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diff --git a/old/66122-0.txt b/old/66122-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index bb5565a..0000000 --- a/old/66122-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8144 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Scottish Cavalier, Volume 3 (of 3), 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: The Scottish Cavalier, Volume 3 (of 3) - An Historical Romance - -Author: James Grant - -Release Date: August 23, 2021 [eBook #66122] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCOTTISH CAVALIER, VOLUME 3 -(OF 3) *** - - - - - - - THE - - SCOTTISH CAVALIER. - - - An Historical Romance. - - - - BY JAMES GRANT, ESQ., - - AUTHOR OF - "THE ROMANCE OF WAR, OR THE GORDON HIGHLANDERS," - "MEMOIRS OF KIRKALDY OF GRANGE," &C. - - - - Dost thou admit his right, - Thus to transfer our ancient Scottish crown? - Ay, Scotland was a kingdom once, - And, by the might of God, a kingdom still shall be! - ROBERT THE BRUCE, ACT II. - - - - IN THREE VOLUMES. - - VOL. III. - - - - LONDON: - HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, - GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. - - 1850. - - - - - Contents - - I. Lilian - II. How Clermistonlee Pressed His Suit - III. Claverhouse to the Rescue - IV. The Secret Stair - V. The Attempt - VI. Edinburgh--The Night of the Revolution - VII. Sack of Holyrood - VIII. The Veiled Picture - IX. Love and Principle - X. The Pass of Killycrankie - XI. The Last Hour of Dundee - XII. St. Germains - XIII. The Cavaliers of Dundee - XIV. The 20th of September, 1692 - XV. The Effect of the Postscriptum - XVI. The Battle of Steinkirke - XVII. A Disclosure - XVIII. Walter Fenton and the King - XIX. The Returned Exile - XX. The Bubble Burst - XXI. Love and Marriage are Two - XXII. The Ring and the Secret - XXIII. The Iron Room--The Death Shot - - - - -WALTER FENTON; - -OR - -THE SCOTTISH CAVALIER. - - - -CHAPTER I. - -LILIAN. - - I love thee, gentle Knight! but 'tis, - Such love as sisters bear; - O, ask my heart no more than this, - For more it may not spare. - KNIGHT TOGGENBURG. - - -The image of Clermistonlee and his threats came painfully upon -Lilian's memory. She shrieked for aid, but her cries were lost in -the vacuity of the old-fashioned coach in which she was being carried -off. She strove to open the windows, but they were immoveable as -those of a castle, and she resigned herself to tears and despair. -The vehicle was rumbling and jolting over a waste of frozen snow; -here and there, a farm-house or a congealed rivulet were passed, but -everything appeared so strange and new, when viewed in their snowy -guise by the twilight of the mirky winter night, that Lilian had not -the most remote idea in what direction she was taken; and, shuddering -with cold and apprehension, the poor girl crouched down in a corner -of the coach, and abandoned herself to grief and wretchedness. - -The excessive chill of the night, and prostration of spirit under -which she laboured, produced a sort of stupor, and when the coach -stopped, she was unable to move; but a tall dark man, muffled and -masked like an intriguing gallant of the day, lifted her out. As one -in a dream, who would in vain elude some hideous vision, she -attempted to shriek; but the unuttered cry died away on her lips, and -she closed her eyes. A strong embrace encircled her; a hot -breath--(was it not a kiss?)--came upon her cold cheek, and she felt -herself borne along; doors closed behind her, and by the warmth of -the altered temperature she was aware of being within a house. - -She was seated gently in a chair; and now she looked around her. A -large fire of roots was blazing on the rough stone-hearth; its ruddy -glow rendered yet more red the bare walls and strongly arched roof of -a hall (built of red sandstone) such as may be seen in the old -fortlets of the lesser barons of Scotland. The windows on each side -were deeply embayed by the thickness of the wall, and a deep-browed -arch spanned each; they had stone seats covered with crimson -cushions, and foot-mats of plaited rushes. - -The hurrying clouds and occasional stars were seen through the strong -basket-gratings that externally defended these prison-like apertures. -The hall was paved, and its rude massive furniture consisted only of -a great oblong table of oak, several forms or settles, a few -high-backed chairs, and one upon a raised part of the floor, at the -upper end, had a canopy of crimson cloth over it, announcing that it -was the state-chair of the Lord of the Manor. Swords, pikes, -harquebuses, hunting and hawking appurtenances, with a few veiled -pictures, were among its ornaments. - -A great almery, or cupboard (so called from the old hospitable custom -of setting aside food as _alms_ for the poor), occupied one end of -the apartment, and an ancient casque surmounted it. Various bunkers -of carved oak, bound with iron, occupied the other. On the right -hand of the doorway, a stone lavatory, covered with magnificent -sculpture projected from the wall. This old-fashioned bason was -furnished with a hole to carry off water, and was an indispensable -convenience to every ancient dining-hall. - -With one rapid glance of terror Lilian surveyed the whole place, and -started from her chair to be confronted by one whose aspect made her -instinctively shrink back. The keen and hawk-like eyes of Beatrix -Gilruth were fixed upon her with an expression at once menacing, -searching, and scornful. There was something in the wild visage of -this inexplicable woman that excited curiosity, while her air -terrified, and her withered person repelled approach. - -"Who are you, woman?" asked Lilian firmly, as, stepping back a pace, -she surveyed her from head to foot; "and what are you?" - -"_What_ am I?" reiterated the other, with a voice that thrilled, -while her grey eyes gleamed with a blue light, and she ground her -teeth. "I am what thou shalt be, my pretty minx, ere ye leave these -walls, perhaps." - -Lilian, terrified by her aspect and her answer, sank into a chair, -saying, as she clasped her hands, and looked up imploringly from her -bright dishevelled hair-- - -"Woman, for the love of God, say where am I?" - -"In the tower of Clermistonlee." - -"So my soul foreboded; but can _he_ have dared thus far?" - -"What will he not dare that man can do?" - -"O Heaven, protect me!" - -"Neither the Heaven that is above us, nor the Hell that is beneath, -will protect you, pretty one; but you will be made what many as fair -have been,--the toy, the plaything of an hour, to be cast aside when -some new fancy has seized the wayward mind of your lord and betrayer. -Look at that veiled portrait----" - -At that moment three distinct knocks were heard against the almery. -Lilian started and turned pale. - -"Yes, yes," said Beatrix scornfully, addressing the knocker; "you are -impatient. There was a time--but it matters not--I bide mine; and my -long delayed vengeance will wither thee up, false lord, even as if -the lightning of God had scorched thy perjured soul." - -Low as this was uttered, it reached the ears of Lilian; she became -doubly terrified, and a momentary feeling of utter abandonment made -her cover her face with her hands and weep bitterly. But, suddenly -starting up, she said with energy-- - -"I will go hence, madam; and whatever be the danger, I will risk it. -But the snow, the darkness, and the distance--oh, horror!--Aunt -Grisel--gossip Annie--what will they think of this?--what will become -of me?" - -"Stand," said Beatrix, interposing. "Are you mad, to think of -leaving this roof in the middle of a winter night? Remember the -dreary lea of Clermiston, the rocks and the frozen marshes of -Corstorphine, you are fey, maiden, to think it." - -"Begone, thou ill woman," replied Lilian contemptuously; "I will go, -and I dare thee to stay me." - -"Then," rejoined Beatrix spitefully, "remember the barred windows, -the bolted gates, and the good stone walls. Pooh, maiden, take tent -and bide where ye are; for I swear ye can never go from hence, but at -the pleasure of my lord." - -"Insolent! Know ye who I am?" asked Lilian. - -"The young lady of Bruntisfield," answered Beatrix coldly; "a wayward -lass with a braw tocher, it seemeth,--one who prefers a younger cap -and feather than my lord. Ha! hath he not sworn--(and mark me, -maiden, he never swears in vain!)--that he will compel thee yet to -beg his love at his hand as a boon, even as humbly as he now sues -thine." - -"In sooth!" retorted Lilian, with angry surprise. "He will surely -have the aid of some such witch as thee to work so modern a miracle." - -"Witch, quotha!" replied Beatrix, whose withered cheek began to -redden with passion. "Lilian Napier, there was a time when these -grey grizzled locks were once as bright and as glossy as thine; when -this brow was as smooth, this faded form as round, yea, and as -beautiful; this step as light, and this poor face as fair, as thine -now are. So beware thee of taunts, maiden; for the time is coming -(if thou art spared) when thou mayest be loathsome as I now am, and -loathing as I now do. That hour is coming; for Clermistonlee hath an -evil eye, beneath whose baleful influence all that is good and -beautiful in woman will wither and die. Oh! Lilian Napier, what a -tale of love and weakness, shame and misery, sin and horror, would -the history of my life reveal! But my hour of revenge is coming. -Yes----" - -Again three knocks louder than before rang on the almery; and -Beatrix, trembling, ceased to talk, and busied herself in laying a -supper on the hall-table. - -"Oh, Walter! Walter!" murmured Lilian, "if you knew of this--if you -were here to protect me!" Her tears flowed freely. - -"Walter!" reiterated Beatrix musing; "can it really be the same? No, -it is impossible; and yet, why not?--He is your lover, then, this -Walter?" she asked in a low voice, while laying some cold grilled -meat, confections, and wine from a buffet. "I know he is--that blush -tells me (when did my cheek blush last?) He is young and handsome, I -warrant?" - -Lilian nodded an affirmative. - -"And men say he is brave?" - -"Oh, yes! brave as a hero of romance," said Lilian in the same low -tone; for there is nothing so pleasing to love as to hear the object -of it praised. "And so noble--so generous! If true worth gave a -title, my dear Walter would be a belted Earl." - -"Instead of being a poor standard-bearer in the ranks of Dunbarton." - -"You have seen him then?" said Lilian, her blue eyes beaming, as she -almost forgot her present predicament in the thought of her lover. -"Is he not handsome, good woman?" - -"It is the same!" exclaimed Beatrix, in her shrillest tone. "Walter, -the powder-boy--the soldier's brat--hah!"--she ground her teeth, and -clenched her shrivelled hands like knots of serpents--"I bide my -time. Oh, I will be fearfully avenged!" - -A third time there was a knocking on the almery, and Beatrix -muttered-- - -"I am dumb--I will speak no more." - -She pointed to the supper-table, and, throwing herself into a chair, -fixed her sunken eyes upon the red glowing fire, and, lost in her own -wild thoughts, continued to jabber with the rapidity and restlessness -of insanity. It was evident that she was partly deranged,--a -discovery which, while it raised the pity of the gentle Lilian, -increased the dread and the horror of her situation. - -Clermistonlee, with his faithful rascal Juden, were both within -earshot. The former had sufficient tact and experience to know that -it would be better to defer any interview with Lilian until next -morning, by which time he hoped she would be a little more -familiarised with her situation; and leaving Juden, who was ensconced -in the recesses of the almery, to be a check upon the troublesome -garrulity of his only female domestic, he retired to a snug -apartment, where, enveloped in his shag dressing-gown, and comforted -by a great tankard of his favourite mulled sack, and several books of -"ungodly jests," he practised all his philosophy to enable him to -endure this temporary separation from Lilian, consoled by the idea -that she was completely in his clutches, within his strong tower, -which he was entitled to defend against all men living; and well -aware that, in the political storm which in another week would -convulse all Scotland from the Cheviots to Cape Wrath, the abduction -of a girl--more especially the daughter of a "persecuting -cavalier"--would be less regarded than the wind blowing over the muir. - -As the still, quiet night wore on, and the fumes of the wine mounted -into his head, very strange ideas floated through the brain of the -roué. Again and again the thought of Lilian being so utterly in his -power intruded itself upon his heated imagination; he felt his blood -begin to glow; his mind became confused; he endeavoured to combat his -constitutional wickedness, and, by aid of his repeated potations, and -a highly seasoned grillade, dozed away the night very comfortably in -a well-cushioned chair; while his leal henchman was in the same happy -state of oblivion, through the medium of various stoups of ale which -he imbibed in the spence or buttery. - -Not so did poor Lilian pass the slow and heavy hours. - -The repast prepared for her was left untouched, she resisted every -invitation to repose, and resolved on passing the night by the -hall-fire; until, reflecting that she would be quite as safe in one -part of the tower as in another, and wishing to be alone, that she -might weep unseen, she was ushered by Beatrix up a narrow stair into -a little sleeping apartment, the greater part of which was occupied -by a great hearse-looking tester, or canopy bed. The only light in -the chamber came from the fire-place, where a heap of logs and coals -were blazing, and diffusing a warm glow on the dark wainscotted -walls, the oaken floor, and rude ceiling, which was crossed by a -massive dormant-tree of oak, covered with grotesque and hideous -carving. - -There was something very gloomy and catafalcque-like in the aspect of -the gigantic bed in which Lilian was to repose; its massive posts of -dark oak and darker ebony were covered embossage, and the deep -crimson curtains, with heavy fringes, fell in shadowy festoons, while -four great plumes of feathers surmounted the corners in sepulchral -grandeur. It stood upon a raised dais of three steps, and on the -back, amid a wilderness of bassi-relievi, flowers, angels, satyrs, -and ivy, appeared the coronet and gorgeous blazon of Clermistonlee. - -"I cannot sleep here, good woman," said Lilian shuddering; but the -noise of the closing door, and the bolt jarring outside, was her only -reply. She found herself alone. Her first impulse was to fasten her -door within securely; her second to examine the chamber, by the light -of the fire. In the deep little window stood a beautiful cabinet, on -the upper part of which were a mirror and all the usual appurtenances -for a lady's toilet, but of the most costly and elegant description, -with all the perfumes, oils, essences and lotions then most in vogue. -She turned from them with disgust to survey the walls, for the fear -of secret entrances was impressed powerfully upon her mind by her -knowledge of the number that existed in her own home; but, upon -examination, she found nothing to increase her dread, save the -cabinet, the doors of which were locked, and returned an unusually -hollow sound when she touched them. - -Alternately a prey to fear and indignation, she walked about the -little apartment, or sat by the fire weeping and praying, until sleep -began to oppress her; and, unable longer to resist its effects, with -an audible supplication to Heaven that the morrow might bring about -her release, she threw herself (without undressing) on the bed, and -almost immediately fell fast asleep. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -HOW CLERMISTONLEE PRESSED HIS SUIT. - -A strong dose of love is worse than one of ratafia; when once it gets -into our heads it trips up our heels, and then good night to -discretion. THE LYING VALET. - - -From an uneasy slumber that had been disturbed by many a painful -dream, Lilian started, awoke, and leaped from the bed. The embers of -the night fire still smouldered on the hearth stone, and the rays of -the red sun rising above a gorge in the Corstorphine hills, radiated -through her grated window as through a focus. Pressing her hands -upon her temples, she endeavoured to collect the scattered images -that had haunted her sleep. She had dreamt of Walter. He seemed to -be present in that very chamber, to stand by her gloomy bed, and -smiled kindly and fondly as of old. He bent over to kiss her, but -lo! his features turned to those of Lord Clermistonlee; the great -tester bed with its plumage and canopy became a hearse; she screamed -and awoke to find it was day. - -Now all her former fear and indignation revived in full force, and -she wept passionately. Reflecting how completely she was at the -mercy of Clermistonlee, whose character for reckless ferocity, and -steady obstinacy of purpose, she knew too well; she resolved to -endure with patience, and await with caution an opportunity for -release or escape. How little she knew of what was acting in -Edinburgh! And her beloved kinswoman, so revered, so tender, and -affectionate, but so aged and infirm. - -"O horror!" exclaimed Lilian, wringing her hands, "this must have -destroyed her." - -"Open Madam Lilian," said the voice of Beatrix Gilruth, as she -knocked at the door; "open, my lord awaits you at breakfast in the -hall." - -Lilian hesitated; but aware that resistance would not better her -fortune, with her usual frankness ran to the door, opened it, and -despite the repulsive sternness of Gilruth's aspect, impelled by a -sense of loneliness, and a wish to gain her friendship, she bade her -good morning, and lightly touched her hand. Her air of innocence and -candour impressed the misanthropic heart of Beatrix, and she smiled -kindly. While leading her before the mirror to assist in arraying -her for breakfast, the bosom of the unfortunate castaway could not -repress a sigh, and a scanty tear trembled in either eye, as she -writhed her withered fingers in the soft masses of Lilian's hair. - -"I will shew thee my bairn what a braw busker I am," said Beatrix, -"though 'tis long since these poor fingers have had aught to do with -top-knots and fantanges." - -Resigned and careless of what was done with her, Lilian remained with -a pale face of placid composure and grief, gazing unconsciously upon -her own beautiful image as reflected in the polished mirror; and -though she marked it not, there was a vivid and terrible contrast -between her statue-like features, and those of her tire-woman--keen, -attenuated, and graven with the lines of sorrow, rage, bitterness, -and misanthropy; the true index of that storm of evil passions and -resentful thoughts that smouldered in her heart. - -At length the captive was arrayed so far as the skill of Beatrix -would go; her dress (that in which she had left home) was long, -flowing, and heavily flounced in the French fashion, derived from -Albert Durer, who represented an angel in flounced petticoats -expelling Adam and Eve from Paradise--hence flounces were all the -rage. She wore long and heavy ruffles of the richest lace, a string -of pearls and amber was twisted among the bright braids of her -beautiful hair; a diamond drop depended from each of her delicate -ears, and a rich necklace like a collar, with a pendant, encircled -her neck, the whiteness and purity of which never appeared in greater -splendour, than when contrasted with the faded skin of poor Beatrix. -Passive under her hands, Lilian allowed her great natural beauty to -be thus dangerously enhanced, and when she stood up, her rather -diminutive stature being increased by her high heeled maroquin shoes, -and the grace with which she wore her commode and floating flounces, -caused the poor woman, whom so many fair ones had successively -supplanted, to utter an exclamation of delight. - -"Come," said she, "my lord awaits you; how pleased he will be." - -"Oh my God!" exclaimed Lilian, in deep anguish; "and was it to please -him you have thus arrayed and attired me. Fie upon thee, ill woman!" - -"Here at least his bidding must be obeyed implicitly, as when a -hundred of his men stabled their horses in the barbican stalls. He -is a dangerous man, hinny, and never tholed thwarting, though the -hour is coming when he shall thole bitter vengeance, and dree the -deepest remorse. But I bide my time--I bide my time." - -As she led Lilian into the hall, Clermistonlee advanced to receive -her, with an imperturbable air of assurance, gallantry, and devotion. -Through one of the deeply recessed windows, the light of the morning -sun fell full upon his noble face and figure, which the richness of -his dress displayed to the utmost advantage. He wore an embroidered -suit of light blue satin slashed with white; he had round his neck -the gold collar of the thistle, and had over his left breast the -green ribbon and oval badge of the order; a diamond hilted rapier -sparkled in a baldrick that was stiff with gold embroidery; his -flowing peruke was redolent of perfume; his ruffles were miracles of -needlework, and his brilliant sleeve buttons flashed whenever his -hands moved. - -Hateful as he was at all times to Lilian, now he was more so than -ever; surprise, indignation, fear, and contempt, agitated her by -turns, and she gazed on him in painful suspense, awaiting his -address. He had evidently made his toilet with more than usual care, -and resolving to give Lilian no time for reproaches, he led her at -once to a seat, saying, - -"My dear girl will no doubt be in a prodigious passion with me, but -ladies are kindly disposed to forgive every little mistake that has -love for its excuse. 'Tis but a dismal old peelhouse this, dear -Lilian, but I hope you slept well. The wind sings in the corridors, -the corbies scream on the roof, and all that, but with a clear -conscience you know, oh yes, one may dose like a top, or a lord of -session. - -"A clear sharp morning this; I rode as far as Craigroyston before -sunrise. There is nothing so improves one's complexion as a gallop -in the morning air. Apropos! what do you think of this embroidered -suit? 'Tis the last fashion from Paris; that old villain Saunders -Snip, in the Craimes, brought it direct from thence last month. On a -good figure it is quite calculated to make an impression. Look'ee, -fair Lilian; these ruffles cost me twenty guineas a pair, not a -tester less I assure you; and the sleeve buttons are the first of -their kind, and were made by Monsieur Bütong, the eminent Parisian -jeweller, for that glorious fop, the Comte d'Artois, who presented -them to a friend of mine in the Scots Archers. - -"But this tie of my overlay, ha! that is a contrivance of my own; -graceful, is it not? exactly--I knew you would think so. Droll, is -it not, that our tastes should be the same? You see, my dear girl, -at what trouble I have been to please you. Smile again, dear -Lilian," continued his lordship, whose overnight potations, the -morning ride had failed quite to dispel; "by Heaven, you look divine: -where shall I find words to compliment the beauty of your appearance -this morning!" - -"You really seem to require all your verbosity for praising yourself, -my lord," said Lilian, coldly. - -"Now--now, do not be so angry," said Clermistonlee, taking her hand -in spite of all her efforts to prevent him. - -"I am justly so, my lord," replied Lilian making a strong effort to -restrain her tears under an aspect of firmness and determination. -"By what right have you dared to bring me here and detain me -prisoner?" - -"Hoity, toity--right dear Lilian? the right of a most devoted lover." - -"My lord, you will be severely punished for this. The law----" - -"Ha, ha! Lilian, there is no law now, no order, morality, nor any -thing else. The world is turned upside down, (at least Britain -is)--revolutionized, bewildered, and the old days of battle and -broil, reiving and rugging, have come back in all their glory. In -this desperate game, my girl," he added, through his clenched teeth, -"Clermistonlee must repair his fortune or be lost for ever; but -enough of this; let us to breakfast, and then we will talk over -matters that lie nearer our hearts. Nay, nay, no refusal--breakfast -you must have." - -He led her towards the long hall table, where, thanks to Juden's -catering and ingenuity, a noble repast was laid, in the profuse -"style of ancient gourmandizing; and the unscrupulous factotum who -stood near with a napkin under his arm, and a long corkscrew in his -hand, surveyed Lilian with something between a smirk and a leer, -which was sufficient to increase the fear that oppressed, and the -anger that swelled within her breast. She withdrew, saying, with a -voice that trembled between indignation and apprehension, - -"Spare me this continued humiliation. Oh my Lord Clermistonlee, if -there remain within your breast, one spark of that bright spirit -which ought ever to be the guiding star of the noble and the -gentleman, you will restore me to my home, to the only relative (save -one) whom death has left me in this wide world. Be generous, my -lord," continued Lilian, touching his hand, with charming frankness; -"Oh be generous, as I know you are brave and reckless. Restore me to -my home, and I pledge my word you will never be questioned concerning -my abduction. I will pass it over as a foolish but daring frolic. -Hear me, my lord, in pity hear me." - -Clermistonlee trembled beneath her gentle touch; but answered with -his usual air of raillery,-- - -"Hoity, toity, little one! art going to read me curtain lectures -already? My dear Lilian, it is too bad really! The abduction? Oh -the ardour of my love will be a sufficient excuse for that; and as to -being questioned--I don't think any person will permit himself to -question me, if he remembers that I am the best hand at pistol, -rapier, and dagger, in broad Scotland. - -"Beside, dear Lilian, (why dost always shrink? dost think child I am -going to eat thee like a rascally ogre) if thou wouldst save thine -honour," here his voice sank involuntarily into an impressive -whisper, "become mine. Thou shouldst be well aware that after living -in the power of one who is so tremendous a roué by habit and repute, -no woman could go forth into the world without lying under suspicions -of a very unpleasant nature. The roisters at Blair's coffee house -have got hold of the story, for it hath made a devil of a noise in -the city, and in the mouths of the Bowhead gossips, and Bess Wynd -scandal-mongers, our little affair will be quite a romance." - -This cruel speech, which was uttered with the utmost coolness and -deliberation by Clermistonlee, who played the while with his gold -sword-knot, came like ice upon the heart of the unhappy Lilian, who -could not but secretly acknowledge that it was too true. She grew -pale as death, and, unable to reply, gazed upon her tormentor with a -look of such intense aversion, that he could not repress a haughty -smile of astonishment. - -"Ha, ha! for what do you take me?" - -"For a monster!" murmured Lilian, in a voice almost inarticulate. - -"Oh--oh! you regard me as a poor sparrow doth a gerfalcon." - -"Alas!" said Lilian, weeping as she sank into a seat, "the simile is -but too true." - -"You are very unpolite, Madam Lilian; a gerfalcon is between the -vulture and the hawk." - -Lilian answered only by her tears, and his lordship began to get a -little provoked. - -"A devil of a breakfast this, my pretty moppet," he continued, with -an air of composure; "when these vapours have passed away, -peradventure you will condescend to hear my addresses--meantime -consider yourself quite at home, and for Heaven's sake (or rather -your own), do take a share of such humble cheer as this my poor house -of Clermiston affords." And without troubling her farther, he threw -back the curls of his peruke, and attacked the devilled duck, the -cold sirloin, and wassail-bowl of spiced ale, the smoking coffee and -hot bannocks forthwith. - -Within the recess of a window, reclined upon the cushion of one of -those stone side-seats so common in old Scottish towers, Lilian sat -with her face covered with her hands, and shaded by the masses of her -fine hair which fell forward over her drooping head. The glory of -the red morning sun streamed full upon her tresses and turned them to -wreaths of gold. She seemed something etherially beautiful, and the -sensual lord felt his heart beat with increased ardour as he gazed on -her from time to time; but aware, from old experience, that it was -useless to press her to partake of his luxurious breakfast, he -resolved to trouble her no more until the first paroxism of her -indignation had evaporated. - -Juden and Beatrix having finished their luggies of porridge and ale -at the lower and uncovered part of the table, were now engaged, the -former in making lures of feathers and raw meat to train two young -hawks that sat near him on a perch, with their long lunes or leashes -coiled round it; and the latter, while affecting to occupy herself -with some household matter, from the bay of an opposite window, -watched with a keen, restless, and often malicious expression, the -nonchalant lord and the unhappy Lilian, for whom, at times, she felt -something akin to pity, and fain would have set her at liberty; but -the keys of the tower gates were buckled to Juden's girdle, and every -window was closed by a grating like a strong iron harrow. - -In the faint hope of some rescue approaching, Lilian gazed earnestly -from the window she occupied. It faced the south, and overlooked the -then dreary waste of Clermiston Lee, which, with all the undulating -country extending to the base of the Pentlands, and that gigantic -range, towering peak above peak, as they diminished in the western -shire of Linlithgow, were covered with one universal mantle of -dazzling snow. Afar off above the hills of Braid the level sun -poured its red rays through a hazy sky across the desolate landscape; -the thickets, bare and leafless, stood like cypress groves in the -waste; the dim winter smoke from many farm-house and cottage lum of -clay, ascended in murky columns into the frosty air, but around the -lonely tower on the Lee, there was an aspect of stillness and -desolation that struck a chill upon Lilian's heart. - -Far off, on the Glasgow road, that passed the picturesque old church, -the thatched hamlet and Foresters' Castle of Corstorphine, a strong -square fortress flanked by round towers, a solitary traveller, -muffled in his furred rocquelaure and leathern gambadoes, or grey -maud and worsted galligaskins (according to his rank), spurred his -horse towards the city; but such occasional passers were all beyond -the reach of Lilian. The bridle-road to the town was hidden, and not -a foot-print stained the spotless mantle of the level Lee. At times -a hare or fox shot across it, from the woods or rocks of -Corstorphine, but no other living thing approached, and the heart of -poor Lilian grew more and more sad as the dreary day wore on, and -night once more approached. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -CLAVERHOUSE TO THE RESCUE. - - The winter cold is past and gone, - And now comes on the spring; - And I am one of the Scots Life Guards, - And I must fight for the King. - My dear! - And I must fight for him! - OLD SONG. - - -By orders from William of Orange, who had taken possession of James's -palace, and issued from thence his sounding declarations and imperial -mandates, Goderdt de Ginckel, with the utmost expedition, marched the -captured Scots towards London, where the Statholder (though he had -not yet been crowned) was intent on revenging, by the lash and -bullet, this signal instance of resistance to his authority. In -consequence of this event; he had the first "Mutiny Act" framed, but -being an edict of the English Parliament it could in no way apply to -Scottish troops. - -Aware of the esprit du corps and indomitable valour of the old -musqueteers, and fearful of revolt or rescue, de Ginckel sent -Lieutenant Gavin twenty other officers and five hundred privates, in -charge of Sir Marmaduke Langstone, direct to London, towards which -place he marched the remainder by another route; keeping near his -person and under sure escort, Lord Dunbarton, Walter Fenton, Finland, -and other officers, whose hostility of spirit was more undisguised -than their comrades, de Ginckel advanced some miles in rear of the -main body of his Black Horsemen. The Earl was destined for the Tower -of London; Walter and his brothers in misfortune for the cells of -Newgate. - -In every town and village through which they were marched, dense mobs -of "the rascal multitude" attended and loaded them with every insult -and opprobrium, such as the vulgar, the cruel, and the wicked are -ever ready to hurl upon the fallen or the unfortunate. Marrowbones -and cleavers were clattered around them; effigies of King James, and -a figure meant to represent a Scotchman, were carried or kicked along -the streets before them, and amid yells and hootings, warming-pans -were everywhere displayed from the windows at their approach; at that -time a famous mode of insulting the Jacobites, being a palpable hit -against the legitimacy of the young Prince of Wales. - -"Fie upon the Scots! Out upon thee, Mon! No warming-pan King! -William for ever, and down to hell with all Scots, Papists, and -Mass-mongers! hurrah!" yelled the rabble on every hand, while vollies -of mud, stones, dead cats, &c., were showered on them from every -hand. Meanwhile their Dutch escort rode on each side with the most -phlegmatic indifference, every man seeming as if fast asleep in his -voluminous breeches and wide jack-boots. - -"Down with the race of Gog--the soldiers of the priests of Baal!" -cried an old puritan; "down with Scots Jemmy and his cursed Jesuits!" - -Weak and exhausted by constant marching, lack of food and sleep; -dispirited by misfortune, and disfigured by mud and their torn and -soiled attire; in the captives no one could have recognized the -dashing cavaliers who passed northward a day or two before. They had -all been deprived of their horses and arms, and been robbed of -everything of value--their cuirasses, purses, rings, &c.--by their -guard. De Ginckel was as brutal and merciless as a Carrib Indian, -and repeatedly struck the unfortunate cavaliers with his -speaking-trumpet. - -"Ach Gott!" he often cried to his Ruyters; "if von ob de brisoners -escape, ye shall answer for him, body for body, by cast ob dice on de -kettle-trum-head!" - -"My good comrades, and gallant gentlemen," said the Earl of Dunbarton -to the little group that marched around him, "were it not that I feel -in my heart assured that an hour of vengeance and retribution will -come, I would die of sheer spleen and mortification, for the insults -we are compelled to put up with." - -"I pity these bluff-headed Saxon boors, because they know no better," -replied Walter, staggering, as a stone struck him on the temple; "but -De Ginckel----" - -"My dear fellow," said Finland, bitterly, "'tis a sample of the good -old southern hospitality and kindness of which we hear so much in -romance, and so little in history." - -"But," continued Walter, "I despise these poppy-headed Dutch -poltroons in their black iron doublets, and would risk my share of -Heaven to have De Ginckel under my hands on Scottish ground, with -none to interfere, and no weapons but our rapiers and a case of good -pistols." - -"You speak my thoughts," said the Earl, through his clenched teeth. -"My malediction on Langstone and his Red Dragoons. Had they and such -as they been good men and true, we had not been reduced to this -misfortune; and our misguided King, instead of being a houseless -fugitive, had dwelt in Windsor still, where now the usurping -Stadtholder keeps Court and Council. Sirs, of a verity we live in -strange times!" - -As they had now crossed the Nen, had left behind old Peterborough -(with the hoary fane where St. Oswald's bony arm worked miracles of -old), and were marching through the open country, being free from the -yells and missiles of the mob, they could converse with tolerable -freedom, though at times De Ginckel thundered silence through his -trumpet, or a Swart Ruyter, more waggish or wickedly inclined than -his soporific comrades, pushed his horse sidelong to tumble one of -the captives among the half-frozen mud that encumbered the roadways. -Their mortification and dejection increased at every step of their -retrograde march, and even the lively sallies of Dr. Joram failed to -enliven them. - -The sombre evening was closing, when De Ginckel, with his Ruyters and -their captives, after traversing the fenny district between Cambridge -and Lincoln, came in sight of Huntingdon, where, as Dr. Joram -remarked, "the devil's god-son, that prime rascal, old Noll, first -drew breath." The dying light of the winter sun tipped the spires of -the ancient town-hall and the church of All Saints, and glimmered on -the sluggish windings of the Ouse. The prisoners were pursuing a -lonely road; on one side lay a thick copsewood, and on the other one -of those wide and desolate fens then subject to the inundations of -the Ouse, whose waters in many places formed deep and solitary meres -or tarns. Within the recesses of the wood, the quick eye of Walter -had soon detected the glitter of arms, to which he drew the attention -of the Earl. - -"It matters not," replied the dejected noble, "no arms now glitter -under James's standard; we are lost men, my dear lad. It will be -black tidings for my little Lætitia, when the accursed Tower of -London holds the last Lord of Dunbarton." - -"And what thinkest thou, Walter, our dear lassies will say when they -hear we are in Newgate?" asked Finland. - -"'Twill be rare news for the Lord Clermistonlee," replied Walter, in -a fierce whisper. "But look, gentlemen!--behold! In Heaven's name, -are these friends or foes?" - -As he spoke, a troop of horse, clad in brilliant armour, with their -white plumes waving in the evening wind, and their long uplifted -rapiers flashing in the setting sun, and all gallantly mounted on -matchless black horses, filed forth from the coppice, and drew up -like magic on the roadway, about a hundred yards in advance of the -Swart Ruyters, who instantly reined-up. One cavalier, splendidly -accoutred, rode to the front, wheeled round his snorting horse that -pawed the air, and issued his orders with stern rapidity-- - -"Gentlemen of the Scottish Guard, prepare to charge! Uncase the -standards! Sound trumpets!" - -The banneroles were unfurled, the trumpets sounded, the kettle-drums -ruffled, and each brave cavalier pressed forward in the saddle, as if -impatient for the order to rush to the charge. - -"Ach tuyfel!" shouted De Ginckel through his trumpet; "Scots' -Horse--der tuyfel! Sabre de brisoners--cut dem into de towsand -becies! Fall on, you Schelms!" But there was no time. - -"'Tis Claverhouse, and the remains of his regiment. I would know his -black steed among a thousand horse!" exclaimed the Earl. "Now God be -with thee, thou gallant Grahame, for at last our hour of vengeance is -come! Oh for a sword! How gallantly they formed line! Now, now! -forward, my Scottish hearts!" - -The dark eyes of the proud Douglas gleamed with fire, as the deep and -distinct order, "Cavaliers of the Life Guard--forward! _charge!_" -burst from the lips of Dundee; and with the force of a whirlwind, the -sixty Scottish Guardsmen, bridle to bridle and boot to boot, rushed -with their uplifted swords to the onset. - -"Unsling carbines--blow matches--fire!--tousand tuyfels!--no!--traw -sworts!" bellowed De Ginckel through his trumpet, as the front rank -of his Ruyters recoiled in confusion on the rear. - -"Gentlemen, prepare to save yourselves!" exclaimed the Earl of -Dunbarton, as the Dutch troopers cast off the cords that bound the -prisoners to their waist-belts. - -"Heaven save us!" ejaculated Dr. Joram; "'tis a perilous case this, -truly!" - -"To the rescue, Claverhouse! A Grahame! A Grahame! God for -Scotland and James VII.! To the devil with the Stadtholder! hurrah!" -cried the Life Guards. - -It was a critical moment for the dismounted prisoners, who were -hemmed in among the hostile horsemen, and each felt his heart beat -like lightning, and his breath come thick and fast, for death or -deliverance were at hand. - -Between the close files of the Swart Ruyters, Walter Fenton saw the -full rush of the advancing troop, in their shining harness, and chief -of all, the lordly Viscount of Dundee, a lance-length in front, with -his sword brandished aloft, and his white ostrich-feathers streaming -behind him, his cheek glowing, and his wild dark eyes flashing with -that supernatural brightness which was the true index of his fierce -and heroic spirit. Though the Dutch were as four to one, the -Scottish cavaliers were fearless. - -There was a tremendous shock--a flashing of swords, as their keen -edges rang on the tempered helmets and corslets of proof--a furious -spurring of horses--and Walter felt himself beaten to the earth, as -if by the force of a thunderbolt; the light left his eyes, and he -heard the voice of Claverhouse exclaiming enthusiastically-- - -"Well done, my Scots' Life Guard! Well done, my berry-brown blades!" - -"Come on, De Ginckel!" cried Holsterlee. - -"Hand to hand, old gorbelly. Come on! for here are the hand and -sword that shall punch a hole in thine Earl's patent!" - -A heavy hoof struck the head of Walter, as a horse plunged over him, -and the Dutch recoiled in utter confusion. - -He remembered no more. - -Hewn down by the long swords of the Ruyters, poor old Wemyss and -Halbert Elshender lay dead beside him. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE SECRET STAIR. - - Chloris! since first our calm of peace - Was frighted hence, this good we find, - Your favours with your fears increase, - And growing mischiefs make you kind. - EDMUND WALLER. - - -Heavily and slowly passed the cloudy winter day at Clermiston, and -evening found Lilian seated, full of tears and misery, by the great -fire that rumbled in the arched chimney, and threw a ruddy glow on -the rough architecture of the ancient hall. According to old -etiquette, there were but two chairs, one for the lord of the manor -and the other for his lady; the additional seats were mere stools. -Lilian occupied one of these chairs, and her suitor the other. On -one of the stone benches within the ingle sat Juden Stenton still -trimming hawks' lures; opposite was Beatrix, spinning with all the -assiduity of Arachnè. These from time to time regarded her with -furtive glances, which roused her anger not less than the presence -and odious attentions of their lord did her apprehension. She felt a -load accumulating on her breast, as the night wore on; anxiety was -impairing her strength and weakening her fortitude, and whenever -Clermistonlee addressed her, she answered only by tears. Touched at -last by her sorrow, a sentiment of generosity at times would prompt -him to return her to her home; but other thoughts came with greater -power, and the momentary weakness was immediately dismissed. - -"Psha!" thought he; "'tis only a woman." - -Sitting close by her, he spoke from time to time in a low voice; and -the scorn, malice, and jealousy which lighted up the keen grey eyes -and pinched features of the fallen and forgotten Beatrix on these -occasions, filled the gentle Lilian with a horror and pity which she -could not conceal. The presence of this unfortunate woman, who, with -the indefatigable Juden, formed now his entire household, was a curb -for the present on the vivacity of his lordship's passion, and seemed -to restrain it within the decorous bounds of gentle whispering. He -soon tired of that, and ordering supper to be laid, took advantage of -the domestic's absence to draw his chair still nearer Lilian, and -take her hands within his own. She was so humbled, so gentle and -broken in spirit, that she permitted them to remain, and the -passiveness of the action made the heart of Clermistonlee glow with -additional ardour. - -"She loves me in secret," thought he; "but how charming is her -coyness--how enchanting her modesty! My dear Lilian--" - -"My Lord, oh cease to persecute me thus. What wrong have I done you? -In what have I offended, that you should make me so utterly -miserable?" - -"What a soft, low, charming voice! Does it offend you, to hear the -sighs of the most honourable love that ever warmed a human heart?" - -"This is the mere cant of love-making--flirtation--the phrases you -have addressed to hundreds. My Lord, I know their full value, and -despise them. 'Tis enough! I can have no love for you." - -"Indeed!" - -"None--so for heaven sake spare me more of this humiliation, and let -me begone to the house of Bruntisfield." - -"Now what strange infatuation is this? No love for me?" mused the -egotist. "Why, damsel, when I was in London with Charles, all the -women were mad about me--I was quite the rage. Rochester and I led -the way in everything. But that was before Bothwell Brig." He -glanced at a veiled picture that often attracted his eye, and -disturbed the current of his thoughts. "No love for me," he resumed, -after a pause. "My pretty one, does my zeal offend you?" - -"Like your flattery, it does; and my captivity here--a captivity -which, I fear, will ever be a stain upon my honour, makes me abhor -you." - -"Abhor? Oh! 'tis a word never said to me before. Provoking Lilian! -But," he added, maliciously, "you are right--your honour is lost, and -there is only one way to redeem it." - -She gave him a momentary glance of inquiry and disdain. -Clermistonlee drew a ring from his finger. Lilian started back. - -"Never--never! death were better." - -"Hah--then you are still thinking of him--this beggarly boy--this -nameless soldier--this so-named Fenton. 'Tis a cursed infatuation, -Madam; for doubtless, soldierlike he will forget you, while the -flower of your youth is wasted in fruitless reliance on his constancy -and advancement to honour and fortune." - -"Forget me?" reiterated Lilian, raising her bright blue eyes to the -speaker. "Oh no, he never will forget me! Dear, dear Walter," she -added, weeping bitterly; "I know thy worth and truth too well to lose -my own." - -"He will forget thee," said Clermistonlee, angrily. - -"Never!" replied Lilian, energetically clasping her hands. "In the -busy city and on the lonely hills, in the hour of battle and storm by -sea and land, he will ever think of me--ever, ever!" - -"But he may be slain?" said the lord maliciously. - -"Cruel--cruel!" - -"What then--hah?" - -"No second choice would ever make me violate the solemn vow I pledged -to him--that plight which I called on heaven to witness and angels to -register." - -Clermistonlee made no reply, but her fervour and her words stung him -to the soul; her eyes sparkled and her usually pale cheek glowed; but -he knew that it was for the love and by the recollection of another; -his first thoughts were those of wrath; his second spleen and sorrow. -He arose and stepped aside a little. - -"Unfortunate that I am!" said he, with something of sadness and real -love in his tone and manner. "By what witchcraft am I so hateful to -her; but I must quit her presence for a time at least, or lose all -hope of her favour for ever." - -He walked to and fro, while Lilian, resigned again to tears, covered -her face with her handkerchief. - -"Beatrix," said Clermistonlee, in a fierce whisper to the shrinking -woman, as she laid supper on the long dark oaken board, over which -six tall waxen candles flared from a great iron candelabrum. -"Beatrix Gilruth--hear me, old shrivel-skin! Hast never a love -philtre about thee? Ere now I have known thee to my own cost use -such things." - -She gave a keen and fierce glance with her sunken eyes, and drawing -him into one of the deeply bayed windows, pointed to where the square -keep and round towers of the castle of Corstorphine threw a long dark -shadow across the frozen lake that, like a mirror before its gates, -lay shining in the cold light of the winter moon. - -"You see yonder castle?" she said. - -"Yes." - -"And the aged sycamore beside the dovecot-tower?" - -"Yes--yes." - -"Then remember how, nine years ago, the lord of that fair mansion -perished under its shadow; and how his own good rapier, urged by the -hand of the woman he had wronged, was driven--yea, to the very -hilt--in his false and fickle heart. Often at mirk midnight have I -seen the dead-light glimmering on his tomb in St. John's kirk, and -illuminating the west window of the Forresters' aisle." - -She gave him a glance so expressive of hatred, fear, contempt, and -reproach that he almost quailed beneath it; and as she pointed to the -veiled portrait, he turned abruptly away. Her words and allusion had -evidently a deep effect on Clermistonlee. He was about to retire, -but paused irresolutely, turned, and paused again. Then kissing -Lilian's hand, he said in a gentle tone-- - -"Forgive me if I have offended, but love for you makes me perhaps act -unwisely. Adieu, dear Lilian: if my presence is obnoxious, I hasten -to relieve you of it. Till to morrow, adieu; and pleasant dreams to -you." - -He bowed profoundly, and retired to his own apartment followed by -Juden, who kept close to his heels as a spaniel would have done. - -"Will you not sup, Madam Lilian?" asked Beatrix in a kinder tone than -usual. - -"Sup--oh, no!" - -"Bethink you, lady; the whole day hath passed, and you have tasted -nothing but a posset of milk with a little sack. Still weeping! -'Twas so with me once; but I shall never weep again, until I have -wrung tears of blood from my betrayer." - -"Now you are going to frighten me again. A light, if it please you, -good woman; I will retire. Another night under his roof! My poor -aunt Grisel.... how bad, how wicked is this!" - -"My lord desired me to ask if you wished to read a little: it may -compose your mind." - -"Oh, yes!--a thousand thanks, kind Beatrix. Bring me a Bible, if you -have one." - -Beatrix laughed. - -"A Bible! when was one last seen in the tower of Clermiston? Not -since the days of auld Mess John, I warrant; and his was torn up by -the troopers for cartridges. There is nothing here but a rowth of -evil play and jest books, and some anent hawking, hunting, and -farriery, and others, my bairn, that suit only--women like me." - -"Poor Beatrix!" said Lilian kindly, touching her hand, for the -exceeding humility of her manner raised all her pity. Beatrix -surveyed her for a moment, with a troubled and dubious expression. -Seldom was it that a word of compassion or commiseration fell upon -her ear. Her heart was touched; a moisture suffused her eyes; but, -fearing to betray her feelings through the outward aspect of -moroseness and misanthropy she had assumed, she set a light upon the -cabinet of the bedchamber, and hurried away. - -Again, as on the preceding night, Lilian fastened the door; and -though the number and complication of its ancient iron locks somewhat -reassured her, her heart sank when she surveyed the great gloomy -tester-bed, with its dais, its solemn plumage and festooned -canopy--the sombre wainscotting, and well-barred window, past which -the changing clouds were hurrying in scudding masses, alternately -obscuring and revealing stars. Kneeling at a chair near the fire, -she prayed long and fervently, and, with innocent confidence, arose -more assured and courageous, though aware that, by anxiety, want of -food and rest, her natural strength and spirit were greatly impaired. -A folio volume lay upon the cabinet; it was covered with purple -velvet, on which a coat of arms and these words were exquisitely -embroidered:--"Alison, Lady Clermistonlee, on her marriage day, ye -penult Maij, 1668." - -The hand of her tormentor's unhappy wife had probably worked these -words; all the dark and mysterious stories concerning her misfortunes -and her fate came crowding upon the mind of Lilian, and filled her -with melancholy forebodings. Perhaps, thought she, this was her -chamber, and that her bed, where often she had wept away the dreary -night in unseen and unregarded sorrow. Full of mournful interest, -she unclasped and opened the volume. It was the "Bentivolio and -Urania" of Nathaniel Ingelo, one of the prosy and metaphorical -romances of the seventeenth century. The first words arrested her, -and she read on. - -"He was no sooner entered within the borders of the forlorn kingdom -of Ate, than the unhealthfulness of the air had almost choked his -vital spirits; and being removed from the gladsome sun by a chain of -hills, that lifted up their heads so high that they intercepted the -least glance of his comfortable beams: it was dark and rueful. He -chanced to light upon a path that led to Ate's house, which was -encompassed with the pitchy shade of cypresse and ebon trees, so that -it looked like the region of death. As he walked, he perceived the -hollow pavement made with the skulls of murdered wretches. At the -further end of this dismal walk he espied a court, whose gates stand -open day and night; in the midst whereof was placed the image of -cruelty, with a cup of poyson in one hand, and a dagger wet with -reeking bloode in the other. Her hairs crawled up and down her neck, -and sometimes wreathed about her head in knots of snakes; fire all -the while sparkling from her mouth and eyes......" - -This dismal passage in no way tended to alleviate the perturbation of -her spirits; and, hastily closing the volume, she prepared to retire. -Aware that proper repose was absolutely necessary to enable her to -sustain all she might have to encounter or endure from Clermistonlee, -remembering the apparent security of her apartment, and somewhat -reassured by the cheerful blaze thrown by the fire upon the dark -brown panelling and high old-fashioned bed, she slowly and -reluctantly began to undress, often pausing to re-examine her room; -but, perceiving nothing more to alarm her, gathering up the bright -tresses of her hair into a caul, she unrobed and sprang into bed. -The sleep and the heaviness that preyed upon her now completely -evaporated; and, more awake than ever, she felt only the keenest -sensations of fear, and her prevailing horror was Clermistonlee. By -the light of the wood fire, that poured its broad blaze up the -massive stone chimney, she surveyed the room with watchful eyes, that -ached from the very intensity of their gaze, and the shadows of the -carved posts seemed like those of giants thrown against the panelled -wall. - -Weariness overcame her, and she was about to drop asleep, when a -sound was heard, and one of the doors of the cabinet rattled and -opened; a cold wind blew upon her face; and by her recumbent -position, she beheld a steep staircase winding away down into -darkness she knew not where, between the masonry of the massive wall. -She would have screamed, but terror chained her tongue; and almost -fainting, and afraid to move or breathe, she continued to regard it -with the most painful anguish and intense alarm. But up that dark -and mysterious outlet, so suddenly disclosed, no sound came but the -night wind, which moved the oak door of the cabinet mournfully to and -fro. - -Lilian's strength seemed utterly to have left her; and, though -painfully anxious to learn the secrets of this staircase, which -communicated so immediately with her bedchamber, she lacked equally -strength to rise, and presence of mind to examine it. - -But the current of air that swayed the door to and fro, closed it; -the sound rumbled away in the far echoes of the tower, and all became -still. Now more alarmed by the reflection that she was sleeping in -this remote room alone, with a secret entrance, she bitterly -regretted her imprudence in undressing, but had not the courage to -rise and repair what a certain prophetic apprehension made her fear -had been very unwise. - -Excessive lassitude at last completely overcame her, and she -slumbered. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE ATTEMPT. - - Once in a lone and secret hour of night, - When every eye was closed, and the pale moon - And stars alone shone conscious of the theft, - Hot with the Tuscan grape, and high in blood, - Haply I stole unheeded to her chamber. - FAIR PENITENT. - - -When Clermistonlee retired from the hall to the study or parlour, -which was the only comfortably furnished apartment in the dreary old -tower, he resigned himself to reflection, and sipping his mulled -sack, a great tankard of which Juden placed unbidden, and quite as a -matter of course, at his elbow. His thoughts at first ran in the -usual channel,--a determination to possess Lilian, from the double -incentives of passion and pecuniary necessity. He was on the brink -of ruin; and her property, or expectations of it, were ample and -noble. She was very unprotected; the land was convulsed and -trembling on the verge of a great civil war, though as yet no tidings -had reached Edinburgh of what was passing in England; and so, as the -sack diminished in the tankard, his lordship's thoughts became in -proportion more strange, more amorous, and confused. His brain -wandered. He was restless and uneasy; his flowing dressing-gown -seemed to fit him like a horse-hair shirt; and his disturbed manner -was not unobserved by his faithful and subservient factotum. - -The latter attempted some consolation, after his fashion; but it was -not palatable. - -"Begone to the bartizan!" exclaimed his master, angrily, "and bring -me instant tidings if anything seems astir in the country about us. -I expect news from the city hourly. Leave me." - -Juden vanished. - -"The deevil tak' lovers and lords!" he muttered, as he drew his broad -worsted bonnet over his cross visage, and ascended to the bartizan of -the tower, and setting his teeth hard, as he faced the keen north -wind, took a survey of the dreary and snow-covered landscape. On the -passing wind ten o'clock came sullenly from the spire of St. John of -Corstorphine; then all was deathly still save the sough of the winter -breeze as it swept over the dreary Lee, and whistled through the open -corbells of the projecting tower. - -Juden had no particular fancy for enacting the part of warder in so -cold a night, and after taking a rapid survey of the extensive waste, -he was about to descend again, when an unusual redness in the sky to -the eastward arrested him. It rose in the direction of the city, and -resembled the lurid and wavering glow of a great conflagration. The -red blaze was rapidly spreading and crimsoning the edges of the dusky -clouds above, and throwing forward in strong relief the southern edge -of the Corstorphine Kills, and the dark pines that shaded them. -Astonished, perplexed, and alarmed, Juden continued to gaze in the -direction of the light, until a loud hollo startled him, and he -perceived a man on horseback close to the foot of the tower. - -"Ho!" cried Juden through his hand, for the wind blew keen and high. -"What want ye, friend?" - -"No a night's lodging, or I wadna come here," answered the other -testily. "Closed gates and dark windows betoken cauld cheer and a -caulder ingle." - -"Beware o' your tongue, friend," replied the butler from aloft. -"Langer lugs than yours hae been nailed to the tower yett. You have -come frae Edinburgh I warrant?" - -"Troth have I, on the spur, man, so open the yett, Juden Stenton." - -"What's a' the steer there this night?" - -"Gif you had been there ye wad ken," responded the other with sulky -importance. "I bear a letter for my Lord Clermistonlee on the king's -service, which king Gude kens and the Deil cares." - -"Thir are kittle times, friend," replied the butler, warily; "so if -King James himsel' came to the peel o' Clermiston this mirk night, -not a bolt would be drawn, or a lock undone. Tie the letter to this -twine, gossip, and sae gang your way in peace." - -Rendered cautious by the nature of the times, and by being constantly -on the alert against force and treachery, the wary old servitor -lowered over the wall a string, to which after sundry curses the -horseman tied a letter, and Juden towed it up, "hand over hand." - -"Ill folk are aye feared," said the stranger; "and I doubt there are -but few clear consciences in Clermistonlee. My horse is sair -forfoughton wi' my ride frae the West Port; he fell at the Foulbrigs, -and was nigh swept awa' when fording the Leith doon by there; but I -maun een ride on to his honor the Laird o' Niddry without a stirrup -cup or a 'God save ye.' Out upon Clermiston and its ill-mannered -loons!" and dashing spurs into his horse, the servant galloped at a -hunting pace away to the westward, and disappeared among the hollows -at the verge of the Lee. - -Anxious to learn the contents of a letter in which he doubted not he -had as much interest as his Lord, Juden hurried down the corkscrew -stair from the bartizan, and repairing to the little study where his -half-muddled master was gazing dreamily into the fire, and imbibing -his sixth cup of sack, he placed the little square billet before him. -Clermistonlee tore it open, and read hurriedly, - -"Dear Gossip, - -"A glorious revolution hath been accomplished, (and I am just -drinking to its success in sugared brandy,) but Satan seems to have -broken loose in the city, whilk the rascal sort hath fired in six -different places. The acts of Estate and Council are mere nullities. -Your presence is required by the Council anent ane address to the new -king. We are to have a grand onslaught to-morrow against Baal's -prophets, the Host of Pharaoh, and a' that, ye ken. - - "Yrs. at service, - "MERSINGTON." - -"_Postscriptum_.--Keep the bonnie bird in the cage close; her kinsman -Napier hath been slain by young Fenton, and ye know how the entail -stands. Vale! King William the Second of Scotland for ever!" - -Clermistonlee's first impulse was to start up and buckle on his -sword, exclaiming, - -"My gambadoes, Juden; the red leather ones--saddle Meg, and, peril of -thy life, look well to--but no--no! I will not. Thou mayest go to -the devil, Mersington, with thy drunken scrawl, the address, and the -Council to boot. I leave not Clermiston to-night. Napier slain--and -by Fenton! By George, how the plot is thickening! 'Tis glorious. -Juden, don your shabble, and ride to the city; tell my gossip -Mersington in the _matter_ pending, mark me, knave! in the matter -pending to use my name as he shall deem fitting." - -Juden replied by a leer of deep cunning (for he too was something of -a politician), and, animated by an intense curiosity to know what was -acting in the city, hurried away, and in ten minutes had left far -behind him the dreary tower and frozen muir, above which its dark -outline reared like that of a spectre. - -As the fumes of the wine mounted upward, the heated imagination and -inflamed passions of Clermistonlee got completely the better of his -senses. Thoughts of Lilian's beauty and helplessness came vividly -before him; but such reflections instead of kindling his pity, roused -all his passion for her to an ungovernable height. Draining a cup of -brandy to make him yet more reckless of consequences, and snatching a -candle, he staggered from the room, and descended the narrow stone -stair that led from his apartment. - -He knew that he was alone, for Beatrix was under lock and key; yet he -stepped with singular caution. Every stone in the rough walls seemed -a grotesque face, regarding him with mockery and wrath; he saw a -figure in every shadow, heard a step in every whistle of the midnight -wind. He dared not look at portraits as he passed, lest their eyes -might seem to move; and thus, though the entire consciousness of his -dark intent came broadly and appallingly home to his heart, such was -the influence of his ungoverned passions that a spirit of the merest -obstinacy urged him to finish what he in part commenced, and the high -pulsations of his heart increased at every step which brought him -nearer to the chamber of his victim. - -He entered the hall. The feeble rays of his upheld candle seemed -only to reveal the size and darkness of the place, and the grey -winter twilight that struggled through its thickly grated and -deeply-arched windows. The embers of the fire still smouldered on -the hearth, and, reddening when the hollow wind rumbled down the wide -chimney, threw the shadows of the great oaken table, the dark -grotesque cabinets and highbacked chairs in long and frightful -figures on the paved floor. - -Entering the almonry, he opened a door, within it, which revealed a -narrow passage in the wall that communicated with the secret outlets -of the place, and led directly to the cabinet in Lilian's room. - -He stood within it, and the warmth of its atmosphere increased the -ferment of his blood. Unconscious of the proximity of so dangerous a -visitor, the innocent girl slept soundly, but lightly. - -Shading the light with his hand, he gazed impatiently upon the -slumbering beauty. - -Her hair, which overnight she had put up with the carelessness so -natural to grief, had now escaped from the caul, and rolled over the -pillow in masses that glittered like gold in the rays of the -uncertain light. She was very pale, but a slight glow began to -redden her cheek, and it was graced with a smile of inexpressible -sweetness. - -Twice he approached, and twice drew back irresolute. - -An unseen hand seemed to restrain him; the air of perfect innocence -pervading the presence of the sleeping girl protected her for a time; -and scarcely daring to breathe, the intruder continued to gaze upon -her. She slept softly. At last, tears fell over her cheeks, and she -tenderly murmured-- - -"Dear Walter, have I not said that I love you?" - -Clermistonlee, on whose bent-down cheek her soft breath came, started -at these words as if a serpent had stung him. One of those fierce, -malicious, and scornful smiles, which so often imparted to his -handsome features a fiendish expression, contracted them but for a -moment; another of intense sadness and languor replaced it. At that -instant, unable longer to restrain himself, he clasped her in his -arms. - -"Lilian!" he exclaimed, "dear Lilian, be not alarmed--it is I." - -A piercing shriek, that startled the furthest recesses of the old and -desolate tower, burst from the lips of Lilian; it was one of those -deep and wailing cries of pain and horror which, when once heard, are -never forgot. - -"Villain, unhand me! Oh! spare me, my Lord--spare me for the love of -God!" - -"Be calm, Lilian--why should you fear me? Do I not adore you? Yes; -I prize your love beyond the possession of life. Dear girl, look not -on me thus. I am the most devoted of lovers, and by this kiss, -dearest----d--nation!" - -He attempted to kiss her; but, endued with new strength by rage and -fear, her little hands clutched fiercely his thick mustachios, and -twisted his head aside, as she had done once before so effectually. - -"Hear me!" he continued, "hear me, sweet Lilian; I came but to say -that I loved thee----." - -"Love me! oh! horror!--leave me, or I shall expire--leave me!" - -At that moment a loud explosion, followed by the fanfare of trumpets -and the ruffling of kettle-drums beneath the walls of the tower -arrested all the faculties of Clermistonlee, and by throwing his -thoughts into another channel, covered him with shame; and he started -back, the image of astonishment and irresolution. - -Not so Lilian; her presence of mind was instantly restored. -Springing to a window, and fearlessly dashing her hands through the -panes of glass, she cried in agonized accents-- - -"Help! help! for the love of the blessed God! Help me, or I perish!" - -"Lilian! Lilian!" cried a voice that filled her with transport. It -was that of Walter Fenton. - -A glance sufficed to show her a gallant troop of horse halted beneath -the tower in the grey morning twilight. Again she would have spoken, -but the strong hand of Clermistonlee dragged her furiously back into -the apartment. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -EDINBURGH--THE NIGHT OF THE REVOLUTION. - - Meanwhile, regardless of the royal cause, - His sword for James no brother sov'raign draws. - The Pope himself, surrounded with alarms, - To France his bulls, to Corfu sends his arms; - And though he hears his darling son's complaint, - Can hardly spare one tutelary saint. - TICKELL, Edit. 1749. - - -From the hour in which Lilian had been torn from her, the ased Lady -Grisel had never raised her head. Affection and horror, wrath and -insulted pride, had all aggravated to the utmost the weakness and -debility consequent to exceeding old age; and by her weeping -domestics the venerable dame was borne to her great chair in the -Chamber-of-Dais, where she remained long insensible to all that -passed around her. - -The storm and hurry of political events employed otherwise Sir Thomas -Dalyel and those friends who might have served her in this dilemma; -and now she found herself quite deserted. - -Syme the baillie, and the whole male population of the barony had -fruitlessly searched the Burghmuir for the remainder of the night and -morning; but, for reasons which will shortly be apparent, any -application to the Privy Council or magistrates of Edinburgh would -have been utterly futile, as their attention was amply occupied by -more important matters than the abduction of a girl. - -Long fits of stupor, succeeded by querulous bursts of passion, left -the poor old lady so weak, that, as Elsie related to Sir Thomas of -Binns, "between the night and morning, she cried on Sir Archibald _to -save_ her doo Lilian; and then she just soughed awa like a blink o' -the sunshine, and lay back under her canopy in the Chaumer-o'-Deese, -a comely corpse to see as ever was streekit." - -The old lady did not die, however, but recovered her senses by having -a pistol fired at her ear by the rough old Muscovite trooper, "a cure -for the vapours, whilk," he said, "he had often seen practised on -Samoieda." - -As before related, in consequence of the vigilance of Sir James -Montgomerie, the Privy Council and people of Scotland had been kept -for several weeks in a state of painful uncertainty as to the fate of -James's affairs in England: but a letter from Lord Dundee reached the -Scottish ministry, expressive of apprehensions for the issue of a -conflict between the troops of the King and those of his invader. - -To ascertain the true aspect of affairs, they despatched into England -a man named Brand, a baillie of Edinburgh, who basely betrayed his -trust by carrying his despatches straight to the Prince of Orange, to -whom he was introduced by Dr. Burnet. - -On Craigdarroch's arrival at the Scottish capital, and others with -similar tidings of the desertion and dissolution of the army, the -flight of James, and success of William, the long-threatening storm -burst forth in all its fury. Scotland at that time swarmed with -brave and hardy soldiers, skilful officers, ruined barons, and -desperate vassals--the veterans of the Covenant, and the endless wars -of Sweden, France, and Flanders; thus, ingloriously as the campaign -had passed over in the south, a cloud was gathering on the Highland -hills, that threatened to descend, as of yore, in wrath and blood on -the fertile Lowlands. - -Infuriated by the severities of what was called the "twenty-eight -years' persecution," the Lowland population were ripe for armed -revolt, and the capital, to which they flocked in overwhelming -masses, became the grand centre of their operations, and the scene of -newer atrocities. The greatest outrages were committed upon the -persons and property of those unhappy Catholics, Episcopalians, and -cavaliers, who fell into the hands of this wild mob. - -Perth, the Lord Chancellor fled; the Privy Council, which had been -severe to the nation, in proportion as it was servile to James, -dispatched an immediate address to William, and none were more -cordial in their offers of dutiful service than Provost Prince, and -the worthy council of Edinburgh: those very men who had so lately -declared to the unfortunate Stuart, that they "would stand by his -sacred person on all occasions." Now they were equally prompt in -offers to his dethroner, to whom they complained bitterly "of the -hellish attempts of Romish incendiaries, and of the just grievances -of all men relating to conscience, liberty, and property." - -For three days the capital was in the power of a mad and lawless -rabble, who, rendered furious by bigotry and intoxication, committed -the most dreadful atrocities. - -The houses of all who were obnoxious to them were plundered and given -to the flames, and all effects of value were scattered in the -streets. There were episodes of horror ensued such as Edinburgh had -never witnessed before. The streets were filled with the smoke of -burning houses; the air was sheeted with flame; the shrieks of the -perishing inmates, the howls of their destroyers, and the crash of -falling masonry, rang night and day. The college of the Jesuits was -levelled to the dust; crosses, and reliques, statues, pictures, and -vestments were borne aloft through the streets, and consigned to the -flames amid yells of derision. - -The ale and wine found in the cellars of the cavaliers, inflamed the -inborn savagism of the multitude, who were urged by their ministers -to commit a thousand nameless atrocities. For three days they -continued in a state of perfect intoxication (says Lord Balcarris in -his _Memoirs_), and in open daylight, in the crowded streets of the -city, committed upon the persons of many Catholic ladies such -outrages as cannot be written, and "without any attempt being made by -the authorities to restrain such brutality." (pp. 22, 27.) - -Of all the members of the old government none was more obnoxious to -the people than Sir George Mackenzie, of Rosehaugh, the celebrated -lawyer and essayist, who had rendered himself an object of intense -hatred, by the severity with which he had stretched the criminal laws -to answer the views of the Government; and who, in his office of -Public Prosecutor, had obtained the unenviable soubriquet of "the -persecutor of God's saints," "the blood-thirsty advocate," "bluidy -Mackenzie;" and to this hour his vaulted mausoleum at Edinburgh is -regarded with hatred and loathing by the old Cameronians and "true -blue" Presbyterians. - -His mansion in Rosehaugh Close was soon made the object of attack. -The night of the third day had closed over the city, and still the -scene of tumult and frenzy, the din and the flames of destruction, -loaded the air with sounds of horror and outrage. - -In great anxiety for his personal safety, the unhappy statesman heard -with no ordinary perturbation the increasing roar of sounds, like the -chafing of a distant sea; the mingling of a myriad human voices, and -the rush of feet, which betokened the approach of a vast mob. - -With drums beating before them, and armed with various weapons, the -thousand bright points of which gleamed in the lurid blaze of the -uplifted torches, a dense mass of ragged, squalid, and insane-looking -men, poured like a human flood into the deep and narrow alley at the -foot of which still stands the house of Rosehaugh. Begrimed with -smoke and filth, maddened by intoxication and excess, their yells as -they resounded between the solid walls of the narrow street, rang -like those of fiends from some deep abyss, and the heart of Mackenzie -died away within him. To appeal to their pity would be like craving -mercy from the waves of an angry ocean? there was no escape, no -remedy, no bribe, no hope; for among that terrible mob were the -fathers, the sons, the brothers--yea, and the mothers of those who at -his instance had perished in thousands, by the sword, by the torture, -and the gibbet, or were lingering out a miserable existence as slaves -and bondsmen in the distant Indies. - -"My God! my God! for what am I reserved?" he exclaimed, as from a -lofty upper window he surveyed the dense mass of madmen, who, wedged -in the alley below, impeded each other's motions. Conspicuous above -all, raised on the shoulders of two strong men, whose arms and faces -were smeared with blood and blackness, there was upborne a man, whose -sad-coloured garments and white bands announced him a preacher; his -gaunt visage and long hair of raven hue waving around a face ghastly, -though flashed with passion, his large hazel eyes glowing like those -of a tiger, his upraised hands clenching one a bible, and the other a -broadsword, declared him a wild enthusiast (another "Habakuk -Mucklewrath"). - -It was Ichabod Bummel, who had escaped from the damp vaults of the -wave-beaten Bass, and had now come to take vengeance on Mackenzie for -his exile, his captivity, his crushed bones, and long persecution. - -"Come forth, Achan, thou troubler of Israel!" he shrieked; "come -forth, thou destroyer of the good and just, thou persecutor of the -saints of God! come forth, thou thing that art accursed, or we will -burn thee in the ruins of thy dwelling, and salt them with salt. -Courage, my brethren! Oh, is not this a brave hour and a glorious -one? For lo, the time is come when the host of Pharaoh shall be -discomfited and stricken as of old. Achan, thou persecutor of the -covenanted kirk, behold me towering amid Baal's prophets, four -hundred and fifty men, as the book saith!" - -This rhapsody was responded to with yells of ardour, and the din of -hammers rang like thunder against the strong oaken door of the -mansion, while many bullets were discharged at the windows, which -were securely grated. A door of massive oak closed the entrance of -the turnpike stair, and though the whole house resounded under the -energy of the blows, the barrier refused to yield, though gradually -it was falling in splinters, a process too slow to suit the fierce -impatience of the increasing mob. - -"Let fire be brought," cried Ichabod, "let the mansion be consumed, -that its flames may be as a light to the house of Judah. Know, O -thou persecutor of God's covenanted saints, that a sword is this -night upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and her -mighty men; for it is the load of graven images, and they are mad -upon their idols." - -Urged by this blasphemous application of Scripture, burning brands -were heaped by the people against the door, and soon the increased -yells of satisfaction announced to the miserable advocate that the -barrier was rapidly giving way, and that in another moment the -reeking hands of the destroyers would be upon him. He threw round a -glance of agony, the barred windows denied all hope of escape, and -now his stern soul sank at the prospect of a cruel and immediate -death, when lo! one tremendous yell of another import brought him -once more to the shattered windows. "It is a dream!" he exclaimed. - -A troop of the Royal Life Guards, with their bright arms flashing in -the light of the waving torches, were hewing and treading down the -mob like a field of rye; and chief above all shone one cavalier--it -was Dundee--the gallant, the terrible Claver'se, that man-fiend, whom -all deemed six hundred miles away. There was no mistaking the -splendour of his armour, the nobility of his air, the ferocity of his -purpose. - -"Close up--fall on, gentlemen; no quarter to the knaves!" he -exclaimed, while, standing erect in his stirrups, he showered his -blows on every side, his white plumes rising and falling in unison -with his trenchant rapier. - -"Hey for King James! Ho for the cavaliers! Down with the -rebels--down with the whigamores!" cried Holsterlee and others, as -they pressed forward, and the rabble grovelled in the dust beneath -the tremendous rush of the heavy horses, and their riders in steel -and buff. In a minute the narrow alley was cleared of the living, -and piled knee-deep with dead and dying. The shrill voice of -Ichabod, as he was borne off by his disciples, was heard dying away -in the distance, like that of an evil spirit carried away by a stormy -wind. - -By something like a miracle, Lord Dundee had traversed the whole of -hostile England, and though menaced on every hand by great bodies of -troops, had reached his native capital in safety; bringing with him -not only the sixty cavalier troopers (who of all his cavalry alone -remained staunch to him), but with them Walter Fenton, Lord -Dunbarton, Finland, and other officers retaken from De Ginckel. They -now rode under his orders as gentlemen-troopers, mounted on heavy -black chargers that had whilome belonged to the Swart Ruyters; and -the whole, with standards displayed, had entered the city about an -hour before the assault on Rosehaugh's house. - -The Rev. Dr. Joram, late chaplain to the Royal Scots, also bestrode a -horse which he had taken as his spoil in battle; and had donned a -trooper's corslet, with which his clerical bob-periwig consorted as -oddly as with the fierce and tipsy expression of his flushed and -florid face, and with the stern cock of the Monmouth beaver that -surmounted it. The gallant divine had recently imbibed so much wine -that he could scarcely keep his saddle. - -Of the fate of their captured comrades they as yet knew nothing; but -Gavin of that Ilk, with twenty other officers and five hundred men, -were then at London, close prisoners; the rest had returned to their -colours; and after a time, the whole, seeing the futility of -resistance, ultimately embarked peaceably under the orders of their -new commander, the veteran Duke de Schomberg. None were punished, -"as the new government had not yet been fully recognized in Scotland." - -Rosehaugh had been saved from a terrible immolation; but the services -of the night were not yet over. Claverhouse, with his cavaliers, -retired to a quiet part of the city, under protection of the castle -batteries, where a brave garrison of Catholic soldiers, led by the -Duke of Gordon, remained yet staunch to James. - -"My lord Earl," said Dundee to Dunbarton, "we must be somewhat -economical of our persons and horses, when encountering these mad -burghers and drunken saints, and not forget that we are the last hope -of the King in this hotbed of Presbytery and rebellion." - -"True," replied the Earl, "and I rejoice that we have but few to -regret, and few to mourn for us if we perish in the struggle on which -we are about to plunge." - -The eyes of the Viscount filled with dusky fire. - -"Dunbarton," said he, "I am alone in the world. Our grateful King -has given me honours to which none can succeed, for I have cast the -die by which they are lost for ever; and nowhere can my coronet be -more gloriously surrendered than on the battle-field." - -"I thank Heaven that the Countess, my dear little Lætitia, is in -England," said the Earl, pointing to the lurid flames that from the -blazing houses of the Abbey-hill flashed along the shadowy vista of -the Canongate, glowing redly under the arch of the Nether Bow, and -throwing forward in bold relief a thousand fantastic projections of -the old Flemish mansions that reared up their giant fronts on either -hand. "I thank Heaven that she is in a safer place than this poor -city of wild fanatics." - -"Would that I could say the same of Lilian!" thought Walter, with a -deep sigh. "Can she be safe amid all this dreadful uproar?" - -At that moment a dense rabble approached, with drums beating, torches -blazing, and weapons glinting. - -"To the Palace! to the Abbey!" cried a thousand hoarse voices. "Let -us pull doon the temple of the Idolater, and gie his fause gods to -the flames!" and they swept forward, greeting the troop of Guards -with yells of hatred and menace. - -They were led--by whom? Lord Mersington, with his wig awry, his -clothes soiled with dust, and his face flushed with exertion! The -Earl of Balcarris relates "that this fanatical judge, with a halbert -in his hand, and drunk as ale and brandy could make him," led on the -rabble to the assault of time-hallowed Holyrood; but before reaching -the eastern extremity of the city, his followers were joined by the -trained bands in their buff coats and bandoleers, the magistrates, -and other authorities, who vested this lawless mob with an air of -order and official importance. - -"Will those villains really dare to molest the palace of our kings?" -said Dundee, his eyes kindling, as he looked after the revolters, and -reined-up his impatient horse. - -"What will they not dare?" rejoined Dunbarton; "but I doubt not they -will experience a warm reception. Wallace, who commands the guard, -is a brave cavalier as ever drew sword, and the traitors will make -nothing of it." - -"Under favour, my Lords," said Fenton, "they are in great numbers, -and I have misgivings as to the issue." - -"Wallace--he is an old friend of mine," said Finland. "'Sdeath! -we've seen some sharp work together on the frontiers of Flanders; and -with your permission, my Lords, I will take a turn of service with -him to-night." - -"As you please," replied the Viscount; "Dunbarton commands here, -though he rides in my troop. Go--ha, ha! two heads are better than -one." - -"I go then; and yonder fanatical senator may beware how he comes -within reach of my hand." - -"Thy riding-whip, say rather." - -"I volunteer also," said Walter, who was under great anxiety to have -an opportunity of visiting Lilian. - -"And I too," added the Reverend Jonadab Joram. "I long to encounter -with bible and bilbo, yonder preacher of sedition, that urges on this -unhanged rout of traitors. For know ye, gentlemen, (hiccup) that one -preacher is better in Scotland than twenty drummers to find recruits -for the devil's service; so, in his own phraseology, I will gird up -my loins, and go forth to battle against them. Come on, gallants! -Ho, for King James, and down with the whigamores! Rub-a-dub, -rub-a-dub----" - -"Beware, sirs, for the good cause has not many such spirits to -spare," said Claver'se, as they dashed spurs into their horses, and -making a detour down one narrow wynd and up another, reached without -interruption the deep groined archway of the Palace Porch, an ancient -gothic edifice, heavily turreted and battlemented. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -SACK OF HOLYROOD. - - 'Twas a dream of the ages of darkness and blood, - When the ministers' home was the mountain and wood; - The musquets were flashing, the blue swords were gleaming, - The helmets were cleft, and the red blood was streaming; - The heavens grew dark, and the thunder was rolling, - When on Welwood's dark muirland the mighty were falling. - ANONYMOUS. - - -"Welcome, gentlemen," exclaimed Wallace; "I never stood in such need -of advice and comradeship." - -He was a handsome man, above six feet in height; his gold-coloured -cuirass and buff coat, laced with silver, announced him a captain; -the slouch of his broad Spanish hat, with its drooping plumes, and -the tie of his voluminous white silk scarf, gave him inimitable grace. - -"Welcome, Finland, to share the poor cheer and hard fighting of -Holyrood. By Mahoun! but times are changed with the King's soldiers. -I have endured a three days' siege here, and matters are not likely -to mend." - -"No; a rabble, many thousands strong, by all the devils! the very -riddlings of St. Ninian's and the Beggars' Row, are at this moment -approaching, and if one of your guard are left alive by daylight it -will be a miracle." - -"Dost think so?" rejoined Wallace, as he led them to a table in the -outer court of the palace, where a lantern placed on a table revealed -a few drinking horns, a keg of eau de vie, and some objects of a more -unpleasant nature, the dead bodies of several soldiers, shot by the -rioters during the day. "You hold out a dark future to us, Finland, -and, nevertheless, like the true soldier I have ever known thee, come -to take a turn of service with us." - -"As you see," replied Finland, laughing, as he filled a horn from the -keg unbidden. - -"Drink with me, gentlemen," said Wallace. - -"With all my soul!" hiccupped Dr. Joram. - -"This keg of brandy was lately in the cellars of the Jesuits, and -some friendly rogue trundled it our way. God bless the good old -cause! my service to ye, sirs. Hark, comrades--drums!" he added, as -he drained and threw down the cup. - -"'Tis the march of the trained bands," said Walter. - -"Indeed!" rejoined Wallace, sternly. "Let all the whigamore scum of -Scotland come, they are welcome. I am one of the good old race of -Elderslie, and I thank heaven that in an hour like this, it hath been -the hap of one of my name to have entrusted to his care the defence -of the palace of our princes, and yonder holy fane, the sepulchre of -their bones--one of the fairest piles that ancient piety ever -founded, or modern fanaticism destroyed." His swart countenance -lighted up, and signing the cross (for this noble cavalier was a true -catholic), he drew his sword. - -"Hark, a chamade!" said Walter Fenton; "now let us hear what these -rascals have the impudence to say;" and the three cavaliers repaired -to the porch, leaving the divine to continue his devoirs to the -brandy keg. They beheld a very extraordinary scene. - -Wallace's company was an Independent one. It was something less than -a hundred strong, and had the great porch of the palace and the two -lesser gates of the boundary wall to defend. In the former there -were sixty musqueteers drawn up, as it was the point of the greatest -danger; the remainder were posted at the small gates, which were well -secured by internal barricades. The great façade of the magnificent -palace, with its deep quadrangle and six round towers, loomed through -the starless gloom of the winter night; lights flickered in the -gallery of the Kings of Scotland, and through the lofty casements of -its long corridors and echoing chambers, for there many proscribed -catholic and cavalier families, terrified women, and helpless -children, hud fled for refuge. And from the great western windows of -the chapel royal shone "the dim religious light" of the distant -altar, where many a devout worshipper, in the ancient faith of our -fathers, sent up, with catholic fervour, the most solemn prayers to -God for conquest and for succour. - -How different was the scene without those sacred walls, with their -shadowy aisles, their glimmering shrines and marble tombs--their -dark, deep, solemn arches, and mysterious echoes. - -Through the strong gate of vertical iron bars that closed the dark -round archway of the porch, the cavaliers beheld the long vista of -the Canon-gate, extending to the westward. Its long perspective of -ancient and picturesque edifices, turrets, outshots, and gables, was -vividly lit up by the crimson glare of the blazing houses on the -Abbey-hill, to the northward of the palace. - -A dense mob that had gathered in the Cow-gate, provided with weapons -and torches, mingled with Trained Bandsmen, and having drums beating, -and the Earl of Perth's effigy, borne aloft before them, after -traversing the West Bow and High-street, maltreating all they met, -were now descending the Canon-gate; and the light of their brandished -flambeaux streamed through the groined portal of the palace, -glittering on the helmets and arms of the soldiers drawn up within it -in close array, and beyond on the tall outline of the tower of James -V. - -As the drums of the Trained Bands continued to beat the point of war, -the rabble poured forth from all the diverging wynds and alleys, -until, like a river swollen by a hundred tributary streams, the dense -mass that debouched upon the open space around the ancient -Girth-cross of the once holy sanctuary, covered the whole arena. The -united roar of ten thousand angry voices swelled along the lofty -street, and the red torchlight revealed many an uncouth visage, -distorted by drunkenness, fanaticism, and ferocity. Several musquets -and pistols were incessantly discharged, while stones, sticks, -fragments of furniture, dead cats, and every available and imaginable -missile were hurled in showers over the battlements of the porch, and -strewed the pavement of the court within. - -In front were Grahame and Macgill, two captains in the trained band, -armed with their buff coats, steel caps, and half pikes; several -baillies, in their scarlet gowns and gold chains; Lord Mersington, -reeling about and brandishing a partisan, his senatorial wig and -robes in a woeful plight; the Rev. Ichabod Bummel, bare-headed and -spurring like a madman a short, plump, and active Galloway cob of -which he had possessed himself, and over the flanks of which, his -long spindle shanks and scabbard trailed upon the ground. On each -side were the Marchmont and Islay heralds, the Unicorn and Ormond -pursuivants, in their tabards blazing with embroidery, and their tall -plumed bonnets; behind was a confused forest of uplifted hands, and -weapons, swords, pikes, staves, and halberts which flashed -incessantly in the wavering glare of the brandished torches, and -chief above all were the effigy of the Chancellor, and a great orange -and blue standard; the first the colour of the Revolutionists, the -second of the Covenanters. - -The houses of the Earl of Perth, the Lairds of Niddry, Blairdrummond, -and others, were blazing close by, and the sky was sheeted with fire. -The contents of their cellars were rolled into the streets and -staved, and the rich and luscious wines of France, the nut-brown ale, -and crystal usquebaugh streamed along the swollen gutters, where -hundreds of rioters were wallowing like pigs in the kennel, and were -trod to death beneath the feet of the mighty host that swept over -them. After a flourish of trumpets, the senior herald cried with a -loud voice,-- - -"In the name of the Lords of His Majesty's Privy Council, I, the -Islay Herald-at-Arms, summon, warn, and charge you, Captain William -Wallace, under pain and penalty of loss of life and escheat of -goods----" - -"Yea, and the loss of salvation," screamed Ichabod, with a voice of a -Stentor, as he brandished his bible and bloody sword. "Woe unto ye -who march against God with banners displayed! Woe unto ye who would -build up the walls of Jericho, which the Lord hath casten down! Take -heed, ye vipers and soldiers of Jeroboam, lest the curse that fell on -Kiel, the Bethelite, fall upon ye also! Woe unto ye, worshippers of -the Babylonian harlot, the mother of sin, for the hour is come when -it is written that ye shall perish!" - -"----And escheat of goods and gear," continued the herald, -"forfeiture of name and fame." - -"Surrender, ye d--d loons!" cried Mersington, "or hee hee, we'll gie -ye cauld kail through the reek, conform to the Acts of Estate." - -"Sound trumpets for silence!" exclaimed the herald indignantly; but -now the voice of Mr. Bummel was again heard. - -"Oh for one moment of the hand that smote the foes of Zion!" he -exclaimed, raising to heaven his sunken eyes that in the torchlight -seemed to fill with a yellow glare. "Oh for God's malediction on the -brats of Babel! Lo! I see a sign in the lift--they are delivered -unto us, that we may dash them against the stones. On, on, and spare -not! smite and slay! death to the false prophets! death to the -soldiers of the idolatrous James!" - -"I, the Islay Herald-at-Arms----" - -"Haud your d--d yammering!" cried Captain Graham, of the trained -bands, interrupting in turn; "close up, my trained men! come on, my -buirdly Baxters, and couthie craftsmen--advance pikes--musqueteers, -blow matches--give fire!" - -"Give fire!" re-echoed the deep voice of Wallace within the groined -portal. A loud discharge of musquetry took place, and the bullets of -the mob rattled like a hailstorm against the walls, or whistled -through the archway of the porch. - -Three soldiers fell dead, but nearly forty of the rabble were shot, -for every bullet fired by the "Brats of Babel" killed at second hand. -Still they pressed forward with undiminished courage, and assailed -the three gates of the palace at once, and pressing close to the bars -of the portal, fired their musquets and pistols through with deadly -precision on the little band within. Here Wallace commanded in -person, with a bravery worthy of his immortal name, and encouraged by -his animated exhortations, his gallant few, though falling fast on -every hand, stood firm, with a resolution to die, but never surrender. - -Walter Fenton and Finland commanded each about twenty musqueteers at -the lesser gates, which the insurrectionists assailed pell-mell with -hammers and pickaxes, and as nothing but a cruel death could be -expected if this mob of infuriated madmen obtained entrance, the poor -soldiers fought as much for their lives as for honour and protection -of the palace and chapel royal. From a platform of planks and -furniture, overlooking the south back of the Canon-gate, Walter's -party poured a fire upon the mob with deadly effect; the palace wall -was high, the gate strong and well secured, so they hurled ponderous -stones and swung hammers against its solid front in vain. - -So it fared with Finland, who defended the northern doorway of the -royal gardens near a little turretted edifice called Queen Mary's -Bath. This experienced soldier had speedily made four loop-holes -through the strong wall, and the rioters, as they approached the -gate, were shot down in such rapid succession that an appalling pile -of dead and dying lay before it, forming a barrier so hideous, that -their companions began to recoil in dismay, and poured a storm of -bullets and abuse from a distance. - -The blaze from the Abbey hill illuminated the whole garden, and the -dark buttresses, the square tower, the deep-ribbed doorway, and tall -lancet windows of the beautiful church of the Sancta Crucis were all -bathed in a blood-red hue by the flaring sheets of flame that -ascended from the burning houses. - -"St. Bride speed you, my gallant Douglas!" cried Wallace, who, -anxious for the maintenance of his post, made a hurried round of the -walls. "Art keeping the knaves in check?" - -"Let the deed show," replied Finland. "By my faith! their dead are -lying chin deep without the barrier. 'Twas a brave stroke in tactics -this enfilade of the approach; and the flames of yonder great mansion -enable my bold hearts to aim with notable precision." - -"'Tis the noble lodging of the Great Chancellor," rejoined Wallace, -turning his flushed face towards the ruddy glow; "and I grieve deeply -that many noble dames of the first quality are likely perishing amid -yonder flames; however, death is preferable to dishonour at the hands -of fanatical clowns. This day they dragged my sister through the -streets ..... and in open day--my God!" He ground his teeth and -smote his breast. - -"Malediction!" exclaimed Finland; "can we not succour them?" - -"Impossible," replied the other, resuming his military nonchalance. -"I cannot spare a man. Bonnie blackeyed Maud, of Madertie, and Merry -Annie, of Maxwelton, are both yonder; this morning they fled to the -house of Perth. God sain them both--now I must see how fares young -Fenton." He hurried away, leaving Finland transfixed by what he had -revealed. - -"Follow me, some of ye," he exclaimed; "let six maintain the post. -Come on, gallants--we will save these noble dames or die." - -His party had now been reduced to twelve, but forgetful of everything -save the probable danger of Annie, he rushed through the garden -followed by six soldiers armed with pikes, and leaving the precincts -of the palace by a secret doorway near the old royal vault, hurried -through the narrow suburb of Croft-an-Righ, and felt his heart leap -as the hot glow of the burning houses was blown upon his cheek, and -the sparks fell like red hail around him. The roar of voices and of -musquetry still continued around the palace with unabated vigour; but -here the mob lay generally wallowing in the liquor that flowed along -the street, or were busy in revelling around piles of wine flasks, -runlets of wine, and barrels of ale, or hurrying away with whatever -plunder they had saved from the fast-spreading conflagration. - -The house of the chancellor, a lofty edifice, with turrets at the -angles, steep roofs, and great stacks of chimneys, stood a little way -back from the street, with a row of tall Dutch poplars before it; but -these were now blackened and scorched by the forky flames that rolled -in volumes from the windows, and clambered over the sinking roofs. -The smoke ascended into the clear air in one vast shadowy pillar, and -showers of sparks were thrown as from the crater of a volcano. Not -one of the inmates was visible, for every window was full of flame, -and Finland felt distraction in his mind as he gazed upon the blazing -house; but suddenly several females appeared upon the stone gutters -and upper bartizan, waving their handkerchiefs and crying in piteous -accents for mercy and for succour; but they were unheeded by the mob, -or, if heard, only treated with derision. - -"A ladder, a ladder!" exclaimed Finland, whose arms and attire were -so much disfigured by smoke and dust, that he seemed in no way -different from the other armed citizens that thronged the streets. -"Death and confusion! a hundred bonnet pieces for a ladder; my brave -friends, my good comrades, your pikes--truss them into a ladder. Ere -now I've led an escalade of such a turnpike. Bravo, my bold hearts!" -and with the silent precision of practised campaigners, the soldiers -with their scarfs trussed or tied their six pikes into the form of a -scaling ladder. In a moment it was placed against the wall. "Guard -the passage," cried Finland, as he disappeared through one of the -upper windows. - -The heat and smoke were so great that he could scarcely breathe; for -the old mansion being all wainscotted, burned like a ship, and -ancient paintings, costly hangings, carpets, furniture, books, and -all the magnificent household of the great chancellor was crumbling -to ashes beneath the relentless flame. - -The hot conflagration often drove Finland back, and made his very -brains whirl; but he found other passages, across the yielding -floors, and ascending from story to story, at last felt gratefully -the cooler air upon his flushed and scorched face as he stepped upon -the flame-lighted bartizan, and Annie, with a wild hysterical laugh, -threw herself into his arms and immediately swooned. - -"Your hand, Lady Madertie--away, away!" cried he; "we have not a -moment to lose;" and bearing his burden like a child, he attempted to -descend the staircase; but lo! the forked flames shot up the spiral -descent and drove him back upon the platform, which was thirty feet -in height. - -All retreat was cut off. - -Annie was insensible, and Finland, as he leant against the parapet -and pressed her to his breast and felt the masses of her soft hair -blown against his face, became giddy with despair. At a little -distance Matilda of Madertie, a beautiful blonde, was kneeling before -her crucifix, and praying with all the happy fervour of a true -Catholic; her long dark hair was streaming over her shoulders. Near -her were several female servants, crouching against the parapet, and -who, exhausted by the energy of their shrieks, and the near approach -of death, lay in a kind of stupor, without motion, and seeming -scarcely to breathe. Finland thought only of Annie; but a glance -sufficed to show that their fate was sealed. - -The whole of the lofty house beneath the turret where they stood was -an abyss of flames, and the glare, as they flashed upward and around -him, compelled him to close his eyes; and thus a prey to grief and -horror, he moved to and fro upon the toppling wall until the slate -roofs sank crashing into the flaming pit with a roar, and now one -vast sheet of broad red fire ascended into the air, making the -calcined walls that confined it rend and tremble; a shout came up -from the street below; the whole city, the hills and the sky seemed -to be on fire. The flames came closer to Finland; he felt their -scorching heat; the next seemed to sweep his cheek, and Annie's -waving locks and his own, that mingled with them, were burned away -together. - -"Laird of Finland," cried a soldier from below, "the tree---the tree!" - -"'Tis death at all events," replied the Cavalier, and quick as light, -with his long scarf, he bound the slender waist of Annie to his own, -and stretching from the wall, got into the lofty and strong poplar -tree, and began to descend slowly and laboriously. A shout burst -from the soldiers in the garden below. - -"God receive us!" cried Maud of Madertie, holding up her crucifix to -heaven. At that moment the wall gave way beneath her, and she -disappeared for ever..... - -Finland's desertion of his post proved ultimately fatal to the -defence of Holyrood, which by the efforts of Wallace, Walter Fenton, -and the church-militant, Dr. Joram, was protracted until eleven at -night. Then the soldiers of Finland, having been all shot down, a -party of the Trained Bands, led by Captain Grahame, broke down the -gate with sledge-hammers, and then the armed mob, roused to an -indescribable pitch of frenzy and ferocity by the liquors they had -imbibed, the resistance and slaughter, and the exhortations of the -religious maniacs who led them, crowded like a hell disgorged into -the outer court and inner quadrangle of the palace. - -Taken thus in flank, the soldiers of Wallace were almost immediately -destroyed. That brave cavalier was hewn down, his body was hacked to -pieces, his entrails torn out and cast into the air. Many of his -soldiers who surrendered were shot in cold blood, and all the wounded -perished. Walter Fenton, gathering a few of the survivors upon his -platform, still continued to fire upon the sea of madmen that swarmed -around them. - -Conspicuous among his followers, upon his prancing Galloway cob, -towered the tall and ghastly figure of Mr. Ichabod Bummel; and, -urging the work of death, he sent his powerful voice before him -wherever he went. - -"No quarter to the birds of Belial!--smite them both hip and thigh. -On, ye chosen of Israel, who now, in the good fight of faith, shall -extirpate the heathen, sent forth even as the Jews were of old." - -"Pick me down yonder villain!" cried Fenton to his soldiers; and -bullet after bullet whistled past the head of the preacher, but he -seemed to bear a charmed life, and escaped them all. - -"On, on to the good work, and prosper!" he cried. "Smite and slay! -smite and slay! lest the curses that befel Saul for sparing the -Amalekites fall upon ye." - -Thus urged, the people hewed the soldiers limb from limb, and the -bodies of the dead shared the same fate. Seeing all lost, Walter and -Dr. Joram had torn the cavalier plumes from their hats, and leaped -upon their horses, hoping to cut their way through the press, or -escape unknown. But, alas! Joram was recognised by the terrible -Ichabod, who, urging his Galloway towards him, brandished his sword, -and exclaimed with stentorian lungs-- - -"'Tis a priest of Baal, and this night will I send him howling to his -false gods! Come on, Jonadab Joram, thou wolf in sheep's clothing." - -"Approach, thou d--ned, round-headed, prick-eared, covenanting, and -rebellious rapscallion!" cried the Doctor in great wrath, urging his -horse towards his clerical antagonist; but the crowd was great -between them, and they were enabled to glare at and menace and -bespatter each other with scriptural abuse and very hard names for -some time before they came within sword's point; for they were both -intoxicated, the one with brandy, and the other with an enthusiasm -that bordered on insanity. "Come on, thou villanous whigamore," -cried Joram, flourishing his long rapier; "thy glory and thee shall -depart to the devil together!" - -"Out upon thee, and the bloody papistical Duke whom thou servest, and -hast blasphemously prayed for; but the curse that fell upon Jeroboam -hath already fallen upon him--he shall die without a son, and be the -last of his persecuting race, despite the brat in the warming pan." - -"On thy carcase, foul kite, will I avenge this treason against the -Lord's anointed!" replied Joram, spurring his horse. - -"Thou fool!" shrieked Ichabod, with a hollow laugh; "was that -accursed tyrant who fiddled while Rome blazed beneath him the -anointed of the Lord?" - -"Have at thee, trumpeter of treason!" - -"Caitiff and firebrand of hell, at last I have thee!" and their -swords flashed as they fell upon each other like two mad bulls. The -superior strength and skill of the cavalier chaplain quite failed him -before the ferocious enthusiasm of the Presbyterian, whose long -broadsword, swayed by both hands, was twice driven through his body -at the first onset. - -"King and High Kirk for ever!" cried poor Joram, as he fell forward -with the blood gushing from his mouth; but, still unsatisfied, -Ichabod seized him as he sank down, writhing one hand in his hair, -and throwing the body across his saddle-bow, he slashed off the head, -and held it aloft, a grinning and dripping trophy. - -"Behold," he exclaimed in an unearthly voice, "behold the head of -Holofernes!" - -All was over now. Walter gave a hurried glance around him. The -palace was being sacked by the rabble, who carried off all they could -lay their hands upon; but it was upon the beautiful chapel, that -venerable monument of ancient art and David's pious zeal, that the -whole tide of popular fury was poured. In five minutes it was -completely devastated. The tall windows, with their rich tracery and -stained glass, were destroyed; the magnificent tombs of marble and -brass, the grand organ, the altar with its burning candles and great -silver crucifix, the rich oak stalls of the Thistle, with the swords, -helmets, and banners of the twelve knights,--were all torn down, and -the beautifully variegated pavement was stripped from the floor. - -All the wood and ornamental work, the pictures, reliques, furniture, -vestments, &c., were piled in front of the palace, and committed to -the flames amid the yells of the populace, whose cries seemed to rend -the very welkin. Dashing spurs into his horse, Walter gave him the -reins, and sweeping his sword around him, right, left, front and -rear, he broke through the crowd, and, followed by a score of -bullets, galloped up the Canongate and escaped,--the sole survivor of -that night's slaughter at Holyrood. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE VEILED PICTURE. - - To the Lords of Convention 'twas Claver's that spoke, - Ere the King's crown shall fall there are crowns to be broke; - So let each Cavalier who loves honour and me, - Come follow the bonnet of bonnie Dundee. - SCOTT. - - -Skirting the city, Walter soon left the roar of the angry multitude -far behind him; he was galloping among fallow fields, hedge-rows, and -solitary lanes, and the silence of the country was a relief to his -excited spirit after the fierce tumult of the last six hours. The -snow had melted; Dairy-burn, and other little rills that traversed -the dark fields, gleamed like silver threads in the starlight. - -Walter passed the loch, and reached the old Place of Drumdryan; the -house was ruined and desolate, roofless and windowless, and the -roadway was strewn with fragments of furniture. His anxiety -increased, and, goring his horse onward, he dashed up the dark dewy -avenue of Bruntisfield, and reined up at the Barbican-gate. The -perfect silence, unbroken even by the barking of a dog, and the -strong odour of burned wood, had in some sort prepared him for the -sight he witnessed. There, too, had been the hand of the destroyer, -and a great part of the once noble mansion was a bare, blackened, and -open ruin. Its corbie-stoned gables and round turrets stood bleakly -in bold relief against the starry sky; and from the depths of its -vaulted chambers, the remains of the smouldering conflagration sent -forth at times a column of smoke into the calm winter atmosphere. -The court and garden were strewn with broken furniture, torn -hangings, books, and household utensils. - -The sudden snorting of his horse drew Walter's attention to two -corpses that lay near the outer door. They were those of John Leekie -the gardener, and Drouthy the aged butler, who, like true vassals, -had both "with harness on their backs" perished at their lady's -threshold. Both had on corslets and steel caps, and one yet grasped -a broken partisan. - -Full of dire thoughts of vengeance, Walter galloped back to the city, -every corner of which was now overflown with the tide of confusion -and uproar that had been so long concentrated around Holyrood. He -naturally sought the Castle-hill, where Dundee and Dunbarton, with -their sixty followers, who of all the Lowlands seemed now alone to -remain true to their fugitive king, were drawn up under the cannon of -the Half-moon. - -"So the villains have sacked Holyrood," said Dundee, smiling grimly. - -"To their contentment," replied Walter. "Poor Finland, our jolly -chaplain, Wallace, and a hundred brave soldiers, have gone to render -a last account of their faithful service; and I alone survive, my -lords." - -"To avenge them, add, sir. 'Tis the hope of repaying with most -usurious interest this heavy account of blood that alone makes me -bear up," replied Dundee with enthusiasm; "and God give me -inspiration, for I feel I am the last hope of the old house of -Stuart." - -At that time certain persons who styled themselves a Convention of -the Estates were assembled in conclave, and thither went the brave -Dundee, though conscious that, personally or politically, he was the -bitterest foe of every man present. - -"My lords and gentlemen," said he, observing the chill that fell on -the assemblage when he appeared---"I have come here as a peer of the -realm, to serve his Majesty James VII. and the Parliament of -Scotland; and I demand that, if the latter has no occasion for my -service, it will at least protect my friends and self from the -insults of the base-born rabble." - -With one voice this hastily collected and illegally constituted -assembly exclaimed--"We cannot and will not!" - -"Then farewell, sirs," replied the Viscount, with a smile of pride -and scorn. "When again I appear before you, it will not be to -entreat, but to command--it will not be to plead, but to punish; and -now, let my trumpets sound To horse! In the country of the clans, -the hills are as steep, the woods are as pathless, the glens as deep, -and the rivers as rapid, as in the days of the Romans; and again from -the wild north shall the whole tide of Celtic war roll on the traitor -Lowlands, as in the days of the great Montrose. When again you hear -the voice of Dundee, my Lords of Convention,--_tremble_!" - -He clasped on his headpiece and retired. As the jangle of his sword -and spurs descending the stone turnpike died away, a deep silence -pervaded the dusky hall; for the threats of this chivalric soldier, -when united to their foreknowledge of his dauntless courage, his -unflinching loyalty, his loftiness of mind, and intense ferocity, -threw a chill upon the more cold-blooded and calculating -revolutionists. But soon the gallant blare of the trumpet, the -stirring brattle of the brass kettle-drums, the clang of iron hoofs, -and jingle of steel scabbards and chain bridles, awaking all the -echoes of the great cathedral, and the hollow arcades of the dark -Parliament Square, announced the march of the Life Guards--those -sixty brave gentlemen who, of all his once numerous and fondly -cherished army, now alone remained staunch to the hapless James. - -Dark looks were exchanged, and as the music grew faint, all seemed to -breathe more freely. Then the querulous voice of Lord Mersington was -heard, and in the half-lighted hall, his dwarfish figure, clad in his -senatorial robes, was dimly seen on the rostrum, and, as he addressed -the convention, from the effect of his recent potations and over -exertion, he swayed on his heels like a statue on a pivot. His -speech was somewhat to the following purpose. - -"That for sae mickle as the vile and bloody papistical James, Duke of -Albany and York, having assumed the regal sceptre without the oath -required for due maintenance of religion, and having altered the -ancient constitution of the kingdom by ane exertion of tyrannous and -arbitrary power, had forfeited all richt to the crown of Scotland, -now and for ever; that it be forthwith settled on the Statholder -William, and Mary his spouse; that there be made a list of grievances -to be redressed, and a new act framit, anent witchcraft, papacy, -prelacy, and ither abominations." - -The last echoes of the trumpets of Dundee had died away under the -arch of the Netherbow Port, and the motions of Mersington were -carried with universal approbation. "Thus," says the author of -_Caledonia_ "the revolution in England was conducted constitutionally -by the parliament; but in Scotland, unconstitutionally by the -convention. The English _found_ a vacancy of the throne, the Scots -_made_ one; the one grave and regarding law, the other vehement and -disregarding it." - -With a heaviness of heart, a deep and morbid sadness against which he -struggled in vain, Walter rode down the steep Leith Wynd. He was now -a private trooper under Dundee, and leaving Lilian far behind him; -for he was going, he foresaw, to perish under the fallen banner of a -desperate cause and ruined king; but soon the clash of the cymbals, -the fanfare of the trumpets, the tramp of the stately horses, the -high bearing of their gallant riders, and that innate loftiness of -soul, which made Dunbarton and Dundee rise superior to their fortune, -and seem to set fate at defiance, communicated a new ardour to his -heart, and it soon beat responsive to the martial music, as the troop -of cavaliers traversed the city's northern ridge, and riding by the -Long Gate saw the morning sun rising afar off above the snow clad -Lammermuir, gilding Preston Bay, the far hills of Fife, and the -shining waters of the dark blue Forth. - -Dundee rode near Fenton, who, finding more than once, the dark and -pensive eyes of this singularly handsome soldier fixed upon him with -something of that foredoomed expression, indicative of his future -fate and fame, he ventured to ask, "Whither go you, my lord?" - -"Wherever the shade of Montrose shall direct me," was the thoughtful -and poetical reply. "Believe me, Mr. Fenton," he continued, after a -pause, "under whatever circumstances, or however oppressed by fate, I -will acquit myself before God, the world, and my own conscience. -Yes!" he exclaimed, with flashing eyes, and striking his gloved hand -upon his corsletted breast, "I will hazard life and limb, estate and -title, name and fame, yes, I would peril even my salvation, were it -possible, in the cause of my honour and allegiance; and if I cannot -save the throne of King James, at least I will not survive its -fall--so the will of God be done!" - -There was something sublime in his aspect as he spoke; his dark and -lustrous eyes were full of fire; his face, the manly beauty of which -few have equalled and none surpassed, was suffused with a warm glow, -and the proud curl of his mustachioed lip, showed the high spirit of -achievement that burned within him. The soul of the great Montrose -seemed indeed to inspire him, and in such a moment all the darker and -weaker points were forgotten. His ardour was communicated to Walter, -whose heart beat fast as he exclaimed, - -"Noble Dundee, to victory or the grave, to the field or the scaffold, -I will follow thee, and in that hour when I fail in my duty or -allegiance, may woe betide me and dishonour blot my name!" - -Dundee pressed his hand and replied, - -"In the wilds of the pathless north, ten thousand claymores will -flash from their scabbards at the call of Dundee. The loyal and -gallant clans have not forgotten the glories of Alford, Inverlochy, -and Auldearn, when the standard of James Grahame, of Montrose, was -never unfurled but to victory. Again, like him, will I lead them -against this Dutch usurper, whom in an evil hour I saved from death -upon the battle-field of Seneff. Yes, after he had fallen beneath -the hoofs of Vaudemont's Reitres, I saved his life at the risk of my -own, and horsed him on my own good charger, when, could his future -ingratitude to me, and the usurpation of this hour have been -foreseen, my petronel had blown his brains to the wind." - -"Ha! what wants his grace of Gordon?" said Dunbarton as the flash of -a cannon broke from the dark castle wall, and a puff of white smoke -curled away on the clear morning air, while the echoes of the report -reverberated like thunder among the black basaltic cliffs of the -great fortress past which they were riding. A little arched postern -to the westward opened, and a soldier appeared waving a white flag -from the brow of the steep rock, which the turretted bastion -overhung. The troop halted, and their kettle-drums gave three -ruffles in honour of the duke. - -"Tarry for me, gentlemen comrades," said Claverhouse, "while I confer -with 'the cock of the north,'" and galloping to the base of the -castle rock, he dismounted, and notwithstanding his steel harness, -buff coat, and jack boots, clambered with great agility to the -postern, where he held a conference with the Duke of Gordon. - -What passed was never known; but each is said to have needlessly -exhorted the other to loyalty and truth. - -The multitude, who from a distance had watched the departure of the -hated Dundee, fled back to the city, and reported to the Lords of the -Convention, that "there was a coalition and general insurrection of -the adherents of the bluidy Claver'se," and thereupon a dreadful -panic ensued. The city drums beat the point of war; the Duke of -Hamilton and other revolutionists, who had for weeks past been -secretly bringing great bands of their vassals into Edinburgh, where -they were concealed in cellars and garrets, now rushed to arms, and -the members of Convention, confined in their hall, were terrified and -put to their wit's end by the uproar. Lord Mersington, it is -related, exchanging his senatorial robe and wig, "for ane auld wife's -mutch and plaid," fled to his lodging, and appeared no more that day; -but their fears were causeless, for Dundee, and the devoted cavaliers -who accompanied him in his chivalric but hopeless enterprise, were -then passing the woods and morasses of Corstorphine, on their route -to the land of the Gael. - -At a hand gallop they soon flanked the grey rocks and pine covered -summits of those beautiful hills, and the sequestered village lay -before them, with the morning smoke curling from its moss-roofed -cottages, its broad lake swollen by the melting snows, but calm as a -mirror, save where the swan and dusky waterouzel squattered its -shining surface; the ancient kirk peeped above a grove of venerable -sycamores, and to the south stood the castle of the old hereditary -Foresters of Corstorphine. - -"What castles are these on the right and left?" asked Dundee. "I -warrant Mr. Holster can tell; he knows everything and everybody." - -"Yonder hold with the loch flowing almost to its gates, is the house -of the Lord Forester," replied the cavalier trooper, "a leal man and -true." - -"And that tall peel on the muirland to the north?" - -"The tower of Clermiston, my lord." - -"What! the house of Randal Clermont--um--a converted covenanter, and -worshipper of the rising sun, eh?" - -"'Tis said his name is at the address sent by the turncoat council to -the Statholder," said Dunbarton. - -"Assure me of that," exclaimed Dundee, sharply reining up his horse, -"and by all the devils, I will hang him from his own bartizan, lord -and baron though he be! Halt, gentlemen, we will pay these lords a -visit; they, or their stewards, must pay us riding money, for the -king's service. My lord, Earl, and thirty of you gentlemen, will -detour across to Clermiston, while I will ride down to make my devoir -to the Forester of these hills--forward, trot." - -The troop separated, and Walter somewhat unwillingly accompanied Lord -Dunbarton, whose party galloped in single files along the muddy and -rough bridle-road that led over the lea to the gate of the solitary -tower. They encircled the barbican wall, which was built partly on -fragments of low rock, without being able to find entrance, the great -gate being securely fastened, and the stillness of the place seemed -to imply that it was uninhabited. A shriek, echoing through the -vaulted recesses of the tower, rang out upon the clear morning air; a -window was dashed open, and a female hand, white and bleeding, -appeared, while a voice calling for aid made the blood of Walter -Fenton rush back upon his heart. - -"On, on, good sirs!" he exclaimed, leaping from his horse; "some work -of hell is being enacted here!" and he rushed against the tower gate, -making fruitless efforts to burst it open; but they were as those of -a child against the solid planks of the barrier. - -"By Mahoud's horns, Clermistonlee is at his old tricks again!" cried -Jack Holster, leaping from his saddle, and unslinging his carbine. -"He hath a lass in his meshes; alight gallants all, or the fair -fortress will be won by storm, while we dally in the trenches." - -"Would to God I had a petard!" exclaimed Walter; "this gate is like a -wall." - -"Unsling your carbines, gentlemen," said the Earl of Dunbarton. "A -volley at the lock--give fire!" - -Thirty carbines poured their concentrated volley upon the gate; it -was torn to fragments, and an aperture formed which admitted the -troopers; to creep through, and rush on with his drawn rapier, were -to Walter a moment's work. By pulling the leathern latch of a long -oak pin which secured the door of the tower, they procured ingress, -and rushed up the turnpike stair to the hall, at the very moment that -Lilian was just sinking backwards, with her hands clasped in despair, -while Lord Clermistonlee, enraged by her outcries, and the new and -pressing danger, was endeavouring with ferocious violence to drag her -into some place of concealment. - -"False villain!" exclaimed Walter, springing upon him with his -rapier. "I have a thousand insults to avenge; but this, and this, -and this, repay them all!" and he made three furious lunges at his -rival, who escaped two by the intervention of Dunbarton, who -vigorously interposed; but he received one severe wound in the left -shoulder. Infuriated by the sight of his own blood, and being a man -of great strength and agility, he grappled fiercely with Walter, -breathlessly exclaiming, in accents of rage-- - -"Woe betide thee, thou unhanged rascal! A sword! a sword! lend me a -sword, some one! Juden! Traitors, I am a Lord of Parliament, and -dare ye slaughter me under the rooftree of my own fortified house? -This is hership and hamesucken with a vengeance! Death and -confusion, villains; recollect I am unarmed!" - -"Lend him a sword, some of you," said Walter. - -"Oh no, no; spare him," moaned Lilian, who was supported by the Earl -of Dunbarton. - -"Base-born runnion, and son of a dunghill!" exclaimed Clermistonlee, -with that intense ferocity and scorn which he could so easily assume -at all times; "an hour will come when this insult shall be fearfully -repaid----" here the clenched hand of Walter struck him down. -Staggering backward, making a futile attempt to recover himself, his -clutching hands tore away the veil that concealed the portrait -already mentioned. The face it revealed instantly arrested the -forward stride and menacing sword of Walter Fenton, who stood -irresolute, trembled, and the sinking sword half fell from his -relaxed hand, as he muttered-- - -"What is this coming over my spirit now? That face seems like a -vision from the grave to me!" - -"'Tis the Lady Alison, my Lord's late wife," said the shrill but -sullen voice of Beatrix. - -"Pshaw!" rejoined Walter; "then my weakness is over. Give him a -sword, gentlemen. In fair stand-up fight, I will meet him here, with -case of pistols, sword, and dagger, or anything he pleases." - -"O part them, for the sake of mercy!" implored Lilian. - -Juden came in at that moment, clad in his steel bonnet and buff jack, -and swaying an enormous partisan, was rushing upon Walter Fenton like -a wild boar, when Holsterlee laid him flat with his clubbed carbine. -The swooning of Lord Clermistonlee closed the brawl for the time; -loss of blood, over-drinking, and over-excitement, had quite -prostrated all his energies. Walter immediately sheathed his sword, -and, kneeling down, was the first to tender assistance; for -"compassion ever marks the brave." - -Clermistonlee was borne away to his own apartment by the growling -Juden, whose thick pate was little the worse of Holsterlee's stroke; -and Lilian was now Walter's next and immediate care. - -The disorder and scantiness of her attire, the pallor and horror of -her aspect, and her presence in such a place, had previously informed -him of all, and no sooner were they in a more retired apartment, -than, throwing herself into his arms, she wept bitterly. Meanwhile, -the unscrupulous cavaliers were ranging over the entire household, -breaking open every press, cabinet, and girnel, with the butts and -balls of their carbines, in search of wine, vivres, or anything else -that suited their fancies. Juden kept always a full larder, and its -contents furnished a sumptuous breakfast. Several whole cheeses, a -cask of ale, and a thirty-gallon runlet or two of canary, were -trundled into the hall; and a hearty repast, with the usual military -accompaniments of mirth and laughter, was enjoyed by the hungry -troopers, whose appetites a night spent in their saddles, and a ride -in the keen air of a winter morning, had sufficiently whetted. - -In a few minutes, Lilian, with faltering accents, had informed Walter -of her abduction, of the hours of suffering she had endured, and her -anxiety to return to Lady Grisel; but, alas! poor Lilian knew not -that perhaps her only relative had perished in the conflagration of -her old ancestral home. - -Aware that Dundee meant to halt for an hour or so, to await -despatches from the Earl of Balcarris and the ex-Lord-Advocate, -Walter resolved without delay to accompany Lilian to Edinburgh, and -there convey her to some place of safety, ere he cast himself upon -the world for ever; for from that hour he was like a reed tossed upon -the waves of misfortune. By the assistance of Jack Holster, he had -Clermistonlee's favourite mare prepared for Lilian; and, after -refreshing her with a milk-posset made by the cynical Beatrix, they -departed for the city at a quick trot: the plain buff coat, steel -cap, and accoutrements of Walter, enabling him to pass for a Royalist -or Revolutionist, as occasion required. - -As soon as they began to converse, the pace of their horses was -checked, and they proceeded slowly: forgetful of Claverhouse and of -his pledged word, Walter remembered only the presence of Lilian; and -their minds were so much absorbed in their mutual explanations and -plans for the future, that they marked not the tardiness of their -progression towards Edinburgh. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -LOVE AND PRINCIPLE. - - My promised husband and my dearest friend; - Since heaven appoints this favoured race to reign, - And blood has drenched the Scottish fields in vain, - May I be wretched and thy flight partake? - Or wilt not thou for thy loved Chloe's sake, - Tired out at length submit to fate's decree. - TICKELL. - - -"And this is the fate to which you have dedicated yourself?" said -Lilian, weeping; "to become a follower of that fierce Dundee in the -desperate course on which he is about to fling himself. Oh, Walter -Fenton, this is the very folly of enthusiasm. Too surely can we see -that the hand of Fate is against the House of Stuart." - -"Lilian," replied her lover, with mournful surprise, "the daughter of -an old Cavalier house should have other thoughts than these. -Remember, dear Lilian, there is not in Europe a royal race for which -so many of the good and the gallant, the brave and the loyal, have -from the foughten field and the reeking scaffold given up their souls -to God. Let no man judge harshly of those whose splendour is dimmed -for a time; for the hour _shall_ come when in the full zenith of -their pride and power, the old line of our Scottish kings----" - -"'Tis all a dream, Walter. The entire nations are against them. I -feel a presentiment that they and their followers are doomed to -wither and perish like brands in the burning." - -"My faith! art turning preacher, lassie?" - -"Oh, what a prospect for thee, Walter!" - -"The world is all before me; and I can always preserve my honour, my -heart, and my sword. But thou, Lilian----" - -"Am beside thee, dear Walter," said she, with touching artlessness; -"and is not happiness better than honour?" - -"True, true," replied the young man, while he kissed her hand, and -his eyes filled with tenderness. "Ah, Lilian, it is the thought that -I am leaving you, perhaps for ever, that alone unnerves me for the -deadly venture in which we are about to engage. Hopeless though the -cause of James may be, we have sworn not to survive it; and, come -weal or woe, we will unfurl his standard on the northern hills, and -if it waves not over us in victory, it shall never do so in defeat or -dishonour; for to the last man we will perish on the sod beneath it. -Your memory alone will make me sad--but am I singular? How many of -these my brave companions have gentle ones to leave, mothers who -bless, and sisters who love them, while I am alone. Save thee, there -is nothing that binds me to this world. What of it is mine? The six -feet that shall make my grave!" - -"O! most ungrateful Walter," said Lilian, in a low voice of confusion -and tenderness; "is not all that I have yours, manor and lands? are -not these possessions ample? Greedy Gled," she added, smiling; "what -better tocher would you have?" - -"Lilian," sighed Walter, in a thick voice, as he pressed her hand to -his heart, "it may not be, dearest--yet awhile, at least." - -The blushing girl gave him a timid and startled glance of inquiry. - -"I am solemnly pledged to Dundee." - -"Cruel Claverhouse! has he more charms for you than I have?" - -"You know that my heart is full of you, Lilian; but there is also -room for ambition in it. I cannot live ignobly and obscure; as such -I would be unworthy to possess you. I would feel myself a nameless -intruder under the rooftree of your crested ancestors, whose armorial -blazons on every panel and window-pane, would shame my meaner birth, -and put me to the blush." - -"Ungrateful! after all I have urged and said. 'Tis a dream, Walter, -a mere dream, but one that will make the world dark--oh! very dark to -me." - -"'Tis very true; I am choosing the path of proscription, danger, and -death; but the fortune of war may better the prospects of my faction." - -"After years of separation, perhaps." - -"With happiness in prospect, they would soon pass, dear Lilian." - -"Oh, this wicked Claverhouse! he hath quite cast a glamour over you. -How can you talk so calmly of years of separation? What may not be -lost in that time?" - -"My life on the field, or scaffold, perhaps." - -"Your life is mine, Walter; it was pledged to me. Have you forgot -the 20th of September, and the hour by the fountain?" - -"Dearest girl, how could I ever forget it? 'Tis true, Lilian, that -we are in the very flower of our days; the bloom of our youth and -existence is at its full; love, tenderness, beauty, and -susceptibility, all glow within our hearts." - -"And will not the roll of years make them dull, diminish their force, -and cool their fervour? Oh, heavens! I am quite making love to -you," said Lilian, blushing crimson; "but danger and the risk of -losing you have endued me with great boldness." - -"But time will never diminish the love I bear thee, Lilian; and the -memory of this hour's bitter struggle--this conflict between a love -that is irresistible and the strong ties of honour, that bind me to -the banner of Dundee, will haunt me to my grave!" Tears started into -his eyes. - -A silence ensued. Poor Lilian had nothing more to urge; and despite -of all her gentleness, felt both intensely grieved and mortified, if -not quite piqued, at Walter, whose heart was wrung by an agony too -acute for words. As they rode past the thick woodlands that shelter -the venerable church of St. Cuthbert, they heard a shrill but cracked -voice chanting slowly-- - - "I like ane owl in désart am, &c." - - -"By Jove! 'tis the villain who slew poor Joram," exclaimed Walter, -drawing a pistol from his holsters; but the voices of two other -persons finishing the verse, arrested him. "Astonishment! 'tis the -voice of Finland!" said Walter, as he spurred his horse close to a -fauld dyke, on the other side of which he saw, what? Annie Laurie, -and his old friend and brother Cavalier, Finland, on their knees, -beside Mr. Ichabod Bummel, chanting a psalm in most dolorous accents. - -"By all the devils!" said Walter, almost bursting with laughter; -"'tis the age of miracles this! What, ho! Dick Douglas and Mistress -Anne Laurie, singing hymns among the heather like two true laverocks -of the persecuted kirk." - -"Woe unto thee, thou troubler of the just in spirit!" cried Mr. -Ichabod, unsheathing his broadsword. "I have plucked the youth and -the maiden like brands from the fire which is fated to consume all -such unrepentant persecutors of Israel as thee." - -"I have seen a new light," said Finland, giving Walter a sly wink of -deep meaning. - -"And so have _I_," added Mistress Laurie, demurely; "and command -thee, Walter Fenton, thou man of sin, to treat this holy expounder of -the Gospel with becoming reverence." - -"Annie--oh, Annie!" cried Lilian, as she boldly leaped the mare over -the fauld dyke, and threw herself into the arms of her friend. - -"My service to you, Mr. Ichabod," said Walter, bowing to the rawboned -preacher; but quite unable to unriddle the mystery of this -rencounter, he whispered to Finland (while the slayer of Joram was -engaged with Lilian), "What the devil does all this mean, Dick?" - -"Learn in a few words," replied Finland, who was in as miserable a -plight as dust, smoke, and a hundred bruises could make him. "Annie -and I had a most miraculous escape amid the horrors of last night. I -will tell you of it anon--'twas quite a devil of a business. As for -me, I am well used to such camisadoes, having been blown up at Namur, -and twice nearly drowned in the Zuiderzluys; but how my adorable -Annie escaped, Heaven, who saved her, can only know. We were in the -hands of the most villanous mob the world ever saw; they were about -to hang me from the arm of the Girth-cross; and Annie--oh! my blood -bubbles like boiling water when I think of what they intended for -her; when this leathern-jawed apostle, who, with all his -psalm-singing and whiggery, hath some good points of honesty about -him, brought us off, sword in hand; we bundled out of the city -without blast of trumpet; and here we are. As a gentleman of -cavalier principles," said Finland, colouring, "you may marvel that I -would condescend to chant a psalm like a mere clown or canting -herdsman; but as we are utterly at the mercy of this Ichabod Mummel -or Bummel, I had no choice. He needs must----tush! you know the -musty old saw." - -"It is enough, maiden," said the preacher, replying to something -Lilian had said, and taking, with an air of real kindness, the little -hand of the shrinking girl within his own great bony paw, "I know -thee to be the kinswoman of that godly matron, Grisel Napier, who, -though wedded to as cruel a persecutor as ever bestrode a -war-horse--yea, and though leavened in their wickedness withal, -sheltered me in the days of my exceeding tribulation, when there was -a flaming sword over Israel, and when, as a humble instrument in the -cause of that great Saviour of the Kirk (whose coming I foretold in -my _Bombshell_, whilk hath not yet the luck to be printed), I came -from Holland to this land of anarchy, and had no where to lay my -head. She clothed and sheltered me, for the sake of that loved -kinsman who is now no more, slain by some accursed persecutor, whom I -would smite--yea, maiden, both hip and thigh, if I had him within -reach of this good old whinger, that so oft hath avenged the fall of -our martyrs!" - -Walter instinctively grasped his sword, startled by the stern energy -of the preacher, who continued-- - -"It is enough maiden,--with me ye are safe, and to a place of peace I -will conduct you and your friend; but for these two sons of the -scarlet woman--these slaves of Jezebel, who have been nursled in the -blood of our saints and martyrs, and in whom it grieves me to think -ye have garnered up your hearts, I may not, and cannot, with a safe -conscience, protect them. Let them depart from me in peace; let them -follow him who, ere long, will be called to a severe account for all -his dark misdeeds--John Grahame of Claverhouse." - -"'Tis sound advice, Mr. Bummel," said Walter, tightening his reins, -and drawing off his glove. "By Heaven! I had quite forgotten; he -will have crossed the Forth by this time, and it will require some -exertion of horseflesh to rescue my honour. Finland, we must go. -Mount Lilian's horse. Lilian," he added, in a low and tremulous -voice, "farewell now; commend me to Lady Grisel, and bid her bless -me; farewell, Lilian--we must part at last;" and stooping from his -horse, he gently pressed her to his steel-cased breast, and kissed -her. - -"Oh! Walter, remain--remain," murmured Lilian. - -"It cannot be--it is impossible now; I am pledged to Grahame of -Claverhouse." And afraid to trust himself longer within hearing of -her soft entreaties, lest love might overcome the stern principles of -loyalty in which he had schooled himself, he leaped his horse over -the fauld dyke; and while he felt as if his very heart was torn by -the agony of that separation, he dashed along the road to the west, -leaving Finland to follow as he chose. - -With a mind overcharged by sad and bitter thoughts, Walter galloped -madly on, retracing the way he had come with Lilian; his mind seemed -a very whirlpool, and the events of the last twenty-four hours a -dream. A steep old bridge, which the roadway crossed near the -ancient manor of Sauchtoun was ringing beneath his horse's heels, -when a distant shout made him rein up. - -"Hollo!" cried Finland, as he came after him breathlessly on the -panting mare; "what the devil--art gone mad, Walter? Oh this -tormenting love--ha! ha!" - -"I envy this happy flow of spirits, Finland!" - -"Then you envy me the possession of all that fate hath left me in -this bad world. This devilish commotion hath confiscated my free -barony of Finland, and torn my arms at the cross; still I am more gay -than thee who hath nothing to lose." - -"And after parting with one you love," continued Walter, almost -piqued by his friend's lightness of heart; "parting perhaps for -ever----" - -"Tush, man--I am used to such partings. I have had many a love that -was true while it lasted; but none like the passion I bear my dear -Annie. My first flame was a blue-eyed damoisella of the Low -Countries (her mother was a fleuriste in Ghent). I thought I loved -her very much; but somehow at Bruges, Mons, and Bergen-op-Zoom, 'twas -ever the same; I always left some one with a heavy heart; and cursed -the générale, when in the cold foggy mornings it rang through the -dark muddy streets, waking the storks on the high roofs above, and -the drowsy boors in their beds below. I know that the wheels of fate -and fortune are ever turning; some points may, and others must come -round, to their first starting place, so I always live in hope. I -was very sad in Ghent when our drums beat along the street of St. -Michael, and I bade adieu to my fair one, coming away I remember by -the window instead of the door." - -"How--why?" - -"I don't know, man," laughed Douglas; "but so we often left our -billets in French Flanders. But I assure thee, lad, that under all -this gaiety my heart is as heavy as thine; for I vow to thee, that -the recollection of Annie with her beseeching blue eyes, her dark -clustering hair and pallid cheek, the touching cadence of her voice, -and the words she said to me are imprinted on my heart as if the hand -of Heaven had written them there. By the bye I have composed a -famous song about her." - -"A song!" - -"Music and all. I wrote it on the night we were about to sack the -old house of Bruntisfield in search of yonder spindle-shanked -apostle. Ah, if in my absence Craigdarroch should dare--but ho! -yonder are some of our friends halted under a tree upon that grassy -knowe." - -"There is something odd being acted there. Does not yonder white -feather wave in the steel bonnet of Dundee?" - -"He is permitting some false Whig to sing his last psalm under _the_ -convenient branch where he is doomed to feed the corbies. Dundee is -very kind in that way sometimes." - -Recrossing the stream called the Leith, they rode towards a knoll -that rose amid the marshy ground near the castle loch of -Corstorphine. There a dozen of the cavalier troopers were -dismounted, and leaning on their swords or carbines, were holding -their bridles in a cluster round Dundee, who was still on horseback, -and in the act of addressing a disarmed prisoner, in whom with -surprise and sorrow they recognized the young Laird of Holsterlee. - -Cool and collected, with folded arms he firmly encountered the large -dark eyes of Dundee, which were fixed with stern scrutiny upon him. -The group of his comrades surveyed him with glances of mingled scorn -and pity. - -"Holsterlee!" said the Viscount, who held in one hand a long Scots -pistol, in the other a letter; "how little could I once have -suspected that you, the best cavalier of the king's life guard, and -one in whose loyalty and high spirit I trusted so much, would stoop -to this dishonour! The attempt simply of deserting to take service -with this vile usurper, though bad enough in itself, is as nothing -compared to the treachery which this stray letter has revealed. Fool -and villain! thou knowest that I am the last hope of the king's cause -in Scotland, and that if I fall it will be buried in my grave; and -yet thou art in league with this accursed Convention to destroy me! -A thousand English guineas for my head, thou villanous -scape-the-gallows and companion of grooms and horseboys, who hast -squandered away a fair repute and noble patrimony among rakehelly -gamesters and women of pleasure, dost thou value the head of a -Scottish peer at a sum so trifling? hah!" He uttered a bitter laugh. -"What," he resumed, "hast thou to urge, that I should not hang thee -from the branch of this beech tree?" - -"That I am a gentleman," replied Holsterlee boldly; "a lesser baron -of blood and coat-armour by twelve descents, and should not die the -death of a peasant churl or faulty hound." - -"Right!" exclaimed Dundee, whose dark and terrible eyes began to fill -with their dusky fire. "A gentleman should die by the hand of -another, for every punishment is disgraceful. DEATH is the only -relief from the consciousness of crime. Thou shalt have the honour -of perishing by the hand of the first cavalier in Scotland. _Thus_ -shalt thou die--now God receive thy soul!" and pointing upward with -his bridle hand, he levelled the pistol and fired. The ball passed -through the brain of Holsterlee, and flattened against the plastered -wail of a neighbouring cottage. The body sank prostrate on the turf, -quivered for a moment, and then lay still and stiffening, with -upturned eyes and relaxed jaws. - -This act, which was the most terrible episode in the life of the -stern Dundee, threw a chill on the hearts of his comrades; but he did -not permit them to remain gazing on the lifeless remains of one who -had ridden so long in their ranks, and who was the gayest fellow that -ever cracked a jest, shuffled a card, or handed a coquette through -the stately cotillion or joyous couranto. - -"Our nags are somewhat breathed after the hot chase he gave us, -gentlemen," said Dundee, deliberately reloading his pistol, and -endeavouring under an aspect of external composure to conceal the -immediate sorrow, remorse, and anger that too surely preyed upon his -heart. "To horse! sling carbines--forward--trot!" and away they rode -in silence leaving the cold remains of the dead man lying on the -grassy sward, with his blood-dabbled locks waving in the morning -wind, while the gleds and ravens wheeled and croaked around him with -impatience. - -But he felt not the one, and heard not the other. - -He was stripped by the cottagers, and as his dress was remarkably -rich, to prevent further inquiry they interred him where he lay -between the bare beech tree and the old cottage wall*. - - -* On removing the walls of an old cottage near Tynecastle, a mile -westward of Edinburgh, in 1843, the remains of a skeleton were found -buried close by; the skull had been pierced by a bullet. In the -plastered wall of the edifice a ball was found flattened against the -stone.--_Edin. Advert._, April 18, 1843. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE PASS OF KILLYCRANKIE. - - Heard ye not! heard ye not! how that whirlwind the Gael, - Through Lochaber swept down from Lochness to Locheil-- - And the Campbells to meet them in battle array, - Came on like the billow, and broke like its spray! - Long, long shall our war-song exult in that day! - IAN LOM, OF KEPPOCH. - - -The _Revolution_ might be said to be now fully achieved; save Dundee, -Balcarris, and a few of their followers, all had submitted to the new -sovereign whom these two nobles would rather have slain than -acknowledged. Dundee had been required by a trumpet to return to the -Convention; he treated the summons with scorn, and after cutting his -way through a party sent to intercept him, reached the Highlands a -proscribed fugitive, branded as an outlaw and traitor, and -stigmatized with every epithet that Presbyterian rancour, heightened -by the remembrance of his former military excesses, could heap upon -him. - -Colin, Earl of Balcarris, the High Treasurer, was captured and thrown -into a dungeon. The weak and servile Melville, the crafty and -fanatical Stair (the Scottish Tallyrand), and the not less crafty -Duke of Hamilton, were now at the head of the Government, and these, -though all staunch Presbyterians were by the king united in council -with a few of the high church nobles, an intermixture which inflamed -the animosities of both parties, and sowed the seeds of hatred, -discord, and confusion. - -With his troop of faithful cavaliers Dundee continued to wander from -place to place in the Highlands until the beginning of May, 1689, -when he appeared at the head of about two thousand clansmen led by -Sir Donald Macdonald, the chiefs of Glengarry, Maclean, Locheil, and -Clanronald--all names which shall ever be associated with the purest -ideas of chivalry, generosity, and valour. He had only about 120 -horse, but they were composed entirely of gentlemen, and were -commanded by a Sir William Wallace, a brave cavalier; Walter Fenton -was his cornet, and carried the standard. - -Lieutenant-General Hugh Mackay, of Scoury, now commander-in-chief of -the Scottish forces, Colonel-Commandant of the Scottish Brigade, and -Privy Councillor of Scotland, marched against him at the head of -nearly five thousand foot, and with two regiments of cavalry. -Neither the fall of Edinburgh Castle (which Sir John Lanier -demolished), nor the disappointment of assistance from Ireland which -James had promised him, could damp the ardour of the brave Dundee. -Deficiency of provisions had compelled him to shift his quarters -frequently, and his devoted followers had endured the most severe -privations; but under these they disdained to complain, when they -knew that Dundee shared them all. Like Montrose, he was eminently -calculated for a Highland leader. In his buff coat and headpiece he -marched on foot, now by the side of one clan, and anon by the ranks -of another, addressing the soldiers in their native Gaelic, -flattering their long genealogies, and animating the fierce rivalry -of clanship by reciting the deeds of their forefathers, and the -sonorous verses of their ancient bards. - -"It has ever been my maxim, Mr. Fenton," said he to our friend on one -occasion, "that no general should command an irregular army in the -field without becoming acquainted with every man under his baton." - -On the 17th June, 1689, he marched to the Pass of Killycrankie, where -one of the most decisive battles in Scottish history was bravely -fought and fruitlessly won. Dawn was brightening on the hills of -Athole; and Walter, who, quite exhausted by a long series of -hardships, cold, starvation, and a pistol-shot wound, was sleeping -under his horse's legs, was aroused by the sonorous and guttural cry -of a sentinel, who screamed out in Gaelic-- - -"Hoigh, Mhic Alastair Mhor! Hark to the war-drum of the Saxon!" - -It was the morning of a battle! Walter's first thought was of -Lilian; his second of the prospects of victory. The dear image of -Lilian made him rise superior to his fortune. Since they had so -abruptly separated, he had never heard from her; and it was now many -months. How long the time seemed! Amid his dreamy musings, the -gentle expression of her face often came powerfully to his -recollection, with, all the vigour of a deeply impressed vision; and -recollection summoned the tones of her sweet voice to his heart like -the memory of some old familiar air, and all the gushing tenderness -of his soul was awakened. But with these remembrances too often came -bitterness and despair, and he kissed with all a lover's fervour the -scarf her hands had wrought him. Gleams of memory, and vivid visions -of happiness, which he foresaw too surely could never be realized, -made his heart swell alternately with tender recollections and joyous -anticipations, that died away to leave him hopeless and despairing. -Now they were on the brink of a battle which Walter welcomed with -anxious joy, for it would be not less decisive as to the issue of his -love, than for the fortune of James and the fate of the British -people. - -It was a glorious morning in June; the purple summer heather, the -long yellow broom, the wild briar and honeysuckle, that clambered -among the basaltic cliffs, loaded the air with a rich perfume; while, -through the savage and stupendous gorge of Killycrankie, the rising -sun poured a flood of golden lustre, bringing forward in strong light -the wooded acclivities of those sublime hills, that heave up to -heaven their scaured and wooded sides, involving in dark shadow the -deep rocky chasms, through which the foaming Garry rushes to mingle -its waters with the rapid Tummel--chasms so profound, and hidden by -the overhanging foliage, that the roar only of the unseen water was -heard, awakening the echoes of the dewy woods and shining rocks. - -Nothing in nature can surpass the wild grandeur and imposing -sublimity of this mountain gorge, the frowning terrors of which, in -after years, so impressed a brigade of Hessians in the last of our -Scottish wars, that they refused to penetrate what appeared to them -to be the end of the habitable world. Save the mountain torrent -foaming down from the lofty hills, appearing one moment to hurl its -spray against the shining rocks, and urge masses of earth and stones -along with it, and disappearing the next, as it plunged into the -bosky woodlands,--all was still as death in that Highland solitude, -when, in steadiness and order, Dundee drew up his little host at its -northern verge, admirably posted on well-chosen ground, two miles -from the mouth of the pass; the only road to his position being the -ancient pathway that wound along the face of the precipitous cliffs, -where the least false step threatened instant destruction even to the -most wary passenger. - -Dundee's band--for it was indeed no more, though named an army--was -only two thousand strong, and composed of various little parties, -which were the nucleus of the corps he expected yet to form. On the -right was the soi-disant regiment of Sir John Macdonald; a small body -of the clans, under the illustrious chiefs of Locheil, Glengarry, and -Clanronald, the Atholemen under Ballechin, Wallace's troop of horse, -and a corps of three hundred half-clad and miserably accoutred -Irishmen, composed the mainbody. Dundee's old troop, in which rode -the Earl of Dunbarton, his officers, and several Highland gentlemen, -formed the reserve of cavalry. The Highlanders, arrayed each in the -picturesque tartan of their native tribes, were formed in close -ranks, with their filleadhbegs belted about them; their brass-studded -targets, long claymores, ponderous poleaxes, and long-barrelled -Spanish rifles, shining in the rays of the meridian sun. - -The brandishing of weapons and clan-standards, and the fierce notes -of war and defiance, as the various pibrochs rang among the echoing -hills, announced that the troops of Mackay were in sight. And now -the brave and anxious Dundee, clad in his rich scarlet uniform, with -the tall plumes waving on his polished headpiece, his fine features -full of animation, and his black eyes alternately clouded by anxiety, -or flashing with valour and energy,--galloped from clan to clan, -inspiring them by every exertion of graceful gesture and military -eloquence to add that day to the fame of their forefathers. - -The murmuring hum which, from afar off, announced the drums of -Mackay, grew more and more palpable, and increased until the hoarse -and sharp reverberations of the martial music rang between the steep -impending rocks of the long mountain pass through which the foe was -penetrating. Anon the Scottish standards, the red lion with the -silver cross, and one with that of St. George (borne by Hastings' -regiment), and the yellow banners of the Scots brigade, appeared at -intervals of time, and weapons were seen flashing through the -openings of the chasmed rocks and sable woods of drooping pine. - -The day had passed slowly in anxious expectation: it was evening now, -and the sun had verged to the northwest, but from between gathered -masses of saffron clouds streams of dazzling light were radiating; -and the setting rays, as they poured aslant on the mountain sides, -made the deep pass seem darker as it receded beyond them. The rattle -of the drums, and the blare of trumpet and bugle, the clank of -bandoliers and tread of feet, rang with a thousand reverberations -between the brows of that tremendous gorge, as the army of Mackay -debouched from its windings, and formed successive battalions on the -little level plain or hollow, above which the fierce and impatient -Highlanders, "like greyhounds in the slips straining upon the start," -were formed in array of battle. Undauntedly they surveyed the -measured steadiness and precision of the Lowland soldiers, whose -silken standards fluttered gaily above their moving masses of -polished steel caps, their screwed bayonets, and long pikes, that -were ever flashing in the setting sun. - -Sir James Hastings' English regiment, and those of Leven and Mackay -belonging to Scotland, were arrayed in that bright scarlet which was -to become so famous in future wars; but the battalions of Balfour, -Ramsay, and Kenmore wore the black iron caps, the scarlet hose, and -yellow coats of the Scotch-Dutch brigade. The cavalry corps of the -Marquis of Annandale and the Lord Belhaven wore coats of spotless -buff and caps of polished steel. Their numbers, discipline, and -order would have stricken with dismay any other volunteers than the -Highlanders, whose hearts had never known fear, and who had long been -accustomed to rout both horse and foot with equal speed and success. -As the practised eye of Mackay reconnoitred the position of Dundee, -he pointed to the clan, and said to young Cameron of Locheil, who -rode near him-- - -"Behold your father and his wild savages: how would you like to be -with him?" - -"It matters little," replied the young man haughtily; "but I -recommend you to be prepared, or my father and his 'wild savages' -before night may be nearer you than you would wish." - -The reports of a slight skirmish between the right wing of the -Highlanders and Mackay's left, made the hearts of all beat quicker; -and in the interval, Dundee exchanged his scarlet coat for one of -buff, richly laced with silver; and over it he tied a scarf of -_green_, which the Highlanders considered ominous of evil. Leaping -on horseback, he galloped to the front, and a shout of impatience -burst from the Highland ranks. - -It was now eight o'clock, and the sun was dipping behind the hills, -when a simultaneous volley ran from flank to flank along Mackay's -line; and while the roar of the musketry rang from peak to peak, and -rebellowed along the sky and among the hills like thunder, with a -thousand echoes, Dundee gave the order to charge; and in deep -silence, and like a cloud of battle, the race of old Selma came down! - -Reserving their fire until within a pike's length of King William's -troops, the Highlanders poured upon them a deadly volley; and -throwing down their muskets, drew their claymores, and, under cover -of the smoke, charged with the fury of an avalanche, striking up the -levelled bayonets with their studded targets, and hewing down with -sword and axe, routed the Lowland soldiery in a moment. - -The brave Maclean cut the left wing to pieces; while Hastings' -Englishmen, on the right, had equal fortune from the Camerons and -Macdonalds. Dunbarton, at the head of sixteen mounted cavaliers, -actually routed the whole artillery, and seized the cannon; while, -led by Finland, the remainder of the troop broke among the dense and -recoiling mass of Mackay's regiment, riding through it as easily as -through a field of rye. King William's Dutch standard was captured -by Walter Fenton, who, after a short conflict, drove his sword -through the corslet of the bearer, and, spurning him with his foot -and stirrup, bore off the trophy. - -Meanwhile Finland encountered a mounted cavalier, and had exchanged -blows before he recognised Craigdarroch, his rival, in the leader of -Annandale's Horse, whom his brave little band had now assailed, and -with whom they were maintaining a desperate and unequal combat of one -to five. - -"Surrender, Finland!" said Fergusson haughtily. - -"Have at thee, rebel!" cried his adversary, and by one blow struck -his rapier to pieces. His sword was raised to cut down the now -defenceless trooper, and end their rivalry for ever, but, animated by -chivalric generosity, he spared him, and pressed further on the -broken ranks of the enemy. - -Carrying aloft the Dutch banner, Walter Fenton rode towards Dundee, -who was applauding Sir Evan Cameron of Locheil, and urging his clan -yet further to advance. Dundee (whose panting horse was in the act -of stooping to drink of a mountain runnel), with his eyes of fire -turned to the disordered masses of Mackay, was brandishing his sword -towards them, when a random bullet pierced his buff coat above the -corslet, and buried itself in his shoulder under the left arm. - -The sword dropped from his hand; a deadly pallor overspread his -beautiful features; he reeled in his saddle, and would have fallen, -but Walter supported him, and held before his eyes the yellow -standard of the Statholder. - -"Now God be thanked, they fly!" said he, in a voice which showed how -intense were the torments he endured; "you are a brave lad, -Fenton--the dying hour of Claver'se is at hand, but he will not -forget you. Meet me at the house of Urrard in an hour, if all goes -well and I survive till then. Make my dutiful service to the noble -Lord Dunbarton, and desire him to assume the command. Adieu;" and -placing his hand on the orifice to staunch the blood, he rode over -the field at a rapid trot. - -In a mass of disorder, horse and foot, musqueteers, pikemen, and -cavalry, the soldiers of Mackay were driven like a flock of -frightened sheep down the narrow pass, while the fierce clansmen, -swaying with both hands axe and claymore, "cut down," says an old -author, many of Mackay's officers and soldiers, "through skull and -neck to the very breast; others had their skulls cut off above their -ears like nightcaps; some had their bodies and crossbelts cut through -at one blow; pikes and swords were cut like willows, and whoever -doubts this may consult the witnesses of the tragedy." Thanks to the -skill of Dundee and the valour of the Highlanders, never was a more -decisive victory won. Mackay lost his tents, baggage, artillery, -provisions, and his standards; he had two thousand men slain and five -hundred taken prisoners. Such was the battle of Killycrankie, or -_Rinn Ruaradh_, as it is still named by the peasantry, who attribute -the ultimately fatal effects of the victory to the circumstance of -Dundee wearing _green_, a colour still esteemed ominous to his -sirname. A rude obelisk of rough stone still marks the place where -the death-shot struck him, and is pointed out by the mountaineers -with respect and regret as the _Tombh Claverse_. - -The grief and consternation that spread through the Highland ranks on -the fall of their beloved leader becoming known, prevented the -pursuit being followed with sufficient vigour, otherwise few would -ever have reached the southern mouth of that terrible pass. - -"Dundee hath assuredly been slain," said General Mackay, as he -breathed his sinking charger at the other extremity of Killycrankie, -two miles from the field. "I am convinced of it; otherwise we would -not have been permitted to retreat thus far unmolested." - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE LAST HOUR OF DUNDEE. - - Oh last and best of Scots! who did'st maintain - Thy country's freedom from a foreign reign; - New people fill the land, now thou art gone, - New gods the temples, and new kings the throne! - ARCHIBALD PITCAIRN. - - -Now the battle was over, and the fury of the conflict with the fierce -energies it excited had passed away together. In that narrow gorge -lay more than two thousand slain, and the broad round moon, as its -shining circle rose above the dark ridge of the far-off mountains, -poured its cold lustre on the distorted visages of the writhing -wounded, and more ghastly linaments of the pallid dead. While the -Highlanders were plundering the baggage and carousing on the -provisions of Mackay (who was then retreating to Stirling), Walter -Fenton rode to the house of Urrard, and repaired to the presence of -his leader. - -Within a little wainscotted apartment, lighted by four long candles, -that flared in a brazen branch, stretched upon a low canopied bed lay -the great and terrible Dundee. On his proud heart of fierce impulses -and high aspirations, the hand of the grim monarch was now laid -surely and heavily. His fine features were sharpened, pale and -ghastly, by agony and approaching death. He breathed slowly. His -Monmouth wig was laid aside, and his own raven hair, which formed a -strong contrast with the whiteness of his skin, flowed over the -pillow like the tresses of a woman. - -"Can this be Claverhouse?" thought Walter. - -His bloodstained buff coat, his sword and helmet, lay near him on a -chair, and around the couch were Dunbarton, Finland, the great Sir -Evan of Locheil, Glengarry, Clanronald, Grant of Glenmorriston, and -other leaders, who leaned on their swords, conversed in low whispers, -and watched with unfeigned sorrow the ebbing life of the only man who -could lead them like Montrose. - -The whole of his dying energies were now directed to one object, a -despatch to his exiled king, containing an account of the glories he -had gained in his cause, and the long career of service he had sealed -with his own gallant blood. Though every muscle of his face was -contracted at times with the agony he endured, when stretching from -bed to write at the low table beside it, supported by his brother -David Grahame, who was sheathed in steel, _à la Cuirassier_, he -finished this memorable and disputed letter with singular coolness, -appended his name, and instantly falling back, closed his eyes and -lay motionless, as if in death. - -"He is gone," whispered the agitated Earl of Dunbarton to the stern -Locheil. "There lies the strongest pillar of the good old cause." - -"_Hereditary right will face the rocks!_" replied the chieftain in -Gaelic, as he grasped his dirk; "cursed be the green scarf that -wrought this evil work to Scotland and to us!" - -Their voices seemed to call back the fleeting spirit; and, -controlling the painful trembling of his limbs, Dundee opened his -bloodshot eyes, and looked slowly round him. - -"Do not persist," said he to the surgeon, who approached. "I know -that all is over--let me die in peace. Approach, Mr. Fenton--unfurl -that standard;" and his wild dark eyes flashed with their old energy -at the sight of the Stadtholder's banner. "You will, at all risks, -bear this despatch and that trophy to the hands of King James, and -say they are the last--the best--the dying bequest of Dundee." - -Walter's heart was full; he could only lay his hand upon his breast, -and bow a grateful assent. - -"To Colonel Cannon I bequeath my baton and authority; let him use -them well in the King's service, if he would wish to die in peace -when he comes to lie _here_." - -"Colonel Cannon!" muttered the Highland chiefs, as they drew -themselves up, exchanged glances of hauteur, and twisted their -mustachios. - -"Be merciful to our prisoners," continued the sufferer in a voice -more weak and quavering, and stopping often to take breath; "be -merciful to them, for they are our countrymen. Release and bid them -return to their homes in peace; say that such was the last wish of -Dundee. Many have styled me merciless in my time, sirs, and bitterly -will they speak of my spirit when it is far beyond the reach of -mortal malevolence. I have done fierce and stern things, but I have -been hurried to do them by an irrevocable destiny, and a tide of -circumstances incident to these our troubled times. Every iota of -what I have done was fore-ordained--hah! do not your Presbyterians -tell us so? But grateful--deeply grateful is the conviction to my -passing spirit, that my friends will ever remember my name with -honour, and my foes with fear. I feel more bitterness in dying after -a victory than I could have endured by a defeat; for _it_ would have -made life worthless, and death welcome. Oh, may this day's great -achievement be an omen of future success, and a second Restoration! -Go, my comrades; continue in that path of earthly glory which I must -quit for ever; and let ye who survive to behold our beloved King fail -not to tell him--that--that John Grahame of Claverhouse--with his -last breath blessed him--and--died." - -Falling back, he immediately expired, just as daylight (which at that -season scarcely passed away) brightened in the east. - -All started and bent over him; but the fierce spirit of that -remorseless cavalier had fled for ever, and his magnificent features, -as the rigidity and pallor of death overspread them, assumed the -aspect of a beautiful marble statue. A groan that burst from the -lips of his brother, as he knelt down and closed his eyes; the heavy -sobs of a few aged Highlanders; and the low wail of a lament, as the -pipers of Glengarry poured it to the mountain-wind and echoing woods -of Urrard, were the only sounds heard within that gloomy chamber, -where the terror of the Presbyterians--the idol of the cavaliers, and -the last hope of James, lay prostrate, to rise no more. Though by -one faction styled the _last and best of Scots_--by the other, a -murderer and outlaw; yet, by the cause for which he died, and the -manner of his death, he closed in glory a life of singular ferocity -and turbulence. - -His remains were hurriedly interred in the rural kirk of Blair Athol; -and the cause of King James was buried with him. His brother assumed -his title; but died in great obscurity in France in 1700. The buff -coat of Dundee, bearing the mark of the fatal ball, and stained with -his blood, together with his helmet and other relics, are still -preserved in the ducal castle of Blair. - -Remembering the dying desire of their leader on the day after the -battle, the Highland chiefs liberated all the prisoners on parole of -honour not to serve against the King, Colonel Fergusson of -Craigdarroch (notwithstanding all the exertions of his generous rival -Finland) "being excepted," says Captain Crichton, in his Memoirs, "on -account of his more than ordinary zeal for the new establishment." - -In those days the uncertain means of communication between towns, and -the great deficiency of certain information of public events, caused -many strange and varying rumours of the Highland war to be circulated -in the Lowlands, where the only newspaper was the _Caledonius -Mercurius_, which had been published occasionally since the -Restoration. But the astounding intelligence of the victory at -Killycrankie, and the fall of Dundee, spread like wildfire through -the low country, to which he had so long been a terror and scourge. -The defeat of Cannon at the Haughs of Cromdale, and the utter -prostration of James's banner in the north, was soon followed by his -disaster at the Boyne, in Ireland, where the loss of a decisive -battle compelled him again to seek refuge in France. - -Poor Lilian, at home in the then secluded capital of Scotland, heard -of those stirring events at long intervals; and to her they were a -source of deep interest, and of many a sigh and hour of tears; but of -Walter she heard no tidings. Whether he lay mouldering in the Pass -of Killycrankie, among the haughs of Cromdale, or was wandering among -the wildest fastnesses of the north, with the doom of proscription -and treason hanging over him, she knew not; and time in no way -soothed or alleviated the agonies of her suspense. On the return of -Colonel Fergusson, whose apostacy had opened an easy path to -preferment under the new order of affairs, she learned some faint -rumours of his departure to France with the other officers of -Dundee--for that horizon where the sun of the exiled Jacobites was -setting--the lonely palace of St. Germain. Though the tidings fell -like ice on the heart of the poor girl, any certainty was preferable -to suspense; and with her good Aunt Grisel, she could only weep for -the poor youth they loved so well, and pray and hope for happier -times. To lighten the solitude his absence caused, she could not -even hope for a letter; all intercourse with the court of the exiled -King being proscribed under pain of banishment and death; and thus -slowly the melancholy summer of 1690 passed on. - -With the accession of William, and total subversion of the old high -church party, all the sourness and severity of Presbyterian -discipline (which at times compelled the proudest peers to endure a -rebuke on the ignominious repentance-stool, or at least before a -congregation) was resumed by the overbearing clergy in full sway. -From the innate cavalier sentiments of her family, and the wavering -politics of Aunt Grisel, Lilian had never been a very rigid -Presbyterian; and now, looking upon the triumph of "the Kirk" as -having driven her lover into exile, she felt her heart further than -ever removed from Presbytery. She had still to endure the -persecution of Clermistonlee, who, having in a few months spent all -the Revolution had enabled him to extort by fines from his old -cavalier friends, was now more reduced and desperate than ever; and, -as a last shift, was compelled to dispose of his tower of Clermiston -for a trifling sum to his more cautious gossip Mersington; and though -the gaming-table replenished his exchequer at times, gaunt starvation -stared him hourly in the face. - -Though the native kindness and exceeding gentleness of Lilian's -manner had always given this indefatigable suitor some hope of -ultimate success, he soon found that, besieging her whenever she went -abroad, and keeping spies upon her when at home--pestering her with -presents, and letters the most flattering and submissive his -ingenuity and skill could indite, did not bring him nearer the summit -of his wishes. As his funds waxed lower, his perseverance increased; -and he brought a new ally into the field, in the person of our old -friend Mr. Ichabod Bummel, whose zeal for the Revolution had procured -him an incumbency in the city, where, every Sunday, he had the -felicity of preaching in a pulpit of his own, quoting that immortal -work the _Bombshell_, railing at the exiled King, and all other -"bloody-minded massmongers," and "dinging" many successive bibles to -"blads" in the true Knox-like energy of his discourse. This meddling -preacher, after the abduction of Lilian, and the scandalous reports -the kirk party had so industriously circulated concerning it, had -long deemed it, in his own phraseology, "a shameful and malapert -fact, unseemly to men, and abominable in the sight of Heaven, that -these twain should remain unwedded;" and by his influence, -Clermistonlee was duly cited before the kirk session. Resistance was -in vain, for now the clergy had succeeded to the Council's iron rod; -and temporal proscription and spiritual excommunication invariably -followed delay. - -Clad in a sack of coarse white canvass, and on his knees before a -staring congregation of stern Presbyterians, he "confessit his -manifold sins and enormities," as the records of the kirk show, "and -was rebukit by the godlie Mr. Bummel for the space of ane hour, being -comparit to ane owle in ye desart;" and it appears that the minister, -in his ire, made such direct reference to the abduction of Lilian, in -language so pointed, so coarse, and unseemly, that, overwhelmed with -shame and horror, the poor girl, unable to bear the scornful scrutiny -and malevolent glances of her own sex, sank down in the gloomiest -recesses of the old family pew, and swooned. - -This event, together with the cruel inuendos industriously circulated -by the gallants and gossips of the city, was her crowning misfortune; -from that hour her peace was blighted, and her fair fame blotted for -ever. Her friends pitied and acquaintance shunned her. She endured -the most intense grief and bitterness of soul that a sensitive and -delicate woman could feel; for even the very children of the Whig -faction pelted her sedan when it entered the city, and called her "My -Lord's leman," "Clermistonlee's minion," and the "Deil's dearie." - -The united effects of grief, shame, mortification, and insulted -pride, were soon visible on her health; her cheek grew blanched and -thin, her eyes dim; and though she did not weep, her sorrows lay -deeper, and the canker-worm preyed upon her suffering heart. And not -the least offensive to her feelings were those offerings of -friendship which were mingled with condolence, when Lady Drumsturdy -and others advised her to think seriously of the long and assiduous -attentions of Clermistonlee; in short, "_after all that had taken -place_," to receive him as her husband; that being in their opinion -the only way to restore her forfeited honour. - -The inuendo concealed under this odious advice provoked the anger of -Lilian, whose concern was increased by perceiving that Lady Grisel -and her own bosom friend and gossip Annie, were beginning to be of -the same opinion. Their countenance, and the hope of Walter's -return, had alone sustained her so long; but now a sense of utter -desolation sank upon her soul, and her brain reeled with the terrible -thoughts that oppressed it. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -ST. GERMAINS. - - And it was a' for our richtfu' king, - We ere left Scotia's strand, my dear; - And it was a' for our richtfu' king, - We saw another land, my dear. - OLD SONG. - - -Agitated by feelings such as few have experienced, on an evening in -the summer of 1690, Walter Fenton found himself pursuing the dusty -highway from Paris to St. Germains, the place where the hopes and the -fears, the loyalty and the sorrows of the Jacobites were centred. He -wore a plain suit of unlaced grey cloth, very much worn, a hat -without a feather, and a plain walking-sword. He carried under his -arm a small bundle, with particular care, for it contained a few -necessaries and all he possessed in the world--his commission, the -long-treasured letter of Dundee, and the Dutch standard he had taken -at Killycrankie. These were now his whole fortune. - -That day he had walked from Senlis without tasting food, and was -quite exhausted. After spending his last sou on a glass of sour vin -ordinaire at a small cottage near the Wood of Treason (where Ganelon -in 780 formed his plot which betrayed the house of Ardennes, the -peers of Charlemagne, and occasioned the defeat at Roncesvalles), he -grasped his bundle, and pushed on with renewed energy. His handsome -features were impressed by an air of sadness and deep abstraction, -for the acute achings of present sorrow struggled with the gentler -whisperings of hope, and though his feet traversed the hard flinty -roadway from Paris, his thoughts were far away in the land of his -childhood, and his wandering fancy luxuriated on the memory of many a -much-loved scene he might be fated to behold no more, and many an -episode of tenderness and love that would never be re-acted again. - -How vividly he recalled every glance and graceful action of Lilian, -as he had last beheld her. Nearest and dearest to his heart, she -rendered the memory of his native land still more beloved, for she -yet trod its soil and breathed its air, and he knew that daily she -could gaze on those blue hills which are the first landmarks of the -child in youth, and the last of the man in age, and to the -recollection of which the emigrant and the exile cling with the -tenacity of life. - -The current of his thoughts was interrupted, and his cheek flushed. -The great and striking brick façade of the old castle of St. -Germains, with its turrets shining in the setting sun, arose before -him. There dwelt he on whom the hopes of half a nation rested, and -Walter drew breath more freely as he progressed; his eye sparkled, -and his cheek flushed with animation, for now other and less painful -thoughts were occurring to his fancy. With the buoyancy natural to -youth, sorrow gave way as hope spread its rainbow before him: and -bright visions of the King's triumphant return and restoration by the -swords of the Cavaliers or Jacobites, mingled with his own dreams of -love and honour. Fired with ardour, he often grasped his sword, and -springing forward, longed to throw himself at the foot of James VII., -and pour forth in transport that singularly deep and burning passion -of loyalty which animated every member of his faction. - -"And this is the palace of our King!" he exclaimed, with enthusiasm. -"Heaven grant I may yet greet him in his old ancestral dome of -Holyrood!" But the fever of his naturally excitable spirits subsided -when approaching the edifice, for the air of silence and gloom that -pervaded it struck a chill on his anxious heart. - -"Ah," thought he, "if James should be dead!" - -At the distance of twelve miles from Paris, this ancient brick -chateau or palace is beautifully situated on the slope of a verdant -hill, at the base of which flows the Seine, and opposite lies an -immense forest. From the earliest ages, St. Germain-en-laye had been -a hunting-seat of the French kings; but in compliment to his -mistress, whose name was Diana, Francis I. (a monarch unequalled in -gallantry, generosity, and magnificence) built the present palace in -form of the letter D, with five towers, the vanes of which were -gleaming like gold in the setting sun as Walter approached. A dry -fosse crossed by drawbridges surrounded this noble chateau, which had -on one side a range of beautiful arcades built by Henry IV. and Louis -XIII., and a magnificent terrace 2,700 yards long and 50 broad, -extending by the side of the dark-green forest, and from which, as -our exile traversed it, he had a full view of the Seine winding -through a beautiful country, bordered on each side by waving meadows, -vineyards of the deepest green, and cornfields of the brightest -yellow, villages of white cottages thatched with light-coloured -straw, that clustered round the turreted chateaux or the ramparted -châtelets of a noblesse that were then the most aristocratic in -Europe. - -But Walter saw only the home of the exiled Stuarts. On the ruddy -brick-walls, the latticed casements, and gothic towers, the setting -sun was pouring a flood of light as it set at the cloudless horizon. -From the summit of the edifice, the royal standard of Britain hung -down listlessly and still, and the same absence of life seemed to -pervade all beneath it. The ditch was overgrown with luxuriant -weeds, and long tufts of pendant grass waved in the joints of the -masonry; great branches of vine and ivy had clambered up the walls of -the palace, and flourished in masses on its terraced roofs and -balconies. There was no one visible at any of the windows; the -gateway, which was surmounted by a stone salamandre (the cognizance -of Francis I.), was shut, and save two sentinels of the French -guards, who stood motionless as statues on each side, and an old -Jacobite gentleman or two, in full-bottomed wigs and laced coats, -promenading slowly and thoughtfully on the terrace, the old chateau -seemed lifeless and uninhabited. - -As Walter crossed the bridge, and approached the gate with a beating -heart, one of the sentinels, after giving a haughty glance at his -faded and travel-stained attire, his weary aspect, and bundle, ported -his musquet across, and said politely, but firmly-- - -"Pardonnez, monsieur." - -Walter's heart swelled: had he travelled thus far, and reached the -palace of his King, only to be repulsed from its gates? His colour -came and went, as, with a painful mixture of pride and humility, he -replied-- - -"Mon camarade, I am a poor Scots officer, exiled from his native -country, and who has come here to take service in France." The face -of the Frenchman flushed, and his eye glistened, as he drew himself -up, and presented arms. - -"Behold my commission," continued Walter; "I would speak with my -noble Lord and Colonel the Earl of Dunbarton." - -"Aha," replied the sentinel, "il est bon soldat, Monsieur Dunbartong. -Passez, Monsieur officier; un gentilhomme est toujours un -gentilhomme, et les braves officiers Eccossais sonts l'admiration de -la France!" - -Walter bowed at this compliment, the gate was opened by the porters, -and, with a heart full of thoughts too deep for words, he found -himself within the gloomy quadrangle of the palace of St. -Germain-en-laye. - -Left for some minutes to himself, he stood, bundle in hand, -irresolutely surveying, with a dejected and crest-fallen air, the -great and silent court. A gentleman in very plain attire, with a -short wig, a well-worn beaver, and steel-hilted sword, who was slowly -promenading under the arcade, suddenly turned, and the wanderer was -greeted by his old friend Finland. - -"Welcome to the poor cheer of St. Germain-en-laye!" cried this merry -soldier (whom no fall of fortune could daunt), grasping Walter's -hand. "My bon camarade, welcome to France. By all the devils, I was -often grieved for thee, poor lad, and deemed thou wert doing penance -in some rascally Tolbooth for our brave camisade in the north." - -Walter was so much oppressed in spirit, and so weak in mind and body, -that the tears rushed into his eyes, and he could only press his hand -in silence. - -"What the devil----my poor lad, thou seemest very faint and -exhausted!" - -"I have travelled on foot from Boulogne-sur-mer. I spent my last -franc at St. Juste, my last sou an hour ago for a glass of vin -ordinaire, and for three days no food has passed my lips." - -"My God!" exclaimed Finland, striking his flushed forehead, "and my -last tester went for dinner today! how shall I assist you? -Travelling for three days without food! Surely the fortunes of the -cavaliers are now at the lowest ebb." - -"Then the tide must flow again." - -"I now begin to fear it will flow no more for us. What says the -player? - - 'There is a tide in the affairs of men, - Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.' - -Once at least in life, every man's fortune will be at the flood, and -if he misses the tide his bark is stranded on the shore for ever. -But thee, poor lad! how shall I get thee food?--we are all as poor as -kirk rats here. There are not less than two hundred officers of -Dundee's army, and other loyal gentlemen of the Life Guards and -Scottish Brigade, subsisting here on the small bounty of our gracious -king, (whom Heaven in its mercy bless!) until some turn of fortune -again draws forth their swords. We have each but fourpence a day, -and are in great misery from lack of the most common necessaries of -life. Yet we never forget that we are Scottish gentlemen, and daily -attend the king's levée, with as gallant an air as if we trod the -long gallery of Holyrood in our feathers and lace as of old. His -grace of Gordon, my Lords of Maitland, Dunbarton, Abercorn, and -others dine daily at a poor Restaurateur's, on plain stew and cabbage -broth, while I have to content myself with bread and onions, and a -keen appetite for sauce; while it affords me no consolation to -reflect that my old ancestral tower of Finland--the gift of the Black -Douglas to his favourite son--and all the fertile lands that spread -around it, are now possessed by some vile, canting, crop-ear. The -Earl of Dunbarton----" - -"Whilom our gallant colonel--how I long for an interview!" - -"He is gone to Versailles to visit le Mareschal Noailles, anent the -unfortunate gentlemen who are starving here around us. He will be -back tomorrow. Oh, Walter, when I see how might can triumph over -right, and wickedness over more than Spartan virtue, I am almost -tempted to believe there is no governing power in this wretched -world; that all is the effect of chance or fate." - -"Chance and fate are the reverse of each other, and this sentiment -agrees not with your previous idea of 'the tide in the affairs of -men.'" - -"Tush! I am in a dozen minds in an hour. Let us leave these topics -to such men as Mr. Ichabod Bummel. You remember that apostle of the -covenant? ha, ha! A word in your ear. You saw our fair ones ere -you left Scotland, I doubt not?" - -"Alas, no." - -"The deuce! how came that to pass? But you must dine, and where? for -I have not a brass bodle, as we say at home in poor old Scotland, -(God bless her, with all her errors!) I have it! the officer of the -guard will lend me--or give--'tis all one; they are fine fellows, -these French, and share their poor pay with us, in a spirit of -charity that the apostles could not have surpassed. The gentleman -and the soldier seldom seek a boon from each other in vain." - -Finland calculated rightly; the French chevalier commanding the -guard, on learning the cause of his present necessity, at once -divided the contents of his purse, and enabled the happy borrower to -lead his wearied friend to a tavern, where dinner was ordered and -discussed with wonderful celerity. - -"Now, Walter, I shall be glad to hear thy adventures," said Finland, -when the waiting girl had cleared the dinner board and laid a -decanter of wine, from which he filled their glasses. "Frontiniac -dashed with brandy--you remember how often we have drank a bottle of -it at Hughie Blair's, and the White Horse Hostel. How the times are -changed since then! I was not at the Haughs o' Cromdale, being en -route for Ireland to crave succour from James----" - -"After the dispersion consequent to that ill-managed affair, I -wandered from place to place, enduring such miseries as few can -conceive, and was a thousand times in danger of being captured by -Mackay's dragoons, who were riding down the country in every -direction. Assisted by the kind and beautiful Countess of Dunbarton -(who is yet intriguing in England), I procured some money, and, -disguised as a Norlan drover, reached the western borders, for escape -by sea from Scotland was impossible, the whole coast being watched by -the English and Dutch fleet. In England my money was soon spent, and -I despaired of ever reaching the port of Colchester, where I heard -there lay a ship that in secret frequently transported our persecuted -people to France. My bonnet and grey plaid, though they ensured my -safety in the Lowlands, caused me to be viewed with hatred, jealousy, -and mistrust, as soon as the Cheviot hills were left behind me, and I -had not money wherewith to procure a change of costume. I travelled -principally by night, and slept in ditches or thickets by day, for -the villagers assailed me with stones and abuse whenever they saw me, -using every bitter epithet that national animosity could inspire, -while every country boor that had a couple of beagles at hand, -uncoupled them to track and hunt me." - -"Would to heaven I had been with thee, lad! Well." - -"I remember with what bitterness I changed my last penny for a poor -roll at Rippon, and eat it by the side of a ditch, near the princely -castle of one who had gained a coronet by his political apostacy. I -had still many miles before me, but trusting to Providence, continued -my journey. Travelling by night and lying _perdu_ by day, I found -myself in a waste moorland near Cawood, in the West Riding of -Yorkshire. The moon was rising; but I found that hunger, fatigue, -and humiliation, had done their worst upon me, and that I could -achieve no more. Despair entered my heart, and I threw myself down -in that bleak spot to die, cursing the rebellion of our countrymen, -the inhospitality of the English, and my own bad fortune. From a -stupor that for some time weighed down every sense, I was roused by -the trampling of a horse, and a deep bass voice crying, - -"'Hollo Gaffer, art dead, or dead drunk only! Get up with a murrain, -for my nag will neither stand or pass; steady--so-so--gently, zounds! -gently!" - -"I started, and instinctively grasped my staff, on perceiving a tall -stout fellow muffled in a dark rocquelaure, with his face masked, and -a hat flapped over his eyes. He rode a strong, fleet, and active -horse, and carried long holsters. - -"'Crush me, if it isn't a Scotch Jockey--a pedlar, I warrant!' said -he, drawing a pistol from his saddlebow; 'they never travel without -the ready; so hand over the bright Jacobuses or William's guilders, -or else I may pop this bullet through your brain.' - -"I was desperate, and replied, 'Fire! and rid me of an existence that -is worthless. I have nothing to give but my life, and it is no -longer of value to me.' - -"'A gentleman, by this light!' replied the other, withdrawing his -pistol, 'some cavalier in disguise, I warrant.' - -"'You have guessed rightly; so now lead me to the nearest justice of -the peace for a reward, if you will.' - -"'For what do you take me?' said he, angrily. 'God bless King James, -and may the great devil choak his son-in-law! Ah, had the good -Dundee (a Scot though he was) survived that brave day's work, in your -infernal pass of what d'ye call it? 'twould have been another case -with us both today, perhaps. So thou art a Scottish cavalier?' - -"'Once I was so--to-night I am a beggar, perishing by want, and -without a roof to shelter me.' - -"'Hast thou no money, lad?' - -"'Not a penny, and have two hundred miles to travel.' - -"'Hast thou no friends among the English here?' - -"'Have I not said that I am poor?' - -"'Right! I have learned in my time that the poor have no friends.' - -"'Save God and their own hands.' - -"'Right again, say I; though a highwayman, I love thee lad, for we -have suffered in common from this accursed usurper, who sits in the -throne of of our king. Here are thirty guineas; 'tis the half of all -I have in the world, but to-morrow night may bring me better luck; -take them with welcome, and spend them without scruple; but two hours -ago, they were in the purse of that rascally whig, Marmaduke -Langstone, of Langstone Hall. Keep to the right, and an hour's brisk -walking will bring you to a hedge alehouse. Whisper my name to the -wench at the bar (kiss her for me), and she will put thee on the -right road for Colchester; the girl is true as steel to the good old -cause.' - -"'Whom shall I thank--whom remember?' - -"'They call me "Highflying Tom" now, eastward of Temple Bar,' said he -in a tone of bitterness; 'but when King James sat in his own chair, I -was Thomas Butler, _Esquire_, of a long pedigree and an empty -purse--devil else--but a gentleman every inch, sir; one that has shot -his man, played at Cavagnole with King Charles, and Ombre with the -Queen; drank many a bout with Rochester, ruffled it with Buckingham, -and handed the fair Castlemaine and fairer Cleveland through a -crowded cotillon. But it's all over now; and, d--n me! I am plain -Bully Butler the highwayman.--So, sir, your servant;' and dashing -spurs into his horse, he galloped away over the heath." - -"Thomas Butler, of the princely house of Ormond--and 'twas he!" said -Finland; "a braver spark old Ireland never sent forth to glory or -disgrace. His father was a stout old Royalist, and shed his blood -for King James on the banks of the Boyne. And so he hath taken to -the road, the madcap! That is riding at the gallows full tilt with a -vengeance!" - -"But for that rencontre, I must have expired. The meeting gave me -renewed energy; and (to be brief) I reached--not Colchester, but the -sea-port of Saltfleet, where, in the disguise of a poor Scottish -mariner, I embarked on board a smuggling craft, which landed me at -Boulogne; and so--I am here." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE CAVALIERS OF DUNDEE. - - In the cause of right engaged, - Wrongs injurious to redress; - Honour's war we strongly waged, - But the heavens denied success. - Ruin's wheel has driven o'er us, - Not a hope that dare attend; - The world wide is all before us, - But a world--without a friend. - STRATHALLAN'S LAMENT. - - -The magnanimity of those unfortunate officers of the Scottish army -who remained loyal to James VII., and had shared his misfortunes and -exile, was equally worthy of ancient Caledonia and of the most -glorious ages of Athens and of Sparta. They were about one hundred -and fifty in number, all men of noble spirit, unblemished honour, and -high birth; for they were the representatives of some of the first -families in Scotland. Enthusiastically attached to the King, they -gloried in the sufferings their principles had brought upon them. - -On their first arrival in France, small pensions were assigned them -by Louis XIV.; but these were shortly afterwards withdrawn, on the -paltry pretext of public expedience; and the whole of those -unfortunate gentlemen, who by their incorruptible loyalty and -indomitable patriotism had forfeited their commissions, when they -might have purchased new honours in the ranks of the invader, and -many of whom had lost titles and estates by their expatriation, were -thus thrown destitute in a foreign land. - -It is related that, with a noble spirit of generosity, they shared -their little funds for the benefit of those who were in greater -destitution; and those who had raised money by the sale of their gilt -corslets, jewels, laced uniforms, rings, &c., readily shared it with -others who were penniless. But these occasional funds soon became -exhausted; the King soon found it impossible, from the pittance -allowed him, to maintain the numerous exiles and ruined dependants -who made his court of St. Germain their rallying point. The poor -Scottish officers finding the horrors of starvation before them, -petitioned James for leave to form themselves into a company of -private soldiers for the service of the French king, asking no other -favour than permission to choose their own leaders: their former -general, Dunbarton, to be their captain; their Serjeants to be -lieutenant-colonels; and so forth. The King reluctantly consented. - -Those high-spirited cavaliers were immediately furnished with the -clothing and arms of French soldiers; and previously to their -incorporation with the army of Mareschal Noailles, repaired to St. -Germain, to be reviewed by the King, and to take a long--to many a -last--adieu of him. - -It was the day after Walter's arrival; and the summer morning rose -beautifully on the Gothic towers of St. Germain, the crystal windings -of the Seine, and on the dense dark woodlands that, interspersed with -blooming vineyards and waving fields, imparted such charms to the -landscape. - -James VII. had become passionately fond of the chase since the loss -of his kingdom; for his brave and restless spirit always sought -excitement when not absorbed in the austere duties of religion, in -the course of which he often subjected himself to the most severe -penances. Kind, affable, and easy to all around him, religion -improved the virtues of his heart, subdued the fire of his spirit, -and by imparting a monk-like gentleness to his demeanour, endeared -him to his enthusiastic followers. The butcheries of Kirke and -Claverhouse, and the tyrannies of Jefferies and Rosehaugh, were -forgotten. Though his uncompromising bigotry remained, all his -arbitrary spirit had vanished; and when he laid aside his visions of -worldly grandeur and kingly power, nothing could be more blameless -and amiable than the life he led. - -He frequently visited the poor monks of La Trappe, whom he surprised -by the piety and humility of his deportment; but there were times -when the sparkling eye, the flushed cheek, the forward stride, and -the clanked sword, shewed how regal a spirit and bold a heart -misfortune had crushed and fanaticism clouded. He was an enthusiast -in the pleasures of the chase, which he enjoyed after the good old -English fashion; and on the morning in question, the baying of dogs, -the neighing of horses, and the merry ringing of the clear -bugle-horn, awoke the echoes of the woods, the gloomy arcades, and -quadrangle of St. Germain. - -On each side of the archway were drawn up a guard of honour of les -Gardes Françaises, in their white hoquetons laced with gold, powdered -wigs, little hats looped on three sides and surmounted with plumes of -feathers, and having the white banner of Bourbon displayed. The -porters unclosed the heavy folding-doors, and a merry troop of -huntsmen in green galloped forth, with their dogs barking and -straining in the leashes, as the blasts of the shrill horns were -poured to the morning wind, and roused their English blood. The -heavy drawbridge clanked into its place across the grass-grown -moat--the planks resounded to iron hoofs--the French guard presented -arms--the oriflamme of St. Denis was lowered--the drums beat a -march--and James VII., raising his plumed hat, sallied forth at the -head of his train, and advanced along the spacious and magnificent -terrace. The Earl of Dunbarton rode by his side; and as they -caracoled along the level terrace, by the margin of the beautiful -Seine, a body of soldiers in French uniform was seen in front, drawn -up in steady array, with their fixed bayonets shining in the morning -sun. They presented arms as the King approached, upon which he -immediately reined up, and raised his hat. - -"My Lord Dunbarton," said he, "what troops are these?" - -"They are your Majesty's most faithful subjects and devoted -followers," replied Dunbarton in a faltering voice. "Yesterday they -were Scottish gentlemen of coat-armour and bearers of your Majesty's -commission--to-day they are but poor privates in the army of Louis of -France." - -"My God!" said the King; "and, in the levity of the chase, am I so -oblivious of the misfortunes of those unhappy gentlemen?" - -Instantly leaping from his horse with a heart that swelled by its -emotions, he approached them and raised his hat. - -Every heart was full in that silent line before him, and every eye -glistened. Walter Fenton, who now for the first time beheld that -King for whom he had suffered so much, felt his bosom glow with the -most intense loyalty and ardour,--a gush of sentiment that would have -enabled him to hail with joy the terrors of a scaffold or the dangers -of a battle-field. - -"Gentlemen," said the King, "bitter though my own misfortunes be, -yours lie nearer my heart, which is grieved, beyond what language can -express, to behold so many men of valour and worth, from being the -officers of my Scottish army, reduced by their loyalty to the station -of private soldiers. Nothing but this more than Spartan devotion on -the part of the few, but gallant and leal, makes my life worth -preserving. Deeply, deeply indeed is my heart impressed with the -sense of all you have undergone for my sake; and if it should ever -please the blessed God"--(removing his hat)--"to restore me to the -throne of my fathers, your sufferings, your services, and your -devotion shall not be forgotten--never, oh, never! The prince my -son, he shares your northern blood. Oh, may he likewise inherit your -spirit of bravery and truth! - -"At your own desire, gentlemen, you are now going on a long and -perilous march, far distant from me, to encounter privation, danger, -and death. To the utmost of my small means, I have provided you with -money, shoes, and stockings. Heaven knoweth how great are my own -necessities. I can no more..... - -"Fear God--love one another, and you will ever find me your parent, -if I cannot be your King." - -The eyes of James VII. were full of tears, and a long pause ensued. - -"There is a gentleman here who arrived only yesterday," said Lord -Dunbarton, who had also dismounted. "He is the bearer of two relics -to your Majesty: the first is the despatch of the expiring Dundee; -the second will bear witness of his own zeal and courage in your -cause at the victory of Killycrankie." - -"Let him approach," said the king, covering his face to hide his -emotion. - -"Mr. Fenton," said the Earl, "His Majesty would speak with you," and -Walter, whose heart trembled from the depth of his emotions, grounded -his musquet, and, kneeling before James, placed in his hands the -long-treasured despatch of Dundee, and the Dutch standard of Mackay's -regiment. - -"My brave Dundee!" exclaimed James, in a low voice, as he kissed and -perused the brief letter which had been hurriedly penned amid the -agonies of death; "'tis stained with his loyal and noble blood! Oh! -never had a king a subject more devoted, more loyal, or more true! -Accept my thanks, young gentleman, for the services you have -performed, the valour you have displayed, and the fidelity you -evince; accept my thanks, for misfortune has left me nothing else -wherewith to reward the faithful and the brave, who have followed me -to exile and obscurity. This standard I will retain; one day, -perhaps, in Holyrood or Windsor, I may replace it in your hands with -such rewards as a king alone can give." - -Walter strove to speak, but his voice failed him, on which Lord -Dunbarton said,-- - -"Like his brothers in misfortune, my young friend seeks no other -reward than the honour of serving your Majesty, and the satisfaction -of doing that which is right." - -The King drew his sword. - -"What is your name, Sir!" he asked. - -"Fenton--Walter Fenton, of Dunbarton's Foot." - -"No kinsman, I hope, of Fenton of that ilk, who is so active in his -treason against us?" - -"Alas, no!" replied Walter, colouring in painful humility; "may it -please your Majesty I am but a poor protegée of the noble Dunbarton. -I know not my family, my name, or my origin." - -"It matters not--I shall render honour to all who deserve it; arise -_Sir_ Walter Fenton, Knight Banneret--of this power, at least, my son -William cannot deprive me." - -Startled by the suddenness of the action, Walter, whose heart leaped -within him at the words of the King, could only kiss his hand and -resume his place in the ranks of his cavalier comrades, who with -difficulty repressed a shout of applause. Walter felt giddy and -confused; the King still seemed to be addressing him. - -The temporary excitement which had led James through this painful -interview, now passed away, and his features became overclouded with -a sad and bitter expression, as he went slowly along the line asking -each officer his name, inserting it in his note book, and returning -him personal thanks. Meanwhile the troop of huntsmen, equerries, and -whippers-in, with their packs of panting-hounds, were grouped about -the terrace, and quite forgotten in the excitement of this sorrowful -review. - -"Your name, Sir--yesterday you were at my levée in a garb more -suitable to your rank," said James, to a tall and very handsome man, -whose fashionably curled wig consorted ill with the coarse looped hat -and plain blue coat of a French musqueteer; "your name, Sir, if you -please?" - -"John Ogilvie, of the house of Airly--late a captain in your -Majesty's Life Guard." - -"Sir, I thank you--the day may come when you shall command that Life -Guard," replied James, writing down his name; "and yours, Sir?" he -asked of the next. - -"Grant of Dunlugais--a captain of Mar's Fusiliers." - -"Then you have lost an estate in my service?" - -"I have lost nothing that I can regret in such a cause." - -"May I live to requite it! 'Tis an ancient house, and one of -unblemished honour. Are you Catholic?" - -"No, I am a Presbyterian." - -"Then the greater honour is due to you for disinterested loyalty. -And yours, Sir?" - -"Douglas of Finland--a lieutenant under the Lord Dunbarton." - -"Another forfeiture!" exclaimed James, striking his breast; "and -yours, Sir?" - -"Drumquhasel--first major to the same noble earl," replied the tali -cavalier, on whose breast sparkled the cross of St. Louis. - -"Another, and another! Oh, gentlemen, your sufferings and your -losses, your loyalty and your truth--God may requite them adequately, -but I never can!" exclaimed James, in a troubled voice, and when he -had inserted the names of the whole hundred and fifty in his note -book, he moved again to the front, and taking off his hat, bowed -profoundly with an air in which thankfulness and respect were -exquisitely blended with dignity and majesty. He then retired -pensively towards the palace; but painfully aware of the misery of -those who suffered for him, and still unwilling to leave them, with -sensations too deep for utterance, the unhappy King returned once -more, and bowing to them again and again, covered his face with his -handkerchief, and burst into tears. Animated by one sympathetic -impulse, the whole line sank at once upon their knees and bowed their -heads; the spirit of many a brave man was subdued; several wept, and -there was not an unmoistened eye among them. The King, in -particular, was deeply affected; his sobs were audible; and again -removing his hat, he raised his eyes to heaven, and exclaimed, in the -words of the last chapter of Lamentations,-- - -"Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us! Consider and behold our -reproach! _Our inheritance is returned to strangers--our houses to -aliens!_" - -He repeatedly smote himself upon the breast in an energetic fashion -he had acquired among the Jesuits, who had been too much about him -for his own fortune; and a long pause succeeded, until Lord Dunbarton -gave for the last time the word of command. The Scottish officers -resumed their aspect of steadiness and order, and marched past the -King, whom nearly all of them were fated to behold no more; for death -on the field, disease in the camp, poverty and despair, did their -work surely and rapidly, and few of that brave but forlorn band ever -returned from the frontiers of Spain. - -From Versailles this company of unfortunate cavaliers received an -order to join the army of Mareschal Noailles; and, next day, they set -out from St. Germain, on their long and weary march of nine hundred -miles, which they performed on foot, heavily accoutred, bearing their -own camp-kettles and equipages, and accompanied by miseries and -mortifications that baffle all description; but which, by the -indomitable spirit and ardour that animated them, they seldom failed -to surmount. - -Louis of France was now plunged in a war, into which his mistaken -policy had hurried him. In a long persecution of the unhappy -Protestants, he had weakened his kingdom by the expatriation of -thousands of his best and most industrious subjects, who wandered as -refugees throughout other countries, and justly inflamed all Europe -against him. To crush him, there had been formed at Augsburg a -powerful league, to which the whole empire of Germany, Spain, -Holland, Savoy, Sweden, and Denmark were parties; but, in no way -daunted, he anticipated this great confederation by invading the -empire and laying siege to Philipsburg. The recent revolution in -England had given a new turn to this religious war, and Ireland -became the theatre of a contest which ended on the banks of the -Boyne, where William triumphed over his unfortunate father-in-law. - -It may be that the great expenses of the war in which he was now -involved prevented Louis XIV. from remunerating adequately to their -merit the officers of Dundee's army; but when they joined the -standard of Noailles on the Spanish frontier, they were in a state of -lamentable destitution and misery. The coarse uniform in which they -had marched from St. Germain was worn to rags; they were shoeless, -shirtless, and emaciated by hardships, privations, and want of the -most common necessaries of life; for by the selfishness and duplicity -of individuals to whom their little commissariat was entrusted, they -were cheated of their poor supplies, the few presents the generous -had sent them, and even of a small pittance (a few pence daily) which -James, amid all his own necessities, endeavoured to pay them; yet -they were never known to utter a complaint, for the misfortunes of -their sovereign pressed heavier on their hearts than their own. - -Wherever they marched they were beheld with pity and remembered with -sorrow. The kind ladies of Perpignan presented them with a purse -containing 200 pistoles, and bought all their rings as relics of _les -officiers Ecossais_. "Wherever they passed they were received with -tears by the women and admiration by the men. They were the foremost -in the battle, and the last in retreat, and of all the troops in the -service of France they were most obedient to orders." - -There is nothing in the history of ancient or modern times to equal -their admirable bearing, heroic ardour, and devoted loyalty. They -endured the most severe humiliation and privations without uttering a -murmur, and performed actions of heroism outdoing the deeds of -romance; for to their inborn daring was united a spirit of -desperation, and a longing to be honorably rid of a life that was -without a charm and without a ray of hope. - -The French were touched by their misfortunes and sufferings; a -universal shout rent the camp of Noailles on their marching into it, -and with that generosity which is so characteristic of soldiers, the -chevaliers and officers immediately subscribed for them, each -furnishing shirts, clothing, and money, and none was more liberal -with his purse than the noble Mareschal himself; but even of these -presents the unhappy Scots officers were cheated by the villany of -one to whom they were entrusted, and thus the kind efforts to -alleviate their miseries failed. - -On the route to Catalonia, near Montpelier, when fording a mountain -torrent swollen by the recent rains, Walter Fenton and three other -cavaliers were swept away. Catching hold of some alders that -overhung the bank, they kept themselves above the current, and called -on the peasantry to save them. It is related, that though hundreds -were there looking on, they never offered the least assistance, but -mocked and jibed them in barbarous Catalonian French, while waiting -coolly until they were drowned, that they might possess their money, -clothes, and arms. But after great toil and danger they were rescued -by their comrades. - -They were never seen on the field but with their faces to the enemy. -On every desperate duty and forlorn hope they led the way, and often -too where others dared not _follow_. Death and disease rapidly -thinned their ranks, but their ardour never failed, and had the -invisible spirit of the fierce Dundee led them as of old, they could -not have surpassed the deeds they achieved and the glory they -acquired. On Rosas surrendering, - -"_Senor Mariscal_," said the Spanish governor, "what soldiers were -those who assailed the breach so valiantly?" - -"_Ces sont mes enfans_," replied Noailles, smiling; "they are my -children--the King of Britain's Scottish officers, who share his -obscurity and exile, and do me the honor to serve under my command." - -"By St. James! _they alone_ have compelled me to surrender," replied -the noble Spaniard. - -They marched from Rosas to Piscador, and, of an army of 26,000 men, -16,000 perished by the way-side of privation. Twice only the -Scottish officers were known to disobey orders. The first occasion -was at the siege of Rosas, an ancient and well fortified city, -situated upon a gulf about twelve miles from Girona. The air was -intensely hot, and the water muddy and unwholesome; the only rations -of the Scots officers were horse-beans, garlic, and sardinas; they -were utterly penniless, and could procure no better food, -consequently deadly fevers and fluxes rapidly thinned their ranks, -upon which Mareschal Noailles ordered them to leave the camp for the -purpose of cantoning in a more healthy locality; but they delayed to -obey, and sent Sir Walter Fenton to acquaint him that they -"considered his order as an affront put upon them as soldiers of -fortune and gentlemen of honour." - -The second instance was when a strong body of German troops had made -a lodgement on an island in the Rhine, from which it was necessary to -force them; the Marquis de Selle ordered a number of boats to be -prepared, under an impression that the river was too deep and rapid -to be fordable, and the Scottish officers were to lead the way, but -were not to move until orders were given to embark. Finding it -impossible to restrain their ardour till the arrival of the boats, -they slung their musquets and prepared to cross. - -"Come on, Walter!" exclaimed the brave Douglas as he led the way, -"and we will shew these gay chevaliers of France that we, who have -forded the rapid Spey and rocky Forth, need not shrink on the margin -of the Rhine. Join hands, gentlemen Scots; forward! and I will lead -you to the dance. Hurrah!" - -Hand in hand, in the Highland fashion, with their musquets slung, -they threw themselves into the rapid and impetuous stream, where -between jagged rocks it urged its foamy way over a slippery and stony -bed; and thus breaking its force they stemmed the current, and, -though under a fierce cannonade and storm of musquet balls poured on -them from the rocks of the islet, they forced the dangerous passage -in the view of both armies; the Laird of Drumquhasel and Captain -Ogilvie* were shot dead; but, led on by Finland, the Scottish -officers scaled the rocks, and assailing ten times their number of -Germans with screwed bayonets and clubbed musquets, drove them from -their intrenchments into the Rhine on the other side of the island, -and reared the French standard on its summit. - - -* Captain Ogilvie was author of a song, which is preserved in Hogg's -Jacobite reliques,--"_Adieu for evermore._" - - -"By St. Denis!" exclaimed the Marquis de Selle, "His the bravest -action soldiers ever performed!" - -"_Vive les officiers Ecossais!_" cried the French soldiers. "_Le -gentilhomme est toujours gentilhomme_;" and to this day, in memory of -the Scottish valour, the place is named - - L'ISLE D'ECOSSE. - - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE 20TH OF SEPTEMBER, 1692. - - But the far mind was absent in pursuit - Of him, her love, in fields where foes contested - The bloody harvest, and a crown the fruit, - Dread fruit, with cares and dangerous joys invested! - Her mind was absent in the distant war. - PEDRO OF CASTILE. - - -"Whither awa', Clermistonlee, ye mad buckie?" exclaimed Lord -Mersington, as his friend jostled past him under the great pillars or -arcade near the cross, one forenoon, when all the city were abroad -_enjoying_ the sunshine; "whatna way is that to gliff folk? is a dun -or the deil after ye?" - -"I crave pardon, my Lord, but did not observe you; for what is all -this crowd collected?" - -"The heralds have been proclaiming the ratification of the new -Protestant league against Louis of France." - -"A league," added Clermistonlee scornfully, "which our pious and -glorious William hath tinkered up, that the treasure and blood of his -two British kingdoms may be wasted in defence of the rascally -Hollanders and thick-pated Flemings. By all the devils, my Lord, we -have brought our political pigs to a pretty market!" and he began to -whistle a cavalier air. - -"Wheesht!" said Mersington, glancing furtively around him; "this is -clean contrary to the Act of Council; and mind ye, my braw billy, if -ye aye strut with that long feather and cocked beaver, your pinkit -mantle, and lace o'erlay, like a ruffling buck o' King Charles' time, -instead o' wearing the sad-coloured garb and sober demeanour of these -our present days, when naething but psalm-singing, swearing in low -Dutch, and mortifying the spirit, are in vogue, you'll sune hae the -eyes o' the Council upon ye, as a Jacobite in disguise, a hatcher o' -plots, conspiracies, and the deil kens what mair--he, he!" - -"Crush me, if I will lessen one curl of my peruke, or one slash in my -doublet, to please any Dutch king or clown that ever wore breeches!" - -"You seem in a braw mood this morning. I warrant you'll hae pouched -a round sum at shovel-board last night in the Covenant Close." - -"A messenger from the court of St. Germain has just been arrested by -Muclutchy, the macer of Council," replied Clermistonlee, watching -keenly the sharp visage of the senator; "by Jove, you change colour, -my gossip!--any correspondence in that quarter, hah?" - -"I trow not," said the other, resuming his immovable aspect; "d'ye -tak' me for a gomeral? What is that we see above the Tolbooth-gable?" - -"The arm of the gibbet." - -"Weel," rejoined the judge, drily, "and what news brought the -messenger?" - -"Nought but letters from the exiled lords and gentlemen; some of -them, I tell thee, Mersington, are deeply touching, and would harrow -up even that impenetrable heart of thine. They tell of blighted -loves and blasted hopes, of sorrow and of suffering, humiliation and -despair; but of a loyalty and unblemished honour that shed a glory -around the cause for which they suffer--a glory that makes us -intensely despicable by comparison. There are passages in some of -those letters from the brave cavaliers of Dundee that have made many -of the Council almost weep with compassion. By the Heaven that is -above us, I feel that I would be a thousand times more happy as one -of those illustrious exiles, than struggling here to maintain, by -gambling, exactions, and roguery, a hollow rank, a gilded title, and -a career of extravagance on which I have run too far to return!" - -"The only sensible clause in your process," said Mersington, testily. -"But you'll hae yoursel laid by the heels yet, and then you may -whistle on your thumb for the braw mains and revenues of Bruntisfield -and the Wrytes, for whilk you've graned and girned these twa years -and mair." - -"Right! 'twas but the feeling of a moment for the misfortunes of our -former friends, whose hearts, to their honour (unlike ours) were -better than their heads." - -"Puir chields--puir chields--I doubt the Act of eighty-nine presses -unco hard on some of them." - -"Among other letters, is one from that wild spark, Douglas of -Finland, once a lieutenant in the regiment of Dunbarton, addressed to -his false leman, Mistress Annie Laurie. Poor credulous fool, to -trust in a woman's faith! He knows not that she hath become Lady -Craigdarroch, and so hath forgot him in the arms of his friend. I -like love-letters, having written some bushels of them in my time; -but his--by the devil's beard!--it equals anything in the _Banished -Virgin_, or _Cassandra_. I have taken the liberty to confiscate it -to my own use; and here it is." - -"Hold! a thought strikes me; the hand is easy of imitation, and for -what may ye no add a postscriptum, whilk may be of service in your -love affair, by wedding young Fenton----" - -"The devil confound him!" - -"To some airy damoiselle; or knocking him on the head during his -French campaign?" - -"'Tis all one. Excellent! Juden will deliver it. Annie will fly to -her gossip, with every string in her boddice straining with the -greatness of her intelligence; and as we never knew a damsel prefer a -dead lover to a living one, we may imagine or hope the issue. 'Tis -sublime!" - -"I wad rather hae a dead gudewife, I ken--he, he!" said Mersington, -as he adjusted his wig and took his friend's arm, striking his -gold-headed cane on the pavement with the air of a man who has said -something smart; "but let us hae nae mair o' your plaguy qualms o' -conscience, for they dinna dovetail weel wi' the general tenour o' -your way. Weel, anent this postscriptum--he, he!--let us adjourn -to----" - -"Hugh Blair's, you would say. Poor Hugh! his locale hath changed -with the times, and there is nothing now but gloom and obscurity, -cobwebs and dust, where all was once courtly merriment and joyous -revelry. Who could have imagined that a time would come when this -famous coffee-house would be voted 'a den of cavalier iniquity'--that -the buirdly hosteller with whom the noble Perth, the gallant -Dunbarton, and the courtly Dundee wiled away the hours at picquet and -tric-trac, and pushed the wine from hand to hand, would be accused of -those honours as a crime, and thrown into the iron-room of the -Tolbooth, there to languish in poverty and misery, while the luscious -contents of his well-stored cellars were confiscated to the public -use?" - -"It ill beseems ye to condemn the last clause in your interlocutor, -my noble gossip, when the maist of the precious contents of Hughie's -runlets ran owre your ain craig. My certie! you had a braw rug at -the forfeitures, baith gentle and semple!" - -"Ha, ha! enough of this--the present business is to procure the use -of an inkhorn. I am restricted in wine to drink medicated Hippocras. -What art grinning at now?" - -"Your occasional scruples o' conscience--he, he! Do ye mind the -whilly-whaw ye were in anent the spectre of an armed man in the hall -of Clermiston?" - -"Why the devil remind me of it?" exclaimed the other, angrily; "if it -really was a spirit----" - -"_If!_ we have in profane as weel as sacred writing owre mony -evidences of their reality, and their appearance for various purposes -whilk we cannot comprehend; and we have also as mony solid proofs -that the devil can mak' deid bodies move; but anent this, see -Gabrieile Nandæus in his _Apology_, and Delrio in his _Disquisitiones -Magica_." - -"D--n Delrio! Ever pestering me with thy musty learning!--but here -is a change-house, where it may be that we can get this notable -postscriptum concocted." - -* * * * * - -The summer had passed away, and now brown autumn was once more -reddening the heather of the Pentlands, and spreading her dun tints -over the woods of Bruntisfield; the sombre eve was closing fast, but -the bright fire burned merrily as ever in the chamber-of-dais at the -old castellated Place, and ruddily its warm light shone through the -barred windows into the recesses of the old woodlands, which every -passing breeze robbed of some of their crisped foliage, and strewed -it over the muirlands to the south. The old manor-house had -recovered from the rages of that terrible night in 1688, and was now -repaired, and stronger than ever; the windows were more thickly -grated, and numerous loopholes and two additional turrets defended -the barbican gate. - -Lilian and her friend Annie were seated side by side as of old, and -opposite sat Lady Grisel--but a change had come over them all. -Though the hale old lady recovered from the shock of Lilian's -abduction, it had seriously affected her health, and now she was a -picture of the helplessness of extreme old age, in her dotage, pale -and querulous, but ever gentle and childlike. She occupied the same -old fringed chair, with its bobs of parti-coloured silk, in which she -had sat every evening for fifty years; her ivory wheel, though now -unused, stood on one side of it, and her tall metal-headed cane on -the other. Lilian was paler and thinner, and had lost much of her -girlish beauty; she had many cares gnawing at her heart, but she was -still as adorable and interesting as ever. Annie was, if possible, -more so than formerly; the bloom of her beauty had expanded to the -utmost; her cheek had a higher colour, and her eye a brighter -sparkle; her tall and beautiful figure was more inclined to -_embonpoint_. But alas for poor Finland, the fickle Laurie was now -the wife of Craigdarroch, who had risen to the rank of Colonel of -Horse in the new Scottish army of William III. Her dress was more -matronly and magnificent than formerly, and her rich flower tabby -suit, with its brocade stomacher and silver fringes, contrasted with -Lilian's plain blue suit of Florence silk with its falls of point -d'Espagne. - -Ashamed that she had broken her own solemn engagements to her exiled -lover, with the natural fickleness of her sex, Annie was labouring to -undermine the truth of Lilian, and, Heaven knows why, tormented the -poor girl hourly, by urging the suit of Lord Clermistonlee, and left -no arguments untried to carry her point, and remove the scruples of -her more gentle but less facile friend. - -"And poor Walter!" urged Lilian, with a look of great tenderness in -her mild and moistened eyes, replying to some observation of Annie. - -"Marry come up with your Walter!--tush! bethink you, dear Lilian, -this gallant never loved you truly, or else, dost think he would have -preferred following King James?" - -Lilian's eyes sparkled; a terrible retort trembled on her tongue, but -her gentleness repressed it, and she could only exclaim with tears-- - -"Oh, horror! this insinuation is the most unkind of all. The -unmerited shame and contumely, the dark and dishonourable suspicions -that the malice of Clermistonlee has brought upon me I can bear, for -I despise though I mourn them deeply--but a doubt of Walter's -faith--oh, Annie, Annie, it sinks like a dagger in my heart. 'Tis -the hope of his return, animated by the same spirit of love and truth -in which he left me, that makes me rise superior to them all. Oh, -yes!" she exclaimed, with girlish ecstasy, "my dear, dear Walter, the -hour will yet come, when, with a kiss of affection, I will tell thee -that this old manor and all these lands around it are thine, for ever -thine!" - -"And your heart?" laughed Annie. - -"Dearest, that he has already. You see you cannot make me angry." - -"And Clermistonlee?" - -"Oh, name him not." - -"He loves thee truly and fondly," said Annie. - -"Dost think he loves me as Walter doth? dost think he knows what love -means? Oh, no; he never conceived it. His passion is a turbulent -phantasy, inflamed by rivalry, difficulty, and opposition, sharpened -it may be by wounded pride and exasperated revenge. Oh, how can you -forget the horrid mystery that involves the fate of his wife--the -unhappy Alison Gilford?" - -"Pho! she died in France." - -"Of a broken heart." - -"Gossip, quotha!" laughed Annie, "hearts are never broken except in -the pages of De Scuderi. But with all his averred evil propensities, -I think there is something very noble about Lord Clermistonlee." - -"Noble?" - -"Do not his wit, his elegance, and courage excite our admiration?" - -"Yes--but do they make us forget that the villain lurks under that -prepossessing exterior?" rejoined Lilian, scornfully. - -"Dear Lilian, I have but one more argument to urge, and 'tis the old -one; remember that your fair fame which his addresses have injured, -requires----" - -"What?" - -"Marriage," added Annie, quietly. Lilian turned pale; her spirit of -dissent was too strong for words; she shook her head with a mournful -but decided air, and, after a pause, said, "never, oh, never!" but -Annie only laughed, and a long and unpleasant pause in the -conversation ensued. At length Lilian said, shuddering, - -"Oh, what a grue came over me just now! What can it portend?" - -"That an evil spirit is near us," replied Annie, turning pale with -the superstition of the time. - -"Nay, felt ye a grue, my bairn?" said Lady Grisel, rousing -momentarily from her waking dose; "then some one is treading on the -ground that shall be your grave." Again Lilian shuddered, and -throwing her arms around her grand-aunt, kissed her, exclaiming, - -"'Tis the first sentence I have heard you utter for a month--and oh, -what a terrible one it is!" - -At that moment there was a loud jingle at the great risp on the -barbican gate, and Elsie Elshender hobbled in to say that an "auld -broken soldier, who had limpit up the gate was speiring for my Lady -Craigdarroch, but wadna enter." - -"'Tis a letter from the Laird; his troop are in the north, watching -the wild gillies of Braemar. Tush! what can his message be now?" -said Annie, as she flew to the foot of the staircase, where a man in -a tattered red coat, a great scratch wig, with a broad hat flapped -over it, one patch on his right eye, and another on his nose, limped -forward on a crutch, and presented a letter. "From whence comes it, -poor man?" asked Annie. - -"From the frontiers of Alsatia; blessings on your sweet face, my -noble lady," replied the veteran, gruffly. Annie grew pale as death. - -"From whom?" she faltered. - -"The brave laird of Finland, Lady Annie; on mony a lang day's march I -have trailed my pike by his side, owre the fields o' France and the -howmes o' Holland, deil tak them baith, for there's neither brose nor -brochon, nor sowans nor sourocks to be gotten there for love, lear, -or money; but I've far to gang this nicht, and maun een march on, so -God bless your noble ladyship--mind a puir auld soldier that's faced -fire and water baith." - -Trembling violently, Annie untied the ribbons of her purse and gave -him a carolus, which he received with abundance of thanks, and he was -limping away when Elsie hobbled forward and presented him with a -bicker of ale. - -"Drink, puir body," said she, "though the times are sair changit, -nane pass this threshold without tasting o' the kindness o' langsyne. -We dinna send awa' the naked and the hungry wi' a scrap o' gospel and -a screed o' a psalm, like auld Drumdryan or the Laird o' Lickspittal -owre bye yonder; drink deep, puir body! I once had a son a -soldier-lad, (my puir Hab that was killed in the fearfu' times,) and, -for his sake, my heart warms to your auld red coat." - -"Here's to ye, my bonny lady, and to you Cummer Elsie, and never may -ye be tarbarrelled for a' you're sae runkled and auld; hech, how!" -and, drinking the ale to the last drop, this rough and uncourteous -old fellow tossed the bicker to Elsie and limped away with great -agility. - -"Ha, ha!" he laughed, when the barbican gate was angrily banged -behind him; "how the gay goshawk pounced at the lure; wha would hae -thought I would ever hae hobbit and nobbit wi' Lucky Elshender after -puir Meg's mischanter among her kale? This carolus comes in gude -time, for my pouch is gey empty now. Deil tak' the patches and -scratches, the rags and bags," he continued tearing off his disguise; -"again I am Juden Stenton, - - "And wha daur meddle wi' me? - Wha daur meddle wi' me? - My name it's Juden Stenton, - And wha daur meddle wi' me?" - -And, light hearted by the success of his Lord's scheme, he sang and -laughed as he trudged back to the city. - -On rejoining Lilian, Annie was in a flutter of extreme agitation; -and, after great reluctance, in which shame and curiosity struggled -with some remnant of her former love, and after bursting into tears -and then laughing hysterically, she broke the seal and read in a -quavering voice as follows:-- - -"Trenches before Mons, penult June, 1692. - -"Mine own sweet Annie, - -"God knoweth whether the words I am now inditing will ever be seen by -your own dear blue eyes. Nevertheless I write (on a drumhead for a -desk), and in great haste, for the bearer of this starts for -Versailles in an hour. A trench where the dead and dying lie among -the blood-stained earth, piled, yea, chin-deep, and where the -cannon-balls are rebounding every instant from the ramparts of Mons, -is a very unpleasant place to compose love-speeches; but, believe me, -that the heart of poor Dick Douglas in suffering and danger, poverty -and exile, is still unchanged, my beloved Annie, and as much thine as -ever. Here are we, a company of gallant Scottish gentlemen, in such -a plight as you never could conceive; and the very appearance of our -ragged attire, our emaciated forms and our exceeding misery, would -melt your gentle heart with the softest compassion. My ancient -signet ring, the last relic of the house of Finland, I bartered -yesterday for a loaf of bread, and now I have nothing left save the -lock of thy hair, which shall go with me to the grave. But more -glorious by far are our Jacobite rags than the gay bravery we might -have worn under that accursed usurper against whom we have sworn to -fight to the last gasp. - -"The mischances of war are fast reducing the faithful cavaliers of -Dundee. Starvation or the bullet daily send some brave heart to its -long repose, and the survivors are in such a plight that not even the -Westland Whigs could wish them lower. From the frontiers of Spain we -have travelled to Alsatia, and from thence to Mons. It was a march -of horrors! We were utterly without the necessaries of life, and in -the depth of a severe winter, marched nine hundred miles over a -country covered with snow. Many of us were barefooted. For many -weeks our food was nuts in the woods, roots in the fields, horsebeans -and garlic, and thus it is that Louis XIV. rewards our loyalty, our -patience, our fatigues and achievements. - -"Our old friend Walter Fenton is well. Through all the campaigns -under Monsieur le Mareschal Noailles and the noble Luxembourg, he -hath shewed himself worthy of the knighthood King James' sword -bestowed. Yesterday he volunteered, with sixty of our unhappy -cavaliers, to plant the banner of King Louis on the Bastion de Sainte -Wandree, and nobly did he redeem his word. Commend me to all our -leal and right honourable friends, and to those who may think kindly -of the poor cavaliers for the happy days that have passed away for -ever. A time may come--adieu, dearest Annie--the call to arms is -sounding along the lines, and we are about to march for Steinkirke, a -duty from which few will return. On my mind there weighs a heavy -presentiment of what I cannot name to thee. Farewell, my gentle -Annie, and may God bless thee! for I fear we shall see the bonnie -braes of Maxwelton together no more. - -FINLAND, - -"Late Lieut, in the Royall Scotts Ffoot." - - -There was a tone of sorrowful resignation to a hard and hopeless fate -pervading this letter that struck a pang of deep remorse through the -heart of Annie--but a pang for one moment only; the volatility of her -sex aided her, and smiling through her tears, she said, - -"My poor dear lighthearted Dick, would to Heaven I could lessen the -miseries you endure!" - -"Oh, Annie," said Lilian reproachfully, clasping her hands and -weeping, "poor Walter and poor Finland!" - -"Tush!" said Annie pettishly, her dark-blue eyes sparkling between -shame and sorrow. "Gossip, tease me not." - -"Stay, there is something more--oh, read it." - -"A postscriptum"-- - -"It will grieve you much to hear that Walter Fenton hath broken his -plighted troth to your fair friend Napier, and married a French -woman, a mere camp follower, of evil repute. Right heavy tidings -this will be for the heiress of Bruntisfield, but I ever deemed her -spark a fool; again I kiss your hand--adieu." - -The wicked expression of triumph that flashed in Annie's eyes quickly -gave way to one of compassion and regret, on beholding the aspect of -Lilian. Pale as death, with her eyes starting from their sockets, -her silken curls seeming to twist like knots about her throbbing -temples; her nether lip turned from crimson to blue, and quivering -convulsively; her bosom heaving with the terrible and sickening -sensations that oppressed it. Her little hands were firmly clenched, -and her dry hot eyes were full of fire. - -"Again, again, read it once more, Annie," she said, in a voice of -strange but exquisite cadence. - -"Not for worlds!" exclaimed Annie; "Oh, thou wicked letter, thus to -mar our peace and hurl us into sorrow. Oh, if Craigdarroch should -hear I have had a billet from my former lover, he will kindle up into -such a fit of jealousy and rage as the world never saw; to the flames -with it!" and she tossed into the fire the letter which poor Finland -had so fondly and sorrowfully indited. It was consumed in a moment; -and thus all after examination of the postscript was precluded, -otherwise the forgery might have been discovered before its effects -became too fatal. - -"A _camp follower of evil repute_! It is false--impossible--Finland -hath lied! Yet--yet--a cup of water, for Heaven's sake--my throat is -parched and scorching!" Lilian sank into a chair and covered her -face with her hands, but neither wept nor swooned, for her sense of -injury was too acute for tears. - -How bitter was the palsying sickness of heart--the agony she endured! - -Not a tear fell, for the fire that burned in her breast seemed to -have absorbed them. - -"This is the _third_ 20th of September since he first left me. Oh, -Walter, Walter, God may forgive thee this great ingratitude and -cruelty, but I never can!" - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE EFFECT OF THE POSTSCRIPTUM. - -"Women have died and the worms have eaten them, but not for love." - - -Long, long did poor Lilian grieve and weep, and mourn in the solitude -of her gloomy home. - -She endured all the complicated agony of endeavouring to rend from -her heart its dearest and most wonted thoughts--the hopes and -affection she had fostered and cherished for years. No woman ever -died for love but the heroine of a romance; so Lilian of course -survived it; a month or two beheld her again tranquil and calm, -though very sorrowful and subdued in spirit, for time cures every -grief. - -The bitter sentiment of insulted pride and mortified self esteem -which often come so powerfully to the aid of the deserted, and enable -them to triumph over the more tender and acute reflections, were -kindled and fanned and fostered by the artful sophistry of Annie, -who, with her real condolences, threw in such nice little soothing -and flattering inuendoes, mingled with condemnations of Walter, and -pretended rumours of his marriage, the beauty and gallantries of his -French wife, whom some called a countess and others a courtesan, that -Lilian first learned to hear her patiently and then with indignation. - -With these were mingled occasional praises of Clermistonlee, managed -with great tact, for Annie was cunning as a lynx, and never failed to -flank all her arguments with the powerful one, how necessary it was -for the restoration of her own honour, that she should receive the -roué lord as her husband. - -Poor Lilian, though these advices stung her to the soul, learned at -last to hear and to think of them with calmness, and (shall we -acknowledge it?) to say at last, "that it might be." - -With something of that fierce sentiment of desperation and revenge -which, like a gage thrown down to fate, makes the ruined gamester -place his last stake on the turn of a card, she began deliberately to -school herself into thinking of Clermistonlee as her future husband; -and though in reality poverty was the real cause of it, Lady -Craigdarroch failed not to impress upon Lilian how much he was -reformed, how penitent he was, and for three years past had never -been engaged in any piece of frolic or wickedness, and wound up by -asserting that a reformed rake made the best husband. - -What love and perseverance could never accomplish, revenge achieved -at last. - - "Alas! the love of women, it is known, - To be a lovely and a fearful thing; - For all of theirs upon the die is thrown - And if 'tis lost, life hath no more to bring." - - -Long and assiduous were the exertions, the arguments and artifices of -Annie, and long and fearful was the struggle that tortured the heart -of Lilian, ere she would consent to receive Clermistonlee as her -suitor. - -At last the fatal words were said. - -Annie flew to communicate the joyous tidings, and when next day he -rode up the avenue to pay his devoirs, the miserable girl nearly -swooned. The ring, the little embossed ring of antique gold, the -last and only gift of Walter, and which he said contained _the -secret_ of his life, she had now laid aside, carefully locked up in a -cabinet, because it brought too vividly before her the memories she -had resolved to banish from her heart for ever. - -Gladly will we hurry over this chapter of pain and humiliation. - -Clermistonlee had increased his great personal advantages by all the -aid of dress, and in defiance of the sad coloured fashions of the -time, wore a voluminous Monmouth whig, the long curls of which were -puffed with aromatic powder, a suit of rose-coloured velvet, laced so -thick with gold that the ground of the cloth was scarcely visible, a -sword and belt sparkling with jewels. A medal of gold, bearing his -coat of arms, was suspended by a chain of the same metal round his -neck; it was his last venture in quest of fortune, and his lordship -had resolved to spend all he possessed upon the stake. - -By the artful Annie he was led forward to the trembling and sinking -Lilian, to whom he pleaded his cause, his constancy, and -perseverance, his raptures and agonies, his hopes and despair, with -an ardour that confused, and perhaps flattered, if it did nothing -more. These his lordship brought out all at a breath, as he had got -the whole by rote, having said the same things to a hundred different -women before; but now his natural ardour and spirit of gallantry were -greatly increased by the touching character which sorrow, vexation, -and disappointment had imparted to the soft beauty of Lilian--and -also by the aspect of the comfortable old manor house and the acres -of fine arable land that lay around it; while she (shall we confess -it?), as bitter thoughts of Walter and his French wife rose up within -her, stole glances from time to time at her noble and courtly -suitor--glances which he soon perceived, and fired with new -animation, threw such an air of devotion into his addresses that -he--triumphed. - -Annie placed the hand of Lilian within that of Clermistonlee; he -pressed her to his heart, and she did not withdraw it; but burst into -a passion of tears. He then threw his splendid chain, with its -medal, around her bending neck, and pressed her to his breast, and so -sudden was the revulsion of feeling that Lilian fainted. - -An hour afterwards Clermistonlee, with all his embroidery glittering -in the sun, was seen galloping back to the city like a madman; he -dashed through the Portsburgh, and reined up near the Bowfoot, where, -at the summit of a ten-storied edifice, dwelt Mr. Ichabod Bummel, -minister of the Gospel. - -"The father of confusion take your long stair! Why, Mr. Bummel, 'tis -like a rascally old steeple," said the lord, breaking breathlessly in -upon the lank-haired and long-visaged pastor, who was intent upon -"The Hind let loose" of Alexander Sheills. - -"Yea, a tower of Babel--but what hath procured me the honour of your -lordship's visit?" - -"By all the devils, don't think I am come to drub thee for that -lecture on the cutty stool--ha, ha! I am about to be married, -man--and want you to proclaim the banns and so forth--but my Lord -Mersington will see after them for me." - -"As my _Bombshell_ saith, marriage is an honourable and godly -estate----" - -"But a deuced poor one, sometimes, Mr. Ichabod. I am about to be -married to Lilian, of Bruntisfield, and thou shalt espouse us, -because the citizens hold thee to be their first preacher, and it -will increase my influence among them." - -"But, my Lord," began Mr. Ichabod, bowing. - -"_But_ me nothing--'tis my non-attendance at kirk and my old tricks -you aim at--pho! I am a thorough Reformado--but, Mr. Ichabod, hast -never a drop of wine about thee?--'tis a hot forenoon." - -"My dwelling contains nothing but water, and it is a plack the runlet -in these dear years; but, my Lord," continued the divine, after -sundry gasps and contortions of visage, "if I lend all my influence -to render popular this intended espousal, whilk I perceive to be the -main object of your visit, may I crave your Lordship's favour in -another particular?" - -"Command me in all things save my purse, for 'tis a mere vacuum, if -thy philosophy will admit of such a thing. Say forth, my Apostle!" - -"I love the maiden called Meinie Elshender--yea, I love her -powerfully with the carnal love of this world, and the maiden is not -altogether indisposed to view me favourably." - -"Zounds!" said Clermistonlee, while the minister looked complacently -down on his long spindle shanks; "in the name of mischief, who is -Meinie Elshender?" - -"Handmaiden to the young Madam Lilian, who views me as an -abomination----" - -"By all the devils, thou shalt have her, _bongré, malgré_, and after -I am fairly wedded, the best kirk in the Lothians to boot--even -should I make Juden shoot the present incumbent." - -"Heaven reward these generous promises," replied Ichabod, with a -smile of incredulity. "Well it is that the maiden hath escaped the -snares of her first lover, who was a soldier of Antichrist--a -musqueteer of the bluidy Dunbarton." - -"Say rather the most princely earl of the noble house of Douglas! -Ha, ha--by my faith! we whigs are winning the false lemans of the -cavaliers in glorious style." - -"And now, my lord, I have one other boon to crave," said Ichabod, -producing a tattered and dog-eared MS. from a bunker. "This is a -book of which doubtless your Lordship hath heard; my _Bombshell aimet -at the taile of the Great Beast_." - -"Oh, the devil take thy bombshell--" - -"Shame, my lord. It proveth that Jonah--" - -"Swallowed the whale; eh, Master Ichabod?" said the gay lord, -pirouetting about and laughing boisterously. - -"Oh, my Lord, for a centiloquy--" - -"Ha, ha! a what?" - -"A hundredfold discourse, to convince thee of the crime of this -irreverence and irreligion." - -"I crave pardon, but what do you want, eh?" - -"Your Lordship's subscription; 'tis to be published in the imprinting -press in the Parliament Close, whenever new irons are brought over -from Holland." - -"Oh, by all the devils, certainly; send me a dozen of copies. Faith! -I must be quite pious henceforth. And now, bravo! see the Kirk -Session about my little affairs, while I ride down the Lawnmarket to -old Gideon Grasper, the Clerk to the Signet, for there will be a -mountain of papers to sign and seal, and so forth; but the banns, the -banns, next Sunday, remember;" and chaunting, "With a hey lillelu and -a how lo lan," his lordship danced away out, tripping down the long -stair by three steps at a time, and mounting, galloped into the upper -part of the city. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE BATTLE OF STEINKIRKE. - - As torrents roll increased by numerous rills, - With rage impetuous down their echoing hills; - Rush to the vales and pour'd along the plain, - Roar through a thousand channels to the main; - The distant shepherd trembling hears the sound: - So mix both hosts, and so their cries rebound. - ILIAD, BOOK IV. - - -It was the night before the famous battle of Steinkirke, when the -confederates under William III. encountered the gallant and brilliant -army of the great François Henri Duc de Luxembourg. - -In happy ignorance of what was being acted at home by those whose -memory lay so near their hearts, Walter Fenton and Douglas of Finland -were carousing with their brothers in war and misfortune around a -blazing fire, composed of rafters borrowed for the purpose from the -roof of a neighbouring Flemish house. - -Intent on crushing the alarming confederation of the Protestant -powers against him, Louis XIV. had taken the field in person at the -head of 120,000 men. This sensual, selfish, and weak-minded monarch -was accompanied by all the effeminate pomp and tinsel splendour of an -eastern emperor; his women and paramours, numerous enough for a -seraglio; his dancers, players, musicians; his kitchen, opera, -household, and all the ministers of his luxury, his pleasures, and -his tyranny, in themselves a host, crowded and encumbered the great -camp of his splendid army, which, however, soon captured Namur, a -strong city on the Meuse, though strengthened by all the skill of the -great Coehorn, and defended by the valour of the Prince de Brabazon -and 9,000 chosen soldiers. - -King William, whose duty it was to have raised the siege of this -important fortress, lay with 100,000 men within gunshot of Louis, -but, embued with all the stolid and phlegmatic stupidity of a -Hollander, permitted the place to be captured, by which his military -reputation was as much injured as that of Louis was increased. The -victor of Namur immediately returned to Versailles, surrounded by -triumph and adulation, worshipped undeservedly as a hero, and -extolled as a conqueror, while William, whose inertness had at last -given way to necessary activity, excited by shame and exasperation, -having reviewed on the plain of Genappe a fresh quota of ten -battalions of Scottish infantry, pushed forward against Mareschal -Luxembourg, intent on retrieving his honour. - -After basely employing a spy named Millevoix, under pain of torture -and death, to mislead the French commander by false intelligence of -the confederates' movements, William advanced with his 100,000 -bayonets to prevent him from taking up a position between the then -obscure villages of Steinkirke and Enghien, a royal barony of the -house of Bourbon. With his usual bad generalship William completely -failed, for Luxembourg outflanked him, gained the position, and -trusting to the communications of the perfidious (or unfortunate) -Millevoix, not anticipating any attack, confined himself to his tent, -as he laboured under severe indisposition. - -Not expecting an _alerte_, the whole of his numerous and brilliant -army lay intrenched among the fertile fields and pastures of the -Flemings, whose thick hedges, solid walls, and comfortable houses, -were cut down, torn up and overthrown without ceremony to render the -position more secure. - -The post occupied by the Scottish officers was near the Senne, a slow -and sluggish river. The sun had set, and far over the long -perspective of the level landscape, that in some parts withdrew to -the extreme horizon, shone the red departing flush of the last -evening many would behold on earth. In some places the river was -reddened by the gleam of the distant fires, whose flickering chain -marked out the camp of Luxembourg; the higher eminences were covered -by woods and orchards, from which the evening wind came laden with -the rich perfume of the summer blossom. Save the hum of the extended -camp all was still round Steinkirke, and where the exiled cavaliers -were bivouacked there was little more heard than the monotonous -ripple of the Senne, as it flowed past its willow shaded banks on its -way to the northern sea. - -The Scottish exiles were always more merry than usual on the eve of a -battle, for it freed many from a life of humiliation and hardship, to -which they deemed an honourable death a thousand times preferable. -At times an expression of stern joy, of ghastly merriment, at others -of deep abstraction pervaded the little group, as they clustered -round the fire that blazed in a little alcove formed by an orchard on -the river side. There their arms were piled, and they rolled from -hand to hand a keg of Hollands, to which they had helped themselves -at the devastation of the Flandrian château de Senne. Afar off, -above the village spire of Steinkirke, the silver moon rose broadly -and resplendently to light the wide and fertile landscape with its -glory. The Senne and Tender brightened like two floods of flowing -crystal, and the willows that drooped over them seemed the work of -magic, as their dewy leaves glittered in the rays of the summer moon. - -The stern hearts of that melancholy band were soothed by the beauty -of the scenery, the seclusion of their tentless bivouac, the softness -of the Flemish moonlight, and a song that Finland sang completed the -effect of the place and time. He reclined upon his knapsack, and his -fine features, which long privation and toil had sharpened and -attenuated, flushed and reddened as he sang of his love that was far -away, and felt his brave heart expand with the dear and long -cherished hopes and memories her image stirred within it. - - "Maxweltoun Braes are bonnie, - Where early fa's the dew; - And blue-eyed Annie Laurie - Gave me her promise true. - Gave me her promise true, - That never forgot shall be; - And for my bonnie Annie Laurie, - I would lay me down and dee. - - "Her locks are like the sunshine, - Her breast is like the swan; - Her hand is like the snawdrift, - And mine her waist micht span. - But oh! that promise true! - Will ne'er be forgot by me, - And for my blue-eyed Annie Laurie, - I would lay me down and dee!" - - -This famous song, which, with its beautiful air, is so chaste and -pleasing, and still so much admired in Scotland, poor Finland in his -chivalric spirit had composed, to lighten the toil of many a long and -arduous march, and now, inspired by the love and the fond -recollections that trembled in his heart, he slowly sang the last -verse with great tenderness and pathos. - - "Like dew on the gowan lying, - Is the fa' of her fairy feet; - And like wind in summer sighing, - Her voice is low and sweet. - But O that promise true! - Makes her all the world to me; - And for my bonnie Annie Laurie, - I'd lay me down and dee." - - -Every word seemed to come from his overcharged heart, and as he sang -the beautiful melody silence and sadness stole over the listening -group. Softened by the dialect and the music of their fatherland, -every heart was melted and every eye grew moist; the red camp fires -and the shining waters of the Senne, the white tents of Luxembourg, -the woodlands and orchards of Steinkirke passed away, and Scotland's -hoary hills and pathless vallies rose before them, for their eyes and -hearts were in the land from which they were expatriated for ever. - -It was the morning of the 24th of July, and in unclouded splendour -the sun shone from the far horizon upon the tented camp of -Luxembourg, on the standards waving and arms glittering within the -rudely and hastily constructed entrenchments of the great and veteran -engineer the Chevalier Antoine de Ville. Like bright snowy clouds -the morning vapour curled upwards from the sedges of the Senne, and -the dewy foliage of the woods, and rolling lazily along the plain, -shrouded everything in a thick and gause-like veil of white -obscurity, which the rays of the sun edged with the hue of gold. -Under cover of this, although the French knew it not, the entire -force of the allied nations, led by William of England, were coming -rapidly on in two dense columns, intent on avenging the disgraces -they had endured at Namur. Luxembourg lay within his bannered -pavilion on a bed of sickness, and neither he nor his soldiers were -aware of the foe's approach until the Prince of Wirtemburg, at the -head of ten battalions of English, Dutch, and Danes, drove back his -outposts on the right, making a furious attack on the camp, which -instantly became a scene of greater confusion than King Agramont's. - -The patter of the musquetry, the roll of the advancing drums, and the -bullets whistling through his tent, roused the brave Mareschal, who, -leaping from his camp-bed, forgot his illness in the ardour and -tumult of the moment. Hastily his pages attired and armed him, and -throwing his magnificent surcoat above his gilded corslet, he seized -his sword and baton, and rushed forth to repair what the artifices of -William, the treachery of Millevoix, and the bravery of Wirtemburg -had already achieved. To muster, to rally his immense force and -repel the Prince of Wirtemburg, were but the work of a few seconds, -and the great leader, who five minutes before had lain inert on a -couch of illness, was now spurring his caparisoned horse from column -to column, with his plumes waving, his accoutrements glittering, and -his baton brandished aloft; his features filled with animation, his -soul with energy. - -The Dukes of Bourbon and Vendome, the Princes of Turenne and Conté, -the Duc de Chartres, a youth of fifteen, whose almost girlish beauty -made him the sport and the idol of the army, the Marquis de -Bellefonde, and several thousand chevaliers of noble birth and -matchless spirit, by their presence, their ardour, and example, -restored perfect order, and in admirable battle array they stood -prepared to encounter the host of the Protestant confederation. - -As the sun rose higher the mist which shrouded the whole plain around -the village of Steinkirke was gradually exhaled upwards, and as it -rolled away the entire army of William III., a hundred thousand -strong, were seen in order of battle, advancing as rapidly as the -numerous thorn hedges, ditches, and dykes, which intersected the -yellow cornfields, would permit. - -In defence of a place which it was expected William's brilliant -cavalry would assail, the Scottish officers were posted in an abbatis -of apple-trees that had been cut down by the pioneers, and made an -intricate breastwork all round; and within it, with their arms -loaded, they stood in close order, watching with lowering brows and -kindling eyes the scarlet ranks of their countrymen, to whom they -now--for the first time since their exile--found themselves opposed -in battle. - -The golden bloom of the ripe and waving corn-fields, through which -the lines were advancing in triple ranks, with their serried arms and -embroidered standards glittering, threw forward the bright scarlet -costume in strong relief, and the hearts of the little band of exiles -beat with increased excitement as the moment of a general encounter -drew nigh. - -"Behold yonder fellows in our uniform!" exclaimed one, as the -Scottish infantry debouched in heavy column on the French left, with -their twenty standards displayed, and their drums loading the air -with the old march of the Covenanters. - -"God knoweth the sorrow, the bitterness, the hatred, and the fierce -exultation that swell my heart by turns in this auspicious hour!" -said Finland, striking his breast. - -"You speak my very thoughts," responded Walter, with a deep sigh; -"yonder are the old Royals, but now another than Dunbarton wields his -baton over them; yonder are the standards we have carried--but others -bear them now. How hard to forget that these are our countrymen! Do -not ourselves seem to be marching against us?" - -"Enough of this, gentlemen," said the veteran Laird of Dunlugais. -"In them I behold only the rebels of our king, and the sycophants of -an usurper. This day let us remember only that we are fighting under -the standard of the first captain of the age, and about to win fresh -glories for the most magnificent prince that ever occupied the throne -of France!" - -The battle was begun by Hugh Mackay, of Scoury. - -Led by that brave and veteran general, a dense column of British -cavalry, accoutred in voluminous red coats, great Dutch hats, looped -up, and vast boots of black leather, with slung musquets and -brandished swords, rushed at full gallop to the charge on one flank, -while the Prince of Wirtemburg assailed the other. - -The abbatis lay full in front of Mackay, who held aloft his long gilt -baton, as he led on this heavy mass of troopers. On they came, horse -to horse, and boot to boot like a moving mountain; but the deadly and -deliberate volley poured upon them by the Scottish cavaliers threw -them into immediate confusion; the front squadrons by becoming -entangled among their falling horses and riders, recoiled suddenly on -the rear, who were still spurring forward; the furious shock produced -an immediate and irredeemable confusion, and the whole gave way ere -another volley of that leaden rain was poured upon their dense array. - -The roar of forty thousand musquets now burst like thunder on the -ear, as the Prince de Conté and the brave De Chartres, the -boy-soldier, at the head of the superb household infantry, assailed -the British, and volleying in platoons, continued to press upon them -with increasing ardour until within pike's length of each other, when -Conté led the whole to the charge. The shock was irresistible! -Count Solmes failed to support the English and Scots, who immediately -gave way, and a tremendous slaughter was made, especially among the -latter. - -"Les Ecossais, retreat!" exclaimed Conté. "'Tis a miracle. Tête -Dieu! 'tis surely a bad cause, when the hand of Heaven is against -them!" - -The Scottish regiments of Coutts, Mackay, Angus, Grahame, and Leven, -were cut to pieces, and the English Guards nearly shared the same -fate. James Earl of Angus, a brave youth in his twenty-first year, -was shot dead at the head of his Cameronians, William Stuart Viscount -of Montjoy, Sir Robert Douglas, Lieutenant-General James Douglas, Sir -John Lanier, Colonel Lauder, and many other brave Scottish gentlemen -were slain, while the Prince de Conté bore all before him. - -With the gallant Prince of Wirtemburg it fared otherwise. Pressing -onward at the head of his English, he carried off some of the French -artillery, and after immense slaughter, stormed the intrenchment -which covered their position, but finding himself in danger of being -overpowered, he twice sent his aide-de-camp to crave succour from the -phlegmatic William and from Count Solmes, a noble of the House of -Nassau. Twice over a field that was strewn with thousands of dead -and dying, and swept by the fire of so many thousand musquets, -cannon, and coehorns, the brave aide spurred his horse to beg succour -for the prince his master; but William neglected, and the Dutch noble -derided his request. - -"Vivat Wirtemburg!" cried Solmes, laughing; "let us see what sport -his English bulldogs will make." - -At length William shook off the inertness that seemed to possess his -faculties amid the storm of war that raged around him, and in person -ordered Solmes to sustain the advance of the left wing which -Wirtemburg had led on so successfully. Thus urged, the unwilling -Lord of Brunsveldt, made an unavailing movement with his cavalry, but -left a few English and Danes to sustain the whole brunt of the battle. - -Amid the dense smoke that rolled in white clouds and concealed the -adverse lines, their carnage and its horrors, again and again the -brave old Laird of Scoury led his squadrons to the charge, resolved -to force the passage to turn the flank of Luxembourg or die, and -again they were repulsed from the abbatis by the courage of the -desperate Cavaliers. As yet, not one trooper had penetrated among -them, though hundreds and their horses lay groaning and rolling in -the agonies of death, entangled among the apple-laden branches of the -prostrate trees, grasping and rending them with their teeth in the -tortures of dissolution. As yet not one of the Scottish exiles had -fallen; but now Mackay ordered a body of his dragoons to dismount, to -unsling their short fusees, and from behind the piles of dead and -dying men and chargers, to fire upon the abbatis which could afford -no protection against bullets. - -A furious fusilade now ensued, and Fenton soon missed Finland from -his side; he turned, and his hot blood cooled for a moment to behold -him lying on the bloody turf in the last agonies of death. A ball -had pierced his breast; his eyes were glazing, and he was beating the -earth with his heels, as he blew from his quivering lips the bells of -blood and foam. - -Unfortunate Douglas! - -Something was clenched in his hand and pressed to his lips; but as -his dying energies relaxed, and his brave spirit fled to heaven, the -relic fell on the turf;--it was Annie Laurie's braid of bright brown -hair. - -"Farewell, dear Finland," exclaimed Walter, kissing the dead man's -hand. "Here end thy love and misfortunes together!" Sorrow, rage, -and ardour roused the fury of Fenton to the utmost, and with his -clubbed weapon he sprang over the trees of the abbatis, exclaiming, -"to the charge, gentlemen Scots!--to the charge! Never let it be -said that the Cavaliers of Dundee played at long bowles with those -false English churls. Victory and revenge!" - -Fired by his example, and animated by national and political hatred -against those who had deserted James VII., and wrought so many -miseries to his few adherents, the little band sprang from the -abbatis and threw themselves with incredible fury and determination -on the dismounted troopers. Onward they pressed over piles of dead -and wounded, while every instant the balls that flew thick as -drifting rain, thinned their narrow ranks, and added many another -item to the vast amount of that day's carnage. - -None can be so brave as those for whom life has lost every charm; and -none so reckless as those who have a thousand real or imaginary -wrongs to avenge. Thus, heedless alike of the number of their -antagonists, who were again pressing up to the attack, the Scottish -Cavaliers came on pell mell, and a desperate conflict ensued with -firelocks and fusils clubbed. - -As Walter, forgetful of everything else but to glut a fierce spirit -of revenge, pressed onward, he encountered a tall and powerful -officer. The nobility of his aspect and the richness of his attire -(for his scarlet coat was so richly interlaced with bars of gold as -to be almost sword-proof) not less than the vigour with which he kept -his soldiers to their duty, made him a marked man; but Walter struck -him from his horse and flourished the butt of his musket over him. - -"Take these, you tattered villain," said the officer, offering a -splendid watch and ring; "take these and spare my life." - -"Insult me not, Sir," exclaimed Walter Fenton with undisguised scorn. -"I am one of the officers of Viscount Dundee--of Dundee the brave and -loyal." - -"The vilest minion of hell and tyranny that ever disgraced his -country--then doubly are you traitor!" said the other starting from -the ground and flashing a pistol in Walter's face. Blinded by fury -and the smoke of the discharge, he drove his bayonet through the -breast of the officer and fairly pinned him to the turf. - -"Curse on the hour that I die by the hand of a base and renegade -clown like thee!" exclaimed the dying man, half choked in his welling -blood. - -"Traitor!" cried his destroyer furiously; "you die by the hand of Sir -Walter Fenton, Knight Banneret of Scotland!" - -"So falls Hugh Mackay, of Scoury!" moaned the other as he sank -backward and expired. - -"Scoury!" reiterated Walter; "hah! then this hour avenges Dundee the -slaughter of Killycrankie and of Cromdale." - -At that moment he was hurled to the earth by a wounded charger as it -rushed madly from the conflict. He fell against a tree and lay -stunned and insensible to all that passed around him. - -The sun was setting, and still the doubtful battle continued to be -waged with undiminished ardour, until Mareschal Boufflers, at the -head of a powerful body of cavalry, the French and Scottish -gendarmerie, and the royal regiment, De Rousillon, swept like a -torrent over the corpse-strewn plains with the oriflamme, displayed -and decided the fortune of the war just as the sun's broad disc -dipped behind the far horizon. William, instead of restoring his -tarnished honour, was compelled to retreat in renewed disgrace, -leaving many officers of valour and distinction and 3,000 soldiers -slain; while the French, though they had to regret the fall of an -equal number, with the Prince de Turenne, the Marquis de Bellefonde, -Tilladete, Fernaçon, and many other chevaliers of noble blood, -remained masters of the field, over which they suspended from a lofty -gibbet King William's luckless confidant, the spy and intriguer -Millevoix. - -Paris resounded with joy and acclamation on tidings of this great -victory arriving; the princes and soldiers who had served there were -idolized as superior beings by the ladies and women of every rank, -whose transports amounted to a species of frenzy, and from that hour -for many a year every ornament and piece of dress was known by the -name of _Steinkirke_. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -A DISCLOSURE. - - _'Tis night_;--and glittering o'er the trampled heath, - Pale gleams the moonlight on the field of death; - Lights up each well-known spot, where late in blood, - The vanquished yielded, and the victor stood; - When red in clouds the sun of battle rode, - And poured on Britain's front its favoring flood. - LORD GRENVILLE. - - -Again the summer moon rose brightly over the secluded village of -Steinkirke, and poured its cold and steady lustre on cornfields -drenched in blood, and trod to gory mire by the charge of the spurred -squadrons, the closer movements of the compact squares of infantry, -or the artillery's track; on the pale and upturned faces of the -dying, the distorted and ghastlier lineaments of the dead,--on a wide -battle-field strewn with all the trophies of war and -destruction,--misery and agony. - -Save where illumined by the gleams of moonlight, by the red flashes -of a few distant fire-arms, and the redder glare from a convent -burned by the retreating British, the ruddy conflagration of which -mingled with the last faint glow of the departed sun, the field -seemed gloomy and dark. A narrow lurid streak at the distant horizon -shewed where the sun had set. The roar of that great battle had now -died away, but it had sent forth an echo over France and Britain -denoting joy to one and sorrow to the other. Where, then, was -William of Orange, and where his mighty host? - -The contest was now over, and, save the distant popping of a few -skirmishers or plunderers, every sound of strife had ceased; but the -cool night wind was laden with a sad and wailing murmur, a sound -which it is seldom the lot of man to hear--the mingled moans of many -thousands of men enduring all the complicated torture of sabre and -gunshot wounds and the most excruciating thirst. Many a solemn -prayer and pious ejaculation of deep contrition, uttered in many a -varied tongue, were then ascending from that moonlit battlefield to -the throne of God, while others in their ravings called only on Death -to ease them of their torments; and long ere sunrise the stern king -of terrors attended the summons of many. - -A great cannon royal, drawn by eight horses and escorted by the -artillerists of the Brigade de Dauphine, passed near the -corpse-heaped abbatis where Walter Fenton lay, and he implored them -to remove him from the field. They were passing him unheeded, when -one exclaimed, - -"_Il est un officier Ecossais!_" upon which the drivers reined up: -the soldiers sprang from the tumbril, and placing him beside them, -galloped across the field of battle towards the redoubts on the left -of Luxembourg's position. The jolting occasioned Walter exquisite -agony, and he could not repress a shudder when the cannon wheels -passed over the crackling body of some dead or wounded soldier who -lay prostrate in their path. - -After riding a mile or two he fell from his seat with violence, and -once more became insensible. - -"_Il est morte_" said the Frenchmen, as they whipped up their horses -and thought no more about him. - -After lying long in a dreamy state, tormented by a burning thirst and -feeling prickly and shooting pains over his whole body as the blood -flowed back into its old channels, Walter made an attempt to rise, -but the motion occasioned him exquisite pain, and the whole landscape -swam around him. He thought he was mortally wounded; a cold -perspiration burst over his temples; a stupor again stole upon his -senses, and, believing he was dying, he piously recommended himself -to God, closed his eyes, and lay down resigned to his fate. - -But the mind was active though the frame remained inert, and he -thought of Lilian, of Finland and Annie, and how the hand of Death -had thrown a cold blight over all their fondest hopes and prospects, -and so weak had he become that audible sobs burst from him. - -The heavy dew was falling fast, and its moisture refreshed him; he -raised his head, and near him saw the figure of a female in a sombre -and peculiar garb: she was completely attired in black; a thick veil -of the same colour with a little hood of white linen were drawn -closely round her face, which seemed pale and colourless as that of -death in the uncertain rays of a cruise which she carried; but though -aged, she was marked by a serenity and air of repose singularly -winning and prepossessing. She bent tenderly over him with a face -expressive of the deepest commiseration. - -"'Tis a vision!" was Walter's first thought; "'tis an Ursuline nun," -was his second. - -"Poor youth--unhappy youth!" said the stranger tenderly, and burst -into tears. - -"Heaven's blessing on you, gentle lady," said Walter, as he -endeavoured to rise; "no tears can be more precious in the sight of -Heaven than those shed by compassion. God save great Luxembourg! We -have this day gained a glorious victory; but at what a price to me!" -he continued in his own language. "Alake! my brave and noble -friends, the best blood of Scotland has mingled yonder with the -waters of the Senne." - -"Scotland!" replied the venerable Ursuline, and her mild eyes became -filled with animation and sadness. "I acknowledge with sorrow and -pride that your country is also mine; but, alas! I can only remember -it with horror and humiliation. Your voice takes me back to the -pleasant days of other and happier years, and stirs an echo in the -deepest recesses of my heart. Oh, my God! what is this that I feel -within me? Intercede for me blessed Ursula, and save me from my own -thoughts! Oh, let not the contentment in which I have dwelt these -many years be disturbed by worldly regrets and old unhappiness!" - -There was a deep pathos in her voice, an air of subdued sorrow, -mildness, and melancholy in her features, and a soft expression in -her eye that was very winning, and Walter kissed her hand with a -sentiment of affection and respect, and, strange to say, she did not -withdraw it. - -"I belonged to the convent of Ursulines at Steinkirke. At -vesper-time the Count Solmes sacked it with his troopers; (God -forgive him and them the sacrilege!) they expelled us with savage -violence, and I found shelter in a cottage close by. Your groans -drew me forth. Permit me to lead you, my poor son, for indeed you -seem very weak. There is one poor fugitive there already, a -countrywoman of our own, to whom I hope you will bring pleasant -tidings; let us go." - -They entered the humble Flemish cottage, the wide kitchen of which -was brilliantly illuminated by a blazing fire of turf, that lit the -furthest recesses of the great but rude apartment, that strongly -resembled those represented by Rembrandt and Teniers, where every -imaginable implement and article, garden and household utensil, hang -from the beams of the open roof, load the walls, or encumber every -available nook and corner; a heavy Flemish boor, in voluminous brown -breeches, arose and doffed his fur cap, and with his wife made way -for the sister of St. Ursula, who led Walter to a seat. - -Thankfully he drained to the last drop a pewter flaggon of water that -the housewife gave him, and was about to speak, when his attention -was arrested by the sudden appearance of a young lady. She was very -beautiful, and had an exquisitely fair complexion, the natural -paleness of which grief and fear had very much increased; her blue -eyes sparkled with animation, and her half dishevelled hair was of -the brightest and glossiest but palest flaxen. Running to Walter -Fenton she took both his hands in hers, and said, with a touching -earnestness of manner, - -"Ah, Sir! come you from the field of battle?" - -"This moment, madam." - -"Oh, you are Scottish by your voice, but alas! you wear the garb of -Louis." - -"My dear madam, it is the garb of loyalty and exile; of great -suffering, and of much endurance." - -"Unhappy Sir, you are----" - -"One of the cavaliers of Dundee." - -"Oh, tell me if you know aught of the fate of General Mackay in this -day's carnage; Mackay, the Laird of Scoury?" she added a little -proudly. - -"Lady," faltered Walter, quite overcome by the question and the -aspect of the speaker, "the brave champion of Presbyterianism is no -more. I--I saw him slain." - -"My father! oh, my father!" cried Margaret Mackay, in a voice that -pierced the conscience-stricken Fenton to the heart; "I shall never -see thee more--never behold thy kind old face and silver hair. Oh, -my God! I am quite alone in the world, and what will become of me -now? Oh, Lady Clermistonlee!" she exclaimed, and pressing against -her heart the hand of the nun, sank into a chair and swooned. - -"_Clermistonlee!_" reiterated Walter, starting; but the helpless -condition of his young countrywoman demanded immediate attention, and -he was compelled to smother his curiosity for a time, until she had -partially recovered, and then the good Ursuline, after attending her -with the most motherly care, left her engaged in prayer in another -apartment, and turned all her attention to the wound on Walter's head. - -With an adroit neatness of hand, a soft insinuating manner which drew -the heart of Walter towards her as to a mother, the compassionate -nun, assisted by the silent Flemish housewife, bathed the wound, cut -away the long clotted locks, and bound it up, while the round visaged -boor, whose mind was wholly absorbed by the loss of a field of corn, -which had been cut down by Boufflers' foraging dragoons, sat with his -eyes intently fixed on the smoke that curled from his pipe. - -Walter had been so little accustomed to kindness, that all the strong -feelings of his warm heart now gushed forth. - -"A thousand thanks, dear madam!" he exclaimed. "I know not whether -it is your kindness, the mere ardour of my heart, or some mysterious -influence that Heaven alone can see, which calls forth all my fondest -and most reverential sentiments towards you." - -The Ursuline smiled sadly, and retired a pace. - -"Oh, what is this new feeling that stirs within me?" continued -Walter, in a half musing voice. "It seems as if your face bore the -long remembered features of some kind friend or dear relative. Like -a gleam of sunshine through a mist, they come back to me from the -obscurity of the past like those of one whom--but, ah! whither is my -enthusiasm carrying me? Dear madam, once more a thousand thanks, for -now I must leave, and shall never see you more, but your kindness -will ever be remembered by Walter Fenton with gratitude and love." - -"Fenton!" said the Ursuline, putting back his hair, and tenderly -surveying his emaciated features, "I once had a dear though humble -friend of that name, and my heart yearns to thee for her sake. But -wherefore this hurry to depart? Your wound?--" - -"I know not where I am, lady, and should any of the Statholder's -people come this way I should assuredly be shot." - -"Then, in the name of all that is blessed, away! The fires of the -French camp are still visible, and you may gain it ere daybreak." - -This passed in French, but the boor understood it; his eyes twinkled, -and knocking the ashes from his pipe he slowly stuck it in his -leathern cap and stole out unperceived. - -"And what will be the fate of this poor daughter of the brave Mackay, -for everywhere the French are swarming around us?" - -"Through a lady of the house of Nassau, who belongs to our now, alas! -ruined convent, I will see her consigned to the care of her father's -best friend, William of Orange." - -"'Tis fortunate. It reminds me of what I scarcely dare to ask. She -called you by the name of my bitterest enemy--Clermistonlee," said -Walter, biting his lip; "Clermistonlee, who has been my rival and the -bane of my existence. Oh, madam, what terrible mystery is concealed -under this Ursuline habit!" - -As Walter spoke the blood came and went in the faded face of the -trembling recluse. One moment, when fired by animation, her features -seemed almost beautiful, and the next they were withered, rigid, and -aged. - -"Mr. Fenton," faltered the nun--"Mr. Fenton, for so I presume you are -named?" - -"I am Sir Walter Fenton, lady, by the King's grace." - -The nun bowed slightly. - -"My heart warms, Sir Walter, to that dear native land which I shall -never behold again, and in a moment of such weakness I revealed -myself to that poor fugitive girl, whom fate so happily threw under -my protection, when the confederates were defeated and dispersed----. -You know him then, this wicked man, to whom fate in an evil hour gave -me as a wife. Oh, Randal! Randal! --------. Let me not recall in -bitterness the burning thoughts of years long passed and -gone--thoughts which I have long since learned to suppress, or endure -with calmness and resignation." - -"Enough, dear madam, I am animated by no vulgar curiosity, and time -presses. Oh, learn rather to forget your earlier griefs than to -remember them. Too well do I know the Lord Clermistonlee, and can -easily conceive a long and painful history of domestic woe and -suffering. You are the unfortunate Alison Gilford?" - -"Of the house of Gilford of that ilk in Lothian," continued the -recluse with tearless composure. "In his earlier days, when young, -gallant, and winsome, with an honoured name and spotless scutcheon, -Randal Clermont became my lover and my husband. Oh, how happy I was -for a time; how loving and beloved! But a change came over the -unstable heart of my husband. His political intrigues and private -excesses soon ruined our fortune, deprived me of his love and him of -my esteem. We were driven into exile, and retired to Paris. There -he plunged madly into a vortex of the lowest dissipation, and spent -the last of my dowry, my jewels, and everything. He became a -drunkard, a bully, and a gamester, if not worse. Long, long I -endured without a murmur or reproach his pitiless cruelty and cutting -contempt, until he eloped with one who in better days had been my -companion and attendant, an artful wretch named Beatrix Gilruth. He -joined the army of Mareschal Crecquy as a volunteer, and I saw him no -more. Hearing afterwards that he was in Scotland fighting under the -standard of the Covenant, and being driven to despair by the miseries -into which he had plunged me, by leaving me a prey to destitution in -a foreign land, I resolved to quit the world for ever; I have come of -an old Catholic family, and a convent was my first thought. - -"Our child, for we had one, our child was alternately a source of -torment and delight," continued the poor nun, weeping bitterly--"my -torment from the resemblance it bore to its perfidious father, and my -delight as the only tie that bound me to earth; I resolved to see it -no more, and sent the poor infant to Scotland in charge of a faithful -female servitor, to whom I gave a letter for my husband, purporting -to be written on my deathbed, and a ring he had given me in happier -days. In an agony of grief I saw the woman depart, and gave her all -I possessed, a few louis-d'ors I had acquired at Paris, where I had -supported myself as a fleuriste, and was patronized by the Scottish -Archers, who were ever very kind to me. I considered myself as dead -to the world from that hour, and immediately commenced my noviciate -in the licensed convent of St. Ursula in French Flanders. - -"Here again all the wounds of my heart were torn open by tidings that -the ship in which my loved little boy and his nurse embarked had -perished at sea; whether they perished too God alone knoweth, for I -heard of them no more. And now the fierce stings of remorse -increased the sadness of my sorrow, and I upbraided myself with -cruelty, with lack of fortitude and such resignation as became a -Christian. I accused myself of infanticide, and in my thoughts by -day and my dreams by night I had ever before me the sunny eyes and -golden hair of my little child, and its lisping accents in my -dreaming ear awoke me to tears and unavailing sorrow." - -Here the poor nun again paused and wept bitterly. - -"Time never fails to soften the memory of the most acute sorrow, and -in the convent to which I had fled for refuge from my own thoughts, -the soothing consolations of the sisterhood, the calm, the pious and -blameless tenor of their way, charmed me as much as their holy -meekness of spirit subdued my bitter regrets. After a time I tasted -the sweets of the most perfect contentment, if not of happiness. In -the duties of religion, of industry and charity, I soon learned to -forget Clermistonlee, or to remember him only in my prayers--to -forget that I had been a wife, to forget that I had been--oh, no! not -a mother--never could I forget that." - -"Villain that he is! and with the consciousness of your Ladyship's -existence, he has, since he was ennobled, wooed many another to be -his bride; but Heaven's hand or his own vices have always foiled him." - -The eyes of the recluse sparkled beneath her veil; but folding her -white hands meekly on her bosom, she said with exceeding gentleness-- - -"What have I to do with it now?--besides, youth, I am sure he -believes me dead, for some of the Scottish Archers told him so--and -dead I am to him and to the world." - -"It is a very sad history, madam," - -"But God has comforted me." Her tears fell fast nevertheless, and a -long pause ensued. Walter felt himself moved to tears, and he often -sighed deeply, yet knew not why. - -The sound of a trumpet roused him; it seemed close bye, and came in -varying cadence on the passing wind. - -"'Tis the trumpet of a Dutch patrole. I must begone, lady, or remain -only to die. Farewell; a thousand blessings on you and a thousand -more--for we shall never meet again;" and half kneeling he kissed her -hand, and, slipping from the cottage, favoured by the darkened moon, -hurried away towards the fires of Luxembourg's camp, just as a party -of Dutch Ruyters led by the boor halted at the cottage door. - -* * * * * - -With fifty thousand men the Mareschal Duke of Luxembourg was posted -at Courtray on the Lys; while William, with twice that number, lay at -Grammont, inactive, phlegmatic, and afraid to attack him; an -inertness which increased the growing ill-humour of Britain against -him. Without a dinner and without a sou, abandoned to solitude and -dejection, Walter Fenton one evening paced slowly to and fro on the -ramparts of Courtray, watching the bright sunset as it lingered long -on the level scenery. A page approached, who acquainted him that -Monseigneur le Mareschal required his presence in the citadel, -whither he immediately repaired, and found the great Henri of -Luxembourg, the youthful Dukes of Chartres and Vendome, with other -chevaliers of distinction, carousing after a sumptuous repast. - -As he entered, De Chartres was singing the merry old ditty of _Jean -de Nivelle_, while the rest chorused. - - "Jean de Nivelle has three flails; - Three palfrays with long manes and tails; - Three blades of a terrible brand, - Which he never takes into his hand. - _Ah! ouivraiment! - Jean de Nivelle est bon enfant!_" - -The magnificence of their attire, the happy nonchalance and graceful -ease of their manner, contrasted with his own tattered and humble -uniform, fallen fortune, and jaded spirit, made Walter's heart sick -as he entered; but, assuming somewhat of the old air of a cavalier -officer, he bowed to the noble company, and awaited in silence the -commands of the Mareschal. - -"Approach, Monsieur," said the handsome young Duc de Chartres. "Tête -Dieu! but you look very pale! You were wounded I believe?" - -"It is nearly healed Monseigneur," - -"Ah, it is deuced unpleasant work this fighting and beleaguering." - -"De Chartres would rather be at Chantilly," said the Duc de Vendome, -laughing. - -"Or at Versailles," said a Chevalier of St. Louis. "He is thinking -of little Mariette Gondalaurier." - -"Or St. Denis and adorable Isabeau Lagrange." - -"Say Paris at once, Messieurs," said the boyish roué, smiling. "I -have beauties everywhere." - -"The Scottish officer will drink with us--here, boy, assist our -friend to wine," said Luxembourg to his page. "'Tis only Frontiniac, -Monsieur; but an hour ago it was Dutch William's, and we drink it out -of pure spite." - -Walter drank the fragrant wine from a massively embossed cup, and his -head swam as he imbibed it, and waited to hear for what desperate -duty these noble peers designed him. - -"Chevalier," said Luxembourg with his most bland smile, "it is -pleasant to reward the brave. Aware that the repulse of the -confederate cavalry on my right flank, and consequently the whole -success of that glorious day at Steinkirke was mainly owing to the -valour of the Scottish cavaliers animated by your example, King Louis -sends you this." And taking from his own neck the sparkling cross of -the recently created order of St. Louis, the Duke placed it around -the neck of Walter Fenton, who bowed his thanks in silence. - -"Go, Chevalier--you are a gallant soldier! The Scots were ever -brave, and the friends of France. Wear that cross with honour to the -Most Christian King, to your native country--" - -"And to the most sublime Madame Maintenon," said the young Duke, and -his gay companions laughed. - -"Monseigneur!" said Luxembourg warningly. - -"Tête Dieu, Mareschal! dost think I fear her? Faith Madame, 'tis -known, never gives a favour without a most usurious per centage. She -is quite a Jewess in the intrigues of love and politics, ha! ha!" - -"Attached to this cross, Chevalier, is a pension of four hundred -livres yearly, which I doubt not will be acceptable in your present -reduced circumstances." - -"Oh, believe me, Monseigneur le Mareschal, and you most noble Dukes, -it is indeed most acceptable; for with it I may in some sort -alleviate the miseries of those gallant gentlemen, my comrades, who -share your fortunes in the field." - -"By St. Denis, you are a gallant fellow!" cried Luxembourg with -kindling eyes, "Your generosity equals your courage. But this must -not be. Messieurs your comrades must take the will for the deed. -This night you must depart for the Court of St. Germain-en-laye, -where King James requires your immediate attendance. My Secretary -will supply you with money, and my Master of the Horse with a -charger--adieu, Sir, and God be with you!" - -Walter retired. - -That night he bade a sad adieu to his comrades, and, mounted on one -of the Mareschal's horses, departed from Courtray. - -His brave companions in glory and exile he saw no more. After all -their services and their sufferings, their achievements and their -chivalry, the few survivors of the war, sixteen in number, were, by a -striking example of French ingratitude, disbanded at the peace of -Ryswick, on the upper part of the Rhine, far from their native -land--without money or any provision to save them from starvation and -death. Of these sixteen only _four_ survived to return to Scotland -in extreme old age, when all fears of the Jacobites had passed away -for ever. - -Again the unclouded moon was shining over Steinkirke when Walter -passed it, and vividly on his mind came back the fierce memories of -that impetuous hour. The great plain was deserted, the full eared -corn was waving heavily, and not a sound disturbed the silence of the -moonlit scenery save the deep bay of a household dog or the croak of -a passing stork. - -Thickly on every hand lay the graves of the faithful dead. In some -instances he saw great burial mounds; in others there was but one -solitary grave secluded among the long grass and reeds, and his horse -started instinctively as he passed them. - -Fragments of clothing, accoutrements, and other relics, lay among the -rank weeds by the side of the fields, under the green hedge-rows, in -the wet ditches; and even fleshless bones, bare scalps, fingers and -toes, protruded from the soil, imparting an aspect of horror to the -moonlighted plain where the battle had been fought. - -The abbatis still lay there, but the foliage of the trees that formed -it had long since faded and decayed. A great tumulus, on which the -young grass was sprouting, lay within it. - -"Poor Finland!" muttered Walter, and with a moistened eye and heavy -heart he plunged his horse into the Senne and swam to the opposite -bank. The cottage where he had found shelter had now disappeared; -its foundations, scorched and blackened by fire, alone marked the -place where it stood. He thought of the poor Ursuline and her story, -and sighed that he could learn nothing more of her fate; he sighed, -too, at the memory of the beautiful Margaret Mackay, and felt the -keenest remorse for having slain her father. - -Of the recluse he never heard more; but the daughter of Mackay -reached the camp of William in safety, and in after years became the -wife of her kinsman and chief, George, third Lord Reay of Farre. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -WALTER FENTON AND THE KING. - - To daunton me, and me sae young, - And guid King James's auldest son! - Oh, that's the thing that never can be, - For the man is unborn that'll daunton me! - O set me once upon Scottish land, - With my guid braid-sword into my hand, - My bannet blue aboon my bree, - Then shew me the man that'll daunton me! - JACOBITE RELIQUES. - - -His confessor had just withdrawn, and King James was sitting in his -closet involved in gloomy and distracting reverie--immersed in -thoughts which even the mild exhortations of the priest had failed to -soothe, and with his eyes intently fixed on the morning sun as it -rose red and unclouded in the east, he gave way to the sadness that -oppressed him. - -Alternately he was a prey to a storm of revengeful and bitter -political reflections, or to a gloomy fanaticism, which impaired the -courage and lessened the magnanimity for which he had once been -distinguished. On discovering that he was constantly conferring with -the Jesuits upon abstruse theology, the ribald Louis spoke of him in -terms of pity mingled with contempt. The French ridiculed, the -Romans lampooned him, and, while the Sovereign Pontiff supplied him -liberally with indulgences, the Archbishop of Rheims said -ironically--"There is a pious man who hath sacrificed three crowns -for a mass!" - -And this was all the unfortunate and mistaken James had gained, by -his steady and devoted adherence to a falling faith. - -Bestowing a glance of undisguised hostility, not unmingled with -contempt, at the follower of St. Ignatius Loyola as he withdrew, the -Earl of Dunbarton, clad in his old uniform as a Scottish general, -entered the apartment of the King. The green ribbon of St. Andrew -was worn over his left shoulder, the star with its four silver points -sparkled on his left breast, and around his neck hung the red ribbon -of the Bath, and the magnificent collar of the Garter. - -"Good morning, my Lord Dunbarton; you look as if you had something to -communicate. Any news from Flanders? Is my dutiful son-in-law still -playing at long bowles with Luxembourg? Has Sir Walter Fenton -arrived?" - -"He awaits your Majesty's pleasure in the ante-chamber." - -"Let him be introduced at once! Why all this etiquette?" - -"Because, please your Majesty, it is all that is left to remind me of -other days." - -"True," said the King thoughtfully. - -"Welcome, my brave and faithful soldier!" he exclaimed, as Walter was -introduced by the gentlemen in waiting, and kneeled to kiss his hand. -"Welcome from Flanders, that land of fighting and fertility. My poor -Sir Walter, you look very pale and emaciated." - -"I was wounded at Steinkirke, please your Majesty; and with those -unfortunate gentlemen, my comrades, have undergone such hardships and -humiliations as no imagination can conceive." - -Walter's eyes suffused with tears; his voice and his heart trembled. -He felt a gush of loyalty and ardour swelling within his breast, that -would have enabled him cheerfully to lay his life at the feet of the -King. The remark of a celebrated modern writer is indeed a true one. -"Unfortunate and unwise as were the Stuart family, there must have -been some charm about them, for they had instances of attachment and -fidelity shewn them of which _no other line of Kings could boast_." - -"You have indeed undergone sufferings which God only can reward," -said the King, laying a hand kindly on his shoulder; "and your ill -requited valour is a striking example of the falsehood and flattery -of the Court of Versailles." - -"When I consider our achievements," replied Walter, "my soul fires -with pride and ardour; but when I think of the friends that have -fallen, my heart dies away within me. To the last of my blood and -breath I will serve your majesty; but, notwithstanding this gift of -the Cross of St. Louis, I will follow the banner of the donor no -more." - -"Louis is a noble prince," said the Earl of Dunbarton, "and one who -hath raised his realm to the greatest pitch of human grandeur." - -"Oh, say not so, my Lord! When I remember the cruel persecution of -his subjects after the Treaty of Nimguen, his repealing the edict of -Nantes, his tyranny over the noblesse and the parliament, his unjust -wars and usurpations, in which he pours forth so prodigally the blood -and the treasures of his people; his blasphemous titles and lewd -life; I can only remember with shame that I have served in his army, -and from this hour renounce his service for ever. And were it not -that this cross hung once on the breast of the gallant Luxembourg, I -would hurl it into the Seine." - -"The remembrance of your sufferings doubtless animates this unwise -train of thought, Sir Walter," said the King, slightly piqued. "But -permit me to remark, that to indulge your opinions thus in France, is -to run your head into the lion's mouth. How goes the war in -Flanders?" - -"Still doubtfully, please your Majesty; but the recent arrival of the -Duke of Leinster at Ostend, with fresh troops for William, may turn -the fortune of the war against Henri of Luxembourg, and consequently -please the people of England, who are not very favourably disposed -towards this expensive and unnecessary war for the Dutch interests of -the usurper." - -"The best proof of this new sentiment, is the discontent of the -Cameronians in the western districts of Scotland. What dost think, -Sir Walter? They have engaged to muster 5000 horse and 20,000 -infantry for my complete restoration, provided Louis will give them -only one month's subsidy, beside other supplies, and these he hath -solemnly promised me." - -"From my soul I thank Heaven that again it is turning the hearts of -your subjects towards you. If such is the spirit of the Cameronians, -oh, what will be the energy and the ardour of the Cavaliers! But -trust not in Louis; he has ruined every prince with whom he has been -allied, in war or in politics, and assuredly he will shipwreck the -interests of your Majesty, as he has done those of others." - -"Still judging hardly of his most Christian Majesty," said James, -smiling. "But I have the pledged words of better men. From the -noble Drummonds', the gallant Keiths', the Hays', from the Lord -Stormont and the Murrays', the gay Gordons and Grahames, I have -received the most solemn promises of adherence and loyalty; and I -know that the glorious clans of the northern shires will all rush to -my standard the moment it is unfurled upon the Highland hills. Oh, -yes!" continued the King, while his dark eyes flashed with joyous -enthusiasm; "once again as in my father's days the war-cry of the -Gael will ring from Lochness to Lochaber." - -"But where is now Montrose, and where Dundee?" said Lord Dunbarton in -a low voice. - -"God will raise up other champions for those who have suffered so -much in his service as the Princes of the House of Stuart," replied -the King with Catholic fervour and confidence. "Meantime, Sir -Walter, I would have you to set out for Scotland forthwith, to -negotiate with those distinguished cavaliers, while the minds of my -people are still inflamed by the memory of that fiend-like massacre -at Glencoe, the defeat of Steinkirke, the slaughter of their -soldiers, and all the disgusts incident to the Flemish campaign -abroad and William's administration at home. My Lord Dunbarton avers -that he will pledge his honour for the loyalty of his old regiment -and the Scottish Guards, both horse and foot, for his Countess has -questioned every man of them. You will not fail to visit Drummond of -Hawthorndon; he comes of a leal and true race, and his house, with -its deep caverns and secret outlets, is a noble place of rendezvous -and security. You will be liberally supplied with money and letters -of credit and compliment. You may promise, in my name, everything -that seems requisite--titles, honours, pensions,--I will trust to -your discretion, from what the Lord Dunbarton has told me of you. -Flatter the vain, conciliate the stubborn, secure the wavering, and -fire the loyal. Leave nothing undone, and remember that, perhaps on -the success of your mission depend the fortune of the prince, my son, -the ancient liberties of Scotland, the honour of her people, and the -fate of her regal line." - -The King ceased, and Walter was so overwhelmed by the magnitude of -the diplomacy entrusted to him, and the joy at returning to Scotland, -that he remained silent for some moments. - -"Oh, with what a mission does your Majesty honour me!" he exclaimed, -glowing with ambition, gratitude and joy. "How can I express my -thanks for this great confidence reposed in one so poor, so -friendless?" - -"These are good qualities, Sir Walter, for a Jacobite agent; you may -(being friendless and unknown) make your way through Scotland in -safety, when a coroneted baron, or the chief of a powerful sept, -would soon be discovered and committed to the Castle of Edinburgh or -the Tower of London. Go, Sir Walter; Lord Dunbarton and my secretary -will arrange the matters you require, and in addition to my holograph -letters to the Lowland lords and Highland chiefs, will give you -others to Mr. Brown, my English agent, and Father Innes, President of -the Scots' College at Paris, who acts for me in Scotland. Go, Sir -Walter, and prosper! If ever we meet again, let us hope it will be -under very different circumstances. May God and his thrice-blessed -mother keep their hands over you, and inspire you for the sake of my -dear little son and the people over whom he is to rule! Farewell--I -have in some sort rewarded your courage in the field, but if your -talent in diplomacy equals it, I swear by the sceptre that my sires -have borne for ages, you shall be Earl of Dalrulion in the north, and -cock your beaver with the best peer in all broad Scotland. Farewell! -may we meet again at the head of a loyal and faithful army, or part -to meet no more!" - -Again Walter Fenton kneeled, and after kissing the hand of James, was -hurried away by the Earl of Dunbarton. - -Furnished with a great number of letters addressed to the principal -nobles and chiefs in Scotland, Walter artfully sewed them into the -lining of his hat and the stiff buckram skirts of his coat, after -which, without an hour's delay, he departed on his arduous and -dangerous mission--to overturn the established governments of two -kingdoms--to hurl down one dynasty and restore another. - -Already he had gained a title which formerly he had possessed only in -his day-dreams of success and glory; but now decorated by Louis with -his new and famous military order, promised a peerage by his King, -fired by loyalty, ardour, and love, he seemed to occupy a giddy -eminence, from which he viewed distinctly a long and happy future. - -It was a far-stretching and glorious vista of triumph and success; -the restoration of the king by his means, and oh, far above all,--the -exultation of placing a Countess's coronet on the bright tresses of -Lilian Napier. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE RETURNED EXILE. - - Then, Mary, turn awa' - That bonnie face o' thine; - Oh, dinna shew the breast - That never can be mine. - - Wi' love's severest pangs - My heart is laden sair; - And owre my breast the grass maun grow, - Ere I am free from care. - - -In the gloaming of an evening in the autumn of 1693 a man left the -western gate of Edinburgh, and, skirting the suburb of the Highriggs, -struck into the roadway between the fields. - -The sickly rays of a yellow sun shining faintly through the mist -after throwing the shadows of the gigantic castle far to the -eastward, had died away, and a deeper gloom succeeding, denoted the -close of the day as the fall of the fluttering leaves did that of the -dreary year. - -The stranger was Walter Fenton; but how changed in aspect and attire! -His form was thin and emaciated, his cheek pale, his eyes sunken from -the pain of his wound and the toil of campaigning; but his step was -as free, and his bearing erect as ever. His attire was of the -plainest grey freize, with great horn buttons; a brown scratch wig -and a plain beaver hat concealed the dark locks that curled beneath -them; he carried a walking staff in lieu of a sword, and appeared to -lean on it a little at times. He was now in the character of a Low -Country merchant, and, favoured by a passport from the conservator of -Scottish privileges at Campvere, had an hour before landed from the -good ship Fame of Queensferry, at the ancient wooden pier of Leith. - -Often he made brief pauses to view the desolate scene around him; for -in that year a heavy curse seemed to have fallen upon the desolate -kingdom of Scotland. - -On an evening in the preceding summer, when everything was blooming -and smiling--when the land was rich with verdure and the woods were -heavy with foliage, a cold wind came from the eastward, and, -accompanied by a dense and sulphureous mist, swept over the face of -the country, blighting whatsoever was touched by its pestilential -breath. - -The fields seemed to whiten under its baleful influence; the ripening -corn withered, and the land was struck with a barrenness. Dense, -opaque, and palpable, like a chain of hills, this strange and horrid -vapour lay floating in the valleys for many successive months, and -there its effects were more disastrous. The heat of the sun seemed -to diminish, the insects disappeared from the air and the birds from -the withered woods, which, long ere the last month of summer, became -divested of their faded foliage. The cattle became dwarfish and -meagre, and the flocks perished by scores on the decaying heather of -the blasted mountains. The people became sickly, ghastly, and -prostrated in spirit; for a curse seemed to have fallen upon the land -and all that was in it. - -This terrible visitation continued until the year 1701, and the _dear -years_ were long remembered with horror in Scotland. - -In some places, January and February became the months of harvest, -and, amid ice and snow, and the sleet that drizzled through that -everlasting and sulphureous mist, the half famished people reaped in -grief and misery a small part of their scanty produce, while the -other was left to rot in the ground. Famine, the lord of all, -stalked grimly over the land, and strong men and wailing women, yea, -and feeble children, fought like wild beasts for a handful of meal in -the desolate market places. - -"There was many a blank and pale face in Scotland," says Walker, the -famous Presbyterian pedlar, "and as the famine waxed sore, wives -thought not of their husbands, nor husbands of their wives," and the -gloomy superstition and fanatical intolerance of the time added fresh -horrors to this ghastly scourge. - -The famine was not yet at its height; but there was a desolation in -the aspect of the land that deeply impressed the mind of the returned -exile, and he sighed in unison with the dreary wind as it swept over -the blasted muir, shaking down the crisped leaves and acorns of -stately old oaks of Drumsheugh. Save the solitary heron, wading as -of old in the lake, not a bird was to be seen, not an insect buzzing -about the leafless hedges. The air was dense and cold, and all was -very still. - -The country seemed to be wasting like a beautiful woman decaying in -consumption. Walter felt that the manners of the people were -changed; intense gravity and moroseness, real or affected, were -visible in every face, while sad coloured garments, Geneva cloaks, -and Dutch fashions were all the rage. Every trace of the smart -mustache had disappeared, and with it the slashed doublets, the -waving feathers and dashing airs of the gallant cavaliers. - -Even the sentinels at the palace gates and the portes of the city, -might have passed for those before the Town House or _Rasp Haus_ at -Amsterdam. The smart steel cap of the old Scottish infantry had now -given place to a vast overshadowing beaver looped up on three sides, -and the scarlet doublet slashed with blue, and the jacket of spotless -buff, to square tailed and voluminous coats of brick-red, with yellow -breeches and belts worn saltier-wise. - -Bitterly the reflection came home to the heart of the poor Cavalier, -that - - "The times were changed, old manners gone, - And a _stranger_ filled the Stuarts' throne!" - - -Though confident of succeeding in his diplomacy with the loyal lords -and chieftains of the Jacobite faction, he was well aware how arduous -and difficult was the task to overthrow two Governments so well -arranged, ably constituted and supported, as those of England and -Scotland. It had long been the policy of William III. to conciliate -domestic enemies, and, in pursuance of it, he had bestowed several -lucrative offices on the leaders of the discontented and kirk-party. -The Scottish Parliament, which had recently met, received from him an -able and cunning letter, replete with flattering and cajoling -expressions, which put all the Presbyterian Lords in such excellent -humour, that they returned a most dutiful and affectionate -address--granted him a supply of six new battalions of infantry, a -body of seamen, and one hundred and fifty thousand pounds, to enable -him to carry on his useless wars with new vigour; but though the -Parliament was thus obsequious, the people were far from being -pleased; and the Jacobites, numerous, enthusiastic, and determined, -every where fanned the flames of discord and dissension. - -The institution of fines and oaths of assurance upon absentees from -Parliament, which had direct reference to certain Cavalier Lords and -lesser Barons, exasperated them as much as the horrible massacre of -Glencoe did the commonalty, who raised throughout the land a cry for -vengeance on William and his Government. - -Walter Fenton reflected on these things as he walked onward, and knew -that he had come at a critical time. Other thoughts soon succeeded, -and, grasping his staff as he had often done his sword, he pushed -forward with a sparkling eye and reddening cheek. - -Without impairing his nobler sentiments, suffering and misfortune had -powerfully strengthened his loyalty and virtue, as much as -campaigning had improved his bearing and lent a firmness and manly -determination to his aspect; but often his brow saddened and the fire -of his eye died away, when he thought of Finland and those he had -been permitted to survive and to mourn. - -Glowing with sensations of rapture, and eagerly anticipating the -flush of joy that awaited him, he passed the rhinns of the beautiful -loch, the curious gable-ended old house where once the Regent Murray -dwelt, and approached the gate of Bruntisfield. - -His heart beat painfully; he was deeply agitated. Five weary years -had elapsed since he had stood on that spot, and it seemed only as -yesterday. Through all the hurry of events that had swept over him, -his memory went back to that memorable eve of September (of which -this was now the anniversary) and to the glorious ardour that -animated his heart on the day he marched for England, when the long -line of the Scottish host wound over yonder hill before him. Oh, for -one hour more of those fierce longings and brave impulses! But alas! -the spirit seemed to have passed away for ever. - -He approached the avenue. The old gate with its massive arch, its -mossy carvings and loopholed wall, had given place to a handsome new -erection of more modern architecture, surmounted by a rich coat of -arms; and Walter felt every pulse grow still, and every fibre tremble -as he surveyed the sculptured blazon. - -It bore the saltire of Napier, engrailed between four roses, but -quartered, collared, and coroneted with other bearings. - -His heart became sick and palsied. Oh, it was a horrible sensation -that came over him; he stood long irresolute and apprehensive. - -"Of what am I afraid!" he suddenly exclaimed with the enthusiasm of a -true and impassioned lover. "There is some mistake here; the house -has been sold or gifted away like many another noble patrimony to the -slaves of the Statholder. Lilian! Dear Lilian, when shall I hold -thee in my arms?" - -He was about to rush forward, when a horseman, the glittering lace on -whose bright coloured suit of triple velvet, and waving ostrich -feathers that fluttered in his diamond hat-band, formed a strong -contrast to the sombre fashions of the time, dashed down the -leaf-strewn avenue on a beautiful charger, with the perfumed ringlets -of his white peruke dancing in the wind--for white perukes, from a -spirit of opposition, were all the rage then, as _black_ had been -under the three last princes of the old hereditary line. It was Lord -Clermistonlee. - -"Hollo, fellow!" he cried imperiously, "keep out of my horse's -way--dost want thy bones broken!" and giving a keen but casual glance -at the dejected wanderer, he spurred onward to the city. - -Suddenly he reined up so sharply as almost to pull his pawing steed -back upon its strained and bending haunches. - -"'Tis he!" exclaimed the proud lord, as he thought aloud. "By the -great father of confusion 'tis he! How could I mistake, though -truly, poor devil, these last five years have sadly changed him. But -on what fool's errand comes he here? By all the furies, I knew his -lachrymose visage in a moment, though the despatches of Dalrymple of -Stair, to our Lords of Council, had in some sort prepared me for his -return, and for what?--to organize a plot for James's restoration. -Poor fool! Infatuated in love as in politics. He believes in the -faith of women and the word of Kings; let us see how they will avail -him tonight." - -He smiled scornfully, and twisted the heavy dark mustachios which he -still cherished with more than Mahommedan veneration. Alternately -sad and bitter thoughts swelled within him as he remembered the -joyous revelry of King Charles's days, and the tyranny he could then -exercise over all nonconformists, and the hunting and -hosting-dragooning and drinking of the Covenanting wars; then came -feelings of jealousy and revenge that, as they blazed up in his proud -breast, bore all before them. - -"How dares he now to prowl before my own gates? Gadso! if my Lady -Lilian sees him once, there will be a pretty disturbance. A shipload -of devils will be nothing to it. The girl will die, and my own house -will become too hot to hold me. D----nation! too well have I seen -the secret passion that has preyed upon her gentle and affectionate -heart--the grief--the deep consuming grief that all my magnificent -presents and gentle blandishments have failed to soothe. A thousand -curses on this upstart beggar, and a thousand more on the mother of -mischief, who has raised him up again to cross my path! By what -power hath he escaped war and woe, and storm and every danger again -to thwart and come in the way of Clermistonlee, whose purposes were -never yet foiled by man, or woman either? 'S death! the time has -come when the cord of the doomster, or the axe of the maiden, must -rid me for ever of this old source of dark forebodings and secret -inquietude. Ho, for a guard and a warrant of Council, and then Sir -Walter Fenton, Knight Banneret, the Jacobite spy, Chevalier of St. -Louis, ex-private soldier, and soi-disant ensign to the Lord -Dunbarton, may look to himself! Ha, ha!" and dashing spurs into his -horse he galloped madly into the city. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE BUBBLE BURST. - - To linger when the sun of life, - The beam that gilt its path is gone-- - To feel the aching bosom's strife, - When _Hope_ is dead, but _Love_ lives on. - ANONYMOUS. - - -Meanwhile, without recognising Clermistonlee, and not aware that he -had been recognized by him, poor Walter, who was of that temperament -which is easily raised and depressed, turned away from the gate, -crushed beneath the load of a thousand fears at the sight of so gay a -cavalier caracoling down the avenue of Bruntisfield. - -His heart was overcharged with melancholy reflections. "I have been -away for five years--in all that time we have never heard of each -other. Oh, what if she should have deemed me dead!" - -Drawing his last shilling from his pocket, the unfortunate cavalier -entered a poor change-house by the wayside, where a great signboard -creaking on an iron rod and representing a portrait in a red coat and -white wig, and having a tremendously hooked nose, imported that it -was the 'King William's head,' kept by Lucky Elshender, who promised -good entertainment for "man and beast." - -The small clay-floored apartment, with its well-scrubbed bunkers, and -rack of shining plates and tin trenchers, kirn-babies on the -mantelpiece, and blazing ingle, where turf and wood burned cheerfully -in a clumsy iron basket, supported by four massive legs, looked very -snug and comfortable. - -A personage evidently a divine, long visaged and dark featured, with -his lanky sable hair falling on his Geneva bands and coat of rusty -black, sat warming his spindle legs at the warm hearth, and smoking a -long pipe, on the bowl of which he fixed his great lack lustre eyes -with an expression of the deepest abstraction. It was the Reverend -Mr. Ichabod Bummel, who came every evening as regularly as six -o'clock struck, to smoke a pipe, and hear the passing news at the -change-house kept by his aunt-in-law old Elsie, and to bore every -traveller who was disposed to hear the abstruse theology and -ponderous arguments advanced in his _Bombshell_, for that immortal -work had been printed at last, in thick quarto, and a copy of it now -lay under his elbow all ready for action against the first -good-natured listener or fool-hardy disputant. - -In person this redoubtable champion of toleration was as lean as -ever, though the goods and chattels of this world had flowed amply -upon him of late, notwithstanding the oppression and famine of the -time. He had cautiously purchased various tofts and pendicles on the -banks of the Powburn, and to these he gave hard and unusual -scriptural names, which they bear unto this day, and which the -curious may find by consulting the City Directory. One he named the -Land of Canaan, another the Land of Goshen, the Land of Egypt, -Hebron, and so forth, while the little runnel that traverses them was -exalted into the waters of Jordan. Meinie, whom he had espoused, had -"proved," as he said, "ane fruitful vine," for she had brought him -four sons, all long-visaged, hollow-eyed, and sepulchral counterparts -of himself, and he named them Shem, Ham, Japhet, and Ichabod. - -On the opposite side of the ingle, and far back in a corner, a -miserable-looking woman crouched on the stone bench for warmth. A -tartan plaid was muffled about her shoulders, and half concealed her -hollow cheeks and ghastly visage. She seemed a personification of -the famine and misery that reigned so triumphantly in Scotland. Her -eyes were full of unnatural lustre; they flashed like diamonds in the -light of the fire, but had a scrutinizing and stern expression in -them that startled Walter, and he felt uneasy in her vicinity. - -"It's only puir Beatrix Gilruth, my winsome gentleman," said Elsie in -a low voice; "she is a gomeral--a natural body that bides about the -doors, Sir; just a puir, harmless, daft creature. She'll no harm -you, Sir." - -In the tumult of his mind Walter did not at first recognise either -Elsie or Ichabod, but assuming an air of as much unconcern as he -could muster, he called for a bicker of French wine, and took -possession of a cutty stool which the slipshod Elsie placed for him -hurriedly and officiously opposite the divine, who regarded him with -a keen scrutinizing glance, to ascertain his probable station in -life, his errand, and objects in coming hither. He saw that he was a -traveller, and being on foot must be a poor one. - -"Good e'en to your reverence, for I presume I have the honour of -addressing a clergyman," said Walter, politely. - -"Hum--humph!" answered Ichabod, with a short cough, nodding his head, -and never once moving his eyes from Walter's face. Every man was -then doubtful and suspicious of strangers (the Scots are so to the -present hour), and consequently Ichabod was singularly dry and -reserved. But Elsie drew near Walter, and looked at him attentively. -The grief that preyed upon his heart had imparted a singularly -prepossessing mildness to his features, and a winning cadence to the -tone of his voice, but the stark preacher neither saw one nor felt -the influence of the other. - -"A cold night, your reverence." - -"Yea," gasped Ichabod, and there was another pause. - -"My service to you, Sir. Wilt taste my wine? 'tis right Gascony, and -I should be a judge." - -"Yea, having been in those parts where it was produced, probably," -observed Ichabod, becoming more curious and communicative as he -imbibed the lion's share of Walter's wine pot, and waited for an -answer, but there was none given. - -"Verily, Sir," began Mr. Bummel, "these are times to chill the souls -and bodies of the afflicted. Thou seest how sore the famine waxeth -in the land, especially in these our once fertile Lothians, which -whilome were wont to be overflowing with milk and honey." - -"Ay," chimed in Elsie, "but I've seen them in mair fearfu' times, -when they were overflowing wi' blude and soldiers." - -"'Tis for that red harvest, woman, that we are visited by this -lamentable scourge; plagued even as Egypt was of old. In these three -fertile shires of Lothian I have seen a woeful change since the last -harvest, and my heart grows heavy when I think upon it; but I am -about to arise and go forth from them for ever." - -"Indeed, Sir," said Walter. - -"I have gotten a pleasant call from the Lord to another kirk----" - -"Wi' a _better_ stipend, Sir," added the gleeful Elsie. - -"Indubitably," said Mr. Bummel. - -"Twa hunder pound Scots, a braw glebe, four bolls o' beir," replied -Elsie, counting on her crooked and wrinkled fingers, "aucht -chalders--" - -"Peace, woman Elsie, for this enumeration of thine savours of a love -for the things of this life." - -"And a braw pulpit. O, but it's grand you'll be, Ichabod, when in -full birr under your sounding board. But alake, Sir," she added, -turning to Walter, "arena' these fearfu' times?' - -"Sad indeed, gudewife." - -"I was in the mealmarket this morning, and oh, Sirs, it was a sight -to rend the heart of a nether millstane to see the hungry bairns and -wailing mothers worrying about the half-filled pokes. God help them! -the puir folk are deeing fast the west country we hear." - -"'Tis a scourge on the land for its former sins," said the preacher -in his most sepulchral tone; "but let us hope that the faith of its -people will save it!" - -"You'll hae come from some far awa' country I'm thinking, Sir?" said -Elsie, inquisitively, for the extreme sadness of Walter interested -her extremely. - -"True I have, good woman." - -"France, I fancy? that land o' priests and persecution." - -"From Holland last. I am a merchant, and deal in broadcloths and -cart saddles. From Holland last," he repeated, for their -inquisitiveness made him uneasy. - -"A blessed land, good youth," said Mr. Bummel. "I sojourned there -long when there was a flaming sword over the children of -righteousness." - -"Reverend sir, canst tell me what are the news among you here?" asked -Walter, who was in an agony of mind to lead the conversation to what -lay nearest his heart. - -"Verily, Sir, nought but the famine--the famine. The west winds hath -detained the Flanders mail these two months, and we have heard -nothing from London these many weeks, save anent plots of the -Jacobites and Papists, of whilk we have ever enough and to spare." - -"What have you heard of them of late?" - -"'Tis said that one Walter Fenton, formerly an officer in the -regiment of Dunbarton (that bloody oppressor of Israel) is now -tarrying among us, plotting in James's cause, or on some such errand -of hell." - -"The rascal," said Walter, drinking to conceal the confusion that -overspread his face. - -"Yea," continued Ichabod, puffing vigorously, and luckily involving -himself in a cloud of smoke. "This morning the heralds, in their -vain-glorious trumpery, were proclaiming at the Cross the reward of a -thousand merks to any that will bring his head to the Privy Council; -and the Lord Clermistonlee, from the good will and affection he bears -his Majesty, offers five hundred more?" - -"Do you think he will be found?" - -"Indubitably. The ports are closed, the guards on the alert; the -messengers-at-arms, macers, and halberdiers are all in full chase. -He must perish, and so may all who would restore the abominations of -idolatry! Here in my _Bombshell_ (a work whilk I have lately -imprinted with mickle care and toil), if I do not prove, from the -epistles to the Thessalonians, that the great master of popery, the -Bishop of Rome, is the grand Antichrist therein referred to, I will -be well content to kiss the bloody maiden that stands under the -shadow of the Tolbooth gable." - -"Hear till him!" cried the delighted Elsie. "Hear till him! O wow, -but my Meinie's man is a grand minister--he rides on the rigging of -the kirk!" - -"I am a stranger here," said Walter, no longer able to repress the -torture of his mind; "I know nothing of the vile plot you speak of, -having been long in the industrious Low Countries--and--and--cans't -tell me, your Reverence, whose mansion is approached by yonder -stately avenue of oaks and sycamores?" - -"The House of Bruntisfield--called of old the Wrytes." - -"Aich ay," added Elsie, shaking her head mournfully; "but a house o' -wrongs now." - -"Wherefore, gudewife?" - -"It is a lang story, honoured Sir," replied Elsie, drawing her stool -nearer Walter, and knitting very fast to hide her emotion. "The auld -line o' the Napiers ended in a lassie, as bonnie a doo as the Lowdens -three could boast o', and mony came frae baith far and near to the -wooing and winning o' her; but nane cam speed save a -neer-do-weel-loon o' a cavalier officer, to whom she plighted heart -and troth--and the plighting pledge was a deid woman's ring. As -might be expected, the hellicate cavalier gaed awa' to the wars and -plundering in the Lowlands of Holland, and sair my young lady -sorrowed for him; I ken that weel, for I was her nurse, and mony a -lang hour she grat in my arms for her love that was far awa'. At -last word came frae Low Germanie that the fause villain had married -some unco' papistical woman, and, in a mad fit o' black despair, my -lady accepted the most determined, if no the best o' her suitors----" - -"Who?" asked Walter in an unearthly voice, and feeling for the sword -he wore no longer. "Who?" - -"Randal Lord Clermistonlee, and ehow! but sair hath been the change -in our gude auld barony since then. Her braw lands and -farmsteadings, her auld patrimony, baith haugh and holme, loch and -lea, brae and burn, are a' melting and fleeing awa' by the wasterfu' -extravagance o' the wildest loon in a' braid Scotland. Hawks and -hounds, revellers and roisterers, and ill-women, thrang the great ha' -house frae een to morn and morn till eenin'; and sae, between the -freaks and follies, the pride and caprice o' her lord, my puir doo -Lilian leads the life o' a blessed martyr. When mad wi' wine and ill -luck at the dice tables, he rampages ower her like a Bull o' Bashan; -while, at other times, he just doats on her as a faither would on a -favourite bairn. But, alake! doating can never remove the misery -that has closed over her for the short time she'll likely be amang -us--for her heart is breaking fast--it is--it is!" - -Here Elsie wept bitterly, and then resumed. - -"Her marriage day was ane o' the darkest dool to a' the barony, for -on that miserable day our auld lady died; and a' the leal servitors -were soon after expelled to mak' room for the broken horse-coupers, -ill-women and vagabonds, that were ever and aye in the train o' the -new lord." - -While Elsie ran on thus, Walter heard her not. His mind was a -perfect chaos of distraction. - -Oh, what a shock were these tidings to one whose head was so full of -romance and enthusiasm, and whose heart was brimming with sensibility -and love! - -He felt an utter prostration of every faculty, and a deadly coldness -seemed to pass over the pulses of his heart. He arose, and laying on -the table the last coin he possessed in the world, hurried forth -without waiting for change, and, bent on some desperate deed, blind -and reckless, with anger, agony and despair in his soul, he entered -the dark shadowy avenue, and approached the old castellated -mansion--the place of so many tender memories. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -LOVE AND MARRIAGE ARE TWO. - - Oh, these were only marks of joy, forsooth, - For his return in safety! Were they so? - And so ye may believe, and so my words - May fall unheeded! Be it so; what comes - Will nevertheless come. - AGAMEMNON OF ÆSCHYLUS. - - -The shadows of the gloomy evening had deepened as he approached the -ancient Place of Bruntisfield, and its dark façade, its heavy -projecting turrets and barred casements, impressed him with -additional sadness. - -The wind sighed down the lonely avenue, and whirled the fallen leaves -as it passed. Many a raven flapped its wings and screamed -discordantly above his head, and all such sounds had a powerful -effect on him at the time. - -Confused, despairing, and feeling a sentiment of profound contempt -and anger, struggling for mastery with his old and passionate love, -his heart seemed about to rend with its conflicting emotions. - -One sensation was ever present--it was one of desolation and -loneliness--that he had nothing more to live for; that the world was -all a blank. The light that had long led him on through so many -miseries and dangers had vanished from his view: his idol was -shattered for ever. - -He felt that it was impossible to think with calmness; to tear from -his breast the dear image and the cherished hopes he had fostered -there so long--to exchange admiration for contempt--love for -indifference. Oh, no! it could never be. Ages seemed to have -elapsed since the sun had set that evening; while his parting with -Lilian, the triumph of Killycrankie, the carnage of Steinkirke, and -his mission from the King, seemed all the events of yesterday. - -He felt sick and palsied at heart. - -Irresistibly impelled to see her, heedless alike of the dangerous -charm of her presence and the risk he ran if discovered, his whole -soul was bent upon an interview, that he might upbraid her with her -perfidy--hurl upon her a mountain of reprobation and bitterness, of -obloquy and scorn, and then leave her presence for ever. - -"I am alone in the world," thought he. "This is my native land--the -land where I had garnered up my heart, my hopes, and my wishes, -though not one foot of it is mine save the sod that must cover me. -Of all the tens of thousands that tread its soil, there is not one -now with whom I can claim kindred, who would welcome me in coming, or -bless me in departing--not one to shed a tear on the grave where I -shall lie. Oh! it is very sad to feel one's self so desolate. Where -now are all those brave companions with whom I was once so daring, so -joyous, and so gay? Alas! on a hundred fields their bones lie -scattered, and I alone survive to mourn the glory of the days that -are gone for ever! Oh, never more shall the drum beat or trumpet -sound for me! Oh, never more shall love or glory fire my heart -again! Oh, never more, for the hour is passed and never can -return"--and he almost wept, so intensely bitter were his thoughts of -sorrow and regret. - -The barbican gate stood ajar, and the old and well remembered doorway -at the foot of the tower was also open; they seemed to invite his -entrance, and, careless of the consequences, he went mechanically -forward. - -The old portrait on horseback, the trophy of arms, and the wooden -Flemish clock with its monotonous _tick-tack_, still occupied the -vaulted lobby. Every thing seemed as he had seen them last. He -turned to the left and entered the chamber-of-dais, breathless and -trembling, for he seemed instinctively to know that _she_ was there. - -He entered softly, and, overpowered by the violence of his -conflicting emotions, stood rooted to the spot. The old chamber, -with its massive pannelling and rich decorations of the Scoto-French -school was partially lighted by the ruddy glow from the great -fire-place, and by the last deep red flush of the departed sun that -streamed through its grated windows. - -The dark furniture, the grotesque cabinets with their twisted -columns, the stark chairs with their knobby backs and worsted bobs, -the grim full-length of Sir Archibald Napier, cap-a-pie à la -cuirassier, the dormant beam with its load of lances, swords, and -daggers, were all as Walter had last seen them; but the old lady's -well-cushioned chair, her long walking-cane and ivory virreled -spinning-wheel had long since disappeared; and hawk's-hoods, hunting -horns, spurs, whips, and stray tobacco pipes lay in various places, -while in lieu of Lady Grisel's sleek and pampered tom cat, a great -wiry, red-eyed, sleuth hound slept on the warm hearth-rug. On all -this Walter bestowed not a glance, for his eyes and his soul became -immediately rivetted on the figure of Lilian. - -With her head leaning on her hand she sat within the deep recess of a -western window, and the faint light of the setting sun lit up her -features and edged her ringlets with gold. She was absorbed in deep -thought. - -Lilian, who for days, and months, and years, in health and in -sickness, in danger and in safety, in sorrow and in joy, had never -for a moment been absent from his thoughts, was now before him, and -yet he had not one word of greeting to bestow. He seemed to be in a -trance--to be oppressed by some horrible dream. - -He observed her anxiously and narrowly. Nothing could be more tender -than the love that was expressed in his eyes, and nothing more acute -than the agony expressed by his contracted features. - -Lapse of years, change of circumstances and of thought had -considerably altered the appearance of Lilian. The light-hearted, -slender, and joyous girl had expanded into a stately, grave, and -melancholy matron. Oh, what a change those five sad years had -wrought! Her dress was magnificent, as became the wife of a Scottish -noble; her figure, though still slight, was fuller and rounder than -of old; her face, though still dignified and beautiful, was -paler--even sickly. Her blue eyes seemed to have lost much of their -former brilliancy, and to have gained only in softness of expression. -Her dark lashes were cast down, and her aspect was sad and touching. -The bloom of her lip and her cheek had faded away together, for -heavily on her affectionate heart had the hand of suffering weighed. - -She wept, and the heart of Walter was melted within him. Had all the -universe been his he would have given it to have embraced her. He -sighed bitterly, but dared not to approach. - -"He is gone," said Lilian,--"gone to spend another night in riot and -debauchery, while I am left ever alone. Perhaps 'tis well, for often -his presence is intolerable. Woe is me! Oh, how different was the -future I once pictured to my imagination!" - -The sound of that dear voice, which had so often come to him through -his dreams in many a far and foreign camp and city, made Walter -tremble. He was deeply moved. The fire in the arched chimney, which -had been smouldering, now suddenly shot up into a broad and ruddy -blaze that lighted the whole chamber. Lilian turned her head, and -instantly grew pale as death, for full on the image of him who -occupied her thoughts--of Walter Fenton, hollow eyed, emaciated, and -supported on a walking-staff--fell the bright stream of that fitful -light. He looked so unearthly, so motionless and spectral, that -Lilian's blood ran cold. - -She would have screamed, but the cry died away upon her lips. After -a moment or two her spirit rallied; her respiration, though hurried, -became more free; her face blushed scarlet up to the very temples, -and then became ashy pale, as before, and her glazed eyes resumed -their wild and inquiring expression. She arose, but neither advanced -nor spoke. All power seemed to have left her. - -"Oh, Lilian! Lilian!" said the poor wanderer in a voice of great -pathos; "after the lapse of five long years of exile and suffering, -what a meeting is this for us! Under what a course of perils have -the hope of my return and your truth not sustained me? My God! that -I should find you thus. Is this the welcome I expected?" - -Summoning all her courage and that self-possession which women have -in so great a degree, Lilian (though her eyes were full of tears) -averted her face, and recalled the fatal letter of Finland, on which -had turned the whole of her future fate. - -"Look at me, adorable Lilian!" said Walter, kneeling and stretching -his arms towards her. - -Lilian dared not to look; but she trembled violently and sobbed -heavily. - -"Look at me, beloved one," said Walter wildly and passionately. -"Changed though I am, and though another holds your heart, you cannot -have forgotten me, or learned to view me with aversion and contempt. -If this Lord has won your affection--" - -"Oh, say not that, Walter," sobbed Lilian "do not say my affection." - -"Oh, horror! what misery can equal such an avowal? My fatal absence -has undone us both." - -"Say, rather, your fatal inconstancy." - -"Mine?" reiterated Walter. - -"Oh, yes, yes; upbraid me not," said Lilian in a piercing voice. "I -was faithful and true until you forsook me for another. To God I -appeal," she cried, raising her clasped hands and weeping eyes to -Heaven, "kneeling I appeal if ever in word, or thought, or hope I -swerved in truth from thee, dear Walter, until tidings of your -marriage reached me; when, stung by jealousy, by pride, by -disappointment and despair, and urged by the unmerited contumely that -had fallen upon me, I yielded to the exhortations of my friends, and -in an evil hour----." She covered her face with her hands, and could -say no more. - -"Heaven preserve my senses!" ejaculated Walter Fenton, "for here the -wiles of Hell have been at work. We have been deceived, cruelly -deceived, dear Lilian, by some deep-laid plot of villany which this -right hand shall yet unravel and revenge. And you are the wife of -Clermistonlee? Hear me, unfortunate! You are less than--ah, how -shall I say it? You are not and cannot be his wife!" - -"You rave, poor Walter. Our doom is irrevocably sealed. Our paths -in life must be for ever separate. Oh, for the love of gentle mercy -begone, and let us meet no more, for at this moment I feel my brain -whirling, and I am trembling on the very verge of madness." - -"Lilian, this is the 20th of September," said Walter. - -"Cruel, cruel; do not speak of it," said she, wringing her hands. -"For Heaven's sake leave me, and take back the pledge--the ring, for -to retain it longer were a sin, and too long have I sinned in -treasuring it as I have done." - -Unlocking a cabinet, she drew from a secret drawer a ring to which a -ribbon was attached, and offered it to Walter; but he never -approached. - -"We have been cruelly duped, dear Lilian; but oh, how could you doubt -me, for never did I mistrust you? But hear me, though my words -should crush your heart as mine just now is crushed. Alison Gifford, -the first wife of Lord Clermistonlee yet lives, though (as she told -me) dead to him and to the world for ever!" - -"What new horror is this?" said Lilian, pressing her hands upon her -temples. - -In a few words her unhappy lover explained how he had become -acquainted with the existence of Lady Clermistonlee. - -"Oh, this is indeed to bruise the bruised--to heap brands upon a -burning heart," said Lilian, as she sank into a chair and covered her -face with her hands. A long pause ensued, till Walter said in a low -and trembling voice, - -"Lilian, do you really love this man--this Clermistonlee?" - -"He is my husband." - -"It is impossible you can love him!" - -"Love him!--oh, no! custom has in part overcome the aversion with -which I once regarded him, and by his able flattery he has succeeded -in soothing me into a temper of kind indifference and quiet -resignation--but oh, this interview----" - -Walter, who had never dared to diminish the distance between them, -gazed wistfully and tenderly upon her; but at that moment an infant -that was sleeping in its cradle awoke, and cried aloud. Its voice -seemed to sting him to the heart, and he turned abruptly to withdraw. - -"Farewell, Lilian," said he; "I will go, and my presence shall -disturb your serenity no more. May you be happy, and may God bless -and forgive you for the agony I now endure! Clermistonlee, like the -matchless villain he has been through life, has wronged us both; but -let him tremble in the midst of his success and his treason, for the -hour is coming when our King shall enjoy his own again, and remember -that in that hour the same hand which rends the baron's coronet from -the brow of your betrayer, bestows on me the Earldom of Dalrulion! -Farewell," said he through his clenched teeth; "to me the paths of -ambition and revenge are open still, though those of happiness and -love are closed, alas, for ever!" He gave her one long glance of -agony, and turned to depart; but at that moment strong hands were -laid upon him violently--the room was filled with soldiers and the -beagles of justice; he was dragged down and bound with cords, ere he -could make the slightest effort in his own defence. - -"An out-and-out Jacobite, Papist, and a' the rest o' it--I ken by the -look o' him!" cried Maclutchy, the macer, flourishing his badge of -office. "Here will be some grand plots brought to light that will -bring half the country under doom o' forfeiture and fine. Kittle -times, lads, kittle times!' - -"Away with him!" cried Clermistonlee, spurning the manacled -unfortunate with his foot; "away with him! The Lords of the Privy -Council meet in an hour. Lose no time, for by all the devils, the -corbies of the Burghmuir shall pick his bones ere the morrow's sun be -set." - -As Walter was roughly dragged away, Lilian threw her hands above her -head, uttered one wild shriek, and fell forward on her face, -motionless as if dead. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE RING AND THE SECRET. - - See the cypress wreath of saddest hue, - The twining destiny threading through; - And the serpent coil is twisting there-- - While regardless of the victim's prayer, - The fiend laughs out o'er the mischief done, - And the canker-worm makes the heart his throne. - THE PROPHECY. - - -Twelve o'clock tolled heavily and sadly from the steeple of St. Giles. - -It was a bleak and cold night. The Lords of the Privy Council, -muffled up in their well-furred rocquelaures, with their hats flapped -over their periwigs, ascended from the subterranean vaults under the -Parliament House where they held their dreaded conclaves, and hurried -away to their residences in the various deep and steep wynds of the -ancient city. Mersington, who, overcome by sleep and wine, had -remained at the table until roused by Macer Maclutchy, was the last -to come forth, and he stood rubbing his eyes in the Parliament -Square, and watching the black gigantic statue of King Charles with -steady gravity, for he could have sworn at that moment that it seemed -to be trotting hard towards him. His rallying faculties were -scattered again by a stranger violently jostling him. - -"Haud ye dyvour loon!" exclaimed the incensed Senator; "I am the Lord -Mersington." - -"And what art doing here, pumpkinhead?" asked Clermistonlee, who was -quite breathless by having rushed up the Back Stairs, as those -flights of steps which ascended from the Cowgate to the Parliament -Square were named. "Are the proceedings over? Hath the villain -confessed? Is he to die?" - -"They are over, and he shall die conform to the Act." - -"And how went the proceedings?" - -"Deil kens; I sleepit the haill time." - -"Driveller!" cried Clermistonlee in a towering passion; "'tis like -thee; your head is as empty as my purse----" - -"Hee, hee, ye seem a bonnie temper to-night. But what detained you -frae the board, when ye knew you were principal witness?" - -"The sudden indisposition of Lady Clermistonlee made it impossible -for me to leave Bruntisfield--but I have this moment galloped in from -The Place." - -"You are a kind and considerate gudeman," said Mersington drily. - -"And what did this fellow confess?" - -"His abhorrence of you----" - -"Ha! ha!" - -"His hatred of the present government, and his weariness o' this -life. He spoke unco dreich and sadly, puir callant,--and sae I fell -fast asleep and dozed like a top." - -"And did not that goosecap, the King's Advocate, give him a twinge or -two of the torture?" - -"We brought some braw things to light without the help o' rack or -screw. The tails o' his coat were as fu' o' treason as an egg's fu' -o' meat. There were five and twenty autograph letters frae the -bluidy and papistical Duke James----" - -"Stuff! But lately he was styled His most Sacred Majesty, by the -grace of God, and so forth." - -"I speak as we wrote it in the council minutes. Five and twenty -letters to the cut-throat Hieland chiefs, to the Murrays of Stormont, -the Drummonds and others, some slee tod lowries we have long had our -een on. But maist of a' was a notable plot of that d----ned jaud -Madame Maintenon to assassinate King William." - -"Hah!" - -"From a paper found, it appears that a certain Monsieur Dumont is now -disguised as a soldier in our confederate army in Flanders, watching -an opportunity to shoot the King and escape." - -"By St. George, I hope the aforesaid Monsieur Dumont is a good -shot--a regular candle-snuffer!" - -"Our culprit, Fenton, knew not of Maintenon's plot, or of her papers -being among those on his person. He looked black dumbfoundered when -Maclutchy drew them frae a neuk in his coat tail." - -"And to whom were they directed?" - -"To one _Widow Douglas_, whilk the King's advocate avers to be no -other than the Lady Dunbarton. Fenton grew red with anger on their -being read, and smote his forehead, saying, '_Dupe that I have been! -the noble Duc de Chartres warned me to beware of De Maintenon; but -let it pass:_' and here, as I said, I fell fast asleep, until a -minute ago. But come, let us have a pint of sack; I am clean -brainbraised wi' drouth, and I warrant Lucky Dreep, in the -Kirk-o'-field Wynd, keeps open door yet." - -"And he dies?" said Clermistonlee, who could think of nothing but -glutting his revenge. - -"Early to-morrow morning, by the bullet." - -"I would rather it had been by the cord. How came our considerate -councillors to shoot instead of hang him?" - -"Soldiers, ye ken, are often soft-hearted when other men are in stern -mood; so auld General Livingstone, after pleading hard for Fenton's -life, and failing, procured what he called an honourable commutation -of the sentence, for which the puir gomeral cavalier thanked him as -if it had been a reprieve." - -"Cord or bullet it matters not. So perish all who would cross the -purposes of Randal of Clermistonlee." - -His Lordship for once resisted the importunities of his friend, and -instead of adjourning to a tavern, rode slowly and reluctantly back -to his own house. He felt a strange and unaccountable presentiment -of impending evil, for which he could not account, but endeavoured to -throw it from him. The effort was vain. - -He felt himself a villain. A load of long accumulated wickedness -oppressed his proud heart; it was not without its better traits, and -writhed as he reflected on some events in his past life. - -"Alison! Alison!" he exclaimed, turning his dark eyes upwards to the -star-studded firmament, "now thy curse is coming heavily upon me." - -His principal dread was the death of Lilian, for he had learned to -love her with tolerable sincerity, but he knew not the secret which -Walter had revealed to her, and the consequent intensity of her -horror, aversion, shame, and anger. He knew not the tempest it had -raised in her sensitive breast against him. - -When he entered the chamber-of-dais she was seated near a tall silver -lamp. The glare of the untrimmed light fell full upon her face, and -its ghastly and altered expression struck a mortal chillness on the -heart of her husband. He said not a word, but walking straight to a -beauffet filled a large silver cup several times with wine, and -always drained it to the bottom. The liquor mounted rapidly to his -brain; he threw himself into a chair opposite Lilian, and heedless of -the perfect scorn that quivered in her beautiful nostrils, and -sparkled in her brilliant eyes, began leisurely to unbutton his -riding gambadoes of red stamped maroquin, whistling a merry hunting -tune while he did so. - -It was easier for him to requite scorn with scorn than give -tenderness for love. - -"Confusion on the buttons!" he exclaimed. "Juden! Juden! Tush, I -forgot; poor Juden hath been with the devil these three years. There -is none now of all my rascally household who will share with me the -morrow's glut of vengeance as thou wouldst have done, my faithful -Juden." - -Lilian wrung her attenuated hands; Clermistonlee regarded her -sternly, and then bursting into a loud laugh, as he threw away his -boots and spurs, chanted a verse from the old black-letter ballad of -Gilderoy:-- - - "Beneath the left ear so fit for a cord, - A rope so charming a zone is; - Thy youth in his cart hath air of a Lord, - And we cry--there dies an Adonis!" - -"Ha! ha! I shall see his head on the Bow Port to-morrow, madam." - -"Infamous and wicked!" exclaimed Lilian, feeling all her old love -revived with double ardour, and no longer able to restrain her -sentiments of grief and indignation. "Walter, dear and beloved -Walter, how cruelly have I been deceived!" and drawing from her bosom -the ring--his mother's ring, the pledge of his betrothal, she pressed -it to her lips with fervour. - -The brow of the proud Clermistonlee grew black as thunder, and he -grasped her slender arm with the tenacity of a falcon. - -"Surrender this bauble, that I may commit it to the flames. -Surrender it, madam, lest I dash thee to the earth, for at this -moment I feel, by all the devils, my brain spinning like a jenny." - -"Give him the ring, Lady Lilian; give it, for the sight of it will -arrest his vision even as the letters of fire arrested the eyes of -Belshazzar and smote him with dismay. Sweet lady, let him look upon -it," said the voice of a woman. - -They turned, and beheld the pale, emaciated, and haggard visage of -Beatrix Gilruth, half shaded by a tattered tartan plaid. Taking -advantage of Lilian's momentary surprise, her husband snatched the -ring from her, and was about to hurl it into the fire, when, incited -by the woman's words, and impelled by some mysterious and -irresistible curiosity, he looked upon it, and the effect of his -single glance acted like magic upon him. He quitted his clutch of -Lilian's arm, trembled, grew pale, and turning the ring again and -again, surveyed it with intense curiosity. - -"How came _he_ to have this ring?" he muttered; "what strange mystery -is here? If it should be so---- O, impossible!" - -He pressed a spring that must have been known only to himself, for -Lilian had never discovered it in all the myriad times she had -surveyed it, and Walter himself was ignorant of the secret when he -bestowed the trinket upon her. The lapse of years had stiffened the -spring; but after a moment's pressure from the finger of -Clermistonlee, a little shield of gold unclosed, revealing a minute -and beautiful little miniature of himself, which in earlier days had -been one of the happiest efforts of the young Medina's pencil. - -"'Twas my bridal gift to Alison," he exclaimed in a voice of -confusion and remorse. "Oh, Alison, Alison! many have I loved but -never one like thee. Never again did my heart feel the same ardour -that fired it when I placed this ring on your adorable hand. -Unfortunate Alison!" - -"This ring was tied by a ribbon around the neck of Walter Fenton, -when a little child he was found by the side of his dead mother in -the Greyfriars churchyard," said Lilian in a breathless voice. - -"Confusion and misery! 'tis impossible this can be true; there is -some diabolical mistake here. Woman, say forth." - -Beatrix gave Clermistonlee a bitter and malicious smile, and -addressed Lilian. - -"Walter's mother, sweet lady, gave that ring to Elspat Fenton, who, -next to myself, was the most trusted of her attendants, and bade her -travel from Paris to Scotland, and deliver the child and the bridal -gift together to her husband--to Randal of Clermistonlee." - -Lilian covered her face, and the fiery lord, whose first emotions -were generally those of anger, surveyed Beatrix as if she had been a -coiled up snake. She spoke slowly, and made long pauses, for aware -that her words were as daggers, she dealt them sparingly. - -"After long suffering and great peril by sea and land, this poor -woman reached Edinburgh, but failed to meet the father of the infant -committed to her care; for then he was in arms with the men of the -Covenant, hoping by any civil broil or commotion to repair the -splendid patrimony his excesses had dissipated. Elspat, being unable -to give a very coherent account of herself, was declared a -nonconformist by the authorities, and thrown with thousands of others -into the Greyfriars kirkyard, where in that inclement season she -perished; but the child was found and protected by the soldiers of -Dunbarton. That child is Walter Fenton; he is your son, Lord -Clermistonlee! the child of your once loved Alison Gilford. I call -upon Heaven to witness the truth of my assertion! His own name was -Walter, (ah! can you have forgotten that?) his nurse's Fenton. _I -saw her die_, and I alone knew the secret, and have treasured it till -this hour--this hour of vengeance upon thee, thou false and wicked -lord! In my wicked spirit of revenge too long have I kept the -secret; but now this blameless and noble youth is doomed to death, -and fain would I save him, for he is innocent, and good, and -generous; in all things, oh, how much the reverse of thee!" - -"Maniac, thou liest!" exclaimed Clermistonlee, whose heart beat -wildly. "I cannot believe this tale of a tub, which is told to -affright me. And yet, how dare I reject it?--the ring--Walter--my -God!" - -"Ha! has Beatrix the wronged, the scorned, the despised, the -neglected Beatrix, wrung your heart at last? Fool! fool! Did'st -thou never suspect the volcano that slumbered here?" she exclaimed, -laying her hand upon her heart. "Did'st thou never perceive the -flame that smouldered in my breast--the yearnings, the throbbings, -the fierce longing to be adequately revenged on thee who had brought -me to ruin and madness, and had abandoned me to penury and privation? -Wretch! 'tis twenty-five years since ye betrayed me. Time has rolled -on--time, that soothes all sorrows and softens every affliction, and -teaches us to forget the wrongs of the living--yea, and the virtues -of the dead; and perhaps to wonder why we hated one and loved the -other,--time, I say, has rolled on to many miserable years, until I -have become the hideous thing I am, but it never lessened one tithe -of my longing for vengeance for the thousand taunts and contumelies -that succeeded my first sacrifice for thee. You say I am -mad--perhaps I am--but mark me--_a woman's sorrow passes like a -summer cloudy but her vengeance endureth for ever!_" - -Clermistonlee smote his forehead, and Beatrix laughed like a hyæna. - -"My God--unhappy Walter!" said Lilian in a voice that pierced the -heart of him she abhorred to deem her husband. "Then she who saved -and nursed thee on the field of Steinkirke was thy mother--_thy -mother_, and she knew it not? Oh, this was the secret sentiment, the -heaven-born thought that spoke within her and made her heart so -mysteriously yearn towards thee. Unfortunate Walter! how deeply have -we been wronged--how bitterly must we suffer!" - -"And till now, thou accursed fiend, this terrible secret has been -concealed from me!" said Clermistonlee furiously, as he half drew his -sword. - -Beatrix laughed and tossed her arms wildly. - -"Oh, horror upon horror! woe upon woe!" said Lilian in a voice of the -deepest anguish as she rung her hands, and, taking up her little -infant from the cradle, kissed it tenderly on the forehead, and -retired slowly from the room. - -"Lilian--Lilian," cried her husband, "whither go ye, lady?" - -"To solitude--to solitude," she murmured. "Any where to save me from -my own terrible thoughts--anywhere to hide me from the deep disgrace -you have brought upon me; to any place where never again the light of -day shall find me." - -Clermistonlee heard her light steps on the staircase, and they fell -like a knell on his heart: impelled by some secret and mysterious -impulse, he followed her to her own apartment, the door of which he -had heard close behind her. There was no sound within it. - -He entered softly; but she was not there; and from that moment she -was never beheld again! Every ultimate search proved fruitless and -unavailing. A veil of impenetrable mystery hung over her fate....... - -A sudden thought flashed on the mind of Clermistonlee. The day dawn -was breaking as he descended the staircase, after fruitlessly calling -on Lilian through various apartments. - -"I may, I must save him yet--unfortunate youth, a father's arms shall -yet embrace him. Oh, my hapless and deeply wronged Alison! fortune -may yet enable me in some sort to repair the atrocities of which I -have been guilty. My horse! my horse!" and, rushing to the stable, -he saddled and bridled a fleet steed, and in five minutes was -galloping furiously back to the city, the walls and towers of which -arose before him, red and sombre in the rays of the morning sun. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE IRON ROOM--THE DEATH SHOT. - - Ay, I had planned full many a sanguine scheme - Of earthly happiness--romantic schemes, - And fraught with loveliness:--and it is hard - To feel the hand of death arrest one's steps, - Throw a chill blight o'er all one's budding prospects, - And hurl one's soul untimely to the shades, - Lost in the gaping gulph of blank oblivion. - HENRY KIRKE WHITE. - - -The Iron Room of the ancient Tolbooth of Edinburgh was a dreary vault -of massive stone-work, and was named so in consequence of its -strength and security. A low heavy arch roofed it, and the walls -from which it sprung were composed of great blocks of roughly hewn -stone elaborately built. Here and there a chain hung from them. The -floor was paved, and the door was a complicated mass of iron bars, -locks, bolts, and hinges. A single aperture, high up in the wall, -admitted the cold midnight wind through its deep recess. - -An iron cruise burned on a clumsy wooden table, near which sat Walter -Fenton the condemned, with his face covered by his hands and his mind -buried in sad and melancholy thoughts. - -One bright and solitary star shone down upon him through the grated -window, flashing, dilating, and shrinking; often he gazed upon it -wistfully--for it was his only companion--the partner or the witness -of his solitude and his sorrow. Once he turned to look upon it--but -it had passed away. - -He reflected that never again would he behold a star shining in the -firmament. - -Sad, bitter, and solitary reflection--for a few hours was all that -was left him now: and, though the sands of life were ebbing fast, one -absorbing thought occupied his mind--that Lilian was false and his -rival triumphant; that all his long cherished schemes and dreams of -love and happiness, glory and ambition, were frustrated and blasted -irredeemably and for ever. - -He was to die! - -The infliction of punishment immediately after trial was anciently -practised in all criminal cases, and the victim was usually led from -the presence of the judge to the scaffold. - -Walter had been doomed to death as a traitor, a raiser of sedition, -and a deserter from the Scottish forces: the last accusation, in -support of which his signed _oath of fealty_ to the Estates of -Scotland, had been produced in council by General Sir Thomas -Livingstone, commander-in-chief of the army, saved him the dishonour -of dying on the gibbet. - -The door of the Iron Room was opened stealthily, and the heavy bolts -and swinging chains were again rattling into their places, when -Walter slowly raised his head. His eye had become haggard, and his -face was overspread with a deathly pallor. The tall spare form of -the Reverend Mr. Ichabod Bummel stood before him, clad in his ample -black coat with its enormous cuffs and pocket-flaps, his deep -waistcoat, and voluminous grey breeches. He removed his broad hat, -and smoothed down the long lank hair which was parted in a seam over -the top of his cranium, and fell straight upon each shoulder. He did -not advance, but continued to press his hat upon his breast with both -hands, to turn up his eyes and groan mournfully. - -"Poor youth!" he began, after two or three hems; "poor youth! now -truly thou lookest like an owl in the desert, yea, verily, even as -one overtaken in the Slough of Despond. Now thou seest how atrocious -is the crime of rebellion, and how bitter its meed. Now thou seest -how wicked is the attempt to overturn our pure and blessed Kirk as by -law established, and to substitute anarchy and confusion for peace -and brotherly love, and to involve the innocent with the guilty in -one common destruction. Ewhow! O guilty madness--O miserable -infatuation, that for the phanton of kingly and hereditary right, -would ruthlessly hurl back the land into the dark abyss of Popery, -restore the abomination of the mass, and substitute the vile and -tyrannical James for that beloved prince of our own persuasion, now -seated on Britain's triple throne, if not by that imaginary -hereditary right, at least by the laws of the land, and the voice of -those that are above it--yea, mark me, youth, above it--the ministers -of the Gospel. The pious and glorious William hath been our Saviour -from the devilish practices of Popery, and the machinations of all -those spurious children of Luther and of Calvin, the Seekers, the -Libertines and Independents, Brownists, Separatists and Familists, -Antitrinitarians, Arians, Socinians, Anti-Scripturists, Anabaptists, -Antinomians, Arminians, and a myriad other teachers of heresy and -preachers of schism--whilk, my brethren--my brother, I mean--may -Beelzebub confound! Oh, youth, how wicked and ungracious it is in -thee to reject the stately Fig-tree with its sweetness and good -fruit, and raise up the ancient thorn and prickly bramble to reign -over us!" - -"My good sir," replied Walter, "it is but a poor specimen of -Presbyterian charity this, to come hither to a dismal vault, to heap -contumely on the head of the fallen, to humble one who is already -humbled--to bruise the bruised. Good sir, is it kind or charitable -to rail at and exult over me in this my great distress?" - -At this unexpected accusation, tears started into the eyes of Ichabod -Bummel, who was really a good man at heart, though his virtues were -sadly obscured by the fanaticism of the times. - -"Do not misunderstand me, good youth," he replied hurriedly; "and do -me not this great injustice. I come in the most humble and Christian -spirit, to cheer thy last hour in this gloomy hypogeum, and for that -godly purpose have brought with me a copy of my _Bombshell_, a most -sweet and savoury comforter to the afflicted mind." - -He drew that celebrated quarto from his voluminous pocket, laid it on -the table, and opening it at certain places, turned down the corners -of the leaves. He then produced a thick little black-letter -psalm-book, the board of which bore the very decided impression of a -Bothwell-brig bullet; he adjusted a great pair of round horn -spectacles on his long-hooked nose, and in a shrill voice began his -favourite chant: - - "I like ane owle in desert am," &c. - - -So much did he resemble the feathered type of wisdom, that Walter -could scarcely repress a smile. - -"Young man, wherefore dost thou not join with me?" asked the divine, -raising his black eyebrows and looking at Walter alternately under, -over, and through his barnacles. - -"Reverend sir, I never sung a Psalm in my life, and really cannot do -so now." - -"I warrant thou canst sing _Claver'se and his Cavaliers_, _King -James's March_, _Rub-a-Dub_, and other profane ditties and camp-songs -of thy wicked faction and ungodly profession," said Ichabod -reproachfully. - -At that moment the deep-mouthed bell of St. Giles, which seemed to -swing immediately above their heads, gave one long and sonorous toll. - -"It is the first hour of the last morning I shall ever spend on -earth!" exclaimed Walter, starting up and striking his fetters -together in the bitterness of his soul. "Oh, Lilian, Lilian, how -little could we have foreseen of all this!" - -He wept. - -"'Tis well--no tears can be more precious than these," said Mr. -Bummel, who thought his exhortations had begun to prove effectual. -"Soon, good youth, shalt thou reach the end of this vale of tears! -Lo! thy bride already waiteth thee, and these tears----" - -"You deem those of contrition and remorse. They are _not_. I have -done nothing to repent of, or for which I ought to feel contrite. I -never wronged man nor woman, though many have wronged me in more than -a lifetime can repay. These tears spring only from bitterness and -unavailing regret. Have I no hope of pardon? I care not for life, -but my king and the son of my king require my services, and could my -blood restore them I would die happy. Where is old Sir Thomas -Dalyell?" - -"Gone to a warmer climate than Scotland," said Ichabod spitefully. - -"Sir George of Rosehaugh?" - -"He is gone where he cannot assist thee." - -"Where is old Colin of Balcarris?" - -"Fled no one knows whither." - -"Where, then, is old Sir Robert of Glenae?" - -"Gone to his last account with other persecutors." - -"All then are dead or in exile, and none is left to be a friend to -the poor cavalier." - -"Save one," said Ichabod, pointing upward. - -"True, true," replied Walter, and covering his face with his hands he -stooped over the table and prayed intently. - -Two o'clock struck, three and four followed, but still he remained, -as Ichabod thought, absorbed in earnest prayer, and kneeling by his -side, the worthy minister joined with true and pious fervour, till -his patience became quite exhausted. He stirred him, and Walter, who -had fallen asleep, started up. - -"Is it time?" he asked. - -"Thou hast slept well," said the divine, pettishly; "out of seven -hours that were allotted three have already fled." - -"My dear and worthy sir, you see how calm my conscience is. Perhaps -it is hard to die so young; but for me life has now lost every charm. -Death never has terrors to the brave. He opens the gates to a fame -and a life that are eternal, and when the coffin lid is closed, -sorrow and jealousy, envy and woe are excluded for ever. _In four -hours more mine will have closed over me_. ------ Kingdoms and -cities, the trees of the forest, the lakes, the rocks, and the hills -themselves, have all their allotted periods of existence, and man has -his; for every thing must perish--all must die and all must pass -away. Oh, why then this foolish and unavailing regret about a few -years more or less? ------ Front to front and foot to foot I have -often met death on the field of battle, and if without flinching I -have faced the volley of a whole brigade, that hurled a thousand -brave spirits into eternity at once, shall I shrink from the levelled -musquets of twelve base hirelings of the Stadtholder? ------ Will -Lilian ever look on the grave where this heart moulders that loved -her so long and so well? Oh no, for now she is the wife of -another--oh, my God, another! In all wide Scotland there is not one -to regret me, to shed one tear for me. I disappear from the earth -like a bubble on a tide of events, leaving not one being behind me to -recal my memory in fondness or regret." - -* * * * * - -The great clock of St. Giles struck the hour of seven. - -Musquets rattled on the pavement of the echoing street; the door of -the Iron Room opened, and the gudeman of the Tolbooth presented his -stern and sinister visage. - -"It is time," he announced briefly. - -"I am ready," replied Walter cheerfully, and, with a soldier on each -side of him and followed by the clergyman, he descended the narrow -circular staircase of the prison, and, issuing from an arched doorway -at the foot, found himself at the end of the edifice. Here he paused -and gazed calmly around him. - -An early hour was chosen for his execution, that few might witness -it, for there existed in Scotland a strong feeling against William's -policy; the massacre of Glencoe, the successive defeats and heavy -expenses of the Dutch wars rankled bitterly in the minds of the -people. - -The lofty streets were silent and shadowy; scarcely a footfall was -heard in them, and the dun sunlight of the September morning had not -sufficient heat to exhale the haze of the autumnal night. - -A company of Argyle's regiment--the perpetrators of the Glencoe -atrocity--clad in coarse brick-coloured uniform of the Dutch fashion, -were drawn up in double ranks facing inwards on each side of the -doorway. They stood with their arms reversed, and each stooped his -head on his hands, which rested on the butt of his musket. At the -head of this lane were four drummers with their drums muffled and -craped, and a plain deal coffin carried upon the shoulders of four -soldiers. Walter, as he gazed steadily along these hostile ranks, -saw only the sourest fanaticism visible in every face, and in none -more so than that of their commander, a hard-featured and -square-shouldered personage, with a black corslet under his ample red -coat, and wearing a red feather in his broad hat. He introduced -himself as-- - -"Major Duncannon, of the godly regiment of my noble lord Argyle." -Walter bowed. - -"Duncannon!" he replied; "your name is familiar to me as being the -man who issued the orders for the massacre of Glencoe." - -Duncannon gave Walter a steady frown in reply to his glance of -undisguised hostility and contempt, and said-- - -"I obeyed the royal orders of King William III., to whom I say be -long life--and, like thee, may all his enemies perish from Dan to -Beersheba!" - -"I do not acknowledge him; he hath never been crowned among us, nor -sworn the oath a Scottish king should swear. Shame on you, sir, to -rank this false-hearted Dutchman with our brave King William the -Lion. Shame be on you, sir, and all your faction," cried Walter, -holding up his fettered hands, while his cheek flushed and his eyes -kindled with energy. "Let our people recollect that the last man -whose limbs were crushed to a jelly by the accursed steel boots and -grinding thumbscrews, was subjected to their agonizing torture by the -"merciful" William of Orange--by the same wise prince by whose -express orders the bravest of the northern tribes was massacred in -their sleep and in cold blood! Let our brave soldiers, when the lash -that drips with their blood is flaying them alive, remember that, -like scourging round the fleet and keelhauling the hapless mariner, -it is an introduction of the same pious and magnanimous monarch who -planned, signed, and countersigned the mandate for the ruthless -atrocity of Glencoe! Oh, Scotland, Scotland! disloyal and untrue to -the line of your ancient kings, how long will you waste your treasure -and pour forth your gallant sons to the Dutch and German wars of a -brutal tyrant, who at once fears and hates and dreads, though he dare -not despise you! But the hour is coming," and he shook his clenched -hand and clanked his fetters like a fierce prophet--"when war, -oppression, exaction, and devastation, will be the meed of the -actions of to-day!" - -"Silence, traitor!" exclaimed Duncannon, striking him with the hilt -of his sword so severely that blood flowed from his mouth. - -"Major Duncannon, thou art a coward!" said Walter, turning his eyes -of fire upon him. "The brave are ever compassionate and gentle--but -thou! away, man--for on thy brow is written the dark curse which the -unavenged blood of Glencoe called down from the blessed God!" - -Duncannon turned pale. - -"Away with him!" he cried. "Drummers, flam off--musqueteers, march!" -and the procession began. - -The dull rolling of the muffled drums, the regulated tap of the -burial march, and the wailing of the fifes, now shrill and high, and -anon sweet and low, found a deep echo in Walter's melancholy breast. -Sorrowful and solemn was the measure of the Psalm, and he felt his -beating heart soothed and saddened; but he could only mentally -accompany the clergyman who walked bare-headed by his side, and -chaunted aloud while the soldiers marched. - -Walter's cheek reddened, for his fearless heart beat high, and he -stepped firmly behind his coffin, the most stately in all that sad -procession, though marching to that dread strain which a soldier -seldom hears, _his_ own death-march. The vast recesses of the great -cathedral and the distant echoes of the central street of the city -with all its diverging wynds, replied mournfully to the roll of the -funeral drums. - -He whose knell they rung seemed the proudest there among two hundred -soldiers. Life now had nearly lost every charm, while religion, -courage, and resignation had fully robbed death of all its terrors. -Roused by the unusual sound, many a nightcapped citizen peered -fearfully forth from his lofty dwelling; but their looks of wonder or -of pity were unheeded or unseen by Walter Fenton. He saw only his -own coffin borne before him and the weapons and the hands by which he -was to die; but his bold spirit never quailed, and he resolved, with -true Jacobite enthusiasm, to fall with honour to the cause for which -he suffered. - -"Halt!" cried Duncannon, and the coffin rang hollowly as it was -placed beside the square stone pedestal of King Charles's statue, and -Walter immediately kneeled down within it, confronting the stern -Presbyterians of Argyle's regiment with an aspect of coolness and -bravery that did not fail to excite their admiration and pity. - -A sergeant approached to bind up his eyes. - -"Nay, nay, my good fellow," said Walter, waving him away; "I have -faced death too often to flinch now. Major Duncannon, draw up your -musqueteers, and I will show you how fearlessly a cavalier of honour -can die." - -While twelve soldiers were drawn up before him and loaded their -muskets, Walter turned his eyes for the last time to the glorious -autumnal sun, whose red morning rays were shot aslant between two -lofty piles of building into the shadowy and gloomy quadrangle formed -by the ancient Parliament House, the Goldsmiths' Hall, the grotesque -piazzas, and the grand cathedral. He gave one rapid glance of adieu -around him, and then turned towards his destroyers. - -"Farewell, good youth," said Mr. Bummel, as the tears of true and -heartfelt sorrow trickled over his long hooked nose. "Farewell. -When He from whose hand light went forth over the land, even as the -rays of yonder sun--when He, I say, returns in His glory we will meet -again. Till _then_, farewell." Covering his face with his -handkerchief, he withdrew a few paces and prayed with kind and -sincere devotion. - -At that moment the hoofs of a galloping horse spurred madly down the -adjacent street rang through the vaults and aisles of the great -church. Walter's colour changed. - -A reprieve! - -Alas! it was only Lord Clermistonlee who, pale, panting, and -breathless, dashed into the square to stay the execution; but the cry -he would have uttered died away on his parched lips. - -"He comes to exult over me," said Walter bitterly. "Behold, ignoble -Lord," he exclaimed, "how a true cavalier can die! Musqueteers," he -added, in his old voice of authority, "ready, blow your matches, -present, God save King James the Seventh! give fire!" - -The death volley rang like thunder in the still quadrangle. Four -bullets flattened against the statue, eight were mortal, and with the -last convulsive energy of death Walter Fenton threw his hat into the -air and fell forward prostrate into his coffin a bleeding corpse. - ------------- - -Here ends our tale. - -From that hour Clermistonlee was a changed man. Though given up to -dark, corroding care and moody thoughts, he lived to a great old age, -and was one of those who sold his country at the union. Soon after -that event he died, unregretted and unrespected, and a defaced -monument in the east wall of the Greyfriars Churchyard still marks -the place where he lies. - -His gossip, Mersington, would no doubt have obtained a comfortable -share of "the compensations" in 1707 had he not (as appears from a -passage in Carstairs' State Papers) unluckily been found dead one -night in the severe winter of 1700, with a half-drained mug of burnt -sack clutched in his tenacious grasp. - -A few words more of Lilian, and then we part. - -From the moment in which, with her child in her arms, she ascended -the great staircase of Bruntisfield, she was never again seen. - -Every place within the mansion and without, the woods, the lake, the -fields, the muir were searched, but the lady and her child were seen -no more. - -An impenetrable mystery cast a veil of horror over their fate; but -Mr. Ichabod Bummel, and the most learned divines of a kirk that was -then in the zenith of its wisdom and power, gave it as their decided -opinion that they had been spirited away by the fairies; an idea that -was unanimously adopted by the people; nevertheless, a pale spectre, -wailing and pressing a ghastly babe to its attenuated breast, was -often visible on moonlight nights, among the old oak trees, the rocky -heron shaws of the Burghmuir, or the reedy rhinns of its beautiful -loch, and this terrible fact was solemnly averred and duly sworn to -by various decent and sponsible men, such as elders and deacons of -the kirk, who chanced to journey that way after nightfall. - -In latter years it was to the long gloomy avenue or immediate -precincts of the ancient house, that this terrible tenant confined -her midnight promenades. - -Many sceptical persons, notwithstanding the assertions of the -aforesaid elders and deacons, declared the story of the apparition to -be downright nonsense. Many more may be disposed to do so at the -present day; but we would beg them to withold their decision until -they have consulted as carefully as we have done, the MSS. Session -Records of Mr. Bummel's kirk, entered in his own hand, and attested -by the said elders and deacons at full length. - -In the year 1800, when the stately and venerable mansion of -Bruntisfield was demolished, to make way for the Hospital of -Gillespie, within a deep alcove, or labyrinth of stone, in the heart -of its massive walls, the skeletons of a female and child were -discovered; some fragments of velvet, brocade, and a gold ring were -found with them. - -On touching them, they crumbled into undistinguishable dust. - - - -THE END. - - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY HARRISON AND SON, - ST. 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