ROB ROY
BY SIR WALTER SCOTT
ROB ROY
CHAPTER FIRST
How have I sinnd that this affliction
Should light so heavy on me I have no more sons
And this no more mine own—My grand curse
Hang oer his head that thus transformed thee—
Travel Ill send my horse to travel next
Monsieur Thomas
You have requested me my dear friend to bestow some of that leisure with which Providence has blessed the decline of my life in registering the hazards and difficulties which attended its commencement The recollection of those adventures as you are pleased to term them has indeed left upon my mind a chequered and varied feeling of pleasure and of pain mingled I trust with no slight gratitude and veneration to the Disposer of human events who guided my early course through much risk and labour that the ease with which he has blessed my prolonged life might seem softer from remembrance and contrast Neither is it possible for me to doubt what you have often affirmed that the incidents which befell me among a people singularly primitive in their government and manners have something interesting and attractive for those who love to hear an old mans stories of a past age
Still however you must remember that the tale told by one friend and listened to by another loses half its charms when committed to paper and that the narratives to which you have attended with interest as heard from the voice of him to whom they occurred will appear less deserving of attention when perused in the seclusion of your study But your greener age and robust constitution promise longer life than will in all human probability be the lot of your friend Throw then these sheets into some secret drawer of your escritoire till we are separated from each others society by an event which may happen at any moment and which must happen within the course of a few—a very few years When we are parted in this world to meet I hope in a better you will I am well aware cherish more than it deserves the memory of your departed friend and will find in those details which I am now to commit to paper matter for melancholy but not unpleasing reflection Others bequeath to the confidants of their bosom portraits of their external features—I put into your hands a faithful transcript of my thoughts and feelings of my virtues and of my failings with the assured hope that the follies and headstrong impetuosity of my youth will meet the same kind construction and forgiveness which have so often attended the faults of my matured age
One advantage among the many of addressing my Memoirs if I may give these sheets a name so imposing to a dear and intimate friend is that I may spare some of the details in this case unnecessary with which I must needs have detained a stranger from what I have to say of greater interest Why should I bestow all my tediousness upon you because I have you in my power and have ink paper and time before me At the same time I dare not promise that I may not abuse the opportunity so temptingly offered me to treat of myself and my own concerns even though I speak of circumstances as well known to you as to myself The seductive love of narrative when we ourselves are the heroes of the events which we tell often disregards the attention due to the time and patience of the audience and the best and wisest have yielded to its fascination I need only remind you of the singular instance evinced by the form of that rare and original edition of Sullys Memoirs which you with the fond vanity of a bookcollector insist upon preferring to that which is reduced to the useful and ordinary form of Memoirs but which I think curious solely as illustrating how far so great a man as the author was accessible to the foible of selfimportance If I recollect rightly that venerable peer and great statesman had appointed no fewer than four gentlemen of his household to draw up the events of his life under the title of Memorials of the Sage and Royal Affairs of State Domestic Political and Military transacted by Henry IV and so forth These grave recorders having made their compilation reduced the Memoirs containing all the remarkable events of their masters life into a narrative addressed to himself in propria persona And thus instead of telling his own story in the third person like Julius Caesar or in the first person like most who in the hall or the study undertake to be the heroes of their own tale Sully enjoyed the refined though whimsical pleasure of having the events of his life told over to him by his secretaries being himself the auditor as he was also the hero and probably the author of the whole book It must have been a great sight to have seen the exminister as bolt upright as a starched ruff and laced cassock could make him seated in state beneath his canopy and listening to the recitation of his compilers while standing bare in his presence they informed him gravely Thus said the duke—so did the duke infer—such were your graces sentiments upon this important point—such were your secret counsels to the king on that other emergency—circumstances all of which must have been much better known to their hearer than to themselves and most of which could only be derived from his own special communication
My situation is not quite so ludicrous as that of the great Sully and yet there would be something whimsical in Frank Osbaldistone giving Will Tresham a formal account of his birth education and connections in the world I will therefore wrestle with the tempting spirit of P P Clerk of our Parish as I best may and endeavour to tell you nothing that is familiar to you already Some things however I must recall to your memory because though formerly well known to you they may have been forgotten through lapse of time and they afford the groundwork of my destiny
You must remember my father well for as your own was a member of the mercantile house you knew him from infancy Yet you hardly saw him in his best days before age and infirmity had quenched his ardent spirit of enterprise and speculation He would have been a poorer man indeed but perhaps as happy had he devoted to the extension of science those active energies and acute powers of observation for which commercial pursuits found occupation Yet in the fluctuations of mercantile speculation there is something captivating to the adventurer even independent of the hope of gain He who embarks on that fickle sea requires to possess the skill of the pilot and the fortitude of the navigator and after all may be wrecked and lost unless the gales of fortune breathe in his favour This mixture of necessary attention and inevitable hazard—the frequent and awful uncertainty whether prudence shall overcome fortune or fortune baffle the schemes of prudence affords full occupation for the powers as well as for the feelings of the mind and trade has all the fascination of gambling without its moral guilt
Early in the 18th century when I Heaven help me was a youth of some twenty years old I was summoned suddenly from Bourdeaux to attend my father on business of importance I shall never forget our first interview You recollect the brief abrupt and somewhat stern mode in which he was wont to communicate his pleasure to those around him Methinks I see him even now in my minds eye—the firm and upright figure—the step quick and determined—the eye which shot so keen and so penetrating a glance—the features on which care had already planted wrinkles—and hear his language in which he never wasted word in vain expressed in a voice which had sometimes an occasional harshness far from the intention of the speaker
When I dismounted from my posthorse I hastened to my fathers apartment He was traversing it with an air of composed and steady deliberation which even my arrival although an only son unseen for four years was unable to discompose I threw myself into his arms He was a kind though not a fond father and the tear twinkled in his dark eye but it was only for a moment
Dubourg writes to me that he is satisfied with you Frank
I am happy sir—
But I have less reason to be so he added sitting down at his bureau
I am sorry sir—
Sorry and happy Frank are words that on most occasions signify little or nothing—Here is your last letter
He took it out from a number of others tied up in a parcel of red tape and curiously labelled and filed There lay my poor epistle written on the subject the nearest to my heart at the time and couched in words which I had thought would work compassion if not conviction—there I say it lay squeezed up among the letters on miscellaneous business in which my fathers daily affairs had engaged him I cannot help smiling internally when I recollect the mixture of hurt vanity and wounded feeling with which I regarded my remonstrance to the penning of which there had gone I promise you some trouble as I beheld it extracted from amongst letters of advice of credit and all the commonplace lumber as I then thought them of a merchants correspondence Surely thought I a letter of such importance I dared not say even to myself so well written deserved a separate place as well as more anxious consideration than those on the ordinary business of the countinghouse
But my father did not observe my dissatisfaction and would not have minded it if he had He proceeded with the letter in his hand This Frank is yours of the 21st ultimo in which you advise me reading from my letter that in the most important business of forming a plan and adopting a profession for life you trust my paternal goodness will hold you entitled to at least a negative voice that you have insuperable—ay insuperable is the word—I wish by the way you would write a more distinct current hand—draw a score through the tops of your ts and open the loops of your ls—insuperable objections to the arrangements which I have proposed to you There is much more to the same effect occupying four good pages of paper which a little attention to perspicuity and distinctness of expression might have comprised within as many lines For after all Frank it amounts but to this that you will not do as I would have you
That I cannot sir in the present instance not that I will not
Words avail very little with me young man said my father whose inflexibility always possessed the air of the most perfect calmness of selfpossession Can not may be a more civil phrase than will not but the expressions are synonymous where there is no moral impossibility But I am not a friend to doing business hastily we will talk this matter over after dinner—Owen
Owen appeared not with the silver locks which you were used to venerate for he was then little more than fifty but he had the same or an exactly similar uniform suit of lightbrown clothes—the same pearlgrey silk stockings—the same stock with its silver buckle—the same plaited cambric ruffles drawn down over his knuckles in the parlour but in the countinghouse carefully folded back under the sleeves that they might remain unstained by the ink which he daily consumed—in a word the same grave formal yet benevolent cast of features which continued to his death to distinguish the head clerk of the great house of Osbaldistone and Tresham
Owen said my father as the kind old man shook me affectionately by the hand you must dine with us today and hear the news Frank has brought us from our friends in Bourdeaux
Owen made one of his stiff bows of respectful gratitude for in those days when the distance between superiors and inferiors was enforced in a manner to which the present times are strangers such an invitation was a favour of some little consequence
I shall long remember that dinnerparty Deeply affected by feelings of anxiety not unmingled with displeasure I was unable to take that active share in the conversation which my father seemed to expect from me and I too frequently gave unsatisfactory answers to the questions with which he assailed me Owen hovering betwixt his respect for his patron and his love for the youth he had dandled on his knee in childhood like the timorous yet anxious ally of an invaded nation endeavoured at every blunder I made to explain my nomeaning and to cover my retreat manoeuvres which added to my fathers pettish displeasure and brought a share of it upon my kind advocate instead of protecting me I had not while residing in the house of Dubourg absolutely conducted myself like
A clerk condemnd his fathers soul to cross
Who pennd a stanza when he should engross—
but to say truth I had frequented the countinghouse no more than I had thought absolutely necessary to secure the good report of the Frenchman long a correspondent of our firm to whom my father had trusted for initiating me into the mysteries of commerce In fact my principal attention had been dedicated to literature and manly exercises My father did not altogether discourage such acquirements whether mental or personal He had too much good sense not to perceive that they sate gracefully upon every man and he was sensible that they relieved and dignified the character to which he wished me to aspire But his chief ambition was that I should succeed not merely to his fortune but to the views and plans by which he imagined he could extend and perpetuate the wealthy inheritance which he designed for me
Love of his profession was the motive which he chose should be most ostensible when he urged me to tread the same path but he had others with which I only became acquainted at a later period Impetuous in his schemes as well as skilful and daring each new adventure when successful became at once the incentive and furnished the means for farther speculation It seemed to be necessary to him as to an ambitious conqueror to push on from achievement to achievement without stopping to secure far less to enjoy the acquisitions which he made Accustomed to see his whole fortune trembling in the scales of chance and dexterous at adopting expedients for casting the balance in his favour his health and spirits and activity seemed ever to increase with the animating hazards on which he staked his wealth and he resembled a sailor accustomed to brave the billows and the foe whose confidence rises on the eve of tempest or of battle He was not however insensible to the changes which increasing age or supervening malady might make in his own constitution and was anxious in good time to secure in me an assistant who might take the helm when his hand grew weary and keep the vessels way according to his counsel and instruction Paternal affection as well as the furtherance of his own plans determined him to the same conclusion Your father though his fortune was vested in the house was only a sleeping partner as the commercial phrase goes and Owen whose probity and skill in the details of arithmetic rendered his services invaluable as a head clerk was not possessed either of information or talents sufficient to conduct the mysteries of the principal management If my father were suddenly summoned from life what would become of the world of schemes which he had formed unless his son were moulded into a commercial Hercules fit to sustain the weight when relinquished by the falling Atlas and what would become of that son himself if a stranger to business of this description he found himself at once involved in the labyrinth of mercantile concerns without the clew of knowledge necessary for his extraction For all these reasons avowed and secret my father was determined I should embrace his profession and when he was determined the resolution of no man was more immovable I however was also a party to be consulted and with something of his own pertinacity I had formed a determination precisely contrary It may I hope be some palliative for the resistance which on this occasion I offered to my fathers wishes that I did not fully understand upon what they were founded or how deeply his happiness was involved in them Imagining myself certain of a large succession in future and ample maintenance in the meanwhile it never occurred to me that it might be necessary in order to secure these blessings to submit to labour and limitations unpleasant to my taste and temper I only saw in my fathers proposal for my engaging in business a desire that I should add to those heaps of wealth which he had himself acquired and imagining myself the best judge of the path to my own happiness I did not conceive that I should increase that happiness by augmenting a fortune which I believed was already sufficient and more than sufficient for every use comfort and elegant enjoyment
Accordingly I am compelled to repeat that my time at Bourdeaux had not been spent as my father had proposed to himself What he considered as the chief end of my residence in that city I had postponed for every other and would had I dared have neglected altogether Dubourg a favoured and benefited correspondent of our mercantile house was too much of a shrewd politician to make such reports to the head of the firm concerning his only child as would excite the displeasure of both and he might also as you will presently hear have views of selfish advantage in suffering me to neglect the purposes for which I was placed under his charge My conduct was regulated by the bounds of decency and good order and thus far he had no evil report to make supposing him so disposed but perhaps the crafty Frenchman would have been equally complaisant had I been in the habit of indulging worse feelings than those of indolence and aversion to mercantile business As it was while I gave a decent portion of my time to the commercial studies he recommended he was by no means envious of the hours which I dedicated to other and more classical attainments nor did he ever find fault with me for dwelling upon Corneille and Boileau in preference to Postlethwayte supposing his folio to have then existed and Monsieur Dubourg able to have pronounced his name or Savary or any other writer on commercial economy He had picked up somewhere a convenient expression with which he rounded off every letter to his correspondent—I was all he said that a father could wish
My father never quarrelled with a phrase however frequently repeated provided it seemed to him distinct and expressive and Addison himself could not have found expressions so satisfactory to him as Yours received and duly honoured the bills enclosed as per margin
Knowing therefore very well what he desired me to be Mr Osbaldistone made no doubt from the frequent repetition of Dubourgs favourite phrase that I was the very thing he wished to see me when in an evil hour he received my letter containing my eloquent and detailed apology for declining a place in the firm and a desk and stool in the corner of the dark countinghouse in Crane Alley surmounting in height those of Owen and the other clerks and only inferior to the tripod of my father himself All was wrong from that moment Dubourgs reports became as suspicious as if his bills had been noted for dishonour I was summoned home in all haste and received in the manner I have already communicated to you
CHAPTER SECOND
I begin shrewdly to suspect the young man of a terrible
taint—Poetry with which idle disease if he be infected
theres no hope of him in astate course Actum est of him
for a commonwealths man if he gotot in rhyme once
Ben Jonsons Bartholomew Fair
My father had generally speaking his temper under complete selfcommand and his anger rarely indicated itself by words except in a sort of dry testy manner to those who had displeased him He never used threats or expressions of loud resentment All was arranged with him on system and it was his practice to do the needful on every occasion without wasting words about it It was therefore with a bitter smile that he listened to my imperfect answers concerning the state of commerce in France and unmercifully permitted me to involve myself deeper and deeper in the mysteries of agio tariffs tare and tret nor can I charge my memory with his having looked positively angry until he found me unable to explain the exact effect which the depreciation of the louis dor had produced on the negotiation of bills of exchange The most remarkable national occurrence in my time said my father who nevertheless had seen the Revolution—and he knows no more of it than a post on the quay
Mr Francis suggested Owen in his timid and conciliatory manner cannot have forgotten that by an arret of the King of France dated 1st May 1700 it was provided that the porteur within ten days after due must make demand—
Mr Francis said my father interrupting him will I dare say recollect for the moment anything you are so kind as hint to him But body o me how Dubourg could permit him Hark ye Owen what sort of a youth is Clement Dubourg his nephew there in the office the blackhaired lad
One of the cleverest clerks sir in the house a prodigious young man for his time answered Owen for the gaiety and civility of the young Frenchman had won his heart
Ay ay I suppose he knows something of the nature of exchange Dubourg was determined I should have one youngster at least about my hand who understood business But I see his drift and he shall find that I do so when he looks at the balancesheet Owen let Clements salary be paid up to next quarterday and let him ship himself back to Bourdeaux in his fathers ship which is clearing out yonder
Dismiss Clement Dubourg sir said Owen with a faltering voice
Yes sir dismiss him instantly it is enough to have a stupid Englishman in the countinghouse to make blunders without keeping a sharp Frenchman there to profit by them
I had lived long enough in the territories of the Grand Monarque to contract a hearty aversion to arbitrary exertion of authority even if it had not been instilled into me with my earliest breeding and I could not refrain from interposing to prevent an innocent and meritorious young man from paying the penalty of having acquired that proficiency which my father had desired for me
I beg pardon sir when Mr Osbaldistone had done speaking but I think it but just that if I have been negligent of my studies I should pay the forfeit myself I have no reason to charge Monsieur Dubourg with having neglected to give me opportunities of improvement however little I may have profited by them and with respect to Monsieur Clement Dubourg—
With respect to him and to you I shall take the measures which I see needful replied my father but it is fair in you Frank to take your own blame on your own shoulders—very fair that cannot be denied—I cannot acquit old Dubourg he said looking to Owen for having merely afforded Frank the means of useful knowledge without either seeing that he took advantage of them or reporting to me if he did not You see Owen he has natural notions of equity becoming a British merchant
Mr Francis said the headclerk with his usual formal inclination of the head and a slight elevation of his right hand which he had acquired by a habit of sticking his pen behind his ear before he spoke—Mr Francis seems to understand the fundamental principle of all moral accounting the great ethic rule of three Let A do to B as he would have B do to him the product will give the rule of conduct required
My father smiled at this reduction of the golden rule to arithmetical form but instantly proceeded
All this signifies nothing Frank you have been throwing away your time like a boy and in future you must learn to live like a man I shall put you under Owens care for a few months to recover the lost ground
I was about to reply but Owen looked at me with such a supplicatory and warning gesture that I was involuntarily silent
We will then continued my father resume the subject of mine of the 1st ultimo to which you sent me an answer which was unadvised and unsatisfactory So now fill your glass and push the bottle to Owen
Want of courage—of audacity if you will—was never my failing I answered firmly I was sorry that my letter was unsatisfactory unadvised it was not for I had given the proposal his goodness had made me my instant and anxious attention and it was with no small pain that I found myself obliged to decline it
My father bent his keen eye for a moment on me and instantly withdrew it As he made no answer I thought myself obliged to proceed though with some hesitation and he only interrupted me by monosyllables—It is impossible sir for me to have higher respect for any character than I have for the commercial even were it not yours
Indeed
It connects nation with nation relieves the wants and contributes to the wealth of all and is to the general commonwealth of the civilised world what the daily intercourse of ordinary life is to private society or rather what air and food are to our bodies
Well sir
And yet sir I find myself compelled to persist in declining to adopt a character which I am so ill qualified to support
I will take care that you acquire the qualifications necessary You are no longer the guest and pupil of Dubourg
But my dear sir it is no defect of teaching which I plead but my own inability to profit by instruction
Nonsense—Have you kept your journal in the terms I desired
Yes sir
Be pleased to bring it here
The volume thus required was a sort of commonplace book kept by my fathers recommendation in which I had been directed to enter notes of the miscellaneous information which I had acquired in the course of my studies Foreseeing that he would demand inspection of this record I had been attentive to transcribe such particulars of information as he would most likely be pleased with but too often the pen had discharged the task without much correspondence with the head And it had also happened that the book being the receptacle nearest to my hand I had occasionally jotted down memoranda which had little regard to traffic I now put it into my fathers hand devoutly hoping he might light on nothing that would increase his displeasure against me Owens face which had looked something blank when the question was put cleared up at my ready answer and wore a smile of hope when I brought from my apartment and placed before my father a commerciallooking volume rather broader than it was long having brazen clasps and a binding of rough calf This looked businesslike and was encouraging to my benevolent wellwisher But he actually smiled with pleasure as he heard my father run over some part of the contents muttering his critical remarks as he went on
—Brandies—Barils and barricants also tonneaux—At Nantz 29—Velles to the barique at Cognac and Rochelle 27—At Bourdeaux 32—Very right Frank—Duties on tonnage and customhouse see Saxbys Tables—Thats not well you should have transcribed the passage it fixes the thing in the memory—Reports outward and inward—Corn debentures—Oversea Cockets—Linens—Isingham—Gentish—Stockfish—Titling—Cropling— Lubfish You should have noted that they are all nevertheless to be entered as titlings—How many inches long is a titling
Owen seeing me at fault hazarded a whisper of which I fortunately caught the import
Eighteen inches sir—
And a lubfish is twentyfour—very right It is important to remember this on account of the Portuguese trade—But what have we here— Bourdeaux founded in the year—Castle of the Trompette—Palace of Gallienus—Well well thats very right too—This is a kind of wastebook Owen in which all the transactions of the day—emptions orders payments receipts acceptances draughts commissions and advices—are entered miscellaneously
That they may be regularly transferred to the daybook and ledger answered Owen I am glad Mr Francis is so methodical
I perceived myself getting so fast into favour that I began to fear the consequence would be my fathers more obstinate perseverance in his resolution that I must become a merchant and as I was determined on the contrary I began to wish I had not to use my friend Mr Owens phrase been so methodical But I had no reason for apprehension on that score for a blotted piece of paper dropped out of the book and being taken up by my father he interrupted a hint from Owen on the propriety of securing loose memoranda with a little paste by exclaiming To the memory of Edward the Black Prince—Whats all this—verses—By Heaven Frank you are a greater blockhead than I supposed you
My father you must recollect as a man of business looked upon the labour of poets with contempt and as a religious man and of the dissenting persuasion he considered all such pursuits as equally trivial and profane Before you condemn him you must recall to remembrance how too many of the poets in the end of the seventeenth century had led their lives and employed their talents The sect also to which my father belonged felt or perhaps affected a puritanical aversion to the lighter exertions of literature So that many causes contributed to augment the unpleasant surprise occasioned by the illtimed discovery of this unfortunate copy of verses As for poor Owen could the bobwig which he then wore have uncurled itself and stood on end with horror I am convinced the mornings labour of the friseur would have been undone merely by the excess of his astonishment at this enormity An inroad on the strongbox or an erasure in the ledger or a missummation in a fitted account could hardly have surprised him more disagreeably My father read the lines sometimes with an affectation of not being able to understand the sense—sometimes in a mouthing tone of mock heroic—always with an emphasis of the most bitter irony most irritating to the nerves of an author
O for the voice of that wild horn
On Fontarabian echoes borne
The dying heros call
That told imperial Charlemagne
How Paynim sons of swarthy Spain
Had wrought his champions fall
Fontarabian echoes continued my father interrupting himself the Fontarabian Fair would have been more to the purpose—Paynim—Whats Paynim—Could you not say Pagan as well and write English at least if you must needs write nonsense—
Sad over earth and ocean sounding
And Englands distant cliffs astounding
Such are the notes should say
How Britains hope and Frances fear
Victor of Cressy and Poitier
In Bordeaux dying lay
Poitiers by the way is always spelt with an s and I know no reason why orthography should give place to rhyme—
Raise my faint head my squires he said
And let the casement be displayd
That I may see once more
The splendour of the setting sun
Gleam on thy mirrored wave Garonne
And Blayes empurpled shore
Garonne and sun is a bad rhyme Why Frank you do not even understand the beggarly trade you have chosen
Like me he sinks to Glorys sleep
His fall the dews of evening steep
As if in sorrow shed
So soft shall fall the trickling tear
When Englands maids and matrons hear
Of their Black Edward dead
And though my sun of glory set
Nor France nor England shall forget
The terror of my name
And oft shall Britains heroes rise
New planets in these southern skies
Through clouds of blood and flame
A cloud of flame is something new—Goodmorrow my masters all and a merry Christmas to you—Why the bellman writes better lines He then tossed the paper from him with an air of superlative contempt and concluded—Upon my credit Frank you are a greater blockhead than I took you for
What could I say my dear Tresham There I stood swelling with indignant mortification while my father regarded me with a calm but stern look of scorn and pity and poor Owen with uplifted hands and eyes looked as striking a picture of horror as if he had just read his patrons name in the Gazette At length I took courage to speak endeavouring that my tone of voice should betray my feelings as little as possible
I am quite aware sir how ill qualified I am to play the conspicuous part in society you have destined for me and luckily I am not ambitious of the wealth I might acquire Mr Owen would be a much more effective assistant I said this in some malice for I considered Owen as having deserted my cause a little too soon
Owen said my father—The boy is mad—actually insane And pray sir if I may presume to inquire having coolly turned me over to Mr Owen although I may expect more attention from any one than from my son what may your own sage projects be
I should wish sir I replied summoning up my courage to travel for two or three years should that consist with your pleasure otherwise although late I would willingly spend the same time at Oxford or Cambridge
In the name of common sense was the like ever heard—to put yourself to school among pedants and Jacobites when you might be pushing your fortune in the world Why not go to Westminster or Eton at once man and take to Lillys Grammar and Accidence and to the birch too if you like it
Then sir if you think my plan of improvement too late I would willingly return to the Continent
You have already spent too much time there to little purpose Mr Francis
Then I would choose the army sir in preference to any other active line of life
Choose the d—l answered my father hastily and then checking himself—I profess you make me as great a fool as you are yourself Is he not enough to drive one mad Owen—Poor Owen shook his head and looked down Hark ye Frank continued my father I will cut all this matter very short I was at your age when my father turned me out of doors and settled my legal inheritance on my younger brother I left Osbaldistone Hall on the back of a brokendown hunter with ten guineas in my purse I have never crossed the threshold again and I never will I know not and I care not if my foxhunting brother is alive or has broken his neck but he has children Frank and one of them shall be my son if you cross me farther in this matter
You will do your pleasure I answered—rather I fear with more sullen indifference than respect with what is your own
Yes Frank what I have is my own if labour in getting and care in augmenting can make a right of property and no drone shall feed on my honeycomb Think on it well what I have said is not without reflection and what I resolve upon I will execute
Honoured sir—dear sir exclaimed Owen tears rushing into his eyes you are not wont to be in such a hurry in transacting business of importance Let Mr Francis run up the balance before you shut the account he loves you I am sure and when he puts down his filial obedience to the per contra I am sure his objections will disappear
Do you think I will ask him twice said my father sternly to be my friend my assistant and my confidant—to be a partner of my cares and of my fortune—Owen I thought you had known me better
He looked at me as if he meant to add something more but turned instantly away and left the room abruptly I was I own affected by this view of the case which had not occurred to me and my father would probably have had little reason to complain of me had he commenced the discussion with this argument
But it was too late I had much of his own obduracy of resolution and Heaven had decreed that my sin should be my punishment though not to the extent which my transgression merited Owen when we were left alone continued to look at me with eyes which tears from time to time moistened as if to discover before attempting the task of intercessor upon what point my obstinacy was most assailable At length he began with broken and disconcerted accents—O L—d Mr Francis—Good Heavens sir—My stars Mr Osbaldistone—that I should ever have seen this day—and you so young a gentleman sir—For the love of Heaven look at both sides of the account—think what you are going to lose—a noble fortune sir—one of the finest houses in the City even under the old firm of Tresham and Trent and now Osbaldistone and Tresham—You might roll in gold Mr Francis—And my dear young Mr Frank if there was any particular thing in the business of the house which you disliked I would sinking his voice to a whisper put it in order for you termly or weekly or daily if you will—Do my dear Mr Francis think of the honour due to your father that your days may be long in the land
I am much obliged to you Mr Owen said I—very much obliged indeed but my father is best judge how to bestow his money He talks of one of my cousins let him dispose of his wealth as he pleases—I will never sell my liberty for gold
Gold sir—I wish you saw the balancesheet of profits at last term—It was in five figures—five figures to each partners sum total Mr Frank—And all this is to go to a Papist and a northcountry booby and a disaffected person besides—It will break my heart Mr Francis that have been toiling more like a dog than a man and all for love of the firm Think how it will sound Osbaldistone Tresham and Osbaldistone—or perhaps who knows again lowering his voice Osbaldistone Osbaldistone and Tresham for our Mr Osbaldistone can buy them all out
But Mr Owen my cousins name being also Osbaldistone the name of the company will sound every bit as well in your ears
O fie upon you Mr Francis when you know how well I love you—Your cousin indeed—a Papist no doubt like his father and a disaffected person to the Protestant succession—thats another item doubtless
There are many very good men Catholics Mr Owen rejoined I
As Owen was about to answer with unusual animation my father reentered the apartment
You were right he said Owen and I was wrong we will take more time to think over this matter—Young man you will prepare to give me an answer on this important subject this day month
I bowed in silence sufficiently glad of a reprieve and trusting it might indicate some relaxation in my fathers determination
The time of probation passed slowly unmarked by any accident whatever I went and came and disposed of my time as I pleased without question or criticism on the part of my father Indeed I rarely saw him save at mealtimes when he studiously avoided a discussion which you may well suppose I was in no hurry to press onward Our conversation was of the news of the day or on such general topics as strangers discourse upon to each other nor could any one have guessed from its tenor that there remained undecided betwixt us a dispute of such importance It haunted me however more than once like the nightmare Was it possible he would keep his word and disinherit his only son in favour of a nephew whose very existence he was not perhaps quite certain of My grandfathers conduct in similar circumstances boded me no good had I considered the matter rightly But I had formed an erroneous idea of my fathers character from the importance which I recollected I maintained with him and his whole family before I went to France I was not aware that there are men who indulge their children at an early age because to do so interests and amuses them and who can yet be sufficiently severe when the same children cross their expectations at a more advanced period On the contrary I persuaded myself that all I had to apprehend was some temporary alienation of affection—perhaps a rustication of a few weeks which I thought would rather please me than otherwise since it would give me an opportunity of setting about my unfinished version of Orlando Furioso a poem which I longed to render into English verse I suffered this belief to get such absolute possession of my mind that I had resumed my blotted papers and was busy in meditation on the oftrecurring rhymes of the Spenserian stanza when I heard a low and cautious tap at the door of my apartment Come in I said and Mr Owen entered So regular were the motions and habits of this worthy man that in all probability this was the first time he had ever been in the second story of his patrons house however conversant with the first and I am still at a loss to know in what manner he discovered my apartment
Mr Francis he said interrupting my expression of surprise and pleasure at seeing him I do not know if I am doing well in what I am about to say—it is not right to speak of what passes in the comptinghouse out of doors—one should not tell as they say to the post in the warehouse how many lines there are in the ledger But young Twineall has been absent from the house for a fortnight and more until two days since
Very well my dear sir and how does that concern us
Stay Mr Francis—your father gave him a private commission and I am sure he did not go down to Falmouth about the pilchard affair and the Exeter business with Blackwell and Company has been settled and the mining people in Cornwall Trevanion and Treguilliam have paid all they are likely to pay and any other matter of business must have been put through my books—in short its my faithful belief that Twineall has been down in the north
Do you really suppose so said I somewhat startled
He has spoken about nothing sir since he returned but his new boots and his Ripon spurs and a cockfight at York—its as true as the multiplicationtable Do Heaven bless you my dear child make up your mind to please your father and to be a man and a merchant at once
I felt at that instant a strong inclination to submit and to make Owen happy by requesting him to tell my father that I resigned myself to his disposal But pride—pride the source of so much that is good and so much that is evil in our course of life prevented me My acquiescence stuck in my throat and while I was coughing to get it up my fathers voice summoned Owen He hastily left the room and the opportunity was lost
My father was methodical in everything At the very same time of the day in the same apartment and with the same tone and manner which he had employed an exact month before he recapitulated the proposal he had made for taking me into partnership and assigning me a department in the countinghouse and requested to have my final decision I thought at the time there was something unkind in this and I still think that my fathers conduct was injudicious A more conciliatory treatment would in all probability have gained his purpose As it was I stood fast and as respectfully as I could declined the proposal he made to me Perhaps—for who can judge of their own heart—I felt it unmanly to yield on the first summons and expected farther solicitation as at least a pretext for changing my mind If so I was disappointed for my father turned coolly to Owen and only said You see it is as I told you—Well Frank addressing me you are nearly of age and as well qualified to judge of what will constitute your own happiness as you ever are like to be therefore I say no more But as I am not bound to give in to your plans any more than you are compelled to submit to mine may I ask to know if you have formed any which depend on my assistance
I answered not a little abashed That being bred to no profession and having no funds of my own it was obviously impossible for me to subsist without some allowance from my father that my wishes were very moderate and that I hoped my aversion for the profession to which he had designed me would not occasion his altogether withdrawing his paternal support and protection
That is to say you wish to lean on my arm and yet to walk your own way That can hardly be Frank—however I suppose you mean to obey my directions so far as they do not cross your own humour
I was about to speak—Silence if you please he continued Supposing this to be the case you will instantly set out for the north of England to pay your uncle a visit and see the state of his family I have chosen from among his sons he has six I believe one who I understand is most worthy to fill the place I intended for you in the countinghouse But some farther arrangements may be necessary and for these your presence may be requisite You shall have farther instructions at Osbaldistone Hall where you will please to remain until you hear from me Everything will be ready for your departure tomorrow morning
With these words my father left the apartment
What does all this mean Mr Owen said I to my sympathetic friend whose countenance wore a cast of the deepest dejection
You have ruined yourself Mr Frank thats all When your father talks in that quiet determined manner there will be no more change in him than in a fitted account
And so it proved for the next morning at five oclock I found myself on the road to York mounted on a reasonably good horse and with fifty guineas in my pocket travelling as it would seem for the purpose of assisting in the adoption of a successor to myself in my fathers house and favour and for aught I knew eventually in his fortune also
CHAPTER THIRD
The slack sail shifts from side to side
The boat untrimmd admits the tide
Borne down adrift at random tost
The oar breaks short the rudders lost
Gays Fables
I have tagged with rhyme and blank verse the subdivisions of this important narrative in order to seduce your continued attention by powers of composition of stronger attraction than my own The preceding lines refer to an unfortunate navigator who daringly unloosed from its moorings a boat which he was unable to manage and thrust it off into the full tide of a navigable river No schoolboy who betwixt frolic and defiance has executed a similar rash attempt could feel himself when adrift in a strong current in a situation more awkward than mine when I found myself driving without a compass on the ocean of human life There had been such unexpected ease in the manner in which my father slipt a knot usually esteemed the strongest which binds society together and suffered me to depart as a sort of outcast from his family that it strangely lessened the confidence in my own personal accomplishments which had hitherto sustained me Prince Prettyman now a prince and now a fishers son had not a more awkward sense of his degradation We are so apt in our engrossing egotism to consider all those accessories which are drawn around us by prosperity as pertaining and belonging to our own persons that the discovery of our unimportance when left to our own proper resources becomes inexpressibly mortifying As the hum of London died away on my ear the distant peal of her steeples more than once sounded to my ears the admonitory Turn again erst heard by her future Lord Mayor and when I looked back from Highgate on her dusky magnificence I felt as if I were leaving behind me comfort opulence the charms of society and all the pleasures of cultivated life
But the die was cast It was indeed by no means probable that a late and ungracious compliance with my fathers wishes would have reinstated me in the situation which I had lost On the contrary firm and strong of purpose as he himself was he might rather have been disgusted than conciliated by my tardy and compulsory acquiescence in his desire that I should engage in commerce My constitutional obstinacy came also to my aid and pride whispered how poor a figure I should make when an airing of four miles from London had blown away resolutions formed during a months serious deliberation Hope too that never forsakes the young and hardy lent her lustre to my future prospects My father could not be serious in the sentence of forisfamiliation which he had so unhesitatingly pronounced It must be but a trial of my disposition which endured with patience and steadiness on my part would raise me in his estimation and lead to an amicable accommodation of the point in dispute between us I even settled in my own mind how far I would concede to him and on what articles of our supposed treaty I would make a firm stand and the result was according to my computation that I was to be reinstated in my full rights of filiation paying the easy penalty of some ostensible compliances to atone for my past rebellion
In the meanwhile I was lord of my person and experienced that feeling of independence which the youthful bosom receives with a thrilling mixture of pleasure and apprehension My purse though by no means amply replenished was in a situation to supply all the wants and wishes of a traveller I had been accustomed while at Bourdeaux to act as my own valet my horse was fresh young and active and the buoyancy of my spirits soon surmounted the melancholy reflections with which my journey commenced
I should have been glad to have journeyed upon a line of road better calculated to afford reasonable objects of curiosity or a more interesting country to the traveller But the north road was then and perhaps still is singularly deficient in these respects nor do I believe you can travel so far through Britain in any other direction without meeting more of what is worthy to engage the attention My mental ruminations notwithstanding my assumed confidence were not always of an unchequered nature The Muse too—the very coquette who had led me into this wilderness—like others of her sex deserted me in my utmost need and I should have been reduced to rather an uncomfortable state of dulness had it not been for the occasional conversation of strangers who chanced to pass the same way But the characters whom I met with were of a uniform and uninteresting description Country parsons jogging homewards after a visitation farmers or graziers returning from a distant market clerks of traders travelling to collect what was due to their masters in provincial towns with now and then an officer going down into the country upon the recruiting service were at this period the persons by whom the turnpikes and tapsters were kept in exercise Our speech therefore was of tithes and creeds of beeves and grain of commodities wet and dry and the solvency of the retail dealers occasionally varied by the description of a siege or battle in Flanders which perhaps the narrator only gave me at second hand Robbers a fertile and alarming theme filled up every vacancy and the names of the Golden Farmer the Flying Highwayman Jack Needham and other Beggars Opera heroes were familiar in our mouths as household words At such tales like children closing their circle round the fire when the ghost story draws to its climax the riders drew near to each other looked before and behind them examined the priming of their pistols and vowed to stand by each other in case of danger an engagement which like other offensive and defensive alliances sometimes glided out of remembrance when there was an appearance of actual peril
Of all the fellows whom I ever saw haunted by terrors of this nature one poor man with whom I travelled a day and a half afforded me most amusement He had upon his pillion a very small but apparently a very weighty portmanteau about the safety of which he seemed particularly solicitous never trusting it out of his own immediate care and uniformly repressing the officious zeal of the waiters and ostlers who offered their services to carry it into the house With the same precaution he laboured to conceal not only the purpose of his journey and his ultimate place of destination but even the direction of each days route Nothing embarrassed him more than to be asked by any one whether he was travelling upwards or downwards or at what stage he intended to bait His place of rest for the night he scrutinised with the most anxious care alike avoiding solitude and what he considered as bad neighbourhood and at Grantham I believe he sate up all night to avoid sleeping in the next room to a thickset squinting fellow in a black wig and a tarnished goldlaced waistcoat With all these cares on his mind my fellow traveller to judge by his thews and sinews was a man who might have set danger at defiance with as much impunity as most men He was strong and well built and judging from his goldlaced hat and cockade seemed to have served in the army or at least to belong to the military profession in one capacity or other His conversation also though always sufficiently vulgar was that of a man of sense when the terrible bugbears which haunted his imagination for a moment ceased to occupy his attention But every accidental association recalled them An open heath a close plantation were alike subjects of apprehension and the whistle of a shepherd lad was instantly converted into the signal of a depredator Even the sight of a gibbet if it assured him that one robber was safely disposed of by justice never failed to remind him how many remained still unhanged
I should have wearied of this fellows company had I not been still more tired of my own thoughts Some of the marvellous stories however which he related had in themselves a cast of interest and another whimsical point of his peculiarities afforded me the occasional opportunity of amusing myself at his expense Among his tales several of the unfortunate travellers who fell among thieves incurred that calamity from associating themselves on the road with a welldressed and entertaining stranger in whose company they trusted to find protection as well as amusement who cheered their journey with tale and song protected them against the evils of overcharges and false reckonings until at length under pretext of showing a near path over a desolate common he seduced his unsuspicious victims from the public road into some dismal glen where suddenly blowing his whistle he assembled his comrades from their lurkingplace and displayed himself in his true colours—the captain namely of the band of robbers to whom his unwary fellowtravellers had forfeited their purses and perhaps their lives Towards the conclusion of such a tale and when my companion had wrought himself into a fever of apprehension by the progress of his own narrative I observed that he usually eyed me with a glance of doubt and suspicion as if the possibility occurred to him that he might at that very moment be in company with a character as dangerous as that which his tale described And ever and anon when such suggestions pressed themselves on the mind of this ingenious selftormentor he drew off from me to the opposite side of the highroad looked before behind and around him examined his arms and seemed to prepare himself for flight or defence as circumstances might require
The suspicion implied on such occasions seemed to me only momentary and too ludicrous to be offensive There was in fact no particular reflection on my dress or address although I was thus mistaken for a robber A man in those days might have all the external appearance of a gentleman and yet turn out to be a highwayman For the division of labour in every department not having then taken place so fully as since that period the profession of the polite and accomplished adventurer who nicked you out of your money at Whites or bowled you out of it at Marylebone was often united with that of the professed ruffian who on Bagshot Heath or Finchley Common commanded his brother beau to stand and deliver There was also a touch of coarseness and hardness about the manners of the times which has since in a great degree been softened and shaded away It seems to me on recollection as if desperate men had less reluctance then than now to embrace the most desperate means of retrieving their fortune The times were indeed past when AnthonyaWood mourned over the execution of two men goodly in person and of undisputed courage and honour who were hanged without mercy at Oxford merely because their distress had driven them to raise contributions on the highway We were still farther removed from the days of the mad Prince and Poins And yet from the number of unenclosed and extensive heaths in the vicinity of the metropolis and from the less populous state of remote districts both were frequented by that species of mounted highwaymen that may possibly become one day unknown who carried on their trade with something like courtesy and like Gibbet in the Beaux Stratagem piqued themselves on being the best behaved men on the road and on conducting themselves with all appropriate civility in the exercise of their vocation A young man therefore in my circumstances was not entitled to be highly indignant at the mistake which confounded him with this worshipful class of depredators
Neither was I offended On the contrary I found amusement in alternately exciting and lulling to sleep the suspicions of my timorous companion and in purposely so acting as still farther to puzzle a brain which nature and apprehension had combined to render none of the clearest When my free conversation had lulled him into complete security it required only a passing inquiry concerning the direction of his journey or the nature of the business which occasioned it to put his suspicions once more in arms For example a conversation on the comparative strength and activity of our horses took such a turn as follows—
O sir said my companion for the gallop I grant you but allow me to say your horse although he is a very handsome gelding—that must be owned has too little bone to be a good roadster The trot sir striking his Bucephalus with his spurs—the trot is the true pace for a hackney and were we near a town I should like to try that daisycutter of yours upon a piece of level road barring canter for a quart of claret at the next inn
Content sir replied I and here is a stretch of ground very favourable
Hem ahem answered my friend with hesitation I make it a rule of travelling never to blow my horse between stages one never knows what occasion he may have to put him to his mettle and besides sir when I said I would match you I meant with even weight you ride four stone lighter than I
Very well but I am content to carry weight Pray what may that portmanteau of yours weigh
My ppportmanteau replied he hesitating—O very little—a feather—just a few shirts and stockings
I should think it heavier from its appearance Ill hold you the quart of claret it makes the odds betwixt our weight
Youre mistaken sir I assure you—quite mistaken replied my friend edging off to the side of the road as was his wont on these alarming occasions
Well I am willing to venture the wine or I will bet you ten pieces to five that I carry your portmanteau on my croupe and outtrot you into the bargain
This proposal raised my friends alarm to the uttermost His nose changed from the natural copper hue which it had acquired from many a comfortable cup of claret or sack into a palish brassy tint and his teeth chattered with apprehension at the unveiled audacity of my proposal which seemed to place the barefaced plunderer before him in full atrocity As he faltered for an answer I relieved him in some degree by a question concerning a steeple which now became visible and an observation that we were now so near the village as to run no risk from interruption on the road At this his countenance cleared up but I easily perceived that it was long ere he forgot a proposal which seemed to him so fraught with suspicion as that which I had now hazarded I trouble you with this detail of the mans disposition and the manner in which I practised upon it because however trivial in themselves these particulars were attended by an important influence on future incidents which will occur in this narrative At the time this persons conduct only inspired me with contempt and confirmed me in an opinion which I already entertained that of all the propensities which teach mankind to torment themselves that of causeless fear is the most irritating busy painful and pitiable
CHAPTER FOURTH
The Scots are poor cries surly English pride
True is the charge nor by themselves denied
Are they not then in strictest reason clear
Who wisely come to mend their fortunes here
Churchill
There was in the days of which I write an oldfashioned custom on the English road which I suspect is now obsolete or practised only by the vulgar Journeys of length being made on horseback and of course by brief stages it was usual always to make a halt on the Sunday in some town where the traveller might attend divine service and his horse have the benefit of the day of rest the institution of which is as humane to our brute labourers as profitable to ourselves A counterpart to this decent practice and a remnant of old English hospitality was that the landlord of a principal inn laid aside his character of a publican on the seventh day and invited the guests who chanced to be within his walls to take a part of his family beef and pudding This invitation was usually complied with by all whose distinguished rank did not induce them to think compliance a derogation and the proposal of a bottle of wine after dinner to drink the landlords health was the only recompense ever offered or accepted
I was born a citizen of the world and my inclination led me into all scenes where my knowledge of mankind could be enlarged I had besides no pretensions to sequester myself on the score of superior dignity and therefore seldom failed to accept of the Sundays hospitality of mine host whether of the Garter Lion or Bear The honest publican dilated into additional consequence by a sense of his own importance while presiding among the guests on whom it was his ordinary duty to attend was in himself an entertaining spectacle and around his genial orbit other planets of inferior consequence performed their revolutions The wits and humorists the distinguished worthies of the town or village the apothecary the attorney even the curate himself did not disdain to partake of this hebdomadal festivity The guests assembled from different quarters and following different professions formed in language manners and sentiments a curious contrast to each other not indifferent to those who desired to possess a knowledge of mankind in its varieties
It was on such a day and such an occasion that my timorous acquaintance and I were about to grace the board of the ruddyfaced host of the Black Bear in the town of Darlington and bishopric of Durham when our landlord informed us with a sort of apologetic tone that there was a Scotch gentleman to dine with us
A gentleman—what sort of a gentleman said my companion somewhat hastily—his mind I suppose running on gentlemen of the pad as they were then termed
Why a Scotch sort of a gentleman as I said before returned mine host they are all gentle ye mun know though they ha narra shirt to back but this is a decentish hallion—a canny North Briton as eer crossd Berwick Bridge—I trow hes a dealer in cattle
Let us have his company by all means answered my companion and then turning to me he gave vent to the tenor of his own reflections I respect the Scotch sir I love and honour the nation for their sense of morality Men talk of their filth and their poverty but commend me to sterling honesty though clad in rags as the poet saith I have been credibly assured sir by men on whom I can depend that there was never known such a thing in Scotland as a highway robbery
Thats because they have nothing to lose said mine host with the chuckle of a selfapplauding wit
No no landlord answered a strong deep voice behind him its een because your English gaugers and supervisors that you have sent down benorth the Tweed have taen up the trade of thievery over the heads of the native professors
The introduction of gaugers supervisors and examiners was one of the great complaints of the Scottish nation though a natural consequence of the Union
Well said Mr Campbell answered the landlord I did not think thoudst been sae near us mon But thou kens Im an outspoken Yorkshire tyke And how go markets in the south
Even in the ordinar replied Mr Campbell wise folks buy and sell and fools are bought and sold
But wise men and fools both eat their dinner answered our jolly entertainer and here a comes—as prime a buttock of beef as eer hungry men stuck fork in
So saying he eagerly whetted his knife assumed his seat of empire at the head of the board and loaded the plates of his sundry guests with his good cheer
This was the first time I had heard the Scottish accent or indeed that I had familiarly met with an individual of the ancient nation by whom it was spoken Yet from an early period they had occupied and interested my imagination My father as is well known to you was of an ancient family in Northumberland from whose seat I was while eating the aforesaid dinner not very many miles distant The quarrel betwixt him and his relatives was such that he scarcely ever mentioned the race from which he sprung and held as the most contemptible species of vanity the weakness which is commonly termed family pride His ambition was only to be distinguished as William Osbaldistone the first at least one of the first merchants on Change and to have proved him the lineal representative of William the Conqueror would have far less flattered his vanity than the hum and bustle which his approach was wont to produce among the bulls bears and brokers of Stockalley He wished no doubt that I should remain in such ignorance of my relatives and descent as might insure a correspondence between my feelings and his own on this subject But his designs as will happen occasionally to the wisest were in some degree at least counteracted by a being whom his pride would never have supposed of importance adequate to influence them in any way His nurse an old Northumbrian woman attached to him from his infancy was the only person connected with his native province for whom he retained any regard and when fortune dawned upon him one of the first uses which he made of her favours was to give Mabel Rickets a place of residence within his household After the death of my mother the care of nursing me during my childish illnesses and of rendering all those tender attentions which infancy exacts from female affection devolved on old Mabel Interdicted by her master from speaking to him on the subject of the heaths glades and dales of her beloved Northumberland she poured herself forth to my infant ear in descriptions of the scenes of her youth and long narratives of the events which tradition declared to have passed amongst them To these I inclined my ear much more seriously than to graver but less animated instructors Even yet methinks I see old Mabel her head slightly agitated by the palsy of age and shaded by a close cap as white as the driven snow—her face wrinkled but still retaining the healthy tinge which it had acquired in rural labour—I think I see her look around on the brick walls and narrow street which presented themselves before our windows as she concluded with a sigh the favourite old ditty which I then preferred and—why should I not tell the truth—which I still prefer to all the opera airs ever minted by the capricious brain of an Italian Mus D—
Oh the oak the ash and the bonny ivy tree
They flourish best at home in the North Countrie
Now in the legends of Mabel the Scottish nation was ever freshly remembered with all the embittered declamation of which the narrator was capable The inhabitants of the opposite frontier served in her narratives to fill up the parts which ogres and giants with sevenleagued boots occupy in the ordinary nursery tales And how could it be otherwise Was it not the Black Douglas who slew with his own hand the heir of the Osbaldistone family the day after he took possession of his estate surprising him and his vassals while solemnizing a feast suited to the occasion Was it not Wat the Devil who drove all the yearold hogs off the braes of Lanthornside in the very recent days of my grandfathers father And had we not many a trophy but according to old Mabels version of history far more honourably gained to mark our revenge of these wrongs Did not Sir Henry Osbaldistone fifth baron of the name carry off the fair maid of Fairnington as Achilles did his Chryseis and Briseis of old and detain her in his fortress against all the power of her friends supported by the most mighty Scottish chiefs of warlike fame And had not our swords shone foremost at most of those fields in which England was victorious over her rival All our family renown was acquired—all our family misfortunes were occasioned—by the northern wars
Warmed by such tales I looked upon the Scottish people during my childhood as a race hostile by nature to the more southern inhabitants of this realm and this view of the matter was not much corrected by the language which my father sometimes held with respect to them He had engaged in some large speculations concerning oakwoods the property of Highland proprietors and alleged that he found them much more ready to make bargains and extort earnest of the purchasemoney than punctual in complying on their side with the terms of the engagements The Scottish mercantile men whom he was under the necessity of employing as a sort of middlemen on these occasions were also suspected by my father of having secured by one means or other more than their own share of the profit which ought to have accrued In short if Mabel complained of the Scottish arms in ancient times Mr Osbaldistone inveighed no less against the arts of these modern Sinons and between them though without any fixed purpose of doing so they impressed my youthful mind with a sincere aversion to the northern inhabitants of Britain as a people bloodthirsty in time of war treacherous during truce interested selfish avaricious and tricky in the business of peaceful life and having few good qualities unless there should be accounted such a ferocity which resembled courage in martial affairs and a sort of wily craft which supplied the place of wisdom in the ordinary commerce of mankind In justification or apology for those who entertained such prejudices I must remark that the Scotch of that period were guilty of similar injustice to the English whom they branded universally as a race of purseproud arrogant epicures Such seeds of national dislike remained between the two countries the natural consequences of their existence as separate and rival states We have seen recently the breath of a demagogue blow these sparks into a temporary flame which I sincerely hope is now extinguished in its own ashes
This seems to have been written about the time of Wilkes and Liberty
It was then with an impression of dislike that I contemplated the first Scotchman I chanced to meet in society There was much about him that coincided with my previous conceptions He had the hard features and athletic form said to be peculiar to his country together with the national intonation and slow pedantic mode of expression arising from a desire to avoid peculiarities of idiom or dialect I could also observe the caution and shrewdness of his country in many of the observations which he made and the answers which he returned But I was not prepared for the air of easy selfpossession and superiority with which he seemed to predominate over the company into which he was thrown as it were by accident His dress was as coarse as it could be being still decent and at a time when great expense was lavished upon the wardrobe even of the lowest who pretended to the character of gentleman this indicated mediocrity of circumstances if not poverty His conversation intimated that he was engaged in the cattle trade no very dignified professional pursuit And yet under these disadvantages he seemed as a matter of course to treat the rest of the company with the cool and condescending politeness which implies a real or imagined superiority over those towards whom it is used When he gave his opinion on any point it was with that easy tone of confidence used by those superior to their society in rank or information as if what he said could not be doubted and was not to be questioned Mine host and his Sunday guests after an effort or two to support their consequence by noise and bold averment sunk gradually under the authority of Mr Campbell who thus fairly possessed himself of the lead in the conversation I was tempted from curiosity to dispute the ground with him myself confiding in my knowledge of the world extended as it was by my residence abroad and in the stores with which a tolerable education had possessed my mind In the latter respect he offered no competition and it was easy to see that his natural powers had never been cultivated by education But I found him much better acquainted than I was myself with the present state of France the character of the Duke of Orleans who had just succeeded to the regency of that kingdom and that of the statesmen by whom he was surrounded and his shrewd caustic and somewhat satirical remarks were those of a man who had been a close observer of the affairs of that country
On the subject of politics Campbell observed a silence and moderation which might arise from caution The divisions of Whig and Tory then shook England to her very centre and a powerful party engaged in the Jacobite interest menaced the dynasty of Hanover which had been just established on the throne Every alehouse resounded with the brawls of contending politicians and as mine hosts politics were of that liberal description which quarrelled with no good customer his hebdomadal visitants were often divided in their opinion as irreconcilably as if he had feasted the Common Council The curate and the apothecary with a little man who made no boast of his vocation but who from the flourish and snap of his fingers I believe to have been the barber strongly espoused the cause of high church and the Stuart line The exciseman as in duty bound and the attorney who looked to some petty office under the Crown together with my fellowtraveller who seemed to enter keenly into the contest staunchly supported the cause of King George and the Protestant succession Dire was the screaming—deep the oaths Each party appealed to Mr Campbell anxious it seemed to elicit his approbation
You are a Scotchman sir a gentleman of your country must stand up for hereditary right cried one party
You are a Presbyterian assumed the other class of disputants you cannot be a friend to arbitrary power
Gentlemen said our Scotch oracle after having gained with some difficulty a moments pause I havena much dubitation that King George weel deserves the predilection of his friends and if he can haud the grip he has gotten why doubtless he may made the gauger here a commissioner of the revenue and confer on our friend Mr Quitam the preferment of solicitorgeneral and he may also grant some good deed or reward to this honest gentleman who is sitting upon his portmanteau which he prefers to a chair And questionless King James is also a grateful person and when he gets his hand in play he may if he be so minded make this reverend gentleman archprelate of Canterbury and Dr Mixit chief physician to his household and commit his royal beard to the care of my friend Latherum But as I doubt mickle whether any of the competing sovereigns would give Rob Campbell a tass of aquavitae if he lacked it I give my vote and interest to Jonathan Brown our landlord to be the King and Prince of Skinkers conditionally that he fetches us another bottle as good as the last
This sally was received with general applause in which the landlord cordially joined and when he had given orders for fulfilling the condition on which his preferment was to depend he failed not to acquaint them that for as peaceable a gentleman as Mr Campbell was he was moreover as bold as a lion—seven highwaymen had he defeated with his single arm that beset him as he came from WhitsonTryste
Thou art deceived friend Jonathan said Campbell interrupting him they were but barely two and two cowardly loons as man could wish to meet withal
And did you sir really said my fellowtraveller edging his chair I should have said his portmanteau nearer to Mr Campbell really and actually beat two highwaymen yourself alone
In troth did I sir replied Campbell and I think it nae great thing to make a sang about
Upon my word sir replied my acquaintance I should be happy to have the pleasure of your company on my journey—I go northward sir
This piece of gratuitous information concerning the route he proposed to himself the first I had heard my companion bestow upon any one failed to excite the corresponding confidence of the Scotchman
We can scarce travel together he replied drily You sir doubtless are well mounted and I for the present travel on foot or on a Highland shelty that does not help me much faster forward
So saying he called for a reckoning for the wine and throwing down the price of the additional bottle which he had himself introduced rose as if to take leave of us My companion made up to him and taking him by the button drew him aside into one of the windows I could not help overhearing him pressing something—I supposed his company upon the journey which Mr Campbell seemed to decline
I will pay your charges sir said the traveller in a tone as if he thought the argument should bear down all opposition
It is quite impossible said Campbell somewhat contemptuously I have business at Rothbury
But I am in no great hurry I can ride out of the way and never miss a day or so for good company
Upon my faith sir said Campbell I cannot render you the service you seem to desiderate I am he added drawing himself up haughtily travelling on my own private affairs and if ye will act by my advisement sir ye will neither unite yourself with an absolute stranger on the road nor communicate your line of journey to those who are asking ye no questions about it He then extricated his button not very ceremoniously from the hold which detained him and coming up to me as the company were dispersing observed Your friend sir is too communicative considering the nature of his trust
That gentleman I replied looking towards the traveller is no friend of mine but an acquaintance whom I picked up on the road I know neither his name nor business and you seem to be deeper in his confidence than I am
I only meant he replied hastily that he seems a thought rash in conferring the honour of his company on those who desire it not
The gentleman replied I knows his own affairs best and I should be sorry to constitute myself a judge of them in any respect
Mr Campbell made no farther observation but merely wished me a good journey and the party dispersed for the evening
Next day I parted company with my timid companion as I left the great northern road to turn more westerly in the direction of Osbaldistone Manor my uncles seat I cannot tell whether he felt relieved or embarrassed by my departure considering the dubious light in which he seemed to regard me For my own part his tremors ceased to amuse me and to say the truth I was heartily glad to get rid of him
CHAPTER FIFTH
How melts my beating heart as I behold
Each lovely nymph our islands boast and pride
Push on the generous steed that sweeps along
Oer rough oer smooth nor heeds the steepy hill
Nor falters in the extended vale below
The Chase
I approached my native north for such I esteemed it with that enthusiasm which romantic and wild scenery inspires in the lovers of nature No longer interrupted by the babble of my companion I could now remark the difference which the country exhibited from that through which I had hitherto travelled The streams now more properly deserved the name for instead of slumbering stagnant among reeds and willows they brawled along beneath the shade of natural copsewood were now hurried down declivities and now purled more leisurely but still in active motion through little lonely valleys which opening on the road from time to time seemed to invite the traveller to explore their recesses The Cheviots rose before me in frowning majesty not indeed with the sublime variety of rock and cliff which characterizes mountains of the primary class but huge roundheaded and clothed with a dark robe of russet gaining by their extent and desolate appearance an influence upon the imagination as a desert district possessing a character of its own
The abode of my fathers which I was now approaching was situated in a glen or narrow valley which ran up among those hills Extensive estates which once belonged to the family of Osbaldistone had been long dissipated by the misfortunes or misconduct of my ancestors but enough was still attached to the old mansion to give my uncle the title of a man of large property This he employed as I was given to understand by some inquiries which I made on the road in maintaining the prodigal hospitality of a northern squire of the period which he deemed essential to his family dignity
From the summit of an eminence I had already had a distant view of Osbaldistone Hall a large and antiquated edifice peeping out from a Druidical grove of huge oaks and I was directing my course towards it as straightly and as speedily as the windings of a very indifferent road would permit when my horse tired as he was pricked up his ears at the enlivening notes of a pack of hounds in full cry cheered by the occasional bursts of a French horn which in those days was a constant accompaniment to the chase I made no doubt that the pack was my uncles and drew up my horse with the purpose of suffering the hunters to pass without notice aware that a huntingfield was not the proper scene to introduce myself to a keen sportsman and determined when they had passed on to proceed to the mansionhouse at my own pace and there to await the return of the proprietor from his sport I paused therefore on a rising ground and not unmoved by the sense of interest which that species of silvan sport is so much calculated to inspire although my mind was not at the moment very accessible to impressions of this nature I expected with some eagerness the appearance of the huntsmen
The fox hard run and nearly spent first made his appearance from the copse which clothed the righthand side of the valley His drooping brush his soiled appearance and jaded trot proclaimed his fate impending and the carrion crow which hovered over him already considered poor Reynard as soon to be his prey He crossed the stream which divides the little valley and was dragging himself up a ravine on the other side of its wild banks when the headmost hounds followed by the rest of the pack in full cry burst from the coppice followed by the huntsman and three or four riders The dogs pursued the trace of Reynard with unerring instinct and the hunters followed with reckless haste regardless of the broken and difficult nature of the ground They were tall stout young men well mounted and dressed in green and red the uniform of a sporting association formed under the auspices of old Sir Hildebrand Osbaldistone—My cousins thought I as they swept past me The next reflection was what is my reception likely to be among these worthy successors of Nimrod and how improbable is it that I knowing little or nothing of rural sports shall find myself at ease or happy in my uncles family A vision that passed me interrupted these reflections
It was a young lady the loveliness of whose very striking features was enhanced by the animation of the chase and the glow of the exercise mounted on a beautiful horse jet black unless where he was flecked by spots of the snowwhite foam which embossed his bridle She wore what was then somewhat unusual a coat vest and hat resembling those of a man which fashion has since called a riding habit The mode had been introduced while I was in France and was perfectly new to me Her long black hair streamed on the breeze having in the hurry of the chase escaped from the ribbon which bound it Some very broken ground through which she guided her horse with the most admirable address and presence of mind retarded her course and brought her closer to me than any of the other riders had passed I had therefore a full view of her uncommonly fine face and person to which an inexpressible charm was added by the wild gaiety of the scene and the romance of her singular dress and unexpected appearance As she passed me her horse made in his impetuosity an irregular movement just while coming once more upon open ground she was again putting him to his speed It served as an apology for me to ride close up to her as if to her assistance There was however no cause for alarm it was not a stumble nor a false step and if it had the fair Amazon had too much selfpossession to have been deranged by it She thanked my good intentions however by a smile and I felt encouraged to put my horse to the same pace and to keep in her immediate neighbourhood The clamour of Whoop dead dead—and the corresponding flourish of the French horn soon announced to us that there was no more occasion for haste since the chase was at a close One of the young men whom we had seen approached us waving the brush of the fox in triumph as if to upbraid my fair companion
I see she replied—I see but make no noise about it if Phoebe she said patting the neck of the beautiful animal on which she rode had not got among the cliffs you would have had little cause for boasting
They met as she spoke and I observed them both look at me and converse a moment in an undertone the young lady apparently pressing the sportsman to do something which he declined shyly and with a sort of sheepish sullenness She instantly turned her horses head towards me saying—Well well Thornie if you wont I must thats all—Sir she continued addressing me I have been endeavouring to persuade this cultivated young gentleman to make inquiry of you whether in the course of your travels in these parts you have heard anything of a friend of ours one Mr Francis Osbaldistone who has been for some days expected at Osbaldistone Hall
I was too happy to acknowledge myself to be the party inquired after and to express my thanks for the obliging inquiries of the young lady
In that case sir she rejoined as my kinsmans politeness seems to be still slumbering you will permit me though I suppose it is highly improper to stand mistress of ceremonies and to present to you young Squire Thorncliff Osbaldistone your cousin and Die Vernon who has also the honour to be your accomplished cousins poor kinswoman
There was a mixture of boldness satire and simplicity in the manner in which Miss Vernon pronounced these words My knowledge of life was sufficient to enable me to take up a corresponding tone as I expressed my gratitude to her for her condescension and my extreme pleasure at having met with them To say the truth the compliment was so expressed that the lady might easily appropriate the greater share of it for Thorncliff seemed an arrant country bumpkin awkward shy and somewhat sulky withal He shook hands with me however and then intimated his intention of leaving me that he might help the huntsman and his brothers to couple up the hounds—a purpose which he rather communicated by way of information to Miss Vernon than as apology to me
There he goes said the young lady following him with eyes in which disdain was admirably painted—the prince of grooms and cockfighters and blackguard horsecoursers But there is not one of them to mend another—Have you read Markham said Miss Vernon
Read whom maam—I do not even remember the authors name
O lud on what a strand are you wrecked replied the young lady A poor forlorn and ignorant stranger unacquainted with the very Alcoran of the savage tribe whom you are come to reside among—Never to have heard of Markham the most celebrated author on farriery then I fear you are equally a stranger to the more modern names of Gibson and Bartlett
I am indeed Miss Vernon
And do you not blush to own it said Miss Vernon Why we must forswear your alliance Then I suppose you can neither give a ball nor a mash nor a horn
I confess I trust all these matters to an ostler or to my groom
Incredible carelessness—And you cannot shoe a horse or cut his mane and tail or worm a dog or crop his ears or cut his dewclaws or reclaim a hawk or give him his castingstones or direct his diet when he is sealed or—
To sum up my insignificance in one word replied I I am profoundly ignorant in all these rural accomplishments
Then in the name of Heaven Mr Francis Osbaldistone what can you do
Very little to the purpose Miss Vernon something however I can pretend to—When my groom has dressed my horse I can ride him and when my hawk is in the field I can fly him
Can you do this said the young lady putting her horse to a canter
There was a sort of rude overgrown fence crossed the path before us with a gate composed of pieces of wood rough from the forest I was about to move forward to open it when Miss Vernon cleared the obstruction at a flying leap I was bound in point of honour to follow and was in a moment again at her side There are hopes of you yet she said I was afraid you had been a very degenerate Osbaldistone But what on earth brings you to CubCastle—for so the neighbours have christened this huntinghall of ours You might have stayed away I suppose if you would
I felt I was by this time on a very intimate footing with my beautiful apparition and therefore replied in a confidential undertone—Indeed my dear Miss Vernon I might have considered it as a sacrifice to be a temporary resident in Osbaldistone Hall the inmates being such as you describe them but I am convinced there is one exception that will make amends for all deficiencies
O you mean Rashleigh said Miss Vernon
Indeed I do not I was thinking—forgive me—of some person much nearer me
I suppose it would be proper not to understand your civility—But that is not my way—I dont make a courtesy for it because I am sitting on horseback But seriously I deserve your exception for I am the only conversable being about the Hall except the old priest and Rashleigh
And who is Rashleigh for Heavens sake
Rashleigh is one who would fain have every one like him for his own sake He is Sir Hildebrands youngest son—about your own age but not so—not well looking in short But nature has given him a mouthful of common sense and the priest has added a bushelful of learning he is what we call a very clever man in this country where clever men are scarce Bred to the church but in no hurry to take orders
To the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church what Church else said the young lady But I forgot—they told me you are a heretic Is that true Mr Osbaldistone
I must not deny the charge
And yet you have been abroad and in Catholic countries
For nearly four years
You have seen convents
Often but I have not seen much in them which recommended the Catholic religion
Are not the inhabitants happy
Some are unquestionably so whom either a profound sense of devotion or an experience of the persecutions and misfortunes of the world or a natural apathy of temper has led into retirement Those who have adopted a life of seclusion from sudden and overstrained enthusiasm or in hasty resentment of some disappointment or mortification are very miserable The quickness of sensation soon returns and like the wilder animals in a menagerie they are restless under confinement while others muse or fatten in cells of no larger dimensions than theirs
And what continued Miss Vernon becomes of those victims who are condemned to a convent by the will of others what do they resemble especially what do they resemble if they are born to enjoy life and feel its blessings
They are like imprisoned singingbirds replied I condemned to wear out their lives in confinement which they try to beguile by the exercise of accomplishments which would have adorned society had they been left at large
I shall be returned Miss Vernon—that is said she correcting herself—I should be rather like the wild hawk who barred the free exercise of his soar through heaven will dash himself to pieces against the bars of his cage But to return to Rashleigh said she in a more lively tone you will think him the pleasantest man you ever saw in your life Mr Osbaldistone—that is for a week at least If he could find out a blind mistress never man would be so secure of conquest but the eye breaks the spell that enchants the ear—But here we are in the court of the old hall which looks as wild and oldfashioned as any of its inmates There is no great toilette kept at Osbaldistone Hall you must know but I must take off these things they are so unpleasantly warm—and the hat hurts my forehead too continued the lively girl taking it off and shaking down a profusion of sable ringlets which half laughing half blushing she separated with her white slender fingers in order to clear them away from her beautiful face and piercing hazel eyes If there was any coquetry in the action it was well disguised by the careless indifference of her manner I could not help saying that judging of the family from what I saw I should suppose the toilette a very unnecessary care
Thats very politely said—though perhaps I ought not to understand in what sense it was meant replied Miss Vernon but you will see a better apology for a little negligence when you meet the Orsons you are to live amongst whose forms no toilette could improve But as I said before the old dinnerbell will clang or rather clank in a few minutes—it cracked of its own accord on the day of the landing of King Willie and my uncle respecting its prophetic talent would never permit it to be mended So do you hold my palfrey like a duteous knight until I send some more humble squire to relieve you of the charge
She threw me the rein as if we had been acquainted from our childhood jumped from her saddle tripped across the courtyard and entered at a sidedoor leaving me in admiration of her beauty and astonished with the overfrankness of her manners which seemed the more extraordinary at a time when the dictates of politeness flowing from the court of the Grand Monarque Louis XIV prescribed to the fair sex an unusual severity of decorum I was left awkwardly enough stationed in the centre of the court of the old hall mounted on one horse and holding another in my hand
The building afforded little to interest a stranger had I been disposed to consider it attentively the sides of the quadrangle were of various architecture and with their stoneshafted latticed windows projecting turrets and massive architraves resembled the inside of a convent or of one of the older and less splendid colleges of Oxford I called for a domestic but was for some time totally unattended to which was the more provoking as I could perceive I was the object of curiosity to several servants both male and female from different parts of the building who popped out their heads and withdrew them like rabbits in a warren before I could make a direct appeal to the attention of any individual The return of the huntsmen and hounds relieved me from my embarrassment and with some difficulty I got one down to relieve me of the charge of the horses and another stupid boor to guide me to the presence of Sir Hildebrand This service he performed with much such grace and goodwill as a peasant who is compelled to act as guide to a hostile patrol and in the same manner I was obliged to guard against his deserting me in the labyrinth of low vaulted passages which conducted to Stun Hall as he called it where I was to be introduced to the gracious presence of my uncle
We did however at length reach a long vaulted room floored with stone where a range of oaken tables of a weight and size too massive ever to be moved aside were already covered for dinner This venerable apartment which had witnessed the feasts of several generations of the Osbaldistone family bore also evidence of their success in field sports Huge antlers of deer which might have been trophies of the hunting of Chevy Chace were ranged around the walls interspersed with the stuffed skins of badgers otters martins and other animals of the chase Amidst some remnants of old armour which had perhaps served against the Scotch hung the more valued weapons of silvan war crossbows guns of various device and construction nets fishingrods otterspears huntingpoles with many other singular devices and engines for taking or killing game A few old pictures dimmed with smoke and stained with March beer hung on the walls representing knights and ladies honoured doubtless and renowned in their day those frowning fearfully from huge bushes of wig and of beard and these looking delightfully with all their might at the roses which they brandished in their hands
I had just time to give a glance at these matters when about twelve bluecoated servants burst into the hall with much tumult and talk each rather employed in directing his comrades than in discharging his own duty Some brought blocks and billets to the fire which roared blazed and ascended half in smoke half in flame up a huge tunnel with an opening wide enough to accommodate a stone seat within its ample vault and which was fronted by way of chimneypiece with a huge piece of heavy architecture where the monsters of heraldry embodied by the art of some Northumbrian chisel grinned and ramped in red freestone now japanned by the smoke of centuries Others of these oldfashioned servingmen bore huge smoking dishes loaded with substantial fare others brought in cups flagons bottles yea barrels of liquor All tramped kicked plunged shouldered and jostled doing as little service with as much tumult as could well be imagined At length while the dinner was after various efforts in the act of being arranged upon the board the clamour much of men and dogs the cracking of whips calculated for the intimidation of the latter voices loud and high steps which impressed by the heavyheeled boots of the period clattered like those in the statue of the Festin de Pierre announced the arrival of those for whose benefit the preparations were made
Now called Don Juan
The hubbub among the servants rather increased than diminished as this crisis approached Some called to make haste—others to take time—some exhorted to stand out of the way and make room for Sir Hildebrand and the young squires—some to close round the table and be in the way—some bawled to open some to shut a pair of foldingdoors which divided the hall from a sort of gallery as I afterwards learned or withdrawingroom fitted up with black wainscot Opened the doors were at length and in rushed curs and men—eight dogs the domestic chaplain the village doctor my six cousins and my uncle
CHAPTER SIXTH
The rude hall rocks—they come they come—
The din of voices shakes the dome—
In stalk the various forms and drest
In varying morion varying vest
All march with haughty step—all proudly shake the crest
Penrose
If Sir Hildebrand Osbaldistone was in no hurry to greet his nephew of whose arrival he must have been informed for some time he had important avocations to allege in excuse Had seen thee sooner lad he exclaimed after a rough shake of the hand and a hearty welcome to Osbaldistone Hall but had to see the hounds kennelled first Thou art welcome to the Hall lad—here is thy cousin Percie thy cousin Thornie and thy cousin John—your cousin Dick your cousin Wilfred and—stay wheres Rashleigh—ay heres Rashleigh—take thy long body aside Thornie and lets see thy brother a bit—your cousin Rashleigh So thy father has thought on the old Hall and old Sir Hildebrand at last—better late than never—Thou art welcome lad and theres enough Wheres my little Die—ay here she comes—this is my niece Die my wifes brothers daughter—the prettiest girl in our dales be the other who she may—and so now lets to the sirloin—
To gain some idea of the person who held this language you must suppose my dear Tresham a man aged about sixty in a hunting suit which had once been richly laced but whose splendour had been tarnished by many a November and December storm Sir Hildebrand notwithstanding the abruptness of his present manner had at one period of his life known courts and camps had held a commission in the army which encamped on Hounslow Heath previous to the Revolution—and recommended perhaps by his religion had been knighted about the same period by the unfortunate and illadvised James II But the Knights dreams of further preferment if he ever entertained any had died away at the crisis which drove his patron from the throne and since that period he had spent a sequestered life upon his native domains Notwithstanding his rusticity however Sir Hildebrand retained much of the exterior of a gentleman and appeared among his sons as the remains of a Corinthian pillar defaced and overgrown with moss and lichen might have looked if contrasted with the rough unhewn masses of upright stones in Stonhenge or any other Druidical temple The sons were indeed heavy unadorned blocks as the eye would desire to look upon Tall stout and comely all and each of the five eldest seemed to want alike the Promethean fire of intellect and the exterior grace and manner which in the polished world sometimes supply mental deficiency Their most valuable moral quality seemed to be the goodhumour and content which was expressed in their heavy features and their only pretence to accomplishment was their dexterity in field sports for which alone they lived The strong Gyas and the strong Cloanthus are not less distinguished by the poet than the strong Percival the strong Thorncliff the strong John Richard and Wilfred Osbaldistones were by outward appearance
But as if to indemnify herself for a uniformity so uncommon in her productions Dame Nature had rendered Rashleigh Osbaldistone a striking contrast in person and manner and as I afterwards learned in temper and talents not only to his brothers but to most men whom I had hitherto met with When Percie Thornie and Co had respectively nodded grinned and presented their shoulder rather than their hand as their father named them to their new kinsman Rashleigh stepped forward and welcomed me to Osbaldistone Hall with the air and manner of a man of the world His appearance was not in itself prepossessing He was of low stature whereas all his brethren seemed to be descendants of Anak and while they were handsomely formed Rashleigh though strong in person was bullnecked and crossmade and from some early injury in his youth had an imperfection in his gait so much resembling an absolute halt that many alleged that it formed the obstacle to his taking orders the Church of Rome as is well known admitting none to the clerical profession who labours under any personal deformity Others however ascribed this unsightly defect to a mere awkward habit and contended that it did not amount to a personal disqualification from holy orders
The features of Rashleigh were such as having looked upon we in vain wish to banish from our memory to which they recur as objects of painful curiosity although we dwell upon them with a feeling of dislike and even of disgust It was not the actual plainness of his face taken separately from the meaning which made this strong impression His features were indeed irregular but they were by no means vulgar and his keen dark eyes and shaggy eyebrows redeemed his face from the charge of commonplace ugliness But there was in these eyes an expression of art and design and on provocation a ferocity tempered by caution which nature had made obvious to the most ordinary physiognomist perhaps with the same intention that she has given the rattle to the poisonous snake As if to compensate him for these disadvantages of exterior Rashleigh Osbaldistone was possessed of a voice the most soft mellow and rich in its tones that I ever heard and was at no loss for language of every sort suited to so fine an organ His first sentence of welcome was hardly ended ere I internally agreed with Miss Vernon that my new kinsman would make an instant conquest of a mistress whose ears alone were to judge his cause He was about to place himself beside me at dinner but Miss Vernon who as the only female in the family arranged all such matters according to her own pleasure contrived that I should sit betwixt Thorncliff and herself and it can scarce be doubted that I favoured this more advantageous arrangement
I want to speak with you she said and I have placed honest Thornie betwixt Rashleigh and you on purpose He will be like—
Featherbed twixt castle wall
And heavy brunt of cannon ball
while I your earliest acquaintance in this intellectual family ask of you how you like us all
A very comprehensive question Miss Vernon considering how short while I have been at Osbaldistone Hall
Oh the philosophy of our family lies on the surface—there are minute shades distinguishing the individuals which require the eye of an intelligent observer but the species as naturalists I believe call it may be distinguished and characterized at once
My five elder cousins then are I presume of pretty nearly the same character
Yes they form a happy compound of sot gamekeeper bully horsejockey and fool but as they say there cannot be found two leaves on the same tree exactly alike so these happy ingredients being mingled in somewhat various proportions in each individual make an agreeable variety for those who like to study character
Give me a sketch if you please Miss Vernon
You shall have them all in a familypiece at full length—the favour is too easily granted to be refused Percie the son and heir has more of the sot than of the gamekeeper bully horsejockey or fool—My precious Thornie is more of the bully than the sot gamekeeper jockey or fool—John who sleeps whole weeks amongst the hills has most of the gamekeeper—The jockey is powerful with Dickon who rides two hundred miles by day and night to be bought and sold at a horserace—And the fool predominates so much over Wilfreds other qualities that he may be termed a fool positive
A goodly collection Miss Vernon and the individual varieties belong to a most interesting species But is there no room on the canvas for Sir Hildebrand
I love my uncle was her reply I owe him some kindness such it was meant for at least and I will leave you to draw his picture yourself when you know him better
Come thought I to myself I am glad there is some forbearance After all who would have looked for such bitter satire from a creature so young and so exquisitely beautiful
You are thinking of me she said bending her dark eyes on me as if she meant to pierce through my very soul
I certainly was I replied with some embarrassment at the determined suddenness of the question and then endeavouring to give a complimentary turn to my frank avowal—How is it possible I should think of anything else seated as I have the happiness to be
She smiled with such an expression of concentrated haughtiness as she alone could have thrown into her countenance I must inform you at once Mr Osbaldistone that compliments are entirely lost upon me do not therefore throw away your pretty sayings—they serve fine gentlemen who travel in the country instead of the toys beads and bracelets which navigators carry to propitiate the savage inhabitants of newlydiscovered lands Do not exhaust your stock in trade—you will find natives in Northumberland to whom your fine things will recommend you—on me they would be utterly thrown away for I happen to know their real value
I was silenced and confounded
You remind me at this moment said the young lady resuming her lively and indifferent manner of the fairy tale where the man finds all the money which he had carried to market suddenly changed into pieces of slate I have cried down and ruined your whole stock of complimentary discourse by one unlucky observation But come never mind it—You are belied Mr Osbaldistone unless you have much better conversation than these fadeurs which every gentleman with a toupet thinks himself obliged to recite to an unfortunate girl merely because she is dressed in silk and gauze while he wears superfine cloth with embroidery Your natural paces as any of my five cousins might say are far preferable to your complimentary amble Endeavour to forget my unlucky sex call me Tom Vernon if you have a mind but speak to me as you would to a friend and companion you have no idea how much I shall like you
That would be a bribe indeed returned I
Again replied Miss Vernon holding up her finger I told you I would not bear the shadow of a compliment And now when you have pledged my uncle who threatens you with what he calls a brimmer I will tell you what you think of me
The bumper being pledged by me as a dutiful nephew and some other general intercourse of the table having taken place the continued and businesslike clang of knives and forks and the devotion of cousin Thorncliff on my right hand and cousin Dickon who sate on Miss Vernons left to the huge quantities of meat with which they heaped their plates made them serve as two occasional partitions separating us from the rest of the company and leaving us to our teteatete And now said I give me leave to ask you frankly Miss Vernon what you suppose I am thinking of you—I could tell you what I really do think but you have interdicted praise
I do not want your assistance I am conjuror enough to tell your thoughts without it You need not open the casement of your bosom I see through it You think me a strange bold girl half coquette half romp desirous of attracting attention by the freedom of her manners and loudness of her conversation because she is ignorant of what the Spectator calls the softer graces of the sex and perhaps you think I have some particular plan of storming you into admiration I should be sorry to shock your selfopinion but you were never more mistaken All the confidence I have reposed in you I would have given as readily to your father if I thought he could have understood me I am in this happy family as much secluded from intelligent listeners as Sancho in the Sierra Morena and when opportunity offers I must speak or die I assure you I would not have told you a word of all this curious intelligence had I cared a pin who knew it or knew it not
It is very cruel in you Miss Vernon to take away all particular marks of favour from your communications but I must receive them on your own terms—You have not included Mr Rashleigh Osbaldistone in your domestic sketches
She shrunk I thought at this remark and hastily answered in a much lower tone Not a word of Rashleigh His ears are so acute when his selfishness is interested that the sounds would reach him even through the mass of Thorncliffs person stuffed as it is with beef venisonpasty and pudding
Yes I replied but peeping past the living screen which divides us before I put the question I perceived that Mr Rashleighs chair was empty—he has left the table
I would not have you be too sure of that Miss Vernon replied Take my advice and when you speak of Rashleigh get up to the top of Otterscopehill where you can see for twenty miles round you in every direction—stand on the very peak and speak in whispers and after all dont be too sure that the bird of the air will not carry the matter Rashleigh has been my tutor for four years we are mutually tired of each other and we shall heartily rejoice at our approaching separation
Mr Rashleigh leaves Osbaldistone Hall then
Yes in a few days—did you not know that—your father must keep his resolutions much more secret than Sir Hildebrand Why when my uncle was informed that you were to be his guest for some time and that your father desired to have one of his hopeful sons to fill up the lucrative situation in his countinghouse which was vacant by your obstinacy Mr Francis the good knight held a cour pleniere of all his family including the butler housekeeper and gamekeeper This reverend assembly of the peers and household officers of Osbaldistone Hall was not convoked as you may suppose to elect your substitute because as Rashleigh alone possessed more arithmetic than was necessary to calculate the odds on a fighting cock none but he could be supposed qualified for the situation But some solemn sanction was necessary for transforming Rashleighs destination from starving as a Catholic priest to thriving as a wealthy banker and it was not without some reluctance that the acquiescence of the assembly was obtained to such an act of degradation
I can conceive the scruples—but how were they got over
By the general wish I believe to get Rashleigh out of the house replied Miss Vernon Although youngest of the family he has somehow or other got the entire management of all the others and every one is sensible of the subjection though they cannot shake it off If any one opposes him he is sure to rue having done so before the year goes about and if you do him a very important service you may rue it still more
At that rate answered I smiling I should look about me for I have been the cause however unintentionally of his change of situation
Yes and whether he regards it as an advantage or disadvantage he will owe you a grudge for it—But here comes cheese radishes and a bumper to church and king the hint for chaplains and ladies to disappear and I the sole representative of womanhood at Osbaldistone Hall retreat as in duty bound
She vanished as she spoke leaving me in astonishment at the mingled character of shrewdness audacity and frankness which her conversation displayed I despair conveying to you the least idea of her manner although I have as nearly as I can remember imitated her language In fact there was a mixture of untaught simplicity as well as native shrewdness and haughty boldness in her manner and all were modified and recommended by the play of the most beautiful features I had ever beheld It is not to be thought that however strange and uncommon I might think her liberal and unreserved communications a young man of twoandtwenty was likely to be severely critical on a beautiful girl of eighteen for not observing a proper distance towards him On the contrary I was equally diverted and flattered by Miss Vernons confidence and that notwithstanding her declaration of its being conferred on me solely because I was the first auditor who occurred of intelligence enough to comprehend it With the presumption of my age certainly not diminished by my residence in France I imagined that wellformed features and a handsome person both which I conceived myself to possess were not unsuitable qualifications for the confidant of a young beauty My vanity thus enlisted in Miss Vernons behalf I was far from judging her with severity merely for a frankness which I supposed was in some degree justified by my own personal merit and the feelings of partiality which her beauty and the singularity of her situation were of themselves calculated to excite were enhanced by my opinion of her penetration and judgment in her choice of a friend
After Miss Vernon quitted the apartment the bottle circulated or rather flew around the table in unceasing revolution My foreign education had given me a distaste to intemperance then and yet too common a vice among my countrymen The conversation which seasoned such orgies was as little to my taste and if anything could render it more disgusting it was the relationship of the company I therefore seized a lucky opportunity and made my escape through a side door leading I knew not whither rather than endure any longer the sight of father and sons practising the same degrading intemperance and holding the same coarse and disgusting conversation I was pursued of course as I had expected to be reclaimed by force as a deserter from the shrine of Bacchus When I heard the whoop and hollo and the tramp of the heavy boots of my pursuers on the winding stair which I was descending I plainly foresaw I should be overtaken unless I could get into the open air I therefore threw open a casement in the staircase which looked into an oldfashioned garden and as the height did not exceed six feet I jumped out without hesitation and soon heard far behind the hey whoop stole away stole away of my baffled pursuers I ran down one alley walked fast up another and then conceiving myself out of all danger of pursuit I slackened my pace into a quiet stroll enjoying the cool air which the heat of the wine I had been obliged to swallow as well as that of my rapid retreat rendered doubly grateful
As I sauntered on I found the gardener hard at his evening employment and saluted him as I paused to look at his work
Good even my friend
Gude een—gude een tye answered the man without looking up and in a tone which at once indicated his northern extraction
Fine weather for your work my friend
Its no that muckle to be compleened o answered the man with that limited degree of praise which gardeners and farmers usually bestow on the very best weather Then raising his head as if to see who spoke to him he touched his Scotch bonnet with an air of respect as he observed Eh gude safe us—its a sight for sair een to see a goldlaced jeistiecor in the Hagarden sae late at een
A goldlaced what my good friend
Ou a jeistiecor—thats a jacket like your ain there They
Perhaps from the French Justeaucorps
hae other things to do wi them up yonder—unbuttoning them to make room for the beef and the bagpuddings and the claretwine nae doubt—thats the ordinary for evening lecture on this side the border
Theres no such plenty of good cheer in your country my good friend I replied as to tempt you to sit so late at it
Hout sir ye ken little about Scotland its no for want of gude vivers—the best of fish flesh and fowl hae we by sybos ingans turneeps and other garden fruit But we hae mense and discretion and are moderate of our mouths—but here frae the kitchen to the ha its fill and fetch mair frae the tae end of the fourandtwenty till the tother Even their fast days—they ca it fasting when they hae the best o seafish frae Hartlepool and Sunderland by land carriage forbye trouts grilses salmon and a the lave ot and so they make their very fasting a kind of luxury and abomination and then the awfu masses and matins of the puir deceived souls—But I shouldna speak about them for your honour will be a Roman Ise warrant like the lave
Not I my friend I was bred an English presbyterian or dissenter
The right hand of fellowship to your honour then quoth the gardener with as much alacrity as his hard features were capable of expressing and as if to show that his goodwill did not rest on words he plucked forth a huge horn snuffbox or mull as he called it and proffered a pinch with a most fraternal grin
Having accepted his courtesy I asked him if he had been long a domestic at Osbaldistone Hall
I have been fighting with wild beasts at Ephesus said he looking towards the building for the best part of these fourandtwenty years as sure as my names Andrew Fairservice
But my excellent friend Andrew Fairservice if your religion and your temperance are so much offended by Roman rituals and southern hospitality it seems to me that you must have been putting yourself to an unnecessary penance all this while and that you might have found a service where they eat less and are more orthodox in their worship I dare say it cannot be want of skill which prevented your being placed more to your satisfaction
It disna become me to speak to the point of my qualifications said Andrew looking round him with great complacency but nae doubt I should understand my trade of horticulture seeing I was bred in the parish of Dreepdaily where they raise langkale under glass and force the early nettles for their spring kale And to speak truth I hae been flitting every term these fourandtwenty years but when the time comes theres aye something to saw that I would like to see sawn—or something to maw that I would like to see mawn—or something to ripe that I would like to see ripen—and sae I een daiker on wi the family frae years end to years end And I wad say for certain that I am gaun to quit at Cannlemas only I was just as positive on it twenty years syne and I find mysell still turning up the mouls here for a that Forbye that to tell your honour the evendown truth theres nae better place ever offered to Andrew But if your honour wad wush me to ony place where I wad hear pure doctrine and hae a free cows grass and a cot and a yard and mair than ten punds of annual fee and where theres nae leddy about the town to count the apples Ise hold mysell muckle indebted tye
Bravo Andrew I perceive youll lose no preferment for want of asking patronage
I canna see what for I should replied Andrew its no a generation to wait till anes worths discovered I trow
But you are no friend I observe to the ladies
Na by my troth I keep up the first gardeners quarrel to them Theyre fasheous bargains—aye crying for apricocks pears plums and apples summer and winter without distinction o seasons but we hae nae slices o the spare rib here be praised fort except auld Martha and shes weel eneugh pleased wi the freedom o the berrybushes to her sisters weans when they come to drink tea in a holiday in the housekeepers room and wi a wheen codlings now and then for her ain private supper
You forget your young mistress
What mistress do I forget—whaes that
Your young mistress Miss Vernon
What the lassie Vernon—Shes nae mistress o mine man I wish she was her ain mistress and I wish she mayna be some other bodys mistress or its lang—Shes a wild slip that
Indeed said I more interested than I cared to own to myself or to show to the fellow—why Andrew you know all the secrets of this family
If I ken them I can keep them said Andrew they winna work in my wame like harm in a barrel Ise warrant ye Miss Die is—but its neither beef nor brose o mine
And he began to dig with a great semblance of assiduity
What is Miss Vernon Andrew I am a friend of the family and should like to know
Other than a gude ane Im fearing said Andrew closing one eye hard and shaking his head with a grave and mysterious look—something gleed—your honour understands me
I cannot say I do said I Andrew but I should like to hear you explain yourself and therewithal I slipped a crownpiece into Andrews hornhard hand The touch of the silver made him grin a ghastly smile as he nodded slowly and thrust it into his breeches pocket and then like a man who well understood that there was value to be returned stood up and rested his arms on his spade with his features composed into the most important gravity as for some serious communication
Ye maun ken then young gentleman since it imports you to know that Miss Vernon is—
Here breaking off he sucked in both his cheeks till his lantern jaws and long chin assumed the appearance of a pair of nutcrackers winked hard once more frowned shook his head and seemed to think his physiognomy had completed the information which his tongue had not fully told
Good God said I—so young so beautiful so early lost
Troth ye may say sae—shes in a manner lost body and saul forby being a Papist Ise uphaud her for—and his northern caution prevailed and he was again silent
For what sir said I sternly I insist on knowing the plain meaning of all this
On just for the bitterest Jacobite in the haill shire
Pshaw a Jacobite—is that all
Andrew looked at me with some astonishment at hearing his information treated so lightly and then muttering Aweel its the warst thing I ken aboot the lassie howsoeer he resumed his spade like the king of the Vandals in Marmontels late novel
CHAPTER SEVENTH
Bardolph—The sheriff with a monstrous watch is at the door
Henry IV First Part
I found out with some difficulty the apartment which was destined for my accommodation and having secured myself the necessary goodwill and attention from my uncles domestics by using the means they were most capable of comprehending I secluded myself there for the remainder of the evening conjecturing from the fair way in which I had left my new relatives as well as from the distant noise which continued to echo from the stonehall as their banquetingroom was called that they were not likely to be fitting company for a sober man
What could my father mean by sending me to be an inmate in this strange family was my first and most natural reflection My uncle it was plain received me as one who was to make some stay with him and his rude hospitality rendered him as indifferent as King Hal to the number of those who fed at his cost But it was plain my presence or absence would be of as little importance in his eyes as that of one of his bluecoated servingmen My cousins were mere cubs in whose company I might if I liked it unlearn whatever decent manners or elegant accomplishments I had acquired but where I could attain no information beyond what regarded worming dogs rowelling horses and following foxes I could only imagine one reason which was probably the true one My father considered the life which was led at Osbaldistone Hall as the natural and inevitable pursuits of all country gentlemen and he was desirous by giving me an opportunity of seeing that with which he knew I should be disgusted to reconcile me if possible to take an active share in his own business In the meantime he would take Rashleigh Osbaldistone into the countinghouse But he had an hundred modes of providing for him and that advantageously whenever he chose to get rid of him So that although I did feel a certain qualm of conscience at having been the means of introducing Rashleigh being such as he was described by Miss Vernon into my fathers business—perhaps into his confidence—I subdued it by the reflection that my father was complete master of his own affairs—a man not to be imposed upon or influenced by any one—and that all I knew to the young gentlemans prejudice was through the medium of a singular and giddy girl whose communications were made with an injudicious frankness which might warrant me in supposing her conclusions had been hastily or inaccurately formed Then my mind naturally turned to Miss Vernon herself her extreme beauty her very peculiar situation relying solely upon her reflections and her own spirit for guidance and protection and her whole character offering that variety and spirit which piques our curiosity and engages our attention in spite of ourselves I had sense enough to consider the neighbourhood of this singular young lady and the chance of our being thrown into very close and frequent intercourse as adding to the dangers while it relieved the dulness of Osbaldistone Hall but I could not with the fullest exertion of my prudence prevail upon myself to regret excessively this new and particular hazard to which I was to be exposed This scruple I also settled as young men settle most difficulties of the kind—I would be very cautious always on my guard consider Miss Vernon rather as a companion than an intimate and all would do well enough With these reflections I fell asleep Miss Vernon of course forming the last subject of my contemplation
Whether I dreamed of her or not I cannot satisfy you for I was tired and slept soundly But she was the first person I thought of in the morning when waked at dawn by the cheerful notes of the hunting horn To start up and direct my horse to be saddled was my first movement and in a few minutes I was in the courtyard where men dogs and horses were in full preparation My uncle who perhaps was not entitled to expect a very alert sportsman in his nephew bred as he had been in foreign parts seemed rather surprised to see me and I thought his morning salutation wanted something of the hearty and hospitable tone which distinguished his first welcome Art there lad—ay youths aye rathe—but look to thysell—mind the old song lad—
He that gallops his horse on Blackstone edge
May chance to catch a fall
I believe there are few young men and those very sturdy moralists who would not rather be taxed with some moral peccadillo than with want of knowledge in horsemanship As I was by no means deficient either in skill or courage I resented my uncles insinuation accordingly and assured him he would find me up with the hounds
I doubtna lad was his reply thourt a rank rider Ise warrant thee—but take heed Thy father sent thee here to me to be bitted and I doubt I must ride thee on the curb or well hae some one to ride thee on the halter if I takena the better heed
As this speech was totally unintelligible to me—as besides it did not seem to be delivered for my use or benefit but was spoken as it were aside and as if expressing aloud something which was passing through the mind of my muchhonoured uncle I concluded it must either refer to my desertion of the bottle on the preceding evening or that my uncles morning hours being a little discomposed by the revels of the night before his temper had suffered in proportion I only made the passing reflection that if he played the ungracious landlord I would remain the shorter while his guest and then hastened to salute Miss Vernon who advanced cordially to meet me Some show of greeting also passed between my cousins and me but as I saw them maliciously bent upon criticising my dress and accoutrements from the cap to the stirrupirons and sneering at whatever had a new or foreign appearance I exempted myself from the task of paying them much attention and assuming in requital of their grins and whispers an air of the utmost indifference and contempt I attached myself to Miss Vernon as the only person in the party whom I could regard as a suitable companion By her side therefore we sallied forth to the destined cover which was a dingle or copse on the side of an extensive common As we rode thither I observed to Diana that I did not see my cousin Rashleigh in the field to which she replied—O no—hes a mighty hunter but its after the fashion of Nimrod and his game is man
The dogs now brushed into the cover with the appropriate encouragement from the hunters—all was business bustle and activity My cousins were soon too much interested in the business of the morning to take any further notice of me unless that I overheard Dickon the horsejockey whisper to Wilfred the fool—Look thou an our French cousin be nat off a first burst
To which Wilfred answered Like enow for he has a queer outlandish binding ons castor
Thorncliff however who in his rude way seemed not absolutely insensible to the beauty of his kinswoman appeared determined to keep us company more closely than his brothers—perhaps to watch what passed betwixt Miss Vernon and me—perhaps to enjoy my expected mishaps in the chase In the last particular he was disappointed After beating in vain for the greater part of the morning a fox was at length found who led us a chase of two hours in the course of which notwithstanding the illomened French binding upon my hat I sustained my character as a horseman to the admiration of my uncle and Miss Vernon and the secret disappointment of those who expected me to disgrace it Reynard however proved too wily for his pursuers and the hounds were at fault I could at this time observe in Miss Vernons manner an impatience of the close attendance which we received from Thorncliff Osbaldistone and as that activespirited young lady never hesitated at taking the readiest means to gratify any wish of the moment she said to him in a tone of reproach—I wonder Thornie what keeps you dangling at my horses crupper all this morning when you know the earths above Woolvertonmill are not stopt
I know no such an thing then Miss Die for the miller swore himself as black as night that he stopt them at twelve oclock midnight that was
O fie upon you Thornie would you trust to a millers word—and these earths too where we lost the fox three times this season and you on your grey mare that can gallop there and back in ten minutes
Well Miss Die Ise go to Woolverton then and if the earths are not stopt Ise raddle Dick the millers bones for him
Do my dear Thornie horsewhip the rascal to purpose—via—fly away and about it—Thorncliff went off at the gallop—or get horsewhipt yourself which will serve my purpose just as well—I must teach them all discipline and obedience to the word of command I am raising a regiment you must know Thornie shall be my sergeantmajor Dickon my ridingmaster and Wilfred with his deep dubadub tones that speak but three syllables at a time my kettledrummer
And Rashleigh
Rashleigh shall be my scoutmaster And will you find no employment for me most lovely colonel
You shall have the choice of being paymaster or plundermaster to the corps But see how the dogs puzzle about there Come Mr Frank the scents cold they wont recover it there this while follow me I have a view to show you
And in fact she cantered up to the top of a gentle hill commanding an extensive prospect Casting her eyes around to see that no one was near us she drew up her horse beneath a few birchtrees which screened us from the rest of the huntingfield—Do you see yon peaked brown heathy hill having something like a whitish speck upon the side
Terminating that long ridge of broken moorish uplands—I see it distinctly
That whitish speck is a rock called Hawkesmorecrag and Hawkesmorecrag is in Scotland
Indeed I did not think we had been so near Scotland
It is so I assure you and your horse will carry you there in two hours
I shall hardly give him the trouble why the distance must be eighteen miles as the crow flies
You may have my mare if you think her less blown—I say that in two hours you may be in Scotland
And I say that I have so little desire to be there that if my horses head were over the Border I would not give his tail the trouble of following What should I do in Scotland
Provide for your safety if I must speak plainly Do you understand me now Mr Frank
Not a whit you are more and more oracular
Then on my word you either mistrust me most unjustly and are a better dissembler than Rashleigh Osbaldistone himself or you know nothing of what is imputed to you and then no wonder you stare at me in that grave manner which I can scarce see without laughing
Upon my word of honour Miss Vernon said I with an impatient feeling of her childish disposition to mirth I have not the most distant conception of what you mean I am happy to afford you any subject of amusement but I am quite ignorant in what it consists
Nay theres no sound jest after all said the young lady composing herself only one looks so very ridiculous when he is fairly perplexed But the matter is serious enough Do you know one Moray or Morris or some such name
Not that I can at present recollect
Think a moment Did you not lately travel with somebody of such a name
The only man with whom I travelled for any length of time was a fellow whose soul seemed to lie in his portmanteau
Then it was like the soul of the licentiate Pedro Garcias which lay among the ducats in his leathern purse That man has been robbed and he has lodged an information against you as connected with the violence done to him
You jest Miss Vernon
I do not I assure you—the thing is an absolute fact
And do you said I with strong indignation which I did not attempt to suppress do you suppose me capable of meriting such a charge
You would call me out for it I suppose had I the advantage of being a man—You may do so as it is if you like it—I can shoot flying as well as leap a fivebarred gate
And are colonel of a regiment of horse besides replied I reflecting how idle it was to be angry with her—But do explain the present jest to me
Theres no jest whatever said Diana you are accused of robbing this man and my uncle believes it as well as I did
Upon my honour I am greatly obliged to my friends for their good opinion
Now do not if you can help it snort and stare and snuff the wind and look so exceedingly like a startled horse—Theres no such offence as you suppose—you are not charged with any petty larceny or vulgar felony—by no means This fellow was carrying money from Government both specie and bills to pay the troops in the north and it is said he has been also robbed of some despatches of great consequence
And so it is high treason then and not simple robbery of which I am accused
Certainly—which you know has been in all ages accounted the crime of a gentleman You will find plenty in this country and one not far from your elbow who think it a merit to distress the Hanoverian government by every means possible
Neither my politics nor my morals Miss Vernon are of a description so accommodating
I really begin to believe that you are a Presbyterian and Hanoverian in good earnest But what do you propose to do
Instantly to refute this atrocious calumny—Before whom I asked was this extraordinary accusation laid
Before old Squire Inglewood who had sufficient unwillingness to receive it He sent tidings to my uncle I suppose that he might smuggle you away into Scotland out of reach of the warrant But my uncle is sensible that his religion and old predilections render him obnoxious to Government and that were he caught playing booty he would be disarmed and probably dismounted which would be the worse evil of the two as a Jacobite papist and suspected person
On occasions of public alarm in the beginning of the eighteenth century the horses of the Catholics were often seized upon as they were always supposed to be on the eve of rising in rebellion
I can conceive that sooner than lose his hunters he would give up his nephew
His nephew nieces sons—daughters if he had them and whole generation said Diana—therefore trust not to him even for a single moment but make the best of your way before they can serve the warrant
That I shall certainly do but it shall be to the house of this Squire Inglewood—Which way does it lie
About five miles off in the low ground behind yonder plantations—you may see the tower of the clockhouse
I will be there in a few minutes said I putting my horse in motion
And I will go with you and show you the way said Diana putting her palfrey also to the trot
Do not think of it Miss Vernon I replied It is not—permit me the freedom of a friend—it is not proper scarcely even delicate in you to go with me on such an errand as I am now upon
I understand your meaning said Miss Vernon a slight blush crossing her haughty brow—it is plainly spoken and after a moments pause she added and I believe kindly meant
It is indeed Miss Vernon Can you think me insensible of the interest you show me or ungrateful for it said I with even more earnestness than I could have wished to express Yours is meant for true kindness shown best at the hour of need But I must not for your own sake—for the chance of misconstruction—suffer you to pursue the dictates of your generosity this is so public an occasion—it is almost like venturing into an open court of justice
And if it were not almost but altogether entering into an open court of justice do you think I would not go there if I thought it right and wished to protect a friend You have no one to stand by you—you are a stranger and here in the outskirts of the kingdom country justices do odd things My uncle has no desire to embroil himself in your affair Rashleigh is absent and were he here there is no knowing which side he might take the rest are all more stupid and brutal one than another I will go with you and I do not fear being able to serve you I am no fine lady to be terrified to death with lawbooks hard words or big wigs
But my dear Miss Vernon—
But my dear Mr Francis be patient and quiet and let me take my own way for when I take the bit between my teeth there is no bridle will stop me
Flattered with the interest so lovely a creature seemed to take in my fate yet vexed at the ridiculous appearance I should make by carrying a girl of eighteen along with me as an advocate and seriously concerned for the misconstruction to which her motives might be exposed I endeavoured to combat her resolution to accompany me to Squire Inglewoods The selfwilled girl told me roundly that my dissuasions were absolutely in vain that she was a true Vernon whom no consideration not even that of being able to do but little to assist him should induce to abandon a friend in distress and that all I could say on the subject might be very well for pretty welleducated wellbehaved misses from a town boardingschool but did not apply to her who was accustomed to mind nobodys opinion but her own
While she spoke thus we were advancing hastily towards Inglewood Place while as if to divert me from the task of further remonstrance she drew a ludicrous picture of the magistrate and his clerk—Inglewood was—according to her description—a whitewashed Jacobite that is one who having been long a nonjuror like most of the other gentlemen of the country had lately qualified himself to act as a justice by taking the oaths to Government He had done so she said in compliance with the urgent request of most of his brother squires who saw with regret that the palladium of silvan sport the gamelaws were likely to fall into disuse for want of a magistrate who would enforce them the nearest acting justice being the Mayor of Newcastle and he as being rather inclined to the consumption of the game when properly dressed than to its preservation when alive was more partial of course to the cause of the poacher than of the sportsman Resolving therefore that it was expedient some one of their number should sacrifice the scruples of Jacobitical loyalty to the good of the community the Northumbrian country gentlemen imposed the duty on Inglewood who being very inert in most of his feelings and sentiments might they thought comply with any political creed without much repugnance Having thus procured the body of justice they proceeded continued Miss Vernon to attach to it a clerk by way of soul to direct and animate its movements Accordingly they got a sharp Newcastle attorney called Jobson who to vary my metaphor finds it a good thing enough to retail justice at the sign of Squire Inglewood and as his own emoluments depend on the quantity of business which he transacts he hooks in his principal for a great deal more employment in the justice line than the honest squire had ever bargained for so that no applewife within the circuit of ten miles can settle her account with a costermonger without an audience of the reluctant Justice and his alert clerk Mr Joseph Jobson But the most ridiculous scenes occur when affairs come before him like our business of today having any colouring of politics Mr Joseph Jobson for which no doubt he has his own very sufficient reasons is a prodigious zealot for the Protestant religion and a great friend to the present establishment in church and state Now his principal retaining a sort of instinctive attachment to the opinions which he professed openly until he relaxed his political creed with the patriotic view of enforcing the law against unauthorized destroyers of blackgame grouse partridges and hares is peculiarly embarrassed when the zeal of his assistant involves him in judicial proceedings connected with his earlier faith and instead of seconding his zeal he seldom fails to oppose to it a double dose of indolence and lack of exertion And this inactivity does not by any means arise from actual stupidity On the contrary for one whose principal delight is in eating and drinking he is an alert joyous and lively old soul which makes his assumed dulness the more diverting So you may see Jobson on such occasions like a bit of a broken down bloodtit condemned to drag an overloaded cart puffing strutting and spluttering to get the Justice put in motion while though the wheels groan creak and revolve slowly the great and preponderating weight of the vehicle fairly frustrates the efforts of the willing quadruped and prevents its being brought into a state of actual progression Nay more the unfortunate pony I understand has been heard to complain that this same car of justice which he finds it so hard to put in motion on some occasions can on others run fast enough down hill of its own accord dragging his reluctant self backwards along with it when anything can be done of service to Squire Inglewoods quondam friends And then Mr Jobson talks big about reporting his principal to the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it were not for his particular regard and friendship for Mr Inglewood and his family
As Miss Vernon concluded this whimsical description we found ourselves in front of Inglewood Place a handsome though oldfashioned building which showed the consequence of the family
CHAPTER EIGHTH
Sir quoth the Lawyer not to flatter ye
You have as good and fair a battery
As heart could wish and need not shame
The proudest man alive to claim
Butler
Our horses were taken by a servant in Sir Hildebrands livery whom we found in the courtyard and we entered the house In the entrancehall I was somewhat surprised and my fair companion still more so when we met Rashleigh Osbaldistone who could not help showing equal wonder at our rencontre
Rashleigh said Miss Vernon without giving him time to ask any question you have heard of Mr Francis Osbaldistones affair and you have been talking to the Justice about it
Certainly said Rashleigh composedly—it has been my business here— I have been endeavouring he said with a bow to me to render my cousin what service I can But I am sorry to meet him here
As a friend and relation Mr Osbaldistone you ought to have been sorry to have met me anywhere else at a time when the charge of my reputation required me to be on this spot as soon as possible
True but judging from what my father said I should have supposed a short retreat into Scotland—just till matters should be smoothed over in a quiet way—
I answered with warmth That I had no prudential measures to observe and desired to have nothing smoothed over—on the contrary I was come to inquire into a rascally calumny which I was determined to probe to the bottom
Mr Francis Osbaldistone is an innocent man Rashleigh said Miss Vernon and he demands an investigation of the charge against him and I intend to support him in it
You do my pretty cousin—I should think now Mr Francis Osbaldistone was likely to be as effectually and rather more delicately supported by my presence than by yours
Oh certainly but two heads are better than one you know
Especially such a head as yours my pretty Die advancing and taking her hand with a familiar fondness which made me think him fifty times uglier than nature had made him She led him however a few steps aside they conversed in an under voice and she appeared to insist upon some request which he was unwilling or unable to comply with I never saw so strong a contrast betwixt the expression of two faces Miss Vernons from being earnest became angry her eyes and cheeks became more animated her colour mounted she clenched her little hand and stamping on the ground with her tiny foot seemed to listen with a mixture of contempt and indignation to the apologies which from his look of civil deference his composed and respectful smile his body rather drawing back than advanced and other signs of look and person I concluded him to be pouring out at her feet At length she flung away from him with I will have it so
It is not in my power—there is no possibility of it—Would you think it Mr Osbaldistone said he addressing me—
You are not mad said she interrupting him
Would you think it said he without attending to her hint—Miss Vernon insists not only that I know your innocence of which indeed it is impossible for any one to be more convinced but that I must also be acquainted with the real perpetrators of the outrage on this fellow—if indeed such an outrage has been committed Is this reasonable Mr Osbaldistone
I will not allow any appeal to Mr Osbaldistone Rashleigh said the young lady he does not know as I do the incredible extent and accuracy of your information on all points
As I am a gentleman you do me more honour than I deserve
Justice Rashleigh—only justice—and it is only justice which I expect at your hands
You are a tyrant Diana he answered with a sort of sigh—a capricious tyrant and rule your friends with a rod of iron Still however it shall be as you desire But you ought not to be here—you know you ought not—you must return with me
Then turning from Diana who seemed to stand undecided he came up to me in the most friendly manner and said Do not doubt my interest in what regards you Mr Osbaldistone If I leave you just at this moment it is only to act for your advantage But you must use your influence with your cousin to return her presence cannot serve you and must prejudice herself
I assure you sir I replied you cannot be more convinced of this
than I I have urged Miss Vernons return as anxiously as she would
permit me to do
I have thought on it said Miss Vernon after a pause and I will not
go till I see you safe out of the hands of the Philistines Cousin
Rashleigh I dare say means well but he and I know each other well
Rashleigh I will not go—I know she added in a more soothing tone
my being here will give you more motive for speed and exertion
Stay then rash obstinate girl said Rashleigh you know but too well to whom you trust and hastening out of the hall we heard his horses feet a minute afterwards in rapid motion
Thank Heaven he is gone said Diana And now let us seek out the Justice
Had we not better call a servant
Oh by no means I know the way to his den—we must burst on him suddenly—follow me
I did follow her accordingly as she tripped up a few gloomy steps traversed a twilight passage and entered a sort of anteroom hung round with old maps architectural elevations and genealogical trees A pair of foldingdoors opened from this into Mr Inglewoods sitting apartment from which was heard the fagend of an old ditty chanted by a voice which had been in its day fit for a jolly bottlesong
O in SkiptoninCraven
Is never a haven
But many a day foul weather
And he that would say
A pretty girl nay
I wish for his cravat a tether
Heyday said Miss Vernon the genial Justice must have dined already—I did not think it had been so late
It was even so Mr Inglewoods appetite having been sharpened by his official investigations he had antedated his meridian repast having dined at twelve instead of one oclock then the general dining hour in England The various occurrences of the morning occasioned our arriving some time after this hour to the Justice the most important of the fourandtwenty and he had not neglected the interval
Stay you here said Diana I know the house and I will call a servant your sudden appearance might startle the old gentleman even to choking and she escaped from me leaving me uncertain whether I ought to advance or retreat It was impossible for me not to hear some part of what passed within the dinner apartment and particularly several apologies for declining to sing expressed in a dejected croaking voice the tones of which I conceived were not entirely new to me
Not sing sir by our Lady but you must—What you have cracked my silvermounted cocoanut of sack and tell me that you cannot sing—Sir sack will make a cat sing and speak too so up with a merry stave or trundle yourself out of my doors—Do you think you are to take up all my valuable time with your dd declarations and then tell me you cannot sing
Your worship is perfectly in rule said another voice which from its pert conceited accent might be that of the cleric and the party must be conformable he hath canet written on his face in court hand
Up with it then said the Justice or by St Christopher you shall crack the cocoanut full of saltandwater according to the statute for such effect made and provided
Thus exhorted and threatened my quondam fellowtraveller for I could no longer doubt that he was the recusant in question uplifted with a voice similar to that of a criminal singing his last psalm on the scaffold a most doleful stave to the following effect—
Good people all I pray give ear
A woeful story you shall hear
Tis of a robber as stout as ever
Bade a true man stand and deliver
With his foodle doo fa loodle loo
This knave most worthy of a cord
Being armed with pistol and with sword
Twixt Kensington and Brentford then
Did boldly stop six honest men
With his foodle doo etc
These honest men did at Brentford dine
Having drank each man his pint of wine
When this bold thief with many curses
Did say You dogs your lives or purses
With his foodle doo etc
I question if the honest men whose misfortune is commemorated in this pathetic ditty were more startled at the appearance of the bold thief than the songster was at mine for tired of waiting for some one to announce me and finding my situation as a listener rather awkward I presented myself to the company just as my friend Mr Morris for such it seems was his name was uplifting the fifth stave of his doleful ballad The high tone with which the tune started died away in a quaver of consternation on finding himself so near one whose character he supposed to be little less suspicious than that of the hero of his madrigal and he remained silent with a mouth gaping as if I had brought the Gorgons head in my hand
The Justice whose eyes had closed under the influence of the somniferous lullaby of the song started up in his chair as it suddenly ceased and stared with wonder at the unexpected addition which the company had received while his organs of sight were in abeyance The clerk as I conjectured him to be from his appearance was also commoved for sitting opposite to Mr Morris that honest gentlemans terror communicated itself to him though he wotted not why
Frank at Judge Inglewoods
I broke the silence of surprise occasioned by my abrupt entrance—My name Mr Inglewood is Francis Osbaldistone I understand that some scoundrel has brought a complaint before you charging me with being concerned in a loss which he says he has sustained
Sir said the Justice somewhat peevishly these are matters I never enter upon after dinner—there is a time for everything and a justice of peace must eat as well as other folks
The goodly person of Mr Inglewood by the way seemed by no means to have suffered by any fasts whether in the service of the law or of religion
I beg pardon for an illtimed visit sir but as my reputation is concerned and as the dinner appears to be concluded—
It is not concluded sir replied the magistrate man requires digestion as well as food and I protest I cannot have benefit from my victuals unless I am allowed two hours of quiet leisure intermixed with harmless mirth and a moderate circulation of the bottle
If your honour will forgive me said Mr Jobson who had produced and arranged his writing implements in the brief space that our conversation afforded as this is a case of felony and the gentleman seems something impatient the charge is contra pacem domini regis—
D—n dominie regis said the impatient Justice—I hope its no treason to say so but its enough to made one mad to be worried in this way Have I a moment of my life quiet for warrants orders directions acts bails bonds and recognisances—I pronounce to you Mr Jobson that I shall send you and the justiceship to the devil one of these days
Your honour will consider the dignity of the office one of the quorum and custos rotulorum an office of which Sir Edward Coke wisely saith The whole Christian world hath not the like of it so it be duly executed
Well said the Justice partly reconciled by this eulogium on the dignity of his situation and gulping down the rest of his dissatisfaction in a huge bumper of claret let us to this gear then and get rid of it as fast as we can—Here you sir—you Morris—you knight of the sorrowful countenance—is this Mr Francis Osbaldistone the gentleman whom you charge with being art and part of felony
I sir replied Morris whose scattered wits had hardly yet reassembled themselves I charge nothing—I say nothing against the gentleman
Then we dismiss your complaint sir thats all and a good riddance— Push about the bottle—Mr Osbaldistone help yourself
Jobson however was determined that Morris should not back out of the scrape so easily What do you mean Mr Morris—Here is your own declaration—the ink scarce dried—and you would retract it in this scandalous manner
How do I know whispered the other in a tremulous tone how many rogues are in the house to back him I have read of such things in Johnsons Lives of the Highwaymen I protest the door opens—
And it did open and Diana Vernon entered—You keep fine order here Justice—not a servant to be seen or heard of
Ah said the Justice starting up with an alacrity which showed that he was not so engrossed by his devotions to Themis or Comus as to forget what was due to beauty—Ah ha Die Vernon the heathbell of Cheviot and the blossom of the Border come to see how the old bachelor keeps house Art welcome girl as flowers in May
A fine open hospitable house you do keep Justice that must be allowed—not a soul to answer a visitor
Ah the knaves they reckoned themselves secure of me for a couple of hours—But why did you not come earlier—Your cousin Rashleigh dined here and ran away like a poltroon after the first bottle was out—But you have not dined—well have something nice and ladylike—sweet and pretty like yourself tossed up in a trice
I may eat a crust in the anteroom before I set out answered Miss Vernon—I have had a long ride this morning but I cant stay long Justice—I came with my cousin Frank Osbaldistone there and I must show him the way back again to the Hall or hell lose himself in the wolds
Whew sits the wind in that quarter inquired the Justice—
She showed him the way she showed him the way
She showed him the way to woo
What no luck for old fellows then my sweet bud of the wilderness
None whatever Squire Inglewood but if you will be a good kind Justice and despatch young Franks business and let us canter home again Ill bring my uncle to dine with you next week and well expect merry doings
And you shall find them my pearl of the Tyne—Zookers lass I never envy these young fellows their rides and scampers unless when you come across me But I must not keep you just now I suppose—I am quite satisfied with Mr Francis Osbaldistones explanation—here has been some mistake which can be cleared at greater leisure
Pardon me sir said I but I have not heard the nature of the accusation yet
Yes sir said the clerk who at the appearance of Miss Vernon had given up the matter in despair but who picked up courage to press farther investigation on finding himself supported from a quarter whence assuredly he expected no backing—Yes sir and Dalton saith That he who is apprehended as a felon shall not be discharged upon any mans discretion but shall be held either to bail or commitment paying to the clerk of the peace the usual fees for recognisance or commitment
The Justice thus goaded on gave me at length a few words of explanation
It seems the tricks which I had played to this man Morris had made a strong impression on his imagination for I found they had been arrayed against me in his evidence with all the exaggerations which a timorous and heated imagination could suggest It appeared also that on the day he parted from me he had been stopped on a solitary spot and eased of his beloved travellingcompanion the portmanteau by two men well mounted and armed having their faces covered with vizards
One of them he conceived had much of my shape and air and in a whispering conversation which took place betwixt the freebooters he heard the other apply to him the name of Osbaldistone The declaration farther set forth that upon inquiring into the principles of the family so named he the said declarant was informed that they were of the worst description the family in all its members having been Papists and Jacobites as he was given to understand by the dissenting clergyman at whose house he stopped after his rencontre since the days of William the Conqueror
Upon all and each of these weighty reasons he charged me with being accessory to the felony committed upon his person he the said declarant then travelling in the special employment of Government and having charge of certain important papers and also a large sum in specie to be paid over according to his instructions to certain persons of official trust and importance in Scotland
Having heard this extraordinary accusation I replied to it that the circumstances on which it was founded were such as could warrant no justice or magistrate in any attempt on my personal liberty I admitted that I had practised a little upon the terrors of Mr Morris while we travelled together but in such trifling particulars as could have excited apprehension in no one who was one whit less timorous and jealous than himself But I added that I had never seen him since we parted and if that which he feared had really come upon him I was in nowise accessory to an action so unworthy of my character and station in life That one of the robbers was called Osbaldistone or that such a name was mentioned in the course of the conversation betwixt them was a trifling circumstance to which no weight was due And concerning the disaffection alleged against me I was willing to prove to the satisfaction of the Justice the clerk and even the witness himself that I was of the same persuasion as his friend the dissenting clergyman had been educated as a good subject in the principles of the Revolution and as such now demanded the personal protection of the laws which had been assured by that great event
The Justice fidgeted took snuff and seemed considerably embarrassed while Mr Attorney Jobson with all the volubility of his profession ran over the statute of the 34 Edward III by which justices of the peace are allowed to arrest all those whom they find by indictment or suspicion and to put them into prison The rogue even turned my own admissions against me alleging that since I had confessedly upon my own showing assumed the bearing or deportment of a robber or malefactor I had voluntarily subjected myself to the suspicions of which I complained and brought myself within the compass of the act having wilfully clothed my conduct with all the colour and livery of guilt
I combated both his arguments and his jargon with much indignation and scorn and observed That I should if necessary produce the bail of my relations which I conceived could not be refused without subjecting the magistrate in a misdemeanour
Pardon me my good sir—pardon me said the insatiable clerk this is a case in which neither bail nor mainprize can be received the felon who is liable to be committed on heavy grounds of suspicion not being replevisable under the statute of the 3d of King Edward there being in that act an express exception of such as be charged of commandment or force and aid of felony done and he hinted that his worship would do well to remember that such were no way replevisable by common writ nor without writ
At this period of the conversation a servant entered and delivered a letter to Mr Jobson He had no sooner run it hastily over than he exclaimed with the air of one who wished to appear much vexed at the interruption and felt the consequence attached to a man of multifarious avocations—Good God—why at this rate I shall have neither time to attend to the public concerns nor my own—no rest—no quiet—I wish to Heaven another gentleman in our line would settle here
God forbid said the Justice in a tone of sottovoce deprecation some of us have enough of one of the tribe
This is a matter of life and death if your worship pleases
In Gods name no more justice business I hope said the alarmed magistrate
No—no replied Mr Jobson very consequentially old Gaffer Rutledge of Grimeshill is subpoenaed for the next world he has sent an express for Dr Killdown to put in bail—another for me to arrange his worldly affairs
Away with you then said Mr Inglewood hastily his may not be a replevisable case under the statute you know or Mr Justice Death may not like the doctor for a main pernor or bailsman
And yet said Jobson lingering as he moved towards the door if my presence here be necessary—I could make out the warrant for committal in a moment and the constable is below—And you have heard he said lowering his voice Mr Rashleighs opinion—the rest was lost in a whisper
The Justice replied aloud I tell thee no man no—well do nought till thou return man tis but a fourmile ride—Come push the bottle Mr Morris—Dont be cast down Mr Osbaldistone—And you my rose of the wilderness—one cup of claret to refresh the bloom of your cheeks
Diana started as if from a reverie in which she appeared to have been plunged while we held this discussion No Justice—I should be afraid of transferring the bloom to a part of my face where it would show to little advantage but I will pledge you in a cooler beverage and filling a glass with water she drank it hastily while her hurried manner belied her assumed gaiety
I had not much leisure to make remarks upon her demeanour however being full of vexation at the interference of fresh obstacles to an instant examination of the disgraceful and impertinent charge which was brought against me But there was no moving the Justice to take the matter up in absence of his clerk an incident which gave him apparently as much pleasure as a holiday to a schoolboy He persisted in his endeavours to inspire jollity into a company the individuals of which whether considered with reference to each other or to their respective situations were by no means inclined to mirth Come Master Morris youre not the first man thats been robbed I trow—grieving neer brought back loss man And you Mr Frank Osbaldistone are not the first bullyboy that has said stand to a true man There was Jack Winterfield in my young days kept the best company in the land—at horseraces and cockfights who but he—hand and glove was I with Jack Push the bottle Mr Morris its dry talking—Many quart bumpers have I cracked and thrown many a merry main with poor Jack—good family—ready wit—quick eye—as honest a fellow barring the deed he died for—well drink to his memory gentlemen—Poor Jack Winterfield—And since we talk of him and of those sort of things and since that d—d clerk of mine has taken his gibberish elsewhere and since were snug among ourselves Mr Osbaldistone if you will have my best advice I would take up this matter—the laws hard—very severe—hanged poor Jack Winterfield at York despite family connections and great interest all for easing a fat westcountry grazier of the price of a few beasts—Now here is honest Mr Morris has been frightened and so forth—D—n it man let the poor fellow have back his portmanteau and end the frolic at once
Morriss eyes brightened up at this suggestion and he began to hesitate forth an assurance that he thirsted for no mans blood when I cut the proposed accommodation short by resenting the Justices suggestion as an insult that went directly to suppose me guilty of the very crime which I had come to his house with the express intention of disavowing We were in this awkward predicament when a servant opening the door announced A strange gentleman to wait upon his honour and the party whom he thus described entered the room without farther ceremony
Die Vernon at Judge Inglewoods
CHAPTER NINTH
One of the thieves come back again Ill stand close
He dares not wrong me now so near the house
And call in vain tis till I see him offer it
The Widow
A stranger echoed the Justice—not upon business I trust for Ill be—
His protestation was cut short by the answer of the man himself My business is of a nature somewhat onerous and particular said my acquaintance Mr Campbell—for it was he the very Scotchman whom I had seen at Northallerton—and I must solicit your honour to give instant and heedful consideration to it—I believe Mr Morris he added fixing his eye on that person with a look of peculiar firmness and almost ferocity—I believe ye ken brawly what I am—I believe ye cannot have forgotten what passed at our last meeting on the road Morriss jaw dropped—his countenance became the colour of tallow—his teeth chattered and he gave visible signs of the utmost consternation Take heart of grace man said Campbell and dinna sit clattering your jaws there like a pair of castanets I think there can be nae difficulty in your telling Mr Justice that ye have seen me of yore and ken me to be a cavalier of fortune and a man of honour Ye ken fu weel ye will be some time resident in my vicinity when I may have the power as I will possess the inclination to do you as good a turn
Sir—sir—I believe you to be a man of honour and as you say a man of fortune Yes Mr Inglewood he added clearing his voice I really believe this gentleman to be so
And what are this gentlemans commands with me said the Justice somewhat peevishly One man introduces another like the rhymes in the house that Jack built and I get company without either peace or conversation
Both shall be yours sir answered Campbell in a brief period of time I come to release your mind from a piece of troublesome duty not to make increment to it
Body o me then you are welcome as ever Scot was to England and thats not saying much But get on man—lets hear what you have got to say at once
I presume this gentleman continued the North Briton told you there was a person of the name of Campbell with him when he had the mischance to lose his valise
He has not mentioned such a name from beginning to end of the matter said the Justice
Ah I conceive—I conceive replied Mr Campbell—Mr Morris was kindly afeared of committing a stranger into collision wi the judicial forms of the country but as I understand my evidence is necessary to the compurgation of one honest gentleman here Mr Francis Osbaldistone wha has been most unjustly suspected I will dispense with the precaution Ye will therefore he added addressing Morris with the same determined look and accent please tell Mr Justice Inglewood whether we did not travel several miles together on the road in consequence of your own anxious request and suggestion reiterated ance and again baith on the evening that we were at Northallerton and there declined by me but afterwards accepted when I overtook ye on the road near Cloberry Allers and was prevailed on by you to resign my ain intentions of proceeding to Rothbury and for my misfortune to accompany you on your proposed route
Its a melancholy truth answered Morris holding down his head as he gave this general assent to the long and leading question which Campbell put to him and seemed to acquiesce in the statement it contained with rueful docility
And I presume you can also asseverate to his worship that no man is better qualified than I am to bear testimony in this case seeing that I was by you and near you constantly during the whole occurrence
No man better qualified certainly said Morris with a deep and embarrassed sigh
And why the devil did you not assist him then said the Justice since by Mr Morriss account there were but two robbers so you were two to two and you are both stout likely men
Sir if it please your worship said Campbell I have been all my life a man of peace and quietness noways given to broils or batteries Mr Morris who belongs as I understand or hath belonged to his Majestys army might have used his pleasure in resistance he travelling as I also understand with a great charge of treasure but for me who had but my own small peculiar to defend and who am moreover a man of a pacific occupation I was unwilling to commit myself to hazard in the matter
I looked at Campbell as he muttered these words and never recollect to have seen a more singular contrast than that between the strong daring sternness expressed in his harsh features and the air of composed meekness and simplicity which his language assumed There was even a slight ironical smile lurking about the corners of his mouth which seemed involuntarily as it were to intimate his disdain of the quiet and peaceful character which he thought proper to assume and which led me to entertain strange suspicions that his concern in the violence done to Morris had been something very different from that of a fellowsufferer or even of a mere spectator
Perhaps some suspicious crossed the Justices mind at the moment for he exclaimed as if by way of ejaculation Body o me but this is a strange story
The North Briton seemed to guess at what was passing in his mind for he went on with a change of manner and tone dismissing from his countenance some part of the hypocritical affectation of humility which had made him obnoxious to suspicion and saying with a more frank and unconstrained air To say the truth I am just ane o those canny folks wha care not to fight but when they hae gotten something to fight for which did not chance to be my predicament when I fell in wi these loons But that your worship may know that I am a person of good fame and character please to cast your eye over that billet
Mr Inglewood took the paper from his hand and read half aloud These are to certify that the bearer Robert Campbell of—of some place which I cannot pronounce interjected the Justice—is a person of good lineage and peaceable demeanour travelling towards England on his own proper affairs c c c Given under our hand at our Castle of Inver—Invera—rara—Argyle
A slight testimonial sir which I thought fit to impetrate from that worthy nobleman here he raised his hand to his head as if to touch his hat MacCallum More
MacCallum who sir said the Justice
Whom the Southern call the Duke of Argyle
I know the Duke of Argyle very well to be a nobleman of great worth and distinction and a true lover of his country I was one of those that stood by him in 1714 when he unhorsed the Duke of Marlborough out of his command I wish we had more noblemen like him He was an honest Tory in those days and hand and glove with Ormond And he has acceded to the present Government as I have done myself for the peace and quiet of his country for I cannot presume that great man to have been actuated as violent folks pretend with the fear of losing his places and regiment His testimonial as you call it Mr Campbell is perfectly satisfactory and now what have you got to say to this matter of the robbery
Briefly this if it please your worship—that Mr Morris might as weel charge it against the babe yet to be born or against myself even as against this young gentleman Mr Osbaldistone for I am not only free to depone that the person whom he took for him was a shorter man and a thicker man but also for I chanced to obtain a glisk of his visage as his fauseface slipped aside that he was a man of other features and complexion than those of this young gentleman Mr Osbaldistone And I believe he added turning round with a natural yet somewhat sterner air to Mr Morris that the gentleman will allow I had better opportunity to take cognisance wha were present on that occasion than he being I believe much the cooler o the twa
I agree to it sir—I agree to it perfectly said Morris shrinking back as Campbell moved his chair towards him to fortify his appeal—And I incline sir he added addressing Mr Inglewood to retract my information as to Mr Osbaldistone and I request sir you will permit him sir to go about his business and me to go about mine also your worship may have business to settle with Mr Campbell and I am rather in haste to be gone
Then there go the declarations said the Justice throwing them into the fire—And now you are at perfect liberty Mr Osbaldistone And you Mr Morris are set quite at your ease
Ay said Campbell eyeing Morris as he assented with a rueful grin to the Justices observations much like the ease of a tod under a pair of harrows—But fear nothing Mr Morris you and I maun leave the house thegither I will see you safe—I hope you will not doubt my honour when I say sae—to the next highway and then we part company and if we do not meet as friends in Scotland it will be your ain fault
With such a lingering look of terror as the condemned criminal throws when he is informed that the cart awaits him Morris arose but when on his legs appeared to hesitate I tell thee man fear nothing reiterated Campbell I will keep my word with you—Why thou sheeps heart how do ye ken but we may can pick up some speerings of your valise if ye will be amenable to gude counsel—Our horses are ready Bid the Justice fareweel man and show your Southern breeding
Morris thus exhorted and encouraged took his leave under the escort of Mr Campbell but apparently new scruples and terrors had struck him before they left the house for I heard Campbell reiterating assurances of safety and protection as they left the anteroom—By the soul of my body man thourt as safe as in thy fathers kailyard—Zounds that a chield wi sic a black beard should hae nae mair heart than a henpartridge—Come on wi ye like a frank fallow anes and for aye
The voices died away and the subsequent trampling of their horses announced to us that they had left the mansion of Justice Inglewood
The joy which that worthy magistrate received at this easy conclusion of a matter which threatened him with some trouble in his judicial capacity was somewhat damped by reflection on what his clerks views of the transaction might be at his return Now I shall have Jobson on my shoulders about these d—d papers—I doubt I should not have destroyed them after all—But hang it it is only paying his fees and that will make all smooth—And now Miss Die Vernon though I have liberated all the others I intend to sign a writ for committing you to the custody of Mother Blakes my old housekeeper for the evening and we will send for my neighbour Mrs Musgrave and the Miss Dawkins and your cousins and have old Cobs the fiddler and be as merry as the maids and Frank Osbaldistone and I will have a carouse that will make us fit company for you in halfanhour
Thanks most worshipful returned Miss Vernon but as matters stand we must return instantly to Osbaldistone Hall where they do not know what has become of us and relieve my uncle of his anxiety on my cousins account which is just the same as if one of his own sons were concerned
I believe it truly said the Justice for when his eldest son Archie came to a bad end in that unlucky affair of Sir John Fenwicks old Hildebrand used to hollo out his name as readily as any of the remaining six and then complain that he could not recollect which of his sons had been hanged So pray hasten home and relieve his paternal solicitude since go you must But hark thee hither heathblossom he said pulling her towards him by the hand and in a goodhumoured tone of admonition another time let the law take its course without putting your pretty finger into her old musty pie all full of fragments of law gibberish—French and dogLatin—And Die my beauty let young fellows show each other the way through the moors in case you should lose your own road while you are pointing out theirs my pretty Will o the Wisp
With this admonition he saluted and dismissed Miss Vernon and took an equally kind farewell of me
Thou seems to be a good tight lad Mr Frank and I remember thy father too—he was my playfellow at school Hark thee lad—ride early at night and dont swagger with chance passengers on the kings highway What man all the kings liege subjects are not bound to understand joking and its ill cracking jests on matters of felony And heres poor Die Vernon too—in a manner alone and deserted on the face of this wide earth and left to ride and run and scamper at her own silly pleasure Thou must be careful of Die or egad I will turn a young fellow again on purpose and fight thee myself although I must own it would be a great deal of trouble And now get ye both gone and leave me to my pipe of tobacco and my meditations for what says the song—
The Indian leaf doth briefly burn
So doth mans strength to weakness turn
The fire of youth extinguished quite
Comes age like embers dry and white
Think of this as you take tobacco
The lines here quoted belong to or were altered from a set of verses at one time very popular in England beginning Tobacco that is withered quite In Scotland the celebrated Ralph Erskine author of the Gospel Sonnets published what he called Smoking Spiritualized in two parts The first part being an Old Meditation upon Smoking Tobacco It begins—
This Indian weed now withered quite
Tho green at noon cut down at night
Shows thy decay
All flesh is hay
Thus thank and smoke tobacco
I was much pleased with the gleams of sense and feeling which escaped from the Justice through the vapours of sloth and selfindulgence assured him of my respect to his admonitions and took a friendly farewell of the honest magistrate and his hospitable mansion
We found a repast prepared for us in the anteroom which we partook of slightly and rejoined the same servant of Sir Hildebrand who had taken our horses at our entrance and who had been directed as he informed Miss Vernon by Mr Rashleigh to wait and attend upon us home We rode a little way in silence for to say truth my mind was too much bewildered with the events of the morning to permit me to be the first to break it At length Miss Vernon exclaimed as if giving vent to her own reflections Well Rashleigh is a man to be feared and wondered at and all but loved he does whatever he pleases and makes all others his puppets—has a player ready to perform every part which he imagines and an invention and readiness which supply expedients for every emergency
You think then said I answering rather to her meaning than to the express words she made use of that this Mr Campbell whose appearance was so opportune and who trussed up and carried off my accuser as a falcon trusses a partridge was an agent of Mr Rashleigh Osbaldistones
I do guess as much replied Diana and shrewdly suspect moreover that he would hardly have appeared so very much in the nick of time if I had not happened to meet Rashleigh in the hall at the Justices
In that case my thanks are chiefly due to you my fair preserver
To be sure they are returned Diana and pray suppose them paid and accepted with a gracious smile for I do not care to be troubled with hearing them in good earnest and am much more likely to yawn than to behave becoming In short Mr Frank I wished to serve you and I have fortunately been able to do so and have only one favour to ask in return and that is that you will say no more about it—But who comes here to meet us bloody with spurring fieryred with haste It is the subordinate man of law I think—no less than Mr Joseph Jobson
And Mr Joseph Jobson it proved to be in great haste and as it speedily appeared in most extreme bad humour He came up to us and stopped his horse as we were about to pass with a slight salutation
So sir—so Miss Vernon—ay I see well enough how it is—bail put in during my absence I suppose—I should like to know who drew the recognisance thats all If his worship uses this form of procedure often I advise him to get another clerk thats all for I shall certainly demit
Or suppose he get this present clerk stitched to his sleeve Mr Jobson said Diana would not that do as well And pray how does Farmer Rutledge Mr Jobson I hope you found him able to sign seal and deliver
This question seemed greatly to increase the wrath of the man of law He looked at Miss Vernon with such an air of spite and resentment as laid me under a strong temptation to knock him off his horse with the buttend of my whip which I only suppressed in consideration of his insignificance
Farmer Rutledge maam said the clerk as soon as his indignation permitted him to articulate Farmer Rutledge is in as handsome enjoyment of his health as you are—its all a bam maam—all a bamboozle and a bite that affair of his illness and if you did not know as much before you know it now maam
La you there now replied Miss Vernon with an affectation of extreme and simple wonder sure you dont say so Mr Jobson
But I do say so maam rejoined the incensed scribe and moreover I say that the old miserly clodbreaker called me pettifogger—pettifogger maam—and said I came to hunt for a job maam—which I have no more right to have said to me than any other gentleman of my profession maam—especially as I am clerk to the peace having and holding said office under Trigesimo Septimo Henrici Octavi and Primo Gulielmi the first of King William maam of glorious and immortal memory—our immortal deliverer from papists and pretenders and wooden shoes and warming pans Miss Vernon
Sad things these wooden shoes and warming pans retorted the young lady who seemed to take pleasure in augmenting his wrath—and it is a comfort you dont seem to want a warming pan at present Mr Jobson I am afraid Gaffer Rutledge has not confined his incivility to language—Are you sure he did not give you a beating
Beating maam—no—very shortly—no man alive shall beat me I promise you maam
That is according as you happen to merit sir said I for your mode of speaking to this young lady is so unbecoming that if you do not change your tone I shall think it worth while to chastise you myself
Chastise sir and—me sir—Do you know whom you speak to sir
Yes sir I replied you say yourself you are clerk of peace to the county and Gaffer Rutledge says you are a pettifogger and in neither capacity are you entitled to be impertinent to a young lady of fashion
Miss Vernon laid her hand on my arm and exclaimed Come Mr Osbaldistone I will have no assaults and battery on Mr Jobson I am not in sufficient charity with him to permit a single touch of your whip—why he would live on it for a term at least Besides you have already hurt his feelings sufficiently—you have called him impertinent
I dont value his language Miss said the clerk somewhat crestfallen besides impertinent is not an actionable word but pettifogger is slander in the highest degree and that I will make Gaffer Rutledge know to his cost and all who maliciously repeat the same to the breach of the public peace and the taking away of my private good name
Never mind that Mr Jobson said Miss Vernon you know where there is nothing your own law allows that the king himself must lose his rights and for the taking away of your good name I pity the poor fellow who gets it and wish you joy of losing it with all my heart
Very well maam—good evening maam—I have no more to say—only there are laws against papists which it would be well for the land were they better executed Theres third and fourth Edward VI of antiphoners missals grailes professionals manuals legends pies portuasses and those that have such trinkets in their possession Miss Vernon—and theres summoning of papists to take the oaths—and there are popish recusant convicts under the first of his present Majesty—ay and there are penalties for hearing mass—See twentythird of Queen Elizabeth and third James First chapter twentyfifth And there are estates to be registered and deeds and wills to be enrolled and double taxes to be made according to the acts in that case made and provided—
See the new edition of the Statutes at Large published under the careful revision of Joseph Jobson Gent Clerk of the Peace said Miss Vernon
Also and above all continued Jobson—for I speak to your warning—you Diana Vernon spinstress not being a femme couverte and being a convict popish recusant are bound to repair to your own dwelling and that by the nearest way under penalty of being held felon to the king—and diligently to seek for passage at common ferries and to tarry there but one ebb and flood and unless you can have it in such places to walk every day into the water up to the knees assaying to pass over
A sort of Protestant penance for my Catholic errors I suppose said Miss Vernon laughing—Well I thank you for the information Mr Jobson and will hie me home as fast as I can and be a better housekeeper in time coming Goodnight my dear Mr Jobson thou mirror of clerical courtesy
Goodnight maam and remember the law is not to be trifled with
And we rode on our separate ways
There he goes for a troublesome mischiefmaking tool said Miss Vernon as she gave a glance after him it is hard that persons of birth and rank and estate should be subjected to the official impertinence of such a paltry pickthank as that merely for believing as the whole world believed not much above a hundred years ago—for certainly our Catholic Faith has the advantage of antiquity at least
I was much tempted to have broken the rascals head I replied
You would have acted very like a hasty young man said Miss Vernon and yet had my own hand been an ounce heavier than it is I think I should have laid its weight upon him Well it does not signify complaining but there are three things for which I am much to be pitied if any one thought it worth while to waste any compassion upon me
And what are these three things Miss Vernon may I ask
Will you promise me your deepest sympathy if I tell you
Certainly—can you doubt it I replied closing my horse nearer to hers as I spoke with an expression of interest which I did not attempt to disguise
Well it is very seducing to be pitied after all so here are my three grievances In the first place I am a girl and not a young fellow and would be shut up in a madhouse if I did half the things that I have a mind to—and that if I had your happy prerogative of acting as you list would make all the world mad with imitating and applauding me
I cant quite afford you the sympathy you expect upon this score I replied the misfortune is so general that it belongs to one half of the species and the other half—
Are so much better cared for that they are jealous of their prerogatives interrupted Miss Vernon—I forgot you were a party interested Nay she said as I was going to speak that soft smile is intended to be the preface of a very pretty compliment respecting the peculiar advantages which Die Vernons friends and kinsmen enjoy by her being born one of their Helots but spare me the utterance my good friend and let us try whether we shall agree better on the second count of my indictment against fortune as that quilldriving puppy would call it I belong to an oppressed sect and antiquated religion and instead of getting credit for my devotion as is due to all good girls beside my kind friend Justice Inglewood may send me to the house of correction merely for worshipping God in the way of my ancestors and say as old Pembroke did to the Abbess of Wilton when he usurped her convent and establishment Go spin you jade—Go spin
Note F The Abbess of Wilton
This is not a cureless evil said I gravely Consult some of our learned divines or consult your own excellent understanding Miss Vernon and surely the particulars in which our religious creed differs from that in which you have been educated—
Hush said Diana placing her forefinger on her mouth—Hush no more of that Forsake the faith of my gallant fathers I would as soon were I a man forsake their banner when the tide of battle pressed hardest against it and turn like a hireling recreant to join the victorious enemy
I honour your spirit Miss Vernon and as to the inconveniences to which it exposes you I can only say that wounds sustained for the sake of conscience carry their own balsam with the blow
Ay but they are fretful and irritating for all that But I see hard of heart as you are my chance of beating hemp or drawing out flax into marvellous coarse thread affects you as little as my condemnation to coif and pinners instead of beaver and cockade so I will spare myself the fruitless pains of telling my third cause of vexation
Nay my dear Miss Vernon do not withdraw your confidence and I will promise you that the threefold sympathy due to your very unusual causes of distress shall be all duly and truly paid to account of the third providing you assure me that it is one which you neither share with all womankind nor even with every Catholic in England who God bless you are still a sect more numerous than we Protestants in our zeal for church and state would desire them to be
It is indeed said Diana with a manner greatly altered and more serious than I had yet seen her assume a misfortune that well merits compassion I am by nature as you may easily observe of a frank and unreserved disposition—a plain truehearted girl who would willingly act openly and honestly by the whole world and yet fate has involved me in such a series of nets and toils and entanglements that I dare hardly speak a word for fear of consequences—not to myself but to others
That is indeed a misfortune Miss Vernon which I do most sincerely compassionate but which I should hardly have anticipated
O Mr Osbaldistone if you but knew—if any one knew what difficulty I sometimes find in hiding an aching heart with a smooth brow you would indeed pity me I do wrong perhaps in speaking to you even thus far on my own situation but you are a young man of sense and penetration—you cannot but long to ask me a hundred questions on the events of this day—on the share which Rashleigh has in your deliverance from this petty scrape—upon many other points which cannot but excite your attention and I cannot bring myself to answer with the necessary falsehood and finesse—I should do it awkwardly and lose your good opinion if I have any share of it as well as my own It is best to say at once Ask me no questions—I have it not in my power to reply to them
Miss Vernon spoke these words with a tone of feeling which could not but make a corresponding impression upon me I assured her she had neither to fear my urging her with impertinent questions nor my misconstruing her declining to answer those which might in themselves be reasonable or at least natural
I was too much obliged I said by the interest she had taken in my affairs to misuse the opportunity her goodness had afforded me of prying into hers—I only trusted and entreated that if my services could at any time be useful she would command them without doubt or hesitation
Thank you—thank you she replied your voice does not ring the cuckoo chime of compliment but speaks like that of one who knows to what he pledges himself If—but it is impossible—but yet if an opportunity should occur I will ask you if you remember this promise and I assure you I shall not be angry if I find you have forgotten it for it is enough that you are sincere in your intentions just now—much may occur to alter them ere I call upon you should that moment ever come to assist Die Vernon as if you were Die Vernons brother
And if I were Die Vernons brother said I there could not be less chance that I should refuse my assistance—And now I am afraid I must not ask whether Rashleigh was willingly accessory to my deliverance
Not of me but you may ask it of himself and depend upon it he will say yes for rather than any good action should walk through the world like an unappropriated adjective in an illarranged sentence he is always willing to stand noun substantive to it himself
And I must not ask whether this Campbell be himself the party who eased Mr Morris of his portmanteau—or whether the letter which our friend the attorney received was not a finesse to withdraw him from the scene of action lest he should have marred the happy event of my deliverance And I must not ask—
You must ask nothing of me said Miss Vernon so it is quite in vain to go on putting cases You are to think just as well of me as if I had answered all these queries and twenty others besides as glibly as Rashleigh could have done and observe whenever I touch my chin just so it is a sign that I cannot speak upon the topic which happens to occupy your attention I must settle signals of correspondence with you because you are to be my confidant and my counsellor only you are to know nothing whatever of my affairs
Nothing can be more reasonable I replied laughing and the extent of your confidence will you may rely upon it only be equalled by the sagacity of my counsels
This sort of conversation brought us in the highest goodhumour with each other to Osbaldistone Hall where we found the family far advanced in the revels of the evening
Get some dinner for Mr Osbaldistone and me in the library said Miss Vernon to a servant—I must have some compassion upon you she added turning to me and provide against your starving in this mansion of brutal abundance otherwise I am not sure that I should show you my private haunts This same library is my den—the only corner of the Hallhouse where I am safe from the OurangOutangs my cousins They never venture there I suppose for fear the folios should fall down and crack their skulls for they will never affect their heads in any other way—So follow me
And I followed through hall and bower vaulted passage and winding stair until we reached the room where she had ordered our refreshments
CHAPTER TENTH
In the wide pile by others heeded not
Hers was one sacred solitary spot
Whose gloomy aisles and bending shelves contain
For moral hunger food and cures for moral pain
Anonymous
The library at Osbaldistone Hall was a gloomy room whose antique oaken shelves bent beneath the weight of the ponderous folios so dear to the seventeenth century from which under favour be it spoken we have distilled matter for our quartos and octavos and which once more subjected to the alembic may should our sons be yet more frivolous than ourselves be still farther reduced into duodecimos and pamphlets The collection was chiefly of the classics as well foreign as ancient history and above all divinity It was in wretched order The priests who in succession had acted as chaplains at the Hall were for many years the only persons who entered its precincts until Rashleighs thirst for reading had led him to disturb the venerable spiders who had muffled the fronts of the presses with their tapestry His destination for the church rendered his conduct less absurd in his fathers eyes than if any of his other descendants had betrayed so strange a propensity and Sir Hildebrand acquiesced in the library receiving some repairs so as to fit it for a sittingroom Still an air of dilapidation as obvious as it was uncomfortable pervaded the large apartment and announced the neglect from which the knowledge which its walls contained had not been able to exempt it The tattered tapestry the wormeaten shelves the huge and clumsy yet tottering tables desks and chairs the rusty grate seldom gladdened by either seacoal or faggots intimated the contempt of the lords of Osbaldistone Hall for learning and for the volumes which record its treasures
You think this place somewhat disconsolate I suppose said Diana as I glanced my eye round the forlorn apartment but to me it seems like a little paradise for I call it my own and fear no intrusion Rashleigh was joint proprietor with me while we were friends
And are you no longer so was my natural question Her forefinger immediately touched her dimpled chin with an arch look of prohibition
We are still allies she continued bound like other confederate powers by circumstances of mutual interest but I am afraid as will happen in other cases the treaty of alliance has survived the amicable dispositions in which it had its origin At any rate we live less together and when he comes through that door there I vanish through this door here and so having made the discovery that we two were one too many for this apartment as large as it seems Rashleigh whose occasions frequently call him elsewhere has generously made a cession of his rights in my favour so that I now endeavour to prosecute alone the studies in which he used formerly to be my guide
And what are those studies if I may presume to ask
Indeed you may without the least fear of seeing my forefinger raised to my chin Science and history are my principal favourites but I also study poetry and the classics
And the classics Do you read them in the original
Unquestionably Rashleigh who is no contemptible scholar taught me Greek and Latin as well as most of the languages of modern Europe I assure you there has been some pains taken in my education although I can neither sew a tucker nor work crossstitch nor make a pudding nor—as the vicars fat wife with as much truth as elegance goodwill and politeness was pleased to say in my behalf—do any other useful thing in the varsal world
And was this selection of studies Rashleighs choice or your own Miss Vernon I asked
Um said she as if hesitating to answer my question—Its not worth while lifting my finger about after all Why partly his and partly mine As I learned out of doors to ride a horse and bridle and saddle him in cue of necessity and to clear a fivebarred gate and fire a gun without winking and all other of those masculine accomplishments that my brute cousins run mad after I wanted like my rational cousin to read Greek and Latin within doors and make my complete approach to the tree of knowledge which you menscholars would engross to yourselves in revenge I suppose for our common mothers share in the great original transgression
And Rashleigh indulged your propensity to learning
Why he wished to have me for his scholar and he could but teach me that which he knew himself—he was not likely to instruct me in the mysteries of washing laceruffles or hemming cambric handkerchiefs I suppose
I admit the temptation of getting such a scholar and have no doubt that it made a weighty consideration on the tutors part
Oh if you begin to investigate Rashleighs motives my finger touches my chin once more I can only be frank where my own are inquired into But to resume—he has resigned the library in my favour and never enters without leave had and obtained and so I have taken the liberty to make it the place of deposit for some of my own goods and chattels as you may see by looking round you
I beg pardon Miss Vernon but I really see nothing around these walls which I can distinguish as likely to claim you as mistress
That is I suppose because you neither see a shepherd or shepherdess wrought in worsted and handsomely framed in black ebony or a stuffed parrot—or a breedingcage full of canary birds—or a housewifecase broidered with tarnished silver—or a toilettable with a nest of japanned boxes with as many angles as Christmas mincedpies—or a brokenbacked spinet—or a lute with three strings—or rockwork—or shellwork—or needlework or work of any kind—or a lapdog with a litter of blind puppies—None of these treasures do I possess she continued after a pause in order to recover the breath she had lost in enumerating them—But there stands the sword of my ancestor Sir Richard Vernon slain at Shrewsbury and sorely slandered by a sad fellow called Will Shakspeare whose Lancastrian partialities and a certain knack at embodying them has turned history upside down or rather inside out—and by that redoubted weapon hangs the mail of the still older Vernon squire to the Black Prince whose fate is the reverse of his descendants since he is more indebted to the bard who took the trouble to celebrate him for goodwill than for talents—
Amiddes the route you may discern one
Brave knight with pipes on shield ycleped Vernon
Like a borne fiend along the plain he thundered
Prest to be carving throtes while others plundered
Then there is a model of a new martingale which I invented myself—a great improvement on the Duke of Newcastles and there are the hood and bells of my falcon Cheviot who spitted himself on a herons bill at Horselymoss—poor Cheviot there is not a bird on the perches below but are kites and riflers compared to him and there is my own light fowlingpiece with an improved firelock with twenty other treasures each more valuable than another—And there that speaks for itself
She pointed to the carved oak frame of a fulllength portrait by Vandyke on which were inscribed in Gothic letters the words Vernon semper viret I looked at her for explanation Do you not know said she with some surprise our motto—the Vernon motto where
Like the solemn vice iniquity
We moralise two meanings in one word
And do you not know our cognisance the pipes pointing to the armorial bearings sculptured on the oaken scutcheon around which the legend was displayed
Pipes—they look more like pennywhistles—But pray do not be angry with my ignorance I continued observing the colour mount to her cheeks I can mean no affront to your armorial bearings for I do not even know my own
You an Osbaldistone and confess so much she exclaimed Why Percie Thornie John Dickon—Wilfred himself might be your instructor Even ignorance itself is a plummet over you
With shame I confess it my dear Miss Vernon the mysteries couched under the grim hieroglyphics of heraldry are to me as unintelligible as those of the pyramids of Egypt
What is it possible—Why even my uncle reads Gwillym sometimes of a winter night—Not know the figures of heraldry—of what could your father be thinking
Of the figures of arithmetic I answered the most insignificant unit of which he holds more highly than all the blazonry of chivalry But though I am ignorant to this inexpressible degree I have knowledge and taste enough to admire that splendid picture in which I think I can discover a family likeness to you What ease and dignity in the attitude—what richness of colouring—what breadth and depth of shade
Is it really a fine painting she asked
I have seen many works of the renowned artist I replied but never beheld one more to my liking
Well I know as little of pictures as you do of heraldry replied Miss Vernon yet I have the advantage of you because I have always admired the painting without understanding its value
While I have neglected pipes and tabors and all the whimsical combinations of chivalry still I am informed that they floated in the fields of ancient fame But you will allow their exterior appearance is not so peculiarly interesting to the uninformed spectator as that of a fine painting—Who is the person here represented
My grandfather He shared the misfortunes of Charles I and I am sorry to add the excesses of his son Our patrimonial estate was greatly impaired by his prodigality and was altogether lost by his successor my unfortunate father But peace be with them who have got it—it was lost in the cause of loyalty
Your father I presume suffered in the political dissensions of the period
He did indeed—he lost his all And hence is his child a dependent orphan—eating the bread of others—subjected to their caprices and compelled to study their inclinations yet prouder of having had such a father than if playing a more prudent but less upright part he had left me possessor of all the rich and fair baronies which his family once possessed
As she thus spoke the entrance of the servants with dinner cut off all conversation but that of a general nature
When our hasty meal was concluded and the wine placed on the table the domestic informed us that Mr Rashleigh had desired to be told when our dinner was removed
Tell him said Miss Vernon we shall be happy to see him if he will step this way—place another wineglass and chair and leave the room— You must retire with him when he goes away she continued addressing herself to me even my liberality cannot spare a gentleman above eight hours out of the twentyfour and I think we have been together for at least that length of time
The old scytheman has moved so rapidly I answered that I could not count his strides
Hush said Miss Vernon here comes Rashleigh and she drew off her chair to which I had approached mine rather closely so as to place a greater distance between us A modest tap at the door—a gentle manner of opening when invited to enter—a studied softness and humility of step and deportment announced that the education of Rashleigh Osbaldistone at the College of St Omers accorded well with the ideas I entertained of the manners of an accomplished Jesuit I need not add that as a sound Protestant these ideas were not the most favourable Why should you use the ceremony of knocking said Miss Vernon when you knew that I was not alone
This was spoken with a burst of impatience as if she had felt that Rashleighs air of caution and reserve covered some insinuation of impertinent suspicion You have taught me the form of knocking at this door so perfectly my fair cousin answered Rashleigh without change of voice or manner that habit has become a second nature
I prize sincerity more than courtesy sir and you know I do was Miss Vernons reply
Courtesy is a gallant gay a courtier by name and by profession replied Rashleigh and therefore most fit for a ladys bower
But Sincerity is the true knight retorted Miss Vernon and therefore much more welcome cousin But to end a debate not over amusing to your stranger kinsman sit down Rashleigh and give Mr Francis Osbaldistone your countenance to his glass of wine I have done the honours of the dinner for the credit of Osbaldistone Hall
Rashleigh sate down and filled his glass glancing his eye from Diana to me with an embarrassment which his utmost efforts could not entirely disguise I thought he appeared to be uncertain concerning the extent of confidence she might have reposed in me and hastened to lead the conversation into a channel which should sweep away his suspicion that Diana might have betrayed any secrets which rested between them Miss Vernon I said Mr Rashleigh has recommended me to return my thanks to you for my speedy disengagement from the ridiculous accusation of Morris and unjustly fearing my gratitude might not be warm enough to remind me of this duty she has put my curiosity on its side by referring me to you for an account or rather explanation of the events of the day
Indeed answered Rashleigh I should have thought looking keenly at Miss Vernon that the lady herself might have stood interpreter and his eye reverting from her face sought mine as if to search from the expression of my features whether Dianas communication had been as narrowly limited as my words had intimated Miss Vernon retorted his inquisitorial glance with one of decided scorn while I uncertain whether to deprecate or resent his obvious suspicion replied If it is your pleasure Mr Rashleigh as it has been Miss Vernons to leave me in ignorance I must necessarily submit but pray do not withhold your information from me on the ground of imagining that I have already obtained any on the subject For I tell you as a man of honour I am as ignorant as that picture of anything relating to the events I have witnessed today excepting that I understand from Miss Vernon that you have been kindly active in my favour
Miss Vernon has overrated my humble efforts said Rashleigh though I claim full credit for my zeal The truth is that as I galloped back to get some one of our family to join me in becoming your bail which was the most obvious or indeed I may say the only way of serving you which occurred to my stupidity I met the man Cawmil—Colville—Campbell or whatsoever they call him I had understood from Morris that he was present when the robbery took place and had the good fortune to prevail on him with some difficulty I confess to tender his evidence in your exculpation—which I presume was the means of your being released from an unpleasant situation
Indeed—I am much your debtor for procuring such a seasonable evidence in my behalf But I cannot see why having been as he said a fellowsufferer with Morris it should have required much trouble to persuade him to step forth and bear evidence whether to convict the actual robber or free an innocent person
You do not know the genius of that mans country sir answered Rashleigh—discretion prudence and foresight are their leading qualities these are only modified by a narrowspirited but yet ardent patriotism which forms as it were the outmost of the concentric bulwarks with which a Scotchman fortifies himself against all the attacks of a generous philanthropical principle Surmount this mound you find an inner and still dearer barrier—the love of his province his village or most probably his clan storm this second obstacle you have a third—his attachment to his own family—his father mother sons daughters uncles aunts and cousins to the ninth generation It is within these limits that a Scotchmans social affection expands itself never reaching those which are outermost till all means of discharging itself in the interior circles have been exhausted It is within these circles that his heart throbs each pulsation being fainter and fainter till beyond the widest boundary it is almost unfelt And what is worst of all could you surmount all these concentric outworks you have an inner citadel deeper higher and more efficient than them all—a Scotchmans love for himself
All this is extremely eloquent and metaphorical Rashleigh said Miss Vernon who listened with unrepressed impatience there are only two objections to it first it is not true secondly if true it is nothing to the purpose
It is true my fairest Diana returned Rashleigh and moreover it is most instantly to the purpose It is true because you cannot deny that I know the country and people intimately and the character is drawn from deep and accurate consideration—and it is to the purpose because it answers Mr Francis Osbaldistones question and shows why this same wary Scotchman considering our kinsman to be neither his countryman nor a Campbell nor his cousin in any of the inextricable combinations by which they extend their pedigree and above all seeing no prospect of personal advantage but on the contrary much hazard of loss of time and delay of business—
With other inconveniences perhaps of a nature yet more formidable interrupted Miss Vernon
Of which doubtless there might be many said Rashleigh continuing in the same tone—In short my theory shows why this man hoping for no advantage and afraid of some inconvenience might require a degree of persuasion ere he could be prevailed on to give his testimony in favour of Mr Osbaldistone
It seems surprising to me I observed that during the glance I cast over the declaration or whatever it is termed of Mr Morris he should never have mentioned that Campbell was in his company when he met the marauders
I understood from Campbell that he had taken his solemn promise not to mention that circumstance replied Rashleigh his reason for exacting such an engagement you may guess from what I have hinted—he wished to get back to his own country undelayed and unembarrassed by any of the judicial inquiries which he would have been under the necessity of attending had the fact of his being present at the robbery taken air while he was on this side of the Border But let him once be as distant as the Forth Morris will I warrant you come forth with all he knows about him and it may be a good deal more Besides Campbell is a very extensive dealer in cattle and has often occasion to send great droves into Northumberland and when driving such a trade he would be a great fool to embroil himself with our Northumbrian thieves than whom no men who live are more vindictive
I dare be sworn of that said Miss Vernon with a tone which implied something more than a simple acquiescence in the proposition
Still said I resuming the subject allowing the force of the reasons which Campbell might have for desiring that Morris should be silent with regard to his promise when the robbery was committed I cannot yet see how he could attain such an influence over the man as to make him suppress his evidence in that particular at the manifest risk of subjecting his story to discredit
Rashleigh agreed with me that it was very extraordinary and seemed to regret that he had not questioned the Scotchman more closely on that subject which he allowed looked extremely mysterious But he asked immediately after this acquiescence are you very sure the circumstance of Morriss being accompanied by Campbell is really not alluded to in his examination
I read the paper over hastily said I but it is my strong impression that no such circumstance is mentioned—at least it must have been touched on very slightly since it failed to catch my attention
True true answered Rashleigh forming his own inference while he adopted my words I incline to think with you that the circumstance must in reality have been mentioned but so slightly that it failed to attract your attention And then as to Campbells interest with Morris I incline to suppose that it must have been gained by playing upon his fears This chickenhearted fellow Morris is bound I understand for Scotland destined for some little employment under Government and possessing the courage of the wrathful dove or most magnanimous mouse he may have been afraid to encounter the illwill of such a killcow as Campbell whose very appearance would be enough to fright him out of his little wits You observed that Mr Campbell has at times a keen and animated manner—something of a martial cast in his tone and bearing
I own I replied that his expression struck me as being occasionally fierce and sinister and little adapted to his peaceable professions Has he served in the army
Yes—no—not strictly speaking served but he has been I believe like most of his countrymen trained to arms Indeed among the hills they carry them from boyhood to the grave So if you know anything of your fellowtraveller you will easily judge that going to such a country he will take cue to avoid a quarrel if he can help it with any of the natives But come I see you decline your wine—and I too am a degenerate Osbaldistone so far as respects the circulation of the bottle If you will go to my room I will hold you a hand at piquet
We rose to take leave of Miss Vernon who had from time to time suppressed apparently with difficulty a strong temptation to break in upon Rashleighs details As we were about to leave the room the smothered fire broke forth
Mr Osbaldistone she said your own observation will enable you to verify the justice or injustice of Rashleighs suggestions concerning such individuals as Mr Campbell and Mr Morris But in slandering Scotland he has borne false witness against a whole country and I request you will allow no weight to his evidence
Perhaps I answered I may find it somewhat difficult to obey your injunction Miss Vernon for I must own I was bred up with no very favourable idea of our northern neighbours
Distrust that part of your education sir she replied and let the daughter of a Scotchwoman pray you to respect the land which gave her parent birth until your own observation has proved them to be unworthy of your good opinion Preserve your hatred and contempt for dissimulation baseness and falsehood wheresoever they are to be met with You will find enough of all without leaving England—Adieu gentlemen I wish you good evening
And she signed to the door with the manner of a princess dismissing her train
We retired to Rashleighs apartment where a servant brought us coffee and cards I had formed my resolution to press Rashleigh no farther on the events of the day A mystery and as I thought not of a favourable complexion appeared to hang over his conduct but to ascertain if my suspicions were just it was necessary to throw him off his guard We cut for the deal and were soon earnestly engaged in our play I thought I perceived in this trifling for amusement for the stake which Rashleigh proposed was a mere trifle something of a fierce and ambitious temper He seemed perfectly to understand the beautiful game at which he played but preferred as it were on principle the risking bold and precarious strokes to the ordinary rules of play and neglecting the minor and betterbalanced chances of the game he hazarded everything for the chance of piqueing repiqueing or capoting his adversary So soon as the intervention of a game or two at piquet like the music between the acts of a drama had completely interrupted our previous course of conversation Rashleigh appeared to tire of the game and the cards were superseded by discourse in which he assumed the lead
More learned than soundly wise—better acquainted with mens minds than with the moral principles that ought to regulate them he had still powers of conversation which I have rarely seen equalled never excelled Of this his manner implied some consciousness at least it appeared to me that he had studied hard to improve his natural advantages of a melodious voice fluent and happy expression apt language and fervid imagination He was never loud never overbearing never so much occupied with his own thoughts as to outrun either the patience or the comprehension of those he conversed with His ideas succeeded each other with the gentle but unintermitting flow of a plentiful and bounteous spring while I have heard those of others who aimed at distinction in conversation rush along like the turbid gush from the sluice of a millpond as hurried and as easily exhausted It was late at night ere I could part from a companion so fascinating and when I gained my own apartment it cost me no small effort to recall to my mind the character of Rashleigh such as I had pictured him previous to this teteatete
So effectual my dear Tresham does the sense of being pleased and amused blunt our faculties of perception and discrimination of character that I can only compare it to the taste of certain fruits at once luscious and poignant which renders our palate totally unfit for relishing or distinguishing the viands which are subsequently subjected to its criticism
CHAPTER ELEVENTH
What gars ye gaunt my merrymen a
What gars ye look sae dreary
What gars ye hing your head sae sair
In the castle of Balwearie
Old Scotch Ballad
The next morning chanced to be Sunday a day peculiarly hard to be got rid of at Osbaldistone Hall for after the formal religious service of the morning had been performed at which all the family regularly attended it was hard to say upon which individual Rashleigh and Miss Vernon excepted the fiend of ennui descended with the most abundant outpouring of his spirit To speak of my yesterdays embarrassment amused Sir Hildebrand for several minutes and he congratulated me on my deliverance from Morpeth or Hexham jail as he would have done if I had fallen in attempting to clear a fivebarred gate and got up without hurting myself
Hast had a lucky turn lad but do na be over venturous again What man the kings road is free to all men be they Whigs be they Tories
On my word sir I am innocent of interrupting it and it is the most provoking thing on earth that every person will take it for granted that I am accessory to a crime which I despise and detest and which would moreover deservedly forfeit my life to the laws of my country
Well well lad even so be it I ask no questions—no man bound to tell on himsell—thats fair play or the devils int
Rashleigh here came to my assistance but I could not help thinking that his arguments were calculated rather as hints to his father to put on a show of acquiescence in my declaration of innocence than fully to establish it
In your own house my dear sir—and your own nephew—you will not surely persist in hurting his feelings by seeming to discredit what he is so strongly interested in affirming No doubt you are fully deserving of all his confidence and I am sure were there anything you could do to assist him in this strange affair he would have recourse to your goodness But my cousin Frank has been dismissed as an innocent man and no one is entitled to suppose him otherwise For my part I have not the least doubt of his innocence and our family honour I conceive requires that we should maintain it with tongue and sword against the whole country
Rashleigh said his father looking fixedly at him thou art a sly loon—thou hast ever been too cunning for me and too cunning for most folks Have a care thou provena too cunning for thysell—two faces under one hood is no true heraldry And since we talk of heraldry Ill go and read Gwillym
This resolution he intimated with a yawn resistless as that of the Goddess in the Dunciad which was responsively echoed by his giant sons as they dispersed in quest of the pastimes to which their minds severally inclined them—Percie to discuss a pot of March beer with the steward in the buttery—Thorncliff to cut a pair of cudgels and fix them in their wicker hilts—John to dress Mayflies—Dickon to play at pitch and toss by himself his right hand against his left—and Wilfred to bite his thumbs and hum himself into a slumber which should last till dinnertime if possible Miss Vernon had retired to the library
Rashleigh and I were left alone in the old hall from which the servants with their usual bustle and awkwardness had at length contrived to hurry the remains of our substantial breakfast I took the opportunity to upbraid him with the manner in which he had spoken of my affair to his father which I frankly stated was highly offensive to me as it seemed rather to exhort Sir Hildebrand to conceal his suspicions than to root them out
Why what can I do my dear friend replied Rashleigh my fathers disposition is so tenacious of suspicions of all kinds when once they take root which to do him justice does not easily happen that I have always found it the best way to silence him upon such subjects instead of arguing with him Thus I get the better of the weeds which I cannot eradicate by cutting them over as often as they appear until at length they die away of themselves There is neither wisdom nor profit in disputing with such a mind as Sir Hildebrands which hardens itself against conviction and believes in its own inspirations as firmly as we good Catholics do in those of the Holy Father of Rome
It is very hard though that I should live in the house of a man and he a near relation too who will persist in believing me guilty of a highway robbery
My fathers foolish opinion if one may give that epithet to any opinion of a fathers does not affect your real innocence and as to the disgrace of the fact depend on it that considered in all its bearings political as well as moral Sir Hildebrand regards it as a meritorious action—a weakening of the enemy—a spoiling of the Amalekites and you will stand the higher in his regard for your supposed accession to it
I desire no mans regard Mr Rashleigh on such terms as must sink me in my own and I think these injurious suspicions will afford a very good reason for quitting Osbaldistone Hall which I shall do whenever I can communicate on the subject with my father
The dark countenance of Rashleigh though little accustomed to betray its masters feelings exhibited a suppressed smile which he instantly chastened by a sigh You are a happy man Frank—you go and come as the wind bloweth where it listeth With your address taste and talents you will soon find circles where they will be more valued than amid the dull inmates of this mansion while I— he paused
And what is there in your lot that can make you or any one envy mine—an outcast as I may almost term myself from my fathers house and favour
Ay but answered Rashleigh consider the gratified sense of independence which you must have attained by a very temporary sacrifice—for such I am sure yours will prove to be consider the power of acting as a free agent of cultivating your own talents in the way to which your taste determines you and in which you are well qualified to distinguish yourself Fame and freedom are cheaply purchased by a few weeks residence in the North even though your place of exile be Osbaldistone Hall A second Ovid in Thrace you have not his reasons for writing Tristia
I do not know said I blushing as became a young scribbler how you should be so well acquainted with my truant studies
There was an emissary of your fathers here some time since a young coxcomb one Twineall who informed me concerning your secret sacrifices to the muses and added that some of your verses had been greatly admired by the best judges
Tresham I believe you are guiltless of having ever essayed to build the lofty rhyme but you must have known in your day many an apprentice and fellowcraft if not some of the mastermasons in the temple of Apollo Vanity is their universal foible from him who decorated the shades of Twickenham to the veriest scribbler whom he has lashed in his Dunciad I had my own share of this common failing and without considering how little likely this young fellow Twineall was by taste and habits either to be acquainted with one or two little pieces of poetry which I had at times insinuated into Buttons coffeehouse or to report the opinion of the critics who frequented that resort of wit and literature I almost instantly gorged the bait which Rashleigh perceiving improved his opportunity by a diffident yet apparently very anxious request to be permitted to see some of my manuscript productions
You shall give me an evening in my own apartment he continued for I must soon lose the charms of literary society for the drudgery of commerce and the coarse everyday avocations of the world I repeat it that my compliance with my fathers wishes for the advantage of my family is indeed a sacrifice especially considering the calm and peaceful profession to which my education destined me
I was vain but not a fool and this hypocrisy was too strong for me to swallow You would not persuade me I replied that you really regret to exchange the situation of an obscure Catholic priest with all its privations for wealth and society and the pleasures of the world
Rashleigh saw that he had coloured his affectation of moderation too highly and after a seconds pause during which I suppose he calculated the degree of candour which it was necessary to use with me that being a quality of which he was never needlessly profuse he answered with a smile—At my age to be condemned as you say to wealth and the world does not indeed sound so alarming as perhaps it ought to do But with pardon be it spoken you have mistaken my destination—a Catholic priest if you will but not an obscure one No sir—Rashleigh Osbaldistone will be more obscure should he rise to be the richest citizen in London than he might have been as a member of a church whose ministers as some one says set their sandalld feet on princes My family interest at a certain exiled court is high and the weight which that court ought to possess and does possess at Rome is yet higher—my talents not altogether inferior to the education I have received In sober judgment I might have looked forward to high eminence in the church—in the dream of fancy to the very highest Why might not—he added laughing for it was part of his manner to keep much of his discourse apparently betwixt jest and earnest—why might not Cardinal Osbaldistone have swayed the fortunes of empires wellborn and wellconnected as well as the lowborn Mazarin or Alberoni the son of an Italian gardener
Nay I can give you no reason to the contrary but in your place I should not much regret losing the chance of such precarious and invidious elevation
Neither would I he replied were I sure that my present establishment was more certain but that must depend upon circumstances which I can only learn by experience—the disposition of your father for example
Confess the truth without finesse Rashleigh you would willingly know something of him from me
Since like Die Vernon you make a point of following the banner of the good knight Sincerity I reply—certainly
Well then you will find in my father a man who has followed the paths of thriving more for the exercise they afforded to his talents than for the love of the gold with which they are strewed His active mind would have been happy in any situation which gave it scope for exertion though that exertion had been its sole reward But his wealth has accumulated because moderate and frugal in his habits no new sources of expense have occurred to dispose of his increasing income He is a man who hates dissimulation in others never practises it himself and is peculiarly alert in discovering motives through the colouring of language Himself silent by habit he is readily disgusted by great talkers the rather that the circumstances by which he is most interested afford no great scope for conversation He is severely strict in the duties of religion but you have no reason to fear his interference with yours for he regards toleration as a sacred principle of political economy But if you have any Jacobitical partialities as is naturally to be supposed you will do well to suppress them in his presence as well as the least tendency to the highflying or Tory principles for he holds both in utter detestation For the rest his word is his own bond and must be the law of all who act under him He will fail in his duty to no one and will permit no one to fail towards him to cultivate his favour you must execute his commands instead of echoing his sentiments His greatest failings arise out of prejudices connected with his own profession or rather his exclusive devotion to it which makes him see little worthy of praise or attention unless it be in some measure connected with commerce
O rarepainted portrait exclaimed Rashleigh when I was silent—Vandyke was a dauber to you Frank I see thy sire before me in all his strength and weakness loving and honouring the King as a sort of lord mayor of the empire or chief of the board of trade—venerating the Commons for the acts regulating the export trade—and respecting the Peers because the Lord Chancellor sits on a woolsack
Mine was a likeness Rashleigh yours is a caricature But in return for the carte du pays which I have unfolded to you give me some lights on the geography of the unknown lands—
On which you are wrecked said Rashleigh It is not worth while it is no Isle of Calypso umbrageous with shade and intricate with silvan labyrinth—but a bare ragged Northumbrian moor with as little to interest curiosity as to delight the eye you may descry it in all its nakedness in half an hours survey as well as if I were to lay it down before you by line and compass
O but something there is worthy a more attentive survey—What say you to Miss Vernon Does not she form an interesting object in the landscape were all round as rude as Icelands coast
I could plainly perceive that Rashleigh disliked the topic now presented to him but my frank communication had given me the advantageous title to make inquiries in my turn Rashleigh felt this and found himself obliged to follow my lead however difficult he might find it to play his cards successfully I have known less of Miss Vernon he said for some time than I was wont to do formerly In early age I was her tutor but as she advanced towards womanhood my various avocations—the gravity of the profession to which I was destined—the peculiar nature of her engagements—our mutual situation in short rendered a close and constant intimacy dangerous and improper I believe Miss Vernon might consider my reserve as unkindness but it was my duty I felt as much as she seemed to do when compelled to give way to prudence But where was the safety in cultivating an intimacy with a beautiful and susceptible girl whose heart you are aware must be given either to the cloister or to a betrothed husband
The cloister or a betrothed husband I echoed—Is that the alternative destined for Miss Vernon
It is indeed said Rashleigh with a sigh I need not I suppose caution you against the danger of cultivating too closely the friendship of Miss Vernon—you are a man of the world and know how far you can indulge yourself in her society with safety to yourself and justice to her But I warn you that considering her ardent temper you must let your experience keep guard over her as well as yourself for the specimen of yesterday may serve to show her extreme thoughtlessness and neglect of decorum
There was something I was sensible of truth as well as good sense in all this it seemed to be given as a friendly warning and I had no right to take it amiss yet I felt I could with pleasure have run Rashleigh Osbaldistone through the body all the time he was speaking
The deuce take his insolence was my internal meditation Would he wish me to infer that Miss Vernon had fallen in love with that hatchetface of his and become degraded so low as to require his shyness to cure her of an imprudent passion I will have his meaning from him was my resolution if I should drag it out with cartropes
For this purpose I placed my temper under as accurate a guard as I could and observed That for a lady of her good sense and acquired accomplishments it was to be regretted that Miss Vernons manners were rather blunt and rustic
Frank and unreserved at least to the extreme replied Rashleigh yet trust me she has an excellent heart To tell you the truth should she continue her extreme aversion to the cloister and to her destined husband and should my own labours in the mine of Plutus promise to secure me a decent independence I shall think of reviewing our acquaintance and sharing it with Miss Vernon
With all his fine voice and wellturned periods thought I this same Rashleigh Osbaldistone is the ugliest and most conceited coxcomb I ever met with
But continued Rashleigh as if thinking aloud I should not like to supplant Thorncliff
Supplant Thorncliff—Is your brother Thorncliff I inquired with great surprise the destined husband of Diana Vernon
Why ay her fathers commands and a certain familycontract destined her to marry one of Sir Hildebrands sons A dispensation has been obtained from Rome to Diana Vernon to marry Blank Osbaldistone Esq son of Sir Hildebrand Osbaldistone of Osbaldistone Hall Bart and so forth and it only remains to pitch upon the happy man whose name shall fill the gap in the manuscript Now as Percie is seldom sober my father pitched on Thorncliff as the second prop of the family and therefore most proper to carry on the line of the Osbaldistones
The young lady said I forcing myself to assume an air of pleasantry which I believe became me extremely ill would perhaps have been inclined to look a little lower on the familytree for the branch to which she was desirous of clinging
I cannot say he replied There is room for little choice in our family Dick is a gambler John a boor and Wilfred an ass I believe my father really made the best selection for poor Die after all
The present company said I being always excepted
Oh my destination to the church placed me out of the question otherwise I will not affect to say that qualified by my education both to instruct and guide Miss Vernon I might not have been a more creditable choice than any of my elders
And so thought the young lady doubtless
You are not to suppose so answered Rashleigh with an affectation of denial which was contrived to convey the strongest affirmation the case admitted of friendship—only friendship—formed the tie betwixt us and the tender affection of an opening mind to its only instructor—Love came not near us—I told you I was wise in time
I felt little inclination to pursue this conversation any farther and shaking myself clear of Rashleigh withdrew to my own apartment which I recollect I traversed with much vehemence of agitation repeating aloud the expressions which had most offended me—Susceptible—ardent—tender affection—Love—Diana Vernon the most beautiful creature I ever beheld in love with him the bandylegged bullnecked limping scoundrel Richard the Third in all but his humpback—And yet the opportunities he must have had during his cursed course of lectures and the fellows flowing and easy strain of sentiment and her extreme seclusion from every one who spoke and acted with common sense ay and her obvious pique at him mixed with admiration of his talents which looked as like the result of neglected attachment as anything else—Well and what is it to me that I should storm and rage at it Is Diana Vernon the first pretty girl that has loved and married an ugly fellow And if she were free of every Osbaldistone of them what concern is it of mine—a Catholic—a Jacobite—a termagant into the boot—for me to look that way were utter madness
By throwing such reflections on the flame of my displeasure I subdued it into a sort of smouldering heartburning and appeared at the dinnertable in as sulky a humour as could well be imagined
CHAPTER TWELFTH
Drunk—and speak parrot—and squabble—swagger—
Swear—and discourse fustian with ones own shadow
Othello
I have already told you my dear Tresham what probably was no news to you that my principal fault was an unconquerable pitch of pride which exposed me to frequent mortification I had not even whispered to myself that I loved Diana Vernon yet no sooner did I hear Rashleigh talk of her as a prize which he might stoop to carry off or neglect at his pleasure than every step which the poor girl had taken in the innocence and openness of her heart to form a sort of friendship with me seemed in my eyes the most insulting coquetry—Soh she would secure me as a pis aller I suppose in case Mr Rashleigh Osbaldistone should not take compassion upon her But I will satisfy her that I am not a person to be trepanned in that manner—I will make her sensible that I see through her arts and that I scorn them
I did not reflect for a moment that all this indignation which I had no right whatever to entertain proved that I was anything but indifferent to Miss Vernons charms and I sate down to table in high illhumour with her and all the daughters of Eve
Miss Vernon heard me with surprise return ungracious answers to one or two playful strokes of satire which she threw out with her usual freedom of speech but having no suspicion that offence was meant she only replied to my rude repartees with jests somewhat similar but polished by her good temper though pointed by her wit At length she perceived I was really out of humour and answered one of my rude speeches thus—
They say Mr Frank that one may gather sense from fools—I heard cousin Wilfred refuse to play any longer at cudgels the other day with cousin Thornie because cousin Thornie got angry and struck harder than the rules of amicable combat it seems permitted Were I to break your head in good earnest quoth honest Wilfred I care not how angry you are for I should do it so much the more easily but its hard I should get raps over the costard and only pay you back in makebelieves—Do you understand the moral of this Frank
I have never felt myself under the necessity madam of studying how to extract the slender portion of sense with which this family season their conversation
Necessity and madam—You surprise me Mr Osbaldistone
I am unfortunate in doing so
Am I to suppose that this capricious tone is serious or is it only assumed to make your goodhumour more valuable
You have a right to the attention of so many gentlemen in this family Miss Vernon that it cannot be worth your while to inquire into the cause of my stupidity and bad spirits
What she said am I to understand then that you have deserted my faction and gone over to the enemy
Then looking across the table and observing that Rashleigh who was seated opposite was watching us with a singular expression of interest on his harsh features she continued—
Horrible thought—Ay now I see tis true
For the grimvisaged Rashleigh smiles on me
And points at thee for his—
Well thank Heaven and the unprotected state which has taught me endurance I do not take offence easily and that I may not be forced to quarrel whether I like it or no I have the honour earlier than usual to wish you a happy digestion of your dinner and your bad humour
And she left the table accordingly
Upon Miss Vernons departure I found myself very little satisfied with my own conduct I had hurled back offered kindness of which circumstances had but lately pointed out the honest sincerity and I had but just stopped short of insulting the beautiful and as she had said with some emphasis the unprotected being by whom it was proffered My conduct seemed brutal in my own eyes To combat or drown these painful reflections I applied myself more frequently than usual to the wine which circulated on the table
The agitated state of my feelings combined with my habits of temperance to give rapid effect to the beverage Habitual topers I believe acquire the power of soaking themselves with a quantity of liquor that does little more than muddy those intellects which in their sober state are none of the clearest but men who are strangers to the vice of drunkenness as a habit are more powerfully acted upon by intoxicating liquors My spirits once aroused became extravagant I talked a great deal argued upon what I knew nothing of told stories of which I forgot the point then laughed immoderately at my own forgetfulness I accepted several bets without having the least judgment I challenged the giant John to wrestle with me although he had kept the ring at Hexham for a year and I never tried so much as a single fall
My uncle had the goodness to interpose and prevent this consummation of drunken folly which I suppose would have otherwise ended in my neck being broken
It has even been reported by maligners that I sung a song while under this vinous influence but as I remember nothing of it and never attempted to turn a tune in all my life before or since I would willingly hope there is no actual foundation for the calumny I was absurd enough without this exaggeration Without positively losing my senses I speedily lost all command of my temper and my impetuous passions whirled me onward at their pleasure I had sate down sulky and discontented and disposed to be silent—the wine rendered me loquacious disputatious and quarrelsome I contradicted whatever was asserted and attacked without any respect to my uncles table both his politics and his religion The affected moderation of Rashleigh which he well knew how to qualify with irritating ingredients was even more provoking to me than the noisy and bullying language of his obstreperous brothers My uncle to do him justice endeavoured to bring us to order but his authority was lost amidst the tumult of wine and passion At length frantic at some real or supposed injurious insinuation I actually struck Rashleigh with my fist No Stoic philosopher superior to his own passion and that of others could have received an insult with a higher degree of scorn What he himself did not think it apparently worth while to resent Thorncliff resented for him Swords were drawn and we exchanged one or two passes when the other brothers separated us by main force and I shall never forget the diabolical sneer which writhed Rashleighs wayward features as I was forced from the apartment by the main strength of two of these youthful Titans They secured me in my apartment by locking the door and I heard them to my inexpressible rage laugh heartily as they descended the stairs I essayed in my fury to break out but the windowgrates and the strength of a door clenched with iron resisted my efforts At length I threw myself on my bed and fell asleep amidst vows of dire revenge to be taken in the ensuing day
But with the morning cool repentance came I felt in the keenest manner the violence and absurdity of my conduct and was obliged to confess that wine and passion had lowered my intellects even below those of Wilfred Osbaldistone whom I held in so much contempt My uncomfortable reflections were by no means soothed by meditating the necessity of an apology for my improper behaviour and recollecting that Miss Vernon must be a witness of my submission The impropriety and unkindness of my conduct to her personally added not a little to these galling considerations and for this I could not even plead the miserable excuse of intoxication
Under all these aggravating feelings of shame and degradation I descended to the breakfast hall like a criminal to receive sentence It chanced that a hard frost had rendered it impossible to take out the hounds so that I had the additional mortification to meet the family excepting only Rashleigh and Miss Vernon in full divan surrounding the cold venison pasty and chine of beef They were in high glee as I entered and I could easily imagine that the jests were furnished at my expense In fact what I was disposed to consider with serious pain was regarded as an excellent good joke by my uncle and the greater part of my cousins Sir Hildebrand while he rallied me on the exploits of the preceding evening swore he thought a young fellow had better be thrice drunk in one day than sneak sober to bed like a Presbyterian and leave a batch of honest fellows and a double quart of claret And to back this consolatory speech he poured out a large bumper of brandy exhorting me to swallow a hair of the dog that had bit me
Never mind these lads laughing nevoy he continued they would have been all as great milksops as yourself had I not nursed them as one may say on the toast and tankard
Illnature was not the fault of my cousins in general they saw I was vexed and hurt at the recollections of the preceding evening and endeavoured with clumsy kindness to remove the painful impression they had made on me Thorncliff alone looked sullen and unreconciled This young man had never liked me from the beginning and in the marks of attention occasionally shown me by his brothers awkward as they were he alone had never joined If it was true of which however I began to have my doubts that he was considered by the family or regarded himself as the destined husband of Miss Vernon a sentiment of jealousy might have sprung up in his mind from the marked predilection which it was that young ladys pleasure to show for one whom Thorncliff might perhaps think likely to become a dangerous rival
Rashleigh at last entered his visage as dark as mourning weed—brooding I could not but doubt over the unjustifiable and disgraceful insult I had offered to him I had already settled in my own mind how I was to behave on the occasion and had schooled myself to believe that true honour consisted not in defending but in apologising for an injury so much disproportioned to any provocation I might have to allege
I therefore hastened to meet Rashleigh and to express myself in the highest degree sorry for the violence with which I had acted on the preceding evening No circumstances I said could have wrung from me a single word of apology save my own consciousness of the impropriety of my behaviour I hoped my cousin would accept of my regrets so sincerely offered and consider how much of my misconduct was owing to the excessive hospitality of Osbaldistone Hall
He shall be friends with thee lad cried the honest knight in the full effusion of his heart or d—n me if I call him son more—Why Rashie dost stand there like a log Sorry for it is all a gentleman can say if he happens to do anything awry especially over his claret I served in Hounslow and should know something I think of affairs of honour Let me hear no more of this and well go in a body and rummage out the badger in Birkenwoodbank
Rashleighs face resembled as I have already noticed no other countenance that I ever saw But this singularity lay not only in the features but in the mode of changing their expression Other countenances in altering from grief to joy or from anger to satisfaction pass through some brief interval ere the expression of the predominant passion supersedes entirely that of its predecessor There is a sort of twilight like that between the clearing up of the darkness and the rising of the sun while the swollen muscles subside the dark eye clears the forehead relaxes and expands itself and the whole countenance loses its sterner shades and becomes serene and placid Rashleighs face exhibited none of these gradations but changed almost instantaneously from the expression of one passion to that of the contrary I can compare it to nothing but the sudden shifting of a scene in the theatre where at the whistle of the prompter a cavern disappears and a grove arises
My attention was strongly arrested by this peculiarity on the present occasion At Rashleighs first entrance black he stood as night With the same inflexible countenance he heard my excuse and his fathers exhortation and it was not until Sir Hildebrand had done speaking that the cloud cleared away at once and he expressed in the kindest and most civil terms his perfect satisfaction with the very handsome apology I had offered
Indeed he said I have so poor a brain myself when I impose on it the least burden beyond my usual three glasses that I have only like honest Cassio a very vague recollection of the confusion of last night—remember a mass of things but nothing distinctly—a quarrel but nothing wherefore—So my dear Cousin he continued shaking me kindly by the hand conceive how much I am relieved by finding that I have to receive an apology instead of having to make one—I will not have a word said upon the subject more I should be very foolish to institute any scrutiny into an account when the balance which I expected to be against me has been so unexpectedly and agreeably struck in my favour You see Mr Osbaldistone I am practising the language of Lombard Street and qualifying myself for my new calling
As I was about to answer and raised my eyes for the purpose they encountered those of Miss Vernon who having entered the room unobserved during the conversation had given it her close attention Abashed and confounded I fixed my eyes on the ground and made my escape to the breakfasttable where I herded among my busy cousins
My uncle that the events of the preceding day might not pass out of our memory without a practical moral lesson took occasion to give Rashleigh and me his serious advice to correct our milksop habits as he termed them and gradually to inure our brains to bear a gentlemanlike quantity of liquor without brawls or breaking of heads He recommended that we should begin piddling with a regular quart of claret per day which with the aid of March beer and brandy made a handsome competence for a beginner in the art of toping And for our encouragement he assured us that he had known many a man who had lived to our years without having drunk a pint of wine at a sitting who yet by falling into honest company and following hearty example had afterwards been numbered among the best good fellows of the time and could carry off their six bottles under their belt quietly and comfortably without brawling or babbling and be neither sick nor sorry the next morning
Sage as this advice was and comfortable as was the prospect it held out to me I profited but little by the exhortation—partly perhaps because as often as I raised my eyes from the table I observed Miss Vernons looks fixed on me in which I thought I could read grave compassion blended with regret and displeasure I began to consider how I should seek a scene of explanation and apology with her also when she gave me to understand she was determined to save me the trouble of soliciting an interview Cousin Francis she said addressing me by the same title she used to give to the other Osbaldistones although I had properly speaking no title to be called her kinsman I have encountered this morning a difficult passage in the Divina Commedia of Dante will you have the goodness to step to the library and give me your assistance and when you have unearthed for me the meaning of the obscure Florentine we will join the rest at Birkenwoodbank and see their luck at unearthing the badger
I signified of course my readiness to wait upon her Rashleigh made an offer to accompany us I am something better skilled he said at tracking the sense of Dante through the metaphors and elisions of his wild and gloomy poem than at hunting the poor inoffensive hermit yonder out of his cave
Pardon me Rashleigh said Miss Vernon but as you are to occupy Mr Franciss place in the countinghouse you must surrender to him the charge of your pupils education at Osbaldistone Hall We shall call you in however if there is any occasion so pray do not look so grave upon it Besides it is a shame to you not to understand fieldsports—What will you do should our uncle in CraneAlley ask you the signs by which you track a badger
Ay true Die—true said Sir Hildebrand with a sigh I misdoubt Rashleigh will be found short at the leap when he is put to the trial An he would ha learned useful knowledge like his brothers he was bred up where it grew I wuss but French antics and booklearning with the new turnips and the rats and the Hanoverians ha changed the world that I ha known in Old England—But come along with us Rashie and carry my huntingstaff man thy cousin lacks none of thy company as now and I wonna ha Die crossed—Its neer be said there was but one woman in Osbaldistone Hall and she died for lack of her will
Rashleigh followed his father as he commanded not however ere he had whispered to Diana I suppose I must in discretion bring the courtier Ceremony in my company and knock when I approach the door of the library
No no Rashleigh said Miss Vernon dismiss from your company the false archimage Dissimulation and it will better ensure your free access to our classical consultations
So saying she led the way to the library and I followed—like a criminal I was going to say to execution but as I bethink me I have used the simile once if not twice before Without any simile at all then I followed with a sense of awkward and conscious embarrassment which I would have given a great deal to shake off I thought it a degrading and unworthy feeling to attend one on such an occasion having breathed the air of the Continent long enough to have imbibed the notion that lightness gallantry and something approaching to wellbred selfassurance should distinguish the gentleman whom a fair lady selects for her companion in a teteatete
My English feelings however were too many for my French education and I made I believe a very pitiful figure when Miss Vernon seating herself majestically in a huge elbowchair in the library like a judge about to hear a cause of importance signed to me to take a chair opposite to her which I did much like the poor fellow who is going to be tried and entered upon conversation in a tone of bitter irony
CHAPTER THIRTEENTH
Dire was his thought who first in poison steeped
The weapon formed for slaughter—direr his
And worthier of damnation who instilled
The mortal venom in the social cup
To fill the veins with death instead of life
Anonymous
Upon my Word Mr Francis Osbaldistone said Miss Vernon with the air of one who thought herself fully entitled to assume the privilege of ironical reproach which she was pleased to exert your character improves upon us sir—I could not have thought that it was in you Yesterday might be considered as your assaypiece to prove yourself entitled to be free of the corporation of Osbaldistone Hall But it was a masterpiece
I am quite sensible of my illbreeding Miss Vernon and I can only say for myself that I had received some communications by which my spirits were unusually agitated I am conscious I was impertinent and absurd
You do yourself great injustice said the merciless monitor—you have contrived by what I saw and have since heard to exhibit in the course of one evening a happy display of all the various masterly qualifications which distinguish your several cousins—the gentle and generous temper of the benevolent Rashleigh—the temperance of Percie—the cool courage of Thorncliff—Johns skill in dogbreaking—Dickons aptitude to betting—all exhibited by the single individual Mr Francis and that with a selection of time place and circumstance worthy the taste and sagacity of the sapient Wilfred
Have a little mercy Miss Vernon said I for I confess I thought the schooling as severe as the case merited especially considering from what quarter it came and forgive me if I suggest as an excuse for follies I am not usually guilty of the custom of this house and country I am far from approving of it but we have Shakspeares authority for saying that good wine is a good familiar creature and that any man living may be overtaken at some time
Ay Mr Francis but he places the panegyric and the apology in the mouth of the greatest villain his pencil has drawn I will not however abuse the advantage your quotation has given me by overwhelming you with the refutation with which the victim Cassio replies to the tempter Iago I only wish you to know that there is one person at least sorry to see a youth of talents and expectations sink into the slough in which the inhabitants of this house are nightly wallowing
I have but wet my shoe I assure you Miss Vernon and am too sensible of the filth of the puddle to step farther in
If such be your resolution she replied it is a wise one But I was so much vexed at what I heard that your concerns have pressed before my own—You behaved to me yesterday during dinner as if something had been told you which lessened or lowered me in your opinion—I beg leave to ask you what it was
I was stupified The direct bluntness of the demand was much in the style one gentleman uses to another when requesting explanation of any part of his conduct in a goodhumoured yet determined manner and was totally devoid of the circumlocutions shadings softenings and periphrasis which usually accompany explanations betwixt persons of different sexes in the higher orders of society
I remained completely embarrassed for it pressed on my recollection that Rashleighs communications supposing them to be correct ought to have rendered Miss Vernon rather an object of my compassion than of my pettish resentment and had they furnished the best apology possible for my own conduct still I must have had the utmost difficulty in detailing what inferred such necessary and natural offence to Miss Vernons feelings She observed my hesitation and proceeded in a tone somewhat more peremptory but still temperate and civil—I hope Mr Osbaldistone does not dispute my title to request this explanation I have no relative who can protect me it is therefore just that I be permitted to protect myself
I endeavoured with hesitation to throw the blame of my rude behaviour upon indisposition—upon disagreeable letters from London She suffered me to exhaust my apologies and fairly to run myself aground listening all the while with a smile of absolute incredulity
And now Mr Francis having gone through your prologue of excuses with the same bad grace with which all prologues are delivered please to draw the curtain and show me that which I desire to see In a word let me know what Rashleigh says of me for he is the grand engineer and first mover of all the machinery of Osbaldistone Hall
But supposing there was anything to tell Miss Vernon what does he deserve that betrays the secrets of one ally to another—Rashleigh you yourself told me remained your ally though no longer your friend
I have neither patience for evasion nor inclination for jesting on the present subject Rashleigh cannot—ought not—dare not hold any language respecting me Diana Vernon but what I may demand to hear repeated That there are subjects of secrecy and confidence between us is most certain but to such his communications to you could have no relation and with such I as an individual have no concern
I had by this time recovered my presence of mind and hastily determined to avoid making any disclosure of what Rashleigh had told me in a sort of confidence There was something unworthy in retailing private conversation it could I thought do no good and must necessarily give Miss Vernon great pain I therefore replied gravely that nothing but frivolous talk had passed between Mr Rashleigh Osbaldistone and me on the state of the family at the Hall and I protested that nothing had been said which left a serious impression to her disadvantage As a gentleman I said I could not be more explicit in reporting private conversation
She started up with the animation of a Camilla about to advance into battle This shall not serve your turn sir—I must have another answer from you Her features kindled—her brow became flushed—her eye glanced wildfire as she proceeded—I demand such an explanation as a woman basely slandered has a right to demand from every man who calls himself a gentleman—as a creature motherless friendless alone in the world left to her own guidance and protection has a right to require from every being having a happier lot in the name of that God who sent them into the world to enjoy and her to suffer You shall not deny me—or she added looking solemnly upwards you will rue your denial if there is justice for wrong either on earth or in heaven
I was utterly astonished at her vehemence but felt thus conjured that it became my duty to lay aside scrupulous delicacy and gave her briefly but distinctly the heads of the information which Rashleigh had conveyed to me
She sate down and resumed her composure as soon as I entered upon the subject and when I stopped to seek for the most delicate turn of expression she repeatedly interrupted me with Go on—pray go on the first word which occurs to you is the plainest and must be the best Do not think of my feelings but speak as you would to an unconcerned third party
Thus urged and encouraged I stammered through all the account which Rashleigh had given of her early contract to marry an Osbaldistone and of the uncertainty and difficulty of her choice and there I would willingly have paused But her penetration discovered that there was still something behind and even guessed to what it related
Well it was illnatured of Rashleigh to tell this tale on me I am like the poor girl in the fairy tale who was betrothed in her cradle to the Black Bear of Norway but complained chiefly of being called Bruins bride by her companions at school But besides all this Rashleigh said something of himself with relation to me—Did he not
He certainly hinted that were it not for the idea of supplanting his brother he would now in consequence of his change of profession be desirous that the word Rashleigh should fill up the blank in the dispensation instead of the word Thorncliff
Ay indeed she replied—was he so very condescending—Too much honour for his humble handmaid Diana Vernon—And she I suppose was to be enraptured with joy could such a substitute be effected
To confess the truth he intimated as much and even farther insinuated—
What—Let me hear it all she exclaimed hastily
That he had broken off your mutual intimacy lest it should have given rise to an affection by which his destination to the church would not permit him to profit
I am obliged to him for his consideration replied Miss Vernon every feature of her fine countenance taxed to express the most supreme degree of scorn and contempt She paused a moment and then said with her usual composure There is but little I have heard from you which I did not expect to hear and which I ought not to have expected because bating one circumstance it is all very true But as there are some poisons so active that a few drops it is said will infect a whole fountain so there is one falsehood in Rashleighs communication powerful enough to corrupt the whole well in which Truth herself is said to have dwelt It is the leading and foul falsehood that knowing Rashleigh as I have reason too well to know him any circumstance on earth could make me think of sharing my lot with him No she continued with a sort of inward shuddering that seemed to express involuntary horror any lot rather than that—the sot the gambler the bully the jockey the insensate fool were a thousand times preferable to Rashleigh—the convent—the jail—the grave shall be welcome before them all
There was a sad and melancholy cadence in her voice corresponding with the strange and interesting romance of her situation So young so beautiful so untaught so much abandoned to herself and deprived of all the support which her sex derives from the countenance and protection of female friends and even of that degree of defence which arises from the forms with which the sex are approached in civilised life—it is scarce metaphorical to say that my heart bled for her Yet there was an expression of dignity in her contempt of ceremony—of upright feeling in her disdain of falsehood—of firm resolution in the manner in which she contemplated the dangers by which she was surrounded which blended my pity with the warmest admiration She seemed a princess deserted by her subjects and deprived of her power yet still scorning those formal regulations of society which are created for persons of an inferior rank and amid her difficulties relying boldly and confidently on the justice of Heaven and the unshaken constancy of her own mind
I offered to express the mingled feelings of sympathy and admiration with which her unfortunate situation and her high spirit combined to impress me but she imposed silence on me at once
I told you in jest she said that I disliked compliments—I now tell you in earnest that I do not ask sympathy and that I despise consolation What I have borne I have borne—What I am to bear I will sustain as I may no word of commiseration can make a burden feel one feathers weight lighter to the slave who must carry it There is only one human being who could have assisted me and that is he who has rather chosen to add to my embarrassment—Rashleigh Osbaldistone—Yes the time once was that I might have learned to love that man—But great God the purpose for which he insinuated himself into the confidence of one already so forlorn—the undeviating and continued assiduity with which he pursued that purpose from year to year without one single momentary pause of remorse or compassion—the purpose for which he would have converted into poison the food he administered to my mind—Gracious Providence what should I have been in this world and the next in body and soul had I fallen under the arts of this accomplished villain
I was so much struck with the scene of perfidious treachery which these words disclosed that I rose from my chair hardly knowing what I did laid my hand on the hilt of my sword and was about to leave the apartment in search of him on whom I might discharge my just indignation Almost breathless and with eyes and looks in which scorn and indignation had given way to the most lively alarm Miss Vernon threw herself between me and the door of the apartment
Stay she said—stay—however just your resentment you do not know half the secrets of this fearful prisonhouse She then glanced her eyes anxiously round the room and sunk her voice almost to a whisper—He bears a charmed life you cannot assail him without endangering other lives and wider destruction Had it been otherwise in some hour of justice he had hardly been safe even from this weak hand I told you she said motioning me back to my seat that I needed no comforter I now tell you I need no avenger
I resumed my seat mechanically musing on what she said and recollecting also what had escaped me in my first glow of resentment that I had no title whatever to constitute myself Miss Vernons champion She paused to let her own emotions and mine subside and then addressed me with more composure
I have already said that there is a mystery connected with Rashleigh of a dangerous and fatal nature Villain as he is and as he knows he stands convicted in my eyes I cannot—dare not openly break with or defy him You also Mr Osbaldistone must bear with him with patience foil his artifices by opposing to them prudence not violence and above all you must avoid such scenes as that of last night which cannot but give him perilous advantages over you This caution I designed to give you and it was the object with which I desired this interview but I have extended my confidence farther than I proposed
I assured her it was not misplaced
I do not believe that it is she replied You have that in your face and manners which authorises trust Let us continue to be friends You need not fear she said laughing while she blushed a little yet speaking with a free and unembarrassed voice that friendship with us should prove only a specious name as the poet says for another feeling I belong in habits of thinking and acting rather to your sex with which I have always been brought up than to my own Besides the fatal veil was wrapt round me in my cradle for you may easily believe I have never thought of the detestable condition under which I may remove it The time she added for expressing my final determination is not arrived and I would fain have the freedom of wild heath and open air with the other commoners of nature as long as I can be permitted to enjoy them And now that the passage in Dante is made so clear pray go and see what has become of the badgerbaiters My head aches so much that I cannot join the party
I left the library but not to join the hunters I felt that a solitary walk was necessary to compose my spirits before I again trusted myself in Rashleighs company whose depth of calculating villany had been so strikingly exposed to me In Dubourgs family as he was of the reformed persuasion I had heard many a tale of Romish priests who gratified at the expense of friendship hospitality and the most sacred ties of social life those passions the blameless indulgence of which is denied by the rules of their order But the deliberate system of undertaking the education of a deserted orphan of noble birth and so intimately allied to his own family with the perfidious purpose of ultimately seducing her detailed as it was by the intended victim with all the glow of virtuous resentment seemed more atrocious to me than the worst of the tales I had heard at Bourdeaux and I felt it would be extremely difficult for me to meet Rashleigh and yet to suppress the abhorrence with which he impressed me Yet this was absolutely necessary not only on account of the mysterious charge which Diana had given me but because I had in reality no ostensible ground for quarrelling with him
I therefore resolved as far as possible to meet Rashleighs dissimulation with equal caution on my part during our residence in the same family and when he should depart for London I resolved to give Owen at least such a hint of his character as might keep him on his guard over my fathers interests Avarice or ambition I thought might have as great or greater charms for a mind constituted like Rashleighs than unlawful pleasure the energy of his character and his power of assuming all seeming good qualities were likely to procure him a high degree of confidence and it was not to be hoped that either good faith or gratitude would prevent him from abusing it The task was somewhat difficult especially in my circumstances since the caution which I threw out might be imputed to jealousy of my rival or rather my successor in my fathers favour Yet I thought it absolutely necessary to frame such a letter leaving it to Owen who in his own line was wary prudent and circumspect to make the necessary use of his knowledge of Rashleighs true character Such a letter therefore I indited and despatched to the posthouse by the first opportunity
At my meeting with Rashleigh he as well as I appeared to have taken up distant ground and to be disposed to avoid all pretext for collision He was probably conscious that Miss Vernons communications had been unfavourable to him though he could not know that they extended to discovering his meditated villany towards her Our intercourse therefore was reserved on both sides and turned on subjects of little interest Indeed his stay at Osbaldistone Hall did not exceed a few days after this period during which I only remarked two circumstances respecting him The first was the rapid and almost intuitive manner in which his powerful and active mind seized upon and arranged the elementary principles necessary to his new profession which he now studied hard and occasionally made parade of his progress as if to show me how light it was for him to lift the burden which I had flung down from very weariness and inability to carry it The other remarkable circumstance was that notwithstanding the injuries with which Miss Vernon charged Rashleigh they had several private interviews together of considerable length although their bearing towards each other in public did not seem more cordial than usual
When the day of Rashleighs departure arrived his father bade him farewell with indifference his brothers with the illconcealed glee of schoolboys who see their taskmaster depart for a season and feel a joy which they dare not express and I myself with cold politeness When he approached Miss Vernon and would have saluted her she drew back with a look of haughty disdain but said as she extended her hand to him Farewell Rashleigh God reward you for the good you have done and forgive you for the evil you have meditated
Amen my fair cousin he replied with an air of sanctity which belonged I thought to the seminary of Saint Omers happy is he whose good intentions have borne fruit in deeds and whose evil thoughts have perished in the blossom
These were his parting words Accomplished hypocrite said Miss Vernon to me as the door closed behind him—how nearly can what we most despise and hate approach in outward manner to that which we most venerate
I had written to my father by Rashleigh and also a few lines to Owen besides the confidential letter which I have already mentioned and which I thought it more proper and prudent to despatch by another conveyance In these epistles it would have been natural for me to have pointed out to my father and my friend that I was at present in a situation where I could improve myself in no respect unless in the mysteries of hunting and hawking and where I was not unlikely to forget in the company of rude grooms and horseboys any useful knowledge or elegant accomplishments which I had hitherto acquired It would also have been natural that I should have expressed the disgust and tedium which I was likely to feel among beings whose whole souls were centred in fieldsports or more degrading pastimes—that I should have complained of the habitual intemperance of the family in which I was a guest and the difficulty and almost resentment with which my uncle Sir Hildebrand received any apology for deserting the bottle This last indeed was a topic on which my father himself a man of severe temperance was likely to be easily alarmed and to have touched upon this spring would to a certainty have opened the doors of my prisonhouse and would either have been the means of abridging my exile or at least would have procured me a change of residence during my rustication
I say my dear Tresham that considering how very unpleasant a prolonged residence at Osbaldistone Hall must have been to a young man of my age and with my habits it might have seemed very natural that I should have pointed out all these disadvantages to my father in order to obtain his consent for leaving my uncles mansion Nothing however is more certain than that I did not say a single word to this purpose in my letters to my father and Owen If Osbaldistone Hall had been Athens in all its pristine glory of learning and inhabited by sages heroes and poets I could not have expressed less inclination to leave it
If thou hast any of the salt of youth left in thee Tresham thou wilt be at no loss to account for my silence on a topic seemingly so obvious Miss Vernons extreme beauty of which she herself seemed so little conscious—her romantic and mysterious situation—the evils to which she was exposed—the courage with which she seemed to face them—her manners more frank than belonged to her sex yet as it seemed to me exceeding in frankness only from the dauntless consciousness of her innocence—above all the obvious and flattering distinction which she made in my favour over all other persons were at once calculated to interest my best feelings to excite my curiosity awaken my imagination and gratify my vanity I dared not indeed confess to myself the depth of the interest with which Miss Vernon inspired me or the large share which she occupied in my thoughts We read together walked together rode together and sate together The studies which she had broken off upon her quarrel with Rashleigh she now resumed under the auspices of a tutor whose views were more sincere though his capacity was far more limited
In truth I was by no means qualified to assist her in the prosecution of several profound studies which she had commenced with Rashleigh and which appeared to me more fitted for a churchman than for a beautiful female Neither can I conceive with what view he should have engaged Diana in the gloomy maze of casuistry which schoolmen called philosophy or in the equally abstruse though more certain sciences of mathematics and astronomy unless it were to break down and confound in her mind the difference and distinction between the sexes and to habituate her to trains of subtle reasoning by which he might at his own time invest that which is wrong with the colour of that which is right It was in the same spirit though in the latter case the evil purpose was more obvious that the lessons of Rashleigh had encouraged Miss Vernon in setting at nought and despising the forms and ceremonial limits which are drawn round females in modern society It is true she was sequestrated from all female company and could not learn the usual rules of decorum either from example or precept yet such was her innate modesty and accurate sense of what was right and wrong that she would not of herself have adopted the bold uncompromising manner which struck me with so much surprise on our first acquaintance had she not been led to conceive that a contempt of ceremony indicated at once superiority of understanding and the confidence of conscious innocence Her wily instructor had no doubt his own views in levelling those outworks which reserve and caution erect around virtue But for these and for his other crimes he has long since answered at a higher tribunal
Besides the progress which Miss Vernon whose powerful mind readily adopted every means of information offered to it had made in more abstract science I found her no contemptible linguist and well acquainted both with ancient and modern literature Were it not that strong talents will often go farthest when they seem to have least assistance it would be almost incredible to tell the rapidity of Miss Vernons progress in knowledge and it was still more extraordinary when her stock of mental acquisitions from books was compared with her total ignorance of actual life It seemed as if she saw and knew everything except what passed in the world around her—and I believe it was this very ignorance and simplicity of thinking upon ordinary subjects so strikingly contrasted with her fund of general knowledge and information which rendered her conversation so irresistibly fascinating and rivetted the attention to whatever she said or did since it was absolutely impossible to anticipate whether her next word or action was to display the most acute perception or the most profound simplicity The degree of danger which necessarily attended a youth of my age and keen feelings from remaining in close and constant intimacy with an object so amiable and so peculiarly interesting all who remember their own sentiments at my age may easily estimate
CHAPTER FOURTEENTH
Yon lamp its line of quivering light
Shoots from my ladys bower
But why should Beautys lamp be bright
At midnights lonely hour
OLD BALLAD
The mode of life at Osbaldistone Hall was too uniform to admit of description Diana Vernon and I enjoyed much of our time in our mutual studies the rest of the family killed theirs in such sports and pastimes as suited the seasons in which we also took a share My uncle was a man of habits and by habit became so much accustomed to my presence and mode of life that upon the whole he was rather fond of me than otherwise I might probably have risen yet higher in his good graces had I employed the same arts for that purpose which were used by Rashleigh who availing himself of his fathers disinclination to business had gradually insinuated himself into the management of his property But although I readily gave my uncle the advantage of my pen and my arithmetic so often as he desired to correspond with a neighbour or settle with a tenant and was in so far a more useful inmate in his family than any of his sons yet I was not willing to oblige Sir Hildebrand by relieving him entirely from the management of his own affairs so that while the good knight admitted that nevoy Frank was a steady handy lad he seldom failed to remark in the same breath that he did not think he should ha missed Rashleigh so much as he was like to do
As it is particularly unpleasant to reside in a family where we are at variance with any part of it I made some efforts to overcome the illwill which my cousins entertained against me I exchanged my laced hat for a jockeycap and made some progress in their opinion I broke a young colt in a manner which carried me further into their good graces A bet or two opportunely lost to Dickon and an extra health pledged with Percie placed me on an easy and familiar footing with all the young squires except Thorncliff
I have already noticed the dislike entertained against me by this young fellow who as he had rather more sense had also a much worse temper than any of his brethren Sullen dogged and quarrelsome he regarded my residence at Osbaldistone Hall as an intrusion and viewed with envious and jealous eyes my intimacy with Diana Vernon whom the effect proposed to be given to a certain familycompact assigned to him as an intended spouse That he loved her could scarcely be said at least without much misapplication of the word but he regarded her as something appropriated to himself and resented internally the interference which he knew not how to prevent or interrupt I attempted a tone of conciliation towards Thorncliff on several occasions but he rejected my advances with a manner about as gracious as that of a growling mastiff when the animal shuns and resents a strangers attempts to caress him I therefore abandoned him to his illhumour and gave myself no further trouble about the matter
Such was the footing upon which I stood with the family at Osbaldistone Hall but I ought to mention another of its inmates with whom I occasionally held some discourse This was Andrew Fairservice the gardener who since he had discovered that I was a Protestant rarely suffered me to pass him without proffering his Scotch mull for a social pinch There were several advantages attending this courtesy In the first place it was made at no expense for I never took snuff and secondly it afforded an excellent apology to Andrew who was not particularly fond of hard labour for laying aside his spade for several minutes But above all these brief interviews gave Andrew an opportunity of venting the news he had collected or the satirical remarks which his shrewd northern humour suggested
I am saying sir he said to me one evening with a face obviously charged with intelligence I hae been down at the Trinlayknowe
Well Andrew and I suppose you heard some news at the alehouse
Na sir I never gang to the yillhouse—that is unless ony neighbour was to gie me a pint or the like o that but to gang there on anes ain coattail is a waste o precious time and hardwon siller—But I was doun at the Trinlayknowe as I was saying about a wee bit business o my ain wi Mattie Simpson that wants a forpit or twa o peers that will never be missed in the Hahouse—and when we were at the thrangest o our bargain wha suld come in but Pate Macready the travelling merchant
Pedlar I suppose you mean
Een as your honour likes to ca him but its a creditable calling and a gainfu and has been lang in use wi our folk Pates a farawa cousin o mine and we were blythe to meet wi ane anither
And you went and had a jug of ale together I suppose Andrew—For Heavens sake cut short your story
Bide a wee—bide a wee you southrons are aye in sic a hurry and this is something concerns yourself an ye wad tak patience to heart—Yill—deil a drap o yill did Pate offer me but Mattie gae us baith a drap skimmed milk and ane o her thick ait jannocks that was as wat and raw as a divot O for the bonnie girdle cakes o the north—and sae we sat doun and took out our clavers
I wish you would take them out just now Pray tell me the news if you have got any worth telling for I cant stop here all night
Than if ye maun haet the folk in Lunnun are a clean wud about this bit job in the north here
Clean wood whats that
Ou just real daft—neither to haud nor to bind—a hirdygirdy—clean through ither—the deils ower Jock Wabster
Frank and Andrew Fairservice
But what does all this mean or what business have I with the devil or Jack Webster
Umph said Andrew looking extremely knowing its just because—just that the dirdums a about yon mans pokmanty
Whose portmanteau or what do you mean
Ou just the man Morriss that he said he lost yonder but if its no your honours affair as little is it mine and I mauna lose this gracious evening
And as if suddenly seized with a violent fit of industry Andrew began to labour most diligently
My attention as the crafty knave had foreseen was now arrested and unwilling at the same time to acknowledge any particular interest in that affair by asking direct questions I stood waiting till the spirit of voluntary communication should again prompt him to resume his story Andrew dug on manfully and spoke at intervals but nothing to the purpose of Mr Macreadys news and I stood and listened cursing him in my heart and desirous at the same time to see how long his humour of contradiction would prevail over his desire of speaking upon the subject which was obviously uppermost in his mind
Am trenching up the sparrygrass and am gaun to saw some Misegun beans they winna want them to their swines flesh Ise warrant—muckle gude may it do them And siclike dung as the grieve has gien me—it should be wheatstrae or aiten at the warst ot and its pease dirt as fizzenless as chuckiestanes But the huntsman guides a as he likes about the stableyard and hes selled the best o the litter Ise warrant But howsoever we mauna lose a turn o this Saturday at een for the wathers sair broken and if theres a fair day in seven Sundays sure to come and lick it up—Howsomever Im no denying that it may settle if it be Heavens will till Monday morning—and whats the use o my breaking my back at this rate—I think Ill een awa hame for yons the curfew as they ca their jowingin bell
Accordingly applying both his hands to his spade he pitched it upright in the trench which he had been digging and looking at me with the air of superiority of one who knows himself possessed of important information which he may communicate or refuse at his pleasure pulled down the sleeves of his shirt and walked slowly towards his coat which lay carefully folded up upon a neighbouring gardenseat
I must pay the penalty of having interrupted the tiresome rascal thought I to myself and even gratify Mr Fairservice by taking his communication on his own terms Then raising my voice I addressed him—And after all Andrew what are these London news you had from your kinsman the travelling merchant
The pedlar your honour means retorted Andrew—but ca him what ye wull theyre a great convenience in a countryside thats scant o boroughtowns like this Northumberland—Thats no the case now in Scotland—theres the kingdom of Fife frae Culross to the East Nuik its just like a great combined city—sae mony royal boroughs yoked on end to end like ropes of ingans with their hiestreets and their booths nae doubt and their kraemes and houses of stane and lime and forestairs—Kirkcaldy the sell ot is langer than ony town in England
I daresay it is all very splendid and very fine—but you were talking of the London news a little while ago Andrew
Ay replied Andrew but I dinna think your honour cared to hear about them—Howsoever he continued grinning a ghastly smile Pate Macready does say that they are sair mistrysted yonder in their Parliament House about this rubbery o Mr Morris or whatever they ca the chiel
In the House of Parliament Andrew—how came they to mention it there
Ou thats just what I said to Pate if it like your honour Ill tell you the very words its no worth making a lie for the matter—Pate said I what ado had the lords and lairds and gentles at Lunnun wi the carle and his walise—When we had a Scotch Parliament Pate says I and deil rax their thrapples that reft us ot they sate dousely down and made laws for a haill country and kinrick and never fashed their beards about things that were competent to the judge ordinar o the bounds but I think said I that if ae kailwife poud aff her neighbours mutch they wad hae the twasome o them into the Parliament House o Lunnun Its just said I amaist as silly as our auld daft laird here and his gomerils o sons wi his huntsmen and his hounds and his hunting cattle and horns riding haill days after a bit beast that winna weigh sax punds when they hae catched it
You argued most admirably Andrew said I willing to encourage him to get into the marrow of his intelligence and what said Pate
Ou he said what better could be expected of a wheen pockpudding English folk—But as to the robbery its like that when theyre a at the thrang o their Whig and Tory wark and caing ane anither like unhanged blackguards—up gets ae langtongued chield and he says that a the north of England were rank Jacobites and quietly he wasna far wrang maybe and that they had levied amaist open war and a kings messenger had been stoppit and rubbit on the highway and that the best bluid o Northumberland had been at the doing ot—and mickle gowd taen aff him and mony valuable papers and that there was nae redress to be gotten by remeed of law for the first justice o the peace that the rubbit man gaed to he had fund the twa loons that did the deed birling and drinking wi him wha but they and the justice took the word o the tane for the compearance o the tither and that they een gae him legbail and the honest man that had lost his siller was fain to leave the country for fear that waur had come of it
Can this be really true said I
Pate swears its as true as that his ellwand is a yard lang—and so it is just bating an inch that it may meet the English measure—And when the chield had said his warst there was a terrible cry for names and out comes he wi this man Morriss name and your uncles and Squire Inglewoods and other folks beside looking sly at me—And then another dragon o a chield got up on the other side and said wad they accuse the best gentleman in the land on the oath of a broken coward—for its like that Morris had been drummed out o the army for rinning awa in Flanders and he said it was like the story had been made up between the minister and him or ever he had left Lunnun and that if there was to be a searchwarrant granted he thought the siller wad be fund some gate near to St Jamess Palace Aweel they trailed up Morris to their bar as they cat to see what he could say to the job but the folk that were again him gae him sic an awfu throughgaun about his rinnin awa and about a the ill he had ever dune or said for a the forepart o his life that Patie says he looked mair like ane dead than living and they coudna get a word o sense out o him for downright fright at their growling and routing He maun be a saft sap wi a head nae better than a fozy frosted turnip—it wad hae taen a hantle o them to scaur Andrew Fairservice out o his tale
And how did it all end Andrew did your friend happen to learn
Ou ay for as his walk is in this country Pate put aff his journey for the space of a week or thereby because it wad be acceptable to his customers to bring down the news Its just a gaed aft like moonshine in water The fallow that began it drew in his horns and said that though he believed the man had been rubbit yet he acknowledged he might hae been mistaen about the particulars And then the other chield got up and said he caredna whether Morris was rubbed or no provided it wasna to become a stain on ony gentlemans honour and reputation especially in the north of England for said he before them I come frae the north mysell and I carena a boddle wha kens it And this is what they ca explaining—the tane gies up a bit and the tither gies up a bit and a friends again Aweel after the Commons Parliament had tuggit and rived and rugged at Morris and his rubbery till they were tired ot the Lords Parliament they behoved to hae their spell ot In puir auld Scotlands Parliament they a sate thegither cheek by choul and than they didna need to hae the same blethers twice ower again But tillt their lordships went wi as muckle teeth and gudewill as if the matter had been a speck and span new Forbye there was something said about ane Campbell that suld hae been concerned in the rubbery mair or less and that he suld hae had a warrant frae the Duke of Argyle as a testimonial o his character And this put MacCallum Mores beard in a bleize as gude reason there was and he gat up wi an unco bang and garrd them a look about them and wad ram it even doun their throats there was never ane o the Campbells but was as wight wise warlike and worthy trust as auld Sir John the Graeme Now if your honours sure ye arena a draps bluid akin to a Campbell as I am nane mysell sae far as I can count my kin or hae had it counted to me Ill gie ye my mind on that matter
You may be assured I have no connection whatever with any gentleman of the name
Ou than we may speak it quietly amang oursells Theres baith gude and bad o the Campbells like other names But this MacCallum More has an unco sway and say baith amang the grit folk at Lunnun even now for he canna preceesely be said to belang to ony o the twa sides o them sae deil any o them likes to quarrel wi him sae they een voted Morriss tale a fause calumnious libel as they cat and if he hadna gien them legbail he was likely to hae taen the air on the pillory for leasingmaking
So speaking honest Andrew collected his dibbles spades and hoes and threw them into a wheelbarrow—leisurely however and allowing me full time to put any further questions which might occur to me before he trundled them off to the toolhouse there to repose during the ensuing day I thought it best to speak out at once lest this meddling fellow should suppose there were more weighty reasons for my silence than actually existed
I should like to see this countryman of yours Andrew and to hear his news from himself directly You have probably heard that I had some trouble from the impertinent folly of this man Morris Andrew grinned a most significant grin and I should wish to see your cousin the merchant to ask him the particulars of what he heard in London if it could be done without much trouble
Naething mair easy Andrew observed he had but to hint to his cousin that I wanted a pair or twa o hose and he wad be wi me as fast as he could lay leg to the grund
O yes assure him I shall be a customer and as the night is as you say settled and fair I shall walk in the garden until he comes the moon will soon rise over the fells You may bring him to the little backgate and I shall have pleasure in the meanwhile in looking on the bushes and evergreens by the bright frosty moonlight
Vara right vara right—thats what I hae aften said a kailblade or a colliflour glances sae glegly by moonlight its like a leddy in her diamonds
So saying off went Andrew Fairservice with great glee He had to walk about two miles a labour he undertook with the greatest pleasure in order to secure to his kinsman the sale of some articles of his trade though it is probable he would not have given him sixpence to treat him to a quart of ale The good will of an Englishman would have displayed itself in a manner exactly the reverse of Andrews thought I as I paced along the smoothcut velvet walks which embowered with high hedges of yew and of holly intersected the ancient garden of Osbaldistone Hall
As I turned to retrace my steps it was natural that I should lift up my eyes to the windows of the old library which small in size but several in number stretched along the second story of that side of the house which now faced me Light glanced from their casements I was not surprised at this for I knew Miss Vernon often sat there of an evening though from motives of delicacy I put a strong restraint upon myself and never sought to join her at a time when I knew all the rest of the family being engaged for the evening our interviews must necessarily have been strictly teteatete In the mornings we usually read together in the same room but then it often happened that one or other of our cousins entered to seek some parchment duodecimo that could be converted into a fishingbook despite its gildings and illumination or to tell us of some sport toward or from mere want of knowing where else to dispose of themselves In short in the mornings the library was a sort of public room where man and woman might meet as on neutral ground In the evening it was very different and bred in a country where much attention is paid or was at least then paid to bienseance I was desirous to think for Miss Vernon concerning those points of propriety where her experience did not afford her the means of thinking for herself I made her therefore comprehend as delicately as I could that when we had evening lessons the presence of a third party was proper
Miss Vernon first laughed then blushed and was disposed to be displeased and then suddenly checking herself said I believe you are very right and when I feel inclined to be a very busy scholar I will bribe old Martha with a cup of tea to sit by me and be my screen
Martha the old housekeeper partook of the taste of the family at the Hall A toast and tankard would have pleased her better than all the tea in China However as the use of this beverage was then confined to the higher ranks Martha felt some vanity in being asked to partake of it and by dint of a great deal of sugar many words scarce less sweet and abundance of toast and butter she was sometimes prevailed upon to give us her countenance On other occasions the servants almost unanimously shunned the library after nightfall because it was their foolish pleasure to believe that it lay on the haunted side of the house The more timorous had seen sights and heard sounds there when all the rest of the house was quiet and even the young squires were far from having any wish to enter these formidable precincts after nightfall without necessity
That the library had at one time been a favourite resource of Rashleigh—that a private door out of one side of it communicated with the sequestered and remote apartment which he chose for himself rather increased than disarmed the terrors which the household had for the dreaded library of Osbaldistone Hall His extensive information as to what passed in the world—his profound knowledge of science of every kind—a few physical experiments which he occasionally showed off were in a house of so much ignorance and bigotry esteemed good reasons for supposing him endowed with powers over the spiritual world He understood Greek Latin and Hebrew and therefore according to the apprehension and in the phrase of his brother Wilfred needed not to care for ghaist or barghaist devil or dobbie Yea the servants persisted that they had heard him hold conversations in the library when every varsal soul in the family were gone to bed and that he spent the night in watching for bogles and the morning in sleeping in his bed when he should have been heading the hounds like a true Osbaldistone
All these absurd rumours I had heard in broken hints and imperfect sentences from which I was left to draw the inference and as easily may be supposed I laughed them to scorn But the extreme solitude to which this chamber of evil fame was committed every night after curfew time was an additional reason why I should not intrude on Miss Vernon when she chose to sit there in the evening
To resume what I was saying—I was not surprised to see a glimmering of light from the library windows but I was a little struck when I distinctly perceived the shadows of two persons pass along and intercept the light from the first of the windows throwing the casement for a moment into shade It must be old Martha thought I whom Diana has engaged to be her companion for the evening or I must have been mistaken and taken Dianas shadow for a second person No by Heaven it appears on the second window—two figures distinctly traced and now it is lost again—it is seen on the third—on the fourth—the darkened forms of two persons distinctly seen in each window as they pass along the room betwixt the windows and the lights Whom can Diana have got for a companion—The passage of the shadows between the lights and the casements was twice repeated as if to satisfy me that my observation served me truly after which the lights were extinguished and the shades of course were seen no more
Trifling as this circumstance was it occupied my mind for a considerable time I did not allow myself to suppose that my friendship for Miss Vernon had any directly selfish view yet it is incredible the displeasure I felt at the idea of her admitting any one to private interviews at a time and in a place where for her own sake I had been at some trouble to show her that it was improper for me to meet with her
Silly romping incorrigible girl said I to myself on whom all good advice and delicacy are thrown away I have been cheated by the simplicity of her manner which I suppose she can assume just as she could a straw bonnet were it the fashion for the mere sake of celebrity I suppose notwithstanding the excellence of her understanding the society of half a dozen of clowns to play at whisk and swabbers would give her more pleasure than if Ariosto himself were to awake from the dead
This reflection came the more powerfully across my mind because having mustered up courage to show to Diana my version of the first books of Ariosto I had requested her to invite Martha to a teaparty in the library that evening to which arrangement Miss Vernon had refused her consent alleging some apology which I thought frivolous at the time I had not long speculated on this disagreeable subject when the back gardendoor opened and the figures of Andrew and his countryman—bending under his pack—crossed the moonlight alley and called my attention elsewhere
I found Mr Macready as I expected a tough sagacious longheaded Scotchman and a collector of news both from choice and profession He was able to give me a distinct account of what had passed in the House of Commons and House of Lords on the affair of Morris which it appears had been made by both parties a touchstone to ascertain the temper of the Parliament It appeared also that as I had learned from Andrew by second hand the ministry had proved too weak to support a story involving the character of men of rank and importance and resting upon the credit of a person of such indifferent fame as Morris who was moreover confused and contradictory in his mode of telling the story Macready was even able to supply me with a copy of a printed journal or NewsLetter seldom extending beyond the capital in which the substance of the debate was mentioned and with a copy of the Duke of Argyles speech printed upon a broadside of which he had purchased several from the hawkers because he said it would be a saleable article on the north of the Tweed The first was a meagre statement full of blanks and asterisks and which added little or nothing to the information I had from the Scotchman and the Dukes speech though spirited and eloquent contained chiefly a panegyric on his country his family and his clan with a few compliments equally sincere perhaps though less glowing which he took so favourable an opportunity of paying to himself I could not learn whether my own reputation had been directly implicated although I perceived that the honour of my uncles family had been impeached and that this person Campbell stated by Morris to have been the most active robber of the two by whom he was assailed was said by him to have appeared in the behalf of a Mr Osbaldistone and by the connivance of the Justice procured his liberation In this particular Morriss story jumped with my own suspicions which had attached to Campbell from the moment I saw him appear at Justice Inglewoods Vexed upon the whole as well as perplexed with this extraordinary story I dismissed the two Scotchmen after making some purchases from Macready and a small compliment to Fairservice and retired to my own apartment to consider what I ought to do in defence of my character thus publicly attacked
CHAPTER FIFTEENTH
Whence and what art you
Milton
After exhausting a sleepless night in meditating on the intelligence I had received I was at first inclined to think that I ought as speedily as possible to return to London and by my open appearance repel the calumny which had been spread against me But I hesitated to take this course on recollection of my fathers disposition singularly absolute in his decisions as to all that concerned his family He was most able certainly from experience to direct what I ought to do and from his acquaintance with the most distinguished Whigs then in power had influence enough to obtain a hearing for my cause So upon the whole I judged it most safe to state my whole story in the shape of a narrative addressed to my father and as the ordinary opportunities of intercourse between the Hall and the posttown recurred rarely I determined to ride to the town which was about ten miles distance and deposit my letter in the postoffice with my own hands
Indeed I began to think it strange that though several weeks had elapsed since my departure from home I had received no letter either from my father or Owen although Rashleigh had written to Sir Hildebrand of his safe arrival in London and of the kind reception he had met with from his uncle Admitting that I might have been to blame I did not deserve in my own opinion at least to be so totally forgotten by my father and I thought my present excursion might have the effect of bringing a letter from him to hand more early than it would otherwise have reached me But before concluding my letter concerning the affair of Morris I failed not to express my earnest hope and wish that my father would honour me with a few lines were it but to express his advice and commands in an affair of some difficulty and where my knowledge of life could not be supposed adequate to my own guidance I found it impossible to prevail on myself to urge my actual return to London as a place of residence and I disguised my unwillingness to do so under apparent submission to my fathers will which as I imposed it on myself as a sufficient reason for not urging my final departure from Osbaldistone Hall would I doubted not be received as such by my parent But I begged permission to come to London for a short time at least to meet and refute the infamous calumnies which had been circulated concerning me in so public a manner Having made up my packet in which my earnest desire to vindicate my character was strangely blended with reluctance to quit my present place of residence I rode over to the posttown and deposited my letter in the office By doing so I obtained possession somewhat earlier than I should otherwise have done of the following letter from my friend Mr Owen—
Dear Mr Francis
Yours received per favour of Mr R Osbaldistone and note the contents Shall do Mr R O such civilities as are in my power and have taken him to see the Bank and Customhouse He seems a sober steady young gentleman and takes to business so will be of service to the firm Could have wished another person had turned his mind that way but Gods will be done As cash may be scarce in those parts have to trust you will excuse my enclosing a goldsmiths bill at six days sight on Messrs Hooper and Girder of Newcastle for L100 which I doubt not will be duly honoured—I remain as in duty bound dear Mr Frank your very respectful and obedient servant
Joseph Owen
Postscriptum—Hope you will advise the above coming safe to hand Am sorry we have so few of yours Your father says he is as usual but looks poorly
From this epistle written in old Owens formal style I was rather surprised to observe that he made no acknowledgment of that private letter which I had written to him with a view to possess him of Rashleighs real character although from the course of post it seemed certain that he ought to have received it Yet I had sent it by the usual conveyance from the Hall and had no reason to suspect that it could miscarry upon the road As it comprised matters of great importance both to my father and to myself I sat down in the postoffice and again wrote to Owen recapitulating the heads of my former letter and requesting to know in course of post if it had reached him in safety I also acknowledged the receipt of the bill and promised to make use of the contents if I should have any occasion for money I thought indeed it was odd that my father should leave the care of supplying my necessities to his clerk but I concluded it was a matter arranged between them At any rate Owen was a bachelor rich in his way and passionately attached to me so that I had no hesitation in being obliged to him for a small sum which I resolved to consider as a loan to be returned with my earliest ability in case it was not previously repaid by my father and I expressed myself to this purpose to Mr Owen A shopkeeper in a little town to whom the postmaster directed me readily gave me in gold the amount of my bill on Messrs Hooper and Girder so that I returned to Osbaldistone Hall a good deal richer than I had set forth This recruit to my finances was not a matter of indifference to me as I was necessarily involved in some expenses at Osbaldistone Hall and I had seen with some uneasy impatience that the sum which my travelling expenses had left unexhausted at my arrival there was imperceptibly diminishing This source of anxiety was for the present removed On my arrival at the Hall I found that Sir Hildebrand and all his offspring had gone down to the little hamlet called Trinlayknowes to see as Andrew Fairservice expressed it a wheen midden cocks pike ilk ithers barns out
It is indeed a brutal amusement Andrew I suppose you have none such in Scotland
Na na answered Andrew boldly then shaded away his negative with unless it be on Fasternseen or the like o that—But indeed its no muckle matter what the folk do to the midden pootry for they had siccan a skarting and scraping in the yard that theres nae getting a bean or pea keepit for them—But I am wondering what it is that leaves that turretdoor open—now that Mr Rashleighs away it canna be him I trow
The turretdoor to which he alluded opened to the garden at the bottom of a winding stair leading down from Mr Rashleighs apartment This as I have already mentioned was situated in a sequestered part of the house communicating with the library by a private entrance and by another intricate and dark vaulted passage with the rest of the house A long narrow turf walk led between two high holly hedges from the turretdoor to a little postern in the wall of the garden By means of these communications Rashleigh whose movements were very independent of those of the rest of his family could leave the Hall or return to it at pleasure without his absence or presence attracting any observation But during his absence the stair and the turretdoor were entirely disused and this made Andrews observation somewhat remarkable
Have you often observed that door open was my question
No just that often neither but I hae noticed it ance or twice Im thinking it maun hae been the priest Father Vaughan as they ca him Yell no catch ane o the servants gauging up that stair puir frightened heathens that they are for fear of bogles and brownies and langnebbit things frae the neist warld But Father Vaughan thinks himself a privileged person—set him up and lay him down—Ise be caution the warst stibbler that ever stickit a sermon out ower the Tweed yonder wad lay a ghaist twice as fast as him wi his holy water and his idolatrous trinkets I dinna believe he speaks gude Latin neither at least he disna take me up when I tell him the learned names o the plants
Of Father Vaughan who divided his time and his ghostly care between Osbaldistone Hall and about half a dozen mansions of Catholic gentlemen in the neighbourhood I have as yet said nothing for I had seen but little He was aged about sixty—of a good family as I was given to understand in the north—of a striking and imposing presence grave in his exterior and much respected among the Catholics of Northumberland as a worthy and upright man Yet Father Vaughan did not altogether lack those peculiarities which distinguish his order There hung about him an air of mystery which in Protestant eyes savoured of priestcraft The natives such they might be well termed of Osbaldistone Hall looked up to him with much more fear or at least more awe than affection His condemnation of their revels was evident from their being discontinued in some measure when the priest was a resident at the Hall Even Sir Hildebrand himself put some restraint upon his conduct at such times which perhaps rendered Father Vaughans presence rather irksome than otherwise He had the wellbred insinuating and almost flattering address peculiar to the clergy of his persuasion especially in England where the lay Catholic hemmed in by penal laws and by the restrictions of his sect and recommendation of his pastor often exhibits a reserved and almost a timid manner in the society of Protestants while the priest privileged by his order to mingle with persons of all creeds is open alert and liberal in his intercourse with them desirous of popularity and usually skilful in the mode of obtaining it
Father Vaughan was a particular acquaintance of Rashleighs otherwise in all probability he would scarce have been able to maintain his footing at Osbaldistone Hall This gave me no desire to cultivate his intimacy nor did he seem to make any advances towards mine so our occasional intercourse was confined to the exchange of mere civility I considered it as extremely probable that Mr Vaughan might occupy Rashleighs apartment during his occasional residence at the Hall and his profession rendered it likely that he should occasionally be a tenant of the library Nothing was more probable than that it might have been his candle which had excited my attention on a preceding evening This led me involuntarily to recollect that the intercourse between Miss Vernon and the priest was marked with something like the same mystery which characterised her communications with Rashleigh I had never heard her mention Vaughans name or even allude to him excepting on the occasion of our first meeting when she mentioned the old priest and Rashleigh as the only conversable beings besides herself in Osbaldistone Hall Yet although silent with respect to Father Vaughan his arrival at the Hall never failed to impress Miss Vernon with an anxious and fluttering tremor which lasted until they had exchanged one or two significant glances
Whatever the mystery might be which overclouded the destinies of this beautiful and interesting female it was clear that Father Vaughan was implicated in it unless indeed I could suppose that he was the agent employed to procure her settlement in the cloister in the event of her rejecting a union with either of my cousins—an office which would sufficiently account for her obvious emotion at his appearance As to the rest they did not seem to converse much together or even to seek each others society Their league if any subsisted between them was of a tacit and understood nature operating on their actions without any necessity of speech I recollected however on reflection that I had once or twice discovered signs pass betwixt them which I had at the time supposed to bear reference to some hint concerning Miss Vernons religious observances knowing how artfully the Catholic clergy maintain at all times and seasons their influence over the minds of their followers But now I was disposed to assign to these communications a deeper and more mysterious import Did he hold private meetings with Miss Vernon in the library was a question which occupied my thoughts and if so for what purpose And why should she have admitted an intimate of the deceitful Rashleigh to such close confidence
These questions and difficulties pressed on my mind with an interest which was greatly increased by the impossibility of resolving them I had already begun to suspect that my friendship for Diana Vernon was not altogether so disinterested as in wisdom it ought to have been I had already felt myself becoming jealous of the contemptible lout Thorncliff and taking more notice than in prudence or dignity of feeling I ought to have done of his silly attempts to provoke me And now I was scrutinising the conduct of Miss Vernon with the most close and eager observation which I in vain endeavoured to palm on myself as the offspring of idle curiosity All these like Benedicks brushing his hat of a morning were signs that the sweet youth was in love and while my judgment still denied that I had been guilty of forming an attachment so imprudent she resembled those ignorant guides who when they have led the traveller and themselves into irretrievable error persist in obstinately affirming it to be impossible that they can have missed the way
CHAPTER SIXTEENTH
It happened one day about noon going to my boat I was exceedingly
surprised with the print of a mans naked foot on the shore which
was very plain to be seen on the sand
Robinson Crusoe
With the blended feelings of interest and jealousy which were engendered by Miss Vernons singular situation my observations of her looks and actions became acutely sharpened and that to a degree which notwithstanding my efforts to conceal it could not escape her penetration The sense that she was observed or more properly speaking that she was watched by my looks seemed to give Diana a mixture of embarrassment pain and pettishness At times it seemed that she sought an opportunity of resenting a conduct which she could not but feel as offensive considering the frankness with which she had mentioned the difficulties that surrounded her At other times she seemed prepared to expostulate upon the subject But either her courage failed or some other sentiment impeded her seeking an eclaircissement Her displeasure evaporated in repartee and her expostulations died on her lips We stood in a singular relation to each other—spending and by mutual choice much of our time in close society with each other yet disguising our mutual sentiments and jealous of or offended by each others actions There was betwixt us intimacy without confidence—on one side love without hope or purpose and curiosity without any rational or justifiable motive and on the other embarrassment and doubt occasionally mingled with displeasure Yet I believe that this agitation of the passions such is the nature of the human bosom as it continued by a thousand irritating and interesting though petty circumstances to render Miss Vernon and me the constant objects of each others thoughts tended upon the whole to increase the attachment with which we were naturally disposed to regard each other But although my vanity early discovered that my presence at Osbaldistone Hall had given Diana some additional reason for disliking the cloister I could by no means confide in an affection which seemed completely subordinate to the mysteries of her singular situation Miss Vernon was of a character far too formed and determined to permit her love for me to overpower either her sense of duty or of prudence and she gave me a proof of this in a conversation which we had together about this period
We were sitting together in the library Miss Vernon in turning over a copy of the Orlando Furioso which belonged to me shook a piece of writing paper from between the leaves I hastened to lift it but she prevented me—It is verse she said on glancing at the paper and then unfolding it but as if to wait my answer before proceeding—May I take the liberty—Nay nay if you blush and stammer I must do violence to your modesty and suppose that permission is granted
It is not worthy your perusal—a scrap of a translation—My dear Miss Vernon it would be too severe a trial that you who understand the original so well should sit in judgment
Mine honest friend replied Diana do not if you will be guided by my advice bait your hook with too much humility for ten to one it will not catch a single compliment You know I belong to the unpopular family of Telltruths and would not flatter Apollo for his lyre
She proceeded to read the first stanza which was nearly to the following purpose—
Ladies and knights and arms and loves fair flame
Deeds of emprize and courtesy I sing
What time the Moors from sultry Africk came
Led on by Agramant their youthful king—
He whom revenge and hasty ire did bring
Oer the broad wave in France to waste and war
Such ills from old Trojanos death did spring
Which to avenge he came from realms afar
And menaced Christian Charles the Roman Emperor
Of dauntless Roland too my strain shall sound
In import never known in prose or rhyme
How He the chief of judgment deemed profound
For luckless love was crazed upon a time—
There is a great deal of it said she glancing along the paper and interrupting the sweetest sounds which mortal ears can drink in—those of a youthful poets verses namely read by the lips which are dearest to him
Much more than ought to engage your attention Miss Vernon I replied something mortified and I took the verses from her unreluctant hand— And yet I continued shut up as I am in this retired situation I have felt sometimes I could not amuse myself better than by carrying on—merely for my own amusement you will of course understand—the version of this fascinating author which I began some months since when I was on the banks of the Garonne
The question would only be said Diana gravely whether you could not spend your time to better purpose
You mean in original composition said I greatly flattered—But to say truth my genius rather lies in finding words and rhymes than ideas and therefore I am happy to use those which Ariosto has prepared to my hand However Miss Vernon with the encouragement you give—
Pardon me Frank—it is encouragement not of my giving but of your taking I meant neither original composition nor translation since I think you might employ your time to far better purpose than in either You are mortified she continued and I am sorry to be the cause
Not mortified—certainly not mortified said I with the best grace I could muster and it was but indifferently assumed I am too much obliged by the interest you take in me
Nay but resumed the relentless Diana there is both mortification and a little grain of anger in that constrained tone of voice do not be angry if I probe your feelings to the bottom—perhaps what I am about to say will affect them still more
I felt the childishness of my own conduct and the superior manliness of Miss Vernons and assured her that she need not fear my wincing under criticism which I knew to be kindly meant
That was honestly meant and said she replied I knew full well that the fiend of poetical irritability flew away with the little preluding cough which ushered in the declaration And now I must be serious—Have you heard from your father lately
Not a word I replied he has not honoured me with a single line during the several months of my residence here
That is strange—you are a singular race you bold Osbaldistones Then you are not aware that he has gone to Holland to arrange some pressing affairs which required his own immediate presence
I never heard a word of it until this moment
And farther it must be news to you and I presume scarcely the most agreeable that he has left Rashleigh in the almost uncontrolled management of his affairs until his return
I started and could not suppress my surprise and apprehension
You have reason for alarm said Miss Vernon very gravely and were I you I would endeavour to meet and obviate the dangers which arise from so undesirable an arrangement
And how is it possible for me to do so
Everything is possible for him who possesses courage and activity she said with a look resembling one of those heroines of the age of chivalry whose encouragement was wont to give champions double valour at the hour of need and to the timid and hesitating everything is impossible because it seems so
And what would you advise Miss Vernon I replied wishing yet dreading to hear her answer
She paused a moment then answered firmly—That you instantly leave Osbaldistone Hall and return to London You have perhaps already she continued in a softer tone been here too long that fault was not yours Every succeeding moment you waste here will be a crime Yes a crime for I tell you plainly that if Rashleigh long manages your fathers affairs you may consider his ruin as consummated
How is this possible
Ask no questions she said but believe me Rashleighs views extend far beyond the possession or increase of commercial wealth he will only make the command of Mr Osbaldistones revenues and property the means of putting in motion his own ambitious and extensive schemes While your father was in Britain this was impossible during his absence Rashleigh will possess many opportunities and he will not neglect to use them
But how can I in disgrace with my father and divested of all control over his affairs prevent this danger by my mere presence in London
That presence alone will do much Your claim to interfere is a part of your birthright and it is inalienable You will have the countenance doubtless of your fathers headclerk and confidential friends and partners Above all Rashleighs schemes are of a nature that—she stopped abruptly as if fearful of saying too much—are in short she resumed of the nature of all selfish and unconscientious plans which are speedily abandoned as soon as those who frame them perceive their arts are discovered and watched Therefore in the language of your favourite poet—
To horse to horse Urge doubts to those that fear
A feeling irresistible in its impulse induced me to reply—Ah Diana can you give me advice to leave Osbaldistone Hall—then indeed I have already been a resident here too long
Miss Vernon coloured but proceeded with great firmness—Indeed I do give you this advice—not only to quit Osbaldistone Hall but never to return to it more You have only one friend to regret here she continued forcing a smile and she has been long accustomed to sacrifice her friendships and her comforts to the welfare of others In the world you will meet a hundred whose friendship will be as disinterested—more useful—less encumbered by untoward circumstances—less influenced by evil tongues and evil times
Never I exclaimed never—the world can afford me nothing to repay what I must leave behind me Here I took her hand and pressed it to my lips
This is folly she exclaimed—this is madness and she struggled to withdraw her hand from my grasp but not so stubbornly as actually to succeed until I had held it for nearly a minute Hear me sir she said and curb this unmanly burst of passion I am by a solemn contract the bride of Heaven unless I could prefer being wedded to villany in the person of Rashleigh Osbaldistone or brutality in that of his brother I am therefore the bride of Heaven—betrothed to the convent from the cradle To me therefore these raptures are misapplied—they only serve to prove a farther necessity for your departure and that without delay At these words she broke suddenly off and said but in a suppressed tone of voice Leave me instantly—we will meet here again but it must be for the last time
My eyes followed the direction of hers as she spoke and I thought I saw the tapestry shake which covered the door of the secret passage from Rashleighs room to the library I conceived we were observed and turned an inquiring glance on Miss Vernon
It is nothing said she faintly a rat behind the arras
Dead for a ducat would have been my reply had I dared to give way to the feelings which rose indignant at the idea of being subjected to an eavesdropper on such an occasion Prudence and the necessity of suppressing my passion and obeying Dianas reiterated command of Leave me leave me came in time to prevent my rash action I left the apartment in a wild whirl and giddiness of mind which I in vain attempted to compose when I returned to my own
A chaos of thoughts intruded themselves on me at once passing hastily through my brain intercepting and overshadowing each other and resembling those fogs which in mountainous countries are wont to descend in obscure volumes and disfigure or obliterate the usual marks by which the traveller steers his course through the wilds The dark and undefined idea of danger arising to my father from the machinations of such a man as Rashleigh Osbaldistone—the half declaration of love that I had offered to Miss Vernons acceptance—the acknowledged difficulties of her situation bound by a previous contract to sacrifice herself to a cloister or to an illassorted marriage—all pressed themselves at once upon my recollection while my judgment was unable deliberately to consider any of them in their just light and bearings But chiefly and above all the rest I was perplexed by the manner in which Miss Vernon had received my tender of affection and by her manner which fluctuating betwixt sympathy and firmness seemed to intimate that I possessed an interest in her bosom but not of force sufficient to counterbalance the obstacles to her avowing a mutual affection The glance of fear rather than surprise with which she had watched the motion of the tapestry over the concealed door implied an apprehension of danger which I could not but suppose well grounded for Diana Vernon was little subject to the nervous emotions of her sex and totally unapt to fear without actual and rational cause Of what nature could those mysteries be with which she was surrounded as with an enchanters spell and which seemed continually to exert an active influence over her thoughts and actions though their agents were never visible On this subject of doubt my mind finally rested as if glad to shake itself free from investigating the propriety or prudence of my own conduct by transferring the inquiry to what concerned Miss Vernon I will be resolved I concluded ere I leave Osbaldistone Hall concerning the light in which I must in future regard this fascinating being over whose life frankness and mystery seem to have divided their reign—the former inspiring her words and sentiments—the latter spreading in misty influence over all her actions
Joined to the obvious interests which arose from curiosity and anxious passion there mingled in my feelings a strong though unavowed and undefined infusion of jealousy This sentiment which springs up with love as naturally as the tares with the wheat was excited by the degree of influence which Diana appeared to concede to those unseen beings by whom her actions were limited The more I reflected upon her character the more I was internally though unwillingly convinced that she was formed to set at defiance all control excepting that which arose from affection and I felt a strong bitter and gnawing suspicion that such was the foundation of that influence by which she was overawed
These tormenting doubts strengthened my desire to penetrate into the secret of Miss Vernons conduct and in the prosecution of this sage adventure I formed a resolution of which if you are not weary of these details you will find the result in the next chapter
CHAPTER SEVENTEENTH
I hear a voice you cannot hear
Which says I must not stay
I see a hand you cannot see
Which beckons me awry
Tickell
I have already told you Tresham if you deign to bear it in remembrance that my evening visits to the library had seldom been made except by appointment and under the sanction of old Dame Marthas presence This however was entirely a tacit conventional arrangement of my own instituting Of late as the embarrassments of our relative situation had increased Miss Vernon and I had never met in the evening at all She had therefore no reason to suppose that I was likely to seek a renewal of these interviews and especially without some previous notice or appointment betwixt us that Martha might as usual be placed upon duty but on the other hand this cautionary provision was a matter of understanding not of express enactment The library was open to me as to the other members of the family at all hours of the day and night and I could not be accused of intrusion however suddenly and unexpectedly I might made my appearance in it My belief was strong that in this apartment Miss Vernon occasionally received Vaughan or some other person by whose opinion she was accustomed to regulate her conduct and that at the times when she could do so with least chance of interruption The lights which gleamed in the library at unusual hours—the passing shadows which I had myself remarked—the footsteps which might be traced in the morningdew from the turretdoor to the posterngate in the garden—sounds and sights which some of the servants and Andrew Fairservice in particular had observed and accounted for in their own way—all tended to show that the place was visited by some one different from the ordinary inmates of the hall Connected as this visitant probably must be with the fates of Diana Vernon I did not hesitate to form a plan of discovering who or what he was—how far his influence was likely to produce good or evil consequences to her on whom he acted—above all though I endeavoured to persuade myself that this was a mere subordinate consideration I desired to know by what means this person had acquired or maintained his influence over Diana and whether he ruled over her by fear or by affection The proof that this jealous curiosity was uppermost in my mind arose from my imagination always ascribing Miss Vernons conduct to the influence of some one individual agent although for aught I knew about the matter her advisers might be as numerous am Legion I remarked this over and over to myself but I found that my mind still settled back in my original conviction that one single individual of the masculine sex and in all probability young and handsome was at the bottom of Miss Vernons conduct and it was with a burning desire of discovering or rather of detecting such a rival that I stationed myself in the garden to watch the moment when the lights should appear in the library windows
So eager however was my impatience that I commenced my watch for a phenomenon which could not appear until darkness a full hour before the daylight disappeared on a July evening It was Sabbath and all the walks were still and solitary I walked up and down for some time enjoying the refreshing coolness of a summer evening and meditating on the probable consequences of my enterprise The fresh and balmy air of the garden impregnated with fragrance produced its usual sedative effects on my overheated and feverish blood As these took place the turmoil of my mind began proportionally to abate and I was led to question the right I had to interfere with Miss Vernons secrets or with those of my uncles family What was it to me whom my uncle might choose to conceal in his house where I was myself a guest only by tolerance And what title had I to pry into the affairs of Miss Vernon fraught as she had avowed them to be with mystery into which she desired no scrutiny
Passion and selfwill were ready with their answers to these questions In detecting this secret I was in all probability about to do service to Sir Hildebrand who was probably ignorant of the intrigues carried on in his family—and a still more important service to Miss Vernon whose frank simplicity of character exposed her to so many risks in maintaining a private correspondence perhaps with a person of doubtful or dangerous character If I seemed to intrude myself on her confidence it was with the generous and disinterested yes I even ventured to call it the disinterested intention of guiding defending and protecting her against craft—against malice—above all against the secret counsellor whom she had chosen for her confidant Such were the arguments which my will boldly preferred to my conscience as coin which ought to be current and which conscience like a grumbling shopkeeper was contented to accept rather than come to an open breach with a customer though more than doubting that the tender was spurious
While I paced the green alleys debating these things pro and con I suddenly alighted upon Andrew Fairservice perched up like a statue by a range of beehives in an attitude of devout contemplation—one eye however watching the motions of the little irritable citizens who were settling in their strawthatched mansion for the evening and the other fixed on a book of devotion which much attrition had deprived of its corners and worn into an oval shape a circumstance which with the close print and dingy colour of the volume in question gave it an air of most respectable antiquity
I was een taking a spell o worthy Mess John Quacklebens Flower of a Sweet Savour sawn on the Middenstead of this World said Andrew closing his book at my appearance and putting his horn spectacles by way of mark at the place where he had been reading
And the bees I observe were dividing your attention Andrew with the learned author
They are a contumacious generation replied the gardener they hae sax days in the week to hive on and yet its a common observe that they will aye swarm on the Sabbathday and keep folk at hame frae hearing the word—But theres nae preaching at Graneagain chapel the een—thats aye ae mercy
You might have gone to the parish church as I did Andrew and heard an excellent discourse
Clauts o cauld parritch—clauts o cauld parritch replied Andrew with a most supercilious sneer—gude aneueh for dogs begging your honours pardon—Ay I might nae doubt hae heard the curate linking awa at it in his white sark yonder and the musicians playing on whistles mair like a pennywedding than a sermon—and to the boot of that I might hae gaen to evensong and heard Daddie Docharty mumbling his mass—muckle the better I wad hae been o that
Docharty said I this was the name of an old priest an Irishman I think who sometimes officiated at Osbaldistone Hall—I thought Father Vaughan had been at the Hall He was here yesterday
Ay replied Andrew but he left it yestreen to gang to Greystock or some o thae westcountry haulds Theres an unco stir among them a eenow They are as busy as my bees are—God sain them that I suld even the puir things to the like o papists Ye see this is the second swarm and whiles they will swarm off in the afternoon The first swarm set off sune in the morning—But I am thinking they are settled in their skeps for the night sae I wuss your honour goodnight and grace and muckle ot
So saying Andrew retreated but often cast a parting glance upon the skeps as he called the beehives
I had indirectly gained from him an important piece of information that Father Vaughan namely was not supposed to be at the Hall If therefore there appeared light in the windows of the library this evening it either could not be his or he was observing a very secret and suspicious line of conduct I waited with impatience the time of sunset and of twilight It had hardly arrived ere a gleam from the windows of the library was seen dimly distinguishable amidst the still enduring light of the evening I marked its first glimpse however as speedily as the benighted sailor descries the first distant twinkle of the lighthouse which marks his course The feelings of doubt and propriety which had hitherto contended with my curiosity and jealousy vanished when an opportunity of gratifying the former was presented to me I reentered the house and avoiding the more frequented apartments with the consciousness of one who wishes to keep his purpose secret I reached the door of the library—hesitated for a moment as my hand was upon the latch—heard a suppressed step within—opened the door—and found Miss Vernon alone
Diana appeared surprised—whether at my sudden entrance or from some other cause I could not guess but there was in her appearance a degree of flutter which I had never before remarked and which I knew could only be produced by unusual emotion Yet she was calm in a moment and such is the force of conscience that I who studied to surprise her seemed myself the surprised and was certainly the embarrassed person
Has anything happened said Miss Vernon—has any one arrived at the Hall
No one that I know of I answered in some confusion I only sought the Orlando
It lies there said Miss Vernon pointing to the table In removing one or two books to get at that which I pretended to seek I was in truth meditating to make a handsome retreat from an investigation to which I felt my assurance inadequate when I perceived a mans glove lying upon the table My eyes encountered those of Miss Vernon who blushed deeply
It is one of my relics she said with hesitation replying not to my words but to my looks it is one of the gloves of my grandfather the original of the superb Vandyke which you admire
As if she thought something more than her bare assertion was necessary to prove her statement true she opened a drawer of the large oaken table and taking out another glove threw it towards me—When a temper naturally ingenuous stoops to equivocate or to dissemble the anxious pain with which the unwonted task is laboured often induces the hearer to doubt the authenticity of the tale I cast a hasty glance on both gloves and then replied gravely—The gloves resemble each other doubtless in form and embroidery but they cannot form a pair since they both belong to the right hand
She bit her lip with anger and again coloured deeply
You do right to expose me she replied with bitterness some friends would have only judged from what I said that I chose to give no particular explanation of a circumstance which calls for none—at least to a stranger You have judged better and have made me feel not only the meanness of duplicity but my own inadequacy to sustain the task of a dissembler I now tell you distinctly that that glove is not the fellow as you have acutely discerned to the one which I just now produced—it belongs to a friend yet dearer to me than the original of Vandykes picture—a friend by whose counsels I have been and will be guided—whom I honour—whom I—she paused
I was irritated at her manner and filled up the blank in my own way— Whom she loves Miss Vernon would say
And if I do say so she replied haughtily by whom shall my affection be called to account
Die Vernon and Frank in Library
Not by me Miss Vernon assuredly—I entreat you to hold me acquitted of such presumption—But I continued with some emphasis for I was now piqued in return I hope Miss Vernon will pardon a friend from whom she seems disposed to withdraw the title for observing—
Observe nothing sir she interrupted with some vehemence except that I will neither be doubted nor questioned There does not exist one by whom I will be either interrogated or judged and if you sought this unusual time of presenting yourself in order to spy upon my privacy the friendship or interest with which you pretend to regard me is a poor excuse for your uncivil curiosity
I relieve you of my presence said I with pride equal to her own for my temper has ever been a stranger to stooping even in cases where my feelings were most deeply interested—I relieve you of my presence I awake from a pleasant but a most delusive dream and—but we understand each other
I had reached the door of the apartment when Miss Vernon whose movements were sometimes so rapid as to seem almost instinctive overtook me and catching hold of my arm stopped me with that air of authority which she could so whimsically assume and which from the naivete and simplicity of her manner had an effect so peculiarly interesting
Stop Mr Frank she said you are not to leave me in that way neither I am not so amply provided with friends that I can afford to throw away even the ungrateful and the selfish Mark what I say Mr Francis Osbaldistone You shall know nothing of this mysterious glove and she held it up as she spoke—nothing—no not a single iota more than you know already and yet I will not permit it to be a gauntlet of strife and defiance betwixt us My time here she said sinking into a tone somewhat softer must necessarily be very short yours must be still shorter we are soon to part never to meet again do not let us quarrel or make any mysterious miseries the pretext for farther embittering the few hours we shall ever pass together on this side of eternity
I do not know Tresham by what witchery this fascinating creature obtained such complete management over a temper which I cannot at all times manage myself I had determined on entering the library to seek a complete explanation with Miss Vernon I had found that she refused it with indignant defiance and avowed to my face the preference of a rival for what other construction could I put on her declared preference of her mysterious confidant And yet while I was on the point of leaving the apartment and breaking with her for ever it cost her but a change of look and tone from that of real and haughty resentment to that of kind and playful despotism again shaded off into melancholy and serious feeling to lead me back to my seat her willing subject on her own hard terms
What does this avail said I as I sate down What can this avail Miss Vernon Why should I witness embarrassments which I cannot relieve and mysteries which I offend you even by attempting to penetrate Inexperienced as you are in the world you must still be aware that a beautiful young woman can have but one male friend Even in a male friend I will be jealous of a confidence shared with a third party unknown and concealed but with you Miss Vernon—
You are of course jealous in all the tenses and moods of that amiable passion But my good friend you have all this time spoke nothing but the paltry gossip which simpletons repeat from playbooks and romances till they give mere cant a real and powerful influence over their minds Boys and girls prate themselves into love and when their love is like to fall asleep they prate and tease themselves into jealousy But you and I Frank are rational beings and neither silly nor idle enough to talk ourselves into any other relation than that of plain honest disinterested friendship Any other union is as far out of our reach as if I were man or you woman—To speak truth she added after a moments hesitation even though I am so complaisant to the decorum of my sex as to blush a little at my own plain dealing we cannot marry if we would and we ought not if we could
And certainly Tresham she did blush most angelically as she made this cruel declaration I was about to attack both her positions entirely forgetting those very suspicions which had been confirmed in the course of the evening but she proceeded with a cold firmness which approached to severity—What I say is sober and indisputable truth on which I will neither hear question nor explanation We are therefore friends Mr Osbaldistone—are we not She held out her hand and taking mine added—And nothing to each other now or henceforward except as friends
She let go my hand I sunk it and my head at once fairly overcrowed as Spenser would have termed it by the mingled kindness and firmness of her manner She hastened to change the subject
Here is a letter she said directed for you Mr Osbaldistone very duly and distinctly but which notwithstanding the caution of the person who wrote and addressed it might perhaps never have reached your hands had it not fallen into the possession of a certain Pacolet or enchanted dwarf of mine whom like all distressed damsels of romance I retain in my secret service
I opened the letter and glanced over the contents The unfolded sheet of paper dropped from my hands with the involuntary exclamation of Gracious Heaven my folly and disobedience have ruined my father
Miss Vernon rose with looks of real and affectionate alarm—You grow pale—you are ill—shall I bring you a glass of water Be a man Mr Osbaldistone and a firm one Is your father—is he no more
He lives said I thank God but to what distress and difficulty—
If that be all despair not May I read this letter she said taking it up
I assented hardly knowing what I said She read it with great attention
Who is this Mr Tresham who signs the letter
My fathers partner—your own good father Will—but he is little in the habit of acting personally in the business of the house
He writes here said Miss Vernon of various letters sent to you previously
I have received none of them I replied
And it appears she continued that Rashleigh who has taken the full management of affairs during your fathers absence in Holland has some time since left London for Scotland with effects and remittances to take up large bills granted by your father to persons in that country and that he has not since been heard of
It is but too true
And here has been she added looking at the letter a headclerk or some such person—Owenson—Owen—despatched to Glasgow to find out Rashleigh if possible and you are entreated to repair to the same place and assist him in his researches
It is even so and I must depart instantly
Stay but one moment said Miss Vernon It seems to me that the worst which can come of this matter will be the loss of a certain sum of money—and can that bring tears into your eyes For shame Mr Osbaldistone
You do me injustice Miss Vernon I answered I grieve not for the loss of the money but for the effect which I know it will produce on the spirits and health of my father to whom mercantile credit is as honour and who if declared insolvent would sink into the grave oppressed by a sense of grief remorse and despair like that of a soldier convicted of cowardice or a man of honour who had lost his rank and character in society All this I might have prevented by a trifling sacrifice of the foolish pride and indolence which recoiled from sharing the labours of his honourable and useful profession Good Heaven how shall I redeem the consequences of my error
By instantly repairing to Glasgow as you are conjured to do by the friend who writes this letter
But if Rashleigh said I has really formed this base and unconscientious scheme of plundering his benefactor what prospect is there that I can find means of frustrating a plan so deeply laid
The prospect she replied indeed may be uncertain but on the other
hand there is no possibility of your doing any service to your father by
remaining here Remember had you been on the post destined for you this
disaster could not have happened hasten to that which is now pointed
out and it may possibly be retrieved—Yet stay—do not leave this room
until I return
She left me in confusion and amazement amid which however I could
find a lucid interval to admire the firmness composure and presence of
mind which Miss Vernon seemed to possess on every crisis however sudden
In a few minutes she returned with a sheet of paper in her hand folded and sealed like a letter but without address I trust you she said with this proof of my friendship because I have the most perfect confidence in your honour If I understand the nature of your distress rightly the funds in Rashleighs possession must be recovered by a certain day—the 12th of September I think is named—in order that they may be applied to pay the bills in question and consequently that if adequate funds be provided before that period your fathers credit is safe from the apprehended calamity
Certainly—I so understand Mr Tresham—I looked at your fathers letter again and added There cannot be a doubt of it
Well said Diana in that case my little Pacolet may be of use to you You have heard of a spell contained in a letter Take this packet do not open it until other and ordinary means have failed If you succeed by your own exertions I trust to your honour for destroying it without opening or suffering it to be opened—but if not you may break the seal within ten days of the fated day and you will find directions which may possibly be of service to you Adieu Frank we never meet more—but sometimes think of your friend Die Vernon
She extended her hand but I clasped her to my bosom She sighed as she extricated herself from the embrace which she permitted—escaped to the door which led to her own apartment—and I saw her no more
VOLUME TWO
Helen Macgregorfrontispiece
CHAPTER FIRST
And hurry hurry off they rode
As fast as fast might be
Hurra hurra the dead can ride
Dost fear to ride with me
Burger
There is one advantage in an accumulation of evils differing in cause and character that the distraction which they afford by their contradictory operation prevents the patient from being overwhelmed under either I was deeply grieved at my separation from Miss Vernon yet not so much so as I should have been had not my fathers apprehended distresses forced themselves on my attention and I was distressed by the news of Mr Tresham yet less so than if they had fully occupied my mind I was neither a false lover nor an unfeeling son but man can give but a certain portion of distressful emotions to the causes which demand them and if two operate at once our sympathy like the funds of a compounding bankrupt can only be divided between them Such were my reflections when I gained my apartment—it seems from the illustration they already began to have a twang of commerce in them
I set myself seriously to consider your fathers letter It was not very distinct and referred for several particulars to Owen whom I was entreated to meet with as soon as possible at a Scotch town called Glasgow being informed moreover that my old friend was to be heard of at Messrs MacVittie MacFin and Company merchants in the Gallowgate of the said town It likewise alluded to several letters—which as it appeared to me must have miscarried or have been intercepted and complained of my obdurate silence in terms which would have been highly unjust had my letters reached their purposed destination I was amazed as I read That the spirit of Rashleigh walked around me and conjured up these doubts and difficulties by which I was surrounded I could not doubt for one instant yet it was frightful to conceive the extent of combined villany and power which he must have employed in the perpetration of his designs Let me do myself justice in one respect The evil of parting from Miss Vernon however distressing it might in other respects and at another time have appeared to me sunk into a subordinate consideration when I thought of the dangers impending over my father I did not myself set a high estimation on wealth and had the affectation of most young men of lively imagination who suppose that they can better dispense with the possession of money than resign their time and faculties to the labour necessary to acquire it But in my fathers case I knew that bankruptcy would be considered as an utter and irretrievable disgrace to which life would afford no comfort and death the speediest and sole relief
My mind therefore was bent on averting this catastrophe with an intensity which the interest could not have produced had it referred to my own fortunes and the result of my deliberation was a firm resolution to depart from Osbaldistone Hall the next day and wend my way without loss of time to meet Owen at Glasgow I did not hold it expedient to intimate my departure to my uncle otherwise than by leaving a letter of thanks for his hospitality assuring him that sudden and important business prevented my offering them in person I knew the blunt old knight would readily excuse ceremony and I had such a belief in the extent and decided character of Rashleighs machinations that I had some apprehension of his having provided means to intercept a journey which was undertaken with a view to disconcert them if my departure were publicly announced at Osbaldistone Hall
I therefore determined to set off on my journey with daylight on the ensuing morning and to gain the neighbouring kingdom of Scotland before any idea of my departure was entertained at the Hall But one impediment of consequence was likely to prevent that speed which was the soul of my expedition I did not know the shortest nor indeed any road to Glasgow and as in the circumstances in which I stood despatch was of the greatest consequence I determined to consult Andrew Fairservice on the subject as the nearest and most authentic authority within my reach Late as it was I set off with the intention of ascertaining this important point and after a few minutes walk reached the dwelling of the gardener
Andrews dwelling was situated at no great distance from the exterior wall of the garden—a snug comfortable Northumbrian cottage built of stones roughly dressed with the hammer and having the windows and doors decorated with huge heavy architraves or lintels as they are called of hewn stone and its roof covered with broad grey flags instead of slates thatch or tiles A jargonelle peartree at one end of the cottage a rivulet and flowerplot of a rood in extent in front and a kitchengarden behind a paddock for a cow and a small field cultivated with several crops of grain rather for the benefit of the cottager than for sale announced the warm and cordial comforts which Old England even at her most northern extremity extends to her meanest inhabitants
As I approached the mansion of the sapient Andrew I heard a noise which being of a nature peculiarly solemn nasal and prolonged led me to think that Andrew according to the decent and meritorious custom of his countrymen had assembled some of his neighbours to join in family exercise as he called evening devotion Andrew had indeed neither wife child nor female inmate in his family The first of his trade he said had had eneugh othae cattle But notwithstanding he sometimes contrived to form an audience for himself out of the neighbouring Papists and ChurchofEnglandmen—brands as he expressed it snatched out of the burning on whom he used to exercise his spiritual gifts in defiance alike of Father Vaughan Father Docharty Rashleigh and all the world of Catholics around him who deemed his interference on such occasions an act of heretical interloping I conceived it likely therefore that the welldisposed neighbours might have assembled to hold some chapel of ease of this nature The noise however when I listened to it more accurately seemed to proceed entirely from the lungs of the said Andrew and when I interrupted it by entering the house I found Fairservice alone combating as he best could with long words and hard names and reading aloud for the purpose of his own edification a volume of controversial divinity
I was just taking a spell said he laying aside the huge folio volume as I entered of the worthy Doctor Lightfoot
Lightfoot I replied looking at the ponderous volume with some surprise surely your author was unhappily named
Lightfoot was his name sir a divine he was and another kind of a divine than they hae nowadays Always I crave your pardon for keeping ye standing at the door but having been mistrysted gude preserve us with ae bogle the night already I was dubious o opening the yett till I had gaen through the eening worship and I had just finished the fifth chapter of Nehemiah—if that winna gar them keep their distance I wotna what will
Trysted with a bogle said I what do you mean by that Andrew
I said mistrysted replied Andrew that is as muckle as to say fleyd wi a ghaist—Gude preserve us I say again
Flayd by a ghost Andrew how am I to understand that
I did not say flayd replied Andrew but fleyd—that is I got a fleg and was ready to jump out o my skin though naebody offered to whirl it aff my body as a man wad bark a tree
I beg a truce to your terrors in the present case Andrew and I wish to know whether you can direct me the nearest way to a town in your country of Scotland called Glasgow
A town cad Glasgow echoed Andrew Fairservice Glasgows a ceety man—And ist the way to Glasgow ye were speering if I kend—What suld ail me to ken it—its no that dooms far frae my ain parish of Dreepdaily that lies a bittock farther to the west But what may your honour be gaun to Glasgow for
Particular business replied I
Thats as muckle as to say Speer nae questions and Ill tell ye nae lees—To Glasgow—he made a short pause—I am thinking ye wad be the better o some ane to show you the road
Certainly if I could meet with any person going that way
And your honour doubtless wad consider the time and trouble
Unquestionably—my business is pressing and if you can find any guide to accompany me Ill pay him handsomely
This is no a day to speak o carnal matters said Andrew casting his eyes upwards but if it werena Sabbath at een I wad speer what ye wad be content to gie to ane that wad bear ye pleasant company on the road and tell ye the names of the gentlemens and noblemens seats and castles and count their kin to ye
I tell you all I want to know is the road I must travel I will pay the fellow to his satisfaction—I will give him anything in reason
Onything replied Andrew is naething and this lad that I am speaking o kens a the short cuts and queer bypaths through the hills and—
I have no time to talk about it Andrew do you make the bargain for me your own way
Aha thats speaking to the purpose answered Andrew—I am thinking since sae be that sae it is Ill be the lad that will guide you mysell
You Andrew—how will you get away from your employment
I telld your honour a while syne that it was lang that I hae been thinking o flitting maybe as lang as frae the first year I came to Osbaldistone Hall and now I am o the mind to gang in gude earnest—better soon as syne—better a finger aff as aye wagging
You leave your service then—but will you not lose your wages
Nae doubt there will be a certain loss but then I hae siller o the lairds in my hands that I took for the apples in the auld orchyard—and a sair bargain the folk had that bought them—a wheen green trash—and yet Sir Hildebrands as keen to hae the siller that is the steward is as pressing about it as if they had been a gowden pippins—and then theres the siller for the seeds—Im thinking the wage will be in a manner decently made up—But doubtless your honour will consider my risk of loss when we win to Glasgow—and yell be for setting out forthwith
By daybreak in the morning I answered
Thats something o the suddenest—whare am I to find a naig—Stay—I ken just the beast that will answer me
At five in the morning then Andrew you will meet me at the head of the avenue
Deil a fear o me that I suld say sae missing my tryste replied Andrew very briskly and if I might advise we wad be aff twa hours earlier I ken the way dark or light as weel as blind Ralph Ronaldson thats travelled ower every moor in the countryside and disna ken the colour of a heathercowe when as dune
I highly approved of Andrews amendment on my original proposal and we agreed to meet at the place appointed at three in the morning At once however a reflection came across the mind of my intended travelling companion
The bogle the bogle what if it should come out upon us—I downa forgather wi thae things twice in the fourandtwenty hours
Pooh pooh I exclaimed breaking away from him fear nothing from the next world—the earth contains living fiends who can act for themselves without assistance were the whole host that fell with Lucifer to return to aid and abet them
With these words the import of which was suggested by my own situation I left Andrews habitation and returned to the Hall
I made the few preparations which were necessary for my proposed journey examined and loaded my pistols and then threw myself on my bed to obtain if possible a brief sleep before the fatigue of a long and anxious journey Nature exhausted by the tumultuous agitations of the day was kinder to me than I expected and I stink into a deep and profound slumber from which however I started as the old clock struck two from a turret adjoining to my bedchamber I instantly arose struck a light wrote the letter I proposed to leave for my uncle and leaving behind me such articles of dress as were cumbrous in carriage I deposited the rest of my wardrobe in my valise glided down stairs and gained the stable without impediment Without being quite such a groom as any of my cousins I had learned at Osbaldistone Hall to dress and saddle my own horse and in a few minutes I was mounted and ready for my sally
As I paced up the old avenue on which the waning moon threw its light with a pale and whitish tinge I looked back with a deep and boding sigh towards the walls which contained Diana Vernon under the despondent impression that we had probably parted to meet no more It was impossible among the long and irregular lines of Gothic casements which now looked ghastly white in the moonlight to distinguish that of the apartment which she inhabited She is lost to me already thought I as my eye wandered over the dim and indistinguishable intricacies of architecture offered by the moonlight view of Osbaldistone Hall—She is lost to me already ere I have left the place which she inhabits What hope is there of my maintaining any correspondence with her when leagues shall lie between
While I paused in a reverie of no very pleasing nature the iron tongue of time told three upon the drowsy ear of night and reminded me of the necessity of keeping my appointment with a person of a less interesting description and appearance—Andrew Fairservice
At the gate of the avenue I found a horseman stationed in the shadow of the wall but it was not until I had coughed twice and then called Andrew that the horticulturist replied Ise warrant its Andrew
Lead the way then said I and be silent if you can till we are past the hamlet in the valley
Andrew led the way accordingly and at a much brisker pace than I would have recommended—and so well did he obey my injunctions of keeping silence that he would return no answer to my repeated inquiries into the cause of such unnecessary haste Extricating ourselves by short cuts known to Andrew from the numerous stony lanes and bypaths which intersected each other in the vicinity of the Hall we reached the open heath and riding swiftly across it took our course among the barren hills which divide England from Scotland on what are called the Middle Marches The way or rather the broken track which we occupied was a happy interchange of bog and shingles nevertheless Andrew relented nothing of his speed but trotted manfully forward at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour I was both surprised and provoked at the fellows obstinate persistence for we made abrupt ascents and descents over ground of a very breakneck character and traversed the edge of precipices where a slip of the horses feet would have consigned the rider to certain death The moon at best afforded a dubious and imperfect light but in some places we were so much under the shade of the mountain as to be in total darkness and then I could only trace Andrew by the clatter of his horses feet and the fire which they struck from the flints At first this rapid motion and the attention which for the sake of personal safety I was compelled to give to the conduct of my horse was of service by forcibly diverting my thoughts from the various painful reflections which must otherwise have pressed on my mind But at length after hallooing repeatedly to Andrew to ride slower I became seriously incensed at his impudent perseverance in refusing either to obey or to reply to me My anger was however quite impotent I attempted once or twice to get up alongside of my selfwilled guide with the purpose of knocking him off his horse with the buttend of my whip but Andrew was better mounted than I and either the spirit of the animal which he bestrode or more probably some presentiment of my kind intentions towards him induced him to quicken his pace whenever I attempted to make up to him On the other hand I was compelled to exert my spurs to keep him in sight for without his guidance I was too well aware that I should never find my way through the howling wilderness which we now traversed at such an unwonted pace I was so angry at length that I threatened to have recourse to my pistols and send a bullet after the Hotspur Andrew which should stop his fieryfooted career if he did not abate it of his own accord Apparently this threat made some impression on the tympanum of his ear however deaf to all my milder entreaties for he relaxed his pace upon hearing it and suffering me to close up to him observed There wasna muckle sense in riding at sic a daftlike gate
And what did you mean by doing so at all you selfwilled scoundrel replied I for I was in a towering passion—to which by the way nothing contributes more than the having recently undergone a spice of personal fear which like a few drops of water flung on a glowing fire is sure to inflame the ardour which it is insufficient to quench
Whats your honours wull replied Andrew with impenetrable gravity
My will you rascal—I have been roaring to you this hour to ride slower and you have never so much as answered me—Are you drunk or mad to behave so
An it like your honour I am something dull o hearing and Ill no deny but I might have maybe taen a stirrupcup at parting frae the auld bigging whare I hae dwelt sae lang and having naebody to pledge nae doubt I was obliged to do mysell reason or else leave the end o the brandy stoup to thae papists—and that wad be a waste as your honour kens
This might be all very true—and my circumstances required that I should be on good terms with my guide I therefore satisfied myself with requiring of him to take his directions from me in future concerning the rate of travelling
Andrew emboldened by the mildness of my tone elevated his own into the pedantic conceited octave which was familiar to him on most occasions
Your honour winna persuade me and naebody shall persuade me that its either halesome or prudent to tak the night air on thae moors without a cordial o clowgilliflower water or a tass of brandy or aquavitae or siclike creaturecomfort I hae taen the bent ower the Otterscraperigg a hundred times day and night and never could find the way unless I had taen my morning mair by token that I had whiles twa bits o ankers o brandy on ilk side o me—
In other words Andrew said I you were a smuggler—how does a man of your strict principles reconcile yourself to cheat the revenue
Its a mere spoiling o the Egyptians replied Andrew puir auld Scotland suffers eneugh by thae blackguard loons o excisemen and gaugers that hae come down on her like locusts since the sad and sorrowfu Union its the part of a kind son to bring her a soup o something that will keep up her auld heart—and that will they nill they the illfaard thieves
Upon more particular inquiry I found Andrew had frequently travelled these mountainpaths as a smuggler both before and after his establishment at Osbaldistone Hall—a circumstance which was so far of importance to me as it proved his capacity as a guide notwithstanding the escapade of which he had been guilty at his outset Even now though travelling at a more moderate pace the stirrupcup or whatever else had such an effect in stimulating Andrews motions seemed not totally to have lost its influence He often cast a nervous and startled look behind him and whenever the road seemed at all practicable showed symptoms of a desire to accelerate his pace as if he feared some pursuit from the rear These appearances of alarm gradually diminished as we reached the top of a high bleak ridge which ran nearly east and west for about a mile with a very steep descent on either side The pale beams of the morning were now enlightening the horizon when Andrew cast a look behind him and not seeing the appearance of a living being on the moors which he had travelled his hard features gradually unbent as he first whistled then sung with much glee and little melody the end of one of his native songs—
Jenny lass I think I hae her
Ower the muir amang the heather
All their clan shall never get her
He patted at the same time the neck of the horse which had carried him so gallantly and my attention being directed by that action to the animal I instantly recognised a favourite mare of Thorncliff Osbaldistone How is this sir said I sternly that is Mr Thorncliffs mare
Ill no say but she may aiblins hae been his honours Squire Thorncliffs in her day—but shes mine now
You have stolen her you rascal
Na na sir—nae man can wyte me wi theft The thing stands this gate ye see Squire Thorncliff borrowed ten punds o me to gang to York Races—deil a boddle wad he pay me back again and spake o raddling my banes as he cad it when I asked him but for my ain back again—now I think it will riddle him or he gets his horse ower the Border again—unless he pays me plack and bawbee he sall never see a hair o her tail I ken a canny chield at Loughmaben a bit writer lad that will put me in the way to sort him Steal the mear na na far be the sin o theft frae Andrew Fairservice—I have just arrested her jurisdictionis fandandy causey Thae are bonny writer words—amaist like the language o huz gardeners and other learned men—its a pity theyre sae dear—thae three words were a that Andrew got for a lang lawplea and four ankers o as gude brandy as was eer coupit ower craig—Hech sirs but laws a dear thing
You are likely to find it much dearer than you suppose Andrew if you proceed in this mode of paying yourself without legal authority
Hout tout were in Scotland now be praised fort and I can find baith friends and lawyers and judges too as weel as ony Osbaldistone o them a My mithers mithers third cousin was cousin to the Provost o Dumfries and he winna see a drap o her blude wranged Hout awa the laws are indifferently administered here to a men alike its no like on yon side when a chield may be whuppit awa wi ane o Clerk Jobsons warrants afore he kens where he is But they will hae little enough law amang them by and by and that is ae grand reason that I hae gien them gudeday
I was highly provoked at the achievement of Andrew and considered it as a hard fate which a second time threw me into collision with a person of such irregular practices I determined however to buy the mare of him when he should reach the end of our journey and send her back to my cousin at Osbaldistone Hall and with this purpose of reparation I resolved to make my uncle acquainted from the next posttown It was needless I thought to quarrel with Andrew in the meantime who had after all acted not very unnaturally for a person in his circumstances I therefore smothered my resentment and asked him what he meant by his last expressions that there would be little law in Northumberland by and by
Law said Andrew hout ay—there will be clublaw eneugh The priests and the Irish officers and thae papist cattle that hae been sodgering abroad because they durstna bide at hame are a fleeing thick in Northumberland eenow and thae corbies dinna gather without they smell carrion As sure as ye live his honour Sir Hildebrand is gaun to stick his horn in the bog—theres naething but gun and pistol sword and dagger amang them—and theyll be laying on Ise warrant for theyre fearless fules the young Osbaldistone squires aye craving your honours pardon
This speech recalled to my memory some suspicions that I myself had entertained that the Jacobites were on the eve of some desperate enterprise But conscious it did not become me to be a spy on my uncles words and actions I had rather avoided than availed myself of any opportunity which occurred of remarking upon the signs of the times— Andrew Fairservice felt no such restraint and doubtless spoke very truly in stating his conviction that some desperate plots were in agitation as a reason which determined his resolution to leave the Hall
The servants he stated with the tenantry and others had been all regularly enrolled and mustered and they wanted me to take arms also But Ill ride in nae siccan troop—they little kend Andrew that asked him Ill fight when I like mysell but it sall neither be for the hure o Babylon nor any hure in England
CHAPTER SECOND
Where longs to fall yon rifted spire
As weary of the insulting air—
The poets thoughts the warriors fire
The lovers sighs are sleeping there
Langhorne
At the first Scotch town which we reached my guide sought out his friend and counsellor to consult upon the proper and legal means of converting into his own lawful property the bonny creature which was at present his own only by one of those sleightofhand arrangements which still sometimes took place in that once lawless district I was somewhat diverted with the dejection of his looks on his return He had it seems been rather too communicative to his confidential friend the attorney and learned with great dismay in return for his unsuspecting frankness that Mr Touthope had during his absence been appointed clerk to the peace of the county and was bound to communicate to justice all such achievements as that of his friend Mr Andrew Fairservice There was a necessity this alert member of the police stated for arresting the horse and placing him in Bailie Trumbulls stable therein to remain at livery at the rate of twelve shillings Scotch per diem until the question of property was duly tried and debated He even talked as if in strict and rigorous execution of his duty he ought to detain honest Andrew himself but on my guides most piteously entreating his forbearance he not only desisted from this proposal but made a present to Andrew of a brokenwinded and spavined pony in order to enable him to pursue his journey It is true he qualified this act of generosity by exacting from poor Andrew an absolute cession of his right and interest in the gallant palfrey of Thorncliff Osbaldistone—a transference which Mr Touthope represented as of very little consequence since his unfortunate friend as he facetiously observed was likely to get nothing of the mare excepting the halter
Andrew seemed woeful and disconcerted as I screwed out of him these particulars for his northern pride was cruelly pinched by being compelled to admit that attorneys were attorneys on both sides of the Tweed and that Mr Clerk Touthope was not a farthing more sterling coin than Mr Clerk Jobson
It wadna hae vexed him half sae muckle to hae been cheated out o what might amaist be said to be won with the peril o his craig had it happened amang the Inglishers but it was an unco thing to see hawks pike out hawks een or ae kindly Scot cheat anither But nae doubt things were strangely changed in his country sin the sad and sorrowfu Union an event to which Andrew referred every symptom of depravity or degeneracy which he remarked among his countrymen more especially the inflammation of reckonings the diminished size of pintstoups and other grievances which he pointed out to me during our journey
For my own part I held myself as things had turned out acquitted of all charge of the mare and wrote to my uncle the circumstances under which she was carried into Scotland concluding with informing him that she was in the hands of justice and her worthy representatives Bailie Trumbull and Mr Clerk Touthope to whom I referred him for farther particulars Whether the property returned to the Northumbrian foxhunter or continued to bear the person of the Scottish attorney it is unnecessary for me at present to say
We now pursued our journey to the northwestward at a rate much slower than that at which we had achieved our nocturnal retreat from England One chain of barren and uninteresting hills succeeded another until the more fertile vale of Clyde opened upon us and with such despatch as we might we gained the town or as my guide pertinaciously termed it the city of Glasgow Of late years I understand it has fully deserved the name which by a sort of political second sight my guide assigned to it An extensive and increasing trade with the West Indies and American colonies has if I am rightly informed laid the foundation of wealth and prosperity which if carefully strengthened and built upon may one day support an immense fabric of commercial prosperity but in the earlier time of which I speak the dawn of this splendour had not arisen The Union had indeed opened to Scotland the trade of the English colonies but betwixt want of capital and the national jealousy of the English the merchants of Scotland were as yet excluded in a great measure from the exercise of the privileges which that memorable treaty conferred on them Glasgow lay on the wrong side of the island for participating in the east country or continental trade by which the trifling commerce as yet possessed by Scotland chiefly supported itself Yet though she then gave small promise of the commercial eminence to which I am informed she seems now likely one day to attain Glasgow as the principal central town of the western district of Scotland was a place of considerable rank and importance The broad and brimming Clyde which flows so near its walls gave the means of an inland navigation of some importance Not only the fertile plains in its immediate neighbourhood but the districts of Ayr and Dumfries regarded Glasgow as their capital to which they transmitted their produce and received in return such necessaries and luxuries as their consumption required
The dusky mountains of the western Highlands often sent forth wilder tribes to frequent the marts of St Mungos favourite city Hordes of wild shaggy dwarfish cattle and ponies conducted by Highlanders as wild as shaggy and sometimes as dwarfish as the animals they had in charge often traversed the streets of Glasgow Strangers gazed with surprise on the antique and fantastic dress and listened to the unknown and dissonant sounds of their language while the mountaineers armed even while engaged in this peaceful occupation with musket and pistol sword dagger and target stared with astonishment on the articles of luxury of which they knew not the use and with an avidity which seemed somewhat alarming on the articles which they knew and valued It is always with unwillingness that the Highlander quits his deserts and at this early period it was like tearing a pine from its rock to plant him elsewhere Yet even then the mountain glens were overpeopled although thinned occasionally by famine or by the sword and many of their inhabitants strayed down to Glasgow—there formed settlements—there sought and found employment although different indeed from that of their native hills This supply of a hardy and useful population was of consequence to the prosperity of the place furnished the means of carrying on the few manufactures which the town already boasted and laid the foundation of its future prosperity
The exterior of the city corresponded with these promising circumstances The principal street was broad and important decorated with public buildings of an architecture rather striking than correct in point of taste and running between rows of tall houses built of stone the fronts of which were occasionally richly ornamented with masonwork—a circumstance which gave the street an imposing air of dignity and grandeur of which most English towns are in some measure deprived by the slight insubstantial and perishable quality and appearance of the bricks with which they are constructed
In the western metropolis of Scotland my guide and I arrived on a Saturday evening too late to entertain thoughts of business of any kind We alighted at the door of a jolly hostlerwife as Andrew called her—the Ostelere of old father Chaucer—by whom we were civilly received
On the following morning the bells pealed from every steeple announcing the sanctity of the day Notwithstanding however what I had heard of the severity with which the Sabbath is observed in Scotland my first impulse not unnaturally was to seek out Owen but on inquiry I found that my attempt would be in vain until kirk time was ower Not only did my landlady and guide jointly assure me that there wadna be a living soul either in the countinghouse or dwellinghouse of Messrs MacVittie MacFin and Company to which Owens letter referred me but moreover far less would I find any of the partners there They were serious men and wad be where a gude Christians ought to be at sic a time and that was in the Barony Laigh Kirk
The Laigh Kirk or Crypt of the Cathedral of Glasgow served for more than two centuries as the church of the Barony Parish and for a time was converted into a burialplace In the restorations of this grand building the crypt was cleared out and is now admired as one of the richest specimens of Early English architecture existing in Scotland
Andrew Fairservice whose disgust at the law of his country had fortunately not extended itself to the other learned professions of his native land now sung forth the praises of the preacher who was to perform the duty to which my hostess replied with many loud amens The result was that I determined to go to this popular place of worship as much with the purpose of learning if possible whether Owen had arrived in Glasgow as with any great expectation of edification My hopes were exalted by the assurance that if Mr Ephraim MacVittie worthy man were in the land of life he would surely honour the Barony Kirk that day with his presence and if he chanced to have a stranger within his gates doubtless he would bring him to the duty along with him This probability determined my motions and under the escort of my faithful Andrew I set forth for the Barony Kirk
On this occasion however I had little need of his guidance for the crowd which forced its way up a steep and roughpaved street to hear the most popular preacher in the west of Scotland would of itself have swept me along with it On attaining the summit of the hill we turned to the left and a large pair of folding doors admitted us amongst others into the open and extensive buryingplace which surrounds the Minster or Cathedral Church of Glasgow The pile is of a gloomy and massive rather than of an elegant style of Gothic architecture but its peculiar character is so strongly preserved and so well suited with the accompaniments that surround it that the impression of the first view was awful and solemn in the extreme I was indeed so much struck that I resisted for a few minutes all Andrews efforts to drag me into the interior of the building so deeply was I engaged in surveying its outward character
Situated in a populous and considerable town this ancient and massive pile has the appearance of the most sequestered solitude High walls divide it from the buildings of the city on one side on the other it is bounded by a ravine at the bottom of which and invisible to the eye murmurs a wandering rivulet adding by its gentle noise to the imposing solemnity of the scene On the opposite side of the ravine rises a steep bank covered with firtrees closely planted whose dusky shade extends itself over the cemetery with an appropriate and gloomy effect The churchyard itself had a peculiar character for though in reality extensive it is small in proportion to the number of respectable inhabitants who are interred within it and whose graves are almost all covered with tombstones There is therefore no room for the long rank grass which in most cases partially clothes the surface of those retreats where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest The broad flat monumental stones are placed so close to each other that the precincts appear to be flagged with them and though roofed only by the heavens resemble the floor of one of our old English churches where the pavement is covered with sepulchral inscriptions The contents of these sad records of mortality the vain sorrows which they preserve the stern lesson which they teach of the nothingness of humanity the extent of ground which they so closely cover and their uniform and melancholy tenor reminded me of the roll of the prophet which was written within and without and there was written therein lamentations and mourning and woe
The Cathedral itself corresponds in impressive majesty with these accompaniments We feel that its appearance is heavy yet that the effect produced would be destroyed were it lighter or more ornamental It is the only metropolitan church in Scotland excepting as I am informed the Cathedral of Kirkwall in the Orkneys which remained uninjured at the Reformation and Andrew Fairservice who saw with great pride the effect which it produced upon my mind thus accounted for its preservation—Ah its a brave kirk—nane o yere whigmaleeries and curliewurlies and opensteek hems about it—a solid weeljointed masonwark that will stand as lang as the warld keep hands and gunpowther aff it It had amaist a douncome lang syne at the Reformation when they pud doun the kirks of St Andrews and Perth and thereawa to cleanse them o Papery and idolatry and image worship and surplices and sic like rags o the muckle hure that sitteth on seven hills as if ane wasna braid eneugh for her auld hinder end Sae the commons o Renfrew and o the Barony and the Gorbals and a about they behoved to come into Glasgow no fair morning to try their hand on purging the High Kirk o Popish nicknackets But the townsmen o Glasgow they were feared their auld edifice might slip the girths in gaun through siccan rough physic sae they rang the common bell and assembled the trainbands wi took o drum By good luck the worthy James Rabat was Dean o Guild that year—and a gude mason he was himself made him the keener to keep up the auld bigging—and the trades assembled and offered downright battle to the commons rather than their kirk should coup the crans as others had done elsewhere It wasna for luve o Paperie—na na—nane could ever say that o the trades o Glasgow—Sae they sune came to an agreement to take a the idolatrous statues of sants sorrow be on them out o their neuks—and sae the bits o stane idols were broken in pieces by Scripture warrant and flung into the Molendinar burn and the auld kirk stood as crouse as a cat when the flaes are kaimed aff her and a body was alike pleased And I hae heard wise folk say that if the same had been done in ilka kirk in Scotland the Reform wad just hae been as pure as it is een now and we wad hae mair Christianlike kirks for I hae been sae lang in England that naething will drived out o my head that the dogkennel at Osbaldistone Hall is better than mony a house o God in Scotland
Thus saying Andrew led the way into the place of worship
CHAPTER THIRD
—It strikes an awe
And terror on my aching sight the tombs
And monumental caves of death look cold
And shoot a chillness to the trembling heart
Mourning Bride
Notwithstanding the impatience of my conductor I could not forbear to pause and gaze for some minutes on the exterior of the building rendered more impressively dignified by the solitude which ensued when its hitherto open gates were closed after having as it were devoured the multitude which had lately crowded the churchyard but now enclosed within the building were engaged as the choral swell of voices from within announced to us in the solemn exercises of devotion The sound of so many voices united by the distance into one harmony and freed from those harsh discordances which jar the ear when heard more near combining with the murmuring brook and the wind which sung among the old firs affected me with a sense of sublimity All nature as invoked by the Psalmist whose verses they chanted seemed united in offering that solemn praise in which trembling is mixed with joy as she addressed her Maker I had heard the service of high mass in France celebrated with all the eclat which the choicest music the richest dresses the most imposing ceremonies could confer on it yet it fell short in effect of the simplicity of the Presbyterian worship The devotion in which every one took a share seemed so superior to that which was recited by musicians as a lesson which they had learned by rote that it gave the Scottish worship all the advantage of reality over acting
As I lingered to catch more of the solemn sound Andrew whose impatience became ungovernable pulled me by the sleeve—Come awa sir—come awa we maunna be late o gaun in to disturb the worship if we bide here the searchers will be on us and carry us to the guardhouse for being idlers in kirktime
Thus admonished I followed my guide but not as I had supposed into the body of the cathedral This gate—this gate sir he exclaimed dragging me off as I made towards the main entrance of the building—Theres but cauldrife lawwork gaun on yonder—carnal morality as dowd and as fusionless as rue leaves at Yule—Heres the real savour of doctrine
So saying we entered a small lowarched door secured by a wicket which a gravelooking person seemed on the point of closing and descended several steps as if into the funeral vaults beneath the church It was even so for in these subterranean precincts—why chosen for such a purpose I knew not—was established a very singular place of worship
Conceive Tresham an extensive range of lowbrowed dark and twilight vaults such as are used for sepulchres in other countries and had long been dedicated to the same purpose in this a portion of which was seated with pews and used as a church The part of the vaults thus occupied though capable of containing a congregation of many hundreds bore a small proportion to the darker and more extensive caverns which yawned around what may be termed the inhabited space In those waste regions of oblivion dusky banners and tattered escutcheons indicated the graves of those who were once doubtless princes in Israel Inscriptions which could only be read by the painful antiquary in language as obsolete as the act of devotional charity which they employed invited the passengers to pray for the souls of those whose bodies rested beneath Surrounded by these receptacles of the last remains of mortality I found a numerous congregation engaged in the act of prayer The Scotch perform this duty in a standing instead of a kneeling posture—more perhaps to take as broad a distinction as possible from the ritual of Rome than for any better reason since I have observed that in their family worship as doubtless in their private devotions they adopt in their immediate address to the Deity that posture which other Christians use as the humblest and most reverential Standing therefore the men being uncovered a crowd of several hundreds of both sexes and all ages listened with great reverence and attention to the extempore at least the unwritten prayer of an aged clergyman who was very popular in the city
I have in vain laboured to discover this gentlemans name and the period of his incumbency I do not however despair to see these points with some others which may elude my sagacity satisfactorily elucidated by one or other of the periodical publications which have devoted their pages to explanatory commentaries on my former volumes and whose research and ingenuity claim my peculiar gratitude for having discovered many persons and circumstances connected with my narratives of which I myself never so much as dreamed
Educated in the same religious persuasion I seriously bent my mind to join in the devotion of the day and it was not till the congregation resumed their seats that my attention was diverted to the consideration of the appearance of all around me
At the conclusion of the prayer most of the men put on their hats or bonnets and all who had the happiness to have seats sate down Andrew and I were not of this number having been too late of entering the church to secure such accommodation We stood among a number of other persons in the same situation forming a sort of ring around the seated part of the congregation Behind and around us were the vaults I have already described before us the devout audience dimly shown by the light which streamed on their faces through one or two low Gothic windows such as give air and light to charnelhouses By this were seen the usual variety of countenances which are generally turned towards a Scotch pastor on such occasions almost all composed to attention unless where a father or mother here and there recalls the wandering eyes of a lively child or disturbs the slumbers of a dull one The highboned and harsh countenance of the nation with the expression of intelligence and shrewdness which it frequently exhibits is seen to more advantage in the act of devotion or in the ranks of war than on lighter and more cheerful occasions of assemblage The discourse of the preacher was well qualified to call forth the various feelings and faculties of his audience
Age and infirmities had impaired the powers of a voice originally strong and sonorous He read his text with a pronunciation somewhat inarticulate but when he closed the Bible and commenced his sermon his tones gradually strengthened as he entered with vehemence into the arguments which he maintained They related chiefly to the abstract points of the Christian faith—subjects grave deep and fathomless by mere human reason but for which with equal ingenuity and propriety he sought a key in liberal quotations from the inspired writings My mind was unprepared to coincide in all his reasoning nor was I sure that in some instances I rightly comprehended his positions But nothing could be more impressive than the eager enthusiastic manner of the good old man and nothing more ingenious than his mode of reasoning The Scotch it is well known are more remarkable for the exercise of their intellectual powers than for the keenness of their feelings they are therefore more moved by logic than by rhetoric and more attracted by acute and argumentative reasoning on doctrinal points than influenced by the enthusiastic appeals to the heart and to the passions by which popular preachers in other countries win the favour of their hearers
Among the attentive group which I now saw might be distinguished various expressions similar to those of the audience in the famous cartoon of Paul preaching at Athens Here sat a zealous and intelligent Calvinist with brows bent just as much as to indicate profound attention lips slightly compressed eyes fixed on the minister with an expression of decent pride as if sharing the triumph of his argument the forefinger of the right hand touching successively those of the left as the preacher from argument to argument ascended towards his conclusion Another with fiercer and sterner look intimated at once his contempt of all who doubted the creed of his pastor and his joy at the appropriate punishment denounced against them A third perhaps belonging to a different congregation and present only by accident or curiosity had the appearance of internally impeaching some link of the reasoning and you might plainly read in the slight motion of his head his doubts as to the soundness of the preachers argument The greater part listened with a calm satisfied countenance expressive of a conscious merit in being present and in listening to such an ingenious discourse although perhaps unable entirely to comprehend it The women in general belonged to this last division of the audience the old however seeming more grimly intent upon the abstract doctrines laid before them while the younger females permitted their eyes occasionally to make a modest circuit around the congregation and some of them Tresham if my vanity did not greatly deceive me contrived to distinguish your friend and servant as a handsome young stranger and an Englishman As to the rest of the congregation the stupid gaped yawned or slept till awakened by the application of their more zealous neighbours heels to their shins and the idle indicated their inattention by the wandering of their eyes but dared give no more decided token of weariness Amid the Lowland costume of coat and cloak I could here and there discern a Highland plaid the wearer of which resting on his baskethilt sent his eyes among the audience with the unrestrained curiosity of savage wonder and who in all probability was inattentive to the sermon for a very pardonable reason—because he did not understand the language in which it was delivered The martial and wild look however of these stragglers added a kind of character which the congregation could not have exhibited without them They were more numerous Andrew afterwards observed owing to some cattlefair in the neighbourhood
Such was the group of countenances rising tier on tier discovered to my critical inspection by such sunbeams as forced their way through the narrow Gothic lattices of the Laigh Kirk of Glasgow and having illuminated the attentive congregation lost themselves in the vacuity of the vaults behind giving to the nearer part of their labyrinth a sort of imperfect twilight and leaving their recesses in an utter darkness which gave them the appearance of being interminable
I have already said that I stood with others in the exterior circle with my face to the preacher and my back to those vaults which I have so often mentioned My position rendered me particularly obnoxious to any interruption which arose from any slight noise occurring amongst these retiring arches where the least sound was multiplied by a thousand echoes The occasional sound of raindrops which admitted through some cranny in the ruined roof fell successively and splashed upon the pavement beneath caused me to turn my head more than once to the place from whence it seemed to proceed and when my eyes took that direction I found it difficult to withdraw them such is the pleasure our imagination receives from the attempt to penetrate as far as possible into an intricate labyrinth imperfectly lighted and exhibiting objects which irritate our curiosity only because they acquire a mysterious interest from being undefined and dubious My eyes became habituated to the gloomy atmosphere to which I directed them and insensibly my mind became more interested in their discoveries than in the metaphysical subtleties which the preacher was enforcing
My father had often checked me for this wandering mood of mind arising perhaps from an excitability of imagination to which he was a stranger and the finding myself at present solicited by these temptations to inattention recalled the time when I used to walk led by his hand to Mr Showers chapel and the earnest injunctions which he then laid on me to redeem the time because the days were evil At present the picture which my thoughts suggested far from fixing my attention destroyed the portion I had yet left by conjuring up to my recollection the peril in which his affairs now stood I endeavoured in the lowest whisper I could frame to request Andrew to obtain information whether any of the gentlemen of the firm of MacVittie Co were at present in the congregation But Andrew wrapped in profound attention to the sermon only replied to my suggestion by hard punches with his elbow as signals to me to remain silent I next strained my eyes with equally bad success to see if among the sea of upturned faces which bent their eyes on the pulpit as a common centre I could discover the sober and businesslike physiognomy of Owen But not among the broad beavers of the Glasgow citizens or the yet broader brimmed Lowland bonnets of the peasants of Lanarkshire could I see anything resembling the decent periwig starched ruffles or the uniform suit of lightbrown garments appertaining to the headclerk of the establishment of Osbaldistone and Tresham My anxiety now returned on me with such violence as to overpower not only the novelty of the scene around me by which it had hitherto been diverted but moreover my sense of decorum I pulled Andrew hard by the sleeve and intimated my wish to leave the church and pursue my investigation as I could Andrew obdurate in the Laigh Kirk of Glasgow as on the mountains of Cheviot for some time deigned me no answer and it was only when he found I could not otherwise be kept quiet that he condescended to inform me that being once in the church we could not leave it till service was over because the doors were locked so soon as the prayers began Having thus spoken in a brief and peevish whisper Andrew again assumed the air of intelligent and critical importance and attention to the preachers discourse
While I endeavoured to make a virtue of necessity and recall my attention to the sermon I was again disturbed by a singular interruption A voice from behind whispered distinctly in my ear You are in danger in this city—I turned round as if mechanically
One or two starched and ordinarylooking mechanics stood beside and behind me—stragglers who like ourselves had been too late in obtaining entrance But a glance at their faces satisfied me though I could hardly say why that none of these was the person who had spoken to me Their countenances seemed all composed to attention to the sermon and not one of them returned any glance of intelligence to the inquisitive and startled look with which I surveyed them A massive round pillar which was close behind us might have concealed the speaker the instant he uttered his mysterious caution but wherefore it was given in such a place or to what species of danger it directed my attention or by whom the warning was uttered were points on which my imagination lost itself in conjecture It would however I concluded be repeated and I resolved to keep my countenance turned towards the clergyman that the whisperer might be tempted to renew his communication under the idea that the first had passed unobserved
My plan succeeded I had not resumed the appearance of attention to the preacher for five minutes when the same voice whispered Listen but do not look back I kept my face in the same direction You are in danger in this place the voice proceeded so am I—meet me tonight on the Brigg at twelve preceesely—keep at home till the gloaming and avoid observation
Here the voice ceased and I instantly turned my head But the speaker had with still greater promptitude glided behind the pillar and escaped my observation I was determined to catch a sight of him if possible and extricating myself from the outer circle of hearers I also stepped behind the column All there was empty and I could only see a figure wrapped in a mantle whether a Lowland cloak or Highland plaid I could not distinguish which traversed like a phantom the dreary vacuity of vaults which I have described
I made a mechanical attempt to pursue the mysterious form which glided away and vanished in the vaulted cemetery like the spectre of one of the numerous dead who rested within its precincts I had little chance of arresting the course of one obviously determined not to be spoken with but that little chance was lost by my stumbling and falling before I had made three steps from the column The obscurity which occasioned my misfortune covered my disgrace which I accounted rather lucky for the preacher with that stern authority which the Scottish ministers assume for the purpose of keeping order in their congregations interrupted his discourse to desire the proper officer to take into custody the causer of this disturbance in the place of worship As the noise however was not repeated the beadle or whatever else he was called did not think it necessary to be rigorous in searching out the offender so that I was enabled without attracting farther observation to place myself by Andrews side in my original position The service proceeded and closed without the occurrence of anything else worthy of notice
As the congregation departed and dispersed my friend Andrew exclaimed See yonder is worthy Mr MacVittie and Mrs MacVittie and Miss Alison MacVittie and Mr Thamas MacFin that they say is to marry Miss Alison if a bowls row right—shell hae a hantle siller if shes no that bonny
My eyes took the direction he pointed out Mr MacVittie was a tall thin elderly man with hard features thick grey eyebrows light eyes and as I imagined a sinister expression of countenance from which my heart recoiled I remembered the warning I had received in the church and hesitated to address this person though I could not allege to myself any rational ground of dislike or suspicion
I was yet in suspense when Andrew who mistook my hesitation for bashfulness proceeded to exhort me to lay it aside Speak till him—speak till him Mr Francis—hes no provost yet though they say hell be my lord neist year Speak till him then—hell gie ye a decent answer for as rich as he is unless ye were wanting siller frae him—they say hes dour to draw his purse
It immediately occurred to me that if this merchant were really of the churlish and avaricious disposition which Andrew intimated there might be some caution necessary in making myself known as I could not tell how accounts might stand between my father and him This consideration came in aid of the mysterious hint which I had received and the dislike which I had conceived at the mans countenance Instead of addressing myself directly to him as I had designed to have done I contented myself with desiring Andrew to inquire at Mr MacVitties house the address of Mr Owen an English gentleman and I charged him not to mention the person from whom he received the commission but to bring me the result to the small inn where we lodged This Andrew promised to do He said something of the duty of my attending the evening service but added with a causticity natural to him that in troth if folk couldna keep their legs still but wad needs be couping the creels ower throughstanes as if they wad raise the very dead folk wi the clatter a kirk wi a chimley int was fittest for them
CHAPTER FOURTH
On the Rialto every night at twelve
I take my evenings walk of meditation
There we two will meet
Venice Preserved
Full of sinister augury for which however I could assign no satisfactory cause I shut myself up in my apartment at the inn and having dismissed Andrew after resisting his importunity to accompany him to St Enochs Kirk where he said a soulsearching divine was to haud forth I set myself seriously to consider what were best to be done
This I believe to be an anachronism as Saint Enochs Church was not built at the date of the story It was founded in 1780 and has since been rebuilt
I never was what is properly called superstitious but I suppose that all men in situations of peculiar doubt and difficulty when they have exercised their reason to little purpose are apt in a sort of despair to abandon the reins to their imagination and be guided altogether by chance or by those whimsical impressions which take possession of the mind and to which we give way as if to involuntary impulses There was something so singularly repulsive in the hard features of the Scotch trader that I could not resolve to put myself into his hands without transgressing every caution which could be derived from the rules of physiognomy while at the same time the warning voice the form which flitted away like a vanishing shadow through those vaults which might be termed the valley of the shadow of death had something captivating for the imagination of a young man who you will farther please to remember was also a young poet
If danger was around me as the mysterious communication intimated how could I learn its nature or the means of averting it but by meeting my unknown counsellor to whom I could see no reason for imputing any other than kind intentions Rashleigh and his machinations occurred more than once to my remembrance—but so rapid had my journey been that I could not suppose him apprised of my arrival in Glasgow much less prepared to play off any stratagem against my person In my temper also I was bold and confident strong and active in person and in some measure accustomed to the use of arms in which the French youth of all kinds were then initiated I did not fear any single opponent assassination was neither the vice of the age nor of the country the place selected for our meeting was too public to admit any suspicion of meditated violence In a word I resolved to meet my mysterious counsellor on the bridge as he had requested and to be afterwards guided by circumstances Let me not conceal from you Tresham what at the time I endeavoured to conceal from myself—the subdued yet secretlycherished hope that Diana Vernon might—by what chance I knew not—through what means I could not guess—have some connection with this strange and dubious intimation conveyed at a time and place and in a manner so surprising She alone—whispered this insidious thought—she alone knew of my journey from her own account she possessed friends and influence in Scotland she had furnished me with a talisman whose power I was to invoke when all other aid failed me who then but Diana Vernon possessed either means knowledge or inclination for averting the dangers by which as it seemed my steps were surrounded This flattering view of my very doubtful case pressed itself upon me again and again It insinuated itself into my thoughts though very bashfully before the hour of dinner it displayed its attractions more boldly during the course of my frugal meal and became so courageously intrusive during the succeeding halfhour aided perhaps by the flavour of a few glasses of most excellent claret that with a sort of desperate attempt to escape from a delusive seduction to which I felt the danger of yielding I pushed my glass from me threw aside my dinner seized my hat and rushed into the open air with the feeling of one who would fly from his own thoughts Yet perhaps I yielded to the very feelings from which I seemed to fly since my steps insensibly led me to the bridge over the Clyde the place assigned for the rendezvous by my mysterious monitor
Although I had not partaken of my repast until the hours of evening churchservice were over—in which by the way I complied with the religious scruples of my landlady who hesitated to dress a hot dinner between sermons and also with the admonition of my unknown friend to keep my apartment till twilight—several hours had still to pass away betwixt the time of my appointment and that at which I reached the assigned place of meeting The interval as you will readily credit was wearisome enough and I can hardly explain to you how it passed away Various groups of persons all of whom young and old seemed impressed with a reverential feeling of the sanctity of the day passed along the large open meadow which lies on the northern bank of the Clyde and serves at once as a bleachingfield and pleasurewalk for the inhabitants or paced with slow steps the long bridge which communicates with the southern district of the county All that I remember of them was the general yet not unpleasing intimation of a devotional character impressed on each little party—formally assumed perhaps by some but sincerely characterising the greater number—which hushed the petulant gaiety of the young into a tone of more quiet yet more interesting interchange of sentiments and suppressed the vehement argument and protracted disputes of those of more advanced age Notwithstanding the numbers who passed me no general sound of the human voice was heard few turned again to take some minutes voluntary exercise to which the leisure of the evening and the beauty of the surrounding scenery seemed to invite them all hurried to their homes and restingplaces To one accustomed to the mode of spending Sunday evenings abroad even among the French Calvinists there seemed something Judaical yet at the same time striking and affecting in this mode of keeping the Sabbath holy Insensibly I felt my mode of sauntering by the side of the river and crossing successively the various persons who were passing homeward and without tarrying or delay must expose me to observation at least if not to censure and I slunk out of the frequented path and found a trivial occupation for my mind in marshalling my revolving walk in such a manner as should least render me obnoxious to observation The different alleys lined out through this extensive meadow and which are planted with trees like the Park of St Jamess in London gave me facilities for carrying into effect these childish manoeuvres
As I walked down one of these avenues I heard to my surprise the sharp and conceited voice of Andrew Fairservice raised by a sense of selfconsequence to a pitch somewhat higher than others seemed to think consistent with the solemnity of the day To slip behind the row of trees under which I walked was perhaps no very dignified proceeding but it was the easiest mode of escaping his observation and perhaps his impertinent assiduity and still more intrusive curiosity As he passed I heard him communicate to a gravelooking man in a black coat a slouched hat and Geneva cloak the following sketch of a character which my selflove while revolting against it as a caricature could not nevertheless refuse to recognise as a likeness
Ay ay Mr Hammorgaw its een as I tell ye Hes no athegither sae void o sense neither he has a gloaming sight o whats reasonable—that is anes and awa—a glisk and nae mair but hes crackbrained and cockleheaded about his nippertytipperty poetry nonsense—Hell glowr at an auldwarld barkit aiksnag as if it were a queezmaddam in full bearing and a naked craig wi a bum jawing owert is unto him as a garden garnisht with flowering knots and choice potherbs Then he wad rather claver wi a daft quean they ca Diana Vernon weel I wet they might ca her Diana of the Ephesians for shes little better than a heathen—better shes waur—a Roman a mere Roman—hell claver wi her or any ither idle slut rather than hear what might do him gude a the days of his life frae you or me Mr Hammorgaw or ony ither sober and sponsible person Reason sir is what he canna endure—hes a for your vanities and volubilities and he ance telld me puir blinded creature that the Psalms of David were excellent poetry as if the holy Psalmist thought o rattling rhymes in a blether like his ain silly clinkumclankum things that he cas verse Gude help him—twa lines o Davie Lindsay would ding a he ever clerkit
While listening to this perverted account of my temper and studies you will not be surprised if I meditated for Mr Fairservice the unpleasant surprise of a broken pate on the first decent opportunity His friend only intimated his attention by Ay ay and Ist een sae and suchlike expressions of interest at the proper breaks in Mr Fairservices harangue until at length in answer to some observation of greater length the import of which I only collected from my trusty guides reply honest Andrew answered Tell him a bit omy mind quoth ye Wha wad be fule then but Andrew Hes a redwad deevil man—Hes like Giles Heathertaps auld boar—ye need but shake a clout at him to make him turn and gore Bide wi him say ye—Troth I kenna what for I bide wi him mysell But the lads no a bad lad after a and he needs some carefu body to look after him He hasna the right grip o his hand—the gowd slips throught like water man and its no that ill a thing to be near him when his purse is in his hand and its seldom out ot And then hes come o guid kith and kin—My heart warms to the poor thoughtless callant Mr Hammorgaw—and then the penny fee—
In the latter part of this instructive communication Mr Fairservice lowered his voice to a tone better beseeming the conversation in a place of public resort on a Sabbath evening and his companion and he were soon beyond my hearing My feelings of hasty resentment soon subsided under the conviction that as Andrew himself might have said A harkener always hears a bad tale of himself and that whoever should happen to overhear their character discussed in their own servantshall must prepare to undergo the scalpel of some such anatomist as Mr Fairservice The incident was so far useful as including the feelings to which it gave rise it sped away a part of the time which hung so heavily on my hand
Evening had now closed and the growing darkness gave to the broad still and deep expanse of the brimful river first a hue sombre and uniform—then a dismal and turbid appearance partially lighted by a waning and pallid moon The massive and ancient bridge which stretches across the Clyde was now but dimly visible and resembled that which Mirza in his unequalled vision has described as traversing the valley of Bagdad The lowbrowed arches seen as imperfectly as the dusky current which they bestrode seemed rather caverns which swallowed up the gloomy waters of the river than apertures contrived for their passage With the advancing night the stillness of the scene increased There was yet a twinkling light occasionally seen to glide along by the stream which conducted home one or two of the small parties who after the abstinence and religious duties of the day had partaken of a social supper—the only meal at which the rigid Presbyterians made some advance to sociality on the Sabbath Occasionally also the hoofs of a horse were heard whose rider after spending the Sunday in Glasgow was directing his steps towards his residence in the country These sounds and sights became gradually of more rare occurrence at length they altogether ceased and I was left to enjoy my solitary walk on the shores of the Clyde in solemn silence broken only by the tolling of the successive hours from the steeples of the churches
But as the night advanced my impatience at the uncertainty of the situation in which I was placed increased every moment and became nearly ungovernable I began to question whether I had been imposed upon by the trick of a fool the raving of a madman or the studied machinations of a villain and paced the little quay or pier adjoining the entrance to the bridge in a state of incredible anxiety and vexation At length the hour of twelve oclock swung its summons over the city from the belfry of the metropolitan church of St Mungo and was answered and vouched by all the others like dutiful diocesans The echoes had scarcely ceased to repeat the last sound when a human form—the first I had seen for two hours—appeared passing along the bridge from the southern shore of the river I advanced to meet him with a feeling as if my fate depended on the result of the interview so much had my anxiety been wound up by protracted expectation All that I could remark of the passenger as we advanced towards each other was that his frame was rather beneath than above the middle size but apparently strong thickset and muscular his dress a horsemans wrapping coat I slackened my pace and almost paused as I advanced in expectation that he would address me But to my inexpressible disappointment he passed without speaking and I had no pretence for being the first to address one who notwithstanding his appearance at the very hour of appointment might nevertheless be an absolute stranger I stopped when he had passed me and looked after him uncertain whether I ought not to follow him The stranger walked on till near the northern end of the bridge then paused looked back and turning round again advanced towards me I resolved that this time he should not have the apology for silence proper to apparitions who it is vulgarly supposed cannot speak until they are spoken to You walk late sir said I as we met a second time
I bide tryste was the reply and so I think do you Mr Osbaldistone
You are then the person who requested to meet me here at this unusual hour
I am he replied Follow me and you shall know my reasons
Before following you I must know your name and purpose I answered
I am a man was the reply and my purpose is friendly to you
A man I repeated—that is a very brief description
It will serve for one who has no other to give said the stranger He that is without name without friends without coin without country is still at least a man and he that has all these is no more
Yet this is still too general an account of yourself to say the least of it to establish your credit with a stranger
It is all I mean to give howsoeer you may choose to follow me or to remain without the information I desire to afford you
Can you not give me that information here I demanded
You must receive it from your eyes not from my tongue—you must follow me or remain in ignorance of the information which I have to give you
There was something short determined and even stern in the mans manner not certainly well calculated to conciliate undoubting confidence
What is it you fear he said impatiently To whom think ye is your life of such consequence that they should seek to bereave ye of it
I fear nothing I replied firmly though somewhat hastily Walk on—I attend you
We proceeded contrary to my expectation to reenter the town and glided like mute spectres side by side up its empty and silent streets The high and gloomy stone fronts with the variegated ornaments and pediments of the windows looked yet taller and more sable by the imperfect moonshine Our walk was for some minutes in perfect silence At length my conductor spoke
Are you afraid
I retort your own words I replied wherefore should I fear
Because you are with a stranger—perhaps an enemy in a place where you have no friends and many enemies
I neither fear you nor them I am young active and armed
I am not armed replied my conductor but no matter a willing hand never lacked weapon You say you fear nothing but if you knew who was by your side perhaps you might underlie a tremor
And why should I replied I I again repeat I fear nought that you can do
Nought that I can do—Be it so But do you not fear the consequences of being found with one whose very name whispered in this lonely street would make the stones themselves rise up to apprehend him—on whose head half the men in Glasgow would build their fortune as on a found treasure had they the luck to grip him by the collar—the sound of whose apprehension were as welcome at the Cross of Edinburgh as ever the news of a field stricken and won in Flanders
And who then are you whose name should create so deep a feeling of terror I replied
No enemy of yours since I am conveying you to a place where were I myself recognised and identified iron to the heels and hemp to the craig would be my brief dooming
I paused and stood still on the pavement drawing back so as to have the most perfect view of my companion which the light afforded me and which was sufficient to guard against any sudden motion of assault
You have said I answered either too much or too little—too much to induce me to confide in you as a mere stranger since you avow yourself a person amenable to the laws of the country in which we are—and too little unless you could show that you are unjustly subjected to their rigour
As I ceased to speak he made a step towards me I drew back instinctively and laid my hand on the hilt of my sword
What said he—on an unarmed man and your friend
I am yet ignorant if you are either the one or the other I replied and to say the truth your language and manner might well entitle me to doubt both
It is manfully spoken replied my conductor and I respect him whose hand can keep his head—I will be frank and free with you—I am conveying you to prison
To prison I exclaimed—by what warrant or for what offence—You shall have my life sooner than my liberty—I defy you and I will not follow you a step farther
I do not he said carry you there as a prisoner I am he added drawing himself haughtily up neither a messenger nor sheriffs officer I carry you to see a prisoner from whose lips you will learn the risk in which you presently stand Your liberty is little risked by the visit mine is in some peril but that I readily encounter on your account for I care not for risk and I love a free young blood that kens no protector but the cross o the sword
While he spoke thus we had reached the principal street and were pausing before a large building of hewn stone garnished as I thought I could perceive with gratings of iron before the windows
Muckle said the stranger whose language became more broadly national as he assumed a tone of colloquial freedom—Muckle wad the provost and bailies o Glasgow gie to hae him sitting with iron garters to his hose within their tolbooth that now stands wi his legs as free as the reddeers on the outside ont And little wad it avail them for an if they had me there wi a stanes weight o iron at every ankle I would show them a toom room and a lost lodger before tomorrow—But come on what stint ye for
As he spoke thus he tapped at a low wicket and was answered by a sharp voice as of one awakened from a dream or reverie—Fas tat—Whas that I wad say—and fat a deil want ye at this hour at een—Clean again rules—clean again rules as they ca them
The protracted tone in which the last words were uttered betokened that the speaker was again composing himself to slumber But my guide spoke in a loud whisper—Dougal man hae ye forgotten Ha nun Gregarach
Deil a bit deil a bit was the ready and lively response and I heard the internal guardian of the prisongate bustle up with great alacrity A few words were exchanged between my conductor and the turnkey in a language to which I was an absolute stranger The bolts revolved but with a caution which marked the apprehension that the noise might be overheard and we stood within the vestibule of the prison of Glasgow—a small but strong guardroom from which a narrow staircase led upwards and one or two low entrances conducted to apartments on the same level with the outward gate all secured with the jealous strength of wickets bolts and bars The walls otherwise naked were not unsuitably garnished with iron fetters and other uncouth implements which might be designed for purposes still more inhuman interspersed with partisans guns pistols of antique manufacture and other weapons of defence and offence
At finding myself so unexpectedly fortuitously and as it were by stealth introduced within one of the legal fortresses of Scotland I could not help recollecting my adventure in Northumberland and fretting at the strange incidents which again without any demerits of my own threatened to place me in a dangerous and disagreeable collision with the laws of a country which I visited only in the capacity of a stranger
CHAPTER FIFTH
Look round thee young Astolpho Heres the place
Which men for being poor are sent to starve in
Rude remedy I trow for sore disease
Within these walls stifled by damp and stench
Doth Hopes fair torch expire and at the snuff
Ere yet tis quite extinct rude wild and wayward
The desperate revelries of wild despair
Kindling their hellborn cressets light to deeds
That the poor captive would have died ere practised
Till bondage sunk his soul to his condition
The Prison Scene III Act I
At my first entrance I turned an eager glance towards my conductor but the lamp in the vestibule was too low in flame to give my curiosity any satisfaction by affording a distinct perusal of his features As the turnkey held the light in his hand the beams fell more full on his own scarce less interesting figure He was a wild shockheaded looking animal whose profusion of red hair covered and obscured his features which were otherwise only characterised by the extravagant joy that affected him at the sight of my guide In my experience I have met nothing so absolutely resembling my idea of a very uncouth wild and ugly savage adoring the idol of his tribe He grinned he shivered he laughed he was near crying if he did not actually cry He had a Where shall I go—What can I do for you expression of face the complete surrendered and anxious subservience and devotion of which it is difficult to describe otherwise than by the awkward combination which I have attempted The fellows voice seemed choking in his ecstasy and only could express itself in such interjections as Oigh oigh—Ay ay—its lang since shes seen ye and other exclamations equally brief expressed in the same unknown tongue in which he had communicated with my conductor while we were on the outside of the jail door My guide received all this excess of joyful gratulation much like a prince too early accustomed to the homage of those around him to be much moved by it yet willing to requite it by the usual forms of royal courtesy He extended his hand graciously towards the turnkey with a civil inquiry of Hows a wi you Dougal
Oigh oigh exclaimed Dougal softening the sharp exclamations of his surprise as he looked around with an eye of watchful alarm—Oigh to see you here—to see you here—Oigh—what will come o ye gin the bailies suld come to get witting—ta filthy gutty hallions tat they are
My guide placed his finger on his lip and said Fear nothing Dougal your hands shall never draw a bolt on me
Tat sall they no said Dougal she suld—she wad—that is she wishes them hacked aff by the elbows first—But when are ye gaun yonder again and yell no forget to let her ken—shes your puir cousin God kens only seven times removed
I will let you ken Dougal as soon as my plans are settled
And by her sooth when you do an it were twal o the Sunday at een shell fling her keys at the provosts head or she gie them anither turn and that or ever Monday morning begins—see if she winna
My mysterious stranger cut his acquaintances ecstasies short by again addressing him in what I afterwards understood to be the Irish Earse or Gaelic explaining probably the services which he required at his hand The answer Wi a her heart—wi a her soul with a good deal of indistinct muttering in a similar tone intimated the turnkeys acquiescence in what he proposed The fellow trimmed his dying lamp and made a sign to me to follow him
Do you not go with us said I looking to my conductor
It is unnecessary he replied my company may be inconvenient for you and I had better remain to secure our retreat
I do not suppose you mean to betray me to danger said I
To none but what I partake in doubly answered the stranger with a voice of assurance which it was impossible to mistrust
I followed the turnkey who leaving the inner wicket unlocked behind him led me up a turnpike so the Scotch call a winding stair then along a narrow gallery—then opening one of several doors which led into the passage he ushered me into a small apartment and casting his eye on the palletbed which occupied one corner said with an under voice as he placed the lamp on a little deal table Shes sleeping
She—who—can it be Diana Vernon in this abode of misery
I turned my eye to the bed and it was with a mixture of disappointment oddly mingled with pleasure that I saw my first suspicion had deceived me I saw a head neither young nor beautiful garnished with a grey beard of two days growth and accommodated with a red nightcap The first glance put me at ease on the score of Diana Vernon the second as the slumberer awoke from a heavy sleep yawned and rubbed his eyes presented me with features very different indeed—even those of my poor friend Owen I drew back out of view an instant that he might have time to recover himself fortunately recollecting that I was but an intruder on these cells of sorrow and that any alarm might be attended with unhappy consequences
Meantime the unfortunate formalist raising himself from the palletbed with the assistance of one hand and scratching his cap with the other exclaimed in a voice in which as much peevishness as he was capable of feeling contended with drowsiness Ill tell you what Mr Dugwell or whatever your name may be the sumtotal of the matter is that if my natural rest is to be broken in this manner I must complain to the lord mayor
Shentlemans to speak wi her replied Dougal resuming the true dogged sullen tone of a turnkey in exchange for the shrill clang of Highland congratulation with which he had welcomed my mysterious guide and turning on his heel he left the apartment
It was some time before I could prevail upon the unfortunate sleeper awakening to recognise me and when he did so the distress of the worthy creature was extreme at supposing which he naturally did that I had been sent thither as a partner of his captivity
O Mr Frank what have you brought yourself and the house to—I think nothing of myself that am a mere cipher so to speak but you that was your fathers sumtotal—his omnium—you that might have been the first man in the first house in the first city to be shut up in a nasty Scotch jail where one cannot even get the dirt brushed off their clothes
He rubbed with an air of peevish irritation the once stainless brown coat which had now shared some of the impurities of the floor of his prisonhouse—his habits of extreme punctilious neatness acting mechanically to increase his distress—O Heaven be gracious to us he continued What news this will be on Change There has not the like come there since the battle of Almanza where the total of the British loss was summed up to five thousand men killed and wounded besides a floating balance of missing—but what will that be to the news that Osbaldistone and Tresham have stopped
I broke in on his lamentations to acquaint him that I was no prisoner though scarce able to account for my being in that place at such an hour I could only silence his inquiries by persisting in those which his own situation suggested and at length obtained from him such information as he was able to give me It was none of the most distinct for however clearheaded in his own routine of commercial business Owen you are well aware was not very acute in comprehending what lay beyond that sphere
The sum of his information was that of two correspondents of my fathers firm at Glasgow where owing to engagements in Scotland formerly alluded to he transacted a great deal of business both my father and Owen had found the house of MacVittie MacFin and Company the most obliging and accommodating They had deferred to the great English house on every possible occasion and in their bargains and transactions acted without repining the part of the jackall who only claims what the lion is pleased to leave him However small the share of profit allotted to them it was always as they expressed it enough for the like of them however large the portion of trouble they were sensible they could not do too much to deserve the continued patronage and good opinion of their honoured friends in Crane Alley
The dictates of my father were to MacVittie and MacFin the laws of the Medes and Persians not to be altered innovated or even discussed and the punctilios exacted by Owen in their business transactions for he was a great lover of form more especially when he could dictate it ex cathedra seemed scarce less sanctimonious in their eyes This tone of deep and respectful observance went all currently down with Owen but my father looked a little closer into mens bosoms and whether suspicious of this excess of deference or as a lover of brevity and simplicity in business tired with these gentlemens longwinded professions of regard he had uniformly resisted their desire to become his sole agents in Scotland On the contrary he transacted many affairs through a correspondent of a character perfectly different—a man whose good opinion of himself amounted to selfconceit and who disliking the English in general as much as my father did the Scotch would hold no communication but on a footing of absolute equality jealous moreover captious occasionally as tenacious of his own opinions in point of form as Owen could be of his and totally indifferent though the authority of all Lombard Street had stood against his own private opinion
As these peculiarities of temper rendered it difficult to transact business with Mr Nicol Jarvie—as they occasioned at times disputes and coldness between the English house and their correspondent which were only got over by a sense of mutual interest—as moreover Owens personal vanity sometimes suffered a little in the discussions to which they gave rise you cannot be surprised Tresham that our old friend threw at all times the weight of his influence in favour of the civil discreet accommodating concern of MacVittie and MacFin and spoke of Jarvie as a petulant conceited Scotch pedlar with whom there was no dealing
It was also not surprising that in these circumstances which I only learned in detail some time afterwards Owen in the difficulties to which the house was reduced by the absence of my father and the disappearance of Rashleigh should on his arrival in Scotland which took place two days before mine have recourse to the friendship of those correspondents who had always professed themselves obliged gratified and devoted to the service of his principal He was received at Messrs MacVittie and MacFins countinghouse in the Gallowgate with something like the devotion a Catholic would pay to his tutelar saint But alas this sunshine was soon overclouded when encouraged by the fair hopes which it inspired he opened the difficulties of the house to his friendly correspondents and requested their counsel and assistance MacVittie was almost stunned by the communication and MacFin ere it was completed was already at the ledger of their firm and deeply engaged in the very bowels of the multitudinous accounts between their house and that of Osbaldistone and Tresham for the purpose of discovering on which side the balance lay Alas the scale depressed considerably against the English firm and the faces of MacVittie and MacFin hitherto only blank and doubtful became now ominous grim and lowering They met Mr Owens request of countenance and assistance with a counterdemand of instant security against imminent hazard of eventual loss and at length speaking more plainly required that a deposit of assets destined for other purposes should be placed in their hands for that purpose Owen repelled this demand with great indignation as dishonourable to his constituents unjust to the other creditors of Osbaldistone and Tresham and very ungrateful on the part of those by whom it was made
The Scotch partners gained in the course of this controversy what is very convenient to persons who are in the wrong an opportunity and pretext for putting themselves in a violent passion and for taking under the pretext of the provocation they had received measures to which some sense of decency if not of conscience might otherwise have deterred them from resorting
Owen had a small share as I believe is usual in the house to which he acted as headclerk and was therefore personally liable for all its obligations This was known to Messrs MacVittie and MacFin and with a view of making him feel their power or rather in order to force him at this emergency into those measures in their favour to which he had expressed himself so repugnant they had recourse to a summary process of arrest and imprisonment—which it seems the law of Scotland therein surely liable to much abuse allows to a creditor who finds his conscience at liberty to make oath that the debtor meditates departing from the realm Under such a warrant had poor Owen been confined to durance on the day preceding that when I was so strangely guided to his prisonhouse
Thus possessed of the alarming outline of facts the question remained what was to be done and it was not of easy determination I plainly perceived the perils with which we were surrounded but it was more difficult to suggest any remedy The warning which I had already received seemed to intimate that my own personal liberty might be endangered by an open appearance in Owens behalf Owen entertained the same apprehension and in the exaggeration of his terror assured me that a Scotchman rather than run the risk of losing a farthing by an Englishman would find law for arresting his wife children manservant maidservant and stranger within his household The laws concerning debt in most countries are so unmercifully severe that I could not altogether disbelieve his statement and my arrest in the present circumstances would have been a coupdegrace to my fathers affairs In this dilemma I asked Owen if he had not thought of having recourse to my fathers other correspondent in Glasgow Mr Nicol Jarvie
He had sent him a letter he replied that morning but if the smoothtongued and civil house in the Gallowgate had used him thus what was to be expected from the crossgrained crabstock in the SaltMarket
A street in the old town of Glasgow
You might as well ask a broker to give up his percentage as expect a favour from him without the per contra He had not even Owen said answered his letter though it was put into his hand that morning as he went to church And here the despairing manoffigures threw himself down on his pallet exclaiming—My poor dear master My poor dear master O Mr Frank Mr Frank this is all your obstinacy—But God forgive me for saying so to you in your distress Its Gods disposing and man must submit
My philosophy Tresham could not prevent my sharing in the honest creatures distress and we mingled our tears—the more bitter on my part as the perverse opposition to my fathers will with which the kindhearted Owen forbore to upbraid me rose up to my conscience as the cause of all this affliction
In the midst of our mingled sorrow we were disturbed and surprised by a loud knocking at the outward door of the prison I ran to the top of the staircase to listen but could only hear the voice of the turnkey alternately in a high tone answering to some person without and in a whisper addressed to the person who had guided me hither—Shes coming—shes coming aloud then in a low key O honari O honari whatll she do now—Gang up ta stair and hide yourself ahint ta Sassenach shentlemans ped—Shes coming as fast as she can—Ahellanay its my lord provosts and ta pailies and ta guard—and ta captains coming toon stairs too—Got press her gang up or he meets her—Shes coming—shes coming—ta locks sair roosted
While Dougal unwillingly and with as much delay as possible undid the various fastenings to give admittance to those without whose impatience became clamorous my guide ascended the winding stair and sprang into Owens apartment into which I followed him He cast his eyes hastily round as if looking for a place of concealment then said to me Lend me your pistols—yet its no matter I can do without them—Whatever you see take no heed and do not mix your hand in another mans feud—This gears mine and I must manage it as I dow but I have been as hard bested and worse than I am even now
As the stranger spoke these words he stripped from his person the cumbrous upper coat in which he was wrapt confronted the door of the apartment on which he fixed a keen and determined glance drawing his person a little back to concentrate his force like a fine horse brought up to the leapingbar I had not a moments doubt that he meant to extricate himself from his embarrassment whatever might be the cause of it by springing full upon those who should appear when the doors opened and forcing his way through all opposition into the street—and such was the appearance of strength and agility displayed in his frame and of determination in his look and manner that I did not doubt a moment but that he might get clear through his opponents unless they employed fatal means to stop his purpose It was a period of awful suspense betwixt the opening of the outward gate and that of the door of the apartment when there appeared—no guard with bayonets fixed or watch with clubs bills or partisans but a goodlooking young woman with grogram petticoats tucked up for trudging through the streets and holding a lantern in her hand This female ushered in a more important personage in form stout short and somewhat corpulent and by dignity as it soon appeared a magistrate bobwigged bustling and breathless with peevish impatience My conductor at his appearance drew back as if to escape observation but he could not elude the penetrating twinkle with which this dignitary reconnoitered the whole apartment
A bonny thing it is and a beseeming that I should be kept at the door half an hour Captain Stanchells said he addressing the principal jailor who now showed himself at the door as if in attendance on the great man knocking as hard to get into the tolbooth as onybody else wad to get out of it could that avail them poor fallen creatures—And hows this—hows this—strangers in the jail after lockup hours and on the Sabbath evening—I shall look after this Stanchells you may depend ont—Keep the door locked and Ill speak to these gentlemen in a gliffing—But first I maun hae a crack wi an auld acquaintance here— Mr Owen Mr Owen hows a wi ye man
Pretty well in body I thank you Mr Jarvie drawled out poor Owen but sore afflicted in spirit
Nae doubt nae doubt—ay ay—its an awfu whummle—and for ane that held his head sae high too—human nature human nature—Ay ay were a subject to a downcome Mr Osbaldistone is a gude honest gentleman but I aye said he was ane o them wad make a spune or spoil a horn as my father the worthy deacon used to say The deacon used to say to me Nick—young Nick his name was Nicol as weel as mine sae folk cad us in their daffin young Nick and auld Nick—Nick said he never put out your arm farther than ye can draw it easily back again I hae said sae to Mr Osbaldistone and he didna seem to take it athegither sae kind as I wished—but it was weel meant—weel meant
This discourse delivered with prodigious volubility and a great appearance of selfcomplacency as he recollected his own advice and predictions gave little promise of assistance at the hands of Mr Jarvie Yet it soon appeared rather to proceed from a total want of delicacy than any deficiency of real kindness for when Owen expressed himself somewhat hurt that these things should be recalled to memory in his present situation the Glaswegian took him by the hand and bade him Cheer up a gliff Dye think I wad hae comed out at twal oclock at night and amaist broken the Lords day just to tell a faen man o his backslidings Na na thats no Bailie Jarvies gate nor wast his worthy fathers the deacon afore him Why man its my rule never to think on warldly business on the Sabbath and though I did a I could to keep your note that I gat this morning out o my head yet I thought mair on it a day than on the preaching—And its my rule to gang to my bed wi the yellow curtains preceesely at ten oclock—unless I were eating a haddock wi a neighbour or a neighbour wi me—ask the lassquean there if it isna a fundamental rule in my household and here hae I sitten up reading gude books and gaping as if I wad swallow St Enox Kirk till it chappit twal whilk was a lawfu hour to gie a look at my ledger just to see how things stood between us and then as time and tide wait for no man I made the lass get the lantern and came slipping my ways here to see what can be dune anent your affairs Bailie Jarvie can command entrance into the tolbooth at ony hour day or night—sae could my father the deacon in his time honest man praise to his memory
Although Owen groaned at the mention of the ledger leading me grievously to fear that here also the balance stood in the wrong column and although the worthy magistrates speech expressed much selfcomplacency and some ominous triumph in his own superior judgment yet it was blended with a sort of frank and blunt goodnature from which I could not help deriving some hopes He requested to see some papers he mentioned snatched them hastily from Owens hand and sitting on the bed to rest his shanks as he was pleased to express the accommodation which that posture afforded him his servant girl held up the lantern to him while pshawing muttering and sputtering now at the imperfect light now at the contents of the packet he ran over the writings it contained
Seeing him fairly engaged in this course of study the guide who had brought me hither seemed disposed to take an unceremonious leave He made a sign to me to say nothing and intimated by his change of posture an intention to glide towards the door in such a manner as to attract the least possible observation But the alert magistrate very different from my old acquaintance Mr Justice Inglewood instantly detected and interrupted his purposes I say look to the door Stanchells—shut and lock it and keep watch on the outside
The strangers brow darkened and he seemed for an instant again to meditate the effecting his retreat by violence but ere he had determined the door closed and the ponderous bolt revolved He muttered an exclamation in Gaelic strode across the floor and then with an air of dogged resolution as if fixed and prepared to see the scene to an end sate himself down on the oak table and whistled a strathspey
Mr Jarvie who seemed very alert and expeditious in going through business soon showed himself master of that which he had been considering and addressed himself to Mr Owen in the following strain— Weel Mr Owen weel—your house are awin certain sums to Messrs MacVittie and MacFin shame fa their souple snouts they made that and mair out o a bargain about the aikwoods at GlenCailziechat that they took out atween my teeth—wi help o your gude word I maun needs say Mr Owen—but that makes nae odds now—Weel sir your house awes them this siller and for this and relief of other engagements they stand in for you they hae putten a double turn o Stanchells muckle key on ye— Weel sir ye awe this siller—and maybe ye awe some mair to some other body too—maybe ye awe some to myself Bailie Nicol Jarvie
I cannot deny sir but the balance may of this date be brought out against us Mr Jarvie said Owen but youll please to consider—
I hae nae time to consider eenow Mr Owen—Sae near Sabbath at een and out o anes warm bed at this time o night and a sort o drow in the air besides—theres nae time for considering—But sir as I was saying ye awe me money—it winna deny—ye awe me money less or mair Ill stand by it But then Mr Owen I canna see how you an active man that understands business can redd out the business yere come down about and clear us a aff—as I have gritt hope ye will—if yere keepit lying here in the tolbooth of Glasgow Now sir if you can find caution judicio sisti—that is that ye winna flee the country but appear and relieve your caution when cad for in our legal courts ye may be set at liberty this very morning
Mr Jarvie said Owen if any friend would become surety for me to that effect my liberty might be usefully employed doubtless both for the house and all connected with it
Aweel sir continued Jarvie and doubtless such a friend wad expect ye to appear when cad on and relieve him o his engagement
And I should do so as certainly bating sickness or death as that two and two make four
Aweel Mr Owen resumed the citizen of Glasgow I dinna misdoubt ye and Ill prove it sir—Ill prove it I am a carefu man as is weel kend and industrious as the hale town can testify and I can win my crowns and keep my crowns and count my crowns wi onybody in the Saut Market or it may be in the Gallowgate And Im a prudent man as my father the deacon was before me—but rather than an honest civil gentleman that understands business and is willing to do justice to all men should lie by the heels this gate unable to help himsell or onybody else—why conscience man Ill be your bail myself—But yell mind its a bail judicio sisti as our townclerk says not judicatum solvi yell mind that for theres muckle difference
Mr Owen assured him that as matters then stood he could not expect any one to become surety for the actual payment of the debt but that there was not the most distant cause for apprehending loss from his failing to present himself when lawfully called upon
I believe ye—I believe ye Eneugh said—eneugh said Wese hae your legs loose by breakfasttime—And now lets hear what thir chamber chiels o yours hae to say for themselves or how in the name of unrule they got here at this time o night
Rob Roy in Prison
CHAPTER SIXTH
Hame came our gudeman at een
And hame came he
And there he saw a man
Where a man suldna be
Hows this now kimmer
Hows this quo he—
How came this carle here
Without the leave o me
Old Song
The magistrate took the light out of the servantmaids hand and advanced to his scrutiny like Diogenes in the street of Athens lanterninhand and probably with as little expectation as that of the cynic that he was likely to encounter any especial treasure in the course of his researches The first whom he approached was my mysterious guide who seated on a table as I have already described him with his eyes firmly fixed on the wall his features arranged into the utmost inflexibility of expression his hands folded on his breast with an air betwixt carelessness and defiance his heel patting against the foot of the table to keep time with the tune which he continued to whistle submitted to Mr Jarvies investigation with an air of absolute confidence and assurance which for a moment placed at fault the memory and sagacity of the acute investigator
Ah—Eh—Oh exclaimed the Bailie My conscience—its impossible—and yet—no—Conscience—it canna be—and yet again—Deil hae me that I suld say sae—Ye robber—ye cateran—ye born deevil that ye are to a bad ends and nae gude ane—can this be you
Een as ye see Bailie was the laconic answer
Conscience if I am na clean bumbaized—you ye cheatthewuddy rogue—you here on your venture in the tolbooth o Glasgow—What dye thinks the value o your head
Umph—why fairly weighed and Dutch weight it might weigh down one provosts four bailies a townclerks six deacons besides stentmasters—
Ah ye reiving villain interrupted Mr Jarvie But tell ower your sins and prepare ye for if I say the word—
True Bailie said he who was thus addressed folding his hands behind him with the utmost nonchalance but ye will never say that word
And why suld I not sir exclaimed the magistrate—Why suld I not Answer me that—why suld I not
For three sufficient reasons Bailie Jarvie—First for auld langsyne second for the sake of the auld wife ayont the fire at Stuckavrallachan that made some mixture of our bluids to my own proper shame be it spoken that has a cousin wi accounts and yarn winnles and looms and shuttles like a mere mechanical person and lastly Bailie because if I saw a sign o your betraying me I would plaster that wa with your harns ere the hand of man could rescue you
Yere a bauld desperate villain sir retorted the undaunted Bailie and ye ken that I ken ye to be sae and that I wadna stand a moment for my ain risk
I ken weel said the other ye hae gentle bluid in your veins and I wad be laith to hurt my ain kinsman But Ill gang out here as free as I came in or the very was o Glasgow tolbooth shall tell ot these ten years to come
Weel weel said Mr Jarvie bluids thicker than water and it liesna in kith kin and ally to see motes in ilka others een if other een see them no It wad be sair news to the auld wife below the Ben of Stuckavrallachan that you ye Hieland limmer had knockit out my harns or that I had kilted you up in a tow But yell own ye dour deevil that were it no your very sell I wad hae grippit the best man in the Hielands
Ye wad hae tried cousin answered my guide that I wot weel but I doubt ye wad hae come aff wi the short measure for we gangthereout Hieland bodies are an unchancy generation when you speak to us o bondage We downa bide the coercion of gude braidclaith about our hinderlans let a be breeks o freestone and garters o iron
Yell find the stane breeks and the airn garters—ay and the hemp cravat for a that neighbour replied the Bailie
Nae man in a civilised country ever played the pliskies ye hae done—but een pickle in your ain pockneuk—I hae gien ye wanting
Well cousin said the other yell wear black at my burial
Deil a black cloak will be there Robin but the corbies and the hoodiecraws Ise gie ye my hand on that But whars the gude thousand pund Scots that I lent ye man and when am I to see it again
Where it is replied my guide after the affectation of considering for a moment I cannot justly tell—probably where last years snaw is
And thats on the tap of Schehallion ye Hieland dog said Mr Jarvie and I look for payment frae you where ye stand
Ay replied the Highlander but I keep neither snaw nor dollars in my sporran And as to when youll see it—why just when the king enjoys his ain again as the auld sang says
Warst of a Robin retorted the Glaswegian—I mean ye disloyal traitor—Warst of a—Wad ye bring popery in on us and arbitrary power and a foist and a warmingpan and the set forms and the curates and the auld enormities o surplices and cerements Ye had better stick to your auld trade o theftboot blackmail spreaghs and gillravaging—better stealing nowte than ruining nations
Hout man—whisht wi your whiggery answered the Celt we hae kend ane anither mony a lang day Ise take care your countingroom is no cleaned out when the Gillonanaillie come to redd up the Glasgow buiths and clear them o their auld shopwares
The lads with the kilts or petticoats
And unless it just fa in the preceese way o your duty ye maunna see me oftener Nicol than I am disposed to be seen
Ye are a dauring villain Rob answered the Bailie and ye will be hanged that will be seen and heard tell o but Ise neer be the ill bird and foul my nest set apart strong necessity and the skreigh of duty which no man should hear and be inobedient And wha the deevils this he continued turning to me—Some gillravager that ye hae listed I daur say He looks as if he had a bauld heart to the highway and a lang craig for the gibbet
This good Mr Jarvie said Owen who like myself had been struck dumb during this strange recognition and no less strange dialogue which took place betwixt these extraordinary kinsmen—This good Mr Jarvie is young Mr Frank Osbaldistone only child of the head of our house who should have been taken into our firm at the time Mr Rashleigh Osbaldistone his cousin had the luck to be taken into it—Here Owen could not suppress a groan—But howsoever—
Oh I have heard of that smaik said the Scotch merchant interrupting him it is he whom your principal like an obstinate auld fule wad make a merchant o wad he or wad he no—and the lad turned a strolling stageplayer in pure dislike to the labour an honest man should live by Weel sir what say you to your handiwork Will Hamlet the Dane or Hamlets ghost be good security for Mr Owen sir
I dont deserve your taunt I replied though I respect your motive and am too grateful for the assistance you have afforded Mr Owen to resent it My only business here was to do what I could it is perhaps very little to aid Mr Owen in the management of my fathers affairs My dislike of the commercial profession is a feeling of which I am the best and sole judge
I protest said the Highlander I had some respect for this callant even before I kend what was in him but now I honour him for his contempt of weavers and spinners and siclike mechanical persons and their pursuits
Yere mad Rob said the Bailie—mad as a March hare—though wherefore a hare suld be mad at March mair than at Martinmas is mair than I can weel say Weavers Deil shake ye out o the web the weaver craft made Spinners yell spin and wind yourself a bonny pirn And this young birkie here that yere hoying and hounding on the shortest road to the gallows and the deevil will his stageplays and his poetries help him here dye think ony mair than your deep oaths and drawn dirks ye reprobate that ye are—Will Tityre tu patulae as they ca it tell him where Rashleigh Osbaldistone is or Macbeth and all his kernes and gallaglasses and your awn to boot Rob procure him five thousand pounds to answer the bills which fall due ten days hence were they a rouped at the Cross—baskethilts AndraFerraras leather targets brogues brochan and sporrans
Ten days I answered and instinctively drew out Diana Vernons packet and the time being elapsed during which I was to keep the seal sacred I hastily broke it open A sealed letter fell from a blank enclosure owing to the trepidation with which I opened the parcel A slight current of wind which found its way through a broken pane of the window wafted the letter to Mr Jarvies feet who lifted it examined the address with unceremonious curiosity and to my astonishment handed it to his Highland kinsman saying Heres a wind has blown a letter to its right owner though there were ten thousand chances against its coming to hand
The Highlander having examined the address broke the letter open without the least ceremony I endeavoured to interrupt his proceeding
You must satisfy me sir said I that the letter is intended for you before I can permit you to peruse it
Make yourself quite easy Mr Osbaldistone replied the mountaineer with great composure—remember Justice Inglewood Clerk Jobson Mr Morris—above all remember your vera humble servant Robert Cawmil and the beautiful Diana Vernon Remember all this and doubt no longer that the letter is for me
I remained astonished at my own stupidity—Through the whole night the voice and even the features of this man though imperfectly seen haunted me with recollections to which I could assign no exact local or personal associations But now the light dawned on me at once this man was Campbell himself His whole peculiarities flashed on me at once—the deep strong voice—the inflexible stern yet considerate cast of features—the Scottish brogue with its corresponding dialect and imagery which although he possessed the power at times of laying them aside recurred at every moment of emotion and gave pith to his sarcasm or vehemence to his expostulation Rather beneath the middle size than above it his limbs were formed upon the very strongest model that is consistent with agility while from the remarkable ease and freedom of his movements you could not doubt his possessing the latter quality in a high degree of perfection Two points in his person interfered with the rules of symmetry his shoulders were so broad in proportion to his height as notwithstanding the lean and lathy appearance of his frame gave him something the air of being too square in respect to his stature and his arms though round sinewy and strong were so very long as to be rather a deformity I afterwards heard that this length of arm was a circumstance on which he prided himself that when he wore his native Highland garb he could tie the garters of his hose without stooping and that it gave him great advantage in the use of the broadsword at which he was very dexterous But certainly this want of symmetry destroyed the claim he might otherwise have set up to be accounted a very handsome man it gave something wild irregular and as it were unearthly to his appearance and reminded me involuntarily of the tales which Mabel used to tell of the old Picts who ravaged Northumberland in ancient times who according to her tradition were a sort of halfgoblin halfhuman beings distinguished like this man for courage cunning ferocity the length of their arms and the squareness of their shoulders
When however I recollected the circumstances in which we formerly met I could not doubt that the billet was most probably designed for him He had made a marked figure among those mysterious personages over whom Diana seemed to exercise an influence and from whom she experienced an influence in her turn It was painful to think that the fate of a being so amiable was involved in that of desperadoes of this mans description—yet it seemed impossible to doubt it Of what use however could this person be to my fathers affairs—I could think only of one Rashleigh Osbaldistone had at the instigation of Miss Vernon certainly found means to produce Mr Campbell when his presence was necessary to exculpate me from Morriss accusation—Was it not possible that her influence in like manner might prevail on Campbell to produce Rashleigh Speaking on this supposition I requested to know where my dangerous kinsman was and when Mr Campbell had seen him The answer was indirect
Its a kittle cast she has gien me to play but yet its fair play and I winna baulk her Mr Osbaldistone I dwell not very far from hence—my kinsman can show you the way—Leave Mr Owen to do the best he can in Glasgow—do you come and see me in the glens and its like I may pleasure you and stead your father in his extremity I am but a poor man but wits better than wealth—and cousin turning from me to address Mr Jarvie if ye daur venture sae muckle as to eat a dish of Scotch collops and a leg o reddeer venison wi me come ye wi this Sassenach gentleman as far as Drymen or Bucklivie—or the Clachan of Aberfoil will be better than ony o them—and Ill hae somebody waiting to weise ye the gate to the place where I may be for the time—What say ye man Theres my thumb Ill neer beguile thee
Na na Robin said the cautious burgher I seldom like to leave the Gorbals I have nae freedom to gang among your wild hills Robin and your kilted redshanks—it disna become my place man
The Gorbals or suburbs are situate on the south side of the River
The devil damn your place and you baith reiterated Campbell The only drap o gentle bluid thats in your body was our greatgranduncles that was justified at Dumbarton and you set yourself up to say ye wad derogate frae your place to visit me
Executed for treason
Hark thee man—I owe thee a day in harst—Ill pay up your thousan pund Scots plack and bawbee gin yell be an honest fallow for anes and just daiker up the gate wi this Sassenach
Hout awa wi your gentility replied the Bailie carry your gentle bluid to the Cross and see what yell buy wit But if I were to come wad ye really and soothfastly pay me the siller
I swear to ye said the Highlander upon the halidome of him that sleeps beneath the grey stane at InchCailleach
InchCailleach is an island in Lochlomond where the clan of MacGregor were wont to be interred and where their sepulchres may still be seen It formerly contained a nunnery hence the name of InchCailleach or the island of Old Women
Say nae mair Robin—say nae mair—Well see what may be dune But ye maunna expect me to gang ower the Highland line—Ill gae beyond the line at no rate Ye maun meet me about Bucklivie or the Clachan of Aberfoil—and dinna forget the needful
Nae fear—nae fear said Campbell Ill be as true as the steel blade that never failed its master But I must be budging cousin for the air o Glasgow tolbooth is no that ower salutary to a Highlanders constitution
Troth replied the merchant and if my duty were to be dune ye couldna change your atmosphere as the minister cas it this ae wee while—Ochon that I sud ever be concerned in aiding and abetting an escape frae justice it will be a shame and disgrace to me and mine and my very fathers memory for ever
Hout tout man let that flee stick in the wa answered his kinsman when the dirts dry it will rub out—Your father honest man could look ower a friends fault as weel as anither
Ye may be right Robin replied the Bailie after a moments reflection he was a considerate man the deacon he kend we had a our frailties and he loed his friends—Yell no hae forgotten him Robin This question he put in a softened tone conveying as much at least of the ludicrous as the pathetic
Forgotten him replied his kinsman—what suld ail me to forget him—a wapping weaver he was and wrought my first pair o hose—But come awa kinsman
Come fill up my cap come fill up my cann
Come saddle my horses and call up my man
Come open your gates and let me gae free
I daurna stay langer in bonny Dundee
Whisht sir said the magistrate in an authoritative tone—lilting and singing sae near the latter end o the Sabbath This house may hear ye sing anither tune yet—Aweel we hae a backslidings to answer for—Stanchells open the door
The jailor obeyed and we all sallied forth Stanchells looked with some surprise at the two strangers wondering doubtless how they came into these premises without his knowledge but Mr Jarvies Friends o mine Stanchells—friends o mine silenced all disposition to inquiries We now descended into the lower vestibule and hallooed more than once for Dougal to which summons no answer was returned when Campbell observed with a sardonic smile That if Dougal was the lad he kent him he would scarce wait to get thanks for his ain share of the nights wark but was in all probability on the full trot to the pass of Ballamaha—
And left us—and abune a me mysell locked up in the tolbooth a night exclaimed the Bailie in ire and perturbation Ca for forehammers sledgehammers pinches and coulters send for Deacon Yettlin the smith an let him ken that Bailie Jarvies shut up in the tolbooth by a Highland blackguard whom hell hang up as high as Haman—
When ye catch him said Campbell gravely but stay—the door is surely not locked
Indeed on examination we found that the door was not only left open but that Dougal in his retreat had by carrying off the keys along with him taken care that no one should exercise his office of porter in a hurry
He has glimmerings o common sense now that creature Dougal said Campbell—he kend an open door might hae served me at a pinch
We were by this time in the street
I tell you Robin said the magistrate in my puir mind if ye live the life ye do ye suld hae ane o your gillies doorkeeper in every jail in Scotland in case o the warst
Ane o my kinsmen a bailie in ilka burgh will just do as weel cousin Nicol—So gudenight or gudemorning to ye and forget not the Clachan of Aberfoil
And without waiting for an answer he sprung to the other side of the street and was lost in darkness Immediately on his disappearance we heard him give a low whistle of peculiar modulation which was instantly replied to
Hear to the Hieland deevils said Mr Jarvie they think themselves on the skirts of Benlomond already where they may gang whewingand whistling about without minding Sunday or Saturday Here he was interrupted by something which fell with a heavy clash on the street before us—Gude guide us whats this mair ot—Mattie haud up the lantern—Conscience if it isna the keys—Weel thats just as weel—they cost the burgh siller and there might hae been some clavers about the loss o them O an Bailie Grahame were to get word o this nights job it would be a sair hair in my neck
As we were still but a few steps from the tolbooth door we carried back these implements of office and consigned them to the head jailor who in lieu of the usual mode of making good his post by turning the keys was keeping sentry in the vestibule till the arrival of some assistant whom he had summoned in order to replace the Celtic fugitive Dougal
Having discharged this piece of duty to the burgh and my road lying the same way with the honest magistrates I profited by the light of his lantern and he by my arm to find our way through the streets which whatever they may now be were then dark uneven and illpaved Age is easily propitiated by attentions from the young The Bailie expressed himself interested in me and added That since I was nane o that playacting and playganging generation whom his saul hated he wad be glad if I wad eat a reisted haddock or a fresh herring at breakfast wi him the morn and meet my friend Mr Owen whom by that time he would place at liberty
My dear sir said I when I had accepted of the invitation with thanks how could you possibly connect me with the stage
I watna replied Mr Jarvie—it was a bletherin phrasin chield they ca Fairservice that cam at een to get an order to send the crier through the toun for ye at skreigh o day the morn He tellt me whae ye were and how ye were sent frae your fathers house because ye wadna be a dealer and that ye mightna disgrace your family wi ganging on the stage Ane Hammorgaw our precentor brought him here and said he was an auld acquaintance but I sent them both away wi a flae in their lug for bringing me sic an errand on sic a night But I see hes a fulecreature athegither and clean mistaen about ye I like ye man he continued I like a lad that will stand by his friends in trouble—I aye did it mysell and sae did the deacon my father rest and bless him But ye suldna keep ower muckle company wi Hielandmen and thae wild cattle Can a man touch pitch and no be defiled—aye mind that Nae doubt the best and wisest may err—Once twice and thrice have I backslidden man and dune three things this night—my father wadna hae believed his een if he could hae looked up and seen me do them
He was by this time arrived at the door of his own dwelling He paused however on the threshold and went on in a solemn tone of deep contrition—Firstly I hae thought my ain thoughts on the Sabbath—secondly I hae gien security for an Englishman—and in the third and last place welladay I hae let an illdoer escape from the place of imprisonment—But theres balm in Gilead Mr Osbaldistone— Mattie I can let mysell in—see Mr Osbaldistone to Luckie Flyters at the corner o the wynd—Mr Osbaldistone—in a whisper—yell offer nae incivility to Mattie—shes an honest mans daughter and a near cousin o the Laird o Limmerfields
CHAPTER SEVENTH
Will it please your worship to accept of my poor service I beseech
that I may feed upon your bread though it be the brownest and
drink of your drink though it be of the smallest for I will do
your Worship as much service for forty shillings as another man
shall for three pounds
Greenes Tu Quoque
I remembered the honest Bailies parting charge but did not conceive there was any incivility in adding a kiss to the halfcrown with which I remunerated Matties attendance—nor did her Fie for shame sir express any very deadly resentment of the affront Repeated knocking at Mrs Flyters gate awakened in due order first one or two stray dogs who began to bark with all their might next two or three nightcapped heads which were thrust out of the neighbouring windows to reprehend me for disturbing the solemnity of the Sunday night by that untimely noise While I trembled lest the thunders of their wrath might dissolve in showers like that of Xantippe Mrs Flyter herself awoke and began in a tone of objurgation not unbecoming the philosophical spouse of Socrates to scold one or two loiterers in her kitchen for not hastening to the door to prevent a repetition of my noisy summons
These worthies were indeed nearly concerned in the fracas which their laziness occasioned being no other than the faithful Mr Fairservice with his friend Mr Hammorgaw and another person whom I afterwards found to be the towncrier who were sitting over a cog of ale as they called it at my expense as my bill afterwards informed me in order to devise the terms and style of a proclamation to be made through the streets the next day in order that the unfortunate young gentleman as they had the impudence to qualify me might be restored to his friends without farther delay It may be supposed that I did not suppress my displeasure at this impertinent interference with my affairs but Andrew set up such ejaculations of transport at my arrival as fairly drowned my expressions of resentment His raptures perchance were partly political and the tears of joy which he shed had certainly their source in that noble fountain of emotion the tankard However the tumultuous glee which he felt or pretended to feel at my return saved Andrew the broken head which I had twice destined him—first on account of the colloquy he had held with the precentor on my affairs and secondly for the impertinent history he had thought proper to give of me to Mr Jarvie I however contented myself with slapping the door of my bedroom in his face as he followed me praising Heaven for my safe return and mixing his joy with admonitions to me to take care how I walked my own ways in future I then went to bed resolving my first business in the morning should be to discharge this troublesome pedantic selfconceited coxcomb who seemed so much disposed to constitute himself rather a preceptor than a domestic
Accordingly in the morning I resumed my purpose and calling Andrew into my apartment requested to know his charge for guiding and attending me as far as Glasgow Mr Fairservice looked very blank at this demand justly considering it as a presage to approaching dismission
Your honour he said after some hesitation wunna think—wunna think—
Speak out you rascal or Ill break your head said I as Andrew between the double risk of losing all by asking too much or a part by stating his demand lower than what I might be willing to pay stood gasping in the agony of doubt and calculation
Out it came with a bolt however at my threat as the kind violence of a blow on the back sometimes delivers the windpipe from an intrusive morsel—Aughteen pennies sterling per diem—that is by the day—your honour wadna think unconscionable
It is double what is usual and treble what you merit Andrew but theres a guinea for you and get about your business
The Lord forgie us Is your honour mad exclaimed Andrew
No but I think you mean to make me so—I give you a third above your demand and you stand staring and expostulating there as if I were cheating you Take your money and go about your business
Gude safe us continued Andrew in what can I hae offended your honour Certainly a flesh is but as the flowers of the field but if a bed of camomile hath value in medicine of a surety the use of Andrew Fairservice to your honour is nothing less evident—its as muckle as your lifes worth to part wi me
Upon my honour replied I it is difficult to say whether you are more knave or fool So you intend then to remain with me whether I like it or no
Troth I was een thinking sae replied Andrew dogmatically for if your honour disna ken when ye hae a gude servant I ken when I hae a gude master and the deil be in my feet gin I leave ye—and theres the brief and the lang ot besides I hae received nae regular warning to quit my place
Your place sir said I—why you are no hired servant of mine—you are merely a guide whose knowledge of the country I availed myself of on my road
I am no just a common servant I admit sir remonstrated Mr Fairservice but your honour kens I quitted a gude place at an hours notice to comply wi your honours solicitations A man might make honestly and wi a clear conscience twenty sterling pounds per annum weel counted siller o the garden at Osbaldistone Hall and I wasna likely to gie up a that for a guinea I trow—I reckoned on staying wi your honour to the terms end at the least ot and I account my wage boardwage fee and bountith—ay to that length ot at the least
Come come sir replied I these impudent pretensions wont serve your turn and if I hear any more of them I shall convince you that Squire Thorncliff is not the only one of my name that can use his fingers
While I spoke thus the whole matter struck me as so ridiculous that though really angry I had some difficulty to forbear laughing at the gravity with which Andrew supported a plea so utterly extravagant The rascal aware of the impression he had made on my muscles was encouraged to perseverance He judged it safer however to take his pretensions a peg lower in case of overstraining at the same time both his plea and my patience
Admitting that my honour could part with a faithful servant that had served me and mine by day and night for twenty years in a strange place and at a moments warning he was weel assured he said it wasna in my heart nor in no true gentlemans to pit a puir lad like himself that had come forty or fifty or say a hundred miles out o his road purely to bear my honour company and that had nae handing but his pennyfee to sic a hardship as this comes to
I think it was you Will who once told me that to be an obstinate man I am in certain things the most gullable and malleable of mortals The fact is that it is only contradiction which makes me peremptory and when I do not feel myself called on to give battle to any proposition I am always willing to grant it rather than give myself much trouble I knew this fellow to be a greedy tiresome meddling coxcomb still however I must have some one about me in the quality of guide and domestic and I was so much used to Andrews humour that on some occasions it was rather amusing In the state of indecision to which these reflections led me I asked Fairservice if he knew the roads towns etc in the north of Scotland to which my fathers concerns with the proprietors of Highland forests were likely to lead me I believe if I had asked him the road to the terrestrial paradise he would have at that moment undertaken to guide me to it so that I had reason afterwards to think myself fortunate in finding that his actual knowledge did not fall very much short of that which he asserted himself to possess I fixed the amount of his wages and reserved to myself the privilege of dismissing him when I chose on paying him a week in advance I gave him finally a severe lecture on his conduct of the preceding day and then dismissed him rejoicing at heart though somewhat crestfallen in countenance to rehearse to his friend the precentor who was taking his morning draught in the kitchen the mode in which he had cuitled up the daft young English squire
Agreeable to appointment I went next to Bailie Nicol Jarvies where a comfortable mornings repast was arranged in the parlour which served as an apartment of all hours and almost all work to that honest gentleman The bustling and benevolent magistrate had been as good as his word I found my friend Owen at liberty and conscious of the refreshments and purification of brush and basin was of course a very different person from Owen a prisoner squalid heartbroken and hopeless Yet the sense of pecuniary difficulties arising behind before and around him had depressed his spirit and the almost paternal embrace which the good man gave me was embittered by a sigh of the deepest anxiety And when he sate down the heaviness in his eye and manner so different from the quiet composed satisfaction which they usually exhibited indicated that he was employing his arithmetic in mentally numbering up the days the hours the minutes which yet remained as an interval between the dishonour of bills and the downfall of the great commercial establishment of Osbaldistone and Tresham It was left to me therefore to do honour to our landlords hospitable cheer—to his tea right from China which he got in a present from some eminent shipshusband at Wapping—to his coffee from a snug plantation of his own as he informed us with a wink called Saltmarket Grove in the island of Jamaica—to his English toast and ale his Scotch dried salmon his Lochfine herrings and even to the doubledamask tablecloth wrought by no hand as you may guess save that of his deceased father the worthy Deacon Jarvie
Having conciliated our goodhumoured host by those little attentions which are great to most men I endeavoured in my turn to gain from him some information which might be useful for my guidance as well as for the satisfaction of my curiosity We had not hitherto made the least allusion to the transactions of the preceding night a circumstance which made my question sound somewhat abrupt when without any previous introduction of the subject I took advantage of a pause when the history of the tablecloth ended and that of the napkins was about to commence to inquire Pray by the by Mr Jarvie who may this Mr Robert Campbell be whom we met with last night
The interrogatory seemed to strike the honest magistrate to use the vulgar phrase all of a heap and instead of answering he returned the question—Whaes Mr Robert Campbell—ahem ahay Whaes Mr Robert Campbell quo he
Yes said I I mean who and what is he
Why hes—ahay—hes—ahem—Where did ye meet with Mr Robert Campbell as ye ca him
I met him by chance I replied some months ago in the north of England
Ou then Mr Osbaldistone said the Bailie doggedly yell ken as muckle about him as I do
I should suppose not Mr Jarvie I replied—you are his relation it seems and his friend
There is some cousinred between us doubtless said the Bailie reluctantly but we hae seen little o ilk other since Rob gae tip the cattleline o dealing poor fallow he was hardly guided by them might hae used him better—and they haena made their plack a bawbee ot neither Theres mony ane this day wad rather they had never chased puir Robin frae the Cross o Glasgow—theres mony ane wad rather see him again at the tale o three hundred kyloes than at the head o thirty waur cattle
All this explains nothing to me Mr Jarvie of Mr Campbells rank habits of life and means of subsistence I replied
Rank said Mr Jarvie hes a Hieland gentleman nae doubt—better rank need nane to be—and for habit I judge he wears the Hieland habit amang the hills though he has breeks on when he comes to Glasgow—and as for his subsistence what needs we care about his subsistence sae lang as he asks naething frae us ye ken But I hae nae time for clavering about him een now because we maun look into your fathers concerns wi all speed
So saying he put on his spectacles and sate down to examine Mr Owens states which the other thought it most prudent to communicate to him without reserve I knew enough of business to be aware that nothing could be more acute and sagacious than the views which Mr Jarvie entertained of the matters submitted to his examination and to do him justice it was marked by much fairness and even liberality He scratched his ear indeed repeatedly on observing the balance which stood at the debit of Osbaldistone and Tresham in account with himself personally
It may be a dead loss he observed and conscience whateer ane o your Lombard Street goldsmiths may say to it its a snell ane in the SautMarket o Glasgow It will be a heavy deficit—a staff out o my bicker I trow
The Saltmarket This ancient street situate in the heart of Glasgow has of late been almost entirely renovated
But what then—I trust the house wunna coup the crane for a thats come and gane yet and if it does Ill never bear sae base a mind as thae corbies in the Gallowgate—an I am to lose by ye Ise neer deny I hae won by ye mony a fair pund sterling—Sae an it come to the warst Ise een lay the head o the sow to the tail o the grice
Anglice the head of the sow to the tail of the pig
I did not altogether understand the proverbial arrangement with which Mr Jarvie consoled himself but I could easily see that he took a kind and friendly interest in the arrangement of my fathers affairs suggested several expedients approved several plans proposed by Owen and by his countenance and counsel greatly abated the gloom upon the brow of that afflicted delegate of my fathers establishment
As I was an idle spectator on this occasion and perhaps as I showed some inclination more than once to return to the prohibited and apparently the puzzling subject of Mr Campbell Mr Jarvie dismissed me with little formality with an advice to gang up the gate to the college where I wad find some chields could speak Greek and Latin weel—at least they got plenty o siller for doing deil haet else if they didna do that and where I might read a spell o the worthy Mr Zachary Boyds translation o the Scriptures—better poetry need nane to be as he had been telld by them that kend or suld hae kend about sic things But he seasoned this dismission with a kind and hospitable invitation to come back and take part o his familychack at ane preceesely—there wad be a leg o mutton and it might be a tups head for they were in season but above all I was to return at ane oclock preceesely—it was the hour he and the deacon his father aye dined at—they pat it off for naething nor for naebody
CHAPTER EIGHTH
So stands the Thracian herdsman with his spear
Full in the gap and hopes the hunted bear
And hears him in the rustling wood and sees
His course at distance by the bending trees
And thinks—Here comes my mortal enemy
And either he must fall in fight or I
Palamon and Arcite
I took the route towards the college as recommended by Mr Jarvie less with the intention of seeking for any object of interest or amusement than to arrange my own ideas and meditate on my future conduct I wandered from one quadrangle of oldfashioned buildings to another and from thence to the Collegeyards or walking ground where pleased with the solitude of the place most of the students being engaged in their classes I took several turns pondering on the waywardness of my own destiny
I could not doubt from the circumstances attending my first meeting with this person Campbell that he was engaged in some strangely desperate courses and the reluctance with which Mr Jarvie alluded to his person or pursuits as well as all the scene of the preceding night tended to confirm these suspicions Yet to this man Diana Vernon had not it would seem hesitated to address herself in my behalf and the conduct of the magistrate himself towards him showed an odd mixture of kindness and even respect with pity and censure Something there must be uncommon in Campbells situation and character and what was still more extraordinary it seemed that his fate was doomed to have influence over and connection with my own I resolved to bring Mr Jarvie to close quarters on the first proper opportunity and learn as much as was possible on the subject of this mysterious person in order that I might judge whether it was possible for me without prejudice to my reputation to hold that degree of farther correspondence with him to which he seemed to invite
While I was musing on these subjects my attention was attracted by three persons who appeared at the upper end of the walk through which I was sauntering seemingly engaged in very earnest conversation That intuitive impression which announces to us the approach of whomsoever we love or hate with intense vehemence long before a more indifferent eye can recognise their persons flashed upon my mind the sure conviction that the midmost of these three men was Rashleigh Osbaldistone To address him was my first impulse—my second was to watch him until he was alone or at least to reconnoitre his companions before confronting him The party was still at such distance and engaged in such deep discourse that I had time to step unobserved to the other side of a small hedge which imperfectly screened the alley in which I was walking It was at this period the fashion of the young and gay to wear in their morning walks a scarlet cloak often laced and embroidered above their other dress and it was the trick of the time for gallants occasionally to dispose it so as to muffle a part of the face The imitating this fashion with the degree of shelter which I received from the hedge enabled me to meet my cousin unobserved by him or the others except perhaps as a passing stranger I was not a little startled at recognising in his companions that very Morris on whose account I had been summoned before Justice Inglewood and Mr MacVittie the merchant from whose starched and severe aspect I had recoiled on the preceding day
A more ominous conjunction to my own affairs and those of my father could scarce have been formed I remembered Morriss false accusation against me which he might be as easily induced to renew as he had been intimidated to withdraw I recollected the inauspicious influence of MacVittie over my fathers affairs testified by the imprisonment of Owen—and I now saw both these men combined with one whose talent for mischief I deemed little inferior to those of the great author of all ill and my abhorrence of whom almost amounted to dread
When they had passed me for some paces I turned and followed them unobserved At the end of the walk they separated Morris and MacVittie leaving the gardens and Rashleigh returning alone through the walks I was now determined to confront him and demand reparation for the injuries he had done my father though in what form redress was likely to be rendered remained to be known This however I trusted to chance and flinging back the cloak in which I was muffled I passed through a gap of the low hedge and presented myself before Rashleigh as in a deep reverie he paced down the avenue
Rashleigh was no man to be surprised or thrown off his guard by sudden occurrences Yet he did not find me thus close to him wearing undoubtedly in my face the marks of that indignation which was glowing in my bosom without visibly starting at an apparition so sudden and menacing
You are well met sir was my commencement I was about to take a long and doubtful journey in quest of you
You know little of him you sought then replied Rashleigh with his usual undaunted composure I am easily found by my friends—still more easily by my foes—your manner compels me to ask in which class I must rank Mr Francis Osbaldistone
In that of your foes sir I answered—in that of your mortal foes unless you instantly do justice to your benefactor my father by accounting for his property
And to whom Mr Osbaldistone answered Rashleigh am I a member of your fathers commercial establishment to be compelled to give any account of my proceedings in those concerns which are in every respect identified with my own—Surely not to a young gentleman whose exquisite taste for literature would render such discussions disgusting and unintelligible
Your sneer sir is no answer I will not part with you until I have full satisfaction concerning the fraud you meditate—you shall go with me before a magistrate
Be it so said Rashleigh and made a step or two as if to accompany me then pausing proceeded—Were I inclined to do so as you would have me you should soon feel which of us had most reason to dread the presence of a magistrate But I have no wish to accelerate your fate Go young man amuse yourself in your world of poetical imaginations and leave the business of life to those who understand and can conduct it
His intention I believe was to provoke me and he succeeded Mr Osbaldistone I said this tone of calm insolence shall not avail you You ought to be aware that the name we both bear never submitted to insult and shall not in my person be exposed to it
You remind me said Rashleigh with one of his blackest looks that it was dishonoured in my person—and you remind me also by whom Do you think I have forgotten the evening at Osbaldistone Hall when you cheaply and with impunity played the bully at my expense For that insult—never to be washed out but by blood—for the various times you have crossed my path and always to my prejudice—for the persevering folly with which you seek to traverse schemes the importance of which you neither know nor are capable of estimating—for all these sir you owe me a long account for which there shall come an early day of reckoning
Let it come when it will I replied I shall be willing and ready to meet it Yet you seem to have forgotten the heaviest article—that I had the pleasure to aid Miss Vernons good sense and virtuous feeling in extricating her from your infamous toils
I think his dark eyes flashed actual fire at this hometaunt and yet his voice retained the same calm expressive tone with which he had hitherto conducted the conversation
I had other views with respect to you young man was his answer less hazardous for you and more suitable to my present character and former education But I see you will draw on yourself the personal chastisement your boyish insolence so well merits Follow me to a more remote spot where we are less likely to be interrupted
I followed him accordingly keeping a strict eye on his motions for I believed him capable of the very worst actions We reached an open spot in a sort of wilderness laid out in the Dutch taste with clipped hedges and one or two statues I was on my guard and it was well with me that I was so for Rashleighs sword was out and at my breast ere I could throw down my cloak or get my weapon unsheathed so that I only saved my life by springing a pace or two backwards He had some advantage in the difference of our weapons for his sword as I recollect was longer than mine and had one of those bayonet or threecornered blades which are now generally worn whereas mine was what we then called a Saxon blade—narrow flat and twoedged and scarcely so manageable as that of my enemy In other respects we were pretty equally matched for what advantage I might possess in superior address and agility was fully counterbalanced by Rashleighs great strength and coolness He fought indeed more like a fiend than a man—with concentrated spite and desire of blood only allayed by that cool consideration which made his worst actions appear yet worse from the air of deliberate premeditation which seemed to accompany them His obvious malignity of purpose never for a moment threw him off his guard and he exhausted every feint and stratagem proper to the science of defence while at the same time he meditated the most desperate catastrophe to our rencounter
On my part the combat was at first sustained with more moderation My passions though hasty were not malevolent and the walk of two or three minutes space gave me time to reflect that Rashleigh was my fathers nephew the son of an uncle who after his fashion had been kind to me and that his falling by my hand could not but occasion much family distress My first resolution therefore was to attempt to disarm my antagonist—a manoeuvre in which confiding in my superiority of skill and practice I anticipated little difficulty I found however I had met my match and one or two foils which I received and from the consequences of which I narrowly escaped obliged me to observe more caution in my mode of fighting By degrees I became exasperated at the rancour with which Rashleigh sought my life and returned his passes with an inveteracy resembling in some degree his own so that the combat had all the appearance of being destined to have a tragic issue That issue had nearly taken place at my expense My foot slipped in a full lounge which I made at my adversary and I could not so far recover myself as completely to parry the thrust with which my pass was repaid Yet it took but partial effect running through my waistcoat grazing my ribs and passing through my coat behind The hilt of Rashleighs sword so great was the vigour of his thrust struck against my breast with such force as to give me great pain and confirm me in the momentary belief that I was mortally wounded Eager for revenge I grappled with my enemy seizing with my left hand the hilt of his sword and shortening my own with the purpose of running him through the body Our deathgrapple was interrupted by a man who forcibly threw himself between us and pushing us separate from each other exclaimed in a loud and commanding voice What the sons of those fathers who sucked the same breast shedding each others bluid as it were strangers—By the hand of my father I will cleave to the brisket the first man that mints another stroke
I looked up in astonishment The speaker was no other than Campbell He had a baskethilted broadsword drawn in his hand which he made to whistle around his head as he spoke as if for the purpose of enforcing his mediation Rashleigh and I stared in silence at this unexpected intruder who proceeded to exhort us alternately—Do you Maister Francis opine that ye will reestablish your fathers credit by cutting your kinsmans thrapple or getting your ain sneckit instead thereof in the Collegeyards of Glasgow—Or do you Mr Rashleigh think men will trust their lives and fortunes wi ane that when in point of trust and in point of confidence wi a great political interest gangs about brawling like a drunken gillie—Nay never look gash or grim at me man—if yere angry ye ken how to turn the buckle o your belt behind you
You presume on my present situation replied Rashleigh or you would have hardly dared to interfere where my honour is concerned
Rob Roy Parting the Duelists
Hout tout tout—Presume And what for should it be presuming—Ye may be the richer man Mr Osbaldistone as is maist likely and ye may be the mair learned man whilk I dispute not but I reckon ye are neither a prettier man nor a better gentleman than mysell—and it will be news to me when I hear ye are as gude And dare too Muckle daring theres about it—I trow here I stand that hae slashed as het a haggis as ony o the twa o ye and thought nae muckle o my mornings wark when it was dune If my foot were on the heather as its on the causeway or this pickle gravel thats little better I hae been waur mistrysted than if I were set to gie ye baith your sering ot
Rashleigh had by this time recovered his temper completely My kinsman he said will acknowledge he forced this quarrel on me It was none of my seeking I am glad we are interrupted before I chastised his forwardness more severely
Are ye hurt lad inquired Campbell of me with some appearance of interest
A very slight scratch I answered which my kind cousin would not long have boasted of had not you come between us
In troth and thats true Maister Rashleigh said Campbell for the cauld iron and your best bluid were like to hae become acquaint when I mastered Mr Franks right hand But never look like a sow playing upon a trump for the luve of that man—come and walk wi me I hae news to tell ye and yell cool and come to yourself like MacGibbons crowdy when he set it out at the windowbole
Pardon me sir said I Your intentions have seemed friendly to me on more occasions than one but I must not and will not quit sight of this person until he yields up to me those means of doing justice to my fathers engagements of which he has treacherously possessed himself
Yere daft man replied Campbell it will serve ye naething to follow us eenow ye hae just enow o ae man—wad ye bring twa on your head and might bide quiet
Twenty I replied if it be necessary
I laid my hand on Rashleighs collar who made no resistance but said with a sort of scornful smile You hear him MacGregor he rushes on his fate—will it be my fault if he falls into it—The warrants are by this time ready and all is prepared
The Scotchman was obviously embarrassed He looked around and before and behind him and then said—The neer a bit will I yield my consent to his being illguided for standing up for the father that got him—and I gie Gods malison and mine to a sort o magistrates justices bailies sheriffs sheriffofficers constables and siclike black cattle that hae been the plagues o puir auld Scotland this hunder year—it was a merry warld when every man held his ain gear wi his ain grip and when the country side wasna fashed wi warrants and poindings and apprizings and a that cheatry craft And ance mair I say it my conscience winna see this puir thoughtless lad illguided and especially wi that sort o trade I wad rather ye fell tillt again and fought it out like douce honest men
Your conscience MacGregor said Rashleigh you forget how long you and I have known each other
Yes my conscience reiterated Campbell or MacGregor or whatever was his name I hae such a thing about me Maister Osbaldistone and therein it may weel chance that I hae the better o you As to our knowledge of each other—if ye ken what I am ye ken what usage it was made me what I am and whatever you may think I would not change states with the proudest of the oppressors that hae driven me to tak the heatherbush for a beild What you are Maister Rashleigh and what excuse ye hae for being what you are is between your ain heart and the lang day—And now Maister Francis let go his collar for he says truly that ye are in mair danger from a magistrate than he is and were your cause as straight as an arrow he wad find a way to put you wrang—So let go his craig as I was saying
He seconded his words with an effort so sudden and unexpected that he freed Rashleigh from my hold and securing me notwithstanding my struggles in his own Herculean gripe he called out—Take the bent Mr Rashleigh—Make ae pair o legs worth twa pair o hands ye hae dune that before now
You may thank this gentleman kinsman said Rashleigh if I leave any part of my debt to you unpaid and if I quit you now it is only in the hope we shall soon meet again without the possibility of interruption
He took up his sword wiped it sheathed it and was lost among the bushes
The Scotchman partly by force partly by remonstrance prevented my following him indeed I began to be of opinion my doing so would be to little purpose
As I live by bread said Campbell when after one or two struggles in which he used much forbearance towards me he perceived me inclined to stand quiet I never saw sae daft a callant I wad hae gien the best man in the country the breadth o his back gin he had gien me sic a kemping as ye hae dune What wad ye do—Wad ye follow the wolf to his den I tell ye man he has the auld trap set for ye—He has got the collectorcreature Morris to bring up a the auld story again and ye maun look for nae help frae me here as ye got at Justice Inglewoods—it isna good for my health to come in the gate o the whigamore bailie bodies Now gang your ways hame like a gude bairn—jouk and let the jaw gae by—Keep out o sight o Rashleigh and Morris and that MacVittie animal—Mind the Clachan of Aberfoil as I said before and by the word of a gentleman I wunna see ye wranged But keep a calm sough till we meet again—I maun gae and get Rashleigh out o the town afore waur comes ot for the neb o hims never out o mischief—Mind the Clachan of Aberfoil
He turned upon his heel and left me to meditate on the singular events which had befallen me My first care was to adjust my dress and reassume my cloak disposing it so as to conceal the blood which flowed down my right side I had scarcely accomplished this when the classes of the college being dismissed the gardens began to be filled with parties of the students I therefore left them as soon as possible and in my way towards Mr Jarvies whose dinner hour was now approaching I stopped at a small unpretending shop the sign of which intimated the indweller to be Christopher Neilson surgeon and apothecary I requested of a little boy who was pounding some stuff in a mortar that he would procure me an audience of this learned pharmacopolist He opened the door of the back shop where I found a lively elderly man who shook his head incredulously at some idle account I gave him of having been wounded accidentally by the button breaking off my antagonists foil while I was engaged in a fencing match When he had applied some lint and somewhat else he thought proper to the trifling wound I had received he observed—There never was button on the foil that made this hurt Ah young blood young blood—But we surgeons are a secret generation—If it werena for hot blood and ill blood what wad become of the twa learned faculties
With which moral reflection he dismissed me and I experienced very little pain or inconvenience afterwards from the scratch I had received
CHAPTER NINTH
An iron race the mountaincliffs maintain
Foes to the gentler genius of the plain
Who while their rocky ramparts round they see
The rough abode of want and liberty
As lawless force from confidence will grow
Insult the plenty of the vales below
Gray
What made ye sae late said Mr Jarvie as I entered the diningparlour of that honest gentleman it is chappit ane the best feek o five minutes bygane Mattie has been twice at the door wi the dinner and weel for you it was a tups head for that canna suffer by delay A sheeps head ower muckle boiled is rank poison as my worthy father used to say—he likit the lug o ane weel honest man
I made a suitable apology for my breach of punctuality and was soon seated at table where Mr Jarvie presided with great glee and hospitality compelling however Owen and myself to do rather more justice to the Scottish dainties with which his board was charged than was quite agreeable to our southern palates I escaped pretty well from having those habits of society which enable one to elude this species of wellmeant persecution But it was ridiculous enough to see Owen whose ideas of politeness were more rigorous and formal and who was willing in all acts of lawful compliance to evince his respect for the friend of the firm eating with rueful complaisance mouthful after mouthful of singed wool and pronouncing it excellent in a tone in which disgust almost overpowered civility
When the cloth was removed Mr Jarvie compounded with his own hands a very small bowl of brandypunch the first which I had ever the fortune to see
The limes he assured us were from his own little farm yonderawa indicating the West Indies with a knowing shrug of his shoulders and he had learned the art of composing the liquor from auld Captain Coffinkey who acquired it he added in a whisper as maist folk thought among the Buccaniers But its excellent liquor said he helping us round and good ware has aften come frae a wicked market And as for Captain Coffinkey he was a decent man when I kent him only he used to swear awfully—But hes dead and gaen to his account and I trust hes accepted—I trust hes accepted
We found the liquor exceedingly palatable and it led to a long conversation between Owen and our host on the opening which the Union had afforded to trade between Glasgow and the British Colonies in America and the West Indies and on the facilities which Glasgow possessed of making up sortable cargoes for that market Mr Jarvie answered some objection which Owen made on the difficulty of sorting a cargo for America without buying from England with vehemence and volubility
Na na sir we stand on our ain bottom—we pickle in our ain pockneuk—We hae our Stirling serges Musselburgh stuffs Aberdeen hose Edinburgh shalloons and the like for our woollen or worsted goods—and we hae linens of a kinds better and cheaper than you hae in Lunnon itsell—and we can buy your north o England wares as Manchester wares Sheffield wares and Newcastle earthenware as cheap as you can at Liverpool—And we are making a fair spell at cottons and muslins—Na na let every herring hing by its ain head and every sheep by its ain shank and yell find sir us Glasgow folk no sae far ahint but what we may follow—This is but poor entertainment for you Mr Osbaldistone observing that I had been for some time silent but ye ken cadgers maun aye be speaking about cartsaddles
I apologised alleging the painful circumstances of my own situation and the singular adventures of the morning as the causes of my abstraction and absence of mind In this manner I gained what I sought—an opportunity of telling my story distinctly and without interruption I only omitted mentioning the wound I had received which I did not think worthy of notice Mr Jarvie listened with great attention and apparent interest twinkling his little grey eyes taking snuff and only interrupting me by brief interjections When I came to the account of the rencounter at which Owen folded his hands and cast up his eyes to Heaven the very image of woeful surprise Mr Jarvie broke in upon the narration with Wrang now—clean wrang—to draw a sword on your kinsman is inhibited by the laws o God and man and to draw a sword on the streets of a royal burgh is punishable by fine and imprisonment—and the Collegeyards are nae better privileged—they should be a place of peace and quietness I trow The College didna get gude L600 a year out o bishops rents sorrow fa the brood o bishops and their rents too nor yet a lease o the archbishopric o Glasgow the sell ot that they suld let folk tuilzie in their yards or the wild callants bicker there wi snawbas as they whiles do that when Mattie and I gae through we are fain to make a baik and a bow or run the risk o our harns being knocked out—it suld be looked to—But come awawi your tale—what fell neist
The boys in Scotland used formerly to make a sort of Saturnalia in a snowstorm by pelting passengers with snowballs But those exposed to that annoyance were excused from it on the easy penalty of a baik courtesy from a female or a bow from a man It was only the refractory who underwent the storm
On my mentioning the appearance of Mr Campbell Jarvie arose in great surprise and paced the room exclaiming Robin again—Roberts mad—clean wud and waur—Rob will be hanged and disgrace a his kindred and that will be seen and heard tell o My father the deacon wrought him his first hose—Od I am thinking Deacon Threeplie the rapespinner will be twisting his last cravat Ay ay puir Robin is in a fair way o being hanged—But come awa come awa—lets hear the lave ot
I told the whole story as pointedly as I could but Mr Jarvie still found something lacking to make it clear until I went back though with considerable reluctance on the whole story of Morris and of my meeting with Campbell at the house of Justice Inglewood Mr Jarvie inclined a serious ear to all this and remained silent for some time after I had finished my narrative
Upon all these matters I am now to ask your advice Mr Jarvie which I have no doubt will point out the best way to act for my fathers advantage and my own honour
Yere right young man—yere right said the Bailie Aye take the counsel of those who are aulder and wiser than yourself and binna like the godless Rehoboam who took the advice o a wheen beardless callants neglecting the auld counsellors who had sate at the feet o his father Solomon and as it was weel put by Mr Meiklejohn in his lecture on the chapter were doubtless partakers of his sapience But I maun hear naething about honour—we ken naething here but about credit Honour is a homicide and a bloodspiller that gangs about making frays in the street but Credit is a decent honest man that sits at hame and makes the pat play
Assuredly Mr Jarvie said our friend Owen credit is the sum total and if we can but save that at whatever discount—
Ye are right Mr Owen—ye are right ye speak weel and wisely and I trust bowls will row right though they are a wee ajee eenow But touching Robin I am of opinion he will befriend this young man if it is in his power He has a gude heart puir Robin and though I lost a matter o twa hundred punds wi his former engagements and haena muckle expectation ever to see back my thousand punds Scots that he promises me eenow yet I will never say but what Robin means fair by men
I am then to consider him I replied as an honest man
Umph replied Jarvie with a precautionary sort of cough—Ay he has a kind o Hieland honesty—hes honest after a sort as they say My father the deacon used aye to laugh when he tauld me how that byword came up Ane Captain Costlett was cracking crouse about his loyalty to King Charles and Clerk Pettigrew yell hae heard mony a tale about him asked him after what manner he served the king when he was fighting again him at Worster in Cromwells army and Captain Costlett was a ready body and said that he served him after a sort My honest father used to laugh weel at that sport—and sae the byword came up
But do you think I said that this man will be able to serve me after a sort or should I trust myself to this place of rendezvous which he has given me
Frankly and fairly its worth trying Ye see yourself theres some risk in your staying here This bit body Morris has gotten a customhouse place doun at Greenock—thats a port on the Firth doun by here and tho a the world kens him to be but a twaleggit creature wi a gooses head and a hens heart that goes about on the quay plaguing folk about permits and cockits and dockits and a that vexatious trade yet if he lodge an information—ou nae doubt a man in magisterial duty maun attend to it and ye might come to be clapped up between four was whilk wad be illconvenient to your fathers affairs
True I observed yet what service am I likely to render him by leaving Glasgow which it is probable will be the principal scene of Rashleighs machinations and committing myself to the doubtful faith of a man of whom I know little but that he fears justice and has doubtless good reasons for doing so and that for some secret and probably dangerous purpose he is in close league and alliance with the very person who is like to be the author of our ruin
Ah but ye judge Rob hardly said the Bailie ye judge him hardly puir chield and the truth is that ye ken naething about our hill country or Hielands as we ca them They are clean anither set frae the like o huz—theres nae bailiecourts amang them—nae magistrates that dinna bear the sword in vain like the worthy deacon thats awa and I may sayt like mysell and other present magistrates in this city—But its just the lairds command and the loon maun loup and the never another law hae they but the length o their dirks—the broadswords pursuer or plaintiff as you Englishers ca it and the target is defender the stoutest head bears langest out—and theres a Hieland plea for ye
Owen groaned deeply and I allow that the description did not greatly increase my desire to trust myself in a country so lawless as he described these Scottish mountains
Now sir said Jarvie we speak little o thae things because they are familiar to oursells and wheres the use o vilifying anes country and bringing a discredit on anes kin before southrons and strangers Its an ill bird that files its ain nest
Well sir but as it is no impertinent curiosity of mine but real necessity that obliges me to make these inquiries I hope you will not be offended at my pressing for a little farther information I have to deal on my fathers account with several gentlemen of these wild countries and I must trust your good sense and experience for the requisite lights upon the subject
This little morsel of flattery was not thrown out in vain Experience said the Bailie—I hae had experience nae doubt and I hae made some calculations—Ay and to speak quietly amang oursells I hae made some perquisitions through Andrew Wylie my auld clerk hes wi MacVittie Co now—but he whiles drinks a gill on the Saturday afternoons wi his auld master And since ye say ye are willing to be guided by the Glasgow weaverbodys advice I am no the man that will refuse it to the son of an auld correspondent and my father the deacon was nane sic afore me I have whiles thought o letting my lights burn before the Duke of Argyle or his brother Lord Ilay for wherefore should they be hidden under a bushel but the like o thae grit men wadna mind the like o me a puir wabster body—they think mair o wha says a thing than o what the thing is thats said The mairs the pity—mairs the pity Not that I wad speak ony ill of this MacCallum More—Curse not the rich in your bedchamber saith the son of Sirach for a bird of the air shall carry the clatter and pintstoups hae lang lugs
I interrupted these prolegomena in which Mr Jarvie was apt to be somewhat diffuse by praying him to rely upon Mr Owen and myself as perfectly secret and safe confidants
Its no for that he replied for I fear nae man—what for suld I—I speak nae treason—Only thae Hielandmen hae lang grips and I whiles gang a wee bit up the glens to see some auld kinsfolks and I wadna willingly be in bad blude wi ony o their clans Howsumever to proceed—ye maun understand I found my remarks on figures whilk as Mr Owen here weel kens is the only true demonstrable root of human knowledge
Owen readily assented to a proposition so much in his own way and our orator proceeded
These Hielands of ours as we ca them gentlemen are but a wild kind of warld by themsells full of heights and howes woods caverns lochs rivers and mountains that it wad tire the very deevils wings to flee to the tap o them And in this country and in the isles whilk are little better or to speak the truth rather waur than the mainland there are about twa hunder and thirty parochines including the Orkneys where whether they speak Gaelic or no I wotna but they are an uncivilised people Now sirs I sall haud ilk parochine at the moderate estimate of eight hunder examinable persons deducting children under nine years of age and then adding onefifth to stand for bairns of nine years auld and under the whole population will reach to the sum of—let us add onefifth to 800 to be the multiplier and 230 being the multiplicand—
The product said Mr Owen who entered delightedly into these statistics of Mr Jarvie will be 230000
Right sir—perfectly right and the military array of this Hieland country were a the menfolk between aughteen and fiftysix brought out that could bear arms couldna come weel short of fiftyseven thousand five hundred men Now sir its a sad and awfu truth that there is neither wark nor the very fashion nor appearance of wark for the tae half of thae puir creatures that is to say that the agriculture the pasturage the fisheries and every species of honest industry about the country cannot employ the one moiety of the population let them work as lazily as they like and they do work as if a pleugh or a spade burnt their fingers Aweel sir this moiety of unemployed bodies amounting to—
To one hundred and fifteen thousand souls said Owen being the half of the above product
Ye haet Mr Owen—ye haet—whereof there may be twentyeight thousand seven hundred ablebodied gillies fit to bear arms and that do bear arms and will touch or look at nae honest means of livelihood even if they could get it—which lackaday they cannot
But is it possible said I Mr Jarvie that this can be a just picture of so large a portion of the island of Britain
Sir Ill make it as plain as Peter Pasleys pikestaff I will allow that ilk parochine on an average employs fifty pleughs whilk is a great proportion in sic miserable soil as thae creatures hae to labour and that there may be pasture enough for pleughhorses and owsen and forty or fifty cows now to take care o the pleughs and cattle wese allow seventyfive families of six lives in ilk family and wese add fifty mair to make even numbers and ye hae five hundred souls the tae half o the population employed and maintained in a sort o fashion wi some chance of sourmilk and crowdie but I wad be glad to ken what the other five hunder are to do
In the name of God said I what do they do Mr Jarvie It makes me shudder to think of their situation
Sir replied the Bailie ye wad maybe shudder mair if ye were living near hand them For admitting that the tae half of them may make some little thing for themsells honestly in the Lowlands by shearing in harst droving haymaking and the like ye hae still mony hundreds and thousands o langlegged Hieland gillies that will neither work nor want and maun gang thigging and sorning about on their acquaintance or live by doing the lairds bidding bet right or bet wrang
Thigging and sorning was a kind of genteel begging or rather something between begging and robbing by which the needy in Scotland used to extort cattle or the means of subsistence from those who had any to give
And mair especially mony hundreds o them come down to the borders of the low country where theres gear to grip and live by stealing reiving lifting cows and the like depredations—a thing deplorable in ony Christian country—the mair especially that they take pride in it and reckon driving a spreagh whilk is in plain Scotch stealing a herd of nowte a gallant manly action and mair befitting of pretty men as sic reivers will ca themselves than to win a days wage by ony honest thrift
The word pretty is or was used in Scotch in the sense of the German prachtig and meant a gallant alert fellow prompt and ready at his weapons
And the lairds are as bad as the loons for if they dinna bid them gae reive and harry the deil a bit they forbid them and they shelter them or let them shelter themselves in their woods and mountains and strongholds whenever the things dune And every ane o them will maintain as mony o his ane name or his clan as we say as he can rap and rend means for or whilks the same thing as mony as can in ony fashion fair or foul mainteen themsells And there they are wi gun and pistol dirk and dourlach ready to disturb the peace o the country whenever the laird likes and thats the grievance of the Hielands whilk are and hae been for this thousand years bypast a bike o the maist lawless unchristian limmers that ever disturbed a douce quiet Godfearing neighbourhood like this o ours in the west here
And this kinsman of yours and friend of mine is he one of those great proprietors who maintain the household troops you speak of I inquired
Na na said Bailie Jarvie hes nane o your great grandees o chiefs as they ca them neither Though he is weel born and lineally descended frae auld Glenstrae—I ken his lineage—indeed he is a near kinsman and as I said of gude gentle Hieland blude though ye may think weel that I care little about that nonsense—its a moonshine in water—waste threads and thrums as we say—But I could show ye letters frae his father that was the third aff Glenstrae to my father Deacon Jarvie peace be wi his memory beginning Dear Deacon and ending your loving kinsman to command—they are amaist a about borrowed siller sae the gude deacon thats dead and gane keepit them as documents and evidents—He was a carefu man
But if he is not I resumed one of their chiefs or patriarchal leaders whom I have heard my father talk of this kinsman of yours has at least much to say in the Highlands I presume
Ye may say that—nae name better kend between the Lennox and Breadalbane Robin was ance a weeldoing painstaking drover as ye wad see amang ten thousand—It was a pleasure to see him in his belted plaid and brogues wi his target at his back and claymore and dirk at his belt following a hundred Highland stots and a dozen o the gillies as rough and ragged as the beasts they drave And he was baith civil and just in his dealings and if he thought his chapman had made a hard bargain he wad gie him a luckpenny to the mends I hae kend him gie back five shillings out o the pund sterling
Twentyfive per cent said Owen—a heavy discount
He wad gie it though sir as I tell ye mair especially if he thought the buyer was a puir man and couldna stand by a loss But the times cam hard and Rob was venturesome It wasna my faut—it wasna my faut he canna wyte me—I aye tauld him ot—And the creditors mair especially some grit neighbours o his gripped to his living and land and they say his wife was turned out o the house to the hillside and sair misguided to the boot Shamefu shamefu—I am a peacefu man and a magistrate but if ony ane had guided sae muckle as my servant quean Mattie as its like they guided Robs wife I think it suld hae set the shabble that my father the deacon had at Bothwell brig awalking again
Cutlass
Weel Rob cam hame and fand desolation God pity us where he left plenty he looked east west south north and saw neither hauld nor hope—neither beild nor shelter sae he een pud the bonnet ower his brow belted the broadsword to his side took to the braeside and became a broken man
An outlaw
The voice of the good citizen was broken by his contending feelings He obviously while he professed to contemn the pedigree of his Highland kinsman attached a secret feeling of consequence to the connection and he spoke of his friend in his prosperity with an overflow of affection which deepened his sympathy for his misfortunes and his regret for their consequences
Thus tempted and urged by despair said I seeing Mr Jarvie did not proceed in his narrative I suppose your kinsman became one of those depredators you have described to us
No sae bad as that said the Glaswegian—no athegither and outright sae bad as that but he became a levier of blackmail wider and farther than ever it was raised in our day a through the Lennox and Menteith and up to the gates o Stirling Castle
Blackmail—I do not understand the phrase I remarked
Ou ye see Rob soon gathered an unco band o bluebonnets at his back for he comes o a rough name when hes kent by his ain and a name thats held its ain for mony a lang year baith again king and parliament and kirk too for aught I ken—an auld and honourable name for as sair as it has been worried and hadden down and oppressed My mother was a MacGregor—I carena wha kens it—And Rob had soon a gallant band and as it grieved him he said to see sic hership and waste and depredation to the south o the Hieland line why if ony heritor or farmer wad pay him four punds Scots out of each hundred punds of valued rent whilk was doubtless a moderate consideration Rob engaged to keep them scaithless—let them send to him if they lost sae muckle as a single cloot by thieving and Rob engaged to get them again or pay the value—and he aye keepit his word—I canna deny but he keepit his word—a men allow Rob keeps his word
This is a very singular contract of assurance said Mr Owen
Its clean again our statute law that must be owned said Jarvie clean again law the levying and the paying blackmail are baith punishable but if the law canna protect my barn and byre whatfor suld I no engage wi a Hieland gentleman that can—answer me that
But said I Mr Jarvie is this contract of blackmail as you call it completely voluntary on the part of the landlord or farmer who pays the insurance or what usually happens in case any one refuses payment of this tribute
Aha lad said the Bailie laughing and putting his finger to his nose ye think ye hae me there Troth I wad advise ony friends o mine to gree wi Rob for watch as they like and do what they like they are sair apt to be harried when the lang nights come on
Plundered
Some o the Grahame and Cohoon gentry stood out but what then—they lost their haill stock the first winter sae maist folks now think it best to come into Robs terms Hes easy wi a body that will be easy wi him but if ye thraw him ye had better thraw the deevil
And by his exploits in these vocations I continued I suppose he has rendered himself amenable to the laws of the country
Amenable—ye may say that his craig wad ken the weight o his hurdies if they could get haud o Rob But he has gude friends amang the grit folks and I could tell ye o ae grit family that keeps him up as far as they decently can to be a them in the side of another And then hes sic an auldfarran langheaded chield as never took up the trade o cateran in our time mony a daft reik he has played—mair than wad fill a book and a queer ane it wad be—as gude as Robin Hood or William Wallace—a fu o venturesome deeds and escapes sic as folk tell ower at a winter ingle in the daft days Its a queer thing o me gentlemen that am a man o peace mysell and a peacefu mans son—for the deacon my father quarrelled wi nane out o the towncouncil—its a queer thing I say but I think the Hieland blude o me warms at thae daft tales and whiles I like better to hear them than a word o profit gude forgie me But they are vanities—sinfu vanities—and moreover again the statute law—again the statute and gospel law
I now followed up my investigation by inquiring what means of influence this Mr Robert Campbell could possibly possess over my affairs or those of my father
Why ye are to understand said Mr Jarvie in a very subdued tone—I speak amang friends and under the rose—Ye are to understand that the Hielands hae been keepit quiet since the year aughtynine—that was Killiecrankie year But how hae they been keepit quiet think ye By siller Mr Owen—by siller Mr Osbaldistone King William caused Breadalbane distribute twenty thousand oude punds sterling amang them and its said the auld Hieland Earl keepit a lang lug ot in his ain sporran And then Queen Anne thats dead gae the chiefs bits o pensions sae they had wherewith to support their gillies and caterans that work nae wark as I said afore and they lay by quiet eneugh saying some spreagherie on the Lowlands whilk is their use and wont and some cutting o thrapples amang themsells that nae civilised body kens or cares onything anent—Weel but theres a new warld come up wi this King George I say God bless him for ane—theres neither like to be siller nor pensions gaun amang them they haena the means o mainteening the clans that eat them up as ye may guess frae what I said before their credits gane in the Lowlands and a man that can whistle ye up a thousand or feifteen hundred linking lads to do his will wad hardly get fifty punds on his band at the Cross o Glasgow—This canna stand lang—there will be an outbreak for the Stuarts—there will be an outbreak—they will come down on the low country like a flood as they did in the waefu wars o Montrose and that will be seen and heard tell o ere a twalmonth gangs round
Yet still I said I do not see how this concerns Mr Campbell much less my fathers affairs
Rob can levy five hundred men sir and therefore war suld concern him as muckle as maist folk replied the Bailie for it is a faculty that is far less profitable in time o peace Then to tell ye the truth I doubt he has been the prime agent between some o our Hieland chiefs and the gentlemen in the north o England We a heard o the public money that was taen frae the chield Morris somewhere about the fit o Cheviot by Rob and ane o the Osbaldistone lads and to tell ye the truth word gaed that it was yoursell Mr Francis—and sorry was I that your fathers son suld hae taen to sic practices—Na ye needna say a word about it—I see weel I was mistaen but I wad believe onything o a stageplayer whilk I concluded ye to be But now I doubtna it has been Rashleigh himself or some other o your cousins—they are a tarred wi the same stick—rank Jacobites and papists and wad think the government siller and government papers lawfu prize And the creature Morris is sic a cowardly caitiff that to this hour he daurna say that it was Rob took the portmanteau aff him and troth hes right for your customhouse and excise cattle are ill liket on a sides and Rob might get a backhanded lick at him before the Board as they cat could help him
I have long suspected this Mr Jarvie said I and perfectly agree with you But as to my fathers affairs—
Suspected it—its certain—its certain—I ken them that saw some of the papers that were taen aff Morris—its needless to say where But to your fathers affairs—Ye maun think that in thae twenty years bygane some o the Hieland lairds and chiefs hae come to some sma sense o their ain interest—your father and others hae bought the woods of GlenDisseries Glen Kissoch TobernaKippoch and mony mair besides and your fathers house has granted large bills in payment—and as the credit o Osbaldistone and Tresham was gude—for Ill say before Mr Owens face as I wad behind his back that bating misfortunes o the Lords sending nae men could be mair honourable in business—the Hieland gentlemen holders o thae bills hae found credit in Glasgow and Edinburgh—I might amaist say in Glasgow wholly for its little the pridefu Edinburgh folk do in real business—for all or the greater part of the contents o thae bills So that—Aha dye see me now
I confessed I could not quite follow his drift
Why said he if these bills are not paid the Glasgow merchant comes on the Hieland lairds whae hae deil a boddle o siller and will like ill to spew up what is item a spent—They will turn desperate—five hundred will rise that might hae sitten at hame—the deil will gae ower Jock Wabster—and the stopping of your fathers house will hasten the outbreak thats been sae lang biding us
You think then said I surprised at this singular view of the case that Rashleigh Osbaldistone has done this injury to my father merely to accelerate a rising in the Highlands by distressing the gentlemen to whom these bills were originally granted
Doubtless—doubtless—it has been one main reason Mr Osbaldistone I doubtna but what the ready money he carried off wi him might be another But that makes comparatively but a sma part o your fathers loss though it might make the maist part o Rashleighs direct gain The assets he carried off are of nae mair use to him than if he were to light his pipe wi them He tried if MacVittie Co wad gie him siller on them—that I ken by Andro Wylie—but they were ower auld cats to draw that strae afore them—they keepit aff and gae fair words Rashleigh Osbaldistone is better kend than trusted in Glasgow for he was here about some jacobitical papistical troking in seventeen hundred and seven and left debt ahint him Na na—he canna pit aff the paper here folk will misdoubt him how he came by it Na na—hell hae the stuff safe at some o their haulds in the Hielands and I daur say my cousin Rob could get at it gin he liked
But would he be disposed to serve us in this pinch Mr Jarvie said I You have described him as an agent of the Jacobite party and deeply connected in their intrigues will he be disposed for my sake or if you please for the sake of justice to make an act of restitution which supposing it in his power would according to your view of the case materially interfere with their plans
I canna preceesely speak to that the grandees among them are doubtfu o Rob and hes doubtfu o them—And hes been weel friended wi the Argyle family wha stand for the present model of government If he was freed o his hornings and captions he would rather be on Argyles side than he wad be on Breadalbanes for theres auld illwill between the Breadalbane family and his kin and name The truth is that Rob is for his ain hand as Henry Wynd feught—hell take the side that suits him best if the deil was laird Rob wad be for being tenant and ye canna blame him puir fallow considering his circumstances
Two great clans fought out a quarrel with thirty men of a side in presence ot the king on the North Inch of Perth on or about the year 1392 a man was amissing on one side whose room was filled by a little bandylegged citizen of Perth This substitute Henry Wynd—or as the Highlanders called him Gow Chrom that is the bandylegged smith—fought well and contributed greatly to the fate of the battle without knowing which side he fought on—so To fight for your own hand like Henry Wynd passed into a proverb This incident forms a conspicuous part of the subsequent novel The Fair Maid of Perth
But theres ae thing sair again ye—Rob has a grey mear in his stable at hame
A grey mare said I What is that to the purpose
The wife man—the wife—an awfu wife she is She downa bide the sight o a kindly Scot if he come frae the Lowlands far less of an Inglisher and shell be keen for a that can set up King James and ding down King George
It is very singular I replied that the mercantile transactions of London citizens should become involved with revolutions and rebellions
Not at a man—not at a returned Mr Jarvie thats a your silly prejudications I read whiles in the lang dark nights and I hae read in Bakers Chronicle that the merchants oLondon could gar the Bank of Genoa break their promise to advance a mighty sum to the King o Spain whereby the sailing of the Grand Spanish Armada was put aff for a haill year—What think you of that sir
The Chronicle of the Kings of England by Sir Richard Baker with continuations passed through several editions between 1641 and 1733 Whether any of them contain the passage alluded to is doubtful
That the merchants did their country golden service which ought to be honourably remembered in our histories
I think sae too and they wad do weel and deserve weal baith o the state and o humanity that wad save three or four honest Hieland gentlemen frae louping heads ower heels into destruction wi a their puir sackless followers just because they canna pay back the siller they had reason to count upon as their ain—and save your fathers credit—and my ain gude siller that Osbaldistone and Tresham awes me into the bargain
Sackless that is innocent
I say if ane could manage a this I think it suld be done and said unto him even if he were a puir catheshuttle body as unto one whom the king delighteth to honour
I cannot pretend to estimate the extent of public gratitude I replied but our own thankfulness Mr Jarvie would be commensurate with the extent of the obligation
Which added Mr Owen we would endeavour to balance with a per contra the instant our Mr Osbaldistone returns from Holland
I doubtna—I doubtna—he is a very worthy gentleman and a sponsible and wi some o my lights might do muckle business in Scotland—Weel sir if these assets could be redeemed out o the hands o the Philistines they are gude paper—they are the right stuff when they are in the right hands and thats yours Mr Owen And Ise find ye three men in Glasgow for as little as ye may think o us Mr Owen—thats Sandie Steenson in the TradesLand and John Pirie in Candleriggs and another that sall be nameless at this present sall advance what soums are sufficient to secure the credit of your house and seek nae better security
Owens eyes sparkled at this prospect of extrication but his countenance instantly fell on recollecting how improbable it was that the recovery of the assets as he technically called them should be successfully achieved
Dinna despair sir—dinna despair said Mr Jarvie I hae taen sae muckle concern wi your affairs already that it maun een be ower shoon ower boots wi me now I am just like my father the deacon praise be wi him I canna meddle wi a friends business but I aye end wi making it my ain—Sae Ill een pit on my boots the morn and be jogging ower Drymen Muir wi Mr Frank here and if I canna mak Rob hear reason and his wife too I dinna ken wha can—I hae been a kind freend to them afore now to say naething o owerlooking him last night when naming his name wad hae cost him his life—Ill be hearing o this in the council maybe frae Bailie Grahame and MacVittie and some o them They hae coost up my kindred to Rob to me already—set up their nashgabs I tauld them I wad vindicate nae mans faults but set apart what he had done again the law o the country and the hership o the Lennox and the misfortune o some folk losing life by him he was an honester man than stood on ony o their shanks—And whatfor suld I mind their clavers If Rob is an outlaw to himsell be it said—there is nae laws now about reset of intercommuned persons as there was in the ill times o the last Stuarts—I trow I hae a Scotch tongue in my head—if they speak Ise answer
It was with great pleasure that I saw the Bailie gradually surmount the barriers of caution under the united influence of public spirit and goodnatured interest in our affairs together with his natural wish to avoid loss and acquire gain and not a little harmless vanity Through the combined operation of these motives he at length arrived at the doughty resolution of taking the field in person to aid in the recovery of my fathers property His whole information led me to believe that if the papers were in possession of this Highland adventurer it might be possible to induce him to surrender what he could not keep with any prospect of personal advantage and I was conscious that the presence of his kinsman was likely to have considerable weight with him I therefore cheerfully acquiesced in Mr Jarvies proposal that we should set out early next morning
That honest gentleman was indeed as vivacious and alert in preparing to carry his purpose into execution as he had been slow and cautious in forming it He roared to Mattie to air his trotcosey to have his jackboots greased and set before the kitchenfire all night and to see that his beast be corned and a his riding gear in order Having agreed to meet him at five oclock next morning and having settled that Owen whose presence could be of no use to us upon this expedition should await our return at Glasgow we took a kind farewell of this unexpectedly zealous friend I installed Owen in an apartment in my lodgings contiguous to my own and giving orders to Andrew Fairservice to attend me next morning at the hour appointed I retired to rest with better hopes than it had lately been my fortune to entertain
CHAPTER TENTH
Far as the eye could reach no tree was seen
Earth clad in russet scorned the lively green
No birds except as birds of passage flew
No bee was heard to hum no dove to coo
No streams as amber smoothas amber clear
Were seen to glide or heard to warble here
Prophecy of Famine
It was in the bracing atmosphere of a harvest morning that I met by appointment Fairservice with the horses at the door of Mr Jarvies house which was but little space distant from Mrs Flyters hotel The first matter which caught my attention was that whatever were the deficiencies of the pony which Mr Fairservices legal adviser Clerk Touthope generously bestowed upon him in exchange for Thorncliffs mare he had contrived to part with it and procure in its stead an animal with so curious and complete a lameness that it seemed only to make use of three legs for the purpose of progression while the fourth appeared as if meant to be flourished in the air by way of accompaniment What do you mean by bringing such a creature as that here sir and where is the pony you rode to Glasgow upon were my very natural and impatient inquiries
I sellt it sir It was a slink beast and wad hae eaten its head aff standing at Luckie Flyters at livery And I hae bought this on your honours account Its a grand bargain—cost but a pund sterling the foot—thats four athegither The stringhalt will gae aff when its gaen a mile its a weelkend ganger they call it Souple Tam
On my soul sir said I you will never rest till my supplejack and your shoulders become acquainted If you do not go instantly and procure the other brute you shall pay the penalty of your ingenuity
Andrew notwithstanding my threats continued to battle the point as he said it would cost him a guinea of ruebargain to the man who had bought his pony before he could get it back again Like a true Englishman though sensible I was duped by the rascal I was about to pay his exaction rather than lose time when forth sallied Mr Jarvie cloaked mantled hooded and booted as if for a Siberian winter while two apprentices under the immediate direction of Mattie led forth the decent ambling steed which had the honour on such occasions to support the person of the Glasgow magistrate Ere he clombe to the saddle an expression more descriptive of the Bailies mode of mounting than that of the knightserrant to whom Spenser applies it he inquired the cause of the dispute betwixt my servant and me Having learned the nature of honest Andrews manoeuvre he instantly cut short all debate by pronouncing that if Fairservice did not forthwith return the threelegged palfrey and produce the more useful quadruped which he had discarded he would send him to prison and amerce him in half his wages Mr Osbaldistone said he contracted for the service of both your horse and you—twa brutes at ance—ye unconscionable rascal—but Ise look weel after you during this journey
It will be nonsense fining me said Andrew doughtily that hasna a grey groat to pay a fine wi—its ill taking the breeks aff a Hielandman
If ye hae nae purse to fine ye hae flesh to pine replied the Bailie and I will look weel to ye getting your deserts the tae way or the tither
To the commands of Mr Jarvie therefore Andrew was compelled to submit only muttering between his teeth Ower mony maisters—ower mony maisters as the paddock said to the harrow when every tooth gae her a tig
Apparently he found no difficulty in getting rid of Supple Tam and recovering possession of his former Bucephalus for he accomplished the exchange without being many minutes absent nor did I hear further of his having paid any smartmoney for breach of bargain
We now set forward but had not reached the top of the street in which Mr Jarvie dwelt when a loud hallooing and breathless call of Stop stop was heard behind us We stopped accordingly and were overtaken by Mr Jarvies two lads who bore two parting tokens of Matties care for her master The first was conveyed in the form of a voluminous silk handkerchief like the mainsail of one of his own WestIndiamen which Mrs Mattie particularly desired he would put about his neck and which thus entreated he added to his other integuments The second youngster brought only a verbal charge I thought I saw the rogue disposed to laugh as he delivered it on the part of the housekeeper that her master would take care of the waters Pooh pooh silly hussy answered Mr Jarvie but added turning to me it shows a kind heart though—it shows a kind heart in sae young a quean—Matties a carefu lass So speaking he pricked the sides of his palfrey and we left the town without farther interruption
While we paced easily forward by a road which conducted us northeastward from the town I had an opportunity to estimate and admire the good qualities of my new friend Although like my father he considered commercial transactions the most important objects of human life he was not wedded to them so as to undervalue more general knowledge On the contrary with much oddity and vulgarity of manner—with a vanity which he made much more ridiculous by disguising it now and then under a thin veil of humility and devoid as he was of all the advantages of a learned education Mr Jarvies conversation showed tokens of a shrewd observing liberal and to the extent of its opportunities a wellimproved mind He was a good local antiquary and entertained me as we passed along with an account of remarkable events which had formerly taken place in the scenes through which we passed And as he was well acquainted with the ancient history of his district he saw with the prospective eye of an enlightened patriot the buds of many of those future advantages which have only blossomed and ripened within these few years I remarked also and with great pleasure that although a keen Scotchman and abundantly zealous for the honour of his country he was disposed to think liberally of the sister kingdom When Andrew Fairservice whom by the way the Bailie could not abide chose to impute the accident of one of the horses casting his shoe to the deteriorating influence of the Union he incurred a severe rebuke from Mr Jarvie
Whisht sir—whisht its illscraped tongues like yours that make mischief atween neighbourhoods and nations Theres naething sae gude on this side o time but it might hae been better and that may be said o the Union Nane were keener against it than the Glasgow folk wi their rabblings and their risings and their mobs as they ca them nowadays But its an ill wind blaws naebody gude—Let ilka ane roose the ford as they find it—I say let Glasgow flourish whilk is judiciously and elegantly putten round the towns arms by way of byword—Now since St Mungo catched herrings in the Clyde what was ever like to gar us flourish like the sugar and tobacco trade Will onybody tell me that and grumble at the treaty that opened us a road westawa yonder
Andrew Fairservice was far from acquiescing in these arguments of expedience and even ventured to enter a grumbling protest That it was an unco change to hae Scotlands laws made in England and that for his share he wadna for a the herringbarrels in Glasgow and a the tobaccocasks to boot hae gien up the riding o the Scots Parliament or sent awa our crown and our sword and our sceptre and Mons Meg to be keepit by thae English pockpuddings in the Tower o Lunnon
Note G Mons Meg
What wad Sir William Wallace or auld Davie Lindsay hae said to the Union or them that made it
The road which we travelled while diverting the way with these discussions had become wild and open as soon as we had left Glasgow a mile or two behind us and was growing more dreary as we advanced Huge continuous heaths spread before behind and around us in hopeless barrenness—now level and interspersed with swamps green with treacherous verdure or sable with turf or as they call them in Scotland peatbogs—and now swelling into huge heavy ascents which wanted the dignity and form of hills while they were still more toilsome to the passenger There were neither trees nor bushes to relieve the eye from the russet livery of absolute sterility The very heath was of that stinted imperfect kind which has little or no flower and affords the coarsest and meanest covering which as far as my experience enables me to judge mother Earth is ever arrayed in Living thing we saw none except occasionally a few straggling sheep of a strange diversity of colours as black bluish and orange The sable hue predominated however in their faces and legs The very birds seemed to shun these wastes and no wonder since they had an easy method of escaping from them—at least I only heard the monotonous and plaintive cries of the lapwing and curlew which my companions denominated the peasweep and whaup
At dinner however which we took about noon at a most miserable alehouse we had the good fortune to find that these tiresome screamers of the morass were not the only inhabitants of the moors The goodwife told us that the gudeman had been at the hill and well for us that he had been so for we enjoyed the produce of his chasse in the shape of some broiled moorgame—a dish which gallantly eked out the ewemilk cheese dried salmon and oaten bread being all besides that the house afforded Some very indifferent twopenny ale and a glass of excellent brandy crowned our repast and as our horses had in the meantime discussed their corn we resumed our journey with renovated vigour
I had need of all the spirits a good dinner could give to resist the dejection which crept insensibly on my mind when I combined the strange uncertainty of my errand with the disconsolate aspect of the country through which it was leading me Our road continued to be if possible more waste and wild than that we had travelled in the forenoon The few miserable hovels that showed some marks of human habitation were now of still rarer occurrence and at length as we began to ascend an uninterrupted swell of moorland they totally disappeared The only exercise which my imagination received was when some particular turn of the road gave us a partial view to the left of a large assemblage of darkblue mountains stretching to the north and northwest which promised to include within their recesses a country as wild perhaps but certainly differing greatly in point of interest from that which we now travelled The peaks of this screen of mountains were as wildly varied and distinguished as the hills which we had seen on the right were tame and lumpish and while I gazed on this Alpine region I felt a longing to explore its recesses though accompanied with toil and danger similar to that which a sailor feels when he wishes for the risks and animation of a battle or a gale in exchange for the insupportable monotony of a protracted calm I made various inquiries of my friend Mr Jarvie respecting the names and positions of these remarkable mountains but it was a subject on which he had no information or did not choose to be communicative Theyre the Hieland hills—the Hieland hills—Yell see and hear eneugh about them before ye see Glasgow Cross again—I downa look at them—I never see them but they gar me grew Its no for fear—no for fear but just for grief for the puir blinded halfstarved creatures that inhabit them—but say nae mair about it—its ill speaking o Hielandmen sae near the line I hae kend mony an honest man wadna hae ventured this length without he had made his last will and testament—Mattie had illwill to see me set awa on this ride and grat awee the sillie tawpie but its nae mair ferlie to see a woman greet than to see a goose gang barefit
I next attempted to lead the discourse on the character and history of the person whom we were going to visit but on this topic Mr Jarvie was totally inaccessible owing perhaps in part to the attendance of Mr Andrew Fairservice who chose to keep so close in our rear that his ears could not fail to catch every word which was spoken while his tongue assumed the freedom of mingling in our conversation as often as he saw an opportunity For this he occasionally incurred Mr Jarvies reproof
Keep back sir as best sets ye said the Bailie as Andrew pressed forward to catch the answer to some question I had asked about Campbell —ye wad fain ride the forehorse an ye wist how—That chields aye for being out o the cheesefat he was moulded in—Now as for your questions Mr Osbaldistone now that chields out of earshot Ill just tell you its free to you to speer and its free to me to answer or no—Gude I canna say muckle o Rob puir chield ill I winna say o him for forby that hes my cousin were coming near his ain country and there may be ane o his gillies ahint every whinbush for what I ken—And if yell be guided by my advice the less ye speak about him or where we are gaun or what we are gaun to do well be the mair likely to speed us in our errand For its like we may fa in wi some o his unfreends—there are een ower mony o them about—and his bonnet sits even on his brow yet for a that but I doubt theyll be upsides wi Rob at the last—air day or late day the foxs hide finds aye the flaying knife
I will certainly I replied be entirely guided by your experience
Right Mr Osbaldistone—right But I maun speak to this gabbling skyte too for bairns and fules speak at the Cross what they hear at the ingleside—Dye hear you Andrew—whats your name—Fairservice
Andrew who at the last rebuff had fallen a good way behind did not choose to acknowledge the summons
Andrew ye scoundrel repeated Mr Jarvie here sir here
Here is for the dog said Andrew coming up sulkily
Ill gie you dogs wages ye rascal if ye dinna attend to what I say tye—We are gaun into the Hielands a bit—
I judged as muckle said Andrew
Haud your peace ye knave and hear what I have to say till ye—We are gaun a bit into the Hielands—
Ye tauld me sae already replied the incorrigible Andrew
Ill break your head said the Bailie rising in wrath if ye dinna haud your tongue
A hadden tongue replied Andrew makes a slabbered mouth
It was now necessary I should interfere which I did by commanding Andrew with an authoritative tone to be silent at his peril
I am silent said Andrew Ise do a your lawfu bidding without a naysay My puir mother used aye to tell me
Be it better be it worse
Be ruled by him that has the purse
Sae ye may een speak as lang as ye like baith the tane and the tither o you for Andrew
Mr Jarvie took the advantage of his stopping after quoting the above proverb to give him the requisite instructions Now sir its as muckle as your lifes worth—that wad be dear o little siller to be sure—but it is as muckle as a our lives are worth if ye dinna mind what I sae to ye In this public whar we are gaun to and whar it is like we may hae to stay a night men o a clans and kindred—Hieland and Lawland—tak up their quarters—And whiles there are mair drawn dirks than open Bibles amang them when the usquebaugh gets uppermost See ye neither meddle nor mak nor gie nae offence wi that clavering tongue o yours but keep a calm sough and let ilka cock fight his ain battle
Muckle needs to tell me that said Andrew contemptuously as if I had never seen a Hielandman before and kend nae how to manage them Nae man alive can cuitle up Donald better than mysell—I hae bought wi them sauld wi them eaten wi them drucken wi them—
Did ye ever fight wi them said Mr Jarvie
Na na answered Andrew I took care o that it wad ill hae set me that am an artist and half a scholar to my trade to be fighting amang a wheen kilted loons that dinna ken the name o a single herb or flower in braid Scots let abee in the Latin tongue
Then said Mr Jarvie as ye wad keep either your tongue in your mouth or your lugs in your head and ye might miss them for as saucy members as they are I charge ye to say nae word gude or bad that ye can weel get by to onybody that may be in the Clachan And yell specially understand that yere no to be bleezing and blasting about your masters name and mine or saying that this is Mr Bailie Nicol Jarvie o the Saut Market son o the worthy Deacon Nicol Jarvie that a body has heard about and this is Mr Frank Osbaldistone son of the managing partner of the great house of Osbaldistone and Tresham in the City
Eneueh said answered Andrew—eneueh said What need ye think I wad be speaking about your names for—I hae mony things o mair importance to speak about I trow
Its thae very things of importance that I am feared for ye blethering goose ye maunna speak ony thing gude or bad that ye can by any possibility help
If ye dinna think me fit replied Andrew in a huff to speak like ither folk gie me my wages and my boardwages and Ise gae back to Glasgow—Theres sma sorrow at our parting as the auld mear said to the broken cart
Finding Andrews perverseness again rising to a point which threatened to occasion me inconvenience I was under the necessity of explaining to him that he might return if he thought proper but that in that case I would not pay him a single farthing for his past services The argument ad crumenam as it has been called by jocular logicians has weight with the greater part of mankind and Andrew was in that particular far from affecting any trick of singularity He drew in his horns to use the Bailies phrase on the instant professed no intention whatever to disoblige and a resolution to be guided by my commands whatever they might be
Concord being thus happily restored to our small party we continued to pursue our journey The road which had ascended for six or seven English miles began now to descend for about the same space through a country which neither in fertility nor interest could boast any advantage over that which we had passed already and which afforded no variety unless when some tremendous peak of a Highland mountain appeared at a distance We continued however to ride on without pause and even when night fell and overshadowed the desolate wilds which we traversed we were as I understood from Mr Jarvie still three miles and a bittock distant from the place where we were to spend the night
CHAPTER ELEVENTH
Baron of Bucklivie
May the foul fiend drive ye
And a to pieces rive ye
For building sic a town
Where theres neither horse meat
Nor mans meat
Nor a chair to sit down
Scottish Popular Rhymes on a bad Inn
The night was pleasant and the moon afforded us good light for our journey Under her rays the ground over which we passed assumed a more interesting appearance than during the broad daylight which discovered the extent of its wasteness The mingled light and shadows gave it an interest which naturally did not belong to it and like the effect of a veil flung over a plain woman irritated our curiosity on a subject which had in itself nothing gratifying
The descent however still continued turned winded left the more open heaths and got into steeper ravines which promised soon to lead us to the banks of some brook or river and ultimately made good their presage We found ourselves at length on the bank of a stream which rather resembled one of my native English rivers than those I had hitherto seen in Scotland It was narrow deep still and silent although the imperfect light as it gleamed on its placid waters showed also that we were now among the lofty mountains which formed its cradle Thats the Forth said the Bailie with an air of reverence which I have observed the Scotch usually pay to their distinguished rivers The Clyde the Tweed the Forth the Spey are usually named by those who dwell on their banks with a sort of respect and pride and I have known duels occasioned by any word of disparagement I cannot say I have the least quarrel with this sort of harmless enthusiasm I received my friends communication with the importance which he seemed to think appertained to it In fact I was not a little pleased after so long and dull a journey to approach a region which promised to engage the imagination My faithful squire Andrew did not seem to be quite of the same opinion for he received the solemn information That is the Forth with a Umph—an he had said thats the publichouse it wad hae been mair to the purpose
The Forth however as far as the imperfect light permitted me to judge seemed to merit the admiration of those who claimed an interest in its stream A beautiful eminence of the most regular round shape and clothed with copsewood of hazels mountainash and dwarfoak intermixed with a few magnificent old trees which rising above the underwood exposed their forked and bared branches to the silver moonshine seemed to protect the sources from which the river sprung If I could trust the tale of my companion which while professing to disbelieve every word of it he told under his breath and with an air of something like intimidation this hill so regularly formed so richly verdant and garlanded with such a beautiful variety of ancient trees and thriving copsewood was held by the neighbourhood to contain within its unseen caverns the palaces of the fairies—a race of airy beings who formed an intermediate class between men and demons and who if not positively malignant to humanity were yet to be avoided and feared on account of their capricious vindictive and irritable disposition
Note H Fairy Superstition
They ca them said Mr Jarvie in a whisper Daoine Schie—whilk signifies as I understand men of peace meaning thereby to make their gudewill And we may een as weel ca them that too Mr Osbaldistone for theres nae gude in speaking ill o the laird within his ain bounds But he added presently after on seeing one or two lights which twinkled before us Its deceits o Satan after a and I fearna to say it—for we are near the manse now and yonder are the lights in the Clachan of Aberfoil
I own I was well pleased at the circumstance to which Mr Jarvie alluded not so much that it set his tongue at liberty in his opinion with all safety to declare his real sentiments with respect to the Daoine Schie or fairies as that it promised some hours repose to ourselves and our horses of which after a ride of fifty miles and upwards both stood in some need
We crossed the infant Forth by an oldfashioned stone bridge very high and very narrow My conductor however informed me that to get through this deep and important stream and to clear all its tributary dependencies the general pass from the Highlands to the southward lay by what was called the Fords of Frew at all times deep and difficult of passage and often altogether unfordable Beneath these fords there was no pass of general resort until so far east as the bridge of Stirling so that the river of Forth forms a defensible line between the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland from its source nearly to the Firth or inlet of the ocean in which it terminates The subsequent events which we witnessed led me to recall with attention what the shrewdness of Bailie Jarvie suggested in his proverbial expression that Forth bridles the wild Highlandman
About half a miles riding after we crossed the bridge placed us at the door of the publichouse where we were to pass the evening It was a hovel rather worse than better than that in which we had dined but its little windows were lighted up voices were heard from within and all intimated a prospect of food and shelter to which we were by no means indifferent Andrew was the first to observe that there was a peeled willowwand placed across the halfopen door of the little inn He hung back and advised us not to enter For said Andrew some of their chiefs and grit men are birling at the usquebaugh in by there and dinna want to be disturbed and the least well get if we gang ramstam in on them will be a broken head to learn us better havings if we dinna come by the length of a cauld dirk in our wame whilk is just as likely
I looked at the Bailie who acknowledged in a whisper that the gowk had some reason for singing ance in the year
Meantime a staring halfclad wench or two came out of the inn and the neighbouring cottages on hearing the sound of our horses feet No one bade us welcome nor did any one offer to take our horses from which we had alighted and to our various inquiries the hopeless response of Ha niel Sassenach was the only answer we could extract The Bailie however found in his experience a way to make them speak English If I gie ye a bawbee said he to an urchin of about ten years old with a fragment of a tattered plaid about him will you understand Sassenach
Ay ay that will I replied the brat in very decent English Then gang and tell your mammy my man theres twa Sassenach gentlemen come to speak wi her
The landlady presently appeared with a lighted piece of split fir blazing in her hand The turpentine in this species of torch which is generally dug from out the turfbogs makes it blaze and sparkle readily so that it is often used in the Highlands in lieu of candles On this occasion such a torch illuminated the wild and anxious features of a female pale thin and rather above the usual size whose soiled and ragged dress though aided by a plaid or tartan screen barely served the purposes of decency and certainly not those of comfort Her black hair which escaped in uncombed elflocks from under her coif as well as the strange and embarrassed look with which she regarded us gave me the idea of a witch disturbed in the midst of her unlawful rites She plainly refused to admit us into the house We remonstrated anxiously and pleaded the length of our journey the state of our horses and the certainty that there was not another place where we could be received nearer than Callander which the Bailie stated to be seven Scots miles distant How many these may exactly amount to in English measurement I have never been able to ascertain but I think the double ratio may be pretty safely taken as a medium computation The obdurate hostess treated our expostulation with contempt Better gang farther than fare waur she said speaking the Scottish Lowland dialect and being indeed a native of the Lennox district—Her house was taen up wi them wadna like to be intruded on wi strangers She didna ken wha mair might be there—redcoats it might be frae the garrison These last words she spoke under her breath and with very strong emphasis The night she said was fair abune head—a night amang the heather wad caller our bloods—we might sleep in our claes as mony a gude blade does in the scabbard—there wasna muckle flowmoss in the shaw if we took up our quarters right and we might pit up our horses to the hill naebody wad say naething against it
But my good woman said I while the Bailie groaned and remained undecided it is six hours since we dined and we have not taken a morsel since I am positively dying with hunger and I have no taste for taking up my abode supperless among these mountains of yours I positively must enter and make the best apology you can to your guests for adding a stranger or two to their number Andrew you will see the horses put up
The Hecate looked at me with surprise and then ejaculated—A wilfu man will hae his way—them that will to Cupar maun to Cupar—To see thae English bellygods he has had ae fu meal the day already and hell venture life and liberty rather than hell want a het supper Set roasted beef and pudding on the opposite side o the pit o Tophet and an Englishman will mak a spang at it—But I wash my hands ot—Follow me sir to Andrew and Ise show ye where to pit the beasts
I own I was somewhat dismayed at my landladys expressions which seemed to be ominous of some approaching danger I did not however choose to shrink back after having declared my resolution and accordingly I boldly entered the house and after narrowly escaping breaking my shins over a turf back and a salting tub which stood on either side of the narrow exterior passage I opened a crazy halfdecayed door constructed not of plank but of wicker and followed by the Bailie entered into the principal apartment of this Scottish caravansary
The interior presented a view which seemed singular enough to southern eyes The fire fed with blazing turf and branches of dried wood blazed merrily in the centre but the smoke having no means to escape but through a hole in the roof eddied round the rafters of the cottage and hung in sable folds at the height of about five feet from the floor The space beneath was kept pretty clear by innumerable currents of air which rushed towards the fire from the broken panel of basketwork which served as a door—from two square holes designed as ostensible windows through one of which was thrust a plaid and through the other a tattered greatcoat—and moreover through various less distinguishable apertures in the walls of the tenement which being built of round stones and turf cemented by mud let in the atmosphere at innumerable crevices
At an old oaken table adjoining to the fire sat three men guests apparently whom it was impossible to regard with indifference Two were in the Highland dress the one a little darkcomplexioned man with a lively quick and irritable expression of features wore the trews or close pantaloons wove out of a sort of chequered stocking stuff The Bailie whispered me that he behoved to be a man of some consequence for that naebody but their Duinhewassels wore the trews—they were ill to weave exactly to their Highland pleasure
The other mountaineer was a very tall strong man with a quantity of reddish hair freckled face high cheekbones and long chin—a sort of caricature of the national features of Scotland The tartan which he wore differed from that of his companion as it had much more scarlet in it whereas the shades of black and darkgreen predominated in the chequers of the other The third who sate at the same table was in the Lowland dress—a bold stoutlooking man with a cast of military daring in his eye and manner his ridingdress showily and profusely laced and his cocked hat of formidable dimensions His hanger and a pair of pistols lay on the table before him Each of the Highlanders had their naked dirks stuck upright in the board beside him—an emblem I was afterwards informed but surely a strange one that their computation was not to be interrupted by any brawl A mighty pewter measure containing about an English quart of usquebaugh a liquor nearly as strong as brandy which the Highlanders distil from malt and drink undiluted in excessive quantities was placed before these worthies A broken glass with a wooden foot served as a drinking cup to the whole party and circulated with a rapidity which considering the potency of the liquor seemed absolutely marvellous These men spoke loudly and eagerly together sometimes in Gaelic at other times in English Another Highlander wrapt in his plaid reclined on the floor his head resting on a stone from which it was only separated by a wisp of straw and slept or seemed to sleep without attending to what was going on around him He also was probably a stranger for he lay in full dress and accoutred with the sword and target the usual arms of his countrymen when on a journey Cribs there were of different dimensions beside the walls formed some of fractured boards some of shattered wickerwork or plaited boughs in which slumbered the family of the house men women and children their places of repose only concealed by the dusky wreaths of vapour which arose above below and around them
Our entrance was made so quietly and the carousers I have described were so eagerly engaged in their discussions that we escaped their notice for a minute or two But I observed the Highlander who lay beside the fire raise himself on his elbow as we entered and drawing his plaid over the lower part of his face fix his look on us for a few seconds after which he resumed his recumbent posture and seemed again to betake himself to the repose which our entrance had interrupted
We advanced to the fire which was an agreeable spectacle after our late ride during the chillness of an autumn evening among the mountains and first attracted the attention of the guests who had preceded us by calling for the landlady She approached looking doubtfully and timidly now at us now at the other party and returned a hesitating and doubtful answer to our request to have something to eat
She didna ken she said she wasna sure there was onything in the house and then modified her refusal with the qualification—that is onything fit for the like of us
I assured her we were indifferent to the quality of our supper and looking round for the means of accommodation which were not easily to be found I arranged an old hencoop as a seat for Mr Jarvie and turned down a broken tub to serve for my own Andrew Fairservice entered presently afterwards and took a place in silence behind our backs The natives as I may call them continued staring at us with an air as if confounded by our assurance and we at least I myself disguised as well as we could under an appearance of indifference any secret anxiety we might feel concerning the mode in which we were to be received by those whose privacy we had disturbed
At length the lesser Highlander addressing himself to me said in very good English and in a tone of great haughtiness Ye make yourself at home sir I see
I usually do so I replied when I come into a house of public entertainment
And did she na see said the taller man by the white wand at the door that gentlemans had taken up the publichouse on their ain business
I do not pretend to understand the customs of this country but I am yet to learn I replied how three persons should be entitled to exclude all other travellers from the only place of shelter and refreshment for miles round
Theres nae reason fort gentlemen said the Bailie we mean nae offence—but theres neither law nor reason fort but as far as a stoup o gude brandy wad make up the quarrel we being peaceable folk wad be willing
Damn your brandy sir said the Lowlander adjusting his cocked hat fiercely upon his head we desire neither your brandy nor your company and up he rose from his seat His companions also arose muttering to each other drawing up their plaids and snorting and snuffing the air after the mariner of their countrymen when working themselves into a passion
I tauld ye what wad come gentlemen said the landlady an ye wad hae been tauld—get awa wi ye out o my house and make nae disturbance here—theres nae gentleman be disturbed at Jeanie MacAlpines an she can hinder A wheen idle English loons gaun about the country under cloud o night and disturbing honest peaceable gentlemen that are drinking their drap drink at the fireside
At another time I should have thought of the old Latin adage
Dat veniam corvis vexat censure columbas—
But I had not any time for classical quotation for there was obviously a fray about to ensue at which feeling myself indiginant at the inhospitable insolence with which I was treated I was totally indifferent unless on the Bailies account whose person and qualities were ill qualified for such an adventure I started up however on seeing the others rise and dropped my cloak from my shoulders that I might be ready to stand on the defensive
We are three to three said the lesser Highlander glancing his eyes at our party if ye be pretty men draw and unsheathing his broadsword he advanced on me I put myself in a posture of defence and aware of the superiority of my weapon a rapier or smallsword was little afraid of the issue of the contest The Bailie behaved with unexpected mettle As he saw the gigantic Highlander confront him with his weapon drawn he tugged for a second or two at the hilt of his shabble as he called it but finding it loth to quit the sheath to which it had long been secured by rust and disuse he seized as a substitute on the redhot coulter of a plough which had been employed in arranging the fire by way of a poker and brandished it with such effect that at the first pass he set the Highlanders plaid on fire and compelled him to keep a respectful distance till he could get it extinguished Andrew on the contrary who ought to have faced the Lowland champion had I grieve to say it vanished at the very commencement of the fray But his antagonist crying Fair play fair play seemed courteously disposed to take no share in the scuffle Thus we commenced our rencontre on fair terms as to numbers My own aim was to possess myself if possible of my antagonists weapon but I was deterred from closing for fear of the dirk which he held in his left hand and used in parrying the thrusts of my rapier Meantime the Bailie notwithstanding the success of his first onset was sorely bested The weight of his weapon the corpulence of his person the very effervescence of his own passions were rapidly exhausting both his strength and his breath and he was almost at the mercy of his antagonist when up started the sleeping Highlander from the floor on which he reclined with his naked sword and target in his hand and threw himself between the discomfited magistrate and his assailant exclaiming Her nainsell has eaten the town pread at the Cross o Glasgow and py her troth shell fight for Bailie Sharvie at the Clachan of Aberfoil—tat will she een And seconding his words with deeds this unexpected auxiliary made his sword whistle about the ears of his tall countryman who nothing abashed returned his blows with interest But being both accoutred with round targets made of wood studded with brass and covered with leather with which they readily parried each others strokes their combat was attended with much more noise and clatter than serious risk of damage It appeared indeed that there was more of bravado than of serious attempt to do us any injury for the Lowland gentleman who as I mentioned had stood aside for want of an antagonist when the brawl commenced was now pleased to act the part of moderator and peacemaker
Fray at Jeannie Macalpines
Hand your hands haud your hands—eneugh done—eneugh done the quarrels no mortal The strange gentlemen have shown themselves men of honour and gien reasonable satisfaction Ill stand on mine honour as kittle as ony man but I hate unnecessary bloodshed
It was not of course my wish to protract the fray—my adversary seemed equally disposed to sheathe his sword—the Bailie gasping for breath might be considered as hors de combat and our two swordandbuckler men gave up their contest with as much indifference as they had entered into it
And now said the worthy gentleman who acted as umpire let us drink and gree like honest fellows—The house will haud us a I propose that this good little gentleman that seems sair forfoughen as I may say in this tuilzie shall send for a tass o brandy and Ill pay for another by way of archilowe and then well birl our bawbees a round about like brethren
And fas to pay my new ponnie plaid said the larger Highlander wi a hole burnt int ane might put a kailpat through Saw ever onybody a decent gentleman fight wi a firebrand before
Let that be nae hinderance said the Bailie who had now recovered his breath and was at once disposed to enjoy the triumph of having behaved with spirit and avoid the necessity of again resorting to such hard and doubtful arbitrament—Gin I hae broken the head he said I sall find the plaister A new plaid sall ye hae and o the best—your ain clancolours man—an ye will tell me where it can be sent tye frae Glasco
I needna name my clan—I am of a kings clan as is weel kend said the Highlander but ye may tak a bit o the plaid—figh she smells like a singit sheeps head—and thatll learn ye the sett—and a gentleman thats a cousin o my ain that carries eggs doun frae Glencroe will ca fort about Martimas an ye will tell her where ye bide But honest gentleman neist time ye fight an ye hae ony respect for your athversary let it be wi your sword man since ye wear ane and no wi thae het culters and fireprands like a wild Indian
Conscience replied the Bailie every man maun do as he dow My sword hasna seen the light since Bothwell Brigg when my father thats dead and gane ware it and I kenna weel if it was forthcoming then either for the battle was o the briefest—At ony rate its glued to the scabbard now beyond my power to part them and finding that I een grippit at the first thing I could make a fend wi I trow my fighting days is done though I like ill to take the scorn for a that—But wheres the honest lad that tuik my quarrel on himself sae frankly—Ise bestow a gill o aquavitae on him an I suld never ca for anither
Archilowe of unknown derivation signifies a peaceoffering
The champion for whom he looked around was however no longer to be seen He had escaped unobserved by the Bailie immediately when the brawl was ended yet not before I had recognised in his wild features and shaggy red hair our acquaintance Dougal the fugitive turnkey of the Glasgow jail I communicated this observation in a whisper to the Bailie who answered in the same tone Weel weel—I see that him that ye ken o said very right there is some glimmering o common sense about that creature Dougal I maun see and think o something will do him some gude
Thus saying he sat down and fetching one or two deep aspirations by way of recovering his breath called to the landlady—I think Luckie now that I find that theres nae hole in my wame whilk I had muckle reason to doubt frae the doings o your house I wad be the better o something to pit intillt
The dame who was all officiousness so soon as the storm had blown over immediately undertook to broil something comfortable for our supper Indeed nothing surprised me more in the course of the whole matter than the extreme calmness with which she and her household seemed to regard the martial tumult that had taken place The good woman was only heard to call to some of her assistants—Steek the door steek the door kill or be killed let naebody pass out till they hae paid the lawin And as for the slumberers in those lairs by the wall which served the family for beds they only raised their shirtless bodies to look at the fray ejaculated Oigh oigh in the tone suitable to their respective sex and ages and were I believe fast asleep again ere our swords were well returned to their scabbards
Our landlady however now made a great bustle to get some victuals ready and to my surprise very soon began to prepare for us in the fryingpan a savoury mess of venison collops which she dressed in a manner that might well satisfy hungry men if not epicures In the meantime the brandy was placed on the table to which the Highlanders however partial to their native strong waters showed no objection but much the contrary and the Lowland gentleman after the first cup had passed round became desirous to know our profession and the object of our journey
We are bits o Glasgow bodies if it please your honour said the Bailie with an affectation of great humility travelling to Stirling to get in some siller that is awing us
I was so silly as to feel a little disconcerted at the unassuming account which he chose to give of us but I recollected my promise to be silent and allow the Bailie to manage the matter his own way And really when I recollected Will that I had not only brought the honest man a long journey from home which even in itself had been some inconvenience if I were to judge from the obvious pain and reluctance with which he took his seat or arose from it but had also put him within a hairsbreadth of the loss of his life I could hardly refuse him such a compliment The spokesman of the other party snuffing up his breath through his nose repeated the words with a sort of sneer—You Glasgow tradesfolks hae naething to do but to gang frae the tae end o the west o Scotland to the ither to plague honest folks that may chance to be awee ahint the hand like me
If our debtors were a sic honest gentlemen as I believe you to be Garschattachin replied the Bailie conscience we might save ourselves a labour for they wad come to seek us
Eh what how exclaimed the person whom he had addressed—as I shall live by bread not forgetting beef and brandy its my auld friend Nicol Jarvie the best man that ever counted doun merks on a band till a distressed gentleman Were ye na coming up my way—were ye na coming up the Endrick to Garschattachin
Troth no Maister Galbraith replied the Bailie I had other eggs on the spit—and I thought ye wad be saying I cam to look about the annual rent thats due on the bit heritable band thats between us
Damn the annual rent said the laird with an appearance of great heartiness—Deil a word o business will you or I speak now that yere so near my country To see how a trotcosey and a joseph can disguise a man—that I suldna ken my auld feal friend the deacon
The Bailie if ye please resumed my companion but I ken what gars ye mistak—the band was granted to my father thats happy and he was deacon but his name was Nicol as weel as mine I dinna mind that theres been a payment of principal sum or annual rent on it in my day and doubtless that has made the mistake
Weel the devil take the mistake and all that occasioned it replied Mr Galbraith But I am glad ye are a bailie Gentlemen fill a brimmer—this is my excellent friend Bailie Nicol Jarvies health—I kend him and his father these twenty years Are ye a cleared kelty aff—Fill anither Heres to his being sune provost—I say provost—Lord Provost Nicol Jarvie—and them that affirms theres a man walks the Hiestreet o Glasgow thats fitter for the office they will do weel not to let me Duncan Galbraith of Garschattachin hear them say sae—thats all And therewith Duncan Galbraith martially cocked his hat and placed it on one side of his head with an air of defiance
The brandy was probably the best recommendation of there complimentary toasts to the two Highlanders who drank them without appearing anxious to comprehend their purport They commenced a conversation with Mr Galbraith in Gaelic which he talked with perfect fluency being as I afterwards learned a near neighbour to the Highlands
I kend that Scantograce weel eneugh frae the very outset said the Bailie in a whisper to me but when blude was warm and swords were out at ony rate wha kens what way he might hae thought o paying his debts it will be lang or he does it in common form But hes an honest lad and has a warm heart too he disna come often to the Cross o Glasgow but mony a buck and blackcock he sends us doun frae the hills And I can want my siller weel eneugh My father the deacon had a great regard for the family of Garschattachin
Supper being now nearly ready I looked round for Andrew Fairservice but that trusty follower had not been seen by any one since the beginning of the rencontre The hostess however said that she believed our servant had gone into the stable and offered to light me to the place saying that no entreaties of the bairns or hers could make him give any answer and that truly she caredna to gang into the stable herself at this hour She was a lone woman and it was weel kend how the Brownie of Benyegask guided the gudewife of Ardnagowan and it was aye judged there was a Brownie in our stable which was just what garrd me gie ower keeping an hostler
As however she lighted me towards the miserable hovel into which they had crammed our unlucky steeds to regale themselves on hay every fibre of which was as thick as an ordinary goosequill she plainly showed me that she had another reason for drawing me aside from the company than that which her words implied Read that she said slipping a piece of paper into my hand as we arrived at the door of the shed I bless God I am rid ot Between sogers and Saxons and caterans and cattlelifters and hership and bluidshed an honest woman wad live quieter in hell than on the Hieland line
So saying she put the pinetorch into my hand and returned into the house
CHAPTER TWELFTH
Bagpipes not lyres the Highland hills adorn
MacLeans loud hollo and MacGregors horn
John Coopers Reply to Allan Ramsay
I stopped in the entrance of the stable if indeed a place be entitled to that name where horses were stowed away along with goats poultry pigs and cows under the same roof with the mansionhouse although by a degree of refinement unknown to the rest of the hamlet and which I afterwards heard was imputed to an overpride on the part of Jeanie MacAlpine our landlady the apartment was accommodated with an entrance different from that used by her biped customers By the light of my torch I deciphered the following billet written on a wet crumpled and dirty piece of paper and addressed—For the honoured hands of Mr F O a Saxon young gentleman—These The contents were as follows—
Sir
There are nighthawks abroad so that I cannot give you and my respected kinsman B N J the meeting at the Clachan of Aberfoil whilk was my purpose I pray you to avoid unnecessary communication with those you may find there as it may give future trouble The person who gives you this is faithful and may be trusted and will guide you to a place where God willing I may safely give you the meeting when I trust my kinsman and you will visit my poor house where in despite of my enemies I can still promise sic cheer as ane Hielandman may gie his friends and where we will drink a solemn health to a certain D V and look to certain affairs whilk I hope to be your aidance in and I rest as is wont among gentlemen
your servant to command R M C
I was a good deal mortified at the purport of this letter which seemed to adjourn to a more distant place and date the service which I had hoped to receive from this man Campbell Still however it was some comfort to know that he continued to be in my interest since without him I could have no hope of recovering my fathers papers I resolved therefore to obey his instructions and observing all caution before the guests to take the first good opportunity I could find to procure from the landlady directions how I was to obtain a meeting with this mysterious person
My next business was to seek out Andrew Fairservice whom I called several times by name without receiving any answer surveying the stable all round at the same time not without risk of setting the premises on fire had not the quantity of wet litter and mud so greatly counterbalanced two or three bunches of straw and hay At length my repeated cries of Andrew Fairservice Andrew fool—ass where are you produced a doleful Here in a groaning tone which might have been that of the Brownie itself Guided by this sound I advanced to the corner of a shed where ensconced in the angle of the wall behind a barrel full of the feathers of all the fowls which had died in the cause of the public for a month past I found the manful Andrew and partly by force partly by command and exhortation compelled him forth into the open air The first words he spoke were I am an honest lad sir
Who the devil questions your honesty said I or what have we to do with it at present I desire you to come and attend us at supper
Yes reiterated Andrew without apparently understanding what I said to him I am an honest lad whatever the Bailie may say to the contrary I grant the warld and the warlds gear sits ower near my heart whiles as it does to mony a ane—But I am an honest lad and though I spak o leaving ye in the muir yet God knows it was far frae my purpose but just like idle things folk says when theyre driving a bargain to get it as far to their ain side as they can—And I like your honour weel for sae young a lad and I wadna part wi ye lightly
What the deuce are you driving at now I replied Has not everything been settled again and again to your satisfaction And are you to talk of leaving me every hour without either rhyme or reason
Ay—but I was only making fashion before replied Andrew but its come on me in sair earnest now—Lose or win I daur gae nae farther wi your honour and if yell tak my foolish advice yell bide by a broken tryste rather than gang forward yoursell I hae a sincere regard for ye and Im sure yell be a credit to your friends if ye live to saw out your wild aits and get some mair sense and steadiness—But I can follow ye nae farther even if ye suld founder and perish from the way for lack of guidance and counsel To gang into Rob Roys country is a mere tempting o Providence
Rob Roy said I in some surprise I know no such person What new trick is this Andrew
Its hard said Andrew—very hard that a man canna be believed when he speaks Heavens truth just because hes whiles owercome and tells lees a little when there is necessary occasion Ye needna ask whae Rob Roy is the reiving lifter that he is—God forgie me I hope naebody hears us—when ye hae a letter frae him in your pouch I heard ane o his gillies bid that auld rudas jaud of a gudewife gie ye that They thought I didna understand their gibberish but though I canna speak it muckle I can gie a gude guess at what I hear them say—I never thought to hae tauld ye that but in a fright a things come out that suld be keepit in O Maister Frank a your uncles follies and a your cousins pliskies were naething to this Drink clean cap out like Sir Hildebrand begin the blessed morning with brandy sops like Squire Percy swagger like Squire Thorncliff rin wud amang the lasses like Squire John gamble like Richard win souls to the Pope and the deevil like Rashleigh rive rant break the Sabbath and do the Popes bidding like them a put thegither—But merciful Providence take care o your young bluid and gang nae near Rob Roy
Andrews alarm was too sincere to permit me to suppose he counterfeited I contented myself however with telling him that I meant to remain in the alehouse that night and desired to have the horses well looked after As to the rest I charged him to observe the strictest silence upon the subject of his alarm and he might rely upon it I would not incur any serious danger without due precaution He followed me with a dejected air into the house observing between his teeth Man suld be served afore beast—I haena had a morsel in my mouth but the rough legs o that auld muircock this haill blessed day
The harmony of the company seemed to have suffered some interruption since my departure for I found Mr Galbraith and my friend the Bailie high in dispute
Ill hear nae sic language said Mr Jarvie as I entered respecting the Duke o Argyle and the name o Campbell Hes a worthy publicspirited nobleman and a credit to the country and a friend and benefactor to the trade o Glasgow
Ill sae naething against MacCallum More and the SliochnanDiarmid said the lesser Highlander laughing I live on the wrang side of Glencroe to quarrel with Inverara
Our loch neer saw the Cawmil lymphads said the bigger Highlander
Lymphads The galley which the family of Argyle and others of the Clan Campbell carry in their arms
Shell speak her mind and fear naebody—She doesna value a Cawmil mair as a Cowan and ye may tell MacCallum More that Allan Iverach said sae— Its a far cry to Lochow
Lochow and the adjacent districts formed the original seat of the Campbells The expression of a far cry to Lochow was proverbial
Mr Galbraith on whom the repeated pledges which he had quaffed had produced some influence slapped his hand on the table with great force and said in a stern voice Theres a bloody debt due by that family and they will pay it one day—The banes of a loyal and a gallant Grahame hae lang rattled in their coffin for vengeance on thae Dukes of Guile and Lords for Lorn There neer was treason in Scotland but a Cawmil was at the bottom ot and now that the wrang sides uppermost wha but the Cawmils for keeping down the right But this warld winna last lang and it will be time to sharp the maiden for shearing o craigs and thrapples I hope to see the auld rusty lass linking at a bluidy harst again
A rude kind of guillotine formerly used in Scotland
For shame Garschattachin exclaimed the Bailie fy for shame sir Wad ye say sic things before a magistrate and bring yoursell into trouble—How dye think to mainteen your family and satisfy your creditors mysell and others if ye gang on in that wild way which cannot but bring you under the law to the prejudice of a thats connected wi ye
D—n my creditors retorted the gallant Galbraith and you if ye be ane o them I say there will be a new warld sune—And we shall hae nae Cawmils cocking their bonnet sae hie and hounding their dogs where they daurna come themsells nor protecting thieves nor murderers and oppressors to harry and spoil better men and mair loyal clans than themsells
The Bailie had a great mind to have continued the dispute when the savoury vapour of the broiled venison which our landlady now placed before us proved so powerful a mediator that he betook himself to his trencher with great eagerness leaving the strangers to carry on the dispute among themselves
And tats true said the taller Highlander—whose name I found was Stewart—for we suldna be plagued and worried here wi meetings to pit down Rob Roy if the Cawmils didna gie him refutch I was ane o thirty o my ain name—part Glenfinlas and part men that came down frae Appine We shased the MacGregors as ye wad shase raedeer till we came into Glenfallochs country and the Cawmils raise and wadna let us pursue nae farder and sae we lost our labour but her wad gie twa and a plack to be as near Rob as she was tat day
It seemed to happen very unfortunately that in every topic of discourse which these warlike gentlemen introduced my friend the Bailie found some matter of offence Yell forgie me speaking my mind sir but ye wad maybe hae gien the best bowl in your bonnet to hae been as far awae frae Rob as ye are een now—Od my het pleughculter wad hae been naething to his claymore
She had better speak nae mair about her culter or by G— her will gar her eat her words and twa handfuls o cauld steel to drive them ower wi And with a most inauspicious and menacing look the mountaineer laid his hand on his dagger
Well hae nae quarrelling Allan said his shorter companion and if the Glasgow gentleman has ony regard for Rob Roy hell maybe see him in cauld irons the night and playing tricks on a tow the morn for this country has been owre lang plagued wi him and his race is nearhand run—And its time Allan we were ganging to our lads
Hout awa Inverashalloch said Galbraith—Mind the auld saw man— Its a bauld moon quoth Bennygask—another pint quoth Lesley—well no start for another chappin
I hae had chappins eneugh said Inverashalloch Ill drink my quart of usquebaugh or brandy wi ony honest fellow but the deil a drap mair when I hae wark to do in the morning And in my puir thinking Garschattachin ye had better be thinking to bring up your horsemen to the Clachan before day that we may ay start fair
What the deevil are ye in sic a hurry for said Garschattachin meat and mass never hindered wark An it had been my directing deil a bit o me wad hae fashed ye to come down the glens to help us The garrison and our ain horse could hae taen Rob Roy easily enough Theres the hand he said holding up his own should lay him on the green and never ask a Hielandman o ye a for his help
Ye might hae loot us bide still where we were then said Inverashalloch I didna come sixty miles without being sent for But an yell hae my opinion I redd ye keep your mouth better steekit if ye hope to speed Shored folk live lang and sae may him ye ken o The way to catch a bird is no to fling your bannet at her And also thae gentlemen hae heard some things they suldna hae heard an the brandy hadna been ower bauld for your brain Major Galbraith Ye needna cock your hat and bully wi me man for I will not bear it
I hae said it said Galbraith with a solemn air of drunken gravity that I will quarrel no more this night either with broadcloth or tartan When I am off duty Ill quarrel with you or ony man in the Hielands or Lowlands but not on duty—no—no I wish we heard o these redcoats If it had been to do onything against King James we wad hae seen them lang syne—but when its to keep the peace o the country they can lie as lound as their neighbours
As he spoke we heard the measured footsteps of a body of infantry on the march and an officer followed by two or three files of soldiers entered the apartment He spoke in an English accent which was very pleasant to my ears now so long accustomed to the varying brogue of the Highland and Lowland Scotch—You are I suppose Major Galbraith of the squadron of Lennox Militia and these are the two Highland gentlemen with whom I was appointed to meet in this place
They assented and invited the officer to take some refreshments which he declined—I have been too late gentlemen and am desirous to make up time I have orders to search for and arrest two persons guilty of treasonable practices
Well wash our hands o that said Inverashalloch I came here wi my men to fight against the red MacGregor that killed my cousin seven times removed Duncan MacLaren in Invernenty but I will hae nothing to do touching honest gentlemen that may be gaun through the country on their ain business
This as appears from the introductory matter to this Tale is an anachronism The slaughter of MacLaren a retainer of the chief of Appine by the MacGregors did not take place till after Rob Roys death since it happened in 1736
Nor I neither said Iverach
Major Galbraith took up the matter more solemnly and premising his oration with a hiccup spoke to the following purpose—
I shall say nothing against King George Captain because as it happens my commission may rin in his name—But one commission being good sir does not make another bad and some think that James may be just as good a name as George Theres the king that is—and theres the king that suld of right be—I say an honest man may and suld be loyal to them both Captain But I am of the Lord Lieutenants opinion for the time as it becomes a militia officer and a deputelieutenant—and about treason and all that its lost time to speak of it—least said is sunest mended
I am sorry to see how you have been employing your time sir replied the English officer—as indeed the honest gentlemans reasoning had a strong relish of the liquor he had been drinking—and I could wish sir it had been otherwise on an occasion of this consequence I would recommend to you to try to sleep for an hour—Do these gentlemen belong to your party—looking at the Bailie and me who engaged in eating our supper had paid little attention to the officer on his entrance
Travellers sir said Galbraith—lawful travellers by sea and land as the prayerbook hath it
My instructions said the Captain taking a light to survey us closer are to place under arrest an elderly and a young person—and I think these gentlemen answer nearly the description
Take care what you say sir said Mr Jarvie it shall not be your red coat nor your laced hat shall protect you if you put any affront on me Ise convene ye baith in an action of scandal and false imprisonment—I am a free burgess and a magistrate o Glasgow Nicol Jarvie is my name sae was my fathers afore me—I am a bailie be praised for the honour and my father was a deacon
He was a prickeared cur said Major Galbraith and fought agane the King at Bothwell Brigg
He paid what he ought and what he bought Mr Galbraith said the Bailie and was an honester man than ever stude on your shanks
I have no time to attend to all this said the officer I must positively detain you gentlemen unless you can produce some respectable security that you are loyal subjects
I desire to be carried before some civil magistrate said the Bailie—the sherra or the judge of the bounds—I am not obliged to answer every redcoat that speers questions at me
Well sir I shall know how to manage you if you are silent—And you sir to me what may your name be
Francis Osbaldistone sir
What a son of Sir Hildebrand Osbaldistone of Northumberland
No sir interrupted the Bailie a son of the great William Osbaldistone of the House of Osbaldistone and Tresham CraneAlley London
I am afraid sir said the officer your name only increases the suspicions against you and lays me under the necessity of requesting that you will give up what papers you have in charge
I observed the Highlanders look anxiously at each other when this proposal was made
I had none I replied to surrender
The officer commanded me to be disarmed and searched To have resisted would have been madness I accordingly gave up my arms and submitted to a search which was conducted as civilly as an operation of the kind well could They found nothing except the note which I had received that night through the hand of the landlady
This is different from what I expected said the officer but it affords us good grounds for detaining you Here I find you in written communication with the outlawed robber Robert MacGregor Campbell who has been so long the plague of this district—How do you account for that
Spies of Rob said Inverashalloch We wad serve them right to strap them up till the neist tree
We are gaun to see after some gear o our ain gentlemen said the Bailie thats faen into his hands by accident—theres nae law agane a man looking after his ain I hope
How did you come by this letter said the officer addressing himself to me
I could not think of betraying the poor woman who had given it to me and remained silent
Do you know anything of it fellow said the officer looking at Andrew whose jaws were chattering like a pair of castanets at the threats thrown out by the Highlander
O ay I ken a about it—it was a Hieland loon gied the letter to that langtongued jaud the gudewife there Ill be sworn my maister kend naething about it But hes wilfu to gang up the hills and speak wi Rob and oh sir it wad be a charity just to send a wheen o your redcoats to see him safe back to Glasgow again whether he will or no—And ye can keep Mr Jarvie as lang as ye like—Hes responsible enough for ony fine ye may lay on him—and sos my master for that matter for me Im just a puir gardener lad and no worth your steering
I believe said the officer the best thing I can do is to send these persons to the garrison under an escort They seem to be in immediate correspondence with the enemy and I shall be in no respect answerable for suffering them to be at liberty Gentlemen you will consider yourselves as my prisoners So soon as dawn approaches I will send you to a place of security If you be the persons you describe yourselves it will soon appear and you will sustain no great inconvenience from being detained a day or two I can hear no remonstrances he continued turning away from the Bailie whose mouth was open to address him the service I am on gives me no time for idle discussions
Aweel aweel sir said the Bailie youre welcome to a tune on your ain fiddle but see if I dinna gar ye dance tillt afore as dune
An anxious consultation now took place between the officer and the Highlanders but carried on in so low a tone that it was impossible to catch the sense So soon as it was concluded they all left the house At their departure the Bailie thus expressed himself—Thae Hielandmen are o the westland clans and just as lighthanded as their neighbours an a tales be true and yet ye see they hae brought them frae the head o Argyleshire to make war wi puir Rob for some auld illwill that they hae at him and his sirname And theres the Grahames and the Buchanans and the Lennox gentry a mounted and in order—Its weel kend their quarrel and I dinna blame them—naebody likes to lose his kye And then theres sodgers puir things hoyed out frae the garrison at a bodys bidding—Puir Rob will hae his hands fu by the time the sun comes ower the hill Weel—its wrang for a magistrate to be wishing onything agane the course o justice but deil o me an I wad break my heart to hear that Rob had gien them a their paiks
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
—General
Hear me and mark me well and look upon me
Directly in my face—my womans face—
See if one fear one shadow of a terror
One paleness dare appear but from my anger
To lay hold on your mercies
Bonduca
We were permitted to slumber out the remainder of the night in the best manner that the miserable accommodations of the alehouse permitted The Bailie fatigued with his journey and the subsequent scenes—less interested also in the event of our arrest which to him could only be a matter of temporary inconvenience—perhaps less nice than habit had rendered me about the cleanliness or decency of his couch—tumbled himself into one of the cribs which I have already described and soon was heard to snore soundly A broken sleep snatched by intervals while I rested my head upon the table was my only refreshment In the course of the night I had occasion to observe that there seemed to be some doubt and hesitation in the motions of the soldiery Men were sent out as if to obtain intelligence and returned apparently without bringing any satisfactory information to their commanding officer He was obviously eager and anxious and again despatched small parties of two or three men some of whom as I could understand from what the others whispered to each other did not return again to the Clachan
The morning had broken when a corporal and two men rushed into the hut dragging after them in a sort of triumph a Highlander whom I immediately recognised as my acquaintance the exturnkey The Bailie who started up at the noise with which they entered immediately made the same discovery and exclaimed—Mercy on us they hae grippit the puir creature Dougal—Captain I will put in bail—sufficient bail for that Dougal creature
To this offer dictated undoubtedly by a grateful recollection of the late interference of the Highlander in his behalf the Captain only answered by requesting Mr Jarvie to mind his own affairs and remember that he was himself for the present a prisoner
I take you to witness Mr Osbaldistone said the Bailie who was probably better acquainted with the process in civil than in military cases that he has refused sufficient bail Its my opinion that the creature Dougal will have a good action of wrongous imprisonment and damages agane him under the Act seventeen hundred and one and Ill see the creature righted
The officer whose name I understood was Thornton paying no attention to the Bailies threats or expostulations instituted a very close inquiry into Dougals life and conversation and compelled him to admit though with apparent reluctance the successive facts—that he knew Rob Roy MacGregor—that he had seen him within these twelve months—within these six months—within this month—within this week in fine that he had parted from him only an hour ago All this detail came like drops of blood from the prisoner and was to all appearance only extorted by the threat of a halter and the next tree which Captain Thornton assured him should be his doom if he did not give direct and special information
And now my friend said the officer you will please inform me how many men your master has with him at present
Dougal looked in every direction except at the querist and began to answer She canna just be sure about that
Look at me you Highland dog said the officer and remember your life depends on your answer How many rogues had that outlawed scoundrel with him when you left him
Ou no aboon sax rogues when I was gane
And where are the rest of his banditti
Gane wi the Lieutenant agane ta westland carles
Against the westland clans said the Captain Umph—that is likely enough and what rogues errand were you despatched upon
Just to see what your honour and ta gentlemen redcoats were doing doun here at ta Clachan
The creature will prove fausehearted after a said the Bailie who by this time had planted himself close behind me its lucky I didna pit mysell to expenses anent him
And now my friend said the Captain let us understand each other You have confessed yourself a spy and should string up to the next tree—But come if you will do me one good turn I will do you another You Donald—you shall just in the way of kindness carry me and a small party to the place where you left your master as I wish to speak a few words with him on serious affairs and Ill let you go about your business and give you five guineas to boot
Oigh oigh exclaimed Dougal in the extremity of distress and perplexity she canna do tat—she canna do tat shell rather be hanged
Hanged then you shall be my friend said the officer and your blood be upon your own head Corporal Cramp do you play ProvostMarshal—away with him
The corporal had confronted poor Dougal for some time ostentatiously twisting a piece of cord which he had found in the house into the form of a halter He now threw it about the culprits neck and with the assistance of two soldiers had dragged Dougal as far as the door when overcome with the terror of immediate death he exclaimed Shentlemans stops—stops Shell do his honours bidding—stops
Awa wi the creature said the Bailie he deserves hanging mair now than ever awa wi him corporal Why dinna ye tak him awa
Its my belief and opinion honest gentleman said the corporal that if you were going to be hanged yourself you would be in no such d—d hurry
This bydialogue prevented my hearing what passed between the prisoner and Captain Thornton but I heard the former snivel out in a very subdued tone And yell ask her to gang nae farther than just to show ye where the MacGregor is—Ohon ohon
Silence your howling you rascal—No I give you my word I will ask you to go no farther—Corporal make the men fall in in front of the houses Get out these gentlemens horses we must carry them with us I cannot spare any men to guard them here Come my lads get under arms
The soldiers bustled about and were ready to move We were led out along with Dougal in the capacity of prisoners As we left the hut I heard our companion in captivity remind the Captain of ta foive kuineas
Here they are for you said the officer putting gold into his hand but observe that if you attempt to mislead me I will blow your brains out with my own hand
The creature said the Bailie is waur than I judged him—it is a warldly and a perfidious creature O the filthy lucre of gain that men gies themsells up to My father the deacon used to say the penny siller slew mair souls than the naked sword slew bodies
The landlady now approached and demanded payment of her reckoning including all that had been quaffed by Major Galbraith and his Highland friends The English officer remonstrated but Mrs MacAlpine declared if she hadna trusted to his honours name being used in their company she wad never hae drawn them a stoup o liquor for Mr Galbraith she might see him again or she might no but weel did she wot she had sma chance of seeing her siller—and she was a puir widow had naething but her custom to rely on
Captain Thornton put a stop to her remonstrances by paying the charge which was only a few English shillings though the amount sounded very formidable in Scottish denominations The generous officer would have included Mr Jarvie and me in this general acquittance but the Bailie disregarding an intimation from the landlady to make as muckle of the Inglishers as we could for they were sure to gie us plague eneugh went into a formal accounting respecting our share of the reckoning and paid it accordingly The Captain took the opportunity to make us some slight apology for detaining us If we were loyal and peaceable subjects he said we would not regret being stopt for a day when it was essential to the kings service if otherwise he was acting according to his duty
We were compelled to accept an apology which it would have served no purpose to refuse and we sallied out to attend him on his march
I shall never forget the delightful sensation with which I exchanged the dark smoky smothering atmosphere of the Highland hut in which we had passed the night so uncomfortably for the refreshing fragrance of the morning air and the glorious beams of the rising sun which from a tabernacle of purple and golden clouds were darted full on such a scene of natural romance and beauty as had never before greeted my eyes To the left lay the valley down which the Forth wandered on its easterly course surrounding the beautiful detached hill with all its garland of woods On the right amid a profusion of thickets knolls and crags lay the bed of a broad mountain lake lightly curled into tiny waves by the breath of the morning breeze each glittering in its course under the influence of the sunbeams High hills rocks and banks waving with natural forests of birch and oak formed the borders of this enchanting sheet of water and as their leaves rustled to the wind and twinkled in the sun gave to the depth of solitude a sort of life and vivacity Man alone seemed to be placed in a state of inferiority in a scene where all the ordinary features of nature were raised and exalted The miserable little bourocks as the Bailie termed them of which about a dozen formed the village called the Clachan of Aberfoil were composed of loose stones cemented by clay instead of mortar and thatched by turfs laid rudely upon rafters formed of native and unhewn birches and oaks from the woods around The roofs approached the ground so nearly that Andrew Fairservice observed we might have ridden over the village the night before and never found out we were near it unless our horses feet had gane through the riggin
From all we could see Mrs MacAlpines house miserable as were the quarters it afforded was still by far the best in the hamlet and I dare say if my description gives you any curiosity to see it you will hardly find it much improved at the present day for the Scotch are not a people who speedily admit innovation even when it comes in the shape of improvement
Note I Clachan of Aberfoil
The inhabitants of these miserable dwellings were disturbed by the noise of our departure and as our party of about twenty soldiers drew up in rank before marching off we were reconnoitred by many a beldam from the halfopened door of her cottage As these sibyls thrust forth their grey heads imperfectly covered with close caps of flannel and showed their shrivelled brows and long skinny arms with various gestures shrugs and muttered expressions in Gaelic addressed to each other my imagination recurred to the witches of Macbeth and I imagined I read in the features of these crones the malevolence of the weird sisters The little children also who began to crawl forth some quite naked and others very imperfectly covered with tatters of tartan stuff clapped their tiny hands and grinned at the English soldiers with an expression of national hate and malignity which seemed beyond their years I remarked particularly that there were no men nor so much as a boy of ten or twelve years old to be seen among the inhabitants of a village which seemed populous in proportion to its extent and the idea certainly occurred to me that we were likely to receive from them in the course of our journey more effectual tokens of illwill than those which lowered on the visages and dictated the murmurs of the women and children It was not until we commenced our march that the malignity of the elder persons of the community broke forth into expressions The last file of men had left the village to pursue a small broken track formed by the sledges in which the natives transported their peats and turfs and which led through the woods that fringed the lower end of the lake when a shrilly sound of female exclamation broke forth mixed with the screams of children the whooping of boys and the clapping of hands with which the Highland dames enforce their notes whether of rage or lamentation I asked Andrew who looked as pale as death what all this meant
I doubt well ken that ower sune said he Means It means that the Highland wives are cursing and banning the redcoats and wishing illluck to them and ilka ane that ever spoke the Saxon tongue I have heard wives flyte in England and Scotland—its nae marvel to hear them flyte ony gate but sic illscrapit tongues as thae Highland carlines—and sic grewsome wishes that men should be slaughtered like sheep—and that they may lapper their hands to the elbows in their hearts blude—and that they suld dee the death of Walter Cuming of Guiyock wha hadna as muckle o him left thegither as would supper a messandog—sic awsome language as that I neer heard out o a human thrapple—and unless the deil wad rise amang them to gie them a lesson I thinkna that their talent at cursing could be amended
A great feudal oppressor who riding on some cruel purpose through the forest of Guiyock was thrown from his horse and his foot being caught in the stirrup was dragged along by the frightened animal till he was torn to pieces The expression Walter of Guiyocks curse is proverbial
The warst ot is they bid us aye gang up the loch and see what well land in
Adding Andrews information to what I had myself observed I could scarce doubt that some attack was meditated upon our party The road as we advanced seemed to afford every facility for such an unpleasant interruption At first it winded apart from the lake through marshy meadow ground overgrown with copsewood now traversing dark and close thickets which would have admitted an ambuscade to be sheltered within a few yards of our line of march and frequently crossing rough mountain torrents some of which took the soldiers up to the knees and ran with such violence that their force could only be stemmed by the strength of two or three men holding fast by each others arms It certainly appeared to me though altogether unacquainted with military affairs that a sort of halfsavage warriors as I had heard the Highlanders asserted to be might in such passes as these attack a party of regular forces with great advantage The Bailies good sense and shrewd observation had led him to the same conclusion as I understood from his requesting to speak with the captain whom he addressed nearly in the following terms— Captain its no to fleech ony favour out o ye for I scorn it—and its under protest that I reserve my action and pleas of oppression and wrongous imprisonment—but being a friend to King George and his army I take the liberty to speer—Dinna ye think ye might tak a better time to gang up this glen If ye are seeking Rob Roy hes kend to be better than half a hunder men strong when hes at the fewest an if he brings in the Glengyle folk and the Glenfinlas and Balquhidder lads he may come to gie you your kail through the reek and its my sincere advice as a kings friend ye had better tak back again to the Clachan for thae women at Aberfoil are like the scarts and seamaws at the Cumries—theres aye foul weather follows their skirting
Make yourself easy sir replied Captain Thornton I am in the execution of my orders And as you say you are a friend to King George you will be glad to learn that it is impossible that this gang of ruffians whose license has disturbed the country so long can escape the measures now taken to suppress them The horse squadron of militia commanded by Major Galbraith is already joined by two or more troops of cavalry which will occupy all the lower passes of this wild country three hundred Highlanders under the two gentlemen you saw at the inn are in possession of the upper part and various strong parties from the garrison are securing the hills and glens in different directions Our last accounts of Rob Roy correspond with what this fellow has confessed that finding himself surrounded on all sides he had dismissed the greater part of his followers with the purpose either of lying concealed or of making his escape through his superior knowledge of the passes
I dinna ken said the Bailie theres mair brandy than brains in Garschattachins head this morning—And I wadna an I were you Captain rest my main dependence on the Hielandmen—hawks winna pike out hawks een They may quarrel among themsells and gie ilk ither ill names and maybe a slash wi a claymore but they are sure to join in the lang run against a civilised folk that wear breeks on their hinder ends and hae purses in their pouches
Apparently these admonitions were not altogether thrown away on Captain Thornton He reformed his line of march commanded his soldiers to unsling their firelocks and fix their bayonets and formed an advanced and rearguard each consisting of a noncommissioned officer and two soldiers who received strict orders to keep an alert lookout Dougal underwent another and very close examination in which he steadfastly asserted the truth of what he had before affirmed and being rebuked on account of the suspicious and dangerous appearance of the route by which he was guiding them he answered with a sort of testiness that seemed very natural Her nainsell didna mak ta road an shentlemans likit grand roads she suld hae pided at Glasco
All this passed off well enough and we resumed our progress
Our route though leading towards the lake had hitherto been so much shaded by wood that we only from time to time obtained a glimpse of that beautiful sheet of water But the road now suddenly emerged from the forest ground and winding close by the margin of the loch afforded us a full view of its spacious mirror which now the breeze having totally subsided reflected in still magnificence the high dark heathy mountains huge grey rocks and shaggy banks by which it is encircled The hills now sunk on its margin so closely and were so broken and precipitous as to afford no passage except just upon the narrow line of the track which we occupied and which was overhung with rocks from which we might have been destroyed merely by rolling down stones without much possibility of offering resistance Add to this that as the road winded round every promontory and bay which indented the lake there was rarely a possibility of seeing a hundred yards before us Our commander appeared to take some alarm at the nature of the pass in which he was engaged which displayed itself in repeated orders to his soldiers to be on the alert and in many threats of instant death to Dougal if he should be found to have led them into danger Dougal received these threats with an air of stupid impenetrability which might arise either from conscious innocence or from dogged resolution
If shentlemans were seeking ta Red Gregarach he said to be sure they couldna expect to find her without some wee danger
Just as the Highlander uttered these words a halt was made by the corporal commanding the advance who sent back one of the file who formed it to tell the Captain that the path in front was occupied by Highlanders stationed on a commanding point of particular difficulty Almost at the same instant a soldier from the rear came to say that they heard the sound of a bagpipe in the woods through which we had just passed Captain Thornton a man of conduct as well as courage instantly resolved to force the pass in front without waiting till he was assailed from the rear and assuring his soldiers that the bagpipes which they heard were those of the friendly Highlanders who were advancing to their assistance he stated to them the importance of advancing and securing Rob Roy if possible before these auxiliaries should come up to divide with them the honour as well as the reward which was placed on the head of this celebrated freebooter He therefore ordered the rearguard to join the centre and both to close up to the advance doubling his files so as to occupy with his column the whole practicable part of the road and to present such a front as its breadth admitted Dougal to whom he said in a whisper You dog if you have deceived me you shall die for it was placed in the centre between two grenadiers with positive orders to shoot him if he attempted an escape The same situation was assigned to us as being the safest and Captain Thornton taking his halfpike from the soldier who carried it placed himself at the head of his little detachment and gave the word to march forward
The party advanced with the firmness of English soldiers Not so Andrew Fairservice who was frightened out of his wits and not so if truth must be told either the Bailie or I myself who without feeling the same degree of trepidation could not with stoical indifference see our lives exposed to hazard in a quarrel with which we had no concern But there was neither time for remonstrance nor remedy
We approached within about twenty yards of the spot where the advanced guard had seen some appearance of an enemy It was one of those promontories which run into the lake and round the base of which the road had hitherto winded in the manner I have described In the present case however the path instead of keeping the waters edge sealed the promontory by one or two rapid zigzags carried in a broken track along the precipitous face of a slaty grey rock which would otherwise have been absolutely inaccessible On the top of this rock only to be approached by a road so broken so narrow and so precarious the corporal declared he had seen the bonnets and longbarrelled guns of several mountaineers apparently couched among the long heath and brushwood which crested the eminence Captain Thornton ordered him to move forward with three files to dislodge the supposed ambuscade while at a more slow but steady pace he advanced to his support with the rest of his party
The attack which he meditated was prevented by the unexpected apparition of a female upon the summit of the rock
Stand she said with a commanding tone and tell me what ye seek in MacGregors country
I have seldom seen a finer or more commanding form than this woman She might be between the term of forty and fifty years and had a countenance which must once have been of a masculine cast of beauty though now imprinted with deep lines by exposure to rough weather and perhaps by the wasting influence of grief and passion its features were only strong harsh and expressive She wore her plaid not drawn around her head and shoulders as is the fashion of the women in Scotland but disposed around her body as the Highland soldiers wear theirs She had a mans bonnet with a feather in it an unsheathed sword in her hand and a pair of pistols at her girdle
Its Helen Campbell Robs wife said the Bailie in a whisper of considerable alarm and there will be broken heads amang us or its lang
What seek ye here she asked again of Captain Thornton who had himself advanced to reconnoitre
We seek the outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor Campbell answered the officer and make no war on women therefore offer no vain opposition to the kings troops and assure yourself of civil treatment
Ay retorted the Amazon I am no stranger to your tender mercies Ye have left me neither name nor fame—my mothers bones will shrink aside in their grave when mine are laid beside them—Ye have left me neither house nor hold blanket nor bedding cattle to feed us or flocks to clothe us—Ye have taken from us all—all—The very name of our ancestors have ye taken away and now ye come for our lives
I seek no mans life replied the Captain I only execute my orders If you are alone good woman you have nought to fear—if there are any with you so rash as to offer useless resistance their own blood be on their own heads Move forward sergeant
Forward march said the noncommissioned officer Huzza my boys for Rob Roys head and a purse of gold
He quickened his pace into a run followed by the six soldiers but as they attained the first traverse of the ascent the flash of a dozen of firelocks from various parts of the pass parted in quick succession and deliberate aim The sergeant shot through the body still struggled to gain the ascent raised himself by his hands to clamber up the face of the rock but relaxed his grasp after a desperate effort and falling rolled from the face of the cliff into the deep lake where he perished Of the soldiers three fell slain or disabled the others retreated on their main body all more or less wounded
Grenadiers to the front said Captain Thornton—You are to recollect that in those days this description of soldiers actually carried that destructive species of firework from which they derive their name The four grenadiers moved to the front accordingly The officer commanded the rest of the party to be ready to support them and only saying to us Look to your safety gentlemen gave in rapid succession the word to the grenadiers—Open your pouches—handle your grenades—blow your matches—fall on
The whole advanced with a shout headed by Captain Thornton—the grenadiers preparing to throw their grenades among the bushes where the ambuscade lay and the musketeers to support them by an instant and close assault Dougal forgotten in the scuffle wisely crept into the thicket which overhung that part of the road where we had first halted which he ascended with the activity of a wild cat I followed his example instinctively recollecting that the fire of the Highlanders would sweep the open track I clambered until out of breath for a continued spattering fire in which every shot was multiplied by a thousand echoes the hissing of the kindled fusees of the grenades and the successive explosion of those missiles mingled with the huzzas of the soldiers and the yells and cries of their Highland antagonists formed a contrast which added—I do not shame to own it—wings to my desire to reach a place of safety The difficulties of the ascent soon increased so much that I despaired of reaching Dougal who seemed to swing himself from rock to rock and stump to stump with the facility of a squirrel and I turned down my eyes to see what had become of my other companions Both were brought to a very awkward standstill
The Bailie to whom I suppose fear had given a temporary share of agility had ascended about twenty feet from the path when his foot slipping as he straddled from one huge fragment of rock to another he would have slumbered with his father the deacon whose acts and words he was so fond of quoting but for a projecting branch of a ragged thorn which catching hold of the skirts of his ridingcoat supported him in midair where he dangled not unlike to the sign of the Golden Fleece over the door of a mercer in the Trongate of his native city
As for Andrew Fairservice he had advanced with better success until he had attained the top of a bare cliff which rising above the wood exposed him at least in his own opinion to all the dangers of the neighbouring skirmish while at the same time it was of such a precipitous and impracticable nature that he dared neither to advance nor retreat Footing it up and down upon the narrow space which the top of the cliff afforded very like a fellow at a countryfair dancing upon a trencher he roared for mercy in Gaelic and English alternately according to the side on which the scale of victory seemed to predominate while his exclamations were only answered by the groans of the Bailie who suffered much not only from apprehension but from the pendulous posture in which he hung suspended by the loins
On perceiving the Bailies precarious situation my first idea was to attempt to render him assistance but this was impossible without the concurrence of Andrew whom neither sign nor entreaty nor command nor expostulation could inspire with courage to adventure the descent from his painful elevation where like an unskilful and obnoxious minister of state unable to escape from the eminence to which he had presumptuously ascended he continued to pour forth piteous prayers for mercy which no one heard and to skip to and fro writhing his body into all possible antic shapes to avoid the balls which he conceived to be whistling around him
In a few minutes this cause of terror ceased for the fire at first so well sustained now sunk at once—a sure sign that the conflict was concluded To gain some spot from which I could see how the day had gone was now my object in order to appeal to the mercy of the victors who I trusted whichever side might be gainers would not suffer the honest Bailie to remain suspended like the coffin of Mahomet between heaven and earth without lending a hand to disengage him At length by dint of scrambling I found a spot which commanded a view of the field of battle It was indeed ended and as my mind already augured from the place and circumstances attending the contest it had terminated in the defeat of Captain Thornton I saw a party of Highlanders in the act of disarming that officer and the scanty remainder of his party They consisted of about twelve men most of whom were wounded who surrounded by treble their number and without the power either to advance or retreat exposed to a murderous and wellaimed fire which they had no means of returning with effect had at length laid down their arms by the order of their officer when he saw that the road in his rear was occupied and that protracted resistance would be only wasting the lives of his brave followers By the Highlanders who fought under cover the victory was cheaply bought at the expense of one man slain and two wounded by the grenades All this I learned afterwards At present I only comprehended the general result of the day from seeing the English officer whose face was covered with blood stripped of his hat and arms and his men with sullen and dejected countenances which marked their deep regret enduring from the wild and martial figures who surrounded them the severe measures to which the laws of war subject the vanquished for security of the victors
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Woe to the vanquished was stern Brennos word
When sunk proud Rome beneath the Gallic sword—
Woe to the vanquished when his massive blade
Bore down the scale against her ransom weighd
And on the field of foughten battle still
Woe knows no limits save the victors will
The Gaulliad
I anxiously endeavoured to distinguish Dougal among the victors I had little doubt that the part he had played was assumed on purpose to lead the English officer into the defile and I could not help admiring the address with which the ignorant and apparently halfbrutal savage had veiled his purpose and the affected reluctance with which he had suffered to be extracted from him the false information which it must have been his purpose from the beginning to communicate I foresaw we should incur some danger on approaching the victors in the first flush of their success which was not unstained with cruelty for one or two of the soldiers whose wounds prevented them from rising were poniarded by the victors or rather by some ragged Highland boys who had mingled with them I concluded therefore it would be unsafe to present ourselves without some mediator and as Campbell whom I now could not but identify with the celebrated freebooter Rob Roy was nowhere to be seen I resolved to claim the protection of his emissary Dougal
After gazing everywhere in vain I at length retraced my steps to see what assistance I could individually render to my unlucky friend when to my great joy I saw Mr Jarvie delivered from his state of suspense and though very black in the face and much deranged in the garments safely seated beneath the rock in front of which he had been so lately suspended I hastened to join him and offer my congratulations which he was at first far from receiving in the spirit of cordiality with which they were offered A heavy fit of coughing scarce permitted him breath enough to express the broken hints which he threw out against my sincerity
Uh uh uh uh—they say a friend—uh uh—a friend sticketh closer than a brither—uh uh uh When I came up here Maister Osbaldistone to this country cursed of God and man—uh uh—Heaven forgie me for swearing—on nae mans errand but yours dye think it was fair—uh uh uh—to leave me first to be shot or drowned atween redwad Highlanders and redcoats and next to be hung up between heaven and earth like an auld potatobogle without sae muckle as trying—uh uh—sae muckle as trying to relieve me
I made a thousand apologies and laboured so hard to represent the impossibility of my affording him relief by my own unassisted exertions that at length I succeeded and the Bailie who was as placable as hasty in his temper extended his favour to me once more I next took the liberty of asking him how he had contrived to extricate himself
Me extricate I might hae hung there till the day of judgment or I could hae helped mysell wi my head hinging down on the tae side and my heels on the tother like the yarnscales in the weighhouse It was the creature Dougal that extricated me as he did yestreen he cuttit aff the tails o my coat wi his durk and another gillie and him set me on my legs as cleverly as if I had never been aff them But to see what a thing gude braid claith is Had I been in ony o your rotten French camlets now or your drabdeberries it would hae screeded like an auld rag wi sic a weight as mine But fair fa the weaver that wrought the weft ot—I swung and bobbit yonder as safe as a gabbart thats moored by a threeply cable at the Broomielaw
A kind of lighter used in the river Clyde—probably from the French abare
I now inquired what had become of his preserver
The creature so he continued to call the Highlandman contrived to let me ken there wad be danger in gaun near the leddy till he came back and bade me stay here I am o the mind he continued that hes seeking after you—its a considerate creature—and troth I wad swear he was right about the leddy as he cas her too—Helen Campbell was nane o the maist douce maidens nor meekest wives neither and folk say that Rob himsell stands in awe o her I doubt she winna ken me for its mony years since we met—I am clear for waiting for the Dougal creature or we gang near her
I signified my acquiescence in this reasoning but it was not the will of fate that day that the Bailies prudence should profit himself or any one else
Andrew Fairservice though he had ceased to caper on the pinnacle upon the cessation of the firing which had given occasion for his whimsical exercise continued as perched on the top of an exposed cliff too conspicuous an object to escape the sharp eyes of the Highlanders when they had time to look a little around them We were apprized he was discovered by a wild and loud halloo set up among the assembled victors three or four of whom instantly plunged into the copsewood and ascended the rocky side of the hill in different directions towards the place where they had discovered this whimsical apparition
Those who arrived first within gunshot of poor Andrew did not trouble themselves to offer him any assistance in the ticklish posture of his affairs but levelling their long Spanishbarrelled guns gave him to understand by signs which admitted of no misconstruction that he must contrive to come down and submit himself to their mercy or to be marked at from beneath like a regimental target set up for ballpractice With such a formidable hint for venturous exertion Andrew Fairservice could no longer hesitate the more imminent peril overcame his sense of that which seemed less inevitable and he began to descend the cliff at all risks clutching to the ivy and oak stumps and projecting fragments of rock with an almost feverish anxiety and never failing as circumstances left him a hand at liberty to extend it to the plaided gentry below in an attitude of supplication as if to deprecate the discharge of their levelled firearms In a word the fellow under the influence of a counteracting motive for terror achieved a safe descent from his perilous eminence which I verily believe nothing but the fear of instant death could have moved him to attempt The awkward mode of Andrews descent greatly amused the Highlanders below who fired a shot or two while he was engaged in it without the purpose of injuring him as I believe but merely to enhance the amusement they derived from his extreme terror and the superlative exertions of agility to which it excited him
At length he attained firm and comparatively level ground—or rather to speak more correctly his foot slipping at the last point of descent he fell on the earth at his full length and was raised by the assistance of the Highlanders who stood to receive him and who ere he gained his legs stripped him not only of the whole contents of his pockets but of periwig hat coat doublet stockings and shoes performing the feat with such admirable celerity that although he fell on his back a wellclothed and decent burgherseeming servingman he arose a forked uncased baldpated beggarlylooking scarecrow Without respect to the pain which his undefended toes experienced from the sharp encounter of the rocks over which they hurried him those who had detected Andrew proceeded to drag him downward towards the road through all the intervening obstacles
In the course of their descent Mr Jarvie and I became exposed to their lynxeyed observation and instantly halfadozen of armed Highlanders thronged around us with drawn dirks and swords pointed at our faces and throats and cocked pistols presented against our bodies To have offered resistance would have been madness especially as we had no weapons capable of supporting such a demonstration We therefore submitted to our fate and with great roughness on the part of those who assisted at our toilette were in the act of being reduced to as unsophisticated a state to use King Lears phrase as the plumeless biped Andrew Fairservice who stood shivering between fear and cold at a few yards distance Good chance however saved us from this extremity of wretchedness for just as I had yielded up my cravat a smart Steinkirk by the way and richly laced and the Bailie had been disrobed of the fragments of his ridingcoat—enter Dougal and the scene was changed By a high tone of expostulation mixed with oaths and threats as far as I could conjecture the tenor of his language from the violence of his gestures he compelled the plunderers however reluctant not only to give up their further depredations on our property but to restore the spoil they had already appropriated He snatched my cravat from the fellow who had seized it and twisted it in the zeal of his restitution around my neck with such suffocating energy as made me think that he had not only been during his residence at Glasgow a substitute of the jailor but must moreover have taken lessons as an apprentice of the hangman He flung the tattered remnants of Mr Jarvies coat around his shoulders and as more Highlanders began to flock towards us from the high road he led the way downwards directing and commanding the others to afford us but particularly the Bailie the assistance necessary to our descending with comparative ease and safety It was however in vain that Andrew Fairservice employed his lungs in obsecrating a share of Dougals protection or at least his interference to procure restoration of his shoes
Na na said Dougal in reply shes nae gentle pody I trow her petters hae ganged parefoot or shes muckle mistaen And leaving Andrew to follow at his leisure or rather at such leisure as the surrounding crowd were pleased to indulge him with he hurried us down to the pathway in which the skirmish had been fought and hastened to present us as additional captives to the female leader of his band
We were dragged before her accordingly Dougal fighting struggling screaming as if he were the party most apprehensive of hurt and repulsing by threats and efforts all those who attempted to take a nearer interest in our capture than he seemed to do himself At length we were placed before the heroine of the day whose appearance as well as those of the savage uncouth yet martial figures who surrounded us struck me to own the truth with considerable apprehension I do not know if Helen MacGregor had personally mingled in the fray and indeed I was afterwards given to understand the contrary but the specks of blood on her brow her hands and naked arms as well as on the blade of her sword which she continued to hold in her hand—her flushed countenance and the disordered state of the raven locks which escaped from under the red bonnet and plume that formed her headdress seemed all to intimate that she had taken an immediate share in the conflict Her keen black eyes and features expressed an imagination inflamed by the pride of gratified revenge and the triumph of victory Yet there was nothing positively sanguinary or cruel in her deportment and she reminded me when the immediate alarm of the interview was over of some of the paintings I had seen of the inspired heroines in the Catholic churches of France She was not indeed sufficiently beautiful for a Judith nor had she the inspired expression of features which painters have given to Deborah or to the wife of Heber the Kenite at whose feet the strong oppressor of Israel who dwelled in Harosheth of the Gentiles bowed down fell and lay a dead man Nevertheless the enthusiasm by which she was agitated gave her countenance and deportment wildly dignified in themselves an air which made her approach nearly to the ideas of those wonderful artists who gave to the eye the heroines of Scripture history
I was uncertain in what terms to accost a personage so uncommon when Mr Jarvie breaking the ice with a preparatory cough for the speed with which he had been brought into her presence had again impeded his respiration addressed her as follows—Uh uh c c I am very happy to have this joyful opportunity a quaver in his voice strongly belied the emphasis which he studiously laid on the word joyful—this joyful occasion he resumed trying to give the adjective a more suitable accentuation to wish my kinsman Robins wife a very good morning—Uh uh—Hows a wi ye by this time he had talked himself into his usual jogtrot manner which exhibited a mixture of familiarity and selfimportance—Hows a wi ye this lang time Yell hae forgotten me Mrs MacGregor Campbell as your cousin—uh uh—but yell mind my father Deacon Nicol Jarvie in the Saut Market o Glasgow—an honest man he was and a sponsible and respectit you and yours Sae as I said before I am right glad to see you Mrs MacGregor Campbell as my kinsmans wife I wad crave the liberty of a kinsman to salute you but that your gillies keep such a dolefu fast haud o my arms and to speak Heavens truth and a magistrates ye wadna be the waur of a cogfu o water before ye welcomed your friends
There was something in the familiarity of this introduction which ill suited the exalted state of temper of the person to whom it was addressed then busied with distributing dooms of death and warm from conquest in a perilous encounter
What fellow are you she said that dare to claim kindred with the MacGregor and neither wear his dress nor speak his language—What are you that have the tongue and the habit of the hound and yet seek to lie down with the deer
I dinna ken said the undaunted Bailie if the kindred has ever been weel redd out to you yet cousin—but its kend and can be provd My mother Elspeth MacFarlane was the wife of my father Deacon Nicol Jarvie—peace be wi them baith—and Elspeth was the daughter of Parlane MacFarlane at the Sheeling o Loch Sloy Now this Parlane MacFarlane as his surviving daughter Maggy MacFarlane alias MacNab wha married Duncan MacNab o Stuckavrallachan can testify stood as near to your gudeman Robert MacGregor as in the fourth degree of kindred for—
The virago lopped the genealogical tree by demanding haughtily If a stream of rushing water acknowledged any relation with the portion withdrawn from it for the mean domestic uses of those who dwelt on its banks
Vera true kinswoman said the Bailie but for a that the burn wad be glad to hae the milldam back again in simmer when the chuckiestanes are white in the sun I ken weel eneugh you Hieland folk haud us Glasgow people light and cheap for our language and our claes—but everybody speaks their native tongue that they learned in infancy and it would be a daftlike thing to see me wi my fat wame in a short Hieland coat and my puir short houghs gartered below the knee like ane o your langlegged gillies Mair by token kinswoman he continued in defiance of various intimations by which Dougal seemed to recommend silence as well as of the marks of impatience which the Amazon evinced at his loquacity I wad hae ye to mind that the kings errand whiles comes in the cadgers gate and that for as high as ye may think o the gudeman as its right every wife should honour her husband—theres Scripture warrant for that—yet as high as ye haud him as I was saying I hae been serviceable to Rob ere now—forbye a set o pearlins I sent yourself when ye was gaun to be married and when Rob was an honest weeldoing drover and nane o this unlawfu wark wi fighting and flashes and fluffgibs disturbing the kings peace and disarming his soldiers
He had apparently touched on a key which his kinswoman could not brook She drew herself up to her full height and betrayed the acuteness of her feelings by a laugh of mingled scorn and bitterness
Yes she said you and such as you might claim a relation to us when we stooped to be the paltry wretches fit to exist under your dominion as your hewers of wood and drawers of water—to find cattle for your banquets and subjects for your laws to oppress and trample on But now we are free—free by the very act which left us neither house nor hearth food nor covering—which bereaved me of all—of all—and makes me groan when I think I must still cumber the earth for other purposes than those of vengeance And I will carry on the work this day has so well commenced by a deed that shall break all bands between MacGregor and the Lowland churls Here Allan—Dougal—bind these Sassenachs neck and heel together and throw them into the Highland Loch to seek for their Highland kinsfolk
The Bailie alarmed at this mandate was commencing an expostulation which probably would have only inflamed the violent passions of the person whom he addressed when Dougal threw himself between them and in his own language which he spoke with a fluency and rapidity strongly contrasted by the slow imperfect and idiotlike manner in which he expressed himself in English poured forth what I doubt not was a very animated pleading in our behalf
His mistress replied to him or rather cut short his harangue by exclaiming in English as if determined to make us taste in anticipation the full bitterness of death—Base dog and son of a dog do you dispute my commands Should I tell ye to cut out their tongues and put them into each others throats to try which would there best knap Southron or to tear out their hearts and put them into each others breasts to see which would there best plot treason against the MacGregor—and such things have been done of old in the day of revenge when our fathers had wrongs to redress—Should I command you to do this would it be your part to dispute my orders
To be sure to be sure Dougal replied with accents of profound submission her pleasure suld be done—tats but reason but an it were—tat is an it could be thought the same to her to coup the illfaured loon of ta redcoat Captain and hims corporal Cramp and twa three o the redcoats into the loch herself wad dot wi muckle mair great satisfaction than to hurt ta honest civil shentlemans as were friends to the Gregarach and came up on the Chiefs assurance and not to do no treason as herself could testify
The lady was about to reply when a few wild strains of a pibroch were heard advancing up the road from Aberfoil the same probably which had reached the ears of Captain Thorntons rearguard and determined him to force his way onward rather than return to the village on finding the pass occupied The skirmish being of very short duration the armed men who followed this martial melody had not although quickening their march when they heard the firing been able to arrive in time sufficient to take any share in the rencontre The victory therefore was complete without them and they now arrived only to share in the triumph of their countrymen
There was a marked difference betwixt the appearance of these new comers and that of the party by which our escort had been defeated—and it was greatly in favour of the former Among the Highlanders who surrounded the Chieftainess if I may presume to call her so without offence to grammar were men in the extremity of age boys scarce able to bear a sword and even women—all in short whom the last necessity urges to take up arms and it added a shade of bitter shame to the defection which clouded Thorntons manly countenance when he found that the numbers and position of a foe otherwise so despicable had enabled them to conquer his brave veterans But the thirty or forty Highlanders who now joined the others were all men in the prime of youth or manhood active cleanmade fellows whose short hose and belted plaids set out their sinewy limbs to the best advantage Their arms were as superior to those of the first party as their dress and appearance The followers of the female Chief had axes scythes and other antique weapons in aid of their guns and some had only clubs daggers and long knives But of the second party most had pistols at the belt and almost all had dirks hanging at the pouches which they wore in front Each had a good gun in his hand and a broadsword by his side besides a stout round target made of light wood covered with leather and curiously studded with brass and having a steel spike screwed into the centre These hung on their left shoulder during a march or while they were engaged in exchanging fire with the enemy and were worn on their left arm when they charged with sword in hand
But it was easy to see that this chosen band had not arrived from a victory such as they found their illappointed companions possessed of The pibroch sent forth occasionally a few wailing notes expressive of a very different sentiment from triumph and when they appeared before the wife of their Chieftain it was in silence and with downcast and melancholy looks They paused when they approached her and the pipes again sent forth the same wild and melancholy strain
Helen rushed towards them with a countenance in which anger was mingled with apprehension—What means this Alaster she said to the minstrel—why a lament in the moment of victory—Robert—Hamish—wheres the MacGregor—wheres your father
Her sons who led the band advanced with slow and irresolute steps towards her and murmured a few words in Gaelic at hearing which she set up a shriek that made the rocks ring again in which all the women and boys joined clapping their hands and yelling as if their lives had been expiring in the sound The mountain echoes silent since the military sounds of battle had ceased had now to answer these frantic and discordant shrieks of sorrow which drove the very nightbirds from their haunts in the rocks as if they were startled to hear orgies more hideous and illomened than their own performed in the face of open day
Taken repeated Helen when the clamour had subsided—Taken— captive—and you live to say so—Coward dogs did I nurse you for this that you should spare your blood on your fathers enemies or see him prisoner and come back to tell it
The sons of MacGregor to whom this expostulation was addressed were youths of whom the eldest had hardly attained his twentieth year Hamish or James the elder of these youths was the tallest by a head and much handsomer than his brother his lightblue eyes with a profusion of fair hair which streamed from under his smart blue bonnet made his whole appearance a most favourable specimen of the Highland youth The younger was called Robert but to distinguish him from his father the Highlanders added the epithet Oig or the young Dark hair and dark features with a ruddy glow of health and animation and a form strong and wellset beyond his years completed the sketch of the young mountaineer
Both now stood before their mother with countenances clouded with grief and shame and listened with the most respectful submission to the reproaches with which she loaded them At length when her resentment appeared in some degree to subside the eldest speaking in English probably that he might not be understood by their followers endeavoured respectfully to vindicate himself and his brother from his mothers reproaches I was so near him as to comprehend much of what he said and as it was of great consequence to me to be possessed of information in this strange crisis I failed not to listen as attentively as I could
The MacGregor his son stated had been called out upon a trysting with a Lowland hallion who came with a token from—he muttered the name very low but I thought it sounded like my own The MacGregor he said accepted of the invitation but commanded the Saxon who brought the message to be detained as a hostage that good faith should be observed to him Accordingly he went to the place of appointment which had some wild Highland name that I cannot remember attended only by Angus Breck and Little Rory commanding no one to follow him Within half an hour Angus Breck came back with the doleful tidings that the MacGregor had been surprised and made prisoner by a party of Lennox militia under Galbraith of Garschattachin He added that Galbraith on being threatened by MacGregor who upon his capture menaced him with retaliation on the person of the hostage had treated the threat with great contempt replying Let each side hang his man well hang the thief and your catherans may hang the gauger Rob and the country will be rid of two damned things at once a wild Highlander and a revenue officer Angus Breck less carefully looked to than his master contrived to escape from the hands of the captors after having been in their custody long enough to hear this discussion and to bring off the news
And did you learn this you falsehearted traitor said the wife of MacGregor and not instantly rush to your fathers rescue to bring him off or leave your body on the place
The young MacGregor modestly replied by representing the very superior force of the enemy and stated that as they made no preparation for leaving the country he had fallen back up the glen with the purpose of collecting a band sufficient to attempt a rescue with some tolerable chance of success At length he said the militiamen would quarter he understood in the neighbouring house of Gartartan or the old castle in the port of Monteith or some other stronghold which although strong and defensible was nevertheless capable of being surprised could they but get enough of men assembled for the purpose
I understood afterwards that the rest of the freebooters followers were divided into two strong bands one destined to watch the remaining garrison of Inversnaid a party of which under Captain Thornton had been defeated and another to show front to the Highland clans who had united with the regular troops and Lowlanders in this hostile and combined invasion of that mountainous and desolate territory which lying between the lakes of Loch Lomond Loch Katrine and Loch Ard was at this time currently called Rob Roys or the MacGregor country Messengers were despatched in great haste to concentrate as I supposed their forces with a view to the purposed attack on the Lowlanders and the dejection and despair at first visible on each countenance gave place to the hope of rescuing their leader and to the thirst of vengeance It was under the burning influence of the latter passion that the wife of MacGregor commanded that the hostage exchanged for his safety should be brought into her presence I believe her sons had kept this unfortunate wretch out of her sight for fear of the consequences but if it was so their humane precaution only postponed his fate They dragged forward at her summons a wretch already half dead with terror in whose agonised features I recognised to my horror and astonishment my old acquaintance Morris
He fell prostrate before the female Chief with an effort to clasp her knees from which she drew back as if his touch had been pollution so that all he could do in token of the extremity of his humiliation was to kiss the hem of her plaid I never heard entreaties for life poured forth with such agony of spirit The ecstasy of fear was such that instead of paralysing his tongue as on ordinary occasions it even rendered him eloquent and with cheeks pale as ashes hands compressed in agony eyes that seemed to be taking their last look of all mortal objects he protested with the deepest oaths his total ignorance of any design on the person of Rob Roy whom he swore he loved and honoured as his own soul In the inconsistency of his terror he said he was but the agent of others and he muttered the name of Rashleigh He prayed but for life—for life he would give all he had in the world it was but life he asked—life if it were to be prolonged under tortures and privations he asked only breath though it should be drawn in the damps of the lowest caverns of their hills
It is impossible to describe the scorn the loathing and contempt with which the wife of MacGregor regarded this wretched petitioner for the poor boon of existence
I could have bid ye live she said had life been to you the same weary and wasting burden that it is to me—that it is to every noble and generous mind But you—wretch you could creep through the world unaffected by its various disgraces its ineffable miseries its constantly accumulating masses of crime and sorrow you could live and enjoy yourself while the nobleminded are betrayed—while nameless and birthless villains tread on the neck of the brave and the longdescended you could enjoy yourself like a butchers dog in the shambles battening on garbage while the slaughter of the oldest and best went on around you This enjoyment you shall not live to partake of—you shall die base dog and that before yon cloud has passed over the sun
She gave a brief command in Gaelic to her attendants two of whom seized upon the prostrate suppliant and hurried him to the brink of a cliff which overhung the flood He set up the most piercing and dreadful cries that fear ever uttered—I may well term them dreadful for they haunted my sleep for years afterwards As the murderers or executioners call them as you will dragged him along he recognised me even in that moment of horror and exclaimed in the last articulate words I ever heard him utter Oh Mr Osbaldistone save me—save me
I was so much moved by this horrid spectacle that although in momentary expectation of sharing his fate I did attempt to speak in his behalf but as might have been expected my interference was sternly disregarded The victim was held fast by some while others binding a large heavy stone in a plaid tied it round his neck and others again eagerly stripped him of some part of his dress Halfnaked and thus manacled they hurled him into the lake there about twelve feet deep with a loud halloo of vindictive triumph—above which however his last deathshriek the yell of mortal agony was distinctly heard The heavy burden splashed in the darkblue waters and the Highlanders with their poleaxes and swords watched an instant to guard lest extricating himself from the load to which he was attached the victim might have struggled to regain the shore But the knot had been securely bound—the wretched man sunk without effort the waters which his fall had disturbed settled calmly over him and the unit of that life for which he had pleaded so strongly was for ever withdrawn from the sum of human existence
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
And be he safe restored ere evening set
Or if theres vengeance in an injured heart
And power to wreak it in an armed hand
Your land shall ache fort
Old Play
I know not why it is that a single deed of violence and cruelty affects our nerves more than when these are exercised on a more extended scale I had seen that day several of my brave countrymen fall in battle it seemed to me that they met a lot appropriate to humanity and my bosom though thrilling with interest was affected with nothing of that sickening horror with which I beheld the unfortunate Morris put to death without resistance and in cold blood I looked at my companion Mr Jarvie whose face reflected the feelings which were painted in mine Indeed he could not so suppress his horror but that the words escaped him in a low and broken whisper—
I take up my protest against this deed as a bloody and cruel murder—it is a cursed deed and God will avenge it in his due way and time
Then you do not fear to follow said the virago bending on him a look of death such as that with which a hawk looks at his prey ere he pounces
Kinswoman said the Bailie nae man willingly wad cut short his thread of life before the end o his pirn was fairly measured off on the yarnwinles—And I hae muckle to do an I be spared in this warld—public and private business as weel that belonging to the magistracy as to my ain particular and nae doubt I hae some to depend on me as puir Mattie wha is an orphan—Shes a farawa cousin o the Laird o Limmerfield Sae that laying a this thegither—skin for skin yea all that a man hath will he give for his life
And were I to set you at liberty said the imperious dame what name could you give to the drowning of that Saxon dog
Uh uh—hem hem said the Bailie clearing his throat as well as he could I suld study to say as little on that score as might be—least said is sunest mended
But if you were called on by the courts as you term them of justice she again demanded what then would be your answer
The Bailie looked this way and that way like a person who meditates an escape and then answered in the tone of one who seeing no means of accomplishing a retreat determines to stand the brunt of battle—I see what you are driving me to the wa about But Ill tell yout plain kinswoman—I behoved just to speak according to my ain conscience and though your ain gudeman that I wish had been here for his ain sake and mine as wool as the puir Hieland creature Dougal can tell ye that Nicol Jarvie can wink as hard at a friends failings as onybody yet Ise tell ye kinswoman mines neer be the tongue to belie my thought and sooner than say that yonder puir wretch was lawfully slaughtered I wad consent to be laid beside him—though I think ye are the first Hieland woman wad mint sic a doom to her husbands kinsman but four times removed
It is probable that the tone and firmness assumed by the Bailie in his last speech was better suited to make an impression on the hard heart of his kinswoman than the tone of supplication he had hitherto assumed as gems can be cut with steel though they resist softer metals She commanded us both to be placed before her Your name she said to me is Osbaldistone—the dead dog whose death you have witnessed called you so
My name is Osbaldistone was my answer
Rashleigh then I suppose is your Christian name she pursued
No—my name is Francis
But you know Rashleigh Osbaldistone she continued He is your brother if I mistake not—at least your kinsman and near friend
He is my kinsman I replied but not my friend We were lately engaged together in a rencontre when we were separated by a person whom I understand to be your husband My blood is hardly yet dried on his sword and the wound on my side is yet green I have little reason to acknowledge him as a friend
Then she replied if a stranger to his intrigues you can go in safety to Garschattachin and his party without fear of being detained and carry them a message from the wife of the MacGregor
I answered that I knew no reasonable cause why the militia gentlemen should detain me that I had no reason on my own account to fear being in their hands and that if my going on her embassy would act as a protection to my friend and servant who were here prisoners I was ready to set out directly I took the opportunity to say That I had come into this country on her husbands invitation and his assurance that he would aid me in some important matters in which I was interested that my companion Mr Jarvie had accompanied me on the same errand
And I wish Mr Jarvies boots had been fu o boiling water when he drew them on for sic a purpose interrupted the Bailie
You may read your father said Helen MacGregor turning to her sons in what this young Saxon tells us—Wise only when the bonnet is on his head and the sword is in his hand he never exchanges the tartan for the broadcloth but he runs himself into the miserable intrigues of the Lowlanders and becomes again after all he has suffered their agent—their tool—their slave
Add madam said I and their benefactor
Be it so she said for it is the most empty title of them all since he has uniformly sown benefits to reap a harvest of the most foul ingratitude—But enough of this I shall cause you to be guided to the enemys outposts Ask for their commander and deliver him this message from me Helen MacGregor—that if they injure a hair of MacGregors head and if they do not set him at liberty within the space of twelve hours there is not a lady in the Lennox but shall before Christmas cry the coronach for them she will be loath to lose—there is not a farmer but shall sing wellawa over a burnt barnyard and an empty byre—there is not a laird nor heritor shall lay his head on the pillow at night with the assurance of being a live man in the morning—and to begin as we are to end so soon as the term is expired I will send them this Glasgow Bailie and this Saxon Captain and all the rest of my prisoners each bundled in a plaid and chopped into as many pieces as there are checks in the tartan
As she paused in her denunciation Captain Thornton who was within hearing added with great coolness Present my compliments—Captain Thorntons of the Royals compliments—to the commanding officer and tell him to do his duty and secure his prisoner and not waste a thought upon me If I have been fool enough to have been led into an ambuscade by these artful savages I am wise enough to know how to die for it without disgracing the service I am only sorry for my poor fellows he said that have fallen into such butcherly hands
Whist whist exclaimed the Bailie are ye weary o your life—Yell gie my service to the commanding officer Mr Osbaldistone—Bailie Nicol Jarvies service a magistrate o Glasgow as his father the deacon was before him—and tell him here are a wheen honest men in great trouble and like to come to mair and the best thing he can do for the common good will be just to let Rob come his was up the glen and nae mair about it Theres been some ill dune here already but as it has lighted chiefly on the gauger it winna be muckle worth making a stir about
With these very opposite injunctions from the parties chiefly interested in the success of my embassy and with the reiterated charge of the wife of MacGregor to remember and detail every word of her injunctions I was at length suffered to depart and Andrew Fairservice chiefly I believe to get rid of his clamorous supplications was permitted to attend me Doubtful however that I might use my horse as a means of escape from my guides or desirous to retain a prize of some value I was given to understand that I was to perform my journey on foot escorted by Hamish MacGregor the elder brother who with two followers attended as well to show me the way as to reconnoitre the strength and position of the enemy Dougal had been at first ordered on this party but he contrived to elude the service with the purpose as we afterwards understood of watching over Mr Jarvie whom according to his wild principles of fidelity he considered as entitled to his good offices from having once acted in some measure as his patron or master
After walking with great rapidity about an hour we arrived at an eminence covered with brushwood which gave us a commanding prospect down the valley and a full view of the post which the militia occupied Being chiefly cavalry they had judiciously avoided any attempt to penetrate the pass which had been so unsuccessfully essayed by Captain Thornton They had taken up their situation with some military skill on a rising ground in the centre of the little valley of Aberfoil through which the river Forth winds its earliest course and which is formed by two ridges of hills faced with barricades of limestone rock intermixed with huge masses of breecia or pebbles imbedded in some softer substance which has hardened around them like mortar and surrounded by the more lofty mountains in the distance These ridges however left the valley of breadth enough to secure the cavalry from any sudden surprise by the mountaineers and they had stationed sentinels and outposts at proper distances from this main body in every direction so that they might secure full time to mount and get under arms upon the least alarm It was not indeed expected at that time that Highlanders would attack cavalry in an open plain though late events have shown that they may do so with success
The affairs of Prestonpans and Falkirk are probably alluded to which marks the time of writing the Memoirs as subsequent to 1745
When I first knew the Highlanders they had almost a superstitious dread of a mounted trooper the horse being so much more fierce and imposing in his appearance than the little shelties of their own hills and moreover being trained as the more ignorant mountaineers believed to fight with his feet and his teeth The appearance of the piequeted horses feeding in this little vale—the forms of the soldiers as they sate stood or walked in various groups in the vicinity of the beautiful river and of the bare yet romantic ranges of rock which hedge in the landscape on either side—formed a noble foreground while far to the eastward the eye caught a glance of the lake of Menteith and Stirling Castle dimly seen along with the blue and distant line of the Ochil Mountains closed the scene
After gazing on this landscape with great earnestness young MacGregor intimated to me that I was to descend to the station of the militia and execute my errand to their commander—enjoining me at the same time with a menacing gesture neither to inform them who had guided me to that place nor where I had parted from my escort Thus tutored I descended towards the military post followed by Andrew who only retaining his breeches and stockings of the English costume without a hat barelegged with brogues on his feet which Dougal had given him out of compassion and having a tattered plaid to supply the want of all upper garments looked as if he had been playing the part of a Highland TomofBedlam We had not proceeded far before we became visible to one of the videttes who riding towards us presented his carabine and commanded me to stand I obeyed and when the soldier came up desired to be conducted to his commandingofficer I was immediately brought where a circle of officers sitting upon the grass seemed in attendance upon one of superior rank He wore a cuirass of polished steel over which were drawn the insignia of the ancient Order of the Thistle My friend Garschattachin and many other gentlemen some in uniform others in their ordinary dress but all armed and well attended seemed to receive their orders from this person of distinction Many servants in rich liveries apparently a part of his household were also in waiting
Having paid to this nobleman the respect which his rank appeared to demand I acquainted him that I had been an involuntary witness to the kings soldiers having suffered a defeat from the Highlanders at the pass of LochArd such I had learned was the name of the place where Mr Thornton was made prisoner and that the victors threatened every species of extremity to those who had fallen into their power as well as to the Low Country in general unless their Chief who had that morning been made prisoner were returned to them uninjured The Duke for he whom I addressed was of no lower rank listened to me with great composure and then replied that he should be extremely sorry to expose the unfortunate gentlemen who had been made prisoners to the cruelty of the barbarians into whose hands they had fallen but that it was folly to suppose that he would deliver up the very author of all these disorders and offences and so encourage his followers in their license You may return to those who sent you he proceeded and inform them that I shall certainly cause Rob Roy Campbell whom they call MacGregor to be executed by break of day as an outlaw taken in arms and deserving death by a thousand acts of violence that I should be most justly held unworthy of my situation and commission did I act otherwise that I shall know how to protect the country against their insolent threats of violence and that if they injure a hair of the head of any of the unfortunate gentlemen whom an unlucky accident has thrown into their power I will take such ample vengeance that the very stones of their glens shall sing woe for it this hundred years to come
I humbly begged leave to remonstrate respecting the honourable mission imposed on me and touched upon the obvious danger attending it when the noble commander replied that such being the case I might send my servant
The deil be in my feet said Andrew without either having respect to the presence in which he stood or waiting till I replied—the deil be in my feet if I gang my taes length Do the folk think I hae another thrapple in my pouch after John Highlandmans sneeked this ane wi his joctaleg or that I can dive doun at the tae side of a Highland loch and rise at the tother like a shelldrake Na na—ilk ane for himsell and God for us a Folk may just make a page o their ain age and serve themsells till their bairns grow up and gang their ain errands for Andrew Rob Roy never came near the parish of Dreepdaily to steal either pippin or pear frae me or mine
Silencing my follower with some difficulty I represented to the Duke the great danger Captain Thornton and Mr Jarvie would certainly be exposed to and entreated he would make me the bearer of such modified terms as might be the means of saving their lives I assured him I should decline no danger if I could be of service but from what I had heard and seen I had little doubt they would be instantly murdered should the chief of the outlaws suffer death
The Duke was obviously much affected It was a hard case he said and he felt it as such but he had a paramount duty to perform to the country—Rob Roy must die
I own it was not without emotion that I heard this threat of instant death to my acquaintance Campbell who had so often testified his goodwill towards me Nor was I singular in the feeling for many of those around the Duke ventured to express themselves in his favour It would be more advisable they said to send him to Stirling Castle and there detain him a close prisoner as a pledge for the submission and dispersion of his gang It were a great pity to expose the country to be plundered which now that the long nights approached it would be found very difficult to prevent since it was impossible to guard every point and the Highlanders were sure to select those that were left exposed They added that there was great hardship in leaving the unfortunate prisoners to the almost certain doom of massacre denounced against them which no one doubted would be executed in the first burst of revenge
Garschattachin ventured yet farther confiding in the honour of the nobleman whom he addressed although he knew he had particular reasons for disliking their prisoner Rob Roy he said though a kittle neighbour to the Low Country and particularly obnoxious to his Grace and though he maybe carried the catheran trade farther than ony man o his day was an auldfarrand carle and there might be some means of making him hear reason whereas his wife and sons were reckless fiends without either fear or mercy about them and at the head of a his limmer loons would be a worse plague to the country than ever he had been
Pooh pooh replied his Grace it is the very sense and cunning of this fellow which has so long maintained his reign—a mere Highland robber would have been put down in as many weeks as he has flourished years His gang without him is no more to be dreaded as a permanent annoyance—it will no longer exist—than a wasp without its head which may sting once perhaps but is instantly crushed into annihilation
Garschattachin was not so easily silenced I am sure my Lord Duke he replied I have no favour for Rob and he as little for me seeing he has twice cleaned out my ain byres beside skaith amang my tenants but however—
But however Garschattachin said the Duke with a smile of peculiar expression I fancy you think such a freedom may be pardoned in a friends friend and Robs supposed to be no enemy to Major Galbraiths friends over the water
If it be so my lord said Garschattachin in the same tone of jocularity its no the warst thing I have heard of him But I wish we heard some news from the clans that we have waited for sae lang I vow to God theyll keep a Hielandmans word wi us—I never kend them better—its ill drawing boots upon trews
I cannot believe it said the Duke These gentlemen are known to be men of honour and I must necessarily suppose they are to keep their appointment Send out two more horsemen to look for our friends We cannot till their arrival pretend to attack the pass where Captain Thornton has suffered himself to be surprised and which to my knowledge ten men on foot might make good against a regiment of the best horse in Europe—Meanwhile let refreshments be given to the men
I had the benefit of this last order the more necessary and acceptable as I had tasted nothing since our hasty meal at Aberfoil the evening before The videttes who had been despatched returned without tidings of the expected auxiliaries and sunset was approaching when a Highlander belonging to the clans whose cooperation was expected appeared as the bearer of a letter which he delivered to the Duke with a most profound conge
Now will I wad a hogshead of claret said Garschattachin that this is a message to tell us that these cursed Highlandmen whom we have fetched here at the expense of so much plague and vexation are going to draw off and leave us to do our own business if we can
It is even so gentlemen said the Duke reddening with indignation after having perused the letter which was written upon a very dirty scrap of paper but most punctiliously addressed For the muchhonoured hands of Ane High and Mighty Prince the Duke c c c Our allies continued the Duke have deserted us gentlemen and have made a separate peace with the enemy
Its just the fate of all alliances said Garschattachin the Dutch were gaun to serve us the same gate if we had not got the start of them at Utrecht
You are facetious air said the Duke with a frown which showed how little he liked the pleasantry but our business is rather of a grave cut just now—I suppose no gentleman would advise our attempting to penetrate farther into the country unsupported either by friendly Highlanders or by infantry from Inversnaid
A general answer announced that the attempt would be perfect madness
Nor would there be great wisdom the Duke added in remaining exposed to a nightattack in this place I therefore propose that we should retreat to the house of Duchray and that of Gartartan and keep safe and sure watch and ward until morning But before we separate I will examine Rob Roy before you all and make you sensible by your own eyes and ears of the extreme unfitness of leaving him space for farther outrage He gave orders accordingly and the prisoner was brought before him his arms belted down above the elbow and secured to his body by a horsegirth buckled tight behind him Two noncommissioned officers had hold of him one on each side and two file of men with carabines and fixed bayonets attended for additional security
I had never seen this man in the dress of his country which set in a striking point of view the peculiarities of his form A shockhead of red hair which the hat and periwig of the Lowland costume had in a great measure concealed was seen beneath the Highland bonnet and verified the epithet of Roy or Red by which he was much better known in the Low Country than by any other and is still I suppose best remembered The justice of the appellation was also vindicated by the appearance of that part of his limbs from the bottom of his kilt to the top of his short hose which the fashion of his country dress left bare and which was covered with a fell of thick short red hair especially around his knees which resembled in this respect as well as from their sinewy appearance of extreme strength the limbs of a redcoloured Highland bull Upon the whole betwixt the effect produced by the change of dress and by my having become acquainted with his real and formidable character his appearance had acquired to my eyes something so much wilder and more striking than it before presented that I could scarce recognise him to be the same person
His manner was bold unconstrained unless by the actual bonds haughty and even dignified He bowed to the Duke nodded to Garschattachin and others and showed some surprise at seeing me among the party
It is long since we have met Mr Campbell said the Duke
It is so my Lord Duke I could have wished it had been looking at the fastening on his arms when I could have better paid the compliments I owe to your Grace—but theres a gude time coming
No time like the time present Mr Campbell answered the Duke for the hours are fast flying that must settle your last account with all mortal affairs I do not say this to insult your distress but you must be aware yourself that you draw near the end of your career I do not deny that you may sometimes have done less harm than others of your unhappy trade and that you may occasionally have exhibited marks of talent and even of a disposition which promised better things But you are aware how long you have been the terror and the oppressor of a peaceful neighbourhood and by what acts of violence you have maintained and extended your usurped authority You know in short that you have deserved death and that you must prepare for it
My Lord said Rob Roy although I may well lay my misfortunes at your Graces door yet I will never say that you yourself have been the wilful and witting author of them My Lord if I had thought sae your Grace would not this day have been sitting in judgment on me for you have been three times within good rifle distance of me when you were thinking but of the red deer and few people have kend me miss my aim But as for them that have abused your Graces ear and set you up against a man that was ance as peacefu a man as ony in the land and made your name the warrant for driving me to utter extremity—I have had some amends of them and for a that your Grace now says I expect to live to hae mair
I know said the Duke in rising anger that you are a determined and impudent villain who will keep his oath if he swears to mischief but it shall be my care to prevent you You have no enemies but your own wicked actions
Had I called myself Grahame instead of Campbell I might have heard less about them answered Rob Roy with dogged resolution
You will do well sir said the Duke to warn your wife and family and followers to beware how they use the gentlemen now in their hands as I will requite tenfold on them and their kin and allies the slightest injury done to any of his Majestys liege subjects
My Lord said Roy in answer none of my enemies will allege that I have been a bloodthirsty man and were I now wi my folk I could rule four or five hundred wild Hielanders as easy as your Grace those eight or ten lackeys and footboys—But if your Grace is bent to take the head away from a house ye may lay your account there will be misrule amang the members—However come ot what like theres an honest man a kinsman o my ain maun come by nae skaith Is there ony body here wad do a gude deed for MacGregor—he may repay it though his hands be now tied
The Highlander who had delivered the letter to the Duke replied Ill do your will for you MacGregor and Ill gang back up the glen on purpose
He advanced and received from the prisoner a message to his wife which being in Gaelic I did not understand but I had little doubt it related to some measures to be taken for the safety of Mr Jarvie
Do you hear the fellows impudence said the Duke he confides in his character of a messenger His conduct is of a piece with his masters who invited us to make common cause against these freebooters and have deserted us so soon as the MacGregors have agreed to surrender the Balquhidder lands they were squabbling about
No truth in plaids no faith in tartan trews
Chameleonlike they change a thousand hues
Your great ancestor never said so my Lord answered Major Galbraith—and with submission neither would your Grace have occasion to say it wad ye but be for beginning justice at the wellhead—Gie the honest man his mear again—Let every head wear its ane bannet and the distractions o the Lennox wad be mended wi them othe land
Hush hush Garschattachin said the Duke this is language dangerous for you to talk to any one and especially to me but I presume you reckon yourself a privileged person Please to draw off your party towards Gartartan I shall myself see the prisoner escorted to Duchray and send you orders tomorrow You will please grant no leave of absence to any of your troopers
Heres auld ordering and counterordering muttered Garschattachin between his teeth But patience patience—we may ae day play at change seats the kings coming
The two troops of cavalry now formed and prepared to march off the ground that they might avail themselves of the remainder of daylight to get to their evening quarters I received an intimation rather than an invitation to attend the party and I perceived that though no longer considered as a prisoner I was yet under some sort of suspicion The times were indeed so dangerous—the great party questions of Jacobite and Hanoverian divided the country so effectually—and the constant disputes and jealousies between the Highlanders and Lowlanders besides a number of inexplicable causes of feud which separated the great leading families in Scotland from each other occasioned such general suspicion that a solitary and unprotected stranger was almost sure to meet with something disagreeable in the course of his travels
I acquiesced however in my destination with the best grace I could consoling myself with the hope that I might obtain from the captive freebooter some information concerning Rashleigh and his machinations I should do myself injustice did I not add that my views were not merely selfish I was too much interested in my singular acquaintance not to be desirous of rendering him such services as his unfortunate situation might demand or admit of his receiving
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
And when he came to broken brigg
He bent his bow and swam
And when he came to grass growing
Set down his feet and ran
Gil Morrice
The echoes of the rocks and ravines on either side now rang to the trumpets of the cavalry which forming themselves into two distinct bodies began to move down the valley at a slow trot That commanded by Major Galbraith soon took to the right hand and crossed the Forth for the purpose of taking up the quarters assigned them for the night when they were to occupy as I understood an old castle in the vicinity They formed a lively object while crossing the stream but were soon lost in winding up the bank on the opposite side which was clothed with wood
We continued our march with considerable good order To ensure the safe custody of the prisoner the Duke had caused him to be placed on horseback behind one of his retainers called as I was informed Ewan of Brigglands one of the largest and strongest men who were present A horsebelt passed round the bodies of both and buckled before the yeomans breast rendered it impossible for Rob Roy to free himself from his keeper I was directed to keep close beside them and accommodated for the purpose with a troophorse We were as closely surrounded by the soldiers as the width of the road would permit and had always at least one if not two on each side with pistol in hand Andrew Fairservice furnished with a Highland pony of which they had made prey somewhere or other was permitted to ride among the other domestics of whom a great number attended the line of march though without falling into the ranks of the more regularly trained troopers
In this manner we travelled for a certain distance until we arrived at a place where we also were to cross the river The Forth as being the outlet of a lake is of considerable depth even where less important in point of width and the descent to the ford was by a broken precipitous ravine which only permitted one horseman to descend at once The rear and centre of our small body halting on the bank while the front files passed down in succession produced a considerable delay as is usual on such occasions and even some confusion for a number of those riders who made no proper part of the squadron crowded to the ford without regularity and made the militia cavalry although tolerably well drilled partake in some degree of their own disorder
Escape of Rob Roy at the Ford
It was while we were thus huddled together on the bank that I heard Rob Roy whisper to the man behind whom he was placed on horseback Your father Ewan wadna hae carried an auld friend to the shambles like a calf for a the Dukes in Christendom
Ewan returned no answer but shrugged as one who would express by that sign that what he was doing was none of his own choice
And when the MacGregors come down the glen and ye see toom faulds a bluidy hearthstone and the fire flashing out between the rafters o your house ye may be thinking then Ewan that were your friend Rob to the fore you would have had that safe which it will make your heart sair to lose
Ewan of Brigglands again shrugged and groaned but remained silent
Its a sair thing continued Rob sliding his insinuations so gently into Ewans ear that they reached no other but mine who certainly saw myself in no shape called upon to destroy his prospects of escape—Its a sair thing that Ewan of Brigglands whom Roy MacGregor has helped with hand sword and purse suld mind a gloom from a great man mair than a friends life
Ewan seemed sorely agitated but was silent—We heard the Dukes voice from the opposite bank call Bring over the prisoner
Ewan put his horse in motion and just as I heard Roy say Never weigh a MacGregors bluid against a broken whang o leather for there will be another accounting to gie for it baith here and hereafter they passed me hastily and dashing forward rather precipitately entered the water
Not yet sir—not yet said some of the troopers to me as I was about to follow while others pressed forward into the stream
I saw the Duke on the other side by the waning light engaged in commanding his people to get into order as they landed dispersedly some higher some lower Many had crossed some were in the water and the rest were preparing to follow when a sudden splash warned me that MacGregors eloquence had prevailed on Ewan to give him freedom and a chance for life The Duke also heard the sound and instantly guessed its meaning Dog he exclaimed to Ewan as he landed where is your prisoner and without waiting to hear the apology which the terrified vassal began to falter forth he fired a pistol at his head whether fatally I know not and exclaimed Gentlemen disperse and pursue the villain—An hundred guineas for him that secures Rob Roy
All became an instant scene of the most lively confusion Rob Roy disengaged from his bonds doubtless by Ewans slipping the buckle of his belt had dropped off at the horses tail and instantly dived passing under the belly of the troophorse which was on his left hand But as he was obliged to come to the surface an instant for air the glimpse of his tartan plaid drew the attention of the troopers some of whom plunged into the river with a total disregard to their own safety rushing according to the expression of their country through pool and stream sometimes swimming their horses sometimes losing them and struggling for their own lives Others less zealous or more prudent broke off in different directions and galloped up and down the banks to watch the places at which the fugitive might possibly land The hollowing the whooping the calls for aid at different points where they saw or conceived they saw some vestige of him they were seeking—the frequent report of pistols and carabines fired at every object which excited the least suspicion—the sight of so many horsemen riding about in and out of the river and striking with their long broadswords at whatever excited their attention joined to the vain exertions used by their officers to restore order and regularity—and all this in so wild a scene and visible only by the imperfect twilight of an autumn evening made the most extraordinary hubbub I had hitherto witnessed I was indeed left alone to observe it for our whole cavalcade had dispersed in pursuit or at least to see the event of the search Indeed as I partly suspected at the time and afterwards learned with certainty many of those who seemed most active in their attempts to waylay and recover the fugitive were in actual truth least desirous that he should be taken and only joined in the cry to increase the general confusion and to give Rob Roy a better opportunity of escaping
Escape indeed was not difficult for a swimmer so expert as the freebooter as soon as he had eluded the first burst of pursuit At one time he was closely pressed and several blows were made which flashed in the water around him the scene much resembling one of the otterhunts which I had seen at Osbaldistone Hall where the animal is detected by the hounds from his being necessitated to put his nose above the stream to vent or breathe while he is enabled to elude them by getting under water again so soon as he has refreshed himself by respiration MacGregor however had a trick beyond the otter for he contrived when very closely pursued to disengage himself unobserved from his plaid and suffer it to float down the stream where in its progress it quickly attracted general attention many of the horsemen were thus put upon a false scent and several shots or stabs were averted from the party for whom they were designed
Once fairly out of view the recovery of the prisoner became almost impossible since in so many places the river was rendered inaccessible by the steepness of its banks or the thickets of alders poplars and birch which overhanging its banks prevented the approach of horsemen Errors and accidents had also happened among the pursuers whose task the approaching night rendered every moment more hopeless Some got themselves involved in the eddies of the stream and required the assistance of their companions to save them from drowning Others hurt by shots or blows in the confused melee implored help or threatened vengeance and in one or two instances such accidents led to actual strife The trumpets therefore sounded the retreat announcing that the commanding officer with whatsoever unwillingness had for the present relinquished hopes of the important prize which had thus unexpectedly escaped his grasp and the troopers began slowly reluctantly and brawling with each other as they returned again to assume their ranks I could see them darkening as they formed on the southern bank of the river—whose murmurs long drowned by the louder cries of vengeful pursuit were now heard hoarsely mingling with the deep discontented and reproachful voices of the disappointed horsemen
Hitherto I had been as it were a mere spectator though far from an uninterested one of the singular scene which had passed But now I heard a voice suddenly exclaim Where is the English stranger—It was he gave Rob Roy the knife to cut the belt
Cleeve the pockpudding to the chafts cried one voice
Weize a brace of balls through his harnpan said a second
Drive three inches of cauld airn into his brisket shouted a third
And I heard several horses galloping to and fro with the kind purpose doubtless of executing these denunciations I was immediately awakened to the sense of my situation and to the certainty that armed men having no restraint whatever on their irritated and inflamed passions would probably begin by shooting or cutting me down and afterwards investigate the justice of the action Impressed by this belief I leaped from my horse and turning him loose plunged into a bush of aldertrees where considering the advancing obscurity of the night I thought there was little chance of my being discovered Had I been near enough to the Duke to have invoked his personal protection I would have done so but he had already commenced his retreat and I saw no officer on the left bank of the river of authority sufficient to have afforded protection in case of my surrendering myself I thought there was no point of honour which could require in such circumstances an unnecessary exposure of my life My first idea when the tumult began to be appeased and the clatter of the horses feet was heard less frequently in the immediate vicinity of my hidingplace was to seek out the Dukes quarters when all should be quiet and give myself up to him as a liege subject who had nothing to fear from his justice and a stranger who had every right to expect protection and hospitality With this purpose I crept out of my hidingplace and looked around me
The twilight had now melted nearly into darkness a few or none of the troopers were left on my side of the Forth and of those who were already across it I only heard the distant trample of the horses feet and the wailing and prolonged sound of their trumpets which rung through the woods to recall stragglers Here therefore I was left in a situation of considerable difficulty I had no horse and the deep and wheeling stream of the river rendered turbid by the late tumult of which its channel had been the scene and seeming yet more so under the doubtful influence of an imperfect moonlight had no inviting influence for a pedestrian by no means accustomed to wade rivers and who had lately seen horsemen weltering in this dangerous passage up to the very saddlelaps At the same time my prospect if I remained on the side of the river on which I then stood could be no other than of concluding the various fatigues of this day and the preceding night by passing that which was now closing in al fresco on the side of a Highland hill
After a moments reflection I began to consider that Fairservice who had doubtless crossed the river with the other domestics according to his forward and impertinent custom of putting himself always among the foremost could not fail to satisfy the Duke or the competent authorities respecting my rank and situation and that therefore my character did not require my immediate appearance at the risk of being drowned in the river—of being unable to trace the march of the squadron in case of my reaching the other side in safety—or finally of being cut down right or wrong by some straggler who might think such a piece of good service a convenient excuse for not sooner rejoining his ranks I therefore resolved to measure my steps back to the little inn where I had passed the preceding night I had nothing to apprehend from Rob Roy He was now at liberty and I was certain in case of my falling in with any of his people the news of his escape would ensure me protection I might thus also show that I had no intention to desert Mr Jarvie in the delicate situation in which he had engaged himself chiefly on my account And lastly it was only in this quarter that I could hope to learn tidings concerning Rashleigh and my fathers papers which had been the original cause of an expedition so fraught with perilous adventure I therefore abandoned all thoughts of crossing the Forth that evening and turning my back on the Fords of Frew began to retrace my steps towards the little village of Aberfoil
A sharp frostwind which made itself heard and felt from time to time removed the clouds of mist which might otherwise have slumbered till morning on the valley and though it could not totally disperse the clouds of vapour yet threw them in confused and changeful masses now hovering round the heads of the mountains now filling as with a dense and voluminous stream of smoke the various deep gullies where masses of the composite rock or breccia tumbling in fragments from the cliffs have rushed to the valley leaving each behind its course a rent and torn ravine resembling a deserted watercourse The moon which was now high and twinkled with all the vivacity of a frosty atmosphere silvered the windings of the river and the peaks and precipices which the mist left visible while her beams seemed as it were absorbed by the fleecy whiteness of the mist where it lay thick and condensed and gave to the more light and vapoury specks which were elsewhere visible a sort of filmy transparency resembling the lightest veil of silver gauze Despite the uncertainty of my situation a view so romantic joined to the active and inspiring influence of the frosty atmosphere elevated my spirits while it braced my nerves I felt an inclination to cast care away and bid defiance to danger and involuntarily whistled by way of cadence to my steps which my feeling of the cold led me to accelerate and I felt the pulse of existence beat prouder and higher in proportion as I felt confidence in my own strength courage and resources I was so much lost in these thoughts and in the feelings which they excited that two horsemen came up behind me without my hearing their approach until one was on each side of me when the lefthand rider pulling up his horse addressed me in the English tongue—So ho friend whither so late
To my supper and bed at Aberfoil I replied
Are the passes open he inquired with the same commanding tone of voice
I do not know I replied I shall learn when I get there But I added the fate of Morris recurring to my recollection if you are an English stranger I advise you to turn back till daylight there has been some disturbance in this neighbourhood and I should hesitate to say it is perfectly safe for strangers
The soldiers had the worst—had they not was the reply
They had indeed and an officers party were destroyed or made prisoners
Are you sure of that replied the horseman
As sure as that I hear you speak I replied I was an unwilling spectator of the skirmish
Unwilling continued the interrogator Were you not engaged in it then
Certainly no I replied I was detained by the kings officer
On what suspicion and who are you or what is your name he continued
I really do not know sir said I why I should answer so many questions to an unknown stranger I have told you enough to convince you that you are going into a dangerous and distracted country If you choose to proceed it is your own affair but as I ask you no questions respecting your name and business you will oblige me by making no inquiries after mine
Mr Francis Osbaldistone said the other rider in a voice the tones of which thrilled through every nerve of my body should not whistle his favourite airs when he wishes to remain undiscovered
And Diana Vernon—for she wrapped in a horsemans cloak was the last speaker—whistled in playful mimicry the second part of the tune which was on my lips when they came up
Good God I exclaimed like one thunderstruck can it be you Miss Vernon on such a spot—at such an hour—in such a lawless country—in such—
In such a masculine dress you would say—But what would you have The philosophy of the excellent Corporal Nym is the best after all things must be as they may—pauca verba
While she was thus speaking I eagerly took advantage of an unusually bright gleam of moonshine to study the appearance of her companion for it may be easily supposed that finding Miss Vernon in a place so solitary engaged in a journey so dangerous and under the protection of one gentleman only were circumstances to excite every feeling of jealousy as well as surprise The rider did not speak with the deep melody of Rashleighs voice his tones were more high and commanding he was taller moreover as he sate on horseback than that firstrate object of my hate and suspicion Neither did the strangers address resemble that of any of my other cousins it had that indescribable tone and manner by which we recognise a man of sense and breeding even in the first few sentences he speaks
The object of my anxiety seemed desirous to get rid of my investigation
Diana he said in a tone of mingled kindness and authority give your cousin his property and let us not spend time here
Miss Vernon had in the meantime taken out a small case and leaning down from her horse towards me she said in a tone in which an effort at her usual quaint lightness of expression contended with a deeper and more grave tone of sentiment You see my dear coz I was born to be your better angel Rashleigh has been compelled to yield up his spoil and had we reached this same village of Aberfoil last night as we purposed I should have found some Highland sylph to have wafted to you all these representatives of commercial wealth But there were giants and dragons in the way and errantknights and damsels of modern times bold though they be must not as of yore run into useless danger—Do not you do so either my dear coz
Diana said her companion let me once more warn you that the evening waxes late and we are still distant from our home
I am coming sir I am coming—Consider she added with a sigh how lately I have been subjected to control—besides I have not yet given my cousin the packet and bid him farewell—for ever Yes Frank she said for ever—there is a gulf between us—a gulf of absolute perdition—where we go you must not follow—what we do you must not share in—Farewell—be happy
Parting of Die and Frank on the Moor
In the attitude in which she bent from her horse which was a Highland pony her face not perhaps altogether unwillingly touched mine She pressed my hand while the tear that trembled in her eye found its way to my cheek instead of her own It was a moment never to be forgotten—inexpressibly bitter yet mixed with a sensation of pleasure so deeply soothing and affecting as at once to unlock all the floodgates of the heart It was but a moment however for instantly recovering from the feeling to which she had involuntarily given way she intimated to her companion she was ready to attend him and putting their horses to a brisk pace they were soon far distant from the place where I stood
Heaven knows it was not apathy which loaded my frame and my tongue so much that I could neither return Miss Vernons half embrace nor even answer her farewell The word though it rose to my tongue seemed to choke in my throat like the fatal guilty which the delinquent who makes it his plea knows must be followed by the doom of death The surprise—the sorrow almost stupified me I remained motionless with the packet in my hand gazing after them as if endeavouring to count the sparkles which flew from the horses hoofs I continued to look after even these had ceased to be visible and to listen for their footsteps long after the last distant trampling had died in my ears At length tears rushed to my eyes glazed as they were by the exertion of straining after what was no longer to be seen I wiped them mechanically and almost without being aware that they were flowing—but they came thicker and thicker I felt the tightening of the throat and breast—the hysterica passio of poor Lear and sitting down by the wayside I shed a flood of the first and most bitter tears which had flowed from my eyes since childhood
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dangle—Egad I think the interpreter is the harder to be
understood of the two
Critic
I had scarce given vent to my feelings in this paroxysm ere was ashamed of my weakness I remembered that I had been for some time endeavouring to regard Diana Vernon when her idea intruded itself on my remembrance as a friend for whose welfare I should indeed always be anxious but with whom I could have little further communication But the almost unrepressed tenderness of her manner joined to the romance of our sudden meeting where it was so little to have been expected were circumstances which threw me entirely off my guard I recovered however sooner than might have been expected and without giving myself time accurately to examine my motives I resumed the path on which I had been travelling when overtaken by this strange and unexpected apparition
I am not was my reflection transgressing her injunction so pathetically given since I am but pursuing my own journey by the only open route—If I have succeeded in recovering my fathers property it still remains incumbent on me to see my Glasgow friend delivered from the situation in which he has involved himself on my account besides what other place of rest can I obtain for the night excepting at the little inn of Aberfoil They also must stop there since it is impossible for travellers on horseback to go farther—Well then we shall meet again—meet for the last time perhaps—But I shall see and hear her—I shall learn who this happy man is who exercises over her the authority of a husband—I shall learn if there remains in the difficult course in which she seems engaged any difficulty which my efforts may remove or aught that I can do to express my gratitude for her generosity—for her disinterested friendship
As I reasoned thus with myself colouring with every plausible pretext which occurred to my ingenuity my passionate desire once more to see and converse with my cousin I was suddenly hailed by a touch on the shoulder and the deep voice of a Highlander who walking still faster than I though I was proceeding at a smart pace accosted me with A braw night Maister Osbaldistone—we have met at the mirk hour before now
There was no mistaking the tone of MacGregor he had escaped the pursuit of his enemies and was in full retreat to his own wilds and to his adherents He had also contrived to arm himself probably at the house of some secret adherent for he had a musket on his shoulder and the usual Highland weapons by his side To have found myself alone with such a character in such a situation and at this late hour in the evening might not have been pleasant to me in any ordinary mood of mind for though habituated to think of Rob Roy in rather a friendly point of view I will confess frankly that I never heard him speak but that it seemed to thrill my blood The intonation of the mountaineers gives a habitual depth and hollowness to the sound of their words owing to the guttural expression so common in their native language and they usually speak with a good deal of emphasis To these national peculiarities Rob Roy added a sort of hard indifference of accent and manner expressive of a mind neither to be daunted nor surprised nor affected by what passed before him however dreadful however sudden however afflicting Habitual danger with unbounded confidence in his own strength and sagacity had rendered him indifferent to fear and the lawless and precarious life he led had blunted though its dangers and errors had not destroyed his feelings for others And it was to be remembered that I had very lately seen the followers of this man commit a cruel slaughter on an unarmed and suppliant individual
Yet such was the state of my mind that I welcomed the company of the outlaw leader as a relief to my own overstrained and painful thoughts and was not without hopes that through his means I might obtain some clew of guidance through the maze in which my fate had involved me I therefore answered his greeting cordially and congratulated him on his late escape in circumstances when escape seemed impossible
Ay he replied there is as much between the craig and the woodie as there is between the cup and the lip But my peril was less than you may think being a stranger to this country
ie The throat and the withy Twigs of willow such as bind faggots were often used for halters in Scotland and Ireland being a sage economy of hemp
Of those that were summoned to take me and to keep me and to retake me again there was a moiety as cousin Nicol Jarvie calls it that had nae will that I suld be either taen or keepit fast or retaen and of tother moiety there was as half was feared to stir me and so I had only like the fourth part of fifty or sixty men to deal withal
And enough too I should think replied I
I dinna ken that said he but I ken that turn every illwiller that I had amang them out upon the green before the Clachan of Aberfoil I wad find them play with broadsword and target one down and another come on
He now inquired into my adventures since we entered his country and laughed heartily at my account of the battle we had in the inn and at the exploits of the Bailie with the redhot poker
Let Glasgow Flourish he exclaimed The curse of Cromwell on me if I wad hae wished better sport than to see cousin Nicol Jarvie singe Iverachs plaid like a sheeps head between a pair of tongs But my cousin Jarvie he added more gravely has some gentlemans bluid in his veins although he has been unhappily bred up to a peaceful and mechanical craft which could not but blunt any pretty mans spirit—Ye may estimate the reason why I could not receive you at the Clachan of Aberfoil as I purposed They had made a fine hosenet for me when I was absent twa or three days at Glasgow upon the kings business—But I think I broke up the league about their lugs—theyll no be able to hound one clan against another as they hae dune I hope soon to see the day when a Hielandmen will stand shouther to shouther But what chanced next
I gave him an account of the arrival of Captain Thornton and his party and the arrest of the Bailie and myself under pretext of our being suspicious persons and upon his more special inquiry I recollected the officer had mentioned that besides my name sounding suspicious in his ears he had orders to secure an old and young person resembling our description This again moved the outlaws risibility
As man lives by bread he said the buzzards have mistaen my friend the Bailie for his Excellency and you for Diana Vernon—O the most egregious nighthowlets
Miss Vernon said I with hesitation and trembling for the answer—Does she still bear that name She passed but now along with a gentleman who seemed to use a style of authority
Ay ay answered Rob shes under lawfu authority now and full time for she was a daft hempie—But shes a mettle quean Its a pity his Excellency is a thought eldern The like o yourself or my son Hamish wad be mair sortable in point of years
Here then was a complete downfall of those castles of cards which my fancy had in despite of my reason so often amused herself with building Although in truth I had scarcely anything else to expect since I could not suppose that Diana could be travelling in such a country at such an hour with any but one who had a legal title to protect her I did not feel the blow less severely when it came and MacGregors voice urging me to pursue my story sounded in my ears without conveying any exact import to my mind
You are ill he said at length after he had spoken twice without receiving an answer this days wark has been ower muckle for ane doubtless unused to sic things
The tone of kindness in which this was spoken recalling me to myself and to the necessities of my situation I continued my narrative as well as I could Rob Roy expressed great exultation at the successful skirmish in the pass
They say he observed that kings chaff is better than other folks corn but I think that canna be said o kings soldiers if they let themselves be beaten wi a wheen auld carles that are past fighting and bairns that are no come tillt and wives wi their rocks and distaffs the very wallydraigles o the countryside And Dougal Gregor too—wha wad hae thought there had been as muckle sense in his tattypow that neer had a better covering than his ain shaggy hassock of hair—But say away—though I dread whats to come neist—for my Helens an incarnate devil when her bluids up—puir thing she has ower muckle reason
I observed as much delicacy as I could in communicating to him the usage we had received but I obviously saw the detail gave him great pain
I wad rather than a thousand merks he said that I had been at hame To misguide strangers and forbye a my ain natural cousin that had showed me sic kindness—I wad rather they had burned half the Lennox in their folly But this comes o trusting women and their bairns that have neither measure nor reason in their dealings However its a owing to that dog of a gauger wha betrayed me by pretending a message from your cousin Rashleigh to meet him on the kings affairs whilk I thought was very like to be anent Garschattachin and a party of the Lennox declaring themselves for King James Faith but I kend I was clean beguiled when I heard the Duke was there and when they strapped the horsegirth ower my arms I might hae judged what was biding me for I kend your kinsman being wi pardon a slippery loon himself is prone to employ those of his ain kidney—I wish he mayna hae been at the bottom o the ploy himsell—I thought the chield Morris looked devilish queer when I determined he should remain a wad or hostage for my safe backcoming But I am come back nae thanks to him or them that employed him and the question is how the collector loon is to win back himsell—I promise him it will not be without a ransom
Morris said I has already paid the last ransom which mortal man can owe
Eh What exclaimed my companion hastily what dye say I trust it was in the skirmish he was killed
He was slain in cold blood after the fight was over Mr Campbell
Cold blood—Damnation he said muttering betwixt his teeth—How fell that sir Speak out sir and do not Maister or Campbell me—my foot is on my native heath and my name is MacGregor
His passions were obviously irritated but without noticing the rudeness of his tone I gave him a short and distinct account of the death of Morris He struck the butt of his gun with great vehemence against the ground and broke out—I vow to God such a deed might make one forswear kin clan country wife and bairns And yet the villain wrought long for it And what is the difference between warsling below the water wi a stane about your neck and wavering in the wind wi a tether round it—its but choking after a and he drees the doom he ettled for me I could have wished though they had rather putten a ball through him or a dirk for the fashion of removing him will give rise to mony idle clavers—But every wight has his weird and we maun a dee when our day comes—And naebody will deny that Helen MacGregor has deep wrongs to avenge
So saying he seemed to dismiss the theme altogether from his mind and proceeded to inquire how I got free from the party in whose hands he had seen me
My story was soon told and I added the episode of my having recovered the papers of my father though I dared not trust my voice to name the name of Diana
I was sure ye wad get them said MacGregor—the letter ye brought me contained his Excellencys pleasure to that effect and nae doubt it was my will to have aided in it And I asked ye up into this glen on the very errand But its like his Excellency has foregathered wi Rashleigh sooner than I expected
The first part of this answer was what most forcibly struck me
Was the letter I brought you then from this person you call his Excellency Who is he and what is his rank and proper name
I am thinking said MacGregor that since ye dinna ken them already they canna be o muckle consequence to you and sae I shall say naething on that score But weel I wot the letter was frae his ain hand or having a sort of business of my ain on my hands being as ye weel may see just as much as I can fairly manage I canna say I would hae fashed mysell sae muckle about the matter
I now recollected the lights seen in the library—the various circumstances which had excited my jealousy—the glove—the agitation of the tapestry which covered the secret passage from Rashleighs apartment and above all I recollected that Diana retired in order to write as I then thought the billet to which I was to have recourse in case of the last necessity Her hours then were not spent in solitude but in listening to the addresses of some desperate agent of Jacobitical treason who was a secret resident within the mansion of her uncle Other young women have sold themselves for gold or suffered themselves to be seduced from their first love from vanity but Diana had sacrificed my affections and her own to partake the fortunes of some desperate adventurer—to seek the haunts of freebooters through midnight deserts with no better hopes of rank or fortune than that mimicry of both which the mock court of the Stuarts at St Germains had in their power to bestow
I will see her I said internally if it be possible once more I will argue with her as a friend—as a kinsman—on the risk she is incurring and I will facilitate her retreat to France where she may with more comfort and propriety as well as safety abide the issue of the turmoils which the political trepanner to whom she has united her fate is doubtless busied in putting into motion
I conclude then I said to MacGregor after about five minutes silence on both sides that his Excellency since you give me no other name for him was residing in Osbaldistone Hall at the same time with myself
To be sure—to be sure—and in the young ladys apartment as best reason was This gratuitous information was adding gall to bitterness But few added MacGregor kend he was derned there save Rashleigh and Sir Hildebrand for you were out o the question and the young lads haena wit eneugh to ca the cat frae the cream—But its a bra auldfashioned house and what I specially admire is the abundance o holes and bores and concealments—ye could put twenty or thirty men in ae corner and a family might live a week without finding them out—whilk nae doubt may on occasion be a special convenience I wish we had the like o Osbaldistone Hall on the braes o CraigRoyston—But we maun gar woods and caves serve the like o us puir Hieland bodies
I suppose his Excellency said I was privy to the first accident which befell—
I could not help hesitating a moment
Ye were going to say Morris said Rob Roy coolly for he was too much accustomed to deeds of violence for the agitation he had at first expressed to be of long continuance I used to laugh heartily at that reik but Ill hardly hae the heart to dot again since the illfard accident at the Loch Na na—his Excellency kend nought o that ploy—it was a managed atween Rashleigh and mysell But the sport that came after—and Rashleighs shift o turning the suspicion aff himself upon you that he had nae grit favour to frae the beginning—and then Miss Die she maun hae us sweep up a our spiders webs again and set you out o the Justices claws—and then the frightened craven Morris that was scared out o his seven senses by seeing the real man when he was charging the innocent stranger—and the gowk of a clerk—and the drunken carle of a justice—Ohon ohon—mony a laugh that jobs gien me—and now a that I can do for the puir devil is to get some messes said for his soul
May I ask said I how Miss Vernon came to have so much influence over Rashleigh and his accomplices as to derange your projected plan
Mine it was none of mine No man can say I ever laid my burden on other folks shoulders—it was a Rashleighs doings But undoubtedly she had great influence wi us baith on account of his Excellencys affection as weel as that she kend far ower mony secrets to be lightlied in a matter o that kind—Deil tak him he ejaculated by way of summing up that gies women either secret to keep or power to abuse—fules shouldna hae chappingsticks
We were now within a quarter of a mile from the village when three Highlanders springing upon us with presented arms commanded us to stand and tell our business The single word Gregaragh in the deep and commanding voice of my companion was answered by a shout or rather yell of joyful recognition One throwing down his firelock clasped his leader so fast round the knees that he was unable to extricate himself muttering at the same time a torrent of Gaelic gratulation which every now and then rose into a sort of scream of gladness The two others after the first howling was over set off literally with the speed of deers contending which should first carry to the village which a strong party of the MacGregors now occupied the joyful news of Rob Roys escape and return The intelligence excited such shouts of jubilation that the very hills rung again and young and old men women and children without distinction of sex or age came running down the vale to meet us with all the tumultuous speed and clamour of a mountain torrent When I heard the rushing noise and yells of this joyful multitude approach us I thought it a fitting precaution to remind MacGregor that I was a stranger and under his protection He accordingly held me fast by the hand while the assemblage crowded around him with such shouts of devoted attachment and joy at his return as were really affecting nor did he extend to his followers what all eagerly sought the grasp namely of his hand until he had made them understand that I was to be kindly and carefully used
The mandate of the Sultan of Delhi could not have been more promptly obeyed Indeed I now sustained nearly as much inconvenience from their wellmeant attentions as formerly from their rudeness They would hardly allow the friend of their leader to walk upon his own legs so earnest were they in affording me support and assistance upon the way and at length taking advantage of a slight stumble which I made over a stone which the press did not permit me to avoid they fairly seized upon me and bore me in their arms in triumph towards Mrs MacAlpines
On arrival before her hospitable wigwam I found power and popularity had its inconveniences in the Highlands as everywhere else for before MacGregor could be permitted to enter the house where he was to obtain rest and refreshment he was obliged to relate the story of his escape at least a dozen times over as I was told by an officious old man who chose to translate it at least as often for my edification and to whom I was in policy obliged to seem to pay a decent degree of attention The audience being at length satisfied group after group departed to take their bed upon the heath or in the neighbouring huts some cursing the Duke and Garschattachin some lamenting the probable danger of Ewan of Brigglands incurred by his friendship to MacGregor but all agreeing that the escape of Rob Roy himself lost nothing in comparison with the exploit of any one of their chiefs since the days of Dougal Ciar the founder of his line
The friendly outlaw now taking me by the arm conducted me into the interior of the hut My eyes roved round its smoky recesses in quest of Diana and her companion but they were nowhere to be seen and I felt as if to make inquiries might betray some secret motives which were best concealed The only known countenance upon which my eyes rested was that of the Bailie who seated on a stool by the fireside received with a sort of reserved dignity the welcomes of Rob Roy the apologies which he made for his indifferent accommodation and his inquiries after his health
I am pretty weel kinsman said the Bailie—indifferent weel I thank ye and for accommodations ane canna expect to carry about the Saut Market at his tail as a snail does his caup—and I am blythe that ye hae gotten out o the hands o your unfreends
Weel weel then answered Roy what ist ails ye man—as weel that ends weel—the warld will last our day—Come take a cup o brandy—your father the deacon could take ane at an orra time
It might be he might do sae Robin after fatigue—whilk has been my lot mair ways than ane this day But he continued slowly filling up a little wooden stoup which might hold about three glasses he was a moderate man of his bicker as I am mysell—Heres wussing health to ye Robin a sip and your weelfare here and hereafter another taste and also to my cousin Helen—and to your twa hopefu lads of whom mair anon
So saying he drank up the contents of the cup with great gravity and deliberation while MacGregor winked aside to me as if in ridicule of the air of wisdom and superior authority which the Bailie assumed towards him in their intercourse and which he exercised when Rob was at the head of his armed clan in full as great or a greater degree than when he was at the Bailies mercy in the Tolbooth of Glasgow It seemed to me that MacGregor wished me as a stranger to understand that if he submitted to the tone which his kinsman assumed it was partly out of deference to the rights of hospitality but still more for the jests sake
As the Bailie set down his cup he recognised me and giving me a cordial welcome on my return he waived farther communication with me for the present—I will speak to your matters anon I maun begin as in reason wi those of my kinsman—I presume Robin theres naebody here will carry aught o what I am gaun to say to the towncouncil or elsewhere to my prejudice or to yours
Make yourself easy on that head cousin Nicol answered MacGregor the tae half o the gillies winna ken what ye say and the tother winna care—besides that I wad stow the tongue out o the head o any o them that suld presume to say ower again ony speech held wi me in their presence
Aweel cousin sic being the case and Mr Osbaldistone here being a prudent youth and a safe friend—Ise plainly tell ye ye are breeding up your family to gang an ill gate Then clearing his voice with a preliminary hem he addressed his kinsman checking as Malvolio proposed to do when seated in his state his familiar smile with an austere regard of control—Ye ken yourself ye haud light by the law—and for my cousin Helen forbye that her reception o me this blessed day—whilk I excuse on account of perturbation of mind was muckle on the north side o friendly I say outputting this personal reason of complaint I hae that to say o your wife—
Say nothing of her kinsman said Rob in a grave and stern tone but what is befitting a friend to say and her husband to hear Of me you are welcome to say your full pleasure
Aweel aweel said the Bailie somewhat disconcerted wese let that be a passover—I dinna approve of making mischief in families But here are your twa sons Hamish and Robin whilk signifies as Im gien to understand James and Robert—I trust ye will call them sae in future—there comes nae gude o Hamishes and Eachines and Angusses except that theyre the names ane aye chances to see in the indictments at the Western Circuits for cowlifting at the instance of his majestys advocate for his majestys interest Aweel but the twa lads as I was saying they haena sae muckle as the ordinar grunds man of liberal education—they dinna ken the very multiplication table itself whilk is the root of a usefu knowledge and they did naething but laugh and fleer at me when I tauld them my mind on their ignorance—Its my belief they can neither read write nor cipher if sic a thing could be believed o anes ain connections in a Christian land
If they could kinsman said MacGregor with great indifference their learning must have come o free will for whar the deil was I to get them a teacher—wad ye hae had me put on the gate o your Divinity Hall at Glasgow College Wanted a tutor for Rob Roys bairns
Na kinsman replied Mr Jarvie but ye might hae sent the lads whar they could hae learned the fear o God and the usages of civilised creatures They are as ignorant as the kyloes ye used to drive to market or the very English churls that ye sauld them to and can do naething whatever to purpose
Umph answered Rob Hamish can bring doun a blackcock when hes on the wing wi a single bullet and Rob can drive a dirk through a twainch board
Sae muckle the waur for them cousin—sae muckle the waur for them baith answered the Glasgow merchant in a tone of great decision an they ken naething better than that they had better no ken that neither Tell me yourself Rob what has a this cutting and stabbing and shooting and driving of dirks whether through human flesh or fir deals dune for yourself—and werena ye a happier man at the tail o your nowtebestial when ye were in an honest calling than ever ye hae been since at the head o your Hieland kernes and gallyglasses
I observed that MacGregor while his wellmeaning kinsman spoke to him in this manner turned and writhed his body like a man who indeed suffers pain but is determined no groan shall escape his lips and I longed for an opportunity to interrupt the wellmeant but as it was obvious to me quite mistaken strain in which Jarvie addressed this extraordinary person The dialogue however came to an end without my interference
And sae said the Bailie I hae been thinking Rob that as it may be ye are ower deep in the black book to win a pardon and ower auld to mend yourself that it wad be a pity to bring up twa hopefu lads to sic a godless trade as your ain and I wad blythely tak them for prentices at the loom as I began mysell and my father the deacon afore me though praise to the Giver I only trade now as wholesale dealer—And—and—
He saw a storm gathering on Robs brow which probably induced him to throw in as a sweetener of an obnoxious proposition what he had reserved to crown his own generosity had it been embraced as an acceptable one—and Robin lad ye needna look sae glum for Ill pay the prenticefee and never plague ye for the thousand merks neither
Ceade millia diaoul hundred thousand devils exclaimed Rob rising and striding through the hut My sons weavers—Millia molligheart—but I wad see every loom in Glasgow beam traddles and shuttles burnt in hellfire sooner
With some difficulty I made the Bailie who was preparing a reply comprehend the risk and impropriety of pressing our host on this topic and in a minute he recovered or reassumed his serenity of temper
But ye mean weel—ye mean weel said he so gie me your hand Nicol and if ever I put my sons apprentice I will gie you the refusal o them And as you say theres the thousand merks to be settled between us— Here Eachin MacAnaleister bring me my sporran
The person he addressed a tall strong mountaineer who seemed to act as MacGregors lieutenant brought from some place of safety a large leathern pouch such as Highlanders of rank wear before them when in full dress made of the skin of the seaotter richly garnished with silver ornaments and studs
I advise no man to attempt opening this sporran till he has my secret said Rob Roy and then twisting one button in one direction and another in another pulling one stud upward and pressing another downward the mouth of the purse which was bound with massive silver plate opened and gave admittance to his hand He made me remark as if to break short the subject on which Bailie Jarvie had spoken that a small steel pistol was concealed within the purse the trigger of which was connected with the mounting and made part of the machinery so that the weapon would certainly be discharged and in all probability its contents lodged in the person of any one who being unacquainted with the secret should tamper with the lock which secured his treasure This said he touching the pistol—this is the keeper of my privy purse
The simplicity of the contrivance to secure a furred pouch which could have been ripped open without any attempt on the spring reminded me of the verses in the Odyssey where Ulysses in a yet ruder age is content to secure his property by casting a curious and involved complication of cordage around the seachest in which it was deposited
The Bailie put on his spectacles to examine the mechanism and when he had done returned it with a smile and a sigh observing—Ah Rob had ither folks purses been as weel guarded I doubt if your sporran wad hae been as weel filled as it kythes to be by the weight
Never mind kinsman said Rob laughing it will aye open for a friends necessity or to pay a just due—and here he added pulling out a rouleau of gold here is your ten hundred merks—count them and see that you are full and justly paid
Mr Jarvie took the money in silence and weighing it in his hand for an instant laid it on the table and replied Rob I canna tak it—I downa intromit with it—there can nae gude come ot—I hae seen ower weel the day what sort of a gate your gowd is made in—illgot gear neer prospered and to be plain wi you I winna meddle wit—it looks as there might be bluid ont
Troutsho said the outlaw affecting an indifference which perhaps he did not altogether feel its gude French gowd and neer was in Scotchmans pouch before mine Look at them man—they are a louisdors bright and bonnie as the day they were coined
The waur the waur—just sae muckle the waur Robin replied the Bailie averting his eyes from the money though like Caesar on the Lupercal his fingers seemed to itch for it—Rebellion is waur than witchcraft or robbery either theres gospel warrant fort
Never mind the warrant kinsman said the freebooter you come by the gowd honestly and in payment of a just debt—it came from the one king you may gie it to the other if ye like and it will just serve for a weakening of the enemy and in the point where puir King James is weakest too for God knows he has hands and hearts eneugh but I doubt he wants the siller
Hell no get mony Hielanders then Robin said Mr Jarvie as again replacing his spectacles on his nose he undid the rouleau and began to count its contents
Nor Lowlanders neither said MacGregor arching his eyebrow and as he looked at me directing a glance towards Mr Jarvie who all unconscious of the ridicule weighed each piece with habitual scrupulosity and having told twice over the sum which amounted to the discharge of his debt principal and interest he returned three pieces to buy his kinswoman a gown as he expressed himself and a brace more for the twa bairns as he called them requesting they might buy anything they liked with them except gunpowder The Highlander stared at his kinsmans unexpected generosity but courteously accepted his gift which he deposited for the time in his wellsecured pouch
The Bailie next produced the original bond for the debt on the back of which he had written a formal discharge which having subscribed himself he requested me to sign as a witness I did so and Bailie Jarvie was looking anxiously around for another the Scottish law requiring the subscription of two witnesses to validate either a bond or acquittance You will hardly find a man that can write save ourselves within these three miles said Rob but Ill settle the matter as easily and taking the paper from before his kinsman he threw it in the fire Bailie Jarvie stared in his turn but his kinsman continued Thats a Hieland settlement of accounts The time might come cousin were I to keep a these charges and discharges that friends might be brought into trouble for having dealt with me
The Bailie attempted no reply to this argument and our supper now appeared in a style of abundance and even delicacy which for the place might be considered as extraordinary The greater part of the provisions were cold intimating they had been prepared at some distance and there were some bottles of good French wine to relish pasties of various sorts of game as well as other dishes I remarked that MacGregor while doing the honours of the table with great and anxious hospitality prayed us to excuse the circumstance that some particular dish or pasty had been infringed on before it was presented to us You must know said he to Mr Jarvie but without looking towards me you are not the only guests this night in the MacGregors country whilk doubtless ye will believe since my wife and the twa lads would otherwise have been maist ready to attend you as weel beseems them
Bailie Jarvie looked as if he felt glad at any circumstance which occasioned their absence and I should have been entirely of his opinion had it not been that the outlaws apology seemed to imply they were in attendance on Diana and her companion whom even in my thoughts I could not bear to designate as her husband
While the unpleasant ideas arising from this suggestion counteracted the good effects of appetite welcome and good cheer I remarked that Rob Roys attention had extended itself to providing us better bedding than we had enjoyed the night before Two of the least fragile of the bedsteads which stood by the wall of the hut had been stuffed with heath then in full flower so artificially arranged that the flowers being uppermost afforded a mattress at once elastic and fragrant Cloaks and such bedding as could be collected stretched over this vegetable couch made it both soft and warm The Bailie seemed exhausted by fatigue I resolved to adjourn my communication to him until next morning and therefore suffered him to betake himself to bed so soon as he had finished a plentiful supper Though tired and harassed I did not myself feel the same disposition to sleep but rather a restless and feverish anxiety which led to some farther discourse betwixt me and MacGregor
CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH
A hopeless darkness settles oer my fate
Ive seen the last look of her heavenly eyes—
Ive heard the last sound of her blessed voice—
Ive seen her fair form from my sight depart
My doom is closed
Count Basil
I ken not what to make of you Mr Osbaldistone said MacGregor as he pushed the flask towards me You eat not you show no wish for rest and yet you drink not though that flask of Bourdeaux might have come out of Sir Hildebrands ain cellar Had you been always as abstinent you would have escaped the deadly hatred of your cousin Rashleigh
Had I been always prudent said I blushing at the scene he recalled to my recollection I should have escaped a worse evil—the reproach of my own conscience
MacGregor cast a keen and somewhat fierce glance on me as if to read whether the reproof which he evidently felt had been intentionally conveyed He saw that I was thinking of myself not of him and turned his face towards the fire with a deep sigh I followed his example and each remained for a few minutes wrapt in his own painful reverie All in the hut were now asleep or at least silent excepting ourselves
MacGregor first broke silence in the tone of one who takes up his determination to enter on a painful subject My cousin Nicol Jarvie means well he said but he presses ower hard on the temper and situation of a man like me considering what I have been—what I have been forced to become—and above all that which has forced me to become what I am
He paused and though feeling the delicate nature of the discussion in which the conversation was likely to engage me I could not help replying that I did not doubt his present situation had much which must be most unpleasant to his feelings
I should be happy to learn I added that there is an honourable chance of your escaping from it
You speak like a boy returned MacGregor in a low tone that growled like distant thunder—like a boy who thinks the auld gnarled oak can be twisted as easily as the young sapling Can I forget that I have been branded as an outlaw—stigmatised as a traitor—a price set on my head as if I had been a wolf—my family treated as the dam and cubs of the hillfox whom all may torment vilify degrade and insult—the very name which came to me from a long and noble line of martial ancestors denounced as if it were a spell to conjure up the devil with
As he went on in this manner I could plainly see that by the enumeration of his wrongs he was lashing himself up into a rage in order to justify in his own eyes the errors they had led him into In this he perfectly succeeded his light grey eyes contracting alternately and dilating their pupils until they seemed actually to flash with flame while he thrust forward and drew back his foot grasped the hilt of his dirk extended his arm clenched his fist and finally rose from his seat
And they shall find he said in the same muttered but deep tone of stifled passion that the name they have dared to proscribe—that the name of MacGregor—is a spell to raise the wild devil withal They shall hear of my vengeance that would scorn to listen to the story of my wrongs—The miserable Highland drover bankrupt barefooted—stripped of all dishonoured and hunted down because the avarice of others grasped at more than that poor all could pay shall burst on them in an awful change They that scoffed at the grovelling worm and trode upon him may cry and howl when they see the stoop of the flying and fierymouthed dragon—But why do I speak of all this he said sitting down again and in a calmer tone—Only ye may opine it frets my patience Mr Osbaldistone to be hunted like an otter or a sealgh or a salmon upon the shallows and that by my very friends and neighbours and to have as many swordcuts made and pistols flashed at me as I had this day in the ford of Avondow would try a saints temper much more a Highlanders who are not famous for that gude gift as ye may hae heard Mr Osbaldistone—But as thing bides wi me o what Nicol said—Im vexed for the bairns—Im vexed when I think o Hamish and Robert living their fathers life And yielding to despondence on account of his sons which he felt not upon his own the father rested his head upon his hand
I was much affected Will All my life long I have been more melted by the distress under which a strong proud and powerful mind is compelled to give way than by the more easily excited sorrows of softer dispositions The desire of aiding him rushed strongly on my mind notwithstanding the apparent difficulty and even impossibility of the task
We have extensive connections abroad said I might not your sons with some assistance—and they are well entitled to what my fathers house can give—find an honourable resource in foreign service
I believe my countenance showed signs of sincere emotion but my companion taking me by the hand as I was going to speak farther said—I thank—I thank ye—but let us say nae mair o this I did not think the eye of man would again have seen a tear on MacGregors eyelash He dashed the moisture from his long gray eyelash and shaggy red eyebrow with the back of his hand Tomorrow morning he said well talk of this and we will talk too of your affairs—for we are early starters in the dawn even when we have the luck to have good beds to sleep in Will ye not pledge me in a grace cup I declined the invitation
Then by the soul of St Maronoch I must pledge myself and he poured out and swallowed at least halfaquart of wine
I laid myself down to repose resolving to delay my own inquiries until his mind should be in a more composed state Indeed so much had this singular man possessed himself of my imagination that I felt it impossible to avoid watching him for some minutes after I had flung myself on my heath mattress to seeming rest He walked up and down the hut crossed himself from time to time muttering over some Latin prayer of the Catholic church then wrapped himself in his plaid with his naked sword on one side and his pistol on the other so disposing the folds of his mantle that he could start up at a moments warning with a weapon in either hand ready for instant combat In a few minutes his heavy breathing announced that he was fast asleep Overpowered by fatigue and stunned by the various unexpected and extraordinary scenes of the day I in my turn was soon overpowered by a slumber deep and overwhelming from which notwithstanding every cause for watchfulness I did not awake until the next morning
When I opened my eyes and recollected my situation I found that MacGregor had already left the hut I awakened the Bailie who after many a snort and groan and some heavy complaints of the soreness of his bones in consequence of the unwonted exertions of the preceding day was at length able to comprehend the joyful intelligence that the assets carried off by Rashleigh Osbaldistone had been safely recovered The instant he understood my meaning he forgot all his grievances and bustling up in a great hurry proceeded to compare the contents of the packet which I put into his hands with Mr Owens memorandums muttering as he went on Right right—the real thing—Bailie and Whittington—wheres Bailie and Whittington—seven hundred six and eight—exact to a fraction—Pollock and Peelman—twentyeight seven—exact—Praise be blest—Grub and Grinder—better men cannot be—three hundred and seventy—Gliblad—twenty I doubt Gliblads ganging—Slipprytongue Slipprytongues gaen—but they are smasums—smasums—the rests aright—Praise be blest we have got the stuff and may leave this doleful country I shall never think on LochArd but the thought will gar me grew again
I am sorry cousin said MacGregor who entered the hut during the last observation I have not been altogether in the circumstances to make your reception sic as I could have desired—natheless if you would condescend to visit my puir dwelling—
Muckle obliged muckle obliged answered Mr Jarvie very hastily—But we maun be ganging—we maun be jogging Mr Osbaldistone and me—business canna wait
Aweel kinsman replied the Highlander ye ken our fashion—foster the guest that comes—further him that maun gang But ye cannot return by Drymen—I must set you on Loch Lomond and boat ye down to the Ferry o Balloch and send your nags round to meet ye there Its a maxim of a wise man never to return by the same road he came providing anothers free to him
Ay ay Rob said the Bailie thats ane o the maxims ye learned when ye were a drover—ye caredna to face the tenants where your beasts had been taking a rug of their moorland grass in the byganging and I doubt your roads waur marked now than it was then
The mair need not to travel it ower often kinsman replied Rob but Ise send round your nags to the ferry wi Dougal Gregor wha is converted for that purpose into the Bailies man coming—not as ye may believe from Aberfoil or Rob Roys country but on a quiet jaunt from Stirling See here he is
I wadna hae kend the creature said Mr Jarvie nor indeed was it easy to recognise the wild Highlander when he appeared before the door of the cottage attired in a hat periwig and ridingcoat which had once called Andrew Fairservice master and mounted on the Bailies horse and leading mine He received his last orders from his master to avoid certain places where he might be exposed to suspicion—to collect what intelligence he could in the course of his journey and to await our coming at an appointed place near the Ferry of Balloch
At the same time MacGregor invited us to accompany him upon our own road assuring us that we must necessarily march a few miles before breakfast and recommending a dram of brandy as a proper introduction to the journey in which he was pledged by the Bailie who pronounced it an unlawful and perilous habit to begin the day wi spirituous liquors except to defend the stomach whilk was a tender part against the morning mist in whilk case his father the deacon had recommended a dram by precept and example
Very true kinsman replied Rob for which reason we who are Children of the Mist have a right to drink brandy from morning till night
The Bailie thus refreshed was mounted on a small Highland pony another was offered for my use which however I declined and we resumed under very different guidance and auspices our journey of the preceding day
Our escort consisted of MacGregor and five or six of the handsomest best armed and most athletic mountaineers of his band and whom he had generally in immediate attendance upon his own person
When we approached the pass the scene of the skirmish of the preceding day and of the still more direful deed which followed it MacGregor hastened to speak as if it were rather to what he knew must be necessarily passing in my mind than to any thing I had said—he spoke in short to my thoughts and not to my words
You must think hardly of us Mr Osbaldistone and it is not natural that it should be otherwise But remember at least we have not been unprovoked We are a rude and an ignorant and it may be a violent and passionate but we are not a cruel people The land might be at peace and in law for us did they allow us to enjoy the blessings of peaceful law But we have been a persecuted generation
And persecution said the Bailie maketh wise men mad
What must it do then to men like us living as our fathers did a thousand years since and possessing scarce more lights than they did Can we view their bluidy edicts against us—their hanging heading hounding and hunting down an ancient and honourable name—as deserving better treatment than that which enemies give to enemies—Here I stand have been in twenty frays and never hurt man but when I was in het bluid and yet they wad betray me and hang me like a masterless dog at the gate of ony great man that has an ill will at me
I replied that the proscription of his name and family sounded in English ears as a very cruel and arbitrary law and having thus far soothed him I resumed my propositions of obtaining military employment for himself if he chose it and his sons in foreign parts MacGregor shook me very cordially by the hand and detaining me so as to permit Mr Jarvie to precede us a manoeuvre for which the narrowness of the road served as an excuse he said to me—You are a kindhearted and an honourable youth and understand doubtless that which is due to the feelings of a man of honour But the heather that I have trode upon when living must bloom ower me when I am dead—my heart would sink and my arm would shrink and wither like fern in the frost were I to lose sight of my native hills nor has the world a scene that would console me for the loss of the rocks and cairns wild as they are that you see around us—And Helen—what could become of her were I to leave her the subject of new insult and atrocity—or how could she bear to be removed from these scenes where the remembrance of her wrongs is aye sweetened by the recollection of her revenge—I was once so hard put at by my Great enemy as I may well ca him that I was forced een to gie way to the tide and removed myself and my people and family from our dwellings in our native land and to withdraw for a time into MacCallum Mores country—and Helen made a Lament on our departure as weel as MacRimmon himsell could hae framed it—and so piteously sad and waesome that our hearts amaist broke as we sate and listened to her—it was like the wailing of one that mourns for the mother that bore him—the tears came down the rough faces of our gillies as they hearkened and I wad not have the same touch of heartbreak again no not to have all the lands that ever were owned by MacGregor
The MacRimmons or MacCrimonds were hereditary pipers to the chiefs of MacLeod and celebrated for their talents The pibroch said to have been composed by Helen MacGregor is still in existence See the Introduction to this Novel
But your sons I said—they are at the age when your countrymen have usually no objection to see the world
And I should be content he replied that they pushed their fortune in the French or Spanish service as is the wont of Scottish cavaliers of honour and last night your plan seemed feasible eneugh—But I hae seen his Excellency this morning before ye were up
Did he then quarter so near us said I my bosom throbbing with anxiety
Nearer than ye thought was MacGregors reply but he seemed rather in some shape to jalouse your speaking to the young leddy and so you see—
There was no occasion for jealousy I answered with some haughtiness —I should not have intruded on his privacy
But ye must not be offended or look out from amang your curls then like a wildcat out of an ivytod for ye are to understand that he wishes most sincere weel to you and has proved it And its partly that whilk has set the heather on fire een now
Heather on fire said I I do not understand you
Why resumed MacGregor ye ken weel eneugh that women and gear are at the bottom of a the mischief in this warld I hae been misdoubting your cousin Rashleigh since ever he saw that he wasna to get Die Vernon for his marrow and I think he took grudge at his Excellency mainly on that account But then came the splore about the surrendering your papers—and we hae now gude evidence that sae soon as he was compelled to yield them up he rade post to Stirling and tauld the Government all and mair than all that was gaun doucely on amang us hillfolk and doubtless that was the way that the country was laid to take his Excellency and the leddy and to make sic an unexpected raid on me And I hae as little doubt that the poor deevil Morris whom he could gar believe onything was egged on by him and some of the Lowland gentry to trepan me in the gate he tried to do But if Rashleigh Osbaldistone were baith the last and best of his name and granting that he and I ever forgather again the fiend go down my weasand with a bare blade at his belt if we part before my dirk and his best blude are weel acquainted thegither
He pronounced the last threat with an ominous frown and the appropriate gesture of his hand upon his dagger
I should almost rejoice at what has happened said I could I hope that Rashleighs treachery might prove the means of preventing the explosion of the rash and desperate intrigues in which I have long suspected him to be a prime agent
Trow ye na that said Rob Roy traitors word never yet hurt honest cause He was ower deep in our secrets thats true and had it not been so Stirling and Edinburgh Castles would have been baith in our hands by this time or briefly hereafter whilk is now scarce to be hoped for But there are ower mony engaged and far ower gude a cause to be gien up for the breath of a traitors tale and that will be seen and heard of ere it be lang And so as I was about to say the best of my thanks to you for your offer anent my sons whilk last night I had some thoughts to have embraced in their behalf But I see that this villains treason will convince our great folks that they must instantly draw to a head and make a blow for it or be taen in their houses coupled up like hounds and driven up to London like the honest noblemen and gentlemen in the year seventeen hundred and seven Civil war is like a cockatrice—we have sitten hatching the egg that held it for ten years and might hae sitten on for ten years mair when in comes Rashleigh and chips the shell and out bangs the wonder amang us and cries to fire and sword Now in sic a matter Ill hae need o a the hands I can mak and nae disparagement to the Kings of France and Spain whom I wish very weel to King James is as gude a man as ony o them and has the best right to Hamish and Rob being his naturalborn subjects
I easily comprehended that these words boded a general national convulsion and as it would have been alike useless and dangerous to have combated the political opinions of my guide at such a place and moment I contented myself with regretting the promiscuous scene of confusion and distress likely to arise from any general exertion in favour of the exiled royal family
Let it come man—let it come answered MacGregor ye never saw dull weather clear without a shower and if the world is turned upside down why honest men have the better chance to cut bread out of it
I again attempted to bring him back to the subject of Diana but although on most occasions and subjects he used a freedom of speech which I had no great delight in listening to yet upon that alone which was most interesting to me he kept a degree of scrupulous reserve and contented himself with intimating that he hoped the leddy would be soon in a quieter country than this was like to be for one while I was obliged to be content with this answer and to proceed in the hope that accident might as on a former occasion stand my friend and allow me at least the sad gratification of bidding farewell to the object which had occupied such a share of my affections so much beyond even what I had supposed till I was about to be separated from her for ever
Loch Lomond
We pursued the margin of the lake for about six English miles through a devious and beautifully variegated path until we attained a sort of Highland farm or assembly of hamlets near the head of that fine sheet of water called if I mistake not Lediart or some such name Here a numerous party of MacGregors men were stationed in order to receive us The taste as well as the eloquence of tribes in a savage or to speak more properly in a rude state is usually just because it is unfettered by system and affectation and of this I had an example in the choice these mountaineers had made of a place to receive their guests It has been said that a British monarch would judge well to receive the embassy of a rival power in the cabin of a manofwar and a Highland leader acted with some propriety in choosing a situation where the natural objects of grandeur proper to his country might have their full effect on the minds of his guests
We ascended about two hundred yards from the shores of the lake guided by a brawling brook and left on the right hand four or five Highland huts with patches of arable land around them so small as to show that they must have been worked with the spade rather than the plough cut as it were out of the surrounding copsewood and waving with crops of barley and oats Above this limited space the hill became more steep and on its edge we descried the glittering arms and waving drapery of about fifty of MacGregors followers They were stationed on a spot the recollection of which yet strikes me with admiration The brook hurling its waters downwards from the mountain had in this spot encountered a barrier rock over which it had made its way by two distinct leaps The first fall across which a magnificent old oak slanting out from the farther bank partly extended itself as if to shroud the dusky stream of the cascade might be about twelve feet high the broken waters were received in a beautiful stone basin almost as regular as if hewn by a sculptor and after wheeling around its flinty margin they made a second precipitous dash through a dark and narrow chasm at least fifty feet in depth and from thence in a hurried but comparatively a more gentle course escaped to join the lake
With the natural taste which belongs to mountaineers and especially to the Scottish Highlanders whose feelings I have observed are often allied with the romantic and poetical Rob Roys wife and followers had prepared our morning repast in a scene well calculated to impress strangers with some feelings of awe They are also naturally a grave and proud people and however rude in our estimation carry their ideas of form and politeness to an excess that would appear overstrained except from the demonstration of superior force which accompanies the display of it for it must be granted that the air of punctilious deference and rigid etiquette which would seem ridiculous in an ordinary peasant has like the salute of a corpsdegarde a propriety when tendered by a Highlander completely armed There was accordingly a good deal of formality in our approach and reception
The Highlanders who had been dispersed on the side of the hill drew themselves together when we came in view and standing firm and motionless appeared in close column behind three figures whom I soon recognised to be Helen MacGregor and her two sons MacGregor himself arranged his attendants in the rear and requesting Mr Jarvie to dismount where the ascent became steep advanced slowly marshalling us forward at the head of the troop As we advanced we heard the wild notes of the bagpipes which lost their natural discord from being mingled with the dashing sound of the cascade When we came close the wife of MacGregor came forward to meet us Her dress was studiously arranged in a more feminine taste than it had been on the preceding day but her features wore the same lofty unbending and resolute character and as she folded my friend the Bailie in an unexpected and apparently unwelcome embrace I could perceive by the agitation of his wig his back and the calves of his legs that he felt much like to one who feels himself suddenly in the gripe of a shebear without being able to distinguish whether the animal is in kindness or in wrath
Kinsman she said you are welcome—and you too stranger she added releasing my alarmed companion who instinctively drew back and settled his wig and addressing herself to me—you also are welcome You came she added to our unhappy country when our bloods were chafed and our hands were red Excuse the rudeness that gave you a rough welcome and lay it upon the evil times and not upon us All this was said with the manners of a princess and in the tone and style of a court Nor was there the least tincture of that vulgarity which we naturally attach to the Lowland Scottish There was a strong provincial accentuation but otherwise the language rendered by Helen MacGregor out of the native and poetical Gaelic into English which she had acquired as we do learned tongues but had probably never heard applied to the mean purposes of ordinary life was graceful flowing and declamatory Her husband who had in his time played many parts used a much less elevated and emphatic dialect—but even his language rose in purity of expression as you may have remarked if I have been accurate in recording it when the affairs which he discussed were of an agitating and important nature and it appears to me in his case and in that of some other Highlanders whom I have known that when familiar and facetious they used the Lowland Scottish dialect—when serious and impassioned their thoughts arranged themselves in the idiom of their native language and in the latter case as they uttered the corresponding ideas in English the expressions sounded wild elevated and poetical In fact the language of passion is almost always pure as well as vehement and it is no uncommon thing to hear a Scotchman when overwhelmed by a countryman with a tone of bitter and fluent upbraiding reply by way of taunt to his adversary You have gotten to your English
Be this as it may the wife of MacGregor invited us to a refreshment spread out on the grass which abounded with all the good things their mountains could offer but was clouded by the dark and undisturbed gravity which sat on the brow of our hostess as well as by our deep and anxious recollection of what had taken place on the preceding day It was in vain that the leader exerted himself to excite mirth—a chill hung over our minds as if the feast had been funereal and every bosom felt light when it was ended
Adieu cousin she said to Mr Jarvie as we rose from the entertainment the best wish Helen MacGregor can give to a friend is that he may see her no more
The Bailie struggled to answer probably with some commonplace maxim of morality—but the calm and melancholy sternness of her countenance bore down and disconcerted the mechanical and formal importance of the magistrate He coughed—hemmed—bowed—and was silent
For you stranger she said I have a token from one whom you can never—
Helen interrupted MacGregor in a loud and stern voice what means this—have you forgotten the charge
MacGregor she replied I have forgotten nought that is fitting for me to remember It is not such hands as these and she stretched forth her long sinewy and bare arm that are fitting to convey lovetokens were the gift connected with aught but misery Young man she said presenting me with a ring which I well remembered as one of the few ornaments that Miss Vernon sometimes wore this comes from one whom you will never see more If it is a joyless token it is well fitted to pass through the hands of one to whom joy can never be known Her last words were—Let him forget me for ever
And can she I said almost without being conscious that I spoke suppose that is possible
All may be forgotten said the extraordinary female who addressed me—all—but the sense of dishonour and the desire of vengeance
Seid suas cried the MacGregor stamping with impatience
Strike up
The bagpipes sounded and with their thrilling and jarring tones cut short our conference Our leave of our hostess was taken by silent gestures and we resumed our journey with an additional proof on my part that I was beloved by Diana and was separated from her for ever
CHAPTER NINETEENTH
Farewell to the land where the clouds love to rest
Like the shroud of the dead on the mountains cold breast
To the cataracts roar where the eagles reply
And the lake her lone bosom expands to the sky
Our route lay through a dreary yet romantic country which the distress of my own mind prevented me from remarking particularly and which therefore I will not attempt to describe The lofty peak of Ben Lomond here the predominant monarch of the mountains lay on our right hand and served as a striking landmark I was not awakened from my apathy until after a long and toilsome walk we emerged through a pass in the hills and Loch Lomond opened before us I will spare you the attempt to describe what you would hardly comprehend without going to see it But certainly this noble lake boasting innumerable beautiful islands of every varying form and outline which fancy can frame—its northern extremity narrowing until it is lost among dusky and retreating mountains—while gradually widening as it extends to the southward it spreads its base around the indentures and promontories of a fair and fertile land affords one of the most surprising beautiful and sublime spectacles in nature The eastern side peculiarly rough and rugged was at this time the chief seat of MacGregor and his clan—to curb whom a small garrison had been stationed in a central position betwixt Loch Lomond and another lake The extreme strength of the country however with the numerous passes marshes caverns and other places of concealment or defence made the establishment of this little fort seem rather an acknowledgment of the danger than an effectual means of securing against it
On more than one occasion as well as on that which I witnessed the garrison suffered from the adventurous spirit of the outlaw and his followers These advantages were never sullied by ferocity when he himself was in command for equally goodtempered and sagacious he understood well the danger of incurring unnecessary odium I learned with pleasure that he had caused the captives of the preceding day to be liberated in safety and many traits of mercy and even of generosity are recorded of this remarkable man on similar occasions
A boat waited for us in a creek beneath a huge rock manned by four lusty Highland rowers and our host took leave of us with great cordiality and even affection Betwixt him and Mr Jarvie indeed there seemed to exist a degree of mutual regard which formed a strong contrast to their different occupations and habits After kissing each other very lovingly and when they were just in the act of parting the Bailie in the fulness of his heart and with a faltering voice assured his kinsman that if ever an hundred pund or even twa hundred would put him or his family in a settled way he need but just send a line to the SautMarket and Rob grasping his baskethilt with one hand and shaking Mr Jarvies heartily with the other protested that if ever anybody should affront his kinsman an he would but let him ken he would stow his lugs out of his head were he the best man in Glasgow
With these assurances of mutual aid and continued goodwill we bore away from the shore and took our course for the southwestern angle of the lake where it gives birth to the river Leven Rob Roy remained for some time standing on the rock from beneath which we had departed conspicuous by his long gun waving tartans and the single plume in his cap which in those days denoted the Highland gentleman and soldier although I observe that the present military taste has decorated the Highland bonnet with a quantity of black plumage resembling that which is borne before funerals At length as the distance increased between us we saw him turn and go slowly up the side of the hill followed by his immediate attendants or bodyguard
We performed our voyage for a long time in silence interrupted only by the Gaelic chant which one of the rowers sung in low irregular measure rising occasionally into a wild chorus in which the others joined
My own thoughts were sad enough—yet I felt something soothing in the magnificent scenery with which I was surrounded and thought in the enthusiasm of the moment that had my faith been that of Rome I could have consented to live and die a lonely hermit in one of the romantic and beautiful islands amongst which our boat glided
The Bailie had also his speculations but they were of somewhat a different complexion as I found when after about an hours silence during which he had been mentally engaged in the calculations necessary he undertook to prove the possibility of draining the lake and giving to plough and harrow many hundred ay many a thousand acres from whilk no man could get earthly gude eenow unless it were a gedd or a dish of perch now and then
A pike
Amidst a long discussion which he crammed into mine ear against the stomach of my sense I only remember that it was part of his project to preserve a portion of the lake just deep enough and broad enough for the purposes of watercarriage so that coalbarges and gabbards should pass as easily between Dumbarton and Glenfalloch as between Glasgow and Greenock
At length we neared our distant place of landing adjoining to the ruins of an ancient castle and just where the lake discharges its superfluous waters into the Leven There we found Dougal with the horses The Bailie had formed a plan with respect to the creature as well as upon the draining of the lake and perhaps in both cases with more regard to the utility than to the practical possibility of his scheme Dougal he said ye are a kindly creature and hae the sense and feeling o what is due to your betters—and Im een wae for you Dougal for it canna be but that in the life ye lead you suld get a Jeddart cast ae day suner or later I trust considering my services as a magistrate and my father the deacons afore me I hae interest eneugh in the council to gar them wink a wee at a waur faut than yours
The memory of Dunbars legal proceedings at Jedburgh is preserved in the proverbial phrase Jeddart Justice which signifies trial after execution—Minstrelsy of the Border Preface p lvi
Sae I hae been thinking that if ye will gang back to Glasgow wi us being a strongbackit creature ye might be employed in the warehouse till something better suld cast up
Her nainsell muckle obliged till the Bailies honour replied Dougal but teil be in her shanks fan she gangs on a causewayd street unless she be drawn up the Gallowgate wi tows as she was before
In fact I afterwards learned that Dougal had originally come to Glasgow as a prisoner from being concerned in some depredation but had somehow found such favour in the eyes of the jailor that with rather overweening confidence he had retained him in his service as one of the turnkeys a task which Dougal had discharged with sufficient fidelity so far as was known until overcome by his clannish prejudices on the unexpected appearance of his old leader
Astonished at receiving so round a refusal to so favourable an offer the Bailie turning to me observed that the creature was a naturalborn idiot I testified my own gratitude in a way which Dougal much better relished by slipping a couple of guineas into his hand He no sooner felt the touch of the gold than he sprung twice or thrice from the earth with the agility of a wild buck flinging out first one heel and then another in a manner which would have astonished a French dancingmaster He ran to the boatmen to show them the prize and a small gratuity made them take part in his raptures He then to use a favourite expression of the dramatic John Bunyan went on his way and I saw him no more
The Bailie and I mounted our horses and proceeded on the road to Glasgow When we had lost the view of the lake and its superb amphitheatre of mountains I could not help expressing with enthusiasm my sense of its natural beauties although I was conscious that Mr Jarvie was a very uncongenial spirit to communicate with on such a subject
Ye are a young gentleman he replied and an Englishman and a this may be very fine to you but for me wha am a plain man and ken something o the different values of land I wadna gie the finest sight we hae seen in the Hielands for the first keek o the Gorbals o Glasgow and if I were ance there it suldna be every fules errand begging your pardon Mr Francis that suld take me out o sight o Saint Mungos steeple again
The honest man had his wish for by dint of travelling very late we arrived at his own house that night or rather on the succeeding morning Having seen my worthy fellowtraveller safely consigned to the charge of the considerate and officious Mattie I proceeded to Mrs Flyters in whose house even at this unwonted hour light was still burning The door was opened by no less a person than Andrew Fairservice himself who upon the first sound of my voice set up a loud shout of joyful recognition and without uttering a syllable ran up stairs towards a parlour on the second floor from the windows of which the light proceeded Justly conceiving that he went to announce my return to the anxious Owen I followed him upon the foot Owen was not alone there was another in the apartment—it was my father
The first impulse was to preserve the dignity of his usual equanimity—Francis I am glad to see you The next was to embrace me tenderly—My dear—dear son—Owen secured one of my hands and wetted it with his tears while he joined in gratulating my return These are scenes which address themselves to the eye and to the heart rather than to the ear—My old eyelids still moisten at the recollection of our meeting but your kind and affectionate feelings can well imagine what I should find it impossible to describe
When the tumult of our joy was over I learnt that my father had arrived from Holland shortly after Owen had set off for Scotland Determined and rapid in all his movements he only stopped to provide the means of discharging the obligations incumbent on his house By his extensive resources with funds enlarged and credit fortified by eminent success in his continental speculation he easily accomplished what perhaps his absence alone rendered difficult and set out for Scotland to exact justice from Rashleigh Osbaldistone as well as to put order to his affairs in that country My fathers arrival in full credit and with the ample means of supporting his engagements honourably as well as benefiting his correspondents in future was a stunning blow to MacVittie and Company who had conceived his star set for ever Highly incensed at the usage his confidential clerk and agent had received at their hands Mr Osbaldistone refused every tender of apology and accommodation and having settled the balance of their account announced to them that with all its numerous contingent advantages that leaf of their ledger was closed for ever
While he enjoyed this triumph over false friends he was not a little alarmed on my account Owen good man had not supposed it possible that a journey of fifty or sixty miles which may be made with so much ease and safety in any direction from London could be attended with any particular danger But he caught alarm by sympathy from my father to whom the country and the lawless character of its inhabitants were better known
These apprehensions were raised to agony when a few hours before I arrived Andrew Fairservice made his appearance with a dismal and exaggerated account of the uncertain state in which he had left me The nobleman with whose troops he had been a sort of prisoner had after examination not only dismissed him but furnished him with the means of returning rapidly to Glasgow in order to announce to my friends my precarious and unpleasant situation
Andrew was one of those persons who have no objection to the sort of temporary attention and woeful importance which attaches itself to the bearer of bad tidings and had therefore by no means smoothed down his tale in the telling especially as the rich London merchant himself proved unexpectedly one of the auditors He went at great length into an account of the dangers I had escaped chiefly as he insinuated by means of his own experience exertion and sagacity
What was to come of me now when my better angel in his Andrews person was removed from my side it was he said sad and sair to conjecture that the Bailie was nae better than just naebody at a pinch or something waur for he was a conceited body—and Andrew hated conceit—but certainly atween the pistols and the carabines of the troopers that rappit aff the tane after the tother as fast as hail and the dirks and claymores o the Hielanders and the deep waters and weils o the Avondow it was to be thought there wad be a puir account of the young gentleman
This statement would have driven Owen to despair had he been alone and unsupported but my fathers perfect knowledge of mankind enabled him easily to appreciate the character of Andrew and the real amount of his intelligence Stripped of all exaggeration however it was alarming enough to a parent He determined to set out in person to obtain my liberty by ransom or negotiation and was busied with Owen till a late hour in order to get through some necessary correspondence and devolve on the latter some business which should be transacted during his absence and thus it chanced that I found them watchers
It was late ere we separated to rest and too impatient long to endure repose I was stirring early the next morning Andrew gave his attendance at my levee as in duty bound and instead of the scarecrow figure to which he had been reduced at Aberfoil now appeared in the attire of an undertaker a goodly suit namely of the deepest mourning It was not till after one or two queries which the rascal affected as long as he could to misunderstand that I found out he had thought it but decent to put on mourning on account of my inexpressible loss and as the broker at whose shop he had equipped himself declined to receive the goods again and as his own garments had been destroyed or carried off in my honours service doubtless I and my honourable father whom Providence had blessed wi the means wadna suffer a puir lad to sit down wi the loss a stand o claes was nae great matter to an Osbaldistone be praised fort especially to an old and attached servant o the house
As there was something of justice in Andrews plea of loss in my service his finesse succeeded and he came by a good suit of mourning with a beaver and all things conforming as the exterior signs of woe for a master who was alive and merry
My fathers first care when he arose was to visit Mr Jarvie for whose kindness he entertained the most grateful sentiments which he expressed in very few but manly and nervous terms He explained the altered state of his affairs and offered the Bailie on such terms as could not but be both advantageous and acceptable that part in his concerns which had been hitherto managed by MacVittie and Company The Bailie heartily congratulated my father and Owen on the changed posture of their affairs and without affecting to disclaim that he had done his best to serve them when matters looked otherwise he said He had only just acted as he wad be done by—that as to the extension of their correspondence he frankly accepted it with thanks Had MacVitties folk behaved like honest men he said he wad hae liked ill to hae come in ahint them and out afore them this gate But its otherwise and they maun een stand the loss
The Bailie then pulled me by the sleeve into a corner and after again cordially wishing me joy proceeded in rather an embarrassed tone—I wad heartily wish Maister Francis there suld be as little said as possible about the queer things we saw up yonder awa Theres nae gude unless ane were judicially examinate to say onything about that awfu job o Morris—and the members o the council wadna think it creditable in ane of their body to be fighting wi a wheen Hielandmen and singeing their plaidens—And abune a though I am a decent sponsible man when I am on my right end I canna but think I maun hae made a queer figure without my hat and my periwig hinging by the middle like bawdrons or a cloak flung ower a cloakpin Bailie Grahame wad hae an unco hair in my neck an he got that tale by the end
I could not suppress a smile when I recollected the Bailies situation although I certainly thought it no laughing matter at the time The goodnatured merchant was a little confused but smiled also when he shook his head—I see how it is—I see how it is But say naething about it—theres a gude callant and charge that langtongued conceited upsetting serving man o yours to sae naething neither I wadna for ever sae muckle that even the lassock Mattie kend onything about it I wad never hear an end ot
He was obviously relieved from his impending fears of ridicule when I told him it was my fathers intention to leave Glasgow almost immediately Indeed he had now no motive for remaining since the most valuable part of the papers carried off by Rashleigh had been recovered For that portion which he had converted into cash and expended in his own or on political intrigues there was no mode of recovering it but by a suit at law which was forthwith commenced and proceeded as our lawagents assured us with all deliberate speed
We spent accordingly one hospitable day with the Bailie and took leave of him as this narrative now does He continued to grow in wealth honour and credit and actually rose to the highest civic honours in his native city About two years after the period I have mentioned he tired of his bachelor life and promoted Mattie from her wheel by the kitchen fire to the upper end of his table in the character of Mrs Jarvie Bailie Grahame the MacVitties and others for all men have their enemies especially in the council of a royal burgh ridiculed this transformation But said Mr Jarvie let them say their say Ill neer fash mysell nor lose my liking for sae feckless a matter as a nine days clash My honest father the deacon had a byword
Brent brow and lily skin
A loving heart and a leal within
Is better than gowd or gentle kin
Besides as he always concluded Mattie was nae ordinary lassockquean she was akin to the Laird o Limmerfield
Whether it was owing to her descent or her good gifts I do not presume to decide but Mattie behaved excellently in her exaltation and relieved the apprehensions of some of the Bailies friends who had deemed his experiment somewhat hazardous I do not know that there was any other incident of his quiet and useful life worthy of being particularly recorded
CHAPTER TWENTIETH
Come ye hither my six good sons
Gallant men I trow ye be
How many of you my children dear
Will stand by that good Earl and me
Five of them did answer make—
Five of them spoke hastily
O father till the day we die
Well stand by that good Earl and thee
The Rising in the North
On the morning when we were to depart from Glasgow Andrew Fairservice bounced into my apartment like a madman jumping up and down and singing with more vehemence than tune
The kilns on fire—the kilns on fire—
The kilns on fire—shes a in a lowe
With some difficulty I prevailed on him to cease his confounded clamour and explain to me what the matter was He was pleased to inform me as if he had been bringing the finest news imaginable that the Hielands were clean broken out every man o them and that Rob Roy and a his breekless bands wad be down upon Glasgow or twentyfour hours o the clock gaed round
Hold your tongue said I you rascal You must be drunk or mad and if there is any truth in your news is it a singing matter you scoundrel
Drunk or mad nae doubt replied Andrew dauntlessly anes aye drunk or mad if he tells what grit folks dinna like to hear—Sing Od the clans will make us sing on the wrang side o our mouth if we are sae drunk or mad as to bide their coming
I rose in great haste and found my father and Owen also on foot and in considerable alarm
Andrews news proved but too true in the main The great rebellion which agitated Britain in the year 1715 had already broken out by the unfortunate Earl of Mars setting up the standard of the Stuart family in an illomened hour to the ruin of many honourable families both in England and Scotland The treachery of some of the Jacobite agents Rashleigh among the rest and the arrest of others had made George the Firsts Government acquainted with the extensive ramifications of a conspiracy long prepared and which at last exploded prematurely and in a part of the kingdom too distant to have any vital effect upon the country which however was plunged into much confusion
This great public event served to confirm and elucidate the obscure explanations I had received from MacGregor and I could easily see why the westland clans who were brought against him should have waived their private quarrel in consideration that they were all shortly to be engaged in the same public cause It was a more melancholy reflection to my mind that Diana Vernon was the wife of one of those who were most active in turning the world upside down and that she was herself exposed to all the privations and perils of her husbands hazardous trade
We held an immediate consultation on the measures we were to adopt in this crisis and acquiesced in my fathers plan that we should instantly get the necessary passports and make the best of our way to London I acquainted my father with my wish to offer my personal service to the Government in any volunteer corps several being already spoken of He readily acquiesced in my proposal for though he disliked war as a profession yet upon principle no man would have exposed his life more willingly in defence of civil and religious liberty
We travelled in haste and in peril through Dumfriesshire and the neighbouring counties of England In this quarter gentlemen of the Tory interest were already in motion mustering men and horses while the Whigs assembled themselves in the principal towns armed the inhabitants and prepared for civil war We narrowly escaped being stopped on more occasions than one and were often compelled to take circuitous routes to avoid the points where forces were assembling
When we reached London we immediately associated with those bankers and eminent merchants who agreed to support the credit of Government and to meet that run upon the funds on which the conspirators had greatly founded their hopes of furthering their undertaking by rendering the Government as it were bankrupt My father was chosen one of the members of this formidable body of the monied interest as all had the greatest confidence in his zeal skill and activity He was also the organ by which they communicated with Government and contrived from funds belonging to his own house or over which he had command to find purchasers for a quantity of the national stock which was suddenly flung into the market at a depreciated price when the rebellion broke out I was not idle myself but obtained a commission and levied at my fathers expense about two hundred men with whom I joined General Carpenters army
The rebellion in the meantime had extended itself to England The unfortunate Earl of Derwentwater had taken arms in the cause along with General Foster My poor uncle Sir Hildebrand whose estate was reduced to almost nothing by his own carelessness and the expense and debauchery of his sons and household was easily persuaded to join that unfortunate standard Before doing so however he exhibited a degree of precaution of which no one could have suspected him—he made his will
By this document he devised his estates at Osbaldistone Hall and so forth to his sons successively and their male heirs until he came to Rashleigh whom on account of the turn he had lately taken in politics he detested with all his might—he cut him off with a shilling and settled the estate on me as his next heir I had always been rather a favourite of the old gentleman but it is probable that confident in the number of gigantic youths who now armed around him he considered the destination as likely to remain a dead letter which he inserted chiefly to show his displeasure at Rashleighs treachery both public and domestic There was an article by which he bequeathed to the niece of his late wife Diana Vernon now Lady Diana Vernon Beauchamp some diamonds belonging to her late aunt and a great silver ewer having the arms of Vernon and Osbaldistone quarterly engraven upon it
But Heaven had decreed a more speedy extinction of his numerous and healthy lineage than most probably he himself had reckoned on In the very first muster of the conspirators at a place called GreenRigg Thorncliff Osbaldistone quarrelled about precedence with a gentleman of the Northumbrian border to the full as fierce and intractable as himself In spite of all remonstrances they gave their commander a specimen of how far their discipline might be relied upon by fighting it out with their rapiers and my kinsman was killed on the spot His death was a great loss to Sir Hildebrand for notwithstanding his infernal temper he had a grain or two of more sense than belonged to the rest of the brotherhood Rashleigh always excepted
Perceval the sot died also in his calling He had a wager with another gentleman who from his exploits in that line had acquired the formidable epithet of Brandy Swalewell which should drink the largest cup of strong liquor when King James was proclaimed by the insurgents at Morpeth The exploit was something enormous I forget the exact quantity of brandy which Percie swallowed but it occasioned a fever of which he expired at the end of three days with the word water water perpetually on his tongue
Dickon broke his neck near Warrington Bridge in an attempt to show off a foundered bloodmare which he wished to palm upon a Manchester merchant who had joined the insurgents He pushed the animal at a fivebarred gate she fell in the leap and the unfortunate jockey lost his life
Wilfred the fool as sometimes befalls had the best fortune of the family He was slain at Proud Preston in Lancashire on the day that General Carpenter attacked the barricades fighting with great bravery though I have heard he was never able exactly to comprehend the cause of quarrel and did not uniformly remember on which kings side he was engaged John also behaved very boldly in the same engagement and received several wounds of which he was not happy enough to die on the spot
Old Sir Hildebrand entirely brokenhearted by these successive losses became by the next days surrender one of the unhappy prisoners and was lodged in Newgate with his wounded son John
I was now released from my military duty and lost no time therefore in endeavouring to relieve the distresses of these new relations My fathers interest with Government and the general compassion excited by a parent who had sustained the successive loss of so many sons within so short a time would have prevented my uncle and cousin from being brought to trial for high treason But their doom was given forth from a greater tribunal John died of his wounds in Newgate recommending to me in his last breath a cast of hawks which he had at the Hall and a black spaniel bitch called Lucy
My poor uncle seemed beaten down to the very earth by his family calamities and the circumstances in which he unexpectedly found himself He said little but seemed grateful for such attentions as circumstances permitted me to show him I did not witness his meeting with my father for the first time for so many years and under circumstances so melancholy but judging from my fathers extreme depression of spirits it must have been melancholy in the last degree Sir Hildebrand spoke with great bitterness against Rashleigh now his only surviving child laid upon him the ruin of his house and the deaths of all his brethren and declared that neither he nor they would have plunged into political intrigue but for that very member of his family who had been the first to desert them He once or twice mentioned Diana always with great affection and once he said while I sate by his bedside—Nevoy since Thorncliff and all of them are dead I am sorry you cannot have her
The expression affected me much at the time for it was a usual custom of the poor old baronets when joyously setting forth upon the mornings chase to distinguish Thorncliff who was a favourite while he summoned the rest more generally and the loud jolly tone in which he used to hollo Call Thornie—call all of them contrasted sadly with the woebegone and selfabandoning note in which he uttered the disconsolate words which I have above quoted He mentioned the contents of his will and supplied me with an authenticated copy—the original he had deposited with my old acquaintance Mr Justice Inglewood who dreaded by no one and confided in by all as a kind of neutral person had become for aught I know the depositary of half the wills of the fighting men of both factions in the county of Northumberland
The greater part of my uncles last hours were spent in the discharge of the religious duties of his church in which he was directed by the chaplain of the Sardinian ambassador for whom with some difficulty we obtained permission to visit him I could not ascertain by my own observation or through the medical attendants that Sir Hildebrand Osbaldistone died of any formed complaint bearing a name in the science of medicine He seemed to me completely worn out and broken down by fatigue of body and distress of mind and rather ceased to exist than died of any positive struggle—just as a vessel buffeted and tossed by a succession of tempestuous gales her timbers overstrained and her joints loosened will sometimes spring a leak and founder when there are no apparent causes for her destruction
It was a remarkable circumstance that my father after the last duties were performed to his brother appeared suddenly to imbibe a strong anxiety that I should act upon the will and represent his fathers house which had hitherto seemed to be the thing in the world which had least charms for him But formerly he had been like the fox in the fable contemning what was beyond his reach and moreover I doubt not that the excessive dislike which he entertained against Rashleigh now Sir Rashleigh Osbaldistone who loudly threatened to attack his father Sir Hildebrands will and settlement corroborated my fathers desire to maintain it
He had been most unjustly disinherited he said by his own father—his brothers will had repaired the disgrace if not the injury by leaving the wreck of his property to Frank the natural heir and he was determined the bequest should take effect
In the meantime Rashleigh was not altogether a contemptible personage as an opponent The information he had given to Government was critically welltimed and his extreme plausibility with the extent of his intelligence and the artful manner in which he contrived to assume both merit and influence had to a certain extent procured him patrons among Ministers We were already in the full tide of litigation with him on the subject of his pillaging the firm of Osbaldistone and Tresham and judging from the progress we made in that comparatively simple lawsuit there was a chance that this second course of litigation might be drawn out beyond the period of all our natural lives
To avert these delays as much as possible my father by the advice of his counsel learned in the law paid off and vested in my person the rights to certain large mortgages affecting Osbaldistone Hall Perhaps however the opportunity to convert a great share of the large profits which accrued from the rapid rise of the funds upon the suppression of the rebellion and the experience he had so lately had of the perils of commerce encouraged him to realise in this manner a considerable part of his property At any rate it so chanced that instead of commanding me to the desk as I fully expected having intimated my willingness to comply with his wishes however they might destine me I received his directions to go down to Osbaldistone Hall and take possession of it as the heir and representative of the family I was directed to apply to Squire Inglewood for the copy of my uncles will deposited with him and take all necessary measures to secure that possession which sages say makes nine points of the law
At another time I should have been delighted with this change of destination But now Osbaldistone Hall was accompanied with many painful recollections Still however I thought that in that neighbourhood only I was likely to acquire some information respecting the fate of Diana Vernon I had every reason to fear it must be far different from what I could have wished it But I could obtain no precise information on the subject
It was in vain that I endeavoured by such acts of kindness as their situation admitted to conciliate the confidence of some distant relations who were among the prisoners in Newgate A pride which I could not condemn and a natural suspicion of the Whig Frank Osbaldistone cousin to the doubledistilled traitor Rashleigh closed every heart and tongue and I only received thanks cold and extorted in exchange for such benefits as I had power to offer The arm of the law was also gradually abridging the numbers of those whom I endeavoured to serve and the hearts of the survivors became gradually more contracted towards all whom they conceived to be concerned with the existing Government As they were led gradually and by detachments to execution those who survived lost interest in mankind and the desire of communicating with them I shall long remember what one of them Ned Shafton by name replied to my anxious inquiry whether there was any indulgence I could procure him Mr Frank Osbaldistone I must suppose you mean me kindly and therefore I thank you But by G— men cannot be fattened like poultry when they see their neighbours carried off day by day to the place of execution and know that their own necks are to be twisted round in their turn
Upon the whole therefore I was glad to escape from London from Newgate and from the scenes which both exhibited to breathe the free air of Northumberland Andrew Fairservice had continued in my service more from my fathers pleasure than my own At present there seemed a prospect that his local acquaintance with Osbaldistone Hall and its vicinity might be useful and of course he accompanied me on my journey and I enjoyed the prospect of getting rid of him by establishing him in his old quarters I cannot conceive how he could prevail upon my father to interest himself in him unless it were by the art which he possessed in no inconsiderable degree of affecting an extreme attachment to his master which theoretical attachment he made compatible in practice with playing all manner of tricks without scruple providing only against his master being cheated by any one but himself
We performed our journey to the North without any remarkable adventure and we found the country so lately agitated by rebellion now peaceful and in good order The nearer we approached to Osbaldistone Hall the more did my heart sink at the thought of entering that deserted mansion so that in order to postpone the evil day I resolved first to make my visit at Mr Justice Inglewoods
That venerable person had been much disturbed with thoughts of what he had been and what he now was and natural recollections of the past had interfered considerably with the active duty which in his present situation might have been expected from him He was fortunate however in one respect he had got rid of his clerk Jobson who had finally left him in dudgeon at his inactivity and become legal assistant to a certain Squire Standish who had lately commenced operations in those parts as a justice with a zeal for King George and the Protestant succession which very different from the feelings of his old patron Mr Jobson had more occasion to restrain within the bounds of the law than to stimulate to exertion
Old Justice Inglewood received me with great courtesy and readily exhibited my uncles will which seemed to be without a flaw He was for some time in obvious distress how he should speak and act in my presence but when he found that though a supporter of the present Government upon principle I was disposed to think with pity on those who had opposed it on a mistaken feeling of loyalty and duty his discourse became a very diverting medley of what he had done and what he had left undone—the pains he had taken to prevent some squires from joining and to wink at the escape of others who had been so unlucky as to engage in the affair
We were teteatete and several bumpers had been quaffed by the Justices special desire when on a sudden he requested me to fill a bona fide brimmer to the health of poor dear Die Vernon the rose of the wilderness the heathbell of Cheviot and the blossom thats transplanted to an infernal convent
Is not Miss Vernon married then I exclaimed in great astonishment I thought his Excellency—
Pooh pooh his Excellency and his Lordships all a humbug now you know—mere St Germains titles—Earl of Beauchamp and ambassador plenipotentiary from France when the Duke Regent of Orleans scarce knew that he lived I dare say But you must have seen old Sir Frederick Vernon at the Hall when he played the part of Father Vaughan
Good Heavens then Vaughan was Miss Vernons father
To be sure he was said the Justice coolly—theres no use in keeping the secret now for he must be out of the country by this time—otherwise no doubt it would be my duty to apprehend him—Come off with your bumper to my dear lost Die
And let her health go round around around
And let her health go round
For though your stocking be of silk
Your knees near kiss the ground aground aground
This pithy verse occurs it is believed in Shadwells play of Bury Fair
I was unable as the reader may easily conceive to join in the Justices jollity My head swam with the shock I had received I never heard I said that Miss Vernons father was living
It was not our Governments fault that he is replied Inglewood for the devil a man there is whose head would have brought more money He was condemned to death for Fenwicks plot and was thought to have had some hand in the Knightsbridge affair in King Williams time and as he had married in Scotland a relation of the house of Breadalbane he possessed great influence with all their chiefs There was a talk of his being demanded to be given up at the peace of Ryswick but he shammed ill and his death was given publicly out in the French papers But when he came back here on the old score we old cavaliers knew him well—that is to say I knew him not as being a cavalier myself but no information being lodged against the poor gentleman and my memory being shortened by frequent attacks of the gout I could not have sworn to him you know
Was he then not known at Osbaldistone Hall I inquired
To none but to his daughter the old knight and Rashleigh who had got at that secret as he did at every one else and held it like a twisted cord about poor Dies neck I have seen her one hundred times she would have spit at him if it had not been fear for her father whose life would not have been worth five minutes purchase if he had been discovered to the Government—But dont mistake me Mr Osbaldistone I say the Government is a good a gracious and a just Government and if it has hanged onehalf of the rebels poor things all will acknowledge they would not have been touched had they staid peaceably at home
Waiving the discussion of these political questions I brought back Mr Inglewood to his subject and I found that Diana having positively refused to marry any of the Osbaldistone family and expressed her particular detestation of Rashleigh he had from that time begun to cool in zeal for the cause of the Pretender to which as the youngest of six brethren and bold artful and able he had hitherto looked forward as the means of making his fortune Probably the compulsion with which he had been forced to render up the spoils which he had abstracted from my fathers countinghouse by the united authority of Sir Frederick Vernon and the Scottish Chiefs had determined his resolution to advance his progress by changing his opinions and betraying his trust Perhaps also—for few men were better judges where his interest was concerned—he considered their means and talents to be as they afterwards proved greatly inadequate to the important task of overthrowing an established Government Sir Frederick Vernon or as he was called among the Jacobites his Excellency Viscount Beauchamp had with his daughter some difficulty in escaping the consequences of Rashleighs information Here Mr Inglewoods information was at fault but he did not doubt since we had not heard of Sir Frederick being in the hands of the Government he must be by this time abroad where agreeably to the cruel bond he had entered into with his brotherinlaw Diana since she had declined to select a husband out of the Osbaldistone family must be confined to a convent The original cause of this singular agreement Mr Inglewood could not perfectly explain but he understood it was a family compact entered into for the purpose of securing to Sir Frederick the rents of the remnant of his large estates which had been vested in the Osbaldistone family by some legal manoeuvre in short a family compact in which like many of those undertaken at that time of day the feelings of the principal parties interested were no more regarded than if they had been a part of the livestock upon the lands
I cannot tell—such is the waywardness of the human heart—whether this intelligence gave me joy or sorrow It seemed to me that in the knowledge that Miss Vernon was eternally divided from me not by marriage with another but by seclusion in a convent in order to fulfil an absurd bargain of this kind my regret for her loss was aggravated rather than diminished I became dull lowspirited absent and unable to support the task of conversing with Justice Inglewood who in his turn yawned and proposed to retire early I took leave of him overnight determining the next day before breakfast to ride over to Osbaldistone Hall
Mr Inglewood acquiesced in my proposal It would be well he said that I made my appearance there before I was known to be in the country the more especially as Sir Rashleigh Osbaldistone was now he understood at Mr Jobsons house hatching some mischief doubtless They were fit company he added for each other Sir Rashleigh having lost all right to mingle in the society of men of honour but it was hardly possible two such d—d rascals should collogue together without mischief to honest people
He concluded by earnestly recommending a toast and tankard and an attack upon his venison pasty before I set out in the morning just to break the cold air on the words
CHAPTER TWENTYFIRST
His masters gone and no one now
Dwells in the halls of Ivor
Men dogs and horses all are dead
He is the sole survivor
Wordsworth
There are few more melancholy sensations than those with which we regard scenes of past pleasure when altered and deserted In my ride to Osbaldistone Hall I passed the same objects which I had seen in company with Miss Vernon on the day of our memorable ride from Inglewood Place Her spirit seemed to keep me company on the way and when I approached the spot where I had first seen her I almost listened for the cry of the hounds and the notes of the horn and strained my eye on the vacant space as if to descry the fair huntress again descend like an apparition from the hill But all was silent and all was solitary When I reached the Hall the closed doors and windows the grassgrown pavement the courts which were now so silent presented a strong contrast to the gay and bustling scene I had so often seen them exhibit when the merry hunters were going forth to their morning sport or returning to the daily festival The joyous bark of the foxhounds as they were uncoupled the cries of the huntsmen the clang of the horses hoofs the loud laugh of the old knight at the head of his strong and numerous descendants were all silenced now and for ever
While I gazed round the scene of solitude and emptiness I was inexpressibly affected even by recollecting those whom when alive I had no reason to regard with affection But the thought that so many youths of goodly presence warm with life health and confidence were within so short a time cold in the grave by various yet all violent and unexpected modes of death afforded a picture of mortality at which the mind trembled It was little consolation to me that I returned a proprietor to the halls which I had left almost like a fugitive My mind was not habituated to regard the scenes around as my property and I felt myself an usurper at least an intruding stranger and could hardly divest myself of the idea that some of the bulky forms of my deceased kinsmen were like the gigantic spectres of a romance to appear in the gateway and dispute my entrance
While I was engaged in these sad thoughts my follower Andrew whose feelings were of a very different nature exerted himself in thundering alternately on every door in the building calling at the same time for admittance in a tone so loud as to intimate that he at least was fully sensible of his newly acquired importance as squire of the body to the new lord of the manor At length timidly and reluctantly Anthony Syddall my uncles aged butler and majordomo presented himself at a lower window well fenced with iron bars and inquired our business
We are come to tak your charge aff your hand my auld friend said Andrew Fairservice ye may gie up your keys as sune as ye like—ilka dog has his day Ill tak the plate and napery aff your hand Ye hae had your ain time ot Mr Syddall but ilka bean has its black and ilka path has its puddle and it will just set you henceforth to sit at the boardend as weel as it did Andrew lang syne
Checking with some difficulty the forwardness of my follower I explained to Syddall the nature of my right and the title I had to demand admittance into the Hall as into my own property The old man seemed much agitated and distressed and testified manifest reluctance to give me entrance although it was couched in a humble and submissive tone I allowed for the agitation of natural feelings which really did the old man honour but continued peremptory in my demand of admittance explaining to him that his refusal would oblige me to apply for Mr Inglewoods warrant and a constable
We are come from Mr Justice Inglewoods this morning said Andrew to enforce the menace—and I saw Archie Rutledge the constable as I came up by—the countrys no to be lawless as it has been Mr Syddall letting rebels and papists gang on as they best listed
The threat of the law sounded dreadful in the old mans ears conscious as he was of the suspicion under which he himself lay from his religion and his devotion to Sir Hildebrand and his sons He undid with fear and trembling one of the postern entrances which was secured with many a bolt and bar and humbly hoped that I would excuse him for fidelity in the discharge of his duty—I reassured him and told him I had the better opinion of him for his caution
Sae have not I said Andrew Syddall is an auld sneckdrawer he wadna be looking as white as a sheet and his knees knocking thegither unless it were for something mair than hes like to tell us
Lord forgive you Mr Fairservice replied the butler to say such things of an old friend and fellowservant—Where—following me humbly along the passage—where would it be your honours pleasure to have a fire lighted I fear me you will find the house very dull and dreary—But perhaps you mean to ride back to Inglewood Place to dinner
Light a fire in the library I replied
In the library answered the old man—nobody has sat there this many a day and the room smokes for the daws have built in the chimney this spring and there were no young men about the Hall to pull them down
Our ain reekes better than other folks fire said Andrew His honour likes the library—hes nane o your Papishers that delight in blinded ignorance Mr Syddall
Very reluctantly as it appeared to me the butler led the way to the library and contrary to what he had given me to expect the interior of the apartment looked as if it had been lately arranged and made more comfortable than usual There was a fire in the grate which burned clearly notwithstanding what Syddall had reported of the vent Taking up the tongs as if to arrange the wood but rather perhaps to conceal his own confusion the butler observed it was burning clear now but had smoked woundily in the morning
Wishing to be alone till I recovered myself from the first painful sensations which everything around me recalled I desired old Syddall to call the landsteward who lived at about a quarter of a mile from the Hall He departed with obvious reluctance I next ordered Andrew to procure the attendance of a couple of stout fellows upon whom he could rely the population around being Papists and Sir Rashleigh who was capable of any desperate enterprise being in the neighbourhood Andrew Fairservice undertook this task with great cheerfulness and promised to bring me up from TrinlayKnowe twa trueblue Presbyterians like himself that would face and outface baith the Pope the Devil and the Pretender—and blythe will I be o their company mysell for the very last night that I was at Osbaldistone Hall the blight be on ilka blossom in my bit yard if I didna see that very picture pointing to the fulllength portrait of Miss Vernons grandfather walking by moonlight in the garden I tauld your honour I was fleyed wi a bogle that night but ye wadna listen to me—I aye thought there was witchcraft and deevilry amang the Papishers but I neer sawt wi bodily een till that awfu night
Get along sir said I and bring the fellows you talk of and see they have more sense than yourself and are not frightened at their own shadow
I hae been counted as gude a man as my neighbours ere now said Andrew petulantly but I dinna pretend to deal wi evil spirits And so he made his exit as Wardlaw the landsteward made his appearance
He was a man of sense and honesty without whose careful management my uncle would have found it difficult to have maintained himself a housekeeper so long as he did He examined the nature of my right of possession carefully and admitted it candidly To any one else the succession would have been a poor one so much was the land encumbered with debt and mortgage Most of these however were already vested in my fathers person and he was in a train of acquiring the rest his large gains by the recent rise of the funds having made it a matter of ease and convenience for him to pay off the debt which affected his patrimony
I transacted much necessary business with Mr Wardlaw and detained him to dine with me We preferred taking our repast in the library although Syddall strongly recommended our removing to the stonehall which he had put in order for the occasion Meantime Andrew made his appearance with his trueblue recruits whom he recommended in the highest terms as sober decent men weel founded in doctrinal points and above all as bold as lions I ordered them something to drink and they left the room I observed old Syddall shake his head as they went out and insisted upon knowing the reason
I maybe cannot expect he said that your honour should put confidence in what I say but it is Heavens truth for all that—Ambrose Wingfield is as honest a man as lives but if there is a false knave in the country it is his brother Lancie—the whole country knows him to be a spy for Clerk Jobson on the poor gentlemen that have been in trouble—But hes a dissenter and I suppose thats enough nowadays
Having thus far given vent to his feelings—to which however I was little disposed to pay attention—and having placed the wine on the table the old butler left the apartment
Mr Wardlaw having remained with me until the evening was somewhat advanced at length bundled up his papers and removed himself to his own habitation leaving me in that confused state of mind in which we can hardly say whether we desire company or solitude I had not however the choice betwixt them for I was left alone in the room of all others most calculated to inspire me with melancholy reflections
As twilight was darkening the apartment Andrew had the sagacity to advance his head at the door—not to ask if I wished for lights but to recommend them as a measure of precaution against the bogles which still haunted his imagination I rejected his proffer somewhat peevishly trimmed the woodfire and placing myself in one of the large leathern chairs which flanked the old Gothic chimney I watched unconsciously the bickering of the blaze which I had fostered And this said I alone is the progress and the issue of human wishes Nursed by the merest trifles they are first kindled by fancy—nay are fed upon the vapour of hope till they consume the substance which they inflame and man and his hopes passions and desires sink into a worthless heap of embers and ashes
There was a deep sigh from the opposite side of the room which seemed to reply to my reflections I started up in amazement—Diana Vernon stood before me resting on the arm of a figure so strongly resembling that of the portrait so often mentioned that I looked hastily at the frame expecting to see it empty My first idea was either that I had gone suddenly distracted or that the spirits of the dead had arisen and been placed before me A second glance convinced me of my being in my senses and that the forms which stood before me were real and substantial It was Diana herself though paler and thinner than her former self and it was no tenant of the grave who stood beside her but Vaughan or rather Sir Frederick Vernon in a dress made to imitate that of his ancestor to whose picture his countenance possessed a family resemblance He was the first that spoke for Diana kept her eyes fast fixed on the ground and astonishment actually riveted my tongue to the roof of my mouth
We are your suppliants Mr Osbaldistone he said and we claim the refuge and protection of your roof till we can pursue a journey where dungeons and death gape for me at every step
Surely I articulated with great difficulty—Miss Vernon cannot suppose—you sir cannot believe that I have forgot your interference in my difficulties or that I am capable of betraying any one much less you
I know it said Sir Frederick yet it is with the most inexpressible reluctance that I impose on you a confidence disagreeable perhaps—certainly dangerous—and which I would have specially wished to have conferred on some one else But my fate which has chased me through a life of perils and escapes is now pressing me hard and I have no alternative
At this moment the door opened and the voice of the officious Andrew was heard—Am bringin in the caunles—Ye can light them gin ye like—Can do is easy carried about wi ane
I ran to the door which as I hoped I reached in time to prevent his observing who were in the apartment I turned him out with hasty violence shut the door after him and locked it—then instantly remembering his two companions below knowing his talkative humour and recollecting Syddalls remark that one of them was supposed to be a spy I followed him as fast as I could to the servants hall in which they were assembled Andrews tongue was loud as I opened the door but my unexpected appearance silenced him
What is the matter with you you fool said I you stare and look wild as if you had seen a ghost
N—n—no—nothing said Andrew—but your worship was pleased to be hasty
Because you disturbed me out of a sound sleep you fool Syddall tells me he cannot find beds for these good fellows tonight and Mr Wardlaw thinks there will be no occasion to detain them Here is a crownpiece for them to drink my health and thanks for their goodwill You will leave the Hall immediately my good lads
The men thanked me for my bounty took the silver and withdrew apparently unsuspicious and contented I watched their departure until I was sure they could have no further intercourse that night with honest Andrew And so instantly had I followed on his heels that I thought he could not have had time to speak two words with them before I interrupted him But it is wonderful what mischief may be done by only two words On this occasion they cost two lives
Having made these arrangements the best which occurred to me upon the pressure of the moment to secure privacy for my guests I returned to report my proceedings and added that I had desired Syddall to answer every summons concluding that it was by his connivance they had been secreted in the Hall Diana raised her eyes to thank me for the caution
You now understand my mystery she said—you know doubtless how near and dear that relative is who has so often found shelter here and will be no longer surprised that Rashleigh having such a secret at his command should rule me with a rod of iron
Her father added that it was their intention to trouble me with their presence as short a time as was possible
I entreated the fugitives to waive every consideration but what affected their safety and to rely on my utmost exertions to promote it This led to an explanation of the circumstances under which they stood
I always suspected Rashleigh Osbaldistone said Sir Frederick but his conduct towards my unprotected child which with difficulty I wrung from her and his treachery in your fathers affairs made me hate and despise him In our last interview I concealed not my sentiments as I should in prudence have attempted to do and in resentment of the scorn with which I treated him he added treachery and apostasy to his catalogue of crimes I at that time fondly hoped that his defection would be of little consequence The Earl of Mar had a gallant army in Scotland and Lord Derwentwater with Forster Kenmure Winterton and others were assembling forces on the Border As my connections with these English nobility and gentry were extensive it was judged proper that I should accompany a detachment of Highlanders who under Brigadier MacIntosh of Borlum crossed the Firth of Forth traversed the low country of Scotland and united themselves on the Borders with the English insurgents My daughter accompanied me through the perils and fatigues of a march so long and difficult
And she will never leave her dear father exclaimed Miss Vernon clinging fondly to his arm
I had hardly joined our English friends when I became sensible that our cause was lost Our numbers diminished instead of increasing nor were we joined by any except of our own persuasion The Tories of the High Church remained in general undecided and at length we were cooped up by a superior force in the little town of Preston We defended ourselves resolutely for one day On the next the hearts of our leaders failed and they resolved to surrender at discretion To yield myself up on such terms were to have laid my head on the block About twenty or thirty gentlemen were of my mind we mounted our horses and placed my daughter who insisted on sharing my fate in the centre of our little party My companions struck with her courage and filial piety declared that they would die rather than leave her behind We rode in a body down a street called Fishergate which leads to a marshy ground or meadow extending to the river Ribble through which one of our party promised to show us a good ford This marsh had not been strongly invested by the enemy so that we had only an affair with a patrol of Honeywoods dragoons whom we dispersed and cut to pieces We crossed the river gained the high road to Liverpool and then dispersed to seek several places of concealment and safety My fortune led me to Wales where there are many gentlemen of my religious and political opinions I could not however find a safe opportunity of escaping by sea and found myself obliged again to draw towards the North A welltried friend has appointed to meet me in this neighbourhood and guide me to a seaport on the Solway where a sloop is prepared to carry me from my native country for ever As Osbaldistone Hall was for the present uninhabited and under the charge of old Syddall who had been our confidant on former occasions we drew to it as to a place of known and secure refuge I resumed a dress which had been used with good effect to scare the superstitious rustics or domestics who chanced at any time to see me and we expected from time to time to hear by Syddall of the arrival of our friendly guide when your sudden coming hither and occupying this apartment laid us under the necessity of submitting to your mercy
Thus ended Sir Fredericks story whose tale sounded to me like one told in a vision and I could hardly bring myself to believe that I saw his daughters form once more before me in flesh and blood though with diminished beauty and sunk spirits The buoyant vivacity with which she had resisted every touch of adversity had now assumed the air of composed and submissive but dauntless resolution and constancy Her father though aware and jealous of the effect of her praises on my mind could not forbear expatiating upon them
She has endured trials he said which might have dignified the history of a martyr—she has faced danger and death in various shapes—she has undergone toil and privation from which men of the strongest frame would have shrunk—she has spent the day in darkness and the night in vigil and has never breathed a murmur of weakness or complaint In a word Mr Osbaldistone he concluded she is a worthy offering to that God to whom crossing himself I shall dedicate her as all that is left dear or precious to Frederick Vernon
There was a silence after these words of which I well understood the mournful import The father of Diana was still as anxious to destroy my hopes of being united to her now as he had shown himself during our brief meeting in Scotland
We will now said he to his daughter intrude no farther on Mr Osbaldistones time since we have acquainted him with the circumstances of the miserable guests who claim his protection
I requested them to stay and offered myself to leave the apartment Sir Frederick observed that my doing so could not but excite my attendants suspicion and that the place of their retreat was in every respect commodious and furnished by Syddall with all they could possibly want We might perhaps have even contrived to remain there concealed from your observation but it would have been unjust to decline the most absolute reliance on your honour
You have done me but justice I replied—To you Sir Frederick I am but little known but Miss Vernon I am sure will bear me witness that—
I do not want my daughters evidence he said politely but yet with an air calculated to prevent my addressing myself to Diana since I am prepared to believe all that is worthy of Mr Francis Osbaldistone Permit us now to retire we must take repose when we can since we are absolutely uncertain when we may be called upon to renew our perilous journey
He drew his daughters arm within his and with a profound reverence disappeared with her behind the tapestry
CHAPTER TWENTYSECOND
But now the hand of fate is on the curtain
And gives the scene to light
Don Sebastian
I felt stunned and chilled as they retired Imagination dwelling on an absent object of affection paints her not only in the fairest light but in that in which we most desire to behold her I had thought of Diana as she was when her parting tear dropped on my cheek—when her parting token received from the wife of MacGregor augured her wish to convey into exile and conventual seclusion the remembrance of my affection I saw her and her cold passive manner expressive of little except composed melancholy disappointed and in some degree almost offended me
In the egotism of my feelings I accused her of indifference—of insensibility I upbraided her father with pride—with cruelty—with fanaticism—forgetting that both were sacrificing their interest and Diana her inclination to the discharge of what they regarded as their duty
Sir Frederick Vernon was a rigid Catholic who thought the path of salvation too narrow to be trodden by an heretic and Diana to whom her fathers safety had been for many years the principal and moving spring of thoughts hopes and actions felt that she had discharged her duty in resigning to his will not alone her property in the world but the dearest affections of her heart But it was not surprising that I could not at such a moment fully appreciate these honourable motives yet my spleen sought no ignoble means of discharging itself
I am contemned then I said when left to run over the tenor of Sir Fredericks communications—I am contemned and thought unworthy even to exchange words with her Be it so they shall not at least prevent me from watching over her safety Here will I remain as an outpost and while under my roof at least no danger shall threaten her if it be such as the arm of one determined man can avert
I summoned Syddall to the library He came but came attended by the eternal Andrew who dreaming of great things in consequence of my taking possession of the Hall and the annexed estates was resolved to lose nothing for want of keeping himself in view and as often happens to men who entertain selfish objects overshot his mark and rendered his attentions tedious and inconvenient
His unrequired presence prevented me from speaking freely to Syddall and I dared not send him away for fear of increasing such suspicions as he might entertain from his former abrupt dismissal from the library I shall sleep here sir I said giving them directions to wheel nearer to the fire an oldfashioned daybed or settee I have much to do and shall go late to bed
Syddall who seemed to understand my look offered to procure me the accommodation of a mattress and some bedding I accepted his offer dismissed my attendant lighted a pair of candles and desired that I might not be disturbed till seven in the ensuing morning
The domestics retired leaving me to my painful and illarranged reflections until nature worn out should require some repose
I endeavoured forcibly to abstract my mind from the singular circumstances in which I found myself placed Feelings which I had gallantly combated while the exciting object was remote were now exasperated by my immediate neighbourhood to her whom I was so soon to part with for ever Her name was written in every book which I attempted to peruse and her image forced itself on me in whatever train of thought I strove to engage myself It was like the officious slave of Priors Solomon—
Abra was ready ere I named her name
And when I called another Abra came
I alternately gave way to these thoughts and struggled against them sometimes yielding to a mood of melting tenderness of sorrow which was scarce natural to me sometimes arming myself with the hurt pride of one who had experienced what he esteemed unmerited rejection I paced the library until I had chafed myself into a temporary fever I then threw myself on the couch and endeavoured to dispose myself to sleep—but it was in vain that I used every effort to compose myself—that I lay without movement of finger or of muscle as still as if I had been already a corpse—that I endeavoured to divert or banish disquieting thoughts by fixing my mind on some act of repetition or arithmetical process My blood throbbed to my feverish apprehension in pulsations which resembled the deep and regular strokes of a distant fullingmill and tingled in my veins like streams of liquid fire
At length I arose opened the window and stood by it for some time in the clear moonlight receiving in part at least that refreshment and dissipation of ideas from the clear and calm scene without which they had become beyond the command of my own volition I resumed my place on the couch—with a heart Heaven knows not lighter but firmer and more resolved for endurance In a short time a slumber crept over my senses still however though my senses slumbered my soul was awake to the painful feelings of my situation and my dreams were of mental anguish and external objects of terror
I remember a strange agony under which I conceived myself and Diana in the power of MacGregors wife and about to be precipitated from a rock into the lake the signal was to be the discharge of a cannon fired by Sir Frederick Vernon who in the dress of a Cardinal officiated at the ceremony Nothing could be more lively than the impression which I received of this imaginary scene I could paint even at this moment the mute and courageous submission expressed in Dianas features—the wild and distorted faces of the executioners who crowded around us with mopping and mowing grimaces ever changing and each more hideous than that which preceded I saw the rigid and inflexible fanaticism painted in the face of the father—I saw him lift the fatal match—the deadly signal exploded—It was repeated again and again and again in rival thunders by the echoes of the surrounding cliffs and I awoke from fancied horror to real apprehension
The sounds in my dream were not ideal They reverberated on my waking ears but it was two or three minutes ere I could collect myself so as distinctly to understand that they proceeded from a violent knocking at the gate I leaped from my couch in great apprehension took my sword under my arm and hastened to forbid the admission of any one But my route was necessarily circuitous because the library looked not upon the quadrangle but into the gardens When I had reached a staircase the windows of which opened upon the entrance court I heard the feeble and intimidated tones of Syddall expostulating with rough voices which demanded admittance by the warrant of Justice Standish and in the Kings name and threatened the old domestic with the heaviest penal consequences if he refused instant obedience Ere they had ceased I heard to my unspeakable provocation the voice of Andrew bidding Syddall stand aside and let him open the door
If they come in King Georges name we have naething to fear—we hae spent baith bluid and gowd for him—We dinna need to darn ourselves like some folks Mr Syddall—we are neither Papists nor Jacobites I trow
It was in vain I accelerated my pace down stairs I heard bolt after bolt withdrawn by the officious scoundrel while all the time he was boasting his own and his masters loyalty to King George and I could easily calculate that the party must enter before I could arrive at the door to replace the bars Devoting the back of Andrew Fairservice to the cudgel so soon as I should have time to pay him his deserts I ran back to the library barricaded the door as I best could and hastened to that by which Diana and her father entered and begged for instant admittance Diana herself undid the door She was ready dressed and betrayed neither perturbation nor fear
Danger is so familiar to us she said that we are always prepared to meet it My father is already up—he is in Rashleighs apartment We will escape into the garden and thence by the posterngate I have the key from Syddall in case of need into the wood—I know its dingles better than any one now alive Keep them a few minutes in play And dear dear Frank once more faretheewell
She vanished like a meteor to join her father and the intruders were rapping violently and attempting to force the library door by the time I had returned into it
You robber dogs I exclaimed wilfully mistaking the purpose of their disturbance if you do not instantly quit the house I will fire my blunderbuss through the door
Fire a fules bauble said Andrew Fairservice its Mr Clerk Jobson with a legal warrant—
To search for take and apprehend said the voice of that execrable pettifogger the bodies of certain persons in my warrant named charged of high treason under the 13th of King William chapter third
And the violence on the door was renewed I am rising gentlemen said I desirous to gain as much time as possible—commit no violence—give me leave to look at your warrant and if it is formal and legal I shall not oppose it
God save great George our King ejaculated Andrew I tauld ye that ye would find nae Jacobites here
Spinning out the time as much as possible I was at length compelled to open the door which they would otherwise have forced
Mr Jobson entered with several assistants among whom I discovered the younger Wingfield to whom doubtless he was obliged for his information and exhibited his warrant directed not only against Frederick Vernon an attainted traitor but also against Diana Vernon spinster and Francis Osbaldistone gentleman accused of misprision of treason It was a case in which resistance would have been madness I therefore after capitulating for a few minutes delay surrendered myself a prisoner
I had next the mortification to see Jobson go straight to the chamber of Miss Vernon and I learned that from thence without hesitation or difficulty he went to the room where Sir Frederick had slept The hare has stolen away said the brute but her form is warm—the greyhounds will have her by the haunches yet
A scream from the garden announced that he prophesied too truly In the course of five minutes Rashleigh entered the library with Sir Frederick Vernon and his daughter as prisoners
The fox he said knew his old earth but he forgot it could be stopped by a careful huntsman—I had not forgot the gardengate Sir Frederick—or if that title suits you better most noble Lord Beauchamp
Rashleigh said Sir Frederick thou art a detestable villain
I better deserved the name Sir Knight or my Lord when under the direction of an able tutor I sought to introduce civil war into the bosom of a peaceful country But I have done my best said he looking upwards to atone for my errors
I could hold no longer I had designed to watch their proceedings in silence but I felt that I must speak or die If hell I said has one complexion more hideous than another it is where villany is masked by hypocrisy
Ha my gentle cousin said Rashleigh holding a candle towards me and surveying me from head to foot right welcome to Osbaldistone Hall—I can forgive your spleen—It is hard to lose an estate and a mistress in one night for we shall take possession of this poor manorhouse in the name of the lawful heir Sir Rashleigh Osbaldistone
While Rashleigh braved it out in this manner I could see that he put a strong force upon his feelings both of anger and shame But his state of mind was more obvious when Diana Vernon addressed him Rashleigh she said I pity you—for deep as the evil is which you have laboured to do me and the evil you have actually done I cannot hate you so much as I scorn and pity you What you have now done may be the work of an hour but will furnish you with reflection for your life—of what nature I leave to your own conscience which will not slumber for ever
Rashleigh strode once or twice through the room came up to the sidetable on which wine was still standing and poured out a large glass with a trembling hand but when he saw that we observed his tremor he suppressed it by a strong effort and looking at us with fixed and daring composure carried the bumper to his head without spilling a drop It is my fathers old burgundy he said looking to Jobson I am glad there is some of it left—You will get proper persons to take care of old butler and that foolish Scotch rascal Meanwhile we will convey these persons to a more proper place of custody I have provided the old family coach for your convenience he said though I am not ignorant that even the lady could brave the nightair on foot or on horseback were the errand more to her mind
Andrew wrung his hands—I only said that my master was surely speaking to a ghaist in the library—and the villain Lancie to betray an auld friend that sang aff the same Psalmbook wi him every Sabbath for twenty years
He was turned out of the house together with Syddall without being allowed to conclude his lamentation His expulsion however led to some singular consequences Resolving according to his own story to go down for the night where Mother Simpson would give him a lodging for old acquaintance sake he had just got clear of the avenue and into the old wood as it was called though it was now used as a pastureground rather than woodland when he suddenly lighted on a drove of Scotch cattle which were lying there to repose themselves after the days journey At this Andrew was in no way surprised it being the wellknown custom of his countrymen who take care of those droves to quarter themselves after night upon the best unenclosed grassground they can find and depart before daybreak to escape paying for their nights lodgings But he was both surprised and startled when a Highlander springing up accused him of disturbing the cattle and refused him to pass forward till he had spoken to his master The mountaineer conducted Andrew into a thicket where he found three or four more of his countrymen And said Andrew I saw sune they were ower mony men for the drove and from the questions they put to me I judged they had other tow on their rock
They questioned him closely about all that had passed at Osbaldistone Hall and seemed surprised and concerned at the report he made to them
And troth said Andrew I tauld them a I kend for dirks and pistols were what I could never refuse information to in a my life
They talked in whispers among themselves and at length collected their cattle together and drove them close up to the entrance of the avenue which might be half a mile distant from the house They proceeded to drag together some felled trees which lay in the vicinity so as to make a temporary barricade across the road about fifteen yards beyond the avenue It was now near daybreak and there was a pale eastern gleam mingled with the fading moonlight so that objects could be discovered with some distinctness The lumbering sound of a coach drawn by four horses and escorted by six men on horseback was heard coming up the avenue The Highlanders listened attentively The carriage contained Mr Jobson and his unfortunate prisoners The escort consisted of Rashleigh and of several horsemen peaceofficers and their assistants So soon as we had passed the gate at the head of the avenue it was shut behind the cavalcade by a Highlandman stationed there for that purpose At the same time the carriage was impeded in its farther progress by the cattle amongst which we were involved and by the barricade in front Two of the escort dismounted to remove the felled trees which they might think were left there by accident or carelessness The others began with their whips to drive the cattle from the road
Who dare abuse our cattle said a rough voice—Shoot him Angus
Rashleigh instantly called out—A rescue a rescue and firing a pistol wounded the man who spoke
Claymore cried the leader of the Highlanders and a scuffle instantly commenced The officers of the law surprised at so sudden an attack and not usually possessing the most desperate bravery made but an imperfect defence considering the superiority of their numbers Some attempted to ride back to the Hall but on a pistol being fired from behind the gate they conceived themselves surrounded and at length galloped of in different directions Rashleigh meanwhile had dismounted and on foot had maintained a desperate and singlehanded conflict with the leader of the band The window of the carriage on my side permitted me to witness it At length Rashleigh dropped
Will you ask forgiveness for the sake of God King James and auld friendship said a voice which I knew right well
No never said Rashleigh firmly
Then traitor die in your treason retorted MacGregor and plunged his sword in his prostrate antagonist
In the next moment he was at the carriage door—handed out Miss Vernon assisted her father and me to alight and dragging out the attorney head foremost threw him under the wheel
Mr Osbaldistone he said in a whisper you have nothing to fear—I must look after those who have—Your friends will soon be in safety—Farewell and forget not the MacGregor
He whistled—his band gathered round him and hurrying Diana and her father along with him they were almost instantly lost in the glades of the forest The coachman and postilion had abandoned their horses and fled at the first discharge of firearms but the animals stopped by the barricade remained perfectly still and well for Jobson that they did so for the slightest motion would have dragged the wheel over his body My first object was to relieve him for such was the rascals terror that he never could have risen by his own exertions I next commanded him to observe that I had neither taken part in the rescue nor availed myself of it to make my escape and enjoined him to go down to the Hall and call some of his party who had been left there to assist the wounded— But Jobsons fears had so mastered and controlled every faculty of his mind that he was totally incapable of moving I now resolved to go myself but in my way I stumbled over the body of a man as I thought dead or dying It was however Andrew Fairservice as well and whole as ever he was in his life who had only taken this recumbent posture to avoid the slashes stabs and pistolballs which for a moment or two were flying in various directions I was so glad to find him that I did not inquire how he came thither but instantly commanded his assistance
Rashleigh was our first object He groaned when I approached him as much through spite as through pain and shut his eyes as if determined like Iago to speak no word more We lifted him into the carriage and performed the same good office to another wounded man of his party who had been left on the field I then with difficulty made Jobson understand that he must enter the coach also and support Sir Rashleigh upon the seat He obeyed but with an air as if he but half comprehended my meaning Andrew and I turned the horses heads round and opening the gate of the avenue led them slowly back to Osbaldistone Hall
Some fugitives had already reached the Hall by circuitous routes and alarmed its garrison by the news that Sir Rashleigh Clerk Jobson and all their escort save they who escaped to tell the tale had been cut to pieces at the head of the avenue by a whole regiment of wild Highlanders When we reached the mansion therefore we heard such a buzz as arises when bees are alarmed and mustering in their hives Mr Jobson however who had now in some measure come to his senses found voice enough to make himself known He was the more anxious to be released from the carriage as one of his companions the peaceofficer had to his inexpressible terror expired by his side with a hideous groan
Sir Rashleigh Osbaldistone was still alive but so dreadfully wounded that the bottom of the coach was filled with his blood and long traces of it left from the entrancedoor into the stonehall where he was placed in a chair some attempting to stop the bleeding with cloths while others called for a surgeon and no one seemed willing to go to fetch one Torment me not said the wounded man—I know no assistance can avail me—I am a dying man He raised himself in his chair though the damps and chill of death were already on his brow and spoke with a firmness which seemed beyond his strength Cousin Francis he said draw near to me I approached him as he requested—I wish you only to know that the pangs of death do not alter I one iota of my feelings towards you I hate you he said the expression of rage throwing a hideous glare into the eyes which were soon to be closed for ever—I hate you with a hatred as intense now while I lie bleeding and dying before you as if my foot trode on your neck
I have given you no cause sir I replied—and for your own sake I could wish your mind in a better temper
You have given me cause he rejoined In love in ambition in the paths of interest you have crossed and blighted me at every turn I was born to be the honour of my fathers house—I have been its disgrace—and all owing to you My very patrimony has become yours—Take it he said and may the curse of a dying man cleave to it
The Death of Rashleigh
In a moment after he had uttered this frightful wish he fell back in the chair his eyes became glazed his limbs stiffened but the grin and glare of mortal hatred survived even the last gasp of life I will dwell no longer on so painful a picture nor say any more of the death of Rashleigh than that it gave me access to my rights of inheritance without farther challenge and that Jobson found himself compelled to allow that the ridiculous charge of misprision of high treason was got up on an affidavit which he made with the sole purpose of favouring Rashleighs views and removing me from Osbaldistone Hall The rascals name was struck off the list of attorneys and he was reduced to poverty and contempt
I returned to London when I had put my affairs in order at Osbaldistone Hall and felt happy to escape from a place which suggested so many painful recollections My anxiety was now acute to learn the fate of Diana and her father A French gentleman who came to London on commercial business was intrusted with a letter to me from Miss Vernon which put my mind at rest respecting their safety
It gave me to understand that the opportune appearance of MacGregor and his party was not fortuitous The Scottish nobles and gentry engaged in the insurrection as well as those of England were particularly anxious to further the escape of Sir Frederick Vernon who as an old and trusted agent of the house of Stuart was possessed of matter enough to have ruined half Scotland Rob Roy of whose sagacity and courage they had known so many proofs was the person whom they pitched upon to assist his escape and the place of meeting was fixed at Osbaldistone Hall You have already heard how nearly the plan had been disconcerted by the unhappy Rashleigh It succeeded however perfectly for when once Sir Frederick and his daughter were again at large they found horses prepared for them and by MacGregors knowledge of the country—for every part of Scotland and of the north of England was familiar to him—were conducted to the western seacoast and safely embarked for France The same gentleman told me that Sir Frederick was not expected to survive for many months a lingering disease the consequence of late hardships and privations His daughter was placed in a convent and although it was her fathers wish she should take the veil he was understood to refer the matter entirely to her own inclinations
When these news reached me I frankly told the state of my affections to my father who was not a little startled at the idea of my marrying a Roman Catholic But he was very desirous to see me settled in life as he called it and he was sensible that in joining him with heart and hand in his commercial labours I had sacrificed my own inclinations After a brief hesitation and several questions asked and answered to his satisfaction he broke out with—I little thought a son of mine should have been Lord of Osbaldistone Manor and far less that he should go to a French convent for a spouse But so dutiful a daughter cannot but prove a good wife You have worked at the desk to please me Frank it is but fair you should wive to please yourself
How I sped in my wooing Will Tresham I need not tell you You know too how long and happily I lived with Diana You know how I lamented her but you do not—cannot know how much she deserved her husbands sorrow
I have no more of romantic adventure to tell nor indeed anything to communicate farther since the latter incidents of my life are so well known to one who has shared with the most friendly sympathy the joys as well as the sorrows by which its scenes have been chequered I often visited Scotland but never again saw the bold Highlander who had such an influence on the early events of my life I learned however from time to time that he continued to maintain his ground among the mountains of Loch Lomond in despite of his powerful enemies and that he even obtained to a certain degree the connivance of Government to his selfelected office of protector of the Lennox in virtue of which he levied blackmail with as much regularity as the proprietors did their ordinary rents It seemed impossible that his life should have concluded without a violent end Nevertheless he died in old age and by a peaceful death some time about the year 1733 and is still remembered in his country as the Robin Hood of Scotland—the dread of the wealthy but the friend of the poor—and possessed of many qualities both of head and heart which would have graced a less equivocal profession than that to which his fate condemned him
Old Andrew Fairservice used to say that There were many things ower bad for blessing and ower gude for banning like Rob Roy
Here the original manuscript ends somewhat abruptly I have reason to think that what followed related to private a affairs