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}93 Tales of My Landlobd, Third Series, 

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K 



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* 



TALES OF MY LANDLORD, 



Ahora Men, dixo el Cur a, truedme, senor huSsped, aquesos 
librosy qufi los quiero ver. Que me place, respondid el, y en-. 
trando, en su aposento, sac6 del una maletiUa vieja cerrada 
con una cadeniUa, y abridndokty haUd en ella tres libroa grandes 
y unos papeles de muy buena letra escriios de mano.—DoN 
Quixote^ Parte I. Capitulo 32. 

It is mighty well^ said the priest ; pray, landlord, bring me 
those books, for I have a mind to see them. With all my 
heart,' answered the host ; and, going to his chamber, he 
brought out a little old doke-bag, mth a padlock and chain to 
it, and opening it, he took out three large volumes, and some 
manuscript papers written in a fine character.^-jABVis's 
Translation. 



^^^>mI* 



Printed by' James BoUantyne and Co. 



TALES OF MY LANDLORD, 

Ctittti ®mr0> 

COLLECTED AXD ARBAN6ED 
BY 

JEDEDIAH CLEISHBOTHAM, 

SCHOOLMASTER AND PARISH-CLEBK OT OANDEBCLEOOH. 



Hear, Land o' Cakes and blither Scots, 
Fiae Maidenkiik to Jonny Groats', 
If there's a hole in a' your coats, 

I rede ye tent it, 
A duel's amang you takin' notes, 

An' faith he'll prent it. 

BURiTS. 



IN FOUR VOLUMES. 



VOL. I. 



EDINBURGH: 

PRINTED FOR ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND CO. EDINBURGH ; 



LONGMAN, BURST, REXS, ORME, AND BROWK, PATEBNOSTSR-BOW ; 
AND HURST, ROBINSON, ANB CO. 90, CBEAPSIDE, LONDON. 

1819. 



THE 



BRIDE OF L AMMERMOOR. 



VOL. I. 



I 



THE 



BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR. 



CHAPTER I. 



By cauk «nd keel to win your bt^, 
Wi' whigmaleeries for them wha need, 
Whilk is a gentle trade indeed 

To carry the gaberlunzie oa. 

Old Sonff. 

Few have been in my secret ivhile I waa 
compiling these narratives, nor is it proba- 
ble that they will ever become public du- 
ring the life of their author. Even were 
that event to happen, I am not ambitious 
of the honoured distinction, momtrari du 
gito. I confess, that, were it safe to che* 
rish such dreams at all, I should more enjoy 
the thought of remaining behind the cur- 



4 TALES OF MY LANDLORD. 

tain unseen, like the ingenious manager of 
Punch and his wife Joan, and enjoying the 
astonishment and conjectures of my audi* 
ence. Then might I, perchance, hear the 
productions of the obscure Peter Pattieson 
praised by the judicious, and admired by 
the feeling, engrossing the young, and at- 
tracting even the old ; while the critic 
traced their name up to some name of lite- 
rary celebrity, and the question when, and 
by whom, theie tales were written, filled up 
the pause of conversation in a hundred 
circles and coteries. This I may never en- 
joy during my lifetime ; but farther than 
this, I am certain, my vanity should never 
]fldu(!e ittg to aspire. 

I am too stubborn in hatnts^ and too lit* 
de polished in manners, to envy or aspire 
to the honours assigned to my literary 
contemporaries. I icould not think a whit 
more highly of myself* were I even found 
worthy to '^ come in place as a lion/' for 
a winter in the great metropolis. I could, 
notrvet turn rounds and fhew all jpy ho- 



THE EAID& OF I.AMM£R1IC00R« 5 

liodTSy from the sha^y mane to the taft- 
ed tail, roar ye as it were any nightin- 
gale, and so lie down again like a well-be- 
haved beast of show, and all at the cheap 
and easy rate of a cup of coflfee, and a slice 
of bread and butter as thin as a wafer. 
And I could ill stomach the fulsome flat- 
tery with which the lady of the evening in- 
dulges her show-monsters on such occa- 
sions, as she crams her parrots with sugar- 
plumbs, in order to make them talk before 
company. I cannot be tempted to <^ come 
aloft,'* for these marks of distinction, and, 
like imprisoned Sampson, I- woald, rather 
remain — if such must be the alternative—* 
all my life in the miil-hoiise, grinding for 
my very bread, than be brought forth to 
make sport for the Philistine lords and la- 
dies. This proceeds from no dislike, real 
or affected, to the aristocracy of these 
realms. But they have their place, and I 
have mine ; and, like the iron and earthen 
vessels in the old fable, we can scarce come 
into collision without my being the sufferer 



,'' 



6 TALES OF MY LANDJLORD. 

in every saise. It may be otherwise ^itii 
the sheets which I am now writing, These 
may be opened and laid aside at pleasure ; 
^y amusing themselves with the perusal, 
the great will excite no fal^ hopes ; by 
neglecting or Condemning them, they will 
inflict no pain ; and how seldom can they 
converse with those whose minds have toil- 
ed for their delight, without doing either 
the one or the othen 

In the better and wiser tone of feelings 
which Ovid only expresses in one line to 
r^ract in that which follows^ I can addre^ 
these quires— 

ParvCf nee invideOf sine me, liBer, ibis in urhe. 

Nor do I join the regret of the illustrif 
ous exile, tliat he himself could not in per<> 
son accompany the volume, which he sent 
forth to the mart of literature, pleasure, and 
luxury. Were there not a hundred similar 
instances on record, the fate of ray poor 
friend and school -fellow, Dick Tinto, would 



THE BUOB OF LAMMIRMOOB. 7 

be sufficieot to w«ra me against aeeking 
happinessi in tlie odebrity whidi attachet 
itself to a.succeisfiil cultivator of the fino 
arts. 

Dick Tinto^ when he wrote himself art*, 
istt was wont to derive his origin from the 
ancient family of Tidto, of that ilk^ in La- 
narkshire, and occasionally hinted that he 
had somewhat derogated from his gentle 
bloody in using the pencil for his principal 
means of support. But if Dick's pedigree 
was correct^ some of his ancestors must 
have suffered a more heavy declension, 
since the good man his father executed the 
necessary, and, I trust, the honesty but cer* 
tainly not very distinguished employment, 
pf tailor in ordinary to the village of Lang- 
dirdum in the west. Under his humble 
roof was Richard born, and to his fatheif s 
humble trade was Richard, greatly contrary 
to his inclination, early indentured. Old 
Mr Tinto had, however, no reason to con- 
gratulate himself upon having compelled the 
youthful geniu9 of his son to forsake its na- 



8 OXkSLB» or UH !LAKDLOtli:>« 

tiirel bent. J^t h»ei likre the dckc^l^boy, 
who atttenifits^to stofi ifith his finger Ihd 
a|ioUfc 4>f a)f MiftCer cistern, while the dtream, 
exasperated at this compression, escapefl^by 
a thouHnd: cilieakalaved ' i^pins^ and wets 
him all over tbr his paink Even sd fkF^ 
the senior TinftO) wh^h his hopeful apprefh^ 
ticendtoitly* exhausted all the chalk in 
making sketches upon the shopboard, but 
even executed several caricdtur^fe of bis fa<» 
therms best customers, who began loudly W 
murmur, that it was too hard to have their 
persons deformed by the vestments of the 
fathiir, and to be at the same time turned 
into ridicule by the pencil of the s0n* Thi^ 
led to discredit and loss of practice, until 
the old tailor, yielding to destiny, and to 
the entreaties of his son, permitted him to 
attempt his fortune in a line for which he 
was better qualified. 

There was about this time, in the village 

of Langdirdum, a peripatetic brother of the 

brush, who exercised his vocation sub J&ce. 

fmgido^ the object of admiration to all the 



THE BRIDE OF LAlOfEKMOOlEt. 9 

boys of the village, but especially to Dick 
Tinto. The age had not yet adopted, 
amongst other unworthy retrenchments, 
that illiberal measure of economy, which, 
supplying by written characters the lack of 

• r - t 

symbolical representation^ closes one open 
and easily accessible avenue of instruction 
and emolument against the students of the 
fine arts. It was not yet permitted to write 
upon the plaistered door-way of an ale- 
house, or the suspended sign of an inn, 
*« The Old Magpie," or ^* The Saracen's 
'Head,** substituting that cold description 
'for the lively effigies of the plumed chatter- 
er, or the turban'd frown of the terrific 
soldan. That early and more simple age- 
considered alike the necessities of all ranks, 
and depicted the symbols of good cheer 
so as to be obvious to all capacities ; well 
judging, that a man, who could not read a 
syllable, might nevertheless love a pot of 
good ale as well as his better educated 
neighbours, or even as the parson himself. 
Acting upon this liberal principle, publicans 

A 2 



\ 



10 TAJLES OF MY LANDLORD. 

as yet hung fortli the painted emblems of 
their callingi and sign-painters, if they sel- 
dom feasted^ did not art least absolutely 
starve* 

To a worthy of this decayed profes>- 
sion, as we have already intimated, Dick 
Tin to becanie an assistant; and thus, as is 
not unusual among heavea-born geniuses 
in this department of the fine arts, began to 
paint bef9re he had any notion of drawing. 

His na^ral talent for observing nature 
soon induced him to rectify the errors, and 
soar above the instructions, of his teacher. 
He particularly shone in painting horses, 
that being a favourite sign in the Scottish 
.villages ;* and, in tracing his progress, it is 
beautiful to observe, how by degrees he 
leanied to shorten the backs, and prolong 
the legs, of these noble animals, until they 
came to look less like crocodiles, and more 
like nags. Detraction, which always pur^ 
sues merit with strides proportioned to Jts 
advancement, has indeed alleged, that Dick 
once upon la time painted a horse with five 



THE BRIDE OF LAMMBRMOOB. 11 

legs„ instead of four, I might have rested 
his defence upon the licence allowed to that 
branch of the profession, which, as it per* 
mits all sorts of singular and irregular com- 
binations, may be allowed to extend itself 
so far as to bestow a limb supernumerary 
on a favourite subject. But the cause 
of a deceased friend is sacred ; and I 
disdain to bottom it so superficially* I 
have visited the sign in question, which 
yet swings exalted in the village of Lang, 
dirdum, and I am ready to depone upon 
oath, that what has been idly mistaken or 
misrepresented as being the fifth leg of the 
horse, is, in fact, the tail of that quadruped, 
and, considered with reference to the pos- 
ture in which he is represented, forms a 
circumstance, introduced and managed with 
great and successful, though daring art. 
The nag being represented in a rampant 
Qv rearing posture, .the tail^ which is pro- 
longed till it touches the ground, appears 
to form a point d'appuiy and gives the firm- 
ness of a tripod to the figure, without which 



12 ,!^ TALES OF MY XAKDLOB0. 

it would be difficult to conceive, placed as 
the feet are, hpw the courser could main- 
tain his ground without tumbling back- 

• 

wards. This bold conception has forto- 
nately fallen into the custody of one by 
whom it i^ duly valued; for, when Dick, 
in his more advanced state of proficiency, 
became dubious of the propriety of so d^ 
ring a.deviaitid^n from the established rulen 
X)f art, and was desirous to Execute a' pic- 
ture of the publican himself in exchange 
for this juvenile production, the courteous 
offer was declined by his judicious em- 
ployer, who had observed, it seems, that 
when his ale failed to do its duty in conci- 
liating his guests, one glance at his sign 
was sure to put them in good humour. 

It would be foreign to my present pur- 
pose to trace the steps by which Dick 
Tiuto improved his touch, and corrected^ 
^y the rules of art, the luxuriance of a fer- 
vid imagination. Tlie scales fell from his 
eyes on viewing the sketches of a contem- 
porary, the Scottish Teniers, as Wilkie has 



been ^deservedly slyledU JHe threw down 
the brush, ^ook up the crayons, and, simid 
liunger and tdilj and suspense and uncer- 
tainty, pursued the path of his profession 
under better sruspices than those of his ori<- 
ginal master. Still the first rude emana- 
tions of his genius (like the nursery rhymes 
of Pope^ could these be recovered,) will be 
dear to the companions of Dick Tinto^s 
youth, 'there is a tankard and gridiron 
painted over the door of an obscure cbange- 
fabuse in the Back-wynd of Ganderscleugh 
A— But I feell must tear myself* from the 
subject, or dwell on it too long. 

Amid his wants" and struggles, Dick 
Tinto had recourse, like his brethren, to 
levying that tax lipon the vanity of man- 
kind which he could not extract from their 
taste and liberal ky — in a word, he painted 
portraits. It was in this more advanced 
stage of proficiency, when Dick had soared 
above his original line of business, and high* 
}y disdained any allusion to it, that, after 
having been estranged for several years. 



14 TAJL^B OF MY iANOLORI»« 

we again oiet in the village of Ganders* 
cleugh) I holding my present situation, aad 
Dick painting copies of the human f^e di- 
vine at a guinea per head* This was a small 
premium, yet, in the first burst of business, 
it more than sufficed for all Dick's mode* 
rate wants ; so that he occupied an apart* 
ment at the Wallace Inn, cracked his jest 
with impunity even upon mine host bim^ 
self, and lived in respect and observance 
with the chambermaid, hostler, and waiter* 

Those halcyon days were^too serene to 
last long. When his honour the Laird of 
Ganderscleugh, with his wife and three 
daughters, the minister, the gauger, mine 
esteemed patron Mr Jedediah Cleishbo- 
tham, and some round dozen of the feuars 
and farmers, had been consigned toimmorr 
tality by Tinto's brush, custom began to 
slacken, and it was impossible to wring 
more than crowns and half-crowns from 
the hard hands of the peasants, whose am- 
bition led them to Dick's painting-room. 

Still, though the horizon was overcloud- 

9 



THE BftlDE OF LAUMEBMOOE. 15 

ed, DO storm for some time ensued* Mine 
host had Christian faith with a lodger* who 
bad been a good paymaster as long as he 
had the means* And from a portrait of 
our landlord himself, grouped with his wife 
and daughters, in the style of Rubens, 
which suddenly appeared in the best par- 
lour, it was evident that Dick had found 
some mode of bartering art for the necea- 
saries of life« 

Nothing* however, is more precarious 
thr.n resources of this nature. It was ob^ 
served, that Dick became in his turn the 
whetstone of mine host^s wit, without ven- 
turing either at defence or retaliation ; that 
his easel was transferred to a garret-room, 
in which there was scarce space for it to 
stand upright ; and that he no longer ven- 
tured to join the weekly club, of which he 
had been once the life and soul. In short, 
Dick Tinto's friends feared that he had 
acted like the animal called the. sloth, 
which, having eaten up the last green leaf 
upon the tree where it has established it- 



liB • TALES OF IHY LANDLORD. ^ 

self, ends by tumbling down from the top, 
and dying of inanition. I ventured to 
hint this to Dick, recommended his trans- 
ferring the exercise of his inestimable ta* 
lent to some other sphere, and forsaking 
the common which he might be said to 
have eaten bare. 

** There is an obstacle to my change of 
fwidence,** said toy friend, grasping my 
hand with a look of solemnity, 

** A bill due to my landlord, I am 
afraid,** replied I, with heartfelt sympa- 
thy J " if any part of my slender means 
can assist in this emergence*' 

" No, by the soul of Sir Joshua,** an- 
swered the generous youth, *f I will never 
involve a friend in the consequences of 
my own misfortune. There is a mode by 
which I can regain my liberty; and to 
creep even through a common sewer, is 
better than to remain in prison. 

I did not perfectly understand what my 
friend meant. The muse of painting ap- 
peared to have failed him^ and what other 



>4 

99 



Tan maam ofi laski^iuoor. 17 

goddesd be could iiivdke in hss di^frdsS) 
was a mystery to me. We parted, boW- 
tvert without further explanation^, atid I 
did not a^aifl see him until three dayft 
nfter^'ivbeh he summoned me to partake of 
0^ «^ witb: which his landlord proposed 
iO vejgale him ere his departure for Edin^ 
biwgb. 

I fcnuid Dick in bigh spirits^ wbistHng 
tarbilebfe buckle tbeisnrmll knapsack,- which 
contained his colours, brushes, pallets, and 
(lean sMrt That h!e parted on the best 
terms with mine host, was obvious froii 
tb.e cold beef de( forth in the low parloui^, 
^nked.by.twdmugs of admirable browm 
stout, and I own my curiosity was excited 
^oncerding the means through which the 
iked of my friend'rs affiiirs had been so sud- 
denly improved^ I . did not suspect t)icb;. 
df dealing with the devil, and' by what 
earthly means he had extricated himself 
thus happily, I was it* a total loss to con- 
jecture. 
; He perceived my curiosity, and took 



18 TAL£8 07 MY LAKJbMQftDr. 

me by the hand, ** My friend/' he saicfi 
** fain would I conceal, even from you, the 
(legradation to which it has been necessary 
to submit, in order to accoaaiplish^ an ho^ 
nourable retreat from Gaud ei?scleach« But 
what avails attempting to conceal that, 
which must needs betray itself even by its 
superior excellence ? All the village— all 
the parish — all tlie world-«*will soon disco- 
ver to what poverty has reduced Richard 
Tinto." 

A sudden thought here struck me--*J 
had observed that our landlord wore, on 
that memorable morning, a pair of bran 
new velveteens, instead of his ancient thick- 
sets. 

«* What," said I, drawing my right hand, 
with the forefinger and thumb pressed to- 
gether, nimbly from my* right haunch to 
my left shoulder, *• you have condescend* 
ed to resume the paternal arts to which 
you were first bred — long stitches, ha, 
Dick?" 

He repelled this unlucky conjecture 



TUB BfaX)£ OF LAllMfiaMOOR. 1 9 

with a frown and . a pshaw» indicative of 
indignant contempt, and leading me into 
another rooirit shewed me, resjting against 
the ^ally the majestic head of Sir William 
W^lace, grim as when severed from the 
trunk b}' the orders of the felon Bdward. 

The painting was executed on boards of* 
a substantial thickness, and the top deco- 
rated with irons, for suspending the ho- 
noured effigy upon a sign-post. 

." There/' he said, *' my friend, stands 

the honour of Scotlaqd, and my shame — 
yet not, so— rather the shame of those, 
who, instead of encouraging art in its pro- 
per sphere, reduce it to these unbecoming 
and unworthy extremities." 

I endeavoured to smooth the ruffled feel- 
ings of my misu^d and indignant friend^ 
I reminded him, that he ought not, like 
the stag in the fable, to despise the quality 
which had extricated him from difficulties^ 
in which his talents, as a portrait or laHid* 
scape painter, had been found unavailing; 
Above all, I praised the execution, as well 



2I> TALES OF MT LANDLORD, 

as conceptionyT of his paintittg, and remind- 
ed hinii that far from feeling dishonoured 
by so superb a specimen of his talents be- 
ing exposed to the general view, of the 
public, he ought rather to congratulate 
himself upon the augmentation of his cele* 
brity, to which its public exhibition must 
necessarily give rise. 

• " You are right, my friend— you ar^ 
right/' replied poor Dick, his eye kind- 
ling with enthusiasm j •* why should I 
shun the name of an— an— -(he hesitated 
for a phrase) — an out-of-doors artist ? Ho- 
garth has introduced himself in that cha- 
iacter in one -of his best engravings — Do* 
menichino, or some body else, in ancietlt 
times — Moreland in our own, have exer- 
cised their talents in this manner. And 
wherefore limit to the rich and higher 
classes alone the delight which the exhibi- 
tion of works of art is calculated to inspire 
into all classes ? Statues are placed in the 
open air, why should Painting be more 
niggardly in displaying her inaster-pieccs 



THB BRI0JS O? liAM^klRRAfQOR. 21 

than ber sIstCT Sculpture ?! And yet, my 
frieiid, we must part suddfenlfyj the noeto 
are coining in an bOur to put uj) the— the 
emblem ; — and truly, with all my pbtloso-' 
phy, and your cotisolatwy encouragement 
to boot, I would rather wish to leave 
Gaoderscleijgh before that operation com- 
mences.** 

We partook of our genial host's parting 
banquet, and I escorted Dick on his walk 
to Edinburgh. We parted about a mile 
from the village, just as we heard the dis* 
tant cheer of the bf^ys which accoxii(>aaied 
the mounting of the new symbol of the 
Wallace- Head. Dick Tinto mended his 
pace to get out of hearing»-^so little had 
either early practice or recent philosophy 
reconciled him to the character of a sign*, 
painter.. 

In Edinburgh, Dick's talents'were disco*^ 
vered and appreciated, and he received 
dinners and hints from several distinguish- 
ed judges of the fine arts. But these gen- 
tlemen dispensed their criticism more will- 
ingly than their cash, and Dick thought 



22 TALES OF MY LANDLORD. 

he Deeded cash more than criticistn* He 
therefore sought London, the univiersdl 
mart of talent, and where» as is usual in 
general marts of most descriptions, much 
more of the commodity is exposed to sale 
than can ever find purchasers. 

Dick, who, in serious earnest, was suppo- 
sed to have considerable natural talents for 
his profession, and whose vain and sanguine 
disposition never permitted him to doubt for 
a moment of ultimate success, threw himself 
headlong into the crowd which jostled and 
struggled for notice and preferment. He 
elbowed others, and was elbowed himself; 
and finally, by dint of intrepidity, fought 
his way into some notice, painted for the 
prize at the Institution, had pictures at the 
exhibition at Somerset-house, and damned 
the hanging committee. But poor Dick 
was doomed to lose the field he fought so 
gallantly. In the fine arts, there is "scarce 
an alternative betwixt distinguished suc- 
cess and absolute failure ; and as Dick's 
zeal and industry were unable to ensure 



TBC BRIDB OF LAMMERMOOR. 2$ 

the first, be fell into the distresses which^ 
in his condition, were the natural con* 
sequences of the latter alternative. He 
was for a time patronized by one or two 
of those judicious persons who make a 
virtue of being singular, and of pitching 
their own opinions against those of the 
world in matters of taste and criticism* 
But they soon tired of poor Tinto, and 
laid him down as a load, upon the princi^ 
pie on which' a spoilt child throws away 
its plaything. Misery, I fear, took him up, 
and accompanied him to a premature grave, 
to which he was carried irom an obscure 
lodging in Swallow-street, where he had 
been dunned by his landlady within doors, 
and watched by bailifis without, until death 
came to his relief. A comer of the Morn- 
ing Post noticed his death, generously add« 
ing, that his manner displayed consider- 
able genius, though his style was rather 
sketchy ; and referred to an advertisement, 
which announced that Mr -Varnish, the 
well-known print-seller, had still on hand a 



\&y few drawings^ ind paid tings by Bleh- 
ard Tintoj Esquire, whkh thosb of the no*: 
bility and gentry, who might wish to com* 
plete their collections of modern art, were 
ipvitiid to Visit without delay. So ended 
Dick Tinti), a lamentable proof of die goreat 
truth, that in the fine arts mediocrity is^ not 
permitted, and that he who cannort asdend 
to the very top of the ladder will do weQ 
not to put : hts loot ' upon it at alL 

The memory of Tlnto is .dear to me, 
from the recollection of the many coriyer- 
satioQs which we have had t0j^|;her, .most 
of them iarmng iipbn:. n^/paieiitutaisla: 
He was dellgh ted > with, niy . p^ogrea^; i ghd 
talked of an ohft^itaus^ted and ilhiskatedi 
edition, with heads^ vigtietites^ land cuis de 
lampet all to be desi^iied .by his own paderi-^ 
otic and friendly |iencil. iHepceRraited^up* 
on an old seijeasit 6f innralids to sit to him 
in thecharacte^ xif Bodi weU>ifafe lifcugmtrd^s* 
n^an of Charles the Second^ and t^e beU^^ 
man of Granderscleiigb iii that of. David- 
Deans# But while be thus pn^osed to 

6 



TOE BRIDE OF LAMMfiRMOOR. S5 

unite his own powers with mine for the iU 
lustration of these nairratives, he mixed 
many a dose of salutary criticism with ihe 
panegyrics which my composition was at 
times so fortunate as to call forth. <* Youi: 
characters,'' he said, " my dear Pattieson, 
make too much use of the gob box : they 
patter too much-^(an elegant phraseology, 
which Dick had learned while painting the 
scenes of an itinerant company of players) 
— ^there is nothing in whole p^es but mere 
chat and dialogue." 

^< The ancient philosopher,'' said I in re^ 
ply, << was wont to say, < Speak, that I may 
know thee ;' and how is it possible for an 
author to introduce his person^e dramaH^ 
to his readers In a more interesting and ef- 
fectual manner, than by the dialogue in 
which each is represented as supporting 
his own appropriate character ?" 

<< It is a false conclusion," said TiBto ; 
^! I hate it, Peter, as I bate a^n unfilled cann. 
I will grapt you, indieed, that spesech is a far 

voi» I. B 



2fi TALES 07 MY LANDLORD* 

culty of some value in the intercourse of 
huxfian affairs, and I will not even insist on 
the doctrine of thai Pythagorean toper^ 
who was of opinion, that over a bottle 
speaking spoiled conversation* Bat I will 
not , allow that a professor c^ the fine arts 
has occasion to embody the idea of his scene 
in language, in order to impress upon^the 
reader its reality and its effect On the 
contrary, I will be judged by most of your 
readers^ Peter, should these tales ever be<» 
come public, whether you have not given 
us a page of talk for every single idea which 
two words might have communicated, while 
the posture, and manner, and incident, ac* 
Gurately drawn, and brought out by appro* 
priate colouring, would have preserved all 
tbat was worthy of preservation, and saved 
these everlasting said he's and said she'^ 
with which it has been your {Measure to 
encumber your pages." 

I replied, ** that he coi^ounded the ope« 
rations of the pencil and the pen ; that the 



THE BAIDE OF LAMM£AliiOOR. 227 

8»ene and silent art| as painting has been 
called by one of our first living poets, ne- 
cessarily appealed to the eye, because it 
had not the organs for addressing the ear; 
whereas poetry, or that species of composi<- 
tkm "^hich approached to it, lay under the 
necessity of doing absolutely the reverse, 
and addressed itself to the ear, for the pur- 
pose of exciting that interest which it could 
not attain through the medium of the eye.*' 
Dick was not a whit staggered by my ar- 
gument, which he contended was founded 
tn misrepresentation. ^< Description,'' he 
said» ^* was to the author of a romance ex- 
actly what drawing and tinting were to a 
painter; words were his colours, and, if 
properly employed, they could not fail to 
{dace the scene, which he wished to conjure 
up, as e^ctually before the mind's eye, as 
the tablet or canvas presents it to the bo- 
dily organ. The same rules,'* he contend- 
ed, << applied to both^ and an exuberance 
of dialogue, in the former case, was a ver- 
bose and laborious mod^ of composition^ 



128 TALES OF MY LAKBLOAD* 

which went to confound the proper art of 
£otitious narrative with that of the drarna^ a 
ividely different species of composition^ of 
which dialogue was the very essence j be- 
cause all> excepting the language to be 
made use of, was presented to the eye by 
the dresses^ and persons, and actions of the 
performers upon the stage* But as no- 
thing/' said Dick, ^^ can be more dull than 
a long nar<rative written upon the plan of a 
drama, so where you have approached most 
near to that species of composition, by in- 
dulging in prolonged scenes of mere con- 
versation, the course of your story has be« 
come chill and constrained, and you have 
lost the power of arresting the attention 
and exciting the imagination, in which up. 
on other occasions you may be considered 
as having succeeded tolerably well.*' 

I made my bow in requital of the compli- 
ment, which was probably thrown in by way 
-Qfplacehoy and expressed myself willing at 
least to make one trial of a more straight 
forward style of composition, in which niy 



THE BRIDE OF LAMM£ltM0OR. 20* 

actors should do more, and say less, than in 
my former attempts of this kind. Dick 
gave me a patronizing and approving nod, 
and observed, that, finding me so docile, 
he would communicate, for the benefit of 
my muse, a subject which he had studied 
with a view to his own art* 

" The story,** he said, " was, by tradi- 
tion, affirmed to be truth, although, as up- 
wards of a hundred years had passed away 
since the events took place, some doubts 
upon all the accuracy of the particulars 
might be reasonably entertained.** 

When Dick Tinto had thus spoken, he 
rummaged his portfolio for the sketch from 
which he proposed one day to execute a 
picture of fourteen feet by eight. The 
sketch, which was cleverly executed, tO'Use 
the appropriate phrase, presented an an- 
cient hall, fitted up and furnished in what 
we now call the taste of Queen Eh'zabeth's 
age. The light, admitted from the upper 
part of a high casement, fell upon a female 
figure of exquisite beauty, who, in an atti- 



so TALES OF MY LANPLOB0. 

tude of speechless terror, appeared to watch 
the issue of a debate betwixt two other per., 
sons* The one was a young man, in the 
Vandyke dress common to the time of 
Charles I., who, with an air of indignant 
pride, testified by the manner in whicli he 
raised his head and extended his arnit. 
seemed to be urging a. claim of right, rather 
than of favour, to a lady, whose age, and 
some resemblance in their features, pointed 
her out as the mother of the younger fe- 
male, and who appeared to listen with a 
mixture of displeasure and impatience* 

Tinto produced his sketch with an air of 
mysterious triumph, and gazed on it as a 
fond parent looks upon a hopeful child, 
while he anticipates the future figure he is 
to make in the world, and the height to 
which he will raise the honour of his family. 
He held it at arms' length from me, — ^he 
held it closer,r-^he placed it upon the top of 
a chest of drawers, closed the lower shut- 
ters of the casement, to adjust a downward 



THE BRIDS OF LAMMERMOOR* 81 

and favourable I]ght,«»-feli back to the due 
distance, dragging me after him,— shaded 
his face with his hand, as if to exclude all 
but the favourite . object,-^and ended by 
spoiling a child^s copy-book, which he rolU 
ed up so as to serve for tlie darkened tube 
of an amateur* I fancy my expressions of 
enthusiasm had not been in proportion to 
his own, for he presently exclaimed with 
vehemence, *^ Mr Pattieson, I used to think 
you had an eye in your head." 

I vindicated my claim to the usual allow- 
ance of visual organs. 

" Yet, on my honour/* said Dick, " I 
would swear you had been born blind, since 
you have failed at the first glance to disco- 
ver the subject and meaning of that sketch^ 
I do not mean to praise my own perform* 
ance, I leave these arts to others ; I am 
sensible of my deficiencies, conscious that 
my drawing and colouring may be impro* 
ved by the time I intend to dedicate to the 
art* But the conception-^the expression----. 



32 TALBS OF MY LANDLORD* 

the positidns— -these tell the story to every 
one who looks at the sketch ; and if I can 
finish the picture without diminution of the 
original conception, the name of Tinto 
shall no more be smothered by the mists 
of envy and intrigue." 

I replied, ^' That I admired the sketch 
exceedingly; but that to understand its 
full merit, I felt it absolutely necessary to 
be informed of the subject." 

** That is the very thing I complain of," 
answered Tinto ; ** you have accustomed 
yourself so much to these creeping twilight 
details of yours, that you are become inca- 
pable of receiving that instant and vivid 
flash of conviction, which darts on the 
mind from seeing the happy and expres- 
sive conabrnations of a single scene, and 
which gathers from the position, attitude, 
and countenance of the moment, not only, 
the history of the past lives of the person- 
ages represented, and the nature of the bu- 
siness on which they are immediately en^^ 



THEBSmB OF LAMHEBMOQR. 39 

gaged|. but lifts^^^ even the veil of futurity, 
aad affords a shrewd guess at their future 
ftttunes." 

"In that case," replied I, ** Fainting ex- 
cels the Ape of the renowned Gines de Fas- 
sament^ which only meddled with the pa3t 
and the present ; nay, she excels that very 
Nature who affords her subjects ; for I pro- 
test to you, Dick, that were I permitted id 
peep into that Elizabeth^chamber, and see 
theipersons you: have sketched qonversinjj 
in flesh and bloodi I should not be a jot 
nearer guessing the^ nature of their buai* 
ness, .than I am at this^mpmeot while look* 
ing at your sketch* Only generally, from 
the. lan^isbing look of the young lady,, 
and the. care you have taken to prese,nt.a 
very< handsome legton the part of the gen- 
Itleman, I presume there Js some reference 
to a love affair bet:vi:een -them." 
. ^V Do you really presume to form such ^ 
bold. conjecture ?'^ said Tinto« << And the 
indignant jsamestness with which you see th6 

B a 



S4 TAI.ES OF MY J^AXfJih^KBi 

fioan urge his suit>~the unresisting and pas- 
sive despair of the younger female-^the 
stern aix of inflexible determinati^ii. m the 
elder woman, whose looks express at once 
consciousness that she is acting wrong, and 
a firm determination to persist in the course 
she has adopted'^ — r<^ 

^ If hei^ Ipoks express all this^, ray deaf 
Tinto,'?^ replied I, inteituptiing him, " your 
peneil rivals the dramatic art of Mr Faff in. 
I^e Critic, who crammed a whole complin 
cajted, sentence ii^tq the expressiare shake of 
tjotd Burleigh's head**^' 

•* My good friend Peter,*' replied Tinto^ 
^ I ^erve you are perfectly incorrigible $^ 
however^ X have compassion on your du}« 
HQss, and am unwilling you^ should be de*. 
f rived q£ the pleasuse of understanding my', 
picture, and of gaining, at the same time, 
a sul^i^ct for your own pen. You must 
know then, last summer, while%I was taking 
sketches on the coast of East Lothian and 
j^erwickshire^ I was seduced into the rnpun* 
^ins of Lammermoor by the account I re- 



THB BiU0£ OJP LAMMBRMOOIU M' 

ceived of some remains of antiquity in that 
district Those with which I was most 
struck, were the ruins of an ancient castle 
in whkh that Efizabeth-diambert as you 
Gail it, once existed* I resided for two or 
lluree days at m fitfm.lu>use in the neigh* 
bourliood, where tl» aged good wife was 
well acquainted with the history of the. 
castle, and the events which had taken 
place in it. One of these was of a nature 
so interesting and Bingulart that my atten- 
tion was divided between my wish to draw 
|he old ruins in landscape, and to represent 
in a history-piece the singular events, which 
have taken place in it. Here are my notes 
of the tale," said poor Dick, handing a par- 
eel of loose scraps, . partly scratched over 
with his pencil, partly with his pen^ where 
outlines of caricatures, sketches, of turrets, 
qaills, old gables, and dove-cotes, disputed 
the ground with his written memorapda* 

I proceeded, however, to decypher the 
substance of the manuscript as well as I 
^ould, and wove it into the following Tale,^ 



36 TALES OF ^T LANDL#BD» 

in which» foHowing in part» though not eh-^ 
tirely, my friend Tinto's advice, I jcndea-P 
voured to render 'my narrative rather de- 
scriptive than dramatic. My fiivburite pro^ 
pensity, however, has at times overcome^ 
me, and loy persons, like many others in 
this talking world, speak now and then a 
great deal more than they act. 



^ 



THE BAIDE OW LAMMERMOOB, S? 



CHAPTER 11. 

WeU* lordfl^ we liave not got that which «e hafe ; 
. 'Tis not enoi^ out foM are this time flfd» 
Being opposites of such repairing nature. 

Second Part of Henry VL 

In the gorge of a pass or mountain glen* 
ascending from the fertile plains of East 
Lothian, there stood in foxmex times an ex- 
tensive castle^ of which only, the xuins are 
now visiUe* Its ancient proprietors were a 
race of powerful and warlike barons, who 
bore the same name with the castle itseU» 
which was Ravenswood. Their line ex- 
tended to a remote period of antiquity^ 
and they had intermarried with the Doug- 
lasses^HumeSySwintonsiHays, and other fa- 
milies of power and distinction in the siune 
comitry. Their history was fi:eq^ently in- 
yfdved in that of Scotland itself, in whose 
annals their feats are recorded. TheCastleof 

5 



S8 TA££S or Mf LANDLOBD. 

Ravenswoodi occup3dng, and in some mea^ 
sure commanding, a pass betwixt Berwick- 
shire or the Merse, as. the south-eastern 
province of Scotland is tenned, and the Lo-. 
thiansy was of importance both in times of 
foreign war and domestic discMd. It was 
frequently besieged with ardour and, defend- 
ed, with obstinacy, and of course, its owiv 
ers played a conspicuous part in story. Bui 
their house had its revolutions, like all 
sublunary things ; became gi^atly declined 
from its splendour about the middle of the 
17th century ; and towards the period of 
the Revolution, the last proprietor of Ra* 
ttenswood Castle saw himself compelled tOs 
part with the ancient family seat^ and to 
temove himself to a lonely and sea^beatefif 
tower, which, situated on the bleak «hore^ 
between Saint Abb's Head and the village 
of Eyemouth, looked out on the lonely 
and boisterous German Ocean. A black 
domain of wild pasture 4and surrdunded*, 
their new residence, an<l< formed; the re« 
mains of their property. ^ 



THfi BtlDE OF LAMMEAMOOE. S^ 

Lord Rayenswoody the heir of this ruined 
ftmily, was fkr from, bending his mind to 
his new condition o£ life* In the civil war 
of I689v he had espoused the sinking side, 
and, although he had escaped without the 
forfeiture of life or land, hiablooi had beea 
attainted) and his tille abolished. He was 
now called Lprd Ravenswopd only in cour<' 
tesy. 

This forfeited nobleman inherited, the 
pride and turbulence^ though npt the for- 
tune of his iamily, and^ as he imputed the 
feal declension of his family to a particulai: 
individual, he honoured that person with hia 
full portion of hatreds This was the very 
man who had now become, by purchase, proi 
prietor of Ravenswpod, and the domakis of! 
which the heir of the house i|ow stood dis^ 
possessed. He was descended of a family 
^uch less ancient than that of Lord Ravens- 
wood, and which had only risen to wealth 
and pdiitical importance d^^^i^S the great 
civil warsf. He himself had. been bred to the 
bar, and had held high offices in the state. 



40 TALB8 OF MY I<AKDLOBD. 

maintaining through life the character of 
a skilful fisher in the troubled waters of a 
state divided by faetions, anid governed by 
delegated authority ; andi of one who con- 
trived to ama^s considerable sutns.of mpoey 
in a county where . there was but > little io 
be gathered, and who equally kn^w the 
value of wealth, and the various meiyisi of 
augmenting it, and using it as an engine of 
increasing his power and influence. 

Thus qualified and gifted, he was a 
dangerous antagonist to the fierce and im« 
prudent Raven^ood. Whether he had gi-» 
ven him. good cause for the enmity with 
which the Baron regarded him, was a point 
on which men. spoke differently. Some 
said the quarrel arose merely from the vin« 
dictive spirit and envy of Lord Ravenswood, 
who could not patiently behold another^ 
though by just and fair purchase, become 
the proprietor of the estate and castle of 
his forefathers. But the greater part of 
the public, prone to slander the wealthy, 
in their absence, as to flatter them in their 



THE BRIDE Of LAHMERMOOR. 4i 

presence, held a less charitable opinion. 
They said, that the Lord Keeper, (for to 
ibis height Sir William Ashton had as- 
cended,) had, previous to the final pur- 
chase of the estate of Ravens wood, been 
concerned in extensive pecuniary transac- 
tions with the former proprietor ; and, ra- 
ther intimating what was probable, than af- 
firming any thing positively, they asked 
which party was likely to have the advan- 
tiEige in stating and enforcing the claims 
arising out of these complicated alBairs, 
and more than hinted the advantage! 
which the cool lawyer and able politioiah 
must necessarily possess over the hot, fiery, 
and imprudent character, whom he had in- 
volved in legal toils and pecuniary snares. 
The character of the times aggravated 
these suspicions. ** In those days there 
was no king in Israel/* Since the depar- 
ture of James VI. to assume the richer and 
more powerful crown of England, there had 
existed in Scotland contending parties, 
formed among the "aristocracy, by whom, 
as theic intrigues at the court of St James's 



43 TAI.ES OF MT LAKDLORD. 

chanced to prevail, the delegated powera 
of sovereignty were alternately swayed. 
The evils attending upon this system of 
government, resembled those which af« 
flict the tenants of an Irish estate owned 
by an absentee. There was no supreme 
power, claiming and possessing a general 
interest with the community at large, to 
whom the oppressed might appeal from 
subordinate tyranny, either for justice or 
for mercy* Let a monarch be as indo# 
lent, as selfish, as much disposed to arbi- 
trary power as he will, still, in a free coun-* 
try, his own interests are so clearly con- 
nected with those of the public at large ; 
and the evil consecjuences to his own au- 
thority are so obvious and imminent when 
a different course is pursued, that common 
policy, as well as common feeling, point to 
the equal distribution of justice, and to the 
establishment of the throne in righteous* 
ness. Thus, even sovereigns, remarkable 
for usurpation and tyranny, have been 
found rigorous in the administration of 



^ammmmm 



THE BRID8 OJP I.AM|C£ilMO0ft. 48^ 

justice among their subjects, in Cases where 
their own power and passions were not com-^ 
promised. 

It is very different when the powers of 
sovereignty are delegated to the head of 
an aristocratic Action, rivalled and pressed, 
closely in the race of ambition by an ad- 
verse leader. His brief and precarious en- 
joyment of power must be employed ia 
rewarding hia partisans, in extending hia 
influence, in oppressing and crushing his 
adversaries. Even Abon Hassan, the most 
disinterested of all viceroys, forgot not,* 
during his caliphate of one day, to send a. 
douceur of one thousand pieces of gold to 
his own household ; and the Scottish viipe* 
gerents, raised to power by the strength of 
their faction^ &iled not ta embrace the 
same means of rewarding them. 

The administration of justice, in particu- 
lar, was infected by the most gross partiality. 
Scarce a case of importance could occur, in 
which there was not some ground for bias 
or partiality on the part of the judges, wh# 

8 



44 TALES OF Mf LANDLOiU>« 

were so Utile able to .withstand the tempta^ 
tion, that the adage, ** Show me the man, 
and I will show you the law,*' became as 
prevalent as it was scandalous. One cor- 
ruption led the way to others still more 
gross and profligate. The judge who lent 
his sacred authority irl one case to support 
a friend, and \n order to crush an enemy, 
and whose decisions were founded oh fami- 
ly connections, or political relations, could 
not be supposed inaccessible to direct per- 
sonal motives, and the purse of the wealthy 
was too often believed to be thrown into 
the scale to weigh down the cause of the 
poorer litigant. The subordinate officers of 
the law affected little scruple concerning 
bribery. Pieces of plate, and bags of mo- 
ney, were sent in presents to the king's 
counsel, to influence their conduct, and 
poured forth, says a contemporary writer, 
like billets of wood upon their floors, with-» 
out- even the decency of concealment. 

Is such times, it wa^ not over uncharita- 
ble to suppose, that the statesman^ praati- 



t T£ffi BRIDE OF LAMMERHOOIU 45 

h. ^ed in courts of law, and ^ powerful mem- 

ber of a triumphant cabal, might find and 
use means of advantage over his less skil- 
ful and less favoured adversary^ and if it 
had been supposed that Sir William ^sh- 
tpn's conscience had been too delicate to 
profit by these advantages, it was believed 
tihat his ambition and desire of extending his 
wealth end consequence, found as strong 
a stimulus in the exhortations of his lady, 
as the daring aim of Macbeth in the days 
of yore* 

.. Lady Ashton was of a family more dis- 
tin^shed than that of her lord, an ad- 
vantage which she did not fail to use to 
the uttermost, in maintaining and extend- 
ing her husband's influence over others, 
and, unless die was greatly belied, her 
own over him. She had been beautiful, 
and was still stately and majestic in her 
appearance. Endowed by nature with 
stroi^g powers and violent passions, expe- 
rience had taught her to employ the one, 
and to conceal, if not to moderate, the 



46 tALES OF MT LANDLOED. 

Other. She was a severe and strict obser- 
ver of the external forms^ at leasts of devo- 
tion; her hospitality was splendidi even 
to ostentation ; her address and manners, 
agreeable to the pattern most valued in 
Scotland at the period, were grave, digni- 
fied, and severely regulated by the rules of 
etiquette. Her character had always been 
beyond the breath of slander^ And yet, 
with all these qualities to excite respect^ 
Lady Ashton was seldom mentioned in 
the terms of love or affection. Interest,-— 
the interest of her family, if not her own,— » 
seemed too obviously the motive of her 
actions; and where this is the case, the 
sharp-judging and malignant public ate not 
easily imposed upon by outward show. It 
Was seen and ascertained, that, in her most 
graceful courtesies and compliments^ Lady 
Ashton no more lost sight of her object 
than the falcon in his airy wheel turns 
his quick eyes from hb destined quarry ; 
and hence, something of doubt and suspi- 
cion qualified the feelings with which her 






THE BAIDE OF LAMHBRMOOR. 47 

cqiials redeived her attentions. With her 
inferiors these feelings were mingled with 
lear» an impression useful to her purposes, 
so far as it enforced ready compliance with 
her requests^, and implicit obedience to hes 
commands, but detrimental, because it caUi^ 
not exist with affection or regard. 

Even her husband, it is said, upon whose 
fortunes her talents and address had pro- 
duced such' emphatic influence, regarded 
her with respectful awe radier than con& 
ding attachment ; and report said, there 
were times when he considered his gran* 
Aewt as dearly purchased M the expence 
of domestic thraldom. Of this, however 
much m^t be swpected, but little could 
be accurately known; Lady Ashton re- 
garded the honour of her husband as her 
own, and was well aware, how much that 
would mt^T in the public eye should he 
appear a vassal to his wife. In all her ai^ 
gumeHts, his opinion was quoted as infalli- 
ble ; his taste was appealed to, and lus senti^ 
ments receited with the air of deference^ 



48 TAI^BS OF MY L:AK0LOIID« 

n^hich a dutiful wife might seem to owe to 
ft husband of Sir WiUiam Ashton's rank 
and character. But there was something 
under all this which rung false and hpUow ; 
and to those who watched this couple with 
close, and perhaps malicious scrutiny, it 
seemed evident, that, in the haughtiness of 
a former character, higher birth, and more 
decided views of aggrandizement, the lady 
looked with some contempt on her hus? 
band, and that he regarded her with jea- 
lous fear rather than with love or admira* 
iioju 

t Still, however^ the leading f^nd favourite 
interests of Sir William Ashtpn and his 
lady were the same, and they fiiiled not to 
work in concert, although without c<mlial« 
ity, and to testify, in M exterior ciccum- 
stances, that respect for each othjsr which 
they were aw|ire was neqeasai^ to secure 
thikt of th^ public. 

Their union was crowned with several 
childr^[i, of whom three survived. One, 
the eldest son, was absent ob his travels : 



THfiBmOE 0FJUAMH£itMOOa. 49 

the aeeciidi a girl of sevfenteen, and the 
thirdf a boy about three years yotrnger; re^ 
aided with their parents in £dii^urgh» du- 
ring the se&EsionB of the Scottish Parhament 
and Prtvy-couficily at other titnes in the 
<^d Gothic castle of Ravenswood, to which 
the Lord Keeper had made large additions 
in the style of the seventeenth century. 

'Allan Lord Ravenswood, the late pro- 
prietor of that anetent mansion and the 
large estate anaexed to it, contiaued for 
some time to wage ineffectual war with 
his successor concerning various points to 
which their former transactions had given 
rise, and which were successively deter^ 
mined in favour of the wealthy and power- 
ful ccHnpetitor, until death dosed the liti- 
gation, by summoning Ravenswood to a 
higher bar. The thread of life, which had 
been long wasting, gave way during a fit 
of violent and impotent Airy, with which 
he was assailed on receiving the news of 
the loss of a cause, founded, perhaps, ra« 

VOL, I. c 



^0 TALES OF MT JLANDLOfiJD. 

ther in equity than in law, the last wUch 
he had maintained dgainst his poweifut ao* 
tagonist. His son witnessed his dying ago- 
nies, and heard the curses whidi he breath* 
ed against his adversary, as if f^y had oon« 
veyed to him a legacy of vengeance. Other 
circumstances happened to exasperate a 
passiout which was, and had long bera,- a 
prevdent vice in the Scottish disposition. 

It was a November morning, and the cli£b 
which overlooked the ocean were hung 
witii thick and heavy mist, when the port- 
als of the ancient and half-ruinous tower, 
in which Lord Ravenswood had spent the 
last and troubled years of his life, opened, 
that his mortal remains might pass forward 
to an abode yet more dreary and lonely. 
The pomp of attendance, to whidi the de- 
ceased had« in his latter years, been a 
stranger, was revived as he was about to be 
consigned to the realms of fiyrgetfulness. 

Banner after banner, with the various 
devices and coats of this ancient family 



^•ws..^ 



THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR. 51 

and its connections, followed each other 
in mournful procession from under the low* 
browed archway of the court-yard. The 
principal gentry of the country attended 
in the deepest mourning, and tempered 
the pace of their long train of horses to 
the solemn march befitting the occasion. 
Trumpets, with banners of crape attach- 
ed to them, sent forth their long and me- 
lancholy notes to regulate the movements 
of the procession. An immense train of 
inferior mourners and menials closed the 
rear, which had not yet issued from the 
castle-gate, when the van had reached the 
chapel where the body was to be depo* 
sited. 

Contrary to the custom, and even to the 
law of the time, the body was met by a 
priest of the English communion, arrayed 
in his surplice, and prepared to read over 
the coflBn of the deceased the funeral ser* 
vice of the church. Such had been the de- 
sire of Lord Ravenswood in his last illness, 
and it was readily complied with by the tory 



52 TALES OF MY LANDIiOAB* 

gendemen, or cavaliers, as they afiected to 
style themselves, in which factioa most of 
tiis kinsmen were enrolled. The presbyte* 
rian church-judicatory of the bjounds, c(m* 
sidering the ceremony as a bravading iiusult 
upon their authority, had applied to the 
Lord Keeper, as the nearest privy counsel- 
lor, for a warrant to prevent its being car- 
ried into effect ; so that, when the clergy- 
man had opened his prayerrbook, an officer 
of the law, supported by some armed men, 
commanded him to be silent An insult; 
which fired the whole assembly with indig* 
nation, was particularly ami instantly re- 
sented by the only son of the deceased, 
Edgar, popularly called the Master of Ra- 
venswood, a youth of about twenty years 
of age. He clapped his hand on his sword, 
and, bidding the official person to de« 
sist at his peril from further interruption, 
commanded the cleigyman to proceed* 
The man attempted to enforce his commis* 
sion, but as an hundred swoids at once 
glittered in the air, he contented himself 



Tll£ BRIDE OF LAMMBBMOOR. 53 

with protesting against the violence which 
bad been oflered to him in the execution 
of bis dnty, and stood aloof, a sullen and 
moody sp€;ptator of the ceremonial, mut- 
tering as one who should say, <* You'll rue 
the day that clogs me with this answer." 

The scene was worthy o£ an artist's pen*. 
oL Under the veiy arch of the house of 
death, the clergyman, affrighted at the 
scene, and trembling for his own safety, 
hastily and unwillingly rehearsed the so- 
lemn service of the church, and spoke dust 
to dust, and ashes to ashes, over ruined 
pride and decayed posterity. Around stood 
the relations of the deceased, their counte- 
nances more in anger than in sorrow, and 
the drawn swords which they brandished 
forming a violent contrast with their deep 
mourning habits. In the countenance of 
the young man alone, resentment seemed 
fi^r the moment overpowered by the deep 
agcmy with which he beheld his nearest, 
and almost his only friend, consigned to 



54 TALB8 OF MY JLANOI^ORP. 

liie tomb of bis ancestry, A relative xb- 
serv^ bim turn deadly pale» wheo, all rites 
being now duly observed^ it became the 
duty of tbe chief mourner to lowex down 
into the chamel vault, where mouldering 
coffins shewed their tattered velvet and 
decayed plating, the head of the corpse 
which was to be their partner in corrup- 
tion. He stept to the youth and offered 
his assistance, which, by a mut^ motioo^ 
Edgar Ravenswood rejected* Firmly, and 
without a tear, he perfornied tliat last .du- 
ty. The stone was laid on the sepulchre, 
the door of the aisle was locked, and the 
youth took possession of its massive key. 

As tbe crowd left the chapel, he paused 
on the steps which led to its Gothic 
chancel. ^' Gentlemen and friends," be 
said, *< you have this day done no com- 
mon duty to the body of your deceased 
:kinsman. The rites of due observance, 
which, in other countries, are allowed as 
the due of the meanest Christian, would 






THE BR^USl or liAMMEUtPOR. 55 

this day have been denied to the bcNly 
of your relative -^ not certainly qgrung 
of the meanest house in Scotland--*had it 
not been assured to him by your courage* 
Others bury their dead in sorrow and tears» 
in silence and in reverence ; our funeral 
rites are marred by the intrusion of bailiffs 
and ruffians, and our grief— the grief due 
to our departed friend— »is chased from our 
cheeks by the glow of just indignation. 
But it is well that I know from what quiver 
this arrow has come forth. It was only he 
that dug the grave who could have the mean 
cruelty to disturb the obsequies ; and Hea- 
ven do as much to me and more, if I re« 
quite not to this man and his house the ruin 
and disgrace he has brought on me and 
n^ine." 

A numerous part of the assembly ap. 
plauded.this speech, as the spirited expres- 
sion of just resentment } but the more 
cool and judicious regretted that it had 
been uttered. The fortunes of the heir of 



S6 TALES OF MT LANDLORD, 

Ravenswood were too low to brave the 
farther hostility which they imagined these' 
open expressions of resentment must neces-- 
sarily provoke. Their apprehensions, how- 
ever, proved groundless, at least in the im- 
mediate consequences of this affair. 

The mourners returned to the tower, 
there, according to a custom but recently 
abolished in Scotland, to carouse deep 
healths to the memory of the deceasiied, to 
make the house of sorrow ring with sounds 
of jovialty and debauch, and to diminish, 
by the expense of a large and profuse en* 
tertainment, the limited revenues of the 
heir of him whose funeral they thus strange- 
ly honoured* It was the custom, however, 
and on the present occasion it was fully ob« 
served. The tables swam in wine, the po- 
pulace feasted in the court-yard, the yeo- 
men in the kitchen and buttery, and two 
years* rent of Ravenswood's remaining pro- 
perty hardly defrayed the charge* of the fu- 
neral revel. The wine did its office on all 



«■ 



ml 



THE BRID£ OF LAMMERMOOR. 5? 

bat the Master of Ravenswood^ a title which 
he still retained, though forfeiture had at- 
tached to that of his father. He, while 
passing around the cup which he himself 
did not taste, soon listened to a thousand 
exclamations against the Lord Keeper, and 
passionate protestations of attachment to 
himself, and to the honour of his house. 
He listened with dark and sullen brow to 
ebullitions which he considered justly as 
equally evanescent with the crimson bub- 
bles alt the brink of the goblet, or at least 
with the vapburs which its contents excited 
in the brains of the revellers around him. 

When the last flask was emptied, they 
took their leave, with deep protestations — 
to be forgotten on the morrow, if, indeed, 
those who made them should not think it 
necessary for their safety to make a more 
solemn retractation. 

Accepting their adieus with an air of 
contempt which he could scarce conceal, 
Ravenswood at length beheld his ruinous 

-c 2 



59 TALES OF MT LANDLOaD. 

habitation cleared of this confluence of riot«^ 
ous guests, and returned to the deserted 
hall, which now appeared doubly lonely 
from the cessation of that clamour to which 
it had so lately echoed. But its space was 
peopled by phantoms, which the imagina- 
tion of the young heir conjured up before 
him— *the tarnished honour and degraded 
fortunes of his house, the destruction of 
his own hopes, and the triumph of that fa- 
mily by whom they had been ruined. To 
a mind naturally of a gloomy cast, here was 
ample room for meditation, and the mu^ 
sings of young Ravenswood were deep and 
unwitnessed. 

The peasant, who shows the ruins of the 
tower, which still crown the beetling cliff 
and behold the war of the waves, though no 
more tenanted save by the sea-mew and 
cormorant, even yet affirms, that on this fa* 
tal night the Master of Ravenswood, by the 
bitter exclamations of his despair, evoked 
some evil fiend, under whose malignant 



.^.^tt^^MMril^ 



TH£ BRIDE OF LAMlCEaMOOR. $9 

influence the future tissue of incidents 
was woven. Alas ! what fiend can suggest 
more desperate counsels, than those adopt* 
ed under the guidance of our own violent 
> and unresisted passions ? 



60 TALES or Mi LAKDLORD. 



CHAPTER III. 

Ov^r Gods forebode, then^ said the King, 
That thou shouldst shoot at me. 

WilliatnBeU. Clim o' the Ckngh, &c. 

On the imiriiing after the funeral^ the 
legal officer, whose authority had been 
found insufficient to e^ct an interruption 
of the funeral solemnities of the late Lord 
Ravenswood, hastened to state before the 
Keeper the interruption which he had re- 
ceived in the execution of his office. 

The statesman was seated In a spadous 
library, once a banquetting-room in the old 
Castle of Ravenswood, as was evident /rom 
the armorial insignia still displayed on the 
carved roof^ which was vaulted with Spa- 



^^ If ni M 11 



THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR. 6l 

nish cbesnut, and on the stained glass of 
the casement, through which gleamed a 
dim yet rich light, on the long rows of 
shelves, bending under the weight of le- 
gal commentators and monkish historiansy 
whose ponderous volumes formed the chief 
and most valued contents of a Scottish his- 
torian of the period. On the massive oaken 
table and reading-desk, lay a confused mass 
of letters, petitions, and parchments ; to 
toil amongst which was the pleasure at 
once and the plague of Sir William Ash- 
ton's life. His appearance was grave and 
even noble, well becoming one who held an 
high office in the state ; and it was not, 
save afler long and intimate conversation 
with him upon topics of pressing and per- 
sonal interest, that a stranger could have 
discovered something vacillating and un- 
certain in his resolutions ; an infirmity of 
purpose, arising from a cautious and timid 
disposition, which, as he was conscious of 
its internal influence on his mind, he was. 



62 TALES OF MT I.ANI>I.OI»>. 

from pride as well as policy, most anxious 
to conceal from others. 

He listened with great apparait compo- 
sure to an exaggerated account of the tu- 
mult which had taken place at the funeral, 
of the contempt thrown on his own s^utho- 
rityi and that of the church and state i nor 
did he seem moved even by the faithful 
report of the insulting and threatening lan- 
guage which had been uttered by young 
Ravenswood and others, and obviously di« 
rected against himself. He heard, also^ 
what the man had been able to collect^ in 
a very distorted apd aggravated shape, of 
the toasts which had been drunk, and the 
menaces uttered at the subsequent enter* 
tainment In fine, he made careful notes of 
all these particulars, and of the names ' of 
the persons by whom, in case of need, an 
accusation, founded upon these vident pro- 
ceedings, could be witnessed and made 
good, and dismissed his informer, secure 
that he was now m'aster of the remaining 



THE BftI0£ OF UkUUSBMOOn. 63 

fortuAe> and evoa of the ipersonal liberty, 
of young Ravenswood« 

When the door had closed upqn the of- 
ficer of the lawy the Lord Keeper remain* 
ed for a moment in deep meditation ; then, 
starting from his seat, paced the apartment 
as one about to take a sudden and energe- 
tic resdlution. << Young Eavenswood/' he 
muttered, ** is now mine— he is my own-« 
be has placed himself in my hand» and be 
shall bend or break* I have not forgot the 
determined and dogged ot^ioacy with 
which hts father fought every point to the 
laity resisted every effort at compromise, 
embroiled me in law*suits, and attempted 
to assail my character wlien he could not 
otherwise impugn my rights. This boy he 
hasleft behind him — ^tbis £dgar — this hot* 
headed, hare*brained fod, has wrecked his 
vessel before she has cleared the harbour. I 
must see that he gains ilo £^d vantage of some 
turning tide which may again float him off. 
These memoranda, properly stated to the 

Privy- council, cannot but be construed in* 

9 



64 TALES OF MY LANDLORD. 

to an aggravated riot, in which the digni- 
ty both of the civil and ecclesiastical au- 
thorities stand committed. A heavy fine 
might be imposed ; an order for commit- 
ting him to Edinburgh or Blackness Cas- 
tle seems not improper ; even a charge of 
treason might be laid on many of these 
words and expressions, though God forbid 
I should prosecute the matter to that ex- 
tent No, I will not ;— I will not touch his 
life, even if it should be in my power ;— 
and yet, if he lives till a change of times, 
what follows ?-^Restitution — perhaps re- 
venge. I know Athole promised his in- 
terest to old Ravenswood, and here is his 
son already bandying and making a fac- 
tion by his own contemptible influence. 
What a ready tool he would be for the use 
of those who are watching the downfall of 
our administration ?" 

While these thoughts were agitating the 
mind of the wily statesman, and while he 
was persuading himself that his own inte- 
rest and safety, as well as those of his friends 



dm 



THE BRIBE OF LAMMERMOOR. 65 

and party, depended on using the present 
advantage to the uttermost against young 
Ravenswood, the Lord Keeper sate down 
to his desk» and proceeded to draw up, for 
the information of the Privy- council^ an ac- 
count of the disorderly proceedings whiqh, 
in contempt of his warrant, had taken place 
at the funeral of Lord Ravenswood. The 
names of most of the parties concerned, as 
well as the fact itself, would, he was well 
aware, sound odiously in the ears of his 
colleagues in administration, and most like- 
ly instigate them to make an * example of 
young Ravenswood at least, in terrarem. 

It was a point of delicacy, however, to se- 
lect such expressions as might infer his cul- 
pability, without seeming directly to urge 
it, which, on the part of Sir William Ash- 
ton, his father's ancient antagonist, could 
not but appear odious and invidious. While 
he was in the act of composition, labouring 
to find words which might indicate Edgar 
Ravenswood to be the cause of the uproar, 
without directly urging the charge, Sir Wil- 



66 TALES OF Mir hAXlOhQBJ^ 

liam, 10 a pause of his task, chanced, ia 
looking upward, to see the crest of the fa- 
mily (for whose heir he was whetting the 
arrows, and disposing the toils of the law^) 
carved upon one of the corbeiiles from 
which the vaulted roof of the apartment 
sprung. It was a black bull's head, with 
the legend, " I bide my time j" and the oc- 
casion upon which it was adopted mingled 
itself singularly and impressively with the 
subject of his present reflections. 

It was said by a constant tradition, that 
a Malisius de Bavenswood had, in the tl^ir- 
teenth century, been deprived of his castle 
and lands by a powerful usurper, who had 
for a while enjoyed his spoils in quiet. 
At length, on the eve of a costly banquet^^ 
Bavenswood, who had watched his oppor* 
tunity, introduced himself into the castle 
with a small band of faithful retainers. The 
serving of the expected feast was impatient- 
ly looked for by the guests, apd clamorous- 
ly demanded by the temporary master of 
the castiet Bavenswood, who had assumed 



Tm: BKWE OF XiAMMERMOOR. 6T 

the disguise of a sewer upon the occasum, 
answered, in a stem voice, '* I hide my 
time ;" and at the same moment a bull's 
head, the ancient symbol of death, was 
placed upon the table. The eiqpilosion of 
the conspiracy took place upon the signal, 
.and the usurper and his followers were put 
to death. Perhaps there was something in 
this still known and often repeated story, 
which came immediately home to the breast 
and conscience of the Liord Keeper ^ for, 
putting from him the paper on which he 
had begun his report, and carefully locking 
the memoranda which he had prepared, in- 
to a cabinet which stood beside him, he 
proceeded to tiralk abroad, as if for the pur- 
pose of collecting his ideas, and reflecting 
farther on the consequences of the step 
which he was about to take, ere yet they 
became unavoidable. 

In passing through a large Gothic anti- 
room. Sir William Asfaton heard the sound 
of his daughter's lute. ' MusiG» when the 
performers are concealed, a&cts us with a 



0i -■ TALES OF MY LAKDIOHD. 

pleaia^ure mingled with surprise, and reminds 
us of the natural concert of birds among the 
leafy bowers* The statesman, though lit- 
tle accustomed to give way to emotions of 
this natural and simple class, wa« still a man 
and a father. He stopped, therefore, and 
listened, while the silver tones of Lucy 
Ashton's voice mingled with the accompa- 
niment in an ancient air, to which some oiife 
had adapted the following words :-— 

^' Look not thou on beauty's charming,-^ 
Sit thou still when kii^s are arming,—- 
Taste not when the wine-cup gHsteng,- 
Speak not when the people listens^— 
Stop thine ear against the singer^ — 
From the red gold keep thy fingers- 
Vacant hearty and hand^ and eye,— 
Easy live and quiet die. 

The sounds ceased, and the )Ceeper en« 
tered his daughter's apartment. 

The words she had chosen seemed parti- 
culariy adapted to her character ; for LuCy 
Ashton's exquisitely beautiful, yet some- 



^_j» _: 



THE 3ft£P£ QF liAMMBRMOOlU 6^ 

what girikh features, were formed to ek# 
I»e88 peace of mind^ set^enky, and iadtffer* 
race to the tinsel of worldly pleasure. Her 
locks, which were of shadowy gold, divided 
on a brow of exquisite wbitenesd, like a 
gleam of broken and pallid sun^ine upon 
a hill of snow* The expression of the coun- 
tenance was in the last degree gentle, softf 
timid, and feminine, and seemed rather to 
shrink from the most casual look of a stran* 
ger, than to court his admiration. Some«» 
thing there was of a Mad^na cast, perhaps 
the result of delicate health, and of resi« 
dence in a iamily, where the depositions of 
the inmates were fiercer, more active, and 
energetic than her own* 

Yet her passiveness of disposition was by 
no means owing to an indifferent oi unfteL 
ing mind* Left to the impulse <^her own 
taste and feelings, Lucy Aabton was pecu* 
liarly accessible to those of a romantic 
east. Her secret delight was in the old !&• 
gendary tales of udent devotion and un» 

6 



70 TALES or »fY liAKDLtf RD« 

altenble affbction, chequered as they so 
often are mth strange adventures and su- 
pematural horrors. This was her favour- 
ed fairy realm, and here she erected her 
aerial palaces. But it was only in secret that 
rile laboured at this delusive, but ddight- 
fill architecture. In her retired chamber, 
or in the woodland bower which she had 
chosen for her own, and called after her 
narne^ she wafs in fttncy distributing the 
prizes at the tournament, or raining downf 
influence from her eyes on the valiant 
combatants, or she was wandering in the 
wilderness with Una^ or she was identify- 
ing herself with the simple, yet noble^ 
minded Miranda, in the isle of wonder and 
enchantment* 

But in her exterior relations to things 
of this world, Lucy wilKngly received the 
ruling impulse from those around her. The 
alternative was, in genei^I, too indifferent 
to her to render resistance desirable^ and 
she wittingly fdund a motive for decision 
in the opinion of her friends, which per« 



THE BMDJt OF LAMMEfiMOiDR* 71 

haps she night iMive sought for in vain in 
her own choice. Every reader must have 
observed in some family of his acqudnt* 
ance, some individual of a temper soft and 
yielding^ who, mixed with stronger and 
more ardent minds, is borne along by the 
will of others, with as little power of oppo» 
sition as the flower which is flung into a 
running stjream. It usually happens diat 
such a compliant and easy dispositkni, 
which rengns itself without murmur to 
the guidance of others, becomes the dar- 
ling of those to whose inclinations its own 
seem to be oflered, in ungrudging and ready 
sacrifice* 

Tliis was eoanently the caae with Lucy 
Ashton. Her politic, wary, and worldly 
father, fi^ for her an affisction, the strength 
of which sometimes surprised him into an 
unusual emotion. Her dder brother, who 
trode ^tm path of ambition with a hai^gbtier 
step than his father, had also more of hu- 
man auction, A sbldta*, and in a disso- 



n TAUSA or MY IiAKDIiOftO* 

lute 9ge» he {^referred his sistei^ Lucy even 
to pleasure* and to military preferment and 
distinction* Her younger brother^ at an 
age when trifles chiefly occu{^ed his mindi 
made her the confidante of all his pleasures 
«nd anxieties»«^his success in field-sports, 
and his quarrels with his tutor and ia- 
fitructors. To these details, however triviali 
Lucy Irat patient and not indifferent at- 
tention* They moved and interested Heii^ 
ry^ and that was enough to secure her ear. 
Her mother alone did not feel that dis- 
tingui^ed and predominating affection, 
with which the rest of the family cherish^ 
ed Lucy. She regarded what she termed 
her daughter'^ want of spirit, as a decided 
mark, that the more plebeiaa blood of hit 
father predomiaated in Lucy's veinsi aad 
used to call her in deritton her Lammer* 
moor Shepherdess. To dislike so gentle 
and inofiensive « being was imposrible ; 
but Lady Ashton pr^erred her eldest son, 
on whom had descended a lar^ portion of 



THX BRmK OV LAMMEHMOOR. 73 

%et oMi ambitious and undaunted diftposK 
ticHEiy to a daughter whose softness of teni« 
per seemed aHied to feebleness of mind« 
Her eldest son was the more partially be- 
loved by his mother^ because, contrary to 
the usual custom in Scottish famHies of 
distinction^ he had been named after the 
head of the bouse. 

^ My Sbdto," she said, <' will support 
the untarnished honour of his maternal 
house, and elevate and sqpport that of his 
father. Poor Lucy is unfit fbr courts, or 
crowded halb. Some country laird must 
be her husband, rich enough to supply her 
with every comfort, without an effort on 
her own part, so that she may have no- 
thing to shed a tear for but the tender ap^ 
prehension test he may break his neck in 
a fbat-ohase. It was not so, however, that 
our house was itaised^ nor is it so that it 
can be fwtified and aiigmented^ The Lord 
Keepeft digniQr is jret now ^ it must be 
borne as if we^ weM -used to ii» weight, 

TOl-. I. D 



^^mmmmm^^^^mm^mi^^mmmmmmtmmmmmmm 



T4k TALB8 OF MT LANDLORD. 

worthy of it, and prompt to assert and 
maintain it. Before ancient authoritks^ 
men bend, from customary and hereditary 
deference ; in our, presence, they will stand 
erect, unless they are compelled to pro- 
strate themselves* A daughter fit for the 
sheep-fold, or the cloister, is ill qualified to 
exact respect where it is yielded with re-^ 
luctance ; and since Heaven refused us a 
third boy, Lucy should have held a cha* 
racter fit to supply his place. The hour 
will be a . happy one which disposes her 
hand in marriage to some one wh<»e ener- 
gy is greater than her own, or whose ambi* 
tton is of as low an order**' 
. So meditated a mother, to whimi the 
qualities of her childrens' hearts, as well aa 
the prospect of their domestic happiness, 
seemed light in comparion to their rank, 
and tempor^d greatness. But, like many a 
parent of hot and impatient d^aracter, she 
was mistaken in estimating the feelings of 
her dai^hter, who, under a semblance of. 
extreme indiflference, nourished the germ 



/ 



THB BftlDC OF LAlCBfERMOOR. 75 

of those passions which sometimes spring 
up in one night, like the gourd of the pro- 
phet, and astonish the observer by their 
unexpected ardour and intensity. In fact,. 
Lucy's sentiments seemed chill, because 
nothing had occurred to interest or awa- 
ken them. Her life had hitherto flowed on 
in an uniform and gentle tenor, and happy 
fop her had not its^ present smoothness of 
current resembled that of the stream as it 
glides downwards to the waterfall ! 

« So Lucy," said her father, entering as 
her song was ended, ** does your musical 
philosopher teach ytti to contemn the 
world before you know it ?— that is surdy 
something premature.— Or d£d ybu but 
speak according to the fashion of &ir 
maidens, who are always to hold the plea- 
sures of life in contempt till they are press- 
ed upon them by the address of some gen- 
tle knights 

■ Lucy blushed, disclaimed any inference 
respecting her own choice being inferred 
from her selection of a 0ong, and readily 



\ 



96 TAUi w mr h^xnomh 

laid aside her anfitrnittfDt at her fathers 
request that she w^d attend him in his 

A large and well wooded park, or ra- 
ther chaseit stretched along the hill be* 
hind the caatlet which oeeupying, as we 
have noticed, a pass ascendkig from the 
plauii seemed built in its v^ gorge to 
defend the forest ground which arose be« 
hind it in shaggy m^esty. Into this ro> 
mantic f c^gion the &ther and daughter pro^^ 
ceededf arm in arm, by a noble avenue 
ovenurohed by embowering dmst beneath 
wlvch gnmps of the iGiUow-defir were seen to 
slray in distant perspeotive: As they paced 
slowly oDt admiring the different pmits of 
view, for which Sir William Asbton, not- 
withst«iidmg the n^wre of bis usual avoe»« 
tioosy hf4 eonaidemHe taste and f^^mgg 
they ^9me ov^ttdcen by the for esters or 
park-keeper, who, intent on sylvan sport* 
w(Ni profiieef^Dg wiHi his cross-bow over his 
vm$ end a hound led ijs leasb by his hoy^ 
inHQ the interifflr «f the wood. 



Tax mmam of lavmibmoor. 97 

<< GpoiflK to shoiyt us a ]»ece of veDiam, 
Norman P' said his mastert as he relumed 
the woodman's salutation^ 

<* Saul, yetur honow* and thai I am* 
Will it please you to see the wpott?^ 

^^ O no," said his lordship, after looking 
at kb daugfaiei; wlHwe colour fled at the 
klea of seeing the deer shot» although, had 
ker father expressed his wish that they 
should accompany Norman, it was proba*- 
ble she would not even have hinted her re» 
Itn^ance. 

The forests shn^ged his shoulders* <«It 
was a disheartening thing/' he said, <^when 
none of the gentles came down to see the 
sport He hoped Mr Sbolto wotdd be soon 
hame, w he mi^ht shut up his shop entire- 
ly } for Mr Harry was kept sae close wi' his 
Latin nonsense, that, thiHigh hig wiU was 
very gude to be in the wood'fimn motning 
till n%ht, ilmre would be a hopeful kd lost, 
and no making a man of horn. It was not 
BO, he. had heud, in Lord BaveMwood's 
tinie-«i^when a budlc was to be kitted, .man 



1. • u. r^r 



78 TALES OF MT LAKDLOHD. 

^nd mother's son mn td see ; and iiiien the 
deer feU» the knife was always presented to 
the Imight, and he never gave less than a 
.. dollar for the compliamt. And there was 
Edgar Ravenswood— ^Master of Ravens- 
wpbfl that isnow— when he goes up to the 
Wbod — there : hasna . been a.better'ibunter 
since Tristrfcm's time-^when: Sir 'Edgar 
hands out, down goes! the .deer^ ffl:tth. vBot 
we hae;lost;a\sense of wood-craft on this 
side.of the hill.".'. ' 

There was much in this harangue higt^ly 
displeasing to the Lord Keeper's feelings ; 
he cQuld not help observing that his menial 
despised him almost avowedly for not pos» 
sessing that taste for sport, which in thete 
times, was deemed the natural and indk- 
pensible attribute of a real gentleman. But 
the master of the game is» in all country 
houses, a m^^of great importance, and en- 
titled to use considerable freedott of speech; 
Siri^ilUam, tharefore, only smiled and re- 
plied, he had acgnething else to think upon 
to-day than killing deer f meantime, takiiig 



THE BBIDE OW LAMMSRMOOR. 



79 



out his purse, he gave the ranger a dollar 
for his encouragement The fellow recei- 
ved it as the waiter of a fashionable hotel 
receives* double his proper fee from the 
hands of a country gentlemaUi— -that is, 
^th a smile, in which pleasure at the gift 
is mingled with contempt for the ignorance 
of the donor. <* Your honour is the bad 
paymaster," he said, *^ who pays before it 
is done. What would you do were I to 
miss the buck after you have paid me my 
wood-fee ?" 

" I suppose,^^ said the Keeper, smiling, 
<< you would hardly guess what I mean 
were I to tell you of acandictid indebiti V* 

<< Not I, on my saul— -I guess it is some 
law phrase—but sue a beggar, and— your 
honour knows what follows. — Well, but I 
will be just with you, and if bow and brach 
fail not, you shall have a piece of game two 
fingers fat on the brisket."- . . ' 

As he was about to go off, his master 
again called him, and asked, as if by acci- 



80 TALBS OF MT LANDLOIOO,* 

dent, whether the Master of Ravenswood 
was actually so brave a man and so good 
a shooter as the world spoke him 7^ 

" Brave !^— brave enough, I warrant you,*^ 
answered Norman ; ^* 1 was in the wood 
at Tyningbame, when there was a sort of 
gallants bunting with my lord y on my saul^ 
there was a buck turned to bay made us 
all stand back ; a stout old Trojan of the 
first-head, ten^tyned branches^ and a brow 
as broad as e'er a bullock's. Egad, he dash* 
ed at the old lord, and there would have 
been intake among the peerage^ if the 
Master had not whipt roundly in, and 
hamstrung him with his cutlace. He was. 
but sixteen then, bless his heart !^ 

<• And is he as ready with the gun aa 
with the couteau ?^' said Sir William. 

^< He^l strike this silver dollar out from, 
between my finger and thumb at fourscore 
yards, and Til hdd it out for a gold merk y 
what more would ye have of eye, hand^ 
lead, and gunpowder ?'' 

^ O no mose to be wished^ certain-^ 



ly," said the Loid Khoper ^ << hut we heip^ 
you from your sporty Norman. Good mor- 
row, good Norman/' 

And humming his rustic roundelay, the 
yeomaiQ went oa hi& road» the sound of his 
i^wgh voice gradually dying away as the 
dUtsince betwuit them increased* 

The monk must arise when the matuw mg, 
The abbot may sleep to their chime ; 

But the yeoman must start when the bugles tang, 
'Tis time^ my hearts^ 'tis time^ 

There's bucks and raes on B^ope braet^ 
Tbtre'a a herd in Shortwoocl jShaw ; 

But a lily white doe in the gmifOig^^^ 
She's fiiiidy worth them a'.. 

*^ Has this fellow;' said the Lord Keep- 
er, when the yeoman's song had died on 
the wind,. '< ever served the Ravenswood 
people, that he seems so much interested 
in them i I suppose you know» Lucy, for 
you make it a point of con9cience to record 

n 2 



9Sl TALES OF MY LANDLORD. 

the special history of every boor about the 
castle.'' 

<< I am not quite so faithful a chronicler, 
my dear father ; but I belieye that Norman 
once served here while a boy, and before 
he went to Ledington, whence you hired 
him. But if you want to know any thing 
of the former family, Old Alice is the best 
authority.'* 

« And what should I have to do with 
them, pray, Lucy," said her father, " or 
with their history or accomplishments ?'' 

<< Nay, I do not know, sir ; only that 
you were asking questions at Norman about 
young Ravenswood.'' 

** Pshaw, child !" — replied her father, yet 
immediately added, ^* And who is old 
Alice ? I think you know all the old wo* 
men in the country.*' 

" To be sure I do, or how could I help 
the old creatures when they are in hard 
times? And as to old Alice, she is the 
very empress of old women^ and queen of 



THB BBIDE OF LAMMEBMOOR. 8S 

gossips, SO far as legendary lore is conc^n- 
ed« She is blind^ poor old soul, but when 
she speaks to you, you would think she has 
some way of looking into your very heart. 
I am sure I often, cover my face, or turn it 
away, for it seems as if she saw one c)iange 
colour, though she has been blind these 
twenty years. She is worth visiting, wera^ it 
but to say you have seen a Uind and para- 
lytic old 'wonxan have so much acuteness of 
perception, and dignity of manners. I as- 
sure youy she might be a countess from her 
language and behaviour. — Come, you must 
go to AUce ; we are not a quarter of a 
mile from her cottage." 

<< All this, my dear/' said the Lord Keep- 
er, ^< is no answer to my question, who this 
woman is, and what is her connection with 
the former proprietor's family ?'! 

** O, it was something of a nourice-ship^ 
I believe ; and she remained here, because 
her two grandsons were engaged in your 
service. But it was against her willi I 



'^-. 



fitncy ; for the poor old creatuse is always 
regretting the change of times and <^ pro« 
perty.** 

<< I am much obliged ta hery'^ answered 
the Lord Keeper. *< She and her folks eat 
my bread and drink my eupr iuid are la- 
menting all the while that they are not still 
tinder a family which never could do good, 
either to themselves or any one else/' 

^ Indeed,^ replied Lucy, ^ I am cer- 
lain you do oid Alice mjustice. She has 
nothing mercenaiy about her, and would 
not aecept a penny in charity, if it were to 
save Iwr from being starved. She is only 
talkative, like al) old Ibiks, when you put 
them upon stories of their youth ; and she 
speaks about the Bavraswood people, be* 
cause she lived under them so many years. 
But I am sure she is gnteiul to yoo» ah*, for 
your protection^ and that she wmild rather 
speak to you, than to any other persos ia 
the whole world beaide. Do^ rir» come and 
see old Alice* ' 



^m 



THfi BfiIOJ& OF LAMMEaMOOR. 



85 



And with the freedom of an indulged 
daughter, she dragged the Lord Eleepec 
in the direction she desired*. 



A. _ .^MctaMk 



96 TALES OF MT LANDLOAD# 



CHAPTER IV. 

Through tops of the high trees she did descry 
A little smoke, whose vapour^ thin and light, 
Reekuig aloft, uprolled to the sky. 
Which cheerful sign did send unto her sight, 
That in the same did wonne some living wight. 

Spenser. 

LucT acted as her father's guide^ for he 
was too much engrossed with his political 
labours, or with society^ to be perfectly ac- 
quainted with his own extensive domainst 
and» moreover, was generally an inhabitant 
of the city of Edinburgh ; and she, on the 
other hand) had, with her mother, resided 
the whole summer in Ravenswood, and, 
partly from taste, partly from want of any 
other amusement, had, by her frequent ram- 






TH£ BRIDE OF LAMMERSCOOR. 87 

bles, leaiiied to know each lane^ alley, din- 
gle» or busby dell, 

'' And every bosky bourne fiom aide to dde." 

We have said, that the Lord Keeper V9m 
not indifferent to the beauties of nature, 
and we must add, in justice to him, that he 
felt them doubly, when pointed out by the 
beantiful, simple, and interesting girl, who, 
hanging on his arm with filial kindness, now 
called him to admire the size of some an- 
cient oak, and now the unexpected turn, 
where the path developing its maze from 
glen or dingle, suddenly reached an emi- 
nence commanding an extensive view of 
the plains beneath them, and then gradual- 
ly glided away from the prospect to lose it- 
self among rocks and thickets, and guide 
to scenes of deeper seclusion. 

It was when pausing on one of those 
points of extensive and commanding view, 
that Lucy told her fatiber they were close 



99 TMJtS OF M7 LANllAiOBIH 

bjT the cot!t^€ of her blind proteg^ ; and 
on turning from the little hill» a path whidi 
led around it^ worn by the daily steps of 
the infirm iamate^ brought them in sight 
of the hut, which, embosomed in a deep* 
a»d obscure deU, seemed to have been so 
situated purposely to bear a crarespondence 
with the darkened state of itfr inhabitent* 

The cottage was situated immediately 
under a tidl rock, which in some measure 
beetled over it,, as if threatening to drop 
some detached fragment from its brow on 
the frail tenement beneath. The hut itself 
was constructed of turf and stones^ and 
imdely roofed over with thatch^ much of 
which was in a dilapidated cmiditkm. The 
thin Uue smoke rose from it in a light co- 
lomiiy aod curled upward along the white 
&ee of the incumbent rock» giving the scene 
a tint of exquiske softness. Is a small and 
lude gaiden». surrounded by straggling el* 
dcr bushes^ which formed a sort of imper- 
fect hedge^ sat near to the beeJiives^ by the 



^ THE BfilOE OF LAMM£RM0OR« 6d 

producer of which she lived, that ** woman 
old," whom Lucy had brought her father 
hither to visit* 

Whatever there had been which was dia* 

> 

artrotts in her fortunes-whatever there was 
miseraUe in her dwellkig, it waa easy to 
judge, by the first glance, that neither 
years, poverty, misfortune, nor in&tmityf 
had broken the spirit of this remarkable 
woman* 

She occupied a tuff**seat, placed under 
a weeping birch of unusual magnitude and 
age, as Judah is represented sitting undet^ 
her palm« tree, with an air at once of majesty 
and of dejection. Her figure was tall, com« 
mandingi and but little bent by the infirm!- 
ties of old age. Her dress, though that of a 
peasant, was remarkably cleaA» formingin 
that particoliu* a strong contrast tothoteiaf 
her rank^ and was disposed With an attention 
to neatness, and even to taste, equally unu- 
sual. But it was her expression of counte* 
nance which chiefly struck the spectator, and 
Induced most persons to address her with a 



f 



90 TAUS or MT LANDLORD. 

degree of deference and civility very incon- 
sistent with the miserable state of her dwel- 
ling ; and which, nevertheless, she received 
with that easy composure which showed she 
felt it to be her due. She had once been 
beautiful, but her beauty had been of a bold 
and masculine cast, such: as does not sur- 
vive the ibloom, of youth ; yet her features 
continued ? to express strong sense, deep 
reflection, and a character of sober pride, 
which, as we have already said of her. dress, 
appeared to argue a conscious superiority to 
those of her own rank. It scarce seemed 
possible that a face, deprived of the advan- 
tage of sight, could have expressed character 
s# strongly; but her eyes, which were almost 
totally closed, did not, by the display of their 
'sightless orbs, mar the ccmntenance to which 
they could add nothing. She seemed in a 
ruminating posture, soothed, perhaps^by the 
murmurs of the busy . tribe around her, to 
abstraction, though not to slumber.' 
Lucy undid the latch of the little garden 



THE BEXDE OF LAHMERMOOR. 91; 

gtte, and solicited the eld woman's atten« 
timi. *< My father, Alice, is come to see 
you.**- ., • . J t •:: i 

« 

** He k welcome. Miss AsbtoD/ribi^ sov 
are you,'* said the old woman, turnifsgrlind/ 
inclining her head towards her viators. '^"^ 
\ V This is a fine morning for your ifie^ 
hives, mother," said the Lord Keeper, who, 
struck with . the outward appearance of 
, Alice, was somewhat curious to know if 
her conversation wottldjedrrespond with it. 
. «' I^Jbtelieve so, my lord,'* she replied j. 
? I feel the air breathe milder than of 
late." 

** You do not," resumed the statesman, 
*^ take charge of these bees yourself, mo**^ 
ther ?— How do you manage them ?" 

^< By delegates, as kings do their sub-> 
jects," resumed Alice, ^* and I am fortunate, 
in a prime minister— -Here, Babie." 
. She whistled on a small silver call which 
hung around her neck, and which at that 
time was sometimes used to summon do^ 
mestics, and Babie, a gi'rj of fifteen, made 



•'^rr — — 



91 TiLU» or ICT JLAimLOm 

her wgfptmuice from the but, not altogether 
so cleanly armyed as she wouM ^obMtf 
have been had Alice had the use of her 
eyes, but with a greater air of neatness than 
was upon the whole to have been expected^ 

<< Babie,'' said her m&itress, ^ offer some 
bread and honey to the Lord Keeper Itnd 
Miss Ashton-^they will excuse your awk- 
wardness» if you use deanHnei» and de* 
spatcfa." 

Babie performed her mistress's ccnn- 
niand with the grace which was naturally 
to have been expected, moving to imd 
again in a lobster-like gesture, her feet and 
legs tending one way^ while her head, turn- 
ed in a different cMrection^ was fixed kk 
wonder upon the laird, who was colore fre- 
quently beard of than seen by hit tenants^ 
and dependents. The bread and hone^r^ 
however^ deposited on a plantaia ieaf» waa 
ctffered and accepted in all due courtesy* 
The I^urd Keeper^ still keeping the plaee 
which he had occupied on the decayed 
trank of a fallen tree^lo^d^ed as if he wkhi^ 



. ^ -^^ L - ' ^ ^ ^ - » Mi ^ — ' # •" 



■^ 



THX BSIDB t)P JUAMKKBICOOR. 93 

^ ta i»olpog Ae interview, but was at a 
ioM haw to itttroduce a auitaUe subgect. 

** You have beea long a readent on this 
property ?" he said, after a pause. 

'< It is now nearly rixty years since I 
first knew Ravenswood/' answered the old 
dame, whose conversation, though perfect- 
ly civil and respectful, seemed cautiously 
limited to the unavoidable and necessary 
task of replying to Sir William. 

*< You are not, I should judge by your 
accent, of this country originally ?" said Sir 
William in condnuatimi. 

^< No ; I am by birth an Englishwoman.^ 

*^ Yet you seem attached to this country 
as if it were your own.** 
. ^ It is here,^ repUed the blind woman, 
^ that I have dcank the cup of joy and of 
sorrow which Heaven destined for me — ^I 
WW here the wife of an uptight and affee* 
tkmate hpsband for more than twenty yeuti 
««*I was^ here the mother of six promising 
diildrea<«Hit was here that God deprived 



0' 



94 TALES OF MY LANOLOJEtD. 

me of all these blessings— it was here they 
died, and yonder, by yon ruined chapel, 
they lie all buried — ^I had no country but 
theirs while they lived — ^I have none but 
theirs now they are no more." 

^< But your house/' said the Lord Keep- 
er, looking at it, <^ is miserably ruinous ?" 

<< Do, my dear father," said Lucy, eager- 
ly, yet bashfully, catching at the hint, 
<c give orders to make it better,— that is, if 
you think it proper.'^ 

^< It will last my time, my dear Miss 
Lucy,'' said the blind woman i **I would 
not have my lord give himself the least 
trouble about iV\ 

^^ But," said Lucy, << you once had a 
much better house, and were ridi,'and now 
in your old age to live in this hovel !" 

^< It is as good as I deserve. Miss Lucy ; 
if my heart has not broke with what I have 
suffered, and seen others suffer, it must 
have been strong enough, and the rest of 
this old frame has no right to call itself 
weaken" 

6 



THE BRIDE OF LAKKERMOOR. 95 

<< You have probably witnessed many 
changes," said the Lord Keeper; << but 
your experience must have taught you to 
expect them." 

<* It has taught me to endure them, my 
lord," was the reply. 

** Yet you knew that they must needs 
arrive in the course of years ?" said the 
statesman. 

: ^' Ay ; as I know that the stump, on or 
beside which you sit, once a tall and lofty 
tree, must.needs one day fall by decay, or 
by the axe j yet I hoped my eyes might not 
witness the downfall of the tree which over« 
shadowed my dwelling." 

*' Do not suppose," said the Lord Keep* 
er, " that you will lose any interest with 
me, for looking back with regret to the 
days when another * family possessed my 
estates You had reaaon, doubtless, to love 
them, and I respect your gratitude. I wiU 
order some repairs in your cottage, .and I 
hope we sbill live to be friends when we 
know each other better." 



A- 



99 TALES OF UT LANDLORD. 

*^ Those of my age,' ' returned the dame^ 
«* make no new friends* I thank you for 
your boanty««i^it is well intended undoubt* 
edly ; but I have all I want, and I cannot 
accept more at your lordship's bandB." 

"'Well then," continued the Lord Keep- 
ers ^^ at least allow me to say, that I look 
upon you as a woman of sense and educa- 
tion beyond your appearance, and that I 
hope you wiU continue to reside on this 
property of mine rent«free for your life." 

** I hope I shall," said the old dame, 
composedly ; <M believe that was made an 
article in the sale of Ravenswood to your 
lordship, though such a trifling circum- 
stance may have eiftaped your recollec- 
tion." 

** 1 iemember.«-I recollect,^' said bis 
lordship, somewhat confused. <' I per- 
ceive yon are too much attaclied to your 
<M friends to accept apy beneit from their 
successor," 

^ Far from it, my lord $ I am grateful 



.^ ■ J 



THE BRI0E OF LAMMERMOOR. 97 

for the benefits which I decline, and I wish 
I could pay you for offering them better 
than what I am now about to say." The 
Lord Keeper looked at her in some sur- 
prise, but said not a word. << My lord *' 
she continued, in an impressive and so- 
lemn tone, " take care what you do j you 
are on the brink of a precipice." 

*• Indeed?" said the Lord Keeper, his 
mind reverting to the political circumstan- 
ces of the country ; « Has any thing come 
to your knowledge— any plot or conspi- 
racy ?" 

« No, my lord J those who traffic in 
such commodities do not call into their 
councils the old, blind, and infirm. My 
warning is of another kind. You haVe dri- 
ven matters hard with the house of Ha- 
venswood. Believe a true tale--.-they are a 
fierce house, and there is danger in dealing 
with men when they become desperate." 

/* Tuah," answered the Keeper j «« what 
has been between us has been the work of 

VOL. I. E 



fl^^^Kt 



r 



98 TALES OF MY LANDLORD. 

the law, not my doing ; and to the law they 
must look, if they would impugn my pro- 
ceedings.'* 

" Ay, but they may think otherwise, and 
take the law into their own hand, when they 
fail of other means of redress." 

" What mean you ?** said the Lord 
Keeper. " Young Ravenswood would not 
have recourse to personal violence ?" 

« God forbid I should say so ; I know 
nothing of the youth but what is honour- 
able and open — honourable and open, said 
I ? — I should have added, free, generous, 
noble. But he is still a Ravenswood, and 
may bide his time. Remember the fate of 
Sir George Lockhart.*^ 



* President of the Covift of Sesfiidn. Hb waft pigtail 
led in the High Street of £dsifaiit|^« b^ JcAmCthiedfQr , 
of Daby, in the year i689. The revenge of this des^ 
perate man was stimulated by an opinion that he ha€^ 
sustained injustice in a decreet-arbitral pronounced by 
the President^ assigning an alhnentary provision b£ 




m^^^^mm^ 



■ 

J 



THfi BRTOE OF LAMMERMOOR. 99 

The Lord Keeper started as she called 
to his recollection a tragedy so deep and 

. I 

about 931. in favour of his wife and children. He is 
said at first to have designed to shoot the judge while 
attending upon divine worsh^j but waa diverted bj 
some feeling oonceming the sanctity of the place. Af» 
ter the congregation was dismissed^ he dogged his vie* 
tim as far as the head of the close on the south side <^ 
the Lawnmarket^ in which the President's house was si*^ 
tuated, and shot kim dead as he was about to enter it. ] 
This act was done in the presence of numerous specta- 
tors. The assassin made no attempt to Ry, but boasted 
of the deed^ sayings '^ I have taught the President how 
to do justice." He had at least given him fair warnings 
as Jack Cade says on a similar occasion. The mur- 
detBT^ afterundergoing the torturej by a special act of 
ihe.EBtH^ pf ParUamentj was tried before the Lord 
Provost of Edinburgh^ as high sheriff, and condemned 
to be dragged on a hurdle to the place of execution, to 
have his right hand struck off while he yet lived, and 
•finally;^ tobehungonthe gaOows with the pistol where- 
witib he shot the President tied round his n^ck. This ex- 
ecution took place on the 3d April, 1689; and the inci- 
dent was long remembered as a dreadful instance of 
'what the kw books call the perfervidum genium Soaiom 



100 TALES OF MY LANDLORD. 

.SO recent. The old woman proceeded^ 
« Chiesley, who did the deed, was a rela- 
tive of Lord Ravenswood. In the hall 
of Ravenswood, in my presence, and in 
that of others, he avowed publicly hi& 
determination to do the cruelty which he 
afterwards committed. I could not keep 
silence, though to speak it ill became my 
station. * You are devising a dreadful 
crime,' I said, < for which you must reckon 

before the judgment-scat.' Never shall I for- 
get his look, as he replied, < t must reckon 
then for many things, and will reckon for 
this also.' Therefore I may well say beware 
of pressing a desperate man with the hand 
of authority. There is blood of Chiesley in 
the veins of Ravenswood, and one drop of 
it were enough to fire him in the circum- 
stances in which he is (daced — I say be- 
ware of him.*' 

The old dame had, either intentionally 
or by accident, harped aright the fear of . 
the Lord Keeper. The desperate and dark 






_,j 



THE BRIDB OF LAMMERMOOR* 101 

resource of private asRsassination, so fami* 
liar to a Scottish baron in former times, 
had even in the present age been<too fre- 
quently resorted to under the pressure of 
unusual temptation, or where the mind of 
the actor was prepared for such a crime. 
Sir William Ash ton was aware of this ; 
as also that young Ravenswood had re- 
ceived injuries sufficient to prompt him 
/ to that sort of revenge, which becomes a 
frequent though fearful consequence of 
the partial administration of justice. He 
endeavoured to disguise from Alice the 

9 

nature of the apprehensions which he en- 
tertained, but so ineffectually, that a per 
son even of less penetration than nature 
had endowed her with must necessarily 
have been aware that the subject lay near 
his bosom. His voice was changed in its 
accent as he replied to her, that the Master 
of Ravenswood was a man of honour ; and, 
were it otherwise, that the fate of Chiesley 
of Dairy was a sufficient warning to ai^ 
one who should dare to assume the office 



ir #— 



lOS TALES OF MY LANDLOdiD. 

of avenger of his owo imaginary wFOOgs. 
And having hastily uttered those €xpres<> 
sionsy he rose wad left the place without 
waiting for a reply. 



THE BRIOE or LAMMERMOOR. 103 



CHAPTER IV. 



Is she a Capulet ? 



O dear account ! my life is my foe's debt. ^ 

ShAKKS]?£ARE. 

Th£ Lord Keeper walked for nearly a 
qiii^rter of a mile in profound silence. His 
daughter, naturally timid and bred up in 
those ideas of filial awe and implicit obe- 
dience which' were inculcated upon tlie 
youth of that period, did not venture to 
interrupt his meditations. 

*« Why do you look so pale, Lucy?" 
said her father, turning suddenly round 
a.nd breaking silence. 

According to the ideiis of the time, which 
did not permit a young woman to offer her 
sentiments on any subject of importance 
unless especially required to do. so, Lucjf 



1 
/ 



"■ '--^A 



_». ■ ■«* 



104 T^LES OF Mt LANDLORD. 

was bound to appear ignorant of the mean? 
ipg of all that had passed betwixt Alice 
and her father, and imputed the emotion 
he had observed to the fear of the wild 
cattle which grazed in that part of the ex- 
tensive chase through which they were 
now walking. 

Of these animals, the descendants of the 
savage herds which anciently roamed free 
in the Caledonian forests, it was formerly 
a point of state to' preserve a few in the 
parks of the Scottish nobility. Specimens 
continued within the memory of man to 
be kept at least at three houses of dis* 
tinction, Hamilton namely, Dromlanrick; 
and Cumbernauld. They had degenerated 
from the ancient race in size and strength, 
if we are to judge from the accounts of 
old chronicles, arid from the formidable 
remains frequently discovered in bogs and 
morasses when drained and laid open. The 
bull had lost the shaggy honours of his 
mane, and the race was small and light- 






THE BHIDE OF LAMMBIIMOOR. 105 

made, in colour a dingy white, or rather a 
pale yellow, with Mack horns and hoofs* 
They retained, however, in some measure, 
tlie ferocity of their ancestry, could not be 
domesticated on account of their antipathy 
to the human race, and were often danger- 
ous if approached unguardedly, or wanton- 
ly disturbed. It was this last reason which 
has occauoned thdr being extirpated at 
the places we have mentioned, where pro- 
bably they would x)therwise have been re* 
tained as appropriate inhabitants of a Scot- 
tish woodland, and fit tenants for a baronial 
forest. A few, if I mistake not, are still 
preserved at Chiilingham Castle, in Northr 
umberland, the seat of the Earl of Tanker- 
ville. 

It was to her finding herself in the vici- 
nity of a group of three or four of these 
animak, that Lucy thought proper to im- 
pute those signs of fear, which had arisen 
in her countenance for a different reasonr 
For she had been familiarized with the ap- 

E SI 



106 



TALES OF BIT LANDLORD. 



pearance of the wild cattle, during her 
walks in the chace ; and it was not then, 
as now, a necessary part of a young lady's 
education, to indulge in causeless tremors, 
of the nerves. On the present occasion, 
however, she speedily found cause for real 
terror. 

Lucy had scarcely replied to her father 
in the wcnrds we have «ienttGine4» a&d he 
was just about to rebuke btr supposed ti- 
midity, when a bull, stinitiiated either by 
the scarlet colour of Miss Ashton's man- 
tle, or by one of those fits of capricious 
ferocity to which their dispositions are 
liable, detached himself suddaiiy &Mn the 
group which was feeding at the upper ex- 
tremity of a grassy glade, that seemed to 
lose itself among the crossing and entan- 
gled boughs. The animal approached the 
intruders ott his pasture ground, at first 
slowly, pawing the ground with his hoof, 
bellowing from time to time, and tearing 
up the sand with his horns, as if to lash 
himself up to rage and violence. 



:ji„t-. 



*jt"- 1- 



■»^ 



Tius BAjpi: OF .x.ammc;amoor. 107 

The Lord Keeper, ¥iho observed the ani« 
HHirs demeanour, was aware th^t he was 
about to become mi3cbievou89 aQd, draw- 
ing his daughter's arm under his ^wd, be- 
gan to walk fast aloi^ the aveaue, in hopes 
to get out of hissight.ajid his rjeacb. This 
was die most iiyudicious course he could 
have adopted, for, encouraged by the ap* 
pearance of flight, the bull began to pursue 
them at full speed. Assailed by a danger 
80 imminent, firmer courage than that of 
the Lord Keeper might have given way. 
But paternal tenderness, f^ hye atrong 9A 
death,'' supported him. He oontinued to 
support and drag onward his d^ng^ter, un- 
til, her fears altogether depriving her of the 
power of flight, she sunk down by his side ; 
and when he could no longer assist her to 
escape, he turned round and placed him* 
sdf betwixt her and the ragii^g animal, 
which advancing in full career, its brutal 
fury enhanced by the rapidity of the pur- 
suit, was now within a few yards of them. 
The Lord Keeper had no weapons i his 



..^*1fcfc^' irvt '<»r»-.j=.v 



WB TALES OF HY LANDLORD. 

age and gravity dispensed even with the 
usual appendage of a walking swordy^-t^ 
could such appendage have availed bim 
any thing. 

It seemed inevitable that the father ox 
daughter, or both, should have fallen vie - 
tims to the impending danger, when a shot 
from the neighbouring thicket arrested 
the progress of the animal. He was so 
truly struck between the junction of the 
spine with the skulU that the wound, which 
in any other part of his body mig^t scarce 
have impeded his career, proved instantly 
fatal. Stumbling forward with a hideous 
bellow, the progressive force of his previous 
motion, rather than any operation of his 
limbs, carried him up to within three yards 
of the astonished Lord Keeper, where he 
rolled on the ground, his limbs darkened 
with the black deathrsweat, and quivering 
with the last convulsions of muscular mo- 
tion. 

Lucy lay senseless on the ground, insen- 
«ible of the wonderful deliverance which 



TH£ BRIDB OF LAMMERMOOR. 109 

she had experienced. Her father was al- 
most equally stupified, so rapid and so uo- 
expected had been the transition from 
the horrid death which seemed inevitable, 
to perfect security. He gazed on the ani- 
mal, terrible even in death, with a species 
of mute and confused astonishment, which 
did not permit him distinctly to under- 
stand what had taken place ^ and so inac- 
curs^ was his consciousness of what had 
passed, that be might have supposed the 
bull had been, arrested in its career by a 
diunderbolt, bad he not observed among 
the branches of Ae thicket the figure of a 
man, with a short gun or mosquetoon in 
his hand. 

This instantly recalled him to a sense of 
their situation---a glance at his daughter 
reminded him of the necessity of procu- 
ring her assistance. He called to the man, 
whom he concluded to be one of his fo- 
resters, to give immediate attention to Miss 
Asfaton, while he himself hastened to call 
assistance. The huntsman approached 



!:»-' 



110 TALBS OF UY hAjmhOKV. 

them accordingly^ and the Lord Keeper 
saw be was a stranger, but was too much 
agitated to make any farther remarks. In a 
few hurried iwords, he directed the. shooter, 
as stronger and more active tiian^himsiel^ 
to oarry the yousg lady to, a ^neighbouriDg 
fountain, while he went badt to Aliee^s hut 
to procure more aid. 

The man to whose timdy sinterfeience 
they had been so much ihdeUtod, did not 
seem inclined to leave his good mo$k half 
finished* He raised Lucy from the ground 
in his arms, and conveying, her through 
the glades of the 'forert) by paths with 
which he seemed well acquainted, stopped ' 
not until he laid her in safety by the side 
of a plentiful and pellucid fountain, which 
had been once covered in, acreeaied and 
decorated with architectural ornaments. of 
a Gothic character. But now the vault 
which had covered it being broken down 
and riven, and the Gothic front ruined and 
demolished, the stream burst forth from the 
recess of the earth in open day, and wind* 



*e.i»_.jL?7.jr* 



THE BftllXE OF LAMMfiRMOOE. 1 1 1 

ed its way among the broken sculpture 
and moss-grown 8t(»es which lay in confu- 
sion aroond its source. 

Tradilbn, always bu3y» at least in Scot- 
land, to grace w&tb a kgaftdary tale a 3po& 
in itself in terestingy had ascribed a cuuise 
of peculiar venef ation to this fountain. A 
beautiful young lady met one of the Lords 
of Rainedswood while hunting near this spot, 
and^ likea second Egeria, bad captivated the 
aifecstiioafts of the feudal Numa. They met 
frequently afterwardsy and always at sun- 
set, ihe charms of the nymph's mind com* 
pkting Ihe cofiqaest which her beauty had 
b^un, and the mystery of the intrigue 
adding aest to both. She always appeared 
and disappeared ctose by the fountain, with 
which, therefore, her lover judged she had 
some inexplicable connec4»on. She placed 
certain restrictions on their interGourse, 
which also savoured of mystery. They met 
only once a week, Friday was the appointed 
day, and she expfauned to the Lord of Ra* 
venswood^ that they were under the neces- 






lis TALBS OF MY LAKDLOKD. 

sity of separating so soon as the bell of a 
chapel, belonging to a hermitage in the 
adjoining wood, now long ruinous, tolled 
the hour of vespers* In the course of his 
confession, the Baron of Ravenswood en>- 
trusts the hermit with the secret of this 
singular amour, and Father Zachary drew 
the necessary and obvious consequence, 
that his patron was enveloped in the toils 
of Satan, and in danger of destruction 
both to body and soul. He urged these 
perils to the Baron with all the force of 
monkish rhetoric, and described, in the 
most frightful colours, the real character 
and person of the apparently lovely Naiad, 
whom he hesitated not to denounce as a 
limb of the kingdom of darkness. The 
lover listened with obstinate incredulity ; 
and it was not until worn out by the ob* 
stinacy of the anchoret, that he consented 
to put the state and condition of his *mis«. 
tress to a certain trial, and for that pur- 
pose acquiesced in Zachary's proposal, 
that on their next interview the vespers 



THE BRIDE OF LAMM£RMOOR. 113 

bell should be rung half an hour later 
than usual. The hermit maintained and 
bucklered his opinion, by quotations from 
Malleus Maleficarumy Sprengerus^ Remu 
giue, and other learned daemonologists, 
that the Evil One, thus seduced to remain 
behind the appointed hour, would assume 
her true shape, and having appeared to 
her terrified lover as a fiend of hell, would 
vanish from him in a flash of sulphureous 
lightning. Raymond of Ravenswood ac- 
quiesced in the experiment, not incurious 
concerning the issue, though confident it 
would disappoint the expectations of the 
hermit. 

On the appointed hour the lovers met, 
and their interview was protracted beyond 
that at which they usually parted, by the 
delay of the priest to ring his usual curfew. 
No change took place upon the nymph's 
outward form ; but as soon as the lengthen- 
ing shadows made her aware that the usual 
hour of the vesper chime was passed, she 
tore herself from her lovei^s arms with a 






te . ' •. 



114 TAX^BS OF ^Y LANDLORD. 

shriek of desipair, bid him adieu for ever, 
and plunging into the fountain, disappear, 
ed from his eyes. The bubbles occasioned 
by her descent were crimsoned with blood 
as they arose« leading the distracted Baron 
to infer, that his ill-judged curiosity had 
occasioned the de^th of this interesting 
and mysterious beit^* The remorse which 
he felt, as well as the recollection of her 
charms, proved the penance of his future 
life, which he lost in the batUe of Flodden 
Duot ma^ny mojiths after. But^ in memory 
of his Naiad, he had previously ornament- 
ed the fountain in which she appeared to 
reside, and secured its waters from profa* 
nation or pollution, by the small vaulted 
building of which the fragments still re- 
mained scattered around it From this 
period the house of Ravenswood was sup- 
posed to have dated its decay. 

Such was the generally received legend, 
which some, who would seem wiser than the 
vulgar, explained, as obscurely intimating 
the fat^ of a beautiful m^d of plebeian rank. 



=i_r 



—tr- - 



THS 9SLWU or LAMMERMOOA. 115 

the mistress of tbia Ra^oKNid, whom he 
slew in a fit of jealousy, aad wlK>se Mood was 
mingled with the wateia of the locked foun- 
tiun^ as it was commonly called. Others 
imi^iaed that the tajle had a more remote 
or%in ia the ancieet heathen mytholcsgy. 
All however agreed, that the spot was fa- 
tal to the fiavenswood family ; a^id that to 
drink of the waters of the well, or even 
approach its brink, was aa ommoud to a 
desceadant of that house, as fm a Grahame 
to wear green, a Bruce to kill a spider, or 
a St Qair to cross the Ord on a MoR^Jay. 
It was on this omiaous spot tliat Lucy 
Asblon first drew breath after her lo^g a|i4 
almost deadly swoon. Beautifiiil and pal^ 
as the fabulous Naiad ia the last agony of 
sepaimtion from her lover, she was seated 
so as to rest with her back iigainst a p»rt 
of tbe ruined wall, while her mf^ntle, drip- 
ping with the water which her pv^^t^t 
had used profusely to cecal her sem^es^ 
clung to her slender und beautifully pro* 
portioned form. 



116 TALES OF MY LANDLORD. 

The first moment of recollection brought 
to her mind the danger which had over- 
powered her senses— the next called to re- 
membrance that of her father. She looked 
around — he was no where to be seen— 
" My father— my fatbei* !" was all that she 
could gaculate. 

*« Sir William is safe,** answered the voice 
of a stranger — *^ perfectly safe, and will be 
with you instantly." 

•* Are you sure of that?" exclaimed 
Lucy—** the bull was close by us^-^do not 
stop me-^I must go to seek my father." 

And she arose with that purpose ; but 
her strength was so much exhausted, that, 
far from possessing the power to execute 
her purpose, she must have fallen against 
the stone on which she had leant, probably 
not without sustaining serious injury. 

The stranger was so near to her, that, 
without actually suffering her to ftll, he 
ciiuld not avoid catching her in his arms, 
which, however, he did with a momentary 
reluctance, very unusual when youth inter- 



i" 



^^.-r 



>" *«**•-. ***'*' - — -i-J 



TH£ BRU>£ OF LAMMERMOOR. 117 

poses to prevent beauty from danger. It 
seemed a^ if her weight, slight as it was, 
proved too heavy for her young and athle- 
tic assistant, for, without feeling the temp- 
tation of detaining her in his arms even for 
a single instant, he again placed her on the 
stone from which she had risen, and retreat- 
ing a few steps, repeated hastily, ^^ Sir Wil* 
. liain Ashton is perfectly safe, and will be 
here instantly. Do not make yourself aoxi* 
ous on his account — Fate has singularly pre- 
served him-^— You, madam, are exhausted, 
and must not think of rising until you have 
some assistance more suitable than mine*'' 
Lucy, whose senses were by this time 
more effectually collected, was naturally 
led to look at the stranger with attention. 
There was nothing in his appearance which 
should have rendered him unwilling to o£l^ 
his. arm to a young lady who required sup- 
port. Of which could have induced her to re- 
fuse his assistance ; and she could not help, 
thinkings even in that moment, that he 

seemed cold and r^uctant to offer it. A 

8 



118 TALES OF MY LANDLORD. 

shooting, dress of dark cloth, intimated the 
rank of the wearer, though concealed in 
part by a large and loose cloak of a dark 
brown colour. A Montero cap, and a 
black feather drooped over the wearer^s 
brow, and partly concealed his features, 
which, so far as seen, were dark, regular, 
and full of majestic, though somewhat sul- 
len, expression. Some secret sbrrow, or the 
brooding spmt of some moody passion, had 
quenched the light and ingenuous viva- 
city of youth in a countenance singularly 
Utted to display both, atid it was not easy 
to ga2:e on the stranger without a secret 
impression either of pit/ or awe, or at least 
jof doubt and curiosity allied to both. 

The impressi<m which we have necessa- 
rily been long in describing, Lucy felt in 
the glance of a moment, and had no sooner 
encoiHitered the keen black eyes of the 
irtranger, than her own were bent oa the 
ground with a mixture of bashful embar- 
rassment and fear. Yet there was a neces- 
sity to speak, or at least ^he thought so, and 

1 



-*.'•. _... 



THE BftlD£ OF LAMMEtllilOOR. 119 

in a fluttered accent she began to metitioli 
her wonderful escape, in which she was 
sure that the stranger must, under Heaven, 
have been her father*s protector, and her 
own. 

He seemed to shrink from her expres- 
sions of gratitude, while he replied abrupt- 
ly, *^ I leave you, madam ;" the deep me- 
lody of his voice rendered powerful, but 
not harsh, by something like a severity of 
tone — " I leave you to the protection of 
those to whom it is possible you may hare 
been this day a guardian angel.'* 

Lucy was surprised at' the ambiguity of 
his language, and, with a feeling of artless 
and unaffected gratitude, began to depr^ 
cate the idiea of having intended to give her 
deliverer any offence, as if such a thing had 
been possible. " I have been unfortunate,*' 
she said, *' in endeavouring to express my 
thanks — I am sure it must be so, though I 
cannot recollect what I said — but would 
you t)ut stay till my ftither — ^tiH the Lord 
Keeper comes — would you only permit him 



•*.-• 



iJitD TALES OF HY LANDLORD* 

to pay you his thanks, and to enquire your 
name ?" 

<* My name is unnecessary," answered 
the stranger j " your father — 1 would ra- 
ther say Sir William Ashton-— will learn it 
soon enough, for all the pleasure it is like-^ 
ly to afford him." 

** You mistake him," said Lucy earnest- 
ly j ** he. will be grateful for my sake and 
for his own. You do not know my father, 
or you are deceiving me with a ^tory of his 
safety, when he has already fallen a victim 
to the fury of that animal." 

When she had caught this idea, she start* 
^d from the ground^ and endeavoured to 
press towards the avenue in which the ac- 
cident had taken place^ while the stranger, 
though he seemed to hesitate between the 
desire to assist and the wish to leave her, 
was obliged, in common humanity, to op- 
pose her both by entreaty and action. 

^* On the word of a gentleman, madam, 
I teU you the truth ; your father is in per- 
fect safety ; you will expose yourself to in 



THE BRIDE OF LAMHfillMOOR. 121 

jury if you venture back \vhere the herd of 
wild cattle grazed— If you will go" — ^for, 
having once adopted the idea that her fa« 
ther was still in danger, she pressed for- 
ward in spite of him — '< if you will go, ac- 
cept my arm, though I am not perhaps the 
person who can with most, propriety offer 
you support." 

But, without heeding this intimation, 
Lucy took him at his word. *« O if you be 
a man," she said, — " if you be a gentleman, 
assist me to find my father-— You shall not 
leave me-^you must go with me — ^he is dy- 
ing perhaps while we are talking here," 

Then, without listening to excuse or 
apology, and holding fast by the stranger's 
arm, though unconscious of any thing save 
the support which it gave, and without 
which she could not have moved^ mixed 
with a vague feeling of preventing bis 
escape from her, she was urging, and al- 
most dragging him forward, when Sir WiU 
liam Ashton came up, followed by the 

VOL* I. F 



-*. »..'. <i 



*(^MMmpff^^"^ni«npp 



'i 



*,. 



122 TALES OF MY LANDLORD. 

female attendant of blind Alice, and by 
two wood- cutters, whom he had summon- 
ed from their occupation to his assistance. 
His joy at seeing his' daughter safe, over- 
came the surprise with which he would at 
another time have beheld her hanging as 
familiarly on the arm of a stranger, as she 
might have done upon his own. 

•* Lucy, my dear Lucy, are you safe ? — 
are you well ?*' were the only words that 
broke from him as he embraced her in ec- 
stacy. 

<< I am well, sir, thank God, and still 
more that I see you so ; — but this gentle- 
man," she said, quitting his arm, and shrink- 
ing from him, *^ what must he think of 
me ?* and her efbquent blood, 'flashing over 
neck and brow, spbke how much she was 
ashamed of the freedom with which she 
had craved, and even compelled his assist- 
ance. 

" This gentleman/' said Sir William Ash- 
ton, « will, I trust, not regret the trouble 



-- • 



THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOft. 1S3 

we have given him, when I assure him of 
the gratitude of the Lord Keeper for the 
greatest service which jone man ever ren<- 
dered to another— for the life of my child 
-^-for my own life, which he has saved by 
his bravery and presence of mind. He 
will, I am sure, permit us to request — *^ 

*« Request nothing of me, my lord," 
said the stranger, in a stern and peremp- 
tory tone 5 •* I am the Master of Ravens* 
wood," 

There was a dead pause of surprise, not 
unmixed with less pleasing feelings. The 
Master wrapt himself in his cloak, made a 
haughty inclination towards Lucy, mutter- 
ing a few words of courtesy, as indistinctly 
heard as they seemed to be reluctantly ut- 
tered, and turning from them was immedi- 
ately lost in the thicket* 

*« The Master of Ravens wood !'* said the 
Lord Keeper, when he had recovered his 
momentary astonishment. ^^ Hasten after 
him — stop him — beg him to speak to me 
fdr a single moment*'" 



124 TALES OF MY IiANDLORD* 

The two foresters accordingly set off in 
pursuit of the stranger. They speedily re- 
tumedy and, in an. embarrassed and awk. 
ward manner, said the gentleman would 
not return. The Lord Keeper took one 
of the fellows aside, and questioned him 
more closely what the Master of Ravens- 
wood had saidw* 

^' H« just said he wadna come back," 
said the man, with the caution of a prudent 
Scotch man, who cared not to be the bearer 
of an unpleasant errand. 

** He said something more, sir," said the 
Lord Keeper, *< and I insist on knowing 
what it was." 

<< Why, then, my lord," said the man, 
looking down, ^* he said— but it wad be 
nae pleasure to your lordship to hear 
it, for I dare say the Master meant nae 
ill." 

^* That's none of your concern, sir ; I 
desire to hear the very words." 

*« Wecl then," replied the man, " he 
said, tell Sir William Ashton, that the next 



THE BEIXM£ OF lImMERMOOR. 125 

time he and I forgather, he will not be half 
sae blythe of our meeting as of our parting." 

" Very Well, sir," said the Lord Keeper, 
^* I beliere he alludes to a wager we have 
on our hawks«-it is a matter of no conse- 
quence." 

He turned to his daughter, who was by 
this time so much recovered as to be able 
to walk home. But the effect which the 
various recollections, connected with a 
scene so terrific, made upon a mind which 
was susceptible in an extreme degree^ was 
more permanent than the injury which her 
nerves iiad sustained. Visions of terror, 
both in sleep and in waking reveries, re- 
called to her the form of the furious animal^ 
and the dreadful bellow with which be ac- 
companied his career; and it was always 
the image of the Master of Ravenswood, 
with his native nobleness of countenance 
and form, that seemed to interpose bew 
twixt her and assured death. It is, per- 
haps> at all times dangerous for a young 



tf* 



126 TALES OF IfT LANDLORD. 

person to suffer recollection to dwell repeat- 
edly, and with too much complacence, on 
the same individual; but in Lucy's situa- 
tion it was almost unavoidable. She had 
never happened to see a young man of 
mien and features so romantic and so stri- 
king as young Ravens wood ; but had she 
seen an hundred his equals or his superiors 
in those particulars, no one else could have 
been linked to her heart by the strong as- 
sociations of remembered danger and es^ 
cape^ of gratitude, wonder, and curiosity. 
I say curiosity, for it is likely that the sin« 
gularly restrained and unaccommodating 
manners of the Master of Ravenswood, so 
much at variance with the natural expres- 
sion of his featiures and grace of his deport- 
ment, as they excited wonder by the con- 
trast, had their effect in rivetting her at- 
tention to the recollection. She knew lit- 
tle of Ravenswood, or the disputes which 
had existed betwixt her father and his, and 
perhaps could in her gentleness of mind 
hardly have comprehended the angry and 



THE B&IDE OF lJiMM£RMOOR. 127 

bitter passions which they had eogendered. 
But she knew that he was come of noble 
stem ; was poor^ though descended from the 
noble and the wealthy ; and she felt that she 
could sympathize with the feelriags of a 
proud mind, which urged him to recoil 
from the proffered gratitude of the new 
proprietors of his father's house and do- 
mains. Would he have equally shunned 
their acknowledgments and avoided their 
intimacy, had her father's request been 
iirged more mildly, less abruptly, and 
softened with the grace which women so 
well know how to throw into their man^ 
ner, when they mean to mediate betwix^t 
the headlong passions of the ruder sex ? 
Thi& was a perilous question to ask her 
own mind— perilous both in the idea and 
in its consequences. 

Lucy Ashton, in short, was involved in 
those mazes of the imagination which are 

« 

most dangerous to the young and the sen- 
sitive. Time, it is true, absence^ change 
of place and of face, might probably have 



188 TALSS OF MT LjU^DLORB* 

destroyed the illusion in her instance as it 
has done in many others ; but her*residence 
remained solitary, and her mind without 
those means of dissipating her pleasing vi- 
sions. This solitude was chiefly owing to 
the absence of Lady Ashton, who was at 
this time in Edinburgh, watching the pro- 
gress of some state-intrigue ; the Lord 
-Keeper only received society out of policy 
or ostentation, and was by nature rather re- 
served and unsociable ; and thus no cavalier 
appeared to rival or to obscure the ideal pic« 
ture of chivalrous excellence which Lucy 
had pictured to herself in the Master of 
Ravenswood. 

While Lucy indulged in these dreams, 
she made Irequent visits to old blind Alice, 
hoping it would be easy to lead her to talk 
on the subject, which at present she had 
imprudently admitted to occupy so large 
a portion of her thoughts. But Alice did 
not in this particular gratify her wishes 
and expectations. She spoke readily, and 
with pathetic feeling, concerning the fa- 



THE BfilBB OF LAllMfiBMOOB. ' 129 



mily in' geneQii, but seemed to observe 
an espewii and captious silence oh the 
sulgect of the prerent representative. . The 
little she said of him was^ not altogether 
so favourable as Lucjr had anticvated. She 
hinted tliat he was of a stem and unfbrgi^ 
ying clmsacter, nHH*e ready to resent than 
to pavdon injuries; and Lucy combined 
with great alarm the hints which she now 
dropped of these dangerous qualities, with 
Alice's adiFtce to her father, so emphatical- 
ly given, " to beware of Ravenswood." 

But that very Ravenswood, of whom such 
unjust suspicions had been entertained, 
had, almost immediately after they had 
been uttered, confuted theip by saving at 
once hcB father's life and her own. Had 
he nourished such Uack revenge as Alice's 
dark hints seemed to indicate, no deed of 
acti\)^ guilt was necessary to the full grati« 
fication of that evil pamon. He needed 
but to have withheld for an instant his in* 
dispensable and e&ctive assistance, and the 
object of his resentment must have perish-^ 

F a 



180 TALES OfF MT LANDLORD. 

edi without any direct aggressioQ on Us 
part, by a death equally fearful and cer^ 
tain. She conceived^ therefore, that flmne 
secret prejudice, or the suspicions Incident 
to age and misfortune, had led Alice to form 
conclusions injurious to the charficter, and 
irreconcileable both with the generous con- 
duct and noble features of the Morter of 
Ravenswood. And in this belief Lucy 
reposed her hope, and went on weaving 
her enchanted web of fairy tissue, as beau* 
tiful and transient as the film of the gossa- 
mer, when it is pearled with the morn- 
ing dew, and glimmering to the moxn^pg 
sun. 

Her father, in the meanwhile, as well as 
the Master of Ravenswood, were making 
reflections, as frequent, though more solid 
than those of Lucy, upon the singular event 
which had taken place. His first, task, when 
he returned home, was to ascertain by me- 
dical assistance that his daughter had sus- 
tained no injury from the dangerous and 
alarnqing situation in which she had been 



V «L 



THE BR1I>£ OF LAVMERMOOR. 181 



plaeed* Satisfied on this topic, he prooeed- 

cd to revise the memoranda which he had 

f 

taken down from the mouth of the person 
employed to interrupt the funeral service 
of the late Lord Ravenswooda Bred to ca- 
suistry, and well accustomed to practise the 
,ambi*dexter ingenuity of the bar, it cost him 
little troul^Ie to soften the features of the tu- 
.muH which he had been at first so anxious to 
exaggerate. He preached to his colleagues 
of the privy council the necessity of using 
conciliating measures with young men whose 
blood and temper were hot, and their expe- 
rience of life limited. He did not hesitate 
to attribute some censure to the conduct of 
the officer, as having been unnecessarily ir- 
rkating. 

These were the contents of his public 
dispatches. The letters which he wrote to 
those private friends into whose manage- 
ment the matter was like to fall, were of a 
yet more favourable tenor. He represent- 
ed that lenity in this case would be equally 
politic and popular, whereas, considering 

3 - " ' 



1S2 TALES OF MY LAN0LOR0* 

the high respect with wtnch the rites <tf in- 
terment are regarded in Scotland, any se- 
verity ex]ercised against the Master of Ra- 
vens wood for protecting those of his father 
from interruption, would be on all sides 
most unfavourably construed. And, final- 
ly, assuming the language of a generous 
and high-spirited man, he made it his par- 
ticular request that diis affair should be 
passed over without severe notice. He al- 
luded with delicacy to the predicament ih 
which he himself stood with young Ravens- 
Wood, as having succeeded in the long train 
of litigation by which the fortunes of that 
noble house had been so much reduced, 
and confessed it would be niost peculiarly 
acceptable to his own feelings, could he 
find ineans in s6me sort to countorbalance 
the disadvantages whidh he had occsisioned 
the family, though only in the ptosccutioA 
of his just aiid lawful rights. He therefore 1 

made it his particular and personal request 
that the matter should have no further con- 
sequences, and insinuated a desire that he 



THE BRID£ OF IaMMERMOOR. 18t 

himself should have the merit of ha wig put 
a stop to it by his favourable report and in« 
tercession. It was particularly remarkable, 
that, contrary to his uniform practice, he 
)nade no special communtcafion to Lady 
Ashton upon the subject of the tumult ; 
an^ although he mentioned the alarm which 
Lucy had received from one of the wild 
cattle, yet he gave no detailed account of 
an incident so interesting and terrible. 

There was much surprise among Sir Wil- 
liam Ashton's political friends and colleagues 
on receiving letters of a tenor so unexpect- 
ed. On comparing notes together, one 
smiled, one put up his eye-brows, a third 
nodded acqtiiescence in the general won- 
der, and a fourth asked, if they were sure 
iheie wc»re tiU the letters the Lord Keeper 
had written on the subject. ** It runa 
strangely in my mind, my lords, that none 
of these advices contain the root of the 
matter." 

But no secret letters of a contrary nature 
had been received, although the question 



ISli : TALES OF MT LANDLaAl>. 

seeme^ ta ioply the possibility of their ex* 
istcDiCe. 

« Well," said an old grey-headed. states- 
inan, who had contrived, by shifting and 
trimming, to maintain his post at the steer* 
age through all the changes of course which 
the vessel had held. for thirty years, ^* I 
thought Sir William would hae verified the 
auld Scotti^ saying * as soon comes the 
lamb's skin to market. as the auld tupV" 

<^ We must please him after his own fa- 
shion,** said another, ^< though it be an un- 
looked-for one.'* 

4 

<* A wilful man maun hae his way," an- 
swered the old counsellor. 

" The Keeper will rue this before year 
and day are out," said a third ; ** the Mas- 
ter of Ravenswood is the lad to wjpd him a 
pirn." 

" Why, what would you do, my lords, 
with the poor young fellow ?' said a noble 
Marquis present 5 " the Lord Keeper has 
.got all his estates — be has not a cross to 
bless himself with." 



TU£ BaiDE OF LAMMfiRMOOIl. 195 

On which the ancieot Lord Turptippet 
replied, 

** If he hasna gear to fine^ 
He has shms to pint 



And that was our way before the Revolu-* 
tion — Luitur cum persona, qui luere nan 
potest cum crumena — Hegh, my lords, that's 
gude law Latin," 

" I can see no motive," replied the Mar- 

, quis, ^* that any noble lord can have for 

urging this matter farther ; let the Lord 

Keeper have the power to deal in it as he 

pleases." 

" Agree, agree — remit to the Lord Keep- 
er, with any other person for fashion's sake 
^— Lord Hirplehooly, who is bed-ridden-r* 
one to Jxe a quorum — Make your entry in 
the minutes, Mr Clerk. — And now, my 
lords, there is ths^t young scattergood, the 
I^ird of Bucklaw's fine: to be disponed 
upon— I suppose it goes to my Lord Trea« 



suren" 



136 TALES OF MY LASXOX^BJK 

*< Shame be in my meal-poke then," ex^ 
claimed Lord Turntippet, ^^ and your hand 
aye in the nook of it I had set that down 
for a bye bit between meals for myseL'^ 

" To use one of your favourite saws, my 
lord," replied the IVIarquis, •* you are like 
the miller's dog, that licks his lips before 
the bag is untied — the man is not fined 
yet." 

'< But that costs but twa skarts of a pen," 
said Lord Turntippet j " and surely there 
is nae noble lord that will presume to sal^,. 
that I, wha hae complied wi' a' compli« 
ances, tane all manner of tests, abjured all 
that was to be abjured, and sworn a' that 
was to be sworn, for these thirty years ty- 
past, sticking fast by my duty to the state 
through good report and bad repoil, should^ 
na hae something now and then to synde 
my mouth wi* after sic drouthy wark,** 

<< It would be very unreasonis^l^^e In- 
deed, my lord," repli^ the Marquis, '^ had 
we either thought that your lordship's 



TH& BRIDE OF LAMMEEMOOIU 



187 



drought was quenchable, or observed any 
thing stick in your throat that required 
washing down." 

And so we close the scene on the Privy- 
council of that period. 



188 TALKS OF MT LAMOJUNlDk. 



CHAPTER V. 



ft. 



For this are all these warriors come^ 

To bear an idle tale ; 
And o'er our death-accustomed arms 

Shall silly tears prevail i 

On the evening of the day when the 
Lord Keeper and his daughter were saved 
from such imminent peril, two strangers 
were seated in the most private apartment 
of a small obscure inn, or rather alehouse^ 
called the Tod's Den, about three or four 
miles from the Castle of Ravenswood, and 
as far from the ruinous tower of Wolf's Crag, 
betwixt which two places it was situated. 

One of these strangers was about forty 
years of age, tall, and thin in the flanks, 
with an aquiline nose, dark penetrating 



rim Bftixis pF hAumaEiMooR. 139 

eyes, and a shrewd but sinister c&st of 
countenaiice. The other was about fifleea 
years younger, short, stout, ruddy-faced^ 
and red-haired, with an c^n, resolute, and 
cheerful eye, to which careless and fearless 
freedom, and inward daring, gave fire 
and expression, notwithstanding its light 
grey colour. A stoup of wine, for in those 
days it was served out from the cask in 
pewter flaggons, was placed on the tables 
and each had his quaigh or bicker* before 
him. But there was little appearance of 
conviviality. With folded arms, and looks 
of anxious expectation, they eyed ea^b 
other in silence, each wrapt in his own 
thoughts, and holding no communication 
with his neighbour. 

At length the younger broke silence by 



* Drinking cups^ of different siajes, made out of staves 
hooped together. The quaigh was used chiefly for 
drinking wine or brandy ; it might hold about a gill^ 
and was often composed of rare wood, and curiousljf 
omconented with silver, j 



*-v 



140 TALES OF MT LANDLORD* 



\ 



exclaimiog, ^* What the foul fiend can de- 
tain the Master so long? he must have 
miscarried in his eQterprize. — Why did you 
dissuade me from going with him ?" 

** One man is enough to right his own 
wrong," said the taller and older person- 
age J «* we venture our lives for him in 
coming thus far on siich an errand.'' 

•« You are but a craven after all, Craig- 
cngelt/' answered the younger, « and that's 
what many folks have thought you before 
now." 

*< But what none has dared to tell me," 
said Craigengelt, laying his hand on the 
hilt of his sword ; ** and, but that I hold a 
hasty man no better than a fool, I would-- 
be paused for his companion's answer. 

" Would you ?" said the other coolly ; 
«* and why do you not then ?' 

Craigengelt drew his cutlass an inch or 
two, and then returned it with violence in- 
to the scabbard — " Because there is a deep- 
er stake than the lives of twenty hair> brain* 
ed gowks like you." 



THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR. 141 

*• You are right there," said his compa- 
nion, " for if it were not that these forfeit* 
ures, and that last fine that the old drivel- 
ler Turntippit is gaping for, and which, I 
dare saj, is laid on by this time, have fairly 
driven me out of house, and I were a cox- 
comb and a cuckoo to boot, to trust your 
fair promises of getting me a commission 
in the Irish brigade, — what have I to do 
with the Irish brigade ? I am a plain Scotch- 
man, as my father was before me j and my 
grand aunt. Lady Girnington, cannot liye 
for ever.'' 

^ Ay, Bucklaw," observed Craigengelt, 
^<but she may live for many a long day j and 
for your father, he had land and living, kept 
himself close from wadsetters and money- 
lenders, paid each man his due, and lived 
on his own," 

** And whose fault is it that I have not 
80 too ?" said Bucklaw — « whose but the 
devil's and your's, and such like as you, 
that have led me to the far end of a fair 
estate ; and now I shall be obliged, I sup- 



143 TALES OF MY LANDLORD. 

pose, to shelter and shift about like your- 
self—live one week upon a line of secret 
intelligence from Saint Germains — another 
upon a report of a rising in the Highlands 
-—get my breakfast and morning draught 
of sack from old Jacobite ladies, and give 
them locks of my old wig for the Cheva-* 
tier's hair — second my friend in his quarrel 
till he comes to the field, and then flinch 
from him lest so important a political 
agent should perish from the way. AH 
this I must do for bread, besides calling 
myself a captain !" * 

" You think you are making a fine 
speech now," said Craigengelt, ** and shew- 
ing much wit at my expence. Is starving 
or hanging better than the life I am obli- 
ged to lead, because the present fortunes 
of the king cannot sufficiently support his 
envoys ?" 

•* Starving is h on ester, Craigengelt, and 
hanging is like to be the end on't — But 
what you mean to make of this poor fello\r 



THE BRIDE OF LAMMSRMOOR. 143 

Ravenswood, I know not-~he has no mo- 
ney lefty any more than I-^bis lands are all 
pawned and pledged, and the interest eats 
up the rents, and is not satisfied, and what 
do you hope to make by meddling in his 
afiairs f* 

** Content yourself, Bucklaw ; I know 
my business,'' replied Craigengelt. *« Be- 
sides that his name, and his father's ser- 
vices in 1689* will make such an acquisi- 
tion sound well both at Versailles and 
Saint Germains — ^you will also please be 
informed, that the Master of Ravenswood 
is a very different kind of a young fellow 
from you. He has parts and address, as 
well as courage and talents, and will pre- 
sent himself abroad like a young man of 
head as well as heart, who knows some- 
thing more than the speed of a horse or 
the flight of a hawk, I have lost credit of 
late, by bringmg over no one that had sense 
to know more than how to unharbour a 
stag, or take and reclaim an eyess. The 



144 TAL£S OF HY LAI^DLQRD* 

Master has educatioo, sense, and peue* 
tration." 

<< And yet is not wise enough to escape 
the tricks of a kidnapper, Craigengelt ?-^ 
But don't be angry j you know you will 
not fight, and so it is as well to leave your 
hilt in peace and quiet, and tell ine in sober 
guise how you drew the Master into your 
confidence?" 

" By flattering his love of vengeance, 
Bucklaw. He has always distrusted me, 
but I watched my time, and struck while 
his temper was xed-hot with the sense of 
insult and of wrong. He goes now to 
expostulate, as he says, and perhaps thinks, 
with Sir William Ashton,— I say, that if 
they meet, and the lawyer puts him ta his 
defence, the Master will kill him ; for he 
had that sparkle ip his eye which never 
deceives you when you would read a 
man's purpose. At any rate, be will give 
him such a bullying as will be construed 
into ^n assault on a privy-coumsellor ; so 



THE BBIDB Of LAMMERMOOR* l45 

there will be a total breach betwixt him 
and government j Scotland will be too hot 
for him, France will gain him, and we will 
all set sail together in the French brig 
L'Espoff, which is hdveringibr us off Eye- 
mouth. 

** (Content am I,^ said Bucklaw ; ^< Scot- 
land has little left that I care about | and 
if carrying the Master with us will get UB a 
better reception in France, why, so be it, 
a God's name. I doubt our own merits 
ivill procure us blender preferment ; and 
I trust he will Stend a ball through the 
Keeper's head before he joins us. Qpe or 
two of these scoundrel statesnieh should 
be shot once a-year, just to keep the others 
on their good behaviour.'* 
• ^« That is very true," replied Craigen- 
gelt ; " and it reminds me that I must gd 
and see that our horses have been fed, 
and are in readineiss; fbr, should such 
deed be done, it will be no time for grass 
to grow beneath their heels.'' He pro- 

VOL. I. G 



k- 



lv|6 ISAUBB OF NX LAKBLOaD* 

eeeded as &r as the door, then, turned 
back with a look g£ earne$ti!i€0s, and said 
to Backlaw, *< Whatever should cooie c^ 
tfak b««siness» I am nureyou will do me the 
justice to ceoiemb&rt that I said notbtug to 
the Master which could imply my accession 
to any act of violence which he may take it 
ioto his head tO'Commit" 

*^ Noi noi not a single wocd like aoces* 
9iOB»'^ Mplied Buoklaw ; ^* you know too 
well: the risk beloi^ng to these two tern, 
ble words, aft and part*" Tbeo, as if to 
himself, he reeited the following lines : 

« 

<< Hie dial spoke not^ but it viade shrewd ugnu, 
And pointed foU iq^n the stroke of murder." 

<« What is that you are talking to your* 
self ?^ said Oaigengelly turning back with 
some. anxiety* 

<< Nothing—only two Hues I have heard 
upon the stage," replied his companion. 

<< Bttcklaw,'' said Craigengelt, " I some- 
limes think you should have been a stage- 



THB BBIDE OFXAMBCERlfOOR. 147 

pkjFer ywtffseif ; all is fancy and frolic with 

^ I have often thought so myself,'* said 
Bueklaw. ^ I believe it would be safer 
than feting with yon in The Fatal Conspira*. 
cy.-^Bot away, play your own part, and 
look after the horses like a groom as you 
are.«««-A play-actor 1 a atageplayer ! that 
would have deserved a stab, but that Craig- 
engelt's a c0waid-«-And yet I should like 
the [MtifeBsioh well enough — Stay«^Iet me 
se e "fl y— I would come out in Alexander— 

' Thus from the grave I rise to save my love, 
Draw all your swords^ and quick as lightning more ; 
When I rush on, sure none will date to stay, 
'Tis love commandsi and glory leads the way/ " 

As with a voice of thunder, and his hand 
upon bis sword) Bucklaw repeated the 
ranting couplets of poor Lee^ Craigengelt 
re-entered with a face of alarm* 

« We are undone, Bucklaw ! the Mas- 
ter's led horse has cast himself over his hal- 
ter in the stable, and is dead lame— his 



^•»* •" -» 



148 TALES OF MY.LANDLORD« 

backney will be set up vfith the day's woxk^ 
and now he has no fresh horse ; he will 
never get off/' 

<< Egad there will be no moving with 
the speed of lightning this bout," said 
Bucklaw, drily. ^* But stay, jou can give 
him yours," 

*^ What, and be taken myself f I thank 
you for the proposal," said Craigengelt. 

** Why, if the Lord Keeper should have 
met with a mischance, which fen: my part 
I cannot suppose, for the Master is not the 
lad to shoot an old and unarmed man — 
but if there should have been a fray at the 
Castle, you are neither art nor part in it 
you know, so have nothing to fear." 

" True, true," answered the other, with 
embarrassmei^ ; ** but consider my <;om- 
niission from Saint Ger mains." 

*^ Which many men think is a commis- 
sion of your own making, noble captain* 
Well, if you will not give him your horse^ 
why, d — n it, he must have mine." 

<< Yours ?" said Craigengelt. 



Ttas BftlDfi OV LAMMERMOOR. 149 

«* Ay, mine," repeated Bucklaw j "it shall 
never be said that I agreed to back a gen- 
tleman in a little affair of honour, and nei- 
ther helped him on with it nor off from it." 

** You will give him your horse ? and 
have you considered the loss ?" 

**Loss! why Grey Gilbert cost me twenty 
Jacobuses, that's true ; but then his hackney 
is worth something, and his Black Moor is 
worth twice as much were he sound, and 
I know how to handle him.-^Take a fat 
sdckiog mastiff whelp, flay and bowel him, 
stuff the body full of black-and grey snails, 
roast a reasonable time, and baste with oil 
of spikenard, saffron, cinnamon and honey, 
anoint with the dripping, working it in" — 

" Yes, Bucklaw, but in the meanwhile, 
before the sprain is cUred, nay before the 
whelp is roasted, you will be caught and 
hung. Depend on it, the chase will be hard 
after Ravenswood* I wish we had made our 
place of rendezvous nearer to the coast." 

« On my faith then," said Bucklaw, ^- I 
had best gooff just now, and leave my horse 



150 TAUE8 OF MT UkHDJUORS}. 

■J 

for him-^Stay, stay, he comes^ I hear » 
horse's feet.*" 

«< Are you sure there is only one ?" said 
Craigengelt ; ^^ I fear there is a chase ; I 
think I hear three or four galloping to- 
gether ; I am sure I hear more horses tfaaa 
one.** 

'< Foohy pooh, it is the wench of the 
house that is clattering to the Well in her 
pattens ; by my faith, captain,, you should 
give up b(^h your captainship and your 
secret service, for you are as easHy scaredas 
a wild goose. But here comes the Master 
alone, and looking as gloomy as a ni^t ia 
Noverober."^ 

The Master of Ravennrood entered the 
room accordingly, his cloak muffled around 
him, his arms folded, his looks stern, and 
at the same time dejected* He flung his 
cloak from him as he entered, threw him- 
self upon a chair, and appeared sunk ia a 
profound reverie* 

<^ What has happened { What have you 



J 



THE BRIDE O L ^M!V»KRMOOR. 



.!« 



done?^ was hastily dertianfded by Craigen- 
gelt and Bucklaw in the same moment. 

" Nothing," was the short and sullen an- 
swer. 

** Nothing? and left us, determined t6 
call the old villain to account for all the in- 
juries that you, we, and the country have 
received at his han<i ? Have you seen him ?" 

*' I have," replied the Master of Ravens* 
wood.. 

^< Seen him ? and come away without set- 
tling scores which have been so long due ?^ 
said Bucklaw ; <^ I would not have expect- 
ed that at the hand of the Master* of Ra- 
venswood." " 

•« No matter what you expected^" repli- 
ed Ravenswood ; *' it is not to you, sir, 
that I shall be disposed to render any rea- 
son for my conduct" 

*« Patience, Bucklaw," said Craigeogelt^ 
interrupting his companion, w^ seemed 
about to make an angry reply. <^ The Mas* 
ter has been interrupted in his purpose by 
somQ accident, but he must excuse the 



X5i^ TALES OF MY LANDLOAD. 

anxious curiosity of friends, who are de'^o* 
ted to his cause like you and me*" 

^« Friends^ Captain Craigengelt !" retort- 
ed Ravenswood haughtily, " I am igno- 
rant what familiarity has passed betwixt us 
to entitle you to use that expression. I 
think our friendship* amounts to this, that 
we agreed to le£|.ve Scotland together so 
soon as I should have visited the alienated 
mansion of my fathers, and had an inter- 
view with its present possessor, I will not 
call him proprietor.'^ 

" Veiy true. Master,** answered Buck- 
law I << and as we thought you had a mind 
to do something to put your neck in jeo- 
pardy, Craig and I very courteously agreed 
to tarry for you, although ours might run 
some risk in consequence. As to Craig^ 
indeed, it does not very much signify, he 
had gallows written on his Brow in the hour 
of his birth ; but I should not like to discre- 
dit my parentage by coming to such an end 
in another man*s. cause." 



THJTBaiDB OF LAMMfiRMOOR. 153 

<* Gentlefflen/' said the Master of lla- 
venswood, " I am sorry if I have occasion- 
ed you any inconvenience^ but I must claim 
the right of judging what is best for my 
own affairs, without rendering any explana- 
tions to any one. • I have altered my mind, 
ami do not design to leave the country this 
season.'' 

«* Not to leave the country. Master !" 
exclaimed Craigengelt* << Not to go over, 
after all the trouble and expence I have ii|< 
curred — after all the risk of discovery^ and 
the expence of freight and demurrage!'' 

*« Sir," replied the Master of Ravens wood, 
" when I designed to leave tKis country in 
this haste, I made use of your obliging of- 
fer to procure me means of conveyance ; 
but I do not recollect that I pledged my- 
self to go off, if I found occasion to alter 
my mind. For your trouble on my account, 
I am sorry, and I thank ydu} your cx- 
pence/' he added, putting his hand into his 
pocket, *' admits a more solid compensa- 
tion—freight and demurrage are matters 

2 



15i TALES OF HT LANlMLOftlH 

« 

with which I atn unacquainted. Captain 
Craigengelt^ but take my parse and pagr 
yourself acoKding to your owftcoowience.'* 
And accordingly he tendered a purse wHb 
some gold in it to the soi-disant captaiiH 

But here Bucklaw interposed in his tumi 
^ Your fingers, Graigie, seem to^ itch f^t 
that same piece of green net- work," said he s 
^* but I make my vow to God, that if they 
ofier to close upon it, I will chop them off 
with my whinger. Since the Master ha^ 
changed his mind, I suppose we need st^f 
here no longer ; but in the first place I beg 
leave to tell hira— — ." 

♦•Tell him any thing you wilJ^" said 
Craigengelt, •* if you will first allow me to 
state the incOnvenieneies to which he wiH 
expote himself by quitting our society, to 
remind kim of the obstacles to his remaiii^ 
ing b^re, and of the drflkrulties attending 
his proper introduction at Versailles and 
Saint Germains, without the countenance 
of those who have established useful coa- 
iiections." 



THK BRraE^W CAM1ISRM09R* 155 

<' Besides fbrfeittngthefriendsbip/' said 
Bucklaw, ^* of at least one man of spirit 
and honour." 

^« Gentitemenj* said RaTCfnswoed, ^ per- 
mit tne once more to assure you, that you 
have been pleased to attach to our tempo- 
rary connection more importance than I 
ever meant that it should have. When I 
repair to foreign courts, I shall not need 
the introduction of an intriguing adventu* 
rer^ nor is it necessary for me to set value 
OB the friendship of an hot-headed bully.'' 
With these words^ and without waiting for 
an answer, he left the apartment, remount- 
ed his horse^ and was-Jheard to ride off. 

** Mortbleu !" said Captain Graigeogelt,. 
** my recruit is lost.'' 

" Ay, captain,." said Bucklaw^ " the sal- 
mon is off with hook and alL But I will af<* 
ter him, fori have had more of his insolence 
than 1 can well digest." 

Craigengelt offered to accompany him^ 
but Bucklaw replied, ^^ No, no, captain^, 
keep you the cheek of the chimney-nook 



150 



7AIi£S OF MT JLANOLORP^ 



till I come batk; its good sleeping ia a 
bale skin. 

f. Little kena the auld wife tbat sits by the &ee. 
How cauld the wind blaws in hurle-burle swire/ " 

And singing as he wentj, he left the apact- 
ment*. 



THJS.WUWS OF UiMM£fiM09R. 157 



CHAPTER VI; 

llow, Billy Bewick* keep good hearty 

And of thy talking let me be; 
But if thou art a man, as I am sure thou art 

Come- over the dike and fight with me. 

(MBalM. 

The Master of Ravens wood had mount 
eidr the ambling hackney which he before 
rode on, finding the accident which bad 
happened to hisled horse^ and^ for the ani* 
mal's ease, was proceeding at a slow pace 
from the Tod's Dea towards his dd tower 
of Wolf's Crag, when he heard the gallop* 
ping of a horse behind bim^ and, looking 
hack, perceived that he was pursued by 
young Bucklaw, who had been delayed a 
few minutes in the pursuit by the irresist- 
ible temptation of giving the. hostler at the 



15S Tiktm Olf MT HAXmMKBm 

Tod*s Den some receipt for treating the 
lame horse. This brief delay he had made 
op by hard gallopping, and now overtook 
the Master where the road traversed a waste 
moon " Halt, sir," cried Bucklaw ; ** I am: 
no political agent — no Captain Cratgengelt, 
whcAe life is too important to be hazarded 
in defence of his bocrcmr. I am Frank 
Hay stbn of Bucklaw,^ and no man injures 
me by word» deed, sign,, or leak, but he 
must renderme an account of it" 

«« This is all very well, Mr Hayston q£ 
Bucklaw," replied the Master of^ Ravens- 
wood, in a tone the most calm and indif-^ 
&Tmt ; ^* but I have no quarrel with you, 
and desire to %ave none*: Our roads home^^ 
ward, as well asi pur roadu through life, Ke 
in different directiom^ ^ t^re is no oeca* 
sion for us: crossing ea^h othen" 

** Is there notP^ said Budklaw,- impetus 
ously. <« By Heaven I but I say that tiiere' 
is tbough^-^yoKi cailed'u» intriguing adren-t 
turers." 

<< Be correct in your recoUectEon, Ml* 



THE BAIDE OF IrAMMERMOOft* 159 

HayBtofl ; k wafif to your com]^nien only I 
api^ied that epithet, and you know him to< 
be no better.** 

** And what then ? He was my compa*> 
nioB for the tioie^ and no man shall insult 
my companion, right or wrongs while he is 
in my company." 

" Then, Mr Hayston," lepUed Ravens^ 
wood, with the same composure^ ** youf 
should chuse your society better, or yoa 
are like to have much work in your capa^ 
dty of their champion. Go home; sir,, 
sleepy and have more reason in your wratb 
to*morrow." 

** Not SO9 Master^ you have mistaken 
your man;, high aira and wise saws shalL 
not carry it off ^us. Besides, you termed 
me buUy^ and you shall retract the word 
before we part.** 

<* Faith, scarcely," said Bavenswood^. 
^' unless you shew me better reason for 
tiiinking myself mistaken than you. are now 
producing^"^ 



160 TALES OF MY LAN0JLOAI>« 

<< Then^ Master/' said Bucklaw, << thougb 
I should be sorry to offer it to a man of 
your quality, if you will not justify youjr 
incivility, or retract it, or name a place of 
meeting, you must here undergo the hard 
word and the hard blow." 

*^ Neither will be necessary," said Ra«* 
yens wood ; '* I am satisfied with what I 
have done to avoid an affair with you. If 
you are serious, this place will serve as weU 
as another*" 

<< Dismount then, and draw," said Buck- 
law, setting him the example. ^* I always 
thought and said you were a pretty man ; 
I should be sorry to report you othjerwise." 
*^ You shall have no reason, sir," said 
Ravenswood, alighting, and putting hlm^ 
self into a posture of.defence. 

Their swords crossed, and the combat 
conynenced with great spirit on the part of 
Bucklaw, who was well accustomed to af- 
fairs of the kind, and distinguished by ad- 
dress and dexterity at his weapon* In the' 



THS BRIBE OF LAMMERMOOR. 16 1 

present case, however, he did not use his skill 
to advantage ; for having lost temper at the 
cool and contemptuous manner in which 
the Master of Ravens wood had long refused, 
and at length granted him satisfaction, and 
urged by his impatience, he adopted the 
part of an assailant with inconsiderate 
eagerness. The Master, with equal skill, 
and much greater composure, remained 
chiefly on the defensive, and even declined 
to avail himself of one or two advantages 
afibrded him by the eagerness of his adver* 
sary* At length, in a desperate lounge, 
which he followed with an attempt to close, 
Bucklaw*s foot slipped, and he fell on the 
short grassy turf on which they were fight* 
ing. «< Take your life, sir," said the Mas« 
ter of Ravenswood, •* and mend it, if yoii 
can " 

^* It would be but a cobbled piece of 
work, I fear," said Bucklaw, rising slowly 
and gathering up his sword, much less dis- 
concerted with the issue of the combat than 



16S TALS8 OF MT LAKBL<mD# 

could have been expected from the impe* 
tuosity of hw temper. «• I thank you for 
my life. Master,"* he pursued. ^* There is 
my hand, I bear no ill will to you either fot 
my bad luck, or your better swordmafi« 
ship.*' 

The Master looked steadily at him for an 
instant, then extended his hand to him.—* 
«^ Bucklaw,* he said, ^* you are a generous 
fdlow, and I have done you wrong. I hear« 
tily ask your pardon fos the expresniM 
which offended you ; it was hastily and in« 
cautiously uttered, and I am convinced it 
is totally misapplied." 

•« Are you indeed. Master P* said Bucbi 
law, his face resuming at once itd natural 
expression of light-hearted carelessness and 
audacity ; << that is more than I expected 
of you, for. Master, men say, you are not 
too ready to retract your opinions and your 
language." 

^^ Not when I have well considered 
them," said the Master.. 



i 

J 



TBS BEUMB OF LAMMERMOOR. 



168 



<< Then ywx are a ]ittie wiser than I am ; 
for I always give my friend satisfaction 
firsts and explanation afterwards. If one . 
of us ialls» alt accounts are settled ; if not, 
^men. are never so ready for peace as after 
war. But what does that bawling braA of 
a boy want ?" said Bucklaw. ^ I wish to 
Heaven he had come af ew minutes sooner, 
and yet it most have beea*^Mled some time» 
and perhaps, this, way is as well as any 
other." 

As he spoke* the boy he mentioned came 
vapf cudgelling, an ass* on which he was ' 
mounted, to the. top of its speed, and send- 
ing, like one of Ossaan's heroes, his voice 
before him,w*-^^ Gentlemen^ *— gentlemen, 
save yourselves, fen: the gudtwife bade us 
tell ye there were folk in her house had 
ta'en Captain Craigengelt, and were seek- 
ing for Bucklaw, and that ye behoved to 
ride for it.'* 

" By my faith,, and that's very true, my 
man," ssiid Bucklaw i /^ and there's a silver 
si:qpence for your iiews, and I would give 



164 TALES OF MY LAKDLORD* 

any man twice as much would tell me 
which way I should ride." 

" That will I, Bucklaw/' said Ravens^ 
wood ; " ride home to WolPs Grag with 
me ; there are places in the old tower where* 
you might lie hid, were a thousand men to 
seek you." 

" But that will bring you into trouble 
yourself, Master ; and unless you be in the 
Jacobite scrape already, it isv needless for 
me to drag you in." 

** Not a whit j I have nothing to fear." 

** Then I will ride with you blithely, foTf 
to say the truth, I do not know the rendez- 
vous that Craigie was -to guide us to this 
night i and I am sure that, if he is taken, be 
will tell all the truth on me^ and twenty 
lies on you, in order to save himself from 
the withie." 

They mounted, and rode oflf in company 
accordingly, striking off the ordinary road, 
and holding their way by wild moorish un- 
frequented paths, with which the gentle- 
men were well acquainted from the e^er 



THE BEIBE OF LAMMEBMOOR. 165 

Cise of the chace, but through which others 
would have had much difficulty in tracing 
their course. They rode for some time in 
silence^ making such haste as the condition 
of RavfDswood^s horse permitted, until 
night having gradually closed around them, 
they discontinued their speed, both from 
the difficulty of discovering their path, and 
from the hope that they were beyond the 
reach of pursuit or observation. 

«« And now that we have drawn bridle 
abit," said Bucklaw, ^< I would Mn ask you 
a question. Master." 

*' Ask, and welcome," said Ravenswood, 
^* but forgive me not answering it, unless I 
think proper." 

" Well, it is simply this," answered his 
late antagonist, ^^ What, in the name of old 
Sathan, could make you, who stand so 
highly on your reputation, think for a mo« 
ment of drawing up with such a rogue as 
iCraigengelt, and such a scape-grace as folks 
call Bucklaw ?" 



166 TALES 09 MT LAKDLORD. . 

*< Simply, because I was desperate* and 
sought desperate associates." 

<^ And what made you break ^ff from us 
at the nearest ?" again demanded Bucklaw. 

^^ Because I had changed my miQd," said 
the Master, ^ and renounced my enter- 
prize, at least for the present. And now 
that I have answered your questions fairly 
and frankly, tell me what makes you asso- 
ciate with Craigengelt, so much beneath you 
both in birth and in spirit ?** 

<* In plain terms," answered Bucklaw, 
*^ because I am a fool, who have gambled 
away my land in these times. My grand- 
aunt. Lady Girnington, has ta'en a new tack 
of life, I think, and I could only hope to 
get something by a change of government. 
Craigie was a sort of gambling acquaint* 
ance ; he saw my condition, and, as the devil 
is always at one's elbow^ told me fifty lies 
about his credentials from Versailles, and his 
interest at Saint Germains, promised me a 
captain's commission at Paris, and I have 
been ass enough to put my thumb under 

9 



J 



THE ABIDE OF XAMMBBafOOR. 16? 

his belt. I dare say, by this time, he hat 
told a dozen pretty stories of me to the go- 
vernmeBt. And this is what I have got by 
wine, women, and dice, cocks, dogs, and 
borses." 

** Yes, Bucklaw," said the Master, " you 
bBve indeed nourished, in your bosom the 
snakes that are now stinging you." 
. ^ That's home as well as true. Master,"* 
replied his oooipaBion ; ^* but, by your 
leave, you hav« nursed in your bosom one 
great goodly snake that has swallowed all 
the rest, and is as sure, to devour you as my 
half doflsen. are toBiake a meal on all that's 
left of ;Bucklaw, which is but what lies be* 
twees bonnet and bool-heel/' 

^ I moat not," answered the Master of 
Ravenswood, *< challenge the freedom of 
speed in which I have set example. What, 
to speak without a metaphor, do you call 
this moBsti^ouB passion which ^ you. charge 
11^ With fostering ?" 

<< Revenge, my good sir, revenge, whiqli, 
if it be as geatlemaBplike a sin as wine and 



168 TALES 01 Mr LAKOL08D. 

wassail, with aU their et cceteras^ is fequally 
unchristiaiH and BOt so bloodless. It it 
better breaking a park^pale to watch a doc 
or damsel, than to shoot an old roan." 

" I deny the purpose," said the Master- 
of Ravenswood. « On my soul, I had no 
such intention ; I meant but to confront 
the oppressor ere I left my native land, and 
upbraid him with his tyranny and its con- 
sequences. I would have stated my wrot^ 
BO that they would have ^aken his soul 
within him." 

«* Yes," answered Bueklaw, •* and he 

9 

would have collared you, and cried heip, 
and then you would hfive riiaken the soul 
out of him, I suppose. Your vesy look and 
ipanner would have frightened the old man 
to death," 

" Consider the provocation,'' answered 
Ravenswood,~-** consider the riiiii and 
death procured and caused by his hard- 
hearted cruelty — an ancient hcaise destroy- 
ed, an affectionate &tb^r murdered* Why, 
in our old Scottish days, he tfai^t sat quiet 

4 



THB nSM OY £AM|f£RlfOOE. IfiQi 

uodar such wroi^;^ would have been htid 
neither fit to baok a fri^d Or face a fyeJ' 

« Well, Ma8t€9*9 I am glad to see that 
the. deyil deals as cunmngly with other 
folk us he does with me ; for whenever I 
am about to commit any folly, he persuades 
. me it is the mostnecessary, .gaUant^ gentle* 
manlike thing on eai:th9 and I am up to 
saddl^irths in the bog before I see that 
the ground is soft. Andyou> Master, might 
have turned out a murd«^«-^a homicide, 
just out of pure respect fiur your father's 
memory." 

<< There is more sense in your language, 
BHcklAW,? replied the Master, «' than might' 
have been expected from ypur conduct. It 
is too true, our vices steal upon us in forms 
outwardly aa fair as those of the demons 
whom the superstitious . represent aa in- 
tiiguiog with the human race, and are not 
discovered in their native hideousnesa un« 
tU.we haye clasped them im our arms.'' 

** But we may throw them from us 
thou^" said Bvicklaw^ <« and tbatia what 

VOL. I* * H 



170 TALES OF Mif LAKDLOfiD. 

I shall think of doing one of these daysf, ' 
that is when old Lady GimingtOn dies^" 

<• Did you ever liear the expression of 
the £nglish divine ?" said Kavenswood*^ 

*' Hell is paved with good intentions.'' 

" As much as to say, they are more often 
formed than executed/* 

"Well," replied Bucklaw, « but I will 
begin this blessed night, and have deter-' 
mined not to drink above one quart of 
wine, unless your claret be of extraordinary * 
quality.'' 

** You will find little to tempt you at 
Wolf's Crag," said the Master. " I know 
not that I can promise you more than the - 
shelter of my roof; all, and more than all 
our stock of wine and provisions was ex- 
hausted at the late occasion.** 

** Long may it be ere provision is needed 
for the like purpose," answered Bucklaw ; 
*' but you should not drink up the last' 
flask at a dirge ; there is ill luck in that." 

<< There is ill luck, I thinki in whatever - 



THE BRIBE OF LAMMERMOOR. 171 

belongs to me," said Ravenswood. " But 
yonder is Wolt''^ Crag, and \^hatever it still 
contains is at your service." 

The roar of the sea had long announced 
their approach to the cliflTs, on the summit 
of which, like the nest of some sea-eagle, 
the founder of the fortalice had perched his 
cyry. The pale moon, which had hitherto 
been contending with flitting clouds, now 
shone out, and gave them a view of the so- 
litary and naked tower, situated on a pro- 
jecting cliff' that beetled on the German 
ocean. On three sides the rock was preci- 
pitous ; on the fourth, which was that to- 
ward the land, it had been originally fenced 
by an artificial ditch and draw-bridge, but 
the latter was broken down and ruinous^ 
and the former had been in part filled u{^ 
so as to allow passage for a horseman into 
th^ narrow court-yard, encircled on two 
sides with low offices and stables^ partly 
ruinous, and closed on the landward front 
by a low embattled wall, while the. remain- 
ing side of the quadrangle was occupied by 



1 72 TALBS OF MT LANDLORD* 

the tower itself^ whicfai tall and Darrow, and 
built of a greyish stone, stood gUmmering 
in the moonlight, like the sheeted spectre 
of siMine huge giant. A wilder, or more 
diBeontwlate dwelling, it was perhaps d)ffi« 
cult to 'oonceive. The sombrous and heavy 
sound -of the billows, successively dashing 
agaumtitfae ppcky b6ach at a profound dis« 
tanoe^ beneath, was to the ear what the 
landscape was' to the ^^e-^^-fr symbol of un- 
varied and monotonous melancholy, not 
unming^ed; with horron 

Aitbough the night was not far advan. 
€ed, di^^ waa no sign of living inhabifant 
about this forlorn abodes excepting that 
one^ and oniy onoi of the narrow and staun- 
cbetted windows which appeared at irregu- 
lar iieights and distances in the walls of the 
bttildin^i showed a small glfmmer of light; 

«^There^« saidAavmswood, ^•sitstheonly 
male domestte that remains to the 'house of 
Rnvenswood; and it is weB that *he does re- 
main * there,' snnce otherwise, we had littl6 
hopo'tOifiad^ther light orfire* But follow 



me cacitiausly j tbe roiul is nam>w» and ad 
mits only one horse in front.'' 

In e&ct» the path led along a kind of 
istbmusy. at the peninsular extremity of 
vhieh4be tower was sttuated^ with diat ex- 
clttsii^ attention to strength and security, 
in preference to every circumstance of con- 
veniencct which dictated to the Scottish ba- 
rons the choice of their situations, as well 
aS' their atyle of building. 

By adoptii^ the cautious mode of ap 
proMh recommended by the prc^rietot of 
this wild hold, thsy entered thcconrt^yard 
in safe<7« Bot it was lo^g ere the efBrtts 
of Ravens wood^ thlnigh loudly ^ exerted iby 
knocking at the low-biowed entrance, and 
repeated shouts to Caleb toopen the gate 
and admit them, received any answer. 
^< The old man must be departed," he be- 
gan to say, ** or fallen into some iSt ; fiur the 
noise I have made would have waked the 
aeven sleepers^'' 

At length a timid and hesitating voice 
replied,*-.^^ Master^- Master of Bavens- 
wood, is it you ?• 



174 "TAtm (HT'MY LAimLORO. 

f ' Yes, it is I, Caldi ; open the dl}or 
quickly," 

*• But is it you in very blood £ind body ? 
For I would sooner face "fifty devils as mj 
master's ghaist^ or even his wraiths—where- 
fore aroint ye, if ye w»e ten times my mas- 
ter, unless ye come in bodily sbape» lith 
and limb." 

<* It is I, you old fool/' answered Ravens*, 
wood, *< in bodily shape, and alive» save 
that I am half dead with cold." 

The light at the upper window disappoir- 
ed, and glancing from loop-hole to loop- 
hole in slow succession, gave intimation 
Ihat the bearer wa^ itf the act of descend- 
ing, with great deU);ieratiDny a winding 
stair- case occupying one of the turrets 
which graced the angles of the old tower* 
The tardiness of his descent extracted some 
exclamations of impatience from Ravens- 
wood, and several oaths from his less pa- 
tient and more mercurial companion* Ca« 
. leb again paused ere he unbolted the door, 
and. once more asked, if they were men of 



TQPS Mgfm OP.M¥.M1MIM00K> 175 

.mould that dtauutuled entrance nt thia time 
Qf night ? 

<* Were I near jpu, you old fi)ol»" .said 
Bucklaw, ^*' I > would give you aufficient 
jiroofe of toy bodily coiidltipD." 

** Open the gate» Caleb," said his mas- 
^9 in a more sootbii^ tone, partly from 
.l)i9 i^egard to the an/cient and faithfiii sene- 
«ohal, partly perhaps because he thought 
.tfa^ angry woxds would be thrown away, so 
J^ng as CaJI,eb had a stout iron-Qlenched 
X)jak:en ^oor ;betwixt his person and the 
j|>eai;er9r. 

: Atlepgth Qaleb, with si trembling hand* 
imdid the hiarsi opened the heavy door, and 
stood before tbeip» eiLhibiting his thin grey 
hairg^.ba^d forehead^ and sharp high f(^a- 
ftur^, illuminated by a quivering ]aa>p 
.which he hc^ in one hs^nd^ while he sha- 
ded and protected its flame with the 
oUier* The timwous courteous glance 
which he threw arouqd him— *the effect of 
the partial light upon his white hair and il- 
Iqiiwn^d features, mig))t have m^e a 0Md 



119 

tient for security against the rising atomr^ 
to penttit tliein to 'indite themselves in 
stttdymg the picturesque. << Is it yotr, my 
dear master? is it yourself indeed?" ex. 
daimed the old domestic. ^ I am irae ye 
sold hoe stude waiting at your aiagate^ ^bnt 
wharwadhae tho^ight 0' seeing ye sae 8une» 
an^ a strange gentleman with a--<here he 
exclaimed 'apart aa it werci and' toMEkmie'ni- 
mate ef the tower, in a ymce not meant to 
be hea«d,4^tfe«8ein the court)^My8te*^ 
Mysie, woman, stir for dear life and get lilt 
^ mended; lake the auld tbree^l^ged 
stdol, uricmy dikig that*s Beadiest that wiR 
make^lowei-^I doaht weare bet puirly pro- 
vided, no expeptfng ye this some mofrfhs^ 
when dotibdeas ye wad hae beenreeefted 
conform ' tSl your rank, as gude right is ; 
but nathel6ss"-*^>-i«- 



«* Natbeless, Cateb,^ said the 
^ we must have our horses put up, and 
ourselves too» the best way we can. I hop6 
3rou are not sorry to see me soonar than 
you expected ?" 



. ^ 



^ Sorrf, i^rloid WI am nur^ ye sAil %fe 
be my lord wi' honest folk^ asyour AdWe 
afioesbmn^ liae beed these three biAidred 
jeaia^. and never asked a Whig's leave.*^ 
9ofty to iree the Lord ef Ravenswood at 
ane o' bis ain castles ! — (Then again apart 
to bis iiQMen associate behind the screen) 
•^Mytie^ kill the brood-ben without iiiittk- 
ing twice on it ; let them care that come 
aimrt««^Nb to^ say its oar beitt dwelltng>*^ 
he'added^ turaiBg to ^BucklaWt ^ but just a 
strtingtb for the Ldrd of llat«DSW€fflfd to 
flee un(2^v.^ha«is9 tiotojket but to retreat 
tmttl ia troQUods tildes, Uke the'^resentt 
when it was ill convenient for httti to live 
farther in the country in-ony^hls better 
and maar prtnoiiml manors } but, fbr its an- 
tiqHity, maist fblks think that the eiit^ide 
ef WolPs Crag is worthy <if a lai^ perusai.** 

** And you are determined we shall have 
time to make it," s^d Ravemwood, some- 
what amused with the shifts the old man 
used to detain them without doors, until 

h2 



178 TAIiBS OF HY hAXmUORD. 

his confeda*ate Mysie had made her pre«^ 
paratioos within. 

<< O, never mind the outside of the houae, 
my good friend,'" said Bucklaw ; ^* let's see 
the inside, and let our horses see the stable* 
that's all." 

" O yes, sir — ay, sir — unquestionably, 
sir, — ^my lord and ony of bis honourable 
companions'* 

^* But our horses, my old frien^-*-our 
horses; they will be dead-foundered by 
standing here in the cold after riding hard, 
and mine is too good to be spoded $ there- 
fore, once more, our horses^" exclaimad 
Bucklaw* . 

" True— ay— your horses— yes — I will 
call the grooms;" and sturdily did Caleb 
roar till the old tower rung again,—* «< John 
— William— Saunders] — The lads are gane 
out, or sleeping," he observed, after pau- 
sing for an answer, which he knew that he 
had no human chance, of receiving* ^* A' 
gaes wrang when the Master's out bye ; but 
rii take care o' your cattle mysell." 

1 



/^ 



WL VfOm 9F LAWOIIIfOOE. 179 

(< I tfakik you. had. better,''* said BAveos- 
nj^^qdy, <* othkerm^e: I see liti^ d^iioe vi 
Ihetr being atlefided' to at all." 

<* Wliisht, ay lMd,--^vi^hisht» fi>r God's 
isaio^" said Caleb,. iaaniropkMring.tOQe^ and 
apart to his master ; ^*if yedimia regard 
your aio credit, think on ^miiaie; we'll hae 
bard eaengh wark to* mi^ a decent night, 
o'ty wi' a' the lies I can tell/' 

^*'Well, well, never mind,'' said his mas^ 
ter ; <' go to the stable. . There is hay and. 
ooTDi I trust?-' 

/* Ou ay, plenty of hay and corn j" this 
was uttered boldly and- aloud, and,- in a 
lower tone$ ^' there w^s ^ome half fous o' 
aits, and some taits o' meadow. hay, left a£l 
ter the bur ial**? 

**. Very well*" said Ravens wood, taking 
tfae iamp 'from^ his domestic's unwilling 
hand, ^^ I will shew the stranger i|p stairs^ 
nayself." 

** I canna think o' that,^ my. lord.; — ^if ye 
wad but have five minutes, or ten minutes,. 
j(ir«M il^^t^s^ gu^rj^r of an hour's paUencQ,, 



ISO • MMHS'C^VrM^ 

andiook'Kt the^ne kroaidlght ptmpett of 
ite ^BAis md^ Notth-Berwiek Lftw tin 'I 
sort the horaei^ I #t>uld BMrrtn^iTt up^^u 
NMUM>n<t6i yo'siddl-beimrsliiiledvf^w loid- 
4ibip aiid:^tir bofioiiMbteiFmtop. Audi 
liMilo^Bit «ip4be siHer oftndieBtieks^ '4md 

■^'' it Win do verf well m tbe mmmtiiami^ 
said Eavenswoodi ^ and you will liaive*»o 
^ificttlt/'ftr want of light io the 8tafa|ei for, 
if I teooll6ct,'half4he roof is offi"* 

•• Very true, my lord,** replied the trmty 
adhenaiti ^tnd witfti ready wit iastanlly add« 
•ed, **'B»d the laay solater loons haw never 
come to put it en a* tAiis while, yourleid- 
ahip.'' 

«< If I were disposed to jest at the <:ak- 
ffiities of my house,'' said Bavenswood, as 
lie led t^e way up stafaps, •^poor^old Cftleb 
would famish me with- ample means«> Mis 
passion conmsts in representing thin^ 
about our misevabie menagef not as they 
are, but as, in his opinion^ tiiey ought to 
be ; and, to say tbe truth', I^iave bem^ 



t/&tk 4iimtcd-wtkA9 poor wrctebte eape- 
41mm to^ WjUj i y Mbit he Aougiit i wn/ «- 

fltffi MMre geMTom spai^giw^r the wMt 
#£• IJhMe aitietn ib« -which bk imgmmilly 
- €0ul44dfMiiv«r DO flutotttete. Bat . th»iigh 
the tower is none of the liHt^^cst^ I.shail 
hwe mmne treuMe DMthout him .to find the 
epeftment in wfaieb thereas a fire*" 

As be spohe thus, he -evened the doer 
of the hall. *^ Here, at least,*' be saMi 
^< there is neither hearth jior harbour.'^ 

It was^ indeed a soene of dewlation. A 
large vaulted rootn, ^ the beams ef wbicb^ 
eombined 'like those <tf 'WestaQioBter-HBH^ 
were radelf carved at the exttemities^ le* 
ttRuned nearly in the situation An whioh it 
bad been ictfit after the entertainment^ at 
Alkn Xioid Ravenswood*s funeml* Over- 
turned* pitehersy and Uaek Jacks, and^pevr 
terstoupsi anddagons, still -oumbered the 
large tmken tablej ^ glasses, those more pe> 
rishaUe iesplemmts of conviviality, • maqy 
of which had been vohmtenty sacrificed by 



ISi . TMaMV MT IkANDMMak 



ihQ gueato in tbair enthiiiksti<e:p)fi}gQi to^ 
favourite toaste, stte wed4;h6 aCo»e' flow i^ 
t^eir frag *v mts.. Asioc tk^ articfefii of plate, 
lent for the purpose by; friends aoc^ kina- 
folks, those had been car^AiUy withdraiaa 
so soon as. the ostentatious iihpi»y .of feali- 
, vily, . equally unnecessary and, strmigely 
timed, had been made and ended. N4>- 
thing, in short, remained that indieatsii 
wealth ; all the sign^ were those of recent 
wastefulness^ and present d esolation.. The 
black cloth, hanginga, which, oa the late- 
mournful occasion, replaced the tattered 
mothi-eaten.tapestries^ ba4 been partly puU- 
ed do^n, and, dangling from the wall 
IB irregular festoons^ disclosed the rough 
stone^work of the buildijog* upsmoothed 
either by plaster or hewn stone. The seats 
.^rown down, or left in disorder, intimate 
the careless confusion which bad;CoDcluded 
tiie mournful revel.. ^< Tbia. rpom,*! said 
Kavenswood, holding up thei lamp-^^^ this . 
rooflQ, . Mr HaysKm, was riotous when it« 
4liovld have bew.sad i it is a just; retiiivv. 



THU warn 09 LAifwiffiriiy ft> las 

tton that it sImmUiI miw lie md when it 

ought to bet ehterQjL" j 

They left' this disaooMlatQ apiirtiaefit, ' 

aod went up stain^ where* a^ter opfenuig 
one or two doofs in vain. Ravens wood led 
the way into a little laatted a^ti^coam, in 
which, to thmr great joy, they toMud a to * 

lerably good fire, which Myaie, by some 
such expedient as Caleb had suggested, 
had supplied with a reasonable quantity of 
fiiel. Glad at the heart to see more of 
comfort than the castle had yet seemed to 
aS^Xp Bucl^aw irubbed hm hands, heartily 
over the firei and now, listened x^iitht more 
complacence to the molMiies whidi the 
Master of Rayenswood oi^red* *« Oom* 
fort," he says,. ^* I cannot provide fo^ you, 
for I have it not for myself} it is long since 
these walls have Imown it, if,, indfed, th^ 
were ever. acquainted with it. Sheit/ftrand 
safety, I think, I can promise you.'^ 

** Excellent matters. Master," replied 
Bucklaw, ** and, with a moulahfttl of food 
and wine, positively all I can require tih 
night.'^ 



wSl be a poor one ; I heftr the mMttr in 
dtMomofi betwixt €Ueb and *My&te. Poor 
BaldefBtim » sOBBediiiig deaf, Urttongrtlib 
otbc^' aeernipKshmeBta^ m that much of 
what b« tneans nhould be spoken aside 4s 
Mrerfaea»d by Ae whole au^ence, afnd es- 
pedaH^ by those #cmi wbom^he is tno^t 
anxious to- eono^ his private manoectvrea 
—Hark r 

Ttiey listened^ and heard 'theold domes- 
tie^s Toice io conversation with lifysie Co 
the fiiltowing eftct^ ^* Just mik the h^ 
&U mak'tte best ifty woman ; i(^ easy to 
pnt a fthr ftee on ony thing.** 

*^ But the auld brood-^ben i^— «be^ll be as 
teogh a& bow-strings and bend-leather.'* ^ 

<« Say ye made a mistake<^ii-say ye made 
a m]$t9dDe) Mysie,** replied the firithfbl se- 
nesehalt in a soothing «nd undertoned 
voice ; ^tak it af on yoursel ; neVer let 
the eredit o' the house suflfer." 

«< But iSfm brood-hen," remonstrated 
If ^ie» — ^*0U| she's tutting some gate aneatfa 



inmtlie^dArk'fiMr.theb^gte} lodif I4aiU 
vmwe the^boglte, Ieoiildtt41t we»ii»bmk 
for i^s pit-mitk» aid tliif«^8 no maatiam 
%ht in the liowe, MTO'ClMktvevjF blitud 
imp irtiilfc the MMtrnthm ia< hia^ aioJiaDd* 
%And 'if I fa«d the heiH ehe^S'to pa\ «Bd to 

tilie«ii«ttiiig bytbe iNsdtjr Anr we havef* 

« Weel, weeU Mysie^'' said *«he imtlei^ 
M Jbifa 3«ci >tiiere « ^^mw^ aid J'il* tiy to iget 
ihe hrntp ivvikd xm^fmeAmaf' 

AxsmMntify^ * Caleb fidderatim eaiered 
tile iqpnteaeiit^ Uttie^ aw«» tibat m mmk 
cf >ht8 i^e^fdi^? l«ui ^teen audiU there. 
^ 'Weill ^CalelK -toy *olA fiiend, ^it-theie 
any choice of supper?*' aaid-ihe Master 
ef IRav^iMsebd« * 

^^ (Skmc0 i£ supper^ yeur Joriritip'?^ 
said Calebs urith mi ^emphasis ef iMoog 
seem at the implml doobt,««u^< Hoir should 
there be oayqfiiestiott of tfaat^ 'and we in 
your lofdjdiip'e house 9-<-Gfaaii6e' of soppeiv 



k 



If6 TilMglCg MY LAiroMM)y 

indeed l^^-Bufrye'll habeMrjjiAeh&t^ik&Al 
Hierc's, w»kh o' {9^'pouUtyp ready J other 
for alitor brabder—.T^Q fet oaf>ODi»Mysic»" 
he adf^d9:C9liiog.pufea& boldly as if such, a 
tbiog had beeuin.existeDce^ ' . 

<V Quite uonfeoe9S£My 9'' said Bucklaw, wbo 
deeined . bipself bpwd;ift c0uit63y.t6:A- 
lieire wme pai?t.i>f Mw wi^iou^ Biltler'ja^ per* 
plexity^ ** if y^ tetiteaiiy thipg.celd^ or 
A mocsei Qf bre^d^" . / : . , - 

^^ The. bestiol /bawMcks i\ raclatmfid €»- 
leb^ much nelift^di; I'^.^ad, foricaiiM;iifiea1^ 
aVthftI we hafi}S8< crania aii^gbi-^44iiort>eit 
malit of the. eftuld.. loeati and pMlry wto 
gt'en te Ifae^poor i0lk Jiftar: tfio^realotiy 
of intafment, ds gUde.reai^fmiitasiMQcfrev- 

tbete<»"r~^ . ■*'-' ' •'. > ' 

*< Come, Caleb/' said the MMtac ia£Ilao 
yenswjood, ** I mint «iit thi» avatter -short. 
Jbia k tins yooDg l»rd of Buoklaw ; jha ia on* 
der biding, and tberefare .>«ttt kaow^i--^^^ 
V He'U .b^ laae Qi<^r thao ymuF lordriiip's 
h^iKMir, Vsfi , y^seoLWUr answered Caleb* 
chearfully,.with a ncxl of intelligence } ^* I 



am Sony thftt the gentletnan is under dis- 
tress, but I am blyth that be caniia sny 
muckle again our house-keeping, for I be- 
lieve his ain {Hn<rfieis may matiAi ours; — 
no that we are pinched, Aank Ood,^ he 
added, retracting the admiss&on which he 
had made in his ftrst burst of joy, ^* but 
nae doubt we are waur afftban wehae be^i, 
or said be. And ^ *«atii]^,-^what sig- 
nifi^ tilling a lie ? .there's just the iihider 
end ef the mutten*faam that has been but 
three times on the table, and the hearer the 
bane the sweeter, as jmir honours weel 
ken ; and-— there's the heel of the ewe-milk 
kebbuck, wi' a bit of nice butter, and^— 
and--and that's a' tba^s to trust to." And 
with great alacrity he produced bis siendpr 
stock oi provisions, and placed them with 
much formality upon a small round table 
betwixt the two gentlemen, who were not 
deterred either by the homely quality or 
limited quantity of the repast from doing it 
full juatke^ Calebift the mean. while wait- 
ed on them with ^grave officiousness, as if 



116 . lijjyOT.lit hMm»»9» 

a&xiM* fc>iaalw li^ylQFhM Dwo Mq^e^ 
md^ty^ foMbe wMit (^lail other attendtmaei. 

But alas! how Ittde on suieh occaudoiis 
cg&.&nBii howtiref mouMslyand scrupu- 
lously obafervedy siupply' the lack jof substan- 
tial fare ! BucUm^i irfio had^ageilj eata 
coaBidmahie portkm Af the thriee sackad 
flsuttem^ham» naw b^can to ctomand ale. 

^ I wadnajuflt pDesuaoe to recMsfnaod 
our ak^'' said Cateb.; ^^ the aiaut was ill 
inadei aad there was awfii' ' thtmiitr last 
we^; but siooan^witcr.as Ae Xawei^^MlI 

s^Bi^^^^ J ^m ^0 .•^^ ' a»^^»^M^wSiiHs i^wwfa ^■^wasa^^iwws ww y * wp*^^a^ ^B^^^a^p 

Psei^ogi^ for;" 

^< But if 7<mr ale is bad yoa.(uuiiIet4i8 
have seme wine»'' said Buddaw^ makings a 
griflMce at the meatioB of theipurrdeme&t 
whieh Caleb SO' earoestiy reooouiisiided. 

<< Wine?'' answered Caleb ondaiiatedty^ 
*< eueagh of wine ; it was but twa. dbys 
syae«-*waes me for the cause^theie was 
as much wine drunk in this house os would 
have flmted a pinnace^ There aerer was 
lack of wifteaft Woli^s Ciag.'' 



t&£ ttaiA&'Ot t^AHlMiafOMU 189 

«< Do fetch na some'then;** talid 4il8> mask 
ter»«« instead <€^taIldBg about it/' And Ca- 
leb^ bddly^ ^d€|mrted. 

•Ev^ery expradtd :btttt; in thf old* cellar 
did be set ajtiit and > sbaiee n^ilh • Hve 'despe^ 
rate' expeetatiott of coUeetinig enough of 
thegrottuds^daret t0 ftU^thi^ large pewter 
measure which he carried ii» hia liandw Alas ! 
each had been toa devoutly draitfed ; and, 
with adl the' squeezing and mancenvring' 
which bis craft i as a^ butler^ suggested; he 
could ' only oolltct sbrntV half a qpiart* that 
seemed presentable. IS^illj bowever^ Caleb 
was too' good a^eneral to renounce the "field 
without a stratagem to eover his retreat; 
He undauntedly threw down an empty fla- 
gon, as if he had stumbled at the entrance 
of the apartment ; called upon Mysie to 
wipe up the wine that had never been spilt» 
and placing the other vessel on the table, 
hoped there was still enough left for their 
honours. There was indeed; for even 
Bucklaw, a sworn friend to the grape, fbund 
BO encouragement to renew his first attack 






190 ,TAIMS^€V HY LANDLORD. 

upon the vintage of WolPs Crag, but con- 
tented himself, however reluctantly, with a 
draught of fair water* Arrangements were 
now made for his repose ; and as the secret 
chamber was as^gned ' for this purpose, it 
furnished Caleb with a first-rate and most 

f - 

plausible apology for all deficiencies of fur- 
niture, bedding, &c. 

•* For wha," said he, " would have 
thought of the secret chaumer being need- 
ed ? it has not been used since the time of 
the Gowrie Conspiracy, and I dun^t never 
let a woman ken of the entrance to it, or 
your honour will allow that it wad not hae 
been a secret chaumer lang." 






THE BAUMB .OF< LAKMXiSHMtt. 191 



CHAPTER VII. 

Tlw hntih in hall was bliick and dead. 
No bcMurd was dight in bower wUhiii» 
Nor merry bowl nor welcome bed ; 
^ " Here's sorry cheer," quoth the Heir of Linne. 

The feelings o£ tjbe prodigal Heir ; of 
Ltnne, as expressed in that e^eelleat ^old 
song, when, alter dissipating his wJiole £sif - 
tune, he found bimself the deserted iphabir 
tant of " the lonely kwlge," migbr . perhaps 
have some resembliaice to titfcQse of the 
Master of Ravenswood; in his deserted 
mansian of Wolf 's Crag. The Master, hf^w- 
ever^ had this advantage over the spend- 
thrift in. the legeodi that if he was i^ siipi- 
l^r distrep3, he could not ii^pvte it to l^s 
own imprudence.: His misery ba^ been 
bequeathed to him by his fiither, a«d, jo|nr 



XM ,MUnMlflHriJDAWM4Mn> 



r 






ed to hfis high bloody and to a title which 
the courteous might give, <^ the churlish 
withhold at their pleasure, it was the whcde 
iidheritsince he had derived from his ances- 
try. 

Perhaps this melancholy, yet consolatory 
reflection, crossed tbe.miiid^xtf this imfbr- 
tunate young nobleman with a breatfaing of 
craofort* Favourable to calm reflection, as 
weHas^o the Muses, the morning, while it. 
dispelled the shades of nighty had a com« 
posing' atid sedidJve «flfecb4ipon • the sfturmy 
passions <b]f&>whioh the Master^^JUvens- 
wood had'bseii^agiteted^ciy4h&pfeoedipg 
day. He tiom4^ himsetf aide <o ana^rse 
the dlflfeteAV^fMlii^ by whieh be was^agi- 
tated, floid'aittch'raMlMd' to coMbat aad 
tO'SiMue tbem^ Tbe^motniiig^ ithictehad 
surben calm and 4)right, gaveat pleasisit 
eflfeet even' to the' waste ' mowland vimr 
which wasiieen fmm tha> cattle oft'ldokiog 
ttflAielaiidwitfd i: and the glorioM ocean, 
clilped ^wfth a thousand ri|»pliAj^ ^sHnesi<)f - 
sUten estaodedoq the-btber side «a«wAi1 



THJB BRI0S OF LAMM£RMOOR. lg$ 

yet ccNnplacent majesty to the verge of the 
horizon. With such scenes of calm 8ubli« 
mity the human heart sympathizes even in 
its most disturbed moods, and deeds of ho^ 
nour* and virtue are in^ired by thdr ma- 
jestic influence. 

To seek out Bucklaw in the retreat 
which he had afforded him was the first oc- 
cupation of the Master, after he had per- 
formed, with a scrutiny unusually severe, 
the important task of self-examination. 
^ How now, Bucklaw ?^ was his morning's 
salutation—-^' how like you tiie couch in 
which the exiled Earl of Angus once slept 
in security, when he was pursued by the 
full energy of a king's resentment f 

** Umph !" returned the sleeper awakeb- 
ed ; *' I have little to complain of where so 
great a man was quartered before me, only 
the mattress was of the hardest, the vatslt 
somewhat dam{H the rats rather more muti* 
nous than I would have expected from the 
state of Caleb's lardar ; and if there were 

VOL. I. I 



m£^ * 



194 TALES OF MT LANDLORD* 

shutters to that grated window, or a curtain 
to the bed, I should thitik it, upon the 
whole, an improvement in your accomtno- 
dations." 

** It is, to be sure, fdrlorn enough," said 
the Master, looking around the small vaults 
** but if you will rise and leave it, Caleb 
will endeavour to find yt)u a better break- 
fast than your supper of last night.'* 

" Pray, let it be no better,'' said Buck- 
law, getting up and endeavouring to dress 
himself as well as the obscurity of the place 
would permit, — *^ let it, I say, be no bet- 
ter, if you mean ttie to persevere in my 
proposed reformation. The very recollec- 
tion of Caleb's beverage has done more to 
suppress my longing to open the d^y with 
a morning- draught than twenty sermons 
would have done. And you, Master ? — ^have 
you been able to give battle valiantly to 
your bosom- snake? You see I am in the 
way of smothering my vipers one by one.'' 

<< I have commenced the battle, at least, 
Bucklaw, and I hav6 had a fair vision of an 



THE BRWE OF LAMMfiRliOOa. ] 0£ 

angel who descdnded to my assistance^" 
replied the Master, 

" Woes me !'"said tiis guest, •« ho vision 
can I expwt, unless my aunt, Lady Girn- 
ington, should betake herself to the tomb $ 
and then it would be the substance of her 
heritage rather than the appearance of her 
phantom that I should consider as the sup- 
port of my good resolutions. — But thia 
same breakfast, Master, — ^does the deer that 
is to make the pasty run yetbn foot, as th6 
ballad ha^ it r 

<< I will enquire into that niatter,'' sa;id his 
entertainer ; and, Jeaving the apartment, he 
went in search of Caleb, whom, after some 
difficulty, he found in an obscure sort of 
dungeon, which had been in former timeb 
the buttery of the castle. Herk the old 
man wais employed busily in the doubtful 
task of burnishing a pewter dagon until it 
should take the hue and semblance of sil* 
ver-plate. ** I think it may do-^I think it 
might "pass, if they winna bring it ower 
muckle in the light o' the window ^" were the 



IdO T4X«£$ OF MY LANIIX«ORD. 

ejaculations which he muttered from time 
to time as if to encourage himself in his 
irnder taking, when he was interrupted by 
the voice of his master. " Take this," said 
the Master of Ravenswood, *< and get what 
is necessary fot the family •'' And with these 
words he gave to the old butler the purse 
which bad on the jpreceding evening so 
narrowly escaped the fangs of Craigengelt. 
The old man ^hook his silvery and thin 
locks, and looked with an expression of the 
most heartfelt anguish at his ; master as he 
weigbed in hia hand the slender treasures 
and said in a sorrowful voice^ ^' And is this 
tf that's left?" 

<< All that is left at present," said the 
Master, affecting more cheerfulness than 
perhaps he really felt, <^ is just the green 
purse and the wee pickle, gowd, as the old 
song says } but we shall do better one day, 
Caleb-" 

<< Before that day comes," said Caleb« 
<« I doubt there will be an end of an auld 
aang, and an auld aerving-man to boot 



THE BRIDE OF LAMHERMOOR. 19? 

But it dlsna become me to speak that gate 
to your honour, and you looking sae pale« 
Tak back the purse, and keep it to be ma^ 
king a shew before company ; for if your 
honour would just tak a bidding, and be 
whiles taking it out afore folk and putting 
it up again, there's naebody would refuse 
us trust, for a' that's come and gane yet*'' 

«• But, Caleb," said the Master, «• I still 
intend to leave this country very soon, and 
desire to do so with the reputation of an 
honest man, leaving no debt behind tae^ at 
least of my own contracting." 

••And gude right ye suld gang away as 
a true man, and so ye shall ; for auld Caleb 
can tak the wyte of whatever is ta'en on for 
the house, and then it will be a' just ae man'is 
burden j and I will live just as weel in the 
tolbooth as out of it, and the credit of the 
family will be a' safe and sound." 

The Master endeavoured, in vain, to 
make Caleb comprehend, that the butler's 
incurring the responsibility of debts in his 
own person would rather add to than re* 



t98 TAJbES OF MY LAN^LORp. 

move the objections which he bad to* their 
being contracted. He spoke to 2^ premier^ 
too busy in devising ways and means, to 
puzzle himself with refuting the arguments 
ofibred against their justice or e:!^pediency# 

^f There's Eppie Sma;trash will trust us 
for ale,** said Cal^b to himself ; ^^ she has 
lived a* her life under the family — and 
maybe wi' a soup brandy — I canna say for 
winer!^she is but a lone woman, and gets 
her claret by a runlet at a time — ^but I'll 
work a wee drap out o' her by fair means 
or foul. For dops, there's the dpp-cot — 
there wiU be poultry a^s^ng the: tenants, 
though Luckie Cbirnside s^ys she has paid 
the kain twice ower—p We'll mak shift, an 
it like your honour— well mak shift — ^keep 
your heart abune, for the house sail baud 
its credit as laiig as auld Caleb is to the 
fore." 

The entertainment which Caleb's exer- 
tions of various kinds enabled him to pre- 
sent to the young gentlemen for three or 
four daya was certainly of no splendid de- 



THB BRJ0B OF JLAMMERMOOR. 199 

scriptiQD, but it may readily be believed it 
was set before no critical guests ^ and even 
tine distresses, excuses, evasions, and shifts 
of Caleb, afforded amusement to the young 
men, and added a sort of interest to the 
scrambling and irregular style of their 
^le. They had indeed occasion to seize 
on every circumstance that might serve to 
4^versify or enliven time, which otherwise 
past away so becvvily* 

Bucklaw, shut out from his usual field- 
sports and joyous carouses by the neces* 
sity of remaining concealed within the 
walls of the castle, became a joyless and 
uninteresting companion. When the Mas- 
ter of Ravenswood would no longer fence 
or play at shovel-board— when he him- 
self had polished to the extremity the 
coat of his palfrey with brush, curry-comb, 
and hair-cloth — when he bad seen him eat 
bis provender, and gently lie down in his 
stall, he could hardly help envying the ani* 
mal's apparent acquiescence in a life so 
monotonous. << The stupid brute/' be 



SOO TALES OF XT LANDLORD. 

said, ^ thinks neither of the race-ground 
or the hunting'fieldy or his green paddock 
nt BucklaWy but enjoys himself as comfort- 
ably when haltered to the rack in this ruin- 
ous vault, as if he had been foaled in it ; 
and I, who have the freedom of a prisoner 
at large, to range through the dungeons of 
this wretched old tower, can hardly, bew 
twixt whistling and sleeping, contrive to 
pass away the hour till dinner-time." 

And with this disconsolate reflection 
he wended his way to the bartizan or bat- 
tlements of the tower, to watch what ob- 
jects might appear on the distant moor, or 
to pelt, with pebbles and pieces of lime, 
the sea-mews and cormorants which esta- 
blished themselves incautiously within the 
reach of an idle young man. 

Ravenswood, with a mind incalAilably 
deeper and more powerful than that of his 
companion, had his own anxious subjects 
of reflection, which wrou^t for him the 
same unhappiness that sheer ennui and 
want of occupation inflicted on his compa- 



THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR. 201 

nion. The first sight of Lucy Ashton had 
been less impressive than her image proved 
to be upon reflection. As the depth and 
violence of that revengeful passion, by 
which he had been actuated in seeking an 
interview with the father, began to abate 
by degrees, he looked back on his conduct 
towards the daughter as harsh and unwor- 
thy towards a female of rank and beauty. 
Her looks of grateful acknowledgment — . 
her words of affectionate courtesy, had. 
been repelled with something which ap^ 
proached to disdain ; and if the Master of 
Kavenswood ha(J sustained wrongs at the 
hand of Sir William Ashton, his conscience 
told him they had been unhandsomely re- 
sented towards his^ daughter. When his 
tilioughts took this turn of self-reproach, 
the recollection of Lucy Ashton's beauti- 
ful features, rendered yet more interesting 
by the circumstances in which their meet- 
ing had taken place, made an impression, 
upon his mind at once soothing and pain« 

12 



202 TALES 01^ HY Z^AKpLOED. 

fill. The sweetness, of her voice, the deli- 
cacy of her esfpressiops, the vivkl glow of 
her filial, af&ction^ embittered his, regret at 
having repulsed her gratitude with rude- 
ness, while, at the same time, they placed 
before, his imagination a pictur^ of the 
most seducing sweetness. 

Even young Ravenswood's strength of 
moral feeling and rectitude of purpose at 
once increased the danger of cHc^risbing 
th^se recollections, and the propensity to 
entertain them, firmly resolved as ha was 
to subdue,, if possible,, the predominating^ 
vijpe in. his character, he admitted with 
willingness-^nay, he summoned up in hi$ 
imagination, the ideas by which it could 
be most powerfully counteracted ;. s^nd^ 
while he did so,, a sense of His own h^rsb 
conduct towa^ds^ her naturally induced 
him, as if by way of recompense, to invest 
her with moi:e of grace and beauty than 
perhaps she qould actually cl^im. 

Had any one at this period told the 

Master of Ravenswood that he had so late. 

8 



^^^mmmmmmmmmmmmm 



p _^ 



TH$. BRn£ OF LAMMERMOOR. 203 > 

1^ vowed vengeance against the whole U* 
neage of him whom he considered, not un« 
justly, as author of his father's ruin and 
death, he might at first halve repelled tlie 
charge as a foul calumny ; yet, upon se- 
rious self-examination, he would have been 
compelled ta admit, that it had, at one pe- 
riod, some foundation in truth, though, 
l^pcording to the present tone of his senti- 
Dae)#, it was difficult to believe that this 
had really beefti|fe^ case. 

Theri^already existed in his bosom two 
contradictory passions,-~a desire to revenge 
the death of his father, strangely qualified 
by admiration of his enemy's daughter. 
Against the former feeling he had strug- 
gled; until it seemed to him upon the 
wane } agaiost the latter he used no means^ 
pf resistance, foi: he did not. suspect its ex- 
istence. That this was actually the case, 
Wjis, chiefly evinced by his resuming his re- 
aolution to leave Scotland. Yet, though 
such was his purpose, he remained day af» 



204 TALBS OF MI hAHDhOtLD. 

ter day at Wolfs Crag, without taking 
measures for c^svymg it inta exeeutioii« 
It is true^ that he had written to one or 
two kinsmen, who resided in a distant 
quarter of Scotland, and particularly ta 

the Marquis of A -, intimating his pw- 

pose ; and when pressed upon the sulgeet 
by Bucklaw, he was wont to allege the ne- 
cessity of waiting for their reply, especially 
that of the Marquis, before taking so deci- 
sive a measure. 

The Marquis was rich and powerful; 
and although he was suspected to enter- 
tsun sentiments unfavourable to the go^ 
vernment established at the Revolution, he 
had nevertheless address enough to head a 
party in the Scottish Privy Council, con- 
nected with the high church faction in 
England, and powerful enough to menace 
those to whom the Lord Keeper adhered, 
with a probable subversion of their power. 
The consulting with a personage of such 
importance was a plausible excuse, Which 



THB BRIDE Of LAMMERMOOR. 205 

Ravenswood used to Bucklaw, and proba* 
bly to himself, for continuing his residence 
at Woirs Crag j and it was rendered yet 
itiore so by a general report which began 
to be current, of a probable change of mi- 
nisters and measures in the Scottish admi- 
nistration. These rumours, strongly as- 
serted by some, and as resolutely denied by 
Others, as their wishes or interest dictated, 
found their way even into the ruinous tower 
of Wolf's Crag, chiefly through the me- 
dtum of Caleb the butler, who, among his 
other excellencies, was an ardent politi- 
cian, and seldom made an excursion from 
the old fortress to the neighbouring village 
of WolTshope, without bringing back what 
tidings were current in the vicinity. 

But if Bucklaw could not offer any sa« 
tisrfactory objections to the delay of the 
Master in leaving Scotland, he did not the 
less sufkr with impatience the state of in- 
action to which it confined him, and it was 
only the ascendancy which his new compa- 
nion had acquired over him, that induced 

7 



206 TALES OF MY LANDLORD* 

him.tp submit to. a course of lif(e so sdiea 
tp his habits and inclinations. 

« You wcire.wont to be thought a.stir^. 
ring active young fellow^ Master/' was his. 
frequent rc;inonstrance ; ** yet here y.ou, 
s.eem determined to live on and. on likea. 
i:at in a hole, with this triflli% d^erence^, 
that the wi^er vermin chuses a hermitage, 
whf re he can fmd food at least ; but as foe. 
us, Caleb's excuses become longer as Us. 
diet turns more spafe, an4 I fear, we^ shall 
realize the stories they tell of the slotJi,---} 
we have almost eat up the last, green leaf 
on the plant, and have nothing left for it 
but to drop from tl»e tr^ and break our 
necks/* 

<< Do not fear. iW^ said Rai^enswood i^ 
** there is a fate, watches fqr us, and we too 
have a stake in the. revolution that is now. 
impending, and which already ha^ alarmed 
many a bosom." 

" What fate— what revohition ?^ answer- 
ed his companion. <* We have had one 
revolution too much ahready, I think." 



THE BAIPE OF LAMMERMOOR. 20/ 

Raveoswood interrupted him by putting 
into- his hands a letter^ 

*f O," answered Bucklaw, *• my dream's 
optn-I thought I heard Caleb this morn* 
ing pressing some unfortunate feUow tp a 
drink of cold water, and assuring him it 
was better for his s^tomach in the mpiimng 
than ale or brandy.'^ 

" It was my t-ord of A n 's comier/' 
said B«ayensw;oodf '^ who was dopmed to 
experience his ostqntatipys hospitality, 
which I believe ended in sour beer and 
herrings — Read^ and you will siee the news 
bp has brought us." 

<^I will as fast as I can,'^ said Bucklaw; 
^f but I am np great plerk, nor does his 
lordship, seem to be the first of scribes " 

Xhe reader, will peruse, in a few se- 
conds, by the aid of our friend Ballantyne's 
types, what took Bucklaw a good half hour 
in perusal, though assisted by the Master 
of Ravenswoo4« l^e tenor wa^ as foI« 
lows ;— «^ 



208 TALES OF MY LANDLORD. 

** Btgfkt JETonGurable our Cousin, 
*• Our hearty commendations premised; 
these come to assure you of the interest 
which we take in your welfare, and int 
your purposes towards its augmentation. 
If we have been less active in shewing forth 
our eflTective good will towards you than, as 
a loving kinsman and blood-relative, we 
would willingly have desired, we request 
that you will impute it to lack of opportu* 
nity to shew our good liking, riot to any 
coldness of our will. Touching your reso- 
lution to travel in foreign parts, as at this 
time we hold the same little advisable, in 
respect that your ill-willers may, according 
to the custom of such persoiis, impute mo- 
tives for your journey, whereof, although 
we know and believe you to be as clear as- 
ourselves, yet natheless their words may 
find credence in places where the belief in. 
them may much prejudice you^ and which 
we should see with more unwillingness and: 
displeasure than with means of remedy* 



THS MU0B OF LAMMKBMOOE« 809 

^ Hainng thiis, as becometh our kin« 
dred, given you our poor mind on the 
sulked; of your jouraeyiog forth of Scot* 
Umd^ we would willingly add reasons of 
weighty whidi may materially advantage 
you and your fathar's house, thereby to 
determine you to abide at Wolfs Crag, 
until this harvest season shall be pass- 
ed over. But what sayeth the proverb, 
MT&tim aapiewti^ — ^^a word is more to him 
that hath wisdom than a sermon to a fooL 
And albeit we have written this poor scroll 
with our own hand, and are well assured 
of the fideKty of our messenger, as him that 
is many ways bounden to us, yet so it is, 
that sliddery ways crave wary walking, and 
that we may not peril upon paper matters 
which we would gladly impart to you by 
word of mouth. Wherefore, it was our 
purpose to have prayed you heartily to 
come to this our barren highland country 
to kill a stag, and to treat of the matters 
which we axe now more painfully inditing 
to you anent. But commodity does not 



210 TAJLEB QE MY I«ANDI.OEI>. 

serve at present for sueh our meetittg» 
which, thecefore, shall be deferreil until 
sic time as we may in all mirth rehearse 
.those things whereof we now keep silence. 
Meantime, we pray you to think that we 
are, and will still be your good kinsnum 
and wellrwisher^ waiting but for times of 
whilk we do,, as it were, enterts^ a iwi- 
Ught. prospect, and appear and hope to be 
also; your effectual weU-doec. And ia which 
hope we lusartily write oumel^ 

Right honourable, 
Xour loving cousin^ 

A " '■ ' '♦" 

* • 

Given from our pooc 
house of B^ , &c. 

Superscribed-7-^^ For the right honour^ 
able, and out honoured kinsman, the Mas- 
ter of Ravenswood— These, with haste, 
hfste, posjt-haste— ride and run until these 
be delivered.** 



THJbJBJtWB OF LABOCSUfOOR. 811 

<« What think you of this epistle, Back* 
law?" said the Master, whea hia compa* 
nion had hammered out all the sense^ and 
almost all the words of which, it coi33i8ted« 

<f Truly that the Marquis^ meaning is as 
great a riddte as his manuscript He is 
really in much need of Wit's Inteqpreterg 
or the Complete Letter-Writer, and were 
I you I would send him a copy by the 
bearer. He writes you very kindly to re- 
main wasting youjr time and your money 
in. this vile, stupid, oppressed country, 
without so much as offering you the coun« 
tenance and shelter of his house. In my 
opinion, he has some sdieme in. viev^ in 
which he supposes you can be. useful, and 
he wishes to keep you at hand, to uHEike 
use of you when it ijpens^ reserving the 
power of turning you adrift, should his plot 
iail in the concoction." 

" His plot ? — then yoji sjapppse i|; is a 
treasonable business," answered ^^avens- 
wood. 

** What else can it be ?" repli<^d BuckJaw ; 



Hit TALS6 OW JiT LANDIM»> 

^< the Marquis has been k>og stispcacted to 
have an eye to Saint 6er mains." 

*^ He should not engage me ra^ly in 
such an adventure," said Ravenswood ; 
^nrhen I recollect the times of the first 
and seccmd Charles^ ancl of the last James^ 
traly^ I see little reason , that, as a man or 
patriot, I should draw nsy sword for their 
descend an ts."* 

" Humph !" replied Bucklaw^ " so you 
are set yourself down to mourn over the 
crop-eared dogs, whom honest Claverse 
treated as they deserved*" 

^ They first gave the dogs an ill name, 
and then hanged them/* replied Ravens^ 
wood. <* I hope to see the day when justice 
shall be open to Whig and Tory, and when 
these nick*names shall only be used among 
coffee house politicians, as slut and jade are 
among apple- women, as cant terms of idle ^ j 
spite and rancour." 

«« That will not be in our days, Master— 
the iron has entered too deeply into our 
sides- and our souls." 



THB maXBB OF LAMMfifiUOOR. SIS 

<< It will be, however, one day," replied 
the Master } *' men will not always start at 
these nick^natnes as at a trumpet-sound. 
As social life is better protected, its com- 
forts will become too dear to be haaarded 
without some better reason than specula* 
tive politics." 

^ It is fine talking," answered Bucklaw ; 
^ but my heart is with the old song,-^ 

** To see good com upon the rigs^ 

And a gallows built to hang the Whigs^ 

And the right restored where the right should be^ 

O that is the thing that would wanton me.*' 

** You may sing as loudly as you will, 
cantabit raciti^,"— ^answered the Master; 
«* but I believe the Marquis is too wise— 
at least' too wary, to join you in such a 
burthen. I suspect he alludes to a revolu- 
tion in the Scottish Privy-council, rather 
than in the British kingdoms." 

** O, confusion to your state- tricks," ex- 
claimed Bucklaw, <^ your cold calcula- 
ting manoeuvres, which old geatlemen in 



2li TAUSB OF MT LAJmiXmSD* 

wrought night-caps and fiirred gowns exe- 
cute like so many games at chess, and 
dispds^e a treasurer or lord commissioner 
as they would take a rook or a pawn* 
Tenuis for my sport, and battle for my ' 
earnest. My racket and my sword for my 
play- thing and bread-winner. )lnd yoiJi^ 
Master, so deep aifd cons&derale ad you 
would seem, you have that witliin you makes 
the blood boil faster than suits your present 
humour of moralizing on political truths* 
You are one of those wise men who see 
every thing with great composure till their 
blood is up, and then— woe to any one who 
should put them in mind of theit own pru* 
dential maxims."^ 

«• Perhaps,* said iK^avenswdod, " you read 
me more rightly than I can myself. But 
to think justly will certainly go some length 
iti helping me to act so. But hark ! I hear 
Caleb toiling the dinner-bell." 

«« Which he always does with the more 
sonorous grace, in proportion to the mea- 
greness of the cheer which he has provi- 



THE BRIDB OF LAMMERMOOR. 815 

ded," said Bucklaw, <^ as if that infernal 
clang and jangle, which will one day bring 
the old belfi^ down the clifP, cduld con- 
vert a starved hen into a fat capon, and a 
bladie-bone of mutton into a haunch of 
venison." 

«• I wisfi we may be so well 6ff as your 
worst conjecltures surmize, Bucklaw, from 
the extreme solemnity and cereniony with 
which Caleb seems to place on the table 
that solitary covered dish." 

« Uncover, Caleb ! uncover, for Heaven's 
sake !" isaid Bucklaw ; <Met us have what 
you can give us without preface-^why it 
stands well enough, man," he continued, 
addressing impatiently the ancient butler, 
who, without reply, kept shifting the dish, 
until he haid at length placed it with mathcf- 
maUcal precision iti the v^ry midst of the 
table. 

*« What have we got here, Caleb ?" en. 
quired the Master in his turn. 

** Ahem 1 sir, yie sold have known before ; 
but his honour the Laiird of Bucklaw is so 



Sl€ TAI.B8 OF MY JLAKOI^IftD. 

impatient," answered Caleb, still hokttiig 
the dish with one hand, and the cover with 
% the other, with evident reluctance to dis- 
close the contents. 

^* But ,what is it, a God*s name — not a 
pair of clean spurs, I hope, in the Border 
ftshion of old times T' 

^ Ahem ! ahem l"* reiterated Caleb, << jroor 
honour is pleased to be &cetiousr*— natbe- 
less I might presume to say it was a conve* 
nient fashion, and used, as I have heard, ia 
an honourable and thriving fiimily. But 
'' tOQchii^ your present dinner, I judged that 
this being Saint Magdalen's £ve, who was a 
worthy queen of Scotland in her day, your 
honours might judge it decorous, if not al- 
together to fiut, yet only to sustain nature 
with some slight reflection, as ane sauked 
herring or the like." And uncovering the 
dish, he displayed four of the savoury fishes 
which he mentioned, adding^ in a subdued 
tone, *^ that they were no just common 
horing neither, beii^ every ane mdters, 
and sauted with uncommon care by the 



TH£ tmUUS OP LAMMBRMOOl. S17 

housekeeper (poor Mysie) for his honour's 
especial use." 

^< Out upon all apologies/' said the Mas- 
ter, " let us eat the herriugs since there is 
nothing better to be had — but I begin to 
think with you, Bucklaw, that we are con- 
suming, the last green leaf, and that, in 
^pite of the Marquis's political machina- 
tions, we must positively shift camp for 
want of forage, without waiting, the issue 
of them." 



VOL. I. 



$19 .««u»-or Mf tLMHvmam* 



<»lAl»TE1t viir. 

And firom)it9^ tovert starts the imrfvi pr^ 

Who^ wnrni'd widi youth's blood in his swelling; veias. 

Would like a lifeless clod outstretched lie, 

Shut out from all the fair creation offers ? 

Eihwaldy Aei /. Scene /. 

Light meals procure light slumbers ; and 
therefore it is not surprising, that, consi* 
dering the fare which Caleb's conscience^or 
his necessity, assuming, as will sometimes 
nappen, that disguise, had assigned to the 
guests of Wolf's Crag, their slumbers should 
have l>een short. 

In the morning Bucklaw ruslied into his 
host's apartment with a loud halloOf which 
miglit have awaked the dead, 

" Up ! up ! in the name of Heav«n«^ 



the hontei^ are oat» ihe Miy^fiece (^^port 
I have Been this moatb ; and you lie here, 
Master, oa a bed that hae litlle to recom- 
nend it, e&oept that it laa^ be isoinetbiiig 
softtf than the stone floor of your ance§» 
tors' vank.** 

<< I wish,** said Ravenswood, raishig bis 
befid f>eevi«bly, '*' yoa bad fiiH'bonie so ear- 
ly a jest, Mr Hayston^^k is really no plea- 
sure to lose the very short repose whi^h I 
bad just begun to enjoy, after a night spent 
in thoughts upon fortune far harder than 
my couch, Bucklaw," 

^* Pshaw ! pshaw r^ replied Ws guest, 
** get u-p— get «p— the hounds ore abroad ^ 
— I have saddled the hODsesnayself, for old 
Caleb was calling for grooms and lacqueys, 
aiid wo«ld never ^ave proceeded without 
two hour'fi apology, for the absence of men 
tlmt w^e a hundred miles ofi^get up, 
Master — I say the hounds are out — ^get up, 
I j|ay-*-Ae hunt* is np.-^ A«d off ran Buck- 
law. . 
^ And I «ay/* said the Maarter, rising 



S20 TAhEA OF MY JLANOLOADt 

slowly, ^* that nothing can concern me 
led^ — Whose hounds come so near us ?'' 

«« The Honourable Lord Bittlebrain's^". 
answered Caleb, who had followed th^ im^ 
patient X^rd of Bucklaw into his master's 
bed-room, *^ and truly I ken nae title they 
have to be yowling and howling within the 
freedoms and immunities of your lordship's 
right of free-forestry," 

*« Nor I, Caleb,'' replied Ravenswood, 
*< excepting that they have bought both 
the lands and the right of forestry, and 
may think themselves entitled to exercise 
the rights they have paid their money for." 

«* It may be sae, my lord," replied Ca- 
leb ; ^* but its no gentleman's deed of them 
to come here and exercise such like rights 
and your lordship living at your ain cas- 
tle of Wolf 's Crag. Lord Bittlebrain would 
do weel to remember what his folks have 
been." 

<< And we what we now are," said the 
Master, with suppressed bitterness of feel- 
ing. V But reach me my cloak, Caleb, and 



THfi BRID£ OF LAMMfiRMOOR. 221 

I will indulge Bucklaw with a sight of this 
chase. It is selfish to sacrifice my guesf s 
pleasure to my own." 

'«* Sacrifice ?" echoed Caleb, iri a tone 
which seemed to imply the total absurdity 
of his master making tFie least concession 
in deference to any one — *^ Sacrifice in- 
deed ? — but I crave your honour*s pardon — 
and whiik doublet is it your pleasure to 
wear 7" 

** Any one you will, Caleb— my ward- 
robe, I suppose, is not very extensive/' 

** Not extensive ?^ echoed his assistant j 
«* when there is the grey and silver that 
your lordship bestowed on Hew Hilde- 
"brand, your out- rider — and the French vel- 
vet that went with my lord your father 
^be gracious to him)— -my lord your father's 
auld wardrope to the puir friends of the fa- 
mily,, and the drap de-berry" — 

«• Which I gave to you, Caleb, and which, 
1 suppose, is the only dress we have any 
chance to come at, except that I wore yes- 



t^clay-utpray, band, me Aat, and say cp 
more about iti^' 

<* If your honour has a Ibncy^" replied 
^ Calebs *^ and doubtless it's a sad-eotoured 
suitf and you are in mournrng^-neverthe- 
k^s I have never tryVi on the draff de- 
berry-^iU wad it beooaie me— and your 
honour having no obange of f liuths at thia 
present— ^nd it's weel brushed^ and aatWe 
are leddies down yonder''— 

«' Ladies j" said Eavenswoodi ^^ and 

what ladies?" 

. « What do I ken^ your lordship?*-4a0kin^ 
d0wn at them from the Wardenfs Towes; 
I dould but see them g^ent by wi* their 
bridles ri^ng/and tbeir feathecs^ ftutteit- 
iogi like the pourt of B)4and»" 

*« Well, well, Caleb/' replied the Master 
^ help tne on with my cloak, aod hand laa^ 
my sword.beIik---Wiial datcer ^ that i»fthf 
liOUrt-yardi^ > * - 

^ Just Bucklaw bringing out the horses/^ 
aaid Calebs after a glance through the wio- 
dow, ** as if there werena men aneugh in 

3 



tbe caflftle» (ht as if I couldna serve the turn 
of ony o' them thjtt are out o' tbe gate." 

** Aba I Galeii, we should want little^ if 
jotir ^iiitjr were equal .to your will," re* 
pliied iiis oiaater. 

^< And i. bofia your iocdship^ dkna want 
U^tatinuckley^c^idCald); <^ tbr^^oQsideriag 
a' thiogSi I trust we support the credit of 
the family as weel as thifigs will permit of. 
Oily Bucklaw is aye sae frs^k and sae for- 
watd^ and tbere he has brought out }^ur 
lordship's palfrey with oat the saddle, being 
decoced wif the buoidered . sampter- clotl), 
and I could have brushed it in a minute.^ 

** I<j is aU very well," said his master, esca- 
fing from hiim, and descendiiig the n«»tow 
atul steep wiadiQg 8tair«CMe> which led (o 
IM coa«>t-yanl« 

; ** It may be aT very wjeel/' said Calebs 
•dmewfaat peevishly ) ** hut if your lordship 
wad tarry a bit, 1 will teH you what will 
mot be very weei*** 

*^ And what is that ?" said EaTetiswood 
impatieatlyi but stopping at tbe same time. 



224 TALES OF MT LAKPLOAD* ^ 

** Whyt just that ye suld speer any gen- 
tlemui hame to dinner ; for I canna mak 
anitber fast on a feast day^ as when I cam 
ower Bucklaw wi' Queen Margaret — and» 
to speak truth, if your lordship viad but 
please to cast yoursell in the way of dinhig 
wi' Lord Bittlebrains, I'se warrand I wad 
cast about brawly for the morn ; or if, stead 
o' that, ye wad but dine wi' them at the 
Change* house, ye might mnk your shift for 
the lawing ; ye might say ye had forgot 
your purse— or that the carline awed yoa 
rent, and that ye wad allow it in the settle* 
ment." 

.^< Or any other Ke that came upper- 
most, I suppose," said his master. " Good 
bye, Caleb ; I commend your care for the 
honour of the family." And, throwing 
himself on his horse, he followed BuckkWf 
who, at the manifest risk of his neck, had 
begun to gallop down the steep path which 
led to the Tower, as soon as he saw Ra» 
venswood have his foot in the stirrup* 

Caleb Balderstone looked anxiously afler 



TMS BUDS OF LAICMBBMOOR* S85 

tbeis, and diode his thin grey locks—** And 
I trust they will come to no evils'—but th^ 
have reached the plain, and folks cannot 
say but that the horse are hearty and in 
spirits.'' :• " 

Animated by the natural impetuosity 
and fire of his temper, young Buckla^ 
rushed on with the careless «peed of a 
whirlwind* Ravenswood was scarce more 
moderate in his pace, for his was a mind 
unwillingly roused from contemplative in- 
activity, but which, when once put into 
motion, acipiired a spirit of forcible and 
violent progression. Neither was his ea- 
gerness proportioned in all cases to the 
motive of impulse, but might be compared 
to the speed of a stone, which ru^es with 
like fury down the hill, whether it was first 
put in moti<Hi by the arm of a giiuitior 
the hand of a boy. He felt, therefore, in 
no ordinary degree, the headlong impulse 
of the chase, a pastime so natural to 
youth of all ranks, that it seems rather to 
be an inherent passion in our animal na« 

K 2 






MS TMJtB m nt hmtammk 



* ita^» vUfefa levcb all lUSbeiie^s iof mk 

impid ezercist* 

like r^fiesBted biHBts ^f tine f nafiith hom, 
which were then always used for the eiiooa- 
rtigement :and direotien of ^the^cwodAN^wtbe 
^teb{H tbottgli 4istU(t baying of the paok<^ 
thfe liiUllKaDd criea of the tentsncto^Ni^the 
faatf^saeB ^ma wflnoh wtn fliscGh^^A iBbw 
emmf^ng £mA .gleaa wUoh croaml ikn^ 
•moQTi flow sipeeptog over its stifrfiMte^ now 
pic3^itoi^ tineir wa|f. whMe it wats .tiB|)e(ted 
Iqr mishsm^y andy^afaoiire aU| the feeliioif ^f 
•hss o^n rapid ibdti<>D| imimaledithe Mtk^r 
tiF Bivenswodd, at }e«st for the SMiBeiit» 
tAnme the tecollectioos t>f a nidre ^imfytl 
taafeure by which he was surrounded* The 
finit ifatog wMiek recalled him to ifadie tHk- 
plearihg ciroumstanees wks Sxlixtg AbI his 
boise^ netwitJistanfing all the advantages 
whiafa he reedvied ^oai his rtder^s know- 
ledge €f the coantry^ was unable io kac^ 
ap w(>iA the chaoe. As he dttw his boiiUe 



tip wiHi the bitter feefing tfiat hts poverty 
^fxclwded him from the fevourite recreation 
t)f his forefathers, am! indeed their sole em- 
ployment when not engaged in military 
pursufts, he wa« accosted by a weH mount- 
ed stranger, who, nntfbserved, hrad Icept 
^irear him tluring the earlier part of his ca- 
reer. 

«* Your horse i*3 blown,** said the mate, 
with ti complaisance seldom used in a 
-htrnting. field ; *« Might I crave ^our bo- 
noirr to make use t/f mine?**' 

•* Sir,** «aid Ravenswood, ^nrore surprised 
tha?n pleasied at such a proposal, «• 1 really 
do nxxt knbw bow 1 have merited such ^ 
favour at a stranger's bands/' 

*« Never ask vt quesl:km about it, Master,** 
said Bucklaw, who, with great unwilFing- 
tiess, had hitherto rcitred 5ti *his own gallant 
steed, not to outride 'his ^ho^ and eritfer- 
iainer. •* Take fhe goods the gCfify pfo- 
Vide* you, us the great John l>ryden says—* 
iSfr stay-i-itere, my friend^ lelid tne' that 
horse j 1 see you have been puz23ed to Teifii 



AUiMM^toattMUBb 



228 TALES OF MY I<ANDJUIIUI># 

him up this half hour. I'll take the devil 
out of him for you.-^Now, Master, do you 
ride mine, which wtU carry you» like an 
eagle." 

And throwing the rein of his own horse 
to the Master otf Ravenswood, he sprung 
upon that which the stranger resigned to 
him, and continued his career at full 
speed. 

^< Was ever so thoughtless a being,^ 
said the Master ; ^* and you, my friend, 
how could you trust him with your horse T 

" The horse," said the man, <* belongs to 
a person who will make your honour, or 
any of your honourable friends, most wel* 
come to Mm, flesh and fell." 
M " And the owner's nam^ is — - ?" asked 
Ravenswood. 

<< Your honour must excuse me, you 
will learn that from himself-*if you please 
to take your friend's horse, and leave me 
your galloway, I will meet you after the 
fall of the stag, for I hear they are blowing 
him at bay." 



TH£ BM0fi OF LAMMERMdOR, S29 

.<< I believe^ my friend^ it will be the best 
way to recover ycmr good horse for you," 
answered Ravenswood ; and mounting the 
liag of his friend Bucklaw, he made all 
the haste in his powe^ to the spot where the 
blast of the horn announced that the stag's 
career was nearly terminated. 

These jovial shouts were intermixed with 
the huntsmen's shouts of " Hyke a Talbot ! 
Hyke a Teviot ! now, boys, now !'• and si* 
milar cheering halloos of the olden hunt- 
ing field, to which the impatient yelling of 
the hounds, now close on the object of 
their pursuit, gave a lively and unremitting 
chorus. The straggling riders began now 
to rally towards the scene of action, col- 
lecting from different points as to a com- 
mon centre. 

.Bucklaw kept the start which he had 
gotten, and arrived first at the spot, where 
the stag, incapable of sustaining a more 
prolonged flight, had turned upon the 
hounds, and, in the hunter's phrase, was at 



•v^* .► 

\ 



bay. Wkh Ms stately tread trent 'Ao^ra^ 
liis sides white with foam, his eyes srtraineQ 
betwixt rage and terror, the htitited amtiial 
'had now in his turn l^ecotne an object of 

• 

intitniriaftion to his pursuers. The hunters 
came tip one by ione, and watched an op- 
portunity to assail hhn ^-ith isome advan- 
tage, whicfh, in such circumstances, can 
only be done with caution. The dogs 
stood aloof and bayed loudly, htti mating at 
once eagerness and fear, and each of the 
Bportsmen seemed to expect thtrt his com- 
tade ^ould take upon him the perilous task 
40f assatrlttng and disabling the animal. - *Rie 
aground, which was a hollow in the common 
or moor, afforded little advantage for aj)- 
preaching the stag unobserved, and gene- 
ral was the shout of triumph when Buck- 
law, with the dexterity proper to an ac- 
complished cavalier of the day, sprang from 
liis horse, and dashing suddenly and swiftly 
at the stag, brought irim to the ground by 
ia cut on the liind leg, with his ^hort htrnt* 



tkGir.4mbted ienem}s soop «Dded im f»aift- 
f4»l stnii^tea, aod sotemiiiaed his fail mrstti 
.tii4»ir<:rla0liaiUM^ie buntctos wiih riiekihdras 
and voices wfaooptag and biox^iog la ^mrt, 
or death-^toCe^ whidh Tesoahded far owr 
the billoMTs :clf the a^aeent lOCBBti. 

The hun tsmsan jAdeo wifthdvt w die bminds 
iVoin the tbrt)ttied.firt;ag» ^Mod on his knc^e 
|>i:eseQteA hk kasfe to la ^r iemale fonD, 
jetQ a white f&Aitey^ whods tervdr^ or perhaps 
her t:Q0i|»is9io0^ had tiil then kept her at 
some dktailuge^ She uidre a i]AAc^ sHk ix- 
diiig oiasky NirUdh' ^wm theM b /common 
* &3hioti, as ivrbll for |»reserytng the ootn* 
plexion from sun and rain, as from an id6a 
of decof ute, iviridb dtd notqperantt aUdy to 
appear baife-&eed "wrhile engnged dn a bob- 
tetoubi ^ptort, \m\d aMcaded ^ a pnnnisQii- 
Q«a d&ms^w^^ Tht ricbne^)of bor <dfesift, 
.h0wey€^, as vrdtl m the inadttte and farm of 
ber jpalfj^» together with tbe s^l\ian omi- 
jpUosdnt pswi to l^x b^ thb huntstoan^ 
l>oifit(ed her but to iBuddsGV oa the j|Mmidi^ 



£32 



TALES Of MY lAKDLORD. 



> pal peiisoQ in the, field. It was not without 
a feeling of pity» approaching even, to con- 
tempt, that this enthusiastic hunter obser- 
ved her refuse the huntsman's knife, pre- 
sented to her for the purpose of making 
the first incision in the stag's breast, smd 
thereby discovering the quality of the ve- 
nison. He felt more than half indined to 
pay his compliments to her; but it had been 
. Bucklaw's misfortune, that his habits of life 
bad not rendered hini familiarly acquainted 
with the higher and better classes of fe- 
itnale society, so that, with all his natural 
audacity, he felt sheepish and bashful when 
it became necessary to address a lady of 
distinction. 

Taking unto himself heart of grace (to 
use his own phrase,) he did at length sum- 
mon up resolution enough to give the fair 
huntress good time of the day, and trust, 
that her sport had answered her expecta- 
tion. Her answer was very courteously 
and modestly expressed, and testified some 
gratitude to tb€ gallant catalier, whose ex- 



TH£ BEIDE OF LAMM£RMOOR* 238 

ploit had terminated the chase so adroitly, 
when the hoands and huntsmen seemed 
somewhat at a stand. 

*< Uds daggers and scabbard, madam," 
said Bucklaw, whom this observation 
brought at once upon his own ground, 
" there is no difficulty or merit in that 
matter at ail, so that a fellow is not too 
much afraid of having a pair of antkrs in 
his guts* I have hunted at force five hun- 
dred times, madam ; and I never yet saw 
the stag at bay, by land or water, but I 
durst have gone roundly in on him. It is 
all use and wont, madam ; and 111 tell you, 
madam, for all that, it must be done with 
good heed and caution; and you will do 
well, madam, to have your hunting-sword 
both right sharp and double-edged, that 
you may strike either fore*banded or 1)ack« 
handed, as you see reason, for a hurt with 
a buck's horn is a perilous and somewhat 
venomous matter." 

<* I am afraid, sir," said the young lady. 



9SA TALES OF H Y L AKOLORflU 

and her smile was scarce concealed bjr i^f 
vizard, ^^ I shall have little use for sueh 
careful preparation."' 

^* But the gentleman sajs vety right for 
all that, my ladj," said an old buiitsmaii» 
who had listened to Bucklaw's harangue 
with no small edification ; <f and I liare 
beard my father say, who wat a forever mt 
the Cabrach, that a wild^bcmi^s * gaonch as 
more easily headed than a hurt ^om the 
deer's- horn, for so says the i^rld woocb* 
man's rhyme, 

» • • • 

•* If thou be!itnt wkh horn of hart, it brings iliec tt> 
ihy bier; > 

&i^ tu0k «f bowr d«J^ imjhep bw j t ttww oCJups^ 
l^m^ fear." 

*^ An I liGtfg^ht advise^'* coiitimietl Bnd^ 
Isrw, who wffi now isa his ^emeirt, .and vie- 
Strom of assuming tke whole. raaoagMiieiii^ 
** as the hounds are surbated and weary, 
the head of the atag should be cabaged m 
order to reward them^ and if I may pre- 



stime to upeak^ t^43 huataoaur^ who Is to 
break uip tiie sti|g» ougbt to drink to yonx 
good I«dyehip'» k^ilth a good lusty bicker 
df gle^ <a ft t%w^oibf&n^y } for if he breaks 
him up wilihaut dfii^k^^ t))^ veaiaon will 
got k^ei^ iR^U.'' 

Thin t^iry agFQefilH6 prescd jption recei* 
ved^ jMrwill be reaiMly b^Kwed^ all aoc^p- 
tftttonfirom tlie huntMifin, who ia requital 
cyfivr^d i» Bttekta^i/V' the C9fti{iliined:i(; oPim 
laeiSty wtiM^b tfo% yiovivg hdy bad declined* 
This polite proffer was s^ooadod by his 
mUtteffl^ , , ., 

<< I believe» sir,'' said she, ^tbdra^i^ 
beraetf irom the ckaleb ^ libat .any father, 
^ftr vh09t amttsemoBt LiOfd Bktlehraia'a 
hounds have ibeeo «otti tuo^d^y, witl speadily 
.Sttifrender all <%m of, |h^»e matters to a 
gfeti<lbina& taf yaur OKp^^nde^" 

Tbet), ;bMdMa^;^f^eta% from ^ )iorst» 
.ike wwbed {lim g4H>d moriMig; and aittfeadU 
Miby one or tKva domestica, who seened 
Homediately attaefaed ilel hei^ servioe,.netif04 
&<pm ihe aeebe ofacttoo^kQiNiliicb^cidaiVb 



2S6 TALES OF MT LANDLORD. 

too much delighted with an opportunity of 
displaying his wood-eraft to care about man 
or woman either^ paid little attention ; but 
was soon stript to his doublet, with tucked- 
up sleeves, and naked arms up to the elbows 
in blood and grease, slashing, cutting, hack- 
ing, and hewing, with the precision of Sir 
Tristrem himself, and wrangling and dis- 
puting with all Around him concerning 
nombles, bi^skets, flankards, and raven- 
bones, then usual terms of the art of hunt- 
ing,, or of butchery, whichever the reader 
cbuses to call it, which are now probably 
antiquated. - ' 

* When Ravenswood, who followed a 49hort 
space behind his friend, saw that the stag 
had fallen, his temporary ardour for^ the 
chace gave way to that feeling of reluc- 
tance whicli he fi^h, at encQuntering in his 
fallen fortunes the gaze whether of equals 
or infcriors. He reined up his horse on 
the top of a geiltle eminence, from which 
he observed the busy and gay scene be- 
neath him, and heard the whoops of the 

6 



TH£ BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOB. 2S7 

huntsmen gaily mingled with the cry of 
the dog8, and the neighing and trampling 
of the horses. But these jovial sounds fell 
sadly on the ear of the ruined nobleman* 
The chace» with all its train of excitations, 
has ever since feudal times been accounted 
the. almost exclusive privilege of the aristQ- 
cracy, and was anciently their chief em- 
, ploy ment in times of peace. The sense 
that he was excluded by his situation from 
enjoying the sylvan sport, which his ran^. 
assigned to him as a special prerogative, 
and the feeling that new men were now 
exercising it over the downs, which had 
been jealously reserved by his ancestors for 
their own amusement, while he, the heir of 
thc^ domain, was fain to hold himself at a 
distance from thdr party, awakened reflec- 
tions calculated to depress deeply a mind 
like Ravenswood's, which W2|s naturally con- 
teimplative and melancholy. His pride, 
however, soon shook off this feeling of de« 
jecUon, and it gave way to impatience up« 
on finding that his volatile friend Bucklaw 



^emed mno hvttjy to return rath kit bear* 
mwe^ »t€ed, which RttMnavvoody beftM'e 
kavrng ^h«i fi^k), wii^d to seenestdred to 
the obliging own^n As be wm nboot to 
move tOMrarAd tbe gfCMf% of astemUtd 
huDtstnen, he was joined by a bofsemstiiy 
T^ho lik^ hifBTself -bad kept aloof dufing tlie 
fall of ib^ d€er. 

This personage 8€emed fArtcken Sfi years. 
He wore a searlet cloak, battoning high 
upon his face, aiid fiis bat was UDfooped 
and slouched, probably by way of defence 
against the weathen Hk Jiorse, a lilrong 
and steady palfrey, was calculated for a 
rfder who pro{)osed to witness the sport of 
the day, rather than to share k. An at- 
tendant waited at some dtstat»ice, and the 
wboie equipment was tibat Of an elderly 
gentleman of rank and faafaion. Me ac« 
cost^d Rai^nswood Ye ry- politely, bnt not 
withiMit some •embarrassment. ^* You seem 
a galkiftt young gentleman, sir,"* be said, 
•* Jmd y tt appeal aaUnd^l^ent to lius brave 



TH& BmmSf Of JLAMXESJIOOft. t^ 

vf^Tt m if yoolad my load mf ytm% on your 
ahoulders.'' 

^ I faw€ SaXLamei the sport with more 
^itit eft other occaaiiam," repHed the Mas^ 
ter^ ^ at present late events in my iamily 
idiiit h% my apology— ^nd besides^" he 
addedy ** I was but indvSeKutly mounted 
at the begimimig of the aport.'' 

*< I thioky*' aaid tiie atraoger, ^ one ot 
my attendants had the sense to accaunmo« 
dale yoor £riend mtk a faorse.'' 

*^ I was much indebted to his pcdkeiRess 
and yoursy^' replied RarensWMd. ^< My 
friend is Mr Ha^ston of BiicklE«7y whom I 
^M say yea vnii be suce to fiod in the 
thick ef ihe keenest i^ortsmen. He will 
Mtaini y^uT sesmtaffit's horsia, and take my 
pMey is «ea:ohaog e *m ja d wdU add^" he con^ 
elwded, abraiog his horse^s head frem the 
stranger^ ^ his test acknocwledgmeiits to 
mine for thejaMoaanaKxlation*" 

IShe -Mtister idf BMfe&mfeoidfhamog thus 
expressed himatttf; limaa to ^snolte hom^ 



240 7ALSS OF MY LANDLOUI# 

ward, with the manner of one who has ta- 
ken leave of his company. But the strati^ 
ger was not so to be shaken off. He turned 
his horse at the same time, and rode in the 
same direction so near to the Master, tbaty 
without outriding him, which. the formal 
civility of the time, add the respect due to. 
the stranger^s age and recent civility, would: 
have rendered improper, he could not easi- 
ly eiicape from his company. 

The stranger did not long remain ^lent. 
*^ This then,*' he said, ^.* is the ancient Cas- 
tle of Wolf's Crag, often mentioned in the 
Scottish records," looking to the old tower 
then darkening under the influence of a 
stormy cloud, that formed its back ground; 
for at the distance of a short mile, the chace 
having be^d circuitmis had brought the 
hunters back nearly to the point which 
they had attained when Ravenswood and 
Bucklaw set forth to join them. 

Ravenswood answered this observation 
with a cold and distant aiaeot.; 



THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOaR. 



841 



*^ It was» as I have heard^"* continued the 
stranger, unabashed by his coldness, ^* one 
of the most early possessions of the honour- 
able fiunUy of Ravenswood." 

<< Their earliest possession," answered 
the Master, ^ and probably thdr latest.'' 

** I*-iI— I diould hope not, sir," answer- 
ed the stranger, clearing his voice with 
more than one cough, and making an effort 
to overcome a certain degree of hesitation, 
-— ** Scotland knows what she owes to this 
ancient family, and remembers their fre- 
quent and honourable achievements. I 
have little doubt, that, were it properly re- 
presented to her majesty that so ancient and 
noble a family were subjected to dilapida- 
tion-— I mean to decay— -means might be 
fomid, ad re-MUfficandMH aniiquam do^ 



mum 



V 



« I will save you the trouble, sir, of dts 
cussing this point farther," said the Master 
haughtily. ^^ I am the heir of that unfor- 
tunate House«^I am the Master of Ravens- 



VOI>. JU 



S48 TAUS OF MY LANBJLOfiD. 

wood-— and you^ sir, who seem to be a gea« 
tleman of fashion and education, muat be 
sensible, that the next mortification after 
being unhappy, is the being loaded mUk 
undesired copiiniseration*" 

** I beg your pardon, sir," said the elder 
horseman---^^ I did not . know-^I am sen- 
sible I ought not to have .mentioned-p-no* 
thing could be farther from my thoughts 
than to suppose'' j i 

^< There are no apologies necessary, sir,'' 
answered Ravenswood, ^^£brhere,Isupposet 
our roads separate, and I assure you that 
we part in perfect equanimity on my side." 

As speaking these words, he directed 
his horse's head towards a narrow cause- 
way, the ancient approach to Wolfs Crag, 
of which it might .be truly said) in the 
words pf the Bard pf Hope, that 

— " Frequented by few was the grass-cover'd ro^. 
Where the hunter of deer and the warrior trode^ 
To his hills ^at encirple the sea*" 

But ere he could disengage himself from 



TH£ BRIBE OF LAMMEas^OOR. S4S* 

his compamoo^ the young lady we have al- 
ready mentionefi came up to join the stran- 
ger, followed by her servants. 

" Daughter/' said the stranger to the 
masked damsel ** this is the Master of Ra« 
venswood."* 

It would have been natural that the gen- 
tleman should have. replied to this intro* 
ductioQ ; but there, was somethuag in the 
graceful fc^rm and retiring modesty of the 
female to whom he was thus presented, 
which not only prevented him from enqui- 
ring to.whom^ and by whom, the annuncia- 
tion had been made, but which even for 
the time struck him absdutely mute. At 
this moment the cloud which had long, 
lowered above the height on which Wolf's 
Crag is situated, and which now, as it ad- 
vanced, spread itself iii darker and denser 
folds both over land and sea, hiding the 
distant objects and obs<;uring those which 
were nearer, turning the sea to a leaden 
complexion, and the heath to a darker 



Mta 



1844 TALB8 OF MY LAKDLOBB. 

brown, began now, by one or two distant 
peals, to announce the thunders with which 
it was fraught ; whik two flashes of light- 
ning, following each other very closely, 
shewed in the distance the grey turrets of 
Wolf's Crag, and, more nearly, the rolling 
billows of the sea, crested suddenly with 
red and dazzling light. 

The hcMTse of the fair huntress shewed 
symptoms of impatience and restiveness, and 
it became impossible for Ravenswood, as 
a man or a gentleman, to leave her abruptly 
to the care of an aged father or her menial 
attendants. He was, or believed himself, ob* 
liged in courtesy to take hold of her bridle, 
and assist her in managing the unruly ani- 
mal. While he was thus engaged, the old 
gentleman observed that* the storm seemed 
fo increase— that they were far from Lord 
Bittlebrain*s, whose guests they were ibr 
tile present — and that he would be obliged 
to the Master of Ravenswood to point him 
l}ie way to the nearest place of refuge 



». 



TUS BRIDE OF I^^UMERMOOR* 245 

from the storm. At the same time he. cast 
a wistful and embarrassed look towards the 
Tower of Wolfs Crag, which seemed tq 
render it almost impossible for the owner 
to avoid ofiering an old man and a ladyf 
in such an emergency, the temporary use 
of his house. Indeed, the condition of the 
young huntress nendered this courtesy in- 
dispensable ; for, in the course of the ser- 
.vices which he rendered, be could not but 
perceive that she trembled much, and was 
extremely agitated^ from her apprehen* 
sions, doubtless, of the coming storm. 

I know not if the Master of Ravens- 
wood shared her terrors, but he was not 
entirely free from something like a similar 
disorder of nerves, as he observed, << The 
Tower of WolPs* Crag has nothing to 
offer beyond the shelter of its roof, but if 
that can be acceptable at such a moment'' — 
be paused, as if the rest of the invitation 
stuck in his throat. But the old gentle- 
man, hia sel£ constituted companion did 
not allow him to recede from the invita- 



246 TALES OP MY LAKDLORB- 

tion, which he had rather suffered to bfc 
implied than directly expressed, 
' " The storm," said the strahger, << must 
be ah apology for waiving ceremony — his 
daiTghter*s health was weak — she had sufc 
fered much from a recent alarm-— he trust- 
ed their intrusion on the Master of Ravens- 
wood's hospitality would not be altogether 
unpardonable in the circumstances of the 
case — ^his child's safety must be dearer to 
him than ceremony/' 

There was no room to retreat. Hie 
Master of RavensWood led the way, con- 
tinuing to keep hold of the lady's bridle to 
prevent her horse firom starting at some 
unexpected explosion of thunder. He was 
not so bewildered in his own hurried re- 
flections, but what he remarked, that the 
deadly paleness which had ocdupied her 
neck and temples, and such of her fea- 
tures as the riding.mask left exposed, gave 
place to a deep and rosy suflRision} and 
he ftlt with embarrassment that a fluish 
was by tacit sympathy excited in hie own 



THE BRIBE OF LAMMBRMOOIU Ji47 

cheeks. The stranger, with watchfulness 
which he disguised under apprehensions 
for the safety of his daughter, continued 
to observe the expression of the Master's 
countenance as they ascended the hill to 
Wolfs Grag. When they stood in front of 
that ancient fortress, Ravenswood's emo- 
tions were of a very complicated descrip- 
tion ; and as he led the way into the rude 
court-yard, and haUoo'd to Caleb to give 
attendance, there was a tone of sternness, 
almost of fierceness, which seemed some- 
what alien from the courtesies of one who 
is receiving honoured guests* 

Caleb came, and not the paleness of the 
fair stranger at the first approach of the 
thund^, nor the paleness of any other 
person, in any other circumstances what- 
soever, equalled that which overcame the 
thin cheeks of the disconsolate seneschal, 
when he beheld this accession of guests to 
the castle^ and reflected that the dinner 
hour was fast s4[>proaching. *^ Is he daft f* 
he muttered to himsdifr-<< is he dean daft 



848 TALES ow ur lanblobh, 

a'tbegither, to bring^ lords and feddieg, and 
a host of folks behkit tbeni» and tvako'^ 
clock chappit?" The» approaching the 
Master^ he craved pardon for baring p^* 
milted tlie mst of his peopte to go out to 

• see the hunt, observing, that «« tfaey wad 
never think of his lordship coming back 
till mirk night, and that be dre^d they 
might play the truant*^ 

" Silence, Baldecstone P' said Ravens- 
wood sternly j «* your folly is unseasonable* 
—Sir and madam ,'^ he said, turning to his> 
guests, '^ this old man, and a yet oldleir 
and more imbecile female domestic, form 
my whole retinue. Our means of refresh- 
ing you are more scanty than even so mi'- 
serable a retinue, and a dwelling so dilapip 
dated, might seem to promise you ; but^ 
such as they may chance to be, you may 
command them." 

The elder stranger, struck with the ruia^ 
ed and even savage appearance of the towr 
er, rendered still more disconsolate by the 
lowering and glooi^y sky, and perhaps not 

• altogether unmoved by the grave and de- 



THS BBIO£ OF LAMMSEHOOIU 249 

termined voite in which their host address, 
ed'tbem, looked round him anxiously, as 
if he half repented the readiness with which 
he had accepted the offered hospitality. 
But there was now no opportunity of re- 
ceding from the situation in which he had < 
placed himself. 

As for Caleb, he was so utterly stunned 
by his master's public and unqualified ac- 
knowledgment of the nakedness of the Iand» 
that for two minutes he could only mutter 
within his hebdomadal beard, which had 
not felt the razor for six days, ^^ He's 
daft-«--clean dafl — red wud, and awa' wi't I 
But de^ii hae Caleb Balderstone," said he^ 
collecting his powers of invention and re- 
source, ^* if the family shall lose credit, if 
he were as mad as the seven wise masters.'^ 
He then boldly advanced, and in spite of 
his master's frowns and impatience^ gravely 
a^ked, ** if he . should not serve up some 
slight refection for the young leddy, and a 
glass of tokay» or old sack— K)r''*~ 

*• Truce to this ill timed foolery^'* said 

l8 



£50 TALES OF Ur LANDLOR0. 

the Master, stemlj-^*' put tbe horses into 
the stable, and interrupt us no more with 
your absurdities." 

<* Your honour's pleasure is to be obeyed 
aboon a' things,'^ said Caleb ; *^ neverthe- 
less, as for the sack and tokay which it is 
not your noble guest's pleasure to accept"-^ 

But here the voice of Bucklaw, heard 
even above the clattering of hoofs and 
braying of horns with which it mingled, 
announced that he was scaling the path- 
way to the tower at the bead of the greater 
part of the gallant hunting train. 

^* The de'il be in me," said Caleb, taking 
heart in spite of this new invasion of Phi- 
listines, ^* if they shall beat me yet. The 
hellicat ne'er-do-weel! — ^to bring such a 
crew here, that will expect to find brandy 
as plenty as ditch-water, and he kenning 
sae absolutely the case in whilk we stand 
for the present But I trow, could I get 
rid of these gaping gowks of flunkies that 
hae won into the court-yard at the back of 



THE BRIDE OF LAMMSBMOOR* S51 

their betters, as mony a man gets prefer- 
ment, I could make a' right yet" 

The measures which he took to execute 
this dauntless resolution, the reader shall 
learn in the next chapter. 




253 . TAl^SSl OF MY LANXUiOan. 



'k M 



CHAPTER IX. 

With throat uoskked, wkh black Ups baked, 

Agape they heard him call ; 
Gramercy they for joy did grin, 
And all at once their breath drew in 

As they had been drinking all. 

Coleridge's ■< Aime ofiht Ancknt Mariner J* 

Hakston of Bucklaw was one of the 
thoughtless class who never hesitate between 
their friend and their jest. When it was 
announced that the principal persons of the 
chace had taken their route towards Wolffs 
Crag, the huntsmen, as a point of civilityt 
offered to transfer the venison to that man- 
sion, a proffer which was readily accepted 
by Bucklaw, who thought much of the as- 
tonishment which their arrival in full body 
would occasion poor old Caleb Balderstone^ 
and very little of the dilemma to which he 

9 



THE BRIBE OF LAMMERMOOR. JSI53 

was about to expose his friend the Master^ 
so ill circumstanced to receive such a par« 
ty. But in old .Caleb he had to do with a 
i^rafly and alert antagonist, fMrompt at sup^ 
plyii^& upon all emergencies, evasions and 
excuses suitable, as he thought, to the dig- 
nity of the family. 

«« Praise be Wessed T said Caleb to him- 
self, " ae leaf of the muckle gate has been 
swung to wi^ yestreen's wind, and I think I 
can manage to shut the ither." 

But he was desirous, like a prudent go* 
vernor, at the same time to get rid, if pos- 
sible, of the internal enemy, in which light 
he considered almost every one who eat 
and drank, ere he took measures to exclude 
those whom their jocund noise now pro- 
nounced to be near at band. He waitd, 
therefore, with impatience until his master 
bad shewn his two principal guests into the 
tower, and then commenced his operations* 

•* I think,** said he tathe stranger menial^^ 
^ that, as they are bringing the stag's head 
to the castle in all honour, we, who are 



i^Ml^ 



254 TALES OT MT LANDLORB. 

in>dwellers, should receive them at the 
gate." 

The unwary grooms had no moner hur- 
ried out, in compliance with this insidious 
hint, than one foMing-door of the ancient 
gate being already dosed by the wind, as 
has been already intimated, honest Caleb 
. lost no time in shutting the other with a 
clang, which resounded from denjon-vault 
to battlement Having thus secured the 
pass, he forthwith indulged the excluded 
huntsmen in brief parley^ from a small pro- 
jecting window, or shot-hole,^through which, 
in former days, the warders were wont to 
reconnoitre those who presented themselves 
before the gates. He gave them to under- 
stand, in a short and pithy speech, that the 
gate of the Castle was never on any ac- 
count opened during meal-times-^hat bis 
honour, the Master of Ravenswood, and 
some guests of quality, had just sat down 
to dinner — that there was excellent brandy 
at the hostler- wtfe's at Wolf s-hope down be- 
low— ^nd he held out some obscure hope 



tfL 



THE BBIBE OF LAMMERMOOR, 25S 

that the reckoning would be discharged by 
the Master ; but this was uttered in a very 
dubious and oracular strain, for, like Louis 
XIV., Caleb Balderstone hesitated to carry 
finesse so far as direct falsehood, and was 
content to deceive, if possible^ without di^ 
rcctly lying. 

This annunciation w» received with sur- 
prise by some, with laughter by others, and 
wiUi dismay by the expelled lacqueys, who 
endeavoured to demonstrate that their right 
of re-admission, for the purpose of waiting 
upon their master and mistress, was at least 
indisputable. But Caleb was not in a hu- 
mour to understand or admit any distinc- 
tions. He stuck to his original proposition 
with that dogged, but convenient pertina- 
city, which is armed against all conviction 
and deaf to all reasoning. Budklaw now 
came from the rear of the party, and de- 
manded admittance in a very angry tone. 
But the resolution of Caleb was immo* 
vable. 

^* If the king on the throne were at the 
gate," he declared, ^ that his ten fingers 



^ . ^ 



256 TALKS OF MT LANDLORD. 

should never open it con tf air to ih€ esta« 
blished use and wont of the family of Ra* 
.venswood^ and his duty as their head-serr 
vant." ,, 

Bucklaw was now extremely incensed^ 
and with more oaths and curses than w(^ 
care to repeat, declared himself most wor 
worthily treated, and demanded perempto- 
rily to speak with the Master of Ravens* 
.wood himself. But to this sdso Caleb turn- 
ed a deaf ear. 

*< He^s as soon a-bleeze as a tap of tow 
the lad Bucklaw," he said, ^* but the de'il 
of ony master's face he shall see till he baa 
sleepit and wakened on't. He'll ken him- 
sel better the morn's morning. It sets tbe 
like of him 9 to be bringing a crew of 
drunken hunjters here, when he kens there 
is but little preparation to sloken his ain 
drought." And he disappeared from the 
window, leaving them all to digest their ex- 
clusion as they best m^ht. 

But another person, of whose presence^ 
Calebs in the animation of the debate, was 



THE BRIDE OF LAMMBRMOOR. 257 

not aware, had listetied in silence to its pro- 
gress. This was the principal domestic of 
the stranger— -a man of trust and conse^ 
quence — the same, who» in the hunting- 
.field, had accommodated Bucklaw with the 
use of his horse. He was in the stable 
when Caleb had contrived the expulsioa 
of his fellow- servants,, and thus avoided 
sharing the same fate from which his per- 
sonal importance would certainly not have 
otherwise saved him. 

This personage perceived the manoeuvre 
of Caleb, easily appreciated the motive of 
his conduct, and knowing his master's in- 
tentions towanls the family of Ravens wood» 
had no difficulty as to the line of conduct 
h§ ought to adopt. He took the place of 
Caleb (unperceived by the latter^) at the 
post of audience which he had just left, 
and announced to the assembled dpmestics, 
** that it was his master's pleasure that 
Lord Bittlebrain's retinue and his own 
should go down to the adjacent change- 
house, and call for what refreshments they 



<— ^fc^iaaiaiMB II ttmit *i' ; 



CfT!^^-- 



85ft TALESr OF MT LAK0LOIIK 

miglit have aiccasion for, and he should 
take care to discharge the lawing/' 

The jolly troop of huntsmen retired from 
the inhospitable gate of Wolf's Crag, exe- 
crating, as they descended the steep patii^ 
-way, the niggard and unworthy disposition 
of the proprietor, and damning, with more 
than sylvan licence, both the castle and its 
inhabitants. Bucklaw, with many qualities 
irhich would have made him a man of worth 
and judgment in more favourable circum- 
stancesi had been so utterly neglected in 
point of education, that he was apt to 
think and feel according to the ideas of 
the companions of his pleasures. The 
praises which had recently been heaped 
upon himself he contrasted with the gene- 
ral abuse now levelled against Ravenswood 
— he recalled to his mind the dull and mo- 
notonous days he had spent in the tOwer 
of Wolfs Crag, compared with the jovial- 
ity of his usual life^^he felt, with great 
indignation, his exclusion from the castle, 
which he considered as a gross affix)n^ and 

9 



THk BRIBE OV LAMHERMOOR. 859 

every mingled feelhig led him to break off 
the union which he had formed with the 
Master of Ravenswood. 

On arriving at the Change-house of the 
village of WolPshope, he unexpectedly 
met with an old acquaintance just atight* 
ing from hisr hofse. This Was no other 
than the very respectable Captain Craig- 
engelt, who immediately came up to him, 
and, without appearing to retain any re* 
collection of the indifferent terms on which 
they had parted, ahook him by the hand 
in the wartxiest madder^ possible. A wanft 
grasp of the hand was what BuckWuT 
could never help returning with cordi- 
ality, and no sooner had Craigengelt felt 
the pressure of his fingers than he knew 
the terms on whith he stood with hito. 

*• Long life to you, Bucklaw," he ex- 
claimed ; <^ there's life for honest folks in 
this bad world yet !" 

. The Jacobites at this period, with what 
propriety I know not, used, it must be no- 
tice.d, the term of honest men as peculiarly 
descriptive of their own party* 



260 TALES 0F ItT LANDLORD* 

*< Ay, and for others besides, it seems,"^ 
answered Bucklaw } ^^ otherways how came 
you to venture hither, noble Captain ?" 

<* Who— 1 ? — I am as free as the wind at 
Martinmas, that pays neither bnd-rent nor 
annual j all is expLained-— all settled with 
the honest old drivellers yonder of Auld 
Reekie — Pooh! pooh! ^hey dared not 
keep me a week of days in durance. A 
certain person has better fri^ndsr among' 
them than yoa wot of, and can serve ^ 
friend whep it is l^ast likely," 

^' Pshaw !'* answered Hayston, who per- 
ifectly knew and thoroughly despised the 
character of this man, *' none of your cog- 
ging gibberish-— tell me truly, are you at 
liberty and in ^fety T' 

<« Free and safe as a whig baillie on th^ 
causeway of his own borough^ or a canting 
fxresbyterian minister in his own pulpit-^ 
and I came to tell you that you need not 
remain in hiding any longer.'' 

<< Then I suppose you call yourself my 
friend, Captain Craigengelt ?" said Bucklaw. 

« Friend]" replied Craigengelt, " my 



TUB BUDfi OF LAMimtltOOR. S6l 

cock of the pit? why, I am thy very Achates, 
man, as 1 have heard scholars say — haod 
and glov&»bark and tree-*-thine to h^e and 
death." 

<< ril try that in a moment," said Buck* 
law. ^< Thou art never without money» 
however thou comest by it— Lend me 
two pieces to wash the duist out of these 
honest fellows' throats, in the first place, 
and then"—* 

" Two pieces 7' — ^twenty are at thy ser- 
vice, my lad~-and twenty to back them." 

** Aye-— say you so ?* said Bucklaw, pau- 
sing, for his natural penetration led him to 
suspect some extraordinary motive lay* 
couched under such an excess of genero- 
sify. <* Craigengelt, you are either an ho«« 
ikest felk>w in right good earnest, and I 
scarce know how to bdieve that— or you 
are cleverer than I took you for, and I 
scarce know how to believe that either." 

^^Uun n'empgdke pas f autre,'' said Craig- 
^ngelt, *< touch and try^-the gold is good 
as ever was weighed." 



S6t TAX.E8 C9 MY LAHDLORD* * 

He put a quantity of gold pieces into 
Buck law's hand, 5wh{ch ike tbrust tato his 
pocket without ^liier counting or lookii^ 
at themi only observing, << that he was so 
circumstanced that he must eniistt though 
the devil offered the press-money ;" and 
then turning to the huntsmeut he called 
out, << Come along, my lads~4di is at my 

m 

cost/' 

<< Long life to Bucklaw !" shouted the 
men of the chase. 

<< And d . n to him that takes his share 
of the sporty and leaves the hunters ai dry 
as a drum-head»" added another, by way 
of corollary. 

<^ The house <^ Ravenswood was ance a 
gude and an honourable house in this laod^'' 
said an old man, ^< but it's lost its credit 
this day, and the Master has shewn himself 
no better than a greedy cuUion." 

And with this conclusion, which was un« 
animously agreed to by all who heald it, 
they rushed tumultuously into the house o£ 



THE BBIDB Of LAMinSftMOOQ. 263 

entertainment, where they revelled till a 
late hour* The jovial temper of Bueklaw 
fldidom permitted him to b^ nice in the 
choice of his associates ; and on the pre- 
seirt occasion^ when his joyous debauch re- 
ceived additional zest from the interven- 
tion . of an unusual space of sobriety, and 
almost abstinence, he was as happy in lead- 
ing the revels» as if his comrades had been 
sons of princes. Craigengelt had his own 
purposes, in fooling him up to the top of 
bis bent; and having some low humour, 
much impudence, and the power of sing- 
ing a good song, understanding besides 
thoroughly the disposition of his regained 
associate, he readily succeeded in invol* 
ving him bumper-deep in the festivity of 
the meeting. 

'. A very different scene was in the mean- 
time passing in the tower of Wolf's Crag. 
When tlie Master of Ravenswood left the 
C(Hurt-yard, too much busied with his own 
per{diaed reflections to pay attention to 



9$4 TALB8 <» XT liAVDLCttlO* 

the manceuvre of Caleb, he ushered his 
guests into the great hall of the caade* 

The indefatigable Balderstone, who, fibm 
choice or habit, worked on from monimg 
to nighl^ had, by degrees, cleared this d<N 
fiolate apartment of the confused reliqaes 
of the hmeral banquet, and restored it to 
some order. But not all his skill and la- 
bour, in disposing to advantage the little 
fiirniture which remained, could remove 
the dark and disconsolate appearance of 
those ancient and di^rnished walls. The 
narrow windows, flanked by deep inden- 
tures into the wall, seemed formed rathmr 
to exclude than to admit the cheerful light ; 
and the heavy and gloomy appearance of 
the thunder«*sky added still further to the 
obscurity. 

As Ravenswood, with the grace of a 
gallant of that period, but not with^t a 
certain stifikess and embarrassment of man. 
ners, handed die young lady to the ujpper 
end of the apartment, her firther remained 



THB JUUHM OP ifiAliiiliWilKMIi jBS5 

^dtandliig mofe near to tke door, as ifijaont 
to jluM^iigage himself from h«» bat ati4 ^pft^. 
At tbia motoent the claog of the portal y/m 
heard^ a siHitid at wbich the straii§«r start- 
edy 8tejp|)0d hastily to 4he ivin^w, ai¥l 
ioc^KCil with an air of alarm at Ravens- 
.^wqod) wheo. he saw that the gate of the 
4:aurt. was : shut, and his cUMpei^ics ex- 
f^Uided. 

. V^You have nothUlg to fear,, sir,'!, said 
Saveas woody gravely ; ** thif^ ropC retaiqs 
the means of givioig prroteotioo, thotigh fi^t 
7W€^ttte» Mfthiolcs," he'addedy <«:it is tiofp 
that I should know wh^ theyar^^.th^rt h^^ve 
4ihus highly honoured my ruined dy^eUipgfj' 
, XlWiyiOiuigUdy wma«ed silent and ift^j^ 
tionles9i.awil thi^fathtf. to whom ti^.qu^ 
tion.was more direptly ^ddressed^ see|i|$^ 
in ihe situiM^on of a. perform^ r^ : wbp has ' 
. vmtiired: to^als^e iqpmii hifns^f a, part wbiqh 
he Jnds.himsi^. uni^ble to, perfi^ini^. a^^ 
who comes to a pause when it is most to 
be oKpepted Ui^ he skoeA^ spe9k. White 



lie eodMv^iwed to txyrar kk «aibam»- 
ment with the eUmw MwrnoQiali of a 
well bred demeauHNir, it was ohviauB^ tkit 
in makiog bt8 bow, one foot jiii^iSied £mv 

ward* asif toadvance»-*4he otlierlmckwaMli 
ift ^ mth the purpose of otoape^-^yMi m 
he undid ibe cape- of his ^gmU «»d Raised 
liis beaver from bis face, this ingers fyw^ 
bkd » if the one bad been liaked witli 
mted iroo^ or the othw had waighed^ual 
witb^ stone of leadt The darkoeia af the 
sky seemed to iocreas^as tf to siippl|3r Ike 
want of Aose mdBings whidi he laid aetde 
wf& such evident nlciotatioe* The knp^ 
issoce ^f SavcBswood increased also m 
proportion to the delay of Abo atranger, 
and he appeared- to labour wi4ar agibu 
tion^ tho^b probab^ffom a very diftr«al 
causa* He laboitttd to restrain 1r^ deaiPa 
to i^fafc^ while tbegtraijlgar^ to aU appaan. 
aaee^ was atr a kfsa in* waids to ttpMsa 
what he felt it necessary to say. At ten gti i 
ItavenswoodTs iaapaiteoee brobs thoboniii 
he bad imposed upon it. 



THE BftlDS or UMMBBMOOA. £67 

^ I peMflhier he ^d> f 'tin* Sir Wil. 
lam Ashton k iitiwiHiiig to announce Kim* 
wAt IB the GaaOe of WoiTii Crag.** 

^ I had hoped it was untteeessafy," said 
Ae Lo#A Keeper^ relied ftom his atence» 
if a spectre by die voUie of the exorcist ) 
<f and I am oU^iged to you. Master of Ra* 
vCMwood, for breddog the ke at onoe^ 
irtteve otenmstances^^ unhappy chrcmn* 
ilancea let ate cill them-^endered iel& 
intioAiefidn pectdiariy awkirard;** 

^ And i am not ties^** said the Muter 
e#'BavemiPOod| gcaTely, ^ to eonaider At 
Wnonr of tUsTJiit aa piirdy accideiital.'' 

«» Let as iMfUffxhh a little,"«.:aaid th€ 
KM(>ert assuming^aii ap^eiranoe of ease* 
aflHcb peibaps life beatt was a aCnniger to $ 
^^this is an b^mdur wbieb ibava eagerly 
desffed for some tfine» bat wbieh I aright 
nevtr have obtwiadi save for the aoefdent 
cTlbe Moral, lly dtt^hter aiul I arft aEke 
gratefid lar iibh oppartaniiy of iiankmg 
the bravaasaiiy to wfeUa sba owoa ber HSt 
and I nine." 



268 TALES OF shri:.AMitJlt]>; ^^ 

The hatred which divided the great fa- 
milies in the feudal times had tost Utile tf 
its bitterhessi though it no longer e^refip* 
ed itself in deeds of open violence^ ' )CM 
the feelings which Ravenswood hMbegMi 
to entertain towards Luey Asbfeon, iiot4life 
hospitality due to his guests, were able e» 
ttrely to subdue, though they wamly ooni- 
batted, the deep passions which arose itkb* 
in him, at beholding I^ fMior'sft^i^aftdk^ 
in the hail of the &mily of wfaich'ke kadifa 
a great measure acceteratid the Iriiiii* His 
looks glanced ^rom the £itfaelr to ike da^l^ 
tet with an irresolution, of -^iehlSir VA- 
liam Asbton'did not tiiiiiik it proper to 
await the'^oncliiston. ^Herhadnowdisen* 
barrassed hiinself of his ridiiigipdretSt ind 
walking up to'hisdaugfaterf 'hemncM^lte 
fastening of her itisaak* / 

•« Lucy, 'my love/' lie said^ raisii^iiekv 
and leading her towards RavemvooOy 
(c lay aside your maftk, and' tet us aj^CM 
our gr&titude tb the Afester openly and 
barefaced " .» • 



tm MIOB W JUMMB&MO0R. S6f 

, ^ If he^.wU <mideiK:eii4 to aceet^ iV 
fUM idl ^HWk Iaic^ uttered^ but in a tone so 
^m^y; modiilatedi and which seemed to 
imffiky,9Jt c«ice af«eliqg and a fofgivisg of the 
fflplA f AQpftwm to ^lifith they were exposed^ 
ilM^:€<MBHifag from, a creature so innocent 
jmidifo beaiitijRUt her words cut Ravens* 
wood to Uie very heart for his hai^hness. He 
*jmattered something of surprise^ something 
f^ coRfttSion» andf. ending with a warm and 
ism^ ei^^cession.af. hjis hapj^ess at being 
ft$e i» afford hfitr 4b9lter under his roof, he 
jsatail^ her, a^ the ceranonial of the time 
^lyoined u{iQ)i sfuch occasions* Their ch^elqs 
ihad touched and were withdrawn from each 
iQtb^-~Rayewwood had not quitted the 
Jm^ y»)lA^^ ba4 taken in kindly com^- 
5lP7'^A. bljudi w|iich attached more consi^. 
(yienge by &x than was usual to such cere- 
^^sHiny still maptled on Lucy Ashton's beau- 
4ifu} cheek, w^n the apartment n^^as sud- 
}jM^ UUiVijinfUed ^y a flaf h of lightning, 



^mj^ioh .|^med .at^solutely; to -s^alipw the 
darliness, of th^ hall. Every object m^j^t 



•7t itMim^mrwt SAMttMiau 

The a^mg bd&iiokii% 4bim oTIav^ 
AA^M, Ab wfM^pMfo rlimmA wad tti^% 
figtM €if ittveMiMod» ys ibrit ibatwni 
and the fierf, j€t hrasdirte-nprniiw «f 
kfai 0fe8^^Mtbe otd araw a&d aoBhiJ M t i M 

were iW m inataol dk^Bcfiy f«t)^'ta ttte 
Keeper by a Kiw»g rcal^ l^iilm^ g^e eC 
KghL Ii9 dis^iiearafiee ^mm AaixM im 
itaati/ foHewed by a bmC ef tfaaaderi Hir 
the afeniKckmd waa vray msar tlm easdaif 
ai^'tlie peal «aa sa aoddea aad dreadfiri^ 
tiiat ^bte eld tower rodted to Ite femMto^ 
tiost ami every mmate cMiekided it wm 
ftlUag upen tihem^ IVie soet, wlmrfi fearii 
Bot been diiturbed fi»r ceafearici^ abowend 
dowa die huge taimeUed cWniniefi ilmiB 
and di»t foir m dcnids from ^e wait} mid 
trhether the lightiiitng kad wtuaily aurmdi 
the castle> or whether t^'oagh tiie ladeaC 
eemciisiimi of the air« several honpy lioaea 
were hurled firoflr the moal^riag battle* 
asents into^ l&e roaring: gea beneatbh It 



7um mmblOt liiiwiwiiiiu STf 



mfc pyodbiroiiy kis {l]i^>le«we at tke rck 
inmiiiiliQn ol'fai&deBoradaM w^4he ene- 

(pMiiHl «te dfarti <rf bcA the Loid Keeper 
end Aavetis^ood to keep Lucy Ivoib firiaU 
1^^. . !£bt» wn the Master a ^eeiind: tiaie 
l»{;aged ia tie oio&t daicate aodidaiig^ei^ 
am of jsll tasted .tftot of aflwil ipg sopporlr 
ai^'»8i^iioe "to sk beautifthaiid faalfAeaft! 
beibgf whosrilfea^ arflCMRf^befoie iii a?atek 
kr^aaiiatiexi^had i^rea^ iMCMae a fimi»r- 
ke of his ifiQi^^atii»]> bolh when awaifaa 
aaid wten stembefiag. If the Qeniw.G^ 
tlesiioiise^teaify cowileiniiBd annum be* 
timet ifae Maimer aad. his Sir goest^ tke 
Bieaoi bf laMeh be expretrad hit aentiK 
flmiAa were'U' waksppUf chosect as if.be 
bttllieeii a meiae^ mortaL The ; train 4)f V^ 
tie aMeBtipM* aberiateljr oeoeaiajry toaootf^ 
the young lady'a mind, and aid ber in cofl»» 
posiaghi^jpti^^imceaBaciljthrew tb&Maai 



ter of Batseoswaod inio socll^ att ivCocDiifse 
«hiilierf«lter»a8wu ci^ibted»^tlieiBO^ 
iAmitatlea8fe9tabmkdo^mtiiebtmerofftu<^ 
dal enmity which difUedthefii. To^xpnm 
himsdf chariiaUy^ or even ceidly, towaidi^ 
M <^ man, iHiwe dai^iter (und smek ft 
daughter) lay beinre them, overpowered 
wMi natural terror— 4khd £k this uider his 
owa roof^^llie thmg wasiMipowMe ; raii 
hy the time that ]^cy, exteading a haiMl 
to each; W99 able to tiiauk them >fiir theif 
khaAtMm, the Maister JUt* that his aeiik 
nients of 'heatiiity towards tlie Lord Keep*^ 
er were by no sitMa these-siMt piedemi* 
nant » hi&%osom. ' . ; 

^ The weather,^ her state o^ faeiAh, 4ke 
absenee- of her attendants^ aUr prevent- 
ed the possilnlity of Lucy Aihton reti6W<> 
ing her jouraeyto ]ffittfebrains«Hoiise» 
whioh was full five miles Aslant } and^he 
Master of \Ravenswood could not buf^ ia 
common courtesy, offer the shelter ofhia 
roof for the rest of the day and for the 
night But a flush of less 4soft ezpi^ession. 



a look imcli moce hahitMi to bit featiire% 
MMisrad {tredraunuce wbeo he mentiotied 
liow mmoAj he was pravided for the eotei^ 
towmeot of his gueats. 

«( Do not meotioii deficiencies,'' said the 
LosdXmfK, eager to iate«ru|^ hin and 
pcevwt b» resamiog an alarmifig tof^ $ 
f < you are designed for the continent, and 
imir house is. probably for the present msh 
jgimisbed. AU this we understand j but if 
fm nMOition moMvemtno^ ymi ^istt ob» 
iyge us jh> s^ek aoomiaiodations^in the biiBk» 
liit»''' 

' As.tbe MsJrter of Ravenswood wMMboiit 
'to reply, tbe ctoor tf the hiiU n^tn^t mik 



•% 



h8 



§74 TAUS MP MT KAlTKiOaik. 



CHAPTER X. 

'Tii bat a little nsw anpintii^ of theiOji 

And a stronn onion^ that confounds the laTOur* 

Tim tbiMid«LMtriiiMk kad «taMiaddl 
into wMe w'Uhii -Jwigiiy of ii^ btdi^ miaf 
tarved to Awtken tiM bold and iaveastm 

wMt iMfoM Iho dftttir hmi CMwdl. a^d 
¥rbik there was y«t iwne -as am— w 
whether the cattle was atafiduig or £dlil^9 
Cateb etetoaaaidy ** Heavens be praisad W 
this eoaaes to band like the boiil of a fmti. 
etoop.'* He tfaan barred the kttdmi'dMr 
«a the face of the Lord Kaapec^s uxwmt^ 
whom he perceived returning fran the pas* 
ty at the gate» and mntteiigg. ^ hAw Oie 
de*jl caBM he in{-«pbnt de'd aoMr 



Myste» whuk aie ye sitliiig flh»ki&g aa4 
greeting in tbe oh>fttMy*Miik for ? Cmie 
here— iOr ttey ^eK ]W^ are, and skirl at 
loud as ye om^t's a' ye^re guid for— 'I say, 
ye adhljdeeyy»aluf]-«-8kirU--louder-^louder 
— mmi!tmX*'ff^f tiMgaotka )ieat ye iii^ the 
ba'--I have heard 3re aa ibr off aa tbe Basi 
for a less matter., iljid stay — down wlT 

And with a sweejpiBg bkv, be threw 
imfeii:fitHa a ^aiif ;swi» anieka of p^ter 
atti aacifca» iPtare* He cwwilad bia v«ka 

s 

a«nd 4be elatter».i^iiltiig.afid roaring ia a 
iMMer nrhicii dmisfdMym's hysterical 
aypr I liasBl Miia^f the tlwndef iato feus that 
Isar eii ieltiwuiMin^MHiyaa^ynfi distracted* 
.^(Hbifasui duag domw ul the bits o' p^ 
aab^p-^lhe mdy tbinigiire had left to baud b 
4ioiip milk-**and he has sf^Ui the batted 
hkt that Wtts 4m the J^baler's dkinen Mer- 
^ s»re ufl^ '^M aaidjafiatfs ga'ea wm^ wi* 

Afi'ahMiB^''' -t 



f rimtiph €f succesi^I iMwMicm, ^ le^s pro- 
vided no w--*4iiiiier and s? thaig*«JtlK tbiio* 
ner's done a' in a dtp <tf a hand i"~- -^ . 
<< Pair man, be*!; tnaekle aura;^,'^ sbbA 
Mysiej Idofeing at liim with a aaixtare ib£ 
fAty and aUtm j ** I liMi he amy Met eome 

s 

liiime to himsell agdn.'^ * ' < 

<« Here, y« aidd d*ited4eevtl/*«aMA ea^ 
leb, still extilting in fats ^rtiicatwtt £n»i a 
dilemma wMdi^^ 9»nM insuttioiralaUte; 
^ keep t^ strange man cmfc'Oi^iedBidiBftt 
^^--Hswear the fhuhner came^^dowirlhe^Mflk* 
te}% and spoiled the best dimfer ye &mt 
clressed — hrrf hiirrni hidr hflf Jmmnt 
^wilii-£3wi-^veniion^ and iiAmit^mut^ lay 
it t)n tbkk^ sttd netw ami' Mptens^ 
rU awa^ up to ilie ha'^-*mel:e avtbe oenf^ 
«ri6n ye can-^bnt be sore ye teq^ mit'tiie 
strange servanf ^ » ^^ 

With thesfe cUn|;es'id fail ally, Galsift 
pdsted tip to thebay^ tmt steppn^towi^ 
connoitre through an apeftnre^ wUnbliaMb 
for tbe^t^^nvenienceof many-ii'dOBittatic ift 
succession, had made In tim daorrand^itf^ 



TimtlMI W liAliMIMUCaOft. 

raivliig . tke iriltttlmi of Mist^ i^tQjDf ^ lie 
had prodeofle emmi^ to loake a pai»i% 
botb to^avOfd addMV ^ ^ akrei^. and 19 
^mi^t (^ ataiMt^tiptioii to liia aceof iit of 
the dttaalroas eftctr of the- thunder. 
' fiat mhm he^ pdaen^ed .Ihat the My 
was fecovei«d»aadiNfurd tb& eoavens^on 
4iiro Afon tike accoa tt o d a tio n and ra&eshii 
naife ivUdb the'oaaUe afifofded^ he thought 
it tiate to taMt iq|o thft ro^ in. (he maor 

<Aar aotwmaediR liiftilaA^ dMN^* : 

^ «'M5h11 « fripa!— wuU a wiiM!^ueh.f 

wmforinnt to btfa* the^ House of Rav(^ 

jmfd» «id.l tO'liiae. «»«ee it !" 

M. « ^HbiD.ie't]it< uumr* CW«h ?" said hi» 

jBMlifV' seiiieniuil alanyied. in his |«vn,» 

u ** CM^Jft'aiL ^r;B8^ batcthe aute'i 
and the thunner's come right down th$ 
lB^heil4«i«%! ilAd tlie, things ^e a' lytog 
l»rcr!<iwa% th(W .ay*.*^ Wfi9. the Laird q' 
Ha^al^ah's Unds— aRd.wi' l^tave gpest3 
4if b«MHir mA %»riity to e»tertain,"-r» 
ImMv ime to Sir WilU^m Aahtpn ^^^ 



his Sfoightef, — ^ Md tMMtbing lift is the 
bouse fit to present ;A^triMfmer^.M>r to sup- 
per either, for at^ Cliat I cttB Mier 

« I verQy believe yott^ Calebs'' taid^II*' 
venswood drily. - . >: 

Baldersiooe here Amuidi td fiia iMator 
a ha^-apbraijikig, ted^iMipl«riftg( eiiii«cv» 
nance, and edged fdfrMdli- Miii iSikeMi: 
peated, «^ It was me gmat mMtar ef fv&. 
parattbn ; bat just someAiiiig adMI to 
your honour^s ordldttpy €o«me of Aj^^*^ 
petty amtTf ^ they my- aC tli# Ijirnvt^'i^ 
three courses' anil the fririt.^ »e 

«< Keep ydar hi«al«MM« ooMMwr. to 
yourMfif, you old Ibol,'* said RiH w wiiw sm^ 
inortified at his effiekMMiess^ yet nathhrnMu 
ing how ta contradict Mm, without thb 
ffsk of giving mfe to scenet yet smm fMii 
eulous. X . ' i 

Calel^ s«ir fats advMiti^ aad raolMdlw 
jiiiiprovc it. 3at fimt. observing H»t tilt 
Lord Keeper's senwdt eiiCete4 -die «f«r^ 
toet, and spoice apart f»itb Mk lOaatcr, ht 
took the 8ameopportttiiit)^toii>Ws|»erainr 



yo«r toftgiie S&t Hea¥e»*a ai^e» sir—^ kr» 
my plMmie t6 kaawd my loul in tcAKi^ 
Um fi>r the hoMNur d Uie htnSij^ k^ mie 
biisfiiess of youiB— aod if ye let rae gang 
OB qwedy^ ftse be modernce in my tmn- 
qiM; bofc if ye ecmtmtict AOy dell iMit I 
dnM» y e ft dnaer fit te a Mk.'* 

RamaMTOod, in faets tbo«i|^t it would 
be beet to let Me oSeioos btetfer run oii», 
who ptQceeded to eim^efivte upoa his fin- 
ger># ' ^^ No Qiuekle pirorisien - might Iia«. 
served torn perwMieof h0Reari----Sfit eoura^ 
eepem in while bM^^— reait kid«-^beeoii 
with FoeOTeece^-secood eoi!i9se» foasled 
\mmnt butttr cab«-***a veal (torentme-^ 
lidffdoowie^ Uifte>4coocfc~>^s Uack-eneogh 
liow yfit the ante*— f>himditma8--« lart*-*-^ 
a fiam-^and some nonsense sweet things*. 
ewl <;eiiiihii wd that's 0/" he said, seeing 
this imfNttienceof his master ; *^ thalfs ju^ 
af wm o't**-4brhye the api^les and pears.** ; 

'Misa MhtOR httd by degrees gaihwed 
h«v ipktt^ SfiKfar' i^ t9* pay seme attention 



/ 



280 TUkUiBiUiMt liiiMlliilfMyii 

ip vhat WAS. going cm } .#ii4 obatrving tbe 
Bestrfdned impsytieiM:^ o£ila¥W«wao4» con-^ 
trai^^ with ih» pociUttr. dei^miiiaAion^f ^ 
nuLDoer with which Ciddti^d« toiled h^ ioMr^ 
ginary baoqiiett the whole struck h^r-aa.. 
SQ ridiculous, tl)^ despite everjr effort tp^ 
the contraryt . ahe burst iu0 a fit of Joccw^ 
trolable la^ghtei« in which she was Joiaed* 
tay het fathert though with m^yre.modocar . 
tioxit and fioally by this, JMUateTvOf iUveca<* 
wood himself, though cons^uous! that it|j^ 
jest was at his own expence» ^ Their mirtl^ 
-T-for a scene which we read with J^ittle 
emotion often 4{qpears ejOrcmely Iwliecow 
to th& spectatOicsp--*ii!i«de the iM .Mai»^ nof^ 
afisun. They ceasedsF-^tb4y,reqewede->thi^. 
oeased-— they renewed ag^n tbiir alioute 
of hmghter ! Caleb in the meantioie stMd.. 
his ground with a grav^ aiigry> and sfo^n^. 
ful dignity, which greatly enh^c^ tb^ 
ridicide of the scene^ and,the nurth of the. 
spectators*. 

' At length, when the voices^ and .xw^ly 
thestrengthof the laughers, were ^xhausted^ 



THB mmam of iMotaatoem^ tsi 



be estclftifliedi iriti» vei^/Uttfe cetomony, 
^ The deWs m the geBtks! tliey break, 
faot aae IwAlyr &Bt the losa of the best 
difiner ever ceek pafc ingera tc^ makes tbem^ 
as meny aa if it were the best jeest ia a; 
Qeotgfi Baehaaan. If ^ere whs as litHe 
iayour honoufs' wasnes» aa there is in Caleb 
ttdderslone- 8, less caddiiig wad serve je on 
sic a gravamitious sobjiN^t.'* 

€!aleb^s blunt* expression ef resentment 
agttnawakraed the mirth of the cempanyt 
wkibht by the way, he Horded not only at 
an aggression upon the dignity tif the fsk 
n#y, bat a special 'ccmtempt of the elo- 
qoencewitii whieb he himsdf had summed 
up the extent of their supposed iMaes ;.^- 
V a desmptton . of a dinner/' as he said 
afterwalds to Myitfe, ^ that wad iiiie nl^do 
a fli^ mm hungry, and them to dt there 
laogbing at it." 

•^ But," said Mtsa Ashtmi, composing he£ 
eputttenance as well as she'.could, << are all 
these deUcneiea so tbtaUy destroyed^ tbMti 
no scrap can be collected P' 



0*^tkihoted^ my teddf ! ^^t mA ji c^ 

gBiig tewn ymmeilf aad loal^ kito ow kit-^ 
dien-^hecookffliid mtiie tf«Bib(ifig esWl 
-i^tke glide fsver»lykig^araboiit«--^beef-«-«c#^ 
|NMii^ aadtdiile liMtlikp^liMmitiae amtAtaitf' 

SMtknis- and ?ili«ai*i«iiiiAi$ ; jm*il Mtse tlieok 
a', my I^ddy— -that ia/* said he co i rpctiay 
limisel^, ^ ye4l no ate oay of them now^.^ 
fiartlie cook haa aweeped them ap^ aawaa^ 
wtdl her part ^ bat ye'H aee the nJiilt 
hcMh where ie was apilt. f pat my ft^ete* 
ki it, and it taatea-aa Kke Mnr-iailk as oa^l 
Ifhtng eke ; if that iaM die eiect of tl)u»k 
mcr^ I ketktm^ lAat i8.-»-1hfe gentiemmf 
hett oouMna. but hear ^e claah of mxf 
haill diflhes, diitM^and aiver th^gitber.'* 

The Loud Ktepeifs domestic, tboUgh m 
statesman's attendant^ and of coarse tn^ 
ed to co«imand< hia ooimtenance upon all 
occftsions^ waa soosewbat disccHnposed 1^ 
tliis appealt to whfch be only answered fc^ 
a 6ow« 



THE 9WWB 0M LAUMtttUMJU 98B 



■^ I thtiik, Mr IknUrr miA Ae 
Keeper, who began' ta be aftftid lest the 
prolongation of this scene sfaoidd at lengfAi 
dU^ptease Rafeiisiroody*-^:^ 1 iMnk*, that 
KNere you to lelhre with m^i^ servant Loek^ 
haid-^^e has tratelledi and is ^ite accttSi: 
tomed to aceidentir and coirtingencies^ of 
every kind, and I hope tNStvixt yon, yoii 
nay find oat some mode of supply at f hit 
cnawgency.** 

^ ISs honow kens;'* saftd €ald>, vtho, 
htmewT hc^kss of hims^f of accomplish'ii 
ffig %hat was desirable,^ wouM, Bke Hie 
Mgb-spmted elephant, rather have died m 
the eSkt, than brooked i^ aid of a bro>- 
ther in connniwion j *• hfe "honour kena 
weel I need nae counsellor, w^en fte ho^ 
nouf of the house is coneemed.'^ 

*«I shonld be unjjast if I denfed i*,. 
Galebj^'^^said his master j ^ but your art lies, 
chie% in makings apologies, upon wbidh 
we can fio more dine, than opon the b^I 
of fare of onr thunder-blasted ^ner. Now, 
possibly, Mr Lockhard^s talent may coa« 



dtt k. MiflK MB^ ral»l^tui0 for -tka(^ 
vhkdi ctttaioiyis iiot» and has in all pto* 
^lilrili^ iievier lieen." 

<^ Yoar honour js^ease4 to be &c6tiou%? 
uidGMb, «' byt £ Ml wre^ thit fin: the 
want, ifixr a walk as fiir w WaMp£kfeff59e».X 
faold diae iiMtjr iiien»rHio ditt tibe-fiilk 
thwe deaerm your faonoiif's oi|sti»i« Tiiey 
Ine been ill advi$ed m the matter of the. 
dntj-egg^ end bolter, I wiima de»y thitf.? 

^< Dp«D coiMite tagM||e%" «aid the Mas* 
terr** 00* dowp to tte viliage, aod do th» 
beat yoti can*. Wemast not let o«r gueste 
email. wUboitt refi'eshmen^ to. saTO tfao 
boQottrof a.nuiied.famil7« And h^i^ Cai- 
leb t»lre mf -ftat&t ;, I bdieve thi^ will 
pMTire jmn best eUy.'' 
' <« Pares ? ^imc, indeed ?" qcmtk CaUd]^ 
iod^nantiy flinging out of ike ffooo)»-<- 
t'-irfiat sold I douwi' your bonoui's piirsej 
on your ain grind ? i trust we ai;? no to 

pigr for^ofuriMW:! ?' 

Tlie servants left-the halU and tbe dflV 
was^no sooner* riiiit» than the Lord. Keefier 



TH&IHBBS OF liAMMmUSMU MS 

m^egan to a|K4ogixe for dw nideoiB9 of M§ 
nirth; and Lucy to hope she had given 
no pain or offimce. to.tiie ImdUiearto^ 
>£iWtfiil okl iMO. 

' ^ Caleb wd I oraat bothteam» .mackm^ite 
Dfld^xgo wi^h gpqd katmor, or at least 
iintli patumce, the ridicole trfatoh evferjit 
lidiere aitaebes itadtf .to poverty^'* . 

«« You 40 yourself i^vatice^ Master of 
Ravoaswaod^ on my wcnadof honoor/' a&* 
iwer^ htsv^er giie^. ** Ilwiieve Iknow 
»Ore of your affidrs tJban yo|i ilo ywiraiBl^ 
and I hope to shew yon, that I am iiit^eali^ 
edin tiMm ; ai^ tha&-4a shorty ihntytjm 
profipMts axe better, ihm you * apprtiim^ 
In the nuMintinie,.! c$m conceive aMfan^^ 
so respectable, as the spifilL nUob rnpa 
Bbove miifortimfi^ aad piaefcrsr ho ni wu atoie 
primtfOQs to^dMbtr or depeiuience.'' <- ^ 

Whether iroip \|inar M i^KMimg ^4e« 
ficaey»: ctf aiiatowig .tbepdde^.oC the^MaiK- 
ter, the l^rd Keeper oiadetheKaUufliDW 
«itb ail affM^iitia6> of feai^l ud.^heii^ 
Jt«ling: re9or^e, andseeaaedrte be afaaM 



TJkLX^ew inY i*AirDije>miK 



tbiit tit «•» 'tetraiiog t6fa €ur, w ventemj; 
«» toneii^ hMiFeter 1%M7> npon Mch a toi- 
|iic^ efim tiiien the Ma0l»r had led to it. 
In irfioirt, be appeared at oaee j^nlied 4»n 
bjr htt 40Bim <f af^JMiiig fiteadtfy, and 
Md back by the ftar ciPMtroliiib. it aiaa 
oo'WondBrlhat &e Master of ^RaMtis wood; 
Httle acqtimted <at lie Hipn ^aras trith life, 
thoiild Ittve givaaAia conimtimate^eoureter 
endit Cm mart amceritjr than wm pr^bk- 
Uf to tai fe»iNi' in a acore of hkr caflft 
JHa aiMraaadj howaireF, with vedetre^ th^ 
be uras indebted to all who might tHiak 
wdi.tff bias ; and, apokigiftti^ txfiat gnesrts, 
heJeftHie halt ki orda to make aQdi aiw 
CTttgawiiiati ibr tfaitr entertainnirat as dx^ 
OBBstaneta adapted* 

Upon aonmitiBg wMi old Mjrliei the ad- 
cenuoodatiDiia ifer the n^g^ warn eaaUj 
<avpiatidr« Meed liiesr adofittad o0MttIe 
okoioew 7I» Master sariMidwed bia ilfMn** 
aentAr ikn Me of Misa AahlMi, and Mjf^ 
tiCi^oMea pirian of oomeqiience)^hreiMd 
in^nibfaitic mlttl^ ^own wliidh h«(t beiwg«A 

• 5 



- r^ 



6f yote ta ike Masta^sgrtodmA^in^ nA 
liad %uF«d i^ thd fourt-lialb.of Hesmtto 
^arji^t ^¥esA to fttteod .h«r as My'ii mm<l» 
ili^ ficict eiH|Mffid A&NT Buckkw; aad widetw 
JtMdtog he m» itf febe Ch^ifihliavse niih 
«hip huatomfia land mme iOOtopsoBaw^ l» 
defied CaWb J0 catt there aad adiuaiot 
hii^ bew he wm ^Momfllmctd nt WoiPo. 
Cngr^Q urt»»atetii iui i&veiild>lMaiQs|. 
eeweeiaifc/ if he ooridiod ^it ised* in ttue 
hmleW M dte^ el^K'^Mtt'flmit'neeesattJijr 
<be quaiteffld ia tiboa Kcret dieiriMwy tbi 
isi^jr qme bed^feoot which eeuld te auMlt 
it te ftcwft bim^ Xte Jieiife mw «• 
iierdiAip iii pesmig Abe nght Iqr^ tfif Ml 
&e» mrept ia bU cimiyaign*doaik» mA ie 
fib^sh denwitics of «be<daf , et^ 4lf Ike 
b^eil ittk^ uy, te^yam§ mtm ^imlMf 
or faidiioib mi way fuftch, devi rtenp» ere 
dry faeyrtoft^ we» alwigrft hild geed aigh*<» 
quarters. 

orders to faring sooie ?MiseQ fimi the ianb 
and Caldi was to tmsi to^ his wito finr dMi 



honoiir 4Qf the fmHy. l%e Master, indeed, 
^ seoend timelidd rat his poiBe^; but, as 
itims in si^ of the stimnge servant, 4}ie 
-Butto: tiboug^ himself obliged to Medline 
ivhat his fillers itched to dlrtcfa. ^Couki- 
fia hehae slq^pit it gently into 4By hand?* 
sstd Calebs** but his iKMiotir will never 
learn how to bear bnwel m i&cean cases/' 
MjTsie, in the meantime, according to a 
iitttfimn -onstom snifenote places in. Scot- 
land^ efiered tlie^ stnmgers the produce of 
iier Jittle dairy, ^^ whilb better meat was 
gettiog ready.".. And according to another 
4;ttstom, not yet wlu>lly in deau^ude, as the 
itorm wi^ now drifting off to leeward,- the 
Mutv paxxied the keeper to the top of his 
iugbsst. tower to ^adaltre a wide and waste 
extent of vi9w» and to << weary ibr his din- 
ner* . * : . . 



\ > 



• 1 
I 



T0I BMBS Of LAMVBffftOOB. ,2^ 



CHAPTER XL 

<* Now daiBt,? qiMiMi be^ '^ Je wot d» iaai doiiCe» 

Had I nought of a capon but the liver» 

An<]l of your white bread nought but a shivcr» 

And ifter tlMit« roasted pigg^s heitd, 

(But I ae woJdfor wpio b ent wtra dead) 

Then had I with you fftmdj .suffeiaunce." . 

Chauceb^ Sumner's Tale. 

ir was not withoui Mme secret misgi* 
vi^gs that Caleb aet out upon his explom- 
tocy. expeditioo* In hfit^ it was attendad 
will} a: treble difficulty. He.daSred not tell 
his master the offem^ whieh Im had thait 
morniqg gtvw to Bucklaw, (just f» die 
honotac ^ the faaiily,>-«-4ie dawtd not sic- 
knowledge he had . bean too htety in refii* 
sing the purse-^^ind^ thintty^ he was s<Hne- 
what appiehe.naiye of unpleiisant conse- 
quences upon his meeting Hayston under 
the iHipressipn of an affiliate and probi- 
bly 'by this time under the influence aho 
of no small quant^y of brandj^ 

. VOIi. I; K 



900 vAua or MY iAxmmwh . 

Calebf to do him justice, was as bdd as 
any lion where the honour of the family of 
Ravenswood was qoncerned, but his was 
that considerate valour which does not de- 
light in unnecessiary risks. This» however, 
was a secondary consideration ; the msdn 
point was to veil the indigeiice of th^ house- 
keeping at the Caatfey an4 to make good bis 
vaunt of the cheer which his resources could 
procure, without Lockhard's assistance, and 
without supplies fromi his ma^er. This was 
as pdoie a point of hemoar with bifti, » 
with die ganerotts . elq>haat willi wbom 
we have already cooopared htm, vfao^ be- 
ing ovw-taskedi broke his skalt diroi^ the 
•^spente ex^tioas ^iok he mad^ to dia- 
<:hafge his du^, wfian he pekeived tii^ 
were briogii^ up another to his ^mumnm. 

The viUBge which they now approached 
4iad firefwady afforded the dirtvessed But- 
ler resoutces^ipon skirilar eraergendes ; but 
fak relations ^i^ it had been of laDe madi 
ti^Md« 

It was a fitde hamlet whtdb stalled 
along the side of a creek formed by^ dis- 



h 



•*-. 



tat BttDB 0F liAlOfaUMOR. 991 

charge of a fimali brook into the sea, and 
was hidden .from tke castle^ to which it had 
been in former times an appendage, by the 
intervention of the shoulder of a hill f<Mtn- 
ing a projecting headland. It was called 
Wolf s-hope, (i. e. Wolf's Haven) and the 
few inhabitants gained a precarious sub* 
aistence by manning two or thpee fishing 
boats in the herring season, and smuggling 
gin and brandy during the winter months^ 
They paid a kind of hereditary respect to 
the lords of Ravenswood i but^ in the diffi« 
culties of the fsmily, most of the inhabit 
taots of Wolf 'sJxope had contrived to get 
feu-rights to tbsir . little poasessionss their 
huts, kail-yards^ and rights of commonty, 
so that they were emancipated from the 
<dkains of feudal dependence, and free from 
the various exactions with which, under 
every poflsifaie pretext, or without pre- 
. .text at all, the Scottish landlords of the 
'pei;iod^ themselves in great poverty, were 
wont to harass their still poorer tenants 
1^ wilL They might be, on the whole, 
termed independent, a* circumstance pe^ 



sot TAUft OF M¥ XAlTBXiORB. 

teuUarly gaUing to Caleb, who had been 
wotit to exercise over them the same 
aweepipg authority in levying contributions 
which was exercised in former timea in 
Eoglandf when <^ the royal purveyors, sal- 
lying forth from under the Godiic porU^ul- 
lis to purchase provisions with power, and 
prerogative, instead of money, brought 
hokne the plunder of an hundred markets^ 
and. all that could be seized from a flying 
and hiding country, and deposited their 
spoil in an hundred caverns." * ' 
. Caleb Idved the memory and resented the 
downfall of that authority, which mimicked, 
on a petty scale, the grand contributions 
exacted by the feudal soverie^ns. And as he 
fondly flattered himself that the awful rule 
^and right supremacy whidi assigned to the 
Barons of Rayenswood the first and most 
effective inlerest in all productions of nature 
within jSve^ miles of their castle, only slum- 
bered and. Was not departed for ever, he 



• Burke's Speech on ficonomical Refonou^Woiidi, 
yoLiii.p.S50. 



THE raiDB OF LAMHSRMOOR* t^S 

Hsed every now and then to give the rei^ 
eoltectton of the inkabitanis a little j(^ by 
some petty exaction. These were at first 
submitted to« with more or less readiness, by 
ilie inhabitants of the hamlet ; for they bad 
been so loi^ used to consider the wants of 
the Bar On and his family as having a title 
to.be preferred to their own» that tbeir ac<k 
tual independence did not convey to them 
an immediate sense of freedom. They re- 
sembled a man that hi» been long fettered^ 
who, even at liberty, feels,, in imagination, 
the grasp c^ the handfCufis still binding 
his wrists. But the exercise of freedom is 
quickly followed with the natural conscious- 
ness of its immunities^ as the enlarged pri- 
soner, by the free use of his limbs, soon 
dispels the cramped filling they had ac* 
quired when bound. 

The inhabitants of Wolf's-hope began 
to grumble, to resist^ and at length posi- 
tively to refuse compliance with the exac- 
tions of Caleb Balderstone. It was in vain 
\^ reminded them, that when the eleventh 
Lord Aavenswood, called the Skipper, from 



9H TA3JM tm m LANinLORD* 

bis dciigfat in naval matters, had encoura- 
ged the trade of their port by buiiding the 
pier, (a bulwark of stones rudely piled ttK 
getber)» wfaidi protected tixe fishing-boats 
from the weatiier, it had been matter of j 
imderstanding, that he was to have the 
first stone of butter after the calving of 
every cow within the barony, and the first 
egg, thence called the Monday's egg, laid 
by every hen on every Monday in the year. 

The feuars heard and scratched their 
heads, coughed, sneezed, and being pressed 
for answer, rejoined with one voic^, " they 
could not say ;*— the universal reftige of a 
Scottish peasant, when pressed to admit a 
claim which his conscience owns, and his 
interest inclines him to deny. 

Caleb, however, furnished the notaWeilltf 
Wolfs-hope with a note of the requisition 
of butter aiid eggs, which he claimed as 
arrears of the aforesaid subsidyv or kindly 
itid, payable ai& above mentioned j ftnd ha-* 
ving intimated that he would not be aveiSe 
to compound the same for goods or moiJey, 
if it was inconvenient to them to pay i» 



TRB BAIDB OF IiAMMSRUOeit. S96 

kkidt left tb^iBf as he hopedi to dcibate 
Hie odode of assessing theiyiselves for that 
purpose* Oo the contrary^ they met with 
a determined purpose of resisting the exac- 
tion, and were only undecided as to the mode 
•f grounding their opposition, when the 
eooper^ a very important person on a fish* 
mg station* .and one of the Conscript Fa- 
thers of the village, observed, <* That their 
bens had cackled mony a day for the Lords 
of Ravenswood, and it was time they suld 
cajt^kle for those that gave them ];oosts and 
barley/' An unanitnoi^s grin intimated tb§ 
aisent of the assembly. ** And/' continued 
the orator, "if it's your wull, I'll just tak 
a st^ as far as Dunse for Davie Dingwall 
the writer, that's come frae the North to 
aiitle aflaang us, and he'll pit this job to 
rights* I'se warrant him." 

A day i/^as accordingly fixed for holding 
a grand palaver at Wolfs-hope on the 
si^ot of Cideb's requisitions, and he was 
invited .to attend at the haplet , for thi|t 
purpose* . 

He went with op^ hands a^ empty 



S96* TALEd OF Mt XANWOJM!^ 

stomaeb/ trusting to fill the oae on his 
master's account, and the other on bis o^ 
score, at the expence of the feuarsc^ Wolfs- 
hope* But, death to his hop^ ! as he etitered 
the eastern end of the straggling viUage, the 
awful fonn of Davie Dingwall, a sly, diy, 
hard-fisted 9 shrewd country attbrney, who 
had already acted against the family of Ra- 
venswo6d,'and was a principal agent of Sit 
William Ashton, trotted in at the western 
extremity,bestridingaleathern portmanteoa 
8tu£fed with the feu-charters of the hamlet, 
and hoping he had not kept Mr Balderstone 
waiting, ** as he uras instructed apd fdiy 
empowered to pay or receive, compound 
or compensate, and, in fine, to «^ as ac- 
cords, respecting all mutual and unsetdefl 
claiiQs whatsoever, belonging or competHM: 
to the Honourable Norman Ravenswood, 
ccmimonly called the Master of Ravens* 

wood"^ 

^' The Bigkt Honourable Normah iMtl 
Bavensumd,'* said Cal^ with gr^t empha- 
sis ; for, though conscious he had little 
chance of advantage in the conflict to en- 



I 

I 



TUB MBJSm OF l.AMM£RMOOR. 297 

m^ he wMTtsdtved not to sacrifice one jot 
4f lumour. 

<< Lord Rav«08WOod then," said the man 
9£ basiiiess ; ^^we shall not quarrel with 
you abont titles^ of courtesy — commonly 
oalled Lord Ravenswood, or Master of Ra-» 
vanswood, heritable proprietor of the lands 
and barony of WolTs Crag, on the one 
part, and to John Whitefish and others, feu- 
aia in the tpwn of Wolf's-hope, within the 
barony afoiiesaid, aa the other part" 
' C^leb was conscious from sad experiei) ce, 
that he vimld wage a very different strife 
wib this mexceimy champioU) than with 
the individual . feuars themselves, upon 
whose old recoUeotionsi pcedilections^ i^jid 
bahi^ of thinking, he. might have wrought 
fojF an hundred indirect aigument^, tq 
which their defmty-representative wai^ to^ 
tally iiisefisible. The issue of the debate 
proved the reaUty of his apprdiensiions. 
It was in vain he strainjed his eloquence 
Vnd ingenuity, and collected into one mas^ 
all Bigum^its aiinog from antique custom 






S98 TALES 09 MT LAMDILOftD* 

and hereditary respect, ftom the goodideedrf 
done by the Lords of Rifvenswood to tb« 
community of Wolfs-hopc im fiirmer dajSp 
and from what might be expected &'om them 
in futui-e. The Writer stuck to the coa^ 
tents of bis feu-charters-^he could not see 
it — ^'twas not in the bond, Anii wlie» Ca- 
leb, determined to try what a little spirit 
would do, deprecsrted the amsequences of 
Lord Ravenswood withdmwiag his piotec* 
tion from the burgh, and evoi faiiited at 
his using active measures of mentmeiit, 
the man of law sneered ia his fiiee. 

» His clients,'* he said, ^ had detenmiied 
to do the best they eould for their own 
town, and he thought Lord Ravenswood, 
since he was a lord, might have enough to 
do to lode after his own cAstle» As to spy 
threats of stouthrief q^pffeoaou by rde of j 
thumb, or viaJixcHj as the law termied it, 
he would have Mr Balderstone lecellect, 
^at new times were not as old times— 
that they lived ou the sooth of the Forth, 
and far from tihie Hielrads-^tbat his dients 



^■■viqpp^^iP*''^ .*: ■ - • ■■■^^■™-r*w^w»r»^^B^ piii III. 



TUS BRIBE OF LAHMKRMOOR. 209 

thought they were able to protect them- 
srives ; but should they find therosehais 
mistaken, they*would apply to the govern- * 
nuent for.tho protactkm of a corporal and 
four red-coatfi^ who*" said Mr DingwaU^ 
^* would be perfectly able ta secure them 
against Lord Ravaenswoody and all that ' 
he or his followers could do by the strong 
hand*'' 

If Caleb could havia concentrated all thb 
lightnings c£ arittocra^ in his eye, to have 
struck dead this contemner of allegiance aiid 
privilege^ he would have laonchBd them at 
his hcad» withost respect to the conse-* 
quaicas« As it was, he ^as compelled to 
turn hk cmu&ie backward to the castle ; and 
there he rentaiaed fca: full half a dayinvi- 
.sible smd inaccessible even to Mysie, ae. 
questered in his own peculiar dungeon, 
where he sat iKurnishing a single pewter- 
plate, and whistling Msggy Lauder six 
hours without uitermission. 

The issue of this unfortunate requisition 
had shut against Caleb all resources which 



900 TALES OF MY LAHDIiOBSw 

could be dernred from Wdf 's-hope and 
ifti purlkasy the £1 Dorado^ or Pex:u, fisom 
which, HI aH formw cases <tf exigence, he 
had bee^ able to extract some assistance. 
He bad, indeed, in a mani^r vowed that 
the de'il should have him, if ever he put 
the print of his foot within its causew&y 
again. He had hitherto kept his word $ 
and, strange to tell, this secession had, as 
he intended, in sooae degree the effect of 
a punishment upon the sefractory fioiare. 
Mr Balderstone had been a person in their 
eyes connected with a superior ordel^ of be- 
ings, whose presence used to gmoe their 
little festivities, whose advice, they- fimnd 
useful on many occasions, and whose com- 
munications gave a sort of credit to their 
village. The place, ihey acknowledged, 
<< didna look as it used to. do» and should 
do, since Mr Caleb keepit the castle sae 
Glosely*-«but doubtiess^ touching the eggs 
and butter, it was a most unreasonable de- 
mand, as Mr Dingwall had justly made 
manifesL"* 



i 




'■g—r'v -^w-.-^ -, 



THE BAIOB OFt tAMlCSElfaOR. 901 

Thus stood matters betwixt tiie parties, 
iHrhen the old Butler, tboqgb it was gaU «ad 
wormwood to him, fouiid himself obliged 
either to acknowledge before a strange man 
of quality, and, what was much worse, be- 
fore tfiat stranger's servant, the total ina- 
bility of Wolf's Crag to produce a> dinoei^ 
Qr he must trust to the compassioD of tiie 
£;uars td WolPs-bqpe. It was a dreadfid 
degi:adatiQD, but necessity was equally im- 
perious and lawless. With these feeUnga 
he entered the street of the ^iili^e. 

WiUing to shake himself from hi^. corn- 
panion as soon as possible, he directed Mr 
Lockhard to Luckie Sma'trash's change- 
house, where a din, proceeding from the 
revels of Buckl^w, Craigengelt, and their ^ 
party, sounded half-way down the street, 
while the red glare from the window over- 
powered the grey. twilight which was now 
' settling down, and glimniered against a par- 
cel <^old tubs, k^s, andf barrels, piled up 
in the coqper's yard, on the other side of 
the way. 



MM TALIS or MT LANDLORD^ 

<< if jm, Mw Loekfaard,"' said ikit old 
iMterta hfs compamao^ ^< will be pleafissd 
to st^ lo the change^ house whcfre thi^t 
l^t comes from, and where, asl jndg'a, 
they are now singings ^ Cauld Kail ia 
Aberdisen,' ye may do your master^ ^rnrnd 
about the ventson, and I wiil do mine about 
BacklafW's bed, as I return Irae getting the 
rest of the vivei^. — It's no that the venison 
is aetuaUy needfh'," he added, detaining 
bis cofieague by the button, << to make up 
the dinner ; bat, as a compliment to the 
hunters, ye ken-— and, Mr Lockhard<— if 
they ofler ye a drink & yill, or a eup o* 
wine, or a glass €f brandy, yell be a wise 
man to tsdc it, in case the thunner should 
hae soured ours at the castle,— ^whilk is 
ower muckle to be dreaded.** 

He then permitted Lockhard to depart ; 
and with feot heavy as lead, and yet fiir 
lighter than his heart, stepped on through 
the unequal street of the straggling vifc 
lage, meditating ^n whom he ought to 
make his first attack. It was necessary he 



THE BftDE 01* LAniERKOOR. S08 

iriiould find some on^ with whom old ac« 
knowledged greatness should weigh more 
than recent indqiendenc^ and to whom 
his.application might appear an act of high 
dignity, relenting at once and soothing; 
But he could not recollect an inhaliMtant 
of a mind so constructed. <* Our kail is like 
to (be cauld enough too," he reflected, as 
the chorus of Cauld Kail in Aberdeen 
again reached his ears. The ministes 
—he had got his presentaiioii from the 
late lord, but they had quarrelled about 
tiends— the brewstefs wife-^-she had txust* 
ed long— and the biU was aye scored up 
•^-^nd unless the dignity of the family 
should actually require it, it would be a shu 
to distress a widow woman^ None was so 
able— -but, on the other hand, none was 
likely to be less willing to stand his friend 
upon the present occasion,.than GibbieGrir^ 
der, the man of tubs and baurels already 
mentioned, who had. headed the insurrec« 
tion in the matter of the egg and butter 
sabsidy«— -<^ 3ut a' comes o' taking folk oi| 

7 



S04 TA}[^S 07 ttT UkKDI^OOD. 

m 

the J%ht fdde, I trow/^ quoth Caleb to him* 
6df ; ^' and I had ance the ill hap to sajr 
he was but a Johnie Newcome in our town, 
and the carle bore the family an ill* will 
ever since. But he married a bonnie 
joung quean, Jean Ughtbody, «auld Light- 
bodyfs daughter, him that was io the stead-* 
ing of Loup-the-Dyke,<«*that was married 
himsel to Marion, that was about my lady 
in the family forty years syne*— I hae had 
mony a day's daffing wi' Jeian's mither, and 
they say she bides on wi' tfaem«-4he carle 
has Jacobuses and Gebrgiuses baith^ an^ane 
could get at thenl'^and sure I am, it's doing 
him an honour him or his never deserved 
at our hand, the ungracious sumph $ and 
if he los^ by us a' thegither, he i& e'en 
cheap o't, he can spare it brawly.'' 

Shaking off irresolution, therefore, and 
turning at once upon his heel, Caleb walked 
hastily back to. the copper's bouse, lifted the \ 
l^tch without ceremony^ and> in a momenlv 
found himself behind the£i2&»,orpartitioii« 
from which position he could, himself ua. 



THE BRIDE OV LAHMBRMOOR. 90 jf 



i^ seeiif reconnoitre the interior of the hit^ 
iif or kitchen apartment, of the mansion* 
; Reverse of the sad menage at the Castle 

ill of Wolfs Crag, a bickering fire roared up 
ie the cooper's chimney. His wife on the one 
side, in her pearh'ngs and pudding- sleeves^ 
put the last finishing touch to her holiday^, 
apparel, while she contemplated a very 
handsome and good-humoured face in a 
broken mirror, raised upon the bink (the 
shelves on which the plates are disposed,) 
for her special accommodation. Her mor 
ther, old Luokie Loup-thCnDyke, ^ iEt canty 
carline'' as was within twenty miles of her^ 
according to the unanimous report of the 
cummerSf or gossips, sat by the fire in the 
full glory of a grogram gown, lammer 
beads, and a clean cockernony, whiffing a 
snug pipe of tobacco, and superintending 
the affiurs of the kitchen. For-^sight 
more interesting to the anxious heart and 
craving entrails of the desponding Senes- 
^al, than either buxom dame or canny 
cumaier,-P9-there bubbled on the aforesaid 



806 . TALBS 09 XT LASmiMOh 

bidkenbg fire» a huge pot» or rather cauU 
droDy steaming with beef and brewia f 
while before it revolved itwa sftttey torn- 
^ eaeh by one of tfte coopefii appren^ 
tices» seated in the opposite comers ^f 
the chimney ; the one, loaded vfkh a qolsuv 
ter of muttoOi while <the other was gnu 
ced/with a fkt goose and a braee.of wild 
ducks* The sight and scent of such a land 
<^ plenty almost wholly oviercamo. the 
drooping spirits of Caleb. He tovned^ for 

a momrat's space^ to reconnoitre the. &e»t 
or parrout end of the housci and there saw 
a sight scarce less affecting to his feeUnga ; 
—-a large round table, covered for ten or 
twelve persons, d^eor^ (aoepiding to ha% 
own favourite term,) with rmpery as i^lrhite as 
snow ; grand flagons of peWter, intermiK^d 
with one or two silver cups, containing, as 
was probable, something worthy the briUi^ 
ancy of their outward appearance ; clean 
trenchers, cutty spoons, knives and foiks^ 
sharp, burnished, and prompt for actiout 
which lay all displayed as fm an especial 
festival 



THB BBHIB OS LAlOf ItlfOCm. 907 



^ The deal's in the pedling tab-cooper- 
ing Gwle/' thought Calebs in all the envy 
of wtooidHiieBt { <^ifs a shame to. see die. 
like o* them gustipg their gabs at ric a rate* 
But if 4K>me o* that good cheer does noli 
fimi iVs way to WolPs Crag this night, coy 
name k not Caleb BaMemlone." 

So resolving, he entered the apartment, 
and> in all courteous greeting, sahited both 
the mother and the daughter. WolPsCrag 
^Ms the court of the barony, Caleb prime, 
minister. at Wolf's Crag; and it has ever^ 
been remarked, that though the masculine 
subject who pays the taxira, sometimes 
growk at the courtiers by whom they are 
imposed, the said courtiers continue, never*, 
theless, welcome to the fiiir sex, to whom 
they furnish the newest small-talk and the 
earliest fashions. Both the dames were, 
therefore, at once about old Caleb^s neoky* 
setting up their throats together by way o£ 
welcome. 

<* Aye, sirs, Mr Balderstone, and is this 
you ?~'A sight of you is gude for sair eem 



SOS TAUi bt UT LANDZXmO* 

•~sit down*~sit doiirn-«4he godenuin will 
be blythe to see yau--^ye nar 8aw< him sae 
cadgy in your life ; biit iv^ are to efaci^en 
our bit wean the ni^bt, as ye will hae 
beared 9 and doubtless ye will stay »id see 
the0rdiiiance*<f-7We bae killed a wether, and 
ane o' our lads has been out wi'.his gun at 
the mosk-*-ye used to like wild-fowL" 

^< Na — ^na-^gudevdfet'* said Calebs <* I 
just keekit in to wish ye joy, and I wad be 
glad to hae spoken wi' the gudeinaii» 
but—-" moving, a3 if to go away. 

*< The ne'ter a $t ye's gMg/' said the d- 
der dame, laughing and holding him fast, 
wilJi a freedom which belonged to their old 
acquaintance $ '* wha kens what ill it may 
bring to the bairn, if ye overlook it in 
tibat gate r 

^ But Tm in a preceese hurry, giidec 
wife,'* said die Butler, suffering himself to 
^ 4'^g^ to a seat without much resistr 
ance ; <« and as to eating*'— rfor he observed 
themistressof the dwelling bustling abdutto 



THE BRIDE OF I^AHHERlCOOfi. 809 

pkce a trencfaier for hiin«-r-^ as for eating^-^ 
lack-a-day, we are just Idlled up yonder 
wi^ eating frae morning to night*— if s 
fiham^' epicurism ; but thaf s what we hae 
gottieb frae the English pock-puddings*" . 
, *< Hout — ^never mind ihq English pock- 
puddingS)" said Luckie Lightbody } '< try 
our puddingSt Mr Balderstone— thwe is 
black pudding and white«haas-t-try whilk 
ye like best." i 

** Boith gude^baitb exbeUent-^^-canna 
be better ; but the very, smell is eneugh fyr 
me that hae dined sae lately (the faithful 
wretch had ia^^d since day*break«). But I 
wadoa affiront your. houseiKdfedLep, gude- 
wife { and| wi' ydur permission* I'se e'en pit 
them in my napkin, and eat them to my 
supper at e'en, for I aiii wearied of rMysie^s 
pastiy and nonsense-^ye . ken landward 
4^atie&; aye plctssed me best* Marioi»— h 
and Jiali4^raird lassas too — (lookiag'at the 
cooper's wife)-r-Ne'^r a bit but she Iddii 
far better than when she married Gilberti 
aiid thra she yf.u the. bbnniesk lass in our 



910 TALEE CfT MT t AKDtOSD. 

pafodune and the neesk tiU't — ^Bilt gftwsie 
cow, goodly calC" 

The women smiled 8t the complknent 
each to hersdf, and they smiled again to 
each other as Caldb wrapt up the puddings 
in a towel which he had brought with him, 
as a drs^oon carries his fbraging bag to re* 
ceive what may fall in his way. 

^ And what news at the Castte ?" quo* 
the gudewife. 

" News ?u^the bravest news ye ever heard 
—•the Lord Keeper's up yonder wf his fair 
daughter, just ready to fling her at my 
lord% head, if he winna tak her out o* his 
arms; and Pse warrant hei^U stitch our 
auld lands of Ravenswood to her petticoat 
tafl.^ 

« Bh I drfr^-aye l^and wiU he hae her ? 
-^and is she weet-ftrvoured f— *and whafs 
the coloilr rf her faair f ^-^-am) (foes she wear 
a habit or a ^iHy^'^wefe the questions 
iri^ithe femdei showered upon the But- 
Iter. 

^ Hoot tout l.-it TOid tak a man a day 



to aoftwer a' your questions^aQd I bae hard* 
ly a mimite. Whare's the gude-man ?" 

" Awa' to fetch the minister/' said Mrs 
Oirder, "precious Mr Peter Bide-the-bent 
f rae the Mosshead^-^the honest man has the 
rheumatism wi' lying in the hills in the per- 
secution." 

" Aye !— i-a whig and a mountain^man— 
nae less," said Calebs with a peevishness 
he could not suppress ; *** I hae seen the 
day, Luckie, when worthy Mr Cuficushion 
and the service-book would hae served 
your turn (to the elder dame,) or ony ho- 
nest woman in like circumstances.'' . 

^* And that's true too," said Mrs Light- 
body, << but what can a body do? — ^Jean 
maun baith sing her psalms and busk her 
cookemony the gate the gudeman likesp 
and nae ither gate, for he's maister and mair 
at hame, I can tell ye, Mr. Baldarstime.^ 

^' Aye, and does he guide the gear tooi" 
$aid Caleb, to whose projects mascdine 
rule boded little goqd. 

^ nka penny on'ti—'but he'll dress her as 



318 tALES OF MT LANDLOBD. 

dink as a dAisf , as ye see^^sae she has lit- 
tie reason to complain^-^where there's ane 
better aff there's ten wauh*' 

r 

^* Awee^ gudewife,*^ said Caleb, crest- 
fallen, but not beaten off, *^ that wasna 
the way ye guided your gudeman ) but 
ilka land has it's ain lauch. I maiin be 
^ganging — I just wanted to round in the 
gudeman*a lug, that I heard them say up 
bye yonder, that* Peter Puncheon, that was 
(coojper to the Queen's stores at the Tim- 
mer Burse at Leith, is dead*— -sae I thought 
that maybe a word frae my lord to the 
Lord Keeper might hae served Gilbert } 
but since he's frae hame"—r — 

^ O but ye maun stay his . hame-eoipiiig,?' 
flaid the darne**-^* I aye telled the gudeman 
ye Meant weel to him ; but he taks the tout 
at every bit lippening word." . 

^< Aweely I'll stay the last minutie I 
can.** 

^And so," said the handsome ydiing 
«pouise of Mr Girder, «« ye think this Miss 

o . • » 



-am 



THE VMP& OFLA^UmHOOR. SIS 

Ashton ' is weeUf^youred-^trptb, and sae 
should ^, to Kt up for OUT yQjafig lorjd, 
witha iftce^ and la hand^; and a seat on I^is 
horse^ that might become a king's .soo^r- 
d'ye l^en timt \ be aye glowers , n^p at my 
. wkidoJiY^ Mr SaMer3tone^ yfbm ike chaunces 
tQ ridie: thro'j the towp^i^ae ;l liae;a. rigi^t to 
jfc«n wjiatlike be^i3f;asweel,as<wyihi9idy." 

•«l I k^n that 4)rawly,"f said« Caleb, ". A>r I 
have hearid his lordsbip pay tbe QQop^r's 
wile bad the blacl^e^ t Q':e tn : jtbe baroqy ; 
: and' I. ^|d, . Weel ni^^y tbat >€« my iwil, &r 
it in^as her n^itber^s Kforerjbeftjasjlt.keu.lo 
; my costf^Eh,\iMarion ? f Ha^ha^ib^ L^Ah ! 
these were: i»f rtyddays !" 

* « HoMt i a wa, auid » cayli?^'' isaid tbe old 

-)dame, -'•tito lapeak aieidiilSng .^ y^m>g folk. 

'^But,/JeAnfT^fie,^^»i0gla|l,l ^ppa^^ye ibsar 

! (kbe^kirngreet ? iVa iwiurwliit's t^idri^fuy 

weidihas omne^weiPt ag4M>«" 

Uip got* mother :;apd4*gmn4l99itb«sri^ Acd 
scoured away, jostling each other as they 
ran, inlio some remote corner Of the tene- 
ment, whescr jthe, yftiiqg.,,feajfa of the even- 

VOL. I. o 



814 TALES OF BfT LANDL0R2>« 

ing was deposited. When Caleb saw the 
coast fairly clear, he took an invigorating 
pinch of snuff, to sharpen and confirm his 
resolution. 

« Cauld be my cast/' thought he, <^ if 
either Bide-the-bent or Girder taste that 
broche of wild-fowl this evening ;'' and 
then addressing the eldest turnspit, a boy 
of about eleven years old, and putting a 
penny into his hand, he said, ^* Here is 
twal pennies,* my man ; carry that ower 
to Mrs Sma'trash, and bid her fill my mill 
wi' snishing, and I'll turn the broche for 
ye in the meantime— and she will gi'e ye a 
ginge-bread snap for your pains." 

No sooner was the elder boy departed on 
this mission, than Caleb, looking the re- 
maining turnspit gravely and steadily in 
the face, removed from the fire the spit 
bearing the wild-fowl of which he had un- 
dertaken the charjge, clapped his hat on his 



? Monetft Sootic« etiH&oeU 



TH£ BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR. 315 

head, and fairly inarched off with it. He 
•topped at the door of the Change-house 
only to say, in a few^ brief words, that Mr 
Hayston of Bucklaw was not to expect a 
bed that evening in the castle* 

If this message was too briefly delivered 
by Caleb, it became absolute rudeness when 
conveyed through the medium of a suburb 
landlady ; and Bucklaw was, as a more calm 
and temperate man might have been, high- 
ly incensed. Captain Craigengelt propo- 
sed, with the unanimous applause of all 
present, that they should course the old 
fox (meaning Caleb) ere he got to cover, 
and toss him in a blanket. But Lockhard 
intimated to his master^s servants, and those 
of Lord Bittlebrain, in a tone of authority, 
that the slightest impertinence to the Mas- 
ter of Ravenswood's domestic would give 
Sir William Ashton the highest offence. 
And having so said, in a manner sufficient 
to prevent any aggression on their part, he 
left the publtc-house, taking along with 



1^16 ^ALES OF MY XAITBLOBI). 

Bim two dervnntsloadied with such* provi- 
tions as he bad been able to procui^, find 
overtook Caleb jufel When be'hadclearted 
the viHage. 



THE BBIOE OF I^MMERMQOIt. 317 



CHAPTER XU. 

Shoold I take aught of you ? — *th true I begged now ; 
And what is worse than that, I stole a kiindoMtf 
Aai^y wbaj^ iy wprpt of^\» Ilofl mj wa^ ia't. 

The face of the little boy, 861e witness 
of Caleb's inffingeoient upon the laws at 
once of property and hospitality^ would, 
have made a good picture* He sate mor 
tionlcssi as if be had witnessed som^ of the 
spectral appearances whiqh he had heard, 
told of in a winter's evening ; and as he 
forgot his own duty, and sallowed his spit to 
stand stili, he added to the misfortunes of 
the evening, by suffering the mutton to burn 
as black as a coal. He was first recalled from 
his trance of astonishment by a hearty cuf](. 
administered by Dame Lightbody, who (in 



318 TALES OF MY LANDLORD* 

whatever other respects she might conform 
to her name) was a woman strong of per- 
son, and expert in the use of her hands, as 
some say her deceased husband had known 
to his cost 

" What gar*d ye let the roast burn, ye 
ilLclQckit gude-for-nought ?" 

*< I dinna ken," said the boy. 

"« And Where's that iU-deedy gett, Giles?^ 

<* I dinna ken,*" blubbered the astonished 
declarant. 

" And Where's Mr Balderstone ? — and 
mbune a'y and in the name of council and 
kirk-session^ that I suld say sae, where is 
the broche wi' the wiM-fowl ?' 

Asi Mrs Girder here entered, and joined 
her mother's exclamations, screaming into 
one ear while the old lady deafened the 
other, they succeeded in so utterly con- 
founding the unhappy urchin, that he could 
not for some tim6 tell his story at all, and 
it was only when the elder boy returned 
that the truth began to dawn on their 
ininds« 



THE BBIDE OF LAMMERMOOS. 319 

" Weel, sirs !" said Mrs Ligktbody, «* wha 
wad hae thought o' Caleb Balderstone play- 
ing an auld acquaintance sic a pliskie T'. 

" O, weary on him !" said the spouse of 
Mr Girder ; ^< and what am I to say to the 
gudeman ? — She'll brain me, if there wasna 
anither woman in a' Wolfs-hope.'* 

^< Hout tout, silly quean," said the mo« 
ther ; ^* na, na — it's come to muckle, but 
it's no come to that neither ; for an he br^in 
you he maun brain me, and I have gar'd 
his betters stand back-^hands aff is fair ' 
play— we maunna heed a bit flyting." 

The tramp of horses now announced the 
arrival of the cooper, with the minister. 
They had no sooner dismounted than they 
made for the kitchen fire, for the evening, 
was cool after the thunder-storm^ and the 
woods wet and dirty. The young gude- 
wife, strong in the charms of her Sunday 
gown and biggonets, . threw herself in the 
way of receiving the first attack, while her 
mother, like the veteran division of the Ro^ 






man kgion, r^msitted in tht rew, ready to 
suppwt hte in case of nooestfty* Boftk 
hoped to pf oftmet tbe disccn^^y ' of what 
had happened«-«tlie mother by interposing 
her bustling person bettvixt* Mr Girder 
and the fire, and the daughter by the ex* 
treme cordiality with which «bereeefved the 
minister and her famband, and the atixioas 
fears which she eitpressed lest they should 
hav% *^ gottett ciMiid/' 

*^ Cauld ?' quo^ the bo^and sdriify^ fw 
he was not (tf thsit^class^of lords and mas- 
ters whose wives are viceroys over them — 

<' well be cautd nnmf^, I thinkv i^y^ din^ 
na let us in >tb the fire.*^ 

And so sayings he burst hk way tfarougb 
both linesr of ^efeifeej-and^ as he had a 
canefiil >eye: over hfis^ property of every kind, 
he perceived at one glance the absence of 
the spii-: with its savmiry burtben. <« What 
the dtfSI, womatf' .~-^'. 

•< Fye for sha^ie t^ e&clataied both the 
women ^ ^ and before Mr Bide-tbe-bent !*" 



>*i*^^ 



^^ I siuvid reproved,'.' aaid the coQi)Lert 

^< Ti;ie taking, ia our moiiths the oatps 
of the great enemy of our soulat*" md Kr 
Bide-^^the^ heiit 

^< I stand neppovedj" aaM the cooper. 

^ l8 an expo^iog ourselves to his tempta- 
tions) atad a& inviting, or^ in some sort, a 
compdijing, af hiio to lay aside his other 
trafficking with unhappy persons^, and wait 
upon tho^e ia wh^is^ speech his name is 
frequent." ^ 

" Wed, weel, Mr Bide-the-heirt, <»n 
a maa da n^ur than stand reproved ?" said 
the cooper ; *^ bwt just let me a^k the wo- 
men what for they hae dished the wild-fowl 
before we came." 

** They arena dished, Gilbert," said his 
.w»f# ; ^ but^but an accidexrt" 

" WkaJt accident i" said Girder, with 
Aafhing eyes~*< Nae Hi come ower. them, 
Urupt? Uh.r. 

His wif% who stood «}uch In awe of bicn, 

o 2 



S22 TALES 07 MY LANDLORir; 

durst not reply, but her mother buisltled up 
to her support. — *' I gted them to an ac- 
quaintance of mine, Gtbbie Girder ; and 
what about it now ?" 

Her excess of assurance struck Girder 
mute ibr an instant-—*^ And ye gied the 
wild-fowl:, the best end of our christening 
dinner, to afriend of yours, ye auld rudas f 
And what was his name, I pray ye V 

•* Worthy Mr Caleb Balderstone, firae 
Wolf's Crag,*^ answered Marion, quite pre- 
pared for battle. 

Girder's wrath foamed overall restraint If 
there was acircamstance which could have 
added to the resentment he felt, it was that 
this extravs^ant donation had been made 
in favour of our friend Calebs towards 
whom, for reasons ta which the reader is 
no stranger, he nourished a decided resent- 
ment. He raised his riding wand against 
the elder matron, but she stood firm, col- 
lected in herself^and undauntedly brandish- 
ed the iron ladle with which ahe had just 



» . 



THS BBlSiE OF lUklfMERMOOlU USA 

been Jkmhing (at^Uee^ basting) the roast 
of mutton. Her weapon was certainly the 
better, and her arm not the weakest of the 
two ; so that Gilbert thought it safest to 
turn short off upon bis wife, who had by 
this time hatched a sort of hysterical whine» 
which greatly moved the minister, who was 
in fitct as simple and kind-l^arted a crea- 
ture as ever boreathed.— *• And you, ye 
thowless jadd^ to sit stillfand see my sub- 
stance disponed upon to an idle, drucken, 
reprobate, worm-eaten servrng-man^ justbe- 
cause he kittles the lugs o' a siliy auld wife 
wi' useless clavers, and every twa words a 
lie ?— rU gar you as gude*' 

fiere the minnter interposed, both by 
voice and action, while Dame Lightbody 
threw herself in front of her daughter, and 
flourish^ her ladle. 

^*^ Am I no to chasti^^ my ain wife ?^ 
said the cooper, very indignantly. 

*^ Ye may chastise your ain wife if ye 
like»'' aimvered Dame Lightbody^ •< but 



di4^ muAI'^ll* x/AHMdttii 

.ye ahaUl oevef kiji; fiog«r oi^ sijr'ddilgliter» 

^Fonditfine^ Mr Girder," stid f)ie<:lmi3y^ 
nu ; << thift^ i» what' I Uttle elepeeted to 
hflire sdeii of jou, tbut jie suld give rein to 
jiHir ffofiil fMMfiMid agaiiist jow oe^reM^ 
asd jisouf desmit ; atid tbis night too, wbin 
ye ase caUed to theniaflt aekoisi duty oC^a 
ChriatiMi j^ilenf — asMl a' for viiat? £» a 
redmidaney of creatore comfbrW sir worth** 
less as they are mneedluL'' 

<' WortUeaa i'' esuAmmt^ A^ cooper-^ 
^ a blotter gsae never walkil on atuUbte ; 
twa finer deatier .wild^^dmsks aefver wat a 
feather/' 

<<fie it tae^ aeigUiotti^^ rc^isod the 
mioilsiler ^ ^^ but see what* superiNiitiarve 
yet revfdTiag beibite^ yma fkm. I- have aeon 
the day when ten of the h am il a ci a A*t 
ntmd upon that board woald have beea" an 
acoeptahlf damtj^ to at nmvf men^ that 
weire alarviBg oa JulIa ami bogSf^ and tiives 
of the earthy for thtr^kmpdi§ 



THE nam or xjhorrmmiu 8tS 



^ Ahd that'sr wlutt vtxn me mtiist of 
aV' ttid the ooopti?'^ mxichis td gfift mam 
one to sympathise with his not altegethm: 
causeless, anger i^ ** an the qoewt kad gi'en 
it to (my suflbcing aaat^ of to cmy body avm 
boi^thatj'eaviiigy lyiiig>oppnessiDg tory vil- 
iaiB» that cade in tke wteked tsoop of msUtta 
Idfaenit waaemnmaaded out against Ai^le 
bg^ the mild tyfaat Alkd Bavenavood, tbat 
is gane to his place^ I ttrad the ha» hae 
minded it. But toi gie the prtneipal part o' 
tiie feaal to the Mke o^ kka^^ 

^ Aiweei,* @Ubeat/' eiaid the mkrfateit 
•f sod duma.ye^eea^iiigiijtidgBienttBthts*? 
— The seed of the iighteoua aiie Mt aem 
bt^gin^ their breadU^tfaiak «f the aon' of a 
pow^fAd oppdsMmr bikig bftsd^t la tbe 
pais'of 4mpportiag fais*ft9asdlid)d) fnain jfMv 
fidlbessx?' 

^ Aad besides^'' aaid the Wife,. «< ife vMoa 
ibr Loid Bimmavood iitatfaw^ ata> be wtd. 
hear but a body speak— it waa tt>^ belp' tk> 
iSAtisrtain tiie Load fimptuvasr Aey d^' btm, 
that'8 np^yoilder at Wolfis €ia^'' 

10 



S26 TAUSS mr MY lAWMLmm. 

*« Sir WiUiam^ Ashtob at Wdf *a Crag r 
igacttlated the mttmifimA man of hoo|» 
and staves. 

*^ And hand and glove wi' Lord Ravens- 
wood,'' added Dame lightbodj* 

^' Doited idiot I — ^that auM clavering 
«ne€k. drawer wad gar ye trow die moom is 
made of green cheese.-— The Lotd Keeper 
and Rsventfwood ! they are cat and dog, 
hare atid houikd*" 

<< I tell je they are man and wife, mA 
gree better than some aiiiecs,'' retorted the 
mother«.in-law ; <* forfaye, Peter Puncheon, 
that's cooper to the Queen's atores, is dead, 
and the place is to fill, and"— 

<* Od gUidm us, wuU ye hand yoitr skirl. 
ing t^ngues,"^ said 6irder«-«£(ir we are to re- 
mark, that this exphtnatioor was given like 
a catch for two voices, the you0ger dame 
taking up, and repeating, in a higher tone, 
tfie wofd« as ftat as they were uttered by 
her mother. ^ 

«• The gttdewafe says naeAk^ but wha^s 
true, maistov^ said Girder'a fiM*eman» who 



THE BRIDE OF LAMMEM(091U Sf7 

had come in during the fray. ** I saw the 
Lord Keeper^s servants drinking and dn- 
ying ower at Luckie Sma*trasb% ower by 
yonder.** 

*« And is their nkaister up at Wcrff*s Crag?* 
said Girder. 

** Ay, troth is lie,** replied his man of 
confidence. 

<* An friends wi' Ravenswood f* 

** It's like sae,'* answered the fiKemaD, 
^ since he is putting up wi^ him." 

" And Peter Pundieon's dead i^ 

** Ay, ay—he has kaked out at last, the 
auld carle," said the foreman } <* mony a 
dribble o' brandy has gaen through hini in 
his day.-^But as for the broehe and the 
ivild4bwl, the saddle's no aff your mare 
yet, .maister, and I could follow and bri«g 
it back, for Mr Balderstone's^ no far aff the 
town yet** 

<« Do sae, WiU—and cone hefe—ru tell 
ye what to do when ye owertake him.'' 

He relieved the females of his presaace^ 
and ^ve WiU his private instrocttons.^ 



9M "wubm m mi mnw< i» p . 

.^ A bAnaie-Hke tUiii^"toki4he aether*- 
iiUftWt <' to send tlMS iMMmbJad^ ^ftcr. a9 
trtned' fluapy wbeB^yiC km lifr Biilderstone 
aye wears a rapier." 

<< I traflkt" said the iiMMteiVi ^' ye have 
reflected vvtei on what ye have dooi^^ le^^ 
juau riioiM flsttniiter eauie of striljs^ of 
which it is my duty to say, he who s^ffbtd-^ 
eth matter la i« no munnar guiWosa^'' 

*^ Urnet &ali youir beard, Mr B*de-di9* 
bent — ane imnna get their bi^ath oat heca 
between wive^ and mni^bef^^ kea best 
hMK to tiif0 my aiti <]9Jbe.«-»Jea9,: serve up 
the 4iiiii«, aodi sue oMir about' it*" 

Nor didlKi-agaio aUode to the defici^^ 
is tht^&Mxm 0( the ejv«nii^, 

Meaotim^ the fareiQMi iii0ipn)ied q» h» 
jMistor's jsteed*/ .and 40b vgedi with hi* ?gf^ 
mhorders^.pilcked'MMfi^y l^th^ in. fwsuii; 
of the inarauder Caleb. That peffmiiftg4ii«M 
*iiy be^iim ig ^ Md ti did-Aitt Kosw W <^he 
way;* He^ ifltitormttted eiifM his. dQaHj9-h^ 
fanred ehatteiv. fci:^ the psttpoae 0f^ «Mh»ng 
more haak^-^-ooly a^siirig^ Mr JUekhard 



that be had^iilads the plirvtf^ mfegive: 
the wldr&wi A>&ir> liinsiMbm tbep&se^. 
iQ eas»thi^ M)»ifv irtK>ba4ilMMi<$o»iiiii<^f 
aknned by the thuqder^ riioulil not^hftve. 
her kiteben-gnt^ ia iitf •a^ildai&4 MMOt^ 
wlittey dieging; the iteeearity of beiw^ 9Jt^ 
Woirs Crag as isaiKn \ aa poaiiUe, IfarTputhed^ 
on so fast that his CMapamena could Jscaree. 
keep vBp with Um< Ha: begaa* already to 
think he was safe from pumiitt IsHring^ 
gained the sumimt' ctf* the sw^flg eniii^ 
Hence which ^ divMfea Weif^s Grag. frott 
thevillage^ when be hefirdtbedtstaBttftnidk 
of a fadrse, • and; at mcce ninch skoalaft afe 
intervals,;^* Mr Cft)eb^*^Mr BalderstDn&^ 
Mr Caleb Bald^rstone ^^ hoilo -^ bida a 
weeP 

Caleb, it maf be weU beli^pviedy wasf n 
no hurry to aeknowledge' the sammons* 
First, be would not fawar It, and fiioed his 
companions down, tlmt it' was ttie: echo of 
the wind; tbenhe said it was not worth 
stopping fin: ; and, at lengdi^* balking r&> 



330 • TALIS or MT I^Uro(L01B» 

luctanily, as the figme of the horsemut 
appeared through tiiie shades of Uie eveiN 
ing, he bent up his \dioIe soul to tiie task 
of defendiag. his prey, threw himsdf inta 
an attitude of dignity, advanced the spit, 
whic^ in his grasp ^< might seem botb 
spear and shield/' and firmly resolved to 
cUe rather than surrender it 

What was his astonishment, when the 
coop^s foreman, riding up and addressing 
him with reject, told faim« ** his master was 
sorry he was. absent whai he came to hia 
dwelhngi and grieved that he could, not tar- 
ry tiie ckristeB^ dinner^ aiid that he had 
ta'en the freedom to send a isnm' rundlet 
of sack, an^ ane anker of brandy, as he un« 
derstood there were guests at the castle, 
and tkit'tfaey were short of preparation J' 

I hajire heard somewhere a story of aa 
elderly geiitkiiian, who was pursued by a 
bear that had gotten loose from its muak- 
2le, until completely Qxbai:i3ted* In .a 
6t ctesperatton, he Aced round upon 



THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR. 331 

Bruin and lifted his cane ; at the sight of 
iwhich the instinct of discipline prevailed, 
and the animal, instead of tearing him to 
pieces, rose up upon his hind-legs, and in- 
stantly began to shuffle a saraband* .Not 
less than the joyful surprise of the senior, 
i?rho had supposed himself hi the ^ctremity 
of peril from which he was thus unexpect- 
edly relieved, was that of our excellent 
friend Caleb, when he found the pursuer in* 
tended to add to his prize, instead of berea- 
ving him of it. He recovered bis latitude, 
however, instantly, so soon as the foremaa, 
stooping from his nag, where he sate pei^ch-^ 
ed betwixt the two barrels^ whispered in 
his ear, — «* If ony thing about Pejer Pun- 
cheon's place could be airted their way, 
John Girder wad mak it better to the Mas- 
ter of Ravenswood than a pair of new 
gloves ; and that he wad be bljthe to speak 
wi' Master Balderstone on that bead, and 
he wad find him as pliant as a hoop-wiilaw 
in a' that he could wish of him.'* 



999 TAMBA <^ MT I«AKDMAD« 

C^tolj.hfafd. all this witl|oat: rendering 
fiiMsirL0u)9 mv. dowpHfii|^s^i3amel)i> ^< w€ 

wiU 9M^ ^b^ut i( } -^ and t\»n . add«d. aloiid^ , 
fw the cdi^ticKi' <^ Mr Loc](baFd,T*-* 1 
*< Your^ Qiiiytei' lias, a^ted mt)i ;b€Cfiaiin|g ci* . 
viUfy Mid attention in fcnpap^arding : the 1 j. 
quoDitJMid I mU %hA, fjiil tQ repr?s^ it 
pioperly/ |o my Loid RsM^nswood* And » 
xnjF hidr be nidt ^^ you may ride on tp tba 
cafiUei.amd if Q009 of tb^ luorvaDta are re- 
tumedy.iprbUk iMo be dreaded, as tb«y &ia1(a 
day and nigjbt of it when they are out of 
8igbt> ya may put them into, the porteff 
ladgey wbilk is on tbe riglit hand of the 
great entryr-^the porter has got leave to go 
tp 9ee hift friendSf sae ye mil meet no aoe to 
ateer ye»'' 
. Tbeforeman^ having received hie orders, 
jffide on ; and having deposited the casks 
itx the deserted and ruinous porter's lodge, 
he returned unquestioned by any one. 
Having thus executed bis master's commis* 



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THE BRIDE OF LAMMEBMOOR. SS3 

sioii!, and doffed his bonnet to Caleb and his 
company as he repassed them in his way to 
the village, he returvfd to have his share 
of the christening festivity. 



END OF VOJbUME FIRST. 




Edikbukgh : 
PriirteJ by James Ballaiityne aiid Co. 






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