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EDINBURGH : PUBLISHED BY OLIVER & BOYD, TWEEDDALE-COURT ; AND G. & W. B. WHITTAKER, AVE-MARIA. LANE, LONDON. 1823. €!?&*' ?Rlj,-}o2 G,?.S 7 ^^iZBt THE SPAEWIFE. CHAP. I. In the meantime, Bishop Finlay, who had fled with the Lord James toXarrickfergus in Ireland, having been seized witli a sore ma- lady, departed this life; and the young Lord had, after his obsequies, passed over the sea to the castle of the Macdonald in Skye, to seek the aid of his help and means against their common enemy the King ; for so they both wrothfully accounted his Majesty.— TheXord James, because of the dreadful de- vastation which his austere justice had brought upon his father's house, and Macdonald, not only as an adherent of the faction of the AI- VOL. II. A (ft 8 THE SPAEWIFE. banies, but for the prejudice which his daugh- ter, the Lady Sibilla, had suffered in the frustration of her betrothment. The Lord James, on reaching the shores of Skye, was informed, by certain persons who had come from the mainland, that Macdonald was then at Inverlochy with his kith, kin, and allies, having returned thither from an expedition which he had taken to avenge the fate of his old friend, Duke Murdoch. In which inroad, finding himself none succoui-ed by those on whose swords he had reckoned, for they were of the party for whom Sir Ro- bert Graeme had so unprofitably made him- self spokesman, he was fain to profess contri- tion to the King for his rashness, in order that he might be clemently permitted, as he in the end was, to return scaithless home. On hearing these tidings, the Lord James forthwith ordered the bark wherein he had come from Ireland to make for Inverlochy, where he was welcomed by the Macdonald, as I lis daugh- d in the shores of sons who lacdonald kith, kin, • from an venge the ioch. In succourcd reckoned, in Sir Ro- lade him- ess contri- , in order d, as he in me. 3rd James jin he had nverlochy, idonald, as THE SPAEWIFE. 3 if the rites and benediction of holy church had made him indeed his son-in-law. Nor was it long till they had concerted a new enterprise; to the which the Lord of the Isles was the ixiore easily incited, by the assurances which he received from his guest, that the mutations of fortune had none changed the sincerity of the love and devotion which he had professed for the Lady Sibilla. " Could we,^' said the Lord James, ** but drive this tyrant King back to England, I doubt not the estates of the realm would speedily reverse my attainder, and restore me to the rights and rank of my family. Then should I prove before the world with what unimpaired affection I am in heart wedded to Sibilla; or if we meet in battle, and he be slam or taken, shall I not be king, and Sibilla share with me the dignity royai ?^ These sanguine anticipations of youthful adventure, together with his own sense of baffled enterprise, and the native turbulence THE SPAEWIFE. i ■i of his temper, so worked upon Macdonald, that next morning he marched with his clans- men, accompanied by the lord James, for Inverness ; where, no later than the third day after having received the King's clement per- mission to return home unmolested, he arriv- ed, and where, to shew how resolute he was to set at nought the royal authority, the first thing he did was to burn the town and lay siege to the castle. Now it had so chanced, that the Lady Si- billa, by the exhortations of her aunt, the discreet Countess of Ross, with the sisterly solicitations of her royal mistress, about this time came back to the court, and was then abiding with the Queen in the Abbey of Holyrood at Edinburgh, where, in the judg- ment of all the gallants, her beauty, albeit faded in its virgin bloom, had received new lustre by the virtue of her endeavouring to avert the doom of the ill-fated princes.—To no eye did it shine so bright and fair as to I lacdonald, I his clans- rames, for third day emcnt per- , he arriv- ite he was ^, the first n and lay J Lady Si- aunt, the lie sisterly about this was then Abbev of the judg- ity, albeit eived new ^ouring to nces.—To fair as to THE SPAEWIFE. 5 that of Stuart, who was become her openly professed lover — seconded in his suit by the gentle rcconnnendations both of the King and Queen, and by many a laudatory advertise- ment of his worth and knighthood iVoni the Countess of Ross, who was won to favour him by the courtesies which he administered, as it were with the left hand, to the weak side of her vanities. Sibilla, however, heeded not the fond ad- miration with which she was followed, but abandoned herself to bitter ruminations on the disappointment of her early affection, and the ruined fortunes of her first lover. For though she shunned not the pastimes of the court, yet was her spirit, amidst the most Joy- ful revels, ever far away ; and her eyes won- dered with a cold and aimless restlessness, that often touched the observer with the sym- pathy of a melancholy wonder and sorrow. She had plainly no pleasure in any kind of companionship ; but, as often as she could I li i! I'll Ml 6 THE SPAEWIFE. pass forth unheeded, she chose her solitary vralks among the lonely places of the neigh- l3o-ring mountain ; sitting sometimes on the perilous brink of the precipices, like the white sea-bird th^it perches on the ocean cliffs, at others hovering in the still of the evening twilight amidst the shadows and lowering rocks that overhang the chapel of St Anthony. It came to pass one morning, as she went forth from the Abbey to indulge her mourn- ful cogitations in that manner in the King's Park, that she saw Anniple of Dunblane standing at a little distance on the green sward, resting her hands on the top of the rough sapling, which, though a burden, she had long used as a staff.— She was leaning forward, and her eyes were cast down, ear- nestly commercing with something that she contemplated on tue ground. " Good morrow, Anniple," said the pale and pensive Sibilla ; " what seest thou on the grass to make thee read it so earnestly .?" er solitary the neigh- les on the 3 the white I cHffs, at e evening lowering Anthony, she went IV mourn- he King's Dunblane he green op of the rden, she IS leaning 3wn, ear- that she the pale m on the ly ?" . THE SPAEWIFE. 7 The Spaewife, without raising her eyes, gave a quick and impatient intimation with her hand, that she did not wish to be dis- turbed. " I would give a merk for thy fancies/' said the lady. Anniple, without making any reply, or changing her position, held out her hand to accept the gift. " Nay, that may not be— no work, no wage, Anniple— and if you will not teU me, I shall at once say again, good morrow." The fantastical creature still made no reply; but, looking up, she beckoned with her finger to die Lady SibiUa to draw near. She then pointed to the ground, and said— '' See ye that, Lady SibiUa .?— see ye that there .?" '' I see nothing, Anniple, but a beetle crawling." " It's a clok-Ieddy in her scarlet cardinal." " What then .?" I in ; 1 8 THE SPAEWIFE. " Is't no a sinful injustice, SibiUa Macdo- nald, that the hand o' Heaven sliould have ta'en such pains to mak and adorn that loath- some thing, and let the fairies make the like of me out o' a ben-weed, that the very kine have more sense than to taste ?" "All things," replied SibiUa, "are by permission of Heaven, and done in wisdom and with justice.'' Annple eyed her askance with a bright and piercing look, and then said, in a sharp and sarcastic accent, — " Wha did the wrang that ye yearn to re- venge, and gave leave for the dule that ye dree ?"— -And she added, laughingly, " and so ye thought I was marvelling at the red mantle o' the leddy-launners ?"— but grubs and worms are nae marvels to me, ever since I sleepit, the night of the four burials, in the old Leddy o' Limmerton's coffin in Cambus- kenneth kirk-yard :— She was buriet wi' her wedding-ring, and the betherel howkit her up la Macdo- ould have hat loath- :e the like very kine " are by 1 wisdom a bright n a sharp arn to re- e that ye y, " and the red ut grubs !ver since Is, in the Cambus- wi' her t her up THE SPAEWIFE. 9 to take it off. I saw frae ahint a headstane what the loon was doing; and when he was whitling wi' her finger, I gaed such a skraike like a howlit, that it gar't him take leg-bail. See, there's the ring on niyain mid-finger, wi' a garnet stano like a blob o' blood. When the bethcrel ran aAvay I herryt the corpse myseP, and harPt it out by the hg and the winding- sheet, and lay cosily doun in the coffin till the morning.— Eh ! What a fright, I trow. Fa. ther Andrews got, when he saw me sleeping there, and the poor auld Leddy o' Limmerton lying in her dead-claes on the grass ; but I wish ne'er to dream as I did that night ; for I dreamt I was dead, and buried in a tomb ; and that cloks and worms were crawhng and coiling O'er my heart and aneath my back— And a black toad— he sat on my chin, Watching my mouth, that he nn^ht loup in." Sibilla shuddered, and moved to go away • but Anniple took hold of her mantle, and saidll 9 10 TKE SPAEWIFE. hi '« But I have na told you what I was look- ing at." " What was it ?" inquired Sibilla, pale and apprehensive of some still more hideous re- hearsal. " I saw Lord Athol," replied Anniple, " as I came through the park yestreen, on this spot ; and just now, when I was coming by again, I had a glimmering glimpse of his like- ness on the grass, with the look of one that would do ill, yet was afraid. I hae a thought he would fain be King." " You speak maliciously, Anniple,'' said Sibilla, at once surprised and struck with the remark. " Go to, else you may have cause to repent such slander; the Earl of Athol is an honest man, albeit no friend nor favour- ite with me." " When the King dies, he'll be crown't for a' that." " Duke Murdoch's son, the Lord James, though under the ban of outlawry and forfei- m i THE SPAEWIFE. 11 vas look- pale and leous re- Anniple, treen, on oming by f his like- one that a thought >i* pie,'** said i with the I lave cause ' 1 of Athol or favour- ;rown*t for ird James, and forfei- ture, is nearer to the throne," replied Sibilla seriously, forgetting, in the emotion of the moment, the irrational character of the Spae- wife. " Near or far off," said Anniple, " it's his doom, and I'll say no more. But what need I care — nae good will come o't to me. I would I could forget the looks o' him as I saw him here. Maybe it was the de'il in his likeness, come to molest me.— Do ye ken, Si- billa Macdonald, that I ne'er forgather with Lord Athol himself, but some dule or da- mage ever befalls me. I wish ye would put your hand to the work, and help to shove him out o' the world — and ye should too, for he's a cross in your own fortune." " How ! what do you mean ?" cried Si- billa, shaken with a strange horror. " That ye're no to be married while he's to the fore." « Why do you think so .?" replied Sibilla, recft'ering her wonted self-possession, advert- 12 THE SPAEWIFE- ! t m ing, at the same time, in her mind to the assi- duous suit of the EarFs nephew, the young Lord Stuart. Anniple, however, made no answer ; but looking shrewdly from the cor- ner of her eye, and with her head bent aside, sang — " Fair Magdalene sat at the window high, And she looked far o'er the sea ; And she saw a bark frae a foreign land Coming sailing merrilie. It is, it is my own true knight, And he comes from Palestine, So hie you hence, Sir Reginald, For I'll never now be thine.'* She then hastened away, and Sibilla, instead of pursuing her wonted walk towards the cliffs of Arthur's Seat, went back to the Abbey, where she was not long entered, when messen- gers from divers parts of the north came with accounts to the King of the sudden rebellion of the Lord of the Isles, her father, the de- struction of Inverness by his clansmen, and THE SPAEWIFE. 13 > the assi- le young made no the cor- ;nt aside, the rumour of the Lord James being with him from Ireland. The latter occurrence seemed to her very wonderfully predicated in the rude strain with which the Spaewife had parted from her in the park. ;h, , instead the cliffs Abbey, messen- ime with rebellion the de- len, and 14 THE SPAEWIFE. CHAP. II. i I Hi I ( i lillih When the King heard how Macdonald, after having accepted his grace and permission to return home, liad so soon of a sudden come hack with his clansmen, and done such da- mage and molestation to the town of Inver- ness, he was exceedingly wroth, and not only called on his armourer to equip him for battle, but issued his royal mandate and order for all the knights and gallants of the court to pre- pare with horse and panoply to accompany him to the field. For in the wisdom of that noble prince, speed was esteemed the better part of the equipage of war ; and it was ever his declared opinion, that only ill could come of the evil of delay, from whatsoever consider- ations it might be pretermitted to arise. « /I' 1 1 I i i THE SPAEWIFE. 15 laid, after nission to den come such da- of Inver- i not only or battle, ler for all rt to pre- company n of that he better was ever uld come consider- se. m ''m In the first alacrity, with which his royal commands were received by the youthful wai-riors of the Scottish court, none seeming. ly obeyed them with a more joyful intrepi- dity than did the Lord Robert Stuart, who, in the ardour of his loyalty, and the thirst of valiant deeds wherewith the tidings had in- spired him, forgot that the bold rebel he was summoned to quell was no other than the father of his beloved Sibilla. And thus it happened, when at the accustomed hour that young and unfortunate lady went to give her wonted tendence on the Queen, that she met him in the gallery proudly harnessed for war, and gay with the generous arrogance of youth- ful soldiership eager for adventure. On first seeing him, she was none diffi- culted to discern for what purpose he was armed ; but, with a firm step and a lofty air, she proceeded along the gallery as if she not- ed him not ; her heart however swelled, and throbbed as if it had been wounded with I 16 THE SPAEWIFE. mai)y arrows, whose barbs of agony were yet i 56 THE SPAEWIFE. ilii as ineffectual as the lamps of the glow-worms, were seen here and there sprinkled. The castle, in the sullenness of its strength, rose gloomily in the distance, and the bartizans and battlements of the towers seemed, by the upcast glare of the camp-fires of the besiegers, like the frowning eyes and gathered foreheads of wrath, jealousy, and scorn. It was a scene that well accorded with the hostile spirit of Graeme, and he stopped to look at it with a fierce enjoyment of malignant satisfaction. " Aye, ye may gloom and glower, Robin Graeme," cried a voice at his feet from amidst the bushes on the steep ; " but ye'll ne'er get your will nor your dues, till you have hum- bled yourself to your enemy." And with these words the Spaewife scrambled up the bank, and, with her rude staff in her arms, stood before him. " Anniple," said the Lord James to her, for she was well known over all the country^ THE SPAEWIPE. 57 both in hall and hostel,—" where have you ccme from to-night P" " I have nothing to say nor to spae to you, Lord James,— when the skein of your for- tune's ravelled, ye'll hear tell o' me. Robin Graeme, I redde ye to part frae him, or ye'll wrang yourseP of what yeVe weel worthy, and eke a marriage mar, — '^ So come ye wi' me, and let him bide, And think nae what shall then betide, And ye'll blithen the heart o' a bonny bride, That sighs in her bower alone, Robin." Neither Graeme nor the Lord James had any inordinate faith in freats ; but the veraci- ty of Anniple's foreknowledge had gained great renown far and near, and in that crisis of their adventures, especially as they at the time wist not well which way to take, they were disposed to give her more credit than perhaps they would have done on any other occasion. c 2 ■! • ■I I i ! ^® THE SPAEWIFB. ** Shall I then be sa^e to return to Inver- ness,'' said the Lord James. " If ye're to be hang't, my Lord, yell ne'er be drown't," replied the Spaewife. " But whither would ye, Anniple, that I should go r interrupted Grseme. " Up the hill, and down the hill, r.nd o'er the water; and up the hill, and down the hill, and o'er the water ; and up the hill, and down the hill, and o'er the water ;— and there ye'll meet wi' a man that has the key of a castle,— " And when in that keep ye're warded in, Nor prince nor power m Christendie Frae you that keep shall win." " She promises you fair, Sir Robert," said the Lord James ; " take her advice, and here let us separate; for, notwithstanding Mac- donald's sordid perfidy, I shall return to In- verness, where I doubt not still to find friends." THE SPAEWIFE. 59 Graeme again attempted to dissuade him from returning, and even began to jeer at Anniple's predictions ; but she suddenly inter- rupted him by laying her hand on his mouth, saying, " Hush ! I hear Macdonald breathing in the wind,^Listen, hark, he's passing afar off in the valley." It was even so ; for, when the Lord James went back to tiie camp, he was informed that the chieftain had set off alone to throw him- self on the King's mercy, and he found all the clansmen preparing to retire to their re- spective regions in the isles and among the hills. Thus were his hopes again blasted, ' while the anguish caused by the constancy of his ill fortune was sharpened by the tliouo-ht of Sibilla's broken faith. Meanwhile, Sir Robert Graeme, pursuing his course south- ward, parted from the Spaewife, who, as her nature led, wandered purposeless away. 60 THE SPAEWIFEv CHAP. VI. Many things were in the meantime growing to fruit at the Court, where the Lady Si- billa, on parting from Stuart in the gallery, as set forth, went straight to her aunt, the Countess of Ross, and told her, that until her father's enterprise was resolved and determined, she would give no farther tend- ance on the Queen. In vain did that discreet lady exhort her to the contrary, and repre- sent, that, by being in companionship with her Majesty, she might find means and op. portunities to mitigate the King's ire. But Sibilla was not to be moved by any stress of elocution, so that she continued to abide with the Countess while the royal preparations for the suppression of the rebellious raid were in THE SPAEWIFE. 61 process, seldom appearing al)road but in a se. questrated and lanerly manner. It came however to pass that the King, being instructed how none of the great barons and chiefs of the nortli, of whose clans and preparations he stood most in apprehension, had joined the rebels, but that in many parts where the Lord James and Macdonald count- ed on friends, the only demo.istration made was for the royal cause, his Majesty resolved only to send forward the vanguard of his power, and to direct the Lords and Earls on whom he could rely, to repair to their castles, and with their respective clans there await his summons. Thus it happened that the Earl of Athol went to his strong-hold in the Blair, or plain of his country, and there arrived with a great host of Highlanders, about the time when Sir Robert Graeme, under the influence and incitement of the Spaewife, bent his course southward. But the young gallant, his nephew, Stuart, went not with him, being, 62 THE SPAEWIPE. i' I) in furtherance of the King's politic device, detained at Edinburgh, nothing loath, in the hope of acliieving the conquest of the Lady Sibilla's true and invincible heart. In that adventure, liowever, he made but small pro. gress; for when, by the connivance of the Countess of Ross, he sometimes gained access to her otherwise inaccessible sequestration, she gave little heed to his loving and fond professions. " You wage," said she to him one day, " a bootless war with me. My heart is pledg- ed to a prince of a royal nature and heroic daring ;— to the heir of the kingdom, yea, to the open challenger of the King, and think you that I will stoop to hear the dainty pro- testations of any meaner iiian .?" " You amaze me. Lady," replied Stuart. " I am the equal of my rash cousin in every thing but his treasons." " And you are only not equal to him in them, because you lack the spirit to assert your own THE SPAEWIFE. gg rights. Think you that he would so meekly endure to be cut off from Im inheritance by any ordinance of sordid time-servers, such as those were that gave the crown to the bastard progeny of Elizabeth Mure, and defrauded the lawful issue of King Robert the Second of their birthright ?" Stuart was a. ,azed to hear her speak so boldly; and her taunts entered into the •inick of his soul, for he had ever felt as his uncle the Earl of Athol felt, that the posthumous law of the succession was a grievous injury to all the descendants of the marriage with Euphemia of Ross- which marriage, till the enactment of the law, had been accounted the only lawful matrimony which that King had really con- tracted, notwithstanding the general commi- seration with which the fate of the fair Eliza beth Mure had been lamented. He stood in consequence some time struck with wonder which Sibilla perceiving, added scornfully-' ^ THE SPAEWIFE. !l " I doubt not there is treason in my words —my father and my betrothed husband are in rebellion— why should not I too think and feel as a rebel ? But go,— complete the loyal- ty of tamely submitting to be shut out from your own rights, by accusing me of treason. Why, man, if you had half the manhood that's in the left hand of your unfortunate cousin, the Earl of Athol would long ere now have been King, and yourself the heir to the throne." Stuart trembled to see that the Lady Sibilla, while she thus spoke, was pale and dreadful, her eyes flashing fire, and the beauty of her countenance haggard with rage and contempt. " I pray you, sweetest lady,'" said he soft- ly, " let not such perilous thoughts escape you. Why should the Earl of Athol or my- self shake the kingdom from its propriety with such old stories, seeing that we are placed by Providence, despite all human con- trivance to the contrary, so very near the throne.*" ill THE SPAEWIFE. 65 " You mistake me," replied Sibilla, with a haughty air ; « I would not invite you to any undertaking. I but spoke of that humility of spirit, — Christian it is, — which so patiently holds up the cheek to the smiter. Deeds shew the man, and I esteem you by what you have proved yourself. The only daring thing you have ever done has been to offer yourself to me as ti^e rival of your brave kinsman, and that,— very prudently, my Lord, has been most valorously adventured behind his back.'' Stuart felt as if his passion was entirely quenched, and he gazed at the flashing fren- zy of her eye, and the haggard energy of her colourless cheek and quivering lip, with al- most irrepressible aversion ; but the feminine fit was spent, and while he stood contemplat- ing her with astonishment, and marvelling that he should ever have thought her lovely, or deserving to be loved, the gentle spirit of her nature returned, and she sat down and began to weep. 66 THE SPAEWIFE. 6i \\ n ■n: :'!.! Why, my Lord," said she, and her tears were fast flowing, " do you break in upon my forlorn estate ? Am I not betrothed to your ill-fated cousin ? Have I not shewn to all the world with what sincerity I hold myself to be his bride ? Is it not then as an insult to a chaste wife to speak to me with professions of love ? Let there be, from this time, an end to all hope and protestations on your part, else I must regard you as indeed meriting those reproaches which, in my distraction, I have too bitterly expressed. Go, my Lord, and if it may be accepted as any atonement for my rash words, believe that I feel proud of the preference wherewith I have been honoured, but that your courtesies have always been as wormwood to my spirit, shewing as if you thought I could be false and inconstant to the strongest promises that ever maiden pledged with man. If not ordaired to be the wife of your cousin, I shall never be bride to any other man."" THE SPAEWIFE. 67 The sadness of her voice, and the soft soli- citation with which her eloquent eyes aided the wish that he would desist from his impor- tunate devotion, renewed with redoubled tenderness the admiration which she had so long inspired. But the firmness with which she declared her determination to accept only the Lord James, taught him that his passion was without hope. Twice he essayed to speak, and to tell her something of the emo- tions wherewith his bosom wss agitated, but his tongue could find no words, and he quit- ted her presence, torn with the conflicts of re- jected love, contemned manhood, baffled de- sires, and protestations scorned. In the whirlwind of this storm within, he hurried to the King's chamber to ask that he might have leave to quit the court, never to return while Sibilla was there ; but in going thither he saw a great concourse of people as- sembled at the gate, the guards, and halbar- diers, and archers, all drawn out. On hastily 68 THE SPAEWIFE. inquiring what had chanced, a confused re- sponse by many tongues informed him, that the Lord of the Isles had suddenly appeared before the King, while his Majesty was at his orisons in the chapel, — some said he had at- tempted the King's life, — and all agreed that he had been seized on the spot, and was then in the Abbey. So strange an accident made Iiim at the moment forget his own cares, and, rushing through the guards, he ascended the stairs to learn the circumstances of so singular an oc- currence as that the rebel should, in such a place, and at such a time, have presented himself before the King. if! THE SPAEWIFE. 69 CHAP. VII. When Stuart came into the King's presence, his Majesty was walking to and fro in the chamber, plainly in great molestation of mind ; and the Queen was standing apart by herself m the bower window, seemingly deterred from breaking in upon his cogitations by the vio- lent battle of thought wherewith he was agi- tated. On observing them in this state, Stuart would have retired ; but he perceived, that on his entrance the King had glanced his eye to- wards liim, so that he was in a manner con- strained to remain ; and while he stood at the door. Sir William Chrichton, with others of the council, came in, upon whose appearance his Majesty mastered his feelings, and resum- ed his natural equanimity. " Sir William,'' said the King, on seeing the 70 THE SPA E WIFE. I" 1 Mil' Chancellor, « I send for you to determine respecting this bold action of Macdonald. He has thrown himself on my honour and mercy, and yet how well we know he is not to be trusted—the cause of his doing so suf- ficiently verifies. We had given him permis. sion to return unmolested home, and to abide in his island in peace, but no sooner did an occasion arise whereby he thought to advance himself, reckless of the damage he might cause to others, than he again took the field. But he has placed himself defenceless in my power, and truly I pray Heaven to instruct me what I ought to do, that my honour may be safe, and the commonweal protected.*" The Chancellor went respectfully up to the King, and said — " Macdonald, in so casting himself into the hands of your Majesty, if we may judge by his heretofore actions, has not done so from that nobility of motive which entitles him to appeal to the judicature of honour, but has THE SPAEWIFE. 7J been compelled by some constraint of circum- stance which he could not master, or is actu- ated by what with him is a no less forcible argument, some view of advantage. In either case he merits but the same treatment, and the law and the commonweal claim the first consideration.'' " I know all that," replied the King quick- ly~" I discern all that,-but then he has thrown himself into my own hands, and I am forced to consider, not only what as a King I must do, but likewise what, to preserve my knighthood unstained, I ought to do. Is it thmk you, possible that there may be any duty of the monarch inconsistent with the ho- nour of the man ?" « I should think not," replied Sir William <-nrichton sedately. " Then what the King's part is," said his Majesty, " I have long studied to know, and perhaps not altogether in vain; for I have never considered royalty by its trappings- 72 THE SPAEWIFE. ii 'I ii i 'i • ■ liWU' The doffed bonnet, the bended knee, macers and heralds, and golden baubles, with the butterflies of fortune's summer, and the shouts of the brute multit ide, whose plaudits are often loudest when it's coarse appetite is served with offal, these make nothing in my estimate of the dignity royal. — No : Sir Wil- liam, there is no King but he who dares to do every thing save wrong — who fears nothing mortal, but to be unjust — whose spirit is in- accessible to the inflations of sycophan y — whose throne is the fortitude of his own mind, ■—his sceptre a benevolent will — and the jew- els of his diadem precious opinions bought from the wise and good. Of this empire every man may be possessed that is worth his soul, and he that has not attained to -^uch sove- reignty is but a slave, though he were adorn- ed by til the East, and served by ten times the submission of all the millions that crawled before the worst of the Caesars." " Your Majesty," replied the Chancellor, THE SPAEW'IFE. rs "ha, but ,o follow the Jight of you, ,„,„ wisdom in this matter." " '^'"■'"'" int'Trupted the Kino, « ^ i,^ has thrown hi. life into ,„y ,,,.„^ j,, ^j,,^ have ,t ; but you, a„d others who ,,re the Kmg's officers, look wellthat no mischief e„ sue; for he iH hourly count on some remis s.on of whatever you n,ay determine concern- ing himself or hi estate, if his daughter ac cept our CO, „, Stuart-the renown of which match, and not contrition a. he professes, has alone, I question not, brought him hither" Stuart at these words stept forward and -d," Let him not then reckon any longer on that, nor his sentence be measur. I by any ciiance of his cvu^^hter becoming n,y wife_ The hope of that is quenched." " How r cried the King, = What is this r When was thm ?" "It is so, and please your Afajesty ten kingdoms would not bribe ,ne to .ddis my. self again to the Lady Sibilla." VOL. II. m% '''* THE SPAEWIPE. The King looked at him. for a moment K>-avely, an,! then, with pleasantry, saidJ " But one smile may." " ^°' ""'"•''• • *^ i« not what I thought she »as. I have been blind to her defects, albeit X must still do homage to her beauty." " Pv, Stuart; to .lisparagc a lady whom you have so long worshipped, is to aeknow. ledge some defect in yourself. It augurs but httle for your .valour to be daunted by a maiden's frown," Sir WilHam Chrichton, and those who had come with him, seeing his Majesty f Uii.- . i»to th.s easy vein, withdrew; and the Queen oommg forward, also began to jeer Stuart on being so faint-hearted. But the .scorn with which Sibilla had spoken of his tameness nia !' li 1 ■■ ; > : " 1 can have no objection to rest, In ; myself tired ; but, I pray you, let me h; the freedom of my hands and feet." " Aye ! will na te King's message pe rest, ing without te foots ? Te foots pe in te stable for te night — Oomph." Grncme seeing that it would be of no avail to controvert his condition at that seas(m, threw himself on the ground, and two of the clansmen, one at each shoulder, sat down to watch and to ward beside him. Glenfruin stretched himself also, wrapt in his plaid, again in the lea of the rock, where he con- tinued some time without, however, falling asleep. At last he turned himself round, and haJf rising on his arm, said, " Will te King's message pe pleasured.?" '' Well," said Graeme gruffly, « What do you want.?" " Just a civility. What pe te news te message will tak to te Kin i te leaf o' te tree tat^s made in a teal for a toor ?— -Oompli.'' GJenfruin again laid himself back on the ground, and after continuing some time si- lent, he raised himself a second time. ' ^ill le King^s message pe pleasured to speech a word r Te Mactonald-he will pe te man wi' tc pig purse py 'tis lifting. Will tere no pe te wee town for a .judification, tat te goot subject may rewart himsel for te re- pellion .^— -Oomph." " The good subject," repHed Gr^me, " i^ad better think well before he rewards himself; for the King's justice is not to be trifled witli." " Sowlls and pwlies, te King's justice !— Oompl,. Is't a justice to travel away te foots o' te goot subject for a noting at al." Sir Robert Gramme never having before met Glenfruin, and not being acquainted with IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /> ^ -1^. ^«; 2< 1.0 I.I 1.25 ^ K& 112.2 U i 1.6 ^ V] <^ z^ /; e: m el > s>* ^c^l /A ''W w. Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 87!2-4S03 %^ ^ M V "\ o^ ^ V^ ^ .^* ^% lV "C^* 88 THE SPAEMaFE. !'. the depth of his devices, was so far thrown off his guard by this observation, that he said, from the smarting of his own punish- ment, — " Justice and suffering now a days, in Scot- land, are nearly the same thing, and law is the disguise of tyranny." Glenfruin pricked up his ears, but Graeme felt that he had said too much, and to lessen the impression, added, " So say the King's enemies ; but this rebellion being over, as I doubt not it is by this time, we shall hereaf- ter hear less of such disloyalty.' " Aye," rephed Glenfruin. " O put tat's moving. We'll pe going home te morn, tat's what we will— Oomph ! What pe laa; put a pogie in a pook !" Gra3me was, however, now on his guard; and Glenfruin perceiving, after divers other en- deavours to draw him farther on, that it would be of no avail, composed himself for the re- mainder of the night. Ill • thrown that he punish- in Scot- aw is the Graeme to lessen King's er, as I hereaf- )ut tat's L'n, tat's a; put "d; and ber en- : would the re- THE SPAEWIFE. 89 In the meantime the Earl of Athol, as re- hearsed, had come to the castle of Blair, and had tliere gathered the main power of his vas- sals to be in readiness to join the King when his Majesty would come up with the Lowlanders. But more exact information having reached Edinburgh of the strength of the rebels than the magnified wonderment of the first rumour, the King had resolved not to head the army himself, but to send forward the warlike Earl of Angus. Accordingly it came to pass, as told in the foregoing chapter, that his Ma- jesty was still at Holyrood when Macdo- nald arrived to cast himself on his mercy. Of this event the Earl of Athol received the first intimation from Stuart his nephew, who, on the same night that Graeme so clianced to fall into the hands of Glenfruin, came sud- denly to the castle, having, in the afternoon of the day wherein he was so chafed both by the Lady Sibilla and the King, obtained his Majesty's permission to go thither. The King rii ! 90 THE SPAEWIFE. had indeed, with sorrow, observed the inebri- ation of chagrin wherewith the Lady Sibilla's irreversible refusal had infected his brain, and holding him in great affection on account of his many knightly qualities, and hitherto unblemished fidelity as a kinsman and true subject, was right well content to give him leave to retire into Athol till the sore of his heart was salved by the molhfying ministra- tions of time. THE SPAEWIFE. 91 CHAP. IX. Now it came to pass, that the same night, after the Lady Athol had retired to her chamber, the Earl, with his nephew, remained sitting together by themselves in a turret-room discoursing of divers matters, wiierem Stuart from time to time breathed his discontent against the King; for, though standing in awe of his uncle's renown for loyalty, he was fearful to give utterance to the impoisoned thought which his Majesty's free nature had so innocently bred ; yet was he not altogether able to repress the adder, nor to keep the fas- cinations of its eye from attracting the fated spirit of the Earl. " He has no respect," said Stuart, " as we have seen, even for the dignity of his own blood ; but, like the Ottoman, considers high t I ! 92 THE SPAEWIFE. 1 ,t\' and iow as if we were all slavcs-courageless t'unuchs bought in a market." " Hush !" replied the Earl, " and set a guard on your tongue ; for though it must be confessed that he does lack the accustomed discrimination of the Scottish Kings, yet is he singularly endowed with many princely vir- tues; in sooth a just man— a very Solon in the inditing of laws.-But I implore you to be wise ; for have you not observed how much more cruelly his justice went against our kinsmen, the Albanies, than any other of. fenders ?" " Aye, Graeme, who laid hands upon him even on the throne, in parliament, when ar- rayed with crown and sceptre, was allo-ed to go with his life,- replied Stuart ; - x have often thought of that.'' " Besides," rejoined the Earl, " think in what dubiety we stand with respect to the crown. But for the settlement of my father. King Robert the Second, I should this day THE SPAEWIFE. 93 have been of right King of Scotland. I be- seech you to consider that, and how much we both, you as my rightful heir, are plaxred within the scope of his jealousy, especially now that the Queen is in the way to be a mother." " How is it, my Lord, that you have so quietly endured that great injustice ?'' " You are too young to remember the boundless domination of the Regent Robert, poor Duke Murdoch^s father, else you woulcl not ask that question. And wherefore should I, a childless old man, stir in any rash una- vailing pretension ; for, to do the King justice, since his restoration he has greatly caused good order and security to abound, albeit too harsh in his ministry towards many of the no bility." " O, there was a time !" exclaimed Stuart, " when any sovereign to have breathed against the old free prerogatives of the Scottish nobles but a moiety of what the King has done, by his 'f "I ■ •!: ill 'Hi !!i I }yw THE SPAEWIFE. slights of law and judicature, would have rais- ed the whole land like a whirlwind." ** You give your anger too wide a license, nephew," replied the Earl ; " I must not suffer you to fall into such habits of discourse, especially now when the whole realm is again submissive to his dominion." " But the world," said Stuart, « thinks our submission — mine at least — to come of a tame spirit ; I cannot brook to have myself longer so unworthily considered." " Hush ! these are rash words, nephew, what would you do ?" " Have you not told me, that but for the treble injustice which gave the crown to the bastards of Elizabeth Mure, you should have this day been King of Scotland ?" " I charge you talk not of such things in that way. Rash young man ! I would but do my duty were I to give you up for shew- ing so much of a seditious spirit." Stuart was somewhat rebuked by the warmth MB! ave rais- 95 THE SPAEWIFE. "It is current among the com„,o„aUy,th,t >t has been prophesied you will be King " "So I have heard ; and when it is consi dered that there is but the Kingnowbetwl: -e and the throne, it is no improbable evem notwithstanding my years." ' " ^»-Pl« of Dunblane," rejoined Stuart 'ong ago told me that my fate hangs-" ' ^Anniple of Dunblane ."interrupted the t-arl, surely you set no store by the rav '"^^"^'J— -y What man fnt';^: -.on of a sober mind would give heed to ner jargon?" ^^ " But many of her sajdngs, I have often heard, have come to pass. She has a sh" -;» very sing„lar discernment of what pas nthemmdsofthosetowhomshespeak'fo " "^ "'f "^"^ f- 'hat she will hold any r course. ' -^ "^^" The complexion of the Earl went a little at !'! n 96 THE SPAEWIFE. this remark, and he looked around uncon- sciously, as if somewhat alarmed ; and then said— *« If it is ordained that I am to come to the crown, and but one life now stands in the way, the event will come to pass without any ministry thereto on my part. But, nephew, let not your thoughts run upon such malcon- tent fancies. Seek rather to earn, as I have all my life done, the esteem of the wise and the good. It will better pave the way to a quiet succession, when the time may come, than any stratagem of human artifice in which you can engage, I pray you also never to break this matter again to me. I am an old ixian— this grey head can ill bear the burden of a helmet — and any other way than the course of Providence needs the mediation of arms." " Think you then, my Lord," exclaimed Stuart, " that I can patiently abide the taunts of a usurper ; for such I will think he is, bat- ;i!!? THESPAEWIFE. 9*7 Jgalithat parchment can sa,to,.eeo„tr„, Ir'^-^P^™" '"""'" possess your nghtl 'hat .s your own concern, n,y l.„rd-btt he ^as -„d,, „^ p^^^ ^,, _ ^ ^^ Jt salt into the wound." The Ear), on seeing Stuart rushing into ears than nnne to breath your treasons to. U |„^ u -^ "^ hT« • u , ^ ^''"''"'' ^« a subject so Se dream of setting aside King Jam,, icrea, has been in fh^ f j "t^en m the freedom w th which y«u have this night ventured to . a Quernlo ^^'^t^Jred to express to me naT; h TtT^''"^'- '^''-'^y— Iffortu- n e th.^I do not forthwith send you to the Tl ''"* ^"^ '^'"^•"''er, and ponder onjhatyouhavesotraiterousiyspokeL. vo" " ""'"'*'"^'^ ^^'--d' b"t E •mmmmnmm ''ill! 98 THE SPAEWIFE. the Earl remained, evidently in great agita- tion. He moved several paces from the spot where he waw standing ; and clasped his hands, and looked very wild and woe-begone. Then he again sat down, and bent his head upon his hand, resting on the table ; and con- tinued for some time like a marble image of cogitation. Suddenly he started up, and moved round the chamber many times with perturbed steps — often raising his hands and shaking them, as one that eschews the pre- sence of some very dreadful sight. Anon he would touch his aged locks, and look at his shrivelled hands, and fold them together, and remain with a melancholy air, and sigh, and almost weep. But these fond struggles did not last long ; for ever and anon his evil angel would come upon him, and nerve him with pride, making his age seem less, and brightening his coim- tenance with a royal arrogance ; which soon, however, changed into a dark and cruel look : •at agita- the spot sped his E}-l)egone. his head and con- image of up, and rnes with inds and the pre- Anon i look at together, md sigh, ist long ; lid come , making lis coun- ch soon, uel look : THE SPAEWIFE. gg -Then he would stalk hurriedly and stealthi. ' ''7 '''' '•--' ^^"I^ling his hand as if he rasped a murderous knife. But in that ^e feU upon his knees, and with hitter te J cned woefully to the Heavens. J I We not made a compact with perdi- -d, which wi.h the halo of g4,.,,;l' ed w.th the benedictions of good men, more P-ously than the unction could hav don -h which the P.ophet Samuel consecrated David against Saul." -i-hen, having thus prayed, he rose, and as ' earful to trust hi.self „ieh the a.ful =r,irrv"-^'^' '' '-'y ne nght that stood upon the table and without callin,. u- ' ^ ut calimg, as his custom was, for t ill ■'< 100 THE SPAEWIFE. CHAP. X. mil Next morning, being duly advertised that the rebellion of the Macdonald was at an end, ind the different clans engaged therein :^.ispersed, and retired to their respective countries, the Earl sent home likewise his vassals, and prepared to return to his lodg- ing in Perth ; the court being minded to come to Scoone, where the King expected his at- tendance. But, in the course of the day, it came to pass that Glenfruin, having with him Sir Robert Graeme, arrived at the castle, and being taken to the Earl, narrated in what manner the prisoner had fallen into his hands, and that he much doubted if he was, as he had pretended to be, the bearer of tidings to the King. " For you see, mi Lord Eerl," said Glen- THE SPAEWIFE. IQl fruin, " what would te King's message pe taking to tell te grouse and the ptarmigan on te hills?— oomph / and ten, mi Lord and Eerl, he pe in te chief's does, an te tartan pe o' te Gra^me—Sowlls and podies ! is't a to-be-sure- ^yy tat were al a tream and veesion—and he pe te Sir Robert tat was panished.— Sowlls and podies ! it was a lamb and a lion, mi Lord and Eerl, te fal in te sleep wi' tat traitor man —put he had na te sword nor te tirk— oomph f Aye, aye, tat was a goot poleesee— oomph » The Earl commended the discernment and dexterity of Glenfruin, and lauded the alert loyalty with which he had obeyed the first summons of the King to rendezvous with his clansmen at the place appointed— telhng him, that he would not faU to report his great merits to his Majesty. " And ye'll pe pleasured, mi Lord and Eerl," repHed Glenfruin, « to count to te King al te cost and te monies for the tribula- tions o' te Laidie Tooches-tat's noo in te • ii m f ^: I lilt 102 THE SPAEWIFE. sheilin o' Glenfruin, taking her pleasantries in a custodie— oomph ! Put ye'll no forget tat we'll pe seeking no monies at al, nor te pay o' te mark or te crown ;— no, no, mi Lord and Eerl, Glenfruin's paith a loyaltie and a liberallie ; an if te King will, in a smal way, just alloo tat bit shaping o' te land o' Lennox, it's just a loof and a palm, mi Lord and Eerl, atween te Leven water and te purn o' Glen- fruin, we'll mak al our servitudes, paith for te taking o' te Laidie Tooches, and te traitor man tat's noo in te hal of mi Lord and Eerl, we'll mak it al a free gratos— a nothing at al." The Earl did not exactly understand what Glenfruin meant in allusion to the Duchess of Albany being his prisoner, but he was so far informed with respect to the forfeited estate, as to know that the hand's-breadth of land whereof Glenfruin spoke so lightly was one of the best domains in the earldom of Lennox. But as it had long been the Earl's n THE SPAEWIFE. 103 endeavour to stand well with all men, he spoke fair, and with sweet words, to the old chieftain; at the same time, giving him no encouragement to expect that the King would consider his services at so high a price as he had himself put upon them. " For you know, Glenfruin," said he, " that among the English, where the King was so long bred, true subjects are expected to do their duty without reward ; albeit their kings sometimes bestow small marks of favour where the merit is very singular. I do not, however, say, that his Majesty will not discern the merits of your services, and reward them even with much more than the lands whereof you have spoken ; but there may be persons about the King who may represent those lands as of more value than you think they are ; and you know his Majesty is, in all matters touching the property of the crown, guided by the de- terminations of his council." • " SowUs and podies ! mi Lord and Eerl, it I If I' t I ': il 1 ilHIl ,^l W^ i , ! 104 THE SPAEWIFE. would be a judification o' te honest man, and al his clan, to let te Laidie Tooches mak him an eatible, forpye te travail to te repellion, tat was al a tead loss — and ten te traitor man, oomph ! Cal ye tis a government, oomph, mi Lord and Eerl— if tat's te way o' te laas, we'll al pe traitor mans, every mother's son of us — oomph r' " No doubt, Glenfruin," replied the Earl, " it would be much more according to our good old Scottish customs, if less were de- manded for the public, and"— " Te public ! mi Lord and Eerl," interrupt- ed Glenfruin, giving an angry hotch in his chair, " what's te public, an what pe te goot o' Le public to me ? oomph ! Sowlls and po- dies ! it was te petter time for te honest man pefore tis public was porne." " Yes," replied the Earl, « this same thing the public keeps many an honest man from his own out of respect to it— but, as true and leal subjects of the King, we must all forget our THE SPAEWIFE. 105 particular grievances. I am sure there is no man in the realm who has more reason to com- plain of the laws than I have." " It's an och-hone, mi Lord and Eerl, tat ye were na te king yoursel." " Glenfruin !" exclaimed the Earl, « Glen- fruin ! Do you mean to insult me, and en- danger yourself by such language, in this house ?" " My goot Lord and Eerl, weVe no a se- dition at al. Sowlls and podies ! mi Lord and Eerl, would na ye hear a glorification, just m the way o' a congee— tat's al— Oomph." " Well," said the Earl, not affecting to ob- serve the apology, " but what does Glenfruin mean by the Duchess of Albany being in custody ?" " Oo aye, will mi goot Lord and Eerl mak a cognition o' te Laidie Tooches ? You see, when te Glenfruins were al come to te shore— al, every mother's son of us,— tere was a man, a laad fi-ae mi Laidie ^^ ^oches,— and te man, E 2 1; ^^^ THE SPAEWIFE. he would tak te poat. Teevils in hell ! ye'll no tak te poat,— curse tak me if you will. Put, for al tat, he was a speech, and so we came pe te wood o' te tree, and Nigel-he's a praw laad and prave laad, Nigel-he came in te poat- and here was mi Laidie Tooches al py her- self, and a laidie likewise on te stane, and so we made a captivitie ; and Nigel, wi' te Laidie Tooches and her oold maiden madam, you see, mi Lord and Eerl, sailt in te poat to Glenfruin." " Surely you have not seized the unfortu- nate Duchess without authority," exclaimed the Earl. « Know you not that the King has offered to restore her all the earldom of Lennox, which, however" " Al the eerldom !— oomph. Sowlls and podies I Is't te King a man wi' a sholder on a head? and will my Laidie Tooches pe making a lifting pack again o' te cows and te catties, tat te Macfarlane— oomph. Got tamn te Macfarlane; he took te cows and THE SPAEWIFE. 107 cattle when te King made his judifications- oomph/' " Of course, Glenfruin," said the EarJ, " you were too faithful a subject to herry the lands of Lennox at the time of the forfeiture. But if the Macfarlane has done so, let him look to the consequences, unless he has a friend to appease the King."" " Glenfruin was not quite easy in his mind at hearing the Earl speak in this man- ner, and, not well knowing what answer to make, he said— ** Put will na mi Lord and Eerl pe plea- sured to see te King's message tat pe in te hal?" " If he be, as you seem to suppose, Sir Robert Graeme, I am almost sorry," replied the Earl, "that he has been brought hither; as it was by my interference that his life was spared, and he ought not now to have been within the realm of Scotland." " Sowlls and podies ! where pe te goot ser- Ill !•' !!■ 108 THE SPAEWIFB. vice o' Glenfruin to get te King's penedic- tions in a palm o' land or te mark o' monies? — Oomph — oomph." " Nevertheless," replied the Earl, " since he is now in custody, I will keep him a prisoner till I have the King's orders concerning him." " And what will Glenfruin pe doing wi' te Laidie Tooches ? — Sowlls and podies ! — Oomph." The Earl paused for a moment. He thought, if he advised the chieftain to restore her at once to liberty, the veteran would thereby pacify his Majesty's displeasure at the manner in which he had treated that dis- consolate lady, Imt otherwise his sordid loy- alty might be changed ; and, as the thought presented itself, he turned away from Glen- fruin and walked to the upper end of the gal- lery, where they held this discourse, saying in bitterness of heart to himself — " Oh ! cruel fate, hurry me not so fast ; let me take time to breathe." THE SPAEWIFE. 109 He then returned with quick steps to Glen- fruin, and said — " Sir Robert Graeme is well known to all in my household, and I was already informed that he was your prisoner before you were admitted." " Oomph," replied Glenfruin looking cu- riously from under his brows. "Yes," rejoined the Earl; "but I do not wish to embroil myself further in the affairs of Graeme. I give you leave to let him be held in custody here till the King's pleasure concerning him be known." Graeme had not, however, in the meantime been idle in his thoughts, and knowing the jeopardy wherein he stood, he had so ad- dressed himself to Stuart, who on his being brought to the castle had gone to see him in the hall, as not only to move him to compas- sionate his condition, in the distemperature wherewith that ill-fated youth was at the time f I ji l;|ji 110 THE SPAEM'IFE. afflicted, but to make hira cleave to the re- beUious daring of his spirit. The fancies of the outlaw were still tinged with the predictions of the Spaewife, and in his ruminations on entering the castle, he recollect- ed that, from the time he had parted from her, three rivers he had crossed, and ascended and descended the hills between them; and he said to himself, " Athol is the man bv whom my lands are to be restored ; his power with the King is the key of my castle, which, when I again possess, will indeed remain mine." These reflections so wrought with him, that, while he was discoursing with Stuart, he beseeched him to ask the Earl, his uncle, to present a petition from him to the King. " I do not expect the restoration of my lands, nor shall I petition for that, but only remission of the banishment, that I may be free to enter into the vassalage of some ge- nerous patron.'^ 6 ILad THE SPAEWIFE. m There was no man of that time who could «> eloquently enforce his argument as Sir Robert Gr*mc, and the elocution with which I"; set forth this seeming lowly request ob- tained a ready concurrence from Stuart, who not only assisted him in forthwith preparing the memorial ofhis professions of contrition for past offences, but in carrying it to the tarl ; he added many things in the prisoner', ^ehalf, expressing, however, his doubt if the Kmg would grant any part of the humble •'-n solicited, and reverting, with sharp -ords, to the contumely, as he felt it, of thT K>"gs treatment of himself. The Farl l-vever, in taking the paper, said nothing.' but h.s countenance was pale, and his lipl qmvered ; and hastily putting it into his bo »ni, he retired into another apartment to con- -al the agitafon with which he was so very strangely affected. •' 113 THE SPAEWIFE. CHAP. XL While Macdonald and his hasty adventure, so suddenly abandoned, was causing such molestation throughout the realm, and bring- ing so many fatal circumstances to a conflu- ence, the Duchess of Albany, with her faith- ful companion, the aged Leddy Glenjuckie, was patiently wearing the time away in the castle of Glenfruin as a prisoner, under the watch and ward of Nigel and a party of the clansmen. The Lady of Glenfruin and her two daugh- ters, with many gentle ministrations, endea- voured to sweeten her captivity ; but to her Grace all things and all places were alike. Her prison-house was life ; and if at times she stfenied to be touched with any sense of mor- THE SPAEWIFE. 118 venture, ng such id bring- i conflu. ler faith- jnjuckie, y in the ider the ;y of the ) daugh- , endea- !fc to her re alike, imes she of mor- tal sympathy, it was in the still of the golden evening, when she sat on the brow of the castle-hiJI, looking abroad on the tranquillity of the lake below, and listening to the mourn- ful melody of some Highland sonnet and wail- ing coronach chanted by old Norah, as she teased her wool or twirled her distaff on the stone seat at the castle gate. But Leddy Glenjuckie, who suffered no grief save that of pity for the misfortunes of her mistress, the which, like the sorrows of other waiting gentlewomen, was yielding to the balm of time, and save the occasional an- guish of her own sciatica, passed the day with more variety. Having from her youth been habituated to the silken courtesies of a court- ly life, she could ill abide the mountain fare and heather couches of Glenfruin's tower, and the offence which the yellow necks and bare red arms of his long and lean daughters gave to her delicate eyes at her arrival, was scarcely extenuated by the unmitigated civi- 1 ! : i t ill In h i i ; i Li 114 THE SPAEWIFE. lities of their Highland kindness. For several days slie fretted at tlieir endeavours to be urbane and debonnaire, notwitiistandin^ the manifest great j)ains which the efforts cost them ; and she often peevishly repulsed the condolence with which they brought frequent decoctions and many an arcanum of Celtic pharmacy, to appease the anguish of her scia- tica. Custom, however, began at last to reconcile her to their defects and kindiiess ; and, in the end, the deference which they paid to her superiority was rewarded by affable tales con- cerning the revels and the banquets which she had formerly adorned. Then would she des- cant of the caskets of pearls and garnets, and the glittering robes, which she had left in the castle of Falkland ; telling them of things whereof they had not heard even the names, such as damask diapered with lilies, enamelled chainlets, pomelles, and purple palls; and how, when she was a maid of h ii 120 THE SPA E WIFE. Leddy Glenjuckie till Glenfruin returned home ; and a very wrothful and irascible man he was when he came, not only because he had found no rebellious town to indemnify his clansmen for the brisk loyalty with which they had obeyed the King's mandate to go against Macdonald, but also in consequence of the Earl of AthoPs doubts if his Majesty would be content to hear that the unfortunate Duchess was held as a prisoner in his castle. The consideration, also, with which the Earl and his nephew treated Sir Robert Graeme did not content him ; he not only expected that immediate execution would have been done on the outlaw, but had cherished the hope, that, for ..le notable service he had himself render- ed to the State in bringing him in, no question would be made about granting the pendicle of the earldom of Lennox, which lay so con- veniently to augment his estate. " Sowlls and podies, Nigel !" said he to his son, in relating the adventure, « Isn't a shame 1i^ THE SPAE\. IFE. Ul -d a f,e tat we will pe come pack wi' te meal for te forty davs «] • •'J' aays, al m our pellies B"tNige], instead of sympathizing with his a.^pp„t.e„t,orthei.p„.eri.shJntwhi exped:t,on, began to speak in very tender and «>mpass,onate terms of the Duchess 1 suggest, that as her detention migt „: : tocmry her, as soon as possible, in a befit '-g manner, to the summer bower i„ r„t" mumn. ^ncn- !::;;"- -'-"^ »— ./.dtr Laidie Tooch Oomph. Has she ransom ?— -Oomph VOL. II. les wi' a te gallantrie-^ rings or te gold for te F aii;^ M :i !' 122 THE SPAEWIFE. At this juncture of their conversation, Led- dy Glenjuckie, who had been forth an airing on the castle-hill when he returned, came into the hall, leaning, because of her sciatica, on the arms of his daughters. As she passed towards the stair to ascend into the apartment where the Duchess was silting alone, — the Lady of Glenfruin being busy with Norah in another apartment, seething worsted with chips of oak and rusty swords for a blue dye, — Glenfruin turned round on the bench in the chimney-corner where he was sitting, and said— " Mi oold Laidie-matam, and will te pen- alties in your pack no pe petter at al? — Oomph;' Leddy Glenjuckie, who had never been af- flicted with such a salutation, dropped the arms of her supporters, and looked as if she beheld some shaggy boar, or other uncouth felon of the woods. Glenfruin however in- tended to be courteous, in order that no com- THESPAEWIFE. jg p.abtmi,htaf«sbe«adeb,theprisoI ers to his prejudice, and he added— " It's an och-hon, «i Laidie-niatam, to see tat yeVe al a crook h-ke te hoop o-te „^ moon— Oomph." At these words, Leddy Glenjuekie tartly ^' ": •'''"^•'^- a^- by the arms, and -th short quick steps, tottled as fast a^ she eoud to the foot of the stairs. Glenfr^ quneuncoascious of any offence, rose aiid^d vanced to proffer his gallant assistance to hS tilJh- •V'™''■"^'^°™-^-~- .onfh,sc:vlhty,she,ookedoverhershouI. aer, trembliiiff at oncp wifK and exclaimed- "="" '"' '^' " ^^r "''"■ ^" '" ™"'t^d «inee I had my misfortune !" '^ nm " SowlIs,podies! misfortune .--oomph - was "asonorataughter.P-Oomph" What might have ensued it were vain to ^agine, or at that moment the shrill Tund <^ a bugle.horn at the castle-gate drowned Ml ' ! i ! 'I ! :! I lU i 1 ji i' t I! ill- iir 124 THE SPAEWIFE. her scream ; and Glenfruin, with Nigel and all the sorners in the hall, hastened to see what stranger so chivalai usly demanded entrance. THE SPAEWIFK. 1^ CHAP. XII. In the meantime the Lord James, after the breaking up of Ma<3donald's enterprise, he- came very despondent of his fortunes,' and was grieved, even tc that sickness of the heart which is of a keener pang than the anguish of wound., by the reported inconstancy of the Lady Sibilla. In the morning, when he saw the clansman of the Isles departing homeward, and all the array that had come to maintain his cause meltmg away, he stood alone on the side of Craig Phatric, and, meditating on the eclipse of his father's house, resolved to leave the Scottish strand for ever, and to sail to the isle of Rhodes, there to seek admission into the brotherhood of the knights of St John. And it chanced that, while he was in this I'j h r 126 THE 8PAEWIFE. forlorn and disconsolate state, Celestine of Loch Aw, a kinsman of his own, suddenly ap- peared coming from the bottom of the hill. The mother of this Celestine, being the daughter of the Regent Robert, was aunt to the outlaw, and her son had inherited from her the partialities and affections of the Albanies ; but his father, Sir Duncan Campbell, was a warrior of renowned loyalty, and in all things a firm upholder of the King's administration. It chanced, that when the tidings of the Lord James' arrival at Inverlochy from Ireland reached Celestine, that he was hunting the red deer r»n Ben Cruachan, with but a few fol- lowers ; and on the pretext of still pursuing the chase, he passed the mountains at the head of Loch Rannoch,and, skirring the coun- try to the north of Loch Erich, had only that morning come from Dalwhinnie to the camp; so that the Lord James, on being told his name, though he joined hands with him as a kinsman, knew not in what way his affections THE SPAEWIFE. I27 leant ; and he was the more disposed to dig. trust him, seeing him alone and in the garb of a hunter, because of the notour devotion to the King which his father. Sir Duncan Camp, bell, cherished. He would therefore have gMly avoided him ; but the melancholiou, manner in which Celestine had seen him stand- 'ng alone, leaning on the hilt of his broad- sword, much moved the young chieftain of the Campbells, and he not only tried to cheer h- if 1 (1 1' 1 , ) i i 128 THE SPAli\riF£. whose chief, your father, is well known to be as it were a very part of the King himself ? No, truly,, my kind cousin, it were now a mad and vain thing of me to attempt any enter- prise in Scotland ; I feel that I am indeed an outlaw — the curse of excommunication has taken effect upon me. I am a shunned thing, and no one prospers that shares in the chances <:i 1 i I'S 1 1 i 144 THE SPAEWIFE. presence with him were retiring, informed him, that he was minded to found a house to the glory of God in the city of Perth, and commanded him to remain at Scoone until the needful preparations were made. Now it came to pass, as they were dis- coursing of this matter together, that the Earl of Athol came into the chamber with the petition of Sir Robert Graeme in his hand, and went towards the King to present it. His Majesty observing him, said, with his freest urbanity — " What great favour would our good un- cle, that he comes to us with such elaboration of homage ? This is something, my Lord, that you either fear will not be granted, or think should not." With these words his Majesty took the paper from the Earl ; but when, at the first glance, he saw it was a pe- tition for the remission of a punishment, he folded it up, and said gravely — " I am grieved, my Lord, to refuse any THE SPAEWIFE. [^ solicitation preferred by you; but the time «ay be rescnded i„ Scotland. Here have C^^r^f-^^-f the church, compil mg of what they still suffer from the „Lle and tyrannyofthose to whom power hasren u"-se.y delegated. Take back the pap^r I have not even looked at the name of thi petitioner." ^"^ " My gracious Liege," exclaimed the Earl, movmg, as if averse to r» • T petition. '""^•^'^ the "I am not to be entreated in such things" md the King severely : « I have t„.^ that til, X have search^ed those :yttC: -rce, wluch have made this unhappy kW <' m one constant theatre of crimfl shall esteem myself, even with all endeavour to th contrary, but as a candidate on prob t<>^g.eat office to whichProvideneehascalS ^' From whom is the petition ..'said Bishop !■' ■! I!'i.i 146 THE SPAEWIFE. Wardlaw apart; for his Majesty in so speak- nghad turned away. " From my kinsmain, Sir Robert Graeme/' " Do you, my Lord," exclaimed the Bishop, amazed to hear this,—" do you petition for a pardon to him ?" The King having partly overheard the Bishop's words, turned quickly round, and said— « Who is the petitioner ?" " A bold and dangerous man," rephed the Earl, scarcely aware of what he said, so much had the sharp speech and keen look of Bishop Wardlaw disturbed the resolution wherewith he had prepared himself for the interview. " And for these quahties," exclmmed his Majesty, " would you ask his pardon ? Tell me at once that he is the King of Scotland, and that we are but permitted to hold the crown through his forbearance. Let me ne- ' ver hear such words again. Eighteen years. THE SPAEWIFE. 147 with the name of prisoner, I was exiled from my nghts, and in that time crimes were al lowed to grow to customs among you.-How am I aided in the endeavour to lessen such misery, when great and good men like you Lord Athol, set yourselves forward as the advocates of bold and dangerous offenders. It chafes my very heart, to think that there is never to be an end to the habitude of mis- rule, wh.ch has made the name of the wild Scot a proverb for shame throughout Chris- tendorn. But what is your friend called ?" « He is no friend of mine," replied the Earl diffidently; "the petition is from Sir Robert Grasme." " Sir Kobert Gr^me ! I have ever repent- ed the indulgence shown to that man. It haunts me," said the King, " hke the memory of a foul deed in a troubled conscience- it comes upon my spirit at times like the fear that is said to follow guilt. And you, my Lord, who were so opposed to that indul- I I I u I ill •■ 'ill 148 THE 8PAEWIFE. gence, how is it that you now would sue for his pardon ? I have no taint of superstition, hut such accidents seem almost portentous." Bishop Wardlaw, who had stood surprised to observe the King in this mood, turned to the Earl, and added— " It was an evil hour, and under some ma- lignant planet, when you ravelled yourself with the knotted yarn of that bad man's des- tiny." The Earl trembled, and became pale, and could not for some time master the perturba- tion into which he was thrown by these chid- ings. The King, seeing his agitation, softened his voice, and said to him in a soothing man- ner— " But I doubt not that, in all things, you have ever considered what at the time was best ; and though no good has come, or can come, from the lenity shown to Sir Robert Graeme, yet I do acquit you, my Lord, of all THE SPAEWIFE. 149 Wame with respect to u. Not so, however, w.th respect to this; though to say truly, I know not well wherefore, and, with as little ~ .t is perhaps, that I say I wish you ''«d not singled the honours and merits of your own unblemished life with the devices and crimes of that stubborn traitor." " How is it," .aid the Earl composedly, that, whde your Majesty says my life y^ '•een unblemished, occasion is taken from the case of an unfortunate kinsman to subject me 'o a degree of reproof, as if I had myself in -me way offended. My Lord Bishop here «ap,ousandanhonestman. I should have felt contntion, could I have, even in thought questioned his integrity. He is building a 7 ^"^ ^*^'«ly college at St Andrews- he chants and attends mass; not a priest of the church is more exemplary; I have never heard that the merits of his virtues and en devours have laid him open to any suspi. 150 THE SPAEWIFE. i i « My Lord— Lord Athol," said the King, raising his left hand, as if he would have delivered a rebuke or an admonition; but suddenly dropping it, he added—" Surely I cannot have incurred the displeasure of my good uncle, whom, ever since I came into this kingdom, which I do verily think holds one continued earthquake from the border to the utmost cape of the north, I have found the most discreet and freest spoken of all my friends. But my choler was moved at hear- ing the saucy complaints of those churchmen against the meddling of the laity, even in a case of treason, wherein an audacious priest, I mean Bishop Finlay, was the chief instiga- tor and mainspring of rebellion. If I have spoken hastily, my Lord, beshrew me if I shall not be most eager to manifest my con- trition. But, Sir Robert Graeme— why have you come to me with any cause of his ? why rather, I should say, have you taken such an infection from his seditious spirit, as to ask i i'li! even in THE SPAEWIFB. 151 me to remit his sentence,— a sentence which, at the time, neither mj own mind, nor the judgment of the wisest of my council, ap- proved, for it went upon the notion that he might become an honest man ? However, to " say no more of that, as it is impossible for the King's arms, long as they may be, to reach to every quarter, I wish you, and such noblemen as are of unquestionable fidelity, to repair again to your several castles, and each, within his own province, emulate the administration which we intend to exercise m ours. Know you any thing of a chieftain m Lennox called Glenfruin ?" " I have heard of him," replied the Earl, " and it is said that he holds the unfortunate Duchess of Albany prisoner, in order to extort a ransom for her deliv ranee." " When did you hear this ? why was not I sooner told ?" exclaimed tie King. « Could you come here to petition for a traitor like Sir Robert Graeme, and know that so noble a r^ lii \59l THE SPAEWIFE. lady was in the reverence of such a barba- rian ? for nothing less can I account this Glen- fruin, who, out of his own caprice, committed martyrdom on an innocent, holy, and blame- less friar. You ought, my Lord, to have told me of this first. I will listen to no ques- tion till orders are sent for the deliverance of the Duchess of Albany." " I beseech your Majesty for one word,'' replied the Earl ; «« Glenfruin is a staunch and true subject.'''' " Then let it be shown that he respects justice— justice, which, to the sacrifice of my own sentiments as a man, I have so strenu- ously endeavoured to revive. I have, my Lord, not spared, in that endeavour, the greatest and the most honoured of my own kinsmen; and the principle that made me bring them to the scaffold is not impaired, nor, while I retain that sense of my royal office with which I returned into this realm, will I allow it to suffer any occultation," THE SPAEWIF^. 153 The Earl, though awed by the vehemence of his Majesty, yet retained his self-posses- sion, and said " It belongs not to me lo execute whatever may be your Majesty's pleasure upon Glen- tru.n, or upon any other of the untractable ch>eftams, but in my own country I shall not he found wanting in ray duty." « Then go to your own country," said the King abruptly, " and see that it is so." But m a moment his Majesty felt that he had dealt hardly towards so venerable and esteem- ed a person as the Earl of Athol, and he added-" I ^ould, my Lord, that I could endure these things more patiently. But g»od Bishop Wardiaw here knows, that the mamfold complaints with which I am beset and they are all just, gall my very spirit ; for' I am a young man, and the old are too prone to their own sordid intents to lend me that true help, by which alone I can hope to over come the difficulties wherewith my royal e,- g2 Uv. . (I il