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diff --git a/old/orig7005-h/p2.htm b/old/orig7005-h/p2.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 129d8dd..0000000 --- a/old/orig7005-h/p2.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11557 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> -<html lang="en"> -<head> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" - content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> - -<title> - The Antiquary, Vol. 2 - by Sir Walter Scott -</title> - -<style type="text/css"> - <!-- - body {background:#faebd7; margin:10%; text-align:justify} - P { text-indent: 1em; - margin-top: .75em; - margin-bottom: .75em; } - H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } - HR { width: 33%; text-align: center; } - blockquote {font-size: 97%; } - .figleft {float: left;} - .figright {float: right;} - .toc { margin-left: 15%; margin-bottom: 0em;} - CENTER { padding: 10px;} - PRE { font-family: Times; font-size: 97%; margin-left: 15%;} - // --> -</style> - -</head> -<body> - -<h1> - THE ANTIQUARY, Vol. 2 -</h1> -<h2> - By Sir Walter Scott -</h2> -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Antiquary, Volume 2, by Sir Walter Scott - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net - - -Title: The Antiquary, Volume 2 - -Author: Sir Walter Scott - -Release Date: August 17, 2004 [EBook #7004] -[Last Updated: September 4, 2010] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ANTIQUARY, VOLUME 2 *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger - - - - - -</pre> - -<a name="image-0001"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/bookcover.jpg" height="1073" width="754" -alt="Bookcover -"> -</center> -<!--IMAGE END--> -<a name="image-0002"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/spines.jpg" height="1079" width="398" -alt="Spines -"> -</center> -<!--IMAGE END--> -<br><br> -<h1> - THE ANTIQUARY -</h1> -<br> -<h2> - By Sir Walter Scott -</h2> -<br><br> -<h3> - VOLUME TWO. -</h3> -<br><br> -<a name="image-0003"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/titlepage2.jpg" height="966" width="628" -alt="Titlepage, Second Volume -"> -</center> -<!--IMAGE END--> -<a name="image-0004"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/frontispiece2.jpg" height="785" width="539" -alt="Frontispiece, Second Volume -"> -</center> -<!--IMAGE END--> - - - -<br><br> -<hr> -<br><br> - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<center> -<table summary=""> -<tr><td> - - - -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0001"> -CHAPTER FIRST. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0002"> -CHAPTER SECOND. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0003"> -CHAPTER THIRD. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0004"> -CHAPTER FOURTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0005"> -CHAPTER FIFTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0006"> -CHAPTER SIXTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0007"> -CHAPTER SEVENTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0008"> -CHAPTER EIGHTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0009"> -CHAPTER NINTH -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0010"> -CHAPTER TENTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0011"> -CHAPTER ELEVENTH -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0012"> -CHAPTER TWELFTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0013"> -CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0014"> -CHAPTER FOURTEENTH -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0015"> -CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0016"> -CHAPTER SIXTEENTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0017"> -CHAPTER SEVENTEENTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0018"> -CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0019"> -CHAPTER NINETEENTH -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0020"> -CHAPTER TWENTIETH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0021"> -CHAPTER TWENTY-FIRST. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0022"> -CHAPTER TWENTY-SECOND. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0023"> -CHAPTER TWENTY-THIRD. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2HCH0024"> -CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURTH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#2H_NOTE"> -NOTES TO THE ANTIQUARY. -</a></p> - -</td></tr> -</table> -</center> - -<br><br> -<hr> -<br><br> - -<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<center> -<table summary=""> -<tr><td> - - - -<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0001"> -Bookcover -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0002"> -Spines -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0003"> -Titlepage -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0004"> -Frontispiece-2 -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0005"> -The Funeral of the Countess -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0006"> -Lord Glenallen and Elspeth -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0007"> -The Antiquary Visits Edie in Prison -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0008"> -My Good Friends, 'favete Linguis' -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0009"> -The Antiquary Arming -</a></p> - -</td></tr> -</table> -</center> - -<br><br> -<hr> -<br> -<br> - - - - -<h2>ILLUSTRATORS</h2> - -<br> - -<center> -<table summary=""> -<tr><td> - - - -<h2>Subject or Title - - -</h2> -</td> -<td> -<h2>Original Drawing - -</h2> -</td> -<td> -<h2>Etching -</h2> -</td> -</tr> - - - -<tr> -<td> -Breakfast at Monkbarns -</td> -<td> -A. H. Tourrier -</td> -<td> -P. Tesysonnieres -</td> -</tr> - - -<tr> -<td> -The Funeral of the Countess -</td> -<td> -A. H. Tourrier -</td> -<td> -V. Focillon -</td> -</tr> - - -<tr> -<td> -Lord Glenallen and Elspeth -</td> -<td> -A. H. Tourrier -</td> -<td> -Charles Courtry -</td> -</tr> - - -<tr> -<td> -The Antiquary Visits Edie in Prison -</td> -<td> -A. H. Tourrier -</td> -<td> -W. Nooth -</td> -</tr> - - -<tr> -<td> -"My good friends, 'favete linguis'" -</td> -<td> -Original Etching by: -</td> -<td> -George Cruikshank -</td> -</tr> - - -<tr> -<td> -The Antiquary Arming -</td> -<td> -A. H. Tourrier -</td> -<td> -H. C. Manesse - -</td></tr> -</table> -</center> - - - -<br><br> -<br><br> -<hr> -<br> -<br> - - - -<a name="2HCH0001"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER FIRST. -</h2> -<pre> - Wiser Raymondus, in his closet pent, - Laughs at such danger and adventurement - When half his lands are spent in golden smoke, - And now his second hopeful glasse is broke, - But yet, if haply his third furnace hold, - Devoteth all his pots and pans to gold.* -</pre> -<p> - * The author cannot remember where these lines are to be found: perhaps - in Bishop Hall's Satires. [They occur in Book iv. Satire iii.] -</p> -<p> - About a week after the adventures commemorated in our last - CHAPTER, Mr. - Oldbuck, descending to his breakfast-parlour, found that his womankind - were not upon duty, his toast not made, and the silver jug, which was - wont to receive his libations of mum, not duly aired for its reception. -</p> -<p> - "This confounded hot-brained boy!" he said to himself; "now that he - begins to get out of danger, I can tolerate this life no longer. All goes - to sixes and sevens—an universal saturnalia seems to be proclaimed in my - peaceful and orderly family. I ask for my sister—no answer. I call, I - shout—I invoke my inmates by more names than the Romans gave to their - deities—at length Jenny, whose shrill voice I have heard this half-hour - lilting in the Tartarean regions of the kitchen, condescends to hear me - and reply, but without coming up stairs, so the conversation must be - continued at the top of my lungs. "—Here he again began to hollow - aloud—"Jenny, where's Miss Oldbuck?" -</p> -<p> - "Miss Grizzy's in the captain's room." -</p> -<p> - "Umph!—I thought so—and where's my niece?" -</p> -<p> - "Miss Mary's making the captain's tea." -</p> -<p> - "Umph! I supposed as much again—and where's Caxon?" -</p> -<p> - "Awa to the town about the captain's fowling-gun, and his setting-dog." -</p> -<p> - "And who the devil's to dress my periwig, you silly jade?—when you knew - that Miss Wardour and Sir Arthur were coming here early after breakfast, - how could you let Caxon go on such a Tomfool's errand?" -</p> -<p> - "Me! what could I hinder him?—your honour wadna hae us contradict the - captain e'en now, and him maybe deeing?" -</p> -<p> - "Dying!" said the alarmed Antiquary,—"eh! what? has he been worse?" -</p> -<p> - "Na, he's no nae waur that I ken of."* -</p> -<p> - * It is, I believe, a piece of free-masonry, or a point of conscience, - among the Scottish lower orders, never to admit that a patient is doing - better. The closest approach to recovery which they can be brought to - allow, is, that the pairty inquired after is "Nae waur." -</p> -<p> - "Then he must be better—and what good is a dog and a gun to do here, but - the one to destroy all my furniture, steal from my larder, and perhaps - worry the cat, and the other to shoot somebody through the head. He has - had gunning and pistolling enough to serve him one while, I should - think." -</p> -<p> - Here Miss Oldbuck entered the parlour, at the door of which Oldbuck was - carrying on this conversation, he bellowing downward to Jenny, and she - again screaming upward in reply. -</p> -<p> - "Dear brother," said the old lady, "ye'll cry yoursell as hoarse as a - corbie—is that the way to skreigh when there's a sick person in the - house?" -</p> -<p> - "Upon my word, the sick person's like to have all the house to himself,— - I have gone without my breakfast, and am like to go without my wig; and I - must not, I suppose, presume to say I feel either hunger or cold, for - fear of disturbing the sick gentleman who lies six rooms off, and who - feels himself well enough to send for his dog and gun, though he knows I - detest such implements ever since our elder brother, poor Williewald, - marched out of the world on a pair of damp feet, caught in the - Kittlefitting-moss. But that signifies nothing; I suppose I shall be - expected by and by to lend a hand to carry Squire Hector out upon his - litter, while he indulges his sportsmanlike propensities by shooting my - pigeons, or my turkeys—I think any of the <i>ferae naturae</i> are safe from - him for one while." -</p> -<p> - Miss M'Intyre now entered, and began to her usual morning's task of - arranging her uncle's breakfast, with the alertness of one who is too - late in setting about a task, and is anxious to make up for lost time. - But this did not avail her. "Take care, you silly womankind—that mum's - too near the fire—the bottle will burst; and I suppose you intend to - reduce the toast to a cinder as a burnt-offering for Juno, or what do you - call her—the female dog there, with some such Pantheon kind of a name, - that your wise brother has, in his first moments of mature reflection, - ordered up as a fitting inmate of my house (I thank him), and meet - company to aid the rest of the womankind of my household in their daily - conversation and intercourse with him." -</p> -<p> - "Dear uncle, don't be angry about the poor spaniel; she's been tied up at - my brother's lodgings at Fairport, and she's broke her chain twice, and - came running down here to him; and you would not have us beat the - faithful beast away from the door?—it moans as if it had some sense of - poor Hector's misfortune, and will hardly stir from the door of his - room." -</p> -<p> - "Why," said his uncle, "they said Caxon had gone to Fairport after his - dog and gun." -</p> -<p> - "O dear sir, no," answered Miss M'Intyre, "it was to fetch some dressings - that were wanted, and Hector only wished him to bring out his gun, as he - was going to Fairport at any rate." -</p> -<p> - "Well, then, it is not altogether so foolish a business, considering what - a mess of womankind have been about it—Dressings, quotha?—and who is to - dress my wig?—But I suppose Jenny will undertake"—continued the old - bachelor, looking at himself in the glass—"to make it somewhat decent. - And now let us set to breakfast—with what appetite we may. Well may I - say to Hector, as Sir Isaac Newton did to his dog Diamond, when the - animal (I detest dogs) flung down the taper among calculations which had - occupied the philosopher for twenty years, and consumed the whole mass of - materials—Diamond, Diamond, thou little knowest the mischief thou hast - done!" -</p> -<p> - "I assure you, sir," replied his niece, "my brother is quite sensible of - the rashness of his own behaviour, and allows that Mr. Lovel behaved very - handsomely." -</p> -<p> - "And much good that will do, when he has frightened the lad out of the - country! I tell thee, Mary, Hector's understanding, and far more that of - feminity, is inadequate to comprehend the extent of the loss which he has - occasioned to the present age and to posterity—<i>aureum quidem opus</i>—a - poem on such a subject, with notes illustrative of all that is clear, and - all that is dark, and all that is neither dark nor clear, but hovers in - dusky twilight in the region of Caledonian antiquities. I would have made - the Celtic panegyrists look about them. Fingal, as they conceitedly term - Fin-Mac-Coul, should have disappeared before my search, rolling himself - in his cloud like the spirit of Loda. Such an opportunity can hardly - again occur to an ancient and grey-haired man; and to see it lost by the - madcap spleen of a hot-headed boy! But I submit—Heaven's will be done!" -</p> -<p> - Thus continued the Antiquary to <i>maunder,</i> as his sister expressed it, - during the whole time of breakfast, while, despite of sugar and honey, - and all the comforts of a Scottish morning tea-table, his reflections - rendered the meal bitter to all who heard them. But they knew the nature - of the man. "Monkbarns's bark," said Miss Griselda Oldbuck, in - confidential intercourse with Miss Rebecca Blattergowl, "is muckle waur - than his bite." -</p> -<p> - In fact, Mr. Oldbuck had suffered in mind extremely while his nephew was - in actual danger, and now felt himself at liberty, upon his returning - health, to indulge in complaints respecting the trouble he had been put - to, and the interruption of his antiquarian labours. Listened to, - therefore, in respectful silence, by his niece and sister, he unloaded - his discontent in such grumblings as we have rehearsed, venting many a - sarcasm against womankind, soldiers, dogs, and guns, all which implements - of noise, discord, and tumult, as he called them, he professed to hold in - utter abomination. -</p> -<p> - This expectoration of spleen was suddenly interrupted by the noise of a - carriage without, when, shaking off all sullenness at the sound, Oldbuck - ran nimbly up stairs and down stairs, for both operations were necessary - ere he could receive Miss Wardour and her father at the door of his - mansion. -</p> -<p> - A cordial greeting passed on both sides. And Sir Arthur, referring to his - previous inquiries by letter and message, requested to be particularly - informed of Captain M'Intyre's health. -</p> -<p> - "Better than he deserves," was the answer—"better than he deserves, for - disturbing us with his vixen brawls, and breaking God's peace and the - King's." -</p> -<p> - "The young gentleman," Sir Arthur said, "had been imprudent; but he - understood they were indebted to him for the detection of a suspicious - character in the young man Lovel." -</p> -<p> - "No more suspicious than his own," answered the Antiquary, eager in his - favourites defence;—"the young gentleman was a little foolish and - headstrong, and refused to answer Hector's impertinent interrogatories— - that is all. Lovel, Sir Arthur, knows how to choose his confidants - better—Ay, Miss Wardour, you may look at me—but it is very true;—it - was in my bosom that he deposited the secret cause of his residence at - Fairport; and no stone should have been left unturned on my part to - assist him in the pursuit to which he had dedicated himself." -</p> -<p> - On hearing this magnanimous declaration on the part of the old Antiquary, - Miss Wardour changed colour more than once, and could hardly trust her - own ears. For of all confidants to be selected as the depositary of love - affairs,—and such she naturally supposed must have been the subject of - communication,—next to Edie Ochiltree, Oldbuck seemed the most uncouth - and extraordinary; nor could she sufficiently admire or fret at the - extraordinary combination of circumstances which thus threw a secret of - such a delicate nature into the possession of persons so unfitted to be - entrusted with it. She had next to fear the mode of Oldbuck's entering - upon the affair with her father, for such, she doubted not, was his - intention. She well knew that the honest gentleman, however vehement in - his prejudices, had no great sympathy with those of others, and she had - to fear a most unpleasant explosion upon an <i>e'claircissement</i> taking - place between them. It was therefore with great anxiety that she heard - her father request a private interview, and observed Oldbuck readily - arise and show the way to his library. She remained behind, attempting to - converse with the ladies of Monkbarns, but with the distracted feelings - of Macbeth, when compelled to disguise his evil conscience by listening - and replying to the observations of the attendant thanes upon the storm - of the preceding night, while his whole soul is upon the stretch to - listen for the alarm of murder, which he knows must be instantly raised - by those who have entered the sleeping apartment of Duncan. But the - conversation of the two virtuosi turned on a subject very different from - that which Miss Wardour apprehended. -</p> -<p> - "Mr. Oldbuck," said Sir Arthur, when they had, after a due exchange of - ceremonies, fairly seated themselves in the <i>sanctum sanctorum</i> of the - Antiquary,—"you, who know so much of my family matters, may probably be - surprised at the question I am about to put to you." -</p> -<p> - "Why, Sir Arthur, if it relates to money, I am very sorry, but"— -</p> -<p> - "It does relate to money matters, Mr. Oldbuck." -</p> -<p> - "Really, then, Sir Arthur," continued the Antiquary, "in the present - state of the money-market—and stocks being so low"— -</p> -<p> - "You mistake my meaning, Mr. Oldbuck," said the Baronet; "I wished to ask - your advice about laying out a large sum of money to advantage." -</p> -<p> - "The devil!" exclaimed the Antiquary; and, sensible that his involuntary - ejaculation of wonder was not over and above civil, he proceeded to - qualify it by expressing his joy that Sir Arthur should have a sum of - money to lay out when the commodity was so scarce. "And as for the mode - of employing it," said he, pausing, "the funds are low at present, as I - said before, and there are good bargains of land to be had. But had you - not better begin by clearing off encumbrances, Sir Arthur?—There is the - sum in the personal bond—and the three notes of hand," continued he, - taking out of the right-hand drawer of his cabinet a certain red - memorandum-book, of which Sir Arthur, from the experience of former - frequent appeals to it, abhorred the very sight—"with the interest - thereon, amounting altogether to—let me see"— -</p> -<p> - "To about a thousand pounds," said Sir Arthur, hastily; "you told me the - amount the other day." -</p> -<p> - "But there's another term's interest due since that, Sir Arthur, and it - amounts (errors excepted) to eleven hundred and thirteen pounds, seven - shillings, five pennies, and three-fourths of a penny sterling—But look - over the summation yourself." -</p> -<p> - "I daresay you are quite right, my dear sir," said the Baronet, putting - away the book with his hand, as one rejects the old-fashioned civility - that presses food upon you after you have eaten till you nauseate— - "perfectly right, I dare say; and in the course of three days or less you - shall have the full value—that is, if you choose to accept it in - bullion." -</p> -<p> - "Bullion! I suppose you mean lead. What the deuce! have we hit on the - vein then at last? But what could I do with a thousand pounds' worth, and - upwards, of lead? The former abbots of Trotcosey might have roofed their - church and monastery with it indeed—but for me"— -</p> -<p> - "By bullion," said the Baronet, "I mean the precious metals,—gold and - silver." -</p> -<p> - "Ay! indeed?—and from what Eldorado is this treasure to be imported?" -</p> -<p> - "Not far from hence," said Sir Arthur, significantly. "And naow I think - of it, you shall see the whole process, on one small condition." -</p> -<p> - "And what is that?" craved the Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - "Why, it will be necessary for you to give me your friendly assistance, - by advancing one hundred pounds or thereabouts." -</p> -<p> - Mr. Oldbuck, who had already been grasping in idea the sum, principal and - interest, of a debt which he had long regarded as wellnigh desperate, was - so much astounded at the tables being so unexpectedly turned upon him, - that he could only re-echo, in an accent of wo and surprise, the words, - "Advance one hundred pounds!" -</p> -<p> - "Yes, my good sir," continued Sir Arthur; "but upon the best possible - security of being repaid in the course of two or three days." -</p> -<p> - There was a pause—either Oldbuck's nether jaw had not recovered its - position, so as to enable him to utter a negative, or his curiosity kept - him silent. -</p> -<p> - "I would not propose to you," continued Sir Arthur, "to oblige me thus - far, if I did not possess actual proofs of the reality of those - expectations which I now hold out to you. And I assure you, Mr. Oldbuck, - that in entering fully upon this topic, it is my purpose to show my - confidence in you, and my sense of your kindness on many former - occasions." -</p> -<p> - Mr. Oldbuck professed his sense of obligation, but carefully avoided - committing himself by any promise of farther assistance. -</p> -<p> - "Mr. Dousterswivel," said Sir Arthur, "having discovered"— -</p> -<p> - Here Oldbuck broke in, his eyes sparkling with indignation. "Sir Arthur, - I have so often warned you of the knavery of that rascally quack, that I - really wonder you should quote him to me." -</p> -<p> - "But listen—listen," interrupted Sir Arthur in his turn, "it will do you - no harm. In short, Dousterswivel persuaded me to witness an experiment - which he had made in the ruins of St. Ruth—and what do you think we - found?" -</p> -<p> - "Another spring of water, I suppose, of which the rogue had beforehand - taken care to ascertain the situation and source." -</p> -<p> - "No, indeed—a casket of gold and silver coins—here they are." -</p> -<p> - With that, Sir Arthur drew from his pocket a large ram's horn, with a - copper cover, containing a considerable quantity of coins, chiefly - silver, but with a few gold pieces intermixed. The Antiquary's eyes - glistened as he eagerly spread them out on the table. -</p> -<p> - "Upon my word—Scotch, English, and foreign coins, of the fifteenth and - sixteenth centuries, and some of them <i>rari—et rariores—etiam - rarissimi!</i> Here is the bonnet-piece of James V., the unicorn of James - II.,—ay, and the gold festoon of Queen Mary, with her head and the - Dauphin's. And these were really found in the ruins of St. Ruth?" -</p> -<p> - "Most assuredly—my own eyes witnessed it." -</p> -<p> - "Well," replied Oldbuck; "but you must tell me the when—the where-the - how." -</p> -<p> - "The when," answered Sir Arthur, "was at midnight the last full moon—the - where, as I have told you, in the ruins of St. Ruth's priory—the how, - was by a nocturnal experiment of Dousterswivel, accompanied only by - myself." -</p> -<p> - "Indeed!" said Oldbuck; "and what means of discovery did you employ?" -</p> -<p> - "Only a simple suffumigation," said the Baronet, "accompanied by availing - ourselves of the suitable planetary hour." -</p> -<p> - "Simple suffumigation? simple nonsensification—planetary hour? planetary - fiddlestick! <i>Sapiens dominabitur astris.</i> My dear Sir Arthur, that - fellow has made a gull of you above ground and under ground, and he would - have made a gull of you in the air too, if he had been by when you was - craned up the devil's turnpike yonder at Halket-head—to be sure the - transformation would have been then peculiarly <i>apropos.</i>" -</p> -<p> - "Well, Mr. Oldbuck, I am obliged to you for your indifferent opinion of - my discernment; but I think you will give me credit for having seen what - I <i>say</i> I saw." -</p> -<p> - "Certainly, Sir Arthur," said the Antiquary,—"to this extent at least, - that I know Sir Arthur Wardour will not say he saw anything but what he - <i>thought</i> he saw." -</p> -<p> - "Well, then," replied the Baronet, "as there is a heaven above us, Mr. - Oldbuck, I saw, with my own eyes, these coins dug out of the chancel of - St. Ruth at midnight. And as to Dousterswivel, although the discovery be - owing to his science, yet, to tell the truth, I do not think he would - have had firmness of mind to have gone through with it if I had not been - beside him." -</p> -<p> - "Ay! indeed?" said Oldbuck, in the tone used when one wishes to hear the - end of a story before making any comment. -</p> -<p> - "Yes truly," continued Sir Arthur—"I assure you I was upon my guard—we - did hear some very uncommon sounds, that is certain, proceeding from - among the ruins." -</p> -<p> - "Oh, you did?" said Oldbuck; "an accomplice hid among them, I suppose?" -</p> -<p> - "Not a jot," said the Baronet;—"the sounds, though of a hideous and - preternatural character, rather resembled those of a man who sneezes - violently than any other—one deep groan I certainly heard besides; and - Dousterswivel assures me that he beheld the spirit Peolphan, the Great - Hunter of the North—(look for him in your Nicolaus Remigius, or Petrus - Thyracus, Mr. Oldbuck)—who mimicked the motion of snuff-taking and its - effects." -</p> -<p> - "These indications, however singular as proceeding from such a personage, - seem to have been <i>apropos</i> to the matter," said the Antiquary; "for you - see the case, which includes these coins, has all the appearance of being - an old-fashioned Scottish snuff-mill. But you persevered, in spite of the - terrors of this sneezing goblin?" -</p> -<p> - "Why, I think it probable that a man of inferior sense or consequence - might have given way; but I was jealous of an imposture, conscious of the - duty I owed to my family in maintaining my courage under every - contingency, and therefore I compelled Dousterswivel, by actual and - violent threats, to proceed with what he was about to do;—and, sir, the - proof of his skill and honesty is this parcel of gold and silver pieces, - out of which I beg you to select such coins or medals as will best suit - your collection." -</p> -<p> - "Why, Sir Arthur, since you are so good, and on condition you will permit - me to mark the value according to Pinkerton's catalogue and appreciation, - against your account in my red book, I will with pleasure select"— -</p> -<p> - "Nay," said Sir Arthur Wardour, "I do not mean you should consider them - as anything but a gift of friendship and least of all would I stand by - the valuation of your friend Pinkerton, who has impugned the ancient and - trustworthy authorities upon which, as upon venerable and moss-grown - pillars, the credit of Scottish antiquities reposed." -</p> -<p> - "Ay, ay," rejoined Oldbuck, "you mean, I suppose, Mair and Boece, the - Jachin and Boaz, not of history but of falsification and forgery. And - notwithstanding all you have told me, I look on your friend Dousterswivel - to be as apocryphal as any of them." -</p> -<p> - "Why then, Mr. Oldbuck," said Sir Arthur, "not to awaken old disputes, I - suppose you think, that because I believe in the ancient history of my - country, I have neither eyes nor ears to ascertain what modern events - pass before me?" -</p> -<p> - "Pardon me, Sir Arthur," rejoined the Antiquary; "but I consider all the - affectation of terror which this worthy gentleman, your coadjutor, chose - to play off, as being merely one part of his trick or mystery. And with - respect to the gold or silver coins, they are so mixed and mingled in - country and date, that I cannot suppose they could be any genuine hoard, - and rather suppose them to be, like the purses upon the table of - Hudibras's lawyer— -</p> -<pre> - —Money placed for show, - Like nest-eggs, to make clients lay, - And for his false opinions pay.— -</pre> -<p> - It is the trick of all professions, my dear Sir Arthur. Pray, may I ask - you how much this discovery cost you?" -</p> -<p> - "About ten guineas." -</p> -<p> - "And you have gained what is equivalent to twenty in actual bullion, and - what may be perhaps worth as much more to such fools as ourselves, who - are willing to pay for curiosity. This was allowing you a tempting profit - on the first hazard, I must needs admit. And what is the next venture he - proposes?" -</p> -<p> - "An hundred and fifty pounds;—I have given him one-third part of the - money, and I thought it likely you might assist me with the balance." -</p> -<p> - "I should think that this cannot be meant as a parting blow—is not of - weight and importance sufficient; he will probably let us win this hand - also, as sharpers manage a raw gamester.—Sir Arthur, I hope you believe - I would serve you?" -</p> -<p> - "Certainly, Mr. Oldbuck; I think my confidence in you on these occasions - leaves no room to doubt that." -</p> -<p> - "Well, then, allow me to speak to Dousterswivel. If the money can be - advanced usefully and advantageously for you, why, for old - neighbourhood's sake, you shall not want it but if, as I think, I can - recover the treasure for you without making such an advance, you will, - I presume, have no objection!" -</p> -<p> - "Unquestionably, I can have none whatsoever." -</p> -<p> - "Then where is Dousterswivel?" continued the Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - "To tell you the truth, he is in my carriage below; but knowing your - prejudice against him"— -</p> -<p> - "I thank Heaven, I am not prejudiced against any man, Sir Arthur: it is - systems, not individuals, that incur my reprobation." He rang the bell. - "Jenny, Sir Arthur and I offer our compliments to Mr. Dousterswivel, the - gentleman in Sir Arthur's carriage, and beg to have the pleasure of - speaking with him here." -</p> -<p> - Jenny departed and delivered her message. It had been by no means a part - of the project of Dousterswivel to let Mr. Oldbuck into his supposed - mystery. He had relied upon Sir Arthur's obtaining the necessary - accommodation without any discussion as to the nature of the application, - and only waited below for the purpose of possessing himself of the - deposit as soon as possible, for he foresaw that his career was drawing - to a close. But when summoned to the presence of Sir Arthur and Mr. - Oldbuck, he resolved gallantly to put confidence in his powers of - impudence, of which, the reader may have observed, his natural share was - very liberal. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0002"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER SECOND. -</h2> -<pre> - —And this Doctor, - Your sooty smoky-bearded compeer, he - Will close you so much gold in a bolt's head, - And, on a turn, convey in the stead another - With sublimed mercury, that shall burst i' the heat, - And all fly out <i>in fumo.</i>— - The Alchemist. -</pre> -<p> - "How do you do, goot Mr. Oldenbuck? and I do hope your young gentleman, - Captain M'Intyre, is getting better again? Ach! it is a bat business when - young gentlemens will put lead balls into each other's body." -</p> -<p> - "Lead adventures of all kinds are very precarious, Mr. Dousterswivel; but - I am happy to learn," continued the Antiquary, "from my friend Sir - Arthur, that you have taken up a better trade, and become a discoverer of - gold." -</p> -<p> - "Ach, Mr. Oldenbuck, mine goot and honoured patron should not have told a - word about dat little matter; for, though I have all reliance—yes, - indeed, on goot Mr. Oldenbuck's prudence and discretion, and his great - friendship for Sir Arthur Wardour—yet, my heavens! it is an great - ponderous secret." -</p> -<p> - "More ponderous than any of the metal we shall make by it, I fear," - answered Oldbuck. -</p> -<p> - "Dat is just as you shall have de faith and de patience for de grand - experiment—If you join wid Sir Arthur, as he is put one hundred and - fifty—see, here is one fifty in your dirty Fairport bank-note—you put - one other hundred and fifty in de dirty notes, and you shall have de pure - gold and silver, I cannot tell how much." -</p> -<p> - "Nor any one for you, I believe," said the Antiquary. "But, hark you, Mr. - Dousterswivel: Suppose, without troubling this same sneezing spirit with - any farther fumigations, we should go in a body, and having fair - day-light and our good consciences to befriend us, using no other - conjuring implements than good substantial pick-axes and shovels, fairly - trench the area of the chancel in the ruins of St. Ruth, from one end to - the other, and so ascertain the existence of this supposed treasure, - without putting ourselves to any farther expense—the ruins belong to Sir - Arthur himself, so there can be no objection—do you think we shall - succeed in this way of managing the matter?" -</p> -<p> - "Bah!—you will not find one copper thimble—But Sir Arthur will do his - pleasure. I have showed him how it is possible—very possible—to have de - great sum of money for his occasions—I have showed him de real - experiment. If he likes not to believe, goot Mr. Oldenbuck, it is nothing - to Herman Dousterswivel—he only loses de money and de gold and de - silvers—dat is all." -</p> -<p> - Sir Arthur Wardour cast an intimidated glance at Oldbuck who, especially - when present, held, notwithstanding their frequent difference of opinion, - no ordinary influence over his sentiments. In truth, the Baronet felt, - what he would not willingly have acknowledged, that his genius stood - rebuked before that of the Antiquary. He respected him as a shrewd, - penetrating, sarcastic character—feared his satire, and had some - confidence in the general soundness of his opinions. He therefore looked - at him as if desiring his leave before indulging his credulity. - Dousterswivel saw he was in danger of losing his dupe, unless he could - make some favourable impression on the adviser. -</p> -<p> - "I know, my goot Mr. Oldenbuck, it is one vanity to speak to you about de - spirit and de goblin. But look at this curious horn;—I know, you know de - curiosity of all de countries, and how de great Oldenburgh horn, as they - keep still in the Museum at Copenhagen, was given to de Duke of - Oldenburgh by one female spirit of de wood. Now I could not put one trick - on you if I were willing—you who know all de curiosity so well—and dere - it is de horn full of coins;—if it had been a box or case, I would have - said nothing." -</p> -<p> - "Being a horn," said Oldbuck, "does indeed strengthen your argument. It - was an implement of nature's fashioning, and therefore much used among - rude nations, although, it may be, the metaphorical horn is more frequent - in proportion to the progress of civilisation. And this present horn," he - continued, rubbing it upon his sleeve, "is a curious and venerable relic, - and no doubt was intended to prove a <i>cornucopia,</i> or horn of plenty, to - some one or other; but whether to the adept or his patron, may be justly - doubted." -</p> -<p> - "Well, Mr. Oldenbuck, I find you still hard of belief—but let me assure - you, de monksh understood de <i>magisterium.</i>" -</p> -<p> - "Let us leave talking of the <i>magisterium,</i> Mr. Dousterswivel, and think - a little about the magistrate. Are you aware that this occupation of - yours is against the law of Scotland, and that both Sir Arthur and myself - are in the commission of the peace?" -</p> -<p> - "Mine heaven! and what is dat to de purpose when I am doing you all de - goot I can?" -</p> -<p> - "Why, you must know that when the legislature abolished the cruel laws - against witchcraft, they had no hope of destroying the superstitious - feelings of humanity on which such chimeras had been founded; and to - prevent those feelings from being tampered with by artful and designing - persons, it is enacted by the ninth of George the Second, chap. 5, that - whosoever shall pretend, by his alleged skill in any occult or crafty - science, to discover such goods as are lost, stolen or concealed, he - shall suffer punishment by pillory and imprisonment, as a common cheat - and impostor." -</p> -<p> - "And is dat de laws?" asked Dousterswivel, with some agitation. -</p> -<p> - "Thyself shall see the act," replied the Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - "Den, gentlemens, I shall take my leave of you, dat is all; I do not like - to stand on your what you call pillory—it is very bad way to take de - air, I think; and I do not like your prisons no more, where one cannot - take de air at all." -</p> -<p> - "If such be your taste, Mr. Dousterswivel," said the Antiquary, "I advise - you to stay where you are, for I cannot let you go, unless it be in the - society of a constable; and, moreover, I expect you will attend us just - now to the ruins of St. Ruth, and point out the place where you propose - to find this treasure." -</p> -<p> - "Mine heaven, Mr. Oldenbuck! what usage is this to your old friend, when - I tell you so plain as I can speak, dat if you go now, you will not get - so much treasure as one poor shabby sixpence?" -</p> -<p> - "I will try the experiment, however, and you shall be dealt with - according to its success,—always with Sir Arthur's permission." -</p> -<pre> -Sir Arthur, during this investigation, had looked extremely embarrassed, -and, to use a vulgar but expressive phrase, chop-fallen. Oldbuck's -obstinate disbelief led him strongly to suspect the imposture of -Dousterswivel, and the adept's mode of keeping his ground was less -resolute than he had expected. Yet he did not entirely give him up. - - "Mr. Oldbuck," said the Baronet, "you do Mr. Dousterswivel less than -justice. He has undertaken to make this discovery by the use of his art, -and by applying characters descriptive of the Intelligences presiding -over the planetary hour in which the experiment is to be made; and you -require him to proceed, under pain of punishment, without allowing him -the use of any of the preliminaries which he considers as the means of -procuring success." -</pre> -<p> - "I did not say that exactly—I only required him to be present when we - make the search, and not to leave us during the interval. I fear he may - have some intelligence with the Intelligences you talk of, and that - whatever may be now hidden at Saint Ruth may disappear before we get - there." -</p> -<p> - "Well, gentlemens," said Dousterswivel, sullenly, "I will make no - objections to go along with you but I tell you beforehand, you shall not - find so much of anything as shall be worth your going twenty yard from - your own gate." -</p> -<p> - "We will put that to a fair trial," said the Antiquary; and the Baronet's - equipage being ordered, Miss Wardour received an intimation from her - father, that she was to remain at Monkbarns until his return from an - airing. The young lady was somewhat at a loss to reconcile this direction - with the communication which she supposed must have passed between Sir - Arthur and the Antiquary; but she was compelled, for the present, to - remain in a most unpleasant state of suspense. -</p> -<p> - The journey of the treasure-seekers was melancholy enough. Dousterswivel - maintained a sulky silence, brooding at once over disappointed - expectation and the risk of punishment; Sir Arthur, whose golden dreams - had been gradually fading away, surveyed, in gloomy prospect, the - impending difficulties of his situation; and Oldbuck, who perceived that - his having so far interfered in his neighbours affairs gave the Baronet a - right to expect some actual and efficient assistance, sadly pondered to - what extent it would be necessary to draw open the strings of his purse. - Thus each being wrapped in his own unpleasant ruminations, there was - hardly a word said on either side, until they reached the Four - Horse-shoes, by which sign the little inn was distinguished. They - procured at this place the necessary assistance and implements for - digging, and, while they were busy about these preparations, were - suddenly joined by the old beggar, Edie Ochiltree. -</p> -<p> - "The Lord bless your honour," began the Blue-Gown, with the genuine - mendicant whine, "and long life to you!—weel pleased am I to hear that - young Captain M'Intyre is like to be on his legs again sune—Think on - your poor bedesman the day." -</p> -<p> - "Aha, old true-penny!" replied the Antiquary. "Why, thou hast never come - to Monkbarns since thy perils by rock and flood—here's something for - thee to buy snuff,"—and, fumbling for his purse, he pulled out at the - same time the horn which enclosed the coins. -</p> -<p> - "Ay, and there's something to pit it in," said the mendicant, eyeing the - ram's horn—"that loom's an auld acquaintance o' mine. I could take my - aith to that sneeshing-mull amang a thousand—I carried it for mony a - year, till I niffered it for this tin ane wi' auld George Glen, the - dammer and sinker, when he took a fancy till't doun at Glen-Withershins - yonder." -</p> -<p> - "Ay! indeed?" said Oldbuck;—"so you exchanged it with a miner? but I - presume you never saw it so well filled before"—and opening it, he - showed the coins. -</p> -<p> - "Troth, ye may swear that, Monkbarns: when it was mine it neer had abune - the like o' saxpenny worth o' black rappee in't at ance. But I reckon - ye'll be gaun to mak an antic o't, as ye hae dune wi' mony an orra thing - besides. Od, I wish anybody wad mak an antic o' me; but mony ane will - find worth in rousted bits o' capper and horn and airn, that care unco - little about an auld carle o' their ain country and kind." -</p> -<p> - "You may now guess," said Oldbuck, turning to Sir Arthur, "to whose good - offices you were indebted the other night. To trace this cornucopia of - yours to a miner, is bringing it pretty near a friend of ours—I hope we - shall be as successful this morning, without paying for it." -</p> -<p> - "And whare is your honours gaun the day," said the mendicant, "wi' a' - your picks and shules?—Od, this will be some o' your tricks, Monkbarns: - ye'll be for whirling some o' the auld monks down by yonder out o' their - graves afore they hear the last call—but, wi' your leave, I'se follow ye - at ony rate, and see what ye mak o't." -</p> -<p> - The party soon arrived at the ruins of the priory, and, having gained the - chancel, stood still to consider what course they were to pursue next. - The Antiquary, meantime, addressed the adept. -</p> -<p> - "Pray, Mr. Dousterswivel, what is your advice in this matter? Shall we - have most likelihood of success if we dig from east to west, or from west - to east?—or will you assist us with your triangular vial of May-dew, or - with your divining-rod of witches-hazel?—or will you have the goodness - to supply us with a few thumping blustering terms of art, which, if they - fail in our present service, may at least be useful to those who have not - the happiness to be bachelors, to still their brawling children withal?" -</p> -<p> - "Mr. Oldenbuck," said Dousterswivel, doggedly, "I have told you already - that you will make no good work at all, and I will find some way of mine - own to thank you for your civilities to me—yes, indeed." -</p> -<p> - "If your honours are thinking of tirling the floor," said old Edie, "and - wad but take a puir body's advice, I would begin below that muckle stane - that has the man there streekit out upon his back in the midst o't." -</p> -<p> - "I have some reason for thinking favourably of that plan myself," said - the Baronet. -</p> -<p> - "And I have nothing to say against it," said Oldbuck: "it was not unusual - to hide treasure in the tombs of the deceased—many instances might be - quoted of that from Bartholinus and others." -</p> -<p> - The tombstone, the same beneath which the coins had been found by Sir - Arthur and the German, was once more forced aside, and the earth gave - easy way to the spade. -</p> -<p> - "It's travell'd earth that," said Edie, "it howks gae eithly—I ken it - weel, for ance I wrought a simmer wi' auld Will Winnet, the bedral, and - howkit mair graves than ane in my day; but I left him in winter, for it - was unco cald wark; and then it cam a green Yule, and the folk died thick - and fast—for ye ken a green Yule makes a fat kirkyard; and I never dowed - to bide a hard turn o' wark in my life—sae aff I gaed, and left Will to - delve his last dwellings by himsell for Edie." -</p> -<p> - The diggers were now so far advanced in their labours as to discover that - the sides of the grave which they were clearing out had been originally - secured by four walls of freestone, forming a parallelogram, for the - reception, probably, of the coffin. -</p> -<p> - "It is worth while proceeding in our labours," said the Antiquary to Sir - Arthur, "were it but for curiosity's sake. I wonder on whose sepulchre - they have bestowed such uncommon pains." -</p> -<p> - "The arms on the shield," said Sir Arthur, and sighed as he spoke it, - "are the same with those on Misticot's tower, supposed to have been built - by Malcolm the usurper. No man knew where he was buried, and there is an - old prophecy in our family, that bodes us no good when his grave shall be - discovered." -</p> -<p> - "I wot," said the beggar, "I have often heard that when I was a bairn— -</p> -<pre> - If Malcolm the Misticot's grave were fun', - The lands of Knockwinnock were lost and won." -</pre> -<p> - Oldbuck, with his spectacles on his nose, had already knelt down on the - monument, and was tracing, partly with his eye, partly with his finger, - the mouldered devices upon the effigy of the deceased warrior. "It is the - Knockwinnock arms, sure enough," he exclaimed, "quarterly with the coat - of Wardour." -</p> -<p> - "Richard, called the red-handed Wardour, married Sybil Knockwinnock, the - heiress of the Saxon family, and by that alliance," said Sir Arthur, - "brought the castle and estate into the name of Wardour, in the year of - God 1150." -</p> -<p> - "Very true, Sir Arthur; and here is the baton-sinister, the mark of - illegitimacy, extended diagonally through both coats upon the shield. - Where can our eyes have been, that they did not see this curious monument - before?" -</p> -<p> - "Na, whare was the through-stane, that it didna come before our een till - e'enow?" said Ochiltree; "for I hae ken'd this auld kirk, man and bairn, - for saxty lang years, and I neer noticed it afore; and it's nae sic mote - neither, but what ane might see it in their parritch." -</p> -<p> - All were now induced to tax their memory as to the former state of the - ruins in that corner of the chancel, and all agreed in recollecting a - considerable pile of rubbish which must have been removed and spread - abroad in order to make the tomb visible. Sir Arthur might, indeed, have - remembered seeing the monument on the former occasion, but his mind was - too much agitated to attend to the circumstance as a novelty. -</p> -<p> - While the assistants were engaged in these recollections and discussions, - the workmen proceeded with their labour. They had already dug to the - depth of nearly five feet, and as the flinging out the soil became more - and more difficult, they began at length to tire of the job. -</p> -<p> - "We're down to the till now," said one of them, "and the neer a coffin or - onything else is here—some cunninger chiel's been afore us, I reckon;"—and - the labourer scrambled out of the grave. -</p> -<p> - "Hout, lad," said Edie, getting down in his room—"let me try my hand for - an auld bedral;—ye're gude seekers, but ill finders." -</p> -<p> - So soon as he got into the grave, he struck his pike-staff forcibly down; - it encountered resistance in its descent, and the beggar exclaimed, like - a Scotch schoolboy when he finds anything, "Nae halvers and quarters—hale - o' mine ain and 'nane o' my neighbour's." -</p> -<p> - Everybody, from the dejected Baronet to the sullen adept, now caught the - spirit of curiosity, crowded round the grave, and would have jumped into - it, could its space have contained them. The labourers, who had begun to - flag in their monotonous and apparently hopeless task, now resumed their - tools, and plied them with all the ardour of expectation. Their shovels - soon grated upon a hard wooden surface, which, as the earth was cleared - away, assumed the distinct form of a chest, but greatly smaller than that - of a coffin. Now all hands were at work to heave it out of the grave, and - all voices, as it was raised, proclaimed its weight and augured its - value. They were not mistaken. -</p> -<p> - When the chest or box was placed on the surface, and the lid forced up by - a pickaxe, there was displayed first a coarse canvas cover, then a - quantity of oakum, and beneath that a number of ingots of silver. A - general exclamation hailed a discovery so surprising and unexpected. The - Baronet threw his hands and eyes up to heaven, with the silent rapture of - one who is delivered from inexpressible distress of mind. Oldbuck, almost - unable to credit his eyes, lifted one piece of silver after another. - There was neither inscription nor stamp upon them, excepting one, which - seemed to be Spanish. He could have no doubt of the purity and great - value of the treasure before him. Still, however, removing piece by - piece, he examined row by row, expecting to discover that the lower - layers were of inferior value; but he could perceive no difference in - this respect, and found himself compelled to admit, that Sir Arthur had - possessed himself of bullion to the value, perhaps of a thousand pounds - sterling. Sir Arthur now promised the assistants a handsome recompense - for their trouble, and began to busy himself about the mode of conveying - this rich windfall to the Castle of Knockwinnock, when the adept, - recovering from his surprise, which had equalled that exhibited by any - other individual of the party, twitched his sleeve, and having offered - his humble congratulations, turned next to Oldbuck with an air of - triumph. -</p> -<p> - "I did tell you, my goot friend, Mr. Oldenbuck, dat I was to seek - opportunity to thank you for your civility; now do you not think I have - found out vary goot way to return thank?" -</p> -<p> - "Why, Mr. Dousterswivel, do you pretend to have had any hand in our good - success?—you forget you refused us all aid of your science, man; and you - are here without your weapons that should have fought the battle which - you pretend to have gained in our behalf: you have used neither charm, - lamen, sigil, talisman, spell, crystal, pentacle, magic mirror, nor - geomantic figure. Where be your periapts, and your abracadabras man? your - Mayfern, your vervain, -</p> -<pre> - Your toad, your crow, your dragon, and your panther, - Your sun, your moon, your firmament, your adrop, - Your Lato, Azoch, Zernich, Chibrit, Heautarit, - With all your broths, your menstrues, your materials, - Would burst a man to name?— -</pre> -<p> - Ah! rare Ben Jonson! long peace to thy ashes for a scourge of the quacks - of thy day!—who expected to see them revive in our own?" -</p> -<p> - The answer of the adept to the Antiquary's tirade we must defer to our - next CHAPTER. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0003"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER THIRD. -</h2> -<pre> - <i>Clause.</i>—You now shall know the king o' the beggars' treasure:— - Yes—ere to-morrow you shall find your harbour - Here,—fail me not, for if I live I'll fit you. - The Beggar's Bush. -</pre> -<p> - The German, determined, it would seem, to assert the vantage-ground on - which the discovery had placed him, replied with great pomp and - stateliness to the attack of the Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - "Maister Oldenbuck, all dis may be very witty and comedy, but I have - nothing to say—nothing at all—to people dat will not believe deir own - eye-sights. It is vary true dat I ave not any of de things of de art, and - it makes de more wonder what I has done dis day. But I would ask of you, - mine honoured and goot and generous patron, to put your hand into your - right-hand waistcoat pocket, and show me what you shall find dere." -</p> -<p> - Sir Arthur obeyed his direction, and pulled out the small plate of silver - which he had used under the adept's auspices upon the former occasion. - "It is very true," said Sir Arthur, looking gravely at the Antiquary; - "this is the graduated and calculated sigil by which Mr. Dousterswivel - and I regulated our first discovery." -</p> -<p> - "Pshaw! pshaw! my dear friend," said Oldbuck, "you are too wise to - believe in the influence of a trumpery crown-piece, beat out thin, and a - parcel of scratches upon it. I tell thee, Sir Arthur, that if - Dousterswivel had known where to get this treasure himself, you would not - have been lord of the least share of it." -</p> -<p> - "In troth, please your honour," said Edie, who put in his word on all - occasions, "I think, since Mr. Dunkerswivel has had sae muckle merit in - discovering a' the gear, the least ye can do is to gie him that o't - that's left behind for his labour; for doubtless he that kend where to - find sae muckle will hae nae difficulty to find mair." -</p> -<p> - Dousterswivel's brow grew very dark at this proposal of leaving him to - his "ain purchase," as Ochiltree expressed it; but the beggar, drawing - him aside, whispered a word or two in his ear, to which he seemed to give - serious attention, -</p> -<p> - Meanwhile Sir Arthur, his heart warm with his good fortune, said aloud, - "Never mind our friend Monkbarns, Mr. Dousterswivel, but come to the - Castle to-morrow, and I'll convince you that I am not ungrateful for the - hints you have given me about this matter—and the fifty Fairport dirty - notes, as you call them, are heartily at your service. Come, my lads, get - the cover of this precious chest fastened up again." -</p> -<p> - But the cover had in the confusion fallen aside among the rubbish, or the - loose earth which had been removed from the grave—in short, it was not - to be seen. -</p> -<p> - "Never mind, my good lads, tie the tarpaulin over it, and get it away to - the carriage.—Monkbarns, will you walk? I must go back your way to take - up Miss Wardour." -</p> -<p> - "And, I hope, to take up your dinner also, Sir Arthur, and drink a glass - of wine for joy of our happy adventure. Besides, you should write about - the business to the Exchequer, in case of any interference on the part of - the Crown. As you are lord of the manor, it will be easy to get a deed of - gift, should they make any claim. We must talk about it, though." -</p> -<p> - "And I particularly recommend silence to all who are present," said Sir - Arthur, looking round. All bowed and professed themselves dumb. -</p> -<p> - "Why, as to that," said Monkbarns, "recommending secrecy where a dozen of - people are acquainted with the circumstance to be concealed, is only - putting the truth in masquerade, for the story will be circulated under - twenty different shapes. But never mind—we will state the true one to - the Barons, and that is all that is necessary." -</p> -<p> - "I incline to send off an express to-night," said the Baronet. -</p> -<p> - "I can recommend your honour to a sure hand," said Ochiltree; "little - Davie Mailsetter, and the butcher's reisting powny." -</p> -<p> - "We will talk over the matter as we go to Monkbarns," said Sir Arthur. - "My lads" (to the work-people), "come with me to the Four Horse-shoes, - that I may take down all your names.—Dousterswivel, I won't ask you to - go down to Monkbarns, as the laird and you differ so widely in opinion; - but do not fail to come to see me to-morrow." -</p> -<p> - Dousterswivel growled out an answer, in which the words, "duty,"—"mine - honoured patron,"—and "wait upon Sir Arthurs,"—were alone - distinguishable; and after the Baronet and his friend had left the ruins, - followed by the servants and workmen, who, in hope of reward and whisky, - joyfully attended their leader, the adept remained in a brown study by - the side of the open grave. -</p> -<p> - "Who was it as could have thought this?" he ejaculated unconsciously. - "Mine heiligkeit! I have heard of such things, and often spoken of such - things—but, sapperment! I never, thought to see them! And if I had gone - but two or dree feet deeper down in the earth—mein himmel! it had been - all mine own—so much more as I have been muddling about to get from this - fool's man." -</p> -<p> - Here the German ceased his soliloquy, for, raising his eyes, he - encountered those of Edie Ochiltree, who had not followed the rest of the - company, but, resting as usual on his pike-staff, had planted himself on - the other side of the grave. The features of the old man, naturally - shrewd and expressive almost to an appearance of knavery, seemed in this - instance so keenly knowing, that even the assurance of Dousterswivel, - though a professed adventurer, sunk beneath their glances. But he saw the - necessity of an e'claircissement, and, rallying his spirits, instantly - began to sound the mendicant on the occurrences of the day. "Goot Maister - Edies Ochiltrees"— -</p> -<p> - "Edie Ochiltree, nae maister—your puir bedesman and the king's," - answered the Blue-Gown. -</p> -<p> - "Awell den, goot Edie, what do you think of all dis?" -</p> -<p> - "I was just thinking it was very kind (for I darena say very simple) o' - your honour to gie thae twa rich gentles, wha hae lands and lairdships, - and siller without end, this grand pose o' silver and treasure (three - times tried in the fire, as the Scripture expresses it), that might hae - made yoursell and ony twa or three honest bodies beside, as happy and - content as the day was lang." -</p> -<p> - "Indeed, Edie, mine honest friends, dat is very true; only I did not - know, dat is, I was not sure, where to find the gelt myself." -</p> -<p> - "What! was it not by your honours advice and counsel that Monkbarns and - the Knight of Knockwinnock came here then?" -</p> -<p> - "Aha—yes; but it was by another circumstance. I did not know dat dey - would have found de treasure, mine friend; though I did guess, by such a - tintamarre, and cough, and sneeze, and groan, among de spirit one other - night here, dat there might be treasure and bullion hereabout. Ach, mein - himmel! the spirit will hone and groan over his gelt, as if he were a - Dutch Burgomaster counting his dollars after a great dinner at the - Stadthaus." -</p> -<p> - "And do you really believe the like o' that, Mr. Dusterdeevil!—a - skeelfu' man like you—hout fie!" -</p> -<p> - "Mein friend," answered the adept, foreed by circumstances to speak - something nearer the truth than he generally used to do, "I believed it - no more than you and no man at all, till I did hear them hone and moan - and groan myself on de oder night, and till I did this day see de cause, - which was an great chest all full of de pure silver from Mexico—and what - would you ave nae think den?" -</p> -<p> - "And what wad ye gie to ony ane," said Edie, "that wad help ye to sic - another kistfu' o' silver!" -</p> -<p> - "Give?—mein himmel!—one great big quarter of it." -</p> -<p> - "Now if the secret were mine," said the mendicant, "I wad stand out for a - half; for you see, though I am but a puir ragged body, and couldna carry - silver or gowd to sell for fear o' being taen up, yet I could find mony - folk would pass it awa for me at unco muckle easier profit than ye're - thinking on." -</p> -<p> - "Ach, himmel!—Mein goot friend, what was it I said?—I did mean to say - you should have de tree quarter for your half, and de one quarter to be - my fair half." -</p> -<p> - "No, no, Mr. Dusterdeevil, we will divide equally what we find, like - brother and brother. Now, look at this board that I just flung into the - dark aisle out o' the way, while Monkbarns was glowering ower a' the - silver yonder. He's a sharp chiel Monkbarns—I was glad to keep the like - o' this out o' his sight. Ye'll maybe can read the character better than - me—I am nae that book learned, at least I'm no that muckle in practice." -</p> -<p> - With this modest declaration of ignorance, Ochiltree brought forth from - behind a pillar the cover of the box or chest of treasure, which, when - forced from its hinges, had been carelessly flung aside during the ardour - of curiosity to ascertain the contents which it concealed, and had been - afterwards, as it seems, secreted by the mendicant. There was a word and - a number upon the plank, and the beggar made them more distinct by - spitting upon his ragged blue handkerchief, and rubbing off the clay by - which the inscription was obscured. It was in the ordinary black letter. -</p> -<p> - "Can ye mak ought o't?" said Edie to the adept. -</p> -<p> - "S," said the philosopher, like a child getting his lesson in the - primer—"S, T, A, R, C, H,—<i>Starch!</i>—dat is what de woman-washers put into de - neckerchers, and de shirt collar." -</p> -<p> - "Search!" echoed Ochiltree; "na, na, Mr. Dusterdeevil, ye are mair of a - conjuror than a clerk—it's <i>search,</i> man, <i>search</i>—See, there's the - <i>Ye</i> clear and distinct." -</p> -<p> - "Aha! I see it now—it is <i>search—number one.</i> Mein himmel! then there - must be a <i>number two,</i> mein goot friend: for <i>search</i> is what you call - to seek and dig, and this is but <i>number one!</i> Mine wort, there is one - great big prize in de wheel for us, goot Maister Ochiltree." -</p> -<p> - "Aweel, it may be sae; but we canna howk fort enow—we hae nae shules, - for they hae taen them a' awa—and it's like some o' them will be sent - back to fling the earth into the hole, and mak a' things trig again. But - an ye'll sit down wi' me a while in the wood, I'se satisfy your honour - that ye hae just lighted on the only man in the country that could hae - tauld about Malcolm Misticot and his hidden treasure—But first we'll rub - out the letters on this board, for fear it tell tales." -</p> -<p> - And, by the assistance of his knife, the beggar erased and defaced the - characters so as to make them quite unintelligible, and then daubed the - board with clay so as to obliterate all traces of the erasure. -</p> -<p> - Dousterswivel stared at him in ambiguous silence. There was an - intelligence and alacrity about all the old man's movements, which - indicated a person that could not be easily overreached, and yet (for - even rogues acknowledge in some degree the spirit of precedence) our - adept felt the disgrace of playing a secondary part, and dividing - winnings with so mean an associate. His appetite for gain, however, was - sufficiently sharp to overpower his offended pride, and though far more - an impostor than a dupe, he was not without a certain degree of personal - faith even in the gross superstitions by means of which he imposed upon - others. Still, being accustomed to act as a leader on such occasions, he - felt humiliated at feeling himself in the situation of a vulture - marshalled to his prey by a carrion-crow.—"Let me, however, hear this - story to an end," thought Dousterswivel, "and it will be hard if I do not - make mine account in it better as Maister Edie Ochiltrees makes - proposes." -</p> -<p> - The adept, thus transformed into a pupil from a teacher of the mystic - art, followed Ochiltree in passive acquiescence to the Prior's Oak—a - spot, as the reader may remember, at a short distance from the ruins, - where the German sat down, and silence waited the old man's - communication. -</p> -<p> - "Maister Dustandsnivel," said the narrator, "it's an unco while since I - heard this business treated anent;—for the lairds of Knockwinnock, - neither Sir Arthur, nor his father, nor his grandfather—and I mind a wee - bit about them a'—liked to hear it spoken about; nor they dinna like it - yet—But nae matter; ye may be sure it was clattered about in the - kitchen, like onything else in a great house, though it were forbidden in - the ha'—and sae I hae heard the circumstance rehearsed by auld servants - in the family; and in thir present days, when things o' that auld-warld - sort arena keepit in mind round winter fire-sides as they used to be, I - question if there's onybody in the country can tell the tale but mysell—aye - out-taken the laird though, for there's a parchment book about it, as - I have heard, in the charter-room at Knockwinnock Castle." -</p> -<p> - "Well, all dat is vary well—but get you on with your stories, mine goot - friend," said Dousterswivel. -</p> -<p> - "Aweel, ye see," continued the mendicant, "this was a job in the auld - times o' rugging and riving through the hale country, when it was ilka - ane for himsell, and God for us a'—when nae man wanted property if he - had strength to take it, or had it langer than he had power to keep it. - It was just he ower her, and she ower him, whichever could win upmost, a' - through the east country here, and nae doubt through the rest o' Scotland - in the self and same manner. -</p> -<p> - "Sae in these days Sir Richard Wardour came into the land, and that was - the first o' the name ever was in this country. There's been mony o' them - sin' syne; and the maist, like him they ca'd Hell-in-Harness, and the - rest o' them, are sleeping down in yon ruins. They were a proud dour set - o' men, but unco brave, and aye stood up for the weel o' the country, God - sain them a'—there's no muckle popery in that wish. They ca'd them the - Norman Wardours, though they cam frae the south to this country. So this - Sir Richard, that they ca'd Red-hand, drew up wi' the auld Knockwinnock - o' that day—for then they were Knockwinnocks of that Ilk—and wad fain - marry his only daughter, that was to have the castle and the land. Laith, - laith was the lass—(Sybil Knockwinnock they ca'd her that tauld me the - tale)—laith, laith was she to gie into the match, for she had fa'en a - wee ower thick wi' a cousin o' her ain that her father had some ill-will - to; and sae it was, that after she had been married to Sir Richard jimp - four months—for marry him she maun, it's like—ye'll no hinder her - gieing them a present o' a bonny knave bairn. Then there was siccan a - ca'-thro', as the like was never seen; and she's be burnt, and he's be - slain, was the best words o' their mouths. But it was a' sowdered up - again some gait, and the bairn was sent awa, and bred up near the - Highlands, and grew up to be a fine wanle fallow, like mony ane that - comes o' the wrang side o' the blanket; and Sir Richard wi' the Red-hand, - he had a fair offspring o'his ain, and a was lound and quiet till his - head was laid in the ground. But then down came Malcolm Misticot—(Sir - Arthur says it should be <i>Misbegot,</i> but they aye ca'd him Misticot that - spoke o't lang syne)—down cam this Malcolm, the love-begot, frae - Glen-isla, wi' a string o' lang-legged Highlanders at his heels, that's - aye ready for onybody's mischief, and he threeps the castle and lands are - his ain as his mother's eldest son, and turns a' the Wardours out to the - hill. There was a sort of fighting and blude-spilling about it, for the - gentles took different sides; but Malcolm had the uppermost for a lang - time, and keepit the Castle of Knockwinnock, and strengthened it, and - built that muckle tower that they ca' Misticot's tower to this day." -</p> -<p> - "Mine goot friend, old Mr. Edie Ochiltree." interrupted the German, "this - is all as one like de long histories of a baron of sixteen quarters in - mine countries; but I would as rather hear of de silver and gold." -</p> -<p> - "Why, ye see," continued the mendicant, "this Malcolm was weel helped by - an uncle, a brother o' his father's, that was Prior o' St. Ruth here; and - muckle treasure they gathered between them, to secure the succession of - their house in the lands of Knockwinnock. Folk said that the monks in - thae days had the art of multiplying metals—at ony rate, they were very - rich. At last it came to this, that the young Wardour, that was - Red-hand's son, challenged Misticot to fight with him in the lists as - they ca'd them—that's no lists or tailor's runds and selvedges o' - claith, but a palin'-thing they set up for them to fight in like - game-cocks. Aweel, Misticot was beaten, and at his brother's mercy—but - he wadna touch his life, for the blood of Knockwinnock that was in baith - their veins: so Malcolm was compelled to turn a monk, and he died soon - after in the priory, of pure despite and vexation. Naebody ever kenn'd - whare his uncle the prior earded him, or what he did wi' his gowd and - silver, for he stood on the right o' halie kirk, and wad gie nae account - to onybody. But the prophecy gat abroad in the country, that whenever - Misticot's grave was fund out, the estate of Knockwinnock should be lost - and won." -</p> -<p> - "Ach! mine goot old friend, Maister Edie, and dat is not so very - unlikely, if Sir Arthurs will quarrel wit his goot friends to please Mr. - Oldenbuck.—And so you do tink dat dis golds and silvers belonged to goot - Mr. Malcolm Mishdigoat?" -</p> -<p> - "Troth do I, Mr. Dousterdeevil." -</p> -<p> - "And you do believe dat dere is more of dat sorts behind?" -</p> -<p> - "By my certie do I—How can it be otherwise?—<i>Search—No. I</i>—that is as - muckle as to say, search and ye'll find number twa. Besides, yon kist is - only silver, and I aye heard that' Misticot's pose had muckle yellow gowd - in't." -</p> -<p> - "Den, mine goot friends," said the adept, jumping up hastily, "why do we - not set about our little job directly?" -</p> -<p> - "For twa gude reasons," answered the beggar, who quietly kept his sitting - posture;—"first, because, as I said before, we have naething to dig wi', - for they hae taen awa the picks and shules; and, secondly, because there - will be a wheen idle gowks coming to glower at the hole as lang as it is - daylight, and maybe the laird may send somebody to fill it up—and ony - way we wad be catched. But if you will meet me on this place at twal - o'clock wi' a dark lantern, I'll hae tools ready, and we'll gang quietly - about our job our twa sells, and naebody the wiser for't." -</p> -<p> - "Be—be—but, mine goot friend," said Dousterswivel, from whose - recollection his former nocturnal adventure was not to be altogether - erased, even by the splendid hopes which Edie's narrative held forth, "it - is not so goot or so safe, to be about goot Maister Mishdigoat's grabe at - dat time of night—you have forgot how I told you de spirits did hone and - mone dere. I do assure you, dere is disturbance dere." -</p> -<p> - "If ye're afraid of ghaists," answered the mendicant, coolly, "I'll do - the job mysell, and bring your share o' the siller to ony place you like - to appoint." -</p> -<p> - "No—no—mine excellent old Mr. Edie,—too much trouble for you—I will - not have dat—I will come myself—and it will be bettermost; for, mine - old friend, it was I, Herman Dousterswivel, discovered Maister - Mishdigoat's grave when I was looking for a place as to put away some - little trumpery coins, just to play one little trick on my dear friend - Sir Arthur, for a little sport and pleasures. Yes, I did take some what - you call rubbish, and did discover Maister Mishdigoat's own monumentsh— - It's like dat he meant I should be his heirs—so it would not be civility - in me not to come mineself for mine inheritance." -</p> -<p> - "At twal o'clock, then," said the mendicant, "we meet under this tree. - I'll watch for a while, and see that naebody meddles wi' the grave—it's - only saying the laird's forbade it—then get my bit supper frae Ringan - the poinder up by, and leave to sleep in his barn; and I'll slip out at - night, and neer be mist." -</p> -<p> - "Do so, mine goot Maister Edie, and I will meet you here on this very - place, though all de spirits should moan and sneeze deir very brains - out." -</p> -<p> - So saying he shook hands with the old man, and with this mutual pledge of - fidelity to their appointment, they separated for the present. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0004"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER FOURTH. -</h2> -<pre> - —See thou shake the bags - Of hoarding abbots; angels imprisoned - Set thou at liberty— - Bell, book, and candle, shall not drive me back, - If gold and silver beckon to come on. - King John. -</pre> -<p> - The night set in stormy, with wind and occasional showers of rain. "Eh, - sirs," said the old mendicant, as he took his place on the sheltered side - of the large oak-tree to wait for his associate—"Eh, sirs, but human - nature's a wilful and wilyard thing!—Is it not an unco lucre o' gain wad - bring this Dousterdivel out in a blast o' wind like this, at twal o'clock - at night, to thir wild gousty wa's?—and amna I a bigger fule than - himsell to bide here waiting for him?" -</p> -<p> - Having made these sage reflections, he wrapped himself close in his - cloak, and fixed his eye on the moon as she waded amid the stormy and - dusky clouds, which the wind from time to time drove across her surface. - The melancholy and uncertain gleams that she shot from between the - passing shadows fell full upon the rifted arches and shafted windows of - the old building, which were thus for an instant made distinctly visible - in their ruinous state, and anon became again a dark, undistinguished, - and shadowy mass. The little lake had its share of these transient beams - of light, and showed its waters broken, whitened, and agitated under the - passing storm, which, when the clouds swept over the moon, were only - distinguished by their sullen and murmuring plash against the beach. The - wooded glen repeated, to every successive gust that hurried through its - narrow trough, the deep and various groan with which the trees replied to - the whirlwind, and the sound sunk again, as the blast passed away, into a - faint and passing murmur, resembling the sighs of an exhausted criminal - after the first pangs of his torture are over. In these sounds, - superstition might have found ample gratification for that State of - excited terror which she fears and yet loves. But such feeling is made no - part of Ochiltree's composition. His mind wandered back to the scenes of - his youth. -</p> -<p> - "I have kept guard on the outposts baith in Germany and America," he said - to himself, "in mony a waur night than this, and when I ken'd there was - maybe a dozen o' their riflemen in the thicket before me. But I was aye - gleg at my duty—naebody ever catched Edie sleeping." -</p> -<p> - As he muttered thus to himself, he instinctively shouldered his trusty - pike-staff, assumed the port of a sentinel on duty, and, as a step - advanced towards the tree, called, with a tone assorting better with his - military reminiscences than his present state—"Stand! who goes there?" -</p> -<p> - "De devil, goot Edie," answered Dousterswivel, "why does you speak so - loud as a baarenhauter, or what you call a factionary—I mean a - sentinel?" -</p> -<p> - "Just because I thought I was a sentinel at that moment," answered the - mendicant. "Here's an awsome night! Hae ye brought the lantern and a pock - for the siller?" -</p> -<p> - "Ay-ay, mine goot friend," said the German, "here it is—my pair of what - you call saddlebag; one side will be for you, one side for me;—I will - put dem on my horse to save you de trouble, as you are old man." -</p> -<p> - "Have you a horse here, then?" asked Edie Ochiltree. -</p> -<p> - "O yes, mine friend—tied yonder by de stile," responded the adept. -</p> -<p> - "Weel, I hae just ae word to the bargain—there sall nane o' my gear gang - on your beast's back." -</p> -<p> - "What was it as you would be afraid of?" said the foreigner. -</p> -<p> - "Only of losing sight of horse, man, and money," again replied the - gaberlunzie. -</p> -<p> - "Does you know dat you make one gentlemans out to be one great rogue?" -</p> -<p> - "Mony gentlemen," replied Ochiltree, "can make that out for themselves— - But what's the sense of quarrelling?—If ye want to gang on, gang on—if - no—I'll gae back to the gude ait-straw in Ringan Aikwood's barn that I - left wi' right ill-will e'now, and I'll pit back the pick and shule whar - I got them." -</p> -<p> - Dousterswivel deliberated a moment, whether, by suffering Edie to depart, - he might not secure the whole of the expected wealth for his own - exclusive use. But the want of digging implements, the uncertainty - whether, if he had them, he could clear out the grave to a sufficient - depth without assistance, and, above all, the reluctance which he felt, - owing to the experience of the former night, to venture alone on the - terrors of Misticot's grave, satisfied him the attempt would be - hazardous. Endeavouring, therefore, to assume his usual cajoling tone, - though internally incensed, he begged "his goot friend Maister Edie - Ochiltrees would lead the way, and assured him of his acquiescence in all - such an excellent friend could propose." -</p> -<p> - "Aweel, aweel, then," said Edie, "tak gude care o' your feet amang the - lang grass and the loose stones. I wish we may get the light keepit in - neist, wi' this fearsome wind—but there's a blink o' moonlight at - times." -</p> -<p> - Thus saying, old Edie, closely accompanied by the adept, led the way - towards the ruins, but presently made a full halt in front of them. -</p> -<p> - "Ye're a learned man, Mr. Dousterdeevil, and ken muckle o' the marvellous - works o' nature—Now, will ye tell me ae thing?—D'ye believe in ghaists - and spirits that walk the earth?—d'ye believe in them, ay or no?" -</p> -<p> - "Now, goot Mr. Edie," whispered Dousterswivel, in an expostulatory tone - of voice, "is this a times or a places for such a questions?" -</p> -<p> - "Indeed is it, baith the tane and the t'other, Mr. Dustanshovel; for I - maun fairly tell ye, there's reports that auld Misticot walks. Now this - wad be an uncanny night to meet him in, and wha kens if he wad be ower - weel pleased wi' our purpose of visiting his pose?" -</p> -<p> - "<i>Alle guten Geister</i>"—muttered the adept, the rest of the conjuration - being lost in a tremulous warble of his voice,—"I do desires you not to - speak so, Mr. Edie; for, from all I heard dat one other night, I do much - believes"— -</p> -<p> - "Now I," said Ochiltree, entering the chancel, and flinging abroad his - arm with an air of defiance, "I wadna gie the crack o' my thumb for him - were he to appear at this moment: he's but a disembodied spirit, as we - are embodied anes." -</p> -<p> - "For the lofe of heavens," said Dousterswivel, "say nothing at all - neither about somebodies or nobodies!" -</p> -<p> - "Aweel," said the beggar (expanding the shade of the lantern), "here's - the stane, and, spirit or no spirit, I'se be a wee bit deeper in the - grave;" and he jumped into the place from which the precious chest had - that morning been removed. After striking a few strokes, he tired, or - affected to tire, and said to his companion, "I'm auld and failed now, - and canna keep at it—time about's fair play, neighbour; ye maun get in - and tak the shule a bit, and shule out the loose earth, and then I'll tak - turn about wi' you." -</p> -<p> - Dousterswivel accordingly took the place which the beggar had evacuated, - and toiled with all the zeal that awakened avarice, mingled with the - anxious wish to finish the undertaking and leave the place as soon as - possible, could inspire in a mind at once greedy, suspicious, and - timorous. -</p> -<p> - Edie, standing much at his ease by the side of the hole, contented - himself with exhorting his associate to labour hard. "My certie! few ever - wrought for siccan a day's wage; an it be but—say the tenth part o' the - size o' the kist, No. I., it will double its value, being filled wi' gowd - instead of silver. Od, ye work as if ye had been bred to pick and shule—ye - could win your round half-crown ilka day. Tak care o' your taes wi' - that stane!" giving a kick to a large one which the adept had heaved out - with difficulty, and which Edie pushed back again to the great annoyance - of his associate's shins. -</p> -<p> - Thus exhorted by the mendicant, Dousterswivel struggled and laboured - among the stones and stiff clay, toiling like a horse, and internally - blaspheming in German. When such an unhallowed syllable escaped his lips, - Edie changed his battery upon him. -</p> -<p> - "O dinna swear! dinna swear! Wha kens whals listening!—Eh! gude guide - us, what's yon!—Hout, it's just a branch of ivy flightering awa frae the - wa'; when the moon was in, it lookit unco like a dead man's arm wi' a - taper in't—I thought it was Misticot himsell. But never mind, work you - away—fling the earth weel up by out o' the gate—Od, if ye're no as - clean a worker at a grave as Win Winnet himsell! What gars ye stop now?—ye're - just at the very bit for a chance." -</p> -<p> - "Stop!" said the German, in a tone of anger and disappointment, "why, I - am down at de rocks dat de cursed ruins (God forgife me!) is founded - upon." -</p> -<p> - "Weel," said the beggar, "that's the likeliest bit of ony. It will be but - a muckle through-stane laid doun to kiver the gowd—tak the pick till't, - and pit mair strength, man—ae gude down-right devvel will split it, I'se - warrant ye—Ay, that will do Od, he comes on wi' Wallace's straiks!" -</p> -<p> - In fact, the adept, moved by Edie's exhortations, fetched two or three - desperate blows, and succeeded in breaking, not indeed that against which - he struck, which, as he had already conjectured, was the solid rock, but - the implement which he wielded, jarring at the same time his arms up to - the shoulder-blades. -</p> -<p> - "Hurra, boys!—there goes Ringan's pick-axe!" cried Edie "it's a shame o' - the Fairport folk to sell siccan frail gear. Try the shule—at it again, - Mr. Dusterdeevil." -</p> -<p> - The adept, without reply, scrambled out of the pit, which was now about - six feet deep, and addressed his associate in a voice that trembled with - anger. "Does you know, Mr. Edies Ochiltrees, who it is you put off your - gibes and your jests upon?" -</p> -<p> - "Brawly, Mr. Dusterdeevil—brawly do I ken ye, and has done mony a day; - but there's nae jesting in the case, for I am wearying to see ae our - treasures; we should hae had baith ends o' the pockmanky filled by this - time—I hope it's bowk eneugh to haud a' the gear?" -</p> -<p> - "Look you, you base old person," said the incensed philosopher, "if you - do put another jest upon me, I will cleave your skull-piece with this - shovels!" -</p> -<p> - "And whare wad my hands and my pike-staff be a' the time?" replied Edie, - in a tone that indicated no apprehension. "Hout, tout, Maister - Dusterdeevil, I haena lived sae lang in the warld neither, to be shuled - out o't that gate. What ails ye to be cankered, man, wi' your friends? - I'll wager I'll find out the treasure in a minute;" and he jumped into - the pit, and took up the spade. -</p> -<p> - "I do swear to you," said the adept, whose suspicions were now fully - awake, "that if you have played me one big trick, I will give you one big - beating, Mr. Edies." -</p> -<p> - "Hear till him now!" said Ochiltree, "he kens how to gar folk find out - the gear—Od, I'm thinking he's been drilled that way himsell some day." -</p> -<p> - At this insinuation, which alluded obviously to the former scene betwixt - himself and Sir Arthur, the philosopher lost the slender remnant of - patience he had left, and being of violent passions, heaved up the - truncheon of the broken mattock to discharge it upon the old man's head. - The blow would in all probability have been fatal, had not he at whom it - was aimed exclaimed in a stern and firm voice, "Shame to ye, man!—do ye - think Heaven or earth will suffer ye to murder an auld man that might be - your father?—Look behind ye, man!" -</p> -<p> - Dousterswivel turned instinctively, and beheld, to his utter - astonishment, a tall dark figure standing close behind him. The - apparition gave him no time to proceed by exorcism or otherwise, but - having instantly recourse to the <i>voie de fait,</i> took measure of the - adept's shoulders three or four times with blows so substantial, that he - fell under the weight of them, and remained senseless for some minutes - between fear and stupefaction. When he came to himself, he was alone in - the ruined chancel, lying upon the soft and damp earth which had been - thrown out of Misticot's grave. He raised himself with a confused - sensation of anger, pain, and terror, and it was not until he had sat - upright for some minutes, that he could arrange his ideas sufficiently to - recollect how he came there, or with what purpose. As his recollection - returned, he could have little doubt that the bait held out to him by - Ochiltree, to bring him to that solitary spot, the sarcasms by which he - had provoked him into a quarrel, and the ready assistance which he had at - hand for terminating it in the manner in which it had ended, were all - parts of a concerted plan to bring disgrace and damage on Herman - Dousterswivel. He could hardly suppose that he was indebted for the - fatigue, anxiety, and beating which he had undergone, purely to the - malice of Edie Ochiltree singly, but concluded that the mendicant had - acted a part assigned to him by some person of greater importance. His - suspicions hesitated between Oldbuck and Sir Arthur Wardour. The former - had been at no pains to conceal a marked dislike of him—but the latter - he had deeply injured; and although he judged that Sir Arthur did not - know the extent of his wrongs towards him, yet it was easy to suppose he - had gathered enough of the truth to make him desirous of revenge. - Ochiltree had alluded to at least one circumstance which the adept had - every reason to suppose was private between Sir Arthur and himself, and - therefore must have been learned from the former. The language of Oldbuck - also intimated a conviction of his knavery, which Sir Arthur heard - without making any animated defence. Lastly, the way in which - Dousterswivel supposed the Baronet to have exercised his revenge, was not - inconsistent with the practice of other countries with which the adept - was better acquainted than with those of North Britain. With him, as with - many bad men, to suspect an injury, and to nourish the purpose of - revenge, was one and the same movement. And before Dousterswivel had - fairly recovered his legs, he had mentally sworn the ruin of his - benefactor, which, unfortunately, he possessed too much the power of - accelerating. -</p> -<p> - But although a purpose of revenge floated through his brain, it was no - time to indulge such speculations. The hour, the place, his own - situation, and perhaps the presence or near neighbourhood of his - assailants, made self-preservation the adept's first object. The lantern - had been thrown down and extinguished in the scuffle. The wind, which - formerly howled so loudly through the aisles of the ruin, had now greatly - fallen, lulled by the rain, which was descending very fast. The moon, - from the same cause, was totally obscured, and though Dousterswivel had - some experience of the ruins, and knew that he must endeavour to regain - the eastern door of the chancel, yet the confusion of his ideas was such, - that he hesitated for some time ere he could ascertain in what direction - he was to seek it. In this perplexity, the suggestions of superstition, - taking the advantage of darkness and his evil conscience, began again to - present themselves to his disturbed imagination. "But bah!" quoth he - valiantly to himself, "it is all nonsense all one part of de damn big - trick and imposture. Devil! that one thick-skulled Scotch Baronet, as I - have led by the nose for five year, should cheat Herman Dousterswivel!" -</p> -<p> - As he had come to this conclusion, an incident occurred which tended - greatly to shake the grounds on which he had adopted it. Amid the - melancholy <i>sough</i> of the dying wind, and the plash of the rain-drops on - leaves and stones, arose, and apparently at no great distance from the - listener, a strain of vocal music so sad and solemn, as if the departed - spirits of the churchmen who had once inhabited these deserted ruins were - mourning the solitude and desolation to which their hallowed precincts - had been abandoned. Dousterswivel, who had now got upon his feet, and was - groping around the wall of the chancel, stood rooted to the ground on the - occurrence of this new phenomenon. Each faculty of his soul seemed for - the moment concentred in the sense of hearing, and all rushed back with - the unanimous information, that the deep, wild, and prolonged chant which - he now heard, was the appropriate music of one of the most solemn dirges - of the Church of Rome. Why performed in such a solitude, and by what - class of choristers, were questions which the terrified imagination of - the adept, stirred with all the German superstitions of nixies, - oak-kings, wer-wolves, hobgoblins, black spirits and white, blue spirits - and grey, durst not even attempt to solve. -</p> -<p> - Another of his senses was soon engaged in the investigation. At the - extremity of one of the transepts of the church, at the bottom of a few - descending steps, was a small iron-grated door, opening, as far as he - recollected, to a sort of low vault or sacristy. As he cast his eye in - the direction of the sound, he observed a strong reflection of red light - glimmering through these bars, and against the steps which descended to - them. Dousterswivel stood a moment uncertain what to do; then, suddenly - forming a desperate resolution, he moved down the aisle to the place from - which the light proceeded. -</p> -<a name="image-0005"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/pb052.jpg" height="808" width="547" -alt="The Funeral of the Countess -"> -</center> -<!--IMAGE END--> -<p> - Fortified with the sign of the cross, and as many exorcisms as his memory - could recover, he advanced to the grate, from which, unseen, he could see - what passed in the interior of the vault. As he approached with timid and - uncertain steps, the chant, after one or two wild and prolonged cadences, - died away into profound silence. The grate, when he reached it, presented - a singular spectacle in the interior of the sacristy. An open grave, with - four tall flambeaus, each about six feet high, placed at the four - corners—a bier, having a corpse in its shroud, the arms folded upon the - breast, rested upon tressels at one side of the grave, as if ready to be - interred—a priest, dressed in his cope and stole, held open the service - book—another churchman in his vestments bore a holy-water sprinkler, and - two boys in white surplices held censers with incense—a man, of a figure - once tall and commanding, but now bent with age or infirmity, stood alone - and nearest to the coffin, attired in deep mourning—such were the most - prominent figures of the group. At a little distance were two or three - persons of both sexes, attired in long mourning hoods and cloaks; and - five or six others in the same lugubrious dress, still farther removed - from the body, around the walls of the vault, stood ranged in motionless - order, each bearing in his hand a huge torch of black wax. The smoky - light from so many flambeaus, by the red and indistinct atmosphere which - it spread around, gave a hazy, dubious, and as it were phantom-like - appearance to the outlines of this singular apparition, The voice of the - priest—loud, clear, and sonorous—now recited, from the breviary which - he held in his hand, those solemn words which the ritual of the Catholic - church has consecrated to the rendering of dust to dust. Meanwhile, - Dousterswivel, the place, the hour, and the surprise considered, still - remained uncertain whether what he saw was substantial, or an unearthly - representation of the rites to which in former times these walls were - familiar, but which are now rarely practised in Protestant countries, and - almost never in Scotland. He was uncertain whether to abide the - conclusion of the ceremony, or to endeavour to regain the chancel, when a - change in his position made him visible through the grate to one of the - attendant mourners. The person who first espied him indicated his - discovery to the individual who stood apart and nearest the coffin, by a - sign, and upon his making a sign in reply, two of the group detached - themselves, and, gliding along with noiseless steps, as if fearing to - disturb the service, unlocked and opened the grate which separated them - from the adept. Each took him by an arm, and exerting a degree of force, - which he would have been incapable of resisting had his fear permitted - him to attempt opposition, they placed him on the ground in the chancel, - and sat down, one on each side of him, as if to detain him. Satisfied he - was in the power of mortals like himself, the adept would have put some - questions to them; but while one pointed to the vault, from which the - sound of the priest's voice was distinctly heard, the other placed his - finger upon his lips in token of silence, a hint which the German thought - it most prudent to obey. And thus they detained him until a loud - Alleluia, pealing through the deserted arches of St. Ruth, closed the - singular ceremony which it had been his fortune to witness. -</p> -<p> - When the hymn had died away with all its echoes, the voice of one of the - sable personages under whose guard the adept had remained, said, in a - familiar tone and dialect, "Dear sirs, Mr. Dousterswivel, is this you? - could not ye have let us ken an ye had wussed till hae been present at - the ceremony?—My lord couldna tak it weel your coming blinking and - jinking in, in that fashion." -</p> -<p> - "In de name of all dat is gootness, tell me what you are?" interrupted - the German in his turn. -</p> -<p> - "What I am? why, wha should I be but Ringan Aikwood, the Knockwinnock - poinder?—and what are ye doing here at this time o' night, unless ye - were come to attend the leddy's burial?" -</p> -<p> - "I do declare to you, mine goot Poinder Aikwood," said the German, - raising himself up, "that I have been this vary nights murdered, robbed, - and put in fears of my life." -</p> -<p> - "Robbed! wha wad do sic a deed here?—Murdered! od ye speak pretty blithe - for a murdered man—Put in fear! what put you in fear, Mr. - Dousterswivel?" -</p> -<p> - "I will tell you, Maister Poinder Aikwood Ringan, just dat old miscreant - dog villain blue-gown, as you call Edie Ochiltrees." -</p> -<p> - "I'll neer believe that," answered Ringan;—"Edie was ken'd to me, and my - father before me, for a true, loyal, and sooth-fast man; and, mair by - token, he's sleeping up yonder in our barn, and has been since ten at - e'en—Sae touch ye wha liket, Mr. Dousterswivel, and whether onybody - touched ye or no, I'm sure Edie's sackless." -</p> -<p> - "Maister Ringan Aikwood Poinders, I do not know what you call sackless,— - but let alone all de oils and de soot dat you say he has, and I will tell - you I was dis night robbed of fifty pounds by your oil and sooty friend, - Edies Ochiltree; and he is no more in your barn even now dan I ever shall - be in de kingdom of heafen." -</p> -<p> - "Weel, sir, if ye will gae up wi' me, as the burial company has - dispersed, we'se mak ye down a bed at the lodge, and we'se see if Edie's - at the barn. There was twa wild-looking chaps left the auld kirk when we - were coming up wi' the corpse, that's certain; and the priest, wha likes - ill that ony heretics should look on at our church ceremonies, sent twa - o' the riding saulies after them; sae we'll hear a' about it frae them." -</p> -<p> - Thus speaking, the kindly apparition, with the assistance of the mute - personage, who was his son, disencumbered himself of his cloak, and - prepared to escort Dousterswivel to the place of that rest which the - adept so much needed. -</p> -<p> - "I will apply to the magistrates to-morrow," said the adept; "oder, I - will have de law put in force against all the peoples." -</p> -<p> - While he thus muttered vengeance against the cause of his injury, he - tottered from among the ruins, supporting himself on Ringan and his son, - whose assistance his state of weakness rendered very necessary. -</p> -<p> - When they were clear of the priory, and had gained the little meadow in - which it stands, Dousterswivel could perceive the torches which had - caused him so much alarm issuing in irregular procession from the ruins, - and glancing their light, like that of the <i>ignis fatuus,</i> on the banks - of the lake. After moving along the path for some short space with a - fluctuating and irregular motion, the lights were at once extinguished. -</p> -<p> - "We aye put out the torches at the Halie-cross Well on sic occasions," - said the forester to his guest. And accordingly no farther visible sign - of the procession offered itself to Dousterswivel, although his ear could - catch the distant and decreasing echo of horses' hoofs in the direction - towards which the mourners had bent their course. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0005"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER FIFTH. -</h2> -<pre> - O weel may the boatie row - And better may she speed, - And weel may the boatie row - That earns the bairnies' bread! - The boatie rows, the boatie rows, - The boatie rows fu' weel, - And lightsome be their life that bear - The merlin and the creel! - Old Ballad. -</pre> -<p> - We must now introduce our reader to the interior of the fisher's cottage - mentioned in CHAPTER eleventh of this edifying history. I wish I could - say that its inside was well arranged, decently furnished, or tolerably - clean. On the contrary, I am compelled to admit, there was confusion,— - there was dilapidation,—there was dirt good store. Yet, with all this, - there was about the inmates, Luckie Mucklebackit and her family, an - appearance of ease, plenty, and comfort, that seemed to warrant their old - sluttish proverb, "The clartier the cosier." A huge fire, though the - season was summer, occupied the hearth, and served at once for affording - light, heat, and the means of preparing food. The fishing had been - successful, and the family, with customary improvidence, had, since - unlading the cargo, continued an unremitting operation of broiling and - frying that part of the produce reserved for home consumption, and the - bones and fragments lay on the wooden trenchers, mingled with morsels of - broken bannocks and shattered mugs of half-drunk beer. The stout and - athletic form of Maggie herself, bustling here and there among a pack of - half-grown girls and younger children, of whom she chucked one now here - and another now there, with an exclamation of "Get out o' the gate, ye - little sorrow!" was strongly contrasted with the passive and - half-stupified look and manner of her husband's mother, a woman advanced - to the last stage of human life, who was seated in her wonted chair close - by the fire, the warmth of which she coveted, yet hardly seemed to be - sensible of—now muttering to herself, now smiling vacantly to the - children as they pulled the strings of her <i>toy</i> or close cap, or - twitched her blue checked apron. With her distaff in her bosom, and her - spindle in her hand, she plied lazily and mechanically the old-fashioned - Scottish thrift, according to the old-fashioned Scottish manner. The - younger children, crawling among the feet of the elder, watched the - progress of grannies spindle as it twisted, and now and then ventured to - interrupt its progress as it danced upon the floor in those vagaries - which the more regulated spinning-wheel has now so universally - superseded, that even the fated Princess in the fairy tale might roam - through all Scotland without the risk of piercing her hand with a - spindle, and dying of the wound. Late as the hour was (and it was long - past midnight), the whole family were still on foot, and far from - proposing to go to bed; the dame was still busy broiling car-cakes on the - girdle, and the elder girl, the half-naked mermaid elsewhere - commemorated, was preparing a pile of Findhorn haddocks (that is, - haddocks smoked with green wood), to be eaten along with these relishing - provisions. -</p> -<p> - While they were thus employed, a slight tap at the door, accompanied with - the question, "Are ye up yet, sirs?" announced a visitor. The answer, - "Ay, ay,—come your ways ben, hinny," occasioned the lifting of the - latch, and Jenny Rintherout, the female domestic of our Antiquary, made - her appearance. -</p> -<p> - "Ay, ay," exclaimed the mistress of the family—"Hegh, sirs! can this be - you, Jenny?—a sight o' you's gude for sair een, lass." -</p> -<p> - "O woman, we've been sae ta'en up wi' Captain Hector's wound up by, that - I havena had my fit out ower the door this fortnight; but he's better - now, and auld Caxon sleeps in his room in case he wanted onything. Sae, - as soon as our auld folk gaed to bed, I e'en snodded my head up a bit, - and left the house-door on the latch, in case onybody should be wanting - in or out while I was awa, and just cam down the gate to see an there was - ony cracks amang ye." -</p> -<p> - "Ay, ay," answered Luckie Mucklebackit, "I see you hae gotten a' your - braws on; ye're looking about for Steenie now—but he's no at hame the - night; and ye'll no do for Steenie, lass—a feckless thing like you's no - fit to mainteen a man." -</p> -<p> - "Steenie will no do for me," retorted Jenny, with a toss of her head that - might have become a higher-born damsel; "I maun hae a man that can - mainteen his wife." -</p> -<p> - "Ou ay, hinny—thae's your landward and burrows-town notions. - My certie!—fisherwives ken better—they keep the man, and keep the house, and keep - the siller too, lass." -</p> -<p> - "A wheen poor drudges ye are," answered the nymph of the land to the - nymph of the sea. "As sune as the keel o' the coble touches the sand, - deil a bit mair will the lazy fisher loons work, but the wives maun kilt - their coats, and wade into the surf to tak the fish ashore. And then the - man casts aff the wat and puts on the dry, and sits down wi' his pipe and - his gill-stoup ahint the ingle, like ony auld houdie, and neer a turn - will he do till the coble's afloat again! And the wife she maun get the - scull on her back, and awa wi' the fish to the next burrows-town, and - scauld and ban wi'ilka wife that will scauld and ban wi'her till it's - sauld—and that's the gait fisher-wives live, puir slaving bodies." -</p> -<p> - "Slaves?—gae wa', lass!—ca' the head o' the house slaves? little ye ken - about it, lass. Show me a word my Saunders daur speak, or a turn he daur - do about the house, without it be just to tak his meat, and his drink, - and his diversion, like ony o' the weans. He has mair sense than to ca' - anything about the bigging his ain, frae the rooftree down to a crackit - trencher on the bink. He kens weel eneugh wha feeds him, and cleeds him, - and keeps a' tight, thack and rape, when his coble is jowing awa in the - Firth, puir fallow. Na, na, lass!—them that sell the goods guide the - purse—them that guide the purse rule the house. Show me ane o' yer bits - o' farmer-bodies that wad let their wife drive the stock to the market, - and ca' in the debts. Na, na." -</p> -<p> - "Aweel, aweel, Maggie, ilka land has its ain lauch—But where's Steenie - the night, when a's come and gane? And where's the gudeman?"* -</p> -<p> - * Note G. Gynecocracy. -</p> -<p> - "I hae putten the gudeman to his bed, for he was e'en sair forfain; and - Steenie's awa out about some barns-breaking wi' the auld gaberlunzie, - Edie Ochiltree: they'll be in sune, and ye can sit doun." -</p> -<p> - "Troth, gudewife" (taking a seat), "I haena that muckle time to stop—but - I maun tell ye about the news. Yell hae heard o' the muckle kist o' gowd - that Sir Arthur has fund down by at St. Ruth?—He'll be grander than ever - now—he'll no can haud down his head to sneeze, for fear o' seeing his - shoon." -</p> -<p> - "Ou ay—a' the country's heard o' that; but auld Edie says that they ca' - it ten times mair than ever was o't, and he saw them howk it up. Od, it - would be lang or a puir body that needed it got sic a windfa'." -</p> -<p> - "Na, that's sure eneugh.—And yell hae heard o' the Countess o' Glenallan - being dead and lying in state, and how she's to be buried at St. Ruth's - as this night fa's, wi' torch-light; and a' the popist servants, and - Ringan Aikwood, that's a papist too, are to be there, and it will be the - grandest show ever was seen." -</p> -<p> - "Troth, hinny," answered the Nereid, "if they let naebody but papists - come there, it'll no be muckle o' a show in this country, for the auld - harlot, as honest Mr. Blattergowl ca's her, has few that drink o' her cup - o' enchantments in this corner o' our chosen lands.—But what can ail - them to bury the auld carlin (a rudas wife she was) in the night-time?—I - dare say our gudemither will ken." -</p> -<p> - Here she exalted her voice, and exclaimed twice or thrice, "Gudemither! - gudemither!" but, lost in the apathy of age and deafness, the aged sibyl - she addressed continued plying her spindle without understanding the - appeal made to her. -</p> -<p> - "Speak to your grandmither, Jenny—Od, I wad rather hail the coble half a - mile aff, and the nor-wast wind whistling again in my teeth." -</p> -<p> - "Grannie," said the little mermaid, in a voice to which the old woman was - better accustomed, "minnie wants to ken what for the Glenallan folk aye - bury by candle-light in the ruing of St. Ruth!" -</p> -<p> - The old woman paused in the act of twirling the spindle, turned round to - the rest of the party, lifted her withered, trembling, and clay-coloured - hand, raised up her ashen-hued and wrinkled face, which the quick motion - of two light-blue eyes chiefly distinguished from the visage of a corpse, - and, as if catching at any touch of association with the living world, - answered, "What gars the Glenallan family inter their dead by torchlight, - said the lassie?—Is there a Glenallan dead e'en now?" -</p> -<p> - "We might be a' dead and buried too," said Maggie, "for onything ye wad - ken about it;"—and then, raising her voice to the stretch of her - mother-in-law's comprehension, she added, -</p> -<p> - "It's the auld Countess, gudemither." -</p> -<p> - "And is she ca'd hame then at last?" said the old woman, in a voice that - seemed to be agitated with much more feeling than belonged to her extreme - old age, and the general indifference and apathy of her manner—"is she - then called to her last account after her lang race o' pride and power?—O - God, forgie her!" -</p> -<p> - "But minnie was asking ye," resumed the lesser querist, "what for the - Glenallan family aye bury their dead by torch-light?" -</p> -<p> - "They hae aye dune sae," said the grandmother, "since the time the Great - Earl fell in the sair battle o' the Harlaw, when they say the coronach - was cried in ae day from the mouth of the Tay to the Buck of the Cabrach, - that ye wad hae heard nae other sound but that of lamentation for the - great folks that had fa'en fighting against Donald of the Isles. But the - Great Earl's mither was living—they were a doughty and a dour race, the - women o' the house o' Glenallan—and she wad hae nae coronach cried for - her son, but had him laid in the silence o' midnight in his place o' - rest, without either drinking the dirge, or crying the lament. She said - he had killed enow that day he died, for the widows and daughters o' the - Highlanders he had slain to cry the coronach for them they had lost, and - for her son too; and sae she laid him in his gave wi' dry eyes, and - without a groan or a wail. And it was thought a proud word o' the family, - and they aye stickit by it—and the mair in the latter times, because in - the night-time they had mair freedom to perform their popish ceremonies - by darkness and in secrecy than in the daylight—at least that was the - case in my time; they wad hae been disturbed in the day-time baith by the - law and the commons of Fairport—they may be owerlooked now, as I have - heard: the warlds changed—I whiles hardly ken whether I am standing or - sitting, or dead or living." -</p> -<p> - And looking round the fire, as if in a state of unconscious uncertainty - of which she complained, old Elspeth relapsed into her habitual and - mechanical occupation of twirling the spindle. -</p> -<p> - "Eh, sirs!" said Jenny Rintherout, under her breath to her gossip, "it's - awsome to hear your gudemither break out in that gait—it's like the dead - speaking to the living." -</p> -<p> - "Ye're no that far wrang, lass; she minds naething o' what passes the - day—but set her on auld tales, and she can speak like a prent buke. She - kens mair about the Glenallan family than maist folk—the gudeman's - father was their fisher mony a day. Ye maun ken the papists make a great - point o' eating fish—it's nae bad part o' their religion that, whatever - the rest is—I could aye sell the best o' fish at the best o' prices for - the Countess's ain table, grace be wi' her! especially on a Friday—But - see as our gudemither's hands and lips are ganging—now it's working in - her head like barm—she'll speak eneugh the night. Whiles she'll no speak - a word in a week, unless it be to the bits o' bairns." -</p> -<p> - "Hegh, Mrs. Mucklebackit, she's an awsome wife!" said Jenny in reply. - "D'ye think she's a'thegither right? Folk say she downa gang to the kirk, - or speak to the minister, and that she was ance a papist but since her - gudeman's been dead, naebody kens what she is. D'ye think yoursell that - she's no uncanny?" -</p> -<p> - "Canny, ye silly tawpie! think ye ae auld wife's less canny than anither? - unless it be Alison Breck—I really couldna in conscience swear for her; - I have kent the boxes she set fill'd wi' partans, when"— -</p> -<p> - "Whisht, whisht, Maggie," whispered Jenny—"your gudemither's gaun to - speak again." -</p> -<p> - "Wasna there some ane o' ye said," asked the old sibyl, "or did I dream, - or was it revealed to me, that Joscelind, Lady Glenallan, is dead, an' - buried this night?" -</p> -<p> - "Yes, gudemither," screamed the daughter-in-law, "it's e'en sae." -</p> -<p> - "And e'en sae let it be," said old Elspeth; "she's made mony a sair heart - in her day—ay, e'en her ain son's—is he living yet?" -</p> -<p> - "Ay, he's living yet; but how lang he'll live—however, dinna ye mind his - coming and asking after you in the spring, and leaving siller?" -</p> -<p> - "It may be sae, Magge—I dinna mind it—but a handsome gentleman he was, - and his father before him. Eh! if his father had lived, they might hae - been happy folk! But he was gane, and the lady carried it in—ower and - out-ower wi' her son, and garr'd him trow the thing he never suld hae - trowed, and do the thing he has repented a' his life, and will repent - still, were his life as lang as this lang and wearisome ane o' mine." -</p> -<p> - "O what was it, grannie?"—and "What was it, gudemither?"—and "What was - it, Luckie Elspeth?" asked the children, the mother, and the visitor, in - one breath. -</p> -<p> - "Never ask what it was," answered the old sibyl, "but pray to God that ye - arena left to the pride and wilfu'ness o' your ain hearts: they may be as - powerful in a cabin as in a castle—I can bear a sad witness to that. O - that weary and fearfu' night! will it never gang out o' my auld head!—Eh! - to see her lying on the floor wi' her lang hair dreeping wi' the salt - water!—Heaven will avenge on a' that had to do wi't. Sirs! is my son out - wi' the coble this windy e'en?" -</p> -<p> - "Na, na, mither—nae coble can keep the sea this wind; he's sleeping in - his bed out-ower yonder ahint the hallan." -</p> -<p> - "Is Steenie out at sea then?" -</p> -<p> - "Na, grannie—Steenie's awa out wi' auld Edie Ochiltree, the gaberlunzie; - maybe they'll be gaun to see the burial." -</p> -<p> - "That canna be," said the mother of the family; "we kent naething o't - till Jock Rand cam in, and tauld us the Aikwoods had warning to attend— - they keep thae things unco private—and they were to bring the corpse a' - the way frae the Castle, ten miles off, under cloud o' night. She has - lain in state this ten days at Glenallan House, in a grand chamber a' - hung wi' black, and lighted wi' wax cannle." -</p> -<p> - "God assoilzie her!" ejaculated old Elspeth, her head apparently still - occupied by the event of the Countess's death; "she was a hard-hearted - woman, but she's gaen to account for it a', and His mercy is infinite— - God grant she may find it sae!" And she relapsed into silence, which she - did not break again during the rest of the evening. -</p> -<p> - "I wonder what that auld daft beggar carle and our son Steenie can be - doing out in sic a nicht as this," said Maggie Mucklebackit; and her - expression of surprise was echoed by her visitor. "Gang awa, ane o' ye, - hinnies, up to the heugh head, and gie them a cry in case they're within - hearing; the car-cakes will be burnt to a cinder." -</p> -<p> - The little emissary departed, but in a few minutes came running back with - the loud exclamation, "Eh, Minnie! eh, grannie! there's a white bogle - chasing twa black anes down the heugh." -</p> -<p> - A noise of footsteps followed this singular annunciation, and young - Steenie Mucklebackit, closely followed by Edie Ochiltree, bounced into - the hut. They were panting and out of breath. The first thing Steenie did - was to look for the bar of the door, which his mother reminded him had - been broken up for fire-wood in the hard winter three years ago; "for - what use," she said, "had the like o' them for bars?" -</p> -<p> - "There's naebody chasing us," said the beggar, after he had taken his - breath: "we're e'en like the wicked, that flee when no one pursueth." -</p> -<p> - "Troth, but we were chased," said Steenie, "by a spirit or something - little better." -</p> -<p> - "It was a man in white on horseback," said Edie, "for the soft grund that - wadna bear the beast, flung him about, I wot that weel; but I didna think - my auld legs could have brought me aff as fast; I ran amaist as fast as - if I had been at Prestonpans."* -</p> -<p> - * [This refers to the flight of the government forces at the battle of - Prestonpans, 1745.] -</p> -<p> - "Hout, ye daft gowks!" said Luckie Mucklebackit, "it will hae been some - o' the riders at the Countess's burial." -</p> -<p> - "What!" said Edie, "is the auld Countess buried the night at St. Ruth's? - Ou, that wad be the lights and the noise that scarr'd us awa; I wish I - had ken'd—I wad hae stude them, and no left the man yonder—but they'll - take care o' him. Ye strike ower hard, Steenie I doubt ye foundered the - chield." -</p> -<p> - "Neer a bit," said Steenie, laughing; "he has braw broad shouthers, and I - just took measure o' them wi' the stang. Od, if I hadna been something - short wi' him, he wad hae knockit your auld hams out, lad." -</p> -<p> - "Weel, an I win clear o' this scrape," said Edie, "I'se tempt Providence - nae mair. But I canna think it an unlawfu' thing to pit a bit trick on - sic a landlouping scoundrel, that just lives by tricking honester folk." -</p> -<p> - "But what are we to do with this?" said Steenie, producing a pocket-book. -</p> -<p> - "Od guide us, man," said Edie in great alarm, "what garr'd ye touch the - gear? a very leaf o' that pocket-book wad be eneugh to hang us baith." -</p> -<p> - "I dinna ken," said Steenie; "the book had fa'en out o' his pocket, I - fancy, for I fand it amang my feet when I was graping about to set him on - his logs again, and I just pat it in my pouch to keep it safe; and then - came the tramp of horse, and you cried, Rin, rin,' and I had nae mair - thought o' the book." -</p> -<p> - "We maun get it back to the loon some gait or other; ye had better take - it yoursell, I think, wi' peep o' light, up to Ringan Aikwood's. I wadna - for a hundred pounds it was fund in our hands." -</p> -<p> - Steenie undertook to do as he was directed. -</p> -<p> - "A bonny night ye hae made o't, Mr. Steenie," said Jenny Rintherout, who, - impatient of remaining so long unnoticed, now presented herself to the - young fisherman—"A bonny night ye hae made o't, tramping about wi' - gaberlunzies, and getting yoursell hunted wi' worricows, when ye suld be - sleeping in your bed, like your father, honest man." -</p> -<p> - This attack called forth a suitable response of rustic raillery from the - young fisherman. An attack was now commenced upon the car-cakes and - smoked fish, and sustained with great perseverance by assistance of a - bicker or two of twopenny ale and a bottle of gin. The mendicant then - retired to the straw of an out-house adjoining,—the children had one by - one crept into their nests,—the old grandmother was deposited in her - flock-bed,—Steenie, notwithstanding his preceding fatigue, had the - gallantry to accompany Miss Rintherout to her own mansion, and at what - hour he returned the story saith not,—and the matron of the family, - having laid the gathering-coal upon the fire, and put things in some sort - of order, retired to rest the last of the family. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0006"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER SIXTH. -</h2> -<pre> - —Many great ones - Would part with half their states, to have the plan - And credit to beg in the first style. - Beggar's Bush. -</pre> -<p> - Old Edie was stirring with the lark, and his first inquiry was after - Steenie and the pocket-book. The young fisherman had been under the - necessity of attending his father before daybreak, to avail themselves of - the tide, but he had promised that, immediately on his return, the - pocket-book, with all its contents, carefully wrapped up in a piece of - sail-cloth, should be delivered by him to Ringan Aikwood, for - Dousterswivel, the owner. -</p> -<p> - The matron had prepared the morning meal for the family, and, shouldering - her basket of fish, tramped sturdily away towards Fairport. The children - were idling round the door, for the day was fair and sun-shiney. The - ancient grandame, again seated on her wicker-chair by the fire, had - resumed her eternal spindle, wholly unmoved by the yelling and screaming - of the children, and the scolding of the mother, which had preceded the - dispersion of the family. Edie had arranged his various bags, and was - bound for the renewal of his wandering life, but first advanced with due - courtesy to take his leave of the ancient crone. -</p> -<p> - "Gude day to ye, cummer, and mony ane o' them. I will be back about the - fore-end o'har'st, and I trust to find ye baith haill and fere." -</p> -<p> - "Pray that ye may find me in my quiet grave," said the old woman, in a - hollow and sepulchral voice, but without the agitation of a single - feature. -</p> -<p> - "Ye're auld, cummer, and sae am I mysell; but we maun abide His will— - we'll no be forgotten in His good time." -</p> -<p> - "Nor our deeds neither," said the crone: "what's dune in the body maun be - answered in the spirit." -</p> -<p> - "I wot that's true; and I may weel tak the tale hame to mysell, that hae - led a misruled and roving life. But ye were aye a canny wife. We're a' - frail—but ye canna hae sae muckle to bow ye down." -</p> -<p> - "Less than I might have had—but mair, O far mair, than wad sink the - stoutest brig e'er sailed out o' Fairport harbour!—Didna somebody say - yestreen—at least sae it is borne in on my mind, but auld folk hae weak - fancies—did not somebody say that Joscelind, Countess of Glenallan, was - departed frae life?" -</p> -<p> - "They said the truth whaever said it," answered old Edie; "she was buried - yestreen by torch-light at St. Ruth's, and I, like a fule, gat a gliff - wi' seeing the lights and the riders." -</p> -<p> - "It was their fashion since the days of the Great Earl that was killed at - Harlaw;—they did it to show scorn that they should die and be buried - like other mortals; the wives o' the house of Glenallan wailed nae wail - for the husband, nor the sister for the brother.—But is she e'en ca'd to - the lang account?" -</p> -<p> - "As sure," answered Edie, "as we maun a' abide it." -</p> -<p> - "Then I'll unlade my mind, come o't what will." -</p> -<p> - This she spoke with more alacrity than usually attended her expressions, - and accompanied her words with an attitude of the hand, as if throwing - something from her. She then raised up her form, once tall, and still - retaining the appearance of having been so, though bent with age and - rheumatism, and stood before the beggar like a mummy animated by some - wandering spirit into a temporary resurrection. Her light-blue eyes - wandered to and fro, as if she occasionally forgot and again remembered - the purpose for which her long and withered hand was searching among the - miscellaneous contents of an ample old-fashioned pocket. At length she - pulled out a small chip-box, and opening it, took out a handsome ring, in - which was set a braid of hair, composed of two different colours, black - and light brown, twined together, encircled with brilliants of - considerable value. -</p> -<p> - "Gudeman," she said to Ochiltree, "as ye wad e'er deserve mercy, ye maun - gang my errand to the house of Glenallan, and ask for the Earl." -</p> -<p> - "The Earl of Glenallan, cummer! ou, he winna see ony o' the gentles o' - the country, and what likelihood is there that he wad see the like o' an - auld gaberlunzie?" -</p> -<p> - "Gang your ways and try;—and tell him that Elspeth o' the - Craigburnfoot—he'll mind me best by that name—maun see him or she be relieved frae - her lang pilgrimage, and that she sends him that ring in token of the - business she wad speak o'." -</p> -<p> - Ochiltree looked on the ring with some admiration of its apparent value, - and then carefully replacing it in the box, and wrapping it in an old - ragged handkerchief, he deposited the token in his bosom. -</p> -<p> - "Weel, gudewife," he said, "I'se do your bidding, or it's no be my fault. - But surely there was never sic a braw propine as this sent to a yerl by - an auld fishwife, and through the hands of a gaberlunzie beggar." -</p> -<p> - With this reflection, Edie took up his pike-staff, put on his - broad-brimmed bonnet, and set forth upon his pilgrimage. The old woman - remained for some time standing in a fixed posture, her eyes directed to - the door through which her ambassador had departed. The appearance of - excitation, which the conversation had occasioned, gradually left her - features; she sank down upon her accustomed seat, and resumed her - mechanical labour of the distaff and spindle, with her wonted air of - apathy. -</p> -<p> - Edie Ochiltree meanwhile advanced on his journey. The distance to - Glenallan was ten miles, a march which the old soldier accomplished in - about four hours. With the curiosity belonging to his idle trade and - animated character, he tortured himself the whole way to consider what - could be the meaning of this mysterious errand with which he was - entrusted, or what connection the proud, wealthy, and powerful Earl of - Glenallan could have with the crimes or penitence of an old doting woman, - whose rank in life did not greatly exceed that of her messenger. He - endeavoured to call to memory all that he had ever known or heard of the - Glenallan family, yet, having done so, remained altogether unable to form - a conjecture on the subject. He knew that the whole extensive estate of - this ancient and powerful family had descended to the Countess, lately - deceased, who inherited, in a most remarkable degree, the stern, fierce, - and unbending character which had distinguished the house of Glenallan - since they first figured in Scottish annals. Like the rest of her - ancestors, she adhered zealously to the Roman Catholic faith, and was - married to an English gentleman of the same communion, and of large - fortune, who did not survive their union two years. The Countess was, - therefore, left an early widow, with the uncontrolled management of the - large estates of her two sons. The elder, Lord Geraldin, who was to - succeed to the title and fortune of Glenallan, was totally dependent on - his mother during her life. The second, when he came of age, assumed the - name and arms of his father, and took possession of his estate, according - to the provisions of the Countess's marriage-settlement. After this - period, he chiefly resided in England, and paid very few and brief visits - to his mother and brother; and these at length were altogether dispensed - with, in consequence of his becoming a convert to the reformed religion. -</p> -<p> - But even before this mortal offence was given to its mistress, his - residence at Glenallan offered few inducements to a gay young man like - Edward Geraldin Neville, though its gloom and seclusion seemed to suit - the retired and melancholy habits of his elder brother. Lord Geraldin, in - the outset of life, had been a young man of accomplishment and hopes. - Those who knew him upon his travels entertained the highest expectations - of his future career. But such fair dawns are often strangely overcast. - The young nobleman returned to Scotland, and after living about a year in - his mother's society at Glenallan House, he seemed to have adopted all - the stern gloom and melancholy of her character. Excluded from politics - by the incapacities attached to those of his religion, and from all - lighter avocationas by choice, Lord Geraldin led a life of the strictest - retirement. His ordinary society was composed of the clergyman of his - communion, who occasionally visited his mansion; and very rarely, upon - stated occasions of high festival, one or two families who still - professed the Catholic religion were formally entertained at Glenallan - House. But this was all; their heretic neighbours knew nothing of the - family whatever; and even the Catholics saw little more than the - sumptuous entertainment and solemn parade which was exhibited on those - formal occasions, from which all returned without knowing whether most to - wonder at the stern and stately demeanour of the Countess, or the deep - and gloomy dejection which never ceased for a moment to cloud the - features of her son. The late event had put him in possession of his - fortune and title, and the neighbourhood had already begun to conjecture - whether gaiety would revive with independence, when those who had some - occasional acquaintance with the interior of the family spread abroad a - report, that the Earl's constitution was undermined by religious - austerities, and that in all probability he would soon follow his mother - to the grave. This event was the more probable, as his brother had died - of a lingering complaint, which, in the latter years of his life, had - affected at once his frame and his spirits; so that heralds and - genealogists were already looking back into their records to discover the - heir of this ill-fated family, and lawyers were talking with gleesome - anticipation, of the probability of a "great Glenallan cause." -</p> -<p> - As Edie Ochiltree approached the front of Glenallan House,* an ancient - building of great extent, the most modern part of which had been designed - by the celebrated Inigo Jones, he began to consider in what way he should - be most likely to gain access for delivery of his message; and, after - much consideration, resolved to send the token to the Earl by one of the - domestics. -</p> -<p> - * [Supposed to represent Glammis Castle, in Forfarshire, with which the - Author was well acquainted.] -</p> -<p> - With this purpose he stopped at a cottage, where he obtained the means of - making up the ring in a sealed packet like a petition, addressed, <i>Forr - his hounor the Yerl of Glenllan—These.</i> But being aware that missives - delivered at the doors of great houses by such persons as himself, do not - always make their way according to address, Edie determined, like an old - soldier, to reconnoitre the ground before he made his final attack. As he - approached the porter's lodge, he discovered, by the number of poor - ranked before it, some of them being indigent persons in the vicinity, - and others itinerants of his own begging profession,—that there was - about to be a general dole or distribution of charity. -</p> -<p> - "A good turn," said Edie to himself, "never goes unrewarded—I'll maybe - get a good awmous that I wad hae missed but for trotting on this auld - wife's errand." -</p> -<p> - Accordingly, he ranked up with the rest of this ragged regiment, assuming - a station as near the front as possible,—a distinction due, as he - conceived, to his blue gown and badge, no less than to his years and - experience; but he soon found there was another principle of precedence - in this assembly, to which he had not adverted. -</p> -<p> - "Are ye a triple man, friend, that ye press forward sae bauldly?—I'm - thinking no, for there's nae Catholics wear that badge." -</p> -<p> - "Na, na, I am no a Roman," said Edie. -</p> -<p> - "Then shank yoursell awa to the double folk, or single folk, that's the - Episcopals or Presbyterians yonder: it's a shame to see a heretic hae sic - a lang white beard, that would do credit to a hermit." -</p> -<p> - Ochiltree, thus rejected from the society of the Catholic mendicants, or - those who called themselves such, went to station himself with the - paupers of the communion of the church of England, to whom the noble - donor allotted a double portion of his charity. But never was a poor - occasional conformist more roughly rejected by a High-church - congregation, even when that matter was furiously agitated in the days of - good Queen Anne. -</p> -<p> - "See to him wi' his badge!" they said;—"he hears ane o' the king's - Presbyterian chaplains sough out a sermon on the morning of every - birth-day, and now he would pass himsell for ane o' the Episcopal church! - Na, na!—we'll take care o' that." -</p> -<p> - Edie, thus rejected by Rome and Prelacy, was fain to shelter himself from - the laughter of his brethren among the thin group of Presbyterians, who - had either disdained to disguise their religious opinions for the sake of - an augmented dole, or perhaps knew they could not attempt the imposition - without a certainty of detection. -</p> -<p> - The same degree of precedence was observed in the mode of distributing - the charity, which consisted in bread, beef, and a piece of money, to - each individual of all the three classes. The almoner, an ecclesiastic of - grave appearance and demeanour, superintended in person the accommodation - of the Catholic mendicants, asking a question or two of each as he - delivered the charity, and recommending to their prayers the soul of - Joscelind, late Countess of Glenallan, mother of their benefactor. The - porter, distinguished by his long staff headed with silver, and by the - black gown tufted with lace of the same colour, which he had assumed upon - the general mourning in the family, overlooked the distribution of the - dole among the prelatists. The less-favoured kirk-folk were committed to - the charge of an aged domestic. -</p> -<p> - As this last discussed some disputed point with the porter, his name, as - it chanced to be occasionally mentioned, and then his features, struck - Ochiltree, and awakened recollections of former times. The rest of the - assembly were now retiring, when the domestic, again approaching the - place where Edie still lingered, said, in a strong Aberdeenshire accent, - "Fat is the auld feel-body deeing, that he canna gang avay, now that he's - gotten baith meat and siller?" -</p> -<p> - "Francis Macraw," answered Edie Ochiltree, "d'ye no mind Fontenoy, and - keep thegither front and rear?'" -</p> -<p> - "Ohon! ohon!" cried Francie, with a true north-country yell of - recognition, "naebody could hae said that word but my auld front-rank - man, Edie Ochiltree! But I'm sorry to see ye in sic a peer state, man." -</p> -<p> - "No sae ill aff as ye may think, Francis. But I'm laith to leave this - place without a crack wi' you, and I kenna when I may see you again, for - your folk dinna mak Protestants welcome, and that's ae reason that I hae - never been here before." -</p> -<p> - "Fusht, fusht," said Francie, "let that flee stick i' the wa'—when the - dirt's dry it will rub out;—and come you awa wi' me, and I'll gie ye - something better thau that beef bane, man." -</p> -<p> - Having then spoke a confidential word with the porter (probably to - request his connivance), and having waited until the almoner had returned - into the house with slow and solemn steps, Francie Macraw introduced his - old comrade into the court of Glenallan House, the gloomy gateway of - which was surmounted by a huge scutcheon, in which the herald and - undertaker had mingled, as usual, the emblems of human pride and of human - nothingness,—the Countess's hereditary coat-of-arms, with all its - numerous quarterings, disposed in a lozenge, and surrounded by the - separate shields of her paternal and maternal ancestry, intermingled with - scythes, hour glasses, skulls, and other symbols of that mortality which - levels all distinctions. Conducting his friend as speedily as possible - along the large paved court, Macraw led the way through a side-door to a - small apartment near the servants' hall, which, in virtue of his personal - attendance upon the Earl of Glenallan, he was entitled to call his own. - To produce cold meat of various kinds, strong beer, and even a glass of - spirits, was no difficulty to a person of Francis's importance, who had - not lost, in his sense of conscious dignity, the keen northern prudence - which recommended a good understanding with the butler. Our mendicant - envoy drank ale, and talked over old stories with his comrade, until, no - other topic of conversation occurring, he resolved to take up the theme - of his embassy, which had for some time escaped his memory. -</p> -<p> - "He had a petition to present to the Earl," he said;—for he judged it - prudent to say nothing of the ring, not knowing, as he afterwards - observed, how far the manners of a single soldier* might have been - corrupted by service in a great house. -</p> -<p> - * A single soldier means, in Scotch, a private soldier. -</p> -<p> - "Hout, tout, man," said Francie, "the Earl will look at nae petitions— - but I can gie't to the almoner." -</p> -<p> - "But it relates to some secret, that maybe my lord wad like best to see't - himsell." -</p> -<p> - "I'm jeedging that's the very reason that the almoner will be for seeing - it the first and foremost." -</p> -<p> - "But I hae come a' this way on purpose to deliver it, Francis, and ye - really maun help me at a pinch." -</p> -<p> - "Neer speed then if I dinna," answered the Aberdeenshire man: "let them - be as cankered as they like, they can but turn me awa, and I was just - thinking to ask my discharge, and gang down to end my days at Inverurie." -</p> -<p> - With this doughty resolution of serving his friend at all ventures, since - none was to be encountered which could much inconvenience himself, - Francie Macraw left the apartment. It was long before he returned, and - when he did, his manner indicated wonder and agitation. -</p> -<p> - "I am nae seer gin ye be Edie Ochiltree o' Carrick's company in the - Forty-twa, or gin ye be the deil in his likeness!" -</p> -<p> - "And what makes ye speak in that gait?" demanded the astonished - mendicant. -</p> -<p> - "Because my lord has been in sic a distress and surpreese as I neer saw a - man in my life. But he'll see you—I got that job cookit. He was like a - man awa frae himsell for mony minutes, and I thought he wad hae swarv't - a'thegither,—and fan he cam to himsell, he asked fae brought the - packet—and fat trow ye I said?" -</p> -<p> - "An auld soger," says Edie—"that does likeliest at a gentle's door; at a - farmer's it's best to say ye're an auld tinkler, if ye need ony quarters, - for maybe the gudewife will hae something to souther." -</p> -<p> - "But I said neer ane o' the twa," answered Francis; "my lord cares as - little about the tane as the tother—for he's best to them that can - souther up our sins. Sae I e'en said the bit paper was brought by an auld - man wi' a long fite beard—he might be a capeechin freer for fat I ken'd, - for he was dressed like an auld palmer. Sae ye'll be sent up for fanever - he can find mettle to face ye." -</p> -<p> - "I wish I was weel through this business," thought Edie to himself; "mony - folk surmise that the Earl's no very right in the judgment, and wha can - say how far he may be offended wi' me for taking upon me sae muckle?" -</p> -<p> - But there was now no room for retreat—a bell sounded from a distant part - of the mansion, and Macraw said, with a smothered accent, as if already - in his master's presence, "That's my lord's bell!—follow me, and step - lightly and cannily, Edie." -</p> -<p> - Edie followed his guide, who seemed to tread as if afraid of being - overheard, through a long passage, and up a back stair, which admitted - them into the family apartments. They were ample and extensive, furnished - at such cost as showed the ancient importance and splendour of the - family. But all the ornaments were in the taste of a former and distant - period, and one would have almost supposed himself traversing the halls - of a Scottish nobleman before the union of the crowns. The late Countess, - partly from a haughty contempt of the times in which she lived, partly - from her sense of family pride, had not permitted the furniture to be - altered or modernized during her residence at Glenallan House. The most - magnificent part of the decorations was a valuable collection of pictures - by the best masters, whose massive frames were somewhat tarnished by - time. In this particular also the gloomy taste of the family seemed to - predominate. There were some fine family portraits by Vandyke and other - masters of eminence; but the collection was richest in the Saints and - Martyrdoms of Domenichino, Velasquez, and Murillo, and other subjects of - the same kind, which had been selected in preference to landscapes or - historical pieces. The manner in which these awful, and sometimes - disgusting, subjects were represented, harmonized with the gloomy state - of the apartments,—a circumstance which was not altogether lost on the - old man, as he traversed them under the guidance of his quondam - fellow-soldier. He was about to express some sentiment of this kind, but - Francie imposed silence on him by signs, and opening a door at the end of - the long picture-gallery, ushered him into a small antechamber hung with - black. Here they found the almoner, with his ear turned to a door - opposite that by which they entered, in the attitude of one who listens - with attention, but is at the same time afraid of being detected in the - act. -</p> -<p> - The old domestic and churchman started when they perceived each other. - But the almoner first recovered his recollection, and advancing towards - Macraw, said, under his breath, but with an authoritative tone, "How dare - you approach the Earl's apartment without knocking? and who is this - stranger, or what has he to do here?—Retire to the gallery, and wait for - me there." -</p> -<p> - "It's impossible just now to attend your reverence," answered Macraw, - raising his voice so as to be heard in the next room, being conscious - that the priest would not maintain the altercation within hearing of his - patron,—"the Earl's bell has rung." -</p> -<p> - He had scarce uttered the words, when it was rung again with greater - violence than before; and the ecclesiastic, perceiving further - expostulation impossible, lifted his finger at Macraw, with a menacing - attitude, as he left the apartment. -</p> -<p> - "I tell'd ye sae," said the Aberdeen man in a whisper to Edie, and then - proceeded to open the door near which they had observed the chaplain - stationed. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0007"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER SEVENTH. -</h2> -<pre> - —This ring.— - This little ring, with necromantic force, - Has raised the ghost of pleasure to my fears, - Conjured the sense of honour and of love - Into such shapes, they fright me from myself. - The Fatal Marriage. -</pre> -<p> - The ancient forms of mourning were observed in Glenallan House, - notwithstanding the obduracy with which the members of the family were - popularly supposed to refuse to the dead the usual tribute of - lamentation. It was remarked, that when she received the fatal letter - announcing the death of her second, and, as was once believed, her - favourite son, the hand of the Countess did not shake, nor her eyelid - twinkle, any more than upon perusal of a letter of ordinary business. - Heaven only knows whether the suppression of maternal sorrow, which her - pride commanded, might not have some effect in hastening her own death. - It was at least generally supposed that the apoplectic stroke, which so - soon afterwards terminated her existence, was, as it were, the vengeance - of outraged Nature for the restraint to which her feelings had been - subjected. But although Lady Glenallan forebore the usual external signs - of grief, she had caused many of the apartments, amongst others her own - and that of the Earl, to be hung with the exterior trappings of woe. -</p> -<p> - The Earl of Glenallan was therefore seated in an apartment hung with - black cloth, which waved in dusky folds along its lofty walls. A screen, - also covered with black baize, placed towards the high and narrow window, - intercepted much of the broken light which found its way through the - stained glass, that represented, with such skill as the fourteenth - century possessed, the life and sorrows of the prophet Jeremiah. The - table at which the Earl was seated was lighted with two lamps wrought in - silver, shedding that unpleasant and doubtful light which arises from the - mingling of artificial lustre with that of general daylight. The same - table displayed a silver crucifix, and one or two clasped parchment - books. A large picture, exquisitely painted by Spagnoletto, represented - the martyrdom of St. Stephen, and was the only ornament of the apartment. -</p> -<p> - The inhabitant and lord of this disconsolate chamber was a man not past - the prime of life, yet so broken down with disease and mental misery, so - gaunt and ghastly, that he appeared but a wreck of manhood; and when he - hastily arose and advanced towards his visitor, the exertion seemed - almost to overpower his emaciated frame. As they met in the midst of the - apartment, the contrast they exhibited was very striking. The hale cheek, - firm step, erect stature, and undaunted presence and bearing of the old - mendicant, indicated patience and content in the extremity of age, and in - the lowest condition to which humanity can sink; while the sunken eye, - pallid cheek, and tottering form of the nobleman with whom he was - confronted, showed how little wealth, power, and even the advantages of - youth, have to do with that which gives repose to the mind, and firmness - to the frame. -</p> -<p> - The Earl met the old man in the middle of the room, and having commanded - his attendant to withdraw into the gallery, and suffer no one to enter - the antechamber till he rung the bell, awaited, with hurried yet fearful - impatience, until he heard first the door of his apartment, and then that - of the antechamber, shut and fastened by the spring-bolt. When he was - satisfied with this security against being overheard, Lord Glenallan came - close up to the mendicant, whom he probably mistook for some person of a - religious order in disguise, and said, in a hasty yet faltering tone, "In - the name of all our religion holds most holy, tell me, reverend father, - what am I to expect from a communication opened by a token connected with - such horrible recollections?" -</p> -<p> - The old man, appalled by a manner so different from what he had expected - from the proud and powerful nobleman, was at a loss how to answer, and in - what manner to undeceive him. "Tell me," continued the Earl, in a tone of - increasing trepidation and agony—"tell me, do you come to say that all - that has been done to expiate guilt so horrible, has been too little and - too trivial for the offence, and to point out new and more efficacious - modes of severe penance?—I will not blench from it, father—let me - suffer the pains of my crime here in the body, rather than hereafter in - the spirit!" -</p> -<p> - Edie had now recollection enough to perceive, that if he did not - interrupt the frankness of Lord Glenallan's admissions, he was likely to - become the confidant of more than might be safe for him to know. He - therefore uttered with a hasty and trembling voice—"Your lordship's - honour is mistaken—I am not of your persuasion, nor a clergyman, but, - with all reverence, only puir Edie Ochiltree, the king's bedesman and - your honour's." -</p> -<p> - This explanation he accompanied by a profound bow after his manner, and - then, drawing himself up erect, rested his arm on his staff, threw back - his long white hair, and fixed his eyes upon the Earl, as he waited for - an answer. -</p> -<p> - "And you are not then," said Lord Glenallan, after a pause of surprise— - "You are not then a Catholic priest?" -</p> -<p> - "God forbid!" said Edie, forgetting in his confusion to whom he was - speaking; "I am only the king's bedesman and your honour's, as I said - before." -</p> -<p> - The Earl turned hastily away, and paced the room twice or thrice, as if - to recover the effects of his mistake, and then, coming close up to the - mendicant, he demanded, in a stern and commanding tone, what he meant by - intruding himself on his privacy, and from whence he had got the ring - which he had thought proper to send him. Edie, a man of much spirit, was - less daunted at this mode of interrogation than he had been confused by - the tone of confidence in which the Earl had opened their conversation. - To the reiterated question from whom he had obtained the ring, he - answered composedly, "From one who was better known to the Earl than to - him." -</p> -<p> - "Better known to me, fellow?" said Lord Glenallan: "what is your - meaning?—explain yourself instantly, or you shall experience the - consequence of breaking in upon the hours of family distress." -</p> -<p> - "It was auld Elspeth Mucklebackit that sent me here," said the beggar, - "in order to say"— -</p> -<p> - "You dote, old man!" said the Earl; "I never heard the name—but this - dreadful token reminds me"— -</p> -<p> - "I mind now, my lord," said Ochiltree, "she tauld me your lordship would - be mair familiar wi' her, if I ca'd her Elspeth o' the Craigburnfoot—she - had that name when she lived on your honour's land, that is, your - honour's worshipful mother's that was then—Grace be wi' her!" -</p> -<p> - "Ay," said the appalled nobleman, as his countenance sunk, and his cheek - assumed a hue yet more cadaverous; "that name is indeed written in the - most tragic page of a deplorable history. But what can she desire of me? - Is she dead or living?" -</p> -<p> - "Living, my lord; and entreats to see your lordship before she dies, for - she has something to communicate that hangs upon her very soul, and she - says she canna flit in peace until she sees you." -</p> -<p> - "Not until she sees me!—what can that mean? But she is doting with age - and infirmity. I tell thee, friend, I called at her cottage myself, not a - twelvemonth since, from a report that she was in distress, and she did - not even know my face or voice." -</p> -<p> - "If your honour wad permit me," said Edie, to whom the length of the - conference restored a part of his professional audacity and native - talkativeness—"if your honour wad but permit me, I wad say, under - correction of your lordship's better judgment, that auld Elspeth's like - some of the ancient ruined strengths and castles that ane sees amang the - hills. There are mony parts of her mind that appear, as I may say, laid - waste and decayed, but then there's parts that look the steever, and the - stronger, and the grander, because they are rising just like to fragments - amaong the ruins o' the rest. She's an awful woman." -</p> -<p> - "She always was so," said the Earl, almost unconsciously echoing the - observation of the mendicant; "she always was different from other - women—likest perhaps to her who is now no more, in her temper and turn of - mind.—She wishes to see me, then?" -</p> -<p> - "Before she dies," said Edie, "she earnestly entreats that pleasure." -</p> -<p> - "It will be a pleasure to neither of us," said the Earl, sternly, "yet - she shall be gratified. She lives, I think, on the sea-shore to the - southward of Fairport?" -</p> -<p> - "Just between Monkbarns and Knockwinnock Castle, but nearer to Monkbarns. - Your lordship's honour will ken the laird and Sir Arthur, doubtless?" -</p> -<p> - A stare, as if he did not comprehend the question, was Lord Glenallan's - answer. Edie saw his mind was elsewhere, and did not venture to repeat a - query which was so little germain to the matter. -</p> -<p> - "Are you a Catholic, old man?" demanded the Earl. -</p> -<p> - "No, my lord," said Ochiltree stoutly; for the remembrance of the unequal - division of the dole rose in his mind at the moment; "I thank Heaven I am - a good Protestant." -</p> -<p> - "He who can conscientiously call himself <i>good,</i> has indeed reason to - thank Heaven, be his form of Christianity what it will—But who is he - that shall dare to do so!" -</p> -<p> - "Not I," said Edie; "I trust to beware of the sin of presumption." -</p> -<p> - "What was your trade in your youth?" continued the Earl. -</p> -<p> - "A soldier, my lord; and mony a sair day's kemping I've seen. I was to - have been made a sergeant, but"— -</p> -<p> - "A soldier! then you have slain and burnt, and sacked and spoiled?" -</p> -<p> - "I winna say," replied Edie, "that I have been better than my - neighbours;—it's a rough trade—war's sweet to them that never tried - it." -</p> -<p> - "And you are now old and miserable, asking from precarious charity the - food which in your youth you tore from the hand of the poor peasant?" -</p> -<p> - "I am a beggar, it is true, my lord; but I am nae just sae miserable - neither. For my sins, I hae had grace to repent of them, if I might say - sae, and to lay them where they may be better borne than by me; and for - my food, naebody grudges an auld man a bit and a drink—Sae I live as I - can, and am contented to die when I am ca'd upon." -</p> -<p> - "And thus, then, with little to look back upon that is pleasant or - praiseworthy in your past life—with less to look forward to on this side - of eternity, you are contented to drag out the rest of your existence? - Go, begone! and in your age and poverty and weariness, never envy the - lord of such a mansion as this, either in his sleeping or waking - moments—Here is something for thee." -</p> -<p> - The Earl put into the old man's hand five or six guineas. Edie would - perhaps have stated his scruples, as upon other occasions, to the amount - of the benefaction, but the tone of Lord Glenallan was too absolute to - admit of either answer or dispute. The Earl then called his servant—"See - this old man safe from the castle—let no one ask him any questions—and - you, friend, begone, and forget the road that leads to my house." -</p> -<p> - "That would be difficult for me," said Edie, looking at the gold which he - still held in his hand, "that would be e'en difficult, since your honour - has gien me such gade cause to remember it." -</p> -<p> - Lord Glenallan stared, as hardly comprehending the old man's boldness in - daring to bandy words with him, and, with his hand, made him another - signal of departure, which the mendicant instantly obeyed. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0008"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER EIGHTH. -</h2> -<pre> - For he was one in all their idle sport, - And like a monarch, ruled their little court - The pliant bow he formed, the flying ball, - The bat, the wicket, were his labours all. - Crabbe's Village. -</pre> -<p> - Francis Macraw, agreeably to the commands of his master, attended the - mendicant, in order to see him fairly out of the estate, without - permitting him to have conversation, or intercourse, with any of the - Earl's dependents or domestics. But, judiciously considering that the - restriction did not extend to himself, who was the person entrusted with - the convoy, he used every measure in his power to extort from Edie the - nature of his confidential and secret interview with Lord Glenallan. But - Edie had been in his time accustomed to cross-examination, and easily - evaded those of his quondam comrade. "The secrets of grit folk," said - Ochiltree within himself, "are just like the wild beasts that are shut up - in cages. Keep them hard and fast sneaked up, and it's a' very weel or - better—but ance let them out, they will turn and rend you. I mind how - ill Dugald Gunn cam aff for letting loose his tongue about the Major's - leddy and Captain Bandilier." -</p> -<p> - Francis was therefore foiled in his assaults upon the fidelity of the - mendicant, and, like an indifferent chess-player, became, at every - unsuccessful movement, more liable to the counter-checks of his opponent. -</p> -<p> - "Sae ye uphauld ye had nae particulars to say to my lord but about yer - ain matters?" -</p> -<p> - "Ay, and about the wee bits o' things I had brought frae abroad," said - Edie. "I ken'd you popist folk are unco set on the relics that are - fetched frae far-kirks and sae forth." -</p> -<p> - "Troth, my Lord maun be turned feel outright," said the domestic, "an he - puts himsell into sic a carfuffle, for onything ye could bring him, - Edie." -</p> -<p> - "I doubtna ye may say true in the main, neighbour," replied the beggar; - "but maybe he's had some hard play in his younger days, Francis, and that - whiles unsettles folk sair." -</p> -<p> - "Troth, Edie, and ye may say that—and since it's like yell neer come - back to the estate, or, if ye dee, that ye'll no find me there, I'se e'en - tell you he had a heart in his young time sae wrecked and rent, that it's - a wonder it hasna broken outright lang afore this day." -</p> -<p> - "Ay, say ye sae?" said Ochiltree; "that maun hae been about a woman, I - reckon?" -</p> -<p> - "Troth, and ye hae guessed it," said Francie—"jeest a cusin o' his - nain—Miss Eveline Neville, as they suld hae ca'd her;—there was a sough in - the country about it, but it was hushed up, as the grandees were - concerned;—it's mair than twenty years syne—ay, it will be - three-and-twenty." -</p> -<p> - "Ay, I was in America then," said the mendicant, "and no in the way to - hear the country clashes." -</p> -<p> - "There was little clash about it, man," replied Macraw; "he liked this - young leddy, ana suld hae married her, but his mother fand it out, and - then the deil gaed o'er Jock Webster. At last, the peer lass clodded - hersell o'er the scaur at the Craigburnfoot into the sea, and there was - an end o't." -</p> -<p> - "An end o't wi' the puir leddy," said the mendicant, "but, as I reckon, - nae end o't wi' the yerl." -</p> -<p> - "Nae end o't till his life makes an end," answered the Aberdonian. -</p> -<p> - "But what for did the auld Countess forbid the marriage?" continued the - persevering querist. -</p> -<p> - "Fat for!—she maybe didna weel ken for fat hersell, for she gar'd a' bow - to her bidding, right or wrang—But it was ken'd the young leddy was - inclined to some o' the heresies of the country—mair by token, she was - sib to him nearer than our Church's rule admits of. Sae the leddy was - driven to the desperate act, and the yerl has never since held his head - up like a man." -</p> -<p> - "Weel away!" replied Ochiltree:—"it's e'en queer I neer heard this tale - afore." -</p> -<p> - "It's e'en queer that ye heard it now, for deil ane o' the servants durst - hae spoken o't had the auld Countess been living. Eh, man, Edie! but she - was a trimmer—it wad hae taen a skeely man to hae squared wi' her!—But - she's in her grave, and we may loose our tongues a bit fan we meet a - friend.—But fare ye weel, Edie—I maun be back to the evening-service. - An' ye come to Inverurie maybe sax months awa, dinna forget to ask after - Francie Macraw." -</p> -<p> - What one kindly pressed, the other as firmly promised; and the friends - having thus parted, with every testimony of mutual regard, the domestic - of Lord Glenallan took his road back to the seat of his master, leaving - Ochiltree to trace onward his habitual pilgrimage. -</p> -<p> - It was a fine summer evening, and the world—that is, the little circle - which was all in all to the individual by whom it was trodden, lay before - Edie Ochiltree, for the choosing of his night's quarters. When he had - passed the less hospitable domains of Glenallan, he had in his option so - many places of refuge for the evening, that he was nice, and even - fastidious in the choice. Ailie Sim's public was on the road-side about a - mile before him, but there would be a parcel of young fellows there on - the Saturday night, and that was a bar to civil conversation. Other - "gudemen and gudewives," as the farmers and their dames are termed in - Scotland, successively presented themselves to his imagination. But one - was deaf, and could not hear him; another toothless, and could not make - him hear; a third had a cross temper; and a fourth an ill-natured - house-dog. At Monkbarns or Knockwinnock he was sure of a favourable and - hospitable reception; but they lay too distant to be conveniently reached - that night. -</p> -<p> - "I dinna ken how it is," said the old man, "but I am nicer about my - quarters this night than ever I mind having been in my life. I think, - having seen a' the braws yonder, and finding out ane may be happier - without them, has made me proud o' my ain lot—But I wuss it bode me - gude, for pride goeth before destruction. At ony rate, the warst barn - e'er man lay in wad be a pleasanter abode than Glenallan House, wi' a' - the pictures and black velvet, and silver bonny-wawlies belonging to it— - Sae I'll e'en settle at ance, and put in for Ailie Sims." -</p> -<p> - As the old man descended the hill above the little hamlet to which he was - bending his course, the setting sun had relieved its inmates from their - labour, and the young men, availing themselves of the fine evening, were - engaged in the sport of long-bowls on a patch of common, while the women - and elders looked on. The shout, the laugh, the exclamations of winners - and losers, came in blended chorus up the path which Ochiltree was - descending, and awakened in his recollection the days when he himself had - been a keen competitor, and frequently victor, in games of strength and - agility. These remembrances seldom fail to excite a sigh, even when the - evening of life is cheered by brighter prospects than those of our poor - mendicant. "At that time of day," was his natural reflection, "I would - have thought as little about ony auld palmering body that was coming down - the edge of Kinblythemont, as ony o' thae stalwart young chiels does - e'enow about auld Edie Ochiltree." -</p> -<p> - He was, however, presently cheered, by finding that more importance was - attached to his arrival than his modesty had anticipated. A disputed cast - had occurred between the bands of players, and as the gauger favoured the - one party, and the schoolmaster the other, the matter might be said to be - taken up by the higher powers. The miller and smith, also, had espoused - different sides, and, considering the vivacity of two such disputants, - there was reason to doubt whether the strife might be amicably - terminated. But the first person who caught a sight of the mendicant - exclaimed, "Ah! here comes auld Edie, that kens the rules of a' country - games better than ony man that ever drave a bowl, or threw an axle-tree, - or putted a stane either;—let's hae nae quarrelling, callants—we'll - stand by auld Edie's judgment." -</p> -<p> - Edie was accordingly welcomed, and installed as umpire, with a general - shout of gratulation. With all the modesty of a Bishop to whom the mitre - is proffered, or of a new Speaker called to the chair, the old man - declined the high trust and responsibility with which it was proposed to - invest him, and, in requital for his self-denial and humility, had the - pleasure of receiving the reiterated assurances of young, old, and - middle-aged, that he was simply the best qualified person for the office - of arbiter "in the haill country-side." Thus encouraged, he proceeded - gravely to the execution of his duty, and, strictly forbidding all - aggravating expressions on either side, he heard the smith and gauger on - one side, the miller and schoolmaster on the other, as junior and senior - counsel. Edie's mind, however, was fully made up on the subject before - the pleading began; like that of many a judge, who must nevertheless go - through all the forms, and endure in its full extent the eloquence and - argumentation of the Bar. For when all had been said on both sides, and - much of it said over oftener than once, our senior, being well and ripely - advised, pronounced the moderate and healing judgment, that the disputed - cast was a drawn one, and should therefore count to neither party. This - judicious decision restored concord to the field of players; they began - anew to arrange their match and their bets, with the clamorous mirth - usual on such occasions of village sport, and the more eager were already - stripping their jackets, and committing them, with their coloured - handkerchiefs, to the care of wives, sisters, and mistresses. But their - mirth was singularly interrupted. -</p> -<p> - On the outside of the group of players began to arise sounds of a - description very different from those of sport—that sort of suppressed - sigh and exclamation, with which the first news of calamity is received - by the hearers, began to be heard indistinctly. A buzz went about among - the women of "Eh, sirs! sae young and sae suddenly summoned!"—It then - extended itself among the men, and silenced the sounds of sportive mirth. -</p> -<p> - All understood at once that some disaster had happened in the country, - and each inquired the cause at his neighbour, who knew as little as the - querist. At length the rumour reached, in a distinct shape, the ears of - Edie Ochiltree, who was in the very centre of the assembly. The boat of - Mucklebackit, the fisherman whom we have so often mentioned, had been - swamped at sea, and four men had perished, it was affirmed, including - Mucklebackit and his son. Rumour had in this, however, as in other cases, - gone beyond the truth. The boat had indeed been overset; but Stephen, or, - as he was called, Steenie Mucklebackit, was the only man who had been - drowned. Although the place of his residence and his mode of life removed - the young man from the society of the country folks, yet they failed not - to pause in their rustic mirth to pay that tribute to sudden calamity - which it seldom fails to receive in cases of infrequent occurrence. To - Ochiltree, in particular, the news came like a knell, the rather that he - had so lately engaged this young man's assistance in an affair of - sportive mischief; and though neither loss nor injury was designed to the - German adept, yet the work was not precisely one in which the latter - hours of life ought to be occupied. -</p> -<p> - Misfortunes never come alone. While Ochiltree, pensively leaning upon his - staff, added his regrets to those of the hamlet which bewailed the young - man's sudden death, and internally blamed himself for the transaction in - which he had so lately engaged him, the old man's collar was seized by a - peace-officer, who displayed his baton in his right hand, and exclaimed, - "In the king's name." -</p> -<p> - The gauger and schoolmaster united their rhetoric, to prove to the - constable and his assistant that he had no right to arrest the king's - bedesman as a vagrant; and the mute eloquence of the miller and smith, - which was vested in their clenched fists, was prepared to give Highland - bail for their arbiter; his blue gown, they said, was his warrant for - travelling the country. -</p> -<p> - "But his blue gown," answered the officer, "is nae protection for - assault, robbery, and murder; and my warrant is against him for these - crimes." -</p> -<p> - "Murder!" said Edie, "murder! wha did I e'er murder?" -</p> -<p> - "Mr. German Doustercivil, the agent at Glen-Withershins mining-works." -</p> -<p> - "Murder Doustersnivel?—hout, he's living, and life-like, man." -</p> -<p> - "Nae thanks to you if he be; he had a sair struggle for his life, if a' - be true he tells, and ye maun answer for't at the bidding of the law." -</p> -<p> - The defenders of the mendicant shrunk back at hearing the atrocity of the - charges against him, but more than one kind hand thrust meat and bread - and pence upon Edie, to maintain him in the prison, to which the officers - were about to conduct him. -</p> -<p> - "Thanks to ye! God bless ye a', bairns!—I've gotten out o' mony a snare - when I was waur deserving o' deliverance—I shall escape like a bird from - the fowler. Play out your play, and never mind me—I am mair grieved for - the puir lad that's gane, than for aught they can do to me." -</p> -<p> - Accordingly, the unresisting prisoner was led off, while he mechanically - accepted and stored in his wallets the alms which poured in on every - hand, and ere he left the hamlet, was as deep-laden as a government - victualler. The labour of bearing this accumulating burden was, however, - abridged, by the officer procuring a cart and horse to convey the old man - to a magistrate, in order to his examination and committal. -</p> -<p> - The disaster of Steenie, and the arrest of Edie, put a stop to the sports - of the village, the pensive inhabitants of which began to speculate upon - the vicissitudes of human affairs, which had so suddenly consigned one of - their comrades to the grave, and placed their master of the revels in - some danger of being hanged. The character of Dousterswivel being pretty - generally known, which was in his case equivalent to being pretty - generally detested, there were many speculations upon the probability of - the accusation being malicious. But all agreed, that if Edie Ochiltree - behoved in all events to suffer upon this occasion, it was a great pity - he had not better merited his fate by killing Dousterswivel outright. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0009"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER NINTH -</h2> -<pre> - Who is he?—One that for the lack of land - Shall fight upon the water—he hath challenged - Formerly the grand whale; and by his titles - Of Leviathan, Behemoth, and so forth. - He tilted with a sword-fish—Marry, sir, - Th' aquatic had the best—the argument - Still galls our champion's breech. - Old Play. -</pre> -<p> - "And the poor young fellow, Steenie Mucklebackit, is to be buried this - morning," said our old friend the Antiquary, as he exchanged his quilted - night-gown for an old-fashioned black coat in lieu of the snuff-coloured - vestment which he ordinarily wore, "and, I presume, it is expected that I - should attend the funeral?" -</p> -<p> - "Ou, ay," answered the faithful Caxon, officiously brushing the white - threads and specks from his patron's habit. "The body, God help us! was - sae broken against the rocks that they're fain to hurry the burial. The - sea's a kittle cast, as I tell my daughter, puir thing, when I want her - to get up her spirits; the sea, says I, Jenny, is as uncertain a - calling"— -</p> -<p> - "As the calling of an old periwig-maker, that's robbed of his business by - crops and the powder-tax. Caxon, thy topics of consolation are as ill - chosen as they are foreign to the present purpose. <i>Quid mihi cum - faemina</i>? What have I to do with thy womankind, who have enough and to - spare of mine own?—I pray of you again, am I expected by these poor - people to attend the funeral of their son?" -</p> -<p> - "Ou, doubtless, your honour is expected," answered Caxon; "weel I wot ye - are expected. Ye ken, in this country ilka gentleman is wussed to be sae - civil as to see the corpse aff his grounds; ye needna gang higher than - the loan-head—it's no expected your honour suld leave the land; it's - just a Kelso convoy, a step and a half ower the doorstane." -</p> -<p> - "A Kelso convoy!" echoed the inquisitive Antiquary; "and why a Kelso - convoy more than any other?" -</p> -<p> - "Dear sir," answered Caxon, "how should I ken? it's just a by-word." -</p> -<p> - "Caxon," answered Oldbuck, "thou art a mere periwig-maker—Had I asked - Ochiltree the question, he would have had a legend ready made to my - hand." -</p> -<p> - "My business," replied Caxon, with more animation than he commonly - displayed, "is with the outside of your honour's head, as ye are - accustomed to say." -</p> -<p> - "True, Caxon, true; and it is no reproach to a thatcher that he is not an - upholsterer." -</p> -<p> - He then took out his memorandum-book and wrote down "Kelso convoy—said - to be a step and a half over the threshold. Authority—Caxon.—<i>Quaere</i>— - Whence derived? <i>Mem.</i> To write to Dr. Graysteel upon the subject." -</p> -<p> - Having made this entry, he resumed—"And truly, as to this custom of the - landlord attending the body of the peasant, I approve it, Caxon. It comes - from ancient times, and was founded deep in the notions of mutual aid and - dependence between the lord and cultivator of the soil. And herein I must - say, the feudal system—(as also in its courtesy towards womankind, in - which it exceeded)—herein, I say, the feudal usages mitigated and - softened the sternness of classical times. No man, Caxon, ever heard of a - Spartan attending the funeral of a Helot—yet I dare be sworn that John - of the Girnel—ye have heard of him, Caxon?" -</p> -<p> - "Ay, ay, sir," answered Caxon; "naebody can hae been lang in your - honour's company without hearing of that gentleman." -</p> -<p> - "Well," continued the Antiquary, "I would bet a trifle there was not a - <i>kolb kerl,</i> or bondsman, or peasant, <i>ascriptus glebae,</i> died upon the - monks' territories down here, but John of the Girnel saw them fairly and - decently interred." -</p> -<p> - "Ay, but if it like your honour, they say he had mair to do wi' the - births than the burials. Ha! ha! ha!" with a gleeful chuckle. -</p> -<p> - "Good, Caxon, very good!—why, you shine this morning." -</p> -<p> - "And besides," added Caxon, slyly, encouraged by his patron's - approbation, "they say, too, that the Catholic priests in thae times gat - something for ganging about to burials." -</p> -<p> - "Right, Caxon! right as my glove! By the by, I fancy that phrase comes - from the custom of pledging a glove as the signal of irrefragable faith— - right, I say, as my glove, Caxon—but we of the Protestant ascendency - have the more merit in doing that duty for nothing, which cost money in - the reign of that empress of superstition, whom Spenser, Caxon, terms in - his allegorical phrase, -</p> -<pre> - —The daughter of that woman blind, - Abessa, daughter of Corecca slow— -</pre> -<p> - But why talk I of these things to thee?—my poor Lovel has spoiled me, - and taught me to speak aloud when it is much the same as speaking to - myself. Where's my nephew, Hector M'Intyre?" -</p> -<p> - "He's in the parlour, sir, wi' the leddies." -</p> -<p> - "Very well," said the Antiquary, "I will betake me thither." -</p> -<p> - "Now, Monkbarns," said his sister, on his entering the parlour, "ye - maunna be angry." -</p> -<p> - "My dear uncle!" began Miss M'Intyre. -</p> -<p> - "What's the meaning of all this?" said Oldbuck, in alarm of some - impending bad news, and arguing upon the supplicating tone of the ladies, - as a fortress apprehends an attack from the very first flourish of the - trumpet which announces the summons—"what's all this?—what do you - bespeak my patience for?" -</p> -<p> - "No particular matter, I should hope, sir," said Hector, who, with his - arm in a sling, was seated at the breakfast table;—"however, whatever it - may amount to I am answerable for it, as I am for much more trouble that - I have occasioned, and for which I have little more than thanks to - offer." -</p> -<p> - "No, no! heartily welcome, heartily welcome—only let it be a warning to - you," said the Antiquary, "against your fits of anger, which is a short - madness—<i>Ira furor brevis</i>—but what is this new disaster?" -</p> -<p> - "My dog, sir, has unfortunately thrown down"— -</p> -<p> - "If it please Heaven, not the lachrymatory from Clochnaben!" interjected - Oldbuck. -</p> -<p> - "Indeed, uncle," said the young lady, "I am afraid—it was that which - stood upon the sideboard—the poor thing only meant to eat the pat of - fresh butter." -</p> -<p> - "In which she has fully succeeded, I presume, for I see that on the table - is salted. But that is nothing—my lachrymatory, the main pillar of my - theory on which I rested to show, in despite of the ignorant obstinacy of - Mac-Cribb, that the Romans had passed the defiles of these mountains, and - left behind them traces of their arts and arms, is gone—annihilated—reduced - to such fragments as might be the shreds of a broken-flowerpot! -</p> -<pre> - —Hector, I love thee, - But never more be officer of mine." -</pre> -<p> - "Why, really, sir, I am afraid I should make a bad figure in a regiment - of your raising." -</p> -<p> - "At least, Hector, I would have you despatch your camp train, and travel - <i>expeditus,</i> or <i>relictis impedimentis.</i> You cannot conceive how I am - annoyed by this beast—she commits burglary, I believe, for I heard her - charged with breaking into the kitchen after all the doors were locked, - and eating up a shoulder of mutton. "—(Our readers, if they chance to - remember Jenny Rintherout's precaution of leaving the door open when she - went down to the fisher's cottage, will probably acquit poor Juno of that - aggravation of guilt which the lawyers call a <i>claustrum fregit,</i> and - which makes the distinction between burglary and privately stealing. ) -</p> -<p> - "I am truly sorry, sir," said Hector, "that Juno has committed so much - disorder; but Jack Muirhead, the breaker, was never able to bring her - under command. She has more travel than any bitch I ever knew, but"— -</p> -<p> - "Then, Hector, I wish the bitch would travel herself out of my grounds." -</p> -<p> - "We will both of us retreat to-morrow, or to-day, but I would not - willingly part from my mother's brother in unkindness about a paltry - pipkin." -</p> -<p> - "O brother! brother!" ejaculated Miss M'Intyre, in utter despair at this - vituperative epithet. -</p> -<p> - "Why, what would you have me call it?" continued Hector; "it was just - such a thing as they use in Egypt to cool wine, or sherbet, or water;—I - brought home a pair of them—I might have brought home twenty." -</p> -<p> - "What!" said Oldbuck, "shaped such as that your dog threw down?" -</p> -<p> - "Yes, sir, much such a sort of earthen jar as that which was on the - sideboard. They are in my lodgings at Fairport; we brought a parcel of - them to cool our wine on the passage—they answer wonderfully well. If I - could think they would in any degree repay your loss, or rather that they - could afford you pleasure, I am sure I should be much honoured by your - accepting them." -</p> -<p> - "Indeed, my dear boy, I should be highly gratified by possessing them. To - trace the connection of nations by their usages, and the similarity of - the implements which they employ, has been long my favourite study. - Everything that can illustrate such connections is most valuable to me." -</p> -<p> - "Well, sir, I shall be much gratified by your acceptance of them, and a - few trifles of the same kind. And now, am I to hope you have forgiven - me?" -</p> -<p> - "O, my dear boy, you are only thoughtless and foolish." -</p> -<p> - "But Juno—she is only thoughtless too, I assure you—the breaker tells - me she has no vice or stubbornness." -</p> -<p> - "Well, I grant Juno also a free pardon—conditioned, that you will - imitate her in avoiding vice and stubbornness, and that henceforward she - banish herself forth of Monkbarns parlour." -</p> -<p> - "Then, uncle," said the soldier, "I should have been very sorry and - ashamed to propose to you anything in the way of expiation of my own - sins, or those of my follower, that I thought <i>worth</i> your acceptance; - but now, as all is forgiven, will you permit the orphan-nephew, to whom - you have been a father, to offer you a trifle, which I have been assured - is really curious, and which only the cross accident of my wound has - prevented my delivering to you before? I got it from a French savant, to - whom I rendered some service after the Alexandria affair." -</p> -<p> - The captain put a small ring-case into the Antiquary's hands, which, when - opened, was found to contain an antique ring of massive gold, with a - cameo, most beautifully executed, bearing a head of Cleopatra. The - Antiquary broke forth into unrepressed ecstasy, shook his nephew - cordially by the hand, thanked him an hundred times, and showed the ring - to his sister and niece, the latter of whom had the tact to give it - sufficient admiration; but Miss Griselda (though she had the same - affection for her nephew) had not address enough to follow the lead. -</p> -<p> - "It's a bonny thing," she said, "Monkbarns, and, I dare say, a valuable; - but it's out o'my way—ye ken I am nae judge o' sic matters." -</p> -<p> - "There spoke all Fairport in one voice!" exclaimed Oldbuck "it is the - very spirit of the borough has infected us all; I think I have smelled - the smoke these two days, that the wind has stuck, like a <i>remora,</i> in - the north-east—and its prejudices fly farther than its vapours. Believe - me, my dear Hector, were I to walk up the High Street of Fairport, - displaying this inestimable gem in the eyes of each one I met, no human - creature, from the provost to the town-crier, would stop to ask me its - history. But if I carried a bale of linen cloth under my arm, I could not - penetrate to the Horsemarket ere I should be overwhelmed with queries - about its precise texture and price. Oh, one might parody their brutal - ignorance in the words of Gray: -</p> -<pre> - Weave the warp and weave the woof, - The winding-sheet of wit and sense, - Dull garment of defensive proof, - 'Gainst all that doth not gather pence." -</pre> -<p> - The most remarkable proof of this peace-offering being quite acceptable - was, that while the Antiquary was in full declamation, Juno, who held him - in awe, according to the remarkable instinct by which dogs instantly - discover those who like or dislike them, had peeped several times into - the room, and encountering nothing very forbidding in his aspect, had at - length presumed to introduce her full person; and finally, becoming bold - by impunity, she actually ate up Mr. Oldbuck's toast, as, looking first - at one then at another of his audience, he repeated, with - self-complacency, -</p> -<pre> - "Weave the warp and weave the woof,— -</pre> -<p> - "You remember the passage in the Fatal Sisters, which, by the way, is not - so fine as in the original—But, hey-day! my toast has vanished!—I see - which way—Ah, thou type of womankind! no wonder they take offence at thy - generic appellation!"—(So saying, he shook his fist at Juno, who scoured - out of the parlour.)—"However, as Jupiter, according to Homer, could not - rule Juno in heaven, and as Jack Muirhead, according to Hector M'Intyre, - has been equally unsuccessful on earth, I suppose she must have her own - way." And this mild censure the brother and sister justly accounted a - full pardon for Juno's offences, and sate down well pleased to the - morning meal. -</p> -<p> - When breakfast was over, the Antiquary proposed to his nephew to go down - with him to attend the funeral. The soldier pleaded the want of a - mourning habit. -</p> -<p> - "O, that does not signify—your presence is all that is requisite. I - assure you, you will see something that will entertain—no, that's an - improper phrase—but that will interest you, from the resemblances which - I will point out betwixt popular customs on such occasions and those of - the ancients." -</p> -<p> - "Heaven forgive me!" thought M'Intyre;—"I shall certainly misbehave, and - lose all the credit I have so lately and accidentally gained." -</p> -<p> - When they set out, schooled as he was by the warning and entreating looks - of his sister, the soldier made his resolution strong to give no offence - by evincing inattention or impatience. But our best resolutions are - frail, when opposed to our predominant inclinations. Our Antiquary,—to - leave nothing unexplained, had commenced with the funeral rites of the - ancient Scandinavians, when his nephew interrupted him, in a discussion - upon the "age of hills," to remark that a large sea-gull, which flitted - around them, had come twice within shot. This error being acknowledged - and pardoned, Oldbuck resumed his disquisition. -</p> -<p> - "These are circumstances you ought to attend to and be familiar with, my - dear Hector; for, in the strange contingencies of the present war which - agitates every corner of Europe, there is no knowing where you may be - called upon to serve. If in Norway, for example, or Denmark, or any part - of the ancient Scania, or Scandinavia, as we term it, what could be more - convenient than to have at your fingers' ends the history and antiquities - of that ancient country, the <i>officina gentium,</i> the mother of modern - Europe, the nursery of those heroes, -</p> -<pre> - Stern to inflict, and stubborn to endure, - Who smiled in death?— -</pre> -<p> - How animating, for example, at the conclusion of a weary march, to find - yourself in the vicinity of a Runic monument, and discover that you have - pitched your tent beside the tomb of a hero!" -</p> -<p> - "I am afraid, sir, our mess would be better supplied if it chanced to be - in the neighbourhood of a good poultry-yard." -</p> -<p> - "Alas, that you should say so! No wonder the days of Cressy and Agincourt - are no more, when respect for ancient valour has died away in the breasts - of the British soldiery." -</p> -<p> - "By no means, sir—by no manner of means. I dare say that Edward and - Henry, and the rest of these heroes, thought of their dinner, however, - before they thought of examining an old tombstone. But I assure you, we - are by no means insensible to the memoir of our fathers' fame; I used - often of an evening to get old Rory MAlpin to sing us songs out of Ossian - about the battles of Fingal and Lamon Mor, and Magnus and the Spirit of - Muirartach." -</p> -<p> - "And did you believe," asked the aroused Antiquary, "did you absolutely - believe that stuff of Macpherson's to be really ancient, you simple boy?" -</p> -<p> - "Believe it, sir?—how could I but believe it, when I have heard the - songs sung from my infancy?" -</p> -<p> - "But not the same as Macpherson's English Ossian—you're not absurd - enough to say that, I hope?" said the Antiquary, his brow darkening with - wrath. -</p> -<p> - But Hector stoutly abode the storm; like many a sturdy Celt, he imagined - the honour of his country and native language connected with the - authenticity of these popular poems, and would have fought knee-deep, or - forfeited life and land, rather than have given up a line of them. He - therefore undauntedly maintained, that Rory MAlpin could repeat the whole - book from one end to another;—and it was only upon cross-examination - that he explained an assertion so general, by adding "At least, if he was - allowed whisky enough, he could repeat as long as anybody would hearken - to him." -</p> -<p> - "Ay, ay," said the Antiquary; "and that, I suppose, was not very long." -</p> -<p> - "Why, we had our duty, sir, to attend to, and could not sit listening all - night to a piper." -</p> -<p> - "But do you recollect, now," said Oldbuck, setting his teeth firmly - together, and speaking without opening them, which was his custom when - contradicted—"Do you recollect, now, any of these verses you thought so - beautiful and interesting—being a capital judge, no doubt, of such - things?" -</p> -<p> - "I don't pretend to much skill, uncle; but it's not very reasonable to be - angry with me for admiring the antiquities of my own country more than - those of the Harolds, Harfagers, and Hacos you are so fond of." -</p> -<p> - "Why, these, sir—these mighty and unconquered Goths—<i>were</i> your - ancestors! The bare-breeched Celts whom theysubdued, and suffered only to - exist, like a fearful people, in the crevices of the rocks, were but - their Mancipia and Serfs!" -</p> -<p> - Hector's brow now grew red in his turn. "Sir," he said, "I don't - understand the meaning of Mancipia and Serfs, but I conceive that such - names are very improperly applied to Scotch Highlanders: no man but my - mother's brother dared to have used such language in my presence; and I - pray you will observe, that I consider it as neither hospitable, - handsome, kind, nor generous usage towards your guest and your kinsman. - My ancestors, Mr. Oldbuck"— -</p> -<p> - "Were great and gallant chiefs, I dare say, Hector; and really I did not - mean to give you such immense offence in treating a point of remote - antiquity, a subject on which I always am myself cool, deliberate, and - unimpassioned. But you are as hot and hasty, as if you were Hector and - Achilles, and Agamemnon to boot." -</p> -<p> - "I am sorry I expressed myself so hastily, uncle, especially to you, who - have been so generous and good. But my ancestors"— -</p> -<p> - "No more about it, lad; I meant them no affront—none." -</p> -<p> - "I'm glad of it, sir; for the house of M'Intyre"— -</p> -<p> - "Peace be with them all, every man of them," said the Antiquary. "But to - return to our subject—Do you recollect, I say, any of those poems which - afforded you such amusement?" -</p> -<p> - "Very hard this," thought M'Intyre, "that he will speak with such glee of - everything which is ancient, excepting my family. "—Then, after some - efforts at recollection, he added aloud, "Yes, sir,—I think I do - remember some lines; but you do not understand the Gaelic language." -</p> -<p> - "And will readily excuse hearing it. But you can give me some idea of the - sense in our own vernacular idiom?" -</p> -<p> - "I shall prove a wretched interpreter," said M'Intyre, running over the - original, well garnished with <i>aghes, aughs,</i> and <i>oughs,</i> and similar - gutterals, and then coughing and hawking as if the translation stuck in - his throat. At length, having premised that the poem was a dialogue - between the poet Oisin, or Ossian, and Patrick, the tutelar Saint of - Ireland, and that it was difficult, if not impossible, to render the - exquisite felicity of the first two or three lines, he said the sense was - to this purpose: -</p> -<pre> - "Patrick the psalm-singer, - Since you will not listen to one of my stories, - Though you never heard it before, - I am sorry to tell you - You are little better than an ass"— -</pre> -<p> - "Good! good!" exclaimed the Antiquary; "but go on. Why, this is, after - all, the most admirable fooling—I dare say the poet was very right. What - says the Saint?" -</p> -<p> - "He replies in character," said M'Intyre; "but you should hear MAlpin - sing the original. The speeches of Ossian come in upon a strong deep - bass—those of Patrick are upon a tenor key." -</p> -<p> - "Like MAlpin's drone and small pipes, I suppose," said Oldbuck. "Well? - Pray go on." -</p> -<p> - "Well then, Patrick replies to Ossian: -</p> -<pre> - Upon my word, son of Fingal, - While I am warbling the psalms, - The clamour of your old women's tales - Disturbs my devotional exercises." -</pre> -<p> - "Excellent!—why, this is better and better. I hope Saint Patrick sung - better than Blattergowl's precentor, or it would be hang—choice between - the poet and psalmist. But what I admire is the courtesy of these two - eminent persons towards each other. It is a pity there should not be a - word of this in Macpherson's translation." -</p> -<p> - "If you are sure of that," said M'Intyre, gravely, "he must have taken - very unwarrantable liberties with his original." -</p> -<p> - "It will go near to be thought so shortly—but pray proceed." -</p> -<p> - "Then," said M'Intyre, "this is the answer of Ossian: -</p> -<pre> - Dare you compare your psalms, - You son of a—" -</pre> -<p> - "Son of a what?" exclaimed Oldbuck. -</p> -<p> - "It means, I think," said the young soldier, with some reluctance, "son - of a female dog: -</p> -<pre> - Do you compare your psalms, - To the tales of the bare-arm'd Fenians" -</pre> -<p> - "Are you sure you are translating that last epithet correctly, Hector?" -</p> -<p> - "Quite sure, sir," answered Hector, doggedly. -</p> -<p> - "Because I should have thought the nudity might have been quoted as - existing in a different part of the body." -</p> -<p> - Disdaining to reply to this insinuation, Hector proceeded in his - recitation: -</p> -<pre> - "I shall think it no great harm - To wring your bald head from your shoulders— -</pre> -<p> - But what is that yonder?" exclaimed Hector, interrupting himself. -</p> -<p> - "One of the herd of Proteus," said the Antiquary—"a <i>phoca,</i> or seal, - lying asleep on the beach." -</p> -<p> - Upon which M'Intyre, with the eagerness of a young sportsman, totally - forgot both Ossian, Patrick, his uncle, and his wound, and exclaiming—"I - shall have her! I shall have her!" snatched the walking-stick out of the - hand of the astonished Antiquary, at some risk of throwing him down, and - set off at full speed to get between the animal and the sea, to which - element, having caught the alarm, she was rapidly retreating. -</p> -<p> - Not Sancho, when his master interrupted his account of the combatants of - Pentapolin with the naked arm, to advance in person to the charge of the - flock of sheep, stood more confounded than Oldbuck at this sudden - escapade of his nephew. -</p> -<p> - "Is the devil in him," was his first exclamation, "to go to disturb the - brute that was never thinking of him!"—Then elevating his voice, - "Hector—nephew—fool—let alone the <i>Phoca</i>—let alone the <i>Phoca</i>!— - they bite, I tell you, like furies. He minds me no more than a post. - There—there they are at it—Gad, the <i>Phoca</i> has the best of it! I am - glad to see it," said he, in the bitterness of his heart, though really - alarmed for his nephew's safety—"I am glad to see it, with all my heart - and spirit." -</p> -<p> - In truth, the seal, finding her retreat intercepted by the light-footed - soldier, confronted him manfully, and having sustained a heavy blow - without injury, she knitted her brows, as is the fashion of the animal - when incensed, and making use at once of her fore-paws and her unwieldy - strength, wrenched the weapon out of the assailant's hand, overturned him - on the sands, and scuttled away into the sea, without doing him any - farther injury. Captain M'Intyre, a good deal out of countenance at the - issue of his exploit, just rose in time to receive the ironical - congratulations of his uncle, upon a single combat worthy to be - commemorated by Ossian himself, "since," said the Antiquary, "your - magnanimous opponent has fled, though not upon eagle's wings, from the - foe that was low—Egad, she walloped away with all the grace of triumph, - and has carried my stick off also, by way of <i>spolia opima.</i>" -</p> -<p> - M'Intyre had little to answer for himself, except that a Highlander could - never pass a deer, a seal, or a salmon, where there was a possibility of - having a trial of skill with them, and that he had forgot one of his arms - was in a sling. He also made his fall an apology for returning back to - Monkbarns, and thus escape the farther raillery of his uncle, as well as - his lamentations for his walking-stick. -</p> -<p> - "I cut it," he said, "in the classic woods of Hawthornden, when I did not - expect always to have been a bachelor—I would not have given it for an - ocean of seals—O Hector! Hector!—thy namesake was born to be the prop - of Troy, and thou to be the plague of Monkbarns!" -</p> -<a name="2HCH0010"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER TENTH. -</h2> -<pre> - Tell me not of it, friend—when the young weep, - Their tears are luke-warm brine;—from your old eyes - Sorrow falls down like hail-drops of the North, - Chilling the furrows of our withered cheeks, - Cold as our hopes, and hardened as our feeling— - Theirs, as they fall, sink sightless—ours recoil, - Heap the fair plain, and bleaken all before us. - Old Play. -</pre> -<p> - The Antiquary, being now alone, hastened his pace, which had been - retarded by these various discussions, and the rencontre which had closed - them, and soon arrived before the half-dozen cottages at Mussel-crag. - They had now, in addition to their usual squalid and uncomfortable - appearance, the melancholy attributes of the house of mourning. The boats - were all drawn up on the beach; and, though the day was fine, and the - season favourable, the chant, which is used by the fishers when at sea, - was silent, as well as the prattle of the children, and the shrill song - of the mother, as she sits mending her nets by the door. A few of the - neighbours, some in their antique and well-saved suits of black, others - in their ordinary clothes, but all bearing an expression of mournful - sympathy with distress so sudden and unexpected, stood gathered around - the door of Mucklebackit's cottage, waiting till "the body was lifted." - As the Laird of Monkbarns approached, they made way for him to enter, - doffing their hats and bonnets as he passed, with an air of melancholy - courtesy, and he returned their salutes in the same manner. -</p> -<p> - In the inside of the cottage was a scene which our Wilkie alone could - have painted, with that exquisite feeling of nature that characterises - his enchanting productions. -</p> -<p> - The body was laid in its coffin within the wooden bedstead which the - young fisher had occupied while alive. At a little distance stood the - father, whose rugged weather-beaten countenance, shaded by his grizzled - hair, had faced many a stormy night and night-like day. He was apparently - revolving his loss in his mind, with that strong feeling of painful grief - peculiar to harsh and rough characters, which almost breaks forth into - hatred against the world, and all that remain in it, after the beloved - object is withdrawn. The old man had made the most desperate efforts to - save his son, and had only been withheld by main force from renewing them - at a moment when, without the possibility of assisting the sufferer, he - must himself have perished. All this apparently was boiling in his - recollection. His glance was directed sidelong towards the coffin, as to - an object on which he could not stedfastly look, and yet from which he - could not withdraw his eyes. His answers to the necessary questions which - were occasionally put to him, were brief, harsh, and almost fierce. His - family had not yet dared to address to him a word, either of sympathy or - consolation. His masculine wife, virago as she was, and absolute mistress - of the family, as she justly boasted herself, on all ordinary occasions, - was, by this great loss, terrified into silence and submission, and - compelled to hide from her husband's observation the bursts of her female - sorrow. As he had rejected food ever since the disaster had happened, not - daring herself to approach him, she had that morning, with affectionate - artifice, employed the youngest and favourite child to present her - husband with some nourishment. His first action was to put it from him - with an angry violence that frightened the child; his next, to snatch up - the boy and devour him with kisses. "Yell be a bra' fallow, an ye be - spared, Patie,—but ye'll never—never can be—what he was to me!—He has - sailed the coble wi' me since he was ten years auld, and there wasna the - like o' him drew a net betwixt this and Buchan-ness.—They say folks maun - submit—I will try." -</p> -<p> - And he had been silent from that moment until compelled to answer the - necessary questions we have already noticed. Such was the disconsolate - state of the father. -</p> -<p> - In another corner of the cottage, her face covered by her apron, which - was flung over it, sat the mother—the nature of her grief sufficiently - indicated by the wringing of her hands, and the convulsive agitation of - the bosom, which the covering could not conceal. Two of her gossips, - officiously whispering into her ear the commonplace topic of resignation - under irremediable misfortune, seemed as if they were endeavouring to - stun the grief which they could not console. -</p> -<p> - The sorrow of the children was mingled with wonder at the preparations - they beheld around them, and at the unusual display of wheaten bread and - wine, which the poorest peasant, or fisher, offers to the guests on these - mournful occasions; and thus their grief for their brother's death was - almost already lost in admiration of the splendour of his funeral. -</p> -<p> - But the figure of the old grandmother was the most remarkable of the - sorrowing group. Seated on her accustomed chair, with her usual air of - apathy, and want of interest in what surrounded her, she seemed every now - and then mechanically to resume the motion of twirling her spindle; then - to look towards her bosom for the distaff, although both had been laid - aside. She would then cast her eyes about, as if surprised at missing the - usual implements of her industry, and appear struck by the black colour - of the gown in which they had dressed her, and embarrassed by the number - of persons by whom she was surrounded. Then, finally, she would raise her - head with a ghastly look, and fix her eyes upon the bed which contained - the coffin of her grandson, as if she had at once, and for the first - time, acquired sense to comprehend her inexpressible calamity. These - alternate feelings of embarrassment, wonder, and grief, seemed to succeed - each other more than once upon her torpid features. But she spoke not a - word—neither had she shed a tear—nor did one of the family understand, - either from look or expression, to what extent she comprehended the - uncommon bustle around her. Thus she sat among the funeral assembly like - a connecting link between the surviving mourners and the dead corpse - which they bewailed—a being in whom the light of existence was already - obscured by the encroaching shadows of death. -</p> -<p> - When Oldbuck entered this house of mourning, he was received by a general - and silent inclination of the head, and, according to the fashion of - Scotland on such occasions, wine and spirits and bread were offered round - to the guests. Elspeth, as these refreshments were presented, surprised - and startled the whole company by motioning to the person who bore them - to stop; then, taking a glass in her hand, she rose up, and, as the smile - of dotage played upon her shrivelled features, she pronounced, with a - hollow and tremulous voice, "Wishing a' your healths, sirs, and often may - we hae such merry meetings!" -</p> -<p> - All shrunk from the ominous pledge, and set down the untasted liquor with - a degree of shuddering horror, which will not surprise those who know how - many superstitions are still common on such occasions among the Scottish - vulgar. But as the old woman tasted the liquor, she suddenly exclaimed - with a sort of shriek, "What's this?—this is wine—how should there be - wine in my son's house?—Ay," she continued with a suppressed groan, "I - mind the sorrowful cause now," and, dropping the glass from her hand, she - stood a moment gazing fixedly on the bed in which the coffin of her - grandson was deposited, and then sinking gradually into her seat, she - covered her eyes and forehead with her withered and pallid hand. -</p> -<p> - At this moment the clergyman entered the cottage. Mr. Blattergowl, though - a dreadful proser, particularly on the subject of augmentations, - localities, teinds, and overtures in that session of the General - Assembly, to which, unfortunately for his auditors, he chanced one year - to act as moderator, was nevertheless a good man, in the old Scottish - presbyterian phrase, God-ward and man-ward. No divine was more attentive - in visiting the sick and afflicted, in catechising the youth, in - instructing the ignorant, and in reproving the erring. And hence, - notwithstanding impatience of his prolixity and prejudices, personal or - professional, and notwithstanding, moreover, a certain habitual contempt - for his understanding, especially on affairs of genius and taste, on - which Blattergowl was apt to be diffuse, from his hope of one day - fighting his way to a chair of rhetoric or belles lettres,— - notwithstanding, I say, all the prejudices excited against him by these - circumstances, our friend the Antiquary looked with great regard and - respect on the said Blattergowl, though I own he could seldom, even by - his sense of decency and the remonstrances of his womankind, be <i>hounded - out,</i> as he called it, to hear him preach. But he regularly took shame to - himself for his absence when Blattergowl came to Monkbarns to dinner, to - which he was always invited of a Sunday, a mode of testifying his respect - which the proprietor probably thought fully as agreeable to the - clergyman, and rather more congenial to his own habits. -</p> -<p> - To return from a digression which can only serve to introduce the honest - clergyman more particularly to our readers, Mr. Blattergowl had no sooner - entered the hut, and received the mute and melancholy salutations of the - company whom it contained, than he edged himself towards the unfortunate - father, and seemed to endeavour to slide in a few words of condolence or - of consolation. But the old man was incapable as yet of receiving either; - he nodded, however, gruffly, and shook the clergyman's hand in - acknowledgment of his good intentions, but was either unable or unwilling - to make any verbal reply. -</p> -<p> - The minister next passed to the mother, moving along the floor as slowly, - silently, and gradually, as if he had been afraid that the ground would, - like unsafe ice, break beneath his feet, or that the first echo of a - footstep was to dissolve some magic spell, and plunge the hut, with all - its inmates, into a subterranean abyss. The tenor of what he had said to - the poor woman could only be judged by her answers, as, half-stifled by - sobs ill-repressed, and by the covering which she still kept over her - countenance, she faintly answered at each pause in his speech—"Yes, sir, - yes!—Ye're very gude—ye're very gude!—Nae doubt, nae doubt!—It's our - duty to submit!—But, oh dear! my poor Steenie! the pride o' my very - heart, that was sae handsome and comely, and a help to his family, and a - comfort to us a', and a pleasure to a' that lookit on him!—Oh, my bairn! - my bairn! my bairn! what for is thou lying there!—and eh! what for am I - left to greet for ye!" -</p> -<p> - There was no contending with this burst of sorrow and natural affection. - Oldbuck had repeated recourse to his snuff-box to conceal the tears - which, despite his shrewd and caustic temper, were apt to start on such - occasions. The female assistants whimpered, the men held their bonnets to - their faces, and spoke apart with each other. The clergyman, meantime, - addressed his ghostly consolation to the aged grandmother. At first she - listened, or seemed to listen, to what he said, with the apathy of her - usual unconsciousness. But as, in pressing this theme, he approached so - near to her ear that the sense of his words became distinctly - intelligible to her, though unheard by those who stood more distant, her - countenance at once assumed that stern and expressive cast which - characterized her intervals of intelligence. She drew up her head and - body, shook her head in a manner that showed at least impatience, if not - scorn of his counsel, and waved her hand slightly, but with a gesture so - expressive, as to indicate to all who witnessed it a marked and - disdainful rejection of the ghostly consolation proffered to her. The - minister stepped back as if repulsed, and, by lifting gently and dropping - his hand, seemed to show at once wonder, sorrow, and compassion for her - dreadful state of mind. The rest of the company sympathized, and a - stifled whisper went through them, indicating how much her desperate and - determined manner impressed them with awe, and even horror. -</p> -<p> - In the meantime, the funeral company was completed, by the arrival of one - or two persons who had been expected from Fairport. The wine and spirits - again circulated, and the dumb show of greeting was anew interchanged. - The grandame a second time took a glass in her hand, drank its contents, - and exclaimed, with a sort of laugh,—"Ha! ha! I hae tasted wine twice in - ae day—Whan did I that before, think ye, cummers?—Never since"—and the - transient glow vanishing from her countenance, she set the glass down, - and sunk upon the settle from whence she had risen to snatch at it. -</p> -<p> - As the general amazement subsided, Mr. Oldbuck, whose heart bled to - witness what he considered as the errings of the enfeebled intellect - struggling with the torpid chill of age and of sorrow, observed to the - clergyman that it was time to proceed with the ceremony. The father was - incapable of giving directions, but the nearest relation of the family - made a sign to the carpenter, who in such cases goes through the duty of - the undertaker, to proceed in his office. The creak of the screw-nails - presently announced that the lid of the last mansion of mortality was in - the act of being secured above its tenant. The last act which separates - us for ever, even from the mortal relies of the person we assemble to - mourn, has usually its effect upon the most indifferent, selfish, and - hard-hearted. With a spirit of contradiction, which we may be pardoned - for esteeming narrow-minded, the fathers of the Scottish kirk rejected, - even on this most solemn occasion, the form of an address to the - Divinity, lest they should be thought to give countenance to the rituals - of Rome or of England. With much better and more liberal judgment, it is - the present practice of most of the Scottish clergymen to seize this - opportunity of offering a prayer, and exhortation, suitable to make an - impression upon the living, while they are yet in the very presence of - the relics of him whom they have but lately seen such as they themselves, - and who now is such as they must in their time become. But this decent - and praiseworthy practice was not adopted at the time of which I am - treating, or at least, Mr. Blattergowl did not act upon it, and the - ceremony proceeded without any devotional exercise. -</p> -<p> - The coffin, covered with a pall, and supported upon hand-spikes by the - nearest relatives, now only waited the father to support the head, as is - customary. Two or three of these privileged persons spoke to him, but he - only answered by shaking his hand and his head in token of refusal. With - better intention than judgment, the friends, who considered this as an - act of duty on the part of the living, and of decency towards the - deceased, would have proceeded to enforce their request, had not Oldbuck - interfered between the distressed father and his well-meaning tormentors, - and informed them, that he himself, as landlord and master to the - deceased, "would carry his head to the grave." In spite of the sorrowful - occasion, the hearts of the relatives swelled within them at so marked a - distinction on the part of the laird; and old Alison Breck, who was - present among other fish-women, swore almost aloud, "His honour Monkbarns - should never want sax warp of oysters in the season" (of which fish he - was understood to be fond), "if she should gang to sea and dredge for - them hersell, in the foulest wind that ever blew." And such is the temper - of the Scottish common people, that, by this instance of compliance with - their customs, and respect for their persons, Mr. Oldbuck gained more - popularity than by all the sums which he had yearly distributed in the - parish for purposes of private or general charity. -</p> -<p> - The sad procession now moved slowly forward, preceded by the beadles, or - saulies, with their batons,—miserable-looking old men, tottering as if - on the edge of that grave to which they were marshalling another, and - clad, according to Scottish guise, with threadbare black coats, and - hunting-caps decorated with rusty crape. Monkbarns would probably have - remonstrated against this superfluous expense, had he been consulted; - but, in doing so, he would have given more offence than he gained - popularity by condescending to perform the office of chief-mourner. Of - this he was quite aware, and wisely withheld rebuke, where rebuke and - advice would have been equally unavailing. In truth, the Scottish - peasantry are still infected with that rage for funeral ceremonial, which - once distinguished the grandees of the kingdom so much, that a sumptuary - law was made by the Parliament of Scotland for the purpose of restraining - it; and I have known many in the lowest stations, who have denied - themselves not merely the comforts, but almost the necessaries of life, - in order to save such a sum of money as might enable their surviving - friends to bury them like Christians, as they termed it; nor could their - faithful executors be prevailed upon, though equally necessitous, to turn - to the use and maintenance of the living the money vainly wasted upon the - interment of the dead. -</p> -<p> - The procession to the churchyard, at about half-a-mile's distance, was - made with the mournful solemnity usual on these occasions,—the body was - consigned to its parent earth,—and when the labour of the gravediggers - had filled up the trench, and covered it with fresh sod, Mr. Oldbuck, - taking his hat off, saluted the assistants, who had stood by in - melancholy silence, and with that adieu dispersed the mourners. -</p> -<p> - The clergyman offered our Antiquary his company to walk homeward; but Mr. - Oldbuck had been so much struck with the deportment of the fisherman and - his mother, that, moved by compassion, and perhaps also, in some degree, - by that curiosity which induces us to seek out even what gives us pain to - witness, he preferred a solitary walk by the coast, for the purpose of - again visiting the cottage as he passed. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0011"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER ELEVENTH -</h2> -<pre> - What is this secret sin, this untold tale, - That art cannot extract, nor penance cleanse? - —Her muscles hold their place; - Nor discomposed, nor formed to steadiness, - No sudden flushing, and no faltering lip.— - Mysterious Mother. -</pre> -<p> - The coffin had been borne from the place where it rested. The mourners, - in regular gradation, according to their rank or their relationship to - the deceased, had filed from the cottage, while the younger male children - were led along to totter after the bier of their brother, and to view - with wonder a ceremonial which they could hardly comprehend. The female - gossips next rose to depart, and, with consideration for the situation of - the parents, carried along with them the girls of the family, to give the - unhappy pair time and opportunity to open their hearts to each other and - soften their grief by communicating it. But their kind intention was - without effect. The last of them had darkened the entrance of the - cottage, as she went out, and drawn the door softly behind her, when the - father, first ascertaining by a hasty glance that no stranger remained, - started up, clasped his hands wildly above his head, uttered a cry of the - despair which he had hitherto repressed, and, in all the impotent - impatience of grief, half rushed half staggered forward to the bed on - which the coffin had been deposited, threw himself down upon it, and - smothering, as it were, his head among the bed-clothes, gave vent to the - full passion of his sorrow. It was in vain that the wretched mother, - terrified by the vehemence of her husband's affliction—affliction still - more fearful as agitating a man of hardened manners and a robust frame—suppressed - her own sobs and tears, and, pulling him by the skirts of his - coat, implored him to rise and remember, that, though one was removed, he - had still a wife and children to comfort and support. The appeal came at - too early a period of his anguish, and was totally unattended to; he - continued to remain prostrate, indicating, by sobs so bitter and violent, - that they shook the bed and partition against which it rested, by - clenched hands which grasped the bed-clothes, and by the vehement and - convulsive motion of his legs, how deep and how terrible was the agony of - a father's sorrow. -</p> -<p> - "O, what a day is this! what a day is this!" said the poor mother, her - womanish affliction already exhausted by sobs and tears, and now almost - lost in terror for the state in which she beheld her husband—"O, what an - hour is this! and naebody to help a poor lone woman—O, gudemither, could - ye but speak a word to him!—wad ye but bid him be comforted!" -</p> -<p> - To her astonishment, and even to the increase of her fear, her husband's - mother heard and answered the appeal. She rose and walked across the - floor without support, and without much apparent feebleness, and standing - by the bed on which her son had extended himself, she said, "Rise up, my - son, and sorrow not for him that is beyond sin and sorrow and temptation. - Sorrow is for those that remain in this vale of sorrow and darkness—I, - wha dinna sorrow, and wha canna sorrow for ony ane, hae maist need that - ye should a' sorrow for me." -</p> -<p> - The voice of his mother, not heard for years as taking part in the active - duties of life, or offering advice or consolation, produced its effect - upon her son. He assumed a sitting posture on the side of the bed, and - his appearance, attitude, and gestures, changed from those of angry - despair to deep grief and dejection. The grandmother retired to her nook, - the mother mechanically took in her hand her tattered Bible, and seemed - to read, though her eyes were drowned with tears. -</p> -<p> - They were thus occupied, when a loud knock was heard at the door. -</p> -<p> - "Hegh, sirs!" said the poor mother, "wha is that can be coming in that - gate e'enow?—They canna hae heard o' our misfortune, I'm sure." -</p> -<p> - The knock being repeated, she rose and opened the door, saying - querulously, "Whatna gait's that to disturb a sorrowfu' house?" -</p> -<p> - A tall man in black stood before her, whom she instantly recognised to be - Lord Glenallan. "Is there not," he said, "an old woman lodging in this or - one of the neighbouring cottages, called Elspeth, who was long resident - at Craigburnfoot of Glenallan?" -</p> -<p> - "It's my gudemither, my lord," said Margaret; "but she canna see onybody - e'enow—Ohon! we're dreeing a sair weird—we hae had a heavy - dispensation!" -</p> -<p> - "God forbid," said Lord Glenallan, "that I should on light occasion - disturb your sorrow;—but my days are numbered—your mother-in-law is in - the extremity of age, and, if I see her not to-day, we may never meet on - this side of time." -</p> -<p> - "And what," answered the desolate mother, "wad ye see at an auld woman, - broken down wi' age and sorrow and heartbreak? Gentle or semple shall not - darken my door the day my bairn's been carried out a corpse." -</p> -<p> - While she spoke thus, indulging the natural irritability of disposition - and profession, which began to mingle itself with her grief when its - first uncontrolled bursts were gone by, she held the door about one-third - part open, and placed herself in the gap, as if to render the visitor's - entrance impossible. But the voice of her husband was heard from within—"Wha's - that, Maggie? what for are ye steaking them out?—let them come - in; it doesna signify an auld rope's end wha comes in or wha gaes out o' - this house frae this time forward." -</p> -<p> - The woman stood aside at her husband's command, and permitted Lord - Glenallan to enter the hut. The dejection exhibited in his broken frame - and emaciated countenance, formed a strong contrast with the effects of - grief, as they were displayed in the rude and weatherbeaten visage of the - fisherman, and the masculine features of his wife. He approached the old - woman as she was seated on her usual settle, and asked her, in a tone as - audible as his voice could make it, "Are you Elspeth of the Craigburnfoot - of Glenallan?" -</p> -<p> - "Wha is it that asks about the unhallowed residence of that evil woman?" - was the answer returned to his query. -</p> -<p> - "The unhappy Earl of Glenallan." -</p> -<p> - "Earl!—Earl of Glenallan!" -</p> -<p> - "He who was called William Lord Geraldin," said the Earl; "and whom his - mother's death has made Earl of Glenallan." -</p> -<p> - "Open the bole," said the old woman firmly and hastily to her - daughter-in-law, "open the bole wi' speed, that I may see if this be the - right Lord Geraldin—the son of my mistress—him that I received in my - arms within the hour after he was born—him that has reason to curse me - that I didna smother him before the hour was past!" -</p> -<p> - The window, which had been shut in order that a gloomy twilight might add - to the solemnity of the funeral meeting, was opened as she commanded, and - threw a sudden and strong light through the smoky and misty atmosphere of - the stifling cabin. Falling in a stream upon the chimney, the rays - illuminated, in the way that Rembrandt would have chosen, the features of - the unfortunate nobleman, and those of the old sibyl, who now, standing - upon her feet, and holding him by one hand, peered anxiously in his - features with her light-blue eyes, and holding her long and withered - fore-finger within a small distance of his face, moved it slowly as if to - trace the outlines and reconcile what she recollected with that she now - beheld. As she finished her scrutiny, she said, with a deep sigh, "It's a - sair—sair change; and wha's fault is it?—but that's written down where - it will be remembered—it's written on tablets of brass with a pen of - steel, where all is recorded that is done in the flesh.—And what," she - said after a pause, "what is Lord Geraldin seeking from a poor auld - creature like me, that's dead already, and only belongs sae far to the - living that she isna yet laid in the moulds?" -</p> -<p> - "Nay," answered Lord Glenallan, "in the name of Heaven, why was it that - you requested so urgently to see me?—and why did you back your request - by sending a token which you knew well I dared not refuse?" -</p> -<p> - As he spoke thus, he took from his purse the ring which Edie Ochiltree - had delivered to him at Glenallan House. The sight of this token produced - a strange and instantaneous effect upon the old woman. The palsy of fear - was immediately added to that of age, and she began instantly to search - her pockets with the tremulous and hasty agitation of one who becomes - first apprehensive of having lost something of great importance;—then, - as if convinced of the reality of her fears, she turned to the Earl, and - demanded, "And how came ye by it then?—how came ye by it? I thought I - had kept it sae securely—what will the Countess say?" -</p> -<p> - "You know," said the Earl, "at least you must have heard, that my mother - is dead." -</p> -<p> - "Dead! are ye no imposing upon me? has she left a' at last, lands and - lordship and lineages?" -</p> -<p> - "All, all," said the Earl, "as mortals must leave all human vanities." -</p> -<p> - "I mind now," answered Elspeth—"I heard of it before but there has been - sic distress in our house since, and my memory is sae muckle impaired— - But ye are sure your mother, the Lady Countess, is gane hame?" -</p> -<p> - The Earl again assured her that her former mistress was no more. -</p> -<p> - "Then," said Elspeth, "it shall burden my mind nae langer!—When she - lived, wha dared to speak what it would hae displeased her to hae had - noised abroad? But she's gane—and I will confess all." -</p> -<p> - Then turning to her son and daughter-in-law, she commanded them - imperatively to quit the house, and leave Lord Geraldin (for so she still - called him) alone with her. But Maggie Mucklebackit, her first burst of - grief being over, was by no means disposed in her own house to pay - passive obedience to the commands of her mother-in-law, an authority - which is peculiarly obnoxious to persons in her rank of life, and which - she was the more astonished at hearing revived, when it seemed to have - been so long relinquished and forgotten. -</p> -<p> - "It was an unco thing," she said, in a grumbling tone of voice,—for the - rank of Lord Glenallan was somewhat imposing—"it was an unco thing to - bid a mother leave her ain house wi' the tear in her ee, the moment her - eldest son had been carried a corpse out at the door o't." -</p> -<p> - The fisherman, in a stubborn and sullen tone, added to the same purpose. - "This is nae day for your auld-warld stories, mother. My lord, if he be a - lord, may ca' some other day—or he may speak out what he has gotten to - say if he likes it; there's nane here will think it worth their while to - listen to him or you either. But neither for laird or loon, gentle or - semple, will I leave my ain house to pleasure onybody on the very day my - poor"— -</p> -<p> - Here his voice choked, and he could proceed no farther; but as he had - risen when Lord Glenallan came in, and had since remained standing, he - now threw himself doggedly upon a seat, and remained in the sullen - posture of one who was determined to keep his word. -</p> -<p> - But the old woman, whom this crisis seemed to repossess in all those - powers of mental superiority with which she had once been eminently - gifted, arose, and advancing towards him, said, with a solemn voice, "My - son, as ye wad shun hearing of your mother's shame—as ye wad not - willingly be a witness of her guilt—as ye wad deserve her blessing and - avoid her curse, I charge ye, by the body that bore and that nursed ye, - to leave me at freedom to speak with Lord Geraldin, what nae mortal ears - but his ain maun listen to. Obey my words, that when ye lay the moulds on - my head—and, oh that the day were come!—ye may remember this hour - without the reproach of having disobeyed the last earthly command that - ever your mother wared on you." -</p> -<p> - The terms of this solemn charge revived in the fisherman's heart the - habit of instinctive obedience in which his mother had trained him up, - and to which he had submitted implicitly while her powers of exacting it - remained entire. The recollection mingled also with the prevailing - passion of the moment; for, glancing his eye at the bed on which the dead - body had been laid, he muttered to himself, "<i>He</i> never disobeyed <i>me,</i> - in reason or out o' reason, and what for should I vex <i>her</i>?" Then, - taking his reluctant spouse by the arm, he led her gently out of the - cottage, and latched the door behind them as he left it. -</p> -<p> - As the unhappy parents withdrew, Lord Glenallan, to prevent the old woman - from relapsing into her lethargy, again pressed her on the subject of the - communication which she proposed to make to him. -</p> -<p> - "Ye will have it sune eneugh," she replied;—"my mind's clear eneugh now, - and there is not—I think there is not—a chance of my forgetting what I - have to say. My dwelling at Craigburnfoot is before my een, as it were - present in reality:—the green bank, with its selvidge, just where the - burn met wi' the sea—the twa little barks, wi' their sails furled, lying - in the natural cove which it formed—the high cliff that joined it with - the pleasure-grounds of the house of Glenallan, and hung right ower the - stream—Ah! yes—I may forget that I had a husband and have lost him— - that I hae but ane alive of our four fair sons—that misfortune upon - misfortune has devoured our ill-gotten wealth—that they carried the - corpse of my son's eldest-born frae the house this morning—But I never - can forget the days I spent at bonny Craigburnfoot!" -</p> -<p> - "You were a favourite of my mother," said Lord Glenallan, desirous to - bring her back to the point, from which she was wandering. -</p> -<p> - "I was, I was,—ye needna mind me o' that. She brought me up abune my - station, and wi' knowledge mair than my fellows—but, like the tempter of - auld, wi' the knowledge of gude she taught me the knowledge of evil." -</p> -<p> - "For God's sake, Elspeth," said the astonished Earl, "proceed, if you - can, to explain the dreadful hints you have thrown out! I well know you - are confidant to one dreadful secret, which should split this roof even - to hear it named—but speak on farther." -</p> -<p> - "I will," she said—"I will!—just bear wi' me for a little;"—and again - she seemed lost in recollection, but it was no longer tinged with - imbecility or apathy. She was now entering upon the topic which had long - loaded her mind, and which doubtless often occupied her whole soul at - times when she seemed dead to all around her. And I may add, as a - remarkable fact, that such was the intense operation of mental energy - upon her physical powers and nervous system, that, notwithstanding her - infirmity of deafness, each word that Lord Glenallan spoke during this - remarkable conference, although in the lowest tone of horror or agony, - fell as full and distinct upon Elspeth's ear as it could have done at any - period of her life. She spoke also herself clearly, distinctly, and - slowly, as if anxious that the intelligence she communicated should be - fully understood; concisely at the same time, and with none of the - verbiage or circumlocutory additions natural to those of her sex and - condition. In short, her language bespoke a better education, as well as - an uncommonly firm and resolved mind, and a character of that sort from - which great virtues or great crimes may be naturally expected. The tenor - of her communication is disclosed in the following CHAPTER. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0012"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER TWELFTH. -</h2> -<pre> - Remorse—she neer forsakes us— - A bloodhound staunch—she tracks our rapid step - Through the wild labyrinth of youthful frenzy, - Unheard, perchance, until old age hath tamed us - Then in our lair, when Time hath chilled our joints, - And maimed our hope of combat, or of flight, - We hear her deep-mouthed bay, announcing all - Of wrath, and wo, and punishment that bides us. - Old Play. -</pre> -<p> - "I need not tell you," said the old woman, addressing the Earl of - Glenallan, "that I was the favourite and confidential attendant of - Joscelind, Countess of Glenallan, whom God assoilzie!"—(here she crossed - herself)—"and I think farther, ye may not have forgotten that I shared - her regard for mony years. I returned it by the maist sincere attachment, - but I fell into disgrace frae a trifling act of disobedience, reported to - your mother by ane that thought, and she wasna wrang, that I was a spy - upon her actions and yours." -</p> -<p> - "I charge thee, woman," said the Earl, in a voice trembling with passion, - "name not her name in my hearing!" -</p> -<p> - "I must," returned the penitent firmly and calmly, "or how can you - understand me?" -</p> -<p> - The Earl leaned upon one of the wooden chairs of the hut, drew his hat - over his face, clenched his hands together, set his teeth like one who - summons up courage to undergo a painful operation, and made a signal to - her to proceed. -</p> -<p> - "I say, then," she resumed, "that my disgrace with my mistress was - chiefly owing to Miss Eveline Neville, then bred up in Glenallan House as - the daughter of a cousin-german and intimate friend of your father that - was gane. There was muckle mystery in her history,—but wha dared to - inquire farther than the Countess liked to tell?—All in Glenallan House - loved Miss Neville—all but twa, your mother and mysell—we baith hated - her." -</p> -<p> - "God! for what reason, since a creature so mild, so gentle, so formed to - inspire affection, never walked on this wretched world?" -</p> -<p> - "It may hae been sae," rejoined Elspeth, "but your mother hated a' that - cam of your father's family—a' but himsell. Her reasons related to - strife which fell between them soon after her marriage; the particulars - are naething to this purpose. But oh! doubly did she hate Eveline Neville - when she perceived that there was a growing kindness atween you and that - unfortunate young leddy! Ye may mind that the Countess's dislike didna - gang farther at first than just showing o' the cauld shouther—at least - it wasna seen farther; but at the lang run it brak out into such - downright violence that Miss Neville was even fain to seek refuge at - Knockwinnock Castle with Sir Arthur's leddy, wha (God sain her!) was then - wi' the living." -</p> -<p> - "You rend my heart by recalling these particulars—But go on,—and may my - present agony be accepted as additional penance for the involuntary - crime!" -</p> -<p> - "She had been absent some months," continued Elspeth, "when I was ae - night watching in my hut the return of my husband from fishing, and - shedding in private those bitter tears that my proud spirit wrung frae me - whenever I thought on my disgrace. The sneck was drawn, and the Countess - your mother entered my dwelling. I thought I had seen a spectre, for even - in the height of my favour, this was an honour she had never done me, and - she looked as pale and ghastly as if she had risen from the grave. She - sat down, and wrung the draps from her hair and cloak,—for the night was - drizzling, and her walk had been through the plantations, that were a' - loaded with dew. I only mention these things that you may understand how - weel that night lives in my memory,—and weel it may. I was surprised to - see her, but I durstna speak first, mair than if I had seen a phantom— - Na, I durst not, my lord, I that hae seen mony sights of terror, and - never shook at them. Sae, after a silence, she said, Elspeth Cheyne (for - she always gave me my maiden name), are not ye the daughter of that - Reginald Cheyne who died to save his master, Lord Glenallan, on the field - of Sheriffmuir?' And I answered her as proudly as hersell nearly—As sure - as you are the daughter of that Earl of Glenallan whom my father saved - that day by his own death.'" -</p> -<p> - Here she made a deep pause. -</p> -<p> - "And what followed?—what followed?—For Heaven's sake, good woman—But - why should I use that word?—Yet, good or bad, I command you to tell me." -</p> -<p> - "And little I should value earthly command," answered Elspeth, "were - there not a voice that has spoken to me sleeping and waking, that drives - me forward to tell this sad tale. Aweel, my Lord—the Countess said to - me, My son loves Eveline Neville—they are agreed—they are plighted: - should they have a son, my right over Glenallan merges—I sink from that - moment from a Countess into a miserable stipendiary dowager, I who - brought lands and vassals, and high blood and ancient fame, to my - husband, I must cease to be mistress when my son has an heir-male. But I - care not for that—had he married any but one of the hated Nevilles, I - had been patient. But for them—that they and their descendants should - enjoy the right and honours of my ancestors, goes through my heart like a - two-edged dirk. And this girl—I detest her!'—And I answered, for my - heart kindled at her words, that her hate was equalled by mine." -</p> -<p> - "Wretch!" exclaimed the Earl, in spite of his determination to preserve - silence—"wretched woman! what cause of hate could have arisen from a - being so innocent and gentle?" -</p> -<p> - "I hated what my mistress hated, as was the use with the liege vassals of - the house of Glenallan; for though, my Lord, I married under my degree, - yet an ancestor of yours never went to the field of battle, but an - ancestor of the frail, demented, auld, useless wretch wha now speaks with - you, carried his shield before him. But that was not a'," continued the - beldam, her earthly and evil passions rekindling as she became heated in - her narration—"that was not a'; I hated Miss Eveline Neville for her ain - sake, I brought her frae England, and, during our whole journey, she - gecked and scorned at my northern speech and habit, as her southland - leddies and kimmers had done at the boarding-school, as they cald it"—(and, strange as it may seem, she spoke of an affront offered by a - heedless school-girl without intention, with a degree of inveteracy - which, at such a distance of time, a mortal offence would neither have - authorized or excited in any well-constituted mind)—"Yes, she scorned - and jested at me—but let them that scorn the tartan fear the dirk!" -</p> -<p> - She paused, and then went on—"But I deny not that I hated her mair than - she deserved. My mistress, the Countess, persevered and said, Elspeth - Cheyne, this unruly boy will marry with the false English blood. Were - days as they have been, I could throw her into the Massymore* of - Glenallan, and fetter him in the Keep of Strathbonnel. -</p> -<p> - * <i>Massa-mora,</i> an ancient name for a dungeon, derived from the Moorish - language, perhaps as far back as the time of the Crusades. -</p> -<p> - But these times are past, and the authority which the nobles of the land - should exercise is delegated to quibbling lawyers and their baser - dependants. Hear me, Elspeth Cheyne! if you are your father's daughter as - I am mine, I will find means that they shall not marry. She walks often - to that cliff that overhangs your dwelling to look for her lover's boat—(ye may remember the pleasure ye then took on the sea, my Lord)—let him - find her forty fathom lower than he expects!'—Yes! ye may stare and - frown and clench your hand; but, as sure as I am to face the only Being I - ever feared—and, oh that I had feared him mair!—these were your - mother's words. What avails it to me to lie to you?—But I wadna consent - to stain my hand with blood.—Then she said, By the religion of our holy - Church they are ower <i>sibb</i> thegither. But I expect nothing but that both - will become heretics as well as disobedient reprobates;'—that was her - addition to that argument. And then, as the fiend is ever ower busy wi' - brains like mine, that are subtle beyond their use and station, I was - unhappily permitted to add—But they might be brought to think themselves - sae <i>sibb</i> as no Christian law will permit their wedlock.'" -</p> -<p> - Here the Earl of Glenallan echoed her words, with a shriek so piercing as - almost to rend the roof of the cottage.—"Ah! then Eveline Neville was - not the—the"— -</p> -<p> - "The daughter, ye would say, of your father?" continued Elspeth. "No—be - it a torment or be it a comfort to you—ken the truth, she was nae mair a - daughter of your father's house than I am." -</p> -<p> - "Woman, deceive me not!—make me not curse the memory of the parent I - have so lately laid in the grave, for sharing in a plot the most cruel, - the most infernal"— -</p> -<p> - "Bethink ye, my Lord Geraldin, ere ye curse the memory of a parent that's - gane, is there none of the blood of Glenallan living, whose faults have - led to this dreadfu' catastrophe?" -</p> -<p> - "Mean you my brother?—he, too, is gone," said the Earl. -</p> -<p> - "No," replied the sibyl, "I mean yoursell, Lord Geraldin. Had you not - transgressed the obedience of a son by wedding Eveline Neville in secret - while a guest at Knockwinnock, our plot might have separated you for a - time, but would have left at least your sorrows without remorse to canker - them. But your ain conduct had put poison in the weapon that we threw, - and it pierced you with the mair force because ye cam rushing to meet it. - Had your marriage been a proclaimed and acknowledged action, our - stratagem to throw an obstacle into your way that couldna be got ower, - neither wad nor could hae been practised against ye." -</p> -<p> - "Great Heaven!" said the unfortunate nobleman—"it is as if a film fell - from my obscured eyes! Yes, I now well understand the doubtful hints of - consolation thrown out by my wretched mother, tending indirectly to - impeach the evidence of the horrors of which her arts had led me to - believe myself guilty." -</p> -<p> - "She could not speak mair plainly," answered Elspeth, "without confessing - her ain fraud,—and she would have submitted to be torn by wild horses, - rather than unfold what she had done; and if she had still lived, so - would I for her sake. They were stout hearts the race of Glenallan, male - and female, and sae were a' that in auld times cried their gathering-word - of <i>Clochnaben</i>—they stood shouther to shouther—nae man parted frae his - chief for love of gold or of gain, or of right or of wrang. The times are - changed, I hear, now." -</p> -<p> - The unfortunate nobleman was too much wrapped up in his own confused and - distracted reflections, to notice the rude expressions of savage - fidelity, in which, even in the latest ebb of life, the unhappy author of - his misfortunes seemed to find a stern and stubborn source of - consolation. -</p> -<p> - "Great Heaven!" he exclaimed, "I am then free from a guilt the most - horrible with which man can be stained, and the sense of which, however - involuntary, has wrecked my peace, destroyed my health, and bowed me down - to an untimely grave. Accept," he fervently uttered, lifting his eyes - upwards, "accept my humble thanks! If I live miserable, at least I shall - not die stained with that unnatural guilt!—And thou—proceed if thou - hast more to tell—proceed, while thou hast voice to speak it, and I have - powers to listen." -</p> -<p> - "Yes," answered the beldam, "the hour when you shall hear, and I shall - speak, is indeed passing rapidly away. Death has crossed your brow with - his finger, and I find his grasp turning every day coulder at my heart. - Interrupt me nae mair with exclamations and groans and accusations, but - hear my tale to an end! And then—if ye be indeed sic a Lord of Glenallan - as I hae heard of in <i>my</i> day—make your merrymen gather the thorn, and - the brier, and the green hollin, till they heap them as high as the - house-riggin', and burn! burn! burn! the auld witch Elspeth, and a' that - can put ye in mind that sic a creature ever crawled upon the land!" -</p> -<p> - "Go on," said the Earl, "go on—I will not again interrupt you." -</p> -<p> - He spoke in a half-suffocated yet determined voice, resolved that no - irritability on his part should deprive him of this opportunity of - acquiring proofs of the wonderful tale he then heard. But Elspeth had - become exhausted by a continuous narration of such unusual length; the - subsequent part of her story was more broken, and though still distinctly - intelligible in most parts, had no longer the lucid conciseness which the - first part of her narrative had displayed to such an astonishing degree. - Lord Glenallan found it necessary, when she had made some attempts to - continue her narrative without success, to prompt her memory by - demanding—"What proofs she could propose to bring of the truth of a - narrative so different from that which she had originally told?" -</p> -<p> - "The evidence," she replied, "of Eveline Neville's real birth was in the - Countess's possession, with reasons for its being for some time kept - private;—they may yet be found, if she has not destroyed them, in the - left hand drawer of the ebony cabinet that stood in the dressing-room. - These she meant to suppress for the time, until you went abroad again, - when she trusted, before your return, to send Miss Neville back to her - ain country, or to get her settled in marriage." -</p> -<p> - "But did you not show me letters of my father's, which seemed to me, - unless my senses altogether failed me in that horrible moment, to avow - his relationship to—to the unhappy"— -</p> -<p> - "We did; and, with my testimony, how could you doubt the fact, or her - either? But we suppressed the true explanation of these letters, and that - was, that your father thought it right the young leddy should pass for - his daughter for a while, on account o'some family reasons that were - amang them." -</p> -<p> - "But wherefore, when you learned our union, was this dreadful artifice - persisted in?" -</p> -<p> - "It wasna," she replied, "till Lady Glenallan had communicated this fause - tale, that she suspected ye had actually made a marriage—nor even then - did you avow it sae as to satisfy her whether the ceremony had in verity - passed atween ye or no—But ye remember, O ye canna but remember weel, - what passed in that awfu' meeting!" -</p> -<p> - "Woman! you swore upon the gospels to the fact which you now disavow." -</p> -<p> - "I did,—and I wad hae taen a yet mair holy pledge on it, if there had - been ane—I wad not hae spared the blood of my body, or the guilt of my - soul, to serve the house of Glenallan." -</p> -<p> - "Wretch! do you call that horrid perjury, attended with consequences yet - more dreadful—do you esteem that a service to the house of your - benefactors?" -</p> -<p> - "I served her, wha was then the head of Glenallan, as she required me to - serve her. The cause was between God and her conscience—the manner - between God and mine—She is gane to her account, and I maun follow. Have - I taulds you a'?" -</p> -<p> - "No," answered Lord Glenallan—"you have yet more to tell—you have to - tell me of the death of the angel whom your perjury drove to despair, - stained, as she thought herself, with a crime so horrible. Speak truth—was that dreadful—was that horrible incident"—he could scarcely - articulate the words—"was it as reported? or was it an act of yet - further, though not more atrocious cruelty, inflicted by others?" -</p> -<p> - "I understand you," said Elspeth. "But report spoke truth;—our false - witness was indeed the cause, but the deed was her ain distracted act. On - that fearfu' disclosure, when ye rushed frae the Countess's presence and - saddled your horse, and left the castle like a fire-flaught, the Countess - hadna yet discovered your private marriage; she hadna fund out that the - union, which she had framed this awfu' tale to prevent, had e'en taen - place. Ye fled from the house as if the fire o' Heaven was about to fa' - upon it, and Miss Neville, atween reason and the want o't, was put under - sure ward. But the ward sleep't, and the prisoner waked—the window was - open—the way was before her—there was the cliff, and there was the - sea!—O, when will I forget that!" -</p> -<p> - "And thus died," said the Earl, "even so as was reported?" -</p> -<p> - "No, my lord. I had gane out to the cove—the tide was in, and it flowed, - as ye'll remember, to the foot o' that cliff—it was a great convenience - that for my husband's trade—Where am I wandering?—I saw a white object - dart frae the tap o' the cliff like a sea-maw through the mist, and then - a heavy flash and sparkle of the waters showed me it was a human creature - that had fa'en into the waves. I was bold and strong, and familiar with - the tide. I rushed in and grasped her gown, and drew her out and carried - her on my shouthers—I could hae carried twa sic then—carried her to my - hut, and laid her on my bed. Neighbours cam and brought help; but the - words she uttered in her ravings, when she got back the use of speech, - were such, that I was fain to send them awa, and get up word to Glenallan - House. The Countess sent down her Spanish servant Teresa—if ever there - was a fiend on earth in human form, that woman was ane. She and I were to - watch the unhappy leddy, and let no other person approach.—God knows - what Teresa's part was to hae been—she tauld it not to me—but Heaven - took the conclusion in its ain hand. The poor leddy! she took the pangs - of travail before her time, bore a male child, and died in the arms of - me—of her mortal enemy! Ay, <i>ye</i> may weep—she was a sightly creature to - see to—but think ye, if I didna mourn her then, that I can mourn her - now? Na, na, I left Teresa wi' the dead corpse and new-born babe, till I - gaed up to take the Countess's commands what was to be done. Late as it - was, I ca'd her up, and she gar'd me ca' up your brother"— -</p> -<p> - "My brother?" -</p> -<p> - "Yes, Lord Geraldin, e'en your brother, that some said she aye wished to - be her heir. At ony rate, he was the person maist concerned in the - succession and heritance of the house of Glenallan." -</p> -<p> - "And is it possible to believe, then, that my brother, out of avarice to - grasp at my inheritance, would lend himself to such a base and dreadful - stratagem?" -</p> -<p> - "Your mother believed it," said the old beldam with a fiendish laugh—"it - was nae plot of my making; but what they did or said I will not say, - because I did not hear. Lang and sair they consulted in the black - wainscot dressing-room; and when your brother passed through the room - where I was waiting, it seemed to me (and I have often thought sae since - syne) that the fire of hell was in his cheek and een. But he had left - some of it with his mother, at ony rate. She entered the room like a - woman demented, and the first words she spoke were, Elspeth Cheyne, did - you ever pull a new-budded flower?' I answered, as ye may believe, that I - often had. Then,' said she, ye will ken the better how to blight the - spurious and heretical blossom that has sprung forth this night to - disgrace my father's noble house—See here;'—(and she gave me a golden - bodkin)—nothing but gold must shed the blood of Glenallan. This child is - already as one of the dead, and since thou and Teresa alone ken that it - lives, let it be dealt upon as ye will answer to me!' and she turned away - in her fury, and left me with the bodkin in my hand.—Here it is; that - and the ring of Miss Neville, are a' I hae preserved of my ill-gotten - gear—for muckle was the gear I got. And weel hae I keepit the secret, - but no for the gowd or gear either." -</p> -<p> - Her long and bony hand held out to Lord Glenallan a gold bodkin, down - which in fancy he saw the blood of his infant trickling. -</p> -<p> - "Wretch! had you the heart?" -</p> -<p> - "I kenna if I could hae had it or no. I returned to my cottage without - feeling the ground that I trode on; but Teresa and the child were gane— - a' that was alive was gane—naething left but the lifeless corpse." -</p> -<p> - "And did you never learn my infant's fate?" -</p> -<p> - "I could but guess. I have tauld ye your mother's purpose, and I ken - Teresa was a fiend. She was never mair seen in Scotland, and I have heard - that she returned to her ain land. A dark curtain has fa'en ower the - past, and the few that witnessed ony part of it could only surmise - something of seduction and suicide. You yourself"— -</p> -<p> - "I know—I know it all," answered the Earl. -</p> -<p> - "You indeed know all that I can say—And now, heir of Glenallan, can you - forgive me?" -</p> -<a name="image-0006"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/pb150.jpg" height="797" width="536" -alt="Lord Glenallen and Elspeth -"> -</center> -<!--IMAGE END--> -<p> - "Ask forgiveness of God, and not of man," said the Earl, turning away. -</p> -<p> - "And how shall I ask of the pure and unstained what is denied to me by a - sinner like mysell? If I hae sinned, hae I not suffered?—Hae I had a - day's peace or an hour's rest since these lang wet locks of hair first - lay upon my pillow at Craigburnfoot?—Has not my house been burned, wi' - my bairn in the cradle?—Have not my boats been wrecked, when a' others - weather'd the gale?—Have not a' that were near and dear to me dree'd - penance for my sin?—Has not the fire had its share o' them—the winds - had their part—the sea had her part?—And oh!" she added, with a - lengthened groan, looking first upwards towards Heaven, and then bending - her eyes on the floor—"O that the earth would take her part, that's been - lang lang wearying to be joined to it!" -</p> -<p> - Lord Glenallan had reached the door of the cottage, but the generosity of - his nature did not permit him to leave the unhappy woman in this state of - desperate reprobation. "May God forgive thee, wretched woman," he said, - "as sincerely as I do!—Turn for mercy to Him who can alone grant mercy, - and may your prayers be heard as if they were mine own!—I will send a - religious man." -</p> -<p> - "Na, na—nae priest! nae priest!" she ejaculated; and the door of the - cottage opening as she spoke, prevented her from proceeding. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0013"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. -</h2> -<pre> - Still in his dead hand clenched remain the strings - That thrill his father's heart—e'en as the limb, - Lopped off and laid in grave, retains, they tell us, - Strange commerce with the mutilated stump, - Whose nerves are twinging still in maimed existence. - Old Play. -</pre> -<p> - The Antiquary, as we informed the reader in the end of the thirty-first - CHAPTER, [tenth] had shaken off the company of worthy Mr. Blattergowl, - although he offered to entertain him with an abstract of the ablest - speech he had ever known in the teind court, delivered by the procurator - for the church in the remarkable case of the parish of Gatherem. - Resisting this temptation, our senior preferred a solitary path, which - again conducted him to the cottage of Mucklebackit. When he came in front - of the fisherman's hut, he observed a man working intently, as if to - repair a shattered boat which lay upon the beach, and going up to him was - surprised to find it was Mucklebackit himself. "I am glad," he said in a - tone of sympathy—"I am glad, Saunders, that you feel yourself able to - make this exertion." -</p> -<p> - "And what would ye have me to do," answered the fisher gruffly, "unless I - wanted to see four children starve, because ane is drowned? It's weel wi' - you gentles, that can sit in the house wi' handkerchers at your een when - ye lose a friend; but the like o' us maun to our wark again, if our - hearts were beating as hard as my hammer." -</p> -<p> - Without taking more notice of Oldbuck, he proceeded in his labour; and - the Antiquary, to whom the display of human nature under the influence of - agitating passions was never indifferent, stood beside him, in silent - attention, as if watching the progress of the work. He observed more than - once the man's hard features, as if by the force of association, prepare - to accompany the sound of the saw and hammer with his usual symphony of a - rude tune, hummed or whistled,—and as often a slight twitch of - convulsive expression showed, that ere the sound was uttered, a cause for - suppressing it rushed upon his mind. At length, when he had patched a - considerable rent, and was beginning to mend another, his feelings - appeared altogether to derange the power of attention necessary for his - work. The piece of wood which he was about to nail on was at first too - long; then he sawed it off too short, then chose another equally ill - adapted for the purpose. At length, throwing it down in anger, after - wiping his dim eye with his quivering hand, he exclaimed, "There is a - curse either on me or on this auld black bitch of a boat, that I have - hauled up high and dry, and patched and clouted sae mony years, that she - might drown my poor Steenie at the end of them, an' be d—d to her!" and - he flung his hammer against the boat, as if she had been the intentional - cause of his misfortune. Then recollecting himself, he added, "Yet what - needs ane be angry at her, that has neither soul nor sense?—though I am - no that muckle better mysell. She's but a rickle o' auld rotten deals - nailed thegither, and warped wi' the wind and the sea—and I am a dour - carle, battered by foul weather at sea and land till I am maist as - senseless as hersell. She maun be mended though again the morning tide—that's - a thing o' necessity." -</p> -<p> - Thus speaking, he went to gather together his instruments, and attempt to - resume his labour,—but Oldbuck took him kindly by the arm. "Come, come," - he said, "Saunders, there is no work for you this day—I'll send down - Shavings the carpenter to mend the boat, and he may put the day's work - into my account—and you had better not come out to-morrow, but stay to - comfort your family under this dispensation, and the gardener will bring - you some vegetables and meal from Monkbarns." -</p> -<p> - "I thank ye, Monkbarns," answered the poor fisher; "I am a plain-spoken - man, and hae little to say for mysell; I might hae learned fairer - fashions frae my mither lang syne, but I never saw muckle gude they did - her; however, I thank ye. Ye were aye kind and neighbourly, whatever folk - says o' your being near and close; and I hae often said, in thae times - when they were ganging to raise up the puir folk against the gentles—I - hae often said, neer a man should steer a hair touching to Monkbarns - while Steenie and I could wag a finger—and so said Steenie too. And, - Monkbarns, when ye laid his head in the grave (and mony thanks for the - respect), ye, saw the mouls laid on an honest lad that likit you weel, - though he made little phrase about it." -</p> -<p> - Oldbuck, beaten from the pride of his affected cynicism, would not - willingly have had any one by on that occasion to quote to him his - favourite maxims of the Stoic philosophy. The large drops fell fast from - his own eyes, as he begged the father, who was now melted at recollecting - the bravery and generous sentiments of his son, to forbear useless - sorrow, and led him by the arm towards his own home, where another scene - awaited our Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - As he entered, the first person whom he beheld was Lord Glenallan. Mutual - surprise was in their countenances as they saluted each other—with - haughty reserve on the part of Mr. Oldbuck, and embarrassment on that of - the Earl. -</p> -<p> - "My Lord Glenallan, I think?" said Mr. Oldbuck. -</p> -<p> - "Yes—much changed from what he was when he knew Mr. Oldbuck." -</p> -<p> - "I do not mean," said the Antiquary, "to intrude upon your lordship—I - only came to see this distressed family." -</p> -<p> - "And you have found one, sir, who has still greater claims on your - compassion." -</p> -<p> - "My compassion? Lord Glenallan cannot need my compassion. If Lord - Glenallan could need it, I think he would hardly ask it." -</p> -<p> - "Our former acquaintance," said the Earl— -</p> -<p> - "Is of such ancient date, my lord—was of such short duration, and was - connected with circumstances so exquisitely painful, that I think we may - dispense with renewing it." -</p> -<p> - So saying, the Antiquary turned away, and left the hut; but Lord - Glenallan followed him into the open air, and, in spite of a hasty "Good - morning, my lord," requested a few minutes' conversation, and the favour - of his advice in an important matter. -</p> -<p> - "Your lordship will find many more capable to advise you, my lord, and by - whom your intercourse will be deemed an honour. For me, I am a man - retired from business and the world, and not very fond of raking up the - past events of my useless life;—and forgive me if I say, I have - particular pain in reverting to that period of it when I acted like a - fool, and your lordship like"—He stopped short. -</p> -<p> - "Like a villain, you would say," said Lord Glenallan—"for such I must - have appeared to you." -</p> -<p> - "My lord—my lord, I have no desire to hear your shrift," said the - Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - "But, sir, if I can show you that I am more sinned against than sinning— - that I have been a man miserable beyond the power of description, and who - looks forward at this moment to an untimely grave as to a haven of rest, - you will not refuse the confidence which, accepting your appearance at - this critical moment as a hint from Heaven, I venture thus to press on - you." -</p> -<p> - "Assuredly, my lord, I shall shun no longer the continuation of this - extraordinary interview." -</p> -<p> - "I must then recall to you our occasional meetings upwards of twenty - years since at Knockwinnock Castle,—and I need not remind you of a lady - who was then a member of that family." -</p> -<p> - "The unfortunate Miss Eveline Neville, my lord; I remember it well." -</p> -<p> - "Towards whom you entertained sentiments"— -</p> -<p> - "Very different from those with which I before and since have regarded - her sex. Her gentleness, her docility, her pleasure in the studies which - I pointed out to her, attached my affections more than became my age - though that was not then much advanced—or the solidity of my character. - But I need not remind your lordship of the various modes in which you - indulged your gaiety at the expense of an awkward and retired student, - embarrassed by the expression of feelings so new to him, and I have no - doubt that the young lady joined you in the well-deserved ridicule—it is - the way of womankind. I have spoken at once to the painful circumstances - of my addresses and their rejection, that your lordship may be satisfied - everything is full in my memory, and may, so far as I am concerned, tell - your story without scruple or needless delicacy." -</p> -<p> - "I will," said Lord Glenallan. "But first let me say, you do injustice to - the memory of the gentlest and kindest, as well as to the most unhappy of - women, to suppose she could make a jest of the honest affection of a man - like you. Frequently did she blame me, Mr. Oldbuck, for indulging my - levity at your expense—may I now presume you will excuse the gay - freedoms which then offended you?—my state of mind has never since laid - me under the necessity of apologizing for the inadvertencies of a light - and happy temper." -</p> -<p> - "My lord, you are fully pardoned," said Mr. Oldbuck. "You should be - aware, that, like all others, I was ignorant at the time that I placed - myself in competition with your lordship, and understood that Miss - Neville was in a state of dependence which might make her prefer a - competent independence and the hand of an honest man—But I am wasting - time—I would I could believe that the views entertained towards her by - others were as fair and honest as mine!" -</p> -<p> - "Mr. Oldbuck, you judge harshly." -</p> -<p> - "Not without cause, my lord. When I only, of all the magistrates of this - county—having neither, like some of them, the honour to be connected - with your powerful family—nor, like others, the meanness to fear it,— - when I made some inquiry into the manner of Miss Neville's death—I shake - you, my lord, but I must be plain—I do own I had every reason to believe - that she had met most unfair dealing, and had either been imposed upon by - a counterfeit marriage, or that very strong measures had been adopted to - stifle and destroy the evidence of a real union. And I cannot doubt in my - own mind, that this cruelty on your lordship's part, whether coming of - your own free will, or proceeding from the influence of the late - Countess, hurried the unfortunate young lady to the desperate act by - which her life was terminated." -</p> -<p> - "You are deceived, Mr. Oldbuck, into conclusions which are not just, - however naturally they flow from the circumstances. Believe me, I - respected you even when I was most embarrassed by your active attempts to - investigate our family misfortunes. You showed yourself more worthy of - Miss Neville than I, by the spirit with which you persisted in - vindicating her reputation even after her death. But the firm belief that - your well-meant efforts could only serve to bring to light a story too - horrible to be detailed, induced me to join my unhappy mother in schemes - to remove or destroy all evidence of the legal union which had taken - place between Eveline and myself. And now let us sit down on this bank,—for - I feel unable to remain longer standing,—and have the goodness to - listen to the extraordinary discovery which I have this day made." -</p> -<p> - They sate down accordingly; and Lord Glenallan briefly narrated his - unhappy family history—his concealed marriage—the horrible invention by - which his mother had designed to render impossible that union which had - already taken place. He detailed the arts by which the Countess, having - all the documents relative to Miss Neville's birth in her hands, had - produced those only relating to a period during which, for family - reasons, his father had consented to own that young lady as his natural - daughter, and showed how impossible it was that he could either suspect - or detect the fraud put upon him by his mother, and vouched by the oaths - of her attendants, Teresa and Elspeth. "I left my paternal mansion," he - concluded, "as if the furies of hell had driven me forth, and travelled - with frantic velocity I knew not whither. Nor have I the slightest - recollection of what I did or whither I went, until I was discovered by - my brother. I will not trouble you with an account of my sick-bed and - recovery, or how, long afterwards, I ventured to inquire after the sharer - of my misfortunes, and heard that her despair had found a dreadful remedy - for all the ills of life. The first thing that roused me to thought was - hearing of your inquiries into this cruel business; and you will hardly - wonder, that, believing what I did believe, I should join in those - expedients to stop your investigation, which my brother and mother had - actively commenced. The information which I gave them concerning the - circumstances and witnesses of our private marriage enabled them to - baffle your zeal. The clergyman, therefore, and witnesses, as persons who - had acted in the matter only to please the powerful heir of Glenallan, - were accessible to his promises and threats, and were so provided for, - that they had no objections to leave this country for another. For - myself, Mr. Oldbuck," pursued this unhappy man, "from that moment I - considered myself as blotted out of the book of the living, and as having - nothing left to do with this world. My mother tried to reconcile me to - life by every art—even by intimations which I can now interpret as - calculated to produce a doubt of the horrible tale she herself had - fabricated. But I construed all she said as the fictions of maternal - affection. I will forbear all reproach. She is no more—and, as her - wretched associate said, she knew not how the dart was poisoned, or how - deep it must sink, when she threw it from her hand. But, Mr. Oldbuck, if - ever, during these twenty years, there crawled upon earth a living being - deserving of your pity, I have been that man. My food has not nourished - me—my sleep has not refreshed me—my devotions have not comforted me—all - that is cheering and necessary to man has been to me converted into - poison. The rare and limited intercourse which I have held with others - has been most odious to me. I felt as if I were bringing the - contamination of unnatural and inexpressible guilt among the gay and the - innocent. There have been moments when I had thoughts of another - description—to plunge into the adventures of war, or to brave the - dangers of the traveller in foreign and barbarous climates—to mingle in - political intrigue, or to retire to the stern seclusion of the anchorites - of our religion;—all these are thoughts which have alternately passed - through my mind, but each required an energy, which was mine no longer, - after the withering stroke I had received. I vegetated on as I could in - the same spot—fancy, feeling, judgment, and health, gradually decaying, - like a tree whose bark has been destroyed,—when first the blossoms fade, - then the boughs, until its state resembles the decayed and dying trunk - that is now before you. Do you now pity and forgive me?" -</p> -<p> - "My lord," answered the Antiquary, much affected, "my pity—my - forgiveness, you have not to ask, for your dismal story is of itself not - only an ample excuse for whatever appeared mysterious in your conduct, - but a narrative that might move your worst enemies (and I, my lord, was - never of the number) to tears and to sympathy. But permit me to ask what - you now mean to do, and why you have honoured me, whose opinion can be of - little consequence, with your confidence on this occasion?" -</p> -<p> - "Mr. Oldbuck," answered the Earl, "as I could never have foreseen the - nature of that confession which I have heard this day, I need not say - that I had no formed plan of consulting you, or any one, upon affairs the - tendency of which I could not even have suspected. But I am without - friends, unused to business, and, by long retirement, unacquainted alike - with the laws of the land and the habits of the living generation; and - when, most unexpectedly, I find myself immersed in the matters of which I - know least, I catch, like a drowning man, at the first support that - offers. You are that support, Mr. Oldbuck. I have always heard you - mentioned as a man of wisdom and intelligence—I have known you myself as - a man of a resolute and independent spirit;—and there is one - circumstance," said he, "which ought to combine us in some degree—our - having paid tribute to the same excellence of character in poor Eveline. - You offered yourself to me in my need, and you were already acquainted - with the beginning of my misfortunes. To you, therefore, I have recourse - for advice, for sympathy, for support." -</p> -<p> - "You shall seek none of them in vain, my lord," said Oldbuck, "so far as - my slender ability extends;—and I am honoured by the preference, whether - it arises from choice, or is prompted by chance. But this is a matter to - be ripely considered. May I ask what are your principal views at - present?" -</p> -<p> - "To ascertain the fate of my child," said the Earl, "be the consequences - what they may, and to do justice to the honour of Eveline, which I have - only permitted to be suspected to avoid discovery of the yet more - horrible taint to which I was made to believe it liable." -</p> -<p> - "And the memory of your mother?" -</p> -<p> - "Must bear its own burden," answered the Earl with a sigh: "better that - she were justly convicted of deceit, should that be found necessary, than - that others should be unjustly accused of crimes so much more dreadful." -</p> -<p> - "Then, my lord," said Oldbuck, "our first business must be to put the - information of the old woman, Elspeth, into a regular and authenticated - form." -</p> -<p> - "That," said Lord Glenallan, "will be at present, I fear, impossible. She - is exhausted herself, and surrounded by her distressed family. To-morrow, - perhaps, when she is alone—and yet I doubt, from her imperfect sense of - right and wrong, whether she would speak out in any one's presence but my - own. I am too sorely fatigued." -</p> -<p> - "Then, my lord," said the Antiquary, whom the interest of the moment - elevated above points of expense and convenience, which had generally - more than enough of weight with him, "I would propose to your lordship, - instead of returning, fatigued as you are, so far as to Glenallan House, - or taking the more uncomfortable alternative of going to a bad inn at - Fairport, to alarm all the busybodies of the town—I would propose, I - say, that you should be my guest at Monkbarns for this night. By - to-morrow these poor people will have renewed their out-of-doors - vocation—for sorrow with them affords no respite from labour,—and we - will visit the old woman Elspeth alone, and take down her examination." -</p> -<p> - After a formal apology for the encroachment, Lord Glenallan agreed to go - with him, and underwent with patience in their return home the whole - history of John of the Girnel, a legend which Mr. Oldbuck was never known - to spare any one who crossed his threshold. -</p> -<p> - The arrival of a stranger of such note, with two saddle-horses and a - servant in black, which servant had holsters on his saddle-bow, and a - coronet upon the holsters, created a general commotion in the house of - Monkbarns. Jenny Rintherout, scarce recovered from the hysterics which - she had taken on hearing of poor Steenie's misfortune, chased about the - turkeys and poultry, cackled and screamed louder than they did, and ended - by killing one-half too many. Miss Griselda made many wise reflections on - the hot-headed wilfulness of her brother, who had occasioned such - devastation, by suddenly bringing in upon them a papist nobleman. And she - ventured to transmit to Mr. Blattergowl some hint of the unusual - slaughter which had taken place in the <i>basse-cour,</i> which brought the - honest clergyman to inquire how his friend Monkbarns had got home, and - whether he was not the worse of being at the funeral, at a period so near - the ringing of the bell for dinner, that the Antiquary had no choice left - but to invite him to stay and bless the meat. Miss M'Intyre had on her - part some curiosity to see this mighty peer, of whom all had heard, as an - eastern caliph or sultan is heard of by his subjects, and felt some - degree of timidity at the idea of encountering a person, of whose - unsocial habits and stern manners so many stories were told, that her - fear kept at least pace with her curiosity. The aged housekeeper was no - less flustered and hurried in obeying the numerous and contradictory - commands of her mistress, concerning preserves, pastry and fruit, the - mode of marshalling and dishing the dinner, the necessity of not - permitting the melted butter to run to oil, and the danger of allowing - Juno—who, though formally banished from the parlour, failed not to - maraud about the out-settlements of the family—to enter the kitchen. -</p> -<p> - The only inmate of Monkbarns who remained entirely indifferent on this - momentous occasion was Hector M'Intyre, who cared no more for an Earl - than he did for a commoner, and who was only interested in the unexpected - visit, as it might afford some protection against his uncle's - displeasure, if he harboured any, for his not attending the funeral, and - still more against his satire upon the subject of his gallant but - unsuccessful single combat with the <i>phoca,</i> or seal. -</p> -<p> - To these, the inmates of his household, Oldbuck presented the Earl of - Glenallan, who underwent, with meek and subdued civility, the prosing - speeches of the honest divine, and the lengthened apologies of Miss - Griselda Oldbuck, which her brother in vain endeavoured to abridge. - Before the dinner hour, Lord Glenallan requested permission to retire a - while to his chamber. Mr. Oldbuck accompanied his guest to the Green - Room, which had been hastily prepared for his reception. He looked around - with an air of painful recollection. -</p> -<p> - "I think," at length he observed, "I think, Mr. Oldbuck, that I have been - in this apartment before." -</p> -<p> - "Yes, my lord," answered Oldbuck, "upon occasion of an excursion hither - from Knockwinnock—and since we are upon a subject so melancholy, you may - perhaps remember whose taste supplied these lines from Chaucer, which now - form the motto of the tapestry." -</p> -<p> - "I guess", said the Earl, "though I cannot recollect. She excelled me, - indeed, in literary taste and information, as in everything else; and it - is one of the mysterious dispensations of Providence, Mr. Oldbuck, that a - creature so excellent in mind and body should have been cut off in so - miserable a manner, merely from her having formed a fatal attachment to - such a wretch as I am." -</p> -<p> - Mr. Oldbuck did not attempt an answer to this burst of the grief which - lay ever nearest to the heart of his guest, but, pressing Lord - Glenallan's hand with one of his own, and drawing the other across his - shaggy eyelashes, as if to brush away a mist that intercepted his sight, - he left the Earl at liberty to arrange himself previous to dinner. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0014"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER FOURTEENTH -</h2> -<pre> - —Life, with you, - Glows in the brain and dances in the arteries; - 'Tis like the wine some joyous guest hath quaffed, - That glads the heart and elevates the fancy: - Mine is the poor residuum of the cup, - Vapid, and dull, and tasteless, only soiling, - With its base dregs, the vessel that contains it. - Old Play. -</pre> -<p> - "Now, only think what a man my brother is, Mr. Blattergowl, for a wise - man and a learned man, to bring this Yerl into our house without speaking - a word to a body! And there's the distress of thae Mucklebackits—we - canna get a fin o' fish—and we hae nae time to send ower to Fairport for - beef, and the mutton's but new killed—and that silly fliskmahoy, Jenny - Rintherout, has taen the exies, and done naething but laugh and greet, - the skirl at the tail o' the guffaw, for twa days successfully—and now - we maun ask that strange man, that's as grand and as grave as the Yerl - himsell, to stand at the sideboard! and I canna gang into the kitchen to - direct onything, for he's hovering there, making some pousowdie* for my - Lord, for he doesna eat like ither folk neither—And how to sort the - strange servant man at dinner time—I am sure, Mr. Blattergowl, - a'thegither, it passes my judgment." -</p> -<p> - * <i>Pousowdie,</i>—Miscellaneous mess. -</p> -<p> - "Truly, Miss Griselda," replied the divine, "Monkbarns was inconsiderate. - He should have taen a day to see the invitation, as they do wi' the - titular's condescendence in the process of valuation and sale. But the - great man could not have come on a sudden to ony house in this parish - where he could have been better served with <i>vivers</i>—that I must say—and - also that the steam from the kitchen is very gratifying to my - nostrils;—and if ye have ony household affairs to attend to, Mrs. - Griselda, never make a stranger of me—I can amuse mysell very weel with - the larger copy of Erskine's Institutes." -</p> -<p> - And taking down from the window-seat that amusing folio, (the Scottish - Coke upon Littleton), he opened it, as if instinctively, at the tenth - title of Book Second, "of Teinds or Tythes," and was presently deeply - wrapped up in an abstruse discussion concerning the temporality of - benefices. -</p> -<p> - The entertainment, about which Miss Oldbuck expressed so much anxiety, - was at length placed upon the table; and the Earl of Glenallan, for the - first time since the date of his calamity, sat at a stranger's board, - surrounded by strangers. He seemed to himself like a man in a dream, or - one whose brain was not fully recovered from the effects of an - intoxicating potion. Relieved, as he had that morning been, from the - image of guilt which had so long haunted his imagination, he felt his - sorrows as a lighter and more tolerable load, but was still unable to - take any share in the conversation that passed around him. It was, - indeed, of a cast very different from that which he had been accustomed - to. The bluntness of Oldbuck, the tiresome apologetic harangues of his - sister, the pedantry of the divine, and the vivacity of the young - soldier, which savoured much more of the camp than of the court, were all - new to a nobleman who had lived in a retired and melancholy state for so - many years, that the manners of the world seemed to him equally strange - and unpleasing. Miss M'Intyre alone, from the natural politeness and - unpretending simplicity of her manners, appeared to belong to that class - of society to which he had been accustomed in his earlier and better - days. -</p> -<p> - Nor did Lord Glenallan's deportment less surprise the company. Though a - plain but excellent family-dinner was provided (for, as Mr. Blattergowl - had justly said, it was impossible to surprise Miss Griselda when her - larder was empty), and though the Antiquary boasted his best port, and - assimilated it to the Falernian of Horace, Lord Glenallan was proof to - the allurements of both. His servant placed before him a small mess of - vegetables, that very dish, the cooking of which had alarmed Miss - Griselda, arranged with the most minute and scrupulous neatness. He ate - sparingly of these provisions; and a glass of pure water, sparkling from - the fountain-head, completed his repast. Such, his servant said, had been - his lordship's diet for very many years, unless upon the high festivals - of the Church, or when company of the first rank were entertained at - Glenallan House, when he relaxed a little in the austerity of his diet, - and permitted himself a glass or two of wine. But at Monkbarns, no - anchoret could have made a more simple and scanty meal. -</p> -<p> - The Antiquary was a gentleman, as we have seen, in feeling, but blunt and - careless in expression, from the habit of living with those before whom - he had nothing to suppress. He attacked his noble guest without scruple - on the severity of his regimen. -</p> -<p> - "A few half-cold greens and potatoes—a glass of ice-cold water to wash - them down—antiquity gives no warrant for it, my lord. This house used to - be accounted a <i>hospitium,</i> a place of retreat for Christians; but your - lordship's diet is that of a heathen Pythagorean, or Indian Bramin—nay, - more severe than either, if you refuse these fine apples." -</p> -<p> - "I am a Catholic, you are aware," said Lord Glenallan, wishing to escape - from the discussion, "and you know that our church"—— -</p> -<p> - "Lays down many rules of mortification," proceeded the dauntless - Antiquary; "but I never heard that they were quite so rigorously - practised—Bear witness my predecessor, John of the Girnel, or the jolly - Abbot, who gave his name to this apple, my lord." -</p> -<p> - And as he pared the fruit, in spite of his sister's "O fie, Monkbarns!" - and the prolonged cough of the minister, accompanied by a shake of his - huge wig, the Antiquary proceeded to detail the intrigue which had given - rise to the fame of the abbot's apple with more slyness and - circumstantiality than was at all necessary. His jest (as may readily be - conceived) missed fire, for this anecdote of conventual gallantry failed - to produce the slightest smile on the visage of the Earl. Oldbuck then - took up the subject of Ossian, Macpherson, and Mac-Cribb; but Lord - Glenallan had never so much as heard of any of the three, so little - conversant had he been with modern literature. The conversation was now - in some danger of flagging, or of falling into the hands of Mr. - Blattergowl, who had just pronounced the formidable word, "teind-free," - when the subject of the French Revolution was started—a political event - on which Lord Glenallan looked with all the prejudiced horror of a - bigoted Catholic and zealous aristocrat. Oldbuck was far from carrying - his detestation of its principles to such a length. -</p> -<p> - "There were many men in the first Constituent Assembly," he said, "who - held sound Whiggish doctrines, and were for settling the Constitution - with a proper provision for the liberties of the people. And if a set of - furious madmen were now in possession of the government, it was," he - continued, "what often happened in great revolutions, where extreme - measures are adopted in the fury of the moment, and the State resembles - an agitated pendulum which swings from side to side for some time ere it - can acquire its due and perpendicular station. Or it might be likened to - a storm or hurricane, which, passing over a region, does great damage in - its passage, yet sweeps away stagnant and unwholesome vapours, and - repays, in future health and fertility, its immediate desolation and - ravage." -</p> -<p> - The Earl shook his head; but having neither spirit nor inclination for - debate, he suffered the argument to pass uncontested. -</p> -<p> - This discussion served to introduce the young soldier's experiences; and - he spoke of the actions in which he, had been engaged, with modesty, and - at the same time with an air of spirit and zeal which delighted the Earl, - who had been bred up, like others of his house, in the opinion that the - trade of arms was the first duty of man, and believed that to employ them - against the French was a sort of holy warfare. -</p> -<p> - "What would I give," said he apart to Oldbuck, as they rose to join the - ladies in the drawing-room, "what would I give to have a son of such - spirit as that young gentleman!—He wants something of address and - manner, something of polish, which mixing in good society would soon give - him; but with what zeal and animation he expresses himself—how fond of - his profession—how loud in the praise of others—how modest when - speaking of himself!" -</p> -<p> - "Hector is much obliged to you, my lord," replied his uncle, gratified, - yet not so much so as to suppress his consciousness of his own mental - superiority over the young soldier; "I believe in my heart nobody ever - spoke half so much good of him before, except perhaps the sergeant of his - company, when was wheedling a Highland recruit to enlist with him. He is - a good lad notwithstanding, although he be not quite the hero your - lordship supposes him, and although my commendations rather attest the - kindness than the vivacity of his character. In fact, his high spirit is - a sort of constitutional vehemence, which attends him in everything he - sets about, and is often very inconvenient to his friends. I saw him - to-day engage in an animated contest with a <i>phoca,</i> or seal (<i>sealgh,</i> - our people more properly call them, retaining the Gothic guttural <i>gh</i>), - with as much vehemence as if he had fought against Dumourier—Marry, my - lord, the <i>phoca</i> had the better, as the said Dumourier had of some other - folks. And he'll talk with equal if not superior rapture of the good - behaviour of a pointer bitch, as of the plan of a campaign." -</p> -<p> - "He shall have full permission to sport over my grounds," said the Earl, - "if he is so fond of that exercise." -</p> -<p> - "You will bind him to you, my lord," said Monkbarns, "body and soul: give - him leave to crack off his birding-piece at a poor covey of partridges or - moor-fowl, and he's yours for ever—I will enchant him by the - intelligence. But O, my lord, that you could have seen my phoenix - Lovel!—the very prince and chieftain of the youth of this age; and not - destitute of spirit neither—I promise you he gave my termagant kinsman a - <i>quid pro quo</i>—a Rowland for his Oliver, as the vulgar say, alluding to - the two celebrated Paladins of Charlemagne." -</p> -<p> - After coffee, Lord Glenallan requested a private interview with the - Antiquary, and was ushered to his library. -</p> -<p> - "I must withdraw you from your own amiable family," he said, "to involve - you in the perplexities of an unhappy man. You are acquainted with the - world, from which I have long been banished; for Glenallan House has been - to me rather a prison than a dwelling, although a prison which I had - neither fortitude nor spirit to break from." -</p> -<p> - "Let me first ask your lordship," said the Antiquary, "what are your own - wishes and designs in this matter?" -</p> -<p> - "I wish most especially," answered Lord Glenallan, "to declare my - luckless marriage, and to vindicate the reputation of the unhappy - Eveline—that is, if you see a possibility of doing so without making - public the conduct of my mother." -</p> -<p> - "<i>Suum cuique tribuito,</i>" said the Antiquary; "do right to everyone. The - memory of that unhappy young lady has too long suffered, and I think it - might be cleared without further impeaching that of your mother, than by - letting it be understood in general that she greatly disapproved and - bitterly opposed the match. All—forgive me, my lord—all who ever heard - of the late Countess of Glenallan, will learn that without much - surprise." -</p> -<p> - "But you forget one horrible circumstance, Mr. Oldbuck," said the Earl, - in an agitated voice. -</p> -<p> - "I am not aware of it," replied the Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - "The fate of the infant—its disappearance with the confidential - attendant of my mother, and the dreadful surmises which may be drawn from - my conversation with Elspeth." -</p> -<p> - "If you would have my free opinion, my lord," answered Mr. Oldbuck, "and - will not catch too rapidly at it as matter of hope, I would say that it - is very possible the child yet lives. For thus much I ascertained, by my - former inquiries concerning the event of that deplorable evening, that a - child and woman were carried that night from the cottage at the - Craigburnfoot in a carriage and four by your brother Edward Geraldin - Neville, whose journey towards England with these companions I traced for - several stages. I believed then it was a part of the family compact to - carry a child whom you meant to stigmatize with illegitimacy, out of that - country where chance might have raised protectors and proofs of its - rights. But I now think that your brother, having reason, like yourself, - to believe the child stained with shame yet more indelible, had - nevertheless withdrawn it, partly from regard to the honour of his house, - partly from the risk to which it might have been exposed in the - neighbourhood of the Lady Glenallan." -</p> -<p> - As he spoke, the Earl of Glenallan grew extremely pale, and had nearly - fallen from his chair.—The alarmed Antiquary ran hither and thither - looking for remedies; but his museum, though sufficiently well filled - with a vast variety of useless matters, contained nothing that could be - serviceable on the present or any other occasion. As he posted out of the - room to borrow his sister's salts, he could not help giving a - constitutional growl of chagrin and wonder at the various incidents which - had converted his mansion, first into an hospital for a wounded duellist, - and now into the sick chamber of a dying nobleman. "And yet," said he, "I - have always kept aloof from the soldiery and the peerage. My - <i>coenobitium</i> has only next to be made a lying-in hospital, and then, I - trow, the transformation will be complete." -</p> -<p> - When he returned with the remedy, Lord Glenallan was much better. The new - and unexpected light which Mr. Oldbuck had thrown upon the melancholy - history of his family had almost overpowered him. "You think, then, Mr. - Oldbuck—for you are capable of thinking, which I am not—you think, - then, that it is possible—that is, not impossible—my child may yet - live?" -</p> -<p> - "I think," said the Antiquary, "it is impossible that it could come to - any violent harm through your brother's means. He was known to be a gay - and dissipated man, but not cruel nor dishonourable; nor is it possible, - that, if he had intended any foul play, he would have placed himself so - forward in the charge of the infant, as I will prove to your lordship he - did." -</p> -<p> - So saying, Mr. Oldbuck opened a drawer of the cabinet of his ancestor - Aldobrand, and produced a bundle of papers tied with a black ribband, and - labelled,—Examinations, etc., taken by Jonathan Oldbuck, J. P., upon the - 18th of February, 17—; a little under was written, in a small hand, - <i>Eheu Evelina</i>! The tears dropped fast from the Earl's eyes, as he - endeavoured, in vain, to unfasten the knot which secured these documents. -</p> -<p> - "Your lordship," said Mr. Oldbuck, "had better not read these at present. - Agitated as you are, and having much business before you, you must not - exhaust your strength. Your brother's succession is now, I presume, your - own, and it will be easy for you to make inquiry among his servants and - retainers, so as to hear where the child is, if, fortunately, it shall be - still alive." -</p> -<p> - "I dare hardly hope it," said the Earl, with a deep sigh. "Why should my - brother have been silent to me?" -</p> -<p> - "Nay, my lord, why should he have communicated to your lordship the - existence of a being whom you must have supposed the offspring of"— -</p> -<p> - "Most true—there is an obvious and a kind reason for his being silent. - If anything, indeed, could have added to the horror of the ghastly dream - that has poisoned my whole existence, it must have been the knowledge - that such a child of misery existed." -</p> -<p> - "Then," continued the Antiquary, "although it would be rash to conclude, - at the distance of more than twenty years, that your son must needs be - still alive because he was not destroyed in infancy, I own I think you - should instantly set on foot inquiries." -</p> -<p> - "It shall be done," replied Lord Glenallan, catching eagerly at the hope - held out to him, the first he had nourished for many years;—"I will - write to a faithful steward of my father, who acted in the same capacity - under my brother Neville—But, Mr. Oldbuck, I am not my brother's heir." -</p> -<p> - "Indeed!—I am sorry for that, my lord—it is a noble estate, and the - ruins of the old castle of Neville's-Burgh alone, which are the most - superb relics of Anglo-Norman architecture in that part of the country, - are a possession much to be coveted. I thought your father had no other - son or near relative." -</p> -<p> - "He had not, Mr. Oldbuck," replied Lord Glenallan; "but my brother - adopted views in politics, and a form of religion, alien from those which - had been always held by our house. Our tempers had long differed, nor did - my unhappy mother always think him sufficiently observant to her. In - short, there was a family quarrel, and my brother, whose property was at - his own free disposal, availed himself of the power vested in him to - choose a stranger for his heir. It is a matter which never struck me as - being of the least consequence—for if worldly possessions could - alleviate misery, I have enough and to spare. But now I shall regret it, - if it throws any difficulty in the way of our inquiries—and I bethink me - that it may; for in case of my having a lawful son of my body, and my - brother dying without issue, my father's possessions stood entailed upon - my son. It is not therefore likely that this heir, be he who he may, will - afford us assistance in making a discovery which may turn out so much to - his own prejudice." -</p> -<p> - "And in all probability the steward your lordship mentions is also in his - service," said the Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - "It is most likely; and the man being a Protestant—how far it is safe to - entrust him"— -</p> -<p> - "I should hope, my lord," said Oldbuck gravely, "that a Protestant may be - as trustworthy as a Catholic. I am doubly interested in the Protestant - faith, my lord. My ancestor, Aldobrand Oldenbuck, printed the celebrated - Confession of Augsburg, as I can show by the original edition now in this - house." -</p> -<p> - "I have not the least doubt of what you say, Mr. Oldbuck," replied the - Earl, "nor do I speak out of bigotry or intolerance; but probably the - Protestant steward will favour the Protestant heir rather than the - Catholic—if, indeed, my son has been bred in his father's faith—or, - alas! if indeed he yet lives." -</p> -<p> - "We must look close into this," said Oldbuck, "before committing - ourselves. I have a literary friend at York, with whom I have long - corresponded on the subject of the Saxon horn that is preserved in the - Minster there; we interchanged letters for six years, and have only as - yet been able to settle the first line of the inscription. I will write - forthwith to this gentleman, Dr. Dryasdust, and be particular in my - inquiries concerning the character, etc., of your brother's heir, of the - gentleman employed in his affairs, and what else may be likely to further - your lordship's inquiries. In the meantime your lordship will collect the - evidence of the marriage, which I hope can still be recovered?" -</p> -<p> - "Unquestionably," replied the Earl: "the witnesses, who were formerly - withdrawn from your research, are still living. My tutor, who solemnized - the marriage, was provided for by a living in France, and has lately - returned to this country as an emigrant, a victim of his zeal for - loyalty, legitimacy, and religion." -</p> -<p> - "That's one lucky consequence of the French, revolution, my lord—you - must allow that, at least," said Oldbuck: "but no offence; I will act as - warmly in your affairs as if I were of your own faith in politics and - religion. And take my advice—If you want an affair of consequence - properly managed, put it into the hands of an antiquary; for as they are - eternally exercising their genius and research upon trifles, it is - impossible they can be baffled in affairs of importance;—use makes - perfect—and the corps that is most frequently drilled upon the parade, - will be most prompt in its exercise upon the day of battle. And, talking - upon that subject, I would willingly read to your lordship, in order to - pass away the time betwixt and supper"— -</p> -<p> - "I beg I may not interfere with family arrangements," said Lord - Glenallan, "but I never taste anything after sunset." -</p> -<p> - "Nor I either, my lord," answered his host, "notwithstanding it is said - to have been the custom of the ancients. But then I dine differently from - your lordship, and therefore am better enabled to dispense with those - elaborate entertainments which my womankind (that is, my sister and - niece, my lord) are apt to place on the table, for the display rather of - their own house-wifery than the accommodation of our wants. However, a - broiled bone, or a smoked haddock, or an oyster, or a slice of bacon of - our own curing, with a toast and a tankard—or something or other of that - sort, to close the orifice of the stomach before going to bed, does not - fall under my restriction, nor, I hope, under your lordship's." -</p> -<p> - "My no-supper is literal, Mr. Oldbuck; but I will attend you at your meal - with pleasure." -</p> -<p> - "Well, my lord," replied the Antiquary, "I will endeavour to entertain - your ears at least, since I cannot banquet your palate. What I am about - to read to your lordship relates to the upland glens." -</p> -<p> - Lord Glenallan, though he would rather have recurred to the subject of - his own uncertainties, was compelled to make a sign of rueful civility - and acquiescence. -</p> -<p> - The Antiquary, therefore, took out his portfolio of loose sheets, and - after premising that the topographical details here laid down were - designed to illustrate a slight essay upon castrametation, which had been - read with indulgence at several societies of Antiquaries, he commenced as - follows: "The subject, my lord, is the hill-fort of Quickens-bog, with - the site of which your lordship is doubtless familiar—it is upon your - store-farm of Mantanner, in the barony of Clochnaben." -</p> -<p> - "I think I have heard the names of these places," said the Earl, in - answer to the Antiquary's appeal. -</p> -<p> - "Heard the name? and the farm brings him six hundred a-year—O Lord!" -</p> -<p> - Such was the scarce-subdued ejaculation of the Antiquary. But his - hospitality got the better of his surprise, and he proceeded to read his - essay with an audible voice, in great glee at having secured a patient, - and, as he fondly hoped, an interested hearer. -</p> -<p> - "Quickens-bog may at first seem to derive its name from the plant - <i>Quicken,</i> by which, <i>Scottice,</i> we understand couch-grass, dog-grass, or - the <i>Triticum repens</i> of Linnaeus, and the common English monosyllable - <i>Bog,</i> by which we mean, in popular language, a marsh or morass—in - Latin, <i>Palus.</i> But it may confound the rash adopters of the more obvious - etymological derivations, to learn that the couch-grass or dog-grass, or, - to speak scientifically, the <i>Triticum repens</i> of Linnaeus, does not grow - within a quarter of a mile of this castrum or hill-fort, whose ramparts - are uniformly clothed with short verdant turf; and that we must seek a - bog or <i>palus</i> at a still greater distance, the nearest being that of - Gird-the-mear, a full half-mile distant. The last syllable, <i>bog,</i> is - obviously, therefore, a mere corruption of the Saxon <i>Burgh,</i> which we - find in the various transmutations of <i>Burgh, Burrow, Brough, Bruff, - Buff,</i> and <i>Boff,</i> which last approaches very near the sound in - question—since, supposing the word to have been originally <i>borgh,</i> which is the - genuine Saxon spelling, a slight change, such as modern organs too often - make upon ancient sounds, will produce first <i>Bogh,</i> and then, <i>elisa H,</i> - or compromising and sinking the guttural, agreeable to the common - vernacular practice, you have either <i>Boff</i> or <i>Bog</i> as it happens. The - word <i>Quickens</i> requires in like manner to be altered,—decomposed, as it - were,—and reduced to its original and genuine sound, ere we can discern - its real meaning. By the ordinary exchange of the <i>Qu</i> into <i>Wh,</i> - familiar to the rudest tyro who has opened a book of old Scottish poetry, - we gain either Whilkens, or Whichensborgh—put we may suppose, by way of - question, as if those who imposed the name, struck with the extreme - antiquity of the place, had expressed in it an interrogation, To whom did - this fortress belong?'—Or, it might be <i>Whackens-burgh,</i> from the Saxon - <i>Whacken,</i> to strike with the hand, as doubtless the skirmishes near a - place of such apparent consequence must have legitimated such a - derivation," etc. etc. etc. -</p> -<p> - I will be more merciful to my readers than Oldbuck was to his guest; for, - considering his opportunities of gaining patient attention from a person - of such consequence as Lord Glenallan were not many, he used, or rather - abused, the present to the uttermost. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0015"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. -</h2> -<pre> - Crabbed age and youth - Cannot live together:— - Youth is full of pleasance, - Age is full of care; - Youth like summer morn, - Age like winter weather; - Youth like summer brave, - Age like winter bare. - Shakspeare. -</pre> -<p> - In the morning of the following day, the Antiquary, who was something of - a sluggard, was summoned from his bed a full hour earlier than his custom - by Caxon. "What's the matter now?" he exclaimed, yawning and stretching - forth his hand to the huge gold repeater, which, bedded upon his India - silk handkerchief, was laid safe by his pillow—"what's the matter now, - Caxon?—it can't be eight o'clock yet." -</p> -<p> - "Na, sir,—but my lord's man sought me out, for he fancies me your - honour's valley-de-sham,—and sae I am, there's nae doubt o't, baith your - honour's and the minister's—at least ye hae nae other that I ken o'—and - I gie a help to Sir Arthur too, but that's mair in the way o' my - profession." -</p> -<p> - "Well, well—never mind that," said the Antiquary—"happy is he that is - his own valley-de-sham, as you call it—But why disturb my morning's - rest?" -</p> -<p> - "Ou, sir, the great man's been up since peep o' day, and he's steered the - town to get awa an express to fetch his carriage, and it will be here - briefly, and he wad like to see your honour afore he gaes awa." -</p> -<p> - "Gadso!" ejaculated Oldbuck, "these great men use one's house and time as - if they were their own property. Well, it's once and away. Has Jenny come - to her senses yet, Caxon?" -</p> -<p> - "Troth, sir, but just middling," replied the barber; "she's been in a - swither about the jocolate this morning, and was like to hae toomed it a' - out into the slap-bason, and drank it hersell in her ecstacies—but she's - won ower wi't, wi' the help o' Miss M'Intyre." -</p> -<p> - "Then all my womankind are on foot and scrambling, and I must enjoy my - quiet bed no longer, if I would have a well-regulated house—Lend me my - gown. And what are the news at Fairport?" -</p> -<p> - "Ou, sir, what can they be about but this grand news o' my lord," - answered the old man, "that hasna been ower the door-stane, they threep - to me, for this twenty years—this grand news of his coming to visit your - honour?" -</p> -<p> - "Aha!" said Monkbarns; "and what do they say of that, Caxon?" -</p> -<p> - "'Deed, sir, they hae various opinions. Thae fallows, that are the - democraws, as they ca' them, that are again' the king and the law, and - hairpowder and dressing o' gentlemen's wigs—a wheen blackguards—they - say he's come doun to speak wi' your honour about bringing doun his hill - lads and Highland tenantry to break up the meetings of the Friends o' the - People;—and when I said your honour never meddled wi' the like o' sic - things where there was like to be straiks and bloodshed, they said, if ye - didna, your nevoy did, and that he was weel ken'd to be a kingsman that - wad fight knee-deep, and that ye were the head and he was the hand, and - that the Yerl was to bring out the men and the siller." -</p> -<p> - "Come," said the Antiquary, laughing—"I am glad the war is to cost me - nothing but counsel." -</p> -<p> - "Na, na," said Caxon—"naebody thinks your honour wad either fight - yoursell, or gie ony feck o' siller to ony side o' the question." -</p> -<p> - "Umph! well, that's the opinion of the democraws, as you call them—What - say the rest o' Fairport?" -</p> -<p> - "In troth," said the candid reporter, "I canna say it's muckle better. - Captain Coquet, of the volunteers—that's him that's to be the new - collector,—and some of the other gentlemen of the Blue and a' Blue Club, - are just saying it's no right to let popists, that hae sae mony French - friends as the Yerl of Glenallan, gang through the country, and—but your - honour will maybe be angry?" -</p> -<p> - "Not I, Caxon," said Oldbuck; "fire away as if you were Captain Coquet's - whole platoon—I can stand it." -</p> -<p> - "Weel then, they say, sir, that as ye didna encourage the petition about - the peace, and wadna petition in favour of the new tax, and as you were - again' bringing in the yeomanry at the meal mob, but just for settling - the folk wi' the constables—they say ye're no a gude friend to - government; and that thae sort o' meetings between sic a powerfu' man as - the Yerl, and sic a wise man as you,—Od they think they suld be lookit - after; and some say ye should baith be shankit aff till Edinburgh - Castle." -</p> -<p> - "On my word," said the Antiquary, "I am infinitely obliged to my - neighbours for their good opinion of me! And so I, that have never - interfered with their bickerings, but to recommend quiet and moderate - measures, am given up on both sides as a man very likely to commit high - treason, either against King or People?—Give me my coat, Caxon—give me - my coat;—it's lucky I live not in their report. Have you heard anything - of Taffril and his vessel?" -</p> -<p> - Caxon's countenance fell.—"Na, sir, and the winds hae been high, and - this is a fearfu' coast to cruise on in thae eastern gales,—the - headlands rin sae far out, that a veshel's embayed afore I could sharp a - razor; and then there's nae harbour or city of refuge on our coast—a' - craigs and breakers;—a veshel that rins ashore wi' us flees asunder like - the powther when I shake the pluff—and it's as ill to gather ony o't - again. I aye tell my daughter thae things when she grows wearied for a - letter frae Lieutenant Taffril—It's aye an apology for him. Ye sudna - blame him, says I, hinny, for ye little ken what may hae happened." -</p> -<p> - "Ay, ay, Caxon, thou art as good a comforter as a valet-de-chambre.—Give - me a white stock, man,—dye think I can go down with a handkerchief about - my neck when I have company?" -</p> -<p> - "Dear sir, the Captain says a three-nookit hankercher is the maist - fashionable overlay, and that stocks belang to your honour and me that - are auld warld folk. I beg pardon for mentioning us twa thegither, but it - was what he said." -</p> -<p> - "The Captain's a puppy, and you are a goose, Caxon." -</p> -<p> - "It's very like it may be sae," replied the acquiescent barber: "I am - sure your honour kens best." -</p> -<p> - Before breakfast, Lord Glenallan, who appeared in better spirits than he - had evinced in the former evening, went particularly through the various - circumstances of evidence which the exertions of Oldbuck had formerly - collected; and pointing out the means which he possessed of completing - the proof of his marriage, expressed his resolution instantly to go - through the painful task of collecting and restoring the evidence - concerning the birth of Eveline Neville, which Elspeth had stated to be - in his mother's possession. -</p> -<p> - "And yet, Mr. Oldbuck," he said, "I feel like a man who receives - important tidings ere he is yet fully awake, and doubt whether they refer - to actual life, or are not rather a continuation of his dream. This - woman—this Elspeth,—she is in the extremity of age, and approaching in - many respects to dotage. Have I not—it is a hideous question—have I not - been hasty in the admission of her present evidence, against that which - she formerly gave me to a very—very different purpose?" -</p> -<p> - Mr. Oldbuck paused a moment, and then answered with firmness—"No, my - lord; I cannot think you have any reason to suspect the truth of what she - has told you last, from no apparent impulse but the urgency of - conscience. Her confession was voluntary, disinterested, distinct, - consistent with itself, and with all the other known circumstances of the - case. I would lose no time, however, in examining and arranging the other - documents to which she has referred; and I also think her own statement - should be taken down, if possible in a formal manner. We thought of - setting about this together. But it will be a relief to your lordship, - and moreover have a more impartial appearance, were I to attempt the - investigation alone in the capacity of a magistrate. I will do this—at - least I will attempt it, so soon as I shall see her in a favourable state - of mind to undergo an examination." -</p> -<p> - Lord Glenallan wrung the Antiquary's hand in token of grateful - acquiescence. "I cannot express to you," he said, "Mr. Oldbuck, how much - your countenance and cooperation in this dark and most melancholy - business gives me relief and confidence. I cannot enough applaud myself - for yielding to the sudden impulse which impelled me, as it were, to drag - you into my confidence, and which arose from the experience I had - formerly of your firmness in discharge of your duty as a magistrate, and - as a friend to the memory of the unfortunate. Whatever the issue of these - matters may prove,—and I would fain hope there is a dawn breaking on the - fortunes of my house, though I shall not live to enjoy its light,—but - whatsoever be the issue, you have laid my family and me under the most - lasting obligation." -</p> -<p> - "My lord," answered the Antiquary, "I must necessarily have the greatest - respect for your lordship's family, which I am well aware is one of the - most ancient in Scotland, being certainly derived from Aymer de Geraldin, - who sat in parliament at Perth, in the reign of Alexander II., and who by - the less vouched, yet plausible tradition of the country, is said to have - been descended from the Marmor of Clochnaben. Yet, with all my veneration - for your ancient descent, I must acknowledge that I find myself still - more bound to give your lordship what assistance is in my limited power, - from sincere sympathy with your sorrows, and detestation at the frauds - which have so long been practised upon you.—But, my lord, the matin meal - is, I see, now prepared—Permit me to show your lordship the way through - the intricacies of my <i>cenobitium,</i> which is rather a combination of - cells, jostled oddly together, and piled one upon the top of the other, - than a regular house. I trust you will make yourself some amends for the - spare diet of yesterday." -</p> -<p> - But this was no part of Lord Glenallan's system. Having saluted the - company with the grave and melancholy politeness which distinguished his - manners, his servant placed before him a slice of toasted bread, with a - glass of fair water, being the fare on which he usually broke his fast. - While the morning's meal of the young soldier and the old Antiquary was - despatched in much more substantial manner, the noise of wheels was - heard. -</p> -<p> - "Your lordship's carriage, I believe," said Oldbuck, stepping to the - window. "On my word, a handsome <i>quadriga,</i>—for such, according to the - best <i>scholium,</i> was the <i>vox signata</i> of the Romans for a chariot which, - like that of your lordship, was drawn by four horses." -</p> -<p> - "And I will venture to say," cried Hector, eagerly gazing from the - window, "that four handsomer or better-matched bays never were put in - harness—What fine forehands!—what capital chargers they would make!— - Might I ask if they are of your lordship's own breeding?" -</p> -<p> - "I—I—rather believe so," said Lord Glenallan; "but I have been so - negligent of my domestic matters, that I am ashamed to say I must apply - to Calvert" (looking at the domestic). -</p> -<p> - "They are of your lordship's own breeding," said Calvert, "got by Mad Tom - out of Jemina and Yarico, your lordship's brood mares." -</p> -<p> - "Are there more of the set?" said Lord Glenallan. -</p> -<p> - "Two, my lord,—one rising four, the other five off this grass, both very - handsome." -</p> -<p> - "Then let Dawkins bring them down to Monkbarns to-morrow," said the - Earl—"I hope Captain M'Intyre will accept them, if they are at all fit for - service." -</p> -<p> - Captain M'Intyre's eyes sparkled, and he was profuse in grateful - acknowledgments; while Oldbuck, on the other hand, seizing the Earl's - sleeve, endeavoured to intercept a present which boded no good to his - corn-chest and hay-loft. -</p> -<p> - "My lord—my lord—much obliged—much obliged—But Hector is a - pedestrian, and never mounts on horseback in battle—he is a Highland - soldier, moreover, and his dress ill adapted for cavalry service. Even - Macpherson never mounted his ancestors on horseback, though he has the - impudence to talk of their being car-borne—and that, my lord, is what is - running in Hector's head—it is the vehicular, not the equestrian - exercise, which he envies— -</p> -<pre> - Sunt quos curriculo pulverem Olympicum - Collegisse juvat. -</pre> -<p> - His noddle is running on a curricle, which he has neither money to buy, - nor skill to drive if he had it; and I assure your lordship, that the - possession of two such quadrupeds would prove a greater scrape than any - of his duels, whether with human foe or with my friend the <i>phoca.</i>" -</p> -<p> - "You must command us all at present, Mr. Oldbuck," said the Earl - politely; "but I trust you will not ultimately prevent my gratifying my - young friend in some way that may afford him pleasure." -</p> -<p> - "Anything useful, my lord," said Oldbuck, "but no <i>curriculum</i>—I protest - he might as rationally propose to keep a <i>quadriga</i> at once—And now I - think of it, what is that old post-chaise from Fairport come jingling - here for?—I did not send for it." -</p> -<p> - "<i>I</i> did, sir," said Hector, rather sulkily, for he was not much - gratified by his uncle's interference to prevent the Earl's intended - generosity, nor particularly inclined to relish either the disparagement - which he cast upon his skill as a charioteer, or the mortifying allusion - to his bad success in the adventures of the duel and the seal. -</p> -<p> - "You did, sir?" echoed the Antiquary, in answer to his concise - information. "And pray, what may be your business with a post-chaise? Is - this splendid equipage—this <i>biga,</i> as I may call it—to serve for an - introduction to a <i>quadriga</i> or a <i>curriculum</i>?" -</p> -<p> - "Really, sir," replied the young soldier, "if it be necessary to give you - such a specific explanation, I am going to Fairport on a little - business." -</p> -<p> - "Will you permit me to inquire into the nature of that business, Hector?" - answered his uncle, who loved the exercise of a little brief authority - over his relative. "I should suppose any regimental affairs might be - transacted by your worthy deputy the sergeant—an honest gentleman, who - is so good as to make Monkbarns his home since his arrival among us—I - should, I say, suppose that he may transact any business of yours, - without your spending a day's pay on two dog-horses, and such a - combination of rotten wood, cracked glass, and leather—such a skeleton - of a post-chaise, as that before the door." -</p> -<p> - "It is not regimental business, sir, that calls me; and, since you insist - upon knowing, I must inform you Caxon has brought word this morning that - old Ochiltree, the beggar, is to be brought up for examination to-day, - previous to his being committed for trial; and I'm going to see that the - poor old fellow gets fair play—that's all." -</p> -<p> - "Ay?—I heard something of this, but could not think it serious. And - pray, Captain Hector, who are so ready to be every man's second on all - occasions of strife, civil or military, by land, by water, or on the - sea-beach, what is your especial concern with old Edie Ochiltree?" -</p> -<p> - "He was a soldier in my father's company, sir," replied Hector; "and - besides, when I was about to do a very foolish thing one day, he - interfered to prevent me, and gave me almost as much good advice, sir, as - you could have done yourself." -</p> -<p> - "And with the same good effect, I dare be sworn for it—eh, Hector?— - Come, confess it was thrown away." -</p> -<p> - "Indeed it was, sir; but I see no reason that my folly should make me - less grateful for his intended kindness." -</p> -<p> - "Bravo, Hector! that's the most sensible thing I ever heard you say. But - always tell me your plans without reserve,—why, I will go with you - myself, man. I am sure the old fellow is not guilty, and I will assist - him in such a scrape much more effectually than you can do. Besides, it - will save thee half-a-guinea, my lad—a consideration which I heartily - pray you to have more frequently before your eyes." -</p> -<p> - Lord Glenallan's politeness had induced him to turn away and talk with - the ladies, when the dispute between the uncle and nephew appeared to - grow rather too animated to be fit for the ear of a stranger, but the - Earl mingled again in the conversation when the placable tone of the - Antiquary expressed amity. Having received a brief account of the - mendicant, and of the accusation brought against him, which Oldbuck did - not hesitate to ascribe to the malice of Dousterswivel, Lord Glenallan - asked, whether the individual in question had not been a soldier - formerly?—He was answered in the affirmative. -</p> -<p> - "Had he not," continued his Lordship, "a coarse blue coat, or gown, with - a badge?—was he not a tall, striking-looking old man, with grey beard - and hair, who kept his body remarkably erect, and talked with an air of - ease and independence, which formed a strong contrast to his profession?" -</p> -<p> - "All this is an exact picture of the man," refumed Oldbuck. -</p> -<p> - "Why, then," continued Lord Glenallan, "although I fear I can be of no - use to him in his present condition, yet I owe him a debt of gratitude - for being the first person who brought me some tidings of the utmost - importance. I would willingly offer him a place of comfortable - retirement, when he is extricated from his present situation." -</p> -<p> - "I fear, my lord," said Oldbuck, "he would have difficulty in reconciling - his vagrant habits to the acceptance of your bounty, at least I know the - experiment has been tried without effect. To beg from the public at large - he considers as independence, in comparison to drawing his whole support - from the bounty of an individual. He is so far a true philosopher, as to - be a contemner of all ordinary rules of hours and times. When he is - hungry he eats; when thirsty he drinks; when weary he sleeps; and with - such indifference with respect to the means and appliances about which we - make a fuss, that I suppose he was never ill dined or ill lodged in his - life. Then he is, to a certain extent, the oracle of the district through - which he travels—their genealogist, their newsman, their master of the - revels, their doctor at a pinch, or their divine;—I promise you he has - too many duties, and is too zealous in performing them, to be easily - bribed to abandon his calling. But I should be truly sorry if they sent - the poor light-hearted old man to lie for weeks in a jail. I am convinced - the confinement would break his heart." -</p> -<p> - Thus finished the conference. Lord Glenallan, having taken leave of the - ladies, renewed his offer to Captain M'Intyre of the freedom of his - manors for sporting, which was joyously accepted. -</p> -<p> - "I can only add," he said, "that if your spirits are not liable to be - damped by dull company, Glenallan House is at all times open to you. On - two days of the week, Friday and Saturday, I keep my apartment, which - will be rather a relief to you, as you will be left to enjoy the society - of my almoner, Mr. Gladsmoor, who is a scholar and a man of the world." -</p> -<p> - Hector, his heart exulting at the thoughts of ranging through the - preserves of Glenallan House, and over the well-protected moors of - Clochnaben—nay, joy of joys! the deer-forest of Strath-Bonnel—made many - acknowledgements of the honour and gratitude he felt. Mr. Oldbuck was - sensible of the Earl's attention to his nephew; Miss M'Intyre was pleased - because her brother was gratified; and Miss Griselda Oldbuck looked - forward with glee to the potting of whole bags of moorfowl and - black-game, of which Mr. Blattergowl was a professed admirer. Thus,— - which is always the case when a man of rank leaves a private family where - he has studied to appear obliging,—all were ready to open in praise of - the Earl as soon as he had taken his leave, and was wheeled off in his - chariot by the four admired bays. But the panegyric was cut short, for - Oldbuck and his nephew deposited themselves in the Fairport hack, which, - with one horse trotting, and the other urged to a canter, creaked, - jingled, and hobbled towards that celebrated seaport, in a manner that - formed a strong contrast to the rapidity and smoothness with which Lord - Glenallan's equipage had seemed to vanish from their eyes. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0016"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER SIXTEENTH. -</h2> -<pre> - Yes! I love justice well—as well as you do— - But since the good dame's blind, she shall excuse me - If, time and reason fitting, I prove dumb;— - The breath I utter now shall be no means - To take away from me my breath in future. - Old Play. -</pre> -<p> - By dint of charity from the town's-people in aid of the load of - provisions he had brought with him into durance, Edie Ochiltree had - passed a day or two's confinement without much impatience, regretting his - want of freedom the less, as the weather proved broken and rainy. -</p> -<p> - "The prison," he said, "wasna sae dooms bad a place as it was ca'd. Ye - had aye a good roof ower your head to fend aff the weather, and, if the - windows werena glazed, it was the mair airy and pleasant for the summer - season. And there were folk enow to crack wi', and he had bread eneugh to - eat, and what need he fash himsell about the rest o't?" -</p> -<p> - The courage of our philosophical mendicant began, however, to abate, when - the sunbeams shone fair on the rusty bars of his grated dungeon, and a - miserable linnet, whose cage some poor debtor had obtained permission to - attach to the window, began to greet them with his whistle. -</p> -<p> - "Ye're in better spirits than I am," said Edie, addressing the bird, "for - I can neither whistle nor sing for thinking o' the bonny burnsides and - green shaws that I should hae been dandering beside in weather like this. - But hae—there's some crumbs t'ye, an ye are sae merry; and troth ye hae - some reason to sing an ye kent it, for your cage comes by nae faut o' - your ain, and I may thank mysell that I am closed up in this weary - place." -</p> -<p> - Ochiltree's soliloquy was disturbed by a peace-officer, who came to - summon him to attend the magistrate. So he set forth in awful procession - between two poor creatures, neither of them so stout as he was himself, - to be conducted into the presence of inquisitorial justice. The people, - as the aged prisoner was led along by his decrepit guards, exclaimed to - each other, "Eh! see sic a grey-haired man as that is, to have committed - a highway robbery, wi' ae fit in the grave!"—And the children - congratulated the officers, objects of their alternate dread and sport, - Puggie Orrock and Jock Ormston, on having a prisoner as old as - themselves. -</p> -<p> - Thus marshalled forward, Edie was presented (by no means for the first - time) before the worshipful Bailie Littlejohn, who, contrary to what his - name expressed, was a tall portly magistrate, on whom corporation crusts - had not been conferred in vain. He was a zealous loyalist of that zealous - time, somewhat rigorous and peremptory in the execution of his duty, and - a good deal inflated with the sense of his own power and importance;—otherwise - an honest, well-meaning, and useful citizen. -</p> -<p> - "Bring him in! bring him in!" he exclaimed. "Upon my word these are awful - and unnatural times! the very bedesmen and retainers of his Majesty are - the first to break his laws. Here has been an old Blue-Gown committing - robbery—I suppose the next will reward the royal charity which supplies - him with his garb, pension, and begging license, by engaging in - high-treason, or sedition at least—But bring him in." -</p> -<p> - Edie made his obeisance, and then stood, as usual, firm and erect, with - the side of his face turned a little upward, as if to catch every word - which the magistrate might address to him. To the first general - questions, which respected only his name and calling, the mendicant - answered with readiness and accuracy; but when the magistrate, having - caused his clerk to take down these particulars, began to inquire - whereabout the mendicant was on the night when Dousterswivel met with his - misfortune, Edie demurred to the motion. "Can ye tell me now, Bailie, you - that understands the law, what gude will it do me to answer ony o' your - questions?" -</p> -<p> - "Good?—no good certainly, my friend, except that giving a true account - of yourself, if you are innocent, may entitle me to set you at liberty." -</p> -<p> - "But it seems mair reasonable to me now, that you, Bailie, or anybody - that has anything to say against me, should prove my guilt, and no to be - bidding me prove my innocence." -</p> -<p> - "I don't sit here," answered the magistrate, "to dispute points of law - with you. I ask you, if you choose to answer my question, whether you - were at Ringan Aikwood, the forester's, upon the day I have specified?" -</p> -<p> - "Really, sir, I dinna feel myself called on to remember," replied the - cautious bedesman. -</p> -<p> - "Or whether, in the course of that day or night," continued the - magistrate, "you saw Steven, or Steenie, Mucklebackit?—you knew him, I - suppose?" -</p> -<p> - "O, brawlie did I ken Steenie, puir fallow," replied the prisoner;—"but - I canna condeshend on ony particular time I have seen him lately." -</p> -<p> - "Were you at the ruins of St. Ruth any time in the course of that - evening?" -</p> -<p> - "Bailie Littlejohn," said the mendicant, "if it be your honour's - pleasure, we'll cut a lang tale short, and I'll just tell ye, I am no - minded to answer ony o' thae questions—I'm ower auld a traveller to let - my tongue bring me into trouble." -</p> -<p> - "Write down," said the magistrate, "that he declines to answer all - interrogatories, in respect that by telling the truth he might be brought - to trouble." -</p> -<p> - "Na, na," said Ochiltree, "I'll no hae that set down as ony part o' my - answer—but I just meant to say, that in a' my memory and practice, I - never saw ony gude come o' answering idle questions." -</p> -<p> - "Write down," said the Bailie, "that, being acquainted with judicial - interrogatories by long practice, and having sustained injury by - answering questions put to him on such occasions, the declarant refuses." -</p> -<p> - "Na, na, Bailie," reiterated Edie, "ye are no to come in on me that gait - neither." -</p> -<p> - "Dictate the answer yourself then, friend," said the magistrate, "and the - clerk will take it down from your own mouth." -</p> -<p> - "Ay, ay," said Edie—"that's what I ca' fair play; I'se do that without - loss o' time. Sae, neighbour, ye may just write down, that Edie - Ochiltree, the declarant, stands up for the liberty—na, I maunna say - that neither—I am nae liberty-boy—I hae fought again' them in the riots - in Dublin—besides, I have ate the King's bread mony a day. Stay, let me - see. Ay—write that Edie Ochiltree, the Blue-Gown, stands up for the - prerogative—(see that ye spell that word right—it's a lang ane)—for - the prerogative of the subjects of the land, and winna answer a single - word that sall be asked at him this day, unless he sees a reason fort. - Put down that, young man." -</p> -<p> - "Then, Edie," said the magistrate, "since you will give no information on - the subject, I must send you back to prison till you shall be delivered - in due course of law." -</p> -<p> - "Aweel, sir, if it's Heaven's will and man's will, nae doubt I maun - submit," replied the mendicant. "I hae nae great objection to the prison, - only that a body canna win out o't; and if it wad please you as weel, - Bailie, I wad gie you my word to appear afore the Lords at the Circuit, - or in ony other coart ye like, on ony day ye are pleased to appoint." -</p> -<p> - "I rather think, my good friend," answered Bailie Littlejohn, "your word - might be a slender security where your neck may be in some danger. I am - apt to think you would suffer the pledge to be forfeited. If you could - give me sufficient security, indeed"— -</p> -<p> - At this moment the Antiquary and Captain M'Intyre entered the - apartment.—"Good morning to you, gentlemen," said the magistrate; "you find me - toiling in my usual vocation—looking after the iniquities of the - people—labouring for the <i>respublica,</i> Mr. Oldbuck—serving the King our - master, Captain M'Intyre,—for I suppose you know I have taken up the - sword?" -</p> -<p> - "It is one of the emblems of justice, doubtless," answered the - Antiquary;—"but I should have thought the scales would have suited you - better, Bailie, especially as you have them ready in the warehouse." -</p> -<p> - "Very good, Monkbarns—excellent! But I do not take the sword up as - justice, but as a soldier—indeed I should rather say the musket and - bayonet—there they stand at the elbow of my gouty chair, for I am scarce - fit for drill yet—a slight touch of our old acquaintance <i>podagra;</i> I - can keep my feet, however, while our sergeant puts me through the manual. - I should like to know, Captain M'Intyre, if he follows the regulations - correctly—he brings us but awkwardly to the <i>present.</i>" And he hobbled - towards his weapon to illustrate his doubts and display his proficiency. -</p> -<p> - "I rejoice we have such zealous defenders, Bailie," replied Mr. Oldbuck; - "and I dare say Hector will gratify you by communicating his opinion on - your progress in this new calling. Why, you rival the Hecate' of the - ancients, my good sir—a merchant on the Mart, a magistrate in the - Townhouse, a soldier on the Links—<i>quid non pro patria?</i> But my business - is with the justice; so let commerce and war go slumber." -</p> -<p> - "Well, my good sir," said the Bailie, "and what commands have you for - me?" -</p> -<p> - "Why, here's an old acquaintance of mine, called Edie Ochiltree, whom - some of your myrmidons have mewed up in jail on account of an alleged - assault on that fellow Dousterswivel, of whose accusation I do not - believe one word." -</p> -<p> - The magistrate here assumed a very grave countenance. "You ought to have - been informed that he is accused of robbery, as well as assault—a very - serious matter indeed; it is not often such criminals come under my - cognizance." -</p> -<p> - "And," replied Oldbuck, "you are tenacious of the opportunity of making - the very most of such as occur. But is this poor old man's case really so - very bad?" -</p> -<p> - "It is rather out of rule," said the Bailie—"but as you are in the - commission, Monkbarns, I have no hesitation to show you Dousterswivel's - declaration, and the rest of the precognition." And he put the papers - into the Antiquary's hands, who assumed his spectacles, and sat down in a - corner to peruse them. -</p> -<p> - The officers, in the meantime, had directions to remove their prisoner - into another apartment; but before they could do so, M'Intyre took an - opportunity to greet old Edie, and to slip a guinea into his hand. -</p> -<p> - "Lord bless your honour!" said the old man; "it's a young soldier's gift, - and it should surely thrive wi' an auld ane. I'se no refuse it, though - it's beyond my rules; for if they steek me up here, my friends are like - eneugh to forget me—out o'sight out o'mind, is a true proverb; and it - wadna be creditable for me, that am the king's bedesman, and entitled to - beg by word of mouth, to be fishing for bawbees out at the jail window - wi' the fit o' a stocking, and a string." As he made this observation he - was conducted out of the apartment. -</p> -<p> - Mr. Dousterswivel's declaration contained an exaggerated account of the - violence he had sustained, and also of his loss. -</p> -<p> - "But what I should have liked to have asked him," said Monkbarns, "would - have been his purpose in frequenting the ruins of St. Ruth, so lonely a - place, at such an hour, and with such a companion as Edie Ochiltree. - There is no road lies that way, and I do not conceive a mere passion for - the picturesque would carry the German thither in such a night of storm - and wind. Depend upon it, he has been about some roguery, and in all - probability hath been caught in a trap of his own setting—<i>Nec lex - justitior ulla.</i>" -</p> -<p> - The magistrate allowed there was something mysterious in that - circumstance, and apologized for not pressing Dousterswivel, as his - declaration was voluntarily emitted. But for the support of the main - charge, he showed the declaration of the Aikwoods concerning the state in - which Dousterswivel was found, and establishing the important fact that - the mendicant had left the barn in which he was quartered, and did not - return to it again. Two people belonging to the Fairport undertaker, who - had that night been employed in attending the funeral of Lady Glenallan, - had also given declarations, that, being sent to pursue two suspicious - persons who left the ruins of St. Ruth as the funeral approached, and - who, it was supposed, might have been pillaging some of the ornaments - prepared for the ceremony, they had lost and regained sight of them more - than once, owing to the nature of the ground, which was unfavourable for - riding, but had at length fairly lodged them both in Mucklebackit's - cottage. And one of the men added, that "he, the declarant, having - dismounted from his horse, and gone close up to the window of the hut, he - saw the old Blue-Gown and young Steenie Mucklebackit, with others, eating - and drinking in the inside, and also observed the said Steenie - Mucklebackit show a pocket-book to the others;—and declarant has no - doubt that Ochiltree and Steenie Mucklebackit were the persons whom he - and his comrade had pursued, as above mentioned." And being interrogated - why he did not enter the said cottage, declares, "he had no warrant so to - do; and that as Mucklebackit and his family were understood to be - rough-handed folk, he, the declarant, had no desire to meddle or make - with their affairs, <i>Causa scientiae patet.</i> All which he declares to be - truth," etc. -</p> -<p> - "What do you say to that body of evidence against your friend?" said the - magistrate, when he had observed the Antiquary had turned the last leaf. -</p> -<p> - "Why, were it in the case of any other person, I own I should say it - looked, <i>prima facie,</i> a little ugly; but I cannot allow anybody to be in - the wrong for beating Dousterswivel—Had I been an hour younger, or had - but one single flash of your warlike genius, Bailie, I should have done - it myself long ago. He is <i>nebulo nebulonum,</i> an impudent, fraudulent, - mendacious quack, that has cost me a hundred pounds by his roguery, and - my neighbour Sir Arthur, God knows how much. And besides, Bailie, I do - not hold him to be a sound friend to Government." -</p> -<p> - "Indeed?" said Bailie Littlejohn; "if I thought that, it would alter the - question considerably." -</p> -<p> - "Right—for, in beating him," observed Oldbuck, "the bedesman must have - shown his gratitude to the king by thumping his enemy; and in robbing - him, he would only have plundered an Egyptian, whose wealth it is lawful - to spoil. Now, suppose this interview in the ruins of St. Ruth had - relation to politics,—and this story of hidden treasure, and so forth, - was a bribe from the other side of the water for some great man, or the - funds destined to maintain a seditious club?" -</p> -<p> - "My dear sir," said the magistrate, catching at the idea, "you hit my - very thoughts! How fortunate should I be if I could become the humble - means of sifting such a matter to the bottom!—Don't you think we had - better call out the volunteers, and put them on duty?" -</p> -<p> - "Not just yet, while <i>podagra</i> deprives them of an essential member of - their body. But will you let me examine Ochiltree?" -</p> -<p> - "Certainly; but you'll make nothing of him. He gave me distinctly to - understand he knew the danger of a judicial declaration on the part of an - accused person, which, to say the truth, has hanged many an honester man - than he is." -</p> -<p> - "Well, but, Bailie," continued Oldbuck, "you have no objection to let me - try him?" -</p> -<p> - "None in the world, Monkbarns. I hear the sergeant below—I'll rehearse - the manual in the meanwhile. Baby, carry my gun and bayonet down to the - room below—it makes less noise there when we ground arms." And so exit - the martial magistrate, with his maid behind him bearing his weapons. -</p> -<p> - "A good squire that wench for a gouty champion," observed Oldbuck.— - "Hector, my lad, hook on, hook on—Go with him, boy—keep him employed, - man, for half-an-hour or so—butter him with some warlike terms—praise - his dress and address." -</p> -<p> - Captain M'Intyre, who, like many of his profession, looked down with - infinite scorn on those citizen soldiers who had assumed arms without any - professional title to bear them, rose with great reluctance, observing - that he should not know what to say to Mr. Littlejohn; and that to see an - old gouty shop-keeper attempting the exercise and duties of a private - soldier, was really too ridiculous. -</p> -<p> - "It may be so, Hector," said the Antiquary, who seldom agreed with any - person in the immediate proposition which was laid down—"it may possibly - be so in this and some other instances; but at present the country - resembles the suitors in a small-debt court, where parties plead in - person, for lack of cash to retain the professed heroes of the bar. I am - sure in the one case we never regret the want of the acuteness and - eloquence of the lawyers; and so, I hope, in the other, we may manage to - make shift with our hearts and muskets, though we shall lack some of the - discipline of you martinets." -</p> -<p> - "I have no objection, I am sure, sir, that the whole world should fight - if they please, if they will but allow me to be quiet," said Hector, - rising with dogged reluctance. -</p> -<p> - "Yes, you are a very quiet personage indeed," said his uncle, "whose - ardour for quarrelling cannot pass so much as a poor <i>phoca</i> sleeping - upon the beach!" -</p> -<p> - But Hector, who saw which way the conversation was tending, and hated all - allusions to the foil he had sustained from the fish, made his escape - before the Antiquary concluded the sentence. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0017"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER SEVENTEENTH. -</h2> -<pre> - Well, well, at worst, 'tis neither theft nor coinage, - Granting I knew all that you charge me with. - What though the tomb hath borne a second birth, - And given the wealth to one that knew not on't, - Yet fair exchange was never robbery, - Far less pure bounty— - Old Play. -</pre> -<p> - The Antiquary, in order to avail himself of the permission given him to - question the accused party, chose rather to go to the apartment in which - Ochiltree was detained, than to make the examination appear formal by - bringing him again into the magistrate's office. He found the old man - seated by a window which looked out on the sea; and as he gazed on that - prospect, large tears found their way, as if unconsciously, to his eye, - and from thence trickled down his cheeks and white beard. His features - were, nevertheless, calm and composed, and his whole posture and mien - indicated patience and resignation. Oldbuck had approached him without - being observed, and roused him out of his musing by saying kindly, "I am - sorry, Edie, to see you so much cast down about this matter." -</p> -<a name="image-0007"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/pb206.jpg" height="782" width="527" -alt="The Antiquary Visits Edie in Prison -"> -</center> -<!--IMAGE END--> -<p> - The mendicant started, dried his eyes very hastily with the sleeve of his - gown, and endeavouring to recover his usual tone of indifference and - jocularity, answered, but with a voice more tremulous than usual, "I - might weel hae judged, Monkbarns, it was you, or the like o' you, was - coming in to disturb me—for it's ae great advantage o' prisons and - courts o' justice, that ye may greet your een out an ye like, and nane o' - the folk that's concerned about them will ever ask you what it's for." -</p> -<p> - "Well, Edie," replied Oldbuck, "I hope your present cause of distress is - not so bad but it may be removed." -</p> -<p> - "And I had hoped, Monkbarns," answered the mendicant, in a tone of - reproach, "that ye had ken'd me better than to think that this bit - trifling trouble o' my ain wad bring tears into my auld een, that hae - seen far different kind o' distress.—Na, na!—But here's been the puir - lass, Caxon's daughter, seeking comfort, and has gotten unco little— - there's been nae speerings o' Taffril's gunbrig since the last gale; and - folk report on the key that a king's ship had struck on the Reef of - Rattray, and a' hands lost—God forbid! for as sure as you live, - Monkbarns, the puir lad Lovel, that ye liked sae weel, must have - perished." -</p> -<p> - "God forbid indeed!" echoed the Antiquary, turning pale—"I would rather - Monkbarns House were on fire. My poor dear friend and coadjutor! I will - down to the quay instantly." -</p> -<p> - "I'm sure yell learn naething mair than I hae tauld ye, sir," said - Ochiltree, "for the officer-folk here were very civil (that is, for the - like o' them), and lookit up ae their letters and authorities, and could - throw nae light on't either ae way or another." -</p> -<p> - "It can't be true! it shall not be true!" said the Antiquary, "And I - won't believe it if it were!—Taffril's an excellent sea man, and Lovel - (my poor Lovel!) has all the qualities of a safe and pleasant companion - by land or by sea—one, Edie, whom, from the ingenuousness of his - disposition, I would choose, did I ever go a sea-voyage (which I never - do, unless across the ferry), <i>fragilem mecum solvere phaselum,</i> to be - the companion of my risk, as one against whom the elements could nourish - no vengeance. No, Edie, it is not, and cannot be true—it is a fiction of - the idle jade Rumour, whom I wish hanged with her trumpet about her neck, - that serves only with its screech-owl tones to fright honest folks out of - their senses.—Let me know how you got into this scrape of your own." -</p> -<p> - "Are ye axing me as a magistrate, Monkbarns, or is it just for your ain - satisfaction!" -</p> -<p> - "For my own satisfaction solely," replied the Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - "Put up your pocket-book and your keelyvine pen then, for I downa speak - out an ye hae writing materials in your hands—they're a scaur to - unlearned folk like me—Od, ane o' the clerks in the neist room will - clink down, in black and white, as muckle as wad hang a man, before ane - kens what he's saying." -</p> -<p> - Monkbarns complied with the old man's humour, and put up his - memorandum-book. -</p> -<p> - Edie then went with great frankness through the part of the story already - known to the reader, informing the Antiquary of the scene which he had - witnessed between Dousterswivel and his patron in the ruins of St. Ruth, - and frankly confessing that he could not resist the opportunity of - decoying the adept once more to visit the tomb of Misticot, with the - purpose of taking a comic revenge upon him for his quackery. He had - easily persuaded Steenie, who was a bold thoughtless young fellow, to - engage in the frolic along with him, and the jest had been inadvertently - carried a great deal farther than was designed. Concerning the - pocket-book, he explained that he had expressed his surprise and sorrow - as soon as he found it had been inadvertently brought off: and that - publicly, before all the inmates of the cottage, Steenie had undertaken - to return it the next day, and had only been prevented by his untimely - fate. -</p> -<p> - The Antiquary pondered a moment, and then said, "Your account seems very - probable, Edie, and I believe it from what I know of the parties. But I - think it likely that you know a great deal more than you have thought it - proper to tell me, about this matter of the treasure trove—I suspect you - have acted the part of the Lar Familiaris in Plautus—a sort of Brownie, - Edie, to speak to your comprehension, who watched over hidden - treasures.—I do bethink me you were the first person - we met when Sir Arthur made his successful attack upon - Misticot's grave, and also that when the labourers began to flag, you, - Edie, were again the first to leap into the trench, and to make the - discovery of the treasure. Now you must explain all this to me, unless you - would have me use you as ill as Euclio does Staphyla in the <i>Aulularia.</i>" -</p> -<p> - "Lordsake, sir," replied the mendicant, "what do I ken about your - Howlowlaria?—it's mair like a dog's language than a man's." -</p> -<p> - "You knew, however, of the box of treasure being there?" continued - Oldbuck. -</p> -<p> - "Dear sir," answered Edie, assuming a countenance of great simplicity, - "what likelihood is there o'that? d'ye think sae puir an auld creature as - me wad hae kend o' sic a like thing without getting some gude out o't?—and - ye wot weel I sought nane and gat nane, like Michael Scott's man. - What concern could I hae wi't?" -</p> -<p> - "That's just what I want you to explain to me," said Oldbuck; "for I am - positive you knew it was there." -</p> -<p> - "Your honour's a positive man, Monkbarns—and, for a positive man, I must - needs allow ye're often in the right." -</p> -<p> - "You allow, then, Edie, that my belief is well founded?" -</p> -<p> - Edie nodded acquiescence. -</p> -<p> - "Then please to explain to me the whole affair from beginning to end," - said the Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - "If it were a secret o' mine, Monkbarns," replied the beggar, "ye suldna - ask twice; for I hae aye said ahint your back, that for a' the nonsense - maggots that ye whiles take into your head, ye are the maist wise and - discreet o' a' our country gentles. But I'se een be open-hearted wi' you, - and tell you that this is a friend's secret, and that they suld draw me - wi' wild horses, or saw me asunder, as they did the children of Ammon, - sooner than I would speak a word mair about the matter, excepting this, - that there was nae ill intended, but muckle gude, and that the purpose - was to serve them that are worth twenty hundred o' me. But there's nae - law, I trow, that makes it a sin to ken where ither folles siller is, if - we didna pit hand til't oursell?" -</p> -<p> - Oldbuck walked once or twice up and down the room in profound thought, - endeavouring to find some plausible reason for transactions of a nature - so mysterious—but his ingenuity was totally at fault. He then placed - himself before the prisoner. -</p> -<p> - "This story of yours, friend Edie, is an absolute enigma, and would - require a second OEdipus to solve it—who OEdipus was, I will tell you - some other time if you remind me—However, whether it be owing to the - wisdom or to the maggots with which you compliment me, I am strongly - disposed to believe that you have spoken the truth, the rather that you - have not made any of those obtestations of the superior powers, which I - observe you and your comrades always make use of when you mean to deceive - folks." (Here Edie could not suppress a smile.) "If, therefore, you will - answer me one question, I will endeavour to procure your liberation." -</p> -<p> - "If ye'll let me hear the question," said Edie, with the caution of a - canny Scotchman, "I'll tell you whether I'll answer it or no." -</p> -<p> - "It is simply," said the Antiquary, "Did Dousterswivel know anything - about the concealment of the chest of bullion?" -</p> -<p> - "He, the ill-fa'ard loon!" answered Edie, with much frankness of manner— - "there wad hae been little speerings o't had Dustansnivel ken'd it was - there—it wad hae been butter in the black dog's hause." -</p> -<p> - "I thought as much," said Oldbuck. "Well, Edie, if I procure your - freedom, you must keep your day, and appear to clear me of the bail-bond, - for these are not times for prudent men to incur forfeitures, unless you - can point out another <i>Aulam auri plenam quadrilibrem</i>—another <i>Search, - No. I.</i>" -</p> -<p> - "Ah!" said the beggar, shaking his head, "I doubt the bird's flown that - laid thae golden eggs—for I winna ca' her goose, though that's the gait - it stands in the story-buick—But I'll keep my day, Monkbarns; ye'se no - loss a penny by me—And troth I wad fain be out again, now the weather's - fine—and then I hae the best chance o' hearing the first news o' my - friends." -</p> -<p> - "Well, Edie, as the bouncing and thumping beneath has somewhat ceased, I - presume Bailie Littlejohn has dismissed his military preceptor, and has - retired from the labours of Mars to those of Themis—I will have some - conversation with him—But I cannot and will not believe any of those - wretched news you were telling me." -</p> -<p> - "God send your honour may be right!" said the mendicant, as Oldbuck left - the room. -</p> -<p> - The Antiquary found the magistrate, exhausted with the fatigues of the - drill, reposing in his gouty chair, humming the air, "How merrily we live - that soldiers be!" and between each bar comforting himself with a - spoonful of mock-turtle soup. He ordered a similar refreshment for - Oldbuck, who declined it, observing, that, not being a military man, he - did not feel inclined to break his habit of keeping regular hours for - meals—"Soldiers like you, Bailie, must snatch their food as they find - means and time. But I am sorry to hear ill news of young Taffril's brig." -</p> -<p> - "Ah, poor fellow!" said the bailie, "he was a credit to the town—much - distinguished on the first of June." -</p> -<p> - "But," said Oldbuck, "I am shocked to hear you talk of him in the - preterite tense." -</p> -<p> - "Troth, I fear there may be too much reason for it, Monkbarns;—and yet - let us hope the best. The accident is said to have happened in the - Rattray reef of rocks, about twenty miles to the northward, near - Dirtenalan Bay—I have sent to inquire about it—and your nephew run out - himself as if he had been flying to get the Gazette of a victory." -</p> -<p> - Here Hector entered, exclaiming as he came in, "I believe it's all a - damned lie—I can't find the least authority for it, but general rumour." -</p> -<p> - "And pray, Mr. Hector," said his uncle, "if it had been true, whose fault - would it have been that Lovel was on board?" -</p> -<p> - "Not mine, I am sure," answered Hector; "it would have been only my - misfortune." -</p> -<p> - "Indeed!" said his uncle, "I should not have thought of that." -</p> -<p> - "Why, sir, with all your inclination to find me in the wrong," replied - the young soldier, "I suppose you will own my intention was not to blame - in this case. I did my best to hit Lovel, and if I had been successful, - 'tis clear my scrape would have been his, and his scrape would have been - mine." -</p> -<p> - "And whom or what do you intend to hit now, that you are lugging with you - that leathern magazine there, marked Gunpowder?" -</p> -<p> - "I must be prepared for Lord Glenallan's moors on the twelfth, sir," said - M'Intyre. -</p> -<p> - "Ah, Hector! thy great <i>chasse,</i> as the French call it, would take place - best— -</p> -<pre> - Omne cum Proteus pecus agitaret altos - Visere montes— -</pre> -<p> - Could you meet but with a martial <i>phoca,</i> instead of an unwarlike - heath-bird." -</p> -<p> - "The devil take the seal, sir, or <i>phoca,</i> if you choose to call it so! - It's rather hard one can never hear the end of a little piece of folly - like that." -</p> -<p> - "Well, well," said Oldbuck, "I am glad you have the grace to be ashamed - of it—as I detest the whole race of Nimrods, I wish them all as well - matched. Nay, never start off at a jest, man—I have done with the - <i>phoca</i>—though, I dare say, the Bailie could tell us the value of - seal-skins just now." -</p> -<p> - "They are up," said the magistrate, "they are well up—the fishing has - been unsuccessful lately." -</p> -<p> - "We can bear witness to that," said the tormenting Antiquary, who was - delighted with the hank this incident had given him over the young - sportsman: One word more, Hector, and -</p> -<pre> - We'll hang a seal-skin on thy recreant limbs. -</pre> -<p> - Aha, my boy! Come, never mind it; I must go to business.—Bailie, a word - with you: you must take bail—moderate bail, you understand—for old - Ochiltree's appearance." -</p> -<p> - "You don't consider what you ask," said the Bailie; "the offence is - assault and robbery." -</p> -<p> - "Hush! not a word about it," said the Antiquary. "I gave you a hint - before—I will possess you more fully hereafter—I promise you, there is - a secret." -</p> -<p> - "But, Mr. Oldbuck, if the state is concerned, I, who do the whole - drudgery business here, really have a title to be consulted, and until I - am"— -</p> -<p> - "Hush! hush!" said the Antiquary, winking and putting his finger to his - nose,—"you shall have the full credit, the entire management, whenever - matters are ripe. But this is an obstinate old fellow, who will not hear - of two people being as yet let into his mystery, and he has not fully - acquainted me with the clew to Dousterswivel's devices." -</p> -<p> - "Aha! so we must tip that fellow the alien act, I suppose?" -</p> -<p> - "To say truth, I wish you would." -</p> -<p> - "Say no more," said the magistrate; "it shall forthwith be done—he shall - be removed <i>tanquam suspect</i>—I think that's one of your own phrases, - Monkbarns?" -</p> -<p> - "It is classical, Bailie—you improve." -</p> -<p> - "Why, public business has of late pressed upon me so much, that I have - been obliged to take my foreman into partnership. I have had two several - correspondences with the Under Secretary of State—one on the proposed - tax on Riga hemp-seed, and the other on putting down political societies. - So you might as well communicate to me as much as you know of this old - fellow's discovery of a plot against the state." -</p> -<p> - "I will, instantly, when I am master of it," replied Oldbuck—-"I hate - the trouble of managing such matters myself. Remember, however, I did not - say decidedly a plot against the state I only say I hope to discover, by - this man's means, a foul plot." -</p> -<p> - "If it be a plot at all, there must be treason in it, or sedition at - least," said the Bailie—"Will you bail him for four hundred merks?" -</p> -<p> - "Four hundred merks for an old Blue-Gown! Think on the act 1701 - regulating bail-bonds!—Strike off a cipher from the sum—I am content to - bail him for forty merks." -</p> -<p> - "Well, Mr. Oldbuck, everybody in Fairport is always willing to oblige - you—and besides, I know that you are a prudent man, and one that would - be as unwilling to lose forty, as four hundred merks. So I will accept - your bail, <i>meo periculo</i>—what say you to that law phrase again? I had - it from a learned counsel. I will vouch it, my lord, he said, <i>meo - periculo.</i>" -</p> -<p> - "And I will vouch for Edie Ochiltree, <i>meo periculo,</i> in like manner," - said Oldbuck. "So let your clerk draw out the bail-bond, and I will sign - it." -</p> -<p> - When this ceremony had been performed, the Antiquary communicated to Edie - the joyful tidings that he was once more at liberty, and directed him to - make the best of his way to Monkbarns House, to which he himself returned - with his nephew, after having perfected their good work. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0018"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH. -</h2> -<pre> - Full of wise saws and modern instances. - As You Like It. -</pre> -<p> - "I wish to Heaven, Hector," said the Antiquary, next morning after - breakfast, "you would spare our nerves, and not be keeping snapping that - arquebuss of yours." -</p> -<p> - "Well, sir, I'm sure I'm sorry to disturb you," said his nephew, still - handling his fowling-piece;—"but it's a capital gun—it's a Joe Manton, - that cost forty guineas." -</p> -<p> - "A fool and his money are soon parted, nephew—there is a Joe Miller for - your Joe Manton," answered the Antiquary; "I am glad you have so many - guineas to throw away." -</p> -<p> - "Every one has their fancy, uncle,—you are fond of books." -</p> -<p> - "Ay, Hector," said the uncle, "and if my collection were yours, you would - make it fly to the gunsmith, the horse-market, the dog-breaker,— - <i>Coemptos undique nobiles libros—mutare loricis Iberis.</i>" -</p> -<p> - "I could not use your books, my dear uncle," said the young soldier, - "that's true; and you will do well to provide for their being in better - hands. But don't let the faults of my head fall on my heart—I would not - part with a Cordery that belonged to an old friend, to get a set of - horses like Lord Glenallan's." -</p> -<p> - "I don't think you would, lad—I don't think you would," said his - softening relative. "I love to tease you a little sometimes; it keeps up - the spirit of discipline and habit of subordination—You will pass your - time happily here having me to command you, instead of Captain, or - Colonel, or Knight in Arms,' as Milton has it; and instead of the - French," he continued, relapsing into his ironical humour, "you have the - <i>Gens humida ponti</i>—for, as Virgil says, -</p> -<pre> - Sternunt se somno diversae in littore phocae; -</pre> -<p> - which might be rendered, -</p> -<pre> - Here phocae slumber on the beach, - Within our Highland Hector's reach. -</pre> -<p> - Nay, if you grow angry, I have done. Besides, I see old Edie in the - court-yard, with whom I have business. Good-bye, Hector—Do you remember - how she splashed into the sea like her master Proteus, <i>et se jactu dedit - aequor in altum</i>?" -</p> -<p> - M'Intyre,—waiting, however, till the door was shut,—then gave way to - the natural impatience of his temper. -</p> -<p> - "My uncle is the best man in the world, and in his way the kindest; but - rather than hear any more about that cursed <i>phoca,</i> as he is pleased to - call it, I would exchange for the West Indies, and never see his face - again." -</p> -<p> - Miss M'Intyre, gratefully attached to her uncle, and passionately fond of - her brother, was, on such occasions, the usual envoy of reconciliation. - She hastened to meet her uncle on his return, before he entered the - parlour. -</p> -<p> - "Well, now, Miss Womankind, what is the meaning of that imploring - countenance?—has Juno done any more mischief?" -</p> -<p> - "No, uncle; but Juno's master is in such fear of your joking him about - the seal—I assure you, he feels it much more than you would wish;—it's - very silly of him, to be sure; but then you can turn everybody so sharply - into ridicule"— -</p> -<p> - "Well, my dear," answered Oldbuck, propitiated by the compliment, "I will - rein in my satire, and, if possible, speak no more of the <i>phoca</i>—I will - not even speak of sealing a letter, but say <i>umph,</i> and give a nod to you - when I want the wax-light—I am not <i>monitoribus asper,</i> but, Heaven - knows, the most mild, quiet, and easy of human beings, whom sister, - niece, and nephew, guide just as best pleases them." -</p> -<p> - With this little panegyric on his own docility, Mr. Oldbuck entered the - parlour, and proposed to his nephew a walk to the Mussel-crag. "I have - some questions to ask of a woman at Mucklebackit's cottage," he observed, - "and I would willingly have a sensible witness with me—so, for fault of - a better, Hector, I must be contented with you." -</p> -<p> - "There is old Edie, sir, or Caxon—could not they do better than me?" - answered M'Intyre, feeling somewhat alarmed at the prospect of a long - <i>tete-a-tete</i> with his uncle. -</p> -<p> - "Upon my word, young man, you turn me over to pretty companions, and I am - quite sensible of your politeness," replied Mr. Oldbuck. "No, sir, I - intend the old Blue-Gown shall go with me—not as a competent witness, - for he is, at present, as our friend Bailie Littlejohn says (blessings on - his learning!) <i>tanquam suspectus,</i> and you are <i>suspicione major,</i> as - our law has it." -</p> -<p> - "I wish I were a major, sir," said Hector, catching only the last, and, - to a soldier's ear, the most impressive word in the sentence,—"but, - without money or interest, there is little chance of getting the step." -</p> -<p> - "Well, well, most doughty son of Priam," said the Antiquary, "be ruled by - your friends, and there's no saying what may happen—Come away with me, - and you shall see what may be useful to you should you ever sit upon a - court-martial, sir." -</p> -<p> - "I have been on many a regimental court-martial, sir," answered Captain - M'Intyre. "But here's a new cane for you." -</p> -<p> - "Much obliged, much obliged." -</p> -<p> - "I bought it from our drum-major," added M'Intyre, "who came into our - regiment from the Bengal army when it came down the Red Sea. It was cut - on the banks of the Indus, I assure you." -</p> -<p> - "Upon my word, 'tis a fine ratan, and well replaces that which the <i>ph</i>— - Bah! what was I going to say?" -</p> -<p> - The party, consisting of the Antiquary, his nephew, and the old beggar, - now took the sands towards Mussel-crag—the former in the very highest - mood of communicating information, and the others, under a sense of - former obligation, and some hope for future favours, decently attentive - to receive it. The uncle and nephew walked together, the mendicant about - a step and a half behind, just near enough for his patron to speak to him - by a slight inclination of his neck, and without the trouble of turning - round. (Petrie, in his Essay on Good-breeding, dedicated to the - magistrates of Edinburgh, recommends, upon his own experience, as tutor - in a family of distinction, this attitude to all led captains, tutors, - dependants, and bottle-holders of every description. ) Thus escorted, the - Antiquary moved along full of his learning, like a lordly man of war, and - every now and then yawing to starboard and larboard to discharge a - broadside upon his followers. -</p> -<p> - "And so it is your opinion," said he to the mendicant, "that this - windfall—this <i>arca auri,</i> as Plautus has it, will not greatly avail Sir - Arthur in his necessities?" -</p> -<p> - "Unless he could find ten times as much," said the beggar, "and that I am - sair doubtful of;—I heard Puggie Orrock, and the tother thief of a - sheriff-officer, or messenger, speaking about it—and things are ill aff - when the like o' them can speak crousely about ony gentleman's affairs. I - doubt Sir Arthur will be in stane wa's for debt, unless there's swift - help and certain." -</p> -<p> - "You speak like a fool," said the Antiquary.—"Nephew, it is a remarkable - thing, that in this happy country no man can be legally imprisoned for - debt." -</p> -<p> - "Indeed, sir?" said M'Intyre; "I never knew that before—that part of our - law would suit some of our mess well." -</p> -<p> - "And if they arena confined for debt," said Ochiltree, "what is't that - tempts sae mony puir creatures to bide in the tolbooth o' Fairport - yonder?—they a' say they were put there by their creditors—Od! they - maun like it better than I do, if they're there o' free will." -</p> -<p> - "A very natural observation, Edie, and many of your betters would make - the same; but it is founded entirely upon ignorance of the feudal system. - Hector, be so good as to attend, unless you are looking out for another— - Ahem!" (Hector compelled himself to give attention at this hint. ) "And - you, Edie, it may be useful to you <i>reram cognoscere causas.</i> The nature - and origin of warrant for caption is a thing <i>haud alienum a Scaevolae - studiis.</i>—You must know then, once more, that nobody can be arrested in - Scotland for debt." -</p> -<p> - "I haena muckle concern wi' that, Monkbarns," said the old man, "for - naebody wad trust a bodle to a gaberlunzie." -</p> -<p> - "I pr'ythee, peace, man—As a compulsitor, therefore, of payment, that - being a thing to which no debtor is naturally inclined, as I have too - much reason to warrant from the experience I have had with my own,—we - had first the letters of four forms, a sort of gentle invitation, by - which our sovereign lord the king, interesting himself, as a monarch - should, in the regulation of his subjects' private affairs, at first by - mild exhortation, and afterwards by letters of more strict enjoinment and - more hard compulsion—What do you see extraordinary about that bird, - Hector?—it's but a seamaw." -</p> -<p> - "It's a pictarnie, sir," said Edie. -</p> -<p> - "Well, what an if it were—what does that signify at present?—But I see - you're impatient; so I will waive the letters of four forms, and come to - the modern process of diligence.—You suppose, now, a man's committed to - prison because he cannot pay his debt? Quite otherwise: the truth is, the - king is so good as to interfere at the request of the creditor, and to - send the debtor his royal command to do him justice within a certain - time—fifteen days, or six, as the case may be. Well, the man resists and - disobeys: what follows? Why, that he be lawfully and rightfully declared - a rebel to our gracious sovereign, whose command he has disobeyed, and - that by three blasts of a horn at the market-place of Edinburgh, the - metropolis of Scotland. And he is then legally imprisoned, not on account - of any civil debt, but because of his ungrateful contempt of the royal - mandate. What say you to that, Hector?—there's something you never knew - before."* -</p> -<p> - * The doctrine of Monkbarns on the origin of imprisonment for civil debt - in Scotland, may appear somewhat whimsical, but was referred to, and - admitted to be correct, by the Bench of the Supreme Scottish Court, on - 5th December 1828, in the case of Thom <i>v.</i> Black. In fact, the Scottish - law is in this particular more jealous of the personal liberty of the - subject than any other code in Europe. -</p> -<p> - "No, uncle; but, I own, if I wanted money to pay my debts, I would rather - thank the king to send me some, than to declare me a rebel for not doing - what I could not do." -</p> -<p> - "Your education has not led you to consider these things," replied his - uncle; "you are incapable of estimating the elegance of the legal - fiction, and the manner in which it reconciles that duress, which, for - the protection of commerce, it has been found necessary to extend towards - refractory debtors, with the most scrupulous attention to the liberty of - the subject." -</p> -<p> - "I don't know, sir," answered the unenlightened Hector; "but if a man - must pay his debt or go to jail, it signifies but little whether he goes - as a debtor or a rebel, I should think. But you say this command of the - king's gives a license of so many days—Now, egad, were I in the scrape, - I would beat a march and leave the king and the creditor to settle it - among themselves before they came to extremities." -</p> -<p> - "So wad I," said Edie; "I wad gie them leg-bail to a certainty." -</p> -<p> - "True," replied Monkbarns; "but those whom the law suspects of being - unwilling to abide her formal visit, she proceeds with by means of a - shorter and more unceremonious call, as dealing with persons on whom - patience and favour would be utterly thrown away." -</p> -<p> - "Ay," said Ochiltree, "that will be what they ca' the fugie-warrants—I - hae some skeel in them. There's Border-warrants too in the south country, - unco rash uncanny things;—I was taen up on ane at Saint James's Fair, - and keepit in the auld kirk at Kelso the haill day and night; and a cauld - goustie place it was, I'se assure ye.—But whatna wife's this, wi' her - creel on her back? It's puir Maggie hersell, I'm thinking." -</p> -<p> - It was so. The poor woman's sense of her loss, if not diminished, was - become at least mitigated by the inevitable necessity of attending to the - means of supporting her family; and her salutation to Oldbuck was made in - an odd mixture between the usual language of solicitation with which she - plied her customers, and the tone of lamentation for her recent calamity. -</p> -<p> - "How's a' wi' ye the day, Monkbarns? I havena had the grace yet to come - down to thank your honour for the credit ye did puir Steenie, wi' laying - his head in a rath grave, puir fallow. "—Here she whimpered and wiped - her eyes with the corner of her blue apron—"But the fishing comes on no - that ill, though the gudeman hasna had the heart to gang to sea himsell— - Atweel I would fain tell him it wad do him gude to put hand to wark—but - I'm maist fear'd to speak to him—and it's an unco thing to hear ane o' - us speak that gate o' a man—However, I hae some dainty caller haddies, - and they sall be but three shillings the dozen, for I hae nae pith to - drive a bargain ennow, and maun just tak what ony Christian body will - gie, wi' few words and nae flyting." -</p> -<p> - "What shall we do, Hector?" said Oldbuck, pausing: "I got into disgrace - with my womankind for making a bad bargain with her before. These - maritime animals, Hector, are unlucky to our family." -</p> -<p> - "Pooh, sir, what would you do?—give poor Maggie what she asks, or allow - me to send a dish of fish up to Monkbarns." -</p> -<p> - And he held out the money to her; but Maggie drew back her hand. "Na, na, - Captain; ye're ower young and ower free o' your siller—ye should never - tak a fish-wife's first bode; and troth I think maybe a flyte wi' the - auld housekeeper at Monkbarns, or Miss Grizel, would do me some gude—And - I want to see what that hellicate quean Jenny Ritherout's doing—folk - said she wasna weel—She'll be vexing hersell about Steenie, the silly - tawpie, as if he wad ever hae lookit ower his shouther at the like - o'her!—Weel, Monkbarns, they're braw caller haddies, and they'll bid me - unco little indeed at the house if ye want crappit-heads the day." -</p> -<p> - And so on she paced with her burden,—grief, gratitude for the sympathy - of her betters, and the habitual love of traffic and of gain, chasing - each other through her thoughts. -</p> -<p> - "And now that we are before the door of their hut," said Ochiltree, "I - wad fain ken, Monkbarns, what has gar'd ye plague yoursell wi' me a' this - length? I tell ye sincerely I hae nae pleasure in ganging in there. I - downa bide to think how the young hae fa'en on a' sides o' me, and left - me an useless auld stump wi' hardly a green leaf on't." -</p> -<p> - "This old woman," said Oldbuck, "sent you on a message to the Earl of - Glenallan, did she not?" -</p> -<p> - "Ay!" said the surprised mendicant; "how ken ye that sae weel?" -</p> -<p> - "Lord Glenallan told me himself," answered the Antiquary; "so there is no - delation—no breach of trust on your part; and as he wishes me to take - her evidence down on some important family matters, I chose to bring you - with me, because in her situation, hovering between dotage and - consciousness, it is possible that your voice and appearance may awaken - trains of recollection which I should otherwise have no means of - exciting. The human mind—what are you about, Hector?" -</p> -<p> - "I was only whistling for the dog, sir," replied the Captain "she always - roves too wide—I knew I should be troublesome to you." -</p> -<p> - "Not at all, not at all," said Oldbuck, resuming the subject of his - disquisition—"the human mind is to be treated like a skein of ravelled - silk, where you must cautiously secure one free end before you can make - any progress in disentangling it." -</p> -<p> - "I ken naething about that," said the gaberlunzie; "but an my auld - acquaintance be hersell, or anything like hersell, she may come to wind - us a pirn. It's fearsome baith to see and hear her when she wampishes - about her arms, and gets to her English, and speaks as if she were a - prent book, let a-be an auld fisher's wife. But, indeed, she had a grand - education, and was muckle taen out afore she married an unco bit beneath - hersell. She's aulder than me by half a score years—but I mind weel - eneugh they made as muckle wark about her making a half-merk marriage wi' - Simon Mucklebackit, this Saunders's father, as if she had been ane o' the - gentry. But she got into favour again, and then she lost it again, as I - hae heard her son say, when he was a muckle chield; and then they got - muckle siller, and left the Countess's land, and settled here. But things - never throve wi' them. Howsomever, she's a weel-educate woman, and an she - win to her English, as I hae heard her do at an orra time, she may come - to fickle us a'." -</p> -<a name="2HCH0019"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER NINETEENTH -</h2> -<pre> - Life ebbs from such old age, unmarked and silent, - As the slow neap-tide leaves yon stranded galley.— - Late she rocked merrily at the least impulse - That wind or wave could give; but now her keel - Is settling on the sand, her mast has ta'en - An angle with the sky, from which it shifts not. - Each wave receding shakes her less and less, - Till, bedded on the strand, she shall remain - Useless as motionless. - Old Play. -</pre> -<p> - As the Antiquary lifted the latch of the hut, he was surprised to hear - the shrill tremulous voice of Elspeth chanting forth an old ballad in a - wild and doleful recitative. -</p> -<pre> - "The herring loves the merry moonlight, - The mackerel loves the wind, - But the oyster loves the dredging sang, - For they come of a gentle kind." -</pre> -<p> - A diligent collector of these legendary scraps of ancient poetry, his - foot refused to cross the threshold when his ear was thus arrested, and - his hand instinctively took pencil and memorandum-book. From time to time - the old woman spoke as if to the children—"Oh ay, hinnies, whisht! - whisht! and I'll begin a bonnier ane than that— -</p> -<pre> - "Now haud your tongue, baith wife and carle, - And listen, great and sma', - And I will sing of Glenallan's Earl - That fought on the red Harlaw. - - "The cronach's cried on Bennachie, - And doun the Don and a', - And hieland and lawland may mournfu' be - For the sair field of Harlaw.— -</pre> -<p> - I dinna mind the neist verse weel—my memory's failed, and theres unco - thoughts come ower me—God keep us frae temptation!" -</p> -<p> - Here her voice sunk in indistinct muttering. -</p> -<p> - "It's a historical ballad," said Oldbuck, eagerly, "a genuine and - undoubted fragment of minstrelsy! Percy would admire its simplicity— - Ritson could not impugn its authenticity." -</p> -<p> - "Ay, but it's a sad thing," said Ochiltree, "to see human nature sae far - owertaen as to be skirling at auld sangs on the back of a loss like - hers." -</p> -<p> - "Hush! hush!" said the Antiquary—"she has gotten the thread of the story - again. "—And as he spoke, she sung— -</p> -<pre> - "They saddled a hundred milk-white steeds, - They hae bridled a hundred black, - With a chafron of steel on each horse's head, - And a good knight upon his back. "— -</pre> -<p> - "Chafron!" exclaimed the Antiquary,—"equivalent, perhaps, to - <i>cheveron;</i>—the word's worth a dollar,"—and down it went in his red - book. -</p> -<pre> - "They hadna ridden a mile, a mile, - A mile, but barely ten, - When Donald came branking down the brae - Wi' twenty thousand men. - - "Their tartans they were waving wide, - Their glaives were glancing clear, - Their pibrochs rung frae side to side, - Would deafen ye to hear. - - "The great Earl in his stirrups stood - That Highland host to see: - Now here a knight that's stout and good - May prove a jeopardie: - - "What wouldst thou do, my squire so gay, - That rides beside my reyne, - Were ye Glenallan's Earl the day, - And I were Roland Cheyne? - - "To turn the rein were sin and shame, - To fight were wondrous peril, - What would ye do now, Roland Cheyne, - Were ye Glenallan's Earl?' -</pre> -<p> - Ye maun ken, hinnies, that this Roland Cheyne, for as poor and auld as I - sit in the chimney-neuk, was my forbear, and an awfu' man he was that - dayin the fight, but specially after the Earl had fa'en, for he blamed - himsell for the counsel he gave, to fight before Mar came up wi' Mearns, - and Aberdeen, and Angus." -</p> -<p> - Her voice rose and became more animated as she recited the warlike - counsel of her ancestor— -</p> -<pre> - "Were I Glenallan's Earl this tide, - And ye were Roland Cheyne, - The spur should be in my horse's side, - And the bridle upon his mane. - - "If they hae twenty thousand blades, - And we twice ten times ten, - Yet they hae but their tartan plaids, - And we are mail-clad men. - - "My horse shall ride through ranks sae rude, - As through the moorland fern, - Then neer let the gentle Norman blude - Grow cauld for Highland kerne.'" -</pre> -<p> - "Do you hear that, nephew?" said Oldbuck;—"you observe your Gaelic - ancestors were not held in high repute formerly by the Lowland warriors." -</p> -<p> - "I hear," said Hector, "a silly old woman sing a silly old song. I am - surprised, sir, that you, who will not listen to Ossian's songs of Selma, - can be pleased with such trash. I vow, I have not seen or heard a worse - halfpenny ballad; I don't believe you could match it in any pedlar's pack - in the country. I should be ashamed to think that the honour of the - Highlands could be affected by such doggrel. "—And, tossing up his head, - he snuffed the air indignantly. -</p> -<p> - Apparently the old woman heard the sound of their voices; for, ceasing - her song, she called out, "Come in, sirs, come in—good-will never halted - at the door-stane." -</p> -<p> - They entered, and found to their surprise Elspeth alone, sitting "ghastly - on the hearth," like the personification of Old Age in the Hunter's song - of the Owl,* "wrinkled, tattered, vile, dim-eyed, discoloured, torpid." -</p> -<p> - * See Mrs. Grant on the Highland Superstitions, vol. ii. p. 260, for this - fine translation from the Gaelic. -</p> -<p> - "They're a' out," she said, as they entered; "but an ye will sit a blink, - somebody will be in. If ye hae business wi' my gude-daughter, or my son, - they'll be in belyve,—I never speak on business mysell. Bairns, gie them - seats—the bairns are a' gane out, I trow,"—looking around her;—"I was - crooning to keep them quiet a wee while since; but they hae cruppen out - some gate. Sit down, sirs, they'll be in belyve;" and she dismissed her - spindle from her hand to twirl upon the floor, and soon seemed - exclusively occupied in regulating its motion, as unconscious of the - presence of the strangers as she appeared indifferent to their rank or - business there. -</p> -<p> - "I wish," said Oldbuck, "she would resume that canticle, or legendary - fragment. I always suspected there was a skirmish of cavalry before the - main battle of the Harlaw."* -</p> -<p> - * Note H. Battle of Harlaw. -</p> -<p> - "If your honour pleases," said Edie, "had ye not better proceed to the - business that brought us a' here? I'se engage to get ye the sang ony - time." -</p> -<p> - "I believe you are right, Edie—<i>Do manus</i>—I submit. But how shall we - manage? She sits there the very image of dotage. Speak to her, Edie—try - if you can make her recollect having sent you to Glenallan House." -</p> -<p> - Edie rose accordingly, and, crossing the floor, placed himself in the - same position which he had occupied during his former conversation with - her. "I'm fain to see ye looking sae weel, cummer; the mair, that the - black ox has tramped on ye since I was aneath your roof-tree." -</p> -<p> - "Ay," said Elspeth; but rather from a general idea of misfortune, than - any exact recollection of what had happened,—"there has been distress - amang us of late—I wonder how younger folk bide it—I bide it ill. I - canna hear the wind whistle, and the sea roar, but I think I see the - coble whombled keel up, and some o' them struggling in the waves!—Eh, - sirs; sic weary dreams as folk hae between sleeping and waking, before - they win to the lang sleep and the sound! I could amaist think whiles my - son, or else Steenie, my oe, was dead, and that I had seen the burial. - Isna that a queer dream for a daft auld carline? What for should ony o' - them dee before me?—it's out o' the course o' nature, ye ken." -</p> -<p> - "I think you'll make very little of this stupid old woman," said - Hector,—who still nourished, perhaps, some feelings of the dislike excited by - the disparaging mention of his countrymen in her lay—"I think you'll - make but little of her, sir; and it's wasting our time to sit here and - listen to her dotage." -</p> -<p> - "Hector," said the Antiquary, indignantly, "if you do not respect her - misfortunes, respect at least her old age and grey hairs: this is the - last stage of existence, so finely treated by the Latin poet— -</p> -<pre> - —Omni - Membrorum damno major dementia, quae nec - Nomina, servorum, nec vultus agnoscit amici, - Cum queis preterita coenavit nocte, nec illos - Quos genuit, quos eduxit." -</pre> -<p> - "That's Latin!" said Elspeth, rousing herself as if she attended to the - lines, which the Antiquary recited with great pomp of diction—"that's - Latin!" and she cast a wild glance around her—"Has there a priest fund - me out at last?" -</p> -<p> - "You see, nephew, her comprehension is almost equal to your own of that - fine passage." -</p> -<p> - "I hope you think, sir, that I knew it to be Latin as well as she did?" -</p> -<p> - "Why, as to that—But stay, she is about to speak." -</p> -<p> - "I will have no priest—none," said the beldam, with impotent vehemence; - "as I have lived I will die—none shall say that I betrayed my mistress, - though it were to save my soul!" -</p> -<p> - "That bespoke a foul conscience," said the mendicant;—"I wuss she wad - mak a clean breast, an it were but for her sake;" and he again assailed - her. -</p> -<p> - "Weel, gudewife, I did your errand to the Yerl." -</p> -<p> - "To what Earl? I ken nae Earl;—I ken'd a Countess ance—I wish to Heaven - I had never ken'd her! for by that acquaintance, neighbour, their cam,"— - and she counted her withered fingers as she spoke "first Pride, then - Malice, then Revenge, then False Witness; and Murder tirl'd at the - door-pin, if he camna ben. And werena thae pleasant guests, think ye, to - take up their quarters in ae woman's heart? I trow there was routh o' - company." -</p> -<p> - "But, cummer," continued the beggar, "it wasna the Countess of Glenallan - I meant, but her son, him that was Lord Geraldin." -</p> -<p> - "I mind it now," she said; "I saw him no that langsyne, and we had a - heavy speech thegither. Eh, sirs! the comely young lord is turned as auld - and frail as I am: it's muckle that sorrow and heartbreak, and crossing - of true love, will do wi' young blood. But suldna his mither hae lookit - to that hersell?—we were but to do her bidding, ye ken. I am sure - there's naebody can blame me—he wasna my son, and she was my mistress. - Ye ken how the rhyme says—I hae maist forgotten how to sing, or else the - tune's left my auld head— -</p> -<pre> - "He turn'd him right and round again, - Said, Scorn na at my mither; - Light loves I may get mony a ane, - But minnie neer anither. -</pre> -<p> - Then he was but of the half blude, ye ken, and her's was the right - Glenallan after a'. Na, na, I maun never maen doing and suffering for the - Countess Joscelin—never will I maen for that." -</p> -<p> - Then drawing her flax from the distaff, with the dogged air of one who is - resolved to confess nothing, she resumed her interrupted occupation. -</p> -<p> - "I hae heard," said the mendicant, taking his cue from what Oldbuck had - told him of the family history—"I hae heard, cummer, that some ill - tongue suld hae come between the Earl, that's Lord Geraldin, and his - young bride." -</p> -<p> - "Ill tongue?" she said in hasty alarm; "and what had she to fear frae an - ill tongue?—she was gude and fair eneugh—at least a' body said sae. But - had she keepit her ain tongue aff ither folk, she might hae been living - like a leddy for a' that's come and gane yet." -</p> -<p> - "But I hae heard say, gudewife," continued Ochiltree, "there was a - clatter in the country, that her husband and her were ower sibb when they - married." -</p> -<p> - "Wha durst speak o' that?" said the old woman hastily; "wha durst say - they were married?—wha ken'd o' that?—Not the Countess—not I. If they - wedded in secret, they were severed in secret—They drank of the - fountains of their ain deceit." -</p> -<p> - "No, wretched beldam!" exclaimed Oldbuck, who could keep silence no - longer, "they drank the poison that you and your wicked mistress prepared - for them." -</p> -<p> - "Ha, ha!" she replied, "I aye thought it would come to this. It's but - sitting silent when they examine me—there's nae torture in our days; and - if there is, let them rend me!—It's ill o' the vassal's mouth that - betrays the bread it eats." -</p> -<p> - "Speak to her, Edie," said the Antiquary; "she knows your voice, and - answers to it most readily." -</p> -<p> - "We shall mak naething mair out o' her," said Ochiltree. "When she has - clinkit hersell down that way, and faulded her arms, she winna speak a - word, they say, for weeks thegither. And besides, to my thinking, her - face is sair changed since we cam in. However, I'se try her ance mair to - satisfy your honour.—So ye canna keep in mind, cummer, that your auld - mistress, the Countess Joscelin, has been removed?" -</p> -<p> - "Removed!" she exclaimed; for that name never failed to produce its usual - effect upon her; "then we maun a' follow—a' maun ride when she is in the - saddle. Tell them to let Lord Geraldin ken we're on before them. Bring my - hood and scarf—ye wadna hae me gang in the carriage wi' my leddy, and my - hair in this fashion?" -</p> -<p> - She raised her shrivelled arms, and seemed busied like a woman who puts - on her cloak to go abroad, then dropped them slowly and stiffly; and the - same idea of a journey still floating apparently through her head, she - proceeded, in a hurried and interrupted manner,—"Call Miss Neville—What - do you mean by Lady Geraldin? I said Eveline Neville, not Lady Geraldin— - there's no Lady Geraldin; tell her that, and bid her change her wet gown, - and no' look sae pale. Bairn! what should she do wi' a bairn?—maidens - hae nane, I trow.—Teresa—Teresa—my lady calls us!—Bring a candle;—the - grand staircase is as mirk as a Yule midnight—We are coming, my - lady!"—With these words she sunk back on the settle, and from thence - sidelong to the floor. * -</p> -<p> - * Note I. Elspeth's death. -</p> -<pre> - Edie ran to support her, but hardly got her in his arms, before he said, -"It's a' ower—she has passed away even with that last word." -</pre> -<p> - "Impossible," said Oldbuck, hastily advancing, as did his nephew. But - nothing was more certain. She had expired with the last hurried word that - left her lips; and all that remained before them were the mortal relics - of the creature who had so long struggled with an internal sense of - concealed guilt, joined to all the distresses of age and poverty. -</p> -<p> - "God grant that she be gane to a better place!" said Edie, as he looked - on the lifeless body; "but oh! there was something lying hard and heavy - at her heart. I have seen mony a ane dee, baith in the field o' battle, - and a fair-strae death at hame; but I wad rather see them a' ower again, - as sic a fearfu' flitting as hers!" -</p> -<p> - "We must call in the neighbours," said Oldbuck, when he had somewhat - recovered his horror and astonishment, "and give warning of this - additional calamity. I wish she could have been brought to a confession. - And, though of far less consequence, I could have wished to transcribe - that metrical fragment. But Heaven's will must be done!" -</p> -<p> - They left the hut accordingly, and gave the alarm in the hamlet, whose - matrons instantly assembled to compose the limbs and arrange the body of - her who might be considered as the mother of their settlement. Oldbuck - promised his assistance for the funeral. -</p> -<p> - "Your honour," said Alison Breck, who was next in age to the deceased, - "suld send doun something to us for keeping up our hearts at the - lykewake, for a' Saunders's gin, puir man, was drucken out at the burial - o' Steenie, and we'll no get mony to sit dry-lipped aside the corpse. - Elspeth was unco clever in her young days, as I can mind right weel, but - there was aye a word o' her no being that chancy. Ane suldna speak ill o' - the dead—mair by token, o' ane's cummer and neighbour—but there was - queer things said about a leddy and a bairn or she left the - Craigburnfoot. And sae, in gude troth, it will be a puir lykewake, unless - your honour sends us something to keep us cracking." -</p> -<p> - "You shall have some whisky," answered Oldbuck, "the rather that you have - preserved the proper word for that ancient custom of watching the dead. - You observe, Hector, this is genuine Teutonic, from the Gothic - <i>Leichnam,</i> a corpse. It is quite erroneously called <i>Late-wake,</i> though - Brand favours that modern corruption and derivation." -</p> -<p> - "I believe," said Hector to himself, "my uncle would give away Monkbarns - to any one who would come to ask it in genuine Teutonic! Not a drop of - whisky would the old creatures have got, had their president asked it for - the use of the <i>Late-wake.</i>" -</p> -<p> - While Oldbuck was giving some farther directions, and promising - assistance, a servant of Sir Arthur's came riding very hard along the - sands, and stopped his horse when he saw the Antiquary. "There had - something," he said, "very particular happened at the Castle"—(he could - not, or would not, explain what)—"and Miss Wardour had sent him off - express to Monkbarns, to beg that Mr. Oldbuck would come to them without - a moment's delay." -</p> -<p> - "I am afraid," said the Antiquary, "his course also is drawing to a - close. What can I do?" -</p> -<p> - "Do, sir?" exclaimed Hector, with his characteristic impatience,—"get on - the horse, and turn his head homeward—you will be at Knockwinnock Castle - in ten minutes." -</p> -<p> - "He is quite a free goer," said the servant, dismounting to adjust the - girths and stirrups,—"he only pulls a little if he feels a dead weight - on him." -</p> -<p> - "I should soon be a dead weight <i>off</i> him, my friend," said the - Antiquary.—"What the devil, nephew, are you weary of me? or do you - suppose me weary of my life, that I should get on the back of such a - Bucephalus as that? No, no, my friend, if I am to be at Knockwinnock - to-day, it must be by walking quietly forward on my own feet, which I - will do with as little delay as possible. Captain M'Intyre may ride that - animal himself, if he pleases." -</p> -<p> - "I have little hope I could be of any use, uncle, but I cannot think of - their distress without wishing to show sympathy at least—so I will ride - on before, and announce to them that you are coming.—I'll trouble you - for your spurs, my friend." -</p> -<p> - "You will scarce need them, sir," said the man, taking them off at the - same time, and buckling them upon Captain Mlntyre's heels, "he's very - frank to the road." -</p> -<p> - Oldbuck stood astonished at this last act of temerity, "are you mad, - Hector?" he cried, "or have you forgotten what is said by Quintus - Curtius, with whom, as a soldier, you must needs be familiar,—<i>Nobilis - equus umbra quidem virgae regitur; ignavus ne calcari quidem excitari - potest;</i> which plainly shows that spurs are useless in every case, and, I - may add, dangerous in most." -</p> -<p> - But Hector, who cared little for the opinion of either Quintus Curtius or - of the Antiquary, upon such a topic, only answered with a heedless "Never - fear—never fear, sir." -</p> -<pre> - With that he gave his able horse the head, - And, bending forward, struck his armed heels - Against the panting sides of his poor jade, - Up to the rowel-head; and starting so, - He seemed in running to devour the way, - Staying no longer question. -</pre> -<p> - "There they go, well matched," said Oldbuck, looking after them as they - started—"a mad horse and a wild boy, the two most unruly creatures in - Christendom! and all to get half an hour sooner to a place where nobody - wants him; for I doubt Sir Arthur's griefs are beyond the cure of our - light horseman. It must be the villany of Dousterswivel, for whom Sir - Arthur has done so much; for I cannot help observing, that, with some - natures, Tacitus's maxim holdeth good: <i>Beneficia eo usque laeta sunt dum - videntur exsolvi posse; ubi multum antevenere, pro gratia odium - redditur,</i>—from which a wise man might take a caution, not to oblige any - man beyond the degree in which he may expect to be requited, lest he - should make his debtor a bankrupt in gratitude." -</p> -<p> - Murmuring to himself such scraps of cynical philosophy, our Antiquary - paced the sands towards Knockwinnock; but it is necessary we should - outstrip him, for the purpose of explaining the reasons of his being so - anxiously summoned thither. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0020"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER TWENTIETH. -</h2> -<pre> - So, while the Goose, of whom the fable told, - Incumbent, brooded o'er her eggs of gold, - With hand outstretched, impatient to destroy, - Stole on her secret nest the cruel Boy, - Whose gripe rapacious changed her splendid dream, - —For wings vain fluttering, and for dying scream. - The Loves of the Sea-weeds. -</pre> -<p> - From the time that Sir Arthur Wardour had become possessor of the - treasure found in Misticot's grave, he had been in a state of mind more - resembling ecstasy than sober sense. Indeed, at one time his daughter had - become seriously apprehensive for his intellect; for, as he had no doubt - that he had the secret of possessing himself of wealth to an unbounded - extent, his language and carriage were those of a man who had acquired - the philosopher's stone. He talked of buying contiguous estates, that - would have led him from one side of the island to the other, as if he - were determined to brook no neighbour save the sea. He corresponded with - an architect of eminence, upon a plan of renovating the castle of his - forefathers on a style of extended magnificence that might have rivalled - that of Windsor, and laying out the grounds on a suitable scale. Troops - of liveried menials were already, in fancy, marshalled in his halls, - and—for what may not unbounded wealth authorize its possessor to aspire - to?—the coronet of a marquis, perhaps of a duke, was glittering before - his imagination. His daughter—to what matches might she not look - forward? Even an alliance with the blood-royal was not beyond the sphere - of his hopes. His son was already a general—and he himself whatever - ambition could dream of in its wildest visions. -</p> -<p> - In this mood, if any one endeavoured to bring Sir Arthur down to the - regions of common life, his replies were in the vein of Ancient Pistol— -</p> -<pre> - A fico for the world, and worldlings base - I speak of Africa and golden joys! -</pre> -<p> - The reader may conceive the amazement of Miss Wardour, when, instead of - undergoing an investigation concerning the addresses of Lovel, as she had - expected from the long conference of her father with Mr. Oldbuck, upon - the morning of the fated day when the treasure was discovered, the - conversation of Sir Arthur announced an imagination heated with the hopes - of possessing the most unbounded wealth. But she was seriously alarmed - when Dousterswivel was sent for to the Castle, and was closeted with her - father—his mishap condoled with—his part taken, and his loss - compensated. All the suspicions which she had long entertained respecting - this man became strengthened, by observing his pains to keep up the - golden dreams of her father, and to secure for himself, under various - pretexts, as much as possible out of the windfall which had so strangely - fallen to Sir Arthur's share. -</p> -<p> - Other evil symptoms began to appear, following close on each other. - Letters arrived every post, which Sir Arthur, as soon as he had looked at - the directions, flung into the fire without taking the trouble to open - them. Miss Wardour could not help suspecting that these epistles, the - contents of which seemed to be known to her father by a sort of - intuition, came from pressing creditors. In the meanwhile, the temporary - aid which he had received from the treasure dwindled fast away. By far - the greater part had been swallowed up by the necessity of paying the - bill of six hundred pounds, which had threatened Sir Arthur with instant - distress. Of the rest, some part was given to the adept, some wasted upon - extravagances which seemed to the poor knight fully authorized by his - full-blown hopes,—and some went to stop for a time the mouths of such - claimants as, being weary of fair promises, had become of opinion with - Harpagon, that it was necessary to touch something substantial. At length - circumstances announced but too plainly, that it was all expended within - two or three days after its discovery; and there appeared no prospect of - a supply. Sir Arthur, naturally impatient, now taxed Dousterswivel anew - with breach of those promises through which he had hoped to convert all - his lead into gold. But that worthy gentleman's turn was now served; and - as he had grace enough to wish to avoid witnessing the fall of the house - which he had undermined, he was at the trouble of bestowing a few learned - terms of art upon Sir Arthur, that at least he might not be tormented - before his time. He took leave of him, with assurances that he would - return to Knockwinnock the next morning, with such information as would - not fail to relieve Sir Arthur from all his distresses. -</p> -<p> - "For, since I have consulted in such matters, I ave never," said Mr. - Herman Dousterswivel, "approached so near de <i>arcanum,</i> what you call de - great mystery,—de Panchresta—de Polychresta—I do know as much of it as - Pelaso de Taranta, or Basilius—and either I will bring you in two and - tree days de No. III. of Mr. Mishdigoat, or you shall call me one knave - myself, and never look me in de face again no more at all." -</p> -<p> - The adept departed with this assurance, in the firm resolution of making - good the latter part of the proposition, and never again appearing before - his injured patron. Sir Arthur remained in a doubtful and anxious state - of mind. The positive assurances of the philosopher, with the hard words - Panchresta, Basilius, and so forth, produced some effect on his mind. But - he had been too often deluded by such jargon, to be absolutely relieved - of his doubt, and he retired for the evening into his library, in the - fearful state of one who, hanging over a precipice, and without the means - of retreat, perceives the stone on which he rests gradually parting from - the rest of the crag, and about to give way with him. -</p> -<p> - The visions of hope decayed, and there increased in proportion that - feverish agony of anticipation with which a man, educated in a sense of - consequence, and possessed of opulence,—the supporter of an ancient - name, and the father of two promising children,—foresaw the hour - approaching which should deprive him of all the splendour which time had - made familiarly necessary to him, and send him forth into the world to - struggle with poverty, with rapacity, and with scorn. Under these dire - forebodings, his temper, exhausted by the sickness of delayed hope, - became peevish and fretful, and his words and actions sometimes expressed - a reckless desperation, which alarmed Miss Wardour extremely. We have - seen, on a former occasion, that Sir Arthur was a man of passions lively - and quick, in proportion to the weakness of his character in other - respects; he was unused to contradiction, and if he had been hitherto, in - general, good-humoured and cheerful, it was probably because the course - of his life had afforded no such frequent provocation as to render his - irritability habitual. -</p> -<p> - On the third morning after Dousterswivel's departure, the servant, as - usual, laid on the breakfast table the newspaper and letters of the day. - Miss Wardour took up the former to avoid the continued ill-humour of her - father, who had wrought himself into a violent passion, because the toast - was over-browned. -</p> -<p> - "I perceive how it is," was his concluding speech on this interesting - subject,—"my servants, who have had their share of my fortune, begin to - think there is little to be made of me in future. But while I <i>am</i> the - scoundrel's master I will be so, and permit no neglect—no, nor endure a - hair's-breadth diminution of the respect I am entitled to exact from - them." -</p> -<p> - "I am ready to leave your honour's service this instant," said the - domestic upon whom the fault had been charged, "as soon as you order - payment of my wages." -</p> -<p> - Sir Arthur, as if stung by a serpent, thrust his hand into his pocket, - and instantly drew out the money which it contained, but which was short - of the man's claim. "What money have you got, Miss Wardour?" he said, in - a tone of affected calmness, but which concealed violent agitation. -</p> -<p> - Miss Wardour gave him her purse; he attempted to count the bank notes - which it contained, but could not reckon them. After twice miscounting - the sum, he threw the whole to his daughter, and saying, in a stern - voice, "Pay the rascal, and let him leave the house instantly!" he strode - out of the room. -</p> -<p> - The mistress and servant stood alike astonished at the agitation and - vehemence of his manner. -</p> -<p> - "I am sure, ma'am, if I had thought I was particularly wrang, I wadna hae - made ony answer when Sir Arthur challenged me. I hae been lang in his - service, and he has been a kind master, and you a kind mistress, and I - wad like ill ye should think I wad start for a hasty word. I am sure it - was very wrang o' me to speak about wages to his honour, when maybe he - has something to vex him. I had nae thoughts o' leaving the family in - this way." -</p> -<p> - "Go down stair, Robert," said his mistress—"something has happened to - fret my father—go down stairs, and let Alick answer the bell." -</p> -<p> - When the man left the room, Sir Arthur re-entered, as if he had been - watching his departure. "What's the meaning of this?" he said hastily, as - he observed the notes lying still on the table—"Is he not gone? Am I - neither to be obeyed as a master or a father?" -</p> -<p> - "He is gone to give up his charge to the housekeeper, sir,—I thought - there was not such instant haste." -</p> -<p> - "There <i>is</i> haste, Miss Wardour," answered her father, interrupting - her;—"What I do henceforth in the house of my forefathers, must be done - speedily, or never." -</p> -<p> - He then sate down, and took up with a trembling hand the basin of tea - prepared for him, protracting the swallowing of it, as if to delay the - necessity of opening the post-letters which lay on the table, and which - he eyed from time to time, as if they had been a nest of adders ready to - start into life and spring upon him. -</p> -<p> - "You will be happy to hear," said Miss Wardour, willing to withdraw her - father's mind from the gloomy reflections in which he appeared to be - plunged, "you will be happy to hear, sir, that Lieutenant Taffril's - gun-brig has got safe into Leith Roads—I observe there had been - apprehensions for his safety—I am glad we did not hear them till they - were contradicted." -</p> -<p> - "And what is Taffril and his gun-brig to me?" -</p> -<p> - "Sir!" said Miss Wardour in astonishment; for Sir Arthur, in his ordinary - state of mind, took a fidgety sort of interest in all the gossip of the - day and country. -</p> -<p> - "I say," he repeated in a higher and still more impatient key, "what do I - care who is saved or lost? It's nothing to me, I suppose?" -</p> -<p> - "I did not know you were busy, Sir Arthur; and thought, as Mr. Taffril is - a brave man, and from our own country, you would be happy to hear"— -</p> -<p> - "Oh, I am happy—as happy as possible—and, to make you happy too, you - shall have some of my good news in return." And he caught up a letter. - "It does not signify which I open first—they are all to the same tune." -</p> -<p> - He broke the seal hastily, ran the letter over, and then threw it to his - daughter. "Ay—I could not have lighted more happily!—this places the - copestone." -</p> -<p> - Miss Wardour, in silent terror, took up the letter. "Read it—read it - aloud!" said her father; "it cannot be read too often; it will serve to - break you in for other good news of the same kind." -</p> -<p> - She began to read with a faltering voice, "Dear Sir." -</p> -<p> - "He <i>dears</i> me too, you see, this impudent drudge of a writer's office, - who, a twelvemonth since, was not fit company for my second table—I - suppose I shall be dear Knight' with him by and by." -</p> -<p> - "Dear Sir," resumed Miss Wardour; but, interrupting herself, "I see the - contents are unpleasant, sir—it will only vex you my reading them - aloud." -</p> -<p> - "If you will allow me to know my own pleasure, Miss Wardour, I entreat - you to go on—I presume, if it were unnecessary, I should not ask you to - take the trouble." -</p> -<p> - "Having been of late taken into copartnery," continued Miss Wardour, - reading the letter, "by Mr. Gilbert Greenhorn, son of your late - correspondent and man of business, Girnigo Greenhorn, Esq., writer to the - signet, whose business I conducted as parliament-house clerk for many - years, which business will in future be carried on under the firm of - Greenhorn and Grinderson (which I memorandum for the sake of accuracy in - addressing your future letters), and having had of late favours of yours, - directed to my aforesaid partner, Gilbert Greenhorn, in consequence of - his absence at the Lamberton races, have the honour to reply to your said - favours." -</p> -<p> - "You see my friend is methodical, and commences by explaining the causes - which have procured me so modest and elegant a correspondent. Go on—I - can bear it." -</p> -<p> - And he laughed that bitter laugh which is perhaps the most fearful - expression of mental misery. Trembling to proceed, and yet afraid to - disobey, Miss Wardour continued to read—"I am for myself and partner, - sorry we cannot oblige you by looking out for the sums you mention, or - applying for a suspension in the case of Goldiebirds' bond, which would - be more inconsistent, as we have been employed to act as the said - Goldiebirds' procurators and attorneys, in which capacity we have taken - out a charge of horning against you, as you must be aware by the schedule - left by the messenger, for the sum of four thousand seven hundred and - fifty-six pounds five shillings and sixpence one-fourth of a penny - sterling, which, with annual-rent and expenses effeiring, we presume will - be settled during the currency of the charge, to prevent further trouble. - Same time, I am under the necessity to observe our own account, amounting - to seven hundred and sixty-nine pounds ten shillings and sixpence, is - also due, and settlement would be agreeable; but as we hold your rights, - title-deeds, and documents in hypothec, shall have no objection to give - reasonable time—say till the next money term. I am, for myself and - partner, concerned to add, that Messrs. Goldiebirds' instructions to us - are to proceed <i>peremptorie</i> and <i>sine mora,</i> of which I have the - pleasure to advise you, to prevent future mistakes, reserving to - ourselves otherwise to age' as accords. I am, for self and partner, dear - sir, your obliged humble servant, Gabriel Grinderson, for Greenhorn and - Grinderson." -</p> -<p> - "Ungrateful villain!" said Miss Wardour. -</p> -<p> - "Why, no—it's in the usual rule, I suppose; the blow could not have been - perfect if dealt by another hand—it's all just as it should be," - answered the poor Baronet, his affected composure sorely belied by his - quivering lip and rolling eye—"But here's a postscript I did not - notice—come, finish the epistle." -</p> -<p> - "I have to add (not for self but partner) that Mr. Greenhorn will - accommodate you by taking your service of plate, or the bay horses, if - sound in wind and limb, at a fair appreciation, in part payment of your - accompt." -</p> -<p> - "G—d confound him!" said Sir Arthur, losing all command of himself at - this condescending proposal: "his grandfather shod my father's horses, - and this descendant of a scoundrelly blacksmith proposes to swindle me - out of mine! But I will write him a proper answer." -</p> -<p> - And he sate down and began to write with great vehemence, then stopped - and read aloud:—"Mr. Gilbert Greenhorn,—in answer to two letters of a - late date, I received a letter from a person calling himself Grinderson, - and designing himself as your partner. When I address any one, I do not - usually expect to be answered by deputy—I think I have been useful to - your father, and friendly and civil to yourself, and therefore am now - surprised—And yet," said he, stopping short, "why should I be surprised - at that or anything else? or why should I take up my time in writing to - such a scoundrel?—I shan't be always kept in prison, I suppose; and to - break that puppy's bones when I get out, shall be my first employment." -</p> -<p> - "In prison, sir?" said Miss Wardour, faintly. -</p> -<p> - "Ay, in prison to be sure. Do you make any question about that? Why, Mr. - what's his name's fine letter for self and partner seems to be thrown - away on you, or else you have got four thousand so many hundred pounds, - with the due proportion of shillings, pence, and half-pence, to pay that - aforesaid demand, as he calls it." -</p> -<p> - "I, sir? O if I had the means!—But where's my brother?—why does he not - come, and so long in Scotland? He might do something to assist us." -</p> -<p> - "Who, Reginald?—I suppose he's gone with Mr. Gilbert Greenhorn, or some - such respectable person, to the Lamberton races—I have expected him this - week past; but I cannot wonder that my children should neglect me as well - as every other person. But I should beg your pardon, my love, who never - either neglected or offended me in your life." -</p> -<p> - And kissing her cheek as she threw her arms round his neck, he - experienced that consolation which a parent feels, even in the most - distressed state, in the assurance that he possesses the affection of a - child. -</p> -<p> - Miss Wardour took the advantage of this revulsion of feeling, to - endeavour to soothe her father's mind to composure. She reminded him that - he had many friends. -</p> -<p> - "I had many once," said Sir Arthur; "but of some I have exhausted their - kindness with my frantic projects; others are unable to assist me—others - are unwilling. It is all over with me. I only hope Reginald will take - example by my folly." -</p> -<p> - "Should I not send to Monkbarns, sir?" said his daughter. -</p> -<p> - "To what purpose? He cannot lend me such a sum, and would not if he - could, for he knows I am otherwise drowned in debt; and he would only - give me scraps of misanthropy and quaint ends of Latin." -</p> -<p> - "But he is shrewd and sensible, and was bred to business, and, I am sure, - always loved this family." -</p> -<p> - "Yes, I believe he did. It is a fine pass we are come to, when the - affection of an Oldbuck is of consequence to a Wardour! But when matters - come to extremity, as I suppose they presently will—it may be as well to - send for him. And now go take your walk, my dear—my mind is more - composed than when I had this cursed disclosure to make. You know the - worst, and may daily or hourly expect it. Go take your walk—I would - willingly be alone for a little while." -</p> -<p> - When Miss Wardour left the apartment, her first occupation was to avail - herself of the half permission granted by her father, by despatching to - Monkbarns the messenger, who, as we have already seen, met the Antiquary - and his nephew on the sea-beach. -</p> -<p> - Little recking, and indeed scarce knowing, where she was wandering, - chance directed her into the walk beneath the Briery Bank, as it was - called. A brook, which in former days had supplied the castle-moat with - water, here descended through a narrow dell, up which Miss Wardour's - taste had directed a natural path, which was rendered neat and easy of - ascent, without the air of being formally made and preserved. It suited - well the character of the little glen, which was overhung with thickets - and underwood, chiefly of larch and hazel, intermixed with the usual - varieties of the thorn and brier. In this walk had passed that scene of - explanation between Miss Wardour and Lovel which was overheard by old - Edie Ochiltree. With a heart softened by the distress which approached - her family, Miss Wardour now recalled every word and argument which Lovel - had urged in support of his suit, and could not help confessing to - herself, it was no small subject of pride to have inspired a young man of - his talents with a passion so strong and disinterested. That he should - have left the pursuit of a profession in which he was said to be rapidly - rising, to bury himself in a disagreeable place like Fairport, and brood - over an unrequited passion, might be ridiculed by others as romantic, but - was naturally forgiven as an excess of affection by the person who was - the object of his attachment. Had he possessed an independence, however - moderate, or ascertained a clear and undisputed claim to the rank in - society he was well qualified to adorn, she might now have had it in her - power to offer her father, during his misfortunes, an asylum in an - establishment of her own. These thoughts, so favourable to the absent - lover, crowded in, one after the other, with such a minute recapitulation - of his words, looks, and actions, as plainly intimated that his former - repulse had been dictated rather by duty than inclination. Isabella was - musing alternately upon this subject, and upon that of her father's - misfortunes, when, as the path winded round a little hillock covered with - brushwood, the old Blue-Gown suddenly met her. -</p> -<p> - With an air as if he had something important and mysterious to - communicate, he doffed his bonnet, and assumed the cautious step and - voice of one who would not willingly be overheard. "I hae been wishing - muckle to meet wi' your leddyship—for ye ken I darena come to the house - for Dousterswivel." -</p> -<p> - "I heard indeed," said Miss Wardour, dropping an alms into the bonnet—"I - heard that you had done a very foolish, if not a very bad thing, Edie— - and I was sorry to hear it." -</p> -<p> - "Hout, my bonny leddy—fulish? A' the world's fules—and how should auld - Edie Ochiltree be aye wise?—And for the evil—let them wha deal wi' - Dousterswivel tell whether he gat a grain mair than his deserts." -</p> -<p> - "That may be true, Edie, and yet," said Miss Wardour, "you may have been - very wrong." -</p> -<p> - "Weel, weel, we'se no dispute that e'ennow—it's about yoursell I'm gaun - to speak. Div ye ken what's hanging ower the house of Knockwinnock?" -</p> -<p> - "Great distress, I fear, Edie," answered Miss Wardour; "but I am - surprised it is already so public." -</p> -<p> - "Public!—Sweepclean, the messenger, will be there the day wi' a' his - tackle. I ken it frae ane o' his concurrents, as they ca' them, that's - warned to meet him; and they'll be about their wark belyve; whare they - clip, there needs nae kame—they shear close eneugh." -</p> -<p> - "Are you sure this bad hour, Edie, is so very near?—come, I know, it - will." -</p> -<p> - "It's e'en as I tell you, leddy. But dinna be cast down—there's a heaven - ower your head here, as weel as in that fearful night atween the - Ballyburghness and the Halket-head. D'ye think He, wha rebuked the - waters, canna protect you against the wrath of men, though they be armed - with human authority?" -</p> -<p> - "It is indeed all we have to trust to." -</p> -<p> - "Ye dinna ken—ye dinna ken: when the night's darkest, the dawn's - nearest. If I had a gude horse, or could ride him when I had him, I - reckon there wad be help yet. I trusted to hae gotten a cast wi' the - Royal Charlotte, but she's coupit yonder, it's like, at Kittlebrig. There - was a young gentleman on the box, and he behuved to drive; and Tam Sang, - that suld hae mair sense, he behuved to let him, and the daft callant - couldna tak the turn at the corner o' the brig; and od! he took the - curbstane, and he's whomled her as I wad whomle a toom bicker—it was a - luck I hadna gotten on the tap o' her. Sae I came down atween hope and - despair, to see if ye wad send me on." -</p> -<p> - "And, Edie—where would ye go?" said the young lady. -</p> -<p> - "To Tannonburgh, my leddy" (which was the first stage from Fairport, but - a good deal nearer to Knockwinnock), "and that without delay—it's a' on - your ain business." -</p> -<p> - "Our business, Edie? Alas! I give you all credit for your good meaning; - but"— -</p> -<p> - "There's nae <i>buts</i> about it, my leddy, for gang I maun," said the - persevering Blue-Gown. -</p> -<p> - "But what is it that you would do at Tannonburgh?—or how can your going - there benefit my father's affairs?" -</p> -<p> - "Indeed, my sweet leddy," said the gaberlunzie, "ye maun just trust that - bit secret to auld Edie's grey pow, and ask nae questions about it. - Certainly if I wad hae wared my life for you yon night, I can hae nae - reason to play an ill pliskie t'ye in the day o' your distress." -</p> -<p> - "Well, Edie, follow me then," said Miss Wardour, "and I will try to get - you sent to Tannonburgh." -</p> -<p> - "Mak haste then, my bonny leddy—mak haste, for the love o' goodness!"— - and he continued to exhort her to expedition until they reached the - Castle. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0021"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER TWENTY-FIRST. -</h2> -<pre> - Let those go see who will—I like it not— - For, say he was a slave to rank and pomp, - And all the nothings he is now divorced from - By the hard doom of stern necessity: - Yet it is sad to mark his altered brow, - Where Vanity adjusts her flimsy veil - O'er the deep wrinkles of repentant anguish. - Old Play. -</pre> -<p> - When Miss Wardour arrived in the court of the Castle, she was apprized by - the first glance that the visit of the officers of the law had already - taken place. There was confusion, and gloom and sorrow, and curiosity - among the domestics, while the retainers of the law went from place to - place, making an inventory of the goods and chattels falling under their - warrant of distress, or poinding, as it is called in the law of Scotland. - Captain M'Intyre flew to her, as, struck dumb with the melancholy - conviction of her father's ruin, she paused upon the threshold of the - gateway. -</p> -<p> - "Dear Miss Wardour," he said, "do not make yourself uneasy; my uncle is - coming immediately, and I am sure he will find some way to clear the - house of these rascals." -</p> -<p> - "Alas! Captain M'Intyre, I fear it will be too late." -</p> -<p> - "No," answered Edie, impatiently—"could I but get to Tannonburgh. In the - name of Heaven, Captain, contrive some way to get me on, and ye'll do - this poor ruined family the best day's doing that has been done them - since Redhand's days—for as sure as e'er an auld saw came true, - Knockwinnock house and land will be lost and won this day." -</p> -<p> - "Why, what good can you do, old man?" said Hector. -</p> -<p> - But Robert, the domestic with whom Sir Arthur had been so much displeased - in the morning, as if he had been watching for an opportunity to display - his zeal, stepped hastily forward and said to his mistress, "If you - please, ma'am, this auld man, Ochiltree, is very skeely and auld-farrant - about mony things, as the diseases of cows and horse, and sic like, and I - am sure be disna want to be at Tannonburgh the day for naething, since he - insists on't this gate; and, if your leddyship pleases, I'll drive him - there in the taxed-cart in an hour's time. I wad fain be of some use—I - could bite my very tongue out when I think on this morning." -</p> -<p> - "I am obliged to you, Robert," said Miss Wardour; "and if you really - think it has the least chance of being useful"— -</p> -<p> - "In the name of God," said the old man, "yoke the cart, Robie, and if I - am no o' some use, less or mair, I'll gie ye leave to fling me ower - Kittlebrig as ye come back again. But, O man, haste ye, for time's - precious this day." -</p> -<p> - Robert looked at his mistress as she retired into the house, and seeing - he was not prohibited, flew to the stable-yard, which was adjacent to the - court, in order to yoke the carriage; for, though an old beggar was the - personage least likely to render effectual assistance in a case of - pecuniary distress, yet there was among the common people of Edie's - circle, a general idea of his prudence and sagacity, which authorized - Robert's conclusion that he would not so earnestly have urged the - necessity of this expedition had he not been convinced of its utility. - But so soon as the servant took hold of a horse to harness him for the - taxed-cart, an officer touched him on the shoulder—"My friend, you must - let that beast alone—he's down in the schedule." -</p> -<p> - "What!" said Robert, "am I not to take my master's horse to go my young - leddy's errand?" -</p> -<p> - "You must remove nothing here," said the man of office, "or you will be - liable for all consequences." -</p> -<p> - "What the devil, sir," said Hector, who having followed to examine - Ochiltree more closely on the nature of his hopes and expectations, - already began to bristle like one of the terriers of his own native - mountains, and sought but a decent pretext for venting his displeasure, - "have you the impudence to prevent the young lady's servant from obeying - her orders?" -</p> -<p> - There was something in the air and tone of the young soldier, which - seemed to argue that his interference was not likely to be confined to - mere expostulation; and which, if it promised finally the advantages of a - process of battery and deforcement, would certainly commence with the - unpleasant circumstances necessary for founding such a complaint. The - legal officer, confronted with him of the military, grasped with one - doubtful hand the greasy bludgeon which was to enforce his authority, and - with the other produced his short official baton, tipped with silver, and - having a movable ring upon it—"Captain M'Intyre,—Sir, I have no quarrel - with you,—but if you interrupt me in my duty, I will break the wand of - peace, and declare myself deforced." -</p> -<p> - "And who the devil cares," said Hector, totally ignorant of the words of - judicial action, "whether you declare yourself divorced or married? And - as to breaking your wand, or breaking the peace, or whatever you call it, - all I know is, that I will break your bones if you prevent the lad from - harnessing the horses to obey his mistress's orders." -</p> -<p> - "I take all who stand here to witness," said the messenger, "that I - showed him my blazon, and explained my character. He that will to Cupar - maun to Cupar,"—and he slid his enigmatical ring from one end of the - baton to the other, being the appropriate symbol of his having been - forcibly interrupted in the discharge of his duty. -</p> -<p> - Honest Hector, better accustomed to the artillery of the field than to - that of the law, saw this mystical ceremony with great indifference; and - with like unconcern beheld the messenger sit down to write out an - execution of deforcement. But at this moment, to prevent the well-meaning - hot-headed Highlander from running the risk of a severe penalty, the - Antiquary arrived puffing and blowing, with his handkerchief crammed - under his hat, and his wig upon the end of his stick. -</p> -<p> - "What the deuce is the matter here?" he exclaimed, hastily adjusting his - head-gear; "I have been following you in fear of finding your idle - loggerhead knocked against one rock or other, and here I find you parted - with your Bucephalus, and quarrelling with Sweepclean. A messenger, - Hector, is a worse foe than a <i>phoca,</i> whether it be the <i>phoca barbata,</i> - or the <i>phoca vitulina</i> of your late conflict." -</p> -<p> - "D—n the <i>phoca,</i> sir," said Hector, "whether it be the one or the - other—I say d—n them both particularly! I think you would not have me - stand quietly by and see a scoundrel like this, because he calls himself - a king's messenger, forsooth—(I hope the king has many better for his - meanest errands)—insult a young lady of family and fashion like Miss - Wardour?" -</p> -<p> - "Rightly argued, Hector," said the Antiquary; "but the king, like other - people, has now and then shabby errands, and, in your ear, must have - shabby fellows to do them. But even supposing you unacquainted with the - statutes of William the Lion, in which <i>capite quarto versu quinto,</i> this - crime of deforcement is termed <i>despectus Domini Regis</i>—a contempt, to - wit, of the king himself, in whose name all legal diligence issues,— - could you not have inferred, from the information I took so much pains to - give you to-day, that those who interrupt officers who come to execute - letters of caption, are <i>tanquam participes criminis rebellionis?</i> seeing - that he who aids a rebel, is himself, <i>quodammodo,</i> an accessory to - rebellion—But I'll bring you out of this scrape." -</p> -<p> - He then spoke to the messenger, who, upon his arrival, had laid aside all - thoughts of making a good by-job out of the deforcement, and accepted Mr. - Oldbuck's assurances that the horse and taxed-cart should be safely - returned in the course of two or three hours. -</p> -<p> - "Very well, sir," said the Antiquary, "since you are disposed to be so - civil, you shall have another job in your own best way—a little cast of - state politics—a crime punishable <i>per Legem Juliam,</i> Mr. Sweepclean— - Hark thee hither." -</p> -<p> - And after a whisper of five minutes, he gave him a slip of paper, on - receiving which, the messenger mounted his horse, and, with one of his - assistants, rode away pretty sharply. The fellow who remained seemed to - delay his operations purposely, proceeded in the rest of his duty very - slowly, and with the caution and precision of one who feels himself - overlooked by a skilful and severe inspector. -</p> -<p> - In the meantime, Oldbuck, taking his nephew by the arm, led him into the - house, and they were ushered into the presence of Sir Arthur Wardour, - who, in a flutter between wounded pride, agonized apprehension, and vain - attempts to disguise both under a show of indifference, exhibited a - spectacle of painful interest. -</p> -<p> - "Happy to see you, Mr. Oldbuck—always happy to see my friends in fair - weather or foul," said the poor Baronet, struggling not for composure, - but for gaiety—an affectation which was strongly contrasted by the - nervous and protracted grasp of his hand, and the agitation of his whole - demeanour—"I am happy to see you. You are riding, I see—I hope in this - confusion your horses are taken good care of—I always like to have my - friend's horses looked after—Egad! they will have all my care now, for - you see they are like to leave me none of my own—he! he! he! eh, Mr. - Oldbuck?" -</p> -<p> - This attempt at a jest was attended by a hysterical giggle, which poor - Sir Arthur intended should sound as an indifferent laugh. -</p> -<p> - "You know I never ride, Sir Arthur," said the Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - "I beg your pardon; but sure I saw your nephew arrive on horseback a - short time since. We must look after officers' horses, and his was as - handsome a grey charger as I have seen." -</p> -<p> - Sir Arthur was about to ring the bell, when Mr. Oldbuck said, "My nephew - came on your own grey horse, Sir Arthur." -</p> -<p> - "Mine!" said the poor Baronet; "mine was it? then the sun had been in my - eyes. Well, I'm not worthy having a horse any longer, since I don't know - my own when I see him." -</p> -<p> - "Good Heaven!" thought Oldbuck, "how is this man altered from the formal - stolidity of his usual manner!—he grows wanton under adversity—<i>Sed - pereunti mille figurae.</i>"—He then proceeded aloud—"Sir Arthur, we must - necessarily speak a little on business." -</p> -<p> - "To be sure," said Sir Arthur; "but it was so good that I should not know - the horse I have ridden these five years—ha! ha! ha!" -</p> -<p> - "Sir Arthur," said the Antiquary, "don't let us waste time which is - precious; we shall have, I hope, many better seasons for jesting— - <i>desipere in loco</i> is the maxim of Horace. I more than suspect this has - been brought on by the villany of Dousterswivel." -</p> -<p> - "Don't mention his name, sir!" said Sir Arthur; and his manner entirely - changed from a fluttered affectation of gaiety to all the agitation of - fury; his eyes sparkled, his mouth foamed, his hands were clenched— - "don't mention his name, sir," he vociferated, "unless you would see me - go mad in your presence! That I should have been such a miserable dolt— - such an infatuated idiot—such a beast endowed with thrice a beast's - stupidity, to be led and driven and spur-galled by such a rascal, and - under such ridiculous pretences!—Mr. Oldbuck, I could tear myself when I - think of it." -</p> -<p> - "I only meant to say," answered the Antiquary, "that this fellow is like - to meet his reward; and I cannot but think we shall frighten something - out of him that may be of service to you. He has certainly had some - unlawful correspondence on the other side of the water." -</p> -<p> - "Has he?—has he?—has he indeed?—then d—n the house-hold goods, - horses, and so forth—I will go to prison a happy man, Mr. Oldbuck. I - hope in heaven there's a reasonable chance of his being hanged?" -</p> -<p> - "Why, pretty fair," said Oldbuck, willing to encourage this diversion, in - hopes it might mitigate the feelings which seemed like to overset the - poor man's understanding; "honester men have stretched a rope, or the law - has been sadly cheated—But this unhappy business of yours—can nothing - be done? Let me see the charge." -</p> -<p> - He took the papers; and, as he read them, his countenance grew hopelessly - dark and disconsolate. Miss Wardour had by this time entered the - apartment, and fixing her eyes on Mr. Oldbuck, as if she meant to read - her fate in his looks, easily perceived, from the change in his eye, and - the dropping of his nether-jaw, how little was to be hoped. -</p> -<p> - "We are then irremediably ruined, Mr. Oldbuck?" said the young lady. -</p> -<p> - "Irremediably?—I hope not—but the instant demand is very large, and - others will, doubtless, pour in." -</p> -<p> - "Ay, never doubt that, Monkbarns," said Sir Arthur; "where the slaughter - is, the eagles will be gathered together. I am like a sheep which I have - seen fall down a precipice, or drop down from sickness—if you had not - seen a single raven or hooded crow for a fortnight before, he will not - lie on the heather ten minutes before half-a-dozen will be picking out - his eyes (and he drew his hand over his own), and tearing at his - heartstrings before the poor devil has time to die. But that d—d - long-scented vulture that dogged me so long—you have got him fast, I - hope?" -</p> -<p> - "Fast enough," said the Antiquary; "the gentleman wished to take the - wings of the morning, and bolt in the what d'ye call it,—the coach and - four there. But he would have found twigs limed for him at Edinburgh. As - it is, he never got so far, for the coach being overturned—as how could - it go safe with such a Jonah?—he has had an infernal tumble, is carried - into a cottage near Kittlebrig, and to prevent all possibility of escape, - I have sent your friend Sweepclean to bring him back to Fairport <i>in - nomine regis,</i> or to act as his sick-nurse at Kittlebrig, as is most - fitting. And now, Sir Arthur, permit me to have some conversation with - you on the present unpleasant state of your affairs, that we may see what - can be done for their extrication;" and the Antiquary led the way into - the library, followed by the unfortunate gentleman. -</p> -<p> - They had been shut up together for about two hours, when Miss Wardour - interrupted them with her cloak on as if prepared for a journey. Her - countenance was very pale, yet expressive of the composure which - characterized her disposition. -</p> -<p> - "The messenger is returned, Mr. Oldbuck." -</p> -<p> - "Returned?—What the devil! he has not let the fellow go?" -</p> -<p> - "No—I understand he has carried him to confinement; and now he is - returned to attend my father, and says he can wait no longer." -</p> -<p> - A loud wrangling was now heard on the staircase, in which the voice of - Hector predominated. "You an officer, sir, and these ragamuffins a party! - a parcel of beggarly tailor fellows—tell yourselves off by nine, and we - shall know your effective strength." -</p> -<p> - The grumbling voice of the man of law was then heard indistinctly - muttering a reply, to which Hector retorted—"Come, come, sir, this won't - do;—march your party, as you call them, out of this house directly, or - I'll send you and them to the right about presently." -</p> -<p> - "The devil take Hector," said the Antiquary, hastening to the scene of - action; "his Highland blood is up again, and we shall have him fighting a - duel with the bailiff. Come, Mr. Sweepclean, you must give us a little - time—I know you would not wish to hurry Sir Arthur." -</p> -<p> - "By no means, sir," said the messenger, putting his hat off, which he had - thrown on to testify defiance of Captain M'Intyre's threats; "but your - nephew, sir, holds very uncivil language, and I have borne too much of it - already; and I am not justified in leaving my prisoner any longer after - the instructions I received, unless I am to get payment of the sums - contained in my diligence." And he held out the caption, pointing with - the awful truncheon, which he held in his right hand, to the formidable - line of figures jotted upon the back thereof. -</p> -<p> - Hector, on the other hand, though silent from respect to his uncle, - answered this gesture by shaking his clenched fist at the messenger with - a frown of Highland wrath. -</p> -<p> - "Foolish boy, be quiet," said Oldbuck, "and come with me into the room— - the man is doing his miserable duty, and you will only make matters worse - by opposing him.—I fear, Sir Arthur, you must accompany this man to - Fairport; there is no help for it in the first instance—I will accompany - you, to consult what further can be done—My nephew will escort Miss - Wardour to Monkbarns, which I hope she will make her residence until - these unpleasant matters are settled." -</p> -<p> - "I go with my father, Mr. Oldbuck," said Miss Wardour firmly—"I have - prepared his clothes and my own—I suppose we shall have the use of the - carriage?" -</p> -<p> - "Anything in reason, madam," said the messenger; "I have ordered it out, - and it's at the door—I will go on the box with the coachman—I have no - desire to intrude—but two of the concurrents must attend on horseback." -</p> -<p> - "I will attend too," said Hector, and he ran down to secure a horse for - himself. -</p> -<p> - "We must go then," said the Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - "To jail," said the Baronet, sighing involuntarily. "And what of that?" - he resumed, in a tone affectedly cheerful—"it is only a house we can't - get out of, after all—Suppose a fit of the gout, and Knockwinnock would - be the same—Ay, ay, Monkbarns—we'll call it a fit of the gout without - the d—d pain." -</p> -<p> - But his eyes swelled with tears as he spoke, and his faltering accent - marked how much this assumed gaiety cost him. The Antiquary wrung his - hand, and, like the Indian Banians, who drive the real terms of an - important bargain by signs, while they are apparently talking of - indifferent matters, the hand of Sir Arthur, by its convulsive return of - the grasp, expressed his sense of gratitude to his friend, and the real - state of his internal agony.—They stepped slowly down the magnificent - staircase—every well-known object seeming to the unfortunate father and - daughter to assume a more prominent and distinct appearance than usual, - as if to press themselves on their notice for the last time. -</p> -<p> - At the first landing-place, Sir Arthur made an agonized pause; and as he - observed the Antiquary look at him anxiously, he said with assumed - dignity—"Yes, Mr. Oldbuck, the descendant of an ancient line—the - representative of Richard Redhand and Gamelyn de Guardover, may be - pardoned a sigh when he leaves the castle of his fathers thus poorly - escorted. When I was sent to the Tower with my late father, in the year - 1745, it was upon a charge becoming our birth—upon an accusation of high - treason, Mr. Oldbuck;—we were escorted from Highgate by a troop of - life-guards, and committed upon a secretary of state's warrant; and now, - here I am, in my old age, dragged from my household by a miserable - creature like that" (pointing to the messenger), "and for a paltry - concern of pounds, shillings, and pence." -</p> -<p> - "At least," said Oldbuck, "you have now the company of a dutiful - daughter, and a sincere friend, if you will permit me to say so, and that - may be some consolation, even without the certainty that there can be no - hanging, drawing, or quartering, on the present occasion. But I hear that - choleric boy as loud as ever. I hope to God he has got into no new - broil!—it was an accursed chance that brought him here at all." -</p> -<p> - In fact, a sudden clamour, in which the loud voice and somewhat northern - accent of Hector was again preeminently distinguished, broke off this - conversation. The cause we must refer to the next CHAPTER. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0022"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER TWENTY-SECOND. -</h2> -<pre> - Fortune, you say, flies from us—She but circles, - Like the fleet sea-bird round the fowler's skiff,— - Lost in the mist one moment, and the next - Brushing the white sail with her whiter wing, - As if to court the aim.—Experience watches, - And has her on the wheel— - Old Play. -</pre> -<p> - The shout of triumph in Hector's warlike tones was not easily - distinguished from that of battle. But as he rushed up stairs with a - packet in his hand, exclaiming, "Long life to an old soldier! here comes - Edie with a whole budget of good news!" it became obvious that his - present cause of clamour was of an agreeable nature. He delivered the - letter to Oldbuck, shook Sir Arthur heartily by the hand, and wished Miss - Wardour joy, with all the frankness of Highland congratulation. The - messenger, who had a kind of instinctive terror for Captain M'Intyre, - drew towards his prisoner, keeping an eye of caution on the soldier's - motions. -</p> -<p> - "Don't suppose I shall trouble myself about you, you dirty fellow," said - the soldier; "there's a guinea for the fright I have given you; and here - comes an old <i>forty-two</i> man, who is a fitter match for you than I am." -</p> -<p> - The messenger (one of those dogs who are not too scornful to eat dirty - puddings) caught in his hand the guinea which Hector chucked at his face; - and abode warily and carefully the turn which matters were now to take. - All voices meanwhile were loud in inquiries, which no one was in a hurry - to answer. -</p> -<p> - "What is the matter, Captain M'Intyre?" said Sir Arthur. -</p> -<p> - "Ask old Edie," said Hector;—"I only know all's safe and well." -</p> -<p> - "What is all this, Edie?" said Miss Wardour to the mendicant. -</p> -<p> - "Your leddyship maun ask Monkbarns, for he has gotten the yepistolary - correspondensh." -</p> -<p> - "God save the king!" exclaimed the Antiquary at the first glance at the - contents of his packet, and, surprised at once out of decorum, - philosophy, and phlegm, he skimmed his cocked hat in the air, from which - it descended not again, being caught in its fall by a branch of the - chandelier. He next, looking joyously round, laid a grasp on his wig, - which he perhaps would have sent after the beaver, had not Edie stopped - his hand, exclaiming "Lordsake! he's gaun gyte!—mind Caxon's no here to - repair the damage." -</p> -<p> - Every person now assailed the Antiquary, clamouring to know the cause of - so sudden a transport, when, somewhat ashamed of his rapture, he fairly - turned tail, like a fox at the cry of a pack of hounds, and ascending the - stair by two steps at a time, gained the upper landing-place, where, - turning round, he addressed the astonished audience as follows:— -</p> -<a name="image-0008"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/pb271.jpg" height="469" width="735" -alt="My Good Friends, 'favete Linguis' -"> -</center> -<!--IMAGE END--> -<p> - "My good friends, <i>favete linguis</i>—To give you information, I must - first, according to logicians, be possessed of it myself; and, therefore, - with your leaves, I will retire into the library to examine these - papers—Sir Arthur and Miss Wardour will have the goodness to step into the - parlour—Mr. Sweepclean, <i>secede paulisper,</i> or, in your own language, - grant us a supersedere of diligence for five minutes—Hector, draw off - your forces, and make your bear-garden flourish elsewhere—and, finally, - be all of good cheer till my return, which will be <i>instanter.</i>" -</p> -<p> - The contents of the packet were indeed so little expected, that the - Antiquary might be pardoned, first his ecstasy, and next his desire of - delaying to communicate the intelligence they conveyed, until it was - arranged and digested in his own mind. -</p> -<p> - Within the envelope was a letter addressed to Jonathan Oldbuck, Esq. of - Monkbarns, of the following purport:— -</p> -<p> - "Dear Sir,—To you, as my father's proved and valued friend, I venture to - address myself, being detained here by military duty of a very pressing - nature. You must by this time be acquainted with the entangled state of - our affairs; and I know it will give you great pleasure to learn, that I - am as fortunately as unexpectedly placed in a situation to give effectual - assistance for extricating them. I understand Sir Arthur is threatened - with severe measures by persons who acted formerly as his agents; and, by - advice of a creditable man of business here, I have procured the enclosed - writing, which I understand will stop their proceedings until their claim - shall be legally discussed, and brought down to its proper amount. I also - enclose bills to the amount of one thousand pounds to pay any other - pressing demands, and request of your friendship to apply them according - to your discretion. You will be surprised I give you this trouble, when - it would seem more natural to address my father directly in his own - affairs. But I have yet had no assurance that his eyes are opened to the - character of a person against whom you have often, I know, warned him, - and whose baneful influence has been the occasion of these distresses. - And as I owe the means of relieving Sir Arthur to the generosity of a - matchless friend, it is my duty to take the most certain measures for the - supplies being devoted to the purpose for which they were destined,—and - I know your wisdom and kindness will see that it is done. My friend, as - he claims an interest in your regard, will explain some views of his own - in the enclosed letter. The state of the post-office at Fairport being - rather notorious, I must send this letter to Tannonburgh; but the old man - Ochiltree, whom particular circumstances have recommended as trustworthy, - has information when the packet is likely to reach that place, and will - take care to forward it. I expect to have soon an opportunity to - apologize in person for the trouble I now give, and have the honour to be - your very faithful servant, -</p> -<p> - "Reginald Gamelyn Wardour." - "Edinburgh, 6th August, 179-." -</p> -<p> - The Antiquary hastily broke the seal of the enclosure, the contents of - which gave him equal surprise and pleasure. When he had in some measure - composed himself after such unexpected tidings, he inspected the other - papers carefully, which all related to business—put the bills into his - pocket-book, and wrote a short acknowledgment to be despatched by that - day's post, for he was extremely methodical in money matters—and lastly, - fraught with all the importance of disclosure, he descended to the - parlour. -</p> -<p> - "Sweepclean," said he, as he entered, to the officer who stood - respectfully at the door, "you must sweep yourself clean out of - Knockwinnock Castle, with all your followers, tag-rag and bob-tail. Seest - thou this paper, man?" -</p> -<p> - "A sist on a bill o' suspension," said the messenger, with a disappointed - look;—"I thought it would be a queer thing if ultimate diligence was to - be done against sic a gentleman as Sir Arthur—Weel, sir, I'se go my ways - with my party—And who's to pay my charges?" -</p> -<p> - "They who employed thee," replied Oldbuck, "as thou full well dost - know.—But here comes another express: this is a day of news, I think." -</p> -<p> - This was Mr. Mailsetter on his mare from Fairport, with a letter for Sir - Arthur, another to the messenger, both of which, he said, he was directed - to forward instantly. The messenger opened his, observing that Greenhorn - and Grinderson were good enough men for his expenses, and here was a - letter from them desiring him to stop the diligence. Accordingly, he - immediately left the apartment, and staying no longer than to gather his - posse together, he did then, in the phrase of Hector, who watched his - departure as a jealous mastiff eyes the retreat of a repulsed beggar, - evacuate Flanders. -</p> -<p> - Sir Arthur's letter was from Mr. Greenhorn, and a curiosity in its way. - We give it, with the worthy Baronet's comments. -</p> -<p> - "Sir—[Oh! I am <i>dear</i> sir no longer; folks are only dear to Messrs. - Greenhorn and Grinderson when they are in adversity]—Sir, I am much - concerned to learn, on my return from the country, where I was called on - particular business [a bet on the sweepstakes, I suppose], that my - partner had the impropriety, in my absence, to undertake the concerns of - Messrs. Goldiebirds in preference to yours, and had written to you in an - unbecoming manner. I beg to make my most humble apology, as well as Mr. - Grindersons—[come, I see he can write for himself and partner too]—and - trust it is impossible you can think me forgetful of, or ungrateful for, - the constant patronage which my family [<i>his</i> family! curse him for a - puppy!] have uniformly experienced from that of Knockwinnock. I am sorry - to find, from an interview I had this day with Mr. Wardour, that he is - much irritated, and, I must own, with apparent reason. But in order to - remedy as much as in me lies the mistake of which he complains [pretty - mistake, indeed! to clap his patron into jail], I have sent this express - to discharge all proceedings against your person or property; and at the - same time to transmit my respectful apology. I have only to add, that Mr. - Grinderson is of opinion, that if restored to your confidence, he could - point out circumstances connected with Messrs. Goldiebirds' present claim - which would greatly reduce its amount [so, so, willing to play the rogue - on either side]; and that there is not the slightest hurry in settling - the balance of your accompt with us; and that I am, for Mr. G. as well as - myself, Dear Sir [O ay, he has written himself into an approach to - familiarity], your much obliged and most humble servant, -</p> -<p> - "Gilbert Greenhorn." -</p> -<p> - "Well said, Mr. Gilbert Greenhorn," said Monkbarns; "I see now there is - some use in having two attorneys in one firm. Their movements resemble - those of the man and woman in a Dutch baby-house. When it is fair weather - with the client, out comes the gentleman partner to fawn like a spaniel; - when it is foul, forth bolts the operative brother to pin like a - bull-dog. Well, I thank God that my man of business still wears an - equilateral cocked hat, has a house in the Old Town, is as much afraid of - a horse as I am myself, plays at golf of a Saturday, goes to the kirk of - a Sunday, and, in respect he has no partner, hath only his own folly to - apologize for." -</p> -<p> - "There are some writers very honest fellows," said Hector; "I should like - to hear any one say that my cousin, Donald M'Intyre, Strathtudlem's - seventh son (the other six are in the army), is not as honest a fellow"— -</p> -<p> - "No doubt, no doubt, Hector, all the M'Intyres are so; they have it by - patent, man—But I was going to say, that in a profession where unbounded - trust is necessarily reposed, there is nothing surprising that fools - should neglect it in their idleness, and tricksters abuse it in their - knavery. But it is the more to the honour of those (and I will vouch for - many) who unite integrity with skill and attention, and walk honourably - upright where there are so many pitfalls and stumbling-blocks for those - of a different character. To such men their fellow citizens may safely - entrust the care of protecting their patrimonial rights, and their - country the more sacred charge of her laws and privileges." -</p> -<p> - "They are best aff, however, that hae least to do with them," said - Ochiltree, who had stretched his neck into the parlour door; for the - general confusion of the family not having yet subsided, the domestics, - like waves after the fall of a hurricane, had not yet exactly regained - their due limits, but were roaming wildly through the house. -</p> -<p> - "Aha, old Truepenny, art thou there?" said the Antiquary. "Sir Arthur, - let me bring in the messenger of good luck, though he is but a lame one. - You talked of the raven that scented out the slaughter from afar; but - here's a blue pigeon (somewhat of the oldest and toughest, I grant) who - smelled the good news six or seven miles off, flew thither in the - taxed-cart, and returned with the olive branch." -</p> -<p> - "Ye owe it o' to puir Robie that drave me;—puir fallow," said the - beggar, "he doubts he's in disgrace wi' my leddy and Sir Arthur." -</p> -<p> - Robert's repentant and bashful face was seen over the mendicant's - shoulder. -</p> -<p> - "In disgrace with me?" said Sir Arthur—"how so?"—for the irritation - into which he had worked himself on occasion of the toast had been long - forgotten. "O, I recollect—Robert, I was angry, and you were wrong;—go - about your work, and never answer a master that speaks to you in a - passion." -</p> -<p> - "Nor any one else," said the Antiquary; "for a soft answer turneth away - wrath." -</p> -<p> - "And tell your mother, who is so ill with the rheumatism, to come down to - the housekeeper to-morrow," said Miss Wardour, "and we will see what can - be of service to her." -</p> -<p> - "God bless your leddyship," said poor Robert, "and his honour Sir Arthur, - and the young laird, and the house of Knockwinnock in a' its branches, - far and near!—it's been a kind and gude house to the puir this mony - hundred years." -</p> -<p> - "There"—said the Antiquary to Sir Arthur—"we won't dispute—but there - you see the gratitude of the poor people naturally turns to the civil - virtues of your family. You don't hear them talk of Redhand, or - Hell-in-Harness. For me, I must say, <i>Odi accipitrem qui semper vivit in - armis</i>—so let us eat and drink in peace, and be joyful, Sir Knight." -</p> -<p> - A table was quickly covered in the parlour, where the party sat joyously - down to some refreshment. At the request of Oldbuck, Edie Ochiltree was - permitted to sit by the sideboard in a great leathern chair, which was - placed in some measure behind a screen. -</p> -<p> - "I accede to this the more readily," said Sir Arthur, "because I remember - in my fathers days that chair was occupied by Ailshie Gourlay, who, for - aught I know, was the last privileged fool, or jester, maintained by any - family of distinction in Scotland." -</p> -<p> - "Aweel, Sir Arthur," replied the beggar, who never hesitated an instant - between his friend and his jest, "mony a wise man sits in a fule's seat, - and mony a fule in a wise man's, especially in families o' distinction." -</p> -<p> - Miss Wardour, fearing the effect of this speech (however worthy of - Ailsbie Gourlay, or any other privileged jester) upon the nerves of her - father, hastened to inquire whether ale and beef should not be - distributed to the servants and people whom the news had assembled round - the Castle. -</p> -<p> - "Surely, my love," said her father; "when was it ever otherwise in our - families when a siege had been raised?" -</p> -<p> - "Ay, a siege laid by Saunders Sweepclean the bailiff, and raised by Edie - Ochiltree the gaberlunzie, <i>par nobile fratrum,</i>" said Oldbuck, "and well - pitted against each other in respectability. But never mind, Sir Arthur— - these are such sieges and such reliefs as our time of day admits of—and - our escape is not less worth commemorating in a glass of this excellent - wine—Upon my credit, it is Burgundy, I think." -</p> -<p> - "Were there anything better in the cellar," said Miss Wardour, "it would - be all too little to regale you after your friendly exertions." -</p> -<p> - "Say you so?" said the Antiquary: "why, then, a cup of thanks to you, my - fair enemy, and soon may you be besieged as ladies love best to be, and - sign terms of capitulation in the chapel of Saint Winnox!" -</p> -<p> - Miss Wardour blushed—Hector coloured, and then grew pale. -</p> -<p> - Sir Arthur answered, "My daughter is much obliged to you, Monkbarns; but - unless you'll accept of her yourself, I really do not know where a poor - knight's daughter is to seek for an alliance in these mercenary times." -</p> -<p> - "Me, mean ye, Sir Arthur? No, not I! I will claim privilege of the - duello, and, as being unable to encounter my fair enemy myself, I will - appear by my champion—But of this matter hereafter. What do you find in - the papers there, Hector, that you hold your head down over them as if - your nose were bleeding?" -</p> -<p> - "Nothing particular, sir; but only that, as my arm is now almost quite - well, I think I shall relieve you of my company in a day or two, and go - to Edinburgh. I see Major Neville is arrived there. I should like to see - him." -</p> -<p> - "Major whom?" said his uncle. -</p> -<p> - "Major Neville, sir," answered the young soldier. -</p> -<p> - "And who the devil is Major Neville?" demanded the Antiquary. -</p> -<p> - "O, Mr. Oldbuck," said Sir Arthur, "you must remember his name frequently - in the newspapers—a very distinguished young officer indeed. But I am - happy to say that Mr. M'Intyre need not leave Monkbarns to see him, for - my son writes that the Major is to come with him to Knockwinnock, and I - need not say how happy I shall be to make the young gentlemen - acquainted,—unless, indeed, they are known to each other already." -</p> -<p> - "No, not personally," answered Hector, "but I have had occasion to hear a - good deal of him, and we have several mutual friends—your son being one - of them. But I must go to Edinburgh; for I see my uncle is beginning to - grow tired of me, and I am afraid"— -</p> -<p> - "That you will grow tired of him?" interrupted Oldbuck,—"I fear that's - past praying for. But you have forgotten that the ecstatic twelfth of - August approaches, and that you are engaged to meet one of Lord - Glenallan's gamekeepers, God knows where, to persecute the peaceful - feathered creation." -</p> -<p> - "True, true, uncle—I had forgot that," exclaimed the volatile Hector; - "but you said something just now that put everything out of my head." -</p> -<p> - "An it like your honours," said old Edie, thrusting his white head from - behind the screen, where he had been plentifully regaling himself with - ale and cold meat—"an it like your honours, I can tell ye something that - will keep the Captain wi' us amaist as weel as the pouting—Hear ye na - the French are coming?" -</p> -<p> - "The French, you blockhead?" answered Oldbuck—"Bah!" -</p> -<p> - "I have not had time," said Sir Arthur Wardour, "to look over my - lieutenancy correspondence for the week—indeed, I generally make a rule - to read it only on Wednesdays, except in pressing cases,—for I do - everything by method; but from the glance I took of my letters, I - observed some alarm was entertained." -</p> -<p> - "Alarm?" said Edie, "troth there's alarm, for the provost's gar'd the - beacon light on the Halket-head be sorted up (that suld hae been sorted - half a year syne) in an unco hurry, and the council hae named nae less a - man than auld Caxon himsell to watch the light. Some say it was out o' - compliment to Lieutenant Taffril,—for it's neist to certain that he'll - marry Jenny Caxon,—some say it's to please your honour and Monkbarns - that wear wigs—and some say there's some auld story about a periwig that - ane o' the bailies got and neer paid for—Onyway, there he is, sitting - cockit up like a skart upon the tap o' the craig, to skirl when foul - weather comes." -</p> -<p> - "On mine honour, a pretty warder," said Monkbarns; "and what's my wig to - do all the while?" -</p> -<p> - "I asked Caxon that very question," answered Ochiltree, "and he said he - could look in ilka morning, and gie't a touch afore he gaed to his bed, - for there's another man to watch in the day-time, and Caxon says he'll - friz your honour's wig as weel sleeping as wauking." -</p> -<p> - This news gave a different turn to the conversation, which ran upon - national defence, and the duty of fighting for the land we live in, until - it was time to part. The Antiquary and his nephew resumed their walk - homeward, after parting from Knockwinnock with the warmest expressions of - mutual regard, and an agreement to meet again as soon as possible. -</p> -<a name="2HCH0023"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER TWENTY-THIRD. -</h2> -<pre> - Nay, if she love me not, I care not for her: - Shall I look pale because the maiden blooms - Or sigh because she smiles, and smiles on others - Not I, by Heaven!—I hold my peace too dear, - To let it, like the plume upon her cap, - Shake at each nod that her caprice shall dictate. - Old Play. -</pre> -<p> - "Hector," said his uncle to Captain M'Intyre, in the course of their walk - homeward, "I am sometimes inclined to suspect that, in one respect, you - are a fool." -</p> -<p> - "If you only think me so in <i>one</i> respect, sir, I am sure you do me more - grace than I expected or deserve." -</p> -<p> - "I mean in one particular <i>par excellence,</i>" answered the Antiquary. "I - have sometimes thought that you have cast your eyes upon Miss Wardour." -</p> -<p> - "Well, sir," said M'Intyre, with much composure. -</p> -<p> - "Well, sir," echoed his uncle—"Deuce take the fellow! he answers me as - if it were the most reasonable thing in the world, that he, a captain in - the army, and nothing at all besides, should marry the daughter of a - baronet." -</p> -<p> - "I presume to think, sir," said the young Highlander, "there would be no - degradation on Miss Wardour's part in point of family." -</p> -<p> - "O, Heaven forbid we should come on that topic!—No, no, equal both—both - on the table-land of gentility, and qualified to look down on every - <i>roturier</i> in Scotland." -</p> -<p> - "And in point of fortune we are pretty even, since neither of us have got - any," continued Hector. "There may be an error, but I cannot plead guilty - to presumption." -</p> -<p> - "But here lies the error, then, if you call it so," replied his uncle: - "she won't have you, Hector." -</p> -<p> - "Indeed, sir?" -</p> -<p> - "It is very sure, Hector; and to make it double sure, I must inform you - that she likes another man. She misunderstood some words I once said to - her, and I have since been able to guess at the interpretation she put on - them. At the time I was unable to account for her hesitation and - blushing; but, my poor Hector, I now understand them as a death-signal to - your hopes and pretensions. So I advise you to beat your retreat and draw - off your forces as well as you can, for the fort is too well garrisoned - for you to storm it." -</p> -<p> - "I have no occasion to beat any retreat, uncle," said Hector, holding - himself very upright, and marching with a sort of dogged and offended - solemnity; "no man needs to retreat that has never advanced. There are - women in Scotland besides Miss Wardour, of as good family"— -</p> -<p> - "And better taste," said his uncle; "doubtless there are, Hector; and - though I cannot say but that she is one of the most accomplished as well - as sensible girls I have seen, yet I doubt, much of her merit would be - cast away on you. A showy figure, now, with two cross feathers above her - noddle—one green, one blue; who would wear a riding-habit of the - regimental complexion, drive a gig one day, and the next review the - regiment on the grey trotting pony which dragged that vehicle, <i>hoc erat - in votis;</i>—these are the qualities that would subdue you, especially if - she had a taste for natural history, and loved a specimen of a <i>phoca.</i>" -</p> -<p> - "It's a little hard, sir," said Hector, "I must have that cursed seal - thrown into my face on all occasions—but I care little about it—and I - shall not break my heart for Miss Wardour. She is free to choose for - herself, and I wish her all happiness." -</p> -<p> - "Magnanimously resolved, thou prop of Troy! Why, Hector, I was afraid of - a scene. Your sister told me you were desperately in love with Miss - Wardour." -</p> -<p> - "Sir," answered the young man, "you would not have me desperately in love - with a woman that does not care about me?" -</p> -<p> - "Well, nephew," said the Antiquary, more seriously, "there is doubtless - much sense in what you say; yet I would have given a great deal, some - twenty or twenty-five years since, to have been able to think as you do." -</p> -<p> - "Anybody, I suppose, may think as they please on such subjects," said - Hector. -</p> -<p> - "Not according to the old school," said Oldbuck; "but, as I said before, - the practice of the modern seems in this case the most prudential, - though, I think, scarcely the most interesting. But tell me your ideas - now on this prevailing subject of an invasion. The cry is still, They - come." -</p> -<p> - Hector, swallowing his mortification, which he was peculiarly anxious to - conceal from his uncle's satirical observation, readily entered into a - conversation which was to turn the Antiquary's thoughts from Miss Wardour - and the seal. When they reached Monkbarns, the communicating to the - ladies the events which had taken place at the castle, with the - counter-information of how long dinner had waited before the womankind - had ventured to eat it in the Antiquary's absence, averted these delicate - topics of discussion. -</p> -<p> - The next morning the Antiquary arose early, and, as Caxon had not yet - made his appearance, he began mentally to feel the absence of the petty - news and small talk of which the ex-peruquier was a faithful reporter, - and which habit had made as necessary to the Antiquary as his occasional - pinch of snuff, although he held, or affected to hold, both to be of the - same intrinsic value. The feeling of vacuity peculiar to such a - deprivation, was alleviated by the appearance of old Ochiltree, - sauntering beside the clipped yew and holly hedges, with the air of a - person quite at home. Indeed, so familiar had he been of late, that even - Juno did not bark at him, but contented herself with watching him with a - close and vigilant eye. Our Antiquary stepped out in his night-gown, and - instantly received and returned his greeting. -</p> -<p> - "They are coming now, in good earnest, Monkbarns. I just cam frae - Fairport to bring ye the news, and then I'll step away back again. The - Search has just come into the bay, and they say she's been chased by a - French fleet. -</p> -<p> - "The Search?" said Oldbuck, reflecting a moment. "Oho!" -</p> -<p> - "Ay, ay, Captain Taffril's gun-brig, the Search." -</p> -<p> - "What? any relation to <i>Search, No. II.?</i>" said Oldbuck, catching at the - light which the name of the vessel seemed to throw on the mysterious - chest of treasure. -</p> -<p> - The mendicant, like a man detected in a frolic, put his bonnet before his - face, yet could not help laughing heartily.—"The deil's in you, - Monkbarns, for garring odds and evens meet. Wha thought ye wad hae laid - that and that thegither? Od, I am clean catch'd now." -</p> -<p> - "I see it all," said Oldbuck, "as plain as the legend on a medal of high - preservation—the box in which the' bullion was found belonged to the - gun-brig, and the treasure to my phoenix?"—(Edie nodded assent),—"and - was buried there that Sir Arthur might receive relief in his - difficulties?" -</p> -<p> - "By me," said Edie, "and twa o' the brig's men—but they didna ken its - contents, and thought it some bit smuggling concern o' the Captain's. I - watched day and night till I saw it in the right hand; and then, when - that German deevil was glowering at the lid o' the kist (they liked - mutton weel that licked where the yowe lay), I think some Scottish deevil - put it into my head to play him yon ither cantrip. Now, ye see, if I had - said mair or less to Bailie Littlejohn, I behoved till hae come out wi' - a' this story; and vexed would Mr. Lovel hae been to have it brought to - light—sae I thought I would stand to onything rather than that." -</p> -<p> - "I must say he has chosen his confidant well," said Oldbuck, "though - somewhat strangely." -</p> -<p> - "I'll say this for mysell, Monkbarns," answered the mendicant, "that I am - the fittest man in the haill country to trust wi' siller, for I neither - want it, nor wish for it, nor could use it if I had it. But the lad hadna - muckle choice in the matter, for he thought he was leaving the country - for ever (I trust he's mistaen in that though); and the night was set in - when we learned, by a strange chance, Sir Arthur's sair distress, and - Lovel was obliged to be on board as the day dawned. But five nights - afterwards the brig stood into the bay, and I met the boat by - appointment, and we buried the treasure where ye fand it." -</p> -<p> - "This was a very romantic, foolish exploit," said Oldbuck: "why not trust - me, or any other friend?" -</p> -<p> - "The blood o' your sister's son," replied Edie, "was on his hands, and - him maybe dead outright—what time had he to take counsel?—or how could - he ask it of you, by onybody?" -</p> -<p> - "You are right. But what if Dousterswivel had come before you?" -</p> -<p> - "There was little fear o' his coming there without Sir Arthur: he had - gotten a sair gliff the night afore, and never intended to look near the - place again, unless he had been brought there sting and ling. He ken'd - weel the first pose was o' his ain hiding, and how could he expect a - second? He just havered on about it to make the mair o' Sir Arthur." -</p> -<p> - "Then how," said Oldbuck, "should Sir Arthur have come there unless the - German had brought him?" -</p> -<p> - "Umph!" answered Edie drily. "I had a story about Misticot wad hae - brought him forty miles, or you either. Besides, it was to be thought he - would be for visiting the place he fand the first siller in—he ken'd na - the secret o' that job. In short, the siller being in this shape, Sir - Arthur in utter difficulties, and Lovel determined he should never ken - the hand that helped him,—for that was what he insisted maist upon,—we - couldna think o' a better way to fling the gear in his gate, though we - simmered it and wintered it e'er sae lang. And if by ony queer mischance - Doustercivil had got his claws on't, I was instantly to hae informed you - or the Sheriff o' the haill story." -</p> -<p> - "Well, notwithstanding all these wise precautions, I think your - contrivance succeeded better than such a clumsy one deserved, Edie. But - how the deuce came Lovel by such a mass of silver ingots?" -</p> -<p> - "That's just what I canna tell ye—But they were put on board wi' his - things at Fairport, it's like, and we stowed them into ane o' the - ammunition-boxes o' the brig, baith for concealment and convenience of - carriage." -</p> -<p> - "Lord!" said Oldbuck, his recollection recurring to the earlier part of - his acquaintance with Lovel; "and this young fellow, who was putting - hundreds on so strange a hazard, I must be recommending a subscription to - him, and paying his bill at the Ferry! I never will pay any person's bill - again, that's certain.—And you kept up a constant correspondence with - Lovel, I suppose?" -</p> -<p> - "I just gat ae bit scrape o' a pen frae him, to say there wad, as - yesterday fell, be a packet at Tannonburgh, wi' letters o' great - consequence to the Knockwinnock folk; for they jaloused the opening of - our letters at Fairport—And that's a's true; I hear Mrs. Mailsetter is - to lose her office for looking after other folk's business and neglecting - her ain." -</p> -<p> - "And what do you expect now, Edie, for being the adviser, and messenger, - and guard, and confidential person in all these matters?" -</p> -<p> - "Deil haet do I expect—excepting that a' the gentles will come to the - gaberlunzie's burial; and maybe ye'll carry the head yoursell, as ye did - puir Steenie Mucklebackit's.—What trouble was't to me? I was ganging - about at ony rate—Oh, but I was blythe when I got out of Prison, though; - for I thought, what if that weary letter should come when I am closed up - here like an oyster, and a' should gang wrang for want o't? and whiles I - thought I maun mak a clean breast and tell you a' about it; but then I - couldna weel do that without contravening Mr. Lovel's positive orders; - and I reckon he had to see somebody at Edinburgh afore he could do what - he wussed to do for Sir Arthur and his family." -</p> -<p> - "Well, and to your public news, Edie—So they are still coming are they?" -</p> -<p> - "Troth they say sae, sir; and there's come down strict orders for the - forces and volunteers to be alert; and there's a clever young officer to - come here forthwith, to look at our means o' defence—I saw the Bailies - lass cleaning his belts and white breeks—I gae her a hand, for ye maun - think she wasna ower clever at it, and sae I gat a' the news for my - pains." -</p> -<p> - "And what think you, as an old soldier?" -</p> -<p> - "Troth I kenna—an they come so mony as they speak o', they'll be odds - against us. But there's mony yauld chields amang thae volunteers; and I - mauna say muckle about them that's no weel and no very able, because I am - something that gate mysell—But we'se do our best." -</p> -<p> - "What! so your martial spirit is rising again, Edie? -</p> -<pre> - Even in our ashes glow their wonted fires! -</pre> -<p> - I would not have thought you, Edie, had so much to fight for?" -</p> -<p> - "<i>Me</i> no muckle to fight for, sir?—isna there the country to fight for, - and the burnsides that I gang daundering beside, and the hearths o'the - gudewives that gie me my bit bread, and the bits o' weans that come - toddling to play wi' me when I come about a landward town?—Deil!" he - continued, grasping his pike-staff with great emphasis, "an I had as gude - pith as I hae gude-will, and a gude cause, I should gie some o' them a - day's kemping." -</p> -<p> - "Bravo, bravo, Edie! The country's in little ultimate danger, when the - beggar's as ready to fight for his dish as the laird for his land." -</p> -<p> - Their further conversation reverted to the particulars of the night - passed by the mendicant and Lovel in the ruins of St. Ruth; by the - details of which the Antiquary was highly amused. -</p> -<p> - "I would have given a guinea," he said, "to have seen the scoundrelly - German under the agonies of those terrors, which it is part of his own - quackery to inspire into others; and trembling alternately for the fury - of his patron, and the apparition of some hobgoblin." -</p> -<p> - "Troth," said the beggar, "there was time for him to be cowed; for ye wad - hae thought the very spirit of Hell-in-Harness had taken possession o' - the body o' Sir Arthur. But what will come o' the land-louper?" -</p> -<p> - "I have had a letter this morning, from which I understand he has - acquitted you of the charge he brought against you, and offers to make - such discoveries as will render the settlement of Sir Arthur's affairs a - more easy task than we apprehended—So writes the Sheriff; and adds, that - he has given some private information of importance to Government, in - consideration of which, I understand he will be sent back to play the - knave in his own country." -</p> -<p> - "And a' the bonny engines, and wheels, and the coves, and sheughs, doun - at Glenwithershins yonder, what's to come o' them?" said Edie. -</p> -<p> - "I hope the men, before they are dispersed, will make a bonfire of their - gimcracks, as an army destroy their artillery when forced to raise a - siege. And as for the holes, Edie, I abandon them as rat-traps, for the - benefit of the next wise men who may choose to drop the substance to - snatch at a shadow." -</p> -<p> - "Hech, sirs! guide us a'! to burn the engines? that's a great waste—Had - ye na better try to get back part o' your hundred pounds wi' the sale o' - the materials?" he continued, with a tone of affected condolence. -</p> -<p> - "Not a farthing," said the Antiquary, peevishly, taking a turn from him, - and making a step or two away. Then returning, half-smiling at his own - pettishness, he said, "Get thee into the house, Edie, and remember my - counsel, never speak to me about a mine, nor to my nephew Hector about a - <i>phoca,</i> that is a sealgh, as you call it." -</p> -<p> - "I maun be ganging my ways back to Fairport," said the wanderer; "I want - to see what they're saying there about the invasion;—but I'll mind what - your honour says, no to speak to you about a sealgh, or to the Captain - about the hundred pounds that you gied to Douster"— -</p> -<p> - "Confound thee!—I desired thee not to mention that to me." -</p> -<p> - "Dear me!" said Edie, with affected surprise; "weel, I thought there was - naething but what your honour could hae studden in the way o' agreeable - conversation, unless it was about the Praetorian yonder, or the bodle - that the packman sauld to ye for an auld coin." -</p> -<p> - "Pshaw! pshaw!" said the Antiquary, turning from him hastily, and - retreating into the house. -</p> -<p> - The mendicant looked after him a moment, and with a chuckling laugh, such - as that with which a magpie or parrot applauds a successful exploit of - mischief, he resumed once more the road to Fairport. His habits had given - him a sort of restlessness, much increased by the pleasure he took in - gathering news; and in a short time he had regained the town which he - left in the morning, for no reason that he knew himself, unless just to - "hae a bit crack wi' Monkbarns." -</p> -<a name="2HCH0024"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURTH. -</h2> -<pre> - Red glared the beacon on Pownell - On Skiddaw there were three; - The bugle horn on moor and fell - Was heard continually. - James Hogg. -</pre> -<p> - The watch who kept his watch on the hill, and looked towards Birnam, - probably conceived himself dreaming when he first beheld the fated grove - put itself into motion for its march to Dunsinane. Even so old Caxon, as - perched in his hut, he qualified his thoughts upon the approaching - marriage of his daughter, and the dignity of being father-in-law to - Lieutenant Taffril, with an occasional peep towards the signal-post with - which his own corresponded, was not a little surprised by observing a - light in that direction. He rubbed his eyes, looked again, adjusting his - observation by a cross-staff which had been placed so as to bear upon the - point. And behold, the light increased, like a comet to the eye of the - astronomer, "with fear of change perplexing nations." -</p> -<p> - "The Lord preserve us!" said Caxon, "what's to be done now? But there - will be wiser heads than mine to look to that, sae I'se e'en fire the - beacon." -</p> -<p> - And he lighted the beacon accordingly, which threw up to the sky a long - wavering train of light, startling the sea-fowl from their nests, and - reflected far beneath by the reddening billows of the sea. The brother - warders of Caxon being equally diligent, caught, and repeated his signal. - The lights glanced on headlands and capes and inland hills, and the whole - district was alarmed by the signal of invasion. * -</p> -<p> - * Note J. Alarms of Invasion. -</p> -<p> - Our Antiquary, his head wrapped warm in two double night-caps, was - quietly enjoying his repose, when it was suddenly broken by the screams - of his sister, his niece, and two maid-servants. -</p> -<p> - "What the devil is the matter?" said he, starting up in his bed— - "womankind in my room at this hour of night!—are ye all mad?" -</p> -<p> - "The beacon, uncle!" said Miss M'Intyre. -</p> -<p> - "The French coming to murder us!" screamed Miss Griselda. -</p> -<p> - "The beacon! the beacon!—the French! the French!—murder! murder! and - waur than murder!"—cried the two handmaidens, like the chorus of an - opera. -</p> -<a name="image-0009"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/pb294.jpg" height="807" width="545" -alt="The Antiquary Arming -"> -</center> -<!--IMAGE END--> -<p> - "The French?" said Oldbuck, starting up—"get out of the room, womankind - that you are, till I get my things on—And hark ye, bring me my sword." -</p> -<p> - "Whilk o' them, Monkbarns?" cried his sister, offering a Roman falchion - of brass with the one hand, and with the other an Andrea Ferrara without - a handle. -</p> -<p> - "The langest, the langest," cried Jenny Rintherout, dragging in a - two-handed sword of the twelfth century. -</p> -<p> - "Womankind," said Oldbuck in great agitation, "be composed, and do not - give way to vain terror—Are you sure they are come?" -</p> -<p> - "Sure, sure!" exclaimed Jenny—"ower sure!—a' the sea fencibles, and the - land fencibles, and the volunteers and yeomanry, are on fit, and driving - to Fairport as hard as horse and man can gang—and auld Mucklebackit's - gane wi' the lave—muckle gude he'll do!—Hech, sirs!—<i>he'll</i> be missed - the morn wha wad hae served king and country weel!" -</p> -<p> - "Give me," said Oldbuck, "the sword which my father wore in the year - forty-five—it hath no belt or baldrick—but we'll make shift." -</p> -<p> - So saying he thrust the weapon through the cover of his breeches pocket. - At this moment Hector entered, who had been to a neighbouring height to - ascertain whether the alarm was actual. -</p> -<p> - "Where are your arms, nephew?" exclaimed Oldbuck—"where is your - double-barrelled gun, that was never out of your hand when there was no - occasion for such vanities?" -</p> -<p> - "Pooh! pooh! sir," said Hector, "who ever took a fowling-piece on action? - I have got my uniform on, you see—I hope I shall be of more use if they - will give me a command than I could be with ten double-barrels. And you, - sir, must get to Fairport, to give directions for quartering and - maintaining the men and horses, and preventing confusion." -</p> -<p> - "You are right, Hector,—l believe I shall do as much with my head as my - hand too. But here comes Sir Arthur Wardour, who, between ourselves, is - not fit to accomplish much either one way or the other." -</p> -<p> - Sir Arthur was probably of a different opinion; for, dressed in his - lieutenancy uniform, he was also on the road to Fairport, and called in - his way to take Mr. Oldbuck with him, having had his original opinion of - his sagacity much confirmed by late events. And in spite of all the - entreaties of the womankind that the Antiquary would stay to garrison - Monkbarns, Mr. Oldbuck, with his nephew, instantly accepted Sir Arthur's - offer. -</p> -<p> - Those who have witnessed such a scene can alone conceive the state of - bustle in Fairport. The windows were glancing with a hundred lights, - which, appearing and disappearing rapidly, indicated the confusion within - doors. The women of lower rank assembled and clamoured in the - market-place. The yeomanry, pouring from their different glens, galloped - through the streets, some individually, some in parties of five or six, - as they had met on the road. The drums and fifes of the volunteers - beating to arms, were blended with the voice of the officers, the sound - of the bugles, and the tolling of the bells from the steeple. The ships - in the harbour were lit up, and boats from the armed vessels added to the - bustle, by landing men and guns destined to assist in the defence of the - place. This part of the preparations was superintended by Taffril with - much activity. Two or three light vessels had already slipped their - cables and stood out to sea, in order to discover the supposed enemy. -</p> -<p> - Such was the scene of general confusion, when Sir Arthur Wardour, - Oldbuck, and Hector, made their way with difficulty into the principal - square, where the town-house is situated. It was lighted up, and the - magistracy, with many of the neighbouring gentlemen, were assembled. And - here, as upon other occasions of the like kind in Scotland, it was - remarkable how the good sense and firmness of the people supplied almost - all the deficiencies of inexperience. -</p> -<p> - The magistrates were beset by the quarter-masters of the different corps - for billets for men and horses. "Let us," said Bailie Littlejohn, "take - the horses into our warehouses, and the men into our parlours—share our - supper with the one, and our forage with the other. We have made - ourselves wealthy under a free and paternal government, and now is the - time to show we know its value." -</p> -<p> - A loud and cheerful acquiescence was given by all present, and the - substance of the wealthy, with the persons of those of all ranks, were - unanimously devoted to the defence of the country. -</p> -<p> - Captain M'Intyre acted on this occasion as military adviser and - aide-de-camp to the principal magistrate, and displayed a degree of - presence of mind, and knowledge of his profession, totally unexpected by - his uncle, who, recollecting his usual <i>insouciance</i> and impetuosity, - gazed at him with astonishment from time to time, as he remarked the calm - and steady manner in which he explained the various measures of - precaution that his experience suggested, and gave directions for - executing them. He found the different corps in good order, considering - the irregular materials of which they were composed, in great force of - numbers and high confidence and spirits. And so much did military - experience at that moment overbalance all other claims to consequence, - that even old Edie, instead of being left, like Diogenes at Sinope, to - roll his tub when all around were preparing for defence, had the duty - assigned him of superintending the serving out of the ammunition, which - he executed with much discretion. -</p> -<p> - Two things were still anxiously expected—the presence of the Glenallan - volunteers, who, in consideration of the importance of that family, had - been formed into a separate corps, and the arrival of the officer before - announced, to whom the measures of defence on that coast had been - committed by the commander-in-chief, and whose commission would entitle - him to take upon himself the full disposal of the military force. -</p> -<p> - At length the bugles of the Glenallan yeomanry were heard, and the Earl - himself, to the surprise of all who knew his habits and state of health, - appeared at their head in uniform. They formed a very handsome and - well-mounted squadron, formed entirely out of the Earl's Lowland tenants, - and were followed by a regiment of five hundred men, completely equipped - in the Highland dress, whom he had brought down from the upland glens, - with their pipes playing in the van. The clean and serviceable appearance - of this band of feudal dependants called forth the admiration of Captain - M'Intyre; but his uncle was still more struck by the manner in which, - upon this crisis, the ancient military spirit of his house seemed to - animate and invigorate the decayed frame of the Earl, their leader. He - claimed, and obtained for himself and his followers, the post most likely - to be that of danger, displayed great alacrity in making the necessary - dispositions, and showed equal acuteness in discussing their propriety. - Morning broke in upon the military councils of Fairport, while all - concerned were still eagerly engaged in taking precautions for their - defence. -</p> -<p> - At length a cry among the people announced, "There's the brave Major - Neville come at last, with another officer;" and their post-chaise and - four drove into the square, amidst the huzzas of the volunteers and - inhabitants. The magistrates, with their assessors of the lieutenancy, - hastened to the door of their town-house to receive him; but what was the - surprise of all present, but most especially that of the Antiquary, when - they became aware, that the handsome uniform and military cap disclosed - the person and features of the pacific Lovel! A warm embrace, and a - hearty shake of the hand, were necessary to assure him that his eyes were - doing him justice. Sir Arthur was no less surprised to recognise his son, - Captain Wardour, in Lovel's, or rather Major Neville's company. The first - words of the young officers were a positive assurance to all present, - that the courage and zeal which they had displayed were entirely thrown - away, unless in so far as they afforded an acceptable proof of their - spirit and promptitude. -</p> -<p> - "The watchman at Halket-head," said Major Neville, "as we discovered by - an investigation which we made in our route hither, was most naturally - misled by a bonfire which some idle people had made on the hill above - Glenwithershins, just in the line of the beacon with which his - corresponded." -</p> -<p> - Oldbuck gave a conscious look to Sir Arthur, who returned it with one - equally sheepish, and a shrug of the shoulders. -</p> -<p> - "It must have been the machinery which we condemned to the flames in our - wrath," said the Antiquary, plucking up heart, though not a little - ashamed of having been the cause of so much disturbance—"The devil take - Dousterswivel with all my heart!—I think he has bequeathed us a legacy - of blunders and mischief, as if he had lighted some train of fireworks at - his departure. I wonder what cracker will go off next among our shins. - But yonder comes the prudent Caxon.—Hold up your head, you ass—your - betters must bear the blame for you—And here, take this what-d'ye-call - it"—(giving him his sword)—"I wonder what I would have said yesterday - to any man that would have told me I was to stick such an appendage to my - tail." -</p> -<p> - Here he found his arm gently pressed by Lord Glenallan, who dragged him - into a separate apartment. "For God's sake, who is that young gentleman - who is so strikingly like"— -</p> -<p> - "Like the unfortunate Eveline," interrupted Oldbuck. "I felt my heart - warm to him from the first, and your lordship has suggested the very - cause." -</p> -<p> - "But who—who is he?" continued Lord Glenallan, holding the Antiquary - with a convulsive grasp. -</p> -<p> - "Formerly I would have called him Lovel, but now he turns out to be Major - Neville." -</p> -<p> - "Whom my brother brought up as his natural son—whom he made his heir— - Gracious Heaven! the child of my Eveline!" -</p> -<p> - "Hold, my lord—hold!" said Oldbuck, "do not give too hasty way to such a - presumption;—what probability is there?" -</p> -<p> - "Probability? none! There is certainty! absolute certainty! The agent I - mentioned to you wrote me the whole story—I received it yesterday, not - sooner. Bring him, for God's sake, that a father's eyes may bless him - before he departs." -</p> -<p> - "I will; but for your own sake and his, give him a few moments for - preparation." -</p> -<p> - And, determined to make still farther investigation before yielding his - entire conviction to so strange a tale, he sought out Major Neville, and - found him expediting the necessary measures for dispersing the force - which had been assembled. -</p> -<p> - "Pray, Major Neville, leave this business for a moment to Captain Wardour - and to Hector, with whom, I hope, you are thoroughly reconciled" (Neville - laughed, and shook hands with Hector across the table), "and grant me a - moment's audience." -</p> -<p> - "You have a claim on me, Mr. Oldbuck, were my business more urgent," said - Neville, "for having passed myself upon you under a false name, and - rewarding your hospitality by injuring your nephew." -</p> -<p> - "You served him as he deserved," said Oldbuck—"though, by the way, he - showed as much good sense as spirit to-day—Egad! if he would rub up his - learning, and read Caesar and Polybus, and the <i>Stratagemata Polyaeni,</i> I - think he would rise in the army—and I will certainly lend him a lift." -</p> -<p> - "He is heartily deserving of it," said Neville; "and I am glad you excuse - me, which you may do the more frankly, when you know that I am so - unfortunate as to have no better right to the name of Neville, by which I - have been generally distinguished, than to that of Lovel, under which you - knew me." -</p> -<p> - "Indeed! then, I trust, we shall find out one for you to which you shall - have a firm and legal title." -</p> -<p> - "Sir!—I trust you do not think the misfortune of my birth a fit - subject"— -</p> -<p> - "By no means, young man," answered the Antiquary, interrupting him;—"I - believe I know more of your birth than you do yourself—and, to convince - you of it, you were educated and known as a natural son of Geraldin - Neville of Neville's-Burgh, in Yorkshire, and I presume, as his destined - heir?" -</p> -<p> - "Pardon me—no such views were held out to me. I was liberally educated, - and pushed forward in the army by money and interest; but I believe my - supposed father long entertained some ideas of marriage, though he never - carried them into effect." -</p> -<p> - "You say your <i>supposed</i> father?—What leads you to suppose Mr. Geraldin - Neville was not your real father?" -</p> -<p> - "I know, Mr. Oldbuck, that you would not ask these questions on a point - of such delicacy for the gratification of idle curiosity. I will - therefore tell you candidly, that last year, while we occupied a small - town in French Flanders, I found in a convent, near which I was - quartered, a woman who spoke remarkably good English—She was a - Spaniard—her name Teresa D'Acunha. In the process of our acquaintance, she - discovered who I was, and made herself known to me as the person who had - charge of my infancy. She dropped more than one hint of rank to which I - was entitled, and of injustice done to me, promising a more full - disclosure in case of the death of a lady in Scotland, during whose - lifetime she was determined to keep the secret. She also intimated that - Mr. Geraldin Neville was not my father. We were attacked by the enemy, - and driven from the town, which was pillaged with savage ferocity by the - republicans. The religious orders were the particular objects of their - hate and cruelty. The convent was burned, and several nuns perished— - among others Teresa; and with her all chance of knowing the story of my - birth: tragic by all accounts it must have been." -</p> -<p> - "<i>Raro antecedentem scelestum,</i> or, as I may here say, <i>scelestam,</i>" said - Oldbuck, "<i>deseruit poena</i>—even Epicureans admitted that. And what did - you do upon this?" -</p> -<p> - "I remonstrated with Mr. Neville by letter, and to no purpose. I then - obtained leave of absence, and threw myself at his feet, conjuring him to - complete the disclosure which Teresa had begun. He refused, and, on my - importunity, indignantly upbraided me with the favours he had already - conferred. I thought he abused the power of a benefactor, as he was - compelled to admit he had no title to that of a father, and we parted in - mutual displeasure. I renounced the name of Neville, and assumed that - under which you knew me. It was at this time, when residing with a friend - in the north of England who favoured my disguise, that I became - acquainted with Miss Wardour, and was romantic enough to follow her to - Scotland. My mind wavered on various plans of life, when I resolved to - apply once more to Mr. Neville for an explanation of the mystery of my - birth. It was long ere I received an answer; you were present when it was - put into my hands. He informed me of his bad state of health, and - conjured me, for my own sake, to inquire no farther into the nature of - his connection with me, but to rest satisfied with his declaring it to be - such and so intimate, that he designed to constitute me his heir. When I - was preparing to leave Fairport to join him, a second express brought me - word that he was no more. The possession of great wealth was unable to - suppress the remorseful feelings with which I now regarded my conduct to - my benefactor, and some hints in his letter appearing to intimate there - was on my birth a deeper stain than that of ordinary illegitimacy, I - remembered certain prejudices of Sir Arthur." -</p> -<p> - "And you brooded over these melancholy ideas until you were ill, instead - of coming to me for advice, and telling me the whole story?" said - Oldbuck. -</p> -<p> - "Exactly; then came my quarrel with Captain M'Intyre, and my compelled - departure from Fairport and its vicinity." -</p> -<p> - "From love and from poetry—Miss Wardour and the Caledoniad?" -</p> -<p> - "Most true." -</p> -<p> - "And since that time you have been occupied, I suppose, with plans for - Sir Arthur's relief?" -</p> -<p> - "Yes, sir; with the assistance of Captain Wardour at Edinburgh." -</p> -<p> - "And Edie Ochiltree here—you see I know the whole story. But how came - you by the treasure?" -</p> -<p> - "It was a quantity of plate which had belonged to my uncle, and was left - in the custody of a person at Fairport. Some time before his death he had - sent orders that it should be melted down. He perhaps did not wish me to - see the Glenallan arms upon it." -</p> -<p> - "Well, Major Neville—or let me say, Lovel, being the name in which I - rather delight—you must, I believe, exchange both of your <i>alias's</i> for - the style and title of the Honourable William Geraldin, commonly called - Lord Geraldin." -</p> -<p> - The Antiquary then went through the strange and melancholy circumstances - concerning his mother's death. -</p> -<p> - "I have no doubt," he said, "that your uncle wished the report to be - believed, that the child of this unhappy marriage was no more—perhaps he - might himself have an eye to the inheritance of his brother—he was then - a gay wild young man—But of all intentions against your person, however - much the evil conscience of Elspeth might lead her to inspect him from - the agitation in which he appeared, Teresa's story and your own fully - acquit him. And now, my dear sir, let me have the pleasure of introducing - a son to a father." -</p> -<p> - We will not attempt to describe such a meeting. The proofs on all sides - were found to be complete, for Mr. Neville had left a distinct account of - the whole transaction with his confidential steward in a sealed packet, - which was not to be opened until the death of the old Countess; his - motive for preserving secrecy so long appearing to have been an - apprehension of the effect which the discovery, fraught with so much - disgrace, must necessarily produce upon her haughty and violent temper. -</p> -<p> - In the evening of that day, the yeomanry and volunteers of Glenallan - drank prosperity to their young master. In a month afterwards Lord - Geraldin was married to Miss Wardour, the Antiquary making the lady a - present of the wedding ring—a massy circle of antique chasing, bearing - the motto of Aldobrand Oldenbuck, <i>Kunst macht gunst.</i> -</p> -<p> - Old Edie, the most important man that ever wore a blue gown, bowls away - easily from one friend's house to another, and boasts that he never - travels unless on a sunny day. Latterly, indeed, he has given some - symptoms of becoming stationary, being frequently found in the corner of - a snug cottage between Monkbarns and Knockwinnock, to which Caxon - retreated upon his daughter's marriage, in order to be in the - neighbourhood of the three parochial wigs, which he continues to keep in - repair, though only for amusement. Edie has been heard to say, "This is a - gey bein place, and it's a comfort to hae sic a corner to sit in in a bad - day." It is thought, as he grows stiffer in the joints, he will finally - settle there. -</p> -<p> - The bounty of such wealthy patrons as Lord and Lady Geraldin flowed - copiously upon Mrs. Hadoway and upon the Mucklebackits. By the former it - was well employed, by the latter wasted. They continue, however, to - receive it, but under the administration of Edie Ochiltree; and they do - not accept it without grumbling at the channel through which it is - conveyed. -</p> -<p> - Hector is rising rapidly in the army, and has been more than once - mentioned in the Gazette, and rises proportionally high in his uncle's - favour; and what scarcely pleases the young soldier less, he has also - shot two seals, and thus put an end to the Antiquary's perpetual harping - upon the story of the <i>phoca.</i>People talk of a marriage between Miss - M'Intyre and Captain Wardour; but this wants confirmation. -</p> -<p> - The Antiquary is a frequent visitor at Knockwinnock and Glenallan House, - ostensibly for the sake of completing two essays, one on the mail-shirt - of the Great Earl, and the other on the left-hand gauntlet of - Hell-in-Harness. He regularly inquires whether Lord Geraldin has - commenced the Caledoniad, and shakes his head at the answers he - receives. <i>En attendant,</i> however, he has completed his notes, which, we - believe, will be at the service of any one who chooses to make them - public without risk or expense to THE ANTIQUARY. -</p> -<a name="2H_NOTE"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - NOTES TO THE ANTIQUARY. -</h2> -<p> - Note A, p. #.—Mottoes. -</p> -<p> - ["It was in correcting the proof-sheets of this novel that Scott first - took to equipping his chapters with mottoes of his own fabrication. On - one occasion he happened to ask John Ballantyne, who was sitting by him, - to hunt for a particular passage in Beaumont and Fletcher. John did as he - was bid, but did not succeed in discovering the lines. 'Hang it, - Johnnie,' cried Scott, 'I believe I can make a motto sooner than you will - find one.' He did so accordingly; and from that hour, whenever memory - failed to suggest an appropriate epigraph, he had recourse to the - inexhaustible mines of "old play" or "old ballad," to which we owe some - of the most exquisite verses that ever flowed from his pen."—<i>J. G. - Lockhart.</i> -</p> -<p> - See also the Introduction to "Chronicles of the Canongate," vol. xix.] -</p> -<p> - Note B, p. #.—Sandy Gordon's Itinerarium. -</p> -<p> - [This well-known work, the "Itinerarium Septentrionale, or a Journey - thro' most of the Counties of Scotland, and those in the North of - England," was published at London in 1727, folio. The author states, that - in prosecuting his work he "made a pretty laborious progress through - almost every part of Scotland for three years successively." Gordon was - a native of Aberdeenshire, and had previously spent some years in - travelling abroad, probably as a tutor. He became Secretary to the London - Society of Antiquaries in 1736. This office he resigned in 1741, and soon - after went out to South Carolina with Governor Glen, where he obtained a - considerable grant of land. On his death, about the year 1753, he is said - to have left "a handsome estate to his family."—See <i>Literary Anecdotes - of Bowyer,</i> by John Nichols, vol. v., p. 329, etc.] -</p> -<p> - Note C, p. #.—Praetorium. -</p> -<p> - It may be worth while to mention that the incident of the supposed - Praetorium actually happened to an antiquary of great learning and - acuteness, Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, one of the Barons of the Scottish - Court of Exchequer, and a parliamentary commissioner for arrangement of - the Union between England and Scotland. As many of his writings show, Sir - John was much attached to the study of Scottish antiquities. He had a - small property in Dumfriesshire, near the Roman station on the hill - called Burrenswark. Here he received the distinguished English - antiquarian Roger Gale, and of course conducted him to see this - remarkable spot, where the lords of the world have left such decisive - marks of their martial labours. -</p> -<p> - An aged shepherd whom they had used as a guide, or who had approached - them from curiosity, listened with mouth agape to the dissertations on - foss and vellum, ports <i>dextra, sinistra,</i> and <i>decumana,</i> which Sir John - Clerk delivered <i>ex cathedra,</i> and his learned visitor listened with the - deference to the dignity of a connoisseur on his own ground. But when the - cicerone proceeded to point out a small hillock near the centre of the - enclosure as the Praetorium, Corydon's patience could hold no longer, - and, like Edie Ochiltree, he forgot all reverence, and broke in with - nearly the same words—"Praetorium here, Praetorium there, I made the - bourock mysell with a flaughter-spade." The effect of this undeniable - evidence on the two lettered sages may be left to the reader's - imagination. -</p> -<p> - The late excellent and venerable John Clerk of Eldin, the celebrated - author of <i>Naval Tactics,</i> used to tell this story with glee, and being a - younger son of Sir John's was perhaps present on the occasion. -</p> -<p> - Note D, p. #.—Mr. Rutherfurd's Dream -</p> -<p> - The legend of Mrs. Grizel Oldbuck was partly taken from an extraordinary - story which happened about seventy years since, in the South of Scotland, - so peculiar in its circumstances that it merits being mentioned in this - place. Mr. Rutherfurd of Bowland, a gentleman of landed property in the - vale of Gala, was prosecuted for a very considerable sum, the accumulated - arrears of teind (or tithe) for which he was said to be indebted to a - noble family, the titulars (lay impropriators of the tithes). Mr. - Rutherfurd was strongly impressed with the belief that his father had, by - a form of process peculiar to the law of Scotland, purchased these lands - from the titular, and therefore that the present prosecution was - groundless. But, after an industrious search among his father's papers, - an investigation of the public records, and a careful inquiry among all - persons who had transacted law business for his father, no evidence could - be recovered to support his defence. The period was now near at hand when - he conceived the loss of his lawsuit to be inevitable, and he had formed - his determination to ride to Edinburgh next day, and make the best - bargain he could in the way of compromise. He went to bed with this - resolution and, with all the circumstances of the case floating upon his - mind, had a dream to the following purpose:—His father, who had been - many years dead, appeared to him, he thought, and asked him why he was - disturbed in his mind. In dreams men are not surprised at such - apparitions. Mr. Rutherfurd thought that he informed his father of the - cause of his distress, adding that the payment of a considerable sum of - money was the more unpleasant to him, because he had a strong - consciousness that it was not due, though he was unable to recover any - evidence in support of his belief, "You are right, my son," replied the - paternal shade; "I did acquire right to these teinds, for payment of - which you are now prosecuted. The papers relating to the transaction are - in the hands of Mr.—, a writer (or attorney), who is now retired from - professional business, and resides at Inveresk, near Edinburgh. He was a - person whom I employed on that occasion for a particular reason, but who - never on any other occasion transacted business on my account. It is very - possible," pursued the vision, "that Mr.—may have forgotten a matter - which is now of a very old date; but you may call it to his recollection - by this token, that when I came to pay his account, there was difficulty - in getting change for a Portugal piece of gold, and that we were forced - to drink out the balance at a tavern." -</p> -<p> - Mr. Rutherfurd awakened in the morning with all the words of the vision - imprinted on his mind, and thought it worth while to ride across the - country to Inveresk, instead of going straight to Edinburgh. When he came - there he waited on the gentleman mentioned in the dream, a very old man; - without saying anything of the vision, he inquired whether he remembered - having conducted such a matter for his deceased father. The old gentleman - could not at first bring the circumstance to his recollection, but on - mention of the Portugal piece of gold, the whole returned upon his - memory; he made an immediate search for the papers, and recovered them,—so - that Mr. Rutherfurd carried to Edinburgh the documents necessary to - gain the cause which he was on the verge of losing. -</p> -<p> - The author has often heard this story told by persons who had the best - access to know the facts, who were not likely themselves to be deceived, - and were certainly incapable of deception. He cannot therefore refuse to - give it credit, however extraordinary the circumstances may appear. The - circumstantial character of the information given in the dream, takes it - out of the general class of impressions of the kind which are occasioned - by the fortuitous coincidence of actual events with our sleeping - thoughts. On the other hand, few will suppose that the laws of nature - were suspended, and a special communication from the dead to the living - permitted, for the purpose of saving Mr. Rutherfurd a certain number of - hundred pounds. The author's theory is, that the dream was only the - recapitulation of information which Mr. Rutherfurd had really received - from his father while in life, but which at first he merely recalled as a - general impression that the claim was settled. It is not uncommon for - persons to recover, during sleep, the thread of ideas which they have - lost during their waking hours. -</p> -<p> - It may be added, that this remarkable circumstance was attended with bad - consequences to Mr. Rutherfurd; whose health and spirits were afterwards - impaired by the attention which he thought himself obliged to pay to the - visions of the night. -</p> -<p> - Note E, p. #.—Nick-sticks. -</p> -<p> - A sort of tally generally used by bakers of the olden time in settling - with their customers. Each family had its own nick-stick, and for each - loaf as delivered a notch was made on the stick. Accounts in Exchequer, - kept by the same kind of check, may have occasioned the Antiquary's - partiality. In Prior's time the English bakers had the same sort of - reckoning. -</p> -<pre> - Have you not seen a baker's maid, - Between two equal panniers sway'd? - Her tallies useless lie and idle, - If placed exactly in the middle. -</pre> -<p> - Note F, p. #.—Witchcraft. -</p> -<p> - A great deal of stuff to the same purpose with that placed in the mouth - of the German adept, may be found in Reginald Scott's <i>Discovery of - Witchcraft,</i> Third Edition, folio, London, 1665. The Appendix is - entitled, "An Excellent Discourse of the Nature and Substances of Devils - and Spirits, in two Books; the first by the aforesaid author (Reginald - Scott), the Second now added in this Third Edition as succedaneous to the - former, and conducing to the completing of the whole work." This Second - Book, though stated as succedaneous to the first, is, in fact, entirely - at variance with it; for the work of Reginald Scott is a compilation of - the absurd and superstitious ideas concerning witches so generally - entertained at the time, and the pretended conclusion is a serious - treatise on the various means of conjuring astral spirits. -</p> -<p> - [Scott's <i>Discovery of Witchcraft</i> was first published in the reign of - Queen Elizabeth, London, 1584.] -</p> -<p> - Note G, p. #.—Gynecocracy. -</p> -<p> - In the fishing villages on the Firths of Forth and Tay, as well as - elsewhere in Scotland, the government is gynecocracy, as described in the - text. In the course of the late war, and during the alarm of invasion, a - fleet of transports entered the Firth of Forth under the convoy of some - ships of war, which would reply to no signals. A general alarm was - excited, in consequence of which, all the fishers, who were enrolled as - sea-fencibles, got on board the gun-boats which they were to man as - occasion should require, and sailed to oppose the supposed enemy. The - foreigners proved to be Russians, with whom we were then at peace. The - county gentlemen of Mid-Lothian, pleased with the zeal displayed by the - sea-fencibles at a critical moment, passed a vote for presenting the - community of fishers with a silver punch-bowl, to be used on occasions of - festivity. But the fisher-women, on hearing what was intended, put in - their claim to have some separate share in the intended honorary reward. - The men, they said, were their husbands; it was they who would have been - sufferers if their husbands had been killed, and it was by their - permission and injunctions that they embarked on board the gun-boats for - the public service. They therefore claimed to share the reward in some - manner which should distinguish the female patriotism which they had - shown on the occasion. The gentlemen of the county willingly admitted the - claim; and without diminishing the value of their compliment to the men, - they made the females a present of a valuable broach, to fasten the plaid - of the queen of the fisher-women for the time. -</p> -<p> - It may be further remarked, that these Nereids are punctilious among - themselves, and observe different ranks according to the commodities they - deal in. One experienced dame was heard to characterise a younger damsel - as "a puir silly thing, who had no ambition, and would never," she - prophesied, "rise above the <i>mussel-line</i> of business." -</p> -<p> - Note H, p. #.—Battle of Harlaw. -</p> -<p> - The great battle of Harlaw, here and formerly referred to, might be said - to determine whether the Gaelic or the Saxon race should be predominant - in Scotland. Donald, Lord of the Isles, who had at that period the power - of an independent sovereign, laid claim to the Earldom of Ross during the - Regency of Robert, Duke of Albany. To enforce his supposed right, he - ravaged the north with a large army of Highlanders and Islesmen. He was - encountered at Harlaw, in the Garioch, by Alexander, Earl of Mar, at the - head of the northern nobility and gentry of Saxon and Norman descent. The - battle was bloody and indecisive; but the invader was obliged to retire - in consequence of the loss he sustained, and afterwards was compelled to - make submission to the Regent, and renounce his pretensions to Ross; so - that all the advantages of the field were gained by the Saxons. The - battle of Harlaw was fought 24th July 1411. -</p> -<p> - Note I, p. #.—Elspeth's death. -</p> -<p> - The concluding circumstance of Elspeth's death is taken from an incident - said to have happened at the funeral of John, Duke of Roxburghe. All who - were acquainted with that accomplished nobleman must remember that he was - not more remarkable for creating and possessing a most curious and - splendid library, than for his acquaintance with the literary treasures - it contained. In arranging his books, fetching and replacing the volumes - which he wanted, and carrying on all the necessary intercourse which a - man of letters holds with his library, it was the Duke's custom to - employ, not a secretary or librarian, but a livery servant, called - Archie, whom habit had made so perfectly acquainted with the library, - that he knew every book, as a shepherd does the individuals of his flock, - by what is called head-mark, and could bring his master whatever volume - he wanted, and afford all the mechanical aid the Duke required in his - literary researches. To secure the attendance of Archie, there was a bell - hung in his room, which was used on no occasion except to call him - individually to the Duke's study. -</p> -<p> - His Grace died in Saint James's Square, London, in the year 1804; the - body was to be conveyed to Scotland, to lie in state at his mansion of - Fleurs, and to be removed from thence to the family burial-place at - Bowden. -</p> -<p> - At this time, Archie, who had been long attacked by a liver-complaint, - was in the very last stage of that disease. Yet he prepared himself to - accompany the body of the master whom he had so long and so faithfully - waited upon. The medical persons assured him he could not survive the - journey. It signified nothing, he said, whether he died in England or - Scotland; he was resolved to assist in rendering the last honours to the - kind master from whom he had been inseparable for so many years, even if - he should expire in the attempt. The poor invalid was permitted to attend - the Duke's body to Scotland; but when they reached Fleurs he was totally - exhausted, and obliged to keep his bed, in a sort of stupor which - announced speedy dissolution. On the morning of the day fixed for - removing the dead body of the Duke to the place of burial, the private - bell by which he was wont to summon his attendant to his study was rung - violently. This might easily happen in the confusion of such a scene, - although the people of the neighbourhood prefer believing that the bell - sounded of its own accord. Ring, however, it did; and Archie, roused by - the well-known summons, rose up in his bed, and faltered, in broken - accents, "Yes, my Lord Duke—yes—I will wait on your Grace instantly;" - and with these words on his lips he is said to have fallen back and - expired. -</p> -<p> - Note J, p. #.—Alarm of invasion. -</p> -<p> - The story of the false alarm at Fairport, and the consequences, are taken - from a real incident. Those who witnessed the state of Britain, and of - Scotland in particular, from the period that succeeded the war which - commenced in 1803 to the battle of Trafalgar, must recollect those times - with feelings which we can hardly hope to make the rising generation - comprehend. Almost every individual was enrolled either in a military or - civil capacity, for the purpose of contributing to resist the - long-suspended threats of invasion, which were echoed from every quarter. - Beacons were erected along the coast, and all through the country, to - give the signal for every one to repair to the post where his peculiar - duty called him, and men of every description fit to serve held - themselves in readiness on the shortest summons. During this agitating - period, and on the evening of the 2d February 1804, the person who kept - watch on the commanding station of Home Castle, being deceived by some - accidental fire in the county of Northumberland, which he took for the - corresponding signal-light in that county with which his orders were to - communicate, lighted up his own beacon. The signal was immediately - repeated through all the valleys on the English Border. If the beacon at - Saint Abb's Head had been fired, the alarm would have run northward, and - roused all Scotland. But the watch at this important point judiciously - considered, that if there had been an actual or threatened descent on our - eastern sea-coast, the alarm would have come along the coast and not from - the interior of the country. -</p> -<p> - Through the Border counties the alarm spread with rapidity, and on no - occasion when that country was the scene of perpetual and unceasing war, - was the summons to arms more readily obeyed. In Berwickshire, - Roxburghshire, and Selkirkshire, the volunteers and militia got under - arms with a degree of rapidity and alacrity which, considering the - distance individuals lived from each other, had something in it very - surprising—they poured to the alarm-posts on the sea-coast in a state so - well armed and so completely appointed, with baggage, provisions, etc., - as was accounted by the best military judges to render them fit for - instant and effectual service. -</p> -<p> - There were some particulars in the general alarm which are curious and - interesting. The men of Liddesdale, the most remote point to the westward - which the alarm reached, were so much afraid of being late in the field, - that they put in requisition all the horses they could find, and when - they had thus made a forced march out of their own country, they turned - their borrowed steeds loose to find their way back through the hills, and - they all got back safe to their own stables. Another remarkable - circumstance was, the general cry of the inhabitants of the smaller towns - for arms, that they might go along with their companions. The - Selkirkshire Yeomanry made a remarkable march, for although some of the - individuals lived at twenty and thirty miles' distance from the place - where they mustered, they were nevertheless embodied and in order in so - short a period, that they were at Dalkeith, which was their alarm-post, - about one o'clock on the day succeeding the first signal, with men and - horses in good order, though the roads were in a bad state, and many of - the troopers must have ridden forty or fifty miles without drawing - bridle. Two members of the corps chanced to be absent from their homes, - and in Edinburgh on private business. The lately married wife of one of - these gentlemen, and the widowed mother of the other, sent the arms, - uniforms, and chargers of the two troopers, that they might join their - companions at Dalkeith. The author was very much struck by the answer - made to him by the last-mentioned lady, when he paid her some compliment - on the readiness which she showed in equipping her son with the means of - meeting danger, when she might have left him a fair excuse for remaining - absent. "Sir," she replied, with the spirit of a Roman matron, "none can - know better than you that my son is the only prop by which, since his - father's death, our family is supported. But I would rather see him dead - on that hearth, than hear that he had been a horse's length behind his - companions in the defence of his king and country." The author mentions - what was immediately under his own eye, and within his own knowledge; but - the spirit was universal, wherever the alarm reached, both in Scotland - and England. -</p> -<p> - The account of the ready patriotism displayed by the country on this - occasion, warmed the hearts of Scottishmen in every corner of the world. - It reached the ears of the well-known Dr. Leyden, whose enthusiastic love - of Scotland, and of his own district of Teviotdale, formed a - distinguished part of his character. The account which was read to him - when on a sick-bed, stated (very truly) that the different corps, on - arriving at their alarm-posts, announced themselves by their music - playing the tunes peculiar to their own districts, many of which have - been gathering-signals for centuries. It was particularly remembered, - that the Liddesdale men, before mentioned, entered Kelso playing the - lively tune— -</p> -<pre> - O wha dare meddle wi' me, - And wha dare meddle wi' me! - My name it is little Jock Elliot, - And wha dare meddle wi' me! -</pre> -<p> - The patient was so delighted with this display of ancient Border spirit, - that he sprung up in his bed, and began to sing the old song with such - vehemence of action and voice, that his attendants, ignorant of the cause - of excitation, concluded that the fever had taken possession of his - brain; and it was only the entry of another Borderer, Sir John Malcolm, - and the explanation which he was well qualified to give, that prevented - them from resorting to means of medical coercion. -</p> -<p> - The circumstances of this false alarm and its consequences may be now - held of too little importance even for a note upon a work of fiction; - but, at the period when it happened, it was hailed by the country as a - propitious omen, that the national force, to which much must naturally - have been trusted, had the spirit to look in the face the danger which - they had taken arms to repel; and every one was convinced, that on - whichever side God might bestow the victory, the invaders would meet with - the most determined opposition from the children of the soil. -</p> - - -<div style="height: 6em;"><br><br><br><br><br><br></div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Antiquary, Volume 2, by Sir Walter Scott - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ANTIQUARY, VOLUME 2 *** - -***** This file should be named 7004-h.htm or 7004-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.net/7/0/0/7004/ - -Produced by David Widger - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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