not Sir Robert," muttered another. -</p> - -<p> -"St. Mary! how he drives his horse!" exclaimed Marion -Logan. -</p> - -<p> -"It is Leslie of Balquhan!" growled Birrel, ferociously, as -he grasped his dague. "Now, curse be on my folly, that sent -not this butterfly, with her attendant wasps, hence on a fool's -errand." -</p> - -<p> -The continual glitter of the rider's armour showed that he -was richly accoutred, and the incredible speed at which he -rode announced that he was nobly mounted. In three minutes -he reined up his horse at the foot of the bank, where, with a -glow of pleasure beaming in her beautiful face, Marion Logan -recognised him. -</p> - -<p> -"Lewis Leslie!" she exclaimed, and kissed her hand frankly -to him, for he was her favoured lover. -</p> - -<p> -"At your service, my dear madam," replied the officer of -the arquebusiers, bowing to his very saddle. Birrel's eyes -were starting from his head, as he strained his ears to listen. -</p> - -<p> -"From whence?" -</p> - -<p> -"Falkland." -</p> - -<p> -"Falkland! and why so fast?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, rejoice, my dear Lady Marion! I have here the -king's gracious pardon for Jane Seton; she is saved; and one -hour from this will see her free!" -</p> - -<p> -The brave young cavalier shook the pouch that hung at -the girdle, which Marion had embroidered for him. -</p> - -<p> -"The <i>pouch!</i> d—nation wither my tongue, for it alone -hath made this woman and her varlets loiter, instead of -hurrying them away," said Birrel, as he limped past, and posted -himself a few hundred yards farther off. -</p> - -<p> -"Pardoned!—Jeanie pardoned!" said Marion, whose blue -eyes sparkled with tears and joy. "Can it be? Lewis, Lewis, -how much I love you at this moment! For this good news -I would let you have a pretty kiss, but for all those eyes about -us. Oh, what blessed tidings for us!" -</p> - -<p> -"Still more blessed for her, I think, and for my brave friend -Vipont too! 'Tis all the cardinal's doing; his good offices -have achieved this. -</p> - -<p> -"The cardinal!" -</p> - -<p> -"Faith, it is thought dangerous for a woman to accept a -favour at his hand. But dost think, Marion, that such a -gallant man will permit such an outrage upon youth and beauty -as Abbot Mylnes' sentence to be carried into effect? No, no! -Long live the cardinal, say I. But what a night I have had -of it, Marion! nearly fifty scoundrel horsemen have tried to -intercept and cut me off." -</p> - -<p> -"Hamiltons?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hamiltons or hell-hounds, I know not which," replied -Leslie, angrily; "but I have given more than one the Leslie's -lick, and have escaped them, blessed be Heaven!" -</p> - -<p> -"My brave friend! 'tis like thee." -</p> - -<p> -"Lady Marion," said Steenie, the falconer, approaching; -"Sir Robert is in sicht; see yonder, by the bank o' the loch. -Noo he flees his goshawk at a heron," he added, as the burly -old knight was seen to rein up his horse, and let the bird slip -from his wrist. "So—brawly cuisten off! See, the hawk is -noo aboon, and noo it stoops to the quarry!" said the -venerable servitor, as he waved his broad bonnet; "it's a true -bird o' my ain training. See how the sly heron turns up her -belly—ah, the lang leggit devil! she seeks to use baith claws -and bill; but the hawk passes—noo the hawk tak's her at the -sowse, and strikes doon. No; it's these Milan bells, they're -owre full i' the sound, and spoil the bird i' the mounting. -See, my brave bird plumes her—noo, doon for a croon, like a -bow-shot!" -</p> - -<p> -The birds disappeared among the sedges. -</p> - -<p> -"Farewell, Leslie," said Marion; "on, on to the Castle, -and delay not your errand of mercy. But come soon to see -us; you know well how lonely we are on the Rig yonder, and -how well my father loves you. How rejoiced he will be to -hear these tidings of our poor Jeanie Seton; my faith, he -will drink a deep tankard to-night, for it was but to shake off -the dolours he rode forth to-day, and neither to hunt nor to -hawk." -</p> - -<p> -"Then, my Marion, to-morrow, at noon, I will stable my -horse at Restalrig." -</p> - -<p> -"We will expect you." -</p> - -<p> -"My dutiful commendations to the good knight your -father, and meantime, adieu!" -</p> - -<p> -With eyes full of affection they kissed their hands to each -other, and separated. -</p> - -<p> -Whipping up her tall and fiery horse, with her veil and -her long tresses floating behind, Marion, by one flying leap, -made it clear the roadway and gain the summit of the -opposite bank, from whence her lover saw her (followed by her -attendants) cantering across the fields towards the sheet of -water which her father's old manor-house still overhangs. -She went at a pace which put the poor falconers, who were on -foot, to their mettle; and the young Laird of Balquhan, -despite his anxiety to deliver the important paper, which had -thrice nearly cost him his life, checked the speed of his -charger to look after the retiring figure of her he loved. -</p> - -<p> -He little knew what that brief pause and that last glance -after Marion Logan were to cost him. -</p> - -<p> -Birrel's heart danced with joy to see him loitering, while -the young lady and her armed servants were fast retiring -beyond ear-shot. -</p> - -<p> -The sun had now set, and the dun blaze of light it shed -from the western hills across the muir of Wardie was dying -away. The whole Loan, from the round arch of St. Anthony -to where it disappeared under the brow of the Calton, was -deserted. The Calton then was bare, bleak and desolate, or -covered by waving furze, broad-leaved fern, or dark whin; so -was the opposite bank, which sloped up to the height of -eighty feet, and was crowned by the chapel and little hamlet -of St. Ninian, the smoke of which was visible as it ascended -into the calm air from the cottage chimneys. -</p> - -<p> -This knoll was named Moultrays Hill; and between it and -the Calton the narrow road plunged down into the gorge, -where the church of the Trinity lay, passing, on the left, the -Carmelite Friary of the Holy Cross at Greenside. Standing -forward in strong relief from the dark shoulder of the hill, -and against the blue sky, the broad boundary, the stone cross -and crow-stepped gables of this edifice, were visible from a -group of old elm-trees, under which Birrel posted himself. -As Leslie approached, the assassin shrank under their branches, -drew his hood over his face, and gave a last glance to the -wheel-lock of his dague. -</p> - -<p> -A leer of cruelty and malice shone in his eyes, and a horrible -smile curled his square lips, as, with a limping step, he -approached the centre of the path. -</p> - -<p> -"Gie a plack or a bodle, sir, to help a puir carle that hasna -broken a bannock these three days and mair." -</p> - -<p> -"Try the Carmelites, my good friend," replied Leslie, -riding hurriedly on. -</p> - -<p> -"The Virgin bless you, noble sir," continued Birrel, -hobbling after him; "mind a puir soldier of Sanct John, that -lost his arm fighting under the Preceptor at the battle o' -Haddenrig?" -</p> - -<p> -"An old soldier?" said Leslie, checking his horse; "by -the three kings of Cologne, an old soldier shall never in vain -seek alms of me! Here, thou cunning carle, and say an <i>Ave</i> -for me to-night;" he stooped to feel for a coin in the purse -which hung at his sword-belt; then Birrel drew forth the arm -that appeared to be maimed, and levelled his dague full at the -ear of the unsuspecting horseman; his glistening eye glared -along the burnished barrel; the wheel revolved; a bright -flash, the sharp report, and a low groan followed. -</p> - -<p> -Leslie rolled lifeless in the dust beneath his horse's hoofs, -with the blood flowing from his mouth. The muzzle of the -dague having been but three inches from his helmet, two -brass balls had passed through his brain, and as the wretch -turned him over, he saw in a moment that the hapless cavalier -was far beyond the skill even of John of the Silvermills, the -Scottish Galen and Avicenna of his age. -</p> - -<p> -Birrel gave one ferocious glance around him to see that -none were near; he gave another at the glazing eyes turned -back within their sockets, the relaxed jaw and noble features -of Leslie, which in a moment had become livid and horrible, -as in the pale twilight they stiffened into the rigidity of -death. -</p> - -<p> -From the dead youth's glittering baldrick he tore away the -leathern pouch, and rending it with his dog-like teeth (for he -was in too great haste to undo the buckles), drew forth the -pardon, and fled towards the city..... -</p> - -<p> -And there on the road the slain man lay, with the dew and -the darkness descending upon him; and he felt not one and -saw not the other. -</p> - -<p> -Near him, and under the dark shadow of the hill, his horse -was grazing quietly, as if nothing had happened. -</p> - -<p> -An old and withered elm, with scarcely a leaf, but a sprout -of one of those which lined the way, still remains in the middle -of the street to mark the site of this catastrophe. -</p> - -<p> -Slowly the moon rose above the Calton; the long shadow -of the hill grew less and less as the orb soared up, until its -beams fell on the white visage of the murdered man, and on -his polished armour. A black pool lay near, and mingled -with the dry summer dust. -</p> - -<p> -The horse, with its bridle trailing, was still grazing placidly -at a little distance. -</p> - -<p> -Some crows were beginning to perch on the elms, or flying -round the body with screaming beaks and flapping wings. -</p> - -<p> -They came from an adjacent gallows on the Lea. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap56"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER LVI. -<br /><br /> -THE TEMPTATION. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Oh! Harpalus (thus would he say),<br /> - Unhappiest under sunne;<br /> - The cause of thine unhappy day<br /> - By love was first begunne;<br /> - As easy 'twere for to convert<br /> - The frost into a flame,<br /> - As for to turn a froward heart,<br /> - Whom thou so fain would'st frame."<br /> - <i>Reliq. of English Poetry</i>, 1557.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The clock struck in the steeple of St. Giles. Jane heard it -distinctly in her prison. Each note was wafted towards her -as with a solemn note of lamentation, from the vast and -broad mouth of the great church bell. Every stroke vibrated -painfully through her heart. -</p> - -<p> -It tolled <i>eleven</i>! -</p> - -<p> -She had but one hour to live. One hour! and then—— -</p> - -<p> -A loud and palpable murmur, as of many thousand voices, -arose in the city; her heart for a moment died within her; -she covered her face with her hand and burst out into a -passionate prayer to Heaven—for she knew that, encompassed -as she was by sorrow and despair, and engirdled by that -strong tower, the eyes of God were upon her. -</p> - -<p> -The broad flame of a torch, which was stuck in a tin sconce -that hung upon the wall, cast a livid glare on the bare masonry -of the vaulted chamber, on her kneeling figure, on her dark -and disordered hair, on her white hands, and her whiter -forehead. -</p> - -<p> -"Roland, my Roland! thou believest these things of me? -Oh, I could never have believed such of thee!" -</p> - -<p> -A shudder passed over her, and it seemed as if her heart -would burst. She had received a reply to that paper so -cunningly devised by Redhall, the letter signed and addressed to -Roland, when suffering under the agony of an artificial thirst; -and that answer, which showed that he believed in her guilt, -as confessed to him under her own hand, had crushed her -spirit more than all the tortures, inflictions, and insults she -had so unmeritedly undergone. -</p> - -<p> -Signed by Roland, but written generally to his dictation -by the chaplain of the fortress, an old Dominican friar, the -reply was sad and sorrowful, full of regrets for her sore -temptation to evil; her bitter humiliation, blended with -expressions of satisfaction at her contrition; and closing with -a pious hope that the sincerity of her repentance and the -severity of her earthly punishments would save her from -those of another life, solemnly committed her and her works -to Heaven. -</p> - -<p> -This unlover-like epistle, the embodying of which poor -Roland, in his sorrow and confusion of mind, had left entirely -to the ingenuity of the friar, appeared to Jane Seton this -crowning stroke of her misfortunes. It left her nothing -more to wish for, to hope for, or to bind her to the earth. -Her Roland had cast her off! -</p> - -<p> -For the thousandth time she drew forth the letter and gazed -upon the name his hand had traced; now the paper was sorely -worn and fretted by her tears. She read it over for the last -time, sighed bitterly, and placed it in her bosom. -</p> - -<p> -"It shall go with me to—death," she said, for, with a -shudder, she reflected that by the mode of that death <i>even a -grave</i> was denied her; and there was something frightful in -the idea that a week, a month, or a year hence, no one could -point to a stone slab or a mound of earth, and say that she -whom they remembered, or loved, or regretted, lay below—for -the ashes of a witch were scattered to the four winds of -heaven. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, my Roland, thou hast abandoned me! but God will -not abandon me!" -</p> - -<p> -"Look up, Lady Jane," said a mild voice. -</p> - -<p> -She raised her eyes suddenly, but without surprise or -terror, for neither of these emotions could affect her now; -absorbed in her own thoughts, she had not heard any one enter. -</p> - -<p> -The stately figure of Redhall stood before her. He wore a -court dress of black velvet, with a white cross on his mantle, -as mourning for the queen. His close-clipped beard and -black moustache were trimmed with their usual care, but he -seemed the shadow of what he was. His grave and noble -features were pale as death, and, like her own, were attenuated -to excess, but by mental rather than bodily suffering (though -he had endured both), and their pallor contrasted strongly -with his large, dark eyes, which were so full of light, and yet -were so expressive of sorrow. Every part of his dress was -black, save the shoulder-belt or scarf that sustained his -silver-hilted sword, and which, like the band of his bonnet, glittered -with silver embroidery and precious stones, that, ever changing -in the light of the torch, sparkled with a thousand prismatic -hues. He held his bonnet respectfully in his left hand, and -its long black feather drooped on the floor. -</p> - -<p> -"Look up, Lady Jane," he repeated; and Jane arose, with -horror and aversion expressed in every feature of her face. -</p> - -<p> -"You have dared to come hither? Is it to gloat upon the -sorrow you have made—the poor being you have devoted to -destruction—a being who never harmed you? Oh, Redhall! -Redhall! what a plot of hell thy plot hath been?" -</p> - -<p> -"Dost thou think me cruel?" -</p> - -<p> -"Cruel?" reiterated Jane; "didst thou say <i>cruel</i>?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hear me, hear me! for there is but little time, as in an -hour thou art to die." -</p> - -<p> -"St. Giles's bell has told me that. Begone, begone! wretch, -thou horror and abomination! Leave me to prayer, I implore -thee! to prepare for that death thy guilt, and not mine own, -deserves." -</p> - -<p> -"Lady, if I am guilty, love hath made me so." -</p> - -<p> -"Love!" -</p> - -<p> -"Turned to hatred by vengeance and despair! Thou didst -permit me to love thee, and then destroyed the dear hopes -which that permission excited. Then I hated thee and loved -thee by turns; but hatred became the strongest, and I swore -that never should another man wed thee. Taunted, I longed -for vengeance, but on thy lover rather than on thee—yes, -even as the thirsty long for water, and thou art here! It -was my destiny, perhaps, to accomplish thy death, and if so, -my doom and thine must be fulfilled. Thy death! and yet—yet -I could love thee, even after all that hath passed—even -loathing life as I do. To the storm of passions which so lately -agitated me, a horrid calm has succeeded, and I can look back -to the events of the last few weeks as one saved from shipwreck -might do to the boiling ocean he has escaped. Thou lookest -on me with horror; yet knowest thou not, Jane, that God put -much of human kindness in my heart, and, until I met thee, -knew thee, and most fatally loved thee, I was good and gentle, -save when men wronged or thwarted me. My capacities for -love and hatred have but two extremes. Thee, I could have -loved for ever! Thy beauty is like that of the rose, or of the -lily, born to wither, to lose form and perfume; but my love -would have endured unto death, and would have passed away -but with life alone. Taunted and repulsed by thee, mocked -by my friends as thy plaything, vanquished by a mischance -in combat with Vipont, who can wonder that the poison of -hatred entered my heart? that it rankled there, and grew -strong, distorting every object to my mind and eye? Life -lost the few pleasures it possessed. I thought of nothing -but destruction, and felt that I was predestined to accomplish, -thy death, for I felt (he added, in the very words of the Jew) -that if it would feed nothing else, it would feed my revenge—that -revenge for which I lived alone! Oh, Jane, this is all -the truth, the sad, the solemn truth. Is it not frightful to -think that in less than one hour thou wilt have to die?" -</p> - -<p> -"The victim of a madman—a fatalist! Just Heaven! will -this be permitted?" -</p> - -<p> -"Heaven has left you yet one chance of life," said Redhall, -as his eyes lighted up with a wild gleam, and drawing from -his bosom the pardon, which had cost the gallant Leslie so -dear, the pardon which was spotted with his blood, and which -bore the royal signature, "James Rex," and a seal, the well-known -private signet of the king, he held it before her startled -eyes. "Be silent, and listen. Your life and death are in my -hands. This is a free pardon from the king, granted yesterday -at Falkland. Save thyself, not one in Edinburgh knows -of its existence, and, without it, you die in half an hour. Oh, -ponder well on this," he added, with eyes that eloquently -expressed his sorrow, triumph, eagerness, and fear, as with one -hand he grasped her, and held it before her with the other, -but at arm's-length, lest she might snatch it from him. -"Swear before Heaven, the Mother of all Compassion, before -the Apostle John and all the saints, to accept me as thy -husband; to banish Vipont from thy mind for evermore, -even as he has banished thee from his, and into thy hands I -commit this paper, and thou art saved. Reject me, I -consume it at this torch, and thou art lost!" -</p> - -<p> -He held the paper within an inch of the flaring torch. -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Adam Otterburn," replied Jane, firmly, and with -dignity; "I have nothing now to lose but a life that thou -hast made hateful to myself, and abominable in the sight of -Scotland—a name thou hast covered with such shame that -even he who loved me most abhors it now. Thee! the wife -of thee, thou murderer and assassin of the gallant Bombie!—thou -destroyer of my honour, and the honour of my family! -Oh, no!—welcome, a thousand times more welcome are the -grave, the gallows, the stake—death under any form, than an -alliance so detested. Out upon thee, coward, demon, and -tempter!" and in the wildness of her scorn and hatred, she -smote him on the mouth with her clenched hand. -</p> - -<p> -"Then be it so!" replied Redhall, with a horrible laugh, -as an emotion of rage rose within him. "Thou shalt die as -one accursed by God and man, with the flames around thee, -and the yells of an assembled city in thine ears, as the meed -of thy unmerited scorn. Proud and unrelenting woman, unshriven -and unabsolved, even by the fantastic rites of a church -that is falling, thou shalt die, with the bitter conviction that -all thy sorrow, and all thy tears, and all thy pain are futile, -as the wings of the demon are over thee." -</p> - -<p> -And with these terrible words he thrust the pardon into -the large flame of the torch, which consumed it in a moment. -</p> - -<p> -Jane uttered a wild cry as he did so; for an instant the -love of life had dawned strongly in her bosom. -</p> - -<p> -Again she sank on her knees in despair, and covered her -face with her hands; when she looked up, Redhall was gone. -He had departed so silently, that she might have deemed the -whole interview a vision, but for the ashes of the pardon -which were floating about her. -</p> - -<p> -One small fragment, which the flame had left undevoured, -lay on the floor; but there was a fiery circle within it—a -circle that spread and reddened—spread—spread, until it -reached the edge, where it died away in blackness, even as her -momentary hope had died. -</p> - -<p> -At that instant she heard footsteps approaching her -chamber door, and there was the knell of death in their echoes. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap57"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER LVII. -<br /><br /> -THE LOCH. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "And quickly Walter seeks once more,<br /> - With eager steps, the ocean's shore;<br /> - And lingers on impatient there,<br /> - The appointed hour—now do and dare!<br /> - He eyed the high and rugged steep<br /> - Which overhung the foaming deep."<br /> - <i>The Convent of Algarve.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -To avoid the vast crowds that were assembling on the Castle-hill, -and before the Port of the Spur, Redhall left the fortress -by the postern gate; and though the descent from thence to -the foot of the cliffs on the west was steep and extremely -dangerous, even in daylight, he plunged down from rock to -rock, grasping the hazel-bushes and wild willows in his -progress, until he reached the old and narrow horsepath which -led from the King's Meuse and the tilting-ground towards -the venerable kirk of St. Cuthbert the Bishop. -</p> - -<p> -Breathless and exhausted by the rapidity of his descent -down these pathless and precipitate rocks, and overcome by -the load of agony that pressed upon his heart, he sank upon -the turf, and lay there for a few minutes motionless. -</p> - -<p> -Above him, the fortress and its stupendous rocks towered -away into the obscurity of the midnight sky; before him, -spread the ripening corn-fields, divided by thick hedgerows; -and in the hollow on his left lay the kirk of St. Cuthbert, -with the dim lights twinkling in its aisles, and shedding -through its Gothic windows an uncertain radiance on the -adjacent water; for it had then two minor altars, the great -lamps before which were never extinguished until 1559. The -sky was starless, and the moon had gone down enveloped in -clouds. The great square tower of the church, a monastic -relic of the eighth century, built by the Culdees of Lothian, -stood boldly, in black outline, against the dark gauzy vapour -that shrouded the north; a rising wind moaned through the -marshy hollow, shaking the old woods which overshadowed -the Kirkbraehead, and rippling the waters of the loch, which -almost washed the castle rock. -</p> - -<p> -There was a voice of reproach in that midnight wind; and -from the passing clouds many a grim face seemed to peer -upon the unhappy wretch, who, at the foot of the rocks, lay -below the postern, listening to the fierce beating of his -tortured heart. -</p> - -<p> -And save its beating, and the moaning wind, all seemed -deathly still around him. The Guelder roses and the wild -violets filled the air with perfume, though the dew of midnight -rested on their leaves. -</p> - -<p> -The appearance of Jane, the expression of her eyes, and -the familiar sound of her voice, had recalled his first passion -in all its strength; and before it, for a time, revenge melted -away like summer mist. He contemplated himself with -horror; but now to save her, would be to cover his own name -with disgrace and contumely; and to avow his master-villany -and deep-laid vengeance, though it might snatch Jane from -the jaws of death, would but restore her to the arms of Vipont, -and afford that hated rival a triumph which could not be -contemplated with calmness. The agony, the repentance, the -fear, the shame, the abhorrence of himself, and the chaos of -his mind, were frightful. -</p> - -<p> -A flame shot across the sky. -</p> - -<p> -It was but the sheet lightning of summer flashing redly -behind the afar-off hills, and showing the dark woods of Coats, -and of the Dean that waved between. -</p> - -<p> -For a moment it illuminated the dark hollow where this -repentant sinner lay, and gave him a startling shock; for he -thought of the funeral pyre that was soon to blaze before the -gates of the fortress which overhung him. -</p> - -<p> -"Jane, oh Jane!" he cried, incoherently and aloud; "oh, -thou whom I could have worshipped with the adoration of an -idolater, but whom I have destroyed with the blind fury of a -fiend! Can I not save thee without burying myself under a -mountain of disgrace as well as of misery? And for this -paltry tremor thou art left to die! thou, so beautiful, so -innocent, so pure in spirit and so single in heart! The icy -sweat is again on my brow, the iron in my heart—for all thine -image is before me, as it was once, so full of smiles and pride, -of bloom and high-born loveliness, as on that night at -Holyrood.... Thy voice is ever in my ear, thy name on my -lip!... Oh, misery! oh, for one hour of oblivion!..." -</p> - -<p> -He sprang up, and slowly descending the narrow path by -the base of the castle rock, below St. Margaret's Tower, -approached the loch, but without any defined object. The -stillness of its dark and almost waveless water had something -in it that attracted him involuntarily towards it. -</p> - -<p> -The loch was then full and the water deep. -</p> - -<p> -"Coward that I am!" he thought; "one bold plunge and -all would be over." -</p> - -<p> -The temptation was a strong one: there was a rushing in -his ears, a whirling in his brain, and a fearful palsy in his -heart, which seemed to stand for a moment still; he looked -around him hurriedly, and no one seemed near. -</p> - -<p> -But a single star was visible, like a watching eye, and its -rays were reflected in the motionless water under the solemn -shadow of the impending rocks. -</p> - -<p> -At such a moment the human mind is like a bullet which -a hair may turn aside. -</p> - -<p> -He took one step backward, and was about to make the -desperate leap, when the sound of voices and footsteps arrested -him; and, like one surprised in a guilty action, he shrunk -behind a clump of wild hazel bushes, and thus was saved from -the committal of another heavy crime. -</p> - -<p> -Two men, whom he had not before observed, now appeared -on the narrow pathway below. One was mounted, clad in -half armour, and by the ostrich feather which waved in his -bonnet, appeared to be a gentleman; the other was on foot, -and led a horse by the bridle. -</p> - -<p> -Redhall heard the name of <i>Vipont</i>. -</p> - -<p> -It called up all his evil passions and bitter memories. It -restored him to life and energy of purpose. He put his hand -on the hilt of his sword, and listening, approached them -stealthily. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap58"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER LVIII. -<br /><br /> -THE LAW OF THE SWORD. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "Dost thou, O traitor! thus to grace pretend,<br /> - Clad as thou art in trophies of my friend?<br /> - To his sad soul, a grateful offering go!<br /> - 'Tis Pallas, Pallas gives this deadly blow.<br /> - He raised his arm aloft, and, at the word,<br /> - Deep in his bosom drove the shining sword.<br /> - The streaming blood distained his arms around,<br /> - And the disdainful soul came rushing through the wound."<br /> - <i>Æneid</i>, XII.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -According to the tenour of his last conversation with his -unfortunate lieutenant, when they supped at the <i>Cross and -Gillstoup</i>, Sir John Forrester had not forgotten the safety -of their mutual friend, Vipont; and being well aware that -the hostility of the king's advocate had no boundary but -death, while the cruel assassination of Leslie, the scarcely less -cruel visit of Redhall to Jane, and the destruction of the -pardon in David's Tower were taking place, he had prepared -everything for the escape of Roland from the fortress in -which he was confined. -</p> - -<p> -Aware that the attention of the city without, and of the -garrison within the castle, of the governor, of the provost, -and all the authorities, was wholly occupied by the preparations -for the execution of the first sorceress to be burned -in Scotland, this gallant gentleman wisely considered the hour -of midnight as the most fitting time to achieve the liberty of -his friend. -</p> - -<p> -Aware that our agile acquaintance, Master Sabrino, could -climb like a squirrel, he had been employed by Forrester as -the principal agent in the adventure. -</p> - -<p> -From the fields on the opposite bank of the loch Sabrino -had been shown the tower and the window of the apartment -wherein Roland Vipont was confined, and to that window, at -nightfall, the active negro had clambered with wondrous -bravery and skill; and had introduced to the tower a pair of -saws formed of the sharpest steel, and a strong cord, of great -length, knotted with loops for the hands and feet, by which -he was to descend some twenty yards of the most dangerous -part of the rocks; while Sabrino, who could cling to their -perpendicular front as a fly does to the wall, was to descend -without other aid than his own black paws and tenacious -feet. -</p> - -<p> -At the very time that Redhall approached, and in the two -figures recognised the captain of the king's guard and the -old servant of Roland Vipont, the latter had just removed -(by the aid of his saws) the last bar from the window, and -trembling with eagerness, was preparing to descend the -rope-ladder which Sabrino, with a broad grin on his vast mouth -and in his shining eyes, fastened to the remaining stumps of -the stanchels. -</p> - -<p> -Who the kind person might be that had furnished and -sent the bold page with these means of escape, Roland had -no means of ascertaining; for, being tongueless, poor Sabrino -was mute as a fish; and of all his innumerable signs and -nods, winks and unearthly chuckles, the master of the ordnance -could make nothing. -</p> - -<p> -A plain wooden prie-dieu formed part of the furniture of -his apartment. On his knees Roland Vipont sank into it, and -on a lock of Jane's hair fixed a long, a passionate, and -indescribable gaze of love and sorrow, and then uttered a brief, -emphatic prayer. -</p> - -<p> -"Innocent or guilty, I will see her once again, or die in the -attempt," said he, placing the ringlet in his bosom, and -preparing to descend. -</p> - -<p> -The passage of the window was easily accomplished; and -reaching the base of the tower, he found himself upon a -narrow ledge of rock; the chill wind rushed up past him, and -voices were faintly borne with it from below. There, the -cliff on which King David's Tower was built is somewhat -impending, and from the broad battlements a plumb-line -might, without meeting an obstacle, be dropped to the depth -of nearly two hundred and fifty feet, to the pathway on which -Sir John Forrester and Lintstock stood on that night. If -dropped one yard beyond the rock, it would have fallen into -the waters of the lake. -</p> - -<p> -Roland's heart expanded in his breast; for to his active -spirit, which had writhed in captivity, there was almost a -relief in the new energy of action. -</p> - -<p> -He descended with equal rapidity and boldness, for he was -utterly regardless of life; and this very carelessness was -perhaps his salvation, by affording him the means of achieving -that in which the timid or the wary man would inevitably -have failed. The wild wallflower, the strong docken blades, -the long grass, the longer and more tenacious ivy which grew -in the clefts of the rocks, or overhung their lichen-spotted -brows, afforded him the means of descent after he had passed -the bottom of the cord. -</p> - -<p> -In the darkness and obscurity of the night, he could not -have been seen even from the windows of Wallace's Tower or -the Constable's Tower, but now their inmates had all deserted -them; for the entire population of the castle were crowding -on the battlements of the great peel, the eastern curtain, and -the spur, which overlooked the place of execution, the -preparations for which were being made on the south side of the -Castle-hill. -</p> - -<p> -He had one risk of discovery alone; for, not eighty yards -from where Forrester awaited him, the pathway was crossed -and defended by the Well-house Tower. -</p> - -<p> -Those of our readers who may have perused our "Memorials" -of the ancient fortress, may remember how frequently -we had occasion to mention this now ruined ravelin. -</p> - -<p> -Built over a fountain, the waters of which fed the loch, -this strong square tower rose within six feet of the enormous -perpendicular cliff sustaining David's Tower. A massive -wall, having an archway with an iron gate and loopholes for -arrows and musketry, secured the narrow path which led to -St. Cuthbert's Church on one hand, and ascended the Castle-hill -on the other, passing between the tower and the rock. -The guard here had the treble duty of protecting the well, -the private roadway, and the city wall of A.D. 1450, which -enclosed the Castle-hill at its northern base. The tower was -entered from the inside of this flanking wall by two doors, -which, by a stair partly hewn in the rocks, led to the first -and second floors. The upper was at that time always -occupied by a party of arquebusiers, and the light of their -guard-fire streamed redly through two narrow grated windows -upon the still dark bosom of the loch, which washed the -north wall, and rolled away in obscurity towards the east end -of the city. -</p> - -<p> -Then the wide ravine that yawned between the southern -hill of the Modern Athens and the giant ridge of Auld -Reikie, her <i>mither-toun</i>, was an impassable gulf. Now the -waters have disappeared, but the tide of life ebbs and flows -in their place. A stupendous mound and a lordly bridge now -cross that hollow glen where the fountain welled which David, -"by consent of his earls and bishops," gifted to God and the -Holy Cross, and where the queen of Robert III. held her -brilliant tournaments; and now, the red gleam of the -furnace, the hiss of the steam-engine, the clink of hammers, the -hum of voices, and the roar of the railway train rise up -from its depth to scare the woodcock, the snipe, and the wild -coof, who come as of old to seek the bed where for ages the -water lay. -</p> - -<p> -Once only did Roland pause in his perilous descent, to -assure himself that he was not seen. Dislodged by his foot, a -stone gave way, and as it bounded from the rocks he heard it -plash into the loch, far, far down below. There, by its margin, -stood Forrester and Lintstock listening intently, and glancing -silently at each other from time to time; for, brave and -adventurous though the age might be, there were bounds, even -in warlike Scotland, to hardihood and adventure. -</p> - -<p> -"If he should be afraid to descend!" said Sir John. -</p> - -<p> -"Afraid?" retorted Lintstock; "I have kent him, Sir -John Forrester, since he was a bairn that couldna' blaw his -ain nose, and never saw fear in his face yet.—There he comes," -added the old cannonier, as the stone we have just mentioned -rolled over their heads and fell into the calm loch, forming a -hundred circles on its dark bosom; "there he comes—there -he comes!" continued the veteran, whose solitary eye -moistened with a tear as he uttered a fervent supplication to -"Sancta Barbara, the virgin and martyr, patroness of all -bold cannoniers and artillery" (according to the military -superstition of the age), to protect his master. -</p> - -<p> -In a few minutes more, both Roland and Sabrino were seen -descending the dangerous path. Lintstock uttered a cry of -satisfaction. -</p> - -<p> -"Courage!" said Forrester, placing his hand at the side of -his mouth, lest the guard at the tower might overhear, and -fire on them. -</p> - -<p> -In another moment Roland, breathless with his exertions, -was beside them, and in the arms of his old servant, who -swore and wept with joy. -</p> - -<p> -His hair and beard were so disordered, that Forrester could -scarcely recognise him. -</p> - -<p> -"My dear friend," said Roland, sadly, "if the thanks of -one to whom life is valueless are worth accepting, take them -from me a thousand times, and a thousand more. Believe -me, I am almost mad—I know not what I do, or what I say, -or whether my words are incoherent as my thoughts." -</p> - -<p> -He was frightfully pale and haggard. -</p> - -<p> -"Truly, Vipont, we live in strange times—times that future -men will talk of with wonder, for we participate in deeds of -which our posterity will scarcely believe," replied Forrester, -gravely; "but I pray you, mount and begone, for we have -not a moment to lose! Instant flight——" -</p> - -<p> -"Horses and arms! by what magic hast thou divined my -secret thought? Oh, my good, my kind Forrester, it is so -like thee!" -</p> - -<p> -"Here is your own sword—the old Italian blade you loved -so well." -</p> - -<p> -"I am glad thou'st brought it, for 'tis all my heritage," -replied Roland, as he buckled it on, and then unsheathed the -blade and waved it in the air. -</p> - -<p> -"My castle in the west is at your service. Mount and -ride, I implore you, Vipont; for every moment of delay is -fraught with danger to us all!" -</p> - -<p> -"Mount and ride, say you? Yes; but not to your castle -in the west, my dear friend—no! I have sworn to see Jane -Seton once again before she dies. Jane! Jane! that -letter—ah! why didst thou send it, for I would rather thou hadst -stabbed me with a poniard? My good sword! how great, -how glorious a thing it is to be free, and to feel thee in my -hand. Now can I deal death for death, blow for blow, and -blood for blood! Oh, Forrester, I feel that wrong and -oppression have made me a very savage." -</p> - -<p> -To crush his agony, he bit his lips till the blood came, and -hastily, but scrupulously examined the bridle and stirrups of -the horse his friend had brought him. -</p> - -<p> -Breathlessly, and with a heart full of rage, Redhall from -his place of concealment had seen and overheard them. -</p> - -<p> -"I have destroyed her, and shall he escape me?" he -thought. "No, by the Power of Heaven!" and, drawing -his sword, he made stealthily towards the Well-house Tower, -for there was no time to give an alarm elsewhere. Thrice he -essayed to gain it, but in vain! for those he wished to -intercept stood right in the narrow path leading to the gateway -which the tower flanked; the cliff rose up on one side like a -wall, the deep water descended into darkness on the other. -</p> - -<p> -"Hallo! we are watched!" cried old Lintstock, whose -single eye was worth a dozen of others, and had seen this dark -figure which glided near them in the gloom. -</p> - -<p> -Full of rage and shame at being discovered, Redhall, who -was too proud and too brave to retreat, advanced boldly, with -his sword in his hand, exclaiming loudly— -</p> - -<p> -"A rescue! a rescue! a rescue and escape! Ho, the guard! ho, -in the name of the king! treason! and breaking -ward! treason! treason!" -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Redhall!</i>" cried Roland, in a choking voice. -</p> - -<p> -"We are lost!" said Forrester. -</p> - -<p> -Roland could utter no more; he thought that destiny had -delivered his enemy over to his vengeance; and a wild tempest -of holy fervour and infernal fury filled his heart. He -rushed upon him like a lion, and they both engaged with -blind desperation. -</p> - -<p> -Their eyes were full of fire, their breasts burning with as -much hatred as could possibly animate two human hearts, -and much more intent on slaying each other than on protecting -themselves, they hewed and thrust, cutting showers of -sparks from their swords in the dark, while their blades rang -like bells. They seemed to be transformed into demons by -their mortal hatred. -</p> - -<p> -Resolved that even if himself should be slain, his enemy -should not escape, Redhall called incessantly to the guard in -the adjacent tower; and Sir John Forrester, with alarm, -heard the voices of the soldiers, who were part of his own -corps of guards, and saw the glow of their lighted matches -reddening behind the loopholes, and through the bars of the -gate, as they prepared "to make service" against those who -were brawling on St. Cuthbert's roadway; in other words, to -fire on them. -</p> - -<p> -Before this measure took place the combat was decided. -</p> - -<p> -Stepping back a pace, and grasping his sword with both -hands, Redhall raised the hilt above his head, and dropping -the blade behind him, resolved to give a cut-down stroke, -which would end the conflict and his rival's life together; -but Roland, quick as lightning, on seeing his whole body -unprotected, sprang forward, and ran more than two feet of his -double-edged sword through his body. -</p> - -<p> -A groan of rage and agony escaped from Redhall; with his -left hand he grasped Roland's sword near the hilt, and fiercely -writhed his body forward upon it, to shorten the distance -between himself and his antagonist, in whose heart he -endeavoured to bury a poniard which he grasped in his right hand, -and for which he had relinquished his sword. -</p> - -<p> -But seeing his deadly intention, Roland spurned him with -his right foot; he staggered backward, the blood gushed -forth, and at the same moment he rolled over the narrow path, -and falling off the blade of the sword, sank heavily into the -dark water of the loch, thus being stabbed and drowned -almost at the same moment. -</p> - -<p> -Roland uttered a wild laugh, leaped on horseback, and -galloped madly away by the base of the castle rock. -</p> - -<p> -Forrester followed at full speed, but the frantic horseman -had disappeared like a spirit round the western side of the -rock, and even the sound of his horse's hoof's had died away. -</p> - -<p> -At that instant a volley of six arquebuses flashed redly from -the parapets of the ravelin, and their bullets whistled about -the ears of old Lintstock, who immediately scrambled after -Sir John Forrester; but one pierced the brain of the poor -page Sabrino, who fell dead on the spot. -</p> - -<p> -The discovery of his body next morning caused unusual -consternation in the "good town" of Edinburgh, and the -expenditure of several gallons of holy water, which were -sprinkled upon the livid corpse and the place where it lay; -while the tidings went far and wide that "my Lady of -Ashkirk's devil had been found under the castle rock." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap59"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER LIX. -<br /><br /> -THE PLACE OF DOOM. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "But when the appointed day was come,<br /> - No help appeared nye;<br /> - Then woeful, woeful was her heart,<br /> - And tears stood in her eye.<br /> - And now a fyer was built of wood,<br /> - And a stake was made of tree;<br /> - And now Queen Elinor forth was led,<br /> - A sorrowful sight to see."<br /> - <i>Sir Aldrinyar, an old Ballad.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -On this night a strange sound floated upward to the Castle -of Edinburgh from the city below; it was like the murmur -of distant waves, or of the rising wind shaking the branches -of a forest. This was occasioned by the crowding of the -people towards the <i>Place of Doom</i>, as it was graphically -named. -</p> - -<p> -It was a dark midnight, moonless and starless; the eyes -of thousands were raised inquisitively to the black, opaque -mass of the castle rock and the zone of lofty towers which -then engirdled its summit, with their embrasured battlements -and frowning cannon. -</p> - -<p> -Culprits usually suffered at a place on the south side of the -Castle-hill, where a green bank of several hundred yards -sloped steeply downward from the ramparts of the Spur, to -the north ends of the closes in the Grass-market, a broad -arena which, from its fantastic architecture, has been said -closely to resemble the Plaza of a Spanish or Italian town, -and which lies in a valley to the south of the castle. -</p> - -<p> -The wall of the city, which descended at an angle of nearly -fifty degrees from the rock on which the fortress is built -until it intersected the streets beneath at the King's Meuse, -closed this sloping bank on the west. The back of a narrow -close, which was demolished in the civil war of 1743, enclosed -it on the east, and the Spur, with its strong rampart and -twenty pieces of brass cannon, overlooked it on the north. -There were then no Castle-terrace or Western Approach to -disfigure the city on the south, and this green and verdant -bank descended smoothly and gradually downwards to the -great market-place. -</p> - -<p> -The stake was placed on a small natural platform a few -yards square, the same place where Thomas Forrest, vicar of -Dollar, John Keillior, and John Beverage, two Dominican -priests, Duncan Simpson, and Sir Robert Forrest, a gentleman -of Stirlingshire, were burned for heresy in presence of the -regal court, on the night of the 2nd of March, two years -after the events we are about to relate. This was the place -of death until the year 1681, when the Scottish government -deprived the city of it for military purposes. -</p> - -<p> -The stake was a strong column of oak, roughly dressed by -a hatchet, and had rivetted upon it the <i>branks</i>, or witch's -bridle, which hung at the end of a short chain. This -instrument, which was considered so necessary in punishments by -fire, and which was soon to become so famous in Scotland, -that every burgh required one, was a circle of iron, formed of -four parts, connected by steel hinges, and adapted to encircle -the neck, like the modern <i>jougs</i>, which may sometimes be -seen at kirk-doors. The chain was behind; in front was the -broad gag which entered the mouth, and pressed down the -tongue to prevent the unhappy wretch, whose head was -locked within it, crying aloud; and after the execution, this -diabolical invention, which was usually found among the -ashes of the fire and of the skeleton, with fragments of bones -and teeth adhering to it, was carefully preserved by the -thrifty baillies in the council-chamber until the next -"worrying," as it was termed. -</p> - -<p> -Several horseloads of faggots, nicely split, and tied up in -bundles, were piled three feet deep around the stake by the -concurrents, or assistants of Sanders Screw, in absence of -Dobbie, whom a blow from Leslie's sword had left half dead -at a cottage near Inverteil; and on these bundles they poured -several buckets of tar and oil, thereafter sprinkling the whole -with gunpowder and sulphur. These operations soothed the -excitement and impatience of the expectant thousands, who -long before the fatal hour had taken possession of the whole -ground about the stake, a circle round which was kept open -by the halberds of the provost, while beyond there were a -party of fifty mounted spearmen under his kinsman, Sir -Andrew Preston of Grourtoun, who was sheathed in complete -armour. Every second trooper bore a lighted torch; thus -the mob could see with ease, and be seen. -</p> - -<p> -In addition to the inhabitants of the city, nearly all those -of the four municipalities, or burghs of regality, which lay -without the barriers—viz., the Portsburgh, lying before the -West-port; the Canongate, without the Netherbow-port; -the Potter-row, which lay before the Kirk-of-field-port; and -the Calton, lying without St. Andrew's port, or the -Craig-end-gate, were collected in the spacious area of the -Grass-market, and on the steep face of the castle bank. The walls -of the ravelin which crowned it on the north; the bartizans, -roofs, windows, even the chimney-heads and pediments, every -ledge and part of the houses on the west; and the ends of -those which closed the ground below, were crowded with -spectators. The market-place was like a sea of upturned faces, -all visible in the torchlight, though far down below; and the -hum of their myriad voices, mingled with many a shrill cry -or threat, the clink of steel or clatter of iron hoofs, as the -armed horsemen rode to and fro keeping order among them, -ascended the side of the hill, and echoed among the rocks and -towers of the fortress, where the poor victim for whom they -waited was kneeling at her prayers. -</p> - -<p> -So great was the crowd in the market, that even the bartizans -of the Greyfriars' monastery, a large building which -formed part of the street, and had been built by James -I. about a hundred years before, for Cornelius of Zurich and -certain canons of Cologne, together with the loftier houses of -the Knights of Torphichen, in the Bow, though still more -distant, were covered with spectators. -</p> - -<p> -Clad in thin grey cassocks girt with knotted cords, the -Greyfriars ran about among the people, barefooted, and carrying -little wooden boxes to receive money from the charitable -and religious to pay for "masses and prayers for the soul of -the poor lost heretic and sorceress,"—prayers and masses for -the poor girl who was yet living. Solemn mass, as for the -dead, was to have been said in the chapel of St. Margaret, the -queen of Scotland, by Father St. Bernard, and the chaplain -of the fortress; but the baillies, the portly deacons of the -crafts and consequential councillors of the gude town, were -impatient for the <i>deid chack</i>, and had ordered that, as the -friars had lingered too long with Jane in her cell, and as the -hour of twelve approached, and the people were impatient, -they should do their office at the stake—an edict of -selfishness and cruelty. -</p> - -<p> -This <i>deid chack</i> was a dinner or supper (according to the -hour) of which the magistrates always partook after an -execution; and it was generally served up with great civic state, -in a chamber which adjoined the church of St. Giles, and -which in later days was the vestry of the Tolbooth kirk. -</p> - -<p> -Twelve rang from the great tower of that venerable fane; -and to the ears of all it seemed to do so more slowly and -solemnly than usual, for such is the force of imagination. At -the same moment the lurid flash of a culverin broke redly -from the battlements of the Constable's Tower, and its hoarse -boom pealed away over the heads of the people. -</p> - -<p> -Every heart leaped, every ear tingled, every eye dilated. -A rapid murmur pervaded the vast multitude, and then died -away, leaving them all attention—all ear and eye; they -seemed to have but one pulse, one heart, and their -expectations were excited to the utmost degree when the strong -iron portal of the Spur unclosed, and the procession of -death appeared slowly descending the steep bank towards the -stake. -</p> - -<p> -First came six arquebusiers in steel caps and crimson -doublets, marching in double file, with their matches smoking. -</p> - -<p> -Then came Sanders Screw, dressed in flaming scarlet, with -a leather apron, and his arms bared to the elbow. He bore -a lighted torch, which flared luridly on his withered visage -and decrepit figure. He looked like an antiquated fiend. -</p> - -<p> -Then came the governor of the fortress, Sir James Riddel, -walking on foot, but in half armour, attended by an esquire -and two pages, one bearing his sword, the other his helmet. -With him were the magistrates in their scarlet gowns, wearing -their chains of gold, with their sword-bearer, macer, and -halberdiers, clad in blue doublets, laced, and slashed with -yellow. -</p> - -<p> -Then appeared Father St. Bernard, with the Dominican -who acted as the governor's chaplain. Both were walking -bareheaded and in full canonicals, with their eyes fixed upon -their books. St. Bernard was praying, the Dominican made -the responses in a loud and audible voice. All the people -immediately uncovered their heads, and the horsemen of -Gourtoun lowered the points of their lances. -</p> - -<p> -When Lady Jane appeared, another low murmur pervaded -the people, mingled with exclamations of— -</p> - -<p> -"Alake! alake! oh, waly! waly! Eh, sirs, and gude -preserve us! waly! waly!" for the latter is an old Scottish -exclamation expressive of the utmost commiseration. -</p> - -<p> -It rose almost to a shout, then it died away, and silence -sealed the lips of nearly ten thousand persons; they seemed -for a time to be frozen with pity, horror, and expectation of -the dire catastrophe; and so they remained with their countless -eyes fixed upon her, their mouths open, their voices -hushed, their breathing suspended. -</p> - -<p> -Poor Jane! Amid all that living sea, around, above, and -below her, she saw not the face of a friend, and yet the heads -were rising and falling like the billows of a heaving ocean, as -the hushed people, animated by morbid curiosity, struggled -in silence to obtain a full view of her. -</p> - -<p> -The lines of Nicholas Howe are strikingly descriptive of -her aspect; for as she descended to the pile— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Submissive, sad, and lowly was her look;<br /> - A burning taper in her hand she bore,<br /> - And on her shoulders carelessly confused<br /> - With loose neglect her lovely tresses hung;<br /> - Upon her cheek a faintish flush was spread;<br /> - Feeble she seemed, ami sorely smit with pain.<br /> - Her streaming eye bent ever on the earth,<br /> - Except when in some bitter pang of sorrow,<br /> - To heaven she seemed in fervent zeal to raise,<br /> - <i>And begged that mercy man denied her here</i>."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Instead of being dressed in a penitent's frock of tarred -canvas, painted with flames pointing downwards, like those -of the "heretics" whom the same spectators had seen burned -at the Rood of Greenside, before the gate of the Carmelites, -a short time before, Jane wore an ordinary tunic of blue silk, -and her little velvet cap, with its triangular front, from the -top of which a pendant bob-jewel sparkled on her brow,—for -she had resolved to die bravely. Her rosary, formed of silver -and coral beads, hung at her wrist; her missal was in one -hand, a taper in the other. Her luxuriant brown hair hung -over her shoulders, in sign of sorrow and repentance; she -was sorely changed, and worn almost to a skeleton, but there -was something almost holy in the solemn and resigned -expression of her beautiful face. It was the pallor of long -mental suffering, mingled with a sublime resignation to the -will of God and the hard fate He designed for her at the -hands of His creatures, who seemed to her so merciless. -</p> - -<p> -Now, hovering between time and eternity, she seemed as -one beyond the pale of life. -</p> - -<p> -The fear and hatred which her name, as a rumoured -sorceress, had excited in the minds of the people, died away -when they beheld her. Sorrow and compassion swelled in -every heart, and each man whispered to his neighbour of her -youth and beauty, and the memory of that good and valiant -earl her father, "who fought so well for Scotland, God rest -him!" -</p> - -<p> -Many wrung their hands, many wept, and more prayed for -her; for if they were blunt and fiery, our Scottish sires of the -olden time, and somewhat too ready with the use of their -swords and dirks, they were warm-hearted and kind, as they -were honest and true. -</p> - -<p> -Her dignity and courage deserved their praise, for on -beholding those assembled thousands, the glittering pikes of -the mailed horsemen, the halberds and arquebuses, the stake -with its chain, and the oiled faggots which formed that -appalling pile, Jane gathered courage from her pride of birth -and name, and resolved that history should never have it to -record that a daughter of the house of Ashkirk blanched in -the face of death—that grim foe whom its sons had so often -confronted on the fields of France and England. As these -thoughts fired her heart, her cheek flushed, her dark eye -lighted up, she became in a moment sublime; and as the -bright torches glared on her wasted and ghastly beauty, the -people saw in her no longer the regicide and the sorceress, -but a heroine, a martyr! -</p> - -<p> -Now she knelt down by the pile, for Father St. Bernard, -in a low voice, almost inaudibly tremulous, began to repeat -the prayers contained in the mass usually performed for the -dead on the day of decease or burial; for, as an "obdurate -heretic and sorceress," Jane was not permitted to receive the -last sacraments of her church in public, but the good old -prebendary had bestowed them in secret. -</p> - -<p> -Then, as this solemn service commenced, the entire -assembled thousands sank upon their knees and bowed down -their heads. Even the Reformers who were in the crowd -(and there were many) could not refuse to kneel and pray -at a crisis so sad and terrible, when a poor human soul was, -as they thought, hovering on the brink of hell. -</p> - -<p> -The horsemen of Gourtoun remained upright in their -saddles, with their armour gleaming in the torchlight, which -shed its uncertain glare upon the crowded bank, and on the -giant fortress that towered into the clouds above it, upon -the bastions and cannon of the Spur, upon the crowded -windows and fantastic architecture of the closes, and the sea of -heads that were bowed in the market-place, far down below, -upon the kneeling sufferer, the silver hair, bald heads, and -shining vestments of the priests beside her; while, like the -murmur of a gentle wind as it passes over a full-eared -corn-field, the voices of the people rose when they joined in the -beautiful hymn prescribed by what was then their church,— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "The day of wrath! that dreadful day!<br /> - Shall the whole world in ashes lay,<br /> - As David and the sybils say.<br /> - What horror shall invade the mind,<br /> - When the strict Judge, who would be kind,<br /> - Shall have few venial faults to find!"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -and so on to the close of the solemn chaunt,— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Prostrate, my contrite heart I rend,—<br /> - My God, my Father, and my Friend,<br /> - Do not forsake me in mine end!<br /> - Well may they curse their second birth,<br /> - Who rise to everlasting death.<br /> - Thou great Creator of mankind,<br /> - Oh, let <i>this soul</i> compassion find!"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Amid all that vast assemblage, there was one person who -did not seem to join in this hymn. He had lost his bonnet; -his head was bare, and his hair, wild, matted, and disordered, -waved around his head, and mingled with a beard that seemed -to have been untrimmed for a fortnight. He was armed -with a long sword, and rode a powerful horse, the blood of -which was dripping from a pair of sharp spurs, which appeared -to be hurriedly buckled on. The whole multitude were -intently regarding the poor being who was about to suffer, -otherwise the pale visage, fierce eyes, and wild aspect of this -strange horseman must have attracted, in a marked manner, -the attention of all who chanced to observe him. -</p> - -<p> -He was Roland Vipont, who, with a heart full of fury, -and a head full of desperate thoughts, had posted himself as -near the pile as the spearmen of Sir Andrew Preston would -permit. -</p> - -<p> -Love and wrath, together with wounded pride, had excited -his great inborn courage to a point of rashness and bravery -that made him feel strong as a Hercules, bold as a lion, and -fitted to encounter, without a shadow of fear or qualm of -doubt, Sir Andrew of Gourtoun's fifty lances in a general -mêlée. -</p> - -<p> -Slowly and impressively the chapel bells of the Greyfriars, -and of St. Mary in the Portsburgh, began to toll a knell for -the passing soul, and the heads of the people bent lower. -</p> - -<p> -"Blessed Lord," Roland heard the voice of the prebend -praying; "oh, King of Glory, deliver the souls of all the -faithful departed from the flames of hell, and from the -deep pit." -</p> - -<p> -Jane's pale lips seemed to move as she made a response. -</p> - -<p> -"Deliver them from the lion's mouth, lest hell swallow -them, and lest they fall into darkness. -</p> - -<p> -"Let the standard-bearer, Saint Michael, bring them unto -the holy light which of old thou didst promise to Abraham -and to his posterity." -</p> - -<p> -"Amen!" responded the calm voice of the old Dominican. -</p> - -<p> -St. Bernard shut his missal, and covered his face with the -sleeve of his vestment. -</p> - -<p> -As one man, the silent thousands raised their heads, and -Sanders Screw shook the flame of his torch, to light it fully. -</p> - -<p> -Jane arose, and gazed placidly around her. -</p> - -<p> -<i>The time had come!</i> -</p> - -<p> -Then, if it could be possible, the heart of Roland Vipont -beat quicker, and he unsheathed his sword. -</p> - -<p> -"Aid me, thou blessed Power, whom all these hearts have -invoked! aid me for her sake! But, aid or no aid, if I am -forsaken, 'tis but the soldier's death! Vipont! Vipont!" he -exclaimed, and suddenly urging his horse towards the stake, -he threw his left arm around Jane, and drew her across his -saddle before any one had the least idea of what he meant to -do; and brandishing his sword around his head, dashed the -gory spurs again into the torn flanks of his horse. -</p> - -<p> -Appalled by the rapidity of the action, the vast assemblage -stood immovable. -</p> - -<p> -Down the frightful steep towards the King's Meuse he -rode with the speed of an arrow; and, as the clouds part -before a thunderbolt, the horsemen gave way, and the people -parted before him. -</p> - -<p> -"Shut the gates of the town!" cried Sir Andrew Preston; -but a roar of voices burst from the multitude, and amid that -roar his voice was confounded and lost. -</p> - -<p> -Fortunately the gates were open, and deserted by their -warders; and thus, before the people had recovered from -their astonishment, and before the troopers of Gourtoun were -ordered to pursue, Roland Vipont, with his rescued prize, -had cleared the Castle Wynd, the crowded market-place, and -left the city's western barrier far behind him, as he spurred, -like a whirlwind, towards the wood and marshes of Corstorphine, -where, almost girded by a lake, and surrounded by a -deep moat, the strong and stately fortress of the Forresters -awaited him with open gates. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap60"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER LX. -<br /><br /> -CONCLUSION. -</h3> - -<p class="intropoem"> - "So they were wedded, and life's smoothest tide<br /> - Bore on its breast the bridegroom and the bride."—CROLY.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -With these two lines we might fairly dismiss the hero and -heroine of these volumes, without describing, or expatiating -on the explanations that brought about a termination so -pleasing; but it suddenly occurred to us that the reader, who -had kindly accompanied us so far, might have some curiosity -to learn the fate of the other actors in our drama or history, -for it partakes of both. -</p> - -<p> -Jane's relations accounted for the extorted letter which -caused such pain to Roland; and the next messenger from -Falkland announced that a pardon had actually been granted -by the king, while the whole plot against her life and honour -was fully revealed and made conspicuous by the secret papers -and correspondence of Redhall, all of which were purchased -at the sale of the effects of an eminent antiquary, lately -deceased, and are preparing for publication by a Scottish -literary club. -</p> - -<p> -Roland and his bride lived to see the subversion of all order -in the days of the Douglas wars, when he fought valiantly -under the Duke of Chatelherault for his queen, like a man of -truth and honour, for which he received from her own fair -finger a ring of gold, which his descendants possess unto the -present day. -</p> - -<p> -Released from Inchkeith by order of the king, the -venerable Countess of Ashkirk had soon after the happiness of -procuring from Rome, through the influence of Cardinal -Beaton, a dispensation, by which Sybil Douglas of Kilspindie -was married to her cousin, the earl, who survived that period -more than fifty years; and, during a long and useful life, was -eminently distinguished for his loyalty and patriotism. The -last time we heard or read of him was in 1587, when, on -tidings of Mary's murder at Fotheringay arriving at -Edinburgh, he appeared at Holyrood with his eight tall sons, all -sheathed in black armour, to show King James VI. what he -considered the most proper court mourning for the occasion. -</p> - -<p> -Father St. Bernard lived to see the Reformation, which -nearly broke the old man's heart; for he thought that the end -of the world was at hand. In his ninetieth year he died -among the monks of St. Jerome, at the Escurial, in Spain, -whither he had travelled to deposit the arm-bone of St. Giles. -</p> - -<p> -Ten years after the events we have narrated, the gallant -Sir John Forrester fell, fighting for his country, at the battle -of Pinkey, on the 10th September, 1547. He was shot when -making a brilliant charge with his own vassals against those -regiments of Spanish arquebusiers, who, under Don Pedro de -Gamboa, gained that battle for the Duke of Somerset. -</p> - -<p> -Honest old Lintstock, the ex-gunner, instead of settling on -the estate which Vipont received in free barony from the -king, married the hostel, or rather the hosteller's widow, to -whom he had paid his court so long; and though he became -one of the wealthiest burgesses of the good town, instead of -becoming either a councillor or baillie, he preferred to doze -away his time by the tap-room fire, where, with other old -iron-headed troopers and trampers, over a can of mum-beer, -he told long and interminable stories of the battles of Flodden -and Haddonrig; of sakers, of carthouns, and cannons-royale; -and of blowing Englishmen, Spaniards, and Highlandmen all -to rags and fritters, for he had fought against them all in his -time. -</p> - -<p> -The end of Dobbie the Doomster is buried in obscurity, -unless we connect him in some way with the same legal -functionary who is said to have drowned himself by leaping -in a drunken fit from the steep pinnacle of rock which -overhangs the Loch of Duddingstone, and is now known as the -<i>Hangman's Knowe</i>; but if it will comfort the reader to -know the end of Birrel the Brodder, we may add that this -amiable individual became unfortunately involved in the -murder of Cardinal Beaton in the year 1546, and being taken -with other prisoners when St. Andrew's was stormed by the -admiral of the galleys, Leon, prior of Capua, he was conveyed -to France, where he died, miserably chained to an oar, and -scourged almost to a skeleton, in a galley at Brest. -</p> - -<p> -John of the Silvermills, first deacon of the barber-chirurgeons -at Edinburgh, never completed his famous elixir, which -would have brought his profession to a close, and enabled us -to live without an ache or an ailment for ever. This precious -compound was just on the point of completion by the addition -of that small ingredient it had lacked so long, and for -which he had found a substitute in the blood of a certain -reptile, mentioned in the black letter "Ereptology" of Francis -Redi, when one dark night ten thousand Englishmen landed -and gave all to fire and sword in and around Edinburgh. -This was Lord Hertford's famous invasion in 1544. -</p> - -<p> -Poor John's laboratory was destroyed, and for months -afterwards he was to be seen, like the ghost of himself, -rending his beard, and lamenting over the ruins of his premises, -strewed with shattered retorts and broken crucibles, and -mourning heavily, like another Jeremiah, over the fall of an -imaginary Babylon. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap61"></a></p> - -<h3> -NOTES. -</h3> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -I. -<br /><br /> -JANE SETON. -</p> - -<p> -The unfortunate passage in Scottish history, which afforded -a hint for the foregoing romance, will be found in "Pitcairn's -Criminal Trials," at considerable length, and also in a little -history of the "Life of James V.," reprinted in <i>Miscellanea -Scotica</i> from the edition of 1710; but as both these works -may be beyond the reader's reach, we may briefly state the -facts as being these. -</p> - -<p> -In the year 1537, Jane Douglas, the young and beautiful -widow of Lord Glammis, and sister of the Earl of Angus, -together with her second husband, the Laird of Skipness, an -aged priest, and others, were accused by a person named -William Lyon, of endeavouring to compass the king's death -by poison and sorcery. -</p> - -<p> -Slighting the addresses of Lyon and many others who -aspired to her hand, after the death of Lord Glammis, she -had preferred Campbell of Skipness; upon which Lyon, -inflamed by rivalry and revenge, made a terrible vow, that his -life should be dedicated to her destruction; and hence came -the charge, upon which she and her immediate friends were -committed to the Castle of Edinburgh. -</p> - -<p> -"The accuser, who had the ear of the jealous king, used -all his rhetoric to aggravate the matter, that he might -dispose him to treat them with all possible cruelty," says the -old French author of James the Fifth's life. "He represented -that the family of Douglas had always been dangerous -and troublesome to his predecessors, himself, and his kingdom, -and reminded him of the insolence of Archibald Douglas, Earl -of Angus, the prisoner's brother, in the time of his majesty's -minority—a peer whose practices were so pernicious, that by -a public decree he was banished the kingdom, as a disturber -of the peace of his native country; and that since that time -he had become the subject of Henry, King of England." -</p> - -<p> -Examined, on <i>the rack</i>, by the king's advocate, and questioned -mercilessly, notwithstanding her rank, delicacy, and -beauty,—for which she was renowned through all Britain,—she -was compelled to admit the alleged treason and sorcery -and James having solemnly sworn never to forgive a Douglas -she was burned alive on the Castle-hill, on the 17th July, in -presence of the citizens, and almost in view of her son and -husband, who were confined in David's Tower. There the -former remained a prisoner until 1542; but the latter, when -attempting to escape, like Roland Vipont, by means of a rope, -on the night of the execution, fell, and was found next -morning, literally dashed to pieces, at the bottom of the rocks. -Struck with remorse, James V., who was naturally a merciful -prince, set the old friar at liberty. But it is remarkable that -William Lyon was merely banished from Scotland; while a -quack named Makke, by whom the pretended poison, or -magical preparation was made up, escaped with the loss of his -ears.—See <i>Pinkerton, Tytler, Lesley, Arnot,</i> &c. &c. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -II. -<br /><br /> -JOHN OF THE SILVERMILLS. -</p> - -<p> -This character is purely imaginary. James IV. and -James V., both great dabblers in alchemy, are said to have -had a laboratory, furnace, and their appurtenances at Silvermills, -a little village which took its name from these operations, -and is now a district of Edinburgh. It was probably -at these mills that the gold, of which great quantities were -found during the reign of James V., was refined. The preface -to the French life of that monarch, printed at Paris in 1612, -states that he had "three hundred men employed for several -summers in washing gold, of which they got above £100,000 -of English money." -</p> - -<p> -Lest some may suppose we have overdrawn the popular -credulity of 1537, in delineating John of the Silvermills, we -may mention that it is not long since a similar character -existed in Scotland, and was put under the ban of an -ecclesiastical court. -</p> - -<p> -This individual, whose name was Andrew Dawson, lived -on the Grampians, and having been unfortunate as a farmer, -became a veterinary surgeon, and dealer in herbs for the -cure of his own species. His mother having enjoyed the -reputation of being uncanny, Andrew easily succeeded to -this unenviable inheritance; but patients flocked to him -from all quarters, and his chief mode of cure was friction, -accompanied by charms muttered, or chaunted, in an -unintelligible language. "His hut," says the <i>Dundee Courier</i>, -"which was built by himself, like the <i>Black Dwarf's</i>, on a -muir, was situated not far from a spot called the 'Fairy's -Knowe,' and was the terror of the benighted traveller." Strange -sounds were heard; unearthly lights were seen; -and the fame of unhallowed rites, together with a distemper -among the cattle, soon brought Andrew on a distinct "charge -of sorcery before the Kirk Session." -</p> - -<p> -This Scottish Paracelsus had treated three citations with -sovereign contempt; but he was compelled to attend on the -fourth being served at his hut; and on the appointed day -appeared before the Session an aged and infirm man. On -the minister asking him, if he "wished the sentence of -excommunication reopened, and on what grounds?" Andrew -pulled from his ample pouch three common quartz pebbles, -and explained that in all diseases of the <i>head</i> he had employed, -by friction, one which bore a rude resemblance to that part of -the body. In diseases of the <i>heart</i>, he used another, shaped -like that organ; and the third was for affections of the -<i>kidneys</i>, to which it bore a resemblance. As to his wakes -and nightly orgies, he admitted that they were meant to -impose upon the ignorant, and increase the mystery. "To -describe the shame and astonishment at this recital would -have required the pen of Scott, or the pencil of -Allan."—<i>Dundee Courier</i>, Dec. 25th, 1851. -</p> - -<p> -He died a few months after this scene; the last instance -in Scotland of belief in sorcery, followed by kirk censure; -and his resting-place is still pointed to, with something of -fear, as "the warlock's grave." A still later instance of -popular credulity will be found mentioned in the London -<i>Times</i>, of the 10th January, 1852, wherein a gentleman of -Marseilles was accused of diseasing a child, by sorcery and -the <i>evil eye</i>. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -III. -<br /><br /> -THE THUMB. -</p> - -<p> -The ancient mode of confirming any bargain or bond, for -good or for evil, in Scotland, was by the pressure of wetted -thumbs, an eastern custom, which is still traceable among -the Moors and other tribes. It may still be found among -the boys in some districts of Scotland. Doubtless the various -sayings now common among the peasantry, such as, "Here's -my thumb on't,"—"Ye needna fash your thumb,"—"Keep -your thumb on that,"—or, "Having one <i>under</i> your thumb," -&c., have arisen from this old custom. The heart-shaped -stone, on which parties were wont to press their wetted -thumbs, when ratifying their bargains at the Cross of -Edinburgh, was presented about three years ago by the Town -Council to Lord Cockburn. Prior writes, -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Now let us touch thumbs, and be friends ere we part;<br /> - Here, John, is my thumb, and here, Mat, is my heart."<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -Various old songs record this mystic sign of truth and fealty; -one in <i>Orpheus Caledonius</i>, 1725, says, -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Dearest maid! nay, do not fly me,<br /> - Let your pride no more deny me;<br /> - Never doubt your faithful Willie,<br /> - There's <i>my thumb</i>, I'll ne'er beguile ye."<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -Another, in Ramsay's <i>Tea-table Miscellany</i>, 1723, has it, -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Though kith and kin, and a' revile ye,<br /> - There's my thumb, I'll ne'er beguile ye."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -To <i>bite</i> the thumb at any one was anciently an insult in -Scotland and England, as it is still in France. Scott -mentions it in the <i>Lay of the Last Minstrel</i>, when describing -the quarrel between the Laird of Hunthill and Conrad of -Wolfenstein, canto vi., -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Stern Rutherford right little said,<br /> - But bit his glove, and shook his head," &c.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -And Shakespeare, in <i>Romeo and Juliet</i>, has, -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "I will bite my thumb at them, which is a disgrace if they bear it!"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Dags and pistols! to bite his thumb at me!"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -Innumerable other instances might be cited. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -IV. -<br /><br /> -THE BRODDER. -</p> - -<p> -As stated in the text, this was an indispensable legal -functionary, whose name occurs frequently in all trials for -witchcraft in Scotland. Among the expenses for burning -Margaret Denholm, is the following item:—"To Jhone -Kinked, for ye <i>brodding</i> of her, -vi. lib. Scotts."—<i>Pit. Crim. Trials.</i> -</p> - -<p> -In March, 1619, the magistrates of Newcastle employed -a noted Scottish witch-pricker, to discover all those who -dabbled in sorcery within the walls of their town, "offering -him twenty shillings a-piece for all he should condemn as -witches, and a free passage thither and back" to Scotland. -A proclamation by bell summoned all persons to give -information of witchcraft. Thirty women were brought to the -Town Hall, stripped nude, had a pin thrust into their flesh -by this charlatan, who acquainted Lieut.-Colonel Hobson, -the English commandant, that they were guilty, and that -"he knew whether women were witches or no by their look; -but when the said person was searching of a personable and -goodlike woman, the Colonel said, 'surely this woman is none, -and need not be tried;' but the Scotsman said she was, and -therefore he would try her; and presently he ran a pin into -her, and set her aside as a guilty person and child of the -devil, and fell to try others whom he pronounced guilty. -Lieut.-Colonel Hobson proved upon the spot the fallacy of -the fellow's trial of the woman; and then the Scotsman -cleared her, and said she was not a child of the devil." After -being paid in Newcastle, this witch-finder went into -Northumberland, to prove women at the rate of "three pounds -a-piece;" but, on returning into Scotland, his villany came -to light, and he was hanged, confessing "at the gallows, that -he had been the death of above two hundred and twenty -women in Scotland and England, for the gain of twenty -shillings a-piece."—See <i>Sykes's Local Records of Newcastle</i>. -</p> - -<p> -As mentioned in the romance, the <i>brod</i>, or steel pin, used -in piercing the devil's mark, is now supposed to have been -made to slip into its handle, thus giving the appearance of -entering the body without producing pain—an infallible sign -of sorcery. -</p> - -<p> -Within two years after the publication of James the Sixth's -<i>Demonologie</i>, twenty-six persons were tortured for witchcraft, -at Aberdeen, and twenty-one were condemned to the flames. -"It would have been considered a prodigal wasting of such a -happy windfall, to have burned all these wretches at once; -and accordingly," says the <i>Book of Bon Accord</i>, "by -judicious management, and by bringing two or three to the stake -at a time, it was contrived to delight the public with -incremations on the Castle-hill for upwards of a twelvemonth." -</p> - -<p> -The <i>last witch</i> in Scotland, was accused of transforming -her daughter into a pony, and getting her shod by the devil, -for which she was burned in 1722, near the Earl's Cross at -Dornoch, in Sutherland. -</p> - -<p> -Of the <i>last witch</i> in England, a curious account will be -found in the <i>Courier</i>, of the 28th of February, 1834, which -records one of the most gross and startling instances of -superstition ever known; it concerned the enchantment of a herd -of pigs in the Forest of Dean. See also the <i>Monmouth -Merlin</i>, of the same date. -</p> - -<p> -The Act against Witchcraft was not repealed in Scotland -and England until about 1750; and not in Ireland until -1821! -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -THE END. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JANE SETON ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. -</div> - -<div style='margin:0.83em 0; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE<br /> -<span style='font-size:smaller'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE<br /> -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</span> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person -or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when -you share it without charge with others. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work -on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the -phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: -</div> - -<blockquote> - <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most - other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions - whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms - of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online - at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you - are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws - of the country where you are located before using this eBook. - </div> -</blockquote> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg™ License. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format -other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain -Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -provided that: -</div> - -<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'> - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation.” - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ - works. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. - </div> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right -of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread -public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state -visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. -</div> - -</div> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/64836-h/images/img-cover.jpg b/old/64836-h/images/img-cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c68fbe6..0000000 --- a/old/64836-h/images/img-cover.jpg +++ /dev/null |
