Waverley, Or 'Tis Sixty Years Hence, Complete
by
Sir Walter Scott
Part 1 out of 12
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WAVERLY
WAVERLY, By Sir Walter Scott
WAVERLEY
OR
'TIS SIXTY YEARS SINCE
Complete
BY SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART.
With Introductory Essay and Notes
By ANDREW LANG
With Illustrations
1893
THIS NEW EDITION OF THE WAVERLEY NOVELS
IS DEDICATED TO THE HON. MRS. MAXWELL SCOTT OF
ABBOTSFORD AND HER CHILDREN,
Walter, Mary, Michael, Alice, Malcolm
Margaret and Herbert
GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER AND GREAT-GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN
OF THE AUTHOR,
BY THE PUBLISHERS
TO
THE KING'S MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY.
SIRE,
The Author of this collection of Works of Fiction would not have presumed
to solicit for them your Majesty's august patronage, were it not that the
perusal has been supposed in some instances to have succeeded in amusing
hours of relaxation, or relieving those of languor, pain, or anxiety, and
therefore must have so far aided the warmest wish of your Majesty's
heart, by contributing in however small a degree to the happiness of your
people.
They are therefore humbly dedicated to your Majesty, agreeably to your
gracious permission, by
Your Majesty's Dutiful Subject,
WALTER SCOTT.
ABBOTSFORD, 1st January, 1829.
CONTENTS.
EDITOR'S NOTE
ADVERTISEMENT
GENERAL PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION OF WAVERLEY
APPENDIX
No. I. Fragment of a Romance which was to have been
entitled Thomas the Rhymer. Chapter I.
No. II. Conclusion of Mr. Strutt's Romance of
Queen-Hoo Hall. Chapter IV., Chapter V.
No. III. Anecdote of School Days
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION TO WAVERLEY
INTRODUCTION
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION
VOLUME I.
I. INTRODUCTORY
II. WAVERLEY HONOUR--A RETROSPECT
III. EDUCATION
IV. CASTLE-BUILDING
V. CHOICE OF A PROFESSION
VI. THE ADIEUS OF WAVERLEY
VII. A HORSE-QUARTER IN SCOTLAND
VIII. A SCOTTISH MANOR-HOUSE SIXTY YEARS SINCE
IX. MORE OF THE MANOR-HOUSE AND ITS ENVIRONS
X. ROSE BRADWARDINE AND HER FATHER
XI. THE BANQUET
XII. REPENTANCE AND A RECONCILIATION
XIII. A MORE RATIONAL DAY THAN THE LAST
XIV. WAVERLEY BECOMES DOMESTICATED AT TULLY-VEOLAN
XV. A CREAGH, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
XVI. AN UNEXPECTED ALLY APPEARS
XVII. THE HOLD OF A HIGHLAND ROBBER
XVIII. WAVERLEY PROCEEDS ON HIS JOURNEY
XIX. THE CHIEF AND HIS MANSION
XX. A HIGHLAND FEAST
XXI. THE CHIEFTAIN'S SISTER
XXII. HIGHLAND MINSTRELSY
XXIII. WAVERLEY CONTINUES AT GLENNAQUOICH
XXIV. STAG-HUNT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
XXV. NEWS FROM ENGLAND
XXVI. AN ECLAIRCISSEMENT
XXVII. UPON THE SAME SUBJECT
XXVIII. A LETTER FROM TULLY-VEOLAN
XXIX. WAVERLEY'S RECEPTION IN THE LOWLANDS
AUTHOR'S NOTES--Volume I.
GLOSSARY--Volume I.
VOLUME II.
I. LOSS OF A HORSE'S SHOE MAY BE A SERIOUS INCONVENIENCE
II. AN EXAMINATION
III. A CONFERENCE, AND THE CONSEQUENCE
IV. A CONFIDANT
V. THINGS MEND A LITTLE
VI. A VOLUNTEER SIXTY YEARS SINCE
VII. AN INCIDENT
VIII. WAVERLEY IS STILL IN DISTRESS
IX. A NOCTURNAL ADVENTURE
X. THE JOURNEY IS CONTINUED
XI. AN OLD AND A NEW ACQUAINTANCE
XII. THE MYSTERY BEGINS TO BE CLEARED
XIII. A SOLDIER'S DINNER
XIV. THE BALL
XV. THE MARCH
XVI. AN INCIDENT GIVES RISE TO UNAVAILING REFLECTIONS
XVII. THE EVE OF BATTLE
XVIII. THE CONFLICT
XIX. AN UNEXPECTED EMBARRASSMENT
XX. THE ENGLISH PRISONER
XXI. RATHER UNIMPORTANT
XXII. INTRIGUES OF LOVE AND POLITICS
XXIII. INTRIGUES OF SOCIETY AND LOVE
XXIV. FERGUS A SUITOR
XXV. "TO ONE THING CONSTANT NEVER"
XXVI. A BRAVE MAN IN SORROW
XXVII. EXERTION
XXVIII. THE MARCH
XXIX. THE CONFUSION OF KING AGRAMANT'S CAMP
XXX. A SKIRMISH
XXXI. CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS
XXXII. A JOURNEY TO LONDON
XXXIII. WHAT'S TO BE DONE NEXT?
XXXIV. DESOLATION
XXXV. COMPARING OF NOTES
XXXVI. MORE EXPLANATION
XXXVII.
XXXVIII.
XXXIX.
XL.
XLI. DULCE DOMUM
XLII.
XLIII. A POSTSCRIPT WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN A PREFACE
AUTHOR'S NOTES--Volume II.
GLOSSARY--Volume II.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOLUME I.
PORTRAIT OF SIR WALTER SCOTT----Painted by Raeburn,Etched by Batley
ABBOTSFORD (FROM THE TWEED)----Etched by D. Y. Cameron
TULLY-VEOLAN----Painted by W. J. Leitch, Etched by H. W. Batley
"EH, SIRS!"----Original Etching by George Cruickshank
WAVERLEY AND ROSE BRADWARDINE----Etched by Ben. Damman
THE HOLD OF A HIGHLAND ROBBER---Original Etching by R. W. Macbeth
FLORA Mac-IVOR AT THE WATERFALL---Original Etching by R. W. Macbeth
VOLUME II.
PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD IN SHELTER----Etched by H. M. Raeburn
STIRLING CASTLE----Etched by John Andrew and Son
BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE---Painted by Pettie, Etched by Raeburn
COLONEL GARDINER---Original Etching by H. Macbeth Raeburn
DISBANDED----Painted by John Pettie, Etched by F. Huth
BAILIE MACWHEEBLE----Painted by J. Lauder, Etched by H. Lefort
"LADY WAUVERLEY! TEN THOUSAND A YEAR!"----Etching by Cruickshank
WAVERLEY'S LAST VISIT TO FLORA MAC-IVOR----Painted by Herdman
DOUNE CASTLE (FROM THE TEITH)----Etched by John Andrew and Son
EDITOR'S NOTE.
The purpose of the added matter in this edition of the Waverley Novels--a
reprint of the magnum opus of 1829-1832--is to give to the stories their
historical setting, by stating the circumstances in which they were
composed and made their first appearance.
Sir Walter's own delightful Introductions, written hastily, as Lockhart
says, and with a failing memory, have occasionally been corrected by
Lockhart himself. His "Life of Scott" must always be our first and best
source, but fragments of information may be gleaned from Sir Walter's
unpublished correspondence.
The Editor owes to the kindness of Mrs. Maxwell Scott permission to
examine the twenty-four large volumes of letters to Sir Walter, and some
other manuscripts, which are preserved at Abbotsford. These yield but
little of contemporary criticism or remark, as is natural, for Scott
shared his secret with few, and most topics were more grateful to him
than his own writings. Lockhart left little for his successors to do, and
the more any one studies the Abbotsford manuscripts, the more must he
admire the industry and tact of Scott's biographer.
The Editor has also put together some examples of contemporary published
criticism which it is now not uninteresting to glance over. In selecting
these he has been aided by the kindness of Mrs. Ogilbie. From the
Abbotsford manuscripts and other sources he has added notes on points
which have become obscure by lapse of time. He has especially to thank,
for their courteous and ready assistance, Lady Napier and Ettrick, who
lent him Sir Walter's letters to her kinswoman, the Marchioness of
Abercorn; Mr. David Douglas, the editor and publisher of Scott's
"Journal," who has generously given the help of his antiquarian
knowledge; and Mr. David MacRitchie, who permitted him to use the
corrected proofs of "Redgauntlet."
ANDREW LANG
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE WAVERLEY NOVELS
It has been the occasional occupation of the Author of Waverley, for
several years past, to revise and correct the voluminous series of Novels
which pass under that name, in order that, if they should ever appear as
his avowed productions, he might render them in some degree deserving of
a continuance of the public favour with which they have been honoured
ever since their first appearance. For a long period, however, it seemed
likely that the improved and illustrated edition which he meditated would
be a posthumous publication. But the course of the events which
occasioned the disclosure of the Author's name having, in a great
measure, restored to him a sort of parental control over these Works, he
is naturally induced to give them to the press in a corrected, and, he
hopes, an improved form, while life and health permit the task of
revising and illustrating them. Such being his purpose, it is necessary
to say a few words on the plan of the proposed Edition.
In stating it to be revised and corrected, it is not to be inferred that
any attempt is made to alter the tenor of the stories, the character of
the actors, or the spirit of the dialogue. There is no doubt ample room
for emendation in all these points,--but where the tree falls it must
lie. Any attempt to obviate criticism, however just, by altering a work
already in the hands of the public is generally unsuccessful. In the most
improbable fiction, the reader still desires some air of vraisemblance,
and does not relish that the incidents of a tale familiar to him should
be altered to suit the taste of critics, or the caprice of the Author
himself. This process of feeling is so natural, that it may be observed
even in children, who cannot endure that a nursery story should be
repeated to them differently from the manner in which it was first told.
But without altering, in the slightest degree, either the story or the
mode of telling it, the Author has taken this opportunity to correct
errors of the press and slips of the pen. That such should exist cannot
be wondered at, when it is considered that the Publishers found it their
interest to hurry through the press a succession of the early editions of
the various Novels, and that the Author had not the usual opportunity of
revision. It is hoped that the present edition will be found free from
errors of that accidental kind.
The Author has also ventured to make some emendations of a different
character, which, without being such apparent deviations from the
original stories as to disturb the reader's old associations, will, he
thinks, add something to the spirit of the dialogue, narrative, or
description. These consist in occasional pruning where the language is
redundant, compression where the style is loose, infusion of vigour where
it is languid, the exchange of less forcible for more appropriate
epithets--slight alterations in short, like the last touches of an
artist, which contribute to heighten and finish the picture, though an
inexperienced eye can hardly detect in what they consist.
The General Preface to the new Edition, and the Introductory Notices to
each separate work, will contain an account of such circumstances
attending the first publication of the Novels and Tales as may appear
interesting in themselves, or proper to be communicated to the public.
The Author also proposes to publish, on this occasion, the various
legends, family traditions, or obscure historical facts which have formed
the ground-work of these Novels, and to give some account of the places
where the scenes are laid, when these are altogether, or in part, real;
as well as a statement of particular incidents founded on fact; together
with a more copious Glossary, and Notes explanatory of the ancient
customs and popular superstitions referred to in the Romances.
Upon the whole, it is hoped that the Waverley Novels, in their new dress,
will not be found to have lost any part of their attractions in
consequence of receiving illustrations by the Author, and undergoing his
careful revision.
ABBOTSFORD, January, 1829.
GENERAL PREFACE TO THE WAVERLEY NOVELS
And must I ravel out
My weaved-up follies?
Richard II, Act IV.
Having undertaken to give an Introductory Account of the compositions
which are here offered to the public, with Notes and Illustrations, the
Author, under whose name they are now for the first time collected, feels
that he has the delicate task of speaking more of himself and his
personal concerns than may perhaps be either graceful or prudent. In this
particular he runs the risk of presenting himself to the public in the
relation that the dumb wife in the jest-book held to her husband, when,
having spent half of his fortune to obtain the cure of her imperfection,
he was willing to have bestowed the other half to restore her to her
former condition. But this is a risk inseparable from the task which the
Author has undertaken, and he can only promise to be as little of an
egotist as the situation will permit. It is perhaps an indifferent sign
of a disposition to keep his word, that, having introduced himself in the
third person singular, he proceeds in the second paragraph to make use of
the first. But it appears to him that the seeming modesty connected with
the former mode of writing is overbalanced by the inconvenience of
stiffness and affectation which attends it during a narrative of some
length, and which may be observed less or more in every work in which the
third person is used, from the Commentaries of Caesar to the
Autobiography of Alexander the Corrector.
I must refer to a very early period of my life, were I to point out my
first achievements as a tale-teller; but I believe some of my old
schoolfellows can still bear witness that I had a distinguished character
for that talent, at a time when the applause of my companions was my
recompense for the disgraces and punishments which the future
romance-writer incurred for being idle himself, and keeping others idle,
during hours that should have been employed on our tasks. The chief
enjoyment of my holidays was to escape with a chosen friend, who had the
same taste with myself, and alternately to recite to each other such wild
adventures as we were able to devise. We told, each in turn, interminable
tales of knight-errantry and battles and enchantments, which were
continued from one day to another as opportunity offered, without our
ever thinking of bringing them to a conclusion. As we observed a strict
secrecy on the subject of this intercourse, it acquired all the character
of a concealed pleasure, and we used to select for the scenes of our
indulgence long walks through the solitary and romantic environs of
Arthur's Seat, Salisbury Crags, Braid Hills, and similar places in the
vicinity of Edinburgh; and the recollection of those holidays still forms
an oasis in the pilgrimage which I have to look back upon. I have only to
add, that my friend still lives, a prosperous gentleman, but too much
occupied with graver business to thank me for indicating him more plainly
as a confidant of my childish mystery.
When boyhood advancing into youth required more serious studies and
graver cares, a long illness threw me back on the kingdom of fiction, as
if it were by a species of fatality. My indisposition arose, in part at
least, from my having broken a blood-vessel; and motion and speech were
for a long time pronounced positively dangerous. For several weeks I was
confined strictly to my bed, during which time I was not allowed to speak
above a whisper, to eat more than a spoonful or two of boiled rice, or to
have more covering than one thin counterpane. When the reader is informed
that I was at this time a growing youth, with the spirits, appetite, and
impatience of fifteen, and suffered, of course, greatly under this severe
regimen, which the repeated return of my disorder rendered indispensable,
he will not be surprised that I was abandoned to my own discretion, so
far as reading (my almost sole amusement) was concerned, and still less
so, that I abused the indulgence which left my time so much at my own
disposal.
There was at this time a circulating library in Edinburgh, founded, I
believe, by the celebrated Allan Ramsay, which, besides containing a most
respectable collection of books of every description, was, as might have
been expected, peculiarly rich in works of fiction. It exhibited
specimens of every kind, from the romances of chivalry and the ponderous
folios of Cyrus and Cassandra, down to the most approved works of later
times. I was plunged into this great ocean of reading without compass or
pilot; and, unless when some one had the charity to play at chess with
me, I was allowed to do nothing save read from morning to night. I was,
in kindness and pity, which was perhaps erroneous, however natural,
permitted to select my subjects of study at my own pleasure, upon the
same principle that the humours of children are indulged to keep them out
of mischief. As my taste and appetite were gratified in nothing else, I
indemnified myself by becoming a glutton of books. Accordingly, I believe
I read almost all the romances, old plays, and epic poetry in that
formidable collection, and no doubt was unconsciously amassing materials
for the task in which it has been my lot to be so much employed.
At the same time I did not in all respects abuse the license permitted
me. Familiar acquaintance with the specious miracles of fiction brought
with it some degree of satiety, and I began by degrees to seek in
histories, memoirs, voyages and travels, and the like, events nearly as
wonderful as those which were the work of imagination, with the
additional advantage that they were at least in a great measure true. The
lapse of nearly two years, during which I was left to the exercise of my
own free will, was followed by a temporary residence in the country,
where I was again very lonely but for the amusement which I derived from
a good though old-fashioned library. The vague and wild use which I made
of this advantage I cannot describe better than by referring my reader to
the desultory studies of Waverley in a similar situation, the passages
concerning whose course of reading were imitated from recollections of my
own. It must be understood that the resemblance extends no farther.
Time, as it glided on, brought the blessings of confirmed health and
personal strength, to a degree which had never been expected or hoped
for. The severe studies necessary to render me fit for my profession
occupied the greater part of my time; and the society of my friends and
companions, who were about to enter life along with, me, filled up the
interval with the usual amusements of young men. I was in a situation
which rendered serious labour indispensable; for, neither possessing, on
the one hand, any of those peculiar advantages which are supposed to
favour a hasty advance in the profession of the law, nor being, on the
other hand, exposed to unusual obstacles to interrupt my progress, I
might reasonably expect to succeed according to the greater or less
degree of trouble which I should take to qualify myself as a pleader.
It makes no part of the present story to detail how the success of a few
ballads had the effect of changing all the purpose and tenor of my life,
and of converting a painstaking lawyer of some years' standing into a
follower of literature. It is enough to say, that I had assumed the
latter character for several years before I seriously thought of
attempting a work of imagination in prose, although one or two of my
poetical attempts did not differ from romances otherwise than by being
written in verse. But yet I may observe, that about this time (now, alas!
thirty years since) I had nourished the ambitious desire of composing a
tale of chivalry, which was to be in the style of the Castle of Otranto,
with plenty of Border characters and supernatural incident. Having found
unexpectedly a chapter of this intended work among some old papers, I
have subjoined it to this introductory essay, thinking some readers may
account as curious the first attempts at romantic composition by an
author who has since written so much in that department. [Footnote: See
Appendix No I.] And those who complain, not unreasonably, of the
profusion of the Tales which have followed Waverley, may bless their
stars at the narrow escape they have made, by the commencement of the
inundation, which had so nearly taken place in the first year of the
century, being postponed for fifteen years later.
This particular subject was never resumed, but I did not abandon the idea
of fictitious composition in prose, though I determined to give another
turn to the style of the work.
My early recollections of the Highland scenery and customs made so
favourable an impression in the poem called the Lady of the Lake, that I
was induced to think of attempting something of the same kind in prose. I
had been a good deal in the Highlands at a time when they were much less
accessible and much less visited than they have been of late years, and
was acquainted with many of the old warriors of 1745, who were, like most
veterans, easily induced to fight their battles over again for the
benefit of a willing listener like myself. It naturally occurred to me
that the ancient traditions and high spirit of a people who, living in a
civilised age and country, retained so strong a tincture of manners
belonging to an early period of society, must afford a subject favourable
for romance, if it should not prove a curious tale marred in the telling.
It was with some idea of this kind that, about the year 1805, I threw
together about one-third part of the first volume of Waverley. It was
advertised to be published by the late Mr. John Ballantyne, bookseller in
Edinburgh, under the name of Waverley; or, 'Tis Fifty Years Since--a
title afterwards altered to 'Tis Sixty Years Since, that the actual date
of publication might be made to correspond with the period in which the
scene was laid. Having proceeded as far, I think, as the seventh chapter,
I showed my work to a critical friend, whose opinion was unfavourable;
and having then some poetical reputation, I was unwilling to risk the
loss of it by attempting a new style of composition. I therefore threw
aside the work I had commenced, without either reluctance or
remonstrance. I ought to add that, though my ingenious friend's sentence
was afterwards reversed on an appeal to the public, it cannot be
considered as any imputation on his good taste; for the specimen
subjected to his criticism did not extend beyond the departure of the
hero for Scotland, and consequently had not entered upon the part of the
story which was finally found most interesting.
Be that as it may, this portion of the manuscript was laid aside in the
drawers of an old writing-desk, which, on my first coming to reside at
Abbotsford in 1811, was placed in a lumber garret and entirely forgotten.
Thus, though I sometimes, among other literary avocations, turned my
thoughts to the continuation of the romance which I had commenced, yet,
as I could not find what I had already written, after searching such
repositories as were within my reach, and was too indolent to attempt to
write it anew from memory, I as often laid aside all thoughts of that
nature.
Two circumstances in particular recalled my recollection of the mislaid
manuscript. The first was the extended and well-merited fame of Miss
Edgeworth, whose Irish characters have gone so far to make the English
familiar with the character of their gay and kind-hearted neighbours of
Ireland, that she may be truly said to have done more towards completing
the Union than perhaps all the legislative enactments by which it has
been followed up.
Without being so presumptuous as to hope to emulate the rich humour,
pathetic tenderness, and admirable tact which pervade the works of my
accomplished friend, I felt that something might be attempted for my own
country, of the same kind with that which Miss Edgeworth so fortunately
achieved for Ireland--something which might introduce her natives to
those of the sister kingdom in a more favourable light than they had been
placed hitherto, and tend to procure sympathy for their virtues and
indulgence for their foibles. I thought also, that much of what I wanted
in talent might be made up by the intimate acquaintance with the subject
which I could lay claim to possess, as having travelled through most
parts of Scotland, both Highland and Lowland, having been familiar with
the elder as well as more modern race, and having had from my infancy
free and unrestrained communication with all ranks of my countrymen, from
the Scottish peer to the Scottish plough-man. Such ideas often occurred
to me, and constituted an ambitious branch of my theory, however far
short I may have fallen of it in practice.
But it was not only the triumphs of Miss Edgeworth which worked in me
emulation, and disturbed my indolence. I chanced actually to engage in a
work which formed a sort of essay piece, and gave me hope that I might in
time become free of the craft of romance-writing, and be esteemed a
tolerable workman.
In the year 1807-08 I undertook, at the request of John Murray, Esq., of
Albemarle Street, to arrange for publication some posthumous productions
of the late Mr. Joseph Strutt, distinguished as an artist and an
antiquary, amongst which was an unfinished romance, entitled Queenhoo
Hall. The scene of the tale was laid in the reign of Henry VI, and the
work was written to illustrate the manners, customs, and language of the
people of England during that period. The extensive acquaintance which
Mr. Strutt had acquired with such subjects in compiling his laborious
Horda Angel-Cynnan, his Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiquities, and his
Essay on the Sports and Pastimes of the People of England had rendered
him familiar with all the antiquarian lore necessary for the purpose of
composing the projected romance; and although the manuscript bore the
marks of hurry and incoherence natural to the first rough draught of the
author, it evinced (in my opinion) considerable powers of imagination.
As the work was unfinished, I deemed it my duty, as editor, to supply
such a hasty and inartificial conclusion as could be shaped out from the
story, of which Mr. Strutt had laid the foundation. This concluding
chapter [Footnote: See Appendix No. II.] is also added to the present
Introduction, for the reason already mentioned regarding the preceding
fragment. It was a step in my advance towards romantic composition; and
to preserve the traces of these is in a great measure the object of this
Essay.
Queenhoo Hall was not, however, very successful. I thought I was aware of
the reason, and supposed that, by rendering his language too ancient, and
displaying his antiquarian knowledge too liberally, the ingenious author
had raised up an obstacle to his own success. Every work designed for
mere amusement must be expressed in language easily comprehended; and
when, as is sometimes the case in QUEENHOO HALL, the author addresses
himself exclusively to the antiquary, he must be content to be dismissed
by the general reader with the criticism of Mungo, in the PADLOCK, on the
Mauritanian music, 'What signifies me hear, if me no understand?'
I conceived it possible to avoid this error; and, by rendering a similar
work more light and obvious to general comprehension, to escape the rock
on which my predecessor was shipwrecked.
But I was, on the other hand, so far discouraged by the indifferent
reception of Mr. Strutt's romance as to become satisfied that the manners
of the middle ages did not possess the interest which I had conceived;
and was led to form the opinion that a romance founded on a Highland
story and more modern events would have a better chance of popularity
than a tale of chivalry.
My thoughts, therefore, returned more than once to the tale which I had
actually commenced, and accident at length threw the lost sheets in my
way.
I happened to want some fishing-tackle for the use of a guest, when it
occurred to me to search the old writing-desk already mentioned, in which
I used to keep articles of that nature.
I got access to it with some difficulty; and, in looking for lines and
flies, the long-lost manuscript presented itself.
I immediately set to work to complete it according to my original
purpose.
And here I must frankly confess that the mode in which I conducted the
story scarcely deserved the success which the romance afterwards
attained.
The tale of WAVERLEY was put together with so little care that I cannot
boast of having sketched any distinct plan of the work. The whole
adventures of Waverley, in his movements up and down the country with the
Highland cateran Bean Lean, are managed without much skill. It suited
best, however, the road I wanted to travel, and permitted me to introduce
some descriptions of scenery and manners, to which the reality gave an
interest which the powers of the Author might have otherwise failed to
attain for them. And though I have been in other instances a sinner in
this sort, I do not recollect any of these novels in which I have
transgressed so widely as in the first of the series.
Among other unfounded reports, it has been said that the copyright of
Waverley was, during the book's progress through the press, offered for
sale to various book-sellers in London at a very inconsiderable price.
This was not the case. Messrs. Constable and Cadell, who published the
work, were the only persons acquainted with the contents of the
publication, and they offered a large sum for it while in the course of
printing, which, however, was declined, the Author not choosing to part
with the copyright.
The origin of the story of Waverley, and the particular facts on which it
is founded, are given in the separate introduction prefixed to that
romance in this edition, and require no notice in this place.
Waverley was published in 1814, and, as the title-page was without the
name of the Author, the work was left to win its way in the world without
any of the usual recommendations. Its progress was for some time slow;
but after the first two or three months its popularity had increased in a
degree which must have satisfied the expectations of the Author, had
these been far more sanguine than he ever entertained.
Great anxiety was expressed to learn the name of the Author, but on this
no authentic information could be attained. My original motive for
publishing the work anonymously was the consciousness that it was an
experiment on the public taste which might very probably fail, and
therefore there was no occasion to take on myself the personal risk of
discomfiture. For this purpose considerable precautions were used to
preserve secrecy. My old friend and schoolfellow, Mr. James Ballantyne,
who printed these Novels, had the exclusive task of corresponding with
the Author, who thus had not only the advantage of his professional
talents, but also of his critical abilities. The original manuscript, or,
as it is technically called, copy, was transcribed under Mr. Ballantyne's
eye by confidential persons; nor was there an instance of treachery
during the many years in which these precautions were resorted to,
although various individuals were employed at different times. Double
proof-sheets were regularly printed off. One was forwarded to the Author
by Mr. Ballantyne, and the alterations which it received were, by his own
hand, copied upon the other proof-sheet for the use of the printers, so
that even the corrected proofs of the Author were never seen in the
printing office; and thus the curiosity of such eager inquirers as made
the most minute investigation was entirely at fault.
But although the cause of concealing the Author's name in the first
instance, when the reception of Waverley was doubtful, was natural
enough, it is more difficult, it may be thought, to account for the same
desire for secrecy during the subsequent editions, to the amount of
betwixt eleven and twelve thousand copies, which followed each other
close, and proved the success of the work. I am sorry I can give little
satisfaction to queries on this subject. I have already stated elsewhere
that I can render little better reason for choosing to remain anonymous
than by saying with Shylock, that such was my humour. It will be observed
that I had not the usual stimulus for desiring personal reputation, the
desire, namely, to float amidst the conversation of men. Of literary
fame, whether merited or undeserved, I had already as much as might have
contented a mind more ambitious than mine; and in entering into this new
contest for reputation I might be said rather to endanger what I had than
to have any considerable chance of acquiring more. I was affected, too,
by none of those motives which, at an earlier period of life, would
doubtless have operated upon me. My friendships were formed, my place in
society fixed, my life had attained its middle course. My condition in
society was higher perhaps than I deserved, certainly as high as I
wished, and there was scarce any degree of literary success which could
have greatly altered or improved my personal condition.
I was not, therefore, touched by the spur of ambition, usually
stimulating on such occasions; and yet I ought to stand exculpated from
the charge of ungracious or unbecoming indifference to public applause. I
did not the less feel gratitude for the public favour, although I did not
proclaim it; as the lover who wears his mistress's favour in his bosom is
as proud, though not so vain, of possessing it as another who displays
the token of her grace upon his bonnet. Far from such an ungracious state
of mind, I have seldom felt more satisfaction than when, returning from a
pleasure voyage, I found Waverley in the zenith of popularity, and public
curiosity in full cry after the name of the Author. The knowledge that I
had the public approbation was like having the property of a hidden
treasure, not less gratifying to the owner than if all the world knew
that it was his own. Another advantage was connected with the secrecy
which I observed. I could appear or retreat from the stage at pleasure,
without attracting any personal notice or attention, other than what
might be founded on suspicion only. In my own person also, as a
successful author in another department of literature, I might have been
charged with too frequent intrusions on the public patience; but the
Author of Waverley was in this respect as impassible to the critic as the
Ghost of Hamlet to the partisan of Marcellus. Perhaps the curiosity of
the public, irritated by the existence of a secret, and kept afloat by
the discussions which took place on the subject from time to time, went a
good way to maintain an unabated interest in these frequent publications.
There was a mystery concerning the Author which each new novel was
expected to assist in unravelling, although it might in other respects
rank lower than its predecessors.
I may perhaps be thought guilty of affectation, should I allege as one
reason of my silence a secret dislike to enter on personal discussions
concerning my own literary labours. It is in every case a dangerous
intercourse for an author to be dwelling continually among those who make
his writings a frequent and familiar subject of conversation, but who
must necessarily be partial judges of works composed in their own
society. The habits of self-importance which are thus acquired by authors
are highly injurious to a well-regulated mind; for the cup of flattery,
if it does not, like that of Circe, reduce men to the level of beasts, is
sure, if eagerly drained, to bring the best and the ablest down to that
of fools. This risk was in some degree prevented by the mask which I
wore; and my own stores of self-conceit were left to their natural
course, without being enhanced by the partiality of friends or adulation
of flatterers.
If I am asked further reasons for the conduct I have long observed, I can
only resort to the explanation supplied by a critic as friendly as he is
intelligent; namely, that the mental organisation of the novelist must be
characterised, to speak craniologically, by an extraordinary development
of the passion for delitescency! I the rather suspect some natural
disposition of this kind; for, from the instant I perceived the extreme
curiosity manifested on the subject, I felt a secret satisfaction in
baffling it, for which, when its unimportance is considered, I do not
well know how to account.
My desire to remain concealed, in the character of the Author of these
Novels, subjected me occasionally to awkward embarrassments, as it
sometimes happened that those who were sufficiently intimate with me
would put the question in direct terms. In this case, only one of three
courses could be followed. Either I must have surrendered my secret, or
have returned an equivocating answer, or, finally, must have stoutly and
boldly denied the fact. The first was a sacrifice which I conceive no one
had a right to force from me, since I alone was concerned in the matter.
The alternative of rendering a doubtful answer must have left me open to
the degrading suspicion that I was not unwilling to assume the merit (if
there was any) which I dared not absolutely lay claim to; or those who
might think more justly of me must have received such an equivocal answer
as an indirect avowal. I therefore considered myself entitled, like an
accused person put upon trial, to refuse giving my own evidence to my own
conviction, and flatly to deny all that could not be proved against me.
At the same time I usually qualified my denial by stating that, had I
been the Author of these works, I would have felt myself quite entitled
to protect my secret by refusing my own evidence, when it was asked for
to accomplish a discovery of what I desired to conceal.
The real truth is, that I never expected or hoped to disguise my
connection with these Novels from any one who lived on terms of intimacy
with me. The number of coincidences which necessarily existed between
narratives recounted, modes of expression, and opinions broached in these
Tales and such as were used by their Author in the intercourse of private
life must have been far too great to permit any of my familiar
acquaintances to doubt the identity betwixt their friend and the Author
of Waverley; and I believe they were all morally convinced of it. But
while I was myself silent, their belief could not weigh much more with
the world than that of others; their opinions and reasoning were liable
to be taxed with partiality, or confronted with opposing arguments and
opinions; and the question was not so much whether I should be generally
acknowledged to be the Author, in spite of my own denial, as whether even
my own avowal of the works, if such should be made, would be sufficient
to put me in undisputed possession of that character.
I have been often asked concerning supposed cases, in which I was said to
have been placed on the verge of discovery; but, as I maintained my point
with the composure of a lawyer of thirty years' standing, I never
recollect being in pain or confusion on the subject. In Captain Medwyn's
Conversations of Lord Byron the reporter states himself to have asked my
noble and highly gifted friend,' If he was certain about these Novels
being Sir Walter Scott's?' To which Lord Byron replied, 'Scott as much as
owned himself the Author of Waverley to me in Murray's shop. I was
talking to him about that Novel, and lamented that its Author had not
carried back the story nearer to the time of the Revolution. Scott,
entirely off his guard, replied, "Ay, I might have done so; but--" there
he stopped. It was in vain to attempt to correct himself; he looked
confused, and relieved his embarrassment by a precipitate retreat.' I
have no recollection whatever of this scene taking place, and I should
have thought that I was more likely to have laughed than to appear
confused, for I certainly never hoped to impose upon Lord Byron in a case
of the kind; and from the manner in which he uniformly expressed himself,
I knew his opinion was entirely formed, and that any disclamations of
mine would only have savoured of affectation. I do not mean to insinuate
that the incident did not happen, but only that it could hardly have
occurred exactly under the circumstances narrated, without my
recollecting something positive on the subject. In another part of the
same volume Lord Byron is reported to have expressed a supposition that
the cause of my not avowing myself the Author of Waverley may have been
some surmise that the reigning family would have been displeased with the
work. I can only say, it is the last apprehension I should have
entertained, as indeed the inscription to these volumes sufficiently
proves. The sufferers of that melancholy period have, during the last and
present reign, been honoured both with the sympathy and protection of the
reigning family, whose magnanimity can well pardon a sigh from others,
and bestow one themselves, to the memory of brave opponents, who did
nothing in hate, but all in honour.
While those who were in habitual intercourse with the real author had
little hesitation in assigning the literary property to him, others, and
those critics of no mean rank, employed themselves in investigating with
persevering patience any characteristic features which might seem to
betray the origin of these Novels. Amongst these, one gentleman, equally
remarkable for the kind and liberal tone of his criticism, the acuteness
of his reasoning, and the very gentlemanlike manner in which he conducted
his inquiries, displayed not only powers of accurate investigation, but a
temper of mind deserving to be employed on a subject of much greater
importance; and I have no doubt made converts to his opinion of almost
all who thought the point worthy of consideration. [Footnote: Letters on
the Author of Waverly; Rodwell and Martin, London, 1822.] Of those
letters, and other attempts of the same kind, the Author could not
complain, though his incognito was endangered. He had challenged the
public to a game at bo-peep, and if he was discovered in his
'hiding-hole,' he must submit to the shame of detection.
Various reports were of course circulated in various ways; some founded
on an inaccurate rehearsal of what may have been partly real, some on
circumstances having no concern whatever with the subject, and others on
the invention of some importunate persons, who might perhaps imagine that
the readiest mode of forcing the Author to disclose himself was to assign
some dishonourable and discreditable cause for his silence.
It may be easily supposed that this sort of inquisition was treated with
contempt by the person whom it principally regarded; as, among all the
rumours that were current, there was only one, and that as unfounded as
the others, which had nevertheless some alliance to probability, and
indeed might have proved in some degree true.
I allude to a report which ascribed a great part, or the whole, of these
Novels to the late Thomas Scott, Esq., of the 70th Regiment, then
stationed in Canada. Those who remember that gentleman will readily grant
that, with general talents at least equal to those of his elder brother,
he added a power of social humour and a deep insight into human character
which rendered him an universally delightful member of society, and that
the habit of composition alone was wanting to render him equally
successful as a writer. The Author of Waverley was so persuaded of the
truth of this, that he warmly pressed his brother to make such an
experiment, and willingly undertook all the trouble of correcting and
superintending the press. Mr. Thomas Scott seemed at first very well
disposed to embrace the proposal, and had even fixed on a subject and a
hero. The latter was a person well known to both of us in our boyish
years, from having displayed some strong traits of character. Mr. T.
Scott had determined to represent his youthful acquaintance as emigrating
to America, and encountering the dangers and hardships of the New World,
with the same dauntless spirit which he had displayed when a boy in his
native country. Mr. Scott would probably have been highly successful,
being familiarly acquainted with the manners of the native Indians, of
the old French settlers in Canada, and of the Brules or Woodsmen, and
having the power of observing with accuracy what I have no doubt he could
have sketched with force and expression. In short, the Author believes
his brother would have made himself distinguished in that striking field
in which, since that period, Mr. Cooper has achieved so many triumphs.
But Mr. T. Scott was already affected by bad health, which wholly
unfitted him for literary labour, even if he could have reconciled his
patience to the task. He never, I believe, wrote a single line of the
projected work; and I only have the melancholy pleasure of preserving in
the Appendix [Footnote: See Appendix No. III.] the simple anecdote on
which he proposed to found it.
To this I may add, I can easily conceive that there may have been
circumstances which gave a colour to the general report of my brother
being interested in these works; and in particular that it might derive
strength from my having occasion to remit to him, in consequence of
certain family transactions, some considerable sums of money about that
period. To which it is to be added that if any person chanced to evince
particular curiosity on such a subject, my brother was likely enough to
divert himself with practising on their credulity.
It may be mentioned that, while the paternity of these Novels was from
time to time warmly disputed in Britain, the foreign booksellers
expressed no hesitation on the matter, but affixed my name to the whole
of the Novels, and to some besides to which I had no claim.
The volumes, therefore, to which the present pages form a Preface are
entirely the composition of the Author by whom they are now acknowledged,
with the exception, always, of avowed quotations, and such unpremeditated
and involuntary plagiarisms as can scarce be guarded against by any one
who has read and written a great deal. The original manuscripts are all
in existence, and entirely written (horresco referens) in the Author's
own hand, excepting during the years 1818 and 1819, when, being affected
with severe illness, he was obliged to employ the assistance of a
friendly amanuensis.
The number of persons to whom the secret was necessarily entrusted, or
communicated by chance, amounted, I should think, to twenty at least, to
whom I am greatly obliged for the fidelity with which they observed their
trust, until the derangement of the affairs of my publishers, Messrs.
Constable and Co., and the exposure of their account books, which was the
necessary consequence, rendered secrecy no longer possible. The
particulars attending the avowal have been laid before the public in the
Introduction to the Chronicles of the Canongate.
The preliminary advertisement has given a sketch of the purpose of this
edition. I have some reason to fear that the notes which accompany the
tales, as now published, may be thought too miscellaneous and too
egotistical. It maybe some apology for this, that the publication was
intended to be posthumous, and still more, that old men may be permitted
to speak long, because they cannot in the course of nature have long time
to speak. In preparing the present edition, I have done all that I can do
to explain the nature of my materials, and the use I have made of them;
nor is it probable that I shall again revise or even read these tales. I
was therefore desirous rather to exceed in the portion of new and
explanatory matter which is added to this edition than that the reader
should have reason to complain that the information communicated was of a
general and merely nominal character. It remains to be tried whether the
public (like a child to whom a watch is shown) will, after having been
satiated with looking at the outside, acquire some new interest in the
object when it is opened and the internal machinery displayed to them.
That Waverly and its successors have had their day of favour and
popularity must be admitted with sincere gratitude; and the Author has
studied (with the prudence of a beauty whose reign has been rather long)
to supply, by the assistance of art, the charms which novelty no longer
affords. The publishers have endeavoured to gratify the honourable
partiality of the public for the encouragement of British art, by
illustrating this edition with designs by the most eminent living
artists. [Footnote: The illustrations here referred to were made for the
edition of 1829]
To my distinguished countryman, David Wilkie, to Edwin Landseer, who has
exercised his talents so much on Scottish subjects and scenery, to
Messrs. Leslie and Newton, my thanks are due, from a friend as well as an
author. Nor am I less obliged to Messrs. Cooper, Kidd, and other artists
of distinction to whom I am less personally known, for the ready zeal
with which they have devoted their talents to the same purpose.
Farther explanation respecting the Edition is the business of the
publishers, not of the Author; and here, therefore, the latter has
accomplished his task of introduction and explanation. If, like a spoiled
child, he has sometimes abused or trifled with the indulgence of the
public, he feels himself entitled to full belief when he exculpates
himself from the charge of having been at any time insensible of their
kindness.
ABBOTSFORD, 1st January, 1829.
APPENDIX
No. I.,
FRAGMENT OF A ROMANCE WHICH WAS TO HAVE BEEN ENTITLED
THOMAS THE RHYMER.
[It is not to be supposed that these fragments are given as possessing
any intrinsic value of themselves; but there may be some curiosity
attached to them, as to the first etchings of a plate, which are
accounted interesting by those who have, in any degree, been interested
in the more finished works of the artist.]
CHAPTER I.
The sun was nearly set behind the distant mountains of Liddesdale, when a
few of the scattered and terrified inhabitants of the village of
Hersildoun, which had four days before been burned by a predatory band of
English Borderers, were now busied in repairing their ruined dwellings.
One high tower in the centre of the village alone exhibited no appearance
of devastation. It was surrounded with court walls, and the outer gate
was barred and bolted. The bushes and brambles which grew around, and had
even insinuated their branches beneath the gate, plainly showed that it
must have been many years since it had been opened. While the cottages
around lay in smoking ruins, this pile, deserted and desolate as it
seemed to be, had suffered nothing from the violence of the invaders; and
the wretched beings who were endeavouring to repair their miserable huts
against nightfall, seemed to neglect the preferable shelter which it
might have afforded them, without the necessity of labour.
Before the day had quite gone down, a knight, richly armed, and mounted
upon an ambling hackney, rode slowly into the village. His attendants
were a lady, apparently young and beautiful, who rode by his side upon a
dappled palfrey; his squire, who carried his helmet and lance, and led
his battle-horse, a noble steed, richly caparisoned. A page and four
yeomen, bearing bows and quivers, short swords, and targets of a span
breadth, completed his equipage, which, though small, denoted him to be a
man of high rank.
He stopped and addressed several of the inhabitants whom curiosity had
withdrawn from their labour to gaze at him; but at the sound of his
voice, and still more on perceiving the St. George's Cross in the caps of
his followers, they fled, with a loud cry that the Southrons were
returned. The knight endeavoured to expostulate with the fugitives, who
were chiefly aged men, women, and children; but their dread of the
English name accelerated their flight, and in a few minutes, excepting
the knight and his attendants, the place was deserted by all. He paced
through the village to seek a shelter for the night, and despairing to
find one either in the inaccessible tower or the plundered huts of the
peasantry, he directed his course to the left hand, where he spied a
small, decent habitation, apparently the abode of a man considerably
above the common rank. After much knocking, the proprietor at length
showed himself at the window, and speaking in the English dialect, with
great signs of apprehension, demanded their business. The warrior replied
that his quality was an English knight and baron, and that he was
travelling to the court of the king of Scotland on affairs of consequence
to both kingdoms.
"Pardon my hesitation, noble Sir Knight," said the old man, as he
unbolted and unbarred his doors,--
"Pardon my hesitation, but we are here exposed to too many intrusions to
admit of our exercising unlimited and unsuspicious hospitality. What I
have is yours; and God send your mission may bring back peace and the
good days of our old Queen Margaret!"
"Amen, worthy franklin," quoth the knight,--"Did you know her?"
"I came to this country in her train," said the franklin; "and the care
of some of her jointure lands, which she devolved on me, occasioned my
settling here."
And how do you, being an Englishman," said the knight, "protect your life
and property here, when one of your nation cannot obtain a single night's
lodging, or a draught of water, were he thirsty?"
"Marry, noble sir," answered the franklin, "use, as they say, will make a
man live in a lion's den; and as I settled here in a quiet time, and have
never given cause of offence, I am respected by my neighbours, and even,
as you see, by our forayers from England."
"I rejoice to hear it, and accept your hospitality. Isabella, my love,
our worthy host will provide you a bed. My daughter, good franklin, is
ill at ease. We will occupy your house till the Scottish king shall
return from his Northern expedition. Meanwhile call me Lord Lacy of
Chester."
The attendants of the baron, assisted by the franklin, were now busied in
disposing of the horses and arranging the table for some refreshment for
Lord Lacy and his fair companion. While they sat down to it, they were
attended by their host and his daughter, whom custom did not permit to
eat in their presence, and who afterwards withdrew to an outer chamber,
where the squire and page (both young men of noble birth) partook of
supper, and were accommodated with beds. The yeomen, after doing honour
to the rustic cheer of Queen Margaret's bailiff, withdrew to the stable,
and each, beside his favourite horse, snored away the fatigues of their
journey. Early on the following morning the travellers were roused by a
thundering knocking at the door of the house, accompanied with many
demands for instant admission, in the roughest tone. The squire and page,
of Lord Lacy, after buckling on their arms, were about to sally out to
chastise these intruders, when the old host, after looking out at a
private casement, contrived for reconnoitring his visitors, entreated
them, with great signs of terror, to be quiet, if they did not mean that
all in the house should be murdered. He then hastened to the apartment of
Lord Lacy, whom he met dressed in a long furred gown and the knightly cap
called a mortier, irritated at the noise, and demanding to know the cause
which had disturbed the repose of the household.
"Noble sir," said the franklin, "one of the most formidable and bloody of
the Scottish Border riders is at hand. He is never seen," added he,
faltering with terror, "so far from the hills, but with some bad purpose,
and the power of accomplishing it; so hold yourself to your guard, for--"
A loud crash here announced that the door was broken down, and the knight
just descended the stair in time to prevent bloodshed betwixt his
attendants and the intruders. They were three in number. Their chief was
tall, bony, and athletic, his spare and muscular frame, as well as the
hardness of his features, marked the course of his life to have been
fatiguing and perilous. The effect of his appearance was aggravated by
his dress, which consisted of a jack, or jacket, composed of thick buff
leather, on which small plates of iron of a lozenge form were stitched,
in such a manner as to overlap each other and form a coat of mail, which
swayed with every motion of the wearer's body. This defensive armour
covered a doublet of coarse gray cloth, and the Borderer had a few
half-rusted plates of steel on his shoulders, a two-edged sword, with a
dagger hanging beside it, in a buff belt; a helmet, with a few iron bars,
to cover the face instead of a visor, and a lance of tremendous and
uncommon length, completed his appointments. The looks of the man were as
wild and rude as his attire; his keen black eyes never rested one moment
fixed upon a single object, but constantly traversed all around, as if
they ever sought some danger to oppose, some plunder to seize, or some
insult to revenge. The latter seemed to be his present object, for,
regardless of the dignified presence of Lord Lacy, he uttered the most
incoherent threats against the owner of the house and his guests.
"We shall see--ay, marry shall we--if an English hound is to harbour and
reset the Southrons here. Thank the Abbot of Melrose and the good Knight
of Coldingnow that have so long kept me from your skirts. But those days
are gone, by St. Mary, and you shall find it!"
It is probable the enraged Borderer would not have long continued to vent
his rage in empty menaces, had not the entrance of the four yeomen, with
their bows bent, convinced him that the force was not at this moment on
his own side.
Lord Lacy now advanced towards him. "You intrude upon my privacy,
soldier; withdraw yourself and Your followers. There is peace betwixt our
nations, or my servants should chastise thy presumption."
"Such peace as ye give such shall you have," answered the moss-trooper,
first pointing with his lance towards the burned village, and then almost
instantly levelling it against Lord Lacy. The squire drew his sword, and
severed at one blow the steel head from the truncheon of the spear.
"Arthur Fitzherbert," said the baron, "that stroke has deferred thy
knighthood for one year; never must that squire wear the spurs whose
unbridled impetuosity can draw unbidden his sword in the presence of his
master. Go hence, and think on what I have said."
The squire left the chamber abashed.
"It were vain," continued Lord Lacy, "to expect that courtesy from a
mountain churl which even my own followers can forget. Yet before thou
drawest thy brand," for the intruder laid his hand upon the hilt of his
sword, "thou wilt do well to reflect that I came with a safe-conduct from
thy king, and have no time to waste in brawls with such as thou."
"From my king,--from my king!" re-echoed the mountaineer. "I care not
that rotten truncheon," striking the shattered spear furiously on the
ground, "for the king of Fife and Lothian. But Habby of Cessford will be
here belive; and we shall soon know if he will permit an English churl to
occupy his hostelry."
Having uttered these words, accompanied with a lowering glance from under
his shaggy black eyebrows, he turned on his heel and left the house with
his two followers; they mounted their horses, which they had tied to an
outer fence, and vanished in an instant.
"Who is this discourteous ruffian?" said Lord Lacy to the franklin, who
had stood in the most violent agitation during this whole scene.
"His name, noble lord, is Adam Kerr of the Moat, but he is commonly
called by his companions the Black Rider of Cheviot. I fear, I fear, he
comes hither for no good; but if the Lord of Cessford be near, he will
not dare offer any unprovoked outrage."
"I have heard of that chief," said the baron; "let me know when he
approaches. And do thou, Rodulph," to the eldest yeoman, "keep a strict
watch. Adelbert," to the page, "attend to arm me." The page bowed, and
the baron withdrew to the chamber of the lady Isabella, to explain the
cause of the disturbance.
No more of the proposed tale was ever written; but the Author's purpose
was that it should turn upon a fine legend of superstition which is
current in the part of the Borders where he had his residence, where, in
the reign of Alexander III. of Scotland, that renowned person, Thomas of
Hersildoune, called the Rhymer, actually flourished. This personage, the
Merlin of Scotland, and to whom some of the adventures which the British
bards assigned to Merlin Caledonius, or the Wild, have been transferred
by tradition, was, as is well known, a magician, as well as a poet and
prophet. He is alleged still to live in the land of Faery, and is
expected to return at some great convulsion of society, in which he is to
act a distinguished part,--a tradition common to all nations, as the
belief of the Mahomedans respecting their twelfth Imaum demonstrates.
Now, it chanced many years since that there lived on the Borders a jolly,
rattling horse-cowper, who was remarkable for a reckless and fearless
temper, which made him much admired, and a little dreaded, amongst his
neighbours. One moonlight night, as he rode over Bowden Moor, on the west
side of the Eildon Hills, the scene of Thomas the Rhymer's prophecies,
and often mentioned in his story, having a brace of horses along with him
which he bad not been able to dispose of, he met a man of venerable
appearance and singularly antique dress, who, to his great surprise,
asked the price of his horses, and began to chaffer with him on the
subject. To Canobie Dick--(for so shall we call our Border dealer)--a
chap was a chap, and he would have sold a liaise to the devil himself,
without minding his cloven hoof, and would have probably cheated Old Nick
into the bargain. The stranger paid the price they agreed on; and all
that puzzled Dick in the transaction was that the gild which he received
was in unicorns, bonnet-pieces, and other ancient coins, which would have
been invaluable to collectors, but were rather troublesome, in modern
currency.
It was gold, however, and therefore Dick contrived to get better value
for the coin than he perhaps gave to his customer. By the command of so
good a merchant, he brought horses to the same slot more than once; the
purchaser only stipulating that he should always come by night, and
alone. I do not know whether it was from mere curiosity, or whether some
hope of gain mixed with it, but after Dick had sold several horses in
this way, he began to complain that dry-bargains were unlucky, and to
hint that since his chap must live in the neighbourhood, he ought, in the
courtesy of dealing, to treat him to half a mutchkin.
"You may see my dwelling if you will," said the stranger; "but if you
lose courage at what you see there, you will rue it all your life."
Dicken, however, laughed the warning to scorn, and having alighted to
secure his horse, he followed the stranger up a narrow foot-path, which
led them up the hills to the singular eminence stuck betwixt the most
southern and the centre peaks, and called, from its resemblance to such
an animal in its form, the Lucken Hare. At the foot of this eminence,
which is almost as famous for witch meetings as the neighbouring
wind-mill of Kippilaw, Dick was somewhat startled to observe that his
conductor entered the hill-side by a passage or cavern, of which he
himself, though well acquainted with the spot, had never seen or heard.
"You may still return," said his guide, looking ominously back upon him;
but Dick scorned to show the white feather, and on they went. They
entered a very long range of stables; in every stall stood a coal-black
horse; by every horse lay a knight in coal-black armour, with a drawn
sword in his hand; but all were as silent, hoof and limb, as if they had
been cut out of marble. A great number of torches lent a gloomy lustre to
the hall, which, like those of the Caliph Vathek, was of large
dimensions. At the upper end, however, they at length arrived, where a
sword and horn lay on an antique table.
"He that shall sound that horn and draw that sword," said the stranger,
who now intimated that he was the famous Thomas of Hersildoune, "shall,
if his heart fail him not, be king over all broad Britain. So speaks the
tongue that cannot lie. But all depends on courage, and much on your
taking the sword or the horn first." Dick was much disposed to take the
sword; but his bold spirit was quailed by the supernatural terrors of the
hall, and he thought to unsheathe the sword first, might be construed
into defiance, and give offence to the powers of the Mountain. He took
the bugle with a trembling hand, and a feeble note, but loud enough to
produce a terrible answer. Thunder rolled in stunning peals through the
immense hall; horses and men started to life; the steeds snorted,
stamped, grinned their bits, and tossed on high their heads; the warriors
sprung to their feet, clashed their armour, and brandished their swords.
Dick's terror was extreme at seeing the whole army, which had been so
lately silent as the grave, in uproar, and about to rush on him. He
dropped the horn, and made a feeble attempt to seize the enchanted sword;
but at the same moment a voice pronounced aloud the mysterious words,--
"Woe to the coward, that ever he was born,
Who did not draw the sword before he blew the horn!"
At the same time a whirlwind of irresistible fury howled through the long
hall, bore the unfortunate horse-jockey clear out of the mouth of the
cavern, and precipitated him over a steep bank of loose stones, where the
shepherds found him the next morning with just breath sufficient to tell
his fearful tale, after concluding which he expired.
This legend, with several variations, is found in many parts of Scotland
and England. The scene is sometimes laid in some favourite glen of the
Highlands, sometimes in the deep coal-mines of Northumberland and
Cumberland, which rim so far beneath the ocean. It is also to be found in
Reginald Scott's book on Witchcraft, which was written in the sixteenth
century. It would be in vain to ask what was the original of the
tradition. The choice between the horn and sword may, perhaps, include as
a moral that it is foolhardy to awaken danger before we have arms in our
hands to resist it.
Although admitting of much poetical ornament, it is clear that this
legend would have formed but an unhappy foundation for a prose story, and
must have degenerated into a mere fairy tale. Dr. John Leyden has
beautifully introduced the tradition in his "Scenes of Infancy":--
"Mysterious Rhymer, doomed by fate's decree
Still to revisit Eildon's fated tree,
Where oft the swain, at dawn of Hallow-day,
Hears thy fleet barb with wild impatience neigh,--
Say, who is he, with summons long and high,
Shall bid the charmed sleep of ages fly,
Roll the long sound through Eildon's caverns vast,
While each dark warrior kindles at the blast,
The horn, the falchion, grasp with mighty hand,
And peal proud Arthur's march from Fairy-land?"
In the same cabinet with the preceding fragment, the following occurred
among other 'disjecta membra'. It seems to be an attempt at a tale of a
different description from the last, but was almost instantly abandoned.
The introduction points out the time of the composition to have been
about the end of the eighteenth century.
THE LORD OF ENNERDALE.
IN A FRAGMENT OF A LETTER FROM JOHN B______, ESQ., OF THAT ILK, TO
WILLIAM G______, F.R.S.E.
"Fill a bumper," said the knight; "the ladies may spare us a little
longer. Fill a bumper to the Archduke Charles."
The company did due honour to the toast of their landlord.
"The success of the archduke," said the muddy vicar, "will tend to
further our negotiation at Paris; and if--"
"Pardon the interruption, Doctor," quoth a thin, emaciated figure, with
somewhat of a foreign accent; "but why should you connect those events,
unless to hope that the bravery and victories of our allies may supersede
the necessity of a degrading treaty?"
"We begin to feel, Monsieur L'Abbe," answered the vicar, with some
asperity, "that a Continental war entered into for the defence of an ally
who was unwilling to defend himself, and for the restoration of a royal
family, nobility, and priesthood who tamely abandoned their own rights,
is a burden too much even for the resources of this country."
"And was the war, then, on the part of Great Britain," rejoined the Abbe,
"a gratuitous exertion of generosity? Was there no fear of the
wide-wasting spirit of innovation which had gone abroad? Did not the
laity tremble for their property, the clergy for their religion, and
every loyal heart for the Constitution? Was it not thought necessary to
destroy the building which was on fire, ere the conflagration spread
around the vicinity?"
"Yet if upon trial," said the doctor, "the walls were found to resist our
utmost efforts, I see no great prudence in persevering in our labour amid
the smouldering ruins."
"What, Doctor," said the baronet, "must I call to your recollection your
own sermon on the late general fast? Did you not encourage us to hope
that the Lord of Hosts would go forth with our armies, and that our
enemies, who blasphemed him, should be put to shame?"
"It may please a kind father to chasten even his beloved children,"
answered the vicar.
"I think," said a gentleman near the foot of the table, "that the
Covenanters made some apology of the same kind for the failure of their
prophecies at the battle of Danbar, when their mutinous preachers
compelled the prudent Lesley to go down against the Philistines in
Gilgal."
The vicar fixed a scrutinizing and not a very complacent eye upon this
intruder. He was a young man, of mean stature and rather a reserved
appearance. Early and severe study had quenched in his features the
gaiety peculiar to his age, and impressed upon them a premature cast of
thoughtfulness. His eve had, however, retained its fire, and his gesture
its animation. Had he remained silent, he would have been long unnoticed;
but when he spoke, there was something in his manner which arrested
attention.
"Who is this young man?" said the vicar, in a low voice, to his
neighbour.
"A Scotchman called Maxwell, on a visit to Sir Henry," was the answer.
"I thought so, from his accent and his manner," said the vicar. It may be
here observed that the Northern English retain rather more of the ancient
hereditary aversion to their neighbors than their countrymen of the
South. The interference of other disputants, each of whom urged his
opinion with all the vehemence of wine and politics, rendered the summons
to the drawing-room agreeable to the more sober part of the company.
The company dispersed by degrees, and at length the vicar and the young
Scotchman alone remained, besides the baronet, his lady, daughters, and
myself. The clergyman had not, it would seem, forgot the observation
which ranked him with the false prophets of Dunbar, for he addressed Mr.
Maxwell upon the first opportunity.
"Hem! I think, sir, you mentioned something about the civil wars of last
century. You must be deeply skilled in them indeed, if you can draw any
parallel betwixt those and the present evil days,--davs which I am ready
to maintain are the most gloomy that ever darkened the prospects of
Britain."
"God forbid, Doctor, that I should draw a comparison between the present
times and those you mention; I am too sensible of the advantages we enjoy
over our ancestors. Faction and ambition have introduced division among
us; but we are still free from the guilt of civil bloodshed, and from all
the evils which flow from it. Our foes, sir, are not those of our own
household; and while we continue united and firm, from the attacks of a
foreign enemy, however artful, or however inveterate, we have, I hope,
little to dread."
"Have you found anything curious, Mr. Maxwell, among the dusty papers?"
said Sir Henry, who seemed to dread a revival of political discussion.
"My investigation amongst them led to reflection's which I have just now
hinted," said Maxwell; "and I think they are pretty strongly exemplified
by a story which I have been endeavouring to arrange from some of your
family manuscripts."
"You are welcome to make what use of them you please," said Sir Henry;
"they have been undisturbed for many a day, and I have often wished for
some person as well skilled as you in these old pothooks, to tell me
their meaning."
"Those I just mentioned," answered Maxwell, "relate to a piece of private
history savouring not a little of the marvellous, and intimately
connected with your family; if it is agreeable, I can read to you the
anecdotes in the modern shape into which I have been endeavouring to
throw them, and you can then judge of the value of the originals."
There was something in this proposal agreeable to all parties. Sir Henry
had family pride, which prepared him to take an interest in whatever
related to his ancestors. The ladies had dipped deeply into the
fashionable reading of the present day. Lady Ratcliff and her fair
daughters had climbed every pass, viewed every pine-shrouded ruin, heard
every groan, and lifted every trap-door, in company with the noted
heroine of "Udolpho." They had been heard, however, to observe that the
famous incident of the Black Veil singularly resembled the ancient
apologue of the Mountain in labour, so that they were unquestionably
critics, as well as admirers. Besides all this, they had valorously
mounted en croupe behind the ghostly horseman of Prague, through all his
seven translators, and followed the footsteps of Moor through the forest
of Bohemia. Moreover, it was even hinted (but this was a greater mystery
than all the rest) that a certain performance, called the "Monk," in
three neat volumes, had been seen by a prying eye, in the right-hand
drawer of the Indian cabinet of Lady Ratcliff's dressing-room. Thus
predisposed for wonders and signs, Lady Ratcliff and her nymphs drew
their chairs round a large blazing wood-fire, and arranged themselves to
listen to the tale. To that fire I also approached, moved thereunto
partly by the inclemency of the season, and partly that my deafness,
which you know, cousin, I acquired during my campaign under Prince
Charles Edward, might be no obstacle to the gratification of my
curiosity, which was awakened by what had any reference to the fate of
such faithful followers of royalty as you well know the house of Ratcliff
have ever been. To this wood-fire the vicar likewise drew near, and
reclined himself conveniently in his chair, seemingly disposed to testify
his disrespect for the narration and narrator by falling asleep as soon
as he conveniently could. By the side of Maxwell (by the way, I cannot
learn that he is in the least related to the Nithsdale family) was placed
a small table and a couple of lights, by the assistance of which he read
as follows:--
"Journal of Jan Von Eulen.
On the 6th November, 1645, I, Jan Von Enlen, merchant in Rotterdam,
embarked with my only daughter on board of the good vessel 'Vryheid,' of
Amsterdam, in order to pass into the unhappy and disturbed kingdom of
England.--7th November. A brisk gale; daughter sea-sick; myself unable to
complete the calculation which I have begun, of the inheritance left by
Jane Lansache, of Carlisle, my late dear wife's sister, the collection of
which is the object of my voyage.--8th November. Wind still stormy and
adverse; a horrid disaster nearly happened,--my dear child washed
overboard as the vessel lurched to leeward.--Memorandum, to reward the
young sailor who saved her, out of the first moneys which I can recover
from the inheritance of her aunt Lansache.--9th November. Calm P.M. light
breezes front N. N. W. I talked with the captain about the inheritance of
my sister-in-law, Jane Lansache. He says he knows the principal subject,
which will not exceed L1000 in value.--N. B. He is a cousin to a family
of Petersons, which was the name of the husband of my sister-in-law; so
there is room to hope it may be worth more than be reports.--10th
November, 10 A.M. May God pardon all our sins! An English frigate,
bearing the Parliament flag, has appeared in the offing, and gives
chase.--11 A. M. She nears us every moment, and the captain of our vessel
prepares to clear for action. May God again have mercy upon us!"
"Here," said Maxwell, "the journal with which I have opened the narration
ends somewhat abruptly."
"I am glad of it," said Lady Ratcliff.
"But, Mr. Maxwell," said young Frank, Sir Henry's grandchild, "shall we
not hear how the battle ended?"
I do not know, cousin, whether I have not formerly made you acquainted
with the abilities of Frank Ratcliff. There is not a battle fought
between the troops of the Prince and of the government, during the years
1745-46, of which he is not able to give an account. It is true, I have
taken particular pains to fix the events of this important period upon
his memory by frequent repetition.
"No, my dear," said Maxwell, in answer to young Frank Itatcliff,--"No, my
dear, I cannot tell you the exact particulars of the engagement, but its
consequences appear from the following letter, despatched by Garbonete
Von Enlen, daughter of our journalist, to a relation in England, from
whom she implored assistance. After some general account of the purpose
of the voyage, and of the engagement, her narrative proceeds thus:--
"The noise of the cannon had hardly ceased, before the sounds of a
language to me but half known, and the confusion on board our vessel,
informed me that the captors had boarded us and taken possession of our
vessel. I went on deck, where the first spectacle that met my eyes was a
young man, mate of our vessel, who, though disfigured and covered with
blood, was loaded with irons, and whom they were forcing over the side of
the vessel into a boat. The two principal persons among our enemies
appeared to be a man of a tall, thin figure, with a high-crowned hat and
long neck band, and short-cropped head of hair, accompanied by a bluff,
open-looking elderly man in a naval uniform. 'Yarely! yarely! pull away,
my hearts,' said the latter, and the boat bearing the unlucky young man
soon carried him on board the frigate. Perhaps you will blame me for
mentioning this circumstance; but consider, my dear cousin, this man
saved my life, and his fate, even when my own and my father's were in the
balance, could not but affect me nearly.
"'In the name of him who is jealous, even to slaying,' said the first--"
Cetera desunt.
No. II.
CONCLUSION OF MR. STRUTT'S ROMANCE OF
QUEEN-HOO HALL.
BY THE AUTHOR OF WAVERLEY.
CHAPTER IV.
A HUNTING PARTY.--AN ADVENTURE.--A DELIVERANCE.
The next morning the bugles were sounded by daybreak in the court of Lord
Boteler's mansion, to call the inhabitants from their slumbers, to assist
in a splendid chase, with which the baron had resolved to entertain his
neighbour Fitzallen and his noble visitor St. Clere. Peter Lanaret the
falconer was in attendance, with falcons for the knights, and tiercelets
for the ladies, if they should choose to vary their sport from hunting to
hawking. Five stout yeomen keepers, with their attendants, called Bagged
Robins, all meetly arrayed in Kendal green, with bugles and short hangers
by their sides, and quarterstaffs in their hands, led the slow-hounds, or
brackets, by which the deer were to be put up. Ten brace of gallant
greyhounds, each of which was fit to pluck down, singly, the tallest red
deer, were led in leashes by as many of Lord Boteler's foresters. The
pages, squires, and other attendants of feudal splendour, well attired in
their best hunting-gear, upon horseback or foot, according to their
rank,--with their boar-spears, long bows, and cross-bows, were in seemly
waiting.
A numerous train of yeomen, called in the language of the times
retainers, who yearly received a livery coat and a small pension for
their attendance on such solemn occasions, appeared in cassocks of blue,
bearing upon their arms the cognizance of the house of Boteler as a badge
of their adherence. They were the tallest men of their hands that the
neighbouring villages could supply, with every man his good buckler on
his shoulder, and a bright burnished broadsword dangling from his
leathern belt. On this occasion they acted as rangers for beating up the
thickets and rousing the game. These attendants filled up the court of
the castle, spacious as it was. On the green without, you might have seen
the motley assemblage of peasantry convened by report of the splendid
hunting, including most of our old acquaintances from Tewin, as well as
the jolly partakers of good cheer at Hob Filcher's. Gregory the jester,
it may well be guessed, had no great mind to exhibit himself in public
after his recent disaster; but Oswald the steward, a great formalist in
whatever concerned the public exhibition of his master's household state,
had positively enjoined his attendance. "What," quoth he, "shall the
house of the brave Lord Boteler, or such a brave day as this, be without
a fool? Certes, the good Lord St. Clere and his fair lady sister might
think our housekeeping as niggardly as that of their churlish kinsman at
Gay Bowers, who sent his father's jester to the hospital, sold the poor
sot's bells for hawk-jesses, and made a nightcap of his long-eared
bonnet. And, sirrah, let me see thee fool handsomely,--speak squibs and
crackers, instead of that dry, barren, musty gibing which thou hast used
of late; or, by the bones! the porter shall have thee to his lodge, and
cob thee with thine own wooden sword till thy skin is as motley as thy
doublet."
To this stern injunction, Gregory made no reply, any more than to the
courteous offer of old Albert Drawslot, the chief park-keeper, who
proposed to blow vinegar in his nose, to sharpen his wit, as he had done
that blessed morning to Bragger, the old hound, whose scent was failing.
There was, indeed, little time for reply, for the bugles, after a lively
flourish, were now silent, and Peretto, with his two attendant minstrels,
stepping beneath the windows of the strangers' apartments, joined in the
following roundelay, the deep voices of the rangers and falconers making
up a chorus that caused the very battlements to ring again.
Waken, lords and ladies gay,
On the mountain dawns the day;
All the jolly chase is here,
With hawk and horse and hunting-spear
Hounds are in their couples yelling,
Hawks are whistling, horns are knelling,
Merrily, merrily, mingle they,
"Waken, lords and ladies gay."
Waken, lords and ladies gay,
The mist has left the mountain gray;
Springlets in the dawn are streaming,
Diamonds on the brake are gleaming,
And foresters have busy been,
To track the buck in thicket green;
Now we come to chant our lay:
"Waken, lords and ladies gay."
Waken, lords and ladies gay,
To the green-wood haste away;
We can show you where he lies,
Fleet of foot, and tall of size;
We can show the marks he made
When 'gainst the oak his antlers frayed;
You shall see him brought to bay,
"Waken, lords and ladies gay."
Louder, louder chant the lay,
"Waken, lords and ladies gay;"
Tell them, youth and mirth and glee
Run a course as well as we.
Time, stern huntsman, who can baulk,
Staunch as hound, and fleet as hawk?
Think of this, and rise with day,
Gentle lords and ladies gay.
By the time this lay was finished, Lord Boteler, with his daughter and
kinsman, Fitzallen of Harden, and other noble guests had mounted their
palfreys, and the hunt set forward in due order. The huntsmen, having
carefully observed the traces of a large stag on the preceding evening,
were able, without loss of time, to conduct the company, by the marks
which they had made upon the trees, to the side of the thicket in which,
by the report of Drawslot, he had harboured all night. The horsemen
spreading themselves along the side of the cover, waited until the keeper
entered, leading his bandog, a large blood-hound tied in a leam or band,
from which he takes his name.
But it befell this. A hart of the second year, which was in the same
cover with the proper object of their pursuit, chanced to be unharboured
first, and broke cover very near where the Lady Emma and her brother were
stationed. An inexperienced varlet, who was nearer to them, instantly
unloosed two tall greyhounds, who sprung after the fugitive with all the
fleetness of the north wind. Gregory, restored a little to spirits by the
enlivening scene around him, followed, encouraging the hounds with a loud
tayout,--[Tailliers-hors; in modern phrase, Tally-ho]--for which he had
the hearty curses of the huntsman, as well as of the baron, who entered
into the spirit of the chase with all the juvenile ardour of twenty. "May
the foul fiend, booted and spurred, ride down his bawling throat, with a
scythe at his girdle," quoth Albert Drawslot; "here have I been telling
him that all the marks were those of a buck of the first head, and he has
hollowed the hounds upon a velvet-headed knobbler! By Saint Hubert, if I
break not his pate with my cross-bow, may I never cast off hound more!
But to it, my lords and masters! the noble beast is here yet, and, thank
the saints, we have enough of hounds."
The cover being now thoroughly beat by the attendants, the stag was
compelled to abandon it, and trust to his speed for his safety. Three
greyhounds were slipped upon him, whom he threw out, after running a
couple of miles, by entering an extensive furzy brake which extended
along the side of a hill. The horsemen soon came up, and casting off a
sufficient number of slowhounds, sent them, with the prickers, into the
cover, in order to chive the game from his strength. This object being
accomplished, afforded another severe chase of several miles, in a
direction almost circular, during which the poor animal tried ever wile
to get rid of his persecutors. He crossed and traversed all such dusty
paths as were likely to retain the least scent of his footsteps; he laid
himself close to the ground, drawing his feet under his belly, and
clapping his nose close to the earth, lest he should be betrayed to the
hounds by his breath and hoofs. When all was in vain, and he found the
hounds coining fast in upon him, his own strength failing, his mouth
embossed with foam, and the tears dropping from his eyes, he turned in
despair upon his pursuers, who then stood at gaze, making an hideous
clamour, and awaiting their two-footed auxiliaries. Of these, it chanced
that the Lady Eleanor, taking more pleasure in the sport than Matilda,
and being a less burden to her palfrey than the Lord Boteler, was the
first who arrived at the spot, and taking a cross-bow from an attendant,
discharged a bolt at the stag. When the infuriated animal felt himself
wounded, he pushed franticly towards her from whom he had received the
shaft, and Lady Eleanor might have had occasion to repent of her
enterprise had not young Fitzallen, who had kept near her during the
whole day, at that instant galloped briskly in, and ere the stag could
change his object of assault, despatched him with his short
hunting-sword.
Albert Drawslot, who had just come up in terror for the young lady's
safety, broke out into loud encomiums upon Fitzallen's strength and
gallantry. "By 'r Lady," said he, taking off his cap, and wiping his
sun-burnt face with his sleeve, "well struck, and in good time! But now,
boys, doff your bonnets, and sound the mort."
The sportsmen then sounded a treble mort and set up a general whoop,
which, mingled with the yelping of the dogs, made the welkin ring again.
The huntsman then offered his knife to Lord Boteler, that he might take
the say of the deer; but the baron courteously insisted upon Fitzallen
going through that ceremony. The Lady Matilda was now come up, with most
of the attendants; and the interest of the chase being ended, it excited
some surprise that neither St. Clere nor his sister made their
appearance. The Lord Boteler commanded the horns again to sound the
recheat, in hopes to call in the stragglers, and said to Fitzallen:
"Methinks St. Clere, so distinguished for service in war, should have
been more forward in the chase."
"I trow," said Peter Lanaret, "I know the reason of the noble lord's
absence; for when that moon-calf, Gregory, hallooed the dogs upon the
knobbler, and galloped like a green hilding, as he is, after them, I saw
the Lady Emma's palfrey follow apace after that varlet, who should be
trashed for overrunning, and I think her noble brother has followed her,
lest she should come to harm. But here, by the rood, is Gregory to answer
for himself."
At this moment Gregory entered the circle which had been formed round the
deer, out of breath, and his face covered with blood. He kept for some
time uttering inarticulate cries of "Harrow!" and "Wellaway!" and other
exclamations of distress and terror, pointing all the while to a thicket
at some distance from the spot where the deer had been killed.
"By my honour," said the baron, "I would gladly know who has dared to
array the poor knave thus; and I trust he should dearly aby his
outrecuidance, were he the best, save one, in England."
Gregory, who had now found more breath, cried, "Help, an ye be men! Save
Lady Emma and her brother, whom they are murdering in Brockenhurst
thicket."
This put all in motion. Lord Boteler hastily commanded a small party of
his men to abide for the defence of the ladies, while he himself,
Fitzallen, and the rest made what speed they could towards the thicket,
guided by Gregory, who for that purpose was mounted behind Fabian.
Pushing through a narrow path, the first object they encountered was a
man of small stature lying on the ground, mastered and almost strangled
by two dogs, which were instantly recognized to be those that had
accompanied Gregory. A little farther was an open space, where lay three
bodies of dead or wounded men; beside these was Lady Emma, apparently
lifeless, her brother and a young forester bending over and endeavouring
to recover her. By employing the usual remedies, this was soon
accomplished; while Lord Boteler, astonished at such a scene, anxiously
inquired at St. Clere the meaning of what he saw, and whether more danger
was to be expected?
"For the present, I trust not," said the young warrior, who they now
observed was slightly wounded; "but I pray you, of your nobleness, let
the woods here be searched; for we were assaulted by four of these base
assassins, and I see three only on the sward."
The attendants now brought forward the person whom they had rescued from
the dogs, and Henry, with disgust, shame, and astonishment, recognized
his kinsman, Gaston St. Clere. This discovery he communicated in a
whisper to Lord Boteler, who commanded the prisoner to be conveyed to
Queen-Hoo Hall and closely guarded; meanwhile he anxiously inquired of
young St. Clere about his wound. "A scratch, a trifle!" cried Henry; "I
am in less haste to bind it than to introduce to you one without whose
aid that of the leech would have come too late. Where is he? Where is my
brave deliverer?" "Here, most noble lord," said Gregory, sliding from his
palfrey and stepping forward, "ready to receive the guerdon which your
bounty would heap on him."
"Truly, friend Gregory," answered the young warrior, "thou shalt not be
forgotten; for thou didst run speedily and roar manfully for aid, without
which, I think verily, we had not received it. But the brave forester who
came to my rescue when these three ruffians had nigh overpowered me,
where is he?"
Every one looked around; but though all had seen him on entering the
thicket, he was not now to be found. They could only conjecture that he
had retired during the confusion occasioned by the detention of Gaston.
"Seek not for him," said the Lady Emma, who had now in some degree
recovered her composure; "he will not be found of mortal, unless at his
own season."
The baron, convinced from this answer that her terror had, for the time,
somewhat disturbed her reason, forebore to question her; and Matilda and
Eleanor, to whom a message had been despatched with the result of this
strange adventure, arriving, they took the Lady Emma between them, and
all in a body returned to the castle.
The distance was, however, considerable, and before reaching it they had
another alarm. The prickers, who rode foremost in the troop, halted, and
announced to the Lord Boteler, that they perceived advancing towards them
a body of armed men. The followers of the baron were numerous, but they
were arrayed for the chase, not for battle; and it was with great
pleasure that he discerned, on the pennon of the advancing body of
men-at-arms, instead of the cognizance of Gaston, as he had some reason
to expect, the friendly bearings of Fitzosborne of Diggswell, the same
young lord who was present at the May-games with Fitzallen of Marden. The
knight himself advanced, sheathed in armour, and, without raising his
visor, informed Lord Boteler, that having heard of a base attempt made
upon a part of his train by ruffianly assassins, he had mounted and armed
a small party of his retainers, to escort them to Queen-Hoo Hall. Having
received and accepted an invitation to attend them thither, they
prosecuted their journey in confidence and security, and arrived safe at
home without any further accident.
CHAPTER V.
INVESTIGATION OF THE ADVENTURE OF THE HUNTING.--A DISCOVERY.
--GREGORY'S MANHOOD.--FATE OF GASTON ST. CLERE.--CONCLUSION.
So soon as they arrived at the princely mansion of Boteler, the Lady Emma
craved permission to retire to her chamber, that she might compose her
spirits after the terror she had undergone. Henry St. Clere, in a few
words, proceeded to explain the adventure to the curious audience. "I had
no sooner seen my sister's palfrey, in spite of her endeavours to the
contrary, entering with spirit into the chase set on foot by the
worshipful Gregory than I rode after to give her assistance. So long was
the chase that when the greyhounds pulled down the knobbler, we were out
of hearing of your bugles; and having rewarded and coupled the dogs, I
gave them to be led by the jester, and we wandered in quest of our
company, whom, it would seem, the sport had led in a different direction.
At length, passing through the thicket where you found us, I was
surprised by a cross-bow bolt whizzing past mine head. I drew my sword
and rushed into the thicket, but was instantly assailed by two ruffians,
while other two made towards my sister and Gregory. The poor knave fled,
crying for help, pursued by my false kinsman, now your prisoner; and the
designs of the other on my poor Emma (murderous no doubt) were prevented
by the sudden apparition of a brave woodsman, who, after a short
encounter, stretched the miscreant at his feet and came to my assistance.
I was already slightly wounded, and nearly overlaid with odds. The combat
lasted some time, for the caitiffs were both well armed, strong, and
desperate; at length, however, we had each mastered our antagonist, when
your retinue, my Lord Boteler, arrived to my relief. So ends in my story;
but, on my knighthood, I would give an earl's ransom for an opportunity
of thanking the gallant forester by whose aid I live to tell it."
"Fear not," said Lord Boteler; "he shall be found if this or the four
adjacent counties hold him. And now Lord Fitzosborne will be pleased to
doff the armour he has so kindly assumed for our sakes, and we will all
bowne ourselves for the banquet."
When the hour of dinner approached, the Lady Matilda and her cousin
visited the chamber of the fair Darcy. They found her in a composed but
melancholy posture. She turned the discourse upon the misfortunes of her
life, and hinted that having recovered her brother, and seeing him look
forward to the society of one who would amply repay to him the loss of
hers, she had thoughts of dedicating her remaining life to Heaven, by
whose providential interference it had been so often preserved.
Matilda coloured deeply at something in this speech, and her cousin
inveighed loudly against Emma's resolution. "Ah, my dear Lady Eleanor,"
replied she, "I have to-day witnessed what I cannot but judge a
supernatural visitation, and to what end can it call me but to give
myself to the altar? That peasant who guided me, to Baddow through the
Park of Danbury, the same who appeared before me at different times and
in different forms during that eventful journey,--that youth, whose
features are imprinted on my memory, is the very individual forester who
this day rescued us in the forest. I cannot be mistaken; and connecting
these marvellous appearances with the spectre which I saw while at Gay
Bowers, I cannot resist the conviction that Heaven has permitted my
guardian angel to assume mortal shape for my relief and protection."
The fair cousins, after exchanging looks which implied a fear that her
mind was wandering, answered her in soothing terms, and finally prevailed
upon her to accompany them to the banqueting-hall. Here the first person
they encountered was the Baron Fitzosborne of Diggswell, now divested of
his armour; at the sight of whom the Lady Emma changed colour, and
exclaiming, "It is the same!" sunk senseless into the arms of Matilda.
"She is bewildered by the terrors of the day," said Eleanor; and we have
done ill in obliging her to descend."
"And I," said Fitzosborne, "have done madly in presenting before her one
whose presence must recall moments the most alarming in her life."
While the ladies supported Emma from the hall, Lord Boteler and St. Clere
requested an explanation from Fitzosborne of the words he had used.
"Trust me, gentle lords," said the Baron of Diggswell, "ye shall have
what ye demand, when I learn that Lady Emma Darcy has not suffered from
my imprudence."
At this moment Lady Matilda, returning, said that her fair friend, on her
recovery, had calmly and deliberately insisted that she had seen
Fitzosborne before, in the most dangerous crisis of her life.
"I dread," said she, "her disordered mind connects all that her eye
beholds with the terrible passages that she has witnessed."
"Nay," said Fitzosborne, "if noble St. Clere can pardon the unauthorized
interest which, with the purest and most honourable intentions, I have
taken in his sister's fate, it is easy for me to explain this mysterious
impression."
He proceeded to say that, happening to be in the hostelry called the
Griffin, near Baddow, while upon a journey in that country, he had met
with the old nurse of the Lady Emma Darcy, who, being just expelled front
Gay Bowers, was in the height of her grief and indignation, and made loud
and public proclamation of Lady Emma's wrongs. From the description she
gave of the beauty of her foster-child, as well as from the spirit of
chivalry, Fitzosborne became interested in her fate. This interest was
deeply enhanced when, by a bribe to Old Gaunt the Reve, he procured a
view of the Lady Emma as she walked near the castle of Gay Bowers. The
aged churl refused to give him access to the castle, yet dropped some
hints, as if he thought the lady in danger, and wished she were well out
of it. His master, he said, had heard she had a brother in life, and
since that deprived him of all chance of gaining her domains by purchase,
he, in short, Gaunt wished they were safely separated. "If any injury,"
quoth he, "should happen to the damsel here, it were ill for us all. I
tried, by an innocent stratagem, to frighten her from the castle by
introducing a figure through a trap-door and warning her, as if by a
voice from the dead, to retreat from thence; but the giglet is wilful,
and is running upon her fate."
Finding Gaunt, although covetous and communicative, too faithful a
servant to his wicked master to take any active steps against his
commands, Fitzosborne applied himself to old Ursely, whom he found more
tractable. Through her he learned the dreadful plot Gaston had laid to
rid himself of his kinswoman, and resolved to effect her deliverance. But
aware of the delicacy of Emma's situation, he charged Ursely to conceal
from her the interest he took in her distress, resolving to watch over
her in disguise until he saw her in a place of safety. Hence the
appearance he made before her in various dresses during her journey, in
the course of which he was never far distant; and he had always four
stout yeomen within hearing of his bugle, had assistance been necessary.
When she was placed in safety at the lodge, it was Fitzosborne's
intention to have prevailed upon his sisters to visit, and take her under
their protection; but he found them absent from Diggswell, having gone to
attend an aged relation who lay dangerously ill in a distant county. They
did not return until the day before the May-games; and the other events
followed too rapidly to permit Fitzosborne to lay any plan for
introducing them to Lady Emma Darcy. On the day of the chase he resolved
to preserve his romantic disguise and attend the Lady Emma as a forester,
partly to have the pleasure of being near her, and partly to judge
whether, according to an idle report in the country, she favoured his
friend and comrade Fitzallen of Marden. This last motive, it may easily
be believed, he did not declare to the company. After the skirmish with
the ruffians, he waited till the baron and the hunters arrived, and then,
still doubting the further designs of Gaston, hastened to his castle to
arm the band which had escorted them to Queen-Hoo Hall.
Fitzosborne's story being finished, he received the thanks of all the
company, particularly of St. Clere, who felt deeply the respectful
delicacy with which he had conducted himself towards his sister. The lady
was carefully informed of her obligations to him; and it is left to the
well-judging reader whether even the raillery of Lady Eleanor made her
regret that Heaven had only employed natural means for her security, and
that the guardian angel was converted into a handsome, gallant, and
enamoured knight.
The joy of the company in the hall extended itself to the buttery, where
Gregory the jester narrated such feats of arms done by himself in the
fray of the morning as might have shamed Bevis and Guy of Warwick. He
was, according to his narrative, singled out for destruction by the
gigantic baron himself, while he abandoned to meaner hands the
destruction of St. Clere and Fitzosborne.
"But, certes," said he, "the foul paynim met his match; for, ever as he
foined at me with his brand, I parried his blows with my bauble, and
closing with him upon the third veny, threw him to the ground, and made
him cryrecreant to an unarmed man."
"Tush, man!" said Drawslot, "thou forgettest thy best auxiliaries, the
good greyhounds, Help and Holdfast! I warrant thee that when the
humpbacked baron caught thee by the cowl, which he hath almost torn off,
thou hadst been in a fair plight, had they not remembered an old friend
and come in to the rescue. Why, man, I found them fastened on him myself;
and there was odd staving and stickling to make them 'ware haunch!' Their
mouths were full of the flex, for I pulled a piece of the garment from
their jaws. I warrant thee that when they brought him to ground, thou
fledst like a frighted pricket."
"And as for Gregory's gigantic paynim," said Fabian, "why, he lies yonder
in the guard-room, the very size, shape, and colour of a spider in a
yewhedge."
"It is false!" said Gregory; "Colbrand the Dane was a dwarf to him."
"It is as true," returned Fabian, "as that the Tasker is to be married on
Tuesday to pretty Margery. Gregory, thy sheet hath brought them between a
pair of blankets."
"I care no more for such a gillflirt," said the Jester, "than I do for
thy leasings. Marry, thou hop-o'-my-thumb, happy wouldst thou be could
thy head reach the captive baron's girdle."
"By the Mass," said Peter Lanaret, "I will have one peep at this burly
gallant;" and leaving the buttery, he went to the guard-room where Gaston
St. Clere was confined. A man-at-arms, who kept sentinel on the strong
studded door of the apartment, said he believed he slept; for that after
raging, stamping, and uttering the most horrid imprecations, he had been
of late perfectly still. The falconer gently drew back a sliding board,
of a foot square, towards the top of the door, which covered a hole of
the same size, strongly latticed, through which the warder, without
opening the door, could look in upon his prisoner. From this aperture he
beheld the wretched Gaston suspended by the neck, by his own girdle, to
an iron ring in the side of his prison. He had clambered to it by means
of the table on which his food had been placed; and in the agonies of
shame and disappointed malice, had adopted this mode of ridding himself
of a wretched life. He was found yet warm, but totally lifeless. A proper
account of the manner of his death was drawn up and certified. He was
buried that evening in the chapel of the castle, out of respect to his
high birth; and the chaplain of Fitzallen of Marden, who said the service
upon the occasion, preached, the next Sunday, an excellent sermon upon
the text, "Radix malorum est cupiditas," which we have here transcribed.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[Here the manuscript from which we have painfully transcribed, and
frequently, as it were, translated this tale, for the reader's
edification, is so indistinct and defaced that, excepting certain
"howbeits," "nathlesses," "lo ye's!" etc. we can pick out little that is
intelligible, saving that avarice is defined "a likourishness of heart
after earthly things."] A little farther there seems to have been a gay
account of Margery's wedding with Ralph the Tasker, the running at the
quintain, and other rural games practised on the occasion. There are also
fragments of a mock sermon preached by Gregory upon that occasion, as for
example:--
"Mv dear cursed caitiffs, there was once a king, and he wedded a young
old queen, and she had a child; and this child was sent to Solomon the
Sage, praying he would give it the same blessing which he got from the
witch of Endor when she bit him by the heel. Hereof speaks the worthy Dr.
Radigundus Potator. Why should not Mass be said for all the roasted shoe
souls served up in the king's dish on Saturday? For true it is that Saint
Peter asked father Adam, as they journeyed to Camelot, an high, great,
and doubtful question: 'Adam, Adam, why eated'st thou the apple without
paring?'"
[This tirade of gibberish is literally taken or selected from a mock
discourse pronounced by a professed jester, which occurs in an ancient
manuscript in the Advocates' Library, the same from which the late
ingenious Mr. Weber published the curious comic romance of the "Limiting
of the Hare." It was introduced in compliance with Mr. Strutt's plan of
rendering his tale an illustration of ancient manners. A similar
burlesque sermon is pronounced by the Fool in Sir David Lindesay's satire
of the "Three Estates." The nonsense and vulgar burlesque of that
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