'Sir, it does not concern you but in a very secondary degree; that
is, it does not concern you, as a giddy young fellow who takes
pleasure in contradicting his father; but it concerns the country,
sir, and the county, sir, and the public, sir, and the kingdom of
Scotland, in so far as the interest of the Hazlewood family, sir,
is committed and interested and put in peril, in, by, and through
you, sir. And the fellow is in safe custody, and Mr. Glossin
thinks---'

'Mr. Glossin, sir?'

'Yes, sir, the gentleman who has purchased Ellangowan; you know
who I mean, I suppose?'

'Yes, sir,' answered the young man; 'but I should hardly have
expected to hear you quote such authority. Why, this fellow--all
the world knows him to be sordid, mean, tricking, and I suspect
him to be worse. And you yourself, my dear sir, when did you call
such a person a gentleman in your life before?'

'Why, Charles, I did not mean gentleman in the precise sense and
meaning, and restricted and proper use, to which, no doubt, the
phrase ought legitimately to be confined; but I meant to use it
relatively, as marking something of that state to which he has
elevated and raised himself; as designing, in short, a decent and
wealthy and estimable sort of a person.'

'Allow me to ask, sir,' said Charles, 'if it was by this man's
orders that the guard was drawn from Portanferry?'

'Sir,' replied the Baronet, 'I do apprehend that Mr. Glossin would
not presume to give orders, or even an opinion, unless asked, in a
matter in which Hazlewood House and the house of Hazlewood--
meaning by the one this mansion-house of my family, and by the
other, typically, metaphorically, and parabolically, the family
itself,--I say, then, where the house of Hazlewood, or Hazlewood
House, was so immediately concerned.'

'I presume, however, sir,' said the son, 'this Glossin approved of
the proposal?'

'Sir,' replied his father, 'I thought it decent and right and
proper to consult him as the nearest magistrate as soon as report
of the intended outrage reached my ears; and although he declined,
out of deference and respect, as became our relative situations,
to concur in the order, yet he did entirely approve of my
arrangement.'

At this moment a horse's feet were heard coming very fast up the
avenue. In a few minutes the door opened, and Mr. Mac-Morlan
presented himself. 'I am under great concern to intrude, Sir
Robert, but---'

'Give me leave, Mr. Mac-Morlan,' said Sir Robert, with a gracious
flourish of welcome; 'this is no intrusion, sir; for, your
situation as sheriff-substitute calling upon you to attend to the
peace of the county, and you, doubtless, feeling yourself
particularly called upon to protect Hazlewood House, you have an
acknowledged and admitted and undeniable right, sir, to enter the
house of the first gentleman in Scotland uninvited--always
presuming you to be called there by the duty of your office.'

'It is indeed the duty of my office,' said Mac-Morlan, who waited
with impatience an opportunity to speak, 'that makes me an
intruder.'

'No intrusion!' reiterated the Baronet, gracefully waving his
hand.

'But permit me to say, Sir Robert,' said the sheriff-substitute,
'I do not come with the purpose of remaining here, but to recall
these soldiers to Portanferry, and to assure you that I will
answer for the safety of your house.'

'To withdraw the guard from Hazlewood House!' exclaimed the
proprietor in mingled displeasure and surprise; 'and YOU will be
answerable for it! And, pray, who are you, sir, that I should take
your security and caution and pledge, official or personal, for
the safety of Hazlewood House? I think, sir, and believe, sir, and
am of opinion, sir, that if any one of these family pictures were
deranged or destroyed or injured it would be difficult for me to
make up the loss upon the guarantee which you so obligingly offer
me.'

'In that case I shall be sorry for it, Sir Robert,' answered the
downright Mac-Morlan; 'but I presume I may escape the pain of
feeling my conduct the cause of such irreparable loss, as I can
assure you there will be no attempt upon Hazlewood House whatever,
and I have received information which induces me to suspect that
the rumour was put afloat merely in order to occasion the removal
of the soldiers from Portanferry. And under this strong belief and
conviction I must exert my authority as sheriff and chief
magistrate of police to order the whole, or greater part of them,
back again. I regret much that by my accidental absence a good
deal of delay has already taken place, and we shall not now reach
Portanferry until it is late.'

As Mr. Mac-Morlan was the superior magistrate, and expressed
himself peremptory in the purpose of acting as such, the Baronet,
though highly offended, could only say, 'Very well, sir; it is
very well. Nay, sir, take them all with you; I am far from
desiring any to be left here, sir. We, sir, can protect ourselves,
sir. But you will have the goodness to observe, sir, that you are
acting on your own proper risk, sir, and peril, sir, and
responsibility, sir, if anything shall happen or befall to
Hazlewood House, sir, or the inhabitants, sir, or to the furniture
and paintings, sir.'

'I am acting to the best of my judgment and information, Sir
Robert,' said Mac-Morlan, 'and I must pray of you to believe so,
and to pardon me accordingly. I beg you to observe it is no time
for ceremony; it is already very late.'

But Sir Robert, without deigning to listen to his apologies,
immediately employed himself with much parade in arming and
arraying his domestics. Charles Hazlewood longed to accompany the
military, which were about to depart for Portanferry, and which
were now drawn up and mounted by direction and under the guidance
of Mr. Mac-Morlan, as the civil magistrate. But it would have
given just pain and offence to his father to have left him at a
moment when he conceived himself and his mansion-house in danger.
Young Hazlewood therefore gazed from a window with suppressed
regret and displeasure, until he heard the officer give the word
of command--'From the right to the front, by files, m-a-rch.
Leading file, to the right wheel. Trot.' The whole party of
soldiers then getting into a sharp and uniform pace, were soon
lost among the trees, and the noise of the hoofs died speedily
away in the distance.




CHAPTER XLVIII

     Wi' coulters and wi' forehammers
     We garr'd the bars bang merrily,
     Until we came to the inner prison,
     Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie.

          Old Border Ballad.


We return to Portanferry, and to Bertram and his honest-hearted
friend, whom we left most innocent inhabitants of a place built
for the guilty. The slumbers of the farmer were as sound as it was
possible.

But Bertram's first heavy sleep passed away long before midnight,
nor could he again recover that state of oblivion. Added to the
uncertain and uncomfortable state of his mind, his body felt
feverish and oppressed. This was chiefly owing to the close and
confined air of the small apartment in which they slept. After
enduring for some time the broiling and suffocating feeling
attendant upon such an atmosphere, he rose to endeavour to open
the window of the apartment, and thus to procure a change of air.
Alas! the first trial reminded him that he was in jail, and that
the building being contrived for security, not comfort, the means
of procuring fresh air were not left at the disposal of the
wretched inhabitants.

Disappointed in this attempt, he stood by the unmanageable window
for some time. Little Wasp, though oppressed with the fatigue of
his journey on the preceding day, crept out of bed after his
master, and stood by him rubbing his shaggy coat against his legs,
and expressing by a murmuring sound the delight which he felt at
being restored to him. Thus accompanied, and waiting until the
feverish feeling which at present agitated his blood should
subside into a desire for warmth and slumber, Bertram remained for
some time looking out upon the sea.

The tide was now nearly full, and dashed hoarse and near below the
base of the building. Now and then a large wave reached even the
barrier or bulwark which defended the foundation of the house, and
was flung up on it with greater force and noise than those which
only broke upon the sand. Far in the distance, under the
indistinct light of a hazy and often overclouded moon, the ocean
rolled its multitudinous complication of waves, crossing,
bursting, and mingling with each other.

'A wild and dim spectacle,' said Bertram to himself, 'like those
crossing tides of fate which have tossed me about the world from
my infancy upwards. When will this uncertainty cease, and how soon
shall I be permitted to look out for a tranquil home, where I may
cultivate in quiet, and without dread and perplexity, those arts
of peace from which my cares have been hitherto so forcibly
diverted? The ear of Fancy, it is said, can discover the voice of
sea-nymphs and tritons amid the bursting murmurs of the ocean;
would that I could do so, and that some siren or Proteus would
arise from these billows to unriddle for me the strange maze of
fate in which I am so deeply entangled! Happy friend!' he said,
looking at the bed where Dinmont had deposited his bulky person,
'thy cares are confined to the narrow round of a healthy and
thriving occupation! Thou canst lay them aside at pleasure, and
enjoy the deep repose of body and mind which wholesome labour has
prepared for thee!'

At this moment his reflections were broken by little Wasp, who,
attempting to spring up against the window, began to yelp and bark
most furiously. The sounds reached Dinmont's ears, but without
dissipating the illusion which had transported him from this
wretched apartment to the free air of his own green hills. 'Hoy,
Yarrow, man! far yaud, far yaud!' he muttered between his teeth,
imagining, doubtless, that he was calling to his sheep-dog, and
hounding him in shepherds' phrase against some intruders on the
grazing. The continued barking of the terrier within was answered
by the angry challenge of the mastiff in the courtyard, which had
for a long time been silent, excepting only an occasional short
and deep note, uttered when the moon shone suddenly from among the
clouds. Now his clamour was continued and furious, and seemed to
be excited by some disturbance distinct from the barking of Wasp,
which had first given him the alarm, and which, with much trouble,
his master had contrived to still into an angry note of low
growling.

At last Bertram, whose attention was now fully awakened, conceived
that he saw a boat upon the sea, and heard in good earnest the
sound of oars and of human voices mingling with the dash of the
billows. 'Some benighted fishermen,' he thought, 'or perhaps some
of the desperate traders from the Isle of Man. They are very
hardy, however, to approach so near to the custom-house, where
there must be sentinels. It is a large boat, like a long-boat, and
full of people; perhaps it belongs to the revenue service.'
Bertram was confirmed in this last opinion by observing that the
boat made for a little quay which ran into the sea behind the
custom-house, and, jumping ashore one after another, the crew, to
the number of twenty hands, glided secretly up a small lane which
divided the custom-house from the bridewell, and disappeared from
his sight, leaving only two persons to take care of the boat.

The dash of these men's oars at first, and latterly the suppressed
sounds of their voices, had excited the wrath of the wakeful
sentinel in the courtyard, who now exalted his deep voice into
such a horrid and continuous din that it awakened his brute
master, as savage a ban-dog as himself. His cry from a window, of
'How now, Tearum, what's the matter, sir? down, d--n ye, down!'
produced no abatement of Tearum's vociferation, which in part
prevented his master from hearing the sounds of alarm which his
ferocious vigilance was in the act of challenging. But the mate of
the two-legged Cerberus was gifted with sharper ears than her
husband. She also was now at the window. 'B--t ye, gae down and
let loose the dog,' she said; 'they're sporting the door of the
custom-house, and the auld sap at Hazlewood House has ordered off
the guard. But ye hae nae mair heart than a cat.' And down the
Amazon sallied to perform the task herself, while her helpmate,
more jealous of insurrection within doors than of storm from
without, went from cell to cell to see that the inhabitants of
each were carefully secured.

These latter sounds with which we have made the reader acquainted
had their origin in front of the house, and were consequently
imperfectly heard by Bertram, whose apartment, as we have already
noticed, looked from the back part of the building upon the sea.
He heard, however, a stir and tumult in the house, which did not
seem to accord with the stern seclusion of a prison at the hour of
midnight, and, connecting them with the arrival of an armed boat
at that dead hour, could not but suppose that something
extraordinary was about to take place. In this belief he shook
Dinmont by the shoulder. 'Eh! Ay! Oh! Ailie, woman, it's no time
to get up yet,' groaned the sleeping man of the mountains. More
roughly shaken, however, he gathered himself up, shook his ears,
and asked, 'In the name of Providence what's the matter?'

'That I can't tell you,' replied Bertram; 'but either the place is
on fire or some extraordinary thing is about to happen. Are you
not sensible of a smell of fire? Do you not hear what a noise
there is of clashing doors within the house and of hoarse voices,
murmurs, and distant shouts on the outside? Upon my word, I
believe something very extraordinary has taken place. Get up, for
the love of Heaven, and let us be on our guard.'

Dinmont rose at the idea of danger, as intrepid and undismayed as
any of his ancestors when the beacon-light was kindled. 'Od,
Captain, this is a queer place! they winna let ye out in the day,
and they winna let ye sleep in the night. Deil, but it wad break
my heart in a fortnight. But, Lordsake, what a racket they're
making now! Od, I wish we had some light. Wasp, Wasp, whisht,
hinny; whisht, my bonnie man, and let's hear what they're doing.
Deil's in ye, will ye whisht?'

They sought in vain among the embers the means of lighting their
candle, and the noise without still continued. Dinmont in his turn
had recourse to the window--'Lordsake, Captain! come here. Od,
they hae broken the custom-house!'

Bertram hastened to the window, and plainly saw a miscellaneous
crowd of smugglers, and blackguards of different descriptions,
some carrying lighted torches, others bearing packages and barrels
down the lane to the boat that was lying at the quay, to which two
or three other fisher-boats were now brought round. They were
loading each of these in their turn, and one or two had already
put off to seaward. 'This speaks for itself,' said Bertram; 'but I
fear something worse has happened. Do you perceive a strong smell
of smoke, or is it my fancy?'

'Fancy?' answered Dinmont, 'there's a reek like a killogie. Od, if
they burn the custom-house it will catch here, and we'll lunt like
a tar-barrel a' thegither. Eh! it wad be fearsome to be burnt
alive for naething, like as if ane had been a warlock! Mac-Guffog,
hear ye!' roaring at the top of his voice; 'an ye wad ever hae a
haill bane in your skin, let's out, man, let's out!'

The fire began now to rise high, and thick clouds of smoke rolled
past the window at which Bertram and Dinmont were stationed.
Sometimes, as the wind pleased, the dim shroud of vapour hid
everything from their sight; sometimes a red glare illuminated
both land and sea, and shone full on the stern and fierce figures
who, wild with ferocious activity, were engaged in loading the
boats. The fire was at length triumphant, and spouted in jets of
flame out at each window of the burning building, while huge
flakes of flaming materials came driving on the wind against the
adjoining prison, and rolling a dark canopy of smoke over all the
neighbourhood. The shouts of a furious mob resounded far and wide;
for the smugglers in their triumph were joined by all the rabble
of the little town and neighbourhood, now aroused and in complete
agitation, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, some from
interest in the free trade, and most from the general love of
mischief and tumult natural to a vulgar populace.

Bertram began to be seriously anxious for their fate. There was no
stir in the house; it seemed as if the jailor had deserted his
charge, and left the prison with its wretched inhabitants to the
mercy of the conflagration which was spreading towards them. In
the meantime a new and fierce attack was heard upon the outer gate
of the correction house, which, battered with sledge-hammers and
crows, was soon forced. The keeper, as great a coward as a bully,
with his more ferocious wife, had fled; their servants readily
surrendered the keys. The liberated prisoners, celebrating their
deliverance with the wildest yells of joy, mingled among the mob
which had given them freedom.

In the midst of the confusion that ensued three or four of the
principal smugglers hurried to the apartment of Bertram with
lighted torches, and armed with cutlasses and pistols. 'Der
deyvil,' said the leader, 'here's our mark!' and two of them
seized on Bertram; but one whispered in his ear,' Make no
resistance till you are in the street.' The same individual found
an instant to say to Dinmont--'Follow your friend, and help when
you see the time come.'

In the hurry of the moment Dinmont obeyed and followed close. The
two smugglers dragged Bertram along the passage, downstairs,
through the courtyard, now illuminated by the glare of fire, and
into the narrow street to which the gate opened, where in the
confusion the gang were necessarily in some degree separated from
each other. A rapid noise, as of a body of horse advancing, seemed
to add to the disturbance. 'Hagel and wetter, what is that?' said
the leader; 'keep together, kinder; look to the prisoner.' But in
spite of his charge the two who held Bertram were the last of the
party.

The sounds and signs of violence were heard in front. The press
became furiously agitated, while some endeavoured to defend
themselves, others to escape; shots were fired, and the glittering
broadswords of the dragoons began to appear flashing above the
heads of the rioters. 'Now,' said the warning whisper of the man
who held Bertram's left arm, the same who had spoken before,
'shake off that fellow and follow me.'

Bertram, exerting his strength suddenly and effectually, easily
burst from the grasp of the man who held his collar on the right
side. The fellow attempted to draw a pistol, but was prostrated by
a blow of Dinmont's fist, which an ox could hardly have received
without the same humiliation. 'Follow me quick,' said the friendly
partizan, and dived through a very narrow and dirty lane which led
from the main street.

No pursuit took place. The attention of the smugglers had been
otherwise and very disagreeably engaged by the sudden appearance
of Mac-Morlan and the party of horse. The loud, manly voice of the
provincial magistrate was heard proclaiming the Riot Act, and
charging 'all those unlawfully assembled to disperse at their own
proper peril.' This interruption would, indeed, have happened in
time sufficient to have prevented the attempt, had not the
magistrate received upon the road some false information which led
him to think that the smugglers were to land at the bay of
Ellangowan. Nearly two hours were lost in consequence of this
false intelligence, which it may be no lack of charity to suppose
that Glossin, so deeply interested in the issue of that night's
daring attempt, had contrived to throw in Mac-Morlan's way,
availing himself of the knowledge that the soldiers had left
Hazlewood House, which would soon reach an ear so anxious as his.

In the meantime, Bertram followed his guide, and was in his turn
followed by Dinmont. The shouts of the mob, the trampling of the
horses, the dropping pistol-shots, sunk more and more faintly upon
their ears, when at the end of the dark lane they found a post-
chaise with four horses. 'Are you here, in God's name?' said the
guide to the postilion who drove the leaders.

'Ay, troth am I,' answered Jock Jabos, 'and I wish I were ony gate
else.'

'Open the carriage then. You, gentlemen, get into it; in a short
time you'll be in a place of safety, and (to Bertram) remember
your promise to the gipsy wife!'

Bertram, resolving to be passive in the hands of a person who had
just rendered him such a distinguished piece of service, got into
the chaise as directed. Dinmont followed; Wasp, who had kept close
by them, sprung in at the same time, and the carriage drove off
very fast. 'Have a care o' me,' said Dinmont, 'but this is the
queerest thing yet! Od, I trust they'll no coup us. And then
what's to come o' Dumple? I would rather be on his back than in
the Deuke's coach, God bless him.'

Bertram observed, that they could not go at that rapid rate to any
very great distance without changing horses, and that they might
insist upon remaining till daylight at the first inn they stopped
at, or at least upon being made acquainted with the purpose and
termination of their journey, and Mr. Dinmont might there give
directions about his faithful horse, which would probably be safe
at the stables where he had left him. 'Aweel, aweel, e'en sae be
it for Dandie. Od, if we were ance out o' this trindling kist o' a
thing, I am thinking they wad find it hard wark to gar us gang ony
gate but where we liked oursells.'

While he thus spoke the carriage, making a sudden turn, showed
them through the left window the village at some distance, still
widely beaconed by the fire, which, having reached a store-house
wherein spirits were deposited, now rose high into the air, a
wavering column of brilliant light. They had not long time to
admire this spectacle, for another turn of the road carried them
into a close lane between plantations, through which the chaise
proceeded in nearly total darkness, but with unabated speed.




CHAPTER XLIX

     The night drave on wi' sangs and clatter,
     And aye the ale was growing better

          Tam o'Shanter.


We must now return to Woodbourne, which, it may be remembered, we
left just after the Colonel had given some directions to his
confidential servant. When he returned, his absence of mind, and
an unusual expression of thought and anxiety upon his features,
struck the ladies, whom he joined in the drawing-room. Mannering
was not, however, a man to be questioned, even by those whom he
most loved, upon the cause of the mental agitation which these
signs expressed. The hour of tea arrived, and the party were
partaking of that refreshment in silence when a carriage drove up
to the door, and the bell announced the arrival of a visitor.
'Surely,' said Mannering, 'it is too soon by some hours.'

There was a short pause, when Barnes, opening the door of the
saloon, announced Mr. Pleydell. In marched the lawyer, whose well-
brushed black coat and well-powdered wig, together with his point
ruffles, brown silk stockings, highly-varnished shoes, and gold
buckles, exhibited the pains which the old gentleman had taken to
prepare his person for the ladies' society. He was welcomed by
Mannering with a hearty shake by the hand. 'The very man I wished
to see at this moment!'

'Yes,' said the Counsellor, 'I told you I would take the first
opportunity; so I have ventured to leave the court for a week in
session time--no common sacrifice; but I had a notion I could be
useful, and I was to attend a proof here about the same time. But
will you not introduce me to the young ladies? Ah! there is one I
should have known at once from her family likeness! Miss Lucy
Bertram, my love, I am most happy to see you.' And he folded her
in his arms, and gave her a hearty kiss on each side of the face,
to which Lucy submitted in blushing resignation.

'On n'arrete pas dans un si beau chemin,' continued the gay old
gentleman, and, as the Colonel presented him to Julia, took the
same liberty with that fair lady's cheek. Julia laughed, coloured,
and disengaged herself. 'I beg a thousand pardons,' said the
lawyer, with a bow which was not at all professionally awkward;
'age and old fashions give privileges, and I can hardly say
whether I am most sorry just now at being too well entitled to
claim them at all, or happy in having such an opportunity to
exercise them so agreeably.'

'Upon my word, sir,' said Miss Mannering, laughing, 'if you make
such flattering apologies we shall begin to doubt whether we can
admit you to shelter yourself under your alleged qualifications.'

'I can assure you, Julia,' said the Colonel, 'you are perfectly
right. My friend the Counsellor is a dangerous person; the last
time I had the pleasure of seeing him he was closeted with a fair
lady who had granted him a tete-a-tete at eight in the morning.'

'Ay, but, Colonel,' said the Counsellor, 'you should add, I was
more indebted to my chocolate than my charms for so distinguished
a favour from a person of such propriety of demeanour as Mrs.
Rebecca.'

'And that should remind me, Mr. Pleydell,' said Julia, 'to offer
you tea; that is, supposing you have dined.'

'Anything, Miss Mannering, from your hands,' answered the gallant
jurisconsult; 'yes, I have dined; that is to say, as people dine
at a Scotch inn.'

'And that is indifferently enough,' said the Colonel, with his
hand upon the bell-handle; 'give me leave to order something.'

'Why, to say truth, 'replied Mr. Pleydell, 'I had rather not. I
have been inquiring into that matter, for you must know I stopped
an instant below to pull off my boot-hose, "a world too wide for
my shrunk shanks,"' glancing down with some complacency upon limbs
which looked very well for his time of life, 'and I had some
conversation with your Barnes and a very intelligent person whom I
presume to be the housekeeper; and it was settled among us, tota
re perspecta,--I beg Miss Mannering's pardon for my Latin,--that
the old lady should add to your light family supper the more
substantial refreshment of a brace of wild ducks. I told her
(always under deep submission) my poor thoughts about the sauce,
which concurred exactly with her own; and, if you please, I would
rather wait till they are ready before eating anything solid.'

'And we will anticipate our usual hour of supper,' said the
Colonel.

'With all my heart,' said Pleydell, 'providing I do not lose the
ladies' company a moment the sooner. I am of counsel with my old
friend Burnet; [Footnote: See Note 5] I love the coena, the supper
of the ancients, the pleasant meal and social glass that wash out
of one's mind the cobwebs that business or gloom have been
spinning in our brains all day.'

The vivacity of Mr. Pleydell's look and manner, and the quietness
with which he made himself at home on the subject of his little
epicurean comforts, amused the ladies, but particularly Miss
Mannering, who immediately gave the Counsellor a great deal of
flattering attention; and more pretty things were said on both
sides during the service of the tea-table than we have leisure to
repeat.

As soon as this was over, Mannering led the Counsellor by the arm
into a small study which opened from the saloon, and where,
according to the custom of the family, there were always lights
and a good fire in the evening.

'I see,' said Mr. Pleydell, 'you have got something to tell me
about the Ellangowan business. Is it terrestrial or celestial?
What says my military Albumazar? Have you calculated the course of
futurity? have you consulted your ephemerides, your almochoden,
your almuten?'

'No, truly, Counsellor,' replied Mannering, 'you are the only
Ptolemy I intend to resort to upon the present occasion. A second
Prospero, I have broken my staff and drowned my book far beyond
plummet depth. But I have great news notwithstanding. Meg
Merrilies, our Egyptian sibyl, has appeared to the Dominie this
very day, and, as I conjecture, has frightened the honest man not
a little.'

'Indeed?'

'Ay, and she has done me the honour to open a correspondence with
me, supposing me to be as deep in astrological mysteries as when
we first met. Here is her scroll, delivered to me by the Dominie.'

Pleydell put on his spectacles. 'A vile greasy scrawl, indeed; and
the letters are uncial or semi-uncial, as somebody calls your
large text hand, and in size and perpendicularity resemble the
ribs of a roasted pig; I can hardly make it out.'

'Read aloud,' said Mannering.

'I will try,' answered the Lawyer. '"YOU ARE A GOOD SEEKER, BUT A
BAD FINDER; YOU SET YOURSELF TO PROP A FALLING HOUSE, BUT HAD A
GEY GUESS IT WOULD RISE AGAIN. LEND YOUR HAND TO THE WORK THAT'S
NEAR, AS YOU LENT YOUR EE TO THE WEIRD THAT WAS FAR. HAVE A
CARRIAGE THIS NIGHT BY TEN O'CLOCK AT THE END OF THE CROOKED DYKES
AT PORTANFERRY, AND LET IT BRING THE FOLK TO WOODBOURNE THAT SHALL
ASK THEM, IF THEY BE THERE IN GOD'S NAME."--Stay, here follows
some poetry--

     "DARK SHALL BE LIGHT,
     AND WRONG DONE TO RIGHT,
     WHEN BERTRAM'S RIGHT AND BERTRAM'S MIGHT
     SHALL MEET ON ELLANGOWAN'S HEIGHT."

A most mystic epistle truly, and closes in a vein of poetry worthy
of the Cumaean sibyl. And what have you done?'

'Why,' said Mannering, rather reluctantly, 'I was loth to risk any
opportunity of throwing light on this business. The woman is
perhaps crazed, and these effusions may arise only from visions of
her imagination; but you were of opinion that she knew more of
that strange story than she ever told.'

'And so,' said Pleydell, 'you sent a carriage to the place named?'

'You will laugh at me if I own I did,' replied the Colonel.

'Who, I?' replied the Advocate. 'No, truly, I think it was the
wisest thing you could do.'

'Yes,' answered Mannering, well pleased to have escaped the
ridicule he apprehended; 'you know the worst is paying the chaise-
hire. I sent a post-chaise and four from Kippletringan, with
instructions corresponding to the letter; the horses will have a
long and cold station on the outpost to-night if our intelligence
be false.'

'Ay, but I think it will prove otherwise,' said the Lawyer. 'This
woman has played a part till she believes it; or, if she be a
thorough-paced impostor, without a single grain of self-delusion
to qualify her knavery, still she may think herself bound to act
in character; this I know, that I could get nothing out of her by
the common modes of interrogation, and the wisest thing we can do
is to give her an opportunity of making the discovery her own way.
And now have you more to say, or shall we go to the ladies?'

'Why, my mind is uncommonly agitated,' answered the Colonel,
'and--but I really have no more to say; only I shall count the
minutes till the carriage returns; but you cannot be expected to
be so anxious.'

'Why, no; use is all in all,' said the more experienced lawyer; 'I
am much interested certainly, but I think I shall be able to
survive the interval, if the ladies will afford us some music.'

'And with the assistance of the wild ducks, by and by?' suggested
Mannering.

'True, Colonel; a lawyer's anxiety about the fate of the most
interesting cause has seldom spoiled either his sleep or
digestion. [Footnote: See Note 6.] And yet I shall be very eager
to hear the rattle of these wheels on their return,
notwithstanding.'

So saying, he rose and led the way into the next room, where Miss
Mannering, at his request, took her seat at the harpsichord, Lucy
Bertram, who sung her native melodies very sweetly, was
accompanied by her friend upon the instrument, and Julia
afterwards performed some of Scarlatti's sonatas with great
brilliancy. The old lawyer, scraping a little upon the
violoncello, and being a member of the gentlemen's concert in
Edinburgh, was so greatly delighted with this mode of spending the
evening that I doubt if he once thought of the wild ducks until
Barnes informed the company that supper was ready.

'Tell Mrs. Allan to have something in readiness,' said the
Colonel; 'I expect--that is, I hope--perhaps some company may be
here to-night; and let the men sit up, and do not lock the upper
gate on the lawn until I desire you.'

'Lord, sir,' said Julia, 'whom can you possibly expect to-night?'

'Why, some persons, strangers to me, talked of calling in the
evening on business,' answered her father, not without
embarrassment, for he would have little brooked a disappointment
which might have thrown ridicule on his judgment; 'it is quite
uncertain.'

'Well, we shall not pardon them for disturbing our party,' said
Julia, 'unless they bring as much good-humour and as susceptible
hearts as my friend and admirer, for so he has dubbed himself,
Mr. Pleydell.'

'Ah, Miss Julia,' said Pleydell, offering his arm with an air of
gallantry to conduct her into the eating-room, 'the time has been,
when I returned from Utrecht in the year 1738--'

'Pray don't talk of it,' answered the young lady; 'we like you
much better as you are. Utrecht, in Heaven's name! I daresay you
have spent all the intervening years in getting rid so completely
of the effects of your Dutch education.'

'O forgive me, Miss Mannering,' said the Lawyer, 'the Dutch are a
much more accomplished people in point of gallantry than their
volatile neighbours are willing to admit. They are constant as
clock-work in their attentions.'

'I should tire of that,' said Julia.

'Imperturbable in their good temper,' continued Pleydell.

'Worse and worse,' said the young lady.

'And then,' said the old beau garcon, 'although for six times
three hundred and sixty-five days your swain has placed the
capuchin round your neck, and the stove under your feet, and
driven your little sledge upon the ice in winter, and your
cabriole through the dust in summer, you may dismiss him at once,
without reason or apology, upon the two thousand one hundred and
ninetieth day, which, according to my hasty calculation, and
without reckoning leap-years, will complete the cycle of the
supposed adoration, and that without your amiable feelings having
the slightest occasion to be alarmed for the consequences to those
of Mynheer.'

'Well,' replied Julia,' that last is truly a Dutch recommendation,
Mr. Pleydell; crystal and hearts would lose all their merit in the
world if it were not for their fragility.'

'Why, upon that point of the argument, Miss Mannering, it is as
difficult to find a heart that will break as a glass that will
not; and for that reason I would press the value of mine own, were
it not that I see Mr. Sampson's eyes have been closed, and his
hands clasped for some time, attending the end of our conference
to begin the grace. And, to say the truth, the appearance of the
wild ducks is very appetising.' So saying, the worthy Counsellor
sat himself to table, and laid aside his gallantry for awhile to
do honour to the good things placed before him. Nothing further is
recorded of him for some time, excepting an observation that the
ducks were roasted to a single turn, and that Mrs. Allan's sauce
of claret, lemon, and cayenne was beyond praise.

'I see,' said Miss Mannering, 'I have a formidable rival in Mr.
Pleydell's favour, even on the very first night of his avowed
admiration.'

'Pardon me, my fair lady,' answered the Counsellor, 'your avowed
rigour alone has induced me to commit the solecism of eating a
good supper in your presence; how shall I support your frowns
without reinforcing my strength? Upon the same principle, and no
other, I will ask permission to drink wine with you.'

'This is the fashion of Utrecht also, I suppose, Mr. Pleydell?'

'Forgive me, madam,' answered the Counsellor; 'the French
themselves, the patterns of all that is gallant, term their
tavern-keepers restaurateurs, alluding, doubtless, to the relief
they afford the disconsolate lover when bowed down to the earth by
his mistress's severity. My own case requires so much relief that
I must trouble you for that other wing, Mr. Sampson, without
prejudice to my afterwards applying to Miss Bertram for a tart. Be
pleased to tear the wing, sir, instead of cutting it off. Mr.
Barnes will assist you, Mr. Sampson; thank you, sir; and, Mr.
Barnes, a glass of ale, if you please.'

While the old gentleman, pleased with Miss Mannering's liveliness
and attention, rattled away for her amusement and his own, the
impatience of Colonel Mannering began to exceed all bounds. He
declined sitting down at table, under pretence that he never eat
supper; and traversed the parlour in which they were with hasty
and impatient steps, now throwing up the window to gaze upon the
dark lawn, now listening for the remote sound of the carriage
advancing up the avenue. At length, in a feeling of uncontrollable
impatience, he left the room, took his hat and cloak, and pursued
his walk up the avenue, as if his so doing would hasten the
approach of those whom he desired to see. 'I really wish,' said
Miss Bertram,' Colonel Mannering would not venture out after
nightfall. You must have heard, Mr. Pleydell, what a cruel fright
we had.'

'O, with the smugglers?' replied the Advocate; 'they are old
friends of mine. I was the means of bringing some of them to
justice a long time since, when sheriff of this county.'

'And then the alarm we had immediately afterwards,' added Miss
Bertram, 'from the vengeance of one of these wretches.'

'When young Hazlewood was hurt; I heard of that too.'

'Imagine, my dear Mr. Pleydell,' continued Lucy, 'how much Miss
Mannering and I were alarmed when a ruffian, equally dreadful for
his great strength and the sternness of his features, rushed out
upon us!'

'You must know, Mr. Pleydell,' said Julia, unable to suppress her
resentment at this undesigned aspersion of her admirer, 'that
young Hazlewood is so handsome in the eyes of the young ladies of
this country that they think every person shocking who comes near
him.'

'Oho!' thought Pleydell, who was by profession an observer of
tones and gestures,' there's something wrong here between my young
friends.'--'Well, Miss Mannering, I have not seen young Hazlewood
since he was a boy, so the ladies may be perfectly right; but I
can assure you, in spite of your scorn, that if you want to see
handsome men you must go to Holland; the prettiest fellow I ever
saw was a Dutchman, in spite of his being called Vanbost, or
Vanbuster, or some such barbarous name. He will not be quite so
handsome now, to be sure.'

It was now Julia's turn to look a little out of countenance at the
chance hit of her learned admirer, but that instant the Colonel
entered the room. 'I can hear nothing of them yet,' he said;
'still, however, we will not separate. Where is Dominie Sampson?'

'Here, honoured sir.'

'What is that book you hold in your hand, Mr. Sampson?'

'It's even the learned De Lyra, sir. I would crave his honour Mr.
Pleydell's judgment, always with his best leisure, to expound a
disputed passage.'

'I am not in the vein, Mr. Sampson,' answered Pleydell; 'here's
metal more attractive. I do not despair to engage these two young
ladies in a glee or a catch, wherein I, even I myself, will
adventure myself for the bass part. Hang De Lyra, man; keep him
for a fitter season.'

The disappointed Dominie shut his ponderous tome, much marvelling
in his mind how a person possessed of the lawyer's erudition could
give his mind to these frivolous toys. But the Counsellor,
indifferent to the high character for learning which he was
trifling away, filled himself a large glass of Burgundy, and,
after preluding a little with a voice somewhat the worse for the
wear, gave the ladies a courageous invitation to join in 'We be
Three Poor Mariners,' and accomplished his own part therein with
great eclat.

'Are you not withering your roses with sitting up so late, my
young ladies?' said the Colonel.

'Not a bit, sir,' answered Julia; 'your friend Mr. Pleydell
threatens to become a pupil of Mr. Sampson's to-morrow, so we must
make the most of our conquest to-night.'

This led to another musical trial of skill, and that to lively
conversation. At length, when the solitary sound of one o'clock
had long since resounded on the ebon ear of night, and the next
signal of the advance of time was close approaching, Mannering,
whose impatience had long subsided into disappointment and
despair, looked at his watch and said, 'We must now give them up,'
when at that instant--But what then befell will require a separate
chapter.




CHAPTER L

     JUSTICE This does indeed confirm each circumstance
     The gipsy told!
     No orphan, nor without a friend art thou.
     _I_ am thy father, HERE'S thy mother, THERE
     Thy uncle, THIS thy first cousin, and THESE
     Are all thy near relations!

          The Critic.


As Mannering replaced his watch, he heard a distant and hollow
sound. 'It is a carriage for certain; no, it is but the sound of
the wind among the leafless trees. Do come to the window, Mr.
Pleydell.' The Counsellor, who, with his large silk handkerchief
in his hand, was expatiating away to Julia upon some subject which
he thought was interesting, obeyed the summons, first, however,
wrapping the handkerchief round his neck by way of precaution
against the cold air. The sound of wheels became now very
perceptible, and Pleydell, as if he had reserved all his curiosity
till that moment, ran out to the hall. The Colonel rung for Barnes
to desire that the persons who came in the carriage might be shown
into a separate room, being altogether uncertain whom it might
contain. It stopped, however, at the door before his purpose could
be fully explained. A moment after Mr. Pleydell called out,
'Here's our Liddesdale friend, I protest, with a strapping young
fellow of the same calibre.' His voice arrested Dinmont, who
recognised him with equal surprise and pleasure. 'Od, if it's your
honour we'll a' be as right and tight as thack and rape can make
us.'

But while the farmer stopped to make his bow, Bertram, dizzied
with the sudden glare of light, and bewildered with the
circumstances of his situation, almost unconsciously entered the
open door of the parlour, and confronted the Colonel, who was just
advancing towards it. The strong light of the apartment left no
doubt of his identity, and he himself was as much confounded with
the appearance of those to whom he so unexpectedly presented
himself as they were by the sight of so utterly unlooked-for an
object. It must be remembered that each individual present had
their own peculiar reasons for looking with terror upon what
seemed at first sight a spectral apparition. Mannering saw before
him the man whom he supposed he had killed in India; Julia beheld
her lover in a most peculiar and hazardous situation; and Lucy
Bertram at once knew the person who had fired upon young
Hazlewood. Bertram, who interpreted the fixed and motionless
astonishment of the Colonel into displeasure at his intrusion,
hastened to say that it was involuntary, since he had been hurried
hither without even knowing whither he was to be transported.

'Mr. Brown, I believe!' said Colonel Mannering.

'Yes, sir,' replied the young man, modestly, but with firmness,
'the same you knew in India; and who ventures to hope, that what
you did then know of him is not such as should prevent his
requesting you would favour him with your attestation to his
character as a gentleman and man of honour.'

'Mr. Brown, I have been seldom--never--so much surprised;
certainly, sir, in whatever passed between us you have a right to
command my favourable testimony.'

At this critical moment entered the Counsellor and Dinmont. The
former beheld to his astonishment the Colonel but just recovering
from his first surprise, Lucy Bertram ready to faint with terror,
and Miss Mannering in an agony of doubt and apprehension, which
she in vain endeavoured to disguise or suppress. 'What is the
meaning of all this?' said he; 'has this young fellow brought the
Gorgon's head in his hand? let me look at him. By Heaven!' he
muttered to himself, 'the very image of old Ellangowan! Yes, the
same manly form and handsome features, but with a world of more
intelligence in the face. Yes! the witch has kept her word.' Then
instantly passing to Lucy, 'Look at that man, Miss Bertram, my
dear; have you never seen any one like him?'

Lucy had only ventured one glance at this object of terror, by
which, however, from his remarkable height and appearance, she at
once recognised the supposed assassin of young Hazlewood, a
conviction which excluded, of course, the more favourable
association of ideas which might have occurred on a closer view.
'Don't ask me about him, sir,' said she, turning away her eyes;
'send him away, for Heaven's sake! we shall all be murdered!'

'Murdered! where's the poker?' said the Advocate in some alarm;
'but nonsense! we are three men besides the servants, and there is
honest Liddesdale, worth half-a-dozen, to boot; we have the major
vis upon our side. However, here, my friend Dandie--Davie--what do
they call you? keep between that fellow and us for the protection
of the ladies.'

'Lord! Mr. Pleydell,' said the astonished farmer, 'that's Captain
Brown; d 'ye no ken the Captain?'

'Nay, if he's a friend of yours we may be safe enough,' answered
Pleydell; 'but keep near him.'

All this passed with such rapidity that it was over before the
Dominie had recovered himself from a fit of absence, shut the book
which he had been studying in a corner, and, advancing to obtain a
sight of the strangers, exclaimed at once upon beholding Bertram,
'If the grave can give up the dead, that is my dear and honoured
master!'

'We're right after all, by Heaven! I was sure I was right,' said
the Lawyer; 'he is the very image of his father. Come, Colonel,
what do you think of, that you do not bid your guest welcome? I
think--I believe--I trust we're right; never saw such a likeness!
But patience; Dominie, say not a word. Sit down, young gentleman.'

'I beg pardon, sir; if I am, as I understand, in Colonel
Mannering's house, I should wish first to know if my accidental
appearance here gives offence, or if I am welcome?'

Mannering instantly made an effort. 'Welcome? most certainly,
especially if you can point out how I can serve you. I believe I
may have some wrongs to repair towards you, I have often suspected
so; but your sudden and unexpected appearance, connected with
painful recollections, prevented my saying at first, as I now say,
that whatever has procured me the honour of this visit, it is an
acceptable one.'

Bertram bowed with an air of distant yet civil acknowledgment to
the grave courtesy of Mannering.

'Julia, my love, you had better retire. Mr. Brown, you will excuse
my daughter; there are circumstances which I perceive rush upon
her recollection.'

Miss Mannering rose and retired accordingly; yet, as she passed
Bertram, could not suppress the words, 'Infatuated! a second
time!' but so pronounced as to be heard by him alone. Miss Bertram
accompanied her friend, much surprised, but without venturing a
second glance at the object of her terror. Some mistake she saw
there was, and was unwilling to increase it by denouncing the
stranger as an assassin. He was known, she saw, to the Colonel,
and received as a gentleman; certainly he either was not the
person she suspected or Hazlewood was right in supposing the shot
accidental.

The remaining part of the company would have formed no bad group
for a skilful painter. Each was too much embarrassed with his own
sensations to observe those of the others. Bertram most
unexpectedly found himself in the house of one whom he was
alternately disposed to dislike as his personal enemy and to
respect as the father of Julia. Mannering was struggling between
his high sense of courtesy and hospitality, his joy at finding
himself relieved from the guilt of having shed life in a private
quarrel, and the former feelings of dislike and prejudice, which
revived in his haughty mind at the sight of the object against
whom he had entertained them. Sampson, supporting his shaking
limbs by leaning on the back of a chair, fixed his eyes upon
Bertram with a staring expression of nervous anxiety which
convulsed his whole visage. Dinmont, enveloped in his loose shaggy
great-coat, and resembling a huge bear erect upon his hinder legs,
stared on the whole scene with great round eyes that witnessed his
amazement.

The Counsellor alone was in his element: shrewd, prompt, and
active, he already calculated the prospect of brilliant success in
a strange, eventful, and mysterious lawsuit, and no young monarch,
flushed with hopes, and at the head of a gallant army, could
experience more glee when taking the field on his first campaign.
He bustled about with great energy, and took the arrangement of
the whole explanation upon himself.

'Come, come, gentlemen, sit down; this is all in my province; you
must let me arrange it for you. Sit down, my dear Colonel, and let
me manage; sit down, Mr. Brown, aut quocunque alio nomine vocaris;
Dominie, take your seat; draw in your chair, honest Liddesdale.'

'I dinna ken, Mr. Pleydell,' said Dinmont, looking at his
dreadnought coat, then at the handsome furniture of the room; 'I
had maybe better gang some gate else, and leave ye till your
cracks, I'm no just that weel put on.'

The Colonel, who by this time recognised Dandie, immediately went
up and bid him heartily welcome; assuring him that, from what he
had seen of him in Edinburgh, he was sure his rough coat and
thick-soled boots would honour a royal drawing-room.

'Na, na, Colonel, we're just plain up-the-country folk; but nae
doubt I would fain hear o' ony pleasure that was gaun to happen
the Captain, and I'm sure a' will gae right if Mr. Pleydell will
take his bit job in hand.'

'You're right, Dandie; spoke like a Hieland [Footnote: It may not
be unnecessary to tell southern readers that the mountainous
country in the south western borders of Scotland is called
Hieland, though totally different from the much more mountainous
and more extensive districts of the north, usually called
Hielands.] oracle; and now be silent. Well, you are all seated at
last; take a glass of wine till I begin my catechism methodically.
And now,' turning to Bertram, 'my dear boy, do you know who or
what you are?'