mm- 
 
Douglas Castle, 
 Drawn and Etched by H. Macbeth-Raebum. 
 
JEtiition te Huxe 
 
 CASTLE DANGEROUS 
 
 By sir WALTER SCOTT, Bart. 
 
 asaitl) JntroKuctorg lEssag anU Notes 
 By ANDREW LANG 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 ESTES AND LAURIAT 
 1894 
 
CL^-K-4^ 
 
 -u-U^ 
 
 EDITION DE LUXE, 
 Limited to One Thousand Copies, 
 
 N0..2.3T 
 
 Copyright, 1894, 
 By Estes and Lauriat. 
 
 A— ^-^^^^^^ /^ 
 
 TYPOGRAPHY, ELECTROTYPING, AND 
 PRINTING BY JOHN WILSON AND SON, 
 UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. 
 

 TALES OF MY LANDLORD. 
 
 FOURTH AND LAST SERIES. 
 
 COLLECTED AND ARRANGED 
 
 BY 
 
 JEDEDIAH CLEISHBOTHAM, 
 
 SCHOOLMASTER AND PARISH-CLERK OF GANDEBCLEUCH. 
 
 As I stood by yon roofless tower, 
 
 Where the wa'flower scents the dewy air, 
 Where the howlet mourns in her ivy bower, 
 
 And tells the midnight moon her care •. 
 The winds were laid, the air was still. 
 
 The stars they shot along the sky ; 
 The fox was howling on the hill, 
 
 And the distant echoing glens reply. 
 
 Robert Burns. 
 
 M59ayi9 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
i;tiitton tie Mxt. 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Douglas Castle Frontispiece 
 
 The Travelleks 7 
 
 The Hunting Feast 94 
 
 The Escape 186 
 
 The Lady watches the Combat 244 
 
 Bannockburn . . 3 293 
 
EDITOK'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO 
 
 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 To criticise '* Castle Dangerous '' is useless, and would 
 be impious. 
 
 Was never wight so stoutly made 
 But Time and years will overthrow, 
 
 as Major Bellenden sings. Not many words will suf- 
 ^ce to tell, after Lockhart, the story of this unfortunate 
 romance. Scott, before he began the tale, had suffered 
 one paralytic shock after another. The insults to 
 which he was subjected by the rabble at elections had 
 aggravated his maladies. A *' surgical experiment" 
 was making him feel ^* like the Indian at the torture- 
 stake." In June 1831 Lockhart went to London, on 
 business, and, returning, found that Scott *'had been 
 gradually amending.'' But a morbid activity forbade 
 him to give his brain any repose. He must write, or 
 go mad. He began "Castle Dangerous," based on 
 facts already recorded in his '* Essay on Chivalry," in 
 May or June, r.nd finished it before the end of August. 
 With Ballantynehe had broken — James, too, did '^ap- 
 propinque an end," their tempers and ideas clashed, 
 and Scott, while telling Cadell about the new work, 
 said nothing to his old ally. Ballantyne's criticisms 
 on ^^ Count Robert" had been such as he could not face 
 again. He even thought of giving the book to another 
 printer, but this severity was too much for his genial 
 nature. He feared that he might have forgotten the 
 scenery which he was to describe, and, on July 18, set 
 out with Lockhart for Lanarkshire. They went up 
 
X EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Tweed, past Yair, Ashestiel, and Traquair, the beau- 
 tiful familiar places, dull in a sultry day, broken by 
 thunder. The lightning, which he called ''bonny, 
 bonny" when a child, excited him. When they came 
 within view of the dark red lowering walls of Drochel 
 Castle, an unfinished strength of the Regent Morton, 
 Scott could hardly be prevented from stopping the 
 carriage and walking to the place. They pushed on to 
 Biggar, however, where the people turned out and 
 welcomed Sir Walter. ''It was the first time I ever 
 saw him otherwise than annoyed on such an occasion." 
 He seemed, to Lockhart, to be uneasy about his mental 
 condition, setting tasks to his memory. He met two 
 discharged soldiers, or men w^ho called themselves sol- 
 diers, and they blessed him by name. He was touched, 
 and quoted a long passage from Prior : — 
 
 And he who played the harlequin, 
 After the jest still loads the scene, 
 Unwilling to retire, though weary. 
 
 On the following day they visited Castle Dangerous, 
 and the Douglas monuments in the deserted church. 
 There lies the e^gjj cross-legged as a Crusader, of 
 the Black Douglas, the friend of Bruce. A little 
 crowd gathered, among them a man who remembered 
 the Butcher Cumberland. Lockhart praises the descrip- 
 tion of the landscape in the novel, and indeed the 
 scene might awaken Scott's smouldering fire, for he 
 was shown the silver case that once held the chivalrous 
 heart of the good Lord James — the heart blazoned on 
 the Douglas shield. Of the castle, only an ivy-clad 
 fragment remained. On their homeward way he re- 
 peated much of Wintoun, Blind Harry, Barbour, and 
 nearly all of Dunbar's poems on the "Deaths of the 
 Makers." Lockhart saw him in the sensitive mood 
 which he once confesses, but ever concealed, when the 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. a 
 
 brook or the breeze brought tears to his eyes. He 
 quoted the ballad of Otterbourne — 
 
 My wound is deep, I fain would sleep. 
 
 The passion of his life, the love of times gone by, the 
 glory of old houses and '^fights fought long ago '' came 
 upon him. At Milton Lockhart they met Lockhart of 
 Borthwickbrae, an old friend, now smitten by the same 
 malady as Scott himself. *^Each saw his own case 
 glassed in the other's, and neither of their manly 
 hearts could well contain itself as they embraced." 
 Next morning they heard that Borthwickbrae had suf- 
 fered another stroke, and Scott at once set out for 
 home. ^^ I must home to work while it is called to-day : 
 for the night cometh when no man can work.'' So they 
 returned, and the next three weeks were spent on his 
 last published novel. He was to winter abroad, and, 
 the story done, he enjoyed a kind of holiday at last, in 
 his own valley. They would dine under the great 
 tree at Chiefswood, they visited Ettrick and Bemerside, 
 and he entertained a Son of Burns, and Wordsworth. 
 On Sept. 23 he set out for London and the South. On 
 his tour he wrote the unpublished novel ^*The Siege 
 of Malta." His work was not done, but his work for 
 the world's eye was completed. No task remained for 
 him, save the last pages of his Journal, and the intro- 
 duction to ^^ Castle Dangerous," which he sent from 
 Naples, true to the last call of duty. He also, as has 
 been said, wrote *'The Siege of Malta." A draft of the 
 manuscript remains, and one who has read it remarks 
 that it is not destitute of fine passages. 
 
 On Jan. 26, 1832, Scott notes, in his Journal, that 
 he has good news from Cadell. ^' * Castle Dangerous' 
 and ^ Count Bobert,' neither of whom I deemed sea- 
 worthy, have performed two voyages — that is, each 
 sold about 3400 ... as yet my spell holds fast. " 
 
xll EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Yet he * thinks the public mad for passing these two 
 volumes," and calculates what he has ^'on the stocks/' 
 '^ Lady Louisa Stuart" he reckons at £500, probably 
 referring to the unfinished ^^ Private Letters ^' begun 
 before ^^ Nigel.'' He was, apparently, under the mis- 
 conception that this old work was finished, whereas 
 only seventy pages were in type, and it does not seem 
 that he had the rest in manuscript. '^The Knights 
 of Malta " {sic) he estimated at £2500, and put down 
 as much for *^ Reliquiae Trotcosianse, " the descrip- 
 tion of his library and collection of antiquities which 
 he had only begun. He had also conceived a book on 
 the origin of Mdrchen, or popular tales, an account of 
 his Tour, and a book for the Roxburghe Club, a labour 
 of love. The old man in him was unaltered: he dreamed 
 again of buying Faldonside. In fact, illusions were 
 creeping round that noble intellect. His touching 
 hope that his ^^ powers of mind were not to have a 
 different date from those of his body " was not wholly 
 fulfilled. In almost the last lines of poetry which 
 came from his pen, the motto of chap. xiv. of ^^ Castle 
 Dangerous," he says 
 
 But he that creeps from cradle on to grave, 
 Unskilled save in the velvet course of fortune. 
 Hath missed the discipline of noble hearts. 
 
 He did not miss the discipline, and his Journal re- 
 mains, a splendid example of constancy and fortitude 
 under every form of trial. Among Sir Walter's lavish 
 gifts to men, the most glorious is his example. 
 
 Of "Castle Dangerous" it would be impious to speak 
 as if it represented his genius. That declared itself 
 in his emotion as witnessed by Lockhart, but its broken 
 message he could no longer translate into words, or 
 transform into art. Nor is it a grateful task to con- 
 sider the tale pathologically, to remark on the strange 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. xiii 
 
 blending of associations which makes him represent 
 his minstrel as a bibliophile and antiquary, and on 
 the weakness shown by such visions as the Knight of 
 the Sepulchre, the burning of the coffins, the one-eyed 
 Ursula. These things were inevitable, pyschologically, 
 in the condition of his brain. He is more like himself 
 in his last hunting-scene, and his account of the keen 
 hunting-passion of the peasants. His intellect, clear 
 and humorous to the last page of his Journal, could 
 no longer grapple with the task of creation. Human 
 respect forbids us to linger over the dying effort made 
 in ** Castle Dangerous.'' 
 
 Merely by way of being complete, something may 
 be said here about a curious imposture, the so-called 
 posthumous romance of ^^Moredun." A Monsieur E. 
 de Saint-Maurice Cabany told, in 1855, the following 
 tale. He knew a German merchant who bequeathed 
 to him a desk, in which was a collection of Royalist 
 tracts, and a manuscript called '^Moredun, a Tale of 
 the 1210.'' Accompanying the manuscript was a letter 
 (given in fac-simile) addressed to **My dear W. S. " 
 (Paris, 4th November, 1826), and signed ^^W. S.'' 
 The letter is, at least, in a good imitation of Scott's 
 hand. It purported to be addressed to his friend, 
 William Spencer, then ruined, and in Paris. Spencer 
 was asked for a manuscript of Scott's for a friend (the 
 German) : Scott supposes him really to want it for 
 himself. If ever Spencer publishes it, it must be as 
 by W. S., and he must let it be supposed that it is 
 Spencer's own work. Kow the letter, in style as well 
 as in handwriting, is almost beyond the ability of a 
 forger. Every turn, every phrase, all the careless man- 
 ner of it, is Sir Walter's. He certainly was in Paris 
 at the date given, and he certainly breakfasted with 
 Spencer. The letter may be quoted for the satisfaction 
 of the curious. 
 
xiv EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Paris, 4th November, 1826. 
 
 My dear W. S., — I am constrained to make of this note 
 a letter of initials, for I am not quite satisfied with myself in 
 agreeing to write it, and there is no saying into whose hands 
 it may fall. 
 
 The story which Anne has told me about your daft friend, 
 the foreign monomaniac, is as clearly the case of a man who 
 requires to be cognosced as I ever met with ; but, as it appears 
 to me that she has taken it most ridiculously to heart, we 
 have brought our discussion of it to a conclusion by my con- 
 senting to her doing what you could not be told of until she 
 had received the permission of papa. 
 
 She has possessed herself, for a long time past, of a tale 
 which I had, at one time, the intention of making the first of 
 a series of such things drawn from the history of Scotland — 
 a notion which I afterward gave up ; for Anne, however, that 
 story has always possessed a great charm, and I allowed her 
 to keep it, because I was under the impression that a mere 
 story, which oSers no particular merits but those of events 
 and a plot, would not appear advantageously among works 
 which had the higher object of painting character — that 
 would be to take a step backward, which would never do — 
 besides, as far as I can recollect, there are a great many 
 anachronisms and freedoms used with persons and places 
 which are not in keeping with the character of historian to 
 which I now aspire. 
 
 I consider, then, that in authorising my daughter to give 
 you that work as a panacea for the imaginary ills of a foreign 
 monomaniac, I only permit a change of proprietorship. At 
 the same time, in allowing Anne to make a present to you of 
 what is but a trifle after all, I must make a most serious 
 stipulation regarding it — for I tell you candidly that I be- 
 lieve W. S. himself to be the real malade imaginaire — that 
 stipulation is, that if, at any time, you take the fancy of pub- 
 lishing that tale, you will do so with the initials only, and that 
 you will do all that you can in fairness do to countenance the 
 idea that it is a bairn of your ain. 
 
 I wish I could do something for you personally of some less 
 doubtful character than that of humouring the caprices of a 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. xv 
 
 daft man ; but you know how I am placed at present. Be- 
 lieve, however, that you have no more sincere friend than 
 
 W. S. 
 
 Cabany deposited his account of the circumstances 
 with the Minister of the Interior, on Nov. 24, 1854. 
 On Nov. 29 Lockhart died. On March 3, 1855, Mr. 
 Skene of Rubislaw, Mr. Gordon (Scott's amanuensis), 
 and a niece of Scott's wrote to the Athenceum^ denying 
 the truth of the story. Cabany's answer was extremely 
 ingenious, and, to be fair, was telling. He remarked 
 that, on Nov. 14, 1814, Ballantyne wrote to Miss Edge- 
 worth, to whom he had sent ^^Waverley," promising 
 ^^ere long'' another novel, ^ describing more ancient 
 manners. " Now the novels which followed ^ ^ Waverley " 
 described more modern manners — they were **Guy 
 Mannering " and *^The Antiquary." ^^Moredun," 
 then, must be what Ballantyne had in his mind. Ca- 
 bany easily detected inconsistencies in the arguments 
 and statements of Mr. Skene and Mr. Gordon, and of 
 the niece. The evidence of the niece was bad enough, 
 careless enough, and, in dates, confused enough, to 
 ruin the value of her testimony. Mr. Gordon asserted 
 that Scott never signed ^^W. S." A letter of his, also, 
 to W. S. (William Scrope) signed ^* W. S." was imme- 
 diately produced. As to the assertion that Scott would 
 not give away a work, he later gave two sermons to 
 Gordon himself (Dec. 28, 1827). 
 
 That '^Moredun" is not by Scott, that it cannot be 
 by Scott, perhaps no one who tries to read it will deny. 
 But the ingenuity of the introductory letter, the clever- 
 ness of the replies to Skene and Gordon, are perhaps 
 without example in the records of literary forgery. As 
 Sir Walter's niece remarked, *'I cannot think that 
 foreigners alone would have ventured on this." Who 
 was the forger? Andrew Lang, 
 
 July 1894. 
 
INTKODUCTION 
 
 TO 
 
 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 [The following Introduction to " Castle Dangerous " 
 was forwarded hy Sir Walter Scott from Naples in 
 February 1832, together with some corrections of the 
 text, and notes on localities mentioned in the Novel. 
 
 The materials for the Introduction must have been 
 collected before he left Scotland, in September 1831; 
 hut in the hurry of preparing for his voyage, he had 
 not been able to arrange them so as to accompany the 
 first edition of this Romance. 
 
 A feio notes, supplied by the Editor,'^ are placed 
 within brackets.'] 
 
 The incidents on which the ensuing Novel mainly 
 turns are derived from the ancient Metrical Chronicle 
 of *'The Bruce/' by Archdeacon Barbour, and from 
 *^The History of the Houses of Douglas and Angus," 
 by David Hume of Godscroft ; and are sustained by 
 the immemorial tradition of the western parts of Scot- 
 land. They are so much in consonance with the spirit 
 and manners of the troubled age to which they are 
 referred, that I can see no reason for doubting their be- 
 ing founded in fact : the names, indeed, of numberless 
 localities in the vicinity of Douglas Castle appear to 
 attest, beyond suspicion, many even of the smallest 
 circumstances embraced in the story of Godscroft. 
 
 1 [J. G. Lockhart.j 
 h 
 
xviii INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 Among all the associates of Robert the Bruce, in his 
 great enterprise of rescuing Scotland from the power 
 of Edward, the first place is universally conceded to 
 James, the eighth Lord Douglas, to this day venerated 
 by his countrymen as ^^the Good Sir James:" 
 
 The Gud Schyr James of Douglas, 
 That in his time sa worthy was, 
 That off his price and his bounte. 
 In far landis renownyt was he. 
 
 Barboue. 
 
 The Good Sir James, the dreadful blacke Douglas, 
 That in his dayes so wise and worthie was, 
 Wha here, and on the infidels of Spain, 
 Such honour, praise, and triumphs did obtain. 
 
 Gordon. 
 
 From the time when the King of England refused to 
 reinstate him, on his return from France, where he 
 had received the education of chivalry, in the extensive 
 possessions of his family, — which had been held for- 
 feited by the exertions of his father, William the 
 Hardy — the young knight of Douglas appears to have 
 embraced the cause of Bruce with enthusiastic ardour, 
 and to have adhered to the fortunes of his sovereign 
 with unwearied fidelity and devotion. *'The Doug- 
 lasse,'' says Hollinshed, ^'was right joyfully received 
 of King Robert, in whose service he faithfully con- 
 tinued, both in peace and war, to his life's end. 
 Though the surname and familie of the Douglasses 
 was in some estimation of nobilitie before those daies, 
 yet the rising thereof to honour chanced through this 
 James Douglasse ; for, by meanes of his advancement, 
 others of that lineage tooke occasion, by their singular 
 manhood and noble prowess, shewed at sundrie times in 
 defence of the realme, to grow to such height in autho- 
 ritie and estimation, that their mightie puissance in 
 mainrent,^ lands, and great possessions, at length was 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. xix 
 
 (through suspicion conceived by the kings that suc- 
 ceeded) the cause in part of their ruinous decay." 
 
 In every narrative of the Scottish war of indepen- 
 dence, a considerable space is devoted to those years of 
 perilous adventure and suffering which were spent by 
 the illustrious friend of Bruce, in harassing the English 
 detachments successively occupying his paternal terri- 
 tory, and in repeated and successful attempts to wrest 
 the formidable fortress of Douglas Castle itself from 
 their possession. In the English, as well as Scotch 
 Chronicles, and in Eymer's ^^Foedera," occur frequent 
 notices of the different officers intrusted by Edward 
 with the keeping of this renowned stronghold ; espe- 
 cially Sir Robert de Clifford, ancestor of the heroic race 
 of the Cliffords, Earls of Cumberland; his lieutenant, 
 Sir Eichard de Thurlewalle (written sometimes Thrus- 
 wall), of Thirwall Castle, on the Tippal, in Northum- 
 berland; and Sir John de Walton, the romantic story 
 of whose love-pledge, to hold the Castle of Douglas for 
 a year and day, or surrender all hope of obtaining his 
 mistress's favour, with the tragic consequences, softened 
 in the Novel, is given at length in Godscroft, and has 
 often been pointed out as one of the affecting passages 
 in the chronicles of chivalry.^ 
 
 The Author, before he had made much progress in 
 this, probably the last of his Novels, undertook a jour- 
 ney to Douglasdale, for the purpose of examining the 
 remains of the famous Castle, the Kirk of St. Bride 
 of Douglas, the patron saint of that great family, and 
 the various localities alluded to by Godscroft, in his 
 account of the early adventures of Good Sir James ; but 
 though he was fortunate enough to find a zealous and 
 well-informed cicerone in Mr. Thomas Haddow, and 
 
 1 [The reader will find both this story, and that of Robert of 
 Paris, in Sir W. Scott's Essay on Chivalry, published in 1818, in 
 the Supplement to the Encyclopcedia Britannica. — Ed.'\ 
 
XX INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 had every assistance from the kindness of Mr. Alex- 
 ander rinlay, the resident chamberlain of his friend, 
 Lord Douglas, the state of his health at the time was 
 so feeble that he found himself incapable of pursuing 
 his researches, as in better days he would have de- 
 lighted to do, and was obliged to be contented with 
 such a cursory view of scenes, in themselves most in- 
 teresting, as could be snatched in a single morning, 
 when any bodily exertion was painful. Mr. Haddow 
 was attentive enough to forward subsequently some 
 notes on the points which the Author had seemed de- 
 sirous of investigating; but these did not reach him 
 until, being obliged to prepare matters for a foreign 
 excursion in quest of health and strength, he had 
 been compelled to bring his work, such as it is, to a 
 conclusion. 
 
 The remains of the old Castle of Douglas are incon- 
 siderable. They consist indeed of but one ruined 
 tower, standing at a short distance from the modern 
 mansion, which itself is only a fragment of the design 
 on which the Duke of Douglas meant to reconstruct 
 the edifice, after its last accidental destruction by fire.^ 
 
 1 [The following notice of Douglas Castle, &c., is from the 
 "Description of the Sheriffdom of Lanark," by William Hamil- 
 ton of Wishaw, written in the beginning of the last century, and 
 printed by the Maitland Club of Glasgow in 1831 : — 
 
 "Douglass parish, and baronie and lordship, heth very long 
 appertained to the family of Douglass, and continued with the 
 Earles of Douglass untill their fatall forfeiture, anno 1455 ; during 
 which tyme there are many noble and important actions recorded 
 in histories performed by them, by the lords and earls of that 
 great family. It was thereafter given to Douglass, Earl of 
 Anguse, and continued with them untill William, Earle of Anguse, 
 was created Marquess of Douglass, anno 1633; and is now the 
 principal seat of the Marquess of Douglass his family. It is a 
 large baronie and parish, and ane laick patronage ; and the Mar- 
 quess is both titular and patron. He heth there, near to the 
 church, a very considerable great house, called the Castle of 
 Douglass ; and near the church is a fyne village, called the town 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. xxi 
 
 His G-race had kept in view the ancient prophecy, 
 that as often as Douglas Castle might be destroyed, it 
 should rise again in enlarged dimensions and improved 
 splendour, and projected a pile of building, which, 
 if it had been completed, would have much exceeded 
 any nobleman's residence then existing in Scotland — 
 as, indeed, what has been finished, amounting to about 
 one eighth part of the plan, is sufficiently extensive 
 for the accommodation of a large establishment, and 
 contains some apartments the dimensions of which 
 are magnificent. The situation is commanding ; and 
 though the Duke's successors have allowed the man- 
 sion to continue as he left it, great expense has been 
 lavished on the environs, which now present a vast 
 sweep of richly undulated woodland, stretching to the 
 borders of the Cairntable mountains, repeatedly men- 
 tioned as the favourite retreat of the great ancestor of 
 the family in the days of his hardship and persecution. 
 There remains at the head of the adjoining bourg, the 
 choir of the ancient church of St. Bride, having be- 
 neath it the vault which was used till lately as the 
 burial-place of this princely race, and only abandoned 
 when their stone and leaden coffins had accumulated, 
 in the course of five or six hundred years, in such a 
 way that it could accommodate no more. Here a silver 
 case, containing the dust of what was once the brave 
 
 of Douglass, long since erected in a burgh of baronie. It heth 
 ane handsome church, with many ancient monuments and inscrip- 
 tions on the old interments of the Earles of this place. 
 
 "The water of Douglas runs quyte through the whole length 
 of this parish, and upon either side of the water it is called 
 Douglasdale. It toucheth Clyde towards the north, and is 
 bounded by Lesmahagow to the west, Kyle to the south-west, 
 Crawfurd John and Carmichaell to the south and south-east. 
 It is a pleasant strath, plentiful! in grass and corn, and coall; 
 and the minister is well provided. 
 
 ** The lands of Heysleside, belonging to Samuel Douglass, has 
 a good house and pleasant seat, close by a wood," &c. — p. 65.] 
 
xxS INTRODUCTION TO 
 
 heart of Good Sir James, is still pointed outj and in 
 the dilapidated choir above appears, though in a sorely 
 ruinous state, the once magnificent tomb of the warrior 
 himself. After detailing the well-known circumstances 
 of Sir James's death in Spain, 20th August, 1330, where 
 he fell, assisting the King of Arragon in an expedition 
 against the Moors, when on his way back to Scotland 
 from Jerusalem, to which he had conveyed the heart 
 of Bruce — the old poet Barbour tells us that — 
 
 Quhen his men lang had mad murnyn, 
 Thai debowalyt him, and syne 
 Gert scher him swa, that mycht be tane 
 The flesch all haly fra the bane, 
 And the carioune thar in haly place 
 Erdyt, with rycht gret worschip, was. 
 
 The banys haue thai with thaim tane; 
 And syne ar to thair schippis gane ; 
 Syne to wart Scotland held thair way, 
 And thar ar cummyn in full gret hy. 
 And the banys honorabilly 
 
 In till the Kyrk off Douglas war 
 Erdyt, with dule and mekill car. 
 Schyr Archebald his sone gert syn 
 Off alabastre, bath fair and fyne, 
 Ordane a tumbe sa richly 
 As it behowyt to swa worthy. 
 
 The monument is supposed to have been wantonly 
 mutilated and defaced by a detachment of Cromwell's 
 troops, who, as was their custom, converted the kirk 
 of St. Bride of Douglas into a stable for their horses. 
 Enough, however, remains to identify the resting-place 
 of the great Sir James. The ef^gy^ of dark stone, 
 is cross-legged, marking his character as one who 
 had died after performing the pilgrimage to the Holy 
 Sepulchre, and in actual conflict with the infidels of 
 Spain; and the introduction of the heart, adopted 
 as an addition to the old arms of Douglas, in conse- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. xxiii 
 
 quence of the knight's fulfilment of Bruce's dying 
 injunction, appears, when taken in connection with 
 the posture of the figure, to set the question at rest. 
 The monument, in its original state, must have been 
 not inferior in any respect to the best of the same 
 period in Westminster Abbey ; and the curious reader 
 is referred for further particulars of it to ^*The Sepul- 
 chral Antiquities of Great Britain, " by Edward Blore, 
 F.S.A. London, 4to, 1826; where may also be found 
 interesting details of some of the other tombs and effi- 
 gies in the cemetery of the first house of Douglas. 
 
 As considerable liberties have been taken with the 
 historical incidents on which this novel is founded, 
 it is due to the reader to place before him such extracts 
 from Godscroft and Barbour as may enable him to cor- 
 rect any mis-impression. The passages introduced in 
 the Appendix, from the ancient poem of *<The Bruce," 
 will, moreover, gratify those who have not in their 
 possession a copy of the text of Barbour, as given in 
 the valuable quarto edition of my learned friend Dr. 
 Jamieson, as furnishing on the whole a favourable spe- 
 cimen of the style and manner of a venerable classic, 
 who wrote when Scotland was still full of the fame 
 and glory of her liberators from the yoke of Plantage- 
 net, and especially of Sir James Douglas, ''of whom,'' 
 says Godscroffc, ''we will not omit here (to shut up 
 all) the judgment of those times concerning him, in 
 a rude verse indeed, yet such as beareth witness of 
 his true magnanimity and invincible mind in either 
 fortune : — 
 
 Good Sir James Douglas (who wise, and wight, and worthy was) 
 Was never overglad in no winning, nor yet oversad for no tineing ; 
 Good fortune and evil chance he weighed both in one balance. 
 
 w. s. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 No. I. 
 
 Extracts from " The History of the Houses of Douglas 
 and Angus. By Master David Hume of Gods- 
 croft.^^ Folio Edition, 
 
 . . . And here indeed the course of the King's mis- 
 fortunes begins to make some halt and stay by thus 
 much prosperous successe in his own person ; but more 
 in the person of Sir James, by the re-conquests of his 
 owne castles and countries. From hence he went into 
 Douglasdale, where, by the means of his father's old 
 servant, Thomas Dickson, he took in the Castle of 
 Douglas, and not being able to keep it, he caused burn 
 it, contenting himself with this, that his enemies had 
 one strength fewer in that country than before. The 
 manner of his taking of it is said to have beene thus : — 
 Sir James, taking only with him two of his servants, 
 went to Thomas Dickson, of whom he was received 
 with tears, after he had revealed himself to him, for the 
 good old man knew him not at first, being in mean and 
 homely apparell. There he kept him secretly in a quiet 
 chamber, and brought unto him such as had been trusty 
 servants to his father, not all at once, but apart by one 
 and one, for fear of discoverie. Their advice was, that 
 on Palmsunday, when the English would come forth to 
 the church, and his partners were conveened, that then 
 he should give the word, and cry the Douglas slogan, 
 and presently set upon them that should happen to be 
 
xxvi APPENDIX TO 
 
 there, who being dispatched, the Castle might he taken 
 easily. This being concluded, and they come, so soon 
 as the English were entered into the church with palms 
 in their hands (according to the costume of that day), 
 little suspecting or fearing any such thing, Sir James, 
 according to their appointment, cryed too soon (a Doug- 
 las, a Douglas !) which being heard in the church (this 
 was Saint Bride's church of Douglas), Thomas Dick- 
 son, supposing he had beene hard at hand, drew out 
 his sword, and ran upon them, having none to second 
 him but another man, so that, oppressed by the number 
 of his enemies, he was beaten downe and slaine. In 
 the meantime. Sir James being come, the English that 
 were in the chancel kept off the Scots, and having the 
 advantage of the strait and narrow entrie, defended 
 themselves manfully. But Sir James encouraging his 
 men, not so much by words as by deeds and good ex- 
 ample, and having slain the boldest resisters, prevailed 
 at last, and entring the place, slew some twenty-six of 
 their number, and tooke the rest, about ten or twelve 
 persons, intending by them to get the Castle upon 
 composition, or to enter with them when the gates 
 should be opened to let them in : but it needed not, 
 for they of the Castle were so secure, that there was 
 none left to keep it save the porter and the cooke, who 
 knowing nothing of what had hapned at the church, 
 which stood a large quarter of a mile from thence, had 
 left the gate wide open, the porter standing without, and 
 the cooke dressing the dinner within. They entred 
 without resistance, and meat being ready, and the cloth 
 laid, they shut the gates, and tooke their refection at 
 good leasure. 
 
 Now that he had gotten the Castle into his hands, 
 considering with himself e (as he was a man no less 
 advised than valiant) that it was hard for him to keep 
 it, the English being as yet the stronger in that coun- 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxvii 
 
 trey, who if they should hesiege him, he knewe of no 
 reliefe, he thought better to carry away such things as 
 be most easily transported, gold, silver, and apparell, 
 with ammunition and armour, whereof he had greatest 
 use and need, and to destroy the rest of the provision, 
 together with the Castle itselfe, then to diminish the 
 number of his followers for a garrison there where it 
 could do no good. And so he caused carrie the meale 
 and malt, and other cornes and graine, into the cellar, 
 and laid all together in one heape : then he took the 
 prisoners and slew them, to revenge the death of his 
 trustie and valiant servant, Thomas Dickson, mingling 
 the victuals with their bloud, and burying their car- 
 kasses in the heap of corner after that he struck out 
 the heads of the barrells and puncheons, and let the 
 drink runn through all ; and then he cast the carkasses 
 of dead horses and other carrion amongst it, throwing 
 the salt above all, so to make all together unusefull 
 to the enemie ; and this cellar is called yet the Douglas 
 Lairder. Last of all, he set the house on fire, and 
 burnt all the timber, and what else the fire could 
 overcome, leaving nothing but the scorched walls be- 
 hind him. And this seemes to be the first taking of 
 the Castle of Douglas, for it is supposed that he took it 
 twice. For this service, and others done to Lord Wil- 
 liam his father. Sir James gave unto Thomas Dickson 
 the lands of Hisleside, which hath beene given him 
 before the castle was taken as an encouragement to 
 whet him on, and not after, or he was slain in the 
 church : which was both liberally and wisely done of 
 him, thus to hearten and draw men to his service by 
 such a noble beginning. The Castle being burnt. Sir 
 James retired, and parting his men into divers compa- 
 nies, so as they might be most secret, he caused cure 
 such as were wounded in the fight, and he himselfe 
 kept as close as he could, waiting ever for an occasion 
 
xxviii APPENDIX TO 
 
 to enterprise something against the enemie. So soone 
 as he was gone, the Lord Clifford being advertised of 
 what had happened, came himselfe in person to Doug- 
 las, and caused re-edifie and repair the Castle in a very 
 short time, unto which he also added a Tower, which is 
 yet called Harries Tower from him, and so returned 
 into England, leaving one Thurswall to be Captain 
 thereof. — Pp. 26-28. 
 
 He (Sir James Douglas) getting him again into 
 Douglasdale, did use this stratagem against Thurswall, 
 Captain of the Castle, under the said Lord Clifford. 
 He caused some of his folk drive away the cattle that 
 fed near unto the Castle, and when the Captain of the 
 garrison followed to rescue, gave orders to his men to 
 leave them and to flee away. Thus he did often to make 
 the Captain slight such frays, and to make him secure, 
 that he might not suspect any further end to be on it ; 
 which when he had wrought sufficiently (as he thought), 
 he laid some men in ambuscado, and sent others away 
 to drive such beasts as they should find in the view of 
 the Castle, as if they had been thieves and robbers, as 
 they had done often before. The Captain hearing of 
 it, and supposing there was no greater danger now than 
 had been before, issued forth of the Castle, and followed 
 after them with such haste that his men (running who 
 should be first) were disordered and out of their ranks. 
 The drivers also fled as fast as they could till they had 
 drawn the Captain a little way beyond the place of 
 ambuscado, which when they perceived, rising quickly 
 out of their covert, they set fiercely upon him and his 
 company, and so slew himself and chased his men back 
 to the Castle, some of whom were overtaken and slain, 
 others got into the Castle and so were saved. Sir James, 
 not being able to force the house, took what booty he 
 could get without in the fields, and so departed. By 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxix 
 
 this means, and such other exploits, he so affrighted 
 the enemy, that it was counted a matter of such great 
 jeopardy to keep this Castle, that it began to be called 
 the adventurous (or hazardous) Castle of Douglas : 
 Whereupon Sir John Walton being in suit of an English 
 lady, she wrote to him that when he had kept the 
 adventurous Castle of Douglas seven years, then he 
 might think himself worthy to be a suitor to her. 
 Upon this occasion, Walton took upon him the keeping 
 of it, and succeeded to Thurswall ; but he ran the same 
 fortune with the rest that were before him. 
 
 Por, Sir James having first dressed an ambuscado 
 near unto the place, he made fourteen of his men take 
 so many sacks, and fill them with grass, as though it 
 had been corn, which they carried in the way toward 
 Lanark, the chief market town in that county : so 
 hoping to draw forth the Captain by that bait, and 
 either to take him or the Castle, or both. 
 
 Neither was this expectation frustrate, for the Captain 
 did bite, and came forth to have taken this victual (as 
 he supposed). But ere he could reach these carriers. 
 Sir James, with his company, had gotten between the 
 castle and him : and these disguised carriers, seeing 
 the Captain following after them, did quickly cast off 
 their upper garments, wherein they had masked . them- 
 selves, and throwing off their sacks, mounted themselves 
 on horseback, and met the Captain with a sharp encoun- 
 ter, he being so much the more amazed that it was 
 unlooked for : wherefore, when he saw these carriers 
 metamorphosed into warriors, and ready to assault hixn, 
 fearing (that which was) that there was some train laid 
 for them, he turned about to have retired into the 
 Castle ; but there also he met with his enemies ; between 
 which two companies he and his followers were slain, 
 so that none escaped ; the Captain afterwards being 
 searched, they found (as it is reported) his mistress's 
 
XXX APPENDIX TO 
 
 letters about him. Then he went and took in the 
 Castle, but it is uncertain (say our writers) whether by 
 force or composition ; but it seems that the Constable, 
 and those that were within, have yielded it up without 
 force ; in regard that he used them so gently, which he 
 would not have done if he had taken it at utterance. 
 For he sent them all safe home to the Lord Clifford, 
 and gave them also provision and money for their 
 entertainment by the way. The Castle, which he had 
 burnt only before, now he razeth, and casts down the 
 walls thereof to the ground. By these and the like 
 proceedings, within a short while he freed Douglasdale, 
 Attrick Forest, and Jedward Forest, of the English 
 garrisons and subjection. — Ibid. p. 29. 
 
 No. II. 
 
 [Extracts from The Bruce. — '* Liber compositus 
 per Magistrum Johannem Barber, Archidiaconnum 
 Abyrdonensem, de gestis, bellis, et virtutibus, 
 Domini Roberti Brwyss, Begis Scocie illustrissimi, 
 et de conquestu regni Scocie per eundem, et de 
 Domino Jacobo de Douglas. " — Edited by John 
 Jamieson, D.D., F.R.S.E., &c. «&c. Edinburgh, 
 1820.] 
 
 Now takis James his wiage 
 Towart Dowglas, his heretage. 
 With twa yemen, for owtyn ma; 
 That wes a symple stuff to ta, 
 A land or a castell to win. 
 The quhethir he yarnyt to begyn 
 Till bring purposs till ending; 
 For gud help is in gud begynnyng, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 For gud begynnyng, and hardy, 
 Gyff it be folowit wittily, 
 May ger oftsyss unlikly thing 
 Cum to full conabill ending. 
 Swa did it here : but he wes wyss 
 And saw he mycht, on nakyn wyss, 
 Werray his fa with evyn mycht; 
 Tharfor he thocht to wyrk with slycht. 
 And in Dowglas daile, his countre. 
 Upon an evynnyng entrj'-t he. 
 And than a man wonnyt tharby. 
 That was off freyndis weill mychty, 
 And ryche of moble, and off cateill; 
 And had bene till his fadyr leyll; 
 And till him selff, in his yowthed, 
 He haid done mony a thankfull deid. 
 Thom Dicson wes his name perfay. 
 Till him he send; and gan him pray. 
 That he wald cum all anerly 
 For to spek with him priuely. 
 And he but daunger till him gais : 
 Bot fra he tauld him quhat he wais, 
 He gret for joy, and for pite; 
 And him rycht till his houss had hej 
 Quhar in a chambre priuely 
 He held him, and his cumpany. 
 That nane had off him persaving. 
 Off mete, and drynk, and othyr thing. 
 That mycht thaim eyss, thai had plente. 
 Sa wrocht he thorow sutelte. 
 That all the lele men off that land. 
 That with his fadyr war duelland. 
 This gud man gert cum, ane and ane. 
 And mak him manrent euir ilkane; 
 And he him selff fyrst homage maid. 
 Dowglas in part gret glaidschip haid. 
 
 XXXI 
 
APPENDIX TO 
 
 That the gud men off his cuntre 
 Wald swagate till him bundyn he. 
 He speryt the conwyne off the land, 
 And quha the castell had in hand. 
 And thai him tauld all halily; 
 And syne amang them priuely 
 Thai ordanyt, that he still suld be 
 In hiddillis, and in priwete, 
 Till Palme Sonday, that wes ner hand^ 
 The thrid day eftyr folowand. 
 For than the folk off that countre 
 Assemblyt at the kyrk wald be; 
 And thai, that in the castell wer, 
 Wald als be thar, thar palmy s to ber, 
 As folk that had na dreid off ill; 
 For thai thoucht all wes at thair will. 
 Than suld he cum with his twa men. 
 Bot, for that men suld nocht him ken, 
 He suld ane mantill haiff auld and bar, 
 And a flaill, as he a thresscher war. 
 Undyr the mantill nocht for thi 
 He suld be armyt priuely. 
 And quhen the men off his countre, 
 That suld all boune befor him be. 
 His ensenye mycht her hym cry. 
 Then suld thai, full enforcely, 
 Kycht ymyddys the kyrk assaill 
 The Ingliss men with hard bataill 
 Swa that nane mycht eschap tham fra; 
 For thar throwch trowyt thai to ta 
 The castell, that besid wes ner. 
 And quhen this, that I tell you her, 
 Wes diuisj^t, and undertane, 
 Ilkane till his howss hame is gane; 
 And held this spek in priuete, 
 Till the day off thar assembly. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The folk upon the Sonounday 
 Held to Saynct Bridis kyrk thair way; 
 And tha that in the castell war 
 Ischyt owt, bath les and mar, 
 And went thair palmys for to ber; 
 Owtane a cuk and a porter. 
 James off Dowglas off thair cummyng, 
 And quhat thai war, had witting; 
 And sped him till the kyrk in hy. 
 Bot or he come, too hastily 
 Ane off his criyt, ^^ Dowglas! Dowglas! *' 
 Thomas Dikson, that nerrest was 
 Till thaim that war off the castell. 
 That war all innouth the chancell, 
 Quhen he ^^ Dowglas ! " swa hey herd cry, 
 Drew owt his swerd; and fellely 
 E/Uschyt amang thaim to and fra. 
 Bot ane or twa, for owtyn ma. 
 Than in hy war left lyand, 
 Quhill Dowglas come rycht at hand, 
 And then enforcyt on thaim the cry. 
 Bot thai the chansell sturdely 
 Held, and thaim defendyt wele, 
 Till off thair men war slayne sumdell. 
 Bot the Dowglace sa weill him bar, 
 That all the men, that with him war. 
 Had comfort off his wele dojmg; 
 And he him sparyt nakyn thing, 
 Bot provyt swa his force in fycht, 
 That throw his worschip, and his mycht, 
 His men sa keynly helpyt than. 
 That thai the chansell on thaim wan. 
 Than dang thai on swa hardy ly. 
 That in schort t3^me men mycht se ly 
 The twa part dede, or then deand. 
 The lave war sesyt sone in hand, 
 c 
 
APPENDIX TO 
 
 Swa that off thretty levyt nane, 
 
 That thai ne war slayne ilkan, or tane. 
 
 James off Dowglas, quhen this wes done, 
 The presoneris has he tane alsone; 
 And, with thaim off his cumpany, 
 Towart the castell went in h}?-, 
 Or noyiss, or cry, suld ryss. 
 And for he wald thaim sone suppriss, 
 That levyt in the castell war, 
 That war hut twa for owtyn mar, 
 Fyve men or sex hefor send he, 
 That fand all opyn the entre ; 
 And entryt, and the porter tuk 
 Rycht at the gate, and syne the cuk. 
 With that Dowglas come to the gat, 
 And entryt in for owtyn debate ; 
 And fand the mete all redy grathit. 
 With biirdj^s set, and clathis lay it. 
 The gaitis then he gert sper, 
 And sat, and eyt all at la3^ser. 
 Syne all the gudis turssyt thai 
 That thaim thocht thai mycht haiff away ; 
 And namly wapnys, and armyng, 
 Siluer, and tresour, and clethyng. 
 Vyctallis, that mycht nocht tursyt be, 
 On this maner destroyit he. 
 All the victalis, owtane salt, 
 Als quheyt, and flour, and meill, and malt 
 In the wyne sellar gert he bring ; 
 And samyn on the flur all flyng. 
 And the presoneris that he had tane 
 Rycht thar in gert he heid ilkaue ; 
 Syne off the townnys he hedis outstrak : 
 A foule melle thar gane he mak. 
 For meile, and malt, and blud, and wyne, 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxxv 
 
 Ran all to gidder in a mellyne, 
 
 That was unsemly for to se. 
 
 Tharfor the men off that countre 
 
 For swa fele thar mellyt wer, 
 
 Callit it the ^' Dowglas Lardner." 
 
 Syne tuk he salt, as Ic hard tell, 
 
 And ded horss, and sordid the well j 
 
 And brynt all, owtakyn stane ; 
 
 And is forth, with his menye, gayne 
 
 Till his resett ; for him thoucht weill, 
 
 Giff he had haldyn the castell. 
 
 It had bene assegyt raith j 
 
 And that him thoucht to mekill waith. 
 
 For he ne had hop off reskewyng. 
 
 And it is to peralons thing 
 
 In castell assegyt to be, 
 
 Quhar want is off thir thingis thre ; 
 
 Victaill, or men with thair armyng, 
 
 Or than gud hop off rescuyng. 
 
 And for he dred thir thingis suld faile, 
 
 He chesyt furthwart to trawaill, 
 
 Quhar he mycht at his larges be ; 
 
 And swa dryve furth his destane. 
 
 On this wise wes the castell tan, 
 And slayne that war tharin ilkan. 
 The Dowglas syne all his menye 
 Gert in ser placis depertyt be ; 
 For men suld wyt quhar thai war, 
 That yeid depertyt her and thar. 
 Thaim that war woundyt gert he ly 
 In till hiddillis, all priuely ; i 
 
 And gert gud leechis till thaim bring 
 Quhill that thai war in till heling. 
 And him selff, with a few menye, 
 Quhile ane, quhile twa, and quhile thre, 
 
xxxvi APPENDIX TO 
 
 And umquliill all him allane, 
 In hiddillis throw the land is gane. 
 Sa dred he Inglis men his mycht, 
 That he durst nocht wele cum in sycht. 
 For thai war that tyme all weldand 
 As maist lordis, our all the land. 
 
 Bot tythandis, that scalis sone, 
 Off this deid that Dowglas has done, 
 Come to the Cliffurd his ere, in hy, 
 That for his tynsaill wes sary ; 
 And menyt his men that thai had slayne, 
 And syne has to purpos tane, 
 To big the castell up agayne. 
 Thar for, as man of mekill mayne, 
 He assemblit gret cumpany. 
 And till Dowglas he went in hy. 
 And biggyt wp the castell swyth ; 
 And maid it rycht stalwart and styth 
 And put tharin victallis and men. 
 Ane off the Thyrwallys then 
 He left behind him Capitane, 
 And syne till Ingland went agayne. 
 
 Book IV. V. 255-460. 
 
 Bot yeit than James of Dowglas 
 In Dowglas Daile travailland was ; 
 Or ellys weill ner hand tharby, 
 In hyddillys sumdeill priuely. 
 For he wald se his gouernyng, 
 llThat had the castell in keping : 
 And gert mak mony juperty, 
 To se quhethyr he wald ische blythly. 
 And quhen he persavyt that he 
 Wald blythly ische with his menye, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 He maid a gadring priuely 
 Off thaim that war on his party ; 
 That war sa fele, that thai durst fycht 
 With Thyrwall, and all the mycht 
 Off thaim that in the castell war. 
 He schupe him in the nycht to far 
 To Sandylandis : and thar ner by 
 He him enbuschyt priuely, 
 And send a few a trane to ma ; 
 That sone in the mornyng gan ga, 
 And tuk catell, that wes the castell by, 
 And syne withdrew thaim hastely 
 Towart thaim that enbuschit war. 
 Than Thyrwall, for owtyn mar, 
 Gert arme his men, forowtyn baid; 
 And ischy t with all the men he haid : 
 And folowyt fast eftir the cry. 
 He wes armyt at poynt clenly, 
 Owtane [that] his hede wes bar. 
 Than, with the men that with him war, 
 The catell folowit he gud speid, 
 E-ycht as a man that had na dreid, 
 Till that he gat off thaim a sycht. 
 Than prekyt thai with all thar mycht, 
 Folowand thaim owt off aray ; 
 And thai sped thaim fleand, quhill thai 
 Fer by thair buschement war past : 
 And Thyrwall ay chassyt fast. 
 And than thai that enbuschyt war 
 Ischyt till him, bath les and mar, 
 And rayssyt sudanly the cry. 
 And thai that saw sa sudanly 
 That folk come egyrly prikand 
 Rycht betuix thaim and thair warand, 
 Thai war in to full gret effray. 
 And, for thai war owt off aray, 
 
 XXXVll 
 
xxxviii APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Sum off thaim fled, and sum abad. 
 And Dowglas, that thar with him had 
 A gret mengye, full egrely 
 Assay lyt, and scalyt thaim hastyly: 
 And in schort tyme ourraid thaim swa, 
 That weile nane eschapyt thaim fra. 
 Thyrwall, that wes thair capitane, 
 Wes thar in the bargane slane : 
 And off his men the mast party. 
 The lave fled full effraytly. 
 
 Book V. V. 7-62. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 Hosts have been known at that dread sound to yield. 
 And, Douglas dead, his name hath won the field. 
 
 John Home. 
 
 It was at the close of an early spring day, when 
 nature, in a cold province of Scotland, was reviving 
 from her winter's sleep, and the air at least, 
 though not the vegetation, gave promise of an 
 abatement of the rigour of the season, that two 
 travellers, whose appearance at that early period 
 sufficiently announced their wandering character, 
 which, in general, secured a free passage even 
 through a dangerous country, were seen coming 
 from the south-westward, within a few miles of 
 the Castle of Douglas, and seemed to be holding 
 their course in the direction of the river of that 
 name, whose dale afforded a species of approach to 
 that memorable feudal fortress. The stream, small 
 in comparison to the extent of its fame, served as 
 a kind of drain to the country in its neighbour- 
 hood, and at the same time afforded the means of 
 a rough road to the castle and village. The high 
 lords to whom the castle had for ages belonged 
 might, had they chosen, have made this access a 
 great deal smoother and more convenient; but 
 
 1 
 
2 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 there had been as yet little or no exercise for those 
 geniuses, who have taught all the world that it is 
 better to take the more circuitous road round the 
 base of a hill than the direct course of ascending 
 it on the one side, and descending it directly on 
 the other, without yielding a single step to render 
 the passage more easy to the traveller; still less 
 were those mysteries dreamed of which MacAdam 
 has of late days expounded. But, indeed, to what 
 purpose should the ancient Douglases have em- 
 ployed his principles, even if they had known 
 them in ever so much perfection? Wheel-car- 
 riages, except of the most clumsy description, and 
 for the most simple operations of agriculture, were 
 totally unknown. Even the most delicate female 
 had no resource save a horse, or, in case of sore 
 infirmity, a litter. The men used their own 
 sturdy limbs, or hardy horses, to transport them- 
 selves from place to place ; and travellers, females 
 in particular, experienced no small inconvenience 
 from the rugged nature of the country. A swollen 
 torrent sometimes crossed their path, and com- 
 pelled them to wait until the waters had abated 
 their frenzy. The bank of a small river was 
 occasionally torn away by the effects of a thunder- 
 storm, a recent inundation, or the like convulsions 
 of nature ; and the wayfarer relied upon his know- 
 ledge of the district, or obtained the best local 
 information in his power, how to direct his path 
 so as to surmount such untoward obstacles. 
 
 The Douglas issues from an amphitheatre of 
 mountains which bounds the valley to the south- 
 west, from whose contributions, and the aid of 
 sudden storms, it receives its scanty supplies. 
 The general aspect of the country is that of the 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 3 
 
 pastoral hills of the south of Scotland, forming, as 
 is usual, bleak and wild farms, many of which 
 had, at no great length of time from the date of 
 the story, been covered with trees ; as some of 
 them still attest by bearing the name of shaw — 
 that is, wild natural wood. The neighbourhood of 
 the Douglas water itself was flat land, capable of 
 bearing strong crops of oats and rye, supplying 
 the inhabitants with what they required of these 
 productions. At no great distance from the edge 
 of the river, a few special spots excepted, the soil 
 capable of agriculture was more and more mixed 
 with the pastoral and woodland country, till both 
 terminated in desolate and partly inaccessible 
 moorlands. 
 
 Above all, it was war-time, and of necessity all 
 circumstances of mere convenience were obliged to 
 give way to a paramount sense of danger; the 
 inhabitants, therefore, instead of trying to amend 
 the paths which connected them with ©ther dis- 
 tricts, were thankful that the natural difficulties 
 which surrounded them rendered it unnecessary to 
 break up or to fortify the access from more open 
 countries. Their wants, with a very few exceptions, 
 were completely supplied, as we have already said, 
 by the rude and scanty produce of their own moun- 
 tains and holms,^ the last of which served for the 
 exercise of their limited agriculture, while the 
 better part of the mountains and forest glens pro- 
 duced pasture for their herds and flocks. The 
 recesses of the unexplored depths of these sylvan 
 retreats being seldom disturbed, especially since 
 the lords of the district had laid aside, during this 
 
 1 Holms, or flat plains, by the sides of the brooks and rivers, 
 termed in the south, Ings. 
 
4 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 time of strife, their constant occupation of hunting, 
 the various kinds of game had increased of late 
 very considerably ; so that not only in crossing the 
 rougher parts of the hilly and desolate country 
 we are describing, different varieties of deer were 
 occasionally seen, but even the wild cattle pecu- 
 liar to Scotland sometimes showed themselves, 
 and other animals, which indicated the irregular 
 and disordered state of the period. The wild cat 
 was frequently surprised in the dark ravines or 
 the swampy thickets ; and the wolf, already a 
 stranger to the more populous districts of the 
 Lothians, here maintained his ground against the 
 encroachments of man, and was still himself a 
 terror to those by whom he was finally to be ex- 
 tirpated. In winter especially, and winter was 
 hardly yet past, these savage animals were wont 
 to be driven to extremity for lack of food, and 
 used to frequent, in dangerous numbers, the battle- 
 field, the deserted churchyard — nay, sometimes 
 the abodes of living men, there to watch for chil- 
 dren, their defenceless prey, with as much fami- 
 liarity as the fox nowadays will venture to prowl 
 near the mistress's ^ poultry -yard. 
 
 From what we have said, our readers, if they 
 have made — as who in these days has not ? — the 
 Scottish tour, will be able to form a tolerably just 
 idea of the wilder and upper part of Douglas Dale, 
 during the earlier period of the fourteenth century. 
 The setting sun cast his gleams along a moorland 
 country, which to the westward broke into larger 
 swells, terminating in the mountains called the 
 Larger and Lesser Cairntable. The first of these 
 
 1 The good dame, or wife of a respectable farmer, is almost 
 universally thus designated in Scotland. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 5 
 
 is, as it were, the father of the hills in the neigh- 
 bourhood, the source of an hundred streams, and 
 by far the largest of the ridge, still holding in his 
 dark bosom, and in the ravines with which his 
 sides are ploughed, considerable remnants of those 
 ancient forests with which all the high grounds of 
 that quarter were once covered, and particularly 
 the hills, in which the rivers — both those which 
 run to the east and those which seek the west 
 to discharge themselves into the Solway — hide, 
 like so many hermits, their original and scanty 
 sources. 
 
 The landscape was still illuminated by the re- 
 flection of the evening sun, sometimes thrown 
 back from pool or stream ; sometimes resting on 
 grey rocks, huge cumberers of the soil, which 
 labour and agriculture have since removed, and 
 sometimes contenting itself with gilding the banks 
 of the stream, tinged alternately grey, green, or 
 ruddy, as the ground itself consisted of rock, or 
 grassy turf, or bare earthen mound, or looked at 
 a distance like a rampart of dark red porphyry. 
 Occasionally, too, the eye rested on the steep 
 brown extent of moorland, as the sunbeam glanced 
 back from the little tarn or mountain pool, whose 
 lustre, like that of the eye in the human counte- 
 nance, gives a life and vivacity to every feature 
 around. 
 
 The elder and stouter of the two travellers whom 
 we have mentioned was a person well, and even 
 showily, dressed, according to the finery of the 
 times, and bore at his back, as wandering min- 
 strels were wont, a case, containing a small harp, 
 rote, or viol, or some such species of musical 
 instrument for accompanying the voice. The 
 
6 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 leather case announced so much, although it pro- 
 claimed not the exact nature of the instrument. 
 The colour of the traveller's doublet was blue, and 
 that of his hose violet, with slashes which showed 
 a lining of the same colour with the jerkin. A 
 mantle ought, according to ordinary custom, to 
 have covered this dress ; but the heat of J:he sun, 
 though the season was so early, had induced the 
 wearer to fold up his cloak in small compass, and 
 form it into a bundle, attached to the shoulders 
 like the military greatcoat of the infantry soldier 
 of the present day. The neatness with which it 
 was made up argued the precision of a practised 
 traveller, who had been long accustomed to every 
 resource which change of weather required. A 
 great profusion of narrow ribands or points, con- 
 stituting the loops with which our ancestors con- 
 nected their doublet and hose, formed a kind of 
 cordon, composed of knots of blue or violet, which 
 surrounded the traveller's person, and thus assimi- 
 lated in colour with the two garments which it 
 was the office of these strings to combine. The 
 bonnet usually worn with this showy dress was of 
 that kind with which Henry the Eighth and his 
 son, Edward the Sixth, are usually represented. 
 It was more fitted, from the gay stuff of which it 
 was composed, to appear in a public place, than to 
 encounter a storm of rain. It was parti-coloured, 
 being made of different stripes of blue and violet ; 
 and the wearer arrogated a certain degree of gen- 
 tility to himself, by wearing a plume of conside- 
 rable dimensions of the same favourite colours. 
 The features over which this feather drooped were 
 in no degree remarkable for peculiarity of expres- 
 sion. Yet in so desolate a country as the west of 
 
The Travellers, 
 Drawn and Etched by H. Macbeth-Raeburn. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 7 
 
 Scotland, it would not have been easy to pass the 
 man without more minute attention than he would 
 have met with where there was more in the cha- 
 racter of the scenery to arrest the gaze of the 
 passengers. 
 
 A quick eye, a sociable look, seeming to say, 
 " Ay, look at me, I am a man worth noticing, and 
 not unworthy your attention,'* carried with it, 
 nevertheless, an interpretation which might be 
 thought favourable or otherwise, according to the 
 character of the person whom the traveller met. 
 A knight or soldier would merely have thought 
 that he had met a merry fellow, who could sing a 
 wild song, or tell a wild tale, and help to empty 
 a flagon, with all the accomplishments necessary 
 for a boon companion at an hostelry, except per- 
 haps an alacrity at defraying his share of the 
 reckoning. A churchman, on the other hand, 
 might have thought he of the blue and violet was 
 of too loose habits, and accustomed too little to 
 limit himself within the boundaries of beseeming 
 mirth, to be fit society for one of his sacred calling. 
 Yet the Man of Song had a certain steadiness of 
 countenance, which seemed fitted to hold place in 
 scenes of serious business as well as of gaiety. A 
 wayfaring passenger of wealth (not at that time 
 a numerous class) might have feared in him a 
 professional robber, or one whom opportunity was 
 very likely to convert into such ; a female might 
 have been apprehensive of uncivil treatment; and 
 a youth, or timid person, might have thought of 
 murder, or such direful doings. Unless privately 
 armed, however, the minstrel was ill accoutred 
 for any dangerous occupation. His only visible 
 weapon was a small crooked sword, like what we 
 
8 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 now call a hanger; and the state of the times 
 would have justified any man, however peaceful 
 his intentions, in being so far armed against the 
 perils of the road. 
 
 If a glance at this man had in any respect pre- 
 judiced him in the opinion of those whom he met 
 on his journey, a look at his companion would, so 
 far as his character could be guessed at — for he 
 was closely muffled up — have passed for an 
 apology and warrant for his associate. The 
 younger traveller was apparently in early youth, 
 a soft and gentle boy, whose Sclavonic gown, the 
 appropriate dress of the pilgrim, he wore more 
 closely drawn about him than the coldness of the 
 weather seemed to authorise or recommend. His 
 features, imperfectly seen under the hood of his 
 pilgrim's dress, were prepossessing in a high 
 degree; and though he wore a walking sword, it 
 seemed rather to be in compliance with general 
 fashion than from any violent purpose he did so. 
 There were traces of sadness upon his brow, and 
 of tears upon his cheeks ; and his weariness was 
 such as even his rougher companion seemed to 
 sympathise with, while he privately participated 
 also in the sorrow which left its marks upon a 
 countenance so lovely. They spoke together, and 
 the elder of the two, while he assumed the 
 deferential air proper to a man of inferior rank 
 addressing a superior, showed, in tone and ges- 
 ture, something that amounted to interest and 
 affection. 
 
 " Bertram, my friend, " said the younger of the 
 two, " how far are we still from Douglas Castle ? 
 We have already come farther than the twenty 
 miles which thou didst say was the distance from 
 
' CASTLE DANGEROUS. 9 
 
 Cammock — or how didst thou call the last hostelry 
 which we left by daybreak ? " 
 
 " Cumnock, my dearest lady — I beg ten thou- 
 sand excuses — my gracious young lord. " 
 
 " Call me Augustine, " replied his comrade, " if 
 you mean to speak as is fittest for the time. " 
 
 " Nay, as for that, " said Bertram, " if your lady- 
 ship can condescend to lay aside your quality, my 
 own good breeding is not so firmly sewed to me 
 but that I can doff it, and resume it again without 
 its losing a stitch ; and since your ladyship, to 
 whom I am sworn in obedience, is pleased to com- 
 mand that I should treat you as my own son, 
 shame it were to me if I were not to show you the 
 affection of a father, more especially as I may well 
 swear my great oath, that I owe you the duty of 
 such, though well I wot it has, in our case, been 
 the lot of the parent to be maintained by the kind- 
 ness and liberality of the child ; for when was it 
 that I hungered or thirsted, and the hlack stock ^ of 
 Berkley did not relieve my wants ? " 
 
 " I would have it so, " answered the young pil- 
 grim ; " I would have it so. What use of the 
 mountains of beef, and the oceans of beer, which 
 they say our domains produce, if there is a hungry 
 heart among our vassalage, or especially if thou, 
 Bertram, who hast served as the minstrel of our 
 house for more than twenty years, shouldst expe- 
 rience such a feeling ? " 
 
 " Certes, lady, " answered Bertram, " it would be 
 like the catastrophe which is told of the Baron of 
 Fastenough, when his last mouse was starved to 
 death in the very pantry; and if I escape this 
 
 1 The table dormant, which stood in a baron's hall, was often 
 BO designated. 
 
10 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 journey without such a calamity, I shall think 
 myself out of reach of thirst or famine for the 
 whole of my life. " 
 
 " Thou hast suffered already once or twice by 
 these attacks, my poor friend," said the lady. 
 
 " It is little, " answered Bertram, " anything 
 that I have suffered; and I were ungrateful to 
 give the inconvenience of missing a breakfast, or 
 making an untimely dinner, so serious a name. 
 But then I hardly see how your ladyship can 
 endure this gear much longer. You must yourself 
 feel, that the plodding along these high lands, of 
 which the Scots give us such' good measure in 
 their miles, is no jesting matter; and as for 
 Douglas Castle, why it is still three good miles 
 off" 
 
 " The question then is, " quoth the lady, heaving 
 a sigh, " what we are to do when we have so far to 
 travel, and when the castle gates must be locked 
 long before we arrive there ? " 
 
 " For that I will pledge my word, " answered 
 Bertram. " The gates of Douglas, under the keep- 
 ing of Sir John de Walton, do not open so easily 
 as those of the buttery hatch at our own castle, 
 when it is well oiled ; and if your ladyship take 
 my advice, you will turn southward ho! and in 
 two days at farthest we shall be in a land where 
 men's wants are provided for, as the inns proclaim 
 it, with the least possible delay, and the secret of 
 this little journey shall never be -known to living 
 mortal but ourselves, as sure as I am sworn min- 
 strel and man of faith. " 
 
 " I thank thee for thy advice, mine honest 
 Bertram, " said the lady, " but I cannot profit by 
 it. Should thy knowledge of these parts possess 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. ii 
 
 thee with an acquaintance with any decent house, 
 whether it belong to rich or poor, I would wil- 
 lingly take quarters there, if I could obtain them 
 from this time until to-morrow morning. The 
 gates of Douglas Castle will then be open to guests 
 of so peaceful an appearance as we carry with us, 
 and — and — it will out — we might have time 
 to make such applications to our toilet as might 
 insure us a good reception, by drawing a comb 
 through our locks, or such like foppery." 
 
 " Ah, madam I " said Bertram, " were not Sir 
 John de Walton in question, methinks I should 
 venture to reply, that an unwashed brow, an un- 
 kempt head of hair, and a look far more saucy 
 than your ladyship ever wears, or can wear, were 
 the proper disguise to trick out that minstrel's 
 boy, whom you wish to represent in the present 
 pageant. " 
 
 " Do you suffer your youthful pupils to be indeed 
 so slovenly and so saucy, Bertram ? " answered the 
 lady. " I for one will not imitate them in that 
 particular; and whether Sir John be now in the 
 Castle of Douglas or not, I will treat the soldiers 
 who hold so honourable a charge with a washed 
 brow, and a head of hair somewhat ordered. As 
 for going back without seeing a castle which has 
 mingled even with my very dreams — at a word, 
 Bertram, thou mayst go that way, but I will not. " 
 
 " And if I part with your ladyship on such 
 terms, " responded the minstrel, " now your frolic 
 is so nearly accomplished, it shall be the foul fiend 
 himself, and nothing more comely or less dan- 
 gerous, that shall tear me from your side ; and for 
 lodging, there is not far from hence the house of 
 one Tom Dickson of Hazelside, one of the most 
 
12 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 honest fellows of the dale, and who, although a 
 labouring man, ranked as high as a warrior, when 
 I was in this country, as any noble gentleman that 
 rode in the band of the Douglas. " 
 
 " He is, then, a soldier ? " said the lady. 
 
 " When his country or his lord need his sword," 
 replied Bertram — " and, to say the truth, they are 
 seldom at peace ; but otherwise, he is no enemy, 
 save to the wolf which plunders his herds. " 
 
 " But forget not, my trusty guide, " replied the 
 lady, " that the blood in our veins is English, and, 
 consequently, that we are in danger from all who 
 call themselves foes to the ruddy Cross. " 
 
 "Do not fear this man's faith," answered Ber- 
 tram. " You may trust to him as to the best 
 knight or gentleman of the land. We may make 
 good our lodging by a tune or a song ; and it may 
 remember you that I undertook (provided it pleased 
 your ladyship) to temporise a little with the Scots, 
 who, poor souls, love minstrelsy, and when they 
 have but a silver penny, will willingly bestow it 
 to encourage the gay science — I promised you, I 
 say, that we should be as welcome to them as if 
 we had been born amidst their own wild hills ; 
 and for the best that such a house as Dickson's 
 affords, the gleeman's son, fair lady, shall not 
 breathe a wish in vain. And now, will you speak 
 your mind to your devoted friend and adopted 
 father, or rather your sworn servant and guide, 
 Bertram the Minstrel, what it is your pleasure 
 to do in this matter ? " 
 
 " Oh, we will certainly accept of the Scot's hos- 
 pitality, " said the lady, " your minstrel word being 
 plighted that he is a true man. — Tom Dickson, 
 call you him ? " 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 13 
 
 " Yes, " replied Bertram, " such is his name ; and 
 by looking on these sheep, I am assured that we 
 are now upon his land. " 
 
 " Indeed ! " said the lady, with some surprise ; 
 " and how is your wisdom aware of that ? " 
 
 " I see the first letter of his name marked upon 
 this flock, " answered the guide. " Ah, learning is 
 what carries a man through the world, as well as 
 if he had the ring by virtue of which old min- 
 strels tell that Adam understood the language of 
 the beasts in Paradise. Ah, madam! there is 
 more wit taught in the shepherd's shieling than 
 the lady thinks of, who sews her painted seam in 
 her summer bower." 
 
 " Be it so, good Bertram. And although not so 
 deeply skilled in the knowledge of written lan- 
 guage as you are, it is impossible for me to esteem 
 its value more than I actually do ; so hold we on 
 the nearest road to this Tom Dickson's, whose 
 very sheep tell of his whereabout. I trust we 
 have not very far to go, although the knowledge 
 that our journey is shortened by a few miles has 
 so much recovered my fatigue, that me thinks I 
 could dance all the rest of the way. " 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 Rosalind. Well, this is the Forest of Arden. 
 
 Touchstone. Ay, now am I in Arden ; the more fool I. When 
 I was at home I was in a better place ; but travellers must be 
 content. 
 
 Rosalind. Ay, be so, good Touchstone. Look you, who comes 
 here ; a young man and an old, in solemn talk. 
 
 As You Like It, Scene IV. Act 11. 
 
 As the travellers spoke together, they reached a 
 turn of the path which presented a more extensive 
 prospect than the broken face of the country had 
 yet shown them. A valley, through which flowed 
 a small tributary stream, exhibited the wild but 
 not unpleasant features of " a lone vale of green 
 braken ; " here and there besprinkled with groups 
 of alder-trees, of hazels, and of copse oak-wood, 
 which had maintained their stations in the recesses 
 of the valley, although they had vanished from 
 the loftier and more exposed sides of the hills. 
 The farm-house, or mansion-house (for, from its 
 size and appearance, it might have been the one or 
 the other), was a large but low building, and the 
 walls of the out-houses were sufficiently strong to 
 resist any band of casual depredators. There was 
 nothing, however, which could withstand a more 
 powerful force ; for, in a country laid waste by 
 war, the farmer was then, as now, obliged to take 
 his chance of the great evils attendant upon that 
 Btate of things; and his condition, never a very 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 15 
 
 eligible one, was rendered considerably worse by 
 the insecurity attending it. About half a mile 
 farther was seen a Gothic building of very small 
 extent, having a half-dismantled chapel, which 
 the minstrel pronounced to be the Abbey of St. 
 Bride. " The place, " he said, " I understand, is 
 allowed to subsist, as two or three old monks and 
 as many nuns, whom it contains, are permitted by 
 the English to serve God there, and sometimes to 
 give relief to Scottish travellers ; and who have 
 accordingly taken assurance with Sir John de 
 Walton, and accepted as their superior a church- 
 man on whom he thinks he can depend. But if 
 these guests happen to reveal any secrets, they are, 
 by some means or other, believed to fly towards 
 the English governor; and therefore, unless your 
 ladyship's commands be positive, I think we had 
 best not trust ourselves to their hospitality. " 
 
 " Of a surety, no, " said the lady, " if thou canst 
 provide me with lodgings where we shall have 
 more prudent hosts. " 
 
 At this moment, two human forms were seen to 
 approach the farm-house in a different direction 
 from the travellers, and speaking so high, in a 
 tone apparently of dispute, that the minstrel and 
 his companion could distinguish their voices 
 though the distance was considerable. Having 
 screened his eyes with his hand for some minutes, 
 Bertram at length exclaimed, " By Our Lady, it is 
 my old friend, Tom Dickson, sure enough ! — What 
 can make him in such bad humour with the lad, 
 who, I think, may be the little wild boy, his son 
 Charles, who used to run about and plait rushes 
 some twenty years ago ? It is lucky, however, we 
 have found our friends astir; for, I warrant, Tom 
 
i6 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 hath a hearty piece of beef in the pot ere he goes 
 to bed, and he must have changed his wont if an 
 old friend hath not his share; and who knows, 
 had we come later, at what hour they may now 
 find it convenient to drop latch and draw bolt so 
 near a hostile garrison ; for if we call things by 
 their right names, such is the proper term for 
 an English garrison in the castle of a Scottish 
 nobleman. " 
 
 " Foolish man, " answered the lady, " thou judgest 
 of Sir John de Walton as thou wouldst of some 
 rude boor, to whom the opportunity of doing what 
 he wills is a temptation and licence to exercise 
 cruelty and oppression. Now, I could plight you 
 my word, that, setting apart the quarrel of the 
 kingdoms, which, of course, will be fought out in 
 fair battle on both sides, you will find that Eng- 
 lish and Scottish, within this domain, and within 
 the reach of Sir John de Walton's influence, live 
 together as that same flock of sheep and goats do 
 with the shepherd's dog; a foe from whom they 
 fly upon certain occasions, but around whom they 
 nevertheless eagerly gather for protection should a 
 wolf happen to show himself. " 
 
 " It is not to your ladyship, " answered Bertram, 
 " that I should venture to state my opinion of 
 such matters; but the young knight, when he is 
 sheathed in armour, is a different being from him 
 who feasts in halls among press of ladies ; and he 
 that feeds by another man's fireside, and when his 
 landlord, of all men in the world, chances to be 
 the Black Douglas, has reason to keep his eyes 
 about him as he makes his meal : — but it were 
 better I looked after our own evening refreshment, 
 than that I stood here gaping and talking about 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 17 
 
 other folk's matters. " So saying, he called out in 
 a thundering tone of voice, " Dickson ! — what ho, 
 Thomas Dickson ! — will you not acknowledge an 
 old friend, who is much disposed to trust his sup- 
 per and night's lodging to your hospitality ? " 
 
 The Scotchman, attracted by the call, looked 
 first along the banks of the river, then upwards to 
 the bare side of the hill, and at length cast his 
 eyes upon the two figures who were descending 
 from it. 
 
 As if he felt the night colder while he advanced 
 from the more sheltered part of the valley to meet 
 them, the Douglas Dale farmer wrapped closer 
 around him the grey plaid, which, from an early 
 period, has been used by the shepherds of the 
 south of Scotland, and the appearance of which 
 gives a romantic air to the peasantry and middle 
 classes ; and which, although less brilliant and 
 gaudy in its colours, is as picturesque in its ar- 
 rangement as the more military tartan mantle of 
 the Highlands. When they approached near to 
 each other, the lady might observe that this friend 
 of her guide was a stout athletic man, somewhat 
 past the middle of life, and already showing marks 
 of the approach, but none of the infirmities, of 
 age, upon a countenance which had been exposed 
 to many a storm. Sharp eyes, too, and a quick 
 observation, exhibited signs of vigilance, acquired 
 by one who had lived long in a country where he 
 had constant occasion for looking around him with 
 caution. His features were still swollen with 
 displeasure ; and the handsome young man who 
 attended him seemed to be discontented, like one 
 who had undergone no gentle marks of his father's 
 indignation, and who, from the sullen expression 
 
 2 
 
i8 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 which mingled with an appearance of shame on 
 his countenance, seemed at once affected by anger 
 and remorse. 
 
 " Do you not remember me, old friend ? " said 
 Bertram, as they approached within a distance for 
 communing ; " or have the twenty years which 
 have marched over us since we met, carried along 
 with them all remembrance of Bertram, the Eng- 
 lish minstrel ? " 
 
 " In troth, " answered the Scot, " it is not for 
 want of plenty of your countrymen to keep you in 
 my remembrance, and I have hardly heard one of 
 them so much as whistle 
 
 Hey, now the day dawns, 
 
 but it has recalled some note of your blithe rebeck ; 
 and yet such animals are we, that I had forgot the 
 mien of my old friend, and scarcely knew him at 
 a distance. But we have had trouble lately ; there 
 are a thousand of your countrymen that keep gar- 
 rison in the Perilous Castle of Douglas yonder, as 
 well as in other places through the vale, and that 
 is but a woful sight for a true Scotchman — even 
 my own poor house has not escaped the dignity of 
 a garrison of a man-at-arms, besides two or three 
 archer knaves, and one or two slips of mischievous 
 boys called pages, and so forth, who will not let a 
 man say 'this is my own' by his own fireside. Do 
 not, therefore, think hardly of me, old comrade, if 
 I show you a welcome something colder than you 
 might expect from a friend of other days ; for, by 
 St. Bride of Douglas, I have scarcely anything left 
 to which I can say welcome. " 
 
 " Small welcome will serve, " said Bertram. 
 " My son, make thy reverence to thy father's old 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 19 
 
 friend. Augustine is learning my joyous trade, 
 but he will need some practice ere he can endure 
 its fatigues. If you could give him some little 
 matter of food, and a quiet bed for the night, 
 there's no fear but that we shall both do well 
 enough ; for I dare say when you travel with my 
 friend Charles there — if that tall youth chance to 
 be my old acquaintance Charles — you will find 
 yourself accommodated when his wants are once 
 well provided for. " 
 
 " Nay, the foul fiend take me if I do, " answered 
 the Scottish husbandman. " I know not what the 
 lads of this day are made of — not of the same 
 clay as their fathers to be sure — not sprung from 
 the heather, which fears neither wind nor rain, 
 but from some delicate plant of a foreign country, 
 which will not thrive unless it be nourished under 
 glass, with a murrain to it. The good Lord of 
 Douglas — I have been his henchman, and can 
 vouch for it — did not in his pagehood desire such 
 food and lodging as, in the present day, will hardly 
 satisfy such a lad as your friend Charles. " 
 
 "Nay," said Bertram, "it is not that my 
 Augustine is over nice ; but, for other reasons, I 
 must request of you a bed to himself ; he hath of 
 late been unwell. " 
 
 " Ay, I understand, " said Dickson, " your son 
 hath had a touch of that illness which terminates 
 so frequently in the black death you English folk 
 die of ? We hear much of the havoc it has made 
 to the southward. Comes it hitherward ? ** 
 
 Bertram nodded. 
 
 "Well, my father's house," continued the 
 farmer, " hath more rooms than one, and your son 
 shall have one well-aired and comfortable ; and for 
 
20 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 supper, ye shall have a part of what is prepared 
 for your countrymen, though I would rather have 
 their room than their company. Since I am bound 
 to feed a score of them, they will not dispute the 
 claim of such a skilful minstrel as thou art to a 
 night's hospitality. I am ashamed to say that I 
 must do their bidding even in my own house. 
 Well-a-day, if my good lord were in possession of 
 his own, I have heart and hand enough to turn the 
 whole of them out of my house, like — like " 
 
 " To speak plainly, " said Bertram, " like a 
 southron strolling gang from Eedesdale, whom I 
 have seen you fling out of your house like a litter 
 of blind puppies, when not one of them looked 
 behind to see who had done him the courtesy until 
 he was halfway to Cairntable. " 
 
 " Ay, " answered the Scotchman, 'drawing him- 
 self up at least six inches taller than before ; " then 
 I had a house of my own, and a cause and an arm 
 to keep it. Now I am — what signifies it what 
 I am ? — the noblest lord in Scotland is little 
 better. " 
 
 " Truly, friend, " said Bertram, " now you view 
 this matter in a rational light. I do not say that 
 the wisest, the richest, or the strongest man in 
 this world has any right to tyrannise over his 
 neighbour, because he is the more weak, ignorant, 
 and the poorer ; but yet if he does enter into such 
 a controversy, he must submit to the course of 
 nature, and that will always give the advan- 
 tage in the tide of battle to wealth, strength, 
 and health. " 
 
 " With permission, however, " answered Dickson, 
 " the weaker party, if he use his faculties to the 
 utmost, may, in the long- run, obtain revenge upon 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 21 
 
 the author of his sufiferings, which would be at 
 least compensation for his temporary submission ; 
 and he acts simply as a man, and most foolishly 
 as a Scotchman, whether he sustain these wrongs 
 with the insensibility of an idiot, or whether he 
 endeavour to revenge them before Heaven's ap- 
 pointed time has arrived. — But if I talk thus, I 
 shall scare you, as I have scared some of your 
 countrymen, from accepting a meal of meat, and a 
 night's lodging, in a house where you might be 
 called with the morning to a bloody settlement of 
 a national quarrel. " 
 
 " Never mind, " said Bertram, " we have been 
 known to each other of old; and I am no more 
 afraid of meeting unkindness in your house, than 
 you expect me to come here for the purpose of 
 adding to the injuries of which you complain. " 
 
 " So be it, " said Dickson ; " and you, my old 
 friend, are as welcome to my abode as when it 
 never held any guest save of my own inviting. — 
 And you, my young friend, Master Augustine, 
 shall be looked after as well as if you came with a 
 gay brow and a light cheek, such as best becomes 
 the gay science." 
 
 " But wherefore, may I ask, " said Bertram, " so 
 much displeased but now at my young friend 
 Charles ? " 
 
 The youth answered before his father had time 
 to speak. " My father, good sir, may put what 
 show upon it he will, but shrewd and wise men 
 wax weak in the brain in these troublous times. 
 He saw two or three wolves seize upon three of out 
 choicest wethers ; and because I shouted to give 
 the alarm to the English garrison, he was angry 
 as if he could have murdered me — just for saving 
 
22 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 the sheep from the jaws that would have devoured 
 them. " 
 
 " This is a strange account of thee, old friend, " 
 said Bertram. " Dost thou connive with the 
 wolves in robbing thine own fold ? " 
 
 " Why, let it pass if thou lovest me, " answered 
 the countryman ; " Charles could tell thee some- 
 thing nearer the truth if he had a mind ; but for 
 the present let it pass. " 
 
 The minstrel, perceiving that the Scotchman 
 was fretted and embarrassed with the subject, 
 pressed it no further. 
 
 At this moment, in crossing the threshold of 
 Thomas Dickson's house, they were greeted with 
 sounds from two English soldiers within. " Quiet, 
 Anthony, " said one voice — " quiet, man ! — for 
 the sake of common sense, if not common man- 
 ners ; — Eobin Hood himself never sat down to his 
 board ere the roast was ready. " 
 
 " Eeady ! " quoth another rough voice ; " it is 
 roasting to rags, and small had been the knave 
 Dickson's share, even of these rags, had it not 
 been the express orders of the worshipful Sir John 
 de Walton, that the soldiers who lie at outposts 
 should afford to the inmates such provisions as are 
 not necessary for their own subsistence. " 
 
 " Hush, Anthony — hush, for shame ! " replied 
 his fellow-soldier, " if ever I heard our host's step, 
 I heard it this instant; so give over thy grum- 
 bling, since our captain, as we all know, hath pro- 
 hibited, under strict penalties, all quarrels between 
 his followers and the people of the country. " 
 
 " I am sure, " replied Anthony, " that I have 
 ministered occasion to none; but I would I were 
 equally certain of the good meaning of this sullen- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 23 
 
 browed Thomas Dickson towards the English 
 soldiers, for I seldom go to bed in this dungeon of 
 a house, but I expect my throat will gape as wide 
 as a thirsty oyster before I awaken. Here he 
 comes, however," added Anthony, sinking his 
 sharp tones as he spoke ; " and I hope to be excom- 
 municated if he has not brought with him that 
 mad animal, his son Charles, and two other stran- 
 gers, hungry enough, I'll be sworn, to eat up the 
 whole supper, if they do us no other injury. " 
 
 " Shame of thyself, Anthony, " repeated his 
 comrade ; " a good archer thou as ever wore Kendal 
 green, and yet affect to be frightened for two tired 
 travellers, and alarmed for the inroad their hunger 
 may make on the night's meal. There are four or 
 five of us here — we have our bows and our bills 
 within reach, and scorn to be chased from our 
 supper, or cheated out of our share of it by a dozen 
 Scotchmen, whether stationary or strollers. — How 
 say'st thou?" he added, turning to Dickson — 
 " how say ye, quartermaster ? It is no secret that, 
 by the directions given to our post, we must in- 
 quire into the occupations of such guests as you 
 may receive besides ourselves, your unwilling 
 inmates ; you are as ready for supper, I warrant, 
 as supper is for you, and I will only delay you 
 and my friend Anthony, who becomes dreadfully 
 impatient, until you answer two or three questions 
 which you wot of. " 
 
 " Bend-the-Bow, " answered Dickson, " thou art 
 a civil fellow ; and although it is something hard 
 to be constrained to give an account of one's 
 friends, because they chance to quarter in one's 
 own house for a night or two, yet I must submit 
 to the times, and make no vain opposition. You 
 
24 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 may mark down in your breviary there, that upon 
 the fourteenth day before Palm Sunday, Thomas 
 Dickson brought to his house of Hazelside, in 
 which you hold garrison, by orders from the Eng- 
 lish governor, Sir John de Walton, two strangers, 
 to whom the said Thomas Dickson had promised 
 refreshment, and a bed for the evening, if it be 
 lawful at this time and place. " 
 
 " But what are they, these strangers ? " said 
 Anthony, somewhat sharply. 
 
 " A fine world the while, " murmured Thomas 
 Dickson, " that an honest man should be forced to 
 answer the questions of every paltry companion ! " 
 — But he mitigated his voice and proceeded. 
 " The eldest of my guests is Bertram, an ancient 
 English minstrel, who is bound on his own errand 
 to the Castle of Douglas, and will communicate 
 what he has to say of news to Sir John de Walton 
 himself. I have known him for twenty years, 
 and never heard anything of him save that he was 
 good man and true. The younger stranger is his 
 son, a lad recovering from the English disorder, 
 which has been raging far and wide in Westmore- 
 land and Cumberland. " 
 
 " Tell me, " said Bend-the-Bow, " this same 
 Bertram, was he not about a year since in the 
 service of some noble lady in our own country ? " 
 
 " I have heard so, " answered Dickson. 
 
 " We shall, in that case, I think, incur little 
 danger, " replied Bend-the-Bow, " by allowing this 
 old man and his son to proceed on their journey to 
 the castle. " 
 
 " You are my elder and my better, " answered 
 Anthony ; " but I may remind you that it is not so 
 clearly our duty to give free passage, into a garri- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 25 
 
 son of a thousand men of all ranks, to a youth who 
 has been so lately attacked by a contagious dis- 
 order ; and I question if our commander would not 
 rather hear that the Black Douglas, with a hun- 
 dred devils as black as himself, since such is his 
 colour, had taken possession of the outpost of 
 Hazelside with sword and battle-axe, than that 
 one person suffering under this fell sickness had 
 entered peaceably, and by the opened wicket of 
 the castle. " 
 
 " There is something in what thou sayest, 
 Anthony, " replied his comrade ; " and considering 
 that our governor, since he has undertaken the 
 troublesome job of keeping a castle which is 
 esteemed so much more dangerous than any other 
 within Scotland, has become one of the most cau- 
 tious and jealous men in the world, we had better, 
 I think, inform him of the circumstance, and take 
 his commands how the stripling is to be dealt 
 with. " 
 
 " Content am I, " said the archer ; " and first, 
 methinks, I would just, in order to show that 
 we know what belongs to such a case, ask the 
 stripling a few questions, as how long he has 
 been ill, by what physicians he has been at- 
 tended, when he was cured, and how his cure is 
 certified, &c. " 
 
 "True, brother," said Bend-the-Bow. "Thou 
 hearest, minstrel, 'we would ask thy son some 
 questions — What has become of him ? — he was 
 in this apartment but now. " 
 
 "So please you," answered Bertram, "he did 
 but pass through the apartment. Mr. Thomas 
 Dickson, at my entreaty, as well as in respectful 
 reverence to your honour's health, carried him 
 
26 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 through the room without tarriance, judging his 
 own bed-chamber the fittest place for a young man 
 recovering from a severe illness, and after a day of 
 no small fatigue. " 
 
 " Well, " answered the elder archer, " though it 
 is uncommon for men who, like us, live by bow- 
 string and quiver, to meddle with interrogations 
 and examinations, yet, as the case stands, we 
 must make some inquiries of your son, ere we per- 
 mit him to set forth to the Castle of Douglas, 
 where you say his errand leads him. " 
 
 " Eather my errand, noble sir, " said the min- 
 strel, " than that of the young man himself. " 
 
 " If such be the case, " answered Bend-the-Bow, 
 " we may sufficiently do our duty by sending your- 
 self, with the first grey light of dawn, to the 
 castle, and letting your son remain in bed, which 
 I warrant is the fittest place for him, until we 
 shall receive Sir John de Walton's commands 
 whether he is to be brought onward or not. " 
 
 " And we may as well, " said Anthony, " since 
 we are to have this man's company at supper, 
 make him acquainted with the rules of the out 
 garrison stationed here for the time. " So saying, 
 he pulled a scroll from his leather pouch, and said, 
 " Minstrel, canst thou read ? " 
 
 " It becomes my calling, " said the minstrel. 
 
 " It has nothing to do with mine, though, " an- 
 swered the archer, " and therefore do thou read 
 these regulations aloud ; for since I do not compre- 
 hend these characters by sight, I lose no chance of 
 having them read over to me as often as I can, that 
 I may fix their sense in my memory. So beware 
 that thou readest the words letter for letter as 
 they are set down ; for thou dost so at thy peril, 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 27 
 
 Sir Minstrel, if thou readest not like a true 
 man. " 
 
 " On my minstrel word, " said Bertram, and 
 began to read excessively slow ; for he wished to 
 gain a little time for consideration, which he 
 foresaw would be necessary to prevent his being 
 separated from his mistress, which was likely to 
 occasion her much anxiety and distress. He there- 
 fore began thus: "'Outpost at Hazelside, the 
 steading of Goodman Thomas Dickson' — Ay, 
 Thomas, and is thy house so called ? " 
 
 " It is the ancient name of the steading, " said 
 the Scot, " being surrounded by a hazel-shaw, or 
 thicket. " 
 
 " Hold your chattering tongue, minstrel, " said 
 Anthony, " and proceed, as you value that or your 
 ears, which you seem disposed to make less use 
 of." 
 
 " 'His garrison, ' " proceeded the minstrel, reading, 
 " 'consists of a lance with its furniture. ' What, 
 then, a lance, in other words, a belted knight, 
 commands this party ? " 
 
 " 'Tis no concern of thine, " said the archer. 
 
 " But it is, " answered the minstrel ; " we have 
 a right to be examined by the highest person in 
 presence. " 
 
 " I will show thee, thou rascal, " said the archer, 
 starting up, " that I am lance enough for thee to 
 reply to, and I will break thy head if thou say'st 
 a word more. " 
 
 " Take care, brother Anthony, " said his com- 
 rade, " we are to use travellers courteously — and, 
 with your leave, those travellers best who come 
 from our native land. " 
 
 " It is even so stated here, " said the minstrel. 
 
28 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 and he proceeded to read : " ' The watch at this 
 outpost of Hazelside ^ shall stop and examine all 
 travellers passing by the said station, suffering 
 such to pass onwards to the town of Douglas, or to 
 Douglas Castle, always interrogating them with 
 civility, and detaining and turning them back if 
 there arise matter of suspicion; but conducting 
 themselves in all matters civilly and courteously 
 to the people of the country, and to those who 
 travel in it. ' You see, most excellent and valiant 
 archer, " added the commentator Bertram, " that 
 courtesy and civility are, above all, recommended 
 to your worship in your conduct towards the in- 
 habitants, and those passengers who, like us, may 
 chance to fall under your rules in such matters. " 
 
 " I am not be told at this time of day, " said the 
 archer, " how to conduct myself in the discharge 
 of my duties. Let me advise you. Sir Minstrel, to 
 be frank and open in your answers to our inquiries, 
 and you shall have no reason to complain. " 
 
 " I hope, at all events, " said the minstrel, " to 
 have your favour for my son, who is a delicate 
 stripling, and not accustomed to play his part 
 among the crew which inhabit this wild world. " 
 
 " Well, " continued the elder and more civil of 
 the two archers, " if thy son be a novice in this 
 terrestrial navigation, I warrant that thou, my 
 friend, from thy look and manner of speech, hast 
 
 1 [Hazelside Place, the fief granted to Thomas Dickson by 
 William the Hardy, seventh Lord Douglas, is still pointed out 
 about two miles to the south-west of the Castle Dangerous. Dick- 
 son was sixty years of age at the time when Lord James first 
 appeared in Douglasdale. His heirs kept possession of the fief for 
 centuries ; and some respectable gentlemen's families in Lanark- 
 shire still trace themselves to this ancestor. — From Notes by Mr, 
 Haddow.] 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 29 
 
 enough of skill to use thy compass. To comfort 
 thee, although thou must thyself answer the ques- 
 tions of our governor or deputy governor, in order 
 that he may see there is no offence in thee, I think 
 there may be permission granted for thy son's 
 residing here in the convent hard by (where the 
 nuns, by the way, are as old as the monks, and 
 have nearly as long beards, so thou mayst be easy 
 about thy son's morals), until thou hast done thy 
 business at Douglas Castle, and art ready to re- 
 sume thy journey. " 
 
 " If such permission, " said the minstrel, " can 
 be obtained, I should be better pleased to leave 
 him at the abbey, and go myself, in the first 
 place, to take the directions of your commanding 
 officer. " 
 
 " Certainly, " answered the archer, " that will be 
 the safest and best way ; and with a piece or two 
 of money, thou mayst secure the protection of 
 the abbot." 
 
 " Thou say 'st well, " answered the minstrel ; " I 
 have known life, I have known every stile, gap, 
 pathway, and pass of this wilderness of ours for 
 some thirty years; and he that cannot steer his 
 course fairly through it like an able seaman, after 
 having served such an apprenticeship, can hardly 
 ever be taught, were a century to be given him to 
 learn it in. " 
 
 " Since thou art so expert a mariner," answered 
 the archer Anthony, " thou hast, I warrant me, 
 met in thy wanderings a potation called a morn- 
 ing's draught, which they who are conducted by 
 others, where they themselves lack experience, 
 are used to bestow upon those who undertake the 
 task of guide upon such an occasion ? " 
 
30 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 " I understand you, sir, " quoth the minstrel ; 
 ** and although money, or drink-geld y as the Fle- 
 ming calls it, is rather a scarce commodity in the 
 purse of one of my calling, yet, according to my 
 feeble ability, thou shalt have no cause to com- 
 plain that thine eyes or those of thy comrades 
 have been damaged by a Scottish mist, while we 
 can find an English coin to pay for the good liquor 
 which should wash them clear. " 
 
 " Content, " said the archer ; " we now under- 
 stand each other; and if difficulties arise on the 
 road, thou shalt not want the countenance of 
 Anthony to sail triumphantly through them. But 
 thou hadst better let thy son know soon of the 
 early visit to the abbot to-morrow, for thou mayst 
 guess that we cannot and dare not delay our depar- 
 ture for the convent a minute after the eastern sky 
 is ruddy; and, with other infirmities, young men 
 often are prone to laziness and a love of ease. " 
 
 " Thou shalt have no reason to think so, " an- 
 swered the minstrel ; " not the lark himself, when 
 waked by the first ray peeping over the black 
 cloud, springs more lightly to the sky, than will 
 my Augustine answer the same brilliant summons. 
 And now we understand each other, I would only 
 further pray you to forbear light talk while my 
 son is in your company — a boy of innocent life, 
 and timid in conversation." 
 
 "Nay, jolly minstrel," said the elder archer, 
 " thou givest us here too gross an example of Satan 
 reproving sin. If thou hast followed thy craft for 
 twenty years, as thou pretendest, thy son, having 
 kept thee company since childhood, must by this 
 time be fit to open a school to teach even devils 
 the practice of the seven deadly sins, of which 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 31 
 
 none know the theory if those of the gay science 
 are lacking. " 
 
 " Truly, comrade, thou speakest well, " answered 
 Bertram, " and I acknowledge that we minstrels 
 are too much to blame in this matter. Neverthe- 
 less, in good sooth, the fault is not one of which I 
 myself am particularly guilty : on the contrary, I 
 think that he who would wish to have his own 
 hair honoured when time has strewed it with 
 silver, should so rein his mirth when in the pre- 
 sence of the young, as may show in what respect 
 he holds innocence. I will, therefore, with your 
 permission, speak a word to Augustine, that to- 
 morrow we must be on foot early. " 
 
 " Do so, my friend, " said the English soldier ; 
 " and do the same the more speedily that our poor 
 supper is still awaiting until thou art ready to 
 partake of it. " 
 
 "To which, I promise thee," said Bertram, "I 
 am disposed to entertain no delay. " 
 
 " Follow me, then, " said Dickson, " and I will 
 show thee where this young bird of thine has his 
 nest. " 
 
 Their host accordingly tripped up the wooden 
 stair, and tapped at a door, which he thus indi- 
 cated was that of his younger guest. 
 
 " Your father, " continued he, as the door opened, 
 " would speak with you, Master Augustine. " 
 
 " Excuse me, my host, " answered Augustine ; 
 " the truth is, that this room being directly above 
 your eating-chamber, and the flooring not in the 
 best possible repair, I have been compelled to the 
 unhandsome practice of eavesdropping, and not a 
 word has escaped me that passed concerning my 
 proposed residence at the abbey, our journey to- 
 
32 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 morrow, and the somewhat early hour at which I 
 must shake off sloth, and, according to thy expres- 
 sion, fly down from the roost." 
 
 " And how dost thou relish, " said Dickson, 
 "being left with the Abbot of St. Bride's little 
 flock here?" 
 
 " Why, well, " said the youth, " if the abbot is 
 a man of respectability becoming his vocation, and 
 not one of those swaggering churchmen, who 
 stretch out the sword, and bear themselves like 
 rank soldiers in these troublous times. " 
 
 " For that, young master, " said Dickson, " if 
 you let him put his hand deep enough into your 
 purse, he will hardly quarrel with anything. " 
 
 " Then I will leave him to my father, " replied 
 Augustine, " who will not grudge him anything 
 he asks in reason. " 
 
 " In that case, " replied the Scotchman, " you 
 may trust to our abbot for good accommodation — 
 and so both sides are pleased. " 
 
 " It is well, my son, " said Bertram, who now 
 joined in the conversation ; " and that thou mayst 
 be ready for thy early travelling, I shall presently 
 get our host to send thee some food, after par- 
 taking of which thou shouldst go to bed and sleep 
 off the fatigue of to-day, since to-morrow will bring 
 work for itself. " 
 
 " And as for thy engagement to these honest 
 archers, " answered Augustine, " I hope you will 
 be able to do what will give pleasure to our 
 guides, if they are disposed to be civil and true 
 men. " 
 
 " God bless thee, my child ! " answered Bertram ; 
 " thou knowest already what would drag after thy 
 beck all the English archers that were ever on this 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 33 
 
 side of the Solway. There is no fear of a grey- 
 goose shaft, if you sing a reveillez like to that 
 which chimed even now from that silken nest of 
 dainty young goldfinches. " 
 
 " Hold me as in readiness, then, " said the seem- 
 ing youth, " when you depart to-morrow morning. 
 I am within hearing, I suppose, of the bells of St. 
 Bride's chapel, and have no fear, through my sloth, 
 of keeping you or your company waiting. " 
 
 " Good-night, and God bless thee, my child ! * 
 again said the minstrel ; " remember that your 
 father sleeps not far distant, and on the slightest 
 alarm will not fail to be with you. I need scarce 
 bid thee recommend thyself, meantime, to the great 
 Being, who is the friend and father of us all. " 
 
 The pilgrim thanked his supposed father for his 
 evening blessing, and the visitors withdrew with- 
 out further speech at the time, leaving the young 
 lady to those engrossing fears which, the novelty 
 of her situation and the native delicacy of her sex 
 being considered, naturally thronged upon her. 
 
 The tramp of a horse's foot was not long after 
 heard at the house of Hazelside, and the rider was 
 welcomed by its garrison with marks of respect. 
 Bertram understood so much as to discover from 
 the conversation of the warders that this late 
 arrival was Aymer de Valence, the knight who 
 commanded the little party, and to the furniture 
 of whose lance, as it was technically called, 
 belonged the archers with whom we have already 
 been acquainted, a man-at-arms or two, a certain 
 proportion of pages or grooms, and, in short, the 
 command and guidance of the garrison at Thomas 
 Dickson's, while in rank he was deputy governor 
 of Douglas Castle. 
 
34 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 To prevent all suspicion respecting himself and 
 his companion, as well as the risk of the latter 
 being disturbed, the minstrel thought it proper to 
 present himself to the inspection of this knight, 
 the great authority of the little place. He found 
 him, with as little scruple as the archers hereto- 
 fore, making a supper of the relics of the roast 
 beef. 
 
 Before this young knight Bertram underwent 
 an examination, while an old soldier took down 
 in writing such items of information as the exami- 
 nate thought proper to express in his replies, both 
 with regard to the minutise of his present journey, 
 his business at Castle Douglas, and his route when 
 that business should be accomplished; a much 
 more minute examination, in a word, than he had 
 hitherto undergone by the archers, or perhaps than 
 was quite agreeable to him, being incumbered 
 with at least the knowledge of one secret, what- 
 ever more. Not that this new examinator had 
 anything stern or severe in his looks or his ques- 
 tions. As to the first, he was mild, gentle, and 
 " meek as a maid, " and possessed exactly of the 
 courteous manners ascribed by our father Chaucer 
 to the pattern of chivalry whom he describes upon 
 his pilgrimage to Canterbury. But with all his 
 gentleness, De Valence showed a great degree of 
 acuteness and accuracy in his queries ; and well 
 pleased was Bertram that the young knight did 
 not insist upon seeing his supposed son, although 
 even in that case his ready wit had resolved, like 
 a seaman in a tempest, to sacrifice one part to pre- 
 serve the rest. He was not, however, driven to 
 this extremity, being treated by Sir Aymer with 
 that degree of courtesy which in that age men of 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 35 
 
 song were in general thought entitled to. The 
 knight kindly and liberally consented to the lad's 
 remaining in the convent, as a fit and quiet resi- 
 dence for a stripling and an invalid, until Sir 
 John de Walton should express his pleasure on 
 the subject; and Sir Aymer consented to this ar- 
 rangement the more willingly, as it averted all 
 possible danger of bringing disease into the Eng- 
 lish garrison. 
 
 By the young knight's order, all in Dickson's 
 house were despatched earlier to rest than usual ; 
 the matin bell of the neighbouring chapel being 
 the signal for their assembly by daybreak. They 
 rendezvoused accordingly, and proceeded to St. 
 Bride's, where they heard mass, after which an 
 interview took place between the Abbot Jerome 
 and the minstrel, in which the former undertook, 
 with the permission of De Valence, to receive 
 Augustine into his abbey as a guest for a few days, 
 less or more, and for which Bertram promised an 
 acknowledgment in name of alms, which was 
 amply satisfactory. 
 
 " So be it, " said Bertram, taking leave of his 
 supposed son ; " rely on it I will not tarry a day 
 longer at Douglas Castle than shall suffice for 
 transacting my business there, which is to look 
 after the old books you wot of, and I will speedily 
 return for thee to the Abbey of St. Bride, to resume 
 in company our journey homeward. " 
 
 " O father, " replied the youth, with a smile, 
 " I fear, if you get among romances and chronicles, 
 you will be so earnest in your researches, that you 
 will forget poor Augustine and his concerns. " 
 
 " Never fear me, Augustine, " said the old man, 
 making the motion of throwing a kiss towards the 
 
36 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 boy ; " thou art good and virtuous, and Heaven 
 will not neglect thee were thy father unnatural 
 enough to do so. Believe me, all the old songs 
 since Merlin's day shall not make me forget thee. " 
 Thus they separated, the minstrel, with the 
 English knight and his retinue, to move towards 
 the castle, and the youth in dutiful attendance on 
 the venerable abbot, who was delighted to find 
 that his guest's thoughts turned rather upon spiri- 
 tual things than on the morning repast, of the 
 approach of which he could not help being himself 
 sensible. 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 The night, methinks, is but the daylight sick, 
 It looks a little paler ; 'tis a day 
 Such as the day is when the sun is hid. 
 
 Merchant of Venice. 
 
 To facilitate the progress of the party on its way 
 to Douglas Castle, the Knight of Valence offered 
 the minstrel the convenience of a horse, which the 
 fatigues of yesterday made him gladly accept. 
 Any one acquainted with equestrian exercise is 
 aware that no means of refreshment carries away 
 the sense of fatigue from over-walking so easily as 
 the exchange to riding, which calls into play an- 
 other set of muscles, and leaves those which have 
 been over-exerted an opportunity of resting through 
 change of motion, more completely than they 
 could in absolute repose. Sir Aymer de Valence 
 was sheathed in armour, and mounted on his 
 charger ; two of the archers, a groom of mean rank, 
 and a squire, who looked in his day for the honour 
 of knighthood, completed the detachment, which 
 seemed so disposed as to secure the minstrel from 
 escape, and to protect him against violence. 
 " Not, " said the young knight, addressing himself 
 to Bertram, " that there is usually danger in tra- 
 velling in this country, any more than in the most 
 quiet districts of England ; but some disturbances, 
 as you may have learnt, have broken out here 
 within this last year, and have caused the garrison 
 
38 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 of Castle Douglas to maintain a stricter watch. 
 But let us move on, for the complexion of the day 
 is congenial with the original derivation of the 
 name of the country, and the description of the 
 chiefs to whom it belonged — Sholto Dhu Glass — 
 (see yon dark grey man), and dark grey will our 
 route prove this morning, though by good luck it 
 is not long. " 
 
 The morning was indeed what the original 
 Gaelic words implied, a drizzly, dark, moist day ; 
 the mist had settled upon the hills, and unrolled 
 itself upon brook, glade, and tarn, and the spring 
 breeze was not powerful enough to raise the veil, 
 though, from the wild sounds which were heard 
 occasionally on the ridges and through the glens, 
 it might be supposed to wail at a sense of its own 
 inability. The route of the travellers was directed 
 by the course which the river had ploughed for 
 itself down the valley, the banks of which bore in 
 general that dark grey livery which Sir Aymer de 
 Valence had intimated to be the prevalent tint of 
 the country. Some ineffectual struggles of the sun 
 shot a ray here and there to salute the peaks of 
 the hills ; yet these were unable to surmount the 
 dulness of a March morning, and, at so early an 
 hour, produced a variety of shades, rather than a 
 gleam of brightness, upon the eastern horizon. 
 The view was monotonous and depressing, and 
 apparently the good knight Aymer sought some 
 amusement in occasional talk with Bertram, who, 
 as was usual with his craft, possessed a fund of 
 knowledge, and a power of conversation, well 
 suited to pass away a dull morning. The minstrel, 
 well pleased to pick up such information as he 
 might be able concerning the present state of the 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 39 
 
 country, embraced every opportunity of sustaining 
 the dialogue. 
 
 " I would speak with you, Sir Minstrel, " said 
 the young knight. " If thou dost not find the air 
 of this morning too harsh for thine organs, heartily 
 do I wish thou wouldst fairly tell me what can 
 have induced thee, being, as thou seemest, a man 
 of sense, to thrust thyself into a wild country like 
 this, at such a time. — And you, my masters, " 
 addressing the archers, and the rest of the party, 
 " methmks it would be as fitting and seeming if 
 you reined back your steeds for a horse's length 
 or so, since I apprehend you can travel on your 
 way without the pastime of minstrelsy. " The 
 bowmen took the hint, and fell back, but, as was 
 expressed by their grumbling observations, by no 
 means pleased that there seemed little chance of 
 their overhearing what conversation should pass 
 between the young knight and the minstrel, which 
 proceeded as follows : — 
 
 " I am, then, to understand, good minstrel, " 
 said the knight, " that you, who have in your time 
 borne arms, and even followed St. George's red- 
 cross banner to the Holy Sepulchre, are so little 
 tired of the danger attending our profession, that 
 you feel yourself attracted unnecessarily to regions 
 where the sword, for ever loose in its scabbard, is 
 ready to start on the slightest provocation ? " 
 
 "It would be hard," replied the minstrel 
 bluntly, " to answer such a question in the affir- 
 mative ; and yet, when you consider how nearly 
 allied is his profession who celebrates deeds of 
 arms with that of the knight who performs them, 
 your honour, I think, will hold it advisable that 
 a minstrel desirous of doing his devoir, should, 
 
40 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 like a young knight, seek the truth of adventures 
 where it is to be found, and rather visit countries 
 where the knowledge is preserved of high and 
 noble deeds, than those lazy and quiet realms, in 
 which men live indolently, and die ignobly in peace, 
 or by sentence of law. You yourself, sir, and those 
 like you, who hold life cheap in respect of glory, 
 guide your course through this world on the very 
 same principle which brings your poor rhyming 
 servant Bertram from a far province of merry Eng- 
 land, to this dark country of rugged Scotland called 
 Douglas Dale. You long to see adventures worthy 
 of notice, and I (under favour for naming us two 
 in the same breath) seek a scanty and precarious, 
 but not a dishonourable living, by preparing for 
 immortality, as well as I can, the particulars of 
 such exploits, especially the names of those who 
 were the heroes of these actions. Each, therefore, 
 labours in his vocation ; nor can the one be justly 
 wondered at more than the other, seeing that if 
 there be any difference in the degrees of danger to 
 which both the hero and the poet are exposed, the 
 courage, strength, arms, and address of the valiant 
 knight render it safer for him to venture into 
 scenes of peril, than for the poor man of rhyme. " 
 " You say well, " answered the warrior ; " and 
 although it is something of novelty to me to hear 
 your craft represented as upon a level with my 
 own mode of life, yet shame were it to say that 
 the minstrel who toils so much to keep in memory 
 the feats of gallant knights, should not himself 
 prefer fame to existence, and a single achievement 
 of valour to a whole age without a name, or to 
 affirm that he follows a mean and unworthy 
 profession. " 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 41 
 
 " Your worship will then acknowledge, " said 
 the minstrel, " that it is a legitimate object in 
 such as myself, who, simple as I am, have taken 
 my regular degrees among the professors of the gay 
 science at the capital town of Aigues-Mortes, to 
 struggle forward into this northern district, where 
 I am well assured many things have happened 
 which have been adapted to the harp by minstrels 
 of great fame in ancient days, and have become 
 the subject of lays which lie deposited in the 
 library of Castle Douglas, where, unless copied 
 over by some one who understands the old British 
 characters and language, they must, with whatever 
 they may contain, whether of entertainment or 
 edification, be speedily lost to posterity. If these 
 hidden treasures were preserved and recorded by 
 the minstrel art of my poor self and others, it 
 might be held well to compensate for the risk of 
 a chance blow of a broadsword, or the sweep of a 
 brown bill, received while I am engaged in col- 
 lecting them; and I were unworthy of the name 
 of a man, much more of an inventor or finder, ^ 
 should I weigh the loss of life, a commodity 
 always so uncertain, against the chance of that 
 immortality which will survive in my lay after 
 my broken voice and shivered harp shall no 
 longer be able either to express tune or accom- 
 pany tale. " 
 
 " Certainly, " said Sir Aymer, " having a heart 
 to feel such a motive, you have an undoubted right 
 
 1 The name of Maker or Makar stands for Poet (with the 
 original sense of which word it exactly corresponds) in the old Scot- 
 tish language. That of Trouveur or Troubadour — Finder, in 
 short — has a similar meaning, and almost in every country the 
 poetical tribes have been graced with the same epithets, inferring 
 the property of those who employ invention or creation. 
 
42 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 to express it ; nor should I have been in any degree 
 disposed to question it had I found many minstrels 
 prepared, like yourself, to prefer renown even to 
 life itself, which most men think of greatly more 
 consequence. " 
 
 " There are, indeed, noble sir, " replied Bertram, 
 " minstrels, and, with your reverence, even belted 
 knights themselves, who do not sufficiently value 
 that renown which is acquired at the risk of life. 
 To such ignoble men we must leave their own 
 reward — let us abandon to them earth, and the 
 things of earth, since they cannot aspire to that 
 glory which is the hest reward of others. " 
 
 The minstrel uttered these last words with such 
 enthusiasm, that the knight drew his bridle, and 
 stood fronting Bertram, with his countenance 
 kindling at the same theme, on which, after a 
 short silence, he expressed himself with a like 
 vivacity. 
 
 " Well fare thy heart, gay companion ! I am 
 happy to see there is still so much enthusiasm 
 surviving in the world. Thou hast fairly won the 
 minstrel groat; and if I do not pay it in con- 
 formity to my sense of thy merit, it shall be the 
 fault of dame Fortune, who has graced my labours 
 in these Scottish wars with the niggard pay of 
 Scottish money. A gold piece or two there must 
 be remaining of the ransom of one French knight, 
 whom chance threw into my hands, and that, my 
 friend, shall surely be thine own ; and hark thee, 
 I, Aymer de Valence, who nov/ speak to thee, am 
 born of the noble House of Pembroke ; and, though 
 now landless, shall, by the grace of Our Lady, 
 have in time a fitting establishment, wherein I 
 will find room for a minstrel like thee, if thy 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 43 
 
 talents have not by that time found thee a better 
 patron. " 
 
 " Thank thee, noble knight, " said the minstrel, 
 " as well for thy present intentions, as I hope I 
 shall for thy future performance; but I may say 
 with truth, that I have not the sordid inclination 
 of many of my brethren. " 
 
 " He who partakes the true thirst of noble fame, " 
 said the young knight, " can have little room in his 
 heart for the love of gold. But thou hast not yet 
 told me, friend minstrel, what are the motives, in 
 particular, which have attracted thy wandering 
 steps to this wild country ? " 
 
 " Were I to do so, " replied Bertram, rather de- 
 sirous to avoid the question, as in some respects 
 too nearly bordering on the secret purpose of his 
 journey, " it might sound like a studied panegyric 
 on thine own bold deeds, Sir Knight, and those of 
 your companions in arms ; and such adulation, 
 minstrel as I am, I hate like an empty cup at a 
 companion's lips. But let me say in few words, 
 that Douglas Castle, and the deeds of valour which 
 it has witnessed, have sounded wide through Eng- 
 land; nor is there a gallant knight or trusty 
 minstrel, whose heart does not throb at the name 
 of the stronghold, which, in former days, the foot 
 of an Englishman never entered, except in hospi- 
 tality. There is a magic in the very names of Sir 
 John de Walton and Sir Aymer de Valence, the 
 gallant defenders of a place so often won back by 
 its ancient lords, and with such circumstances of 
 valour and cruelty, that it bears, in England, the 
 name of the Dangerous Castle. " 
 
 " Yet I would fain hear, " answered the knight, 
 " your own minstrel account of those legends which 
 
44 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 have induced you, for the amusement of future 
 times, to visit a country which, at this period, is 
 so distracted and perilous. " 
 
 " If you can endure the length of a minstrel 
 tale, " said Bertram — "I for one am always 
 amused by the exercise of my vocation, and have 
 no objection to tell my story, provided you do not 
 prove an impatient listener. " 
 
 " Nay, for that matter, " said the young knight, 
 " a fair listener thou shalt have of me ; and if my 
 reward be not great, my attention at least shall 
 be remarkable. " 
 
 " And he, " said the minstrel, " must be a poor 
 gleeman who does not hold himself better paid 
 w^ith that, than with gold or silver, were the 
 pieces English rose-nobles. On this condition, 
 then, I begin a long story, which may, in one or 
 other of its details, find subject for better min- 
 strels than myself, and be listened to by such 
 warriors as you hundreds of years hence. " 
 
CHAPTEE lY. 
 
 While many a merry lay and many a song 
 
 Cheer'd the rough road, we wish'd the rough road long ; 
 
 The rough road then returning in a round, 
 
 Mark'd their impatient steps, for all was fairy ground. 
 
 Dr. Johnson. 
 
 " It was about the year of redemption one thou- 
 sand two hundred and eighty-five years," began 
 the minstrel, " when King Alexander the Third of 
 Scotland lost his daughter Margaret, whose only 
 child, of the same name, called the Maiden of 
 Norway (as her father was king of that country), 
 became the heiress of this kingdom of Scotland, 
 as well as of her father's crown. An unhappy 
 death was this for Alexander, who had no nearer 
 heirs left of his own body than this grandchild. 
 She indeed might claim his kingdom by birth- 
 right; but the difficulty of establishing such a 
 claim of inheritance must have, been anticipated 
 by all who bestowed a thought upon the subject. 
 The Scottish king, therefore, endeavoured to make 
 up for his loss by replacing his late Queen, who 
 was an English princess, sister of our Edward 
 the Eirst, with Juletta, daughter of the Count de 
 Dreux. The solemnities at the nuptial ceremony, 
 which took place in the town of Jedburgh, were 
 very great and remarkable, and particularly when, 
 amidst the display of a pageant which was exhi- 
 bited on the occasion, a ghastly spectre made its 
 
46 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 appearance in the form of a skeleton, as the King 
 of Terrors is said to be represented. — Your wor- 
 ship is free to laugh at this, if you think it a 
 proper subject for mirth; but men are alive who 
 viewed it with their own eyes, and the event 
 showed too well of what misfortunes this appari- 
 tion was the singular prognostication. " 
 
 " I have heard the story, " said the knight , " but 
 the monk who told it me, suggested that the 
 figure, though unhappily chosen, was perhaps pur- 
 posely introduced as a part of the pageant. " 
 
 " I know not that, " said the minstrel, drily ; 
 " but there is no doubt that shortly after this ap- 
 parition King Alexander died, to the great sorrow 
 of his people. The Maid of Norway, his heiress, 
 speedily followed her grandfather to the grave, 
 and our English king. Sir Knight, raked up a 
 claim of dependency and homage due, he said, 
 by Scotland, which neither the lawyers, nobles, 
 priests, nor the very minstrels of Scotland had 
 ever before heard of." 
 
 " Now, beshrew me, " interrupted Sir Aymer de 
 Valence, " this is beyond bargain. I agreed to 
 hear your tale with patience, but I did not pledge 
 myself that it should contain matter to the re- 
 proach of Edward the First, of blessed memory; 
 nor will I permit his name to be mentioned in my 
 hearing without the respect due to his high rank 
 and noble qualities." 
 
 " Nay, " said the minstrel, " I am no Highland 
 bagpiper or genealogist, to carry respect for my art 
 so far as to quarrel with a man of worship who 
 stops me at the beginning of a pibroch. I am an 
 Englishman, and wish dearly well to my country ; 
 and, above all, I must speak the truth. But I 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 47 
 
 will avoid disputable topics. Your age, sir, 
 though none of the ripest, authorises me to sup- 
 pose you may have seen the battle of Falkirk, and 
 other onslaughts in which the competition of 
 Bruce and Baliol has been fiercely agitated, and 
 you will permit me to say, that if the Scottish 
 have not had the right upon their side, they have 
 at least defended the wrong with the efforts of 
 brave men and true. " 
 
 " Of brave men, I grant you, " said the knight, 
 " for I have seen no cowards amongst them ; but 
 as for truth, they can best judge of it who know 
 how often they have sworn faith to England, and 
 how repeatedly they have broken their vow. " 
 
 " I shall not stir the question, " said the min- 
 strel, " leaving it to your worship to determine 
 which has most falsehood — he who compels a 
 weaker person to take an unjust oath, or he who, 
 compelled by necessity, takes the imposed oath 
 without the intention of keeping his word. " 
 
 " Nay, nay, " said De Valence, " let us keep our 
 opinions, for we are not likely to force each other 
 from the faith we have adopted on this subject. 
 But take my advice, and, whilst thou travellest 
 under an English pennon, take heed that thou 
 keepest off this conversation in the hall and 
 kitchen, where perhaps the soldier may be less 
 tolerant than the officer ; and now, in a word, what 
 is thy legend of this Dangerous Castle ? " 
 
 " For that, " replied Bertram, " methinks your 
 worship is most likely to have a better edition 
 than I, who have not been in this country for 
 many years; but it is not for me to bandy opi- 
 nions with your knightship. I will even proceed 
 with the tale as I have heard it. I need not, I 
 
48 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 presume, inform your worship that the Lords of 
 Douglas, who founded this castle, are second to 
 no lineage in Scotland in the antiquity of their 
 descent. Nay, they have themselves boasted that 
 their family is not to be seen or distinguished, like 
 other great houses, until it is found at once in a 
 certain degree of eminence. *You may see us in 
 the tree,' they say, 'you cannot discover us in the 
 twig ; you may see us in the stream, you cannot 
 trace us to the fountain. ' In a word, they deny 
 that historians or genealogists can point out the 
 first mean man named Douglas, who originally 
 elevated the family; and true it is, that so far 
 back as we have known this race, they have 
 always been renowned for valour and enterprise, 
 accompanied with the power which made that 
 enterprise effectual. " 
 
 " Enough, " said the knight, " I have heard of 
 the pride and power of that great family, nor does 
 it interest me in the least to deny or detract from 
 their bold claims to consideration in this respect. " 
 
 " Without doubt you must also have heard, 
 noble sir, " replied the minstrel, " many things of 
 James, the present heir of the House of Douglas ? " 
 
 " More than enough, " answered the English 
 knight ; " he is known to have been a stout sup- 
 porter of that outlawed traitor, William Wallace ; 
 and again, upon the first raising of the banner by 
 this Robert Bruce, who pretends to be King of 
 Scotland, this young springald, James Douglas, 
 must needs start into rebellion anew. He plunders 
 his uncle, the Archbishop of St. Andrews, (a)^ of 
 
 1 See Editor's Notes at the end of the Volume. Wherever a 
 similar reference occurs, the reader will understand that the same 
 direction applies. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 49 
 
 a considerable sum of money, to fill the Scottish 
 Usurper's not overburdened treasury, debauches 
 the servants of his relation, takes arms, and, 
 though repeatedly chastised in the field, still keeps 
 his vaunt, and threatens mischief to those who, 
 in the name of his rightful sovereign, defend the 
 Castle of Douglas Dale." 
 
 " It is your pleasure to say so. Sir Knight, " 
 replied Bertram ; " yet I am sure, were you a Scot, 
 you would witli patience hear me tell over what 
 has been said of this young man by those who 
 have known him, and whose account of his adven- 
 tures shows how differently the same tale may be 
 told. These men talk of the present heir of this 
 ancient family as fully adequate to maintain and 
 augment its reputation ; ready, indeed, to undergo 
 every peril in the cause of Robert the Bruce, 
 because the Bruce is esteemed by him his lawful 
 king; and sworn and devoted, with such small 
 strength as he can muster, to revenge himself on 
 those Southrons who have, for several years, as 
 he thinks, unjustly, possessed themselves of his 
 father's abode. " 
 
 " Oh, " replied Sir Aymer de Valence, " we have 
 heard much of his achievements in this respect, 
 and of his threats against our governor and our- 
 selves ; yet we think it scarce likely that Sir John 
 de Walton will move from Douglas Dale without 
 the king's order, although this James Douglas, 
 a mere chicken, take upon himself to crack his 
 voice by crowing like a cock of the game. " 
 
 " Sir, " answered Bertram, " our acquaintance is 
 but brief, and yet I feel it has been so beneficial 
 to me, that I trust there is no harm in hoping that 
 James Douglas and you may never meet in bodily 
 
50 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 presence till the state of the two countries shall 
 admit of peace being between you. " 
 
 " Thou art obliging, friend, " answered Sir 
 Ajmer, " and, I doubt not, sincere ; and truly 
 thou seemest to have a wholesome sense of the 
 respect due to this young knight, when men talk 
 of him in his native valley of Douglas. For me, 
 I am only poor Aymer of Valence, without an acre 
 of land, or much hope of acquiring any, unless I 
 cut something huge with my broadsword out of 
 the middle of these hills. Only this, good min- 
 strel, if thou livest to tell my story, may I pray 
 thee to use thy scrupulous custom of searching out 
 the verity, and whether I live or die thou shalt 
 not, I think, discover that thy late acquaintance 
 of a spring morning hath added more to the laurels 
 of James of Douglas, than any man's death must 
 give to him by whose stronger arm, or more lucky 
 chance, it is his lot to fall. " 
 
 " I nothing fear you. Sir Knight, " said the min- 
 strel, " for yours is that happy brain, which, bold 
 in youth as beseems a young knight, is in more 
 advanced life the happy source of prudent counsel, 
 of which I would not, by an early death, wish thy 
 country to be deprived. " 
 
 " Thou art so candid, then, as to wish Old Eng- 
 land the benefit of good advice, " said Sir Aymer, 
 " though thou leanest to the side of Scotland in 
 the controversy ? " 
 
 "Assuredly, Sir Knight," said the minstrel, 
 " since in wishing that Scotland and England each 
 knew their own true interest, I am bound to wish 
 them both alike well ; and they should, I think, 
 desire to live in friendship together. Occupying 
 each their own portion of the same island, and 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 51 
 
 living under the same laws, and being at peace 
 with each other, they might, without fear, face 
 the enmity of the whole world. " 
 
 " If thy faith be so liberal, " answered the knight, 
 " as becomes a good man, thou must certainly pray. 
 Sir Minstrel, for the success of England in the 
 war, by which alone these murderous hostilities of 
 the Northern nation can end in a solid peace. The 
 rebellions of this obstinate country are but the 
 struggles of the stag when he is mortally wounded ; 
 the animal grows weaker and weaker with every 
 struggle, till his resistance is effectually tamed by 
 the hand of death. " 
 
 " Not so. Sir Knight, " said the minstrel ; " if 
 my creed is well taught me, we ought not so to 
 pray. We may, without offence, intimate in our 
 prayers the end we wish to obtain ; but it is not 
 for us, poor mortals, to point out to an all-seeing 
 Providence the precise manner in which our peti- 
 tions are to be accomplished, or to wish the down- 
 fall of a country to end its commotions, as the 
 death-stab terminates the agonies of the wounded 
 stag. Whether I appeal to my heart or to my 
 understanding, the dictate would be to petition 
 Heaven for what is just and equal in the case; 
 and if I should fear for thee. Sir Knight, in an en- 
 counter with James of Douglas, it is only because 
 he upholds, as I conceive, the better side of the 
 debate; and powers more than earthly have pre- 
 saged to him success. " 
 
 " Do you tell me so. Sir Minstrel, " said De 
 Valence in a threatening tone, " knowing me and 
 my office ! " 
 
 " Your personal dignity and authority, " said 
 Bertram, " cannot change the right into wrong, or 
 
52 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 avert what Providence has decreed to take place. 
 You know, I must presume, that the Douglas 
 hath, by various devices, already contrived to 
 make himself master of this Castle of Douglas three 
 several times, and that Sir John de Walton, the 
 present governor, holds it with a garrison trebled 
 in force, and under the assurance that if, without 
 surprise, he should keep it from the Scottish power 
 for a year and a day, he shall obtain the barony 
 of Douglas, with its extensive appendages, in free 
 property for his reward ; while, on the other hand, 
 if he shall sufler the fortress during this space to 
 be taken, either by guile or by open force, as has 
 happened successively to the holders of the Dan- 
 gerous Castle, he will become liable to dishonour 
 as a knight, and to attainder as a subject ; and the 
 chiefs who take share with him, and serve under 
 him, will participate also in his guilt and his 
 punishment ? " 
 
 " All this I know well, " said Sir Aymer ; " and 
 I only wonder that, having become public, the 
 conditions have, nevertheless, been told with so 
 much accuracy ; but what has this to do with the 
 issue of the combat, if the Douglas and I should 
 chance to meet ? I will not surely be disposed to 
 fight with less animation because I wear my for- 
 tune upon my sword, or become coward because I 
 fight for a portion of the Douglas's estate, as 
 well as for fame and for fatherland? And after 
 all" 
 
 " Hear me, " said the minstrel ; " an ancient 
 gleeman has said, that in a false quarrel there is 
 no true valour, and the los or praise won therein 
 is, when balanced against honest fame, as value- 
 less as a wreath formed out of copper, compared to 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 53 
 
 a chaplet of pure gold ; but I bid you not take me 
 for thy warrant in this important question. Thou 
 well knowest how James of Thirl wall, the last 
 English commander before Sir John de Walton, 
 was surprised, and the castle sacked with circum- 
 stances of great inhumanity. " 
 
 " Truly, " said Sir Aymer, " I think that Scot- 
 land and England both have heard of that on- 
 slaught, and of the disgusting proceedings of the 
 Scottish chieftain, when he caused transport into 
 the wild forest gold, silver, ammunition, and ar- 
 mour, and all things that could be easily removed, 
 and destroyed a large quantity of provisions, in 
 a manner equally savage and unheard of. " 
 
 " Perhaps, Sir Knight, " said Bertram, " you 
 were yourself an eyewitness of that transaction, 
 which has been spoken of far and wide, and is 
 called the Douglas Larder ? " 
 
 " I saw not the actual accomplishment of the 
 deed, " said De Valence ; " that is, I witnessed it 
 not a-doing, but I beheld enough of the sad relics 
 to make the Douglas Larder never by me to be for- 
 gotten as a record of horror and abomination. I 
 would speak it truly, by the hand of my father 
 and by my honour as a knight ! and I will leave it 
 to thee to judge whether it was a deed calculated 
 to secure the smiles of Heaven in favour of the 
 actors. This is my edition of the story : — 
 
 " A large quantity of provisions had during two 
 years or thereabouts been collected from different 
 points, and the Castle of Douglas, newly repaired, 
 and, as was thought, carefully guarded, was ap- 
 pointed as the place where the said provisions 
 were to be put in store for the service of the King 
 of England, or of the Lord Clifford, whichever 
 
54 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 should first enter the Western Marches with an 
 English army, and stand in need of such a supply. 
 This army was also to relieve our wants, I mean 
 those of my uncle the Earl of Pembroke, who for 
 some time before had lain with a considerable 
 force in the town called Ayr, near the old Cale- 
 donian Forest, and where we had hot wars with 
 the insurgent Scots. Well, sir, it happened, as in 
 similar cases, that Thirlwall, though a bold and 
 active soldier, was surprised in the Castle of 
 Douglas, about Hallowmass, by this same worthy, 
 young James Douglas. In no very good humour 
 was he, as you may suppose ; for his father, called 
 William the Hardy, or William Longlegs, having 
 refused, on any terms, to become Anglocised, was 
 made a lawful prisoner, and died as such, closely 
 confined in Berwick, or, as some say, in New- 
 castle. The news of his father's death had put 
 young Douglas into no small rage, and tended, I 
 think, to suggest what he did in his resentment. 
 Embarrassed by the quantity of provisions which 
 he found in the castle, which, the English being 
 superior in the country, he had neither the means 
 to remove nor the leisure to stay and consume, the 
 fiend, as I think, inspired him with a contrivance 
 to render them unfit for human use. You shall 
 judge yourself whether it was likely to be sug- 
 gested by a good or an evil spirit. 
 
 " According to this device, the gold, silver, and 
 other transportable commodities being carried to 
 secret places of safety, Douglas caused the meat, 
 the malt, and other corn or grain, to be brought 
 down into the castle cellar, where he emptied the 
 contents of the sacks into one loathsome heap, 
 striking out the heads of the barrels and puncheons, 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 55 
 
 so as to let the mingled drink run through the 
 heap of meal, grain, and so forth. The bullocks 
 provided for slaughter were in like manner knocked 
 on the head, and their blood suffered to drain into 
 the mass of edible substances ; and lastly, the flesh 
 of these oxen was buried in the same mass, in 
 which was also included the dead bodies of those 
 in the castle, who, receiving no quarter from the 
 Douglas, paid dear enough for having kept no 
 better watch. This base and unworthy abuse of 
 provisions intended for the use of man, together 
 with throwing into the well of the castle carcasses 
 of men and horses, and other filth for polluting 
 the same, has since that time been called the 
 Douglas Larder. " 
 
 " I pretend not, good Sir Aymer, " said the min- 
 strel, " to vindicate what you justly reprove, nor 
 can I conceive any mode of rendering provisions 
 arranged after the form of the Douglas Larder, 
 proper for the use of any Christian ; yet this young 
 gentleman might perhaps act under the sting of 
 natural resentment, rendering his singular exploit 
 more excusable than it may seem at first. Think, 
 if your own noble father had just died in a lin- 
 gering captivity, his inheritance seized upon, and 
 occupied as a garrison by a foreign enemy, would 
 not these things stir you to a mode of resentment 
 which in cold blood, and judging of it as the action 
 of an enemy, your honour might hold in natural 
 and laudable abhorrence ? — Would you pay respect 
 to dead and senseless objects, which no one could 
 blame your appropriating to your own use, or even 
 scruple the refusal of quarter to prisoners, which 
 is so often practised even in wars which are other- 
 wise termed fair and humane ? " 
 
S6 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 " You press me close, minstrel, " said Aymer do 
 Valence. " I at least have no great interest to 
 excuse the Douglas in this matter, since its con- 
 sequences were, that I myself, and the rest of my 
 uncle's host, laboured with Clifford and his army 
 to rebuild this same Dangerous Castle ; and feeling 
 no stomach for the cheer that the Douglas had left 
 us, we suffered hard commons, though I acknow- 
 ledge we did not hesitate to adopt for our own use 
 such sheep and oxen as the miserable Scots had 
 still left around their farm-houses ; and I jest not. 
 Sir Minstrel, when I acknowledge in sad earnest 
 that we martial men ought to make our petitions 
 with peculiar penitence to Heaven for mercy, when 
 we reflect on the various miseries which the nature 
 of our profession compels us to inflict upon each 
 other. " 
 
 " It seems to me, " answered the minstrel, " that 
 those who feel the stings of their own conscience 
 should be more lenient when they speak of the 
 offences of others ; nor do I greatly rely on a sort 
 of prophecy which was delivered, as the men of 
 this hill district say, to the young Douglas, by a 
 man who in the course of nature should have been 
 long since dead, promising him a course of success 
 against the English for having sacrificed his own 
 castle to prevent their making it a garrison. " 
 
 " We have time enough for the story, " said Sir 
 Aymer, " and methinks it would suit a knight and 
 a minstrel better than the grave converse we have 
 hitherto held, which would have beseemed — so 
 God save me — the mouths of two travelling 
 friars. " 
 
 " So be it, " said the minstrel ; " the rote or the 
 viol easily changes its time and varies its note. " 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 A tale of sorrow, for your eyes may weep ; 
 A tale of horror, for your flesh may tingle; 
 A tale of wonder, for the eyebrows arch, 
 And the flesh curdles if you read it rightly. 
 
 Old Play. , 
 
 " Your honour must be informed, gentle Sir Aymer 
 de Valence, that I have heard this story told at a 
 great distance from the land in which it happened, 
 by a sworn minstrel, the ancient friend and ser- 
 vant of the House of Douglas, one of the best, it 
 is said, who ever belonged to that noble family. 
 This minstrel, Hugo Hugonet by name, attended 
 his young master when on this fierce exploit, as 
 was his wont. 
 
 " The castle was in total tumult ; in one corner 
 the war-men were busy breaking up and destroying 
 provisions ; in another, they were slaying men, 
 horses, and cattle, and these actions were accom- 
 panied with appropriate sounds. The cattle, par- 
 ticularly, had become sensible of their impending 
 fate, and, with awkward resistance and piteous 
 cries, testified that reluctance with which these 
 poor creatures look instinctively on the shambles. 
 The groans and screams of men, undergoing, or 
 about to undergo, the stroke of death, and the 
 screeches of the poor horses which were in mortal 
 agony, formed a fearful chorus. Hugonet was 
 desirous to remove himself from such unpleasant 
 sights and sounds; but his master, the Douglas, 
 
58 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 had been a man of some reading, and his old ser- 
 vant was anxious to secure a book of poetry, to 
 which he had been attached of old. This con- 
 tained the Lays of an ancient Scottish Bard, who, 
 if an ordinary human creature while he was in 
 this life, cannot now perhaps be exactly termed 
 such. 
 
 " He was, in short, that Thomas, distinguished 
 by the name of the Khymer,(&) and whose inti- 
 paacy, it is said, became so great with the gifted 
 people, called the Faery folk, that he could, like 
 them, foretell the future deed before it came to 
 pass, and united in his own person the quality of 
 bard and of soothsayer. But of late years he had 
 vanished almost entirely from this mortal scene ; 
 and although the time and manner of his death 
 were never publicly known, yet the general belief 
 was, that he was not severed from the land of the 
 living, but removed to the land of Faery, from 
 whence he sometimes made excursions, and con- 
 cerned himself only about matters which were to 
 come hereafter. Hugonet was the more earnest to 
 prevent the loss of the works of this ancient bard, 
 as many of his poems and predictions were said to 
 be preserved in the castle, and were supposed to 
 contain much especially connected with the old 
 House of Douglas, as well as other families of 
 ancient descent, who had been subjects of this old 
 man's prophecy; and accordingly he determined 
 to save this volume from destruction in the general 
 conflagration to which the building was about to 
 be consigned by the heir of its ancient proprietors. 
 With this view he hurried up into the little old 
 vaulted room, called 'the Douglas's study,' in 
 which there might be some dozen old books 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 59 
 
 written by the ancient chaplains, in what the 
 minstrels call the letter hlach. He immediately 
 discovered the celebrated lay, called Sir Tristrem, 
 which has been so often altered and abridged as to 
 bear little resemblance to the original. Hugonet, 
 who well knew the value in which this poem was 
 held by the ancient lords of the castle, took the 
 parchment volume from the shelves of the library, 
 and laid it upon a small desk adjacent to the 
 Baron's chair. Having made such preparation for 
 putting it in safety, he fell into a brief reverie, in 
 which the decay of light, and the preparations for 
 the Douglas Larder, but especially the last sight 
 of objects which had been familiar to his eyes, 
 now on the eve of destruction, engaged him at that 
 moment. 
 
 " The bard, therefore, was thinking within him- 
 self upon the uncommon mixture of the mystical 
 scholar and warrior in his old master, when, as he 
 bent his eyes upon the book of the ancient Ehymer, 
 he was astonished to observe it slowly removed 
 from the desk on which it lay by an invisible 
 hand. The old man looked with horror at the 
 spontaneous motion of the book, for the safety of 
 which he was interested, and had the courage to 
 approach a little nearer the table, in order to dis- 
 cover by what means it had been withdrawn. 
 
 " I have said the room was already becoming 
 dark, so as to render it difficult to distinguish any 
 person in the chair, though it now appeared, on 
 closer examination, that a kind of shadowy out- 
 line of a human form was seated in it, but neither 
 precise enough to convey its exact figure to the 
 mind, nor so detailed as to intimate distinctly its 
 mode of action. The Bard of Douglas, therefore. 
 
6o CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 gazed upon the object of his fear, as if he had 
 looked upon something not mortal ; nevertheless, 
 as he gazed more intently, he became more capable 
 of discovering the object which offered itself to his 
 eyes, and they grew by degrees more keen to pene- 
 trate what they witnessed. A tall thin form, 
 attired in, or rather shaded with, a long flowing 
 dusky robe, having a face and physiognomy so 
 wild and overgrown with hair as to be hardly 
 human, were the only marked outlines of the 
 phantom ; and, looking more attentively, Hugonet 
 was still sensible of two other forms, the outlines, 
 it seemed, of a hart and a hind, which appeared 
 half to shelter themselves behind the person and 
 under the robe of this supernatural figure. " 
 
 " A probable tale, " said the knight, " for you, 
 Sir Minstrel, a man of sense as you seem to be, to 
 recite so gravely ! From what wise authority have 
 you had this tale, which, though it might pass 
 well enough amid clanging beakers, must be 
 held quite apocryphal in the sober hours of the 
 morning ? " 
 
 " By my minstrel word, Sir Knight, " answered 
 Bertram, " I am no propagator of the fable, if it be 
 one; Hugonet, the violer, when he had retired 
 into a cloister near the Lake of Pembelmere in 
 Wales, communicated the story to me as I now 
 tell it. Therefore, as it was upon the authority 
 of an eyewitness, I apologise not for relating it to 
 you, since I could hardly discover a more direct 
 source of knowledge. " 
 
 " Be it so. Sir Minstrel, " said the knight ; " tell 
 on thy tale, and may thy legend escape criticism 
 from others as well as from me." 
 
 " Hugonet, Sir Knight, " answered Bertram, " was 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 6i 
 
 a holy man, and maintained a fair character during 
 his whole life, notwithstanding his trade may be 
 esteemed a light one. The vision spoke to him in 
 an antique language, like that formerly used in 
 the kingdom of Strath-Clyde, being a species of 
 Scots or Gaelic, which few would have compre- 
 hended. 
 
 " 'You are a learned man,' said the apparition, 
 ' and not unacquainted with the dialects used in 
 your country formerly, although they are now out 
 of date, and you are obliged to translate them into 
 the vulgar Saxon of Deira or Northumberland ; but 
 highly must an ancient British bard prize one in 
 this " remote term of time, " who sets upon the 
 poetry of his native country a value which invites 
 him to think of its preservation at a moment of 
 such terror as influences the present evening. ' 
 
 " ' It is, indeed, ' said Hugonet, ' a night of 
 terror, that calls even the dead from the grave, 
 and makes them the ghastly and fearful com- 
 panions of the living — Who or what art thou, in 
 God's name, who breakest the bounds which divide 
 them, and revisitest thus strangely the state thou 
 hast so long bid adieu to ? ' 
 
 " * I am, ' replied the vision, ' that celebrated 
 Thomas the Ehymer, by some called Thomas of 
 Erceldoun, or Thomas the True Speaker. Like 
 other sages, I am permitted at times to revisit the 
 scenes of my former life, nor am I incapable of re- 
 moving the shadowy clouds and darkness which over- 
 hang futurity ; and know, thou afflicted man, that 
 what thou now seest in this woful country is not 
 a general emblem of what shall therein befall here- 
 after, but in proportion as the Douglases are now 
 suffering the loss and destruction of their home for 
 
62 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 their loyalty to the rightful heir of the Scottish 
 kingdom, so hath Heaven appointed for them a 
 just reward ; and as they have not spared to burn 
 and destroy their own house and .that of their 
 fathers in the Bruce 's cause, so is it the doom of 
 Heaven, that as often as the walls of Douglas 
 Castle shall be burnt to the ground, they shall be 
 again rebuilt still more stately and more magnifi- 
 cent than before. ' 
 
 " A cry was now heard like that of a multitude 
 in the courtyard, joining in a fierce shout of 
 exultation; at the same time a broad and ruddy 
 glow seemed to burst from the beams and rafters, 
 and sparks flew from them as from the smith's 
 stithy, while the element caught to its fuel, and 
 the conflagration broke its way through every 
 aperture. 
 
 " * See ye that ? ' said the vision, casting his eye 
 towards the windows, and disappearing. — ' Be- 
 gone ! The fated hour of removing this book is 
 not yet come, nor are thine the destined hands. 
 But it will be safe where I have placed it, and the 
 time of its removal shall come. ' The voice was 
 heard after the form had vanished, and the brain 
 of Hugonet almost turned round at the wild scene 
 which he beheld ; his utmost exertion was scarcely 
 sufficient to withdraw him from the terrible spot, 
 and Douglas Castle that night sank into ashes and 
 smoke, to arise, in no great length of time, in a 
 form stronger than ever. " The minstrel stopped, 
 and his hearer, the English knight, remained 
 silent for some minutes, ere at length he replied. 
 
 " It is true, minstrel, " answered Sir Aymer, 
 " that your tale is so far undeniable, that this 
 castle — three times burned down by the heir of 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 63 
 
 the house and of the barony — has hitherto been 
 as often reared again by Henry Lord Clifford, and 
 other generals of the English, who endeavoured on 
 every occasion. to build it up more artificially and 
 more strongly than it had formerly existed, since 
 it occupies a position too important to the safety 
 of our Scottish border to permit our yielding it up. 
 This I myself have partly witnessed. But I can- 
 not think that, because the castle has been so 
 destroyed, it is therefore decreed so to be repaired 
 in future, considering that such cruelties, as surely 
 cannot meet the approbation of Heaven, have at- 
 tended the feats of the Douglases. But I see 
 thou art determined to keep thine own faith, nor 
 can I blame thee, since the wonderful turns of fate 
 which have attended this fortress are sufficient to 
 warrant any one to watch for what seem the pecu- 
 liar indications of the will of Heaven; but thou 
 mayst believe, good minstrel, that the fault shall 
 not be mine, if the young Douglas shall have 
 opportunity to exercise his cookery upon a second 
 edition of his family larder, or to profit by the 
 predictions of Thomas the Ehymer. " 
 
 " I do not doubt due circumspection upon your 
 own part and Sir John de Walton's, " said Bertram : 
 " but there is no crime in my saying that Heaven 
 can accomplish its own purposes. I look upon 
 Douglas Castle as in some degree a fated place, 
 and I long to see what changes time may have 
 made in it during the currency of twenty years. 
 Above all, I desire to secure, if possible, the 
 volume of this Thomas of Erceldoun, having in it 
 such a fund of forgotten minstrelsy, and of prophe- 
 cies respecting the future fates of the British king- 
 dom, both northern and southern. " 
 
64 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 The knight made no answer, but rode a little 
 space forward, keeping the upper part of the ridge 
 of the water, by which the road down the vale 
 seemed to be rather sharply conducted. It at 
 length attained the summit of an acclivity of con- 
 siderable length. From this point, and behind a 
 conspicuous rock, which appeared to have been 
 pushed aside, as it were, like the scene of a theatre, 
 to admit a view of the under part of the valley, 
 the travellers beheld the extensive vale, parts of 
 which have been already shown in detail, but 
 which, as the river became narrower, was now 
 entirely laid bare in its height and depth as far as 
 it extended, and displayed in its precincts, at a 
 little distance from the course of the stream, the 
 towering and lordly castle to which it gave the 
 name. The mist which continued to incumber 
 the valley with its fleecy clouds showed imper- 
 fectly the rude fortifications which served to defend 
 the small town of Douglas, which was strong 
 enough to repel a desultory attack, but not to 
 withstand what was called in those days a formal 
 siege. The most striking feature was its church, 
 an ancient Gothic pile raised on an eminence in 
 the centre of the town, and even then extremely 
 ruinous. To the left, and lying in the distance, 
 might be seen other towers and battlements ; and, 
 divided from the town by a piece of artificial 
 water, which extended almost around it, arose the 
 Dangerous Castle of Douglas, (c) 
 
 Sternly was it fortified, after the fashion of the 
 middle ages, with donjon and battlements; dis- 
 playing, above others, the tall tower, which bore 
 the name of Lord Henry's, or the Clifford's Tower. 
 
 " Yonder is the castle, " said Aymer de Valence, 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 65 
 
 extending his arm, with a smile of triumph upon 
 his brow; " thou mayst judge thyself, whether the 
 defences added to it under the Clifford are likely 
 to render its next capture a more easy deed than 
 the last. " 
 
 The minstrel (d) barely shook his head, and 
 quoted from the Psalmist — " Msi Dominus custo- 
 diet. " Nor did he prosecute the discourse, though 
 De Valence answered eagerly, " My own edition 
 of the text is not very different from thine ; but, 
 methinks, thou art more spiritually minded than 
 can always be predicated of a wandering minstrel. " 
 
 " God knows, " said Bertram, " that if I, or such 
 as I, are forgetful of the finger of Providence in 
 accomplishing its purposes in this lower world, 
 we have heavier blame than that of other people, 
 since we are perpetually called upon, in the exer- 
 cise of our fanciful profession, to admire the turns 
 of fate which bring good out of evil, and which 
 render those who think only of their own pas- 
 sions and purposes the executors of the will of 
 Heaven. " 
 
 " I do submit to what you say. Sir Minstrel, " 
 answered the knight, " and it would be unlawful 
 to express any doubt of the truths which you 
 speak so solemnly, any more than of yOur own 
 belief in them. Let me add, sir, that I think I 
 have power enough in this garrison to bid you wel- 
 come, and Sir John de Walton, I hope, will not 
 refuse access to hall, castle, or knight's bower, to 
 a person of your profession, and by whose conver- 
 sation we shall, perhaps, profit somewhat. I can- 
 not, however, lead you to expect such indulgence 
 for your son, considering the present state of his 
 health; but if I procure him the privilege to 
 
66 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 remain at the convent of St. Bride, he will be 
 there unmolested and in safety, until you have 
 renewed your acquaintance with Douglas Dale and 
 its history, and are disposed to set forward on 
 your journey. " 
 
 " I embrace your honour's proposal the more 
 willingly, " said the minstrel, " that I can recom- 
 pense the Father Abbot. " 
 
 " A main point with holy men or women, " 
 replied De Valence, " who, in time of warfare, 
 subsist by affording the visitors of their shrine 
 the means of maintenance in their cloisters for 
 a passing season. " 
 
 The party now approached the sentinels on 
 guard at the castle, who were closely and thickly 
 stationed, and who respectfully admitted Sir Aymer 
 de Valence, as next in command under Sir John 
 de Walton. Fabian — for so was the young squire 
 named who attended on De Valence — mentioned 
 it as his master's pleasure that the minstrel should 
 also be admitted. 
 
 An old archer, however, looked hard at the min- 
 strel as he followed Sir Aymer. " It is not for 
 us, " said he, " or any of our degree, to oppose the 
 pleasure of Sir Aymer de Valence, nephew to the 
 Earl of Pembroke, in such a matter; and for us, 
 Master Fabian, welcome are you to make the glee- 
 man your companion both at bed and board, as 
 well as your visitant, a week or two at the Castle 
 of Douglas ; but your worship is well aware of the 
 strict order of watch laid upon us, and if Solo- 
 mon, King of Israel, were to come here as a tra- 
 velling minstrel, by my faith I durst not give him 
 entrance, unless I had positive authority from Sir 
 John de Walton. " 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 67 
 
 " Do you doubt, sirrah, " said Sir Aymer de 
 Valence, who returned on hearing an altercation 
 betwixt Fabian and the archer — " do you doubt 
 that I have good authority to entertain a guest, or 
 do you presume to contest it ? " 
 
 " Heaven forbid ! " said the old man, " that I 
 should presume to place my own desire in opposi- 
 tion to your worship, who has so lately and so 
 honourably acquired your spurs : but in this mat- 
 ter I must think what will be the wish of Sir John 
 de Walton, who is your governor. Sir Knight, as 
 well as mine ; and so far I hold it worth while to 
 detain your guest until Sir John return from a ride 
 to the outposts of the castle; and this, I conceive, 
 being my duty, will be no matter of offence to your 
 worship. " 
 
 "Methinks, " said the knight, "it is saucy in 
 thee to suppose that my commands can have any- 
 thing in them improper, or contradictory to those 
 of Sir John de Walton ; thou mayst trust to me at 
 least that thou shalt come to no harm. Keep 
 this man in the guard-room; let him not want 
 good cheer, and when Sir John de Walton returns, 
 report him as a person admitted by my invitation, 
 and if anything more be wanted to make out your 
 excuse, I shall not be reluctant in stating it to the 
 governor. " 
 
 The archer made a signal of obedience with the 
 pike which he held in his hand, and resumed the 
 grave and solemn manner of a sentinel upon his 
 post. He first, however, ushered in the minstrel, 
 and furnished him with food and liquor, speaking 
 at the same time to Fabian, who remained behind. 
 The smart young stripling had become very proud 
 of late, in consequence of obtaining the name of 
 
68 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 Sir Aymer's squire, and advancing a step in 
 chivalry, as Sir Aymer himself had, somewhat 
 earlier than the usual period, been advanced from 
 squire to knight. 
 
 " I tell thee, Fabian, " said the old archer (whose 
 gravity, sagacity, and skill in his vocation, while 
 they gained him the confidence of all in the castle, 
 subjected him, as he himself said, occasionally to 
 the ridicule of the young coxcombs ; and at the 
 same time, we may add, rendered him somewhat 
 pragmatic and punctilious towards those who stood 
 higher than himself in birth and rank) — "I tell 
 thee, Fabian, thou wilt do thy master. Sir Aymer, 
 good service, if thou wilt give him a hint to suffer 
 an old archer, man-at-arms, or such like, to give 
 him a fair and civil answer respecting that which 
 he commands ; for undoubtedly it is not in the first 
 score of a man's years that he learns the various 
 proper forms of military service ; and Sir John de 
 Walton, a most excellent commander no doubt, is 
 one earnestly bent on pursuing the strict line of 
 his duty, and will be rigorously severe, as well, 
 believe me, with thy master as with a lesser per- 
 son. Nay, he also possesses that zeal for his duty 
 which induces him to throw blame, if there be the 
 slightest ground for it, upon Aymer de Valence 
 himself, although his uncle, the Earl of Pembroke, 
 was Sir John de Walton's steady patron, and laid 
 the beginning of his good fortune ; for all which, 
 by training up his nephew in the true discipline 
 of the French wars, Sir John has taken the best 
 way of showing himself grateful to the old Earl. " 
 
 " Be it as you will, old Gilbert Greenleaf, " an- 
 swered Fabian, " thou knowest I never quarrel 
 with thy sermonising, and therefore give me credit 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 69 
 
 for submitting to many a lecture from Sir John de 
 Walton and thyself ; but thou drivest this a little 
 too far, if thou canst not let a day pass without 
 giving me a flogging. Credit me, Sir John de 
 Walton will not thank thee, if thou term him one 
 too old to remember that he himself had once some 
 green sap in his veins. Ay, thus it is, the old 
 man will not forget that he has once been young, 
 nor the young that he must some day be old ; and 
 so the one changes his manners into the lingering 
 formality of advanced age, and the other remains 
 like a midsummer torrent swollen with rain, every 
 drop of water in it noise, froth, and overflow. 
 There is a maxim for thee, Gilbert ! — Heardest 
 thou ever better ? Hang it up amidst thy axioms 
 of wisdom, and see if it will not pass among them 
 like fifteen to the dozen. It will serve to bring 
 thee off, man, when the wine-pot (thine only 
 fault, good Gilbert) hath brought thee on occasion 
 into something of a scrape. " 
 
 " Best keep it for thyself, good Sir Squire, " said 
 the old man ; " methinks it is more like to stand 
 thyself one day in good stead. Who ever heard of 
 a knight, or of the wood of which a knight is made, 
 and that is a squire, being punished corporally 
 like a poor old archer or horseboy ? Your worst 
 fault will be mended by some of these witty say- 
 ings, and your best service will scarce be rewarded 
 more thankfully than by giving thee the name of 
 Fabian the Fabler, or some such witty title. " 
 
 Having unloosed his repartee to this extent, 
 old Greenleaf resumed a certain acidity of counte- 
 nance, which may be said to characterise those 
 whose preferment hath become frozen under the 
 influence of the slowness of its progress, and who 
 
70 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 display a general spleen against such as have 
 obtained the advancement for which all are strug- 
 gling, earlier, and, as they suppose, with less merit 
 than their own. From time to time the eye of the 
 old sentinel stole from the top of his pike, and 
 with an air of triumph rested upon the young man 
 Fabian, as if to see how deeply the wound had 
 galled him, while at the same time he held him- 
 self on the alert to perform whatever mechanical 
 duty his post might require. Both Fabian and 
 his master were at the happy period of life when 
 such discontent as that of the grave archer affected 
 them lightly, and, at the very worst, was con- 
 sidered as the jest of an old man and a good 
 soldier; the more especially, as he was always 
 willing to do the duty of his companions, and was 
 much trusted by Sir John de Walton, who, though 
 very much younger, had been bred up like Green- 
 leaf in the wars of Edward the First, and was 
 tenacious in upholding strict discipline, which, 
 since the death of that great monarch, had been 
 considerably neglected by the young and warm- 
 blooded valour of England. 
 
 Meantime it occurred to Sir Aymer de Valence, 
 that though, in displaying the usual degree of 
 hospitality shown to such a man as Bertram, he 
 had merely done what was becoming his own 
 rank, as one possessed of the highest honours of 
 chivalry, the self-styled minstrel might not in 
 reality be a man of that worth which he assumed. 
 There was certainly something in his conversation, 
 at least more grave, if not more austere, than was 
 common to those of his calling; and when he 
 recollected many points of Sir John de Walton's 
 minuteness, a doubt arose in his mind, that the 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 71 
 
 governor might not approve of his having intro- 
 duced into the castle a person of Bertram's charac- 
 ter, who was capable of making observations from 
 which the garrison might afterwards feel much 
 danger and inconvenience. Secretly, therefore, he 
 regretted that he had not fairly intimated to the 
 wandering minstrel, that his reception, or that of 
 any stranger, within the Dangerous Castle was not 
 at present permitted by the circumstances of the 
 times. In this case, the express line of his duty 
 would have been his vindication, and instead, 
 perhaps, of discountenance and blame, he would 
 have had praise and honour from his superior. 
 
 With these thoughts passing through his mind, 
 some tacit apprehension arose of a rebuke on the 
 part of his commanding officer; for this officer, 
 notwithstanding his strictness. Sir Aymer loved as 
 well as feared. He went, therefore, towards the 
 guard-room of the castle, under the pretence of 
 seeing that the rites of hospitality had been duly 
 observed towards his late travelling-companion. 
 The minstrel arose respectfully, and from the 
 manner in which he paid his compliments, seemed, 
 if he had not expected this call of inquiry, at 
 least to be in no degree surprised at it. Sir 
 Aymer, on the other hand, assumed an air some- 
 thing more distant than he had yet used towards 
 Bertram, and in reverting to his former invitation 
 he now so far qualified it as to say that the min- 
 strel knew that he was only second in command, 
 and that effectual permission to enter the castle 
 ought to be sanctioned by Sir John de Walton. 
 
 There is a civil way of seeming to believe any 
 apology which people are disposed to receive in 
 payment, without alleging suspicion of its cur- 
 
72 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 rency. The minstrel, therefore, tendered his thanks 
 for the civility which had so far been shown to 
 him. " It was a mere wish of passing curiosity, " 
 he said, " which, if not granted, could be attended 
 with no consequences either inconvenient or disa- 
 greeable to him. Thomas of Erceldoun was, ac- 
 cording to the Welsh triads, one of the three hards 
 of Britain, who never stained a spear with blood, 
 or was guilty either of taking or retaking castles 
 and fortresses, and thus far not a person likely, 
 after death, to be suspected of such warlike feats. 
 But I can easily conceive why Sir John de Walton 
 should have allowed the usual rites of hospitality 
 to fall into disuse, and why a man of public cha- 
 racter like myself ought not to desire food or lodg- 
 ing where it is accounted so dangerous ; and it can 
 surprise no one why the governor did not even 
 invest his worthy young lieutenant with the power 
 of dispensing with so strict and unusual a rule. " 
 
 These words, very coolly spoken, had something 
 of the effect of affronting the young knight, as 
 insinuating that he was not held sufficiently trust- 
 worthy by Sir John de Walton, with whom he had 
 lived on terms of affection and familiarity, though 
 the governor had attained his thirtieth year and 
 upwards, and his lieutenant did not yet write him- 
 self one-and-twenty, the full age of chivalry having 
 been in his case particularly dispensed with, 
 owing to a feat of early manhood. Ere he had 
 fully composed the angry thoughts which were 
 chafing in his mind, the sound of a hunting-bugle 
 was heard at the gate, and, from the sort of general 
 stir which it spread through the garrison, it was 
 plain that the governor had returned from his ride. 
 Every sentinel, seemingly animated by his pre- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 73 
 
 sence, shouldered his pike more uprightly, gave 
 the word of the post more sharply, and seemed 
 more fully awake and conscious of his duty. Sir 
 John de Walton, having alighted from his horse, 
 asked Greenleaf what had passed during his 
 absence. The old archer thought it his duty to 
 say that a minstrel, who seemed like a Scotchman, 
 or wandering borderer, had been admitted into the 
 castle, while his son, a lad sick of the pestilence 
 so much talked of, had been left for a time at the 
 Abbey of St. Bride. This he said on Fabian's 
 information. The archer added, that the father 
 was a man of tale and song, who could keep the 
 whole garrison amused, without giving them leave 
 to attend to their own business. 
 
 " We want no such devices to pass the time, " 
 answered the governor ; " and we would have been 
 better satisfied if our lieutenant had been pleased 
 to find us other guests, and fitter for a direct and 
 frank communication, than one who, by his pro- 
 fession, is a detractor of God and a deceiver of 
 man. " 
 
 " Yet, ** said the old soldier, who could hardly 
 listen even to his commander without indulging 
 the humour of contradiction, " I have heard your 
 honour intimate that the trade of a minstrel, when 
 it is justly acted up to, is as worthy as even the 
 degree of knighthood itself." 
 
 " Such it may have been in former days, " an- 
 swered the knight ; " but in modern minstrelsy, 
 the duty of rendering the art an incentive to virtue 
 is forgotten, and it is well if the poetry which 
 fired our fathers to noble deeds does not now push 
 on their children to such as are base and unworthy. 
 But I will speak upon this to my friend Aymer, 
 
74 ' CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 than whom I do not know a more excellent or a 
 more high -spirited young man. " 
 
 While discoursing with the archer in this man- 
 ner, Sir John de Walton, of a tall and handsome 
 figure, advanced and stood within the ample arch 
 of the guard-room chimney, and was listened to in 
 reverential silence by trusty Gilbert, who filled 
 up with nods and signs, as an attentive auditor, 
 the pauses in the conversation. The conduct of 
 another hearer of what passed was not equally 
 respectful, but, from his position, he escaped 
 observation. 
 
 This third person was no other than the squire 
 Fabian, who was concealed from observation by 
 his position behind the hob, or projecting portion 
 of the old-fashioned fireplace, and hid himself yet 
 more carefully when he heard the conversation 
 between the governor and the archer turn to the 
 prejudice, as he thought, of his master. The 
 squire's employment at this time was the servile 
 task of cleaning Sir Aymer's arms, which was 
 conveniently performed by heating, upon the pro- 
 jection already specified, the pieces of steel armour 
 for the usual thin coating of varnish. He could 
 not, therefore, if he should be discovered, be con- 
 sidered as guilty of anything insolent or disre- 
 spectful. He was better screened from view, as a 
 thick smoke arose from a quantity of oak panel- 
 ling, carved in many cases with the crest and 
 achievements of the Douglas family, which, being 
 the fuel nearest at hand, lay smouldering in the 
 chimney, and gathering to a blaze. 
 
 The governor, unconscious of this addition to 
 his audience, pursued his conversation with Gilbert 
 Greenleaf. " I need not tell you, " he said, " that 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 75 
 
 I am interested in the speedy termination of this 
 siege or blockade, with which Douglas continues 
 to threaten us ; my own honour and affections are 
 engaged in keeping this Dangerous Castle safe in 
 England's behalf, but I am troubled at the admis- 
 sion of this stranger ; and young De Valence would 
 have acted more strictly in the line of his duty, if 
 he had refused to this wanderer any communication 
 with this garrison without my permission. " 
 
 " Pity it is, " replied old Greenleaf, shaking his 
 head, " that this good-natured and gallant young 
 knight is somewhat drawn aside by the rash 
 advices of his squire, the boy Fabian, who has 
 bravery, but as little steadiness in him as a bottle 
 of fermented small beer. " 
 
 " Now hang thee, " thought Fabian to himself, 
 " for an old relic of the wars, stuffed full of conceit 
 and warlike terms, like the soldier who, to keep 
 himself from the cold, has lapped himself so close 
 in a tattered ensign for a shelter, that his very 
 outside may show nothing but rags and blazonry. " 
 
 " I would not think twice of the matter, were 
 the party less dear to me," said Sir John de 
 Walton. " But I would fain be of use to this 
 young man, even although I should purchase his 
 improvement in military knowledge at the expense 
 of giving him a little pain. Experience should, 
 as it were, be burnt in upon the mind of a young 
 man, and not merely impressed by marking the 
 lines of his chart out for him with chalk ; I will 
 remember the hint you, Greenleaf, have given, 
 and take an opportunity of severing these two 
 young men; and though I most dearly love the 
 one, and am far from wishing ill to the other, yet 
 at present, as you well hint, the blind is leading 
 
76 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 the blind, and the young knight has for his assis- 
 tant and counsellor too young a squire, and that 
 must be amended. " 
 
 " Marry ! out upon thee, old palmer-worm ! " 
 said the page within himself. " Have I found 
 thee in the very fact of maligning myself and my 
 master, as it is thy nature to do towards all the 
 hopeful young buds of chivalry ? If it were not to 
 dirty the arms of an eleve of chivalry, by measuring 
 them with one of thy rank, I might honour thee 
 with a knightly invitation to the field, while the 
 scandal which thou hast spoken is still foul upon 
 thy tongue ; as it is, thou shalt not carry one kind 
 of language publicly in the castle, and another 
 before the governor, upon the footing of having 
 served with him under the banner of Longshanks. 
 I will carry to my master this tale of thine evil 
 intentions ; and when we have concerted together, 
 it shall appear whether the youthful spirits of 
 the garrison or the grey beards are most likely to 
 be the hope and protection of this same Castle of 
 Douglas. " 
 
 It is enough to say that Fabian pursued his pur- 
 pose, in carrying to his master, and in no very 
 good humour, the report of what had passed be- 
 tween Sir John de Walton and the old soldier. 
 He succeeded in representing the whole as a formal 
 offence intended to Sir Aymer de Valence ; while 
 all that the governor did to remove the suspicions 
 entertained by the young knight could not in any 
 respect bring him to take a kindly view of the 
 feelings of his commander towards him. He re- 
 tained the impression which he had formed from 
 Fabian's recital of what he had heard, and did 
 not think he was doing Sir John de Walton any 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 77 
 
 injustice, in supposing him desirous to engross the 
 greatest share of the fame acquired in the defence 
 of the castle, and thrusting back his companions, 
 who might reasonably pretend to a fair portion 
 of it. 
 
 The mother of mischief, says a Scottish proverb, 
 is no bigger than a midge's wing.^ In this matter 
 of quarrel, neither the young man nor the older 
 knight had afforded each other any just cause of 
 offence. De Walton was a strict observer of mili- 
 tary discipline, in which he had been educated from 
 his extreme youth, and by which he was almost as 
 completely ruled as by his natural disposition ; 
 and his present situation added force to his ori- 
 ginal education. 
 
 Common report had even exaggerated the mili- 
 tary skill, the love of adventure, and the great 
 variety of enterprise, ascribed to James, the young 
 Lord of Douglas. He had, in the eyes of this 
 Southern garrison, the faculties of a fiend, rather 
 than those of a mere mortal; for if the English 
 soldiers cursed the tedium of the perpetual watch 
 and ward upon the Dangerous Castle, which ad- 
 mitted of no relaxation from the severity of extreme 
 duty, they agreed that a tall form was sure to 
 appear to them with a battle-axe in his hand, and 
 entering into conversation in the most insinuating 
 manner, never failed, with an ingenuity and elo- 
 quence equal to that of a fallen spirit, to recom- 
 mend to the discontented sentinel some mode in 
 which, by giving his assistance to betray the 
 English, he might set himself at liberty. The 
 variety of these devices, and the frequency of their 
 recurrence, kept Sir John de Walton's anxiety so 
 
 1 t. e. Gnat's wing. 
 
78 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 perpetually upon the stretch, that he at no time 
 thought himself exactly out of the Black Douglas's 
 reach, any more than the good Christian supposes 
 himself out of reach of the wiles of the devil; 
 while every new temptation, instead of confirming 
 his hope, seems to announce that the immediate 
 retreat of the Evil One will be followed by some 
 new attack yet more cunningly devised. Under 
 this general state of anxiety and apprehension, the 
 temper of the governor changed somewhat for the 
 worse, and they who loved him best regretted most 
 that he became addicted to complain of the want 
 of diligence on the part of those who, neither in- 
 vested with responsibility like his, nor animated 
 by the hope of such splendid rewards, did not 
 entertain the same degree of watchful and inces- 
 sant suspicion as himself. The soldiers muttered 
 that the vigilance of their governor was marked 
 with severity; the officers and men of rank, of 
 whom there were several, as the castle was a re- 
 nowned school of arms, and there was a certain 
 merit attained even by serving within its walls, 
 complained, at the same time, that Sir John de 
 Walton no longer made parties for hunting, for 
 hawking, or for any purpose which might soften 
 the rigours of warfare, and suffered nothing to go 
 forward but the precise discipline of the castle. 
 On the other hand, it may be usually granted, that 
 the castle is well kept where the governor is a 
 disciplinarian ; and where feuds and personal quar- 
 rels are found in the garrison, the young men are 
 usually more in fault than those whose greater 
 experience has convinced them of the necessity of 
 using the strictest precautions. 
 
 A generous mind — and such was Sir John de 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 79 
 
 Walton's — is often in this way changed and cor- 
 rupted by the habit of over-vigilance, and pushed 
 beyond its natural limits of candour. Neither 
 was Sir Aymer de Valence free from a similar 
 change; suspicion, though from a different cause, 
 seemed also to threaten to bias his open and noble 
 disposition, in those qualities which had hitherto 
 been proper to him. It was in vain that Sir John 
 de Walton studiously sought opportunities to give 
 his younger friend indulgences, which at times 
 were as far extended as the duty of the garrison 
 permitted. The blow was struck ; the alarm had 
 been given to a proud and fiery temper on both 
 sides ; and while De Valence entertained an opi- 
 nion that he was unjustly suspected by a friend, 
 who was in several respects bound to him, De 
 Walton, on the other hand, was led to conceive 
 that a young man, of whom he took a charge as 
 affectionate as if he had been a son of his own, 
 and who owed to his lessons what he knew of war- 
 fare, and what success he had obtained in life, had 
 taken offence at trifles, and considered himself ill 
 treated on very inadequate grounds. The seeds of 
 disagreement, thus sown between them, failed not, 
 like the tares sown by the Enemy among the wheat, 
 to pass from one class of the garrison to another ; 
 the soldiers, though without any better reason 
 than merely to pass the time, took different sides 
 between their governor and his young lieutenant ; 
 and so the ball of contention being once thrown 
 up between them, never lacked some arm or other 
 to keep it in motion. 
 
CHAPTER VL 
 
 Alas ! they had been friends in youth ; 
 But whispering tongues can poison truth ; 
 And constancy lives in realms above ; 
 
 And life is thorny, and youth is vain ; 
 And to be wroth with one we love, 
 
 Doth work like madness in the brain. 
 
 Each spoke words of high disdain. 
 And insult to his heart's dear brother. 
 But never either found another 
 To free the hollow heart from paining — 
 They stood aloof, the scars remaining, 
 
 Like cliffs which had been rent asunder ; 
 A dreary sea now flows between, 
 
 But neither heat, nor frost, nor thunder, 
 Shall wholly do away, I ween. 
 The marks of that which once hath been. 
 
 Christabelle of Coleridge. 
 
 In prosecution of the intention which, when his 
 blood was cool, seemed to him wisest, Sir John de 
 Walton resolved that he would go to the verge of 
 indulgence with his lieutenant and his young 
 officers, furnish them with every species of amuse- 
 ment which the place rendered possible, and make 
 them ashamed of their discontent, by overloading 
 them with courtesy. The first time, therefore, 
 that he saw Aymer de Valence after his return 
 to the castle, he addressed him in high spirits, 
 whether real or assumed. 
 
 " What thinkest thou, my young friend, " said 
 De Walton, " if we try some of the woodland 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 8i 
 
 sports proper, they say, to this country? There 
 are still in our neighbourhood some herds of the 
 Caledonian breed of wild cattle, which are nowhere 
 to be found except among the moorlands — the 
 black and rugged frontier of what was anciently 
 called the Kingdom of Strath-Clyde. There are 
 some hunters, too, who have been accustomed to 
 the sport, and who vouch that these animals are 
 by far the most bold and fierce subjects of chase in 
 the island of Britain." 
 
 " You will do as you please, " replied Sir Aymer, 
 coldly ; " but it is not I, Sir John, who would 
 recommend, for the sake of a hunting-match, that 
 you should involve the whole garrison in danger ; 
 you know best the responsibilities incurred by 
 your office here, and no doubt must have heedfully 
 attended to them before making a proposal of such 
 a nature. " 
 
 " I do indeed know my own duty, " replied De 
 Walton, offended in turn, " and might be allowed 
 to think of yours also, without assuming more 
 than my own share of responsibility ; but it seems 
 to me as if the commander of this Dangerous 
 Castle, among other inabilities, were, as old people 
 in this country say, subjected to a spell — and one 
 which renders it impossible for him to guide his 
 conduct so as to afford pleasure to those whom 
 he is most desirous to oblige. Not a great many 
 weeks since, whose eyes would have sparkled like 
 those of Sir Aymer de Valence at the proposal of 
 a general hunting-match after a new object of 
 game ; and now what is his bearing when such 
 sport is proposed, merely, I think, to disappoint 
 my purpose of obliging him ? — a cold acquiescence 
 drops half frozen from his lips, and he proposes to 
 
82 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 go to rouse the wild cattle with an air of gravity, 
 as if he were undertaking a pilgrimage to the tomb 
 of a martyr. " 
 
 " Not so, Sir John, " answered the young knight. 
 " In our present situation we stand conjoined in 
 more charges than one, and although the greater 
 and controlling trust is no doubt laid upon you as 
 the elder and abler knight, yet still I feel that I 
 myself have my own share of a serious respon- 
 sibility. I trust, therefore, you will indulgently 
 hear my opinion, and bear with it, even though it 
 •should appear to have relation to that part of our 
 -common charge which is more especially intrusted 
 to your keeping. The dignity of knighthood 
 which I have the honour to share with you, the 
 accolade laid on my shoulder by the royal Plan- 
 tagenet, entitles me, methinks, to so much grace. " 
 
 " I cry you mercy, " said the elder cavalier ; " I 
 forgot how important a person I had before me, 
 dubbed by King Edward himself, who was moved 
 no doubt by special reasons to confer such an early 
 honour; and I certainly feel that I overstep my 
 duty when I propose anything that savours like 
 idle sport to a person of such grave pretensions. " 
 
 " Sir John de Walton, " retorted De Valence, 
 " we have had something too much of this — let it 
 stop here. All that I mean to say is, that in this 
 wardship of Douglas Castle, it will not be by my 
 consent, if any amusement, which distinctly infers 
 a relaxation of discipline, be unnecessarily engaged 
 in, and especially such as compels us to summon 
 to our assistance a number of the Scots, whose evil 
 disposition towards us we well know ; nor will I, 
 though my years have rendered me liable to such 
 suspicion, suffer anything of this kind to be im- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 83 
 
 puted to me ; and if, unfortunately — though I am 
 sure I know not why — we are in future to lay 
 aside those bonds of familiar friendship which 
 formerly linked us to each other, yet I see no 
 reason why we should not bear ourselves in our 
 necessary communications like knights and gen- 
 tlemen, and put the best construction on each 
 other's motives, since there can be no reason for 
 imputing the worst to anything that comes from 
 either of us. " 
 
 " You may be right, Sir Aymer de Valence, " said 
 the governor, bending stiffly ; " and since you say 
 we are no longer bound to each other as friends, 
 you may be certain, nevertheless, that I will never 
 permit a hostile feeling, of which you are the 
 object, to occupy my bosom. You have been long, 
 and I hope not uselessly, my pupil in the duties 
 of chivalry. You are the near relation of the Earl 
 of Pembroke, my kind and constant patron, and, 
 if these circumstances are well weighed, they form 
 a connection which it would be difficult, at least 
 for me, to break through. If you feel yourself, as 
 you seem to intimate, less strictly tied by former 
 obligations, you must take your own choice in 
 fixing our relations towards each other. " 
 
 " I can only say, " replied De Valence, " that my 
 conduct will naturally be regulated by your own ; 
 and you. Sir John, cannot hope more devoutly 
 than I do, that our military duties may be fairly 
 discharged, without interfering with our friendly 
 intercourse. " 
 
 The knights here parted, after a conference 
 which once or twice had very nearly terminated in 
 a full and cordial explanation ; but still there was 
 wanting one kind heartfelt word from either, to 
 
84 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 break, as it were, the ice which was fast freezing 
 upon their intercourse, and neither chose to be the 
 first in making the necessary advances with suffi- 
 cient cordiality, though each would have gladly 
 done so, had the other appeared desirous of meet- 
 ing it with the same ardour ; but their pride was 
 too high, and prevented either from saying what 
 might at once have put them upon an open and 
 manly footing. They parted, therefore, without 
 again returning to the subject of the proposed 
 diversion ; until it was afterwards resumed in a 
 formal note, praying Sir Aymer de Valence to 
 accompany the commandant of Douglas Castle 
 upon a solemn hunting-match, which had for its 
 object the wild cattle of the neighbouring dale. 
 
 The time of meeting was appointed at six in the 
 morning, beyond the gate of the outer barricade; 
 and the chase was declared to be ended in the 
 afternoon, when the recheat should be blown be- 
 neath the great oak, known by the name of Sholto's 
 Club, which stood a remarkable object, where 
 Douglas Dale was bounded by several scattered 
 trees, the outskirts of the forest and hill country. 
 The usual warning was sent out to the common 
 people, or vassals of the district, which they, not- 
 withstanding their feeling of antipathy, received 
 in general with delight, upon the great Epicurean 
 principle of carpe diem — that is to say, in what- 
 ever circumstances it happens to present itself, be 
 sure you lose no recreation which life affords. A 
 hunting-match has still its attractions, even 
 though an English knight take his pleasure in the 
 woods of the Douglas. 
 
 It was no doubt afflicting to these faithful 
 vassals to acknowledge another lord than the re- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 85 
 
 doubted Douglas, and to wait by wood and river 
 at the command of English officers, and in the 
 company of their archers, whom they accounted 
 their natural enemies. Still it was the only 
 species of amusement which had been permitted 
 them for a long time, and they were not disposed 
 to omit the rare opportunity of joining in it. The 
 chase of the wolf, the wild boar, or even the timid 
 stag, required silvan arms ; the wild cattle still 
 more demanded this equipment of war-bows and 
 shafts, boar-spears and sharp swords, and other 
 tools of the chase similar to those used in actual 
 war. Considering this, the Scottish inhabitants 
 were seldom allowed to join in the chase, except 
 under regulations as to number and arms, and 
 especially in preserving a balance of force on the 
 side of the English soldiers, which was very offen- 
 sive to them. The greater part of the garrison 
 was upon such occasions kept on foot, and several 
 detachments, formed according to the governor's 
 direction, were stationed in different positions, in 
 case any quarrel should suddenly break out. 
 
CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 The drivers thorough the wood went. 
 
 For to raise the deer ; 
 Bowmen bickered upon the bent, 
 
 With their broad arrows clear. 
 
 The wylde thorough the woods went. 
 
 On every side shear; 
 Grehounds thorough the groves glent, 
 
 !For to kill thir deer. 
 
 Ballad of Chevy Chase, Old Edition. 
 
 The appointed morning came in cold and raw, 
 after the manner of the Scottish March weather. 
 Dogs yelped, yawned, and shivered, and the hunts- 
 men, though hardy and cheerful in expectation of 
 the day's sport, twitched their mauds, or Lowland 
 plaids, close to their throats, and looked with 
 some dismay at the mists which floated about the 
 horizon, now threatening to sink down on the 
 peaks and ridges of prominent mountains, and 
 now to shift their position under the influence of 
 some of the uncertain gales, which rose and fell 
 alternately, as they swept along the valley. 
 
 Nevertheless, the appearance of the whole 
 formed, as is usual in almost all departments of 
 the chase, a gay and a jovial spectacle. A brief 
 truce seemed to have taken place between the 
 nations, and the Scottish people appeared for the 
 time rather as exhibiting the sports of their moun- 
 tains in a friendly manner to the accomplished 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 87 
 
 knights and bonny archers of Old England, than 
 as performing a feudal service, neither easy nor 
 dignified in itself, at the instigation of usurping 
 neighbours. The figures of the cavaliers, now 
 half seen, now exhibited fully, and at the height 
 of strenuous exertion, according to the character 
 of the dangerous and broken ground, particularly 
 attracted the attention of the pedestrians, who, 
 leading the dogs or beating the thickets, dislodged 
 such objects of chase as they found in the dingles, 
 and kept their eyes fixed upon their companions, 
 rendered more remarkable from being mounted, 
 and the speed at which they urged their horses ; 
 the disregard of all accidents being as perfect as 
 Melton Mowbray itself, or any other noted field 
 of hunters of the present day, can exhibit. 
 
 The principles on which modern and ancient 
 hunting were conducted are, however, as different 
 as possible. A fox, or even a hare, is, in our own 
 day, considered as a sufficient apology for a day's 
 exercise to forty or fifty dogs, and nearly as many 
 men and horses; but the ancient chase, even 
 though not terminating, as it often did, in battle, 
 carried with it objects more important, and an 
 interest immeasurably more stirring. If indeed 
 one species of exercise can be pointed out as 
 more universally exhilarating and engrossing than 
 others, it is certainly that of the chase. The poor 
 overlaboured drudge, who has served out his day 
 of life, and wearied all his energies in the service 
 of his fellow-mortals — he who has been for many 
 years the slave of agriculture, or (still worse) of 
 manufactures — engaged in raising a single peck 
 of corn from year to year, or in the monotonous 
 labours of the desk — can hardly remain dead to 
 
88 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 the general happiness when the chase sweeps past 
 him with hound and horn, and for a moment feels 
 all the exultation of the proudest cavalier who 
 partakes the amusement. Let any one who has 
 witnessed the sight recall to his imagination 
 the vigour and lively interest which he has seen 
 inspired into a village, including the oldest and 
 feeblest of its inhabitants. In the words of Words- 
 worth, it is, on such occasions, 
 
 Up, Timothy, up with your staff and away, 
 Not a soul will remain in the village to-day ; 
 The hare has just started from Hamilton's grounds. 
 And Skiddaw is glad with the cry of the hounds. 
 
 But compare these inspiring sounds to the burst 
 of a whole feudal population enjoying the sport, 
 whose lives, instead of being spent in the monoto- 
 nous toil of modern avocations, have been agitated 
 by the hazards of war, and of the chase, its near 
 resemblance, and you must necessarily suppose 
 that the excitation is extended, like a fire which 
 catches to dry heath. To use the common expres- 
 sion, borrowed from another amusement, all is fish 
 that comes in the net on such occasions. An 
 ancient hunting-match (the nature of the carnage 
 excepted) was almost equal to a modern battle, 
 when the strife took place on the surface of a 
 varied and unequal country. A whole district 
 poured forth its inhabitants, who formed a ring 
 of great extent, called technically a tinchel, and, 
 advancing and narrowing their circle by degrees, 
 drove before them the alarmed animals of every 
 kind ; all and each of which, as they burst from 
 the thicket or the moorland, were objects of the 
 bow, the javelin, or whatever missile weapons the 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 89 
 
 hunters possessed ; while others were run down 
 and worried by large greyhounds, or more fre- 
 quently brought to bay, when the more important 
 persons present claimed for themselves the plea- 
 sure of putting them to death with their chival- 
 rous hands, incurring individually such danger as 
 is inferred from a mortal contest even with the 
 timid buck, when he is brought to the death- 
 struggle, and has no choice but yielding his life 
 or putting himself upon the defensive, by the aid 
 of his splendid antlers, and with all the courage 
 of despair. 
 
 The quantity of game found in Douglas Dale on 
 this occasion was very considerable, for, as already 
 noticed, it was a long time since a hunting upon a 
 great scale had been attempted under the Douglases 
 themselves, whose misfortunes had commenced, 
 several years before, with those of their country. 
 The English garrison, too, had not sooner judged 
 themselves strong or numerous enough to exercise 
 these valued feudal privileges. In the meantime 
 the game increased considerably. The deer, the 
 wild cattle, and the wild boars lay near the foot of 
 the mountains, and made frequent irruptions into 
 the lower part of the valley, which in Douglas 
 Dale bears no small resemblance to an oasis, sur- 
 rounded by tangled woods, and broken moors, 
 occasionally rocky, and showing large tracts of 
 that bleak dominion to which wild creatures 
 gladly escape when pressed by the neighbourhood 
 of man. 
 
 As the hunters traversed the spots which sepa- 
 rated the field from the wood, there was always 
 a simulating uncertainty what sort of game was to 
 be found, and the marksman, with his bow ready 
 
90 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 bent, or his javelin poised, and his good and well- 
 bitted horse thrown upon its haunches, ready for 
 a sudden start, observed watchfully w^hat should 
 rush from the covert, so that, were it deer, boar, 
 wolf, wild cattle, or any other species of game, he 
 might be in readiness. 
 
 The wolf, which, on account of its ravages, was 
 the most obnoxious of the beasts of prey, did not, 
 however, supply the degree of diversion which 
 his name promised ; he usually fled far — in some 
 instances many miles — before he took courage 
 to turn to bay, and though formidable at such 
 moments, destroying both dogs and men by his 
 terrible bite, yet at other times was rather despised 
 for his cowardice. The boar, on the other hand, 
 was a much more irascible and courageous animal. 
 
 The wild cattle, the most formidable of all the 
 tenants of the ancient Caledonian forest, were, 
 however, to the English cavaliers, by far the most 
 interesting objects of pursuit.^ Altogether, the 
 ringing of bugles, the clattering of horses* hoofs, 
 the lowing and bellowing of the enraged mountain 
 cattle, the sobs of deer mangled by throttling dogs, 
 the wild shouts of exultation of the men, made a 
 chorus which extended far through the scene in 
 which it arose, and seemed to threaten the inhabi- 
 tants of the valley even in its inmost recesses. 
 
 During the course of the hunting, when a stag or 
 a boar was expected, one of the wild cattle often 
 came rushing forward, bearing down the young 
 trees, crashing the branches in its progress, and in 
 general dispersing whatever opposition was pre- 
 sented to it by the hunters. Sir John de Walton 
 was the only one of the chivalry of the party who 
 1 Note I. — Scottish Wild Cattle. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 91 
 
 individually succeeded in mastering one of these 
 powerful animals. Like a Spanish tauridor, he bore 
 down and killed with his lance a ferocious bull ; 
 two well -grown calves and three kine were also 
 slain, being unable to carry off the quantity of 
 arrows, javelins, and other missiles directed 
 against them by the archers and drivers; but 
 many others, in spite of every endeavour to inter- 
 cept them, escaped to their gloomy haunts in the 
 remote skirts of the mountain called Cairntable, 
 with their hides well feathered with those marks 
 of human enmity. 
 
 A large portion of the morning was spent in this 
 way, until a particular blast from the master of 
 the hunt announced that he had not forgot the dis- 
 creet custom of the repast, which, on such occa- 
 sions, was provided for upon a scale proportioned 
 to the multitude who had been convened to attend 
 the sport. 
 
 The blast peculiar to the time assembled the 
 whole party in an open space in a wood, where 
 their numbers had room and accommodation to sit 
 down upon the green turf, the slain game affording 
 a plentiful supply for roasting or broiling, an 
 employment in which the lower class were all 
 immediately engaged ; while puncheons and pipes, 
 placed in readiness, and scientifically opened, 
 supplied Gascoigne wine and mighty ale, at the 
 pleasure of those who chose to appeal to them. 
 
 The knights, whose rank did not admit of inter- 
 ference, were seated by themselves, and ministered 
 to by their squires and pages, to whom such 
 menial services were not accounted disgraceful, 
 but, on the contrary, a proper step of their educa- 
 tion. The number of those distinguished persons 
 
92 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 seated upon the present occasion at the table of 
 dais, as it was called (in virtue of a canopy of 
 green boughs with which it was overshadowed), 
 comprehended Sir John de Walton, Sir Aymer de 
 Valence, and some reverend brethren dedicated 
 to the service of St. Bride, who, though Scottish 
 ecclesiastics, were treated with becoming respect 
 by the English soldiers. One or two Scottish 
 retainers or vavasours, maintaining, perhaps in 
 prudence, a suitable deference to the English 
 knights, sat at the bottom of the table, and as 
 many English archers, peculiarly respected by their 
 superiors, were invited, according to the modern 
 phrase, to the honours of the sitting. 
 
 Sir John de Walton sat at the head of the table. 
 His eye, though it seemed to have no certain 
 object, yet never for a moment remained sta- 
 tionary, but glanced from one countenance to 
 another of the ring formed by his guests, for such 
 they all were, no doubt, though he himself could 
 hardly have told upon what principle he had issued 
 the invitations ; and even apparently was at a loss 
 to think what, in one or two cases, had procured 
 him the honour of their presence. 
 
 One person in particular caught De Walton's 
 eye, as having the air of a redoubted man-at-arms, 
 although it seemed as if fortune had not of late 
 smiled upon his enterprises. He was a tall raw- 
 boned man, of an extremely rugged countenance, 
 and his skin, which showed itself through many 
 a loophole in his dress, exhibited a complexion 
 which must have endured all the varieties of an 
 outlawed life ; and akin to one who had, according 
 to the customary phrase, " ta'en the bent with 
 Eobin Bruce" — in other words, occupied the 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 93 
 
 moors with him as an insurgent. Some such idea 
 certainly crossed De Walton's mind. Yet the 
 apparent coolness and absence of alarm with which 
 the stranger sat at the board of an English officer, 
 at the same time being wholly in his power, had 
 much in it which was irreconcilable with any 
 such suggestion. De Walton, and several of those 
 about him, had in the course of the day observed 
 that this tattered cavalier, the most remarkable 
 parts of whose garb and equipments consisted of 
 an old coat-of-mail and a rusted yet massive par- 
 tisan about eight feet long, was possessed of supe- 
 rior skill in the art of hunting to any individual 
 of their numerous party. The governor, having 
 looked at this suspicious figure until he had ren- 
 dered the stranger aware of the special interest 
 which he attracted, at length filled a goblet of 
 choice wine, and requested him, as one of the best 
 pupils of Sir Tristrem who had attended upon the 
 day's chase, to pledge him in a vintage superior to 
 that supplied to the general company. 
 
 " I suppose, however, sir, " said De Walton, 
 " you will have no objections to put off my chal- 
 lenge of a brimmer, until you can answer my 
 pledge in Gascoigne wine, which grew in the 
 king's own demesne, was pressed for his own lip, 
 and is therefore fittest to be emptied to his 
 Majesty's health and prosperity." 
 
 " One half of the island of Britain, " said the 
 woodsman, with great composure, " will be of your 
 honour's opinion ; but as I belong to the other 
 half, even the choicest liquor in Gascony cannot 
 render that health acceptable to me. " 
 
 A murmur of disapprobation ran through the 
 warriors present; the priests hung their heads, 
 
 I 
 
94 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 looked deadly grave, and muttered their pater- 
 nosters. 
 
 " You see, stranger, " said De Walton sternly, 
 " that your speech discomposes the company. " 
 
 " It may be so, " replied the man, in the same 
 blunt tone ; " and it may happen that there is no 
 harm in the speech notwithstanding. " 
 
 " Do you consider that it is made in my pre- 
 sence ? " answered De Walton. 
 
 " Yes, Sir Governor. " 
 
 " And have you thought what must be the ne- 
 cessary inference ? " continued De Walton. 
 
 " I may form a round guess, " answered the 
 stranger, " what I might have to fear, if your safe 
 conduct and word of honour, when inviting me to 
 this hunting, were less trustworthy than I know 
 full well it really is. But I am your guest — your 
 meat is even now passing my throat — your cup, 
 filled with right good wine, I have just now 
 quaffed off — and I would not fear the rankest 
 Paynim infidel, if we stood in such relation to- 
 gether, much less an English knight. I tell you, 
 besides. Sir Knight, you undervalue the wine we 
 have quaffed. The high flavour and contents of 
 your cup, grow where it will, give me spirit to 
 tell you one or two circumstances which cold cau- 
 tious sobriety would, in a moment like this, have 
 left unsaid. You wish, I doubt not, to know who 
 I am ? My christian name is Michael — my sur- 
 name is that of Turnbull, a redoubted clan, to 
 whose honours, even in the field of hunting or 
 of battle, I have added something. My abode is 
 beneath the mountain of Rubieslaw, by the fair 
 streams of Teviot. You are surprised that I know 
 how to hunt the wild cattle — I, who have made 
 
The Hunting Feast. 
 Drawn and Etched by H. Macbeth-Raeburn. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 95 
 
 them my sport from infancy in the lonely forests 
 of Jed and Southdean, and have killed more of 
 them than you or any Englishman in your host 
 ever saw, even if you include the doughty deeds 
 of this day. " 
 
 The bold borderer made this declaration with 
 the same provoking degree of coolness which pre- 
 dominated in his whole demeanour, and was in- 
 deed his principal attribute. His effrontery did 
 not fail to produce its effect upon Sir John de 
 Walton, who instantly called out, " To arms ! to 
 arms ! — Secure the spy and traitor ! Ho ! pages 
 and yeomen — William, Anthony, Bend-the-bow, 
 and Greenleaf — seize the traitor, and bind him 
 with your bowstrings and dog-leashes — bind him, 
 I say, until the blood start from beneath his 
 nails ! " 
 
 " Here is a goodly summons ! " said Turnbull, 
 with a sort of horse-laugh. " Were I as sure of 
 being answered by twenty men I could name, there 
 would be small doubt of the upshot of this day. " 
 
 The archers thickened around the hunter, yet 
 laid no hold on him, none of them being willing 
 to be the first who broke the peace proper to the 
 occasion. 
 
 " Tell me, " said De Walton, " thou traitor, for 
 what waitest thou here ? " 
 
 " Simply and solely, " said the Jed forester, 
 " that I may deliver up to ihe Douglas the castle 
 of his ancestors, and that I may insure thee, Sir 
 Englishman, the payment of thy deserts, by cut- 
 ting that very throat which thou makest such a 
 bawling use of. " 
 
 At the same time, perceiving that the yeomen 
 were crowding behind him to carry their lord's 
 
96 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 commands into execution so soon as they should 
 be reiterated, the huntsman turned himself short 
 round upon those who appeared about to surprise 
 him, and having, by the suddenness of the action, 
 induced them to step back a pace, he proceeded — 
 " Yes, John de Walton, my purpose was ere now 
 to have put thee to death, as one whom I find in 
 possession of that castle and territory which belong 
 to my master, a knight much more worthy than 
 thyself; but I know not why I have paused — 
 thou hast given me food when I have hungered for 
 twenty -four hours, I have not therefore had the 
 heart to pay thee at advantage as thou hast de- 
 served. Begone from this place and country, and 
 take the fair warning of a foe : thou hast consti- 
 tuted thyself the mortal enemy of this people, and 
 there are those among them who have seldom been 
 injured or defied with impunity. Take no care in 
 searching after me — it will be in vain — until I 
 meet thee at a time which will come at my plea- 
 sure, not thine. Push not your inquisition into 
 cruelty, to discover by what means I have deceived 
 you, for it is impossible for you to learn; and 
 with this friendly advice, look at me and take 
 your leave, for, although we shall one day meet, 
 it may be long ere I see you again. " 
 
 De Walton remained silent, hoping that his 
 prisoner (for he saw no chance of his escaping) 
 might, in his communicative humour, drop some 
 more information, and was not desirous to precipi- 
 tate a fray with which the scene was likely to 
 conclude, unconscious at the same time of the 
 advantage which he thereby gave the daring 
 hunter. 
 
 As Turnbull concluded his sentence, he made a 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 97 
 
 sudden spring backwards, which carried him out 
 of the circle formed around him, and, before they 
 were aware of his intentions, at once disappeared 
 among the underwood. 
 
 " Seize him — seize him! " repeated De Walton; 
 " let us have him at least at our discretion, unless 
 the earth has actually swallowed him. " 
 
 This indeed appeared not unlikely, for near the 
 place where Turnbull had made the spring there 
 yawned a steep ravine, into which he plunged, and 
 descended by the assistance of branches, bushes, 
 and copsewood, until he reached the bottom, where 
 he found some road to the outskirts of the forest, 
 through which he made his escape, leaving the 
 most expert woodsmen among the pursuers totally 
 at fault, and unable to trace his footsteps. 
 
CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 This interlude carried some confusion into the 
 proceedings of the hunt, thus suddenly surprised 
 by the apparition of Michael Turnbull, an armed 
 and avowed follower of the House of Douglas, a 
 sight so little to be expected in the territory where 
 his master was held a rebel and a bandit, and 
 where he himself must have been well known to 
 most of the peasantry present. The circumstance 
 made an obvious impression on the English chi- 
 valry. Sir John de Walton looked grave and 
 thoughtful, ordered the hunters to be assembled 
 on the spot, and directed his soldiers to commence 
 a strict search among the persons who had attended 
 the chase, so as to discover whether Turnbull had 
 any companions among them ; but it was too late 
 to make that inquiry in the strict fashion which 
 De Walton directed. 
 
 The Scottish attendants on the chase, when they 
 beheld that the hunting, under pretence of which 
 they were called together, was interrupted for the 
 purpose of laying hands upon their persons, and 
 subjecting them to examination, took care to suit 
 their answers to the questions put to them ; in a 
 word, they kept their own secret, if they had any. 
 Many of them, conscious of being the weaker 
 party, became afraid of foul play, slipped away 
 from the places to which they had been appointed, 
 and left the hunting-match like men who con- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 99 
 
 ceived they had been invited with no friendly- 
 intent. Sir John de Walton became aware of the 
 decreasing numbers of the Scottish — their gradual 
 disappearance awakening in the English knight 
 that degree of suspicion which had of late become 
 his peculiar characteristic. 
 
 ** Take, I pray thee, " said he to Sir Aymer de 
 Valence, " as many men-at-arms as thou canst get 
 together in five minutes' space, and at least a 
 hundred of the mounted archers, and ride as fast 
 as thou canst, without permitting them to straggle 
 from thy standard, to reinforce the garrison of 
 Douglas ; for I have my own thoughts what may 
 have been attempted on the castle, when we 
 observe with our own eyes such a nest of traitors 
 here assembled. " 
 
 " With reverence. Sir John, " replied Aymer, 
 " you shoot in this matter rather beyond the mark. 
 That the Scottish peasants have bad thoughts 
 against us, I will be the last to deny; but, long 
 debarred from any silvan sport, you cannot wonder 
 at their crowding to any diversion by wood or 
 river, and still less at their being easily alarmed 
 as to the certainty of the safe footing on which 
 they stand with us. The least rough usage is 
 likely to strike them with fear, and with the 
 desire of escape, and so " 
 
 " And so, " said Sir John de Walton, who had 
 listened with a degree of impatience scarce consis- 
 tent with the grave and formal politeness which 
 one knight was accustomed to bestow upon an- 
 other — " and so I would rather see Sir Aymer de 
 Valence busy his horse's heels to execute my 
 orders, than give his tongue the trouble of im- 
 pugning them. " 
 
loo CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 At this sharp reprimand, all present looked at 
 each other with indications of marked displeasure. 
 Sir Aymer was highly offended, but saw it was no 
 time to indulge in reprisal. He bowed until the 
 feather which was in his barret-cap mingled with 
 his horse's mane, and without reply — for he did 
 not even choose to trust his voice in reply at the 
 moment — headed a considerable body of cavalry by 
 the straightest road back to the Castle of Douglas. 
 
 When he came to one of those eminences from 
 which he could observe the massive and compli- 
 cated towers and walls of the old fortress, with the 
 glitter of the broad lake which surrounded it on 
 three sides, he felt much pleasure at the sight of 
 the great banner of England, which streamed from 
 the highest part of the building. " I knew it, * he 
 internally said ; " I was certain that Sir John de 
 Walton had become a very woman in the indul- 
 gence of his fears and suspicions. Alas! that a 
 situation of responsibility should so much have 
 altered a disposition which I have known so noble 
 and so knightly ! By this good day, I scarce know 
 in what manner I should demean me when thus 
 publicly rebuked before the garrison. Certainly 
 he deserves that I should, at some time or other, 
 let him understand that, however he may triumph 
 in the exercise of his short-lived command, yet, 
 when man is to meet with man, it will puzzle Sir 
 John de Walton to show himself the superior of 
 Aymer de Valence, or perhaps to establish himself 
 as his equal. But if, on the contrary, his fears, 
 however fantastic, are sincere at the moment he 
 expresses them, it becomes me to obey punctually 
 commands which, however absurd, are imposed 
 in consequence of the governor's belief that they 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. loi 
 
 are rendered necessary by the times, and not in- 
 ventions designed to vex and domineer over his 
 officers in the indulgence of his official powers. 
 I would I knew which is the true statement of the 
 case, and whether the once famed De Walton is 
 become afraid of his enemies more than fits a 
 knight, or makes imaginary doubts the pretext of 
 tyrannising over his friend. I cannot say it would 
 make much difference to me, but I would rather 
 have it that the man I once loved had turned a 
 petty tyrant than a weak-spirited coward ; and I 
 would be content that he should study to vex me, 
 rather than be afraid of his own shadow. " 
 
 With these ideas passing in his mind, the young 
 knight crossed the causeway which traversed the 
 piece of water that fed the moat, and, passing 
 under the strongly fortified gateway, gave strict 
 orders for letting down the portcullis, and ele- 
 vating the drawbridge, even at the appearance of 
 De Walton's own standard before it. 
 
 A slow and guarded movement from the hunting- 
 ground to the Castle of Douglas gave the governor 
 ample time to recover his temper, and to forget 
 that his young friend had shown less alacrity than 
 usual in obeying his commands. He was even 
 disposed to treat as a jest the length of time and 
 extreme degree of ceremony with which every 
 point of martial discipline was observed on his 
 own readmission to the castle, though the raw air 
 of a wet spring evening whistled around his own 
 unsheltered person, and those of his followers, as 
 they waited before the castle gate for the exchange 
 of passwords, the delivery of keys, and all the 
 slow minutiae attendant upon the movements of a 
 garrison in a well-guarded fortress. 
 
102 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 " Come, ** said he to an old knight, who was 
 peevishly blaming the lieutenant-governor, " it 
 was my own fault ; I spoke but now to Aymer de 
 Valence with more authoritative emphasis than 
 his newly dubbed dignity was pleased with, and 
 this precise style of obedience is a piece of not un- 
 natural and very pardonable revenge. Well, we 
 will owe him a return. Sir Philip — shall we not ? 
 This is not a night to keep a man at the gate. " 
 
 This dialogue, overheard by some of the squires 
 and pages, was bandied about from one to another, 
 until it entirely lost the tone of good-humour in 
 which it was spoken, and the offence was one for 
 which Sir John de Walton and old Sir Philip were 
 to meditate revenge, and was said to have been 
 represented by the governor as a piece of mortal 
 and intentional offence on the part of his subordi- 
 nate officer. 
 
 Thus an increasing feud went on from day to 
 day between two warriors, who, with no just cause 
 of quarrel, had at heart every reason to esteem and 
 love each other. It became visible in the fortress 
 even to those of the lower rank, who hoped to gain 
 some consequence, by intermingling in the species 
 of emulation produced by the jealousy of the com- 
 manding ofificers — an emulation which may take 
 place, indeed, in the present day, but can hardly 
 have the same sense of wounded pride and jealous 
 dignity attached to it which existed in times when 
 the personal honour of knighthood rendered those 
 who possessed it jealous of every punctilio. 
 
 So many little debates took place between the 
 two knights, that Sir Aymer de Valence thought 
 himself under the necessity of writing to his uncle 
 and namesake, the Earl of Pembroke, stating that 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 103 
 
 his officer, Sir John de Walton, had unfortunately 
 of late taken some degree of prejudice against him, 
 and that, after having borne with many provoking 
 instances of his displeasure, he was now compelled 
 to request that his place of service should be 
 changed from the Castle of Douglas, to wherever 
 honour could be acquired, and time might be given 
 to put an end to his present cause of complaint 
 against his commanding officer. Through the 
 whole letter, young Sir Aymer was particularly 
 cautious how he expressed his sense of Sir John de 
 Walton's jealousy or severe usage ; but such sen- 
 timents are not easily concealed, and in spite of 
 him an air of displeasure glanced out from several 
 passages, and indicated his discontent with his 
 uncle's old friend and companion in arms, and 
 with the sphere of military duty which his uncle 
 had himself assigned him. 
 
 An accidental movement among the English 
 troops brought Sir Aymer an answer to his letter 
 sooner than he could have hoped for at that time 
 of day, in the ordinary course of correspondence, 
 which was then extremely slow and interrupted. 
 
 Pembroke, a rigid old warrior, entertained the 
 most partial opinion of Sir John de Walton, who 
 was a work as it were of his own hands, and was 
 indignant to find that his nephew, whom he con- 
 sidered as a mere boy, elated by having had the 
 dignity of knighthood conferred upon him at an 
 age unusually early, did not absolutely coincide 
 with him in this opinion. He replied to him, 
 accordingly, in a tone of high displeasure, and 
 expressed himself as a person of rank would write 
 to a young and dependent kinsman upon the duties 
 of his profession; and, as he gathered his nephew's 
 
I04 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 cause of complaint from his own letter, lie con- 
 ceived that he did him no injustice in making it 
 slighter than it really was. He reminded the 
 young man that the study of chivalry consisted in 
 the faithful and patient discharge of military ser- 
 vice, whether of high or low degree, according to 
 the circumstances in which war placed the cham- 
 pion. That, above all, the post of danger, which 
 Douglas Castle had been termed by common con- 
 sent, was also the post of honour; and that a 
 young man should be cautious how he incurred the 
 supposition of being desirous of quitting his pre- 
 sent honourable command, because he was tired of 
 the discipline of a military director so renowned 
 as Sir John de Walton. Much also there was, as 
 was natural in a letter of that time, concerning 
 the duty of young men, whether in council or in 
 arms, to be guided implicitly by their elders ; and 
 it was observed, with justice, that the commanding 
 officer, who had put himself into the situation of 
 being responsible with his honour, if not his life, 
 for the event of the siege or blockade, might justly, 
 and in a degree more than common, claim the 
 implicit direction of the whole defence. Lastly, 
 Pembroke reminded his nephew that he was, in a 
 great measure, dependent upon the report of Sir 
 John de Walton for the character which he was to 
 sustain in after-life ; and reminded him that a few 
 actions of headlong and inconsiderate valour would 
 not so firmly found his military reputation, as 
 months and years spent in regular, humble, and 
 steady obedience to the commands which the 
 governor of Douglas Castle might think necessary 
 in so dangerous a conjuncture. 
 
 This missive arrived within so short a time after 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 105 
 
 the despatch of the letter to which it was a reply, 
 that Sir Aymer was almost tempted to suppose 
 that his uncle had some mode of corresponding 
 with De "VValton, unknown to the young knight 
 himself, and to the rest of the garrison. And as 
 the earl alluded to some particular displeasure 
 which had been exhibited by De Valence on a late 
 trivial occasion, his uncle's knowledge of this, 
 and other minutise, seemed to confirm his idea that 
 his own conduct was watched in a manner which 
 he did not feel honourable to himself, or dignified 
 on the part of his relative; in a word, he con- 
 ceived himself exposed to that sort of surveillance 
 of which, in all ages, the young have accused the 
 old. It hardly needs to say, that the admonition 
 of the Earl of Pembroke greatly chafed the fiery 
 spirit of his nephew; insomuch, that if t'he earl 
 had wished to write a letter purposely to increase 
 the prejudices which he desired to put an end to, 
 he could not have made use of terms better calcu- 
 lated for that effect. 
 
 The truth was that the old archer Gilbert Green- 
 leaf had, without the knowledge of the young 
 knight, gone to Pembroke's camp, in Ayrshire, 
 and was recommended by Sir John de Walton to 
 the earl, as a person who could give such minute 
 information respecting Aymer de Valence as he 
 might desire to receive. The old archer was, as 
 we have seen, a formalist, and when pressed on 
 some points of Sir Aymer de Valence's discipline, 
 he did not hesitate to throw out hints, which, 
 connected with those in the knight's letter to his 
 uncle, made the severe old earl adopt too implicitly 
 the idea that his nephew was indulging a spirit of 
 insubordination, and^a sense of impatience under 
 
io6 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 authority, most dangerous to the character of a 
 young soldier. A little explanation might have 
 produced a complete agreement in the sentiments 
 of both; but for this, fate allowed neither time 
 nor opportunity; and the old earl was unfortu- 
 nately induced to become a party, instead of a 
 negotiator, in the quarrel, 
 
 And by decision more embroil'd the fray. 
 
 Sir John de Walton soon perceived that the 
 receipt of Pembroke's letter did not in any respect 
 alter the cold ceremonious conduct of his lieute- 
 nant towards him, which limited their intercourse 
 to what their situation rendered indispensable, 
 and exhibited no advances to any more frank or 
 intimate connection. Thus, as may sometimes be 
 the case between officers in their relative situa- 
 tions even at the present day, they remained in 
 that cold stiff degree of official communication, in 
 which their intercourse was limited to as few 
 expressions as the respective duties of their situa- 
 tion absolutely demanded. Such a state of mis- 
 understanding is, in fact, worse than a downright 
 quarrel ; — the latter may be explained or apolo- 
 gised for, or become the subject of mediation ; but 
 in such a case as the former, an eclaircissement is 
 as unlikely to take place as a general engagement 
 between two armies which have taken up strong 
 defensive positions on both sides. Duty, however, 
 obliged the two principal persons in the garrison 
 of Douglas Castle to be often together, when they 
 were so far from seeking an opportunity of making 
 up matters, that they usually revived ancient 
 subjects of debate. 
 
 It was upon such an occasion that De Walton, 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 107 
 
 in a very formal manner, asked De Valence in 
 what capacity, and for how long time, it was his 
 pleasure that the minstrel, called Bertram, should 
 remain at the castle. 
 
 " A week, " said the governor, " is certainly long 
 enough, in this time and place, to express the hos- 
 pitality due to a minstrel. " 
 
 " Certainly, " replied the young man, " I have 
 not interest enough in the subject to form a single 
 wish upon it. " 
 
 " In that case, " resumed De Walton, " T shall 
 request of this person to cut short his visit at the 
 Castle of Douglas. " 
 
 " I know no particular interest, " replied Aymer 
 de Valence, " which I can possibly have in this 
 man's motions. He is here under pretence of 
 making some researches after the writings of 
 Thomas of Erceldoun, called the Rhymer, which 
 he says are infinitely curious, and of which there 
 is a volume in the old Baron's study, saved some- 
 how from the flames at the last conflagration. 
 This told, you know as much of his errand as I 
 do; and if you hold the presence of a wandering 
 old man, and the neighbourhood of a boy, dan- 
 gerous to the castle under your charge, you will no 
 doubt do well to dismiss them — it will cost but a 
 word of your mouth. " 
 
 " Pardon me, " said De Walton ; " the minstrel 
 came here as one of your retinue, and I could not, 
 in fitting courtesy, send him away without your 
 leave. '^ 
 
 " I am sorry, then, " answered Sir Aymer, " in 
 my turn, that you did not mention your purpose 
 sooner. I never entertained a dependent vassal or 
 servant, whose residence in the castle I would 
 
io8 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 wish to have prolonged a moment beyond youi 
 honourable pleasure. " 
 
 " I am sorry, " said Sir John de Walton, " that 
 we two have of late grown so extremely courteous 
 that it is difficult for us to understand each other. 
 This minstrel and his son come from we know not 
 where, and are bound we know not whither. 
 There is a report among some of your escort that 
 this fellow Bertram upon the way had the audacity 
 to impugn, even to your face, the King of Eng- 
 land's right to the crown of Scotland, and that 
 he debated the point with you, while your other 
 attendants were desired by you to keep behind 
 and out of hearing. " 
 
 " Hah ! " said Sir Aymer, " do you mean to 
 found on that circumstance any charge against 
 my loyalty ? I pray you to observe, that such 
 an averment would touch mine honour, which 
 I am ready and willing to defend to the last 
 gasp. " 
 
 " No doubt of it. Sir Knight, " answered the 
 governor; "but it is the strolling minstrel, and 
 not the high-born English knight, against whom 
 the charge is brought. Well ! the minstrel comes 
 to this castle, and he intimates a wish that his 
 son should be allowed to take up his quarters at 
 the little old convent of St. Bride, where two or 
 three Scottish nuns and friars are still permitted 
 to reside, most of them rather out of respect to 
 their order than for any good-will which they are 
 supposed to bear the English or their sovereign. 
 It may also be noticed, that this leave was pur- 
 chased by a larger sum of money, if my informa- 
 tion be correct, than is usually to be found in the 
 purses of travelling minstrels, a class of wanderers 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 109 
 
 alike remarkable for their poverty and for their 
 genius. What do you think of all this ? " 
 
 " I ? " replied De Valence. " I am happy that 
 my situation, as a soldier under command, alto- 
 gether dispenses with my thinking of it at all. 
 My post, as lieutenant of your castle, is such, that 
 if I can manage matters so as to call my honour 
 and my soul my own, I must think that quite 
 enough of free-will is left at my command ; and I 
 promise you shall not have again to reprove, or 
 send a bad report of me to my uncle, on that 
 account. " 
 
 " This is beyond sufferance ! " said Sir John de 
 Walton, half aside, and then proceeded aloud — 
 " Do not, for Heaven's sake, do yourself and me 
 the injustice of supposing that I am endeavouring 
 to gain an advantage over you by these questions. 
 Recollect, young knight, that when you evade 
 giving your commanding officer your advice when 
 required, you fail as much in point of duty as if 
 you declined affording him the assistance of your 
 sword and lance. " 
 
 " Such being the case, " answered De Valence, 
 " let me know plainly on what matter it is that 
 you require my opinion ? I will deliver it plainly, 
 and stand by the result, even if I should have the 
 misfortune (a crime unpardonable in so young a 
 man, and so inferior an officer) to differ from that 
 of Sir John de Walton. " 
 
 " I would ask you then. Sir Knight of Valence, " 
 answered the governor, " what is your opinion 
 with respect to this minstrel, Bertram, and whether 
 the suspicions respecting him and his son are not 
 such as to call upon me, in performance of my 
 duty, to put them to a close examination, with 
 
HO CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 the question ordinary and extraordinary, as is 
 usual in such cases, and to expel them not only 
 from the castle, but from the whole territory of 
 Douglas Dale, under pain of scourging if they be 
 again found wandering in these parts ? " 
 
 " You ask me my opinion, " said De Valence, 
 " and you shall have it. Sir Knight of Walton, as 
 freely and fairly as if matters stood betwixt us on 
 a footing as friendly as they ever did. I agree 
 with you, that most of those who in these days 
 profess the science of minstrelsy are altogether 
 unqualified to support the higher pretensions of 
 that noble order. Minstrels by right are men who 
 have dedicated themselves to the noble occupation 
 of celebrating knightly deeds and generous prin- 
 ciples ; it is in their verse that the valiant knight 
 is handed down to fame, and the poet has a right, 
 nay is bound, to emulate the virtues which he 
 praises. The looseness of the times has dimi- 
 nished the consequence and impaired the morality 
 of this class of wanderers; their satire and their 
 praise are now too often distributed on no other 
 principle than love of gain ; yet let us hope that 
 there are still among them some who know, and 
 also willingly perform, their duty. My own 
 opinion is, that this Bertram holds himself as one 
 who has not shared in the degradation of his 
 brethren, nor bent the knee to the mammon of the 
 time; it must remain with you, sir, to judge 
 whether such a person, honourably and morally 
 disposed, can cause any danger to the Castle of 
 Douglas. But believing, from the sentiments he 
 has manifested to me, that he is incapable of 
 playing the part of a traitor, I must strongly 
 remonstrate against his being punished as one, or 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. in 
 
 subjected to the torture within the walls of an 
 English garrison. I should blush for my country, 
 if it required of us to inflict such wanton misery 
 upon wanderers, whose sole fault is poverty ; and 
 your own knightly sentiments will suggest more 
 than would become me to state to Sir John de 
 Walton, unless in so far as is necessary to apolo- 
 gise for retaining my own opinion. " 
 
 Sir John de Walton's dark brow was stricken 
 with red when he heard an opinion delivered in 
 opposition to his own, which plainly went to stig- 
 matise his advice as ungenerous, unfeeling, and 
 unknightly. He made an effort to preserve his 
 temper, while he thus replied with a degree of 
 calmness. " You have given your opinion. Sir 
 Aymer de Valence ; and that you have given it 
 openly and boldly, without regard to my own, I 
 thank you. It is not quite so clear that I am 
 obliged to defer my own sentiments to yours, in 
 case the rules on which I hold my office — the 
 commands of the king — and the observations 
 which I may personally have made, shall recom- 
 mend to me a different line of conduct from that 
 which you think it right to suggest. " 
 
 De Walton bowed, in conclusion, with great 
 gravity; and the young knight, returning the 
 reverence with exactly the same degree of stiff 
 formality, asked whether there were any particu- 
 lar orders respecting his duty in the castle, and, 
 having received an answer in the negative, took 
 his departure. 
 
 Sir John de Walton, after an expression of im- 
 patience, as if disappointed at finding that the 
 advance which he had made towards an explana- 
 tion with his young friend had proved unexpectedly 
 
112 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 abortive, composed his brow as if to deep thought, 
 and walked several times to and fro in the apart- 
 ment, considering what course he was to take in 
 these circumstances. " It is hard to censure him 
 severely, " he said, " when I recollect that, on first 
 entering upon life, my own thoughts and feelings 
 would have been the same with those of this giddy 
 and hot-headed, but generous boy. Now prudence 
 teaches me to suspect mankind in a thousand 
 instances where perhaps there is not sufficient 
 ground. If I am disposed to venture my own 
 honour and fortune, rather than an idle travelling 
 minstrel should sufifer a little pain, which at all 
 events I might make up to him by money, still, 
 have I a right to run the risk of a conspiracy 
 against the king, and thus advance the treasonable 
 surrender of the Castle of Douglas, for which I 
 know so many schemes are formed; for which, 
 too, none can be imagined so desperate but agents 
 will be found bold enough to undertake the execu- 
 tion ? A man who holds my situation, although 
 the slave of conscience, ought to learn to set aside 
 those false scruples which assume the appearance 
 of flowing from our own moral feeling, whereas 
 they are in fact instilled by the suggestion of 
 affected delicacy. I will not, I swear by Heaven, 
 be infected by the follies of a boy such as Aymer ; 
 I will not, that I may defer to his caprices, lose 
 all that love, honour, and ambition can propose, 
 for the reward of twelve months' service, of a 
 nature the most watchful and unpleasant. I will 
 go straight to my point, and use the ordinary pre- 
 cautions in Scotland, which I should employ in 
 Kormandy or Gascoigny. — What ho I page ! who 
 waits there ? " 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 113 
 
 One of his attendants replied to his summons. 
 " Seek me out Gilbert Greenleaf the archer, and 
 tell him I would speak with him touching the two 
 bows and the sheaf of arrows concerning which I 
 gave him a commission to Ayr. " 
 
 A few minutes intervened after the order was 
 given, when the archer entered, holding in his 
 hand two bow-staves, not yet fashioned, and a 
 number of arrows secured together with a thong. 
 He bore the mysterious looks of one whose apparent 
 business is not of very great consequence, but is 
 meant as a passport for other affairs which are in 
 themselves of a secret nature. Accordingly, as 
 the knight was silent, and afforded no other 
 opening for Greenleaf, that judicious negotiator 
 proceeded to enter upon such as was open to 
 him. 
 
 " Here are the bow-staves, noble sir, which you 
 desired me to obtain while I was at Ayr with the 
 Earl of Pembroke's army. They are not so good 
 as I could have wished, yet are perhaps of better 
 quality than could have been procured by any 
 other than a fair judge of the weapon. The Earl 
 of Pembroke's whole camp are frantic mad in 
 order to procure real Spanish staves from the 
 Groyne, and other ports in Spain ; but though two 
 vessels laden with such came into the port of Ayr, 
 said to be for the king's army, yet I believe never 
 one half of them have come into English hands. 
 These two grew in Sherwood, which, having been 
 seasoned since the time of Kobin Hood, are not 
 likely to fail either in strength or in aim, in so 
 strong a hand, and with so just an eye, as those of 
 the men who wait on your worship. " 
 
 " And who has got the rest, since two ships* 
 8 
 
114 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 cargoes of new bow-staves are arrived at Ayr, and 
 thou with difficulty hast only procured me two old 
 ones ? " said the governor. 
 
 " Faith, I pretend not skill enough to know, " 
 answered Greenleaf, shrugging his shoulders. 
 " Talk there is of plots in that country as well as 
 here. It is said that their Bruce, and the rest of 
 his kinsmen, intend a new May-game, and that 
 the outlawed king proposes to land near to Turn- 
 berry, early in summer, with a number of stout 
 kernes from Ireland ; and no doubt the men of his 
 mock earldom of Carrick are getting them ready 
 with bow and spear for so hopeful an undertaking. 
 I reckon that it will not cost us the expense of 
 more than a few score of sheaves of arrows to put 
 all that matter to rights. " 
 
 " Do you talk, then, of conspiracies in this part 
 of the country, Greenleaf ? " said De Walton. " I 
 know you are a sagacious fellow, well bred for 
 many a day to the use of the bent stick and string, 
 and will not allow such a practice to go on under 
 thy nose, without taking notice of it. " 
 
 " I am old enough. Heaven knows, " said Green- 
 leaf, " and have had good experience of these Scot- 
 tish wars, and know well whether these native 
 Scots are a people to be trusted to by knight or 
 yeoman. Say they are a false generation, and say 
 a good archer told you so, who, with a fair aim, 
 seldom missed a handsbreadth of the white. Ah! 
 sir, your honour knows how to deal with them — 
 ride them strongly, and rein them hard — you are 
 not like those simple novices who imagine that all 
 is to be done by gentleness, and wish to parade 
 themselves as courteous and generous to those 
 faithless mountaineers, who never, in the course 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 115 
 
 of their lives, knew any tincture either of cour- 
 teousness or generosity. " 
 
 " Thou alludest to some one, " said the governor, 
 " and I charge thee, Gilbert, to be plain and sin- 
 cere with me. Thou knowest, methinks, that in 
 trusting me thou wilt come to no harm ? " 
 
 " It is true, it is true, sir, " said the old remnant 
 of the wars, carrying his hand to his brow, " but 
 it were imprudent to communicate all the remarks 
 which float through an old man's brain in the idle 
 moments of such a garrison as this. One stumbles 
 unawares on fantasies, as well as realities, and 
 thus one gets, not altogether undeservedly, the 
 character of a talebearer and mischief-maker among 
 his comrades, and methinks I would not willingly 
 fall under that accusation. " 
 
 " Speak frankly to me, " answered De Walton, 
 " and have no fear of being misconstrued, whoso- 
 ever the conversation may concern. " 
 
 " Nay, in plain truth, " answered Gilbert, " I 
 fear not the greatness of this young knight, being, 
 as I am, the oldest soldier in the garrison, and 
 having drawn a bow-string long and many a day 
 ere he was weaned from his nurse's breast." 
 
 " It is, then, " said De Walton, " my lieutenant 
 and friend, Aymer de Valence, at whom your sus- 
 picions point ? " 
 
 " At nothing, " replied the archer, " touching the 
 honour of the young knight himself, who is as 
 brave as the sword he wears, and, his youth con- 
 sidered, stands high in the roll of English chi- 
 valry; but he is young, as your worship knows, 
 and I own that in the choice of his company he 
 disturbs and alarms me. " 
 
 " Why, you know, Greenleaf, " answered the 
 
ii6 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 governor, " that in the leisure of a garrison a 
 knight cannot always confine his sports and plea- 
 sures among those of his own rank, who are not 
 numerous, and may not be so gamesome or fond of 
 frolic as he would desire them to be. ** 
 
 " I know that well, " answered the archer, " nor 
 would I say a word concerning your honour's lieu- 
 tenant for joining any honest fellows, however 
 inferior their rank, in the wrestling-ring, or at a 
 bout of quarterstafif. But if Sir Aymer de Valence 
 has a fondness for martial tales of former days, 
 methinks he had better learn them from the 
 ancient soldiers who have followed Edward the 
 First, whom God assoilzie, and w^ho have known 
 before his time the Barons' wars and other on- 
 slaughts, in which the knights and archers of 
 merry England transmitted so many gallant actions 
 to be recorded by fame ; this truly, I say, were 
 more beseeming the Earl of Pembroke's nephew, 
 than to see him closet himself day after day with 
 a strolling minstrel, who gains his livelihood by 
 reciting nonsense and lies to such young men as 
 are fond enough to believe him, of whom hardly 
 any one knows whether he be English or Scottish 
 in his opinions, and still less can any one pretend 
 to say whether he is of English or Scottish birth, 
 or with what purpose he lies lounging about this 
 castle, and is left free to communicate everything 
 which passes within it to those old mutterers of 
 matins at St. Bride's, who say with their tongues 
 God save King Edward, but pray in their hearts 
 God save King Eobert the Bruce. Such a com- 
 munication he can easily carry on by means of his 
 son, who lies at St. Bride's cell, as your worship 
 knows, under pretence of illness. " 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 117 
 
 " How do you say ? " exclaimed the governor. 
 " Under pretence ? Is he not then really indis- 
 posed ? " 
 
 " Nay, he may be sick to the death for aught 1 
 know, " said the archer ; " but if so, were it not 
 then more natural that the father should attend 
 his son's sick-bed, than that he should be ranging 
 about this castle, where one eternally meets him 
 in the old Baron's study, or in some corner where 
 you least expect to find him ? " 
 
 " If he has no lawful object, " replied the knight, 
 " it might be as you say ; but he is said to be in 
 quest of ancient poems or prophecies of Merlin, of 
 the Ehymer, or some other old bard ; and in truth 
 it is natural for him to wish to enlarge his stock 
 of knowledge and power of giving amusement, and 
 where should he find the means save in a study 
 filled with ancient books ? " 
 
 " No doubt, " replied the archer, with a sort of 
 dry civil sneer of incredulity. " I have seldom 
 known an insurrection in Scotland but that it was 
 prophesied by some old forgotten rhyme, conjured 
 out of dust and cobwebs, for the sake of giving 
 courage to those North Country rebels, who durst 
 not otherwise have abidden the whistling of the 
 grey-goose shaft ; but curled heads are hasty, and, 
 with licence, even your own train. Sir Knight, 
 retains too much of the fire of youth for such un- 
 certain times as the present. " 
 
 " Thou hast convinced me, Gilbert Greenleaf, 
 and I will look into this man's business and occu- 
 pation more closely than hitherto. This is no 
 time to peril the safety of a royal castle for the 
 sake of affecting generosity towards a man of 
 whom we know so little, and to whom, till we 
 
ii8 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 receive a very full explanation, we may, without 
 doing him injustice, attach grave suspicions. Is he 
 now in the apartment called the Baron's study? " 
 
 " Your worship will be certain to find him 
 there," replied Greenleaf. 
 
 " Then follow me, with two or three of thy com- 
 rades, and keep out of sight, but within hearing : 
 it may be necessary to arrest this man. " 
 
 " My assistance, " said the old archer, " shall be 
 at hand when you call, but " 
 
 " But what ? " said the knight. " I hope I am 
 not to find doubts and disobedience on all hands 1 " 
 
 " Certainly not on mine, " replied Greenleaf ; " I 
 would only remind your worship that what I have 
 said was a sincere opinion expressed in answer to 
 your worship's question; and that, as Sir Aymer 
 de Valence has avowed himself the patron of this 
 man, I would not willingly be left to the hazard 
 of his revenge. " 
 
 " Pshaw ! " answered De Walton. " Is Aymer 
 de Valence governor of this castle, or am I ? Or 
 to whom do you imagine you are responsible for 
 answering such questions as I may put to you ? " 
 
 "Nay," replied the archer, secretly not dis- 
 pleased at seeing De Walton show some little 
 jealousy of his own authority, " believe me, Sir 
 Knight, that I know my own station and your 
 worship's, and that I am not now to be told to 
 whom I owe obedience. " 
 
 " To the study, then, and let us find the man, " 
 said the governor. 
 
 "A fine matter indeed," subjoined Greenleaf, 
 following him, " that your worship should have 
 to go in person to look after the arrest of so mean 
 an individual. But your honour is right: these 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 119 
 
 minstrels are often jugglers, and possess the power 
 of making their escape by means which borrel^ 
 folk like myself are disposed to attribute to 
 necromancy. " 
 
 Without attending to these last words, Sir John 
 de Walton set forth towards the study, walking at 
 a quick pace, as if this conversation had augmented 
 his desire to find himself in possession of the per- 
 son of the suspected minstrel. 
 
 Traversing the ancient passages of the castle, 
 the governor had no difficulty in reaching the 
 study, which was strongly vaulted with stone, and 
 furnished with a sort of iron cabinet, intended for 
 the preservation of articles and papers of value, in 
 case of fire. Here he found the minstrel seated at 
 a small table, sustaining before him a manuscript, 
 apparently of great antiquity, from which he 
 seemed engaged in making extracts. The windows 
 of the room were very small, and still showed 
 some traces that they had originally been glazed 
 with a painted history of St. Bride — another 
 mark of the devotion of the great family of Douglas 
 to their tutelar saint. 
 
 The minstrel, who had seemed deeply wrapped 
 in the contemplation of his task, on being dis- 
 turbed by the unlooked-for entrance of Sir John 
 de Walton, rose with every mark of respect and 
 humility, and, remaining standing in the gover- 
 nor's presence, appeared to wait for his inter- 
 rogations, as if he had anticipated that the visit 
 concerned himself particularly. 
 
 " I am to suppose. Sir Minstrel, " said Sir John 
 de Walton, " that you have been successful in your 
 search, and have found the roll of poetry or pro- 
 
 1 Unlearned. 
 
120 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 phecies that you proposed to seek after amongst 
 these broken shelves and tattered volumes ? " 
 
 " More successful than I could have expected, " 
 replied the minstrel, "considering the effects of 
 the conflagration. This, Sir Knight, is apparently 
 the fatal volume for which I sought, and strange 
 it is, considering the heavy chance of other books 
 contained in this library, that I have been able to 
 find a few though imperfect fragments of it. " 
 
 " Since, therefore, you have been permitted to 
 indulge your curiosity, " said the governor, " I 
 trust, minstrel, you will have no objection to 
 satisfy mine ? " 
 
 The minstrel replied with the same humility, 
 " that if there was anything within the poor com- 
 pass of his skill which could gratify Sir John de 
 Walton in any degree, he would but reach his 
 lute, and presently obey his commands. " 
 
 " You mistake, sir, " said Sir John, somewhat 
 harshly. " I am none of those who have hours 
 to spend in listening to tales or music of former 
 days; my life has hardly given me time enough 
 for learning the duties of my profession, far less 
 has it allowed me leisure for such twangling fol- 
 lies. I care not who knows it, but my ear is so 
 incapable of judging of your art, which you doubt- 
 less think a noble one, that I can scarcely tell the 
 modulation of one tune from another. " 
 
 " In that case," replied the minstrel composedly, 
 " I can hardly promise myself the pleasure of 
 affording your worship the amusement which I 
 might otherwise have done. " 
 
 " Nor do I look for any at your hand, " said the 
 governor, advancing a step nearer to him, and 
 speaking in a sterner tone. " I want information, 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 121 
 
 sir, which I am assured you can give me, if you 
 incline ; and it is my duty to tell you, that if you 
 show unwillingness to speak the truth, I know 
 means by which it will become my painful duty 
 to extort it in a more disagreeable manner than I 
 would wish. " 
 
 " If your questions. Sir Knight, " answered Ber- 
 tram, " be such as I can or ought to answer, there 
 shall be no occasion to put them more than once. 
 If they are such as I cannot or ought not to reply 
 to, believe me that no threats of violence will 
 extort an answer from me. " 
 
 " You speak boldly, " said Sir John de Walton ; 
 " but take my word for it, that your courage will be 
 put to the test. I am as little fond of proceeding 
 to such extremities as you can be of undergoing 
 them, but such will be the natural consequence of 
 your own obstinacy. I therefore ask you, whether 
 Bertram be your real name — whether you have 
 any other profession than that of a travelling 
 minstrel — and, lastly, whether you have any ac- 
 quaintance or connection with any Englishman or 
 Scottishman beyond the walls of this Castle of 
 Douglas ? " 
 
 " To these questions, " replied the minstrel, " I 
 have already answered the worshipful knight, Sir 
 Aymer de Valence, and, having fully satisfied 
 him, it is not, I conceive, necessary that I should 
 undergo a second examination ; nor is it consistent 
 either with your worship's honour, or that of the 
 lieutenant-governor, that such a re-examination 
 should take place. " 
 
 " You are very considerate, " replied the gover- 
 nor, " of my honour and of that of Sir Aymer de 
 Valence. Take my word for it, they are both in 
 
122 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 perfect safety in our own keeping, and may dis- 
 pense with your attention. I ask you, will you 
 answer the inquiries which it is my duty to make, 
 or am I to enforce obedience by putting you under 
 the penalties of the question ? I have already, it 
 is my duty to say, seen the answers you have 
 Returned to my lieutenant, and they do not satisfy 
 me." 
 
 He at the same time clapped his hands, and two 
 or three archers showed themselves, stripped of 
 their tunics, and only attired in their shirts and 
 hose. 
 
 " I understand, " said the minstrel, " that you 
 intend to inflict upon me a punishment which is 
 foreign to the genius of the English laws, in that 
 no proof is adduced of my guilt. I have already 
 told that I am by birth an Englishman, by profes- 
 sion a minstrel, and that I am totally unconnected 
 with any person likely to nourish any design 
 against this Castle of Douglas, Sir John de 
 Walton, or his garrison. What answers you may 
 extort from me by bodily agony, I cannot, to speak 
 as a plain-dealing Christian, hold myself respon- 
 sible for. I think that I can endure as much pain 
 as any one ; I am sure that I never yet felt a de- 
 gree of agony that I would not willingly prefer 
 to breaking my plighted word, or becoming a false 
 informer against innocent persons, but I own I do 
 not know the extent to which the art of torture 
 may be carried ; and though I do not fear you. Sir 
 John de Walton, yet I must acknowledge that I 
 fear myself, since I know not to what extremity 
 your cruelty may be capable of subjecting me, or 
 how far I may be enabled to bear it. I, therefore, 
 in the first place, protest, that I shall in no man- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 123 
 
 ner be liable for any words which I may utter in 
 the course of any examination enforced from me 
 by torture ; and you must therefore, under such 
 circumstances, proceed to the execution of an 
 office, which, permit me to say, is hardly that 
 which I expected to have found thus administered 
 by an accomplished knight like yourself. " 
 
 " Hark you, sir, " replied the governor, ** you 
 and I are at issue, and in doing my duty I ought 
 instantly to proceed to the extremities I have 
 threatened; but perhaps you yourself feel less 
 reluctance to undergo the examination as proposed, 
 than I shall do in commanding it ; I will therefore 
 consign you for the present to a place of confine- 
 ment suitable to one who is suspected of being a 
 spy upon this fortress. Until you are pleased to 
 remove such suspicions, your lodgings and nourish- 
 ment are those of a prisoner. In the meantime, 
 before subjecting you to the question, take notice, 
 I will myself ride to the Abbey of St. Bride, and 
 satisfy myself whether the young person whom 
 you would pass as your son is possessed of the 
 same determination as that which you yourself 
 seem to assert. It may so happen that his exami- 
 nation and yours may throw such light upon each 
 other as will decidedly prove either your guilt or 
 innocence, without its being confirmed by the use 
 of the extraordinary question. If it be otherwise, 
 tremble for your son's sake, if not for your own. 
 — Have I shaken you, sir ? — or do you fear, for 
 your boy's young sinews and joints, the engines 
 which, in your own case, you seem willing to 
 defy ? " 
 
 " Sir, '* answered the minstrel, recovering from 
 the momentary emotion he had shown, " I leave it 
 
124 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 to yourself, as a man of honour and candour, 
 whether you ought, in common fairness, to form a 
 worse opinion of any man, because he is not un- 
 willing to incur, in his own person, severities 
 which he would not desire to be inflicted upon his 
 child, a sickly youth, just recovering from a dan- 
 gerous disease. " 
 
 " It is my duty, " answered De Walton, after 
 a short pause, " to leave no stone unturned by 
 which this business may be traced to the source ; 
 and if thou desirest mercy for thy son, thou wilt 
 thyself most easily attain it, by setting him the 
 example of honesty and plain-dealing. " 
 
 The minstrel threw himself back on the seat, as 
 if fully resolved to bear every extremity that could 
 be inflicted, rather than make any further answer 
 than he had already offered. Sir John de Walton 
 himself seemed in some degree uncertain what 
 might now be his best course. He felt an invin- 
 cible repugnance to proceed, without due consi- 
 deration, in what most people would have deemed 
 the direct line of his duty, by inflicting the torture 
 both upon father and son; but deep as was his 
 sense of devotion towards the king, and numerous 
 as were the hopes and expectations he had formed 
 upon the strict discharge of his present high trust, 
 he could not resolve upon having recourse at once 
 to this cruel method of cutting the knot. Ber- 
 tram's appearance was venerable, and his power 
 of words not unworthy of his aspect and bearing. 
 The governor remembered that Aymer de Valence, 
 whose judgment in general it was impossible to 
 deny, had described him as one of those rare indi- 
 viduals, who vindicated the honour of a corrupted 
 profession by their personal good behaviour ; and 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 125 
 
 he acknowledged to himself, that there was gross 
 cruelty and injustice in refusing to admit the 
 prisoner to the credit of being a true and honest 
 man, until, by way of proving his rectitude, he 
 had strained every sinew, and crushed every joint 
 in his body, as well as those of his son. " I have 
 no touchstone, " he said internally, " which can 
 distinguish truth from falsehood; the Bruce and 
 his followers are on the alert — he has certainly 
 equipped the galleys which lay at Kachrin during 
 winter. This story, too, of Greenleaf, about arms 
 being procured for a new insurrection, tallies 
 strangely with the appearance of that savage- 
 looking forester at the hunt; and all tends to 
 show, that something is upon the anvil which it is 
 my duty to provide against. I will, therefore, pass 
 over no circumstance by which I can affect the 
 mind through hope or fear; but, please God to 
 give me light from any other source, I will not 
 think it lawful to torment these unfortunate and, 
 it may yet be, honest men. " He accordingly took 
 his departure from the library, whispering a word 
 to Greenleaf respecting the prisoner. 
 
 He had reached the outward door of the study, 
 and his satellites had already taken the minstrel 
 into their grasp, when the voice of the old man 
 was heard calling upon De Walton to return for 
 a single moment. 
 
 " What hast thou to say, sir ? " said the gover- 
 nor. " Be speedy, for I have already lost more 
 time in listening to thee than I am answerable for, 
 and so I advise thee for thine own sake " 
 
 " I advise thee, " said the minstrel, " for thine 
 own sake. Sir John de Walton, to beware how 
 thou dost insist on thy present purpose, by which 
 
126 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 thou thyself alone, of all men living, will most 
 severely suffer. If thou harmest a hair of that 
 young man's head — nay, if thou permittest him 
 to undergo any privation which it is in thy power 
 to prevent, thou wilt, in doing so, prepare for 
 thine own suffering a degree of agony more acute 
 than anything else in this mortal world could 
 cause thee. I swear by the most blessed objects 
 of our holy religion; I call to witness that holy 
 sepulchre, of which I have been an unworthy 
 visitor, that I speak nothing but the truth, and 
 that thou wilt one day testify thy gratitude for the 
 part I am now acting. It is my interest, as well 
 as yours, to secure you in the safe possession of 
 this castle, although assuredly I know some things 
 respecting it, and respecting your worship, which 
 I am not at liberty to tell without the consent of 
 that youth. Bring me but a note under his hand, 
 consenting to my taking you into our mystery, 
 and, believe me, you will soon see those clouds 
 charmed away ; since there was never a doleful 
 uncertainty which more speedily changed to joy, 
 or a thunder-cloud of adversity which more in- 
 stantly gave way to sunshine, than would then 
 the suspicions which appear now so formidable. " 
 
 He spoke with so much earnestness as to make 
 some impression upon Sir John de Walton, who 
 was once more wholly at a loss to know what line 
 his duty called upon him to pursue. 
 
 " I would most gladly, " said the governor, " fol- 
 low out my purpose by the gentlest means in my 
 power ; and I shall bring no further distress upon 
 this poor lad, than thine own obstinacy and his 
 shall appear to deserve. In the meantime, think. 
 Sir Minstrel, that my duty has limits, and if I 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 127 
 
 slack it for a day it will become thee to exert 
 every effort in thy power to meet my condescen- 
 sion. I will give thee leave to address thy son by 
 a line under thy hand, and I will await his answer 
 before I proceed further in this matter, which 
 seems to be very mysterious. Meantime, if thou 
 hast a soul to be saved, I conjure thee to speak the 
 truth, and tell me whether the secrets of which 
 thou seemest to be a too faithful treasurer have 
 regard to the practices of Douglas, of Bruce, or 
 of any in their names, against this Castle of 
 Douglas ? " 
 
 The prisoner thought a moment, and then re- 
 plied : "I am aware, Sir Knight, of the severe 
 charge under which this command is intrusted to 
 your hands, and were it in my power to assist 
 you, as a faithful minstrel and loyal subject, 
 either with hand or tongue, I should feel myself 
 called upon so to do ; but so far am I from being 
 the character your suspicions have apprehended, 
 that I should have held it for certain that the 
 Bruce and Douglas had assembled their followers, 
 for the purpose of renouncing their rebellious at- . 
 tempts, and taking their departure for the Holy 
 Land, but for the apparition of the forester, who, 
 I hear, bearded you at the hunting, which im- 
 presses upon me the belief, that when so resolute 
 a follower and henchman of the Douglas was 
 sitting fearless among you, his master and com- 
 rades could be at no great distance — how far his 
 intentions could be friendly to you, I must leave 
 it to yourself to judge ; only believe me thus far, 
 that the rack, pulley, or pincers would not have 
 compelled me to act the informer, or adviser, in a 
 quarrel wherein I have little or no share, if I had 
 
128 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 not been desirous of fixing the belief upon you, 
 that you are dealing with a true man, and one who 
 has your welfare at heart. — Meanwhile, permit 
 me to have writing-materials, or let my own be 
 restored, for I possess, in some degree, the higher 
 arts of my calling; nor do I fear but that I can 
 procure for you an explanation of these marvels, 
 without much more loss of time. " 
 
 " God grant it prove so, " said the governor ; 
 " though I see not well how I can hope for so 
 favourable a termination, and I may sustain great 
 harm by trusting too much on the present occasion. 
 My duty, however, requires that, in the meantime, 
 you be removed into strict confinement. " 
 
 He handed to the prisoner as he spoke the writ- 
 ing-materials, which had been seized upon by the 
 archers on their first entrance, and then com- 
 manded those satellites to unhand the minstrel. 
 
 " I must, then," said Bertram, " remain subjected 
 to all the severities of a strict captivity ? But I 
 deprecate no hardship whatever in my own person, 
 so I may secure you from acting with a degree of 
 rashness, of which you will all your life repent, 
 without the means of atoning." 
 
 "No more words, minstrel," said the governor; 
 " but since I have made my choice, perhaps a very 
 dangerous one for myself, let us carry this spell 
 into execution, which thou sayest is to serve me, 
 as mariners say that oil spread upon the raging 
 billows will assuage their fury." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Beware ! beware ! of the Black Friar, 
 
 He still retains his sway, 
 For he is yet the Church's heir by right, 
 
 "Whoever may be the lay. 
 Amundeville is lord by day, 
 
 But the monk is lord by night, 
 Nor wine nor wassel could raise a vassal 
 
 To question that friar's right. 
 
 Don Juan, Canto xvii. 
 
 The minstrel made no vain boast of the skill 
 which he possessed in the use of pen and ink. In 
 fact, no priest of the time could have produced his 
 little scroll more speedily, more neatly composed, or 
 more fairly written, than were the lines addressed 
 " To the youth called Augustine, son of Bertram 
 the Minstrel." 
 
 " I have not folded this letter," said he, " nor tied 
 it with silk, for it is not expressed so as to explain 
 the mystery to you ; nor, to speak frankly, do I 
 think that it can convey to you any intelligence ; 
 but it may be satisfactory to show you what the 
 letter does not contain, and that it is written from 
 and to a person who both mean kindly towards you 
 and your garrison." 
 
 " That," said the governor, " is a deception which 
 is easily practised : it tends, however, to show, 
 though not with certainty, that you are disposed to 
 act upon good faith ; and, until the contrary appear, 
 I shall consider it a point of duty to treat you with 
 as much gentleness as the matter admits of. Mean- 
 
130 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 time, I will myself ride to the Abbey of St. Bride, 
 and in person examine the young prisoner ; and as 
 you say he has the power, so I pray to Heaven he 
 may have the will, to read this riddle, which seems 
 to throw us all into confusion." So saying, he 
 ordered his horse, and while it w^as getting ready 
 he perused with great composure the minstrel's 
 letter. Its contents ran thus : — 
 
 *^Deak Augustine, — Sir John de Walton, the 
 governor of this castle, has conceived those suspicions 
 which I pointed out as likely to be the consequence of 
 our coming to this country without an avowed errand. 
 I at least am seized, and threatened with examination 
 under torture, to force me to tell the purpose of our 
 journey; but they shall tear my flesh from my bones 
 ere they force me to break the oath which I have taken. 
 And the purport of this letter is to apprise you of the 
 danger in which you stand of being placed in similar 
 circumstances, unless you are disposed to authorise me 
 to make the discovery to this knight; but on this sub- 
 ject you have only to express your own wishes, being 
 assured they shall be in every respect attended to by 
 your devoted 
 
 <^ Bertram." 
 
 This letter did not throw the smallest light upon 
 the mystery of the writer. The governor read it 
 more than once, and turned it repeatedly in his 
 hand, as if he had hoped by that mechanical pro- 
 cess to draw something from the missive which at 
 a first view the words did not express ; but, as no 
 result of this sort appeared, De Walton retired to 
 the hall, where he informed Sir Aymer de Valence 
 that he was going abroad as far as the Abbey of 
 St. Bride, and that he would be obliged by his 
 taking upon him the duties of governor during his 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 131 
 
 absence. Sir Aymer, of course, intimated his ac- 
 quiescence in the charge ; and the state of disunion 
 in which they stood to each other permitted no 
 further explanation. 
 
 Upon the arrival of Sir John de Walton at the 
 dilapidated shrine, the abbot, with trembling haste, 
 made it his business immediately to attend the 
 commander- of the English garrison, upon whom, 
 for the present, their house depended for every in- 
 dulgence they experienced, as well as for the sub- 
 sistence and protection necessary to them in so 
 perilous a period. Having interrogated this old man 
 respecting the youth residing in the abbey, De 
 Walton was informed that he had been indisposed 
 since left there by his father, Bertram, a minstrel. 
 It appeared to the abbot that his indisposition 
 might be of that contagious kind which, at that 
 period, ravaged the English Borders, and made 
 some incursions into Scotland, where it afterwards 
 worked a fearful progress. After some further con- 
 versation. Sir John de Walton put into the abbot's 
 hand the letter to the young person under his roof, 
 on delivering which to Augustine the reverend 
 father was charged with a message to the English 
 governor, so bold, that he was afraid to be the 
 bearer of it. It signified, that the youth could not, 
 and would not, at that moment, receive the English 
 knight ; but that, if he came back on the morrow 
 after mass, it was probable he might learn some- 
 thing of what was requested. 
 
 " This is not an answer," said Sir John de Wal- 
 ton, "to be sent by a boy like this to a person 
 in my charge ; and methinks. Father Abbot, you 
 consult your own safety but slenderly in delivering 
 such an insolent message." 
 
132 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 The abbot trembled under the folds of his large 
 coarse habit ; and De Walton, imagining that his 
 discomposure was the consequence of guilty fear, 
 called upon him to remember the duties which he 
 owed to England, the benefits which he had received 
 from himself, and the probable consequence of 
 taking part in a pert boy's insolent defiance of the 
 power of the governor of the province. 
 
 The abbot vindicated himself from these charges 
 with the utmost anxiety. He pledged his sacred 
 word that the inconsiderate character of the boy's 
 message was owing to the waywardness arising 
 from indisposition. He reminded the governor that, 
 as a Christian and an Englishman, he had duties to 
 observe towards the community of St. Bride, which 
 had never given the English government the least 
 subject of complaint. As he spoke, the churchman 
 seemed to gather courage from the immunities of 
 his order. He said he could not permit a sick boy, 
 who had taken refuge within the sanctuary of the 
 church, to be seized or subjected to any species of 
 force, unless he was accused of a specific crime, 
 capable of being immediately proved. The Doug- 
 lases, a headstrong race, had, in former days, 
 uniformly respected the sanctuary of St. Bride, 
 and it was not to be supposed that the King of 
 England, the dutiful and obedient child of the 
 Church of Kome, would act with less veneration 
 for her rights than the followers of a usurper, 
 homicide, and excommunicated person like Kobert 
 Bruce. 
 
 Walton was considerably shaken with this re- 
 monstrance. He knew that, in the circumstances 
 of the times, the Pope had great power in every con- 
 troversy in which it was his pleasure to interfere. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 133 
 
 He knew that, even in the dispute respecting the 
 supremacy of Scotland, his Holiness had set up a 
 claim to the kingdom which, in the temper of the 
 times, might perhaps have been deemed superior 
 both to that of Robert Bruce and that of Edward of 
 England, and he conceived his monarch would give 
 him little thanks for any fresh embroilment which 
 might take place with the Church. Moreover, it 
 was easy to place a watch, so as to prevent Augus- 
 tine from escaping during the night; and on the 
 following morning he would be still as effectually 
 in the power of the English governor as if he were 
 seized on by open force at the present moment. 
 Sir John de Walton, however, so far exerted his 
 authority over the abbot that he engaged, in con- 
 sideration of the sanctuary being respected for this 
 space of time, that, when it expired, he would be 
 aiding and assisting with his spiritual authority to 
 surrender the youth, should he not allege a suffi- 
 cient reason to the contrary. This arrangement, 
 which appeared still to flatter the governor with 
 the prospect of an easy termination of this trouble- 
 some dispute, induced him to grant the delay which 
 Augustine rather demanded than petitioned for. 
 
 " At your request. Father Abbot, whom I have 
 hitherto found a true man, I will indulge this 
 youth with the grace he asks, before taking him 
 into custody, understanding that he shall not be 
 permitted to leave this place; and thou art to be 
 responsible to this effect, giving thee, as is rea- 
 sonable, power to command our little garrison at 
 Hazelside, to which I will send a reinforcement 
 on my return to the castle, in case it should be 
 necessary to use the strong hand, or circumstances 
 impose upon me other measures." 
 
134 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 "Worthy Sir Knight," replied the abbot, "I 
 have no idea that the frowardness of this youth 
 will render any course necessary, saving that of 
 persuasion ; and I venture to say, that you your- 
 self will in the highest degree approve of the 
 method in which I shall acquit myself of my 
 present trust." 
 
 The abbot went through the duties of hospitality, 
 enumerating what simple cheer the cloister of the 
 convent permitted him to offer to the English 
 knight. Sir John de Walton declined the offer of 
 refreshment, however — took a courteous leave of 
 the churchman, and did not spare his horse until 
 the noble animal had brought him again before the 
 Castle of Douglas. Sir Aymer de Valence met 
 him on the drawbridge, and reported the state of 
 the garrison to be the same in which he had left it, 
 excepting that intimation had been received that 
 twelve or fifteen men were expected on their way 
 to the town of Lanark, and, being on march from 
 the neighbourhood of Ayr, would that night take 
 up their quarters at the outpost of Hazelside. 
 
 "I am glad of it," replied the governor. "I 
 was about to strengthen that detachment. This 
 stripling, the son of Bertram the minstrel, or who- 
 ever he is, has engaged to deliver himself up for 
 examination in the morning. As this party of 
 soldiers are followers of your uncle, Lord Pembroke, 
 may I request you will ride to meet them, and 
 command them to remain at Hazelside until you 
 make further inquiries about this youth, who has 
 stni to clear up the mystery which hangs about 
 him, and reply to a letter which I delivered with 
 my own hand to the Abbot of St. Bride. I have 
 shown too much forbearance in this matter, and I 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 135 
 
 trust to your looking to the security of this young 
 man, and convey him hither, with all due care and 
 attention, as being a prisoner of some importance." 
 
 " Certainly, Sir John," answered Sir Aymer ; 
 " your orders shall be obeyed, since you have none 
 of greater importance for one who hath the honour 
 to be second only to yourself in this place." 
 
 " I crave your mercy, Sir Aymer," returned the 
 governor, " if the commission be in any degree 
 beneath your dignity ; but it is our misfortune to 
 misunderstand each other, when we endeavour to 
 be most intelligible." 
 
 " But what am I to do," said Sir Aymer — " no 
 way disputing your command, but only asking for 
 information — what am I to do, if the Abbot of 
 St. Bride offers opposition ? " 
 
 " How ! " answered Sir John de Walton. " With 
 the reinforcement from my Lord of Pembroke, you 
 will command at least twenty warmen, with bow 
 and spear, against five or six timid old monks, with 
 only gown and hood." 
 
 " True," said Sir Aymer, " but ban and excom- 
 munication are sometimes, in the present day, too 
 hard for the mail coat, and I would not willingly 
 be thrown out of the pale of the Christian Church." 
 
 " Well, then, thou very suspicious and scrupu- 
 lous young man," replied De Walton, " know that 
 if this youth does not deliver himself up to thee of 
 his own accord, the abbot has promised to put him 
 into thy hands." 
 
 There was no further answer to be made, and De 
 Valence, though still thinking himself unnecessarily 
 harassed with the chai:ge of a petty commission, 
 took the sort of half-arms which were always used 
 when the knights stirred beyond the walls of the 
 
136 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 garrison, and proceeded to execute the commands 
 of De Walton. A horseman or two, together with 
 his squire Fabian, accompanied him. 
 
 The evening closed in with one of those Scottish 
 mists which are commonly said to be equal to the 
 showers of happier climates ; the path became more 
 and more dark, the hills more wreathed in vapours, 
 and more difficult to traverse ; and all the little petty 
 inconveniences which rendered travelling through 
 the district slow and uncertain were augmented by 
 the density of the fog which overhung everything. 
 
 Sir Aymer, therefore, occasionally mended his 
 pace, and often incurred the fate of one who is 
 over-late, delaying himself by his efforts to make 
 greater expedition. The knight bethought himself 
 that he would get into a straight road by passing 
 through the almost deserted town of Douglas — 
 the inhabitants of which had been treated so 
 severely by the English, in the course of those 
 fierce troubles, that most of them who were capable 
 of bearing arms had left it, and withdrawn them- 
 selves to different parts of the country. This almost 
 deserted place was defended by a rude palisade, and 
 a ruder drawbridge, which gave entrance into streets 
 so narrow as to admit with difficulty three horses 
 abreast, and evincing with what strictness the 
 ancient lords of the village adhered to their pre- 
 judice against fortifications, and their opinion in 
 favour of keeping the field, so quaintly expressed 
 in the well-known proverb of the family — " It is 
 better to hear the lark sing than the mouse cheep." 
 The streets, or rather the lanes, were dark, but for 
 a shifting gleam of moonlight, which, as that planet 
 began to rise, was now and then visible upon some 
 steep and narrow gable. No sound of domestic 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 137 
 
 industry or domestic festivity was heard, and no 
 ray of candle or firelight glanced from the windows 
 of the houses ; the ancient ordinance called the 
 curfew, which the Conqueror had introduced into 
 England, was at this time in full force in such parts 
 of Scotland as were thought doubtful, and likely 
 to rebel ; under which description it need not be 
 said the ancient possessions of the Douglas were 
 most especially regarded. The church, whose 
 Gothic monuments were of a magnificent character, 
 had been, as far as possible, destroyed by fire ; 
 but the ruins, held together by the weight of the 
 massive stones of which they were composed, still 
 sufficiently evinced the greatness of the family at 
 whose cost it had been raised, and whose bones, 
 from immemorial time, had been entombed in its 
 crypts. 
 
 Paying little attention to these relics of departed 
 splendour. Sir Aymer de Valence advanced with 
 his small detachment, and had passed the scat- 
 tered fragments of the cemetery of the Douglases, 
 when, to his surprise, the noise of his horse's feet 
 was seemingly replied to by sounds which rung like 
 those of another knightly steed advancing heavily 
 up the street, as if it were to meet him. Valence 
 was unable to conjecture what might be the cause 
 of these warlike sounds; the ring and the clang 
 of armour was distinct, and the heavy tramp of a 
 war-horse was not to be mistaken by the ear of a 
 warrior. The difficulty of keeping soldiers from 
 straying out of quarters by night would have suffi- 
 ciently accounted for the appearance of a strag- 
 gling foot-soldier; but it was more difficult to 
 account for a mounted horseman, in full armour ; 
 and such was the apparition which a peculiarly 
 
138 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 bright glimpse of moonlight now showed at the 
 bottom of the causewayed hill. Perhaps the un- 
 known warrior obtained at the same time a glance 
 of Aymer de Valence and his armed followers — 
 at least each of them shouted " Who goes there ? " 
 — the alarm of the times ; and on the instant the 
 deep answers of " St. George ! " on the one side, and 
 " The Douglas ! " on the other, awakened the still 
 echoes of the small and ruinous street, and the si- 
 lent arches of the dilapidated church. Astonished 
 at a war-cry with which so many recollections 
 were connected, the English knight spurred his 
 horse at full gallop down the steep and broken 
 descent leading out at the south or south-east gate 
 of the town ; and it was the work of an instant to 
 call out, " Ho ! St. George ! upon the insolent villain 
 all of you ! — To the gate, Fabian, and cut him off 
 from flight ! St. George ! I say, for England ! Bows 
 and bills ! — bows and bills ! " At the same time 
 Aymer de Valence laid in rest his own long lance, 
 which he snatched from the squire by whom it 
 was carried. But the light was seen and gone in 
 an instant, and, though De Valence concluded that 
 the hostile warrior had hardly room to avoid his 
 career, yet he could take no aim for the encounter, 
 unless by mere guess, and continued to plunge 
 down the dark declivity, among shattered stones 
 and other incumbrances, without groping out with 
 his lance the object of his pursuit. He rode, in 
 short, at a broken gallop, a descent of about fifty 
 or sixty yards, without having any reason to sup- 
 pose that he had met the figure which had ap- 
 peared to him, although the narrowness of the 
 street scarcely admitted his having passed him, 
 unless both horse and horseman could have melted 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 139 
 
 at the moment of encounter like an air-bubble. 
 The riders of his suite, meanwhile, were struck 
 with a feeling like supernatural terror which a 
 number of singular adventures had caused most of 
 them to attach to the name of Douglas ; and when 
 he reached the gate by which the broken street 
 was terminated, there was none close behind him 
 but Fabian, in whose head no suggestions of a 
 timorous nature could outlive the sound of his 
 dear master's voice. 
 
 Here there was a post of English archers, who 
 were turning out in considerable alarm, when De 
 Valence and his page rode in amongst them. " Vil- 
 lains ! " shouted De Valence, " why were ye not 
 upon your duty ? Who was it passed through your 
 post even now, with the traitorous cry of Douglas ? " 
 
 " We know of no such, " said the captain of the 
 watch. 
 
 " That is to say, you besotted villains, " answered 
 the young knight, "you have been drinking, and 
 have slept ? " 
 
 The men protested the contrary, but in a confused 
 manner, which was far from overcoming De Va- 
 lence's suspicions. He called loudly to bring cressets, 
 torches, and candles ; and a few remaining inhabi- 
 tants began to make their unwilling appearance, 
 with such various means of giving light as they 
 chanced to possess. They heard the story of the 
 young English knight with wonder ; nor, although 
 it was confirmed by all his retinue, did they give 
 credit to the recital, more than that the Englishmen 
 wished somehow or other to pick a quarrel with 
 the people of the place, under the pretence of their 
 having admitted a retainer of their ancient lord 
 by night into the town. They protested, therefore, 
 
I40 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 their innocence of the cause of tumult, and en- 
 deavoured to seem active in hastening from house 
 to house, and corner to corner, with their torches, 
 in order to discover the invisible cavalier. The 
 English suspected them no less of treachery than 
 the Scottish imagined the whole matter a pretext 
 for bringing an accusation, on the part of the 
 young knight, against the citizens. The women, 
 however, who now began to issue from the houses, 
 had a key for the solution of the apparition, which 
 at that time was believed of efficacy sufficient to 
 solve any mystery. " The devil, " they said, " must 
 have appeared visibly amongst them, " an explana- 
 tion which had already occurred to the followers 
 of the young knight; for that a living man and 
 horse, both, as it seemed, of a gigantic size, could 
 be conjured in the twinkling of an eye, and appear 
 in a street secured at one end by the best of the 
 archers, and at the other by the horsemen under 
 Valence himself, was altogether, it seemed, a thing 
 impossible. The inhabitants did not venture to 
 put their thoughts on the subject into language, 
 for fear of giving offence, and only indicated by a 
 passing word to each other the secret degree of 
 pleasure which they felt in the confusion and em- 
 barrassment of the English garrison. Still, however, 
 they continued to affect a great deal of interest in 
 the alarm which De Valence had received, and the 
 anxiety which he expressed to discover the cause. 
 
 At length a female voice spoke above the Babel 
 of confused sounds, saying, " Where is the Southern 
 Knight ? I am sure that I can tell him where he 
 can find the only person who can help him out of 
 his present difficulty." 
 
 " And who is that, good woman ? " said Aymer de 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 141 
 
 Valence, who was growing every moment more impa- 
 tient at the loss of time, which was flying fast, in an 
 investigation which had something in it vexatious, 
 and even ridiculous. At the same time, the sight of 
 an armed partisan of the Douglases, in their own 
 native town, seemed to bode too serious consequences, 
 if it should be suffered to pass without being probed 
 to the bottom. 
 
 " Come hither to me," said the female voice, " and 
 I will name to you the only person who can explain 
 all matters of this kind that chance in this country." 
 On this the knight snatched a torch from some of 
 those who were present, and holding it up, descried 
 the person who spoke, a tall woman, who evidently 
 endeavoured to render herself remarkable. When 
 he approached her, she communicated her intelli- 
 gence in a grave and sententious tone of voice. 
 
 " We had once wise men, that could have answered 
 any parables which might have been put to them 
 for explanation in this country side. Whether you 
 yourselves, gentlemen, have not had some hand in 
 weeding them out, good troth, it is not for the like 
 of me to say ; at any rate, good counsel is not so 
 easy come by as it was in this Douglas country, nor, 
 may be, is it a safe thing to pretend to the power of 
 giving it." 
 
 "Good woman," said De Valence, "if you will 
 give me an explanation of this mystery, I will owe 
 you a kirtle of the best raploch grey." 
 
 " It is not I," said the old woman, " that pretend 
 to possess the knowledge which may assist you; 
 but I would fain know that the man whom I shall 
 name to you shall be skaithless and harmless. 
 Upon your knighthood and your honour, will you 
 promise to me so much ? " 
 
142 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 "Assuredly," said De Valence, "such a person 
 shall even have thanks and reward, if he is a faith- 
 ful informer; ay, and pardon, moreover, although 
 he may have listened to any dangerous practices, 
 or been concerned in any plots." 
 
 " Oh ! not he," replied the female : " it is old 
 Goodman Powheid, who has the charge of the muni- 
 ments " (meaning probably monuments) — " that is, 
 such part of them as you English have left standing ; 
 I mean the old sexton of the kirk of Douglas, who 
 can tell more stories of these old folk, whom your 
 honour is not very fond of hearing named, than 
 would last us from this day to Yule." 
 
 " Does anybody," said the knight, " know whom 
 it is that this old woman means ? " 
 
 " I conjecture," replied Fabian, " that she speaks 
 of an old dotard, who is, I think, the general referee 
 concerning the history and antiquities of this old 
 town, and of the savage family that lived here, 
 perhaps before the flood." 
 
 " And who, I dare say," said the knight, " knows 
 as much about the matter as she herself does. But 
 where is this man ? — a sexton, is he ? He may be 
 acquainted with places of concealment, which are 
 often fabricated in Gothic buildings, and known to 
 those whose business calls them to frequent them. 
 Come, my good old dame, bring this man to me ; or, 
 what may be better, I will go to him, for we have 
 already spent too much time." 
 
 " Time ! " replied the old woman. " Is time an 
 object with your honour? I am sure I can hardly 
 get so much for mine as will hold soul and body 
 together. You are not far from the old man's 
 house." 
 
 She led the way accordingly, blundering over 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 143 
 
 heaps of rubbish, and encountering all the embar- 
 rassments of a ruinous street, in lighting the way 
 to Sir Aymer, who, giving his horse to one of his 
 attendants, and desiring Fabian to be ready at a 
 call, scrambled after as well as the slowness of his 
 guide would permit. 
 
 Both were soon involved in the remains of the 
 old church, much dilapidated as it had been by 
 wanton damage done to it by the soldiery, and so 
 much impeded by rubbish that the knight marvelled 
 how the old woman could find the way. She kept 
 talking all the while as she stumbled onward. 
 Sometimes she called out in a screeching tone, 
 " Powheid ! Lazarus Powheid ! " and then muttered, 
 "Ay, ay, the old man will be busy with some of 
 his duties, as he calls them; I wonder he fashes 
 wi' them in these times. But never mind, I warrant 
 they will last for his day, and for mine ; and the 
 times, Lord help us ! for all that I can see, are well 
 enousjli for those that are to live in them." 
 
 " Are you sure, good woman," replied the knight, 
 " that there is any inhabitant in these ruins ? For 
 my part, I should rather suppose that you are 
 taking me to the charnel-house of the dead." 
 
 " Maybe you are right," said the old woman, with 
 a ghastly laugh ; " carles and carlines agree weel 
 with funeral vaults and charnel-houses, and w^hen 
 an auld bedral dwells near the dead, he is living, 
 ye ken, among his customers — Halloo ! Powheid ! 
 Lazarus Powheid ! there is a gentleman would speak 
 with you ; " and she added, with some sort of em- 
 phasis, " an English noble gentleman — one of the 
 honourable garrison." 
 
 An old man's step was now heard advancing, so 
 slowly that the glimmering light which he held in 
 
144 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 his hand was visible on the ruined walls of the 
 vault some time before it showed the person who 
 bore it. 
 
 The shadow of the old man was also projected 
 upon the illuminated wall ere his person came in 
 view ; his dress was in considerable confusion, owing 
 to his having been roused from his bed ; and since 
 artificial light was forbidden by the regulations of 
 the garrison, the natives of Douglas Dale spent in 
 sleep the time that they could not very well get rid 
 of by any other means. The sexton was a tall thin 
 man, emaciated by years and by privations; his 
 body was bent habitually by his occupation of 
 grave-digging, and his eye naturally inclined down- 
 wards to the scene of his labours. His hand 
 sustained the cruise or little lamp, which he held 
 so as to throw light upon his visitant ; at the same 
 time it displayed to the young knight the features of 
 the person with whom he was now confronted, which, 
 though neither handsome nor pleasing, were strongly 
 marked, sagacious, and venerable, indicating, at the 
 same time, a certain air of dignity, which age, even 
 mere poverty, may be found occasionally to bestow, 
 as conferring that last melancholy species of inde- 
 pendence proper to those whose situation can hardly, 
 by any imaginable means, be rendered much worse 
 than years and fortune have already made it. The 
 habit of a lay brother added somewhat of religious 
 importance to his appearance. 
 
 " What would you with me, young man ? " said 
 the sexton. "Your youthful features, and your 
 gay dress, bespeak one who stands in need of my 
 ministry neither for himself nor for others." 
 
 " I am, indeed," replied the knight, " a living 
 man, and therefore need not either shovel or pick- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 145 
 
 axe for my own behoof. I am not, as you see, 
 attired in mourning, and therefore need not your 
 offices in behalf of any friend; I would only ask 
 you a few questions." 
 
 "What you would have done must needs be 
 done, you being at present one of our rulers, and, 
 as I think, a man of authority," replied the sexton. 
 " Follow me this way into my poor habitation ! I 
 have had a better in my day ; and yet, Heaven 
 knows, it is good enough for me, when many men 
 of much greater consequence must perforce content 
 themselves with worse." 
 
 He opened a lowly door, which was fitted, though 
 irregularly, to serve as the entrance of a vaulted 
 apartment, where it appeared that the old man 
 held, apart from the living world, his wretched and 
 solitary dwelling.^ The floor, composed of paving- 
 stones, laid together with some accuracy, and here 
 and there inscribed with letters and hieroglyphics, 
 as if they had once upon a time served to distin- 
 guish sepulchres, was indifferently well swept, and 
 a fire at the upper end directed its smoke into a 
 hole which served for a chimney. The spade and 
 pick-axe (with other tools), which the chamberlain 
 of mortality makes use of, lay scattered about the 
 apartment, and, with a rude stool or two, and a 
 table, where some inexperienced hand had unques- 
 tionably supplied the labours of the joiner, were 
 nearly the only furniture, if we include the old 
 man's bed of straw, lying in a corner, and discom- 
 posed, as if he had been just raised from it. At the 
 
 1 [This is a most graphic and accurate description of the present 
 state of the ruin. Its being occupied by the sexton as a dwelling- 
 place, and the whole scene of the old man's interview with De 
 Valence, may be classed with our illustrious author's most felici- 
 tous imaginings. — Note by the Rev. Mr. Stewart of Douglas.} 
 
 10 
 
 I 
 
146 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 lower end of the apartment the wall was almost 
 entirely covered by a large escutcheon, such as is 
 usually hung over the graves of men of very high 
 rank, having the appropriate quarters, to the num- 
 ber of sixteen, each properly blazoned and distinct, 
 placed as ornaments around the principal armorial 
 coat itself. 
 
 " Let us sit," said the old man ; " the posture 
 will better enable my failing ears to apprehend 
 your meaning, and the asthma will deal with me 
 more mercifully in permitting me to make you 
 understand mine." 
 
 A peal of short asthmatic coughs attested the 
 violence of the disorder which he had last named, 
 and the young knight followed his host's example, 
 in sitting down on one of the rickety stools by the 
 side of the fire. The old man brought from one 
 corner of the apartment an apron, which he occa- 
 sionally wore, full of broken boards in irregular 
 pieces, some of which w^ere covered with black 
 cloth, or driven full of nails, black, as it might 
 happen, or gilded. 
 
 "You will find this fresh fuel necessary," said 
 the old man, " to keep some degree of heat within 
 this waste apartment ; nor are the vapours of mor- 
 tality, with which this vault is apt to be filled, if 
 the fire is permitted to become extinct, indifferent 
 to the lungs of the dainty and the healthy, like 
 your worship, though to me they are become habi- 
 tual The wood will catch fire, although it is some 
 time ere the damps of the grave are overcome by 
 the drier air and the warmth of the chimney." 
 
 Accordingly, the relics of mortality with which 
 the old man had heaped his fireplace began by de- 
 grees to send forth a thick unctuous vapour, which 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 147 
 
 at length leaped to light, and, blazing up the aper- 
 ture, gave a degree of liveliness to the gloomy 
 scene. The blazonry of the huge escutcheon met 
 and returned the rays with as brilliant a reflection 
 as that lugubrious object was capable of, and the 
 whole apartment looked with a fantastic gaiety, 
 strangely mingled with the gloomy ideas which its 
 ornaments were calculated to impress upon the 
 imagination. 
 
 " You are astonished," said the old man, " and 
 perhaps. Sir Knight, you have never before seen 
 these relics of the dead applied to the purpose of 
 rendering the living, in some degree, more com- 
 fortable than their condition would otherwise ad- 
 mit of." 
 
 " Comfortable I " returned the Knight of Valence, 
 shrugging his shoulders. " I should be sorry, old 
 man, to know that I had a dog that was as indiffe- 
 rently quartered as thou art, whose grey hairs have 
 certainly seen better days." 
 
 " It may be," answered the sexton, " and it may 
 be otherwise ; but it was not, I presume, concerning 
 my own history that your worship seemed dis- 
 posed to ask me some questions; and I would 
 venture to inquire, therefore, to whom they have 
 relation ? " 
 
 " I will speak plainly to you," replied Sir Aymer, 
 "and you will at once acknowledge the necessity 
 of giving a short and distinct reply. I have even 
 now met in the streets of this village a person only 
 shown to me by a single flash of light, who had 
 the audacity to display the armorial insignia and 
 utter the war-cry of the Douglases ; nay, if I could 
 trust a transient glance, this daring cavalier had 
 the features and the dark complexion proper to 
 
148 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 the Douglas. 1 am referred to thee as to one who 
 possesses means of explaining this extraordinary 
 circumstance, which, as an English knight, and 
 one holding a charge under King Edward, I am 
 particularly called upon to make inquiry into." 
 
 " Let me make a distinction," said the old man. 
 " The Douglases of former generations are my near 
 neighbours, and, according to my superstitious 
 townsmen, my acquaintances and visitors; I can 
 take it upon my conscience to be answerable for 
 their good behaviour, and to become bound that 
 none of the old barons, to whom the roots of that 
 mighty tree may, it is said, be traced, will again 
 disturb with their war-cry the towns or villages 
 of their native country — not one will parade in 
 moonshine the black armour which has long rusted 
 upon their tombs. 
 
 The knights are dust, 
 
 And their good swords are rust; 
 
 Their souls are with the saints, we trust. * 
 
 Look around, Sir Knight, you have above and 
 around you the men of whom we speak. Beneath 
 us, in a little aisle (which hath not been opened 
 since these thin grey locks were thick and brown), 
 there lies the first man whom I can name as memo- 
 rable among those of this mighty line. It is he 
 whom the Thane of Athol pointed out to the King 
 of Scotland as Sholto Dhuglass, or the dark iron- 
 coloured man, whose exertions had gained the 
 battle for his native prince ; and who, according 
 to this legend, bequeathed his name to our dale 
 and town, though others say that the race assumed 
 the name of Douglas from the stream so called 
 
 * Note IL — Coleridge. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 149 
 
 in unrecorded times, before they had their fast- 
 ness on its banks. Others, his descendants, called 
 Eachain, or Hector the first, and Orodh, or Hugh, 
 William, the first of that name, and Gilmour, the 
 theme of many a minstrel song, commemorating 
 achievements done under the oriflamme of Charles 
 the Great, Emperor of France, have all consigned 
 themselves to their last sleep, nor has their memory 
 been sufficiently preserved from the waste of time. 
 Something we know concerning their great deeds, 
 their great power, and, alas ! their great crimes. 
 Something we also know of a Lord of Douglas who 
 sat in a parliament at Forfar, held by King Malcolm 
 the First, and we are aware that, from his attachment 
 to hunting the wild hart, he built himself a tower 
 called Blackhouse, (e) in the forest of Ettrick, 
 which perhaps still exists." 
 
 " I crave your forgiveness, old man," said the 
 knight, " but I have no time at present to bestow 
 upon the recitation of the pedigree of the House 
 of Douglas. A less matter would hold a well- 
 breathed minstrel in subject for recitation for a 
 calendar month, Sundays and holidays included." 
 
 "What other information can you expect from 
 me," said the sexton, "than that respecting those 
 heroes, some of whom it has been my lot to consign 
 to that eternal rest, which will for ever divide 
 the dead from the duties of this world? I have 
 told you where the race sleep, down to the reign 
 of the royal Malcolm. I can tell you also of 
 another vault, in which lie Sir John of Douglas- 
 burn, with his son Lord Archibald, and a third 
 William, known by an indenture with Lord Aber- 
 nethy. Lastly, I can tell you of him to whom 
 that escutcheon, with its appurtenances of splen- 
 
150 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 dour and dignity, justly belong. Do you envy 
 that nobleman, whom, if death were in the sound, 
 I would not hesitate to term my honourable patron ? 
 and have you any design of dishonouring his 
 remains ? It will be a poor victory ! Nor does it 
 become a knight and nobleman to come in person 
 to enjoy such a triumph over the dead, against 
 whom, when he lived, there were few knights 
 dared spur their horses. He fought in defence 
 of his country, but he had not the good fortune of 
 most of his ancestors, to die on the field of battle. 
 Captivity, sickness, and regret for the misfortunes 
 of his native land, brought his head to the grave 
 in his prison-house, in the land of the stranger." 
 
 The old man's voice here became interrupted by 
 emotion, and the English knight found it difficult 
 to continue his examination in the stern fashion 
 which his duty required. 
 
 " Old man/' he said, " I do not require from thee 
 this detail, which must be useless to me, as well as 
 painful to thyself. Thou dost but thy duty in ren- 
 dering justice to thy ancient lord; but thou hast 
 not yet explained to me why I have met in this 
 town, this very night, and not half an hour since, 
 a person in the arms, and bearing the complexion, of 
 one of the Black Douglases, who cried his war-cry 
 as if in contempt of his conquerors." 
 
 " Surely," replied the sexton, " it is not my busi- 
 ness to explain such a fancy, otherwise than by 
 supposing that the natural fears of the Southron will 
 raise the spectre of a Douglas at any time, when he 
 is within sight of their sepulchre. Methinks, in 
 such a night as this, the fairest cavalier would wear 
 the complexion of this swarthy race; nor can I 
 hold it wonderful that the war-cry which was once 
 
 i 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 151 
 
 in the throats of so many thousands in this country, 
 should issue upon occasion from the mouth of a 
 single champion." 
 
 " You are bold, old man," returned the English 
 knight. " Do you consider that your life is in my 
 power, and that it may, in certain cases, be my 
 duty to inflict death with that degree of pain at 
 which humanity shudders ? " 
 
 The old man rose up slowly in the light of the 
 blazing fire, displaying his emaciated features, which 
 resembled those ascribed by artists to St. Anthony 
 of the desert, and, pointing to the feeble lamp, which 
 he placed upon the coarse table, thus addressed his 
 interrogator, with an appearance of perfect firm- 
 ness, and something even resembling dignity : — 
 
 " Young knight of England, you see that utensil 
 constructed for the purpose of dispensing light 
 amidst these fatal vaults, — it is as frail as any- 
 thing can well be, whose flame is supplied by living 
 element, contained in a frame composed of iron. 
 It is doubtless in your power entirely to end its 
 service, by destroying the frame, or extinguishing 
 the light. Threaten it with such annihilation. Sir 
 Knight, and see whether your menace will impress 
 any sense of fear either on the element or the iron. 
 Know that you have no more power over the frail 
 mortal whom you threaten with similar annihila- 
 tion. You may tear from my body the skin in 
 which it is now swathed, but although my nerves 
 might glow with agony during the inhuman opera- 
 tion, it would produce no more impression on me 
 than flaying on the stag which an arrow has 
 previously pierced through the heart. My age sets 
 me beyond your cruelty : if you think otherwise, 
 call your agents, and commence your operations ; 
 
152 CASTLE DANGEROU& 
 
 neither threats nor inflictions will enable you to 
 extort from me anything that I am not ready to 
 tell you of my own accord." 
 
 " You trifle with me, old man," said De Valence ; 
 " you talk as if you possessed some secret respecting 
 the motions of these Douglases, who are to you as 
 gods, yet you communicate no intelligence to me 
 whatever." 
 
 "You may soon know," replied the old man. "all 
 that a poor sexton has to communicate ; and it will 
 not increase your knowledge respecting the living, 
 though it may throw some light upon my proper 
 domains, which are those of the dead. The spirits 
 of the deceased Douglases do not rest in their 
 graves during the dishonour of their monuments, 
 and the downfall of their house. That, upon death, 
 the greater part of any line are consigned to the 
 regions of eternal bliss, or of never-ending misery, 
 religion will not suffer us to believe, and, amidst a 
 race who had so great a share of worldly triumph 
 and prosperity, we must suppose there have existed 
 many who have been justly subjected to the doom 
 of an intermediate space of punishment. You have 
 destroyed the temples which were built by their 
 posterity to propitiate Heaven for the welfare of 
 their souls; you have silenced the prayers and 
 stopped the choirs, by the mediation of which the 
 piety of children had sought to appease the wrath 
 of Heaven in behalf of their ancestors, subjected 
 to expiatory fires. Can you wonder that the tor- 
 mented spirits, thus deprived of the relief which 
 had been proposed to them, should not, according 
 to the common phrase, rest in their graves ? Can 
 you wonder they should show themselves like dis- 
 contented loiterers near to the places which, but 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 153 
 
 for the manner in which you have prosecuted your 
 remorseless warfare, might have ere now afforded 
 them rest ? Or do you marvel that these fleshless 
 warriors should interrupt your marches, and do 
 what else their airy nature may permit to disturb 
 your councils, and meet as far as they may the hos- 
 tilities which you make it your boast to carry on, 
 as well against those who are deceased, as against 
 any who may yet survive your cruelty ? " 
 
 " Old man," replied Aymer de Valence, " you can- 
 not expect that I am to take for answer a story like 
 this, being a fiction too gross to charm to sleep a 
 schoolboy tormented with the toothache ; neverthe- 
 less, I thank God that thy doom does not remain iu 
 my hands. My squire and two archers shall carry 
 thee captive to the worshipful Sir John de Walton, 
 Governor of the Castle and Valley, that he may 
 deal with thee as seems meet ; nor is he a person 
 to believe in your apparitions and ghosts from pur- 
 gatory. — What ho! Fabian! Come hither, and 
 bring with thee two archers of the guard." 
 
 Fabian accordingly, who had waited at the en- 
 trance of the ruined building, now found his way, 
 by the light of the old sexton's lamp, and the sound 
 of his master's voice, into the singular apartment 
 of the old man, the strange decorations of which 
 struck the youth with great surprise, and some 
 horror. 
 
 " Take the two archers with thee, Fabian," said 
 the Knight of Valence, " and, with their assistance, 
 convey this old man, on horseback, or in a litter, to 
 the presence of the worshipful Sir John de Walton. 
 Tell him what we have seen, which thou didst wit- 
 ness as well as I ; and tell him that this old sexton, 
 whom I send to be examined by his superior wis- 
 
154 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 dom, seems to know more than he is willing to 
 disclose respecting our ghostly cavalier, though he 
 will give us no account of him, except intimating 
 that he is a spirit of the old Douglases from pur- 
 gatory, to which Sir John de Walton will give what 
 faith he pleases. You may say that, for my part, 
 my belief is, either that the sexton is crazed 
 by age, want, and enthusiasm, or that he is con- 
 nected with some plot which the country people 
 are hatching. You may also say that I shall not 
 use much ceremony with the youth under the 
 care of the Abbot of St. Bride ; there is something 
 suspicious in all the occurrences that are now passing 
 around us." 
 
 Fabian promised obedience ; and the knight, 
 pulling him aside, gave him an additional caution, 
 to behave with attention in this business, seeing he 
 must recollect that neither the judgment of himself 
 nor that of his master was apparently held in very 
 much esteem by the governor; and that it would 
 ill become them to make any mistake in a mat- 
 ter where the safety of the castle was perhaps 
 concerned. 
 
 " Fear me not, worshipful sir," replied the youth ; 
 " I am returning to pure air in the first place, and a 
 good fire in the second, both acceptable exchanges 
 for this dungeon of suffocating vapours and exe- 
 crable smells. You may trust to my making no 
 delay; a very short time will carry me back to 
 Castle Douglas, even moving with suitable attention 
 to this old man's bones." 
 
 "Use him humanely," answered the knight. 
 "And thou, old man, if thou art insensible to 
 threats of personal danger in this matter, remem- 
 ber, that if thou art found paltering with us, thy 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 155 
 
 punishment will perhaps be more severe than any 
 we can inflict upon thy person." 
 
 "Can you administer the torture to the soul?** 
 said the sexton. 
 
 "As to thee," answered the knight, "we have 
 that power ; — we will dissolve every monastery or 
 religious establishment held for the souls of these 
 Douglases, and will only allow the religious people 
 to hold their residence there, upon condition of 
 their praying for the soul of King Edward the First 
 of glorious memory, the malleus Scotorum ; and if 
 the Douglases are deprived of the ghostly benefit 
 of the prayers and services of such shrines, they 
 may term thy obstinacy the cause." 
 
 " Such a species of vengeance," answered the old 
 man, in the same bold unsubdued tone which he 
 had hitherto used, " were more worthy of the 
 infernal fiends than of Christian men." 
 
 The squire raised his hand. The knight inter- 
 posed : " Forbear him," he said, " Fabian, he is very 
 old, and perhaps insane. — And you, sexton, re- 
 member that the vengeance threatened is lawfully 
 directed towards a family which have been the 
 obstinate supporters of the excommunicated rebel 
 who murdered the Eed Comyn at the High Church 
 in Dumfries." 
 
 So saying, Aymer strode out of the ruins, picking 
 his way with some difficulty — took his horse, 
 which he found at the entrance — repeated a cau- 
 tion to Fabian, to conduct himself with prudence 
 — and, passing on to the south-western gate, gave 
 the strongest injunctions concerning the necessity 
 of keeping a vigilant watch, both by patrols and by 
 sentinels, intimating, at the same time, that it must 
 have been neglected during the preceding part of 
 
156 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 the evening. The men murmured an apology, the 
 confusion of which seemed to express that there 
 had existed some occasion for the reprimand. 
 
 Sir Aymer then proceeded on his journey to 
 Hazelside, his train diminished by the absence of 
 Fabian and his assistants. After a hasty but not 
 a short journey, the knight alighted at Thomas 
 Dickson's, where he found the detachment from 
 Ayr had arrived before him, and were snugly 
 housed for the night. He sent one of the archers 
 to announce his approach to the Abbot of St. Bride 
 and his young guest, intimating, at the same time, 
 that the archer must keep sight of the latter until 
 he himself arrived at the chapel, which would be 
 instantly. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 "When the nightengale singes, the wodes waxen grene, 
 Lef, and gras, and blosme, springeth in April I wene, 
 And love is to myne herte gone with one speare so kene, 
 Night and day my blood hyt drynkes, mine herte deth me tene. 
 MSS. Hail. Quoted by Warton. 
 
 Sir Aymer de Valence had no sooner followed his 
 archer to the convent of St. Bride, than he sum- 
 moned the abbot to his presence, who came with 
 the air of a man who loves his ease, and who is 
 suddenly called from the couch where he has con- 
 signed himself to a comfortable repose, at the sum- 
 mons of one whom he does not think it safe to 
 disobey, and to whom he would not disguise his 
 sense of peevishness, if he durst. 
 
 " It is a late ride," he said, " which has brought 
 your worthy honour hither from the castle. May 
 I be informed of the cause, after the arrangement 
 so recently gone into with the governor ? " 
 
 " It is my hope," replied the knight, " that you, 
 Father Abbot, are not already conscious of it. Sus- 
 picions are afloat, and I myself have this night 
 seen something to confirm them, that some of the 
 obstinate rebels of this country are again setting 
 afoot dangerous practices, to the peril of the gar- 
 rison ; and I come, father, to see whether, in re- 
 quital of many favours received from the English 
 monarch, you will not merit his bounty and pro- 
 tection, by contributing to the discovery of the 
 designs of his enemies." 
 
158 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 " Assuredly so," answered Father Jerome, in an 
 agitated voice. " Most unquestionably my infor- 
 mation should stand at your command ; that is, if 
 I knew anything the communication of which could 
 be of advantage to you." 
 
 "Father Abbot," replied the English knight, 
 " although it is rash to make myself responsible for 
 a North-country man in these times, yet I own I 
 do consider you as one who has ever been faithfully 
 subject to the King of England, and I willingly 
 hope that you will still continue so." 
 
 " And a fine encouragement I have ! " said the 
 abbot ; " to be called out of my bed at midnight, in 
 this raw weather, to undergo the examination of a 
 knight, who is the youngest, perhaps, of his own 
 honourable rank, and who will not -tell me the 
 subject of the interrogatories, but detains me on 
 this cold pavement, till, according to the opinion of 
 Celsus, the podagra which lurks in my feet may be 
 driven into my stomach, and then good-night to 
 abbacy and examinations from henceforward." 
 
 " Good father," said the young man, " the spirit 
 of the times must teach thee patience ; recollect 
 that I can feel no pleasure in this duty, and that, if 
 an insurrection should take place, the rebels, who 
 are sufficiently displeased with thee for acknow- 
 ledging the English monarch, would hang thee 
 from thine own steeple to feed the crows ; or that, 
 if thou hast secured thy peace by some private 
 compact with the insurgents, the English governor, 
 who will sooner or later gain the advantage, will 
 not fail to treat thee as a rebel to his sovereign." 
 
 " It may appear to you, my noble son," answered 
 the abbot, obviously discomposed, " that I am hung 
 up, in this case, on the horns of the dilemma which 
 
 i 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 159 
 
 you have stated ; nevertheless, I protest to you, 
 that if any one accuses me of conspiring with the 
 rebels against the King of England, I am ready, 
 provided you give me time to swallow a potion 
 recommended by Celsus in my perilous case, to 
 answer with the most perfect sincerity every ques- 
 tion which thou canst put to me upon that subject.'* 
 So saying, he called upon a monk who had attended 
 at his levde, and, giving him a large key, whispered 
 something in his ear. The cup which the monk 
 brought was of such capacity as proved Celsus's 
 draught required to be administered in considerable 
 quantity, and a strong smell which it spread 
 through the apartment accredited the knight's sus- 
 picion that the medicine chiefly consisted of what 
 were then termed distilled waters, a preparation 
 known in the monasteries for some time before that 
 comfortable secret had reached the laity in general. 
 The abbot, neither overawed by the strength nor 
 by the quantity of the potion, took it off with what 
 he himself would have called a feeling of solace 
 and pleasance, and his voice became much more 
 composed ; he signified himself as comforted extraor- 
 dinarily by the medicine, and willing to proceed to 
 answer any questions which could be put to him 
 by his gallant young friend. 
 
 "At present," said the knight, "you are aware, 
 father, that strangers travelling through this coun- 
 try must be the first objects of our suspicions and 
 inquiries. What is, for example, your own opinion 
 of the youth termed Augustine, the son, or calling 
 himself so, of a person called Bertram the minstrel, 
 who has resided for some days in your convent ? " 
 
 The abbot heard the question with eyes expres- 
 sive of surprise at the quarter from which it came. 
 
i6o CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 "Assuredly," said he, "I think of him as a 
 youth who, from anything I have seen, is of that 
 excellent disposition, both with respect to loyalty 
 and religion, which I should have expected, were 
 I to judge from the estimable person who committed 
 him to my care." 
 
 With this the abbot bowed to the knight, as if 
 he had conceived that this repartee gave him a 
 silencing advantage in any question which could 
 follow upon that subject ; and he was probably, 
 therefore, surprised when Sir Aymer replied as 
 follows : — 
 
 " It is very true. Father Abbot, that I myself 
 did recommend this stripling to you as a youth of a 
 harmless disposition, and with respect to whom it 
 would be unnecessary to exercise the strict vigi- 
 lance extended to others in similar circumstances ; 
 but the evidence which seemed to me to vouch for 
 this young man's innocence has not appeared so 
 satisfactory to my superior and commander; and 
 it is by his orders that I now make further in- 
 quiries of you. You must think they are of con- 
 sequence, since we again trouble you, and at so 
 unwonted an hour." 
 
 " I can only protest by my order, and by the 
 veil of St. Bride," replied the abbot, the spirit of 
 Celsus appearing to fail his pupil, " that whatever 
 evil may be in this matter is totally unknown to 
 me — nor could it be extorted from me by racks 
 or implements of torture. Whatever signs of dis- 
 loyalty may have been evinced by this young man, I 
 have witnessed none of them, although I have been 
 strictly attentive to his behaviour." 
 
 "In what respect?" said the knight. "And 
 what is the result of your observation?" 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. i6i 
 
 " My answer," said the abbot of St. Bride, " shall 
 be sincere and downright. The youth condescended 
 upon payment of a certain number of gold crowns, 
 not by any means to repay the hospitality of the 
 church of St. Bride, but merely" 
 
 " Nay, father," interrupted the knight, " you may 
 cut that short, since the governor and I well under- 
 stand the terms upon which the monks of St. Bride 
 exercise their hospitality. In what manner, it is 
 more necessary to ask, was it received by this boy ? " 
 
 "With the utmost gentleness and moderation, 
 noble sir," answered the abbot; "indeed, it ap- 
 peared to me, at first, that he might be a trouble- 
 some guest, since the amount of his benevolence to 
 the convent was such as to encourage, and in some 
 degree to authorise, his demanding accommodation 
 of a kind superior to what we had to bestow." 
 
 "In which case," said Sir Aymer, "you would 
 have had the discomfort of returning some part of 
 the money you had received?" 
 
 "That," replied the abbot, "would have been a 
 mode of settlement contrary to our vows. What is 
 paid to the treasury of St. Bridget cannot, agreeably 
 to our rule, be on any account restored. But, noble 
 knight, there was no occasion for this : a crust of 
 white bread and a draught of milk were diet suffi- 
 cient to nourish this poor youth for a day ; and it 
 was my own anxiety for his health that dictated 
 the furnishing of his cell with a softer bed and 
 coverlet than are quite consistent with the rules of 
 our order." 
 
 " Now hearken to what I say, Sir Abbot, and 
 answer me truly," said the Knight of Valence. 
 "What communication has this youth held with 
 the inmates of your convent, or with those beyond 
 
 11 
 
 I 
 
i62 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 your house ? Search your memory concerning this, 
 and let me have a distinct answer, for your guest's 
 safety and your own depend upon it." 
 
 " As I am a Christian man," said the abbot, " I 
 have observed nothing which could give ground for 
 your worship's suspicions. The boy Augustine, 
 unlike those whom I have observed who have been 
 educated in the world, showed a marked preference 
 to the company of such sisters as the house of St. 
 Bride contains, rather than for that of the monks, 
 my brethren, although there are among them plea- 
 sant and conversible men." 
 
 " Scandal," said the young knight, " might find a 
 reason for that preference." 
 
 " Not in the case of the sisters of St. Bridget," 
 said the abbot, "most of whom have been either 
 sorely misused by time, or their comeliness destroyed 
 by some mishap previously to their being received 
 into the seclusion of the house." 
 
 This observation the good father made with some 
 internal movement of mirth, which was apparently 
 excited at the idea of the sisterhood of St. Bridget 
 becoming attractive to any one by dint of their 
 personal beauty, in which, as it happened, they 
 were all notably, and almost ludicrously, deficient. 
 The English knight, to whom the sisterhood were 
 well known, felt also inclined to smile at this 
 conversation. 
 
 "I acquit," he said, "the pious sisterhood of 
 charming, otherwise than by their kind wishes, and 
 attention to the wants of the suffering stranger." 
 
 " Sister Beatrice," continued the father, resuming 
 his gravity, " is indeed blessed with a winning gift 
 of making comfits and syllabubs; but, on minute 
 inquiry, I do not find that the youth has tasted any 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 163 
 
 of them. Neither is Sister Ursula so hard-favoured 
 by nature, as from the effects of an accident ; but 
 your honour knows that when a woman is ugly the 
 men do not trouble themselves about the cause of 
 her hard favour. I will go, with your leave, and 
 see in what state the youth now is, and summon 
 him before you." 
 
 " I request you to do so, father, for the affair is 
 instant ; and I earnestly advise you to watch, in the 
 closest manner, this Augustine's behaviour : you 
 cannot be too particular. I will wait your return, 
 and either carry the boy to the castle, or leave him 
 here, as circumstances may seem to require." 
 
 The abbot bowed, promised his utmost exertions, 
 and hobbled out of the room to wait on the youth 
 Augustine in his cell, anxious to favour, if possible, 
 the wishes of De Valence, whom he looked upon as 
 rendered by circumstances his military patron. 
 
 He remained long absent, and Sir Aymer began 
 to be of opinion that the delay was suspicious, 
 when the abbot returned with perplexity and dis- 
 composure in his countenance. 
 
 " I crave your pardon for keeping your worship 
 waiting," said Jerome, with much anxiety ; " but I 
 have myself been detained and vexed by unnecessary 
 formalities and scruples on the part of this peevish 
 boy. In the first place, hearing my foot approaching 
 his bedroom, my youth, instead of undoing the door, 
 which would have been but proper respect to my 
 place, on the contrary draws a strong bolt on the 
 inside ; and this fastening, forsooth, has been placed 
 on his chamber by Ursula's command, that his 
 slumbers might be suitably respected. I intimated 
 to him, as I best could, that he must attend you 
 without delay, and prepare to accompany you to the 
 
i64 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 Castle of Douglas ; but he would not answer a single 
 word, save recommending to me patience, to which I 
 was fain to have recourse, as well as your archer, 
 whom I found standing sentinel before the door of 
 the cell, and contenting himself with the assurance 
 of the sisters that there was no other passage by 
 which Augustine could make his escape. At length 
 the door opens, and my young master presents him- 
 self fully arrayed for his journey. The truth is, I 
 think some fresh attack of his malady has affected 
 the youth ; he may perhaps be disturbed with some 
 touch of hypochondria, or black choler, a species of 
 dotage of the mind, which is sometimes found con- 
 comitant with and symptomatic of this disorder; 
 but he is at present composed, and if your worship 
 chooses to see him, he is at your command." 
 
 " Call him hither," said the knight. And a consi- 
 derable space of time again elapsed ere the eloquence 
 of the abbot, half chiding and half soothing, pre- 
 vailed on the lady, in her adopted character, to 
 approach the parlour, in which at last she made her 
 appearance, with a countenance on which the marks 
 of tears might still be discovered, and a pettish 
 suUenness, like that of a boy, or, with reverence, 
 that of a girl, who is determined upon taking her 
 own way in any matter, and equally resolved to 
 give no reason for her doing so. Her hurried levde 
 had not prevented her attending closely to all the 
 mufflings and disguisings by which her pilgrim's 
 dress was arranged, so as to alter her appearance, 
 and effectually disguise her sex. But as civility 
 prevented her wearing her large slouched hat, she 
 necessarily exposed her countenance more than in 
 the open air ; and though the knight beheld a most 
 lovely set of features, yet they were not such as were 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 165 
 
 inconsistent with the character she had adopted, 
 and which she had resolved upon maintaining to 
 the last. She had, accordingly, mustered up a degree 
 of courage which was not natural to her, and which 
 she perhaps supported by hopes which her situation 
 hardly admitted. So soon as she found herself in 
 the same apartment with De Valence, she assumed 
 a style of manners, bolder and more determined 
 than she had hitherto displayed. 
 
 "Your worship," she said, addressing him even 
 before he spoke, " is a knight of England, and pos- 
 sessed, doubtless, of the virtues which become that 
 noble station. I am an unfortunate lad, obliged, by 
 reasons which I am under the necessity of keeping 
 secret, to travel in a dangerous country, where I 
 am suspected, without any just cause, of becoming 
 accessory to plots and conspiracies which are con- 
 trary to my own interest, and which my very soul 
 abhors; and which I might safely abjure, by im- 
 precating upon myself all the curses of our religion 
 and renouncing all its promises, if I were accessory 
 to such designs, in thought, word, or deed. Never- 
 theless, you, who will not believe my solemn pro- 
 testations, are about to proceed against me as a 
 guilty person, and in so doing I must warn you. Sir 
 Knight, that you will commit a great and cruel 
 injustice." 
 
 " I shall endeavour to avoid that," said the knight, 
 " by referring the duty to Sir John de Walton, the 
 governor, who will decide what is to be done ; in 
 this case, my only duty will be to place you in his 
 hands at Douglas Castle." 
 
 " Must you do this ? " said Augustine. 
 
 " Certainly," replied the knight, " or be answerable 
 for neglecting my duty." 
 
i66 CASTLE DANGEROUS 
 
 " But if I become bound to answer your loss with 
 a large sum of money, a large tract of land " 
 
 " No treasure, no land — supposing such at your 
 disposal," answered the knight, " can atone for dis- 
 grace ; and besides, boy, how should I trust to your 
 warrant, were my avarice such as would induce me 
 to listen to such proposals ? " 
 
 " I must then prepare to attend you instantly to 
 the Castle of Douglas and the presence of Sir John 
 de Walton ? " replied Augustine. 
 
 " Young man," answered De Valence, " there is 
 no remedy, since, if you delay me longer, I must 
 carry you thither by force." 
 
 " What will be the consequence to my father ? " 
 said the youth. 
 
 " That," replied the knight, " will depend exactly 
 on the nature of your confession and his; some- 
 thing you both have to say, as is evident from the 
 terms of the letter Sir John de Walton conveyed to 
 you ; and I assure you, you were better to speak it 
 out at once than to risk the consequences of more 
 delay. I can admit of no more trifling ; and be- 
 lieve me that your fate will be entirely ruled by 
 your own frankness and candour." 
 
 "I must prepare, then, to travel at your com- 
 mand," said the youth. "But this cruel disease 
 still hangs around me, and Abbot Jerome, whose 
 leechcraft is famous, will himself assure you that I 
 cannot travel without danger of my life, and that 
 while I was residing in this convent I declined 
 every opportunity of exercise which was offered me 
 by the kindness of the garrison at Hazelside, lest I 
 might by mishap bring the contagion among your 
 men." 
 
 "The youth says right," said the abbot: "the 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 167 
 
 archers and men-at-arms have more than once sent 
 to invite this lad to join in some of their military- 
 games, or to amuse them, perhaps, with some of his 
 minstrelsy ; but he has uniformly declined doing 
 so ; and, according to my belief, it is the effects of 
 this disorder which have prevented his accepting 
 an indulgence so natural to his age, and in so dull 
 a place as the convent of St. Bride must needs 
 seem to a youth bred up in the world." 
 
 "Do you then hold, reverend father," said Sir 
 Aymer, " that there is real danger in carrying this 
 youth to the castle to-night, as I proposed ? " 
 
 "I conceive such danger," replied the abbot, 
 " to exist, not only as it may occasion the relapse 
 of the poor youth himself, but as particularly likely, 
 no preparations having been made, to introduce 
 the infection among your honourable garrison ; for 
 it is in these relapses, more than in the first vio- 
 lence of the malady, that it has been found most 
 contagious." 
 
 " Then," said the knight, " you must be content, 
 my friend, to give a share of your room to an 
 archer, by way of sentinel." 
 
 " I cannot object," said Augustine, " provided my 
 unfortunate vicinity does not endanger the health 
 of the poor soldier." 
 
 " He will be as ready to do his duty," said the 
 abbot, " without the door of the apartment as 
 within it; and if the youth should sleep soundly, 
 which the presence of a guard in his chamber 
 might prevent, he is the more likely to answer your 
 purpose on the morrow." 
 
 " Let it be so," said Sir Aymer ; " so you are sure 
 that you do not minister any facility of escape." 
 
 " The apartment," said the monk, " hath no other 
 
i68 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 entrance than that which is guarded by the archer, 
 but to content you, I shall secure the door in your 
 presence." 
 
 " So be it, then," said the knight of Valence ; 
 " this done, I myself will lie down without doffing 
 my mail-shirt, and snatch a sleep till the ruddy 
 dawn calls me again to duty, when you, Augustine, 
 will hold yourself ready to attend me to our Castle 
 of Douglas." 
 
 The bells of the convent summoned the inha- 
 bitants and inmates of St. Bride to morning prayers 
 at the first peep of day. When this duty was over, 
 the knight demanded his prisoner. The abbot 
 marshalled him to the door of Augustine's chamber. 
 The sentinel who was stationed there, armed with 
 a brown-bill, or species of partisan, reported that 
 he had heard no motion in the apartment during 
 the whole night. The abbot tapped at the door, 
 but received no answer. He knocked again louder, 
 but the silence was unbroken from within. 
 
 " What means this ? " said the reverend ruler of 
 the convent of St. Bride. " My young patient has 
 certainly fallen into a syncope or swoon ! " 
 
 " I wish. Father Abbot," said the knight, " that 
 he may not have made his escape instead, an acci- 
 dent which both you and I may be required to an- 
 swer, since, according to our strict duty, we ought 
 to have kept sight of him, and detained him in 
 close custody until daybreak." 
 
 "I trust your worship," said the abbot, "only 
 anticipates a misfortune which I cannot think 
 possible." 
 
 " We shall speedily see," said the knight ; and 
 raising his voice, he called aloud, so as to be heard 
 within, "Bring crow-bars and levers, and burst 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 169 
 
 me that door into splinters without an instant's 
 delay ! " 
 
 The loudness of his voice, and the stern tone in 
 which he spoke, soon brought around him the 
 brethren of the house, and two or three soldiers of 
 his own party, who were already busy in capa- 
 risoning their horses. The displeasure of the young 
 knight was manifested by his flushed features, and 
 the abrupt manner in which he again repeated his 
 commands for breaking open the door. This was 
 speedily performed, though it required the applica- 
 tion of considerable strength, and as the shattered 
 remains fell crashing into the apartment De Va- 
 lence sprang, and the abbot hobbled, into the cell 
 of the prisoner, which, to the fulfilment of their 
 worst suspicions, they found empty. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 Where is he ? Has the deep earth swallow'd him? 
 
 Or hath he melted like some airy phantom 
 
 That shuns the approach of morn and the young sun ? 
 
 Or hath he wrapt him in Cimmerian darkness, 
 
 And pass'd beyond the circuit of the sight 
 
 "With things of the night's shadows 1 
 
 Anonymous. 
 
 The disappearance of the youth, whose disguise 
 and whose fate have, we hope, inclined our readers 
 to take some interest in him, will require some 
 explanation ere we proceed with the other per- 
 sonages of the story, and we shall set about giving 
 it accordingly. 
 
 When Augustine was consigned to his cell for 
 the second time on the preceding evening, both the 
 monk and the young Knight of Valence had seen 
 the key turned upon him, and had heard him se- 
 cure the door in the inside with the bolt which 
 had been put on at his request by Sister Ursula, 
 in whose affections the youth of Augustine, his 
 extreme handsomeness, and, above all, his indis- 
 position of body and his melancholy of mind, had 
 gained him considerable interest. 
 
 So soon, accordingly, as Augustine re-entered his 
 apartment, he was greeted in a whisper by the sister, 
 who, during the interval of his absence, had con- 
 trived to slip into the cell, and, having tappiced 
 herself behind the little bed, came out, with great 
 appearance of joy, to greet the return of the youth. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 171 
 
 The number of little attentions, the disposal of 
 holly boughs, and such other evergreens as the 
 season permitted, showed the anxiety of the holy 
 sisters to decorate the chamber of their guest, and 
 the greetings of Sister Ursula expressed the same 
 friendly interest, at the same time intimating that 
 she was already in some degree in possession of 
 the stranger's mystery. 
 
 As Augustine and the holy sister were busied 
 in exchange of confidence, the extraordinary dif- 
 ference between their countenances and their per- 
 sons must have struck any one who might have 
 been accidentally a witness of their interview. The 
 dark pilgrim's robe of the disguised female was 
 not a stronger contrast to the white woollen gar- 
 ment worn by the votaress of St. Bride than the 
 visage of the nun, seamed with many a ghastly 
 scar, and the light of one of her eyes extinguished 
 for ever, causing it to roll a sightless luminary in 
 her head, was to the beautiful countenance of 
 Augustine, now bent with a confidential and even 
 affectionate look upon the extraordinary features 
 of her companion. 
 
 " You know, " said the supposed Augustine, " the 
 principal part of my story. Can you, or will you, 
 lend me your assistance ? If not, my dearest sis- 
 ter, you must consent to witness my death, rather 
 than my shame. Yes, Sister Ursula, I will not be 
 pointed at by the finger of scorn, as the thoughtless 
 maiden who sacrificed so much for a young man, of 
 whose attachment she was not so well assured as 
 she ought to have been. I will not be dragged 
 before De Walton, for the purpose of being com- 
 pelled, by threats of torture, to declare myself the 
 female in honour of whom he holds the Dangerous 
 
172 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 Castle. No doubt, he might be glad to give his 
 hand in wedlock to a damsel whose dowry is so 
 ample; but who can tell whether he will regard 
 me with that respect which every woman would 
 wish to command, or pardon that boldness of which 
 I have been guilty, even though its consequences 
 have been in his own favour?" 
 
 " Nay, my darling daughter," answered the nun, 
 " comfort yourself ; for, in all I can aid you, be 
 assured I will. My means are somewhat more than 
 my present situation may express, and, be assured, 
 they shall be tried to the uttermost. Methinks I 
 still hear that lay which you sang to the other 
 sisters and myself, although I alone, touched by 
 feelings kindred to yours, had the address to com- 
 prehend that it told your own tale." 
 
 " I am yet surprised," said Augustine, speaking 
 beneath her breath, " how I had the boldness to 
 sing in your ears the lay, which, in fact, was the 
 history of my disgrace." 
 
 " Alas ! that you will say so," returned the nun ; 
 ** there was not a word but what resembled those 
 tales of love and of high-spirited daring which the 
 best minstrels love to celebrate, and the noblest 
 knights and maidens weep at once and smile to 
 hear. The Lady Augusta of Berkely, a great 
 heiress, according to the world, both in land and 
 movable goods, becomes the king's ward by the 
 death of her parents ; and thus is on the point of 
 being given away in marriage to a minion of the 
 King of England, whom in these Scottish valleys 
 we scruple not to call a peremptory tyrant." 
 
 " I must not say so, my sister," said the pilgrim ; 
 " and yet, true it is, that the cousin of the obscure 
 parasite Gaviston, on whom the king wished to 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 173 
 
 confer my poor hand, was neither by birth, merit, 
 nor circumstance worthy of such an alliance. Mean- 
 time I heard of the fame of Sir John de Walton ; 
 and I heard of it not with the less interest that his 
 feats of chivalry were said to adorn a knight, who, 
 rich in everything else, was poor in worldly goods, 
 and in the smiles of fortune. I saw this Sir John 
 de Walton, and I acknowledge that a thought, 
 which had already intruded itself on my imagina- 
 tion, became, after this interview, by frequent re- 
 currence, more familiar, and more welcome to me. 
 Methought that the daughter of a powerful English 
 family, if she could give away with her hand such 
 wealth as the world spoke of, would more justly 
 and honourably bestow it in remedying the errors 
 of fortune in regard to a gallant knight like De 
 Walton, than in patching the revenues of a beggarly 
 Frenchman, whose only merit was in being the 
 kinsman of a man who was very generally detested 
 by the whole kingdom of England, excepting the 
 infatuated monarch himself." 
 
 " Nobly designed, my daughter," said the nun. 
 " What more worthy of a noble heart, possessing 
 riches, beauty, birth, and rank, than to confer them 
 all upon indigent and chivalrous merit ? " 
 
 " Such, dearest sister, was my intention," replied 
 Augustine ; " but I have, perhaps, scarce sufficiently 
 explained the manner in which I meant to proceed. 
 By the advice of a minstrel of our house, the same 
 who is now prisoner at Douglas, I caused exhibit a 
 large feast upon Christmas eve, and sent invitations 
 abroad to the young knights of noble name who 
 were known to spend their leisure in quest of arms 
 and adventures. When the tables were drawn, and ' 
 the feast concluded, Bertram, as had been before 
 
174 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 devised, was called upon to take his harp. He sang, 
 receiving from all who were present the attention 
 due to a minstrel of so much fame. The theme 
 which he chose was the frequent capture of this 
 Douglas Castle, or, as the poet termed it. Castle 
 Dangerous. * Where are the champions of the 
 renowned Edward the First,' said the minstrel, 
 ' when the realm of England cannot furnish a man 
 brave enough, or sufficiently expert in the wars, to 
 defend a miserable hamlet of the North against the 
 Scottish rebels, who have vowed to retake it over 
 our soldiers' heads ere the year rolls to an end? 
 Where are the noble ladies, whose smiles used to 
 give countenance to the Knights of St. George's 
 Cross ? Alas ! the spirit of love and of chivalry is 
 alike dead amongst us — our knights are limited to 
 petty enterprises — and our noblest heiresses are 
 given as prizes to strangers, as if their own country 
 had no one to deserve them.' — Here stopped the 
 harp ; and I shame to say that I myself, as if moved 
 to enthusiasm by the song of the minstrel, arose, 
 and, taking from my neck the chain of gold which 
 supported a crucifix of special sanctity, I made my 
 vow, always under the king's permission, that I 
 would give my hand, and the inheritance of my 
 fathers, to the good knight, being of noble birth and 
 lineage, who should keep the Castle of Douglas, in 
 the King of England's name, for a year and a day. 
 I sat down, my dearest sister, deafened with the 
 jubilee in which my guests expressed their applause 
 of my supposed patriotism. Yet some degree of 
 pause took place amidst the young knights, who 
 might reasonably have been supposed ready to 
 embrace this offer, although at the risk of being 
 incumbered with Augusta of Berkely." 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 175 
 
 " Shame on the man," said Sister Ursula, " who 
 should think so ! Put your beauty alone, my dearest, 
 into consideration, and a true knight ought to have 
 embraced the dangers of twenty Castles of Douglas, 
 rather than let such an invaluable opportunity of 
 gaining your favour be lost." 
 
 "It may be that some in reality thought so," 
 said the pilgrim; "but it was supposed that the 
 king's favour might be lost by those who seemed 
 too anxious to thwart his royal purpose upon his 
 ward's hand. At any rate, greatly to my joy, the 
 only person who availed himself of the offer I had 
 made was Sir John de Walton ; and as his acceptance 
 of it was guarded by a clause, saving and reserving 
 the king's approbation, I hope he has not suffered 
 any diminution of Edward's favour." 
 
 " Assure yourself, noble and high-spirited young 
 lady," replied the nun, " that there is no fear of thy 
 generous devotion hurting thy lover with the King 
 of England. Something we hear concerning worldly 
 passages, even in this remote nook of St. Bride's 
 cloister; and the report goes among the English 
 soldiers that their king was indeed offended at your 
 putting your will in opposition to his own ; yet, on 
 the other hand, this preferred lover, Sir John de 
 Walton, was a man of such extensive fame, and 
 your offer was so much in the character of better 
 but not forgotten times, that even a king could not 
 at the beginning of a long and stubborn war deprive 
 an errant cavalier of his bride, if she should be duly 
 won by his sword and lance." 
 
 "Ah! dearest Sister Ursula!" sighed the dis- 
 guised pilgrim ; " but, on the other hand, how much 
 time must pass by in the siege, by defeating which 
 that suit must needs be advanced? While I sat 
 
176 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 in my lonely castle, tidings after tidings came to 
 astound me with the numerous, or rather the con- 
 stant, dangers with which my lover was surrounded, 
 until at length, in a moment I think of madness, I 
 resolved to set out in this masculine disguise ; and, 
 having myself with my own eyes seen in what situa- 
 tion I had placed my knight, I determined to take 
 such measures in respect to shortening the term of 
 liis trial, or otherwise, as a sight of Douglas Castle, 
 and — why should I deny it? — of Sir John de 
 Walton, might suggest. Perhaps you, my dearest 
 sister, may not so well understand my being tempted 
 into flinching from the resolution which I had laid 
 down for my own honour, and that of my lover; 
 but consider, that my resolution was the conse- 
 quence of a moment of excitation, and that the 
 course which I adopted was the conclusion of a long, 
 wasting, sickening state of uncertainty, the effect of 
 which was to weaken the nerves which were once 
 highly strung with love of my country, as I thought ; 
 but in reality, alas ! with fond and anxious feelings 
 of a more selfish description." 
 
 " Alas ! " said Sister Ursula, evincing the strongest 
 symptoms of interest and compassion, *'am I the per- 
 son, dearest child, whom you suspect of insensibility 
 to the distresses which are the fruit of true love ? 
 Do you suppose that the air which is breathed 
 within these walls has the property, upon the 
 female heart, of such marvellous fountains as they 
 say change into stone the substances which are 
 immersed into their waters ? Hear my tale, and 
 judge if it can be thus with one who possesses my 
 causes of grief. And do not fear for loss of time : 
 we must let our neighbours at Hazelside be settled 
 for the evening, ere I furnish you with the means 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 177 
 
 of escape; and you must have a trusty guide, for 
 whose fidelity I will be responsible, to direct your 
 path through these woods, and protect you in case 
 of any danger, too likely to occur in these trouble- 
 some times. It will thus be nigh an hour ere you 
 depart ; and sure I am that in no manner can you 
 spend the time better than in listening to distresses 
 too similar to your own, and flowing from the 
 source of disappointed affection which you must 
 needs sympathise with." 
 
 The distresses of the Lady Augusta did not pre- 
 vent her being in some degree affected almost ludi- 
 crously with the singular contrast between the 
 hideous countenance of this victim of the tender 
 passion, and the cause to which she imputed her 
 sorrows ; but it was not a moment for giving way 
 to a sense of the ridiculous, which would have been 
 in the highest degree offensive to the sister of St. 
 Bride, whose good-will she had so many reasons 
 to conciliate. She readily, therefore, succeeded in 
 preparing herself to listen to the votary with an 
 appearance of sympathy, which might reward that 
 which she had herself experienced at the hands of 
 Sister Ursula ; while the unfortunate recluse, with 
 an agitation which made her ugliness still more con- 
 spicuous, narrated, nearly in a whisper, the following 
 circumstances : — 
 
 " My misfortunes commenced long before I was 
 called Sister Ursula, or secluded as a votaress within 
 these walls. My father was a noble Norman, who, 
 like many of his countrymen, sought and found 
 fortune at the court of the King of Scotland. He 
 was endowed with the sheriffdom of this county, 
 and Maurice de Hattely, or Hautlieu, was numbered 
 among the wealthy and powerful barons of Scotland. 
 
 12 
 
178 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 Wherefore should I deny it, that the daughter of 
 this baron, then called Margaret de Hautlieu, was 
 also distinguished among the great and fair of the 
 land ? It can be no censurable vanity which pro- 
 vokes me to speak the truth, and, unless I tell it 
 myself, you could hardly suspect what a resemblance 
 I once bore even to the lovely Lady Augusta of 
 Berkely. About this time broke out those unfortu- 
 nate feuds of Bruce and Baliol, which have been so 
 long the curse of this country. My father, deter- 
 miaed in his choice of party by the arguments of 
 his wealthy kinsmen at the court of Edward, 
 embraced with passion the faction of the English 
 interest, and became one of the keenest partisans, 
 at first of John Baliol, and afterwards of the English 
 monarch. None among the Anglocised-Scottish, as 
 his party was called, were so zealous as he for the 
 red cross, and no one was more detested by his 
 countrymen who followed the national standard of 
 St. Andrew and the patriot Wallace. Among those 
 soldiers of the soil, Malcolm Fleming of Biggar was 
 one of the most distinguished by his noble birth, his 
 high acquirements, and his fame in chivalry. I saw 
 him ; and the ghastly spectre who now addresses 
 you must not be ashamed to say, that she loved, 
 and was beloved by, one of the handsomest youths 
 in Scotland. Our attachment was discovered to my 
 father almost ere we had owned it to each other, 
 and he was furious both against my lover . and 
 myself ; he placed me under the charge of a religious 
 woman of this rule, and I was immured within the 
 house of St. Bride, where my father shamed not to 
 announce he would cause me to take the veil by 
 force, unless I agreed to wed a youth bred at the 
 English court, his nephew, and, as Heaven had 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 179 
 
 granted him no son, the heir, as he had resolved, of 
 the House of Hautlieu. I was not long in making 
 my election. I protested that death should be my 
 choice, rather than any other husband excepting 
 Malcolm Fleming. Neither was my lover less 
 faithful : he found means to communicate to me a 
 particular night on which he proposed to attempt 
 to storm the nunnery of St. Bride, and carry me 
 from hence to freedom and the greenwood, of which 
 Wallace was generally called the king. In an evil 
 hour — an hour, I think, of infatuation and witchery 
 — I suffered the abbess to wheedle the secret out of 
 me, which I might have been sensible would appear 
 more horribly flagitious to her than to any other 
 woman that breathed ; but I had not taken the 
 vows, and I thought Wallace and Fleming had the 
 same charms for everybody as for me, and the artful 
 woman gave me reason to believe that her loyalty 
 to Bruce was without a flaw of suspicion, and she 
 took part in a plot of which my freedom was the 
 object. The abbess engaged to have the English 
 guards removed to a distance, and in appearance the 
 troops were withdrawn. Accordingly, in the middle 
 of the night appointed, the window of my cell, which 
 was two stories from the ground, was opened with- 
 out noise ; and never were my eyes more gladdened 
 than, as ready disguised and arrayed for flight, even 
 in a horseman's dress, like yourself, fairest Lady 
 Augusta, I saw Malcolm Fleming spring into the 
 apartment. He rushed towards me ; but at the 
 same time my father with ten of his strongest men 
 filled the room, and cried their war-cry of Baliol. 
 Blows were instantly dealt on every side. A form 
 like a giant, however, appeared in the midst of the 
 tumult, and distinguished himself, even to my half- 
 
i8o CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 giddy eye, by the ease with which he Lore down and 
 dispersed those who fought against our freedom. 
 My father alone offered an opposition which threat- 
 ened to prove fatal to him ; for Wallace, it was said, 
 could foil any two martial champions that ever drew 
 sword. Brushing from him the armed men, as a 
 lady would drive away with her fan a swarm of 
 troublesome flies, he secured me in one arm, used 
 his other for our mutual protection, and I found 
 myself in the act of being borne in safety down the 
 ladder by which my deliverers had ascended from 
 without ; — but an evil fate awaited this attempt. 
 
 " My father, whom the Champion of Scotland had 
 spared for my sake, or rather for Fleming's, gained 
 by his victor's compassion and lenity a fearful ad- 
 vantage, and made a remorseless use of it. Having 
 only his left hand to oppose to the maniac attempts 
 of my father, even the strength of Wallace could 
 not prevent the assailant, with all the energy of 
 desperation, from throwing down the ladder, on 
 which his daughter was perched like a dove in the 
 grasp of an eagle. The Champion saw our danger, 
 and, exerting his inimitable strength and agility, 
 cleared himself and me from the ladder, and leaped 
 free of the moat of the convent, into which we must 
 otherwise have been precipitated. The Champion 
 of Scotland was saved in the desperate attempt, but 
 I, who fell among a heap of stones and rubbish, I, 
 the disobedient daughter, well-nigh the apostate 
 vestal, waked only from a long bed of sickness, to 
 find myself the disfigured wretch which you now 
 see me. I then learned that Malcolm had escaped 
 from the fray, and shortly after I heard, with 
 feelings less keen perhaps than they ought to have 
 been, that my father was slain in one of the endless 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. i8i 
 
 battles which took place between the contending 
 factions. If he had lived, I might have submitted 
 to the completion of my fate ; but since he was no 
 more, I felt that it would be a preferable lot to be a 
 beggar in the streets of a Scottish village than an 
 abbess in this miserable house of St. Bride; nor 
 was even that poor object of ambition, on which 
 my father used to expatiate when desirous of per- 
 suading me to enter the monastic state, by milder 
 means than throwing me off the battlements, long 
 open to me. The old abbess died of a cold caught 
 the evening of the fray; and the place, which might 
 have been kept open until I was capable of filling 
 it, was disposed of otherwise, when the English 
 thought fit to reform, as they termed it, the disci- 
 pline of the house ; and, instead of electing a new 
 abbess, sent hither two or three friendly monks, 
 who have now the absolute government of the com- 
 munity, and wield it entirely according to the 
 pleasure of the English. But I, for one, who have 
 had the honour to be supported by the arms of the 
 Champion of my country, will not remain here to 
 be commanded by this Abbot Jerome. I will go 
 forth, nor do I fear to find relations and friends 
 who will provide a more fitting place of refuge for 
 Margaret de Hautlieu than the convent of St. Bride ; 
 you too, dearest lady, shall obtain your freedom, and 
 it will be well to leave such information as will 
 make Sir John de Walton aware of the devotion 
 with which his happy fate has inspired you." 
 
 " It is not, then, your own intention," said the 
 Lady Augusta, "to return into the world again, 
 and you are about to renounce the lover, in a 
 union with whom you and he once saw your joint 
 happiness ? " 
 
i82 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 " It is a question, my dearest child," said Sister 
 Ursula, " which I dare not ask myself, and to which 
 I am absolutely uncertain what answer I should 
 return. I have not taken the final and irrevocable 
 vows ; I have done nothing to alter my situation 
 with regard to Malcolm Fleming. He also, by the 
 vows plighted in the Chancery of Heaven, is my 
 affianced bridegroom, nor am I conscious that I less 
 deserve his faith, in any respect now, than at the 
 moment when it was pledged to me ; but I confess, 
 dearest lady, that rumours have reached me which 
 sting me to the quick ; the reports of my wounds 
 and scars are said to have estranged the knight of 
 my choice. I am now indeed poor," she added, with 
 a sigh, " and I am no longer possessed of those per- 
 sonal charms which they say attract the love, and 
 fix the fidelity, of the other sex. I teach myself, 
 therefore, to think, in my moments of settled reso- 
 lution, that all betwixt me and Malcolm Fleming is 
 at an end, saving good wishes on the part of both 
 towards the other ; and yet there is a sensation in 
 my bosom which whispers, in spite of my reason, 
 that if I absolutely believed that which I now 
 say, there would be no object on earth worthy my 
 living for in order to attain it. This insinuating 
 prepossession whispers to my secret soul, and in 
 very opposition to my reason and understanding, 
 that Malcolm Fleming, who could pledge his all 
 upon the service of his country, is incapable of 
 nourishing the versatile affection of an ordinary, a 
 coarse, or a venal character. Methinks, were the 
 difi'erence upon his part instead of mine, he would 
 not lose his interest in my eyes, because he was 
 seamed with honourable scars, obtained in asserting 
 the freedom of his choice, but that such wounds 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 183 
 
 would, in my opinion, add to his merit, whatever 
 they took away from his personal comeliness. Ideas 
 rise on my soul, as if Malcolm and Margaret might 
 yet be to each other all that their affections once 
 anticipated with so much security, and that a change, 
 which took nothing from the honour and virtue of 
 the beloved person, must rather add to, than dimi- 
 nish, the charms of the union. Look at me, dearest 
 Lady Augusta ! — look me — if you have courage — 
 full in the face, and tell me whether I do not rave 
 when my fancy is thus converting mere possibilities 
 into that which is natural and probable." 
 
 The Lady of Berkely, conscious of the necessity, 
 raised her eyes on the unfortunate nun, afraid of 
 losing her own chance of deliverance by the mode 
 in which she should conduct herself in this crisis ; 
 yet not willing at the same time to flatter the un- 
 fortunate Ursula, with suggesting ideas for which 
 her own sense told her she could hardly find any 
 rational grounds. But her imagination, stored 
 with the minstrelsy of the time, brought back to 
 her recollection the Loathly Lady in " The Mar- 
 riage of Sir Gawain, " and she conducted her reply 
 in the following manner : — 
 
 " You ask me, my dear Lady Margaret, a trying 
 question, which it would be unfriendly to answer 
 otherwise than sincerely, and most cruel to answer 
 with too much rashness. It is true that what is 
 called beauty is the first quality on which we of 
 the weaker sex learn to set a value ; we are flat- 
 tered by the imputation of personal charms, whether 
 we actually possess them or not ; and no doubt we 
 learn to place upon them a great deal more conse- 
 quence than in reality is found to belong to them. 
 Women, however, even such as are held by their 
 
i84 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 own sex, and perhaps in secret by themselves, as 
 devoid of all pretensions to beauty, have been 
 known to become, from their understanding, their 
 talents, or their accomplishments, the undoubted 
 objects of the warmest attachment. Wherefore 
 then should you, in the mere rashness of your 
 apprehension, deem it impossible that your Mal- 
 colm Fleming should be made of that porcelain 
 clay of the earth which despis"es the passing cap- 
 tivations of outward form, in comparison to the 
 charms of true affection, and the excellence of 
 talents and virtue ? " 
 
 The nun pressed her companion's hand to her 
 bosom, and answered her with a deep sigh. 
 
 " I fear, " she said, " you flatter me ; and yet, in 
 a crisis like this, it does one good to be flattered, 
 even as cordials, otherwise dangerous to the con- 
 stitution, are wisely given to support a patient 
 through a paroxysm of agony, and enable him to 
 endure at least what they cannot cure. Answer 
 only one question, and it will be time we drop 
 this conversation. Could you, sweet lady — you 
 upon whom fortune has bestowed so many charms 
 — could any argument make you patient under the 
 irretrievable loss of your personal advantages, with 
 the concomitant loss, as in my case is most pro- 
 bable, of that lover for whom you have already 
 done so much ? " 
 
 The English lady cast her eyes again on her 
 friend, and could not help shuddering a little at 
 the thought of her own beautiful countenance being 
 exchanged for the seamed and scarred features of 
 the Lady of Hautlieu, irregularly lighted by the 
 beams of a single eye. 
 
 " Believe me, " she said, looking solemnly up- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 185 
 
 wards, " that even in the case which you suppose, 
 I would not sorrow so much for myself, as I would 
 for the poor-spirited thoughts of the lover who 
 could leave me because those transitory charms 
 (which must in any case ere long take their 
 departure) had fled ere yet the bridal day. It is, 
 however, concealed by the decrees of Providence, 
 in what manner, or to what extent, other persons, 
 with whose disposition we are not fully acquainted, 
 may be affected by such changes. I can only assure 
 you that my hopes go with yours, and that there 
 is no difficulty which shall remain in your path 
 in future, if it is in my power to remove it. — 
 Hark ! " 
 
 " It is the signal of our freedom, " replied Ursula, 
 giving attention to something resembling the 
 whoop of the night owl. " We must prepare to 
 leave the convent in a few minutes. Have you 
 anything to take with you ? " 
 
 " Nothing, " answered the Lady of Berkely, 
 " except the few valuables, which I scarce know 
 why I brought with me on my flight hither. 
 This scroll, which I shall leave behind, gives 
 my faithful minstrel permission to save himself, 
 by confessing to Sir John de Walton who the 
 person really is whom he has had within his 
 reach. " 
 
 " It is strange, " said the novice of St. Bride, 
 " through what extraordinary labyrinths this Love, 
 this Will-of-the-Wisp, guides his votaries. Take 
 heed as you descend ; this trapdoor, carefully con- 
 cealed, curiously jointed and oiled, leads to a 
 secret postern, where I conceive the horses already 
 wait which will enable us speedily to bid adieu to 
 St. Bride's — Heaven's blessing on her, and on her 
 
i86 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 convent! We can have no advantage from any 
 light, until we are in the open air. " 
 
 During this time, Sister Ursula, to give her for 
 the last time her conventual name, exchanged her 
 stole, or loose upper garment, for the more suc- 
 cinct cloak and hood of a horseman. She led the 
 way through divers passages, studiously compli- 
 cated, until the Lady of Berkely, with throbbing 
 heart, stood in the pale and doubtful moonlight, 
 which was shining with grey uncertainty upon the 
 walls of the ancient building. The imitation of 
 an owlet's cry directed them to a neighbouring 
 large elm, and on approaching it they were aware 
 of three horses, held by one concerning whom they 
 could only see that he was tall, strong, and ac- 
 coutred in the dress of a man-at-arms. 
 
 " The sooner, " he said, " we are gone from this 
 place, Lady Margaret, it is so much the better. 
 You have only to direct the course which we shall 
 hold. " 
 
 Lady Margaret's answer was given beneath her 
 breath, .and replied to with a caution from the 
 guide to ride slowly and silently for the first quar- 
 ter of an hour, by which time inhabited places 
 would be left at a distance. 
 
The Escape, 
 Drawn and Etched by H. Macbeth- Raeburn. 
 
CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 Great was the astonishment of the young Knight 
 of Valence and the reverend Father Jerome, when, 
 upon breaking into the cell, they discovered the 
 youthful pilgrim's absence, and, from the garments 
 which were left, saw every reason to think that 
 the one-eyed novice. Sister Ursula, had accom- 
 panied him in his escape from custody. A thou- 
 sand thoughts thronged upon Sir Aymer, how 
 shamefully he had suffered himself to be outwitted 
 by the artifices of a boy and of a novice. His 
 reverend companion in error felt no less contrition 
 for having recommended to the knight a mild 
 exercise of his authority. Father Jerome had 
 obtained his preferment as abbot upon the faith of 
 his zeal for the cause of the English monarch, with 
 the affected interest in which he was at a loss to 
 reconcile his proceedings of the last night. A 
 hurried inquiry took place, from which little could 
 be learned, save that the young pilgrim had most 
 certainly gone off with the Lady Margaret de 
 Hautlieu, an incident at which the females of the 
 convent expressed surprise, mingled with a great 
 deal of horror; while that of the males, whom the 
 news soon reached, was qualified with a degree of 
 wonder, which seemed to be founded upon the very 
 different personal appearance of the two fugitives. 
 
 " Sacred Virgin, " said a nun, " who could have 
 conceived the hopeful votaress. Sister Ursula, so 
 lately drowned in tears for her father's untimely 
 
i88 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 fate, capable of eloping with a boy scarce fourteen 
 years old ! " 
 
 " And, holy St. Bride ! " said the Abbot Jerome, 
 " what could have made so handsome a young man 
 lend his arm to assist such a nightmare as Sister 
 Ursula in the commission of so great an enormity ? 
 Certainly he can neither plead temptation nor 
 seduction, but must have gone, as the worldly 
 phrase is — to the devil with a dishclout. " 
 
 " I must disperse the soldiers to pursue the 
 fugitives, " said De Valence, " unless this letter, 
 which the pilgrim must have left behind him, 
 shall contain some explanations respecting our 
 mysterious prisoner. " 
 
 After viewing the contents with some surprise, 
 he read aloud — 
 
 *^The undersigned, late residing in the house of St. 
 Bride, do you. Father Jerome, the abbot of said house, 
 to know, that finding you were disposed to treat me 
 as a prisoner and a sp}^, in the sanctuary to which 
 you had received me as a distressed person, I have re- 
 solved to use my natural libertj-, with which you have 
 no right to interfere, and therefore have withdrawn 
 myself from your abbacy. Moreover, finding that the 
 novice called in your convent Sister Ursula (who hath, 
 by monastic rule and discipline, a fair title to return 
 to the world unless she is pleased, after a year's no- 
 vitiate, to profess herself sister of your order) is de- 
 termined to use such privilege, I joyfully take the 
 opportunity of her company in this her lawful reso- 
 lution, as being what is in conformity to the law of 
 God, and the precepts of St. Bride, which gave you 
 no authority to detain any person in your convent by 
 force who hath not taken upon her irrevocably the vows 
 of the order. 
 
 *'To you, Sir John de Walton, and Sir Aymer de 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 189 
 
 Valence, knights of England, commanding the garrison 
 of Douglas Dale, I have only to say, that you have 
 acted and are acting against me under a mystery, the 
 solution of which is comprehended in a secret known 
 only to my faithful minstrel, Bertram of the many 
 Lays, as whose son I have found it convenient to pass 
 myself. But as I cannot at this time prevail upon 
 myself personally to discover a secret which cannot 
 well be unfolded without feelings of shame, I not 
 only give permission to the said Bertram the minstrel, 
 but I charge and command him, that he tell to you the 
 purpose with which I came originally to the Castle of 
 Douglas. When this is discovered, it will only re- 
 main to express my feelings towards the two knights, 
 in return for the pain and agony of mind which their 
 violence" and threats of further severities have occa- 
 sioned me. 
 
 ^^And first, respecting Sir Aymer de Valence, I 
 freely and willingly forgive him for having been in- 
 volved in a mistake to which I myself led the way, 
 and I shall at all times be happy to meet with him as 
 an acquaintance, and never to think further of his part 
 in these few days' history, saving as matter of mirth 
 and ridicule. 
 
 **But respecting Sir John de Walton, I must re- 
 quest of him to consider whether his conduct towards 
 me, standing as we at present do towards each other, 
 is such as he himself ought to forget, or I ought to for- 
 give ; and I trust he will understand me when I tell 
 him, that all former connections must henceforth be 
 at an end between him and the supposed 
 
 ^^ Augustine." 
 
 " This is madness, " said the abbot, when he 
 had read the letter, — " very midsummer madness ; 
 not unfrequently an accompaniment of this pesti- 
 lential disease, and I should do well in requiring 
 
ipo CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 of those soldiers who shall first apprehend this 
 youth Augustine, that they reduce his victuals 
 immediately to water and bread, taking care that 
 the diet do not exceed in measure what is neces- 
 sary to sustain nature ; nay, I should be warranted 
 by the learned, did I recommend a sufficient inter- 
 mixture of flagellation with belts, stirrup-leathers, 
 or surcingles, and, failing those, with riding- 
 whips, switches, and the like. " 
 
 " Hush ! my reverend father, " said De Valence, 
 " a light begins to break in upon me. John de 
 Walton, if my suspicion be true, would sooner 
 expose his own flesh to be hewn from his bones, 
 than have this Augustine's finger stung by a gnat. 
 Instead of treating this youth as a madman, I, for 
 my own part, will be contented to avow that I 
 myself have been bewitched and fascinated; and 
 by my honour, if I send out my attendants in 
 quest of the fugitives, it shall be with the strict 
 charge, that, when apprehended, they treat them 
 with all respect, and protect them, if they object 
 to return to this house, to any honourable place 
 of refuge which they may desire. " 
 
 " I hope, " said the abbot, looking strangely con- 
 fused, " I shall be first heard in behalf of the 
 Church concerning this affair of an abducted nun ? 
 You see yourself. Sir Knight, that this scapegrace 
 of a minstrel avouches neither repentance nor con- 
 trition at his share in a matter so flagitious. " 
 
 " You shall be secured an opportunity of being 
 fully heard, " replied the knight, " if you shall find 
 at last that you really desire one. Meantime, I 
 must back, without a moment's delay, to inform 
 Sir John de Walton of the turn which affairs have 
 taken. Farewell, reverend father. By my honour, 
 
CASTLE DANGEKOUS. 191 
 
 we may wish each other joy that we have escaped 
 from a troublesome charge, which brought as much 
 terror with it as the phantoms of a fearful dream, 
 and is yet found capable of being dispelled by a 
 cure as simple as that of awakening the sleeper. 
 But, by St. Bride! both churchmen and laymen 
 are bound to sympathise with the unfortunate Sir 
 John de Walton. I tell thee, father, that if 
 this letter " — touching the missive with his finger 
 — " is to be construed literally, as far as respects 
 him, he is the man most to be pitied betwixt the 
 brink of Solway and the place where we now stand. 
 Suspend thy curiosity, most worthy churchman, 
 lest there should be more in this matter than I 
 myself see ; so that, while thinking that I have 
 lighted on the true explanation, I may not have to 
 acknowledge that I have been again leading you 
 into error. — Sound to horse there ! Ho ! " he 
 called out from the window of the apartment; 
 " and let the party I brought hither prepare to 
 scour the woods on their return. " 
 
 " By my faith ! " said Father Jerome, " I am 
 right glad that this young nut-cracker is going 
 to leave me to my own meditation. I hate when 
 a young person pretends to understand whatever 
 passes, while his betters are obliged to confess 
 that it is all a mystery to them. Such an as- 
 sumption is like that of the conceited fool. Sister 
 Ursula, who pretended to read with a single eye a 
 manuscript which I myself could not find intelli- 
 gible with the assistance of my spectacles. " 
 
 This might not have quite pleased the young 
 knight, nor was it one of those truths which the 
 abbot would have chosen to deliver in his hearing. 
 But the knight had shaken him by the hand, said 
 
192 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 adieu, and was already at Hazelside, issuing par- 
 ticular orders to little troops of the archers and 
 others, and occasionally chiding Thomas Dickson, 
 who, with a degree of curiosity which the English 
 knight was not very willing to excuse, had been 
 endeavouring to get some account of the occur- 
 rences of the night. 
 
 " Peace, fellow ! " he said, " and mind thine 
 own business, being well assured that the hour 
 will come in which it will require all the atten- 
 tion thou canst give, leaving others to take care 
 of their own affairs. " 
 
 " If I am suspected of anything, " answered 
 Dickson, in a tone rather dogged and surly than 
 otherwise, " methinks it were but fair to let me 
 know what accusation is brought against me. I 
 need not tell you that chivalry prescribes that a 
 knight should not attack an enemy undefied. " 
 
 " When you are a knight," answered Sir j^ymer 
 de Valence, " it will be time enough for me to 
 reckon with you upon the points of form due to 
 you by the laws of chivalry. Meanwhile, you 
 had best let me know what share you have had in 
 playing off the martial phantom which sounded 
 the rebellious slogan of Douglas in the town of 
 that name ? " 
 
 " I know nothing of what you speak, " answered 
 the goodman of Hazelside. 
 
 " See, then," said the knight, " that you do not 
 engage yourself in the affairs of other people, even 
 if your conscience warrants that you are in no 
 danger from your own. " 
 
 So saying, he rode off, not waiting any answer. 
 The ideas which filled his head were to the fol- 
 lowing purpose. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 193 
 
 " I know not how it is, but one mist seems no 
 sooner to clear away than we find ourselves en- 
 gaged in another. I take it for granted that the 
 disguised damsel is no other than the goddess of 
 Walton's private idolatry, who has cost him and 
 me so much trouble, and some certain degree of 
 misunderstanding during these last weeks. By 
 my honour! this fair lady is right lavish in the 
 pardon which she has so frankly bestowed upon 
 me, and if she is willing to be less complaisant to 
 Sir John de Walton, why then — And what then ? 
 — It surely does not infer that she would receive 
 me into that place in her affections from which 
 she has just expelled De Walton ? Nor, if she 
 did, could I avail myself of a change in favour of 
 myself, at the expense of my friend and companion 
 in arms. It were a folly even to dream of a thing 
 so improbable. But with respect to the other 
 business, it is worth serious consideration. Yon 
 sexton seems to have kept company with dead 
 bodies, until he is unfit for the society of the 
 living; and as to that Dickson of Hazelside, as 
 they call him, there is no attempt against the 
 English during these endless wars in which that 
 man has not been concerned. Had my life de- 
 pended upon it, I could not have prevented myself 
 from intimating my suspicions of him, let him 
 take it as he lists. " 
 
 So saying, the knight spurred his horse, and, 
 arriving at Douglas Castle without further adven- 
 ture, demanded, in a tone of greater cordiality 
 than he had of late used, whether he could be 
 admitted to Sir John de Walton, having some- 
 thing of consequence to report to him. He was 
 immediately ushered into an apartment, in which 
 
 13 
 
194 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 the governor was seated at his solitary breakfast. 
 Considering the terms upon which they had lately 
 stood, the governor of Douglas Dale was somewhat 
 surprised at the easy familiarity with which De 
 Valence now approached him. 
 
 " Some uncommon news, " said Sir John, rather 
 gravely, " have brought me the honour of Sir 
 Aymer de Valence's company. " 
 
 " It is, " answered Sir Aymer, " what seems of 
 high importance to your interest. Sir John de 
 Walton, and therefore I were to blame if I lost a 
 moment in communicating it." 
 
 " I shall be proud to profit by your intelligence, " 
 said Sir John de Walton. 
 
 " And I too, " said the young knight, " am loth 
 to lose the credit of having penetrated a mystery 
 which blinded Sir John de Walton. At the same 
 time, I do not wish to be thought capable of 
 jesting with you, which might be the case were I, 
 from misapprehension, to give a false key to this 
 matter. With your permission, then, we will 
 proceed thus : We go together to the place of 
 Bertram the minstrel's confinement. I have in 
 my possession a scroll from the young person who 
 was intrusted to the care of the Abbot Jerome ; it 
 is written in a delicate female hand, and gives 
 authority to the minstrel to declare the purpose 
 which brought them to this vale of Douglas. " 
 
 " It must be as you say, " said Sir John de 
 Walton, " although I can scarce see occasion for 
 adding so much form to a mystery which can be 
 expressed in such small compass. " 
 
 Accordingly the two knights, a warder leading 
 the way, proceeded to the dungeon to which the 
 minstrel had been removed. 
 
CHAPTEK XIII. 
 
 The doors of the stronghold, being undone, dis- 
 played a dungeon such as in those days held vic- 
 tims hopeless of escape, but in which the ingenious 
 knave of modern times would scarcely have 
 deigned to remain many hours. The huge rings 
 by which the fetters were soldered together, and 
 attached to the human body, were, when examined 
 minutely, found to be clenched together by riveting 
 so very thin, that when rubbed with corrosive 
 acid, or patiently ground with a bit of sandstone, 
 the hold of the fetters upon each other might be 
 easily forced asunder, and the purpose of them 
 entirely frustrated. The locks also, large, and 
 apparently very strong, were so coarsely made, 
 that an artist of small ingenuity could easily con- 
 trive to get the better of their fastenings upon 
 the same principle. The daylight found its way 
 to the subterranean dungeon only at noon, and 
 through a passage which was purposely made tor- 
 tuous, so as to exclude the rays of the sun, while 
 it presented no obstacle to wind or rain. The 
 doctrine that a prisoner was to be esteemed inno- 
 cent until he should be found guilty by his peers 
 was not understood in those days of brute force, 
 and he was only accommodated with a lamp or 
 other alleviation of his misery, if his demeanour 
 was quiet, and he appeared disposed to give his 
 jailer no trouble by attempting to make his escape. 
 
196 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 Such a cell of confinement was that of Bertram, 
 whose moderation of temper and patience had 
 nevertheless procured for him such mitigations of 
 his fate as the warder could grant. He was per- 
 mitted to carry into his cell the old book, in the 
 perusal of which he found an amusement of his 
 solitude, together with writing-materials, and such 
 other helps towards spending his time as were con- 
 sistent with his ahode in the bosom of the rock, 
 and the degree of information with which his 
 minstrel craft had possessed him. He raised his 
 head from the table as the knights entered, while 
 the governor observed to the young knight : — 
 
 " As you seem to think yourself possessed of the 
 secret of this prisoner, I leave it to you. Sir 
 Aymer de Valence, to bring it to light in the 
 manner which you shall judge most expedient. 
 If the man or his son have suffered unnecessary 
 hardship, it shall be my duty to make amends 
 — which, I suppose, can be no very important 
 matter. " 
 
 Bertram looked up, and fixed his eyes full upon 
 the governor, but read nothing in his looks which 
 indicated his being better acquainted than before 
 with the secret of his imprisonment. Yet, upon 
 turning his eye towards Sir Aymer, his counte- 
 nance evidently lighted up, and the glance which 
 passed between them was one of intelligence. 
 
 " You have my secret then, " said he, " and you 
 know who it is that passes under the name of 
 Augustine ? " 
 
 Sir Aymer exchanged with him a look of acqui- 
 escence ; while the eyes of the governor, glancing 
 wildly from the prisoner to the Knight of Valence, 
 exclaimed, — 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 197 
 
 " Sir Aymer de Valence, as you are belted knight 
 and Christian man, as you have honour to pre- 
 serve on earth and a soul to rescue after death, I 
 charge you to tell me the meaning of this mystery ! 
 It may be that you conceive, with truth, that you 
 have subject of complaint against me. If so, I 
 will satisfy you as a knight may. " 
 
 The minstrel spoke at the same moment. 
 
 " I charge this knight, " he said, " by his vow of 
 chivalry, that he do not divulge any secret belong- 
 ing to a person of honour and of character, unless 
 he has positive assurance that it is done entirely 
 by that person's own consent." 
 
 " Let this note remove your scruples, " said Sir 
 Aymer, putting the scroll into the hands of the 
 minstrel ; " and for you. Sir John de Walton, far 
 from retaining the least feeling of any misunder- 
 standing which may have existed between us, I 
 am disposed entirely to bury it in forgetfulness, as 
 having arisen out of a series of mistakes which no 
 mortal could have comprehended. And do not be 
 offended, my dear Sir John, when I protest, on my 
 knightly faith, that I pity the pain which I think 
 this scroll is likely to give you, and that, if my 
 utmost efforts can be of the least service to you in 
 unravelling this tangled skein, I will contribute 
 them with as much earnestness as ever I did aught 
 in my life. This faithful minstrel will now see 
 that he can have no difficulty in yielding up a 
 secret which I doubt not, but for the writing I 
 have just put into his hands, he would have con- 
 tinued to keep with unshaken fidelity. " 
 
 Sir Aymer now placed in De Walton's hand a 
 note, in which he had, ere he left St. Bride's 
 convent, signified his own interpretation of the 
 
198 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 mystery ; and the governor had scarcely read the 
 name it contained, before the same name was pro- 
 nounced aloud by Bertram, who at the same mo- 
 ment handed to the governor the scroll which he 
 had received from the Knight of Valence. 
 
 The white plume which floated over the knight's 
 cap of maintenance, which was worn as a head- 
 piece within doors, was not more pale in com- 
 plexion than was the knight himself at the 
 unexpected and surprising information, that the 
 lady who was, in chivalrous phrase, empress of 
 his thoughts, and commander of his actions, and 
 to whom, even in less fantastic times, he must 
 have owed the deepest gratitude for the generous 
 election which she had made in his favour, was 
 the same person whom he had threatened with 
 personal violence, and subjected to hardships and 
 affronts which he would not willingly have be- 
 stowed even upon the meanest of her sex. 
 
 Yet Sir John de Walton seemed at first scarcely 
 to comprehend the numerous ill consequences 
 which might probably follow this unhappy com- 
 plication of mistakes. He took the paper from 
 the minstrel's hand, and while his eye, assisted 
 by the lamp, wandered over the characters with- 
 out apparently their conveying any distinct im- 
 pression to his understanding, De Valence even 
 became alarmed that he was about to lose his 
 faculties. 
 
 " For Heaven's sake, sir," he said, "be a man, 
 and support with manly steadiness these unex- 
 pected occurrences — I would fain think they will 
 reach to nothing else — which the wit of man 
 could not have prevented. This fair lady, I would 
 fain hope, cannot be much hurt or deeply offended 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 199 
 
 by a train of circumstances, the natural conse- 
 quence of your anxiety to discharge perfectly a 
 duty upon which must depend the accomplishment 
 of all the hopes she had permitted you to enter- 
 tain. In God's name, rouse up, sir! Let it not 
 be said that an apprehended frown of a fair lady 
 hath damped to such a degree the courage of the 
 boldest knight in England; be what men have 
 called you, 'Walton the Unwavering ; ' in Heaven's 
 name, let us at least see that the lady is indeed 
 offended, before we conclude that she is irrecon- 
 cilably so. To whose fault are we to ascribe the 
 source of all these errors ? Surely, with all due 
 respect, to the caprice of the lady herself, which 
 has engendered such a nest of mistakes. Think of 
 it as a man, and as a soldier. Suppose that you 
 yourself, or I, desirous of proving the fidelity of 
 our sentinels, or for any other reason, good or bad, 
 attempted to enter this Dangerous Castle of Doug- 
 las without giving the password to the warders, 
 would we be entitled to blame those upon duty if, 
 not knowing our persons, they manfully refused 
 us entrance, made us prisoners, and mishandled us 
 while resisting our attempt, in terms of the orders 
 which we ourselves had imposed upon them? 
 What is there that makes a difference between 
 such a sentinel and yourself, John de Walton, in 
 this curious affair, which, by Heaven! would 
 rather form a gay subject for the minstrelsy of this 
 excellent bard than the theme of a tragic lay? 
 Come! look not thus. Sir John de Walton. Be 
 angry, if you will, with the lady who has com- 
 mitted such a piece of folly, or with me who have 
 rode up and down nearly all night on a fool's 
 errand, and spoiled my best horse, in absolute un- 
 
20O CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 certainty how I shall get another till my uncle of 
 Pembroke and I shall be reconciled ; or, lastly, if 
 you desire to be totally absurd in your wrath, 
 direct it against this worthy minstrel on account 
 of his rare fidelity, and punish him for that for 
 which he better deserves a chain of gold. Let 
 passion out, if you will ; but chase this desponding 
 gloom from the brow of a man and a belted 
 knight. " 
 
 Sir John de Walton made an effort to speak, 
 and succeeded with some difficulty. 
 
 " Aymer de Valence, " he said, " in irritating a 
 madman you do but sport with your own life," 
 and then remained silent. 
 
 " I am glad you can say so much, " replied his 
 friend ; " for I was not jesting when I said I would 
 rather that you were at variance with me, than 
 that you laid the whole blame on yourself. It 
 would be courteous, I think, to set this minstrel 
 instantly at liberty. Meantime, for his lady's 
 sake, I will entreat him, in all honour, to be our 
 guest till the Lady Augusta de Berkely shall do 
 us the same honour, and to assist us in our search 
 after her place of retirement. — Good minstrel, " 
 he continued, " you hear what I say, and you will 
 not, I suppose, be surprised that, in all honour 
 and kind usage, you find yourself detained for a 
 short space in this Castle of Douglas ? " 
 
 " You seem, Sir Knight, " replied the minstrel, 
 " not so much to keep your eye upon the right of 
 doing what you should as to possess the might of 
 doing what you would. I must necessarily be 
 guided by your advice, since you have the power 
 to make it a command. " 
 
 " And I trust, " continued De Valence, " that 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 201 
 
 when your mistress and you again meet, we shall 
 have the benefit of your intercession for anything 
 which we may have done to displeasure her, con- 
 sidering that the purpose of our action was exactly 
 the reverse. " 
 
 " Let me, " said Sir John de Walton, " say a single 
 word. I will offer thee a chain of gold, heavy 
 enough to bear down the weight of these shackles, 
 as a sign of regret for having condemned thee to 
 suffer so many indignities. " 
 
 "Enough said. Sir John," said De Valence; 
 " let us promise no more till this good minstrel 
 shall see some sign of performance. Follow me this 
 way, and I will tell thee in private of other tidings 
 which it is important that you should know. " 
 
 So saying, he withdrew De Walton from the 
 dungeon, and sending for the old knight. Sir 
 Philip de Montenay, already mentioned, who acted 
 as seneschal of the castle, he commanded that the 
 minstrel should be enlarged from the dungeon, 
 well looked to in other respects, yet prohibited, 
 though with every mark of civility, from leaving 
 the castle without a trusty attendant. 
 
 " And now. Sir John de Walton, " he said, " me- 
 thinks you are a little churlish in not ordering me 
 some breakfast, after I have been all night engaged 
 in your affairs; and a cup of muscadel would, I 
 think, be no bad induction to a full consideration 
 of this perplexed matter. " 
 
 " Thou knowest, " answered De Walton, " that 
 thou mayst call for what thou wilt, provided 
 always thou tellest me, without loss of time, what 
 else thou knowest respecting the will of the lady, 
 against whom we have all sinned so grievously — 
 and I, alas, beyond hope of forgiveness ! " • 
 
202 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 " Trust me, I hope, " said the Knight of Valence, 
 " the good lady bears me no malice, as indeed she 
 has expressly renounced any ill-will against me. 
 The words, you see, are as plain as you yourself 
 may read — * The lady pardons poor Aymer de 
 Valence, and willingly, for having been involved 
 in a mistake, to which she herself led the way ; 
 she herself will at all times be happy to meet 
 with him as an acquaintance, and never to think 
 further of these few days' history, except as matter 
 of mirth and ridicule. ' So it is expressly written 
 and set down. " 
 
 " Yes, " replied Sir John de Walton, " but see 
 you not that her offending lover is expressly ex- 
 cluded from the amnesty granted to the lesser 
 offender? Mark you not the concluding para- 
 graph ? " He took the scroll with a trembling 
 hand, and read with a discomposed voice its closing 
 words. "It is even so: *A11 former connection 
 must henceforth be at an end between him and 
 the supposed Augustine. ' Explain to me how 
 the reading of these words is reconcilable to any- 
 thing but their plain sense of condemnation and 
 forfeiture of contract, implying destruction of the 
 hopes of Sir John de Walton ? " 
 
 " You are somewhat an older man than I, Sir 
 Knight, " answered De Valence, " and, I will 
 grant, by far the wiser and more experienced; 
 yet I will uphold that there is no adopting the 
 interpretation which you seem to have affixed in 
 your mind to this letter, without supposing the 
 preliminary, that the fair writer was distracted in 
 her understanding — nay, never start, look wildly, 
 or lay your hand on your sword, I do not affirm 
 this is the case. I say again, that no woman in 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 203 
 
 her senses would have pardoned a common ac- 
 quaintance for his behaving to her with unin- 
 tentional disrespect and unkindness, during the 
 currency of a certain masquerade, and, at the same 
 time, sternly and irrevocably broke off with the 
 lover to whom her troth was plighted, although 
 his error in joining in the offence was neither 
 grosser nor more protracted than that of the per- 
 son indifferent to her love. " 
 
 " Do not blaspheme, " said Sir John de Walton ; 
 " and forgive me, if, in justice to truth and to the 
 angel whom I fear I have forfeited for ever, I point 
 out to you the difference which a maiden of dig- 
 nity and of feeling must make between an offence 
 towards her, committed by an ordinary acquain- 
 tance, and one of precisely the same kind, offered 
 by a person who is bound by the most undeserved 
 preference, by the most generous benefits, and by 
 everything which can bind human feeling, to think 
 and reflect ere he becomes an actor in any case in 
 which it is possible for her to be concerned. " 
 
 " Now, by mine honour, " said Aymer de Valence, 
 " I am glad to hear thee make some attempt at rea- 
 son, although it is but an unreasonable kind of 
 reason too, since its object is to destroy thine own 
 hopes, and argue away thine own chance of happi- 
 ness ; but if I have, in the progress of this affair, 
 borne me sometimes towards thee, as to give not 
 only the governor, but even the friend, some cause 
 of displeasure, I will make it up to thee now, 
 John de Walton, by trying to convince thee in 
 spite of thine own perverse logic. But here comes 
 the muscadel and the breakfast. Wilt thou take 
 some refreshment ? — or shall we go on without 
 the spirit of muscadel ? " 
 
204 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 "For Heaven's sake," replied De Walton, "do 
 as thou wilt, so thou make me clear of thy well- 
 intended babble." 
 
 " Nay, thou shalt not brawl me out of my powers 
 of argument," said De Valence, laughing, and 
 helping himself to a brimming cup of wine ; " if 
 thou acknowledgest thyself conquered, I am con- 
 tented to give the victory to the inspiring strength 
 of the jovial liquor. " 
 
 " Do as thou listest, " said De Walton, " but 
 make an end of an argument which thou canst not 
 comprehend. " 
 
 " I deny the charge, " answered the younger 
 knight, wiping his lips, after having finished his 
 draught ; " and listen, Walton the Warlike, to a 
 chapter in the history of women, in which thou 
 art more unskilled than I would wish thee to be. 
 Thou canst not deny that, be it right or wrong, 
 thy Lady Augusta hath ventured more forward 
 with you than is usual upon the sea of affection ; 
 she boldly made thee her choice, while thou wert 
 as yet known to her only as a flower of English 
 chivalry — faith, and I respect her for her frank- 
 ness — but it was a choice which the more cold of 
 her own sex might perhaps claim occasion to term 
 rash and precipitate. — Nay, be not, I pray thee, 
 offended — I am far from thinking or saying so : 
 on the contrary, I will uphold with my lance her 
 selection of John de Walton against the minions 
 of a court, to be a wise and generous choice, and 
 her own behaviour as alike candid and noble. But 
 she herself is not unlikely to dread unjust mis- 
 construction — a fear of which may not impro- 
 bably induce her, upon any occasion, to seize some 
 opportunity of showing an unwonted and unusual 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 205 
 
 rigour towards her lover, in order to balance her 
 having extended towards him, in the beginning of 
 their intercourse, somewhat of an unusual degree 
 of frank encouragement. Nay, it might be easy 
 for her lover so far to take part against himself, 
 by arguing as thou dost when out of thy senses, 
 as to make it difficult for her to withdraw from an 
 argument which he himself was foolish enough to 
 strengthen ; and thus, like a maiden too soon taken 
 at her first nay-say, she shall perhaps be allowed 
 no opportunity of bearing herself according to her 
 real feelings, or retracting a sentence issued with 
 consent of the party whose hopes it destroys. " 
 
 " I have heard thee, De Valence, " answered the 
 governor of Douglas Dale ; " nor is it difficult for 
 me to admit, that these thy lessons may serve as 
 a chart to many a female heart, but not to that of 
 Augusta de Berkely. By my life, I say I would 
 much sooner be deprived of the merit of those few 
 deeds of chivalry which thou sayest have procured 
 for me such enviable distinction, than I would act 
 upon them with the insolence, as if I said that 
 my place in the lady's bosom was too firmly fixed 
 to be shaken even by the success of a worthier 
 man, or by my own gross failure, in respect to the 
 object of my attachment. No, herself alone shall 
 have power to persuade me that even goodness 
 equal to that of an interceding saint will restore 
 me to the place in her affections which I have 
 most unworthily forfeited by a stupidity only to 
 be compared to that of brutes." 
 
 " If you are so minded," said Aymer de Valence, 
 " I have only one word more — forgive me if I 
 speak it peremptorily — the lady, as you say, and 
 say truly, must be the final arbitress in this ques- 
 
2o6 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 tion. My arguments do not extend to insisting 
 that you should claim her hand, whether she her- 
 self will or no ; but to learn her determination, it 
 is necessary that you should find out where she 
 is, of which I am unfortunately not able to inform 
 you." 
 
 " How ! what mean you ? " exclaimed the gover- 
 nor, who now only began to comprehend the extent 
 of his misfortune. " Whither hath she fled ? or 
 with whom ? " 
 
 " She is fled, for what I know, " said De Valence, 
 " in search of a more enterprising lover than one 
 who is so willing to interpret every air of frost as 
 a killing blight to his hopes; perhaps she seeks 
 the Black Douglas, or some such hero of the 
 Thistle, to reward, with her lands, her lordships, 
 and beauty, those virtues of enterprise and courage 
 of which John de Walton was at one time thought 
 possessed. But, seriously, events are passing 
 around us of strange import. I saw enough last 
 night, on my way to St. Bride's, to make me sus- 
 picious of every one. I sent to you as a prisoner 
 the old sexton of the church of Douglas. I found 
 him contumacious as to some inquiries which I 
 thought it proper to prosecute ; but of this more at 
 another time. The escape of this lady adds greatly 
 to the difficulties which encircle this devoted 
 castle. " 
 
 " Aymer de Valence," replied De Walton, in a 
 solemn and animated tone, " Douglas Castle shall 
 be defended, as we have hitherto been able, with 
 the aid of Heaven, to spread from its battlements 
 the broad banner of St. George. Come of me what 
 list during my life, I will die the faithful lover of 
 Augusta de Berkely, even although I no longer 
 
CASTLE DANGEHOUS. 207 
 
 live as her chosen knight. There are cloisters 
 and hermitages " 
 
 " Ay, marry are there, " replied Sir Aymer ; 
 " and girdles of hemp, moreover, and beads of oak ; 
 but all these we omit in our reckonings, till we 
 discover where the Lady Augusta is, and what she 
 purposes to do in this matter. " 
 
 " You say well, " replied De Walton. " Let us 
 hold counsel together by what means we shall, if 
 possible, discover the lady's too hasty retreat, by 
 which she has done me great wrong; I mean if 
 she supposed her commands would not have been 
 fully obeyed, had she honoured with them the 
 governor of Douglas Dale, or any who are under 
 his command. " 
 
 " Now, " replied De Valence, " you again speak 
 like a true son of chivalry. With your permis- 
 sion, I would summon this minstrel to our pre- 
 sence. His fidelity to his mistress has been 
 remarkable ; and, as matters stand now, we must 
 take instant measures for tracing the place of her 
 retreat. " 
 
CHAPTEE XIV. , 
 
 The way is long, my children, long and rough — 
 The moors are dreary and the woods are dark ; 
 But he that creeps from cradle on to grave, 
 Unskilled save in the velvet course of fortune. 
 Hath missed the discipline of noble hearts. 
 
 Old Play, 
 
 It was yet early in the day, when, after the gover- 
 nor and De Valence had again summoned Bertram 
 to their councils, the garrison of Douglas was 
 mustered, and a number of small parties, in addi- 
 tion to those already despatched by De Valence 
 from Hazelside, were sent out to scour the woods 
 in pursuit of the fugitives, with strict injunctions 
 to treat them, if overtaken, with the utmost re- 
 spect, and to obey their commands, keeping an 
 eye, however, on the place where they might take 
 refuge. To facilitate this result, some who were 
 men of discretion were intrusted with the secret 
 who the supposed pilgrim and the fugitive nun 
 really were. The whole ground, whether forest or 
 moorland, within many miles of Douglas Castle, 
 was covered and traversed by parties, whose 
 anxiety to detect the fugitives was equal to the 
 reward for their safe recovery, liberally offered by 
 De Walton and De Valence. They spared not, 
 meantime, to make such inquiries in all directions 
 as might bring to light any machinations of the 
 Scottish insurgents which might be on foot in 
 those wild districts, of which, as we have said 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 209 
 
 before, De Valence, in particular, entertained 
 strong suspicions. Their instructions were, in 
 case of finding such, to proceed against the persons 
 engaged, by arrest and otherwise, in the most 
 rigorous manner, such as had been commanded by 
 De Walton himself at the time when the Black 
 Douglas and his accomplices had been the prin- 
 cipal objects of his wakeful suspicions. These va- 
 rious detachments had greatly reduced the strength 
 of the garrison ; yet, although numerous, alert, 
 and despatched in every direction, they had not 
 the fortune either to fall on the trace of the Lady 
 of Berkely, or to encounter any party whatever of 
 the insurgent Scottish. 
 
 Meanwhile our fugitives had, as we have seen, 
 set out from the convent of St. Bride under the 
 guidance of a cavalier, of whom the Lady Augusta 
 knew nothing save that he was to guide their steps 
 in a direction where they would not be exposed to 
 the risk of being overtaken. At length Margaret 
 de Hautlieu herself spoke upon the subject. 
 
 " You have made no inquiry, " she said, " Lady 
 Augusta, whither you are travelling, or under 
 whose charge, although methinks it should much 
 concern you to know. " 
 
 " Is it not enough for me to be aware, " answered 
 Lady Augusta, " that I am travelling, kind sister, 
 under the protection of one to whom you yourself 
 trust as to a friend ; and why need I be anxious for 
 any further assurance of my safety ? " 
 
 " Simply, " said Margaret de Hautlieu, " because 
 the persons with whom, from national as well as 
 personal circumstances, I stand connected, are per- 
 haps not exactly the protectors to whom you, lady, 
 can with such perfect safety intrust yourself. " 
 
 14 
 
2IO CASTLE DANGEROUS 
 
 " In what sense, " said the Lady Augusta, " do 
 you use these words ? " 
 
 " Because, " replied Margaret de Hautlieu, " the 
 Bruce, the Douglas, Malcolm Fleming, and others 
 of that party, although they are incapable of 
 abusing such an advantage to any dishonourable 
 purpose, might nevertheless, under a strong temp- 
 tation, consider you as an hostage thrown into 
 their hands by Providence, through whom they 
 might meditate the possibility of gaining some 
 benefit to their dispersed and dispirited party. " 
 
 " They might make me, " answered the Lady 
 Augusta, " the subject of such a treaty, when I 
 was dead, but, believe me, never while I drew 
 vital breath. Believe me also that, with what- 
 ever pain, shame, or agony I would again deliver 
 myself up to the power of De Walton, yes, I 
 would rather put myself in his hands — What 
 do I say ? his ! — I would rather surrender my- 
 self to the meanest archer of my native country, 
 than combine with its foes to work mischief to 
 merry England — my own England — that country 
 which is the envy of every other country, and 
 the pride of all who can term themselves her 
 natives ! " 
 
 " I thought that your choice might prove so, " 
 said Lady Margaret ; " and since you have honoured 
 me with your confidence, gladly would I provide 
 for your liberty by placing you as nearly in the 
 situation which you yourself desire, as my poor 
 means have the power of accomplishing. In half 
 an hour we shall be in danger of being taken by 
 the English parties, which will be instantly dis- 
 persed in every direction in quest of us. Now 
 take notice, lady, I know a place in which I can 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 211 
 
 take refuge with my friends and cou»trymen, those 
 gallant Scots, who have never even in this dis- 
 honoured age bent the knee to Baal. For their 
 honour, their nicety of honour, I could in other 
 days have answered with my own ; but of late, I 
 am bound to tell you, they have been put to those 
 trials by which the most generous affections may 
 be soured, and driven to a species of frenzy, the 
 more wild that it is founded originally on the 
 noblest feelings. A person who feels himself 
 deprived of his natural birthright, denounced, 
 exposed to confiscation and death, because he 
 avouches the rights of his king, the cause of his 
 country, ceases on his part to be nice or precise in 
 estimating the degree of retaliation which it is 
 lawful for him to exercise in the requital of such 
 injuries ; and, believe me, bitterly should I lament 
 having guided you into a situation which you 
 might consider afflicting or degrading. " 
 
 " In a word, then, " said the English lady, " what 
 is it you apprehend I am like to suffer at the 
 hands of your friends, whom I must be excused for 
 terming rebels ? " 
 
 " If, " said the Sister Ursula, " your friends, 
 whom I should term oppressors and tyrants, take 
 Our land and our lives, seize our castles and con- 
 fiscate our property, you must confess, that the 
 rough laws of war indulge mine with the privilege 
 of retaliation. There can be no fear that such 
 men, under any circumstances, would ever exer- 
 cise cruelty or insult upon a lady of your rank ; 
 but it is another thing to calculate that they will 
 abstain from such means of extorting advantage 
 from your captivity as are common in warfare. 
 You would not, I think, wish to be delivered up 
 
212 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 to the English, on consideration of Sir John de 
 Walton surrendering the Castle of Douglas to its 
 natural lord; yet, were you in the hands of the 
 Bruce or Douglas, although I can answer for your 
 being treated with all the respect which they have 
 the means of showing, yet I own, their putting 
 you at such a ransom might be by no means 
 unlikely. " 
 
 " I would sooner die, " said the Lady Berkely, 
 " than have my name mixed up in a treaty so dis- 
 graceful ; and De Walton's reply to it would, I am 
 certain, be to strike the head from the messenger, 
 and throw it from the highest tower of Douglas 
 Castle. " 
 
 "Where, then, lady, would you now go," said 
 Sister Ursula, " were the choice in your power ? " 
 
 " To my own castle, " answered Lady Augusta, 
 " where, if necessary, I could be defended even 
 against the king himself, until I could place at 
 least my person under the protection of the 
 Church. " 
 
 " In that case, " replied Margaret de Hautlieu, 
 " my power of rendering you assistance is only 
 precarious, yet it comprehends a choice which I 
 will willingly submit to your decision, notwith- 
 standing I thereby subject the secrets of my friends 
 to some risk of being discovered and frustrated. 
 But the confidence which you have placed in me 
 imposes on me the necessity of committing to you 
 a like trust. It rests with you, whether you will 
 proceed with me to the secret rendezvous of the 
 Douglas and his friends, which I may be blamed 
 for making known, and there take your chance of 
 the reception which you may encounter, since I 
 cannot warrant you of anything save honourable 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 213 
 
 treatment, so far as your person is concerned ; or, 
 if you should think this too hazardous, make the 
 best of your way at once for the Border ; in which 
 last case I will proceed as far as I can with you 
 towards the English line, and then leave you to 
 pursue your journey, and to obtain a guard and a 
 conductor among your own countrymen. Mean- 
 time, it will be well for me if I escape being taken, 
 since the abbot would not shrink at inflicting upon 
 me the death due to an apostate nun. " 
 
 " Such cruelty, my sister, could hardly be in- 
 flicted upon one who had never taken the religious 
 vows, and who still, according to the laws of the 
 Church, had a right to make a choice between 
 the world and the veil. " 
 
 " Such choice as they gave their gallant vic- 
 tims, " said Lady Margaret, " who have fallen into 
 English hands during these merciless wars, — such 
 choice as they gave to Wallace, the Champion of 
 Scotland, — such as they gave to Hay, the gentle 
 and the free, — to Sommerville, the flower of 
 chivalry, — and to Athol, the blood relation of 
 King Edward himself — all of whom were as much 
 traitors, under which name they were executed, as 
 Margaret de Hautlieu is an apostate nun, and 
 subject to the rule of the cloister. " 
 
 She spoke with some eagerness, for she felt as 
 if the English lady imputed to her more coldness 
 than she was, in such doubtful circumstances, 
 conscious of manifesting. 
 
 " And after all, " she proceeded, " you. Lady 
 Augusta de Berkely, what do you venture, if you 
 run the risk of falling into the hands of your 
 lover ? What dreadful risk do you incur ? You 
 need not, methinks, fear being immured between 
 
214 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 four walls, with a basket of bread and a cruise of 
 water, which, were I seized, would be the only- 
 support allowed to me for the short space that my 
 life would be prolonged. Nay, even were you to 
 be betrayed to the rebel Scots, as you call them, a 
 captivity among the hills, sweetened by the hope 
 of deliverance, and rendered tolerable by all the 
 alleviations which the circumstances of your cap- 
 tors allowed them the means of supplying, were 
 not, I think, a lot so very hard to endure. " 
 
 " Nevertheless, " answered the Lady of Berkely, 
 " frightful enough it must have appeared to me, 
 since, to fly from such, I threw myself upon your 
 guidance. " 
 
 " And whatever you think or suspect, " answered 
 the novice, " I am as true to you as ever was one 
 maiden to another; and as sure as ever Sister 
 Ursula was true to her vows, although they were 
 never completed, so will I be faithful to your 
 secret, even at the risk of betraying my own. " 
 
 " Hearken, lady ! " she said, suddenly pausing. 
 " Do you hear that ? " 
 
 The sound to which she alluded was the same 
 imitation of the cry of an owlet which the lady 
 had before heard under the walls of the convent 
 
 " These sounds, " said Margaret de Hautlieu, 
 " announce that one is near more able than I am to 
 direct us in this matter. I must go forward and 
 speak with him ; and this man, our guide, will 
 remain by you for a little space; nor, when he 
 quits your bridle, need you wait for any other 
 signal, but ride forward on the woodland path, 
 and obey the advice and directions which will 
 be given you. " 
 
 " Stay ! stay ! Sister Ursula ! " cried the Lady 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 215 
 
 de Berkely. " Abandon me not in this moment 
 of uncertainty and distress ! " 
 
 " It must be, for the sake of both, " returned 
 Margaret de Hautlieu. " I also am in uncertainty 
 — I also am in distress — and patience and obe- 
 dience are the only virtues which can save us 
 both. " 
 
 So saying, she struck her horse with the riding- 
 rod, and, moving briskly forward, disappeared 
 among the boughs of a tangled thicket. The Lady 
 of Berkely would have followed her companion, 
 but the cavalier who attended them laid a strong 
 hand upon the bridle of her palfrey, with a look 
 which implied that he would not permit her to 
 proceed in that direction. Terrified, therefore, 
 though she could not exactly state a reason why, 
 the Lady of Berkely remained with her eyes fixed 
 upon the thicket, instinctively, as it were, expecting 
 to see a band of English archers, or rugged Scot- 
 tish insurgents, issue from its tangled skirts, and 
 doubtful which she should have most considered 
 as the objects of her terror. In the distress of her 
 uncertainty she again attempted to move forward, 
 but the stern check which her attendant again 
 bestowed upon her bridle proved sufficiently that 
 in restraining her wislies the stranger was not 
 likely to spare the strength which he certainly 
 possessed. At length, after some ten minutes had 
 elapsed, the cavalier withdrew his hand from her 
 bridle, and pointing with his lance towards the 
 thicket, through which there winded a narrow, 
 scarce visible path, seemed to intimate to the lady 
 that her road lay in that direction, and that he 
 would no longer prevent her following it. 
 
 " Do you not go with me ? " said the lady, who, 
 
2i6 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 having been accustomed to this man's company 
 since they left the convent, had by degrees come to 
 look upon him as a sort of protector. He, how- 
 ever, gravely shook his head, as if to excuse com- 
 plying with a request which it was not in his 
 power to grant, and, turning his steed in a diffe- 
 rent direction, retired at a pace which soon carried 
 him from her sight. She had then no alternative 
 but to take the path of the thicket which had been 
 followed by Margaret de Hautlieu, nor did she 
 pursue it long before coming in sight of a singular 
 spectacle. 
 
 The trees grew wider as the lady advancerl, and 
 when she entered the thicket she perceived that, 
 though hedged in as it were by an enclosure of 
 copsewood, it was in the interior altogether occu- 
 pied by a few of the magnificent trees, such as 
 seemed to have been the ancestors of the forest, 
 and which, though few in number, were sufficient 
 to overshade all the unoccupied ground, by the 
 great extent of their complicated branches. Be- 
 neath one of these lay stretched something of a 
 grey colour, which, as it drew itself together, 
 exhibited the figure of a man sheathed in armour, 
 but strangely accoutred, and in a manner so bizarre 
 as to indicate some of the wild fancies peculiar to 
 the knights of that period. His armour was inge- 
 niously painted, so as to represent a skeleton ; the 
 ribs being constituted by the corselet and its back- 
 piece. The shield represented an owl with its 
 wings spread, a device which was repeated upon 
 the helmet, which appeared to be completely 
 covered by an image of the same bird of ill omen. 
 But that which was particularly calculated to ex- 
 cite surprise in the spectator was the great height 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 217 
 
 and thinness of the figure, which, as it arose from 
 the ground and placed itself in an erect posture, 
 seemed rather to resemble an apparition in the act 
 of extricating itself from the grave, than that of 
 an ordinary man rising upon his feet. The horse, 
 too, upon which the lady rode, started back, and 
 snorted, either at the sudden change of posture of 
 this ghastly specimen of chivalry, or disagreeably 
 affected by some odour which accompanied his 
 presence. The lady herself manifested some alarm, 
 for although she did not utterly believe she was 
 in the presence of a supernatural being, yet, among 
 all the strange half-frantic disguises of chivalry, 
 this was assuredly the most uncouth which she 
 had ever seen; and considering how often the 
 knights of the period pushed their dreamy fancies 
 to the borders of insanity, it seemed at best no 
 very safe adventure to meet one accoutred in the 
 emblems of the King of Terrors himself, alone, and 
 in the midst of a wild forest. Be the knight's 
 character and purposes what they might, she 
 resolved, however, to accost him in the language 
 and manner observed in romances upon such occa- 
 sions, in the hope even that if he were a madman 
 he might prove a peaceable one, and accessible to 
 civility. 
 
 " Sir Knight, " she said, in as firm a tone as she 
 could assume, " right sorry am I if, by my hasty 
 approach, I have disturbed your solitary medita- 
 tions. My horse, sensible I think of the presence 
 of yours, brought me hither, without my being 
 aware whom or what I was to encounter. " 
 
 " I am one, " answered the stranger, in a solemn 
 tone, " whom few men seek to meet, till the time 
 comes that they can avoid me no longer. " 
 
2i8 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 " You speak, Sir Knight, " replied the Lady de 
 Berkely, " according to the dismal character of 
 which it has pleased you to assume the distinction. 
 May I appeal to one whose exterior is so formi- 
 dable, for the purpose of requesting some directions 
 to guide me through this wild wood ; as, for in- 
 stance, what is the name of the nearest castle, 
 town, or hostelry, and by what course I am best 
 likely to reach such?" 
 
 "It is a singular audacity, " answered the 
 Knight of the Tomb, " that would enter into con- 
 versation with him who is termed the Inexorable, 
 the Unsparing, and the Pitiless, whom even the 
 most miserable forbears to call to his assistance, 
 lest his prayers should be too soon answ^ered. " 
 
 " Sir Knight, " replied the Lady Augusta, " the 
 character which you have assumed, unquestionably 
 for good reasons, dictates to you a peculiar course 
 of speech ; but although your part is a sad one, it 
 does not, I should suppose, render it necessary for 
 you to refuse those acts of civility to which you 
 must have bound yourself in taking the high vows 
 of chivalry." 
 
 " If you will trust to my guidance, " replied the 
 ghastly figure, " there is only one condition upon 
 which I can grant you the information which you 
 require ; and that is, that you follow my footsteps 
 without any questions asked as to the tendency 
 of our journey. " 
 
 " I suppose I must submit to your conditions, " 
 she answered, " if you are indeed pleased to take 
 upon yourself the task of being my guide. In my 
 heart I conceive you to be one of the unhappy 
 gentlemen of Scotland, who are now in arms, as 
 they say, for the defence of their liberties. A rash 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 219 
 
 undertaking has brought me within the sphere 
 of your influence, and now the only favour I have 
 to request of you, against whom I never did or 
 planned any evil, is the guidance which your 
 knowledge of the country permits you easily to 
 afford me in my way to the frontiers of England. 
 Believe that what I may see of your haunts or of 
 your practices shall be to me things invisible, as 
 if they were actually concealed by the sepulchre 
 itself, of the king of which it has pleased you to 
 assume the attributes; and if a sum of money, 
 enough to be the ransom of a wealthy earl, will 
 purchase such a favour at need, such a ransom 
 will be frankly paid, and with as much fidelity as 
 ever it was rendered by a prisoner to the knight by 
 whom he was taken. Do not reject me, princely 
 Bruce — noble Douglas — if indeed it is to either 
 of these that I address myself in this my last 
 extremity — men speak of both as fearful enemies, 
 but generous knights and faithful friends. Let me 
 entreat you to remember how much you would wish 
 your own friends and connections to meet with 
 compassion under similar circumstances, at the 
 hands of the knights of England. " 
 
 " And have they done so ? " replied the knight, 
 in a voice more gloomy than before, " or do you 
 act wisely, while imploring the protection of one 
 whom you believe to be a true Scottish knight, for 
 no other reason than the extreme and extravagant 
 misery of his appearance ; — is it, I say, well or 
 wise to remind him of the mode in which the lords 
 of England have treated the lovely maidens and 
 the high-born dames of Scotland ? Have not their 
 prison cages been suspended from the battlements 
 of castles, that their captivity might be kept in 
 
220 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 view of every base burgher who should desire to 
 look upon the miseries of the noblest peeresses, 
 yea, even the Queen of Scotland ?^ Is this a recol- 
 lection which can inspire a Scottish knight with 
 compassion towards an English lady ? or is it a 
 thought which can do aught but swell the deeply 
 sworn hatred of Edward Plantagenet, the author 
 of these evils, that boils in every drop of Scottish 
 blood which still feels the throb of life ? No ; — 
 it is all you can expect, if, cold and pitiless as 
 the sepulchre I represent, I leave you unassisted in 
 the helpless condition in which you describe your- 
 self to be. " 
 
 " You will not be so inhuman, " replied the 
 lady : " in doing so, you must surrender every 
 right to honest fame, which you have won either 
 by sword or by lance. You must surrender every 
 pretence to that justice which affects the merit 
 of supporting the weak against the strong. You 
 must make it your principle to avenge the wrongs 
 and tyranny of Edward Plantagenet upon the 
 dames and damosels of England, who have neither 
 access to his councils, nor perhaps give him their 
 approbation in his wars against Scotland. " 
 
 " It would not then, " said the Knight of the 
 Sepulchre, " induce you to depart from your re- 
 quest, should I tell you the evils to which you 
 would subject yourself should we fall into the 
 hands of the English troops, and should they 
 find you under such ill-omened protection as my 
 own?" 
 
 " Be assured, " said the lady, " the consideration 
 
 1 The Queen of Robert the Bruce, and the Countess of Buchan, 
 by whom, as one of Macduff's descent, he was crowned at Scone, 
 were secured in the manner described. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 221 
 
 of such an event does not in the least shake my 
 resolution or desire of confiding in your protection. 
 You may probably know who I am, and may judge 
 how far even Edward would hold himself entitled 
 to extend punishment towards me. " 
 
 " How am I to know you, " replied the ghastly 
 cavalier, " or your circumstances ? They must be 
 extraordinary indeed, if they could form a check, 
 either of justice or of humanity, upon the revenge- 
 ful feelings of Edward. All who know him are 
 well assured that it is no ordinary motive that 
 will induce him to depart from the indulgence of 
 his evil temper. But be it as it may, you, lady, 
 if a lady you be, throw yourself as a burden upon 
 me, and I must discharge myself of my trust as I 
 best may; for this purpose you must be guided 
 implicitly by my directions, which will be given 
 after the fashion of those of the spiritual world, 
 being intimations, rather than detailed instruc- 
 tions, for your conduct, and expressed rather by 
 commands than by any reason or argument. In 
 this way it is possible that I may be of service to 
 you; in any other case, it is most likely that I 
 may fail you at need, and melt from your side like 
 a phantom which dreads the approach of day. " 
 
 " You cannot be so cruel ! " answered the lady. 
 " A gentleman, a knight, and a nobleman — and I 
 persuade myself I speak to all — hath duties which 
 he cannot abandon. " 
 
 " He has, I grant it, and they are most sacred to 
 me,** answered the Spectral Knight; "but I have 
 also duties whose obligations are doubly binding, 
 and to which I must sacrifice those which would 
 otherwise lead me to devote myself to your rescue. 
 The only question is, whether you feel inclined to 
 
222 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 accept my protection on the limited terms on 
 which alone I can extend it, or whether you deem 
 it better that each go their own way, and limit 
 themselves to their own resources, and trust the 
 rest to Providence ? " 
 
 " Alas ! " replied the lady, " beset and hard 
 pressed as I am, to ask me to form a resolution 
 for myself is like calling on a wretch, in the act 
 of falling from a precipice, to form a calm judg- 
 ment by what twig he may best gain the chance of 
 breaking his fall. His answer must necessarily 
 be, that he will cling to that which he can easiest 
 lay hold of, and trust the rest to Providence. I 
 accept, therefore, your offer of protection, in the 
 modified way you are pleased to limit it, and I put 
 my faith in Heaven and in you. To aid me effec- 
 tually, however, you must know my name and my 
 circumstances. " 
 
 " All these, " answered the Knight of the Se- 
 pulchre, " have already been told me, by your late 
 companion ; for deem not, young lady, that either 
 beauty, rank, extended domains, unlimited wealth, 
 or the highest accomplishments, can weigh any- 
 thing in the consideration of him who wears the 
 trappings of the tomb, and whose affections and 
 desires are long buried in the charnel-house. " 
 
 "May your faith," said the Lady Augusta de 
 Berkely, " be as steady as your words appear severe, 
 and I submit to your guidance, without the least 
 doubt or fear that it will prove otherwise than as 
 I venture to hope. " 
 
CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 Like the dog following its master, when engaged 
 in training him to the sport in which he desires 
 he should excel, the Lady Augusta felt herself 
 occasionally treated with a severity calculated to 
 impress upon her the most implicit obedience and 
 attention to the Knight of the Tomb, in whom she 
 had speedily persuaded herself she saw a prin- 
 cipal man among the retainers of Douglas, if not 
 James of Douglas himself. Still, however, the 
 ideas which the lady had formed of the redoubted 
 Douglas were those of a knight highly accom- 
 plished in the duties of chivalry, devoted in parti- 
 cular to the service of the fair sex, and altogether 
 unlike the personage with whom she found her- 
 self so strangely united, or rather for the pre- 
 sent enthralled to. Nevertheless, when, as if to 
 abridge further communication, he turned short 
 into one of the mazes of the wood, and seemed to 
 adopt a pace which, from the nature of the ground, 
 the horse on which the Lady Augusta was mounted 
 had difficulty to keep up with, she followed him 
 with the alarm and speed of the young spaniel, 
 which, from fear rather than fondness, endeavours 
 to keep up with the track of its severe master. 
 The simile, it is true, is not a very polite one, nor 
 entirely becoming an age when women were wor- 
 shipped with a certain degree of devotion ; but 
 such circumstances as the present were also rare, 
 
224 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 and the Lady Augusta de Berkely could not but 
 persuade herself that the terrible champion, whose 
 name had been so long the theme of her anxiety, 
 and the terror indeed of the whole country, might 
 be able, some way or other, to accomplish her 
 deliverance. She, therefore, exerted herself to the 
 utmost so as to keep pace with the phantom-like 
 apparition, and followed the knight, as the evening 
 shadow keeps watch upon the belated rustic. 
 
 As the lady obviously suffered under the degree 
 of exertion necessary to keep her palfrey from 
 stumbling in these steep and broken paths, the 
 Knight of the Tomb slackened his pace, looked 
 anxiously around him, and muttered apparently to 
 himself, though probably intended for his com- 
 panion's ear, " There is no occasion for so much 
 haste. " 
 
 He proceeded at a slower rate, until they seemed 
 to be on the brink of a ravine, being one of many 
 irregularities on the surface of the ground, effected 
 by the sudden torrents peculiar to that country, 
 and which, winding among the trees and copse- 
 wood, formed, as it were, a net of places of con- 
 cealment, opening into each other, so that there 
 was perhaps no place in the world so fit for the 
 purpose of ambuscade. The spot where the bor- 
 derer Turnbull had made his escape at the hunting- 
 match was one specimen of this broken country, 
 and perhaps connected itself with the various 
 thickets and passes through which the knight and 
 pilgrim occasionally seemed to take their way, 
 though that ravine was at a considerable distance 
 from their present route. 
 
 Meanwhile the knight led the way, as if rather 
 with the purpose of bewildering the Lady Augusta 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 225 
 
 amidst these interminable woods, than following 
 any exact or fixed path. Here they ascended, 
 and anon appeared to descend in the same direc- 
 tion, finding only boundless wildernesses, and 
 varied combinations of tangled woodland scenery. 
 Such part of the country as seemed arable the 
 knight appeared carefully to avoid; yet he could 
 not direct his course with so much certainty but 
 that he occasionally crossed the path of inhabi- 
 tants and cultivators, who showed a consciousness 
 of so singular a presence, but never, as the lady 
 observed, evinced any symptom of recognition. 
 The inference was obvious, that the spectre knight 
 was known in the country, and that he possessed 
 adherents or accomplices there who were at least 
 so far his friends as to avoid giving any alarm 
 which might be the means of his discovery. The 
 well-imitated cry of the night-owl, too frequent 
 a guest in the wilderness that its call should be a 
 subject of surprise, seemed to be a signal generally 
 understood among them ; for it was heard in dif- 
 ferent parts of the wood, and the Lady Augusta, 
 experienced in such journeys by her former travels 
 under the guidance of the minstrel Bertram, was 
 led to observe that, on hearing such wild notes, 
 her guide changed the direction of his course, and 
 betook himself to paths which led through deeper 
 wilds and more impenetrable thickets. This hap- 
 pened so often, that a new alarm came upon the un- 
 fortunate pilgrim, which suggested other motives 
 of terror. Was she not the confidant, and almost 
 the tool, of some artful design, laid with a view 
 to an extensive operation, which was destined to 
 terminate, as the efforts of Douglas had before 
 done, in the surprise of his hereditary castle, the 
 
 15 
 
226 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 massacre of the English garrison — and, finally, in 
 the dishonour and death of that Sir John de 
 Walton upon whose fate she had long believed, 
 or taught herself to believe, that her own was 
 dependent ? 
 
 It no sooner flashed across the mind of the Lady 
 Augusta that she was engaged in some such con- 
 spiracy with a Scottish insurgent, than she shud- 
 dered at the consequences of the dark transactions 
 in which she had now become involved, and which 
 appeared to have a tendency so very different from 
 what she had at first apprehended. 
 
 The hours of the morning of this remarkable 
 day, being that of Palm Sunday, were thus drawn 
 out in wandering from place to place; while the 
 Lady de Berkely occasionally interposed by peti- 
 tions for liberty, which she endeavoured to express 
 in the most moving and pathetic manner, and by 
 offers of wealth and treasures, to which no answer 
 whatever was returned by her strange guide. 
 
 At length, as if worn out by his captive's im- 
 portunity, the knight, coming close up to the 
 bridle rein of the Lady Augusta, said in a solemn 
 tone — 
 
 " I am, as you may well believe, none of those 
 knights who roam through wood and wild seeking 
 adventures, by which I may obtain grace in the 
 eyes of a fair lady: Yet will I to a certain de- 
 gree grant the request which thou dost solicit so 
 anxiously, and the arbitration of thy fate shall 
 depend upon the pleasure of him to whose will thou 
 hast expressed thyself ready to submit thine own. 
 I will, on our arrival at the place of our destina- 
 tion, which is now at hand, write to Sir John de 
 Walton, and send my letter, together with thy fair 
 
CASTLE DANGEKOUS. 227 
 
 self, by a special messenger. He will, no doubt, 
 speedily attend our summons, and thou shalt 
 thyself be satisfied, that even he who has as yet 
 appeared deaf to entreaty, and insensible to earthly 
 affections, has still some sympathy for beauty and 
 for virtue. I will put the choice of safety, and thy 
 future happiness, into thine own hands, and those 
 of the man whom thou hast chosen; and thou 
 mayst select which thou wilt betwixt those and 
 misery. " 
 
 While he thus spoke, one of those ravines or 
 clefts in the earth seemed to yawn before them, 
 and entering it at the upper end, the spectre 
 knight, with an attention which he had not yet 
 shown, guided the lady's courser by the rein down 
 the broken and steep path by which alone the 
 bottom of the tangled dingle was accessible. 
 
 When placed on firm ground after the dangers of 
 a descent in which her palfrey seemed to be sus- 
 tained by the personal strength and address of the 
 singular being who had hold of the bridle, the 
 lady looked with some astonishment at a place so 
 well adapted for concealment as that which she 
 had now reached. It appeared evident that it 
 was used for this purpose, for more than one stifled 
 answer was given to a very low bugle-note emitted 
 by the Knight of the Tomb ; and when the same 
 note was repeated, about half a score of armed 
 men, some wearing the dress of soldiers, others 
 those of shepherds and agriculturists, showed 
 themselves imperfectly, as if acknowledging the 
 summons. 
 
CHAPTEK XVI. 
 
 " Hail to you, my gallant friends ! " said the 
 Knight of the Tomb to his companions, who 
 seemed to welcome him with the eagerness of men 
 engaged in the same perilous undertaking. " The 
 winter has passed over, the festival of Palm Sun- 
 day is come, and as surely as the ice and snow of 
 this season shall not remain to chill the earth 
 through the ensuing summer, so surely we, in a 
 few hours, keep our word to those Southern brag- 
 garts, who think their language of boasting and 
 malice has as much force over onr Scottish bosoms 
 as the blast possesses over the autumn fruits. 
 But it is not so. While we choose to remain 
 concealed, they may as vainly seek to descry us, 
 as a housewife would search for the needle she has 
 dropped among the withered foliage of yon gigan- 
 tic oak. Yet a few hours, and the lost needle 
 shall become the exterminating' sword of the 
 Genius of Scotland, avenging ten thousand inju- 
 ries, and especially the life of the gallant Lord 
 Douglas, cruelly done to death as an exile from 
 his native country. " 
 
 An exclamation between a yell and a groan 
 burst from the assembled retainers of Douglas, 
 upon being reminded of the recent death of their 
 chieftain ; while they seemed at the same time 
 sensible of the necessity of making little noise, 
 lest they should give the alarm to some of the 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 229 
 
 numerous English parties which were then tra- 
 versing different parts of the forest. The acclama- 
 tion, so cautiously uttered, had scarce died away 
 in silence, when the Knight of the Tomb, or, to 
 call him by his proper name, Sir James Douglas, 
 again addressed his handful of faithful followers. 
 
 " One effort, my friends, may yet be made to 
 end our strife with the Southron without blood- 
 shed. Fate has within a few hours thrown into 
 my power the young heiress of Berkely, for whose 
 sake it is said Sir John de Walton keeps with 
 such obstinacy the castle which is mine by in- 
 heritance. Is there one among you who dare go, 
 as the honourable escort of Augusta de Berkely, 
 bearing a letter, explaining the terms on which 
 I am willing to restore her to her lover, to freedom, 
 and to her English lordships ? " 
 
 " If there is none other, " said a tall man, dressed 
 in the tattered attire of a woodsman, and being, 
 in fact, no other than the very Michael Turnbull 
 who had already given so extraordinary a proof of 
 his undaunted manhood, " I will gladly be the 
 person who will be the lady's henchman on this 
 expedition. " 
 
 " Thou art never wanting, " said the Douglas, 
 " where a manly deed is to be done ; but remember, 
 this lady must pledge to us her word and oath that 
 she will hold herself our faithful prisoner, rescue 
 or no rescue; that she will consider herself as 
 pledged for the life, freedom, and fair usage of 
 Michael Turnbull ; and that if Sir John de Walton 
 refuse my terms, she must hold herself obliged to 
 return with Turnbull to our presence, in order to 
 be disposed of at our pleasure. " 
 
 There was much in these conditions which 
 
230 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 struck the Lady Augusta with natural doubt and 
 horror; nevertheless, strange as it may seem, the 
 declaration of the Douglas gave a species of deci- 
 sion to her situation which might have otherwise 
 been unattainable ; and from the high opinion 
 which she entertained of the Douglas's chivalry, 
 she could not bring herself to think that any part 
 which he might play in the approaching drama 
 would be other than that which a perfect good 
 knight would, under all circumstances, maintain 
 towards his enemy. Even with respect to De 
 Walton, she felt herself relieved of a painful diffi- 
 culty. The idea of her being discovered by the 
 knight himself, in a male disguise, had preyed 
 upon her spirits ; and she felt as if guilty of a 
 departure from the laws of womanhood, in having 
 extended her favour towards him beyond maidenly 
 limits; a step, too, which might tend to lessen 
 her in the eyes of the lover for whom she had 
 hazarded so much. 
 
 The heart, she said, is lightly prized, 
 
 That is but lightly won ; 
 And long shall mourn the heartless man, 
 
 That leaves his love too soon. 
 
 On the other hand, to be brought before him as 
 a prisoner was indeed a circumstance equally per- 
 plexing and unpleasing, but it was one which was 
 beyond her control, and the Douglas, into whose 
 hands she had fallen, appeared to her to represent 
 the deity in the play, whose entrance was almost 
 sufficient to bring its perplexities to a conclusion ; 
 she therefore not unwillingly submitted to take 
 what oaths and promises were required by the 
 party in whose hands she found herself, and ac- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 231 
 
 cordingly engaged to be a true prisoner, whatever 
 might occur. Meantime she strictly obeyed the 
 directions of those who had her motions at com- 
 mand, devoutly praying that circumstances, in 
 themselves so adverse, might nevertheless work 
 together for the safety of her lover and her own 
 freedom. 
 
 A pause ensued, during which a slight repast 
 was placed before the Lady Augusta, who was 
 well-nigh exhausted with the fatigues of her 
 journey, 
 
 Douglas and his partisans, meanwhile, whis- 
 pered together, as if unwilling she should hear 
 their conference ; while, to purchase their good- 
 will, if possible, she studiously avoided every 
 appearance of listening. 
 
 After some conversation, Turnbull, who appeared 
 to consider the lady as peculiarly his charge, said 
 to her in a harsh voice, " Do not fear, lady ; no 
 wrong shall be done you; nevertheless, you must 
 be content for a space to be blindfolded. " 
 
 She submitted to this in silent terror; and the 
 trooper, wrapping part of a mantle round her head, 
 did not assist her to remount her palfrey, but lent 
 her his arm to support her in this blinded state. 
 
CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 The ground which they traversed was, as Lady 
 Augusta could feel, very broken and uneven, and 
 sometimes, as she thought, incumbered with ruins, 
 which were difficult to surmount. The strength 
 of her comrade assisted her forward on such occa- 
 sions ; but his help was so roughly administered, 
 that the lady once or twice, in fear or suffering, 
 was compelled to groan or sigh heavily, whatever 
 was her desire to suppress such evidence of the 
 apprehension which she underwent, or the pain 
 which she endured. Presently, upon an occasion 
 of this kind, she was distinctly sensible that the 
 rough woodsman was removed from her side, and 
 another of the party substituted in his stead, 
 whose voice, more gentle than that of his com- 
 panion, she thought she had lately heard. 
 
 " Noble lady, " were the words, " fear not the 
 slightest injury at our hands, and accept of my 
 ministry instead of that of my henchman, who 
 has gone forward with our letter; do not think 
 me presuming on my situation if I bear you in 
 my arms through ruins where you could not easily 
 move alone and blindfold. " 
 
 At the same time the Lady Augusta Berkely felt 
 herself raised from the earth in the strong arms of 
 a man, and borne onward with the utmost gentle- 
 ness, without the necessity of making those painful 
 exertions which had been formerly required. She 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 233 
 
 Was ashamed of her situation ; but, however deli- 
 cate, it was no time to give vent to complaints, 
 which might have given offence to persons whom 
 it was her interest to conciliate. She, therefore, 
 submitted to necessity, and heard the following 
 words whispered in her ear. 
 
 " Fear nothing ; there is no evil intended you ; 
 nor shall Sir John de Walton, if he loves you as 
 you deserve at his hand, receive any harm on our 
 part. We call on him but to do justice to our- 
 selves and to you ; and be assured you will best 
 accomplish your own happiness by aiding our 
 views, which are equally in favour of your wishes 
 and your freedom." 
 
 The Lady Augusta would have made some an- 
 swer to this, but her breath, betwixt fear and the 
 speed with which she was transported, refused to 
 permit her to use intelligible accents. Meantime 
 she began to be sensible that she was enclosed 
 within some building, and probably a ruinous one 
 
 — for although the mode of her transportation no 
 longer permitted her to ascertain the nature of her 
 path in any respect distinctly, yet the absence of 
 the external air — which was, however, sometimes 
 excluded, and sometimes admitted in furious gusts 
 
 — intimated that she was conducted through 
 buildings partly entire, and in other places admit- 
 ting the wind through wide rents and gaps. In 
 one place it seemed to the lady as if she passed 
 through a considerable body of people, all of whom 
 observed silence, although there was sometimes 
 heard among them a murmur, to which every one 
 present in some degree contributed, although the 
 general sound did not exceed a whisper. Her 
 situation made her attend to every circumstance. 
 
'234 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 and she did not fail to observe that these persons 
 made way for him who bore her, until at length 
 she became sensible that he descended by the regu- 
 lar steps of a stair, and that she was now alone 
 excepting his company. Arrived, as it appeared 
 to the lady, on more level ground, they proceeded 
 on their singular road by a course which appeared 
 neither direct nor easy, and through an atmos- 
 phere which was close to a smothering degree, and 
 felt at the same time damp and disagreeable, as if 
 from the vapours of a new-made grave. Her guide 
 again spoke. 
 
 " Bear up, Lady Augusta, for a little longer, and 
 continue to endure that atmosphere which must 
 be one day common to us all. By the necessity 
 of my situation, I must resign my present office to 
 your original guide, and can only give you my 
 assurance, that neither he, nor any one else, shall 
 ofi'er you the least incivility or insult — and on 
 this you may rely, on the faith of a man of 
 honour. " 
 
 He placed her, as he said these words, upon the 
 soft turf, and, to her infinite refreshment, made 
 her sensible that she was once more in the open 
 air, and free from the smothering atmosphere 
 which had before oppressed her like that of a 
 charnel-house. At the same time, she breathed in 
 a whisper an anxious wish that she might be per- 
 mitted to disincumber herself from the folds of 
 the mantle, which excluded almost the power of 
 breathing, though intended only to prevent her 
 seeing by what road she travelled. She imme- 
 diately found it unfolded, agreeably to her request, 
 and hastened, with uncovered eyes, to take note of 
 the scene around her. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 23^ 
 
 It was overshadowed by thick oak-trees, among 
 which stood some remnants of buildings, or what 
 might have seemed such, being perhaps the same 
 in which she had been lately wandering. A clear 
 fountain of living water bubbled forth from under 
 the twisted roots of one of those trees, and offered 
 the lady the opportunity of a draught of the pure 
 element, and in which she also bathed her face, 
 which had received more than one scratch in the 
 course of her journey, in spite of the care, and 
 almost the tenderness, with which she had latterly 
 been borne along. The cool water speedily stopped 
 the bleeding of those trifling injuries, and the ap- 
 plication served at the same time to recall the 
 scattered senses of the damsel herself. Her first 
 idea was, whether an attempt to escape, if such 
 should appear possible, was not advisable. A mo- 
 ment's reflection, however, satisfied her that such 
 a scheme was not to be thought of; and such 
 second thoughts were confirmed by the approach of 
 the gigantic form of the huntsman Turnbull, the 
 rough tones of whose voice were heard before his 
 figure was obvious to her eye. 
 
 " Were you impatient for my return, fair lady ? 
 Such as I," he continued in an ironical tone of 
 voice, " who are foremost in the chase of wild 
 stags and silvan cattle, are not in use to lag be- 
 hind, when fair ladies, like you, are the objects of 
 pursuit ; and if I am not so constant in my atten- 
 dance as you might expect, believe me, it is be- 
 cause I was engaged in another matter, to which I 
 must sacrifice for a little even the duty of attending 
 on you. " 
 
 " I offer no resistance, " said the lady ; " forbear, 
 however, in discharging thy duty, to augment my 
 
236 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 uneasiness by thy conversation, for thy master hath 
 pledged me his word that he will not sufifer me to 
 be alarmed or ill treated. " 
 
 " Nay, fair one, " replied the huntsman, " I ever 
 thought it was fit to make interest by soft words 
 with fair ladies ; but if you like it not, I have no 
 such pleasure in hunting for fine holiday terms, 
 but that I can with equal ease hold myself silent. 
 Come, then, since we must wait upon this lover 
 of yours ere morning closes, and learn his last 
 resolution touching a matter which is become so 
 strangely complicated, I will hold no more inter- 
 course with you as a female, but talk to you as a 
 person of sense, although an Englishwoman. " 
 
 " You will, " replied the lady, " best fulfil the 
 intentions of those by whose orders you act, by 
 holding no society with me whatever, otherwise 
 than is necessary in the character of guide. " 
 
 The man lowered his brows, yet seemed to 
 assent to what the Lady of Berkely proposed, and 
 remained silent as they for some time pursued 
 their course, each pondering over tlieir own share 
 of meditation, which probably turned upon matters 
 essentially different. At length the loud blast of 
 a bugle was heard at no great distance from the 
 unsocial fellow-travellers. " That is the person 
 we seek, " said Turnbull ; " I know his blast from 
 any other who frequents this forest, and my orders 
 are to bring you to speech of him. " 
 
 The blood darted rapidly through the lady's 
 veins at the thought of being thus unceremoniously 
 presented to the knight, in whose favour she had 
 confessed a rash preference more agreeable to the 
 manners of those times, when exaggerated sen- 
 timents often inspired actions of extravagant 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 237 
 
 generosity, than in our days, when everything is 
 accounted absurd which does not turn upon a 
 motive connected with the immediate selfish inte- 
 rests of the actor himself. When Turnbull, there- 
 fore, winded his horn, as if in answer to the blast 
 which they had heard, the lady was disposed to 
 fly at the first impulse of shame and of fear. 
 Turnbull perceived her intention, and caught hold 
 of her with no very gentle grasp, saying — " Nay, 
 lady, it is to be understood that you play your 
 own part in the drama, which, unless you continue 
 on the stage, will conclude unsatisfactorily to us 
 all, in a combat a outrance between your lover 
 and me, when it will appear which of us is most 
 worthy of your favour. " 
 
 " I will be patient, ** said the lady, bethinking 
 her that even this strange man's presence, and the 
 compulsion which he appeared to use towards her, 
 was a sort of excuse to her female scruples, for 
 coming into the presence of her lover, at least 
 at her first appearance before him, in a disguise 
 which her feelings confessed was not extremely 
 decorous, or reconcilable to the dignity of her 
 sex. 
 
 The moment after these thoughts had passed 
 through her mind, the tramp of a horse was heard 
 approaching; and Sir John de Walton pressing 
 through the trees, became aware of the presence 
 of his lady, captive, as it seemed, in the grasp of 
 a Scottish outlaw, who was only known to him by 
 his former audacity at the hunting-match. 
 
 His surprise and joy only supplied the knight 
 with those hasty expressions — " Caitiff, let go thy 
 hold ! or die in thy profane attempt to control the 
 motions of one whom the very sun in heaven 
 
238 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 should be proud to obey. " At the same time, 
 apprehensive that the huntsman might hurry the 
 lady from his sight by means of some entangled 
 path — such as upon a former occasion had served 
 him for escape — Sir John de Walton dropped his 
 cumbrous lance, of which the trees did not permit 
 him the perfect use, and, springing from his horse, 
 approached Turnbull with his drawn sword. 
 
 The Scottishman, keeping his left hand still 
 upon the lady's mantle, uplifted with his right 
 his battle-axe, or Jedwood staff, for the purpose of 
 parrying and returning the blow of his antagonist; 
 but the lady spoke. 
 
 " Sir John de Walton," she said, " for Heaven's 
 sake, forbear all violence, till you hear upon what 
 pacific object I am brought hither, and by what 
 peaceful means these wars may be put an end to. 
 This man, though an enemy of yours, has been to 
 me a civil and respectful guardian ; and I entreat 
 you to forbear him while he speaks the purpose for 
 which he has brought me hither." 
 
 " To speak of compulsion and the Lady de 
 Berkely in the same breath would itself be cause 
 enough for instant death," said the Governor of 
 Douglas Castle ; " but you command, lady, and I 
 spare his insignificant life, although I have causes 
 of complaint against him, the least of which were 
 good warrant, had he a thousand lives, for the 
 forfeiture of them all." 
 
 " John de Walton, " replied Turnbull, " this lady 
 well knows that no fear of thee operates in my 
 mind to render this a peaceful meeting ; and were 
 I not withheld by other circumstances of great 
 consideration to the Douglas, as well as thyself, I 
 should have no more fear in facing the utmost 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 239 
 
 thou couldst do, than I have now in levelling that 
 sapling to the earth it grows upon. " 
 
 So saying, Michael Turnbull raised his battle- 
 axe, and struck from a neighbouring oak-tree a 
 branch, well-nigh as thick as a man's arm, which 
 (with all its twigs and leaves) rushed to the ground 
 between De Walton and the Scotchman, giving a 
 singular instance of the keenness of his weapon, 
 and the strength and dexterity with which he 
 used it. 
 
 " Let there be truce, then, between us, good fel- 
 low, " said Sir John de Walton, " since it is the lady's 
 pleasure that such should be the case, and let me 
 know what thou hast to say to me respecting her ? " 
 
 " On that subject, " said Turnbull, " my words 
 are few, but mark them. Sir Englishman. The 
 Lady Augusta Berkely, wandering in this country, 
 has become a prisoner of the noble Lord Douglas, 
 the rightful inheritor of the castle and lordship, 
 and he finds himself obliged to attach to the liberty 
 of this lady the following conditions, being in all 
 respects such as good and lawful warfare entitles a 
 knight to exact. That is to say, in all honour and 
 safety the Lady Augusta shall be delivered to Sir 
 John de Walton, or those whom he shall name for 
 the purpose of receiving her. On the other hand, 
 the Castle of Douglas itself, together with all out- 
 posts or garrisons thereunto belonging, shall be 
 made over and surrendered by Sir John de Walton, 
 in the same situation, and containing the same 
 provisions and artillery, as are now within their 
 walls ; and the space of a month of truce shall be 
 permitted to Sir James Douglas and Sir John de 
 Walton further to regulate the terms of surrender 
 on both parts, having first plighted their knightly 
 
240 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 word and oath, that in the exchange of the honour- 
 able lady for the foresaid castle lies the full import 
 of the present agreement, and that every other sub- 
 ject of dispute shall, at the pleasure of the noble 
 knights foresaid, be honourably compounded and 
 agreed betwixt them ; or, at their pleasure, settled 
 knightly by single combat, according to usage and 
 in a fair field, before any honourable person that 
 may possess power enough to preside. " 
 
 It is not easy to conceive the astonishment of 
 Sir John de Walton at hearing the contents of this 
 extraordinary cartel; he looked towards the Lady 
 of Berkely with that aspect of despair with which 
 a criminal may be supposed to see his guardian 
 angel prepare for departure. Through her mind 
 also similar ideas flowed, as if they contained a 
 concession of what she had considered as the sum- 
 mit of her wishes, but under conditions disgrace- 
 ful to her lover, like the cherub's fiery sword of 
 yore, which was a barrier between our first parents 
 and the blessings of Paradise. Sir John de Walton, 
 after a moment's hesitation, broke silence in these 
 words : — 
 
 " Noble lady, you may be surprised if a con- 
 dition be imposed upon me, having for its object 
 your freedom ; and if Sir John de Walton, already 
 standing under those obligations to you which he 
 is proud of acknowledging, should yet hesitate on 
 accepting, with the utmost eagerness, what must 
 insure your restoration to freedom and indepen- 
 dence ; but so it is, that the words now spoken have 
 thrilled in mine ear without reaching to my under- 
 standing, and I must pray the Lady of Berkely for 
 pardon if I take time to reconsider them for a short 
 space. " 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 241 
 
 " And I, " replied TurnbuU, " have only power to 
 allow you half an hour for the consideration of an 
 offer, in accepting which, methinks, you should 
 jump shoulder-height, instead of asking any time 
 for reflection. What does this cartel exact, save 
 what your duty as a knight implicitly obliges you 
 to? You have engaged yourself to become the 
 agent of the tyrant Edward, in holding Douglas 
 Castle, as his commander, to the prejudice of the 
 Scottish nation, and of the Knight of Douglas Dale, 
 who never, as a community or as an individual, 
 were guilty of the least injury towards you; you 
 are therefore prosecuting a false path, unworthy of 
 a good knight. On the other hand, the freedom 
 and safety of your lady is now proposed to be 
 pledged to you, with a full assurance of her 
 liberty and honour, on consideration of your 
 withdrawing from the unjust line of conduct in 
 which you have suffered yourself to be impru- 
 dently engaged. If you persevere in it, you place 
 your own honour, and the lady's happiness, in 
 the hands of men whom you have done every- 
 thing in your power to render desperate, and 
 whom, thus irritated, it is most probable you 
 may find such. " 
 
 " It is not from thee at least, " said the knight, 
 " that I shall learn to estimate the manner in 
 which Douglas will explain the laws of war, or 
 De Walton receive them at his dictating. " 
 
 " I am not, then, " said Turnbull, " received as a 
 friendly messenger? Farewell, and think of this 
 lady as being in any hands but those which are 
 safe, while you make up at leisure your mind upon 
 the message I have brought you. Come, madam, 
 we must be gone. " 
 
 16 
 
242 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 So saying, he seized upon the lady's hand, and 
 pulled her, as if to force her to withdraw. The 
 lady had stood motionless, and almost senseless, 
 while these speeches were exchanged between the 
 warriors ; but when she felt the grasp of Michael 
 Turnbull, she exclaimed, like one almost beside 
 herself with fear — " Help me, De Walton ! " 
 
 The knight, stung to instant rage, assaulted the 
 forester with the utmost fury, and dealt him with 
 his long sword, almost at unawares, two or three 
 heavy blows, by which he was so wounded that he 
 sank backwards in the thicket, and De Walton 
 was about to despatch him, when he was prevented 
 by the anxious cry of the lady — " Alas ! De Wal- 
 ton, what have you done ? This man v/as only 
 an ambassador, and should have passed free from 
 injury, while he confined himself to the delivery 
 of what he was charged with; and if thou hast 
 slain him, who knows how frightful may prove 
 the vengeance exacted ! " 
 
 The voice of the lady seemed to recover the 
 huntsman from the effects of the blows he had 
 received ; he sprang on his feet, saying — " Never 
 mind me, nor think of my becoming the means of 
 making mischief. The knight, in his haste, spoke 
 without giving me warning and defiance, which 
 gave him an advantage which, I think, he would 
 otherwise have scorned to have taken in such a 
 case. I will renew the combat on fairer terms, or 
 call another champion, as the knight pleases. " 
 With these words he disappeared. 
 
 "Fear not, empress of De Walton's thoughts," 
 answered the knight, " but believe, that if we 
 regain together the shelter of Douglas Castle, and 
 the safeguard of St. George's Cross, thou mayst 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 243 
 
 laugh at all. And if you can but pardon, what I 
 shall never be able to forgive myself, the mole-like 
 blindness which did not recognise the sun while 
 under a temporary eclipse, the task cannot be 
 named too hard for mortal valour to achieve which 
 I shall not willingly undertake, to wipe out the 
 memory of my grievous fault. " 
 
 " Mention it no more, " said the lady ; " it is not 
 at such a time as this, when our lives are for 
 the moment at stake, that quarrels upon slighter 
 topics are to be recurred to. I can tell you, if 
 you do not yet know, that the Scots are in 
 arms in this vicinity, and that even the earth 
 has yawned to conceal them from the sight of 
 your garrison. " 
 
 " Let it yawn, then, " said Sir John de Walton, 
 " and suffer every fiend in the infernal abyss to 
 escape from his prison-house and reinforce our 
 enemies — still, fairest, having received in thee a 
 pearl of matchless price, my spurs shall be hacked 
 from my heels by the basest scullion, if I turn my 
 horse's head to the rear before the utmost force 
 these ruffians can assemble, either upon earth or 
 from underneath it. In thy name I defy them all 
 to instant combat. " 
 
 As Sir John de Walton pronounced these last 
 words, in something of an exalted tone, a tall 
 cavalier, arrayed in black armour of the simplest 
 form, stepped forth from that part of the thicket 
 where TurnbuU had disappeared. " I am, " he 
 said, " James of Douglas, and your challenge is 
 accepted. I, the challenged, name the arms our 
 knightly weapons as we now wear them, and our 
 place of combat this field or dingle called the 
 Bloody Sykes, the time being instant, and the 
 
244 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 combatants, like true knights, foregoing each 
 advantage on either side. " ^ 
 
 "So be it, in God's name," said the English 
 knight, who, though surprised at being called upon 
 to so sudden an encounter with so formidable a 
 warrior as young Douglas, was too proud to dream 
 of avoiding the combat. Making a sign to the 
 lady to retire behind him, that he might not lose 
 the advantage which he had gained by setting her 
 at liberty from the forester, he drew his sword, 
 and, with a deliberate and prepared attitude of 
 offence, moved slowly to the encounter. It was a 
 dreadful one, for the courage and skill both of the 
 native Lord of Douglas Dale and of De Walton 
 were among the most renowned of the times, and 
 perhaps the world of chivalry could hardly have 
 produced two knights more famous. Their blows 
 fell as if urged by some mighty engine, where they 
 were met and parried with equal strength and dex- 
 terity ; nor seemed it likely, in the course of ten 
 minutes' encounter, that an advantage would be 
 gained by either combatant over the other. An in- 
 stant they stopped by mutually implied assent, as 
 it seemed, for the purpose of taking breath, during 
 which Douglas said, " I beg that this noble lady 
 may understand, that her own freedom is no way 
 concerned in the present contest, which entirely 
 regards the injustice done by this Sir John de "Wal- 
 ton, and by his nation of England, to the memory 
 of my father, and to my own natural rights. " 
 
 1 The ominous name of Bloodmire-Sink, or Syke, marks a nar- 
 row hollow to the north-west of Douglas Castle, from which it is 
 distant about the third of a mile. Mr. Haddow states that, accord- 
 ing to local tradition, the uame was given in consequence of Sir 
 James Douglas having at this spot intercepted and slain part of 
 the garrison of the castle while De Walton was in command. 
 
m 
 
7he Lady watches the Combat, 
 
 Drawn and Etched by H. Macbeth -Raeburn. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 245 
 
 * Yon are generous, Sir Knight, " replied the 
 lady ; " but in what circumstances do you place 
 me, if you deprive me of my protector by death or 
 captivity, and leave me alone in a foreign land ? " 
 
 " If such should be the event of the combat, " 
 replied Sir James, " the Douglas himself, lady, 
 will safely restore thee to thy native land ; for 
 never did his sword do an injury for which he 
 was not willing to make amends with the same 
 weapon ; and if Sir John de Walton will make the 
 slightest admission that he renounces maintaining 
 the present strife, were it only by yielding up a 
 feather from the plume of his helmet, Douglas 
 will renounce every purpose on his part which can 
 touch the lady's honour or safety, and the combat 
 may be suspended until the national quarrel again 
 brings us together. " 
 
 Sir John de Walton pondered a moment, and 
 the lady, although she did not speak, looked at 
 him with eyes which plainly expressed how much 
 she wished that he would choose the less hazardous 
 alternative. But the knight's own scruples pre- 
 vented his bringing the case to so favourable an 
 arbitrament. 
 
 " Never shall it be said of Sir John de Walton, " 
 he replied, " that he compromised, in the slightest 
 degree, his own honour, or that of his country. 
 This battle may end in my defeat, or rather death, 
 and in that case my earthly prospects are closed, 
 and I resign to Douglas, with my last breath, the 
 charge of the Lady Augusta, trusting that he will 
 defend her with his life, and find the means of 
 replacing her with safety in the halls of her 
 fathers. But while I survive, she may have a 
 better, but will not need another protector than 
 
246 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 he who is honoured by being her own choice ; nor 
 will I yield up, were it a plume from my helmet, 
 implying that I have maintained an unjust quarrel, 
 either in the cause of England or of the fairest of 
 her daughters. Thus far alone I will concede to 
 Douglas — an instant truce, provided the lady shall 
 not be interrupted in her retreat to England, and 
 the combat be fought out upon another day. The 
 Castle and territory of Douglas is the property of 
 Edward of England, the governor in his name is 
 the rightful governor, and on this point I will 
 fight while my eyelids are unclosed. " 
 
 " Time flies, " said Douglas, " without waiting 
 for our resolves ; nor is there any part of his 
 motions of such value as that which is passing 
 with every breath of vital air which we presently 
 draw. Why should we adjourn till to-morrow 
 that which can be as well finished to-day ? Will 
 our swords be sharper, or our arms stronger to 
 wield them, than they are at this moment ? Dou- 
 glas will do all which knight can do to succour 
 a lady in distress; but he will not grant to her 
 knight the slightest mark of deference, which Sir 
 John de Walton vainly supposes himself able to 
 extort by force of arms. " 
 
 With these words, the knights engaged once 
 more in mortal combat, and the lady felt uncertain 
 whether she should attempt her escape through the 
 devious paths of the wood, or abide the issue of 
 this obstinate fight. It was rather her desire to 
 see the fate of Sir John de Walton, than any other 
 consideration, which induced her to remain, as if 
 fascinated, upon the spot, where one of the fiercest 
 quarrels ever fought was disputed by two of the 
 bravest champions that ever drew sword. At last 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 247 
 
 the lady attempted to put a stop to the combat, by- 
 appealing to the bells which began to ring for the 
 service of the day, which was Palm Sunday. 
 
 " For Heaven's sake," she said — " for your own 
 sakes, and for that of lady's love, and the duties 
 of chivalry, hold your hands only for an hour, and 
 take chance, that where strength is so equal, 
 means will be found of converting the truce into a 
 solid peace. Think this is Palm Sunday, and will 
 you defile with blood such a peculiar festival of 
 Christianity ? Intermit your feud at least so far 
 as to pass to the nearest church, bearing with you 
 branches, not in the ostentatious mode of earthly 
 conquerors, but as rendering due homage to the 
 rules of the blessed Church, and the institutions 
 of our holy religion. " 
 
 " I was on my road, fair lady, for that purpose, 
 to the holy church of Douglas," said the English- 
 man, " when I was so fortunate as to meet you at 
 this place ; nor do I object to proceed thither even 
 now, holding truce for an hour, and I fear not to 
 find there friends to whom I can commit you with 
 assurance of safety, in case I am unfortunate in 
 the combat which is now broken off, to be resumed 
 after the service of the day, " 
 
 " I also assent, " said the Douglas, '^ to a truce 
 for such short space ; nor do I fear that there may 
 be good Christians enough at the church, who will 
 not see their master overpowered by odds. Let us 
 go thither, and each take the chance of what 
 Heaven shall please to send us. " 
 
 From these words. Sir John de Walton little 
 doubted that Douglas had assured himself of a 
 party among those who should there assemble ; but 
 he doubted not of so many of the garrison being 
 
248 CASTLE DANGEKOUS. 
 
 present as would bridle every attempt at rising; 
 and the risk, he thought, was worth incurring, 
 since he should thereby secure an opportunity to 
 place Lady Augusta de Berkely in safety, at least 
 80 far as to make her liberty depend on the event 
 of a general conflict, instead of the precarious issue 
 of a combat between himself and Douglas. 
 
 Both these distinguished knights were inwardly 
 of opinion that the proposal of the lady, though it 
 relieved them from their present conflict, by no 
 means bound them to abstain from the conse- 
 quences which an accession of force might add to 
 their general strength, and each relied upon his 
 superiority, in some degree provided for by their 
 previous proceedings. Sir John de "Walton made 
 almost certain of meeting with several of his bands 
 of soldiers, who were scouring the country and 
 traversing the woods by his direction; and Dou- 
 glas, it may be supposed, had not ventured himself 
 in person where a price was set upon his head, 
 without being attended by a sufficient number of 
 approved adherents, placed in more or less connec- 
 tion with each other, and stationed for mutual sup- 
 port. Each, therefore, entertained well-grounded 
 hopes, that, by adopting the truce proposed, he 
 would insure himself an advantage over his an- 
 tagonist, although neither exactly knew in what 
 manner or to what extent this success was to be 
 obtained. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 His talk was of another world — his bodements 
 Strange, doubtful, and mysterious ; those who heard him 
 Listen'd as to a man in feverish dreams, 
 Who speaks of other objects than the present, 
 And mutters like to him who sees a vision. 
 
 Old Play. 
 
 On the same Palm Sunday when De Walton and 
 
 Douglas measured together their mighty swords, 
 the minstrel Bertram was busied with the ancient 
 Book of Prophecies, which we have already men- 
 tioned as the supposed composition of Thomas the 
 Ehymer, but not without many anxieties as to the 
 fate of his lady, and the events which were passing 
 around him. As a minstrel, he was desirous of 
 an auditor to enter into the discoveries which he 
 should make in that mystic volume, as well as to 
 assist in passing away the time. Sir John de 
 Walton had furnished him, in Gilbert Greenleaf 
 the archer, with one who was well contented to 
 play the listener " from morn to dewy eve, " pro- 
 vided a flask of Gascon wine, or a stoup of good 
 English ale, remained on the board. It may be 
 remembered that De Walton, when he dismissed 
 the minstrel from the dungeon, was sensible that 
 he owed him some compensation for the causeless 
 suspicion which had dictated his imprisonment, 
 more particularly as he was a valued servant, and 
 had shown himself the faithful confidant of the 
 Lady Augusta de Berkely, and the person who 
 
250 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 was, moreover, likely to know all the motives and 
 circumstances of her Scottish journey. To secure 
 his good wishes was, therefore, politic; and De 
 Walton had intimated to his faithful archer that 
 he was to lay aside all suspicion of Bertram, but 
 at the same time keep him in sight, and, if pos- 
 sible, in good humour with the governor of the 
 castle, and his adherents. Greenleaf accordingly 
 had no doubt in his own mind that the only way 
 to please a minstrel was to listen with patience 
 and commendation to the lays which he liked best 
 to sing, or the tales which he most loved to tell ; 
 and in order to insure the execution of his master's 
 commands, he judged it necessary to demand of 
 the butler such store of good liquor as could not 
 fail to enhance the pleasure of his society. 
 
 Having thus fortified himself with the means of 
 bearing a long interview with the minstrel, Gilbert 
 Greenleaf proposed to confer upon him the bounty 
 of an early breakfast, which, if it pleased him, 
 they might wash down with a cup of sack, and, 
 having his master's commands to show the min- 
 strel anything about the castle which he might 
 wish to see, refresh their overwearied spirits by 
 attending a part of the gams on of Douglas to the 
 service of the day, which, as we have already seen, 
 was of peculiar sanctity. Against such a proposal 
 the minstrel, a good Christian by profession, and, 
 by his connection with the joyous science, a good 
 fellow, having no objections to offer, the two com- 
 rades, who had formerly little good-will towards 
 each other, commenced their morning's repast on 
 that fated Palm Sunday, with all manner of cor- 
 diality and good-fellowship. 
 
 " Do not believe, worthy minstrel, " said the 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 251 
 
 archer, " that my master in any respect disparages 
 your worth or rank in referring yon for company 
 or conversation to so poor a man as myself. It is 
 true, I am no officer of this garrison; yet for an 
 old archer, who, for these thirty years, has lived 
 by bow and bowstring, I do not (Our 'Lady make 
 me thankful !) hold less share in the grace of Sir 
 John de Walton, the Earl of Pembroke, and other 
 approved good soldiers, than many of those giddy 
 young men on whom commissions are conferred, 
 and to whom confidences are intrusted, not on 
 account of what they have done, but what their 
 ancestors have done before them. I pray you to 
 notice among them one youth placed at our head 
 in De Walton's absence, and who bears the 
 honoured name of Aymer de Valence, being the 
 same with that of the Earl of Pembroke, of whom 
 I have spoken ; this knight has also a brisk young 
 page, whom men call Eabian Harbothel. " 
 
 " Is it to these gentlemen that your censure 
 applies ? " answered the minstrel. " I should have 
 judged differently, having never, in the course of 
 my experience, seen a young man more courteous 
 and amiable than the young knight you named. " 
 
 " I nothing dispute that it may be so, " said the 
 archer, hastening to amend the false step which 
 he had made ; " but in order that it should be so, 
 it will be necessary that he conform to the usages 
 of his uncle, taking the advice of experienced old 
 soldiers in the emergencies which may present 
 themselves ; and not believing, that the knowledge 
 which it takes many years of observation to ac- 
 quire, can be at once conferred by the slap of the 
 flat of a sword, and the magic words, 'Eise up, Sir 
 Arthur' — or however the case may be." 
 
252 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 " Doubt not, Sir Archer," replied Bertram, " that 
 I am fully aware of the advantage to be derived 
 from conversing vy^ith men of experience like you : 
 it benefiteth men of every persuasion, and I myself 
 am oft reduced to lament my want of sufficient 
 knowledge of armorial bearings, signs, and cogni- 
 sances, and would right fain have thy assistance, 
 where I am a stranger alike to the names of places, 
 of persons, and description of banners and emblems 
 by which great families are distinguished from 
 each other, so absolutely necessary to the accom- 
 plishment of my present task. " 
 
 " Pennons and banners, " answered the archer, 
 " I have seen right many, and can assign, as is a 
 soldier's wont, the name of the leader to the 
 emblem under which he musters his followers ; 
 nevertheless, worthy minstrel, I cannot presume 
 to understand what you call prophecies, with or 
 under warranted authority of old painted books, 
 expositions of dreams, oracles, revelations, invoca- 
 tions of damned spirits, judicials, astrologicals, 
 and other gross and palpable offences, whereby 
 men, pretending to have the assistance of the 
 devil, do impose upon the common people, in 
 spite of the warnings of the Privy Council ; not, 
 however, that I suspect you, worthy minstrel, of 
 busying yourself with these attempts to explain 
 futurity, which are dangerous attempts, and may 
 be truly said to be penal, and part of treason. " 
 
 " There is something in what you say, " replied 
 the minstrel ; " yet it applieth not to books and 
 manuscripts such as I have been consulting ; part 
 of which things therein written having already 
 come to pass, authorise us surely to expect the 
 completion of the rest ; nor would I have much 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 253 
 
 difficulty in showing you from this volume, that 
 enough has been already proved true to entitle us 
 to look with certainty to the accomplishment of 
 that which remains. " 
 
 " I should be glad to hear that, " answered the 
 archer, who entertained little more than a soldier's 
 belief respecting prophecies and auguries, but yet 
 cared not bluntly to contradict the minstrel upon 
 such subjects, as he had been instructed by Sir 
 John de AValton to comply with his humour. Ac- 
 cordingly the minstrel began to recite verses, which, 
 in our time, the ablest interpreter could not make 
 sense out of. 
 
 *' When the cock crows, keep well his comb, 
 . For the fox and the fulmart they are false both. 
 When the raven and the rook have rounded together, 
 And the kid in his cliif shall accord to the same, 
 Then shall they be bold, and soon to battle thereafter. 
 Then the birds of the raven rugs and reives, 
 And the leal men of Lothian are louping on their horse; 
 Then shall the poor people be spoiled full near, 
 And the Abbeys be burnt truly that stand upon Tweed ; 
 They shall burn and slay, and great reif make ; 
 There shall no poor man who say whose man he is : 
 Then shall the land be lawless, for love there is none. 
 Then falset shall have foot fully five years ; 
 Then truth surely shall be tint, and none shall lippen to 
 
 other ; 
 The one cousing shall not trust the other. 
 Not the son the father, nor the father the son ; 
 For to have his goods he would have him hanged.'* 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 The archer listened to these mystic prognostica- 
 tions, which were not the less wearisome that they 
 were, in a considerable degree, unintelligible ; at 
 the same time subduing his Hotspur-like disposi- 
 tion to tire of the recitation, yet at brief intervals 
 
254 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 comforting himself with an application to the wine 
 flagon, and enduring as he might what he neither 
 understood nor took interest in. Meanwhile the 
 minstrel proceeded with his explanation of the 
 dubious and imperfect vaticinations of which we 
 have given a sufficient specimen. 
 
 " Could you wish, " said he to Greenleaf, " a 
 more exact description of the miseries which have 
 passed over Scotland in these latter days ? Have 
 not these the raven and rook, the fox and the ful- 
 mart, explained ; either because the nature of the 
 birds or beasts bear an individual resemblance to 
 those of the knights who display them on their 
 banners, or otherwise are bodied forth by actual 
 blazonry on their shields, and come openly into 
 the field to ravage and destroy ? Is not the total 
 disunion of the land plainly indicated by these 
 words, that connections of blood shall be broken 
 asunder, that kinsmen shall not trust each other, 
 and that the father and son, instead of putting 
 faith in their natural connection, shall seek each 
 other's life, in order to enjoy his inheritance? 
 The leal men of Lothian are distinctly mentioned 
 as taking arms, and there is plainly allusion to 
 the other events of these late Scottish troubles. 
 The death of this last William is obscurely inti- 
 mated under the type of a hound, which was that 
 good lord's occasional cognisance. 
 
 The hound that was harmed then muzzled shall be. 
 Who loved him worst shall weep for his wreck ; 
 Yet shall a whelp rise of the same race, 
 That rudely shall roar, and rule the whole north, 
 And quit the whole quarrel of old deeds done, 
 Though he from his hold be kept back awhile. 
 True Thomas told me this in a troublesome time, 
 In a harvest morning at Eldoun hills. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 255 
 
 This hath a meaning, Sir Archer, " continued the 
 minstrel, " and which flies as directly to its mark 
 as one of your own arrows, although there may he 
 some want of wisdom in making the direct expli- 
 cation. Being, however, upon assurance with you, 
 I do not hesitate to tell you, that in my opinion 
 this lion's whelp that waits its time means this 
 same celebrated Scottish prince, Eobert the Bruce, 
 who, though repeatedly defeated, has still, while 
 hunted with bloodhounds, and surrounded by ene- 
 mies of every sort, maintained his pretensions to 
 the crown of Scotland, in despite of King Edward, 
 now reigning. " 
 
 " Minstrel, " answered the soldier, " you are my 
 guest, and we have sat down together as friends to 
 this simple meal in good comradeship. I must 
 tell thee, however, though I am loth to disturb our 
 harmony, that thou art the first who hast adven- 
 tured to speak a word before Gilbert Greenleaf in 
 favour of that outlawed traitor, Eobert Bruce, who 
 has by his seditions so long disturbed the peace of 
 this realm. Take my advice, and be silent on 
 this topic; for, believe me, the sword of a true 
 English archer will spring from its scabbard with- 
 out consent of its master, should it hear aught said 
 to the disparagement of bonny St. George and his 
 ruddy cross ; nor shall the authority of Thomas 
 the Ehymer, or any other prophet in Scotland, 
 England, or Wales, be considered as an apology 
 for such unbecoming predictions. " 
 
 " I were loth to give offence at any time, " said 
 the minstrel, " much more to provoke you to anger, 
 when I am in the very act of experiencing your 
 hospitality. I trust, however, you will remember 
 that I do not come your uninvited guest, and that 
 
256 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 if I speak to you of future events I do so without 
 having the least intention to add my endeavour to 
 bring them to pass ; for, God knows, it is many 
 years since my sincere prayer has been for peace 
 and happiness to all men, and particularly honour 
 and happiness to the land of Bowmen, in which I 
 was born, and which I am bound to remember in 
 my prayers beyond all other nations in the world. " 
 
 " It is well that you do so, " said the archer ; 
 " for so you shall best maintain your bounden duty 
 to the fair land of your birth, which is the richest 
 that the sun shines upon. Something, however, I 
 would know, if it suits with your pleasure to tell 
 me, and that is, whether you find anything in 
 these rude rhymes appearing to affect the safety of 
 the Castle of Douglas, where we now are ? — for, 
 mark me. Sir Minstrel, I have observed that these 
 mouldering parchments, when or by whomsoever 
 composed, have so far a certain coincidence with 
 the truth, that when such predictions which they 
 contain are spread abroad in the country, and 
 create rumours of plots, conspiracies, and bloody 
 wars, they are very apt to cause the very mis- 
 chances which they would be thought only to 
 predict. " 
 
 "It were not very cautious in me," said the 
 minstrel, " to choose a prophecy for my theme, 
 which had reference to any attack on this garrison ; 
 for in such case I should, according to your ideas, 
 lay myself under suspicion of endeavouring to for- 
 ward what no person could more heartily regret 
 than myself. " 
 
 " Take my word for it, good friend, " said the 
 archer, " that it shall not be thus with thee ; for 
 I neither will myself conceive ill of thee, nor 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 257 
 
 report thee to Sir John de Walton as meditating 
 harm against him or his garrison — nor, to speak 
 truth, would Sir John de Walton be willing to 
 believe any one who did. He thinks highly, and 
 no doubt deservedly, of thy good faith towards thy 
 lady, and would conceive it unjust to suspect the 
 fidelity of one who has given evidence of his 
 willingness to meet death rather than betray the 
 least secret of his mistress. " 
 
 " In preserving her secret, " said Bertram, " I 
 only discharged the duty of a faithful servant, 
 leaving it to her to judge how long such a secret 
 ought to be preserved ; for a faithful servant ought 
 to think as little of the issue towards himself of 
 the commission which he bears, as the band of 
 flock silk concerns itself with the secret of the 
 letter which it secures. And, touching your ques- 
 tion — I have no objections, although merely to 
 satisfy your curiosity, to unfold to you that these 
 old prophecies do contain some intimations of wars 
 befalling in Douglas Dale, between an haggard, or 
 wild hawk, which I take to be the cognisance of 
 Sir John de Walton, and the three stars, or mart- 
 lets, which is the cognisance of the Douglas ; and 
 more particulars I could tell of these onslaughts, 
 did I know whereabouts is a place in these woods 
 termed Bloody Sykes, the scene also, as I compre- 
 hend, of slaughter and death, between the fol- 
 lowers of the three stars and those who hold the 
 part of the Saxon, or King of England. " 
 
 " Such a place, " replied Gilbert Greenleaf, " I 
 have heard often mentioned by that name among 
 the natives of these parts; nevertheless it is in 
 vain to seek to discover the precise spot, as these 
 wily Scots conceal from us with care everything 
 
 17 
 
258 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 respecting the geography of their country, as it ia 
 called by learned men ; but we may here mention 
 the Bloody Sykes, Bottomless Myre, and other 
 places, as portentous names, to which their tradi- 
 tions attach some signification of war and slaughter. 
 If it suits your wish, however, we can, on our 
 way to the church, try to find this place called 
 Bloody Sykes, which I doubt not we shall trace 
 out long before the traitors who meditate an at- 
 tack upon us will find a power sufficient for the 
 attempt. " 
 
 Accordingly the minstrel and archer, the latter 
 of whom was by this time reasonably well refreshed 
 with wine, marched out of the Castle of Douglas, 
 without waiting for others of the garrison, re- 
 solving to seek the dingle bearing the ominous 
 name of Bloody Sykes, concerning which the archer 
 only knew that by mere accident he had heard of 
 a place bearing such a name, at the hunting-match 
 made under the auspices of Sir John de Walton, 
 and knew that it lay in the woods somewhere near 
 the town of Douglas, and in the vicinage of the 
 castle. 
 
CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 Hotspur. I cannot choose ; sometimes he angers me 
 With telling me of the moldwarp and the ant. 
 Of the dreamer Merlin, and his prophecies ; 
 And of a dragon and a finless fish, 
 A clipt-wing'd griffin and a moulten raven, 
 A couching lion, and a ramping cat, 
 And such a deal of skimble-skamble stuff. 
 As puts me from my faith. 
 
 King Henry IV. 
 
 The conversation between the minstrel and the 
 ancient archer naturally pursued a train somewhat 
 resembling that of Hotspur and Glendower, in 
 which Gilbert Greenleaf by degrees took a larger 
 share than wag apparently consistent with his 
 habits and education : but the truth was, that as 
 he exerted himself to recall the recognisances of 
 military chieftains, their war-cries, emblems, and 
 other types by which they distinguished them- 
 selves in battle, and might undoubtedly be indi- 
 cated in prophetic rhymes, he began to experience 
 the pleasure which most men entertain when they 
 find themselves unexpectedly possessed of a faculty 
 which the moment calls upon them to employ, and 
 renders them important in the possession of. The 
 minstrel's sound good sense was certainly some- 
 what surprised at the inconsistencies sometimes 
 displayed by his companion, as he was carried ofif 
 by the willingness to make show of his newly dis- 
 covered faculty on the one hand, and, on the other, 
 to call to mind the prejudices which he had nour- 
 
26o CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 ished during his whole life against minstrels, who, 
 with the whole train of legends and fables, were 
 the more likely to be false, as being generally- 
 derived from the " North Countrie. " 
 
 As they strolled from one glade of the forest to 
 another, the minstrel began to be surprised at the 
 number of Scottish votaries whom they met, and 
 who seemed to be hastening to the church, and, as 
 it appeared by the boughs which they carried, to 
 assist in the ceremony of the day. To each of 
 these the archer put a question respecting the 
 existence of a place called Bloody Sykes, and 
 where it was to be found ; but all seemed either to 
 be ignorant on the subject, or desirous of evading 
 it, for which they found some pretext in the jolly 
 archer's manner of interrogation, which savoured 
 a good deal of the genial breakfast. The general 
 answer was, that they knew no such place, or had 
 other matters to attend to upon the morn of a 
 holy-tide than answering frivolous questions. At 
 last, when, in one or two instances, the answer of 
 the Scottish almost approached to sullenness, the 
 minstrel remarked it, observing that there was 
 ever some mischief on foot when the people of this 
 country could not find a civil answer to their bet- 
 ters, which is usually so ready among them, and 
 that they appeared to be making a strong muster 
 for the service of Palm Sunday. 
 
 " You will doubtless, Sir Archer, " continued 
 the minstrel, " make your report to your knight 
 accordingly ; for I promise you, that if you do not, 
 I myself, whose lady's freedom is also concerned, 
 will feel it my duty to place before Sir John de 
 Walton the circumstances which make me enter- 
 tain suspicion of this extraordinary confluence of 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 261 
 
 Scottish men, and the surliness which has replaced 
 their wonted courtesy of manners. " 
 
 " Tush, Sir Minstrel, " replied the archer, dis- 
 pleased at Bertram's interference, "believe me, 
 that armies have ere now depended on my report 
 to the general, which has always been perspicuous 
 and clear, according to the duties of war. Your 
 walk, my worthy friend, has been in a separate 
 department, such as affairs of peace, old songs, 
 prophecies, and the like, in which it is far from 
 my thoughts to contend with you ; but credit me, 
 it will be most for the reputation of both, that we 
 do not attempt to interfere with what concerns 
 each other. " 
 
 " It is far from my wish to do so, " replied the 
 minstrel ; " but I would wish that a speedy return 
 should be made to the castle, in order to ask Sir 
 John de Walton's opinion of that which we have 
 but just seen. " 
 
 " To this, " replied Greenleaf, " there can be no 
 objection ; but, would you seek the governor at the 
 hour which now is, you will find him most readily 
 by going to the church of Douglas, to which he 
 regularly wends on occasions such as the present, 
 with the principal part of his officers, to insure, 
 by his presence, that no tumult arise (of which 
 there is no little dread) between the English and 
 the Scottish. Let us therefore hold to our original 
 intention of attending the service of the day, and 
 we shall rid ourselves of these entangled woods, 
 and gain the shortest road to the church of 
 Douglas. " 
 
 " Let us go, then, with all despatch, " said the 
 minstrel ; " and with the greater haste, that it ap- 
 pears to me that something has passed on this very 
 
262 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 spot this morning, which argues that the Chris- 
 tian peace due to the day has not been inviolably 
 observed. What mean these drops of blood ? " — 
 alluding to those which had flowed from the 
 wounds of Turnbull. " Wherefore is the earth 
 impressed with these deep dints, the footsteps of 
 armed men advancing and retreating, doubtless, 
 according to the chances of a fierce and heady 
 conflict ? " 
 
 " By Our Lady, " returned Greenleaf, " I must 
 own that thou seest clear. What were my eyes 
 made of when they permitted thee to be the first 
 discoverer of these signs of conflict? Here are 
 feathers of a blue plume, which I ought to remem- 
 ber, seeing my knight assumed it, or at least per- 
 mitted me to place it in his helmet, this morning, 
 in sign of returning hope, from the liveliness of 
 its colour. But here it lies, shorn from his head, 
 and, if I may guess, by no friendly hand. Come, 
 friend, to the church — to the church — and thou 
 shalt have my example of the manner in which 
 De Walton ought to be supported when in 
 danger, " 
 
 He led the way through the town of Douglas, 
 entering at the southern gate, and up the very 
 street in which Sir Aymer de Valence had charged 
 the Phantom Knight. 
 
 We can now say more fully, that the church of 
 Douglas had originally been a stately Gothic 
 building, whose towers, arising high above the 
 walls of the town, bore witness to the grandeur 
 of its original construction. It was now partly 
 ruinous, and the small portion of open space which 
 was retained for public worship was fitted up in 
 the family aisle, where its deceased lords rested 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 263 
 
 from worldly labours and the strife of war. From 
 the open ground in the front of the building, their 
 eye could pursue a considerable part of the course 
 of the river Douglas, which approached the town 
 from the south-west, bordered by a line of hills 
 fantastically diversified in their appearance, and 
 in many places covered with copsewood, which 
 descended towards the valley, and formed a part 
 of the tangled and intricate woodland by which 
 the town was surrounded. The river itself, 
 sweeping round the west side of the town, and 
 from thence northward, supplied that large inun- 
 dation or artificial piece of water which we have 
 already mentioned. Several of the Scottish people, 
 bearing willow branches, or those of yew, to repre- 
 sent the palms which were the symbol of the day, 
 seemed wandering in the churchyard as if to attend 
 the approach of some person of peculiar sanctity, 
 or procession of monks and friars, come to render 
 the homage due to the solemnity. At the moment 
 almost that Bertram and his companion entered 
 the churchyard, the Lady of Berkely, who was in 
 the act of following Sir John de Walton into the 
 church, after having witnessed his conflict with 
 the young Knight of Douglas, caught a glimpse of 
 her faithful minstrel, and instantly determined to 
 regain the company of that old servant of her 
 house and confidant of her fortunes, and trust to 
 the chance afterwards of being rejoined by Sir 
 John de Walton, with a sufficient party to provide 
 for her safety, which she in no respect doubted it 
 would be his care to collect. She darted away 
 accordingly from the path in which she was ad- 
 vancing, and reached the place where Bertram, 
 with his new acquaintance Greenleaf, were making 
 
264 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 some inquiries of the soldiers of the English gar- 
 rison, whom the service of the day had brought 
 there. 
 
 Lady Augusta Berkely, in the meantime, had 
 an opportunity to say privately to her faithful at- 
 tendant and guide, " Take no notice of me, friend 
 Bertram, but take heed, if possible, that we be not 
 again separated from each other. " Having given 
 him this hint, she observed that it was adopted 
 by the minstrel, and that he presently afterwards 
 looked round and set his eye upon her, as, muffled 
 in her pilgrim's cloak, she slowly withdrew to 
 another part of the cemetery, and seemed to halt, 
 until, detaching himself from Greenleaf, he should 
 find an opportunity of joining her. 
 
 Nothing, in truth, could have more sensibly 
 affected the faithful minstrel than the singular 
 mode of communication which acquainted him that 
 his mistress was safe, and at liberty to choose her 
 own motions, and, as he might hope, disposed 
 to extricate herself from the dangers which sur- 
 rounded her in Scotland, by an immediate retreat 
 to her own country and domain. He would gladly 
 have approached and joined her, but she took an 
 opportunity by a sign to caution him against doing 
 so, while at the same time he remained somewhat 
 apprehensive of the consequences of bringing her 
 under the notice of his new friend, Greenleaf, who 
 might perhaps think it proper to busy himself so 
 as to gain some favour with the knight who was 
 at the head of the garrison. Meantime the old 
 archer continued his conversation with Bertram, 
 while the minstrel, like many other men similarly 
 situated, heartily wished that his well-meaning 
 companion had been a hundred fathoms under 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 265 
 
 ground, so his evanisbinent had given him licence 
 to join his mistress ; but all he had in his power 
 was to approach her as near as he could, without 
 creating any suspicion. 
 
 " I would pray you, worthy minstrel, " said 
 Greenleaf, after looking carefully round, " that we 
 may prosecute together the theme which we were 
 agitating before we came hither. Is it not your 
 opinion that the Scottish natives have fixed this 
 very morning for some of those dangerous attempts 
 which they have repeatedly made, and which are 
 so carefully guarded against by the governors 
 placed in this district of Douglas by our good 
 King Edward, our rightful sovereign ? " 
 
 " I cannot see, " replied the minstrel, " on what 
 grounds you found such an apprehension, or what 
 you see here in the churchyard different from that 
 you talked of as we approached it, when you held 
 me rather in scorn for giving way to some sus- 
 picions of the same kind. " 
 
 " Do you not see, " added the archer, " the num- 
 bers of men, with strange faces, and in various 
 disguisements, who are thronging about these an- 
 cient ruins, which are usually so solitary ? Yon- 
 der, for example, sits a boy, who seems to shun 
 observation, and whose dress, I will be sworn, 
 has never been shaped in Scotland. " 
 
 " And if he is an English pilgrim, " replied the 
 minstrel, observing that the archer pointed towards 
 the Lady of Berkely, " he surely affords less matter 
 of suspicion. " 
 
 " I know not that, " said old Greenleaf, " but I 
 think it will be my duty to inform Sir John de 
 Walton, if I can reach him, that there are many 
 persons here who in outward appearance neithei 
 
266 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 belong to the garrison nor to this part of the 
 country. " 
 
 " Consider, " said Bertram, " before you harass 
 with accusation a poor young man, and subject 
 him to the consequences which must necessarily 
 attend upon suspicions of this nature, how many 
 circumstances call forth men peculiarly to devotion 
 at this period. Not only is this the time of the 
 triumphal entrance of the founder of the Christian 
 religion into Jerusalem, but the day itself is called 
 Dominica Confitentium, or the Sunday of Confes- 
 sors, and the palm-tree, or the box and yew, which 
 are used as its substitutes, and which are distri- 
 buted to the priests, are burnt solemnly to ashes, 
 and those ashes distributed among the pious, by 
 the priests, upon the Ash-Wednesday of the suc- 
 ceeding year, all which rites and ceremonies in 
 our country are observed, by order of the Christian 
 Church ; nor ought you, gentle archer, nor can you 
 without a crime, persecute those as guilty of 
 designs upon your garrison, who can ascribe their 
 presence here to their desire to discharge the 
 duties of the day ; and look ye at yon numerous 
 procession approaching with banner and cross, and, 
 as it appears, consisting of some Churchman of 
 rank, and his attendants ; let us first inquire who 
 he is, and it is probable we shall find in his name 
 and rank sufficient security for the peaceable and 
 orderly behaviour of those whom piety has this 
 day assembled at the church of Douglas. " 
 
 Greenleaf accordingly made the investigation 
 recommended by his companion, and received 
 information that the holy man who headed the 
 procession was no other than the diocesan of the 
 district, the Bishop of Glasgow, who had come to 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 267 
 
 give his countenance to the rites with which the 
 day was to be sanctified. 
 
 The prelate accordingly entered the walls of the 
 dilapidated churchyard, preceded by his cross- 
 bearers, and attended by numbers, with boughs of 
 yew and other evergreens, used on the festivity 
 instead of palms. Among them the holy father 
 showered his blessing, accompanied by signs of 
 the cross, which were met with devout exclama- 
 tions by such of the worshippers as crowded around 
 him : " To thee, reverend father, we apply for 
 pardon for our offences, which we humbly desire 
 to confess to thee, in order that we may obtain 
 pardon from heaven. " 
 
 In this manner the congregation and the dig- 
 nified clergyman met together, exchanging pious 
 greeting, and seemingly intent upon nothing but 
 the rites of the day. The acclamations of the 
 congregation mingled with the de^p voice of the 
 officiating priest, dispensing the sacred ritual ; 
 the whole forming a scene which, conducted with 
 the Catholic skill and ceremonial, was at once im- 
 posing and affecting. 
 
 The archer, on seeing the zeal with which the 
 people in the churchyard, as well as a number who 
 issued from the church, hastened proudly to salute 
 the bishop of the diocese, was rather ashamed of 
 the suspicions which he had entertained of the 
 sincerity of the good man's purpose in coming 
 hither. Taking advantage of a fit of devotion, 
 not perhaps very common with old Greenleaf, who 
 at this moment thrust himself forward to share in 
 those spiritual advantages which the prelate was 
 dispensing, Bertram slipped clear of his English 
 friend, and, gliding to the side of the Lady 
 
268 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 Augusta, exchanged, by the pressure of the hand, 
 a mutual congratulation upon having rejoined 
 company. On a sign by the minstrel, they with- 
 drew to the inside of the church, so as to remain 
 unobserved amidst the crowd, in which they were 
 favoured by the dark shadows of some parts of the 
 building. 
 
 The body of the church, broken as it was, and 
 hung round with the armorial trophies of the last 
 Lords of Douglas, furnished rather the appearance 
 of a sacrilegiously desecrated ruin, than the inside 
 of a holy place ; yet some care appeared to have 
 been taken to prepare it for the service of the day. 
 At the lower end hung the great escutcheon of 
 William Lord of Douglas, who had lately died a 
 prisoner in England ; around that escutcheon were 
 placed the smaller shields of his sixteen ancestors, 
 and a deep black shadow was diffused by the whole 
 mass, unless where relieved by the glance of the 
 coronets, or the glimmer of bearings particularly 
 gay in emblazonry. I need not say that in other 
 respects the interior of the church was much dis- 
 mantled, it being the very same place in which 
 Sir Aymer de Valence held an interview with the 
 old sexton ; and who now, drawing into a separate 
 corner some of the straggling parties whom he had 
 collected and brought to the church, kept on the 
 alert, and appeared ready for an attack as well at 
 midday as at the witching hour of midnight. This 
 was the more necessary, as the eye of Sir John de 
 Walton seemed busied in searching from one place 
 to another, as if unable to find the object he was 
 in quest of, which the reader will easily under- 
 stand to be the Lady Augusta de Berkely, of whom 
 he had lost sight in the pressure of the multitude 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 269 
 
 At the eastern part of the church was fitted up a 
 temporary altar, by the side of which, arrayed in his 
 robes, the Bishop of Glasgow had taken his place, 
 with such priests and attendants as composed his 
 episcopal retinue. His suite was neither numerous 
 nor richly attired, nor did his own appearance pre- 
 sent a splendid specimen of the wealth and dignity 
 of the episcopal order. When he laid down, how- 
 ever, his golden cross, at the stern command of 
 the King of England, that of simple wood, which 
 he assumed instead thereof, did not possess less 
 authority, nor command less awe among the clergy 
 and people of the diocese. 
 
 The various persons, natives of Scotland, now 
 gathered around, seemed to watch his motions, as 
 those of a descended saint, and the English waited 
 in mute astonishment, apprehensive that at some 
 unexpected signal an attack would be made upon 
 them, either by the powers of earth or heaven, or 
 perhaps by both in combination. The truth is, 
 that so great was the devotion of the Scottish 
 clergy of the higher ranks to the interests of the 
 party of Bruce, that the English had become 
 jealous of permitting them to interfere even with 
 those ceremonies of the Church which were placed 
 under their proper management, and thence the 
 presence of the Bishop of Glasgow, officiating at 
 a high festival in the church of Douglas, was a 
 circumstance of rare occurrence, and not unat- 
 tended both with wonder and suspicion. A coun- 
 cil of the Church, however, had lately called the 
 distinguished prelates of Scotland to the discharge 
 of their duty on the festivity of Palm Sunday, and 
 neither English nor Scottish saw the ceremony 
 with indifference. An unwonted silence which 
 
270 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 prevailed in the church, filled, as it appeared, 
 with persons of different views, hopes, wishes, and 
 expectations, resembled one of those solemn pauses 
 which often take place before a strife of the ele- 
 ments, and are well understood to be the fore- 
 runners of some dreadful concussion of nature. 
 All animals, according to their various nature, 
 express their sense of the approaching tempest; 
 the cattle, the deer, and other inhabitants of the 
 walks of the forest, withdraw to the inmost re- 
 cesses of their pastures ; the sheep crowd into 
 their fold ; and the dull stupor of universal nature, 
 whether animate or inanimate, presages its speedily 
 awaking into general convulsion and disturbance, 
 when the lurid lightning shall hiss at command of 
 the diapason of the thunder. 
 
 It was thus that, in deep suspense, those who 
 had come to the church in arms at the summons of 
 Douglas, awaited and expected every moment a 
 signal to attack ; while the soldiers of the English 
 garrison, aware of the evil disposition of the 
 natives towards them, were reckoning every mo- 
 ment when the well-known shout of " Bows and 
 bills ! " should give signal for a general conflict, 
 and both parties, gazing fiercely upon each other, 
 seemed to expect the fatal onset. 
 
 Notwithstanding the tempest, which appeared 
 every moment ready to burst, the Bishop of Glas- 
 gow proceeded with the utmost solemnity to per- 
 form the ceremonies proper to the day ; he paused 
 from time to time to survey the throng, as if to 
 calculate whether the turbulent passions of those 
 around him would be so long kept under as to 
 admit of his duties being brought to a close in a 
 manner becoming the time and place. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 271 
 
 The prelate had just concluded the service, when 
 a person advanced towards him with a solemn and 
 mournful aspect, and asked if the reverend father 
 could devote a few moments to administer comfort 
 to a dying man who was lying wounded close by. 
 
 The Churchman signified a ready acquiescence, 
 amidst a stillness which, when he surveyed the 
 lowering brows of one party at least of those who 
 were in the church, boded no peaceable termina- 
 tion to this fated day. The father motioned to 
 the messenger to show him the way, and proceeded 
 on his mission, attended by some of those who 
 were understood to be followers of the Douglas. 
 
 There was something peculiarly striking, if not 
 suspicious, in the interview which followed. In 
 a subterranean vault was deposited the person of 
 a large tall man, whose blood flowed copiously 
 through two or three ghastly wounds, and streamed 
 amongst the trusses of straw on which he lay ; 
 while his features exhibited a mixture of sternness 
 and ferocity, which seemed prompt to kindle into 
 a still more savage expression. 
 
 The reader will probably conjecture that the 
 person in question was no other than Michael 
 Turnbull, who, wounded in the rencounter of the 
 morning, had been left by some of his friends upon 
 the straw, which was arranged for him by way of 
 couch, to live or die as he best could. The pre- 
 late, on entering the vault, lost no time in calling 
 the attention of the wounded man to the state of 
 his spiritual affairs, and assisting him to such 
 comfort as the doctrine of the Church directed 
 should be administered to departing sinners. The 
 words exchanged between them were of that grave 
 and severe character which passes between the 
 
272 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 ghostly father and his pupil, when one world is 
 rolling away from the view of the sinner, and 
 another is displaying itself in all its terrors, and 
 thundering in the ear of the penitent that retribu- 
 tion which the deeds done in the flesh must needs 
 prepare him to expect. This is one of the most 
 solemn meetings which can take place between 
 earthly beings ; and the courageous character of 
 the Jedwood forester, as well as the benevolent 
 and pious expression of the old Churchman, con- 
 siderably enhanced the pathos of the scene. 
 
 ' " Turnbull, " said the Churchman, " I trust you 
 will believe me when I say, that it grieves my 
 heart to see thee brought to this situation by 
 wounds which, it is my duty to tell you, you 
 must consider mortal. " 
 
 " Is the chase ended, then ? " said the Jedwood 
 man with a sigh. " I care not, good father, for I 
 think I have borne me as becomes a gallant quarry, 
 and that the old forest has lost no credit by me, 
 whether in pursuit or in bringing to bay ; and 
 even in this last matter, methinks this gay English 
 knight would not have come off with such advan- 
 tage, had the ground on which we stood been alike 
 indifferent to both, or had I been aware of his 
 onset; but it will be seen, by any one who takes 
 the trouble to examine, that poor Michael Turn- 
 bull's foot slipped twice in the meUcj otherwise it 
 had not been his fate to be lying here in the dead- 
 thraw;^ while yonder Southron would probably 
 have died like a dog, upon this bloody straw, in 
 his place. " 
 
 The bishop replied, advising his penitent to 
 turn from vindictive thoughts respecting the death 
 
 1 Or death agony. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 273 
 
 of others, and endeavour to fix his attention upon 
 his own departure from existence, which seemed 
 shortly about to take place. 
 
 " Nay, " replied the wounded man, " you, father, 
 undoubtedly know best what is fit for me to do ; 
 yet methinks it would not be very well with me, 
 if I had prolonged to this time of day the task of 
 revising my life, and I am not the man to deny 
 that mine has been a bloody and a desperate one. 
 But you will grant me I never bore malice to a 
 brave enemy for having done me an injury, and 
 show me the man, being a Scotchman born, and 
 having a natural love for his own country, who 
 hath not, in these times, rather preferred a steel 
 cap to a hat and feather, or who hath not been 
 more conversant with drawn blades than with 
 prayer-book; and you yourself know, father, 
 whether, in our proceedings against the English 
 interest, we have not uniformly had the coun- 
 tenance of the sincere fathers of the Scottish 
 Church, and whether we have not been exhorted 
 to take arms and make use of them for the honour 
 of the King of Scotland, and the defence of. our 
 own rights. " 
 
 " Undoubtedly, " said the prelate, " such have 
 been our exhortations towards our oppressed coun- 
 trymen, nor do I now teach you a different doc- 
 trine ; nevertheless, having now blood around me, 
 and a dying man before me, I have need to pray 
 that I have not been misled from the true path, 
 and thus become the means of misdirecting others. 
 May Heaven forgive me if I have done so, since 
 I have only to plead my sincere and honest inten- 
 tion in excuse for the erroneous counsel which I 
 may have given to you and others touching these 
 
 18 
 
274 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 wars. I am conscious that, encouraging you so to 
 stain your swords in blood, I have departed in 
 some degree from the character of my profession, 
 which enjoins that we neither shed blood nor are 
 the occasion of its being shed. May Heaven 
 enable us to obey our duties, and to repent of 
 our errors, especially such as have occasioned the 
 death or distress of our fellow-creatures! And, 
 above all, may this dying Christian become aware 
 of his errors, and repent with sincerity of having 
 done to others that which he would not willingly 
 have suffered at their hand ! " 
 
 " For that matter, " answered Turnbull, " the 
 time has never been when I would not exchange a 
 blow with the best man who ever lived ; and if I 
 was not in constant practice of the sword, it was 
 because I have been brought up to the use of the 
 Jedwood-axe, which the English call a partisan, 
 and which makes little difference, I understand, 
 from the sword and poniard. " 
 
 ** The distinction is not great, " said the bishop ; 
 " but I fear, my friend, that life taken with what 
 you call a Jedwood-axe, gives you no privilege 
 over him who commits the same deed,' and inflicts 
 the same injury, with any other weapon. " 
 
 " Nay, worthy father, " said the penitent, " I 
 must own that the effect of the weapons is the 
 same, as far as concerns the man who suffers ; but 
 I would pray of you information, why a Jedwood 
 man ought not to use, as is the custom of his 
 country, a Jedwood-axe, being, as is implied in 
 the name, the offensive weapon proper to his 
 country ? " 
 
 " The crime of murder, " said the bishop, " con- 
 sists not in the weapon with which the crime is 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 275 
 
 inflicted, but in the pain which the murderer 
 inflicts upon his fellow-creature, and the breach 
 of good order which he introduces into Heaven's 
 lovely and peaceable creation ; and it is by turning 
 your repentance upon this crime that you may 
 fairly expect to propitiate Heaven for your offences, 
 and at the same time to escape the consequences 
 which are denounced in Holy Writ against those 
 by whom man's blood shall be shed. " 
 
 " But, good father, " said the wounded man, 
 " you know as well as any one, that in this com- 
 pany, and in this very church, there are upon the 
 watch scores of both Scotchmen and Englishmen, 
 who come here not so much to discharge the reli- 
 gious duties of the day, as literally to bereave 
 each other of their lives, and give a new example 
 of the horror of those feuds which the two extre- 
 mities of Britain nourish against each other. 
 What conduct, then, is a poor man like me to 
 hold ? Am I not to raise this hand against the 
 English, which methinks I still can make a tole- 
 rably efficient one — or am I, for the first time in 
 my life, to hear the war-cry when it is raised, and 
 hold back my sword from the slaughter? Me- 
 thinks it will be difficult, perhaps altogether 
 impossible, for me to do so; but if such is the 
 pleasure of Heaven, and your advice, most reverend 
 father, unquestionably I must do my best to be 
 governed by your directions, as of one who has a 
 right and title to direct us in every dilemma, or 
 case, as they term it, of troubled conscience. " 
 
 " Unquestionably, " said the bishop, " it is my 
 duty, as I have already said, to give no occasion 
 this day for the shedding of blood, or the breach 
 of peace ; and I must charge you, as my penitent, 
 
276 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 that upon your soul's safety, you do not ministei 
 any occasion to affray or bloodshed, either by 
 maintaining such in your own person, or inciting 
 others to the same ; for by following a different 
 course of advice, I am certain that you, as well as 
 myself, would act sinfully and out of character. " 
 
 " So I will endeavour to think, reverend father, " 
 answered the huntsman ; " nevertheless, I hope it 
 will be remembered in my favour that I am the 
 first person bearing the surname of Turnbull, to- 
 gether with the proper name of the Prince of Arch- 
 angels himself, who has at any time been able to 
 sustain the affront occasioned by the presence of a 
 Southron with a drawn sword, and was not thereby 
 provoked to pluck forth his own weapon, and to lay 
 about him. " 
 
 " Take care, my son, " returned the Prelate of 
 Glasgow, " and observe, that even now thou art 
 departing from those resolutions which, but a few 
 minutes since, thou didst adopt upon serious and 
 just consideration; wherefore do not be, O my 
 son ! like the sow that has wallowed in the mire, 
 and, having been washed, repeats its act of pollu- 
 tion, and becomes again yet fouler than it was 
 before. " 
 
 "Well, reverend father," replied the wounded 
 man, " although it seems almost unnatural for 
 Scottish men and English to meet and part with- 
 out a buffet, yet I will endeavour most faithfully 
 not to minister any occasion of strife, nor, if pos- 
 sible, to snatch at any such occasion as shall be 
 ministered to me." 
 
 " In doing so, " returned the bishop, " thou wilt 
 best atone for the injury which thou hast done to 
 the law of Heaven upon former occasions, and thou 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 277 
 
 shalt prevent the causes for strife betwixt thee 
 and thy brethren of the southern land, and shalt 
 eschew the temptation towards that blood-guilti- 
 ness which is so rife in this our day and genera- 
 tion. And do not think that I am imposing upon 
 thee, by these admonitions, a duty more difficult 
 than it is in thy covenant to bear, as a man and as 
 a Christian. I myself am a man, and a Scotch- 
 man, and, as such, I feel offended at the unjust 
 conduct of the English towards our country and 
 sovereign ; and thinking as you do yourself, I 
 know what you must suffer when you are obliged 
 to submit to national insults, unretaliated and 
 unrevenged. But let us not conceive ourselves the 
 agents of that retributive vengeance which Heaven 
 has, in a peculiar degree, declared to be its own 
 attribute. Let us, while we see and feel the 
 injuries inflicted on our own country, not forget 
 that our own raids, ambuscades, and surprisals 
 have been at least equally fatal to the English as 
 their attacks and forays have been to us ; and, in 
 short, let the mutual injuries of the crosses of St. 
 Andrew and of St. George be no longer considered 
 as hostile to the inhabitants of the opposite dis- 
 trict, at least during the festivals of religion ; but 
 as they are mutually signs of redemption, let them 
 be, in like manner, intimations of forbearance and 
 peace on both sides. " 
 
 " I am contented, " answered Turnbull, " to ab- 
 stain from all offences towards others, and shall 
 even endeavour to keep myself from resenting 
 those of others towards me, in the hope of bringing 
 to pass such a quiet and godly state of things as 
 your words, reverend father, induce me to expect. " 
 Turning his face to the wall, the Borderer lay in 
 
278 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 stern expectation of approaching death, which the 
 bishop left him to contemplate. 
 
 The peaceful disposition which the prelate had 
 inspired into Michael Turnbull had in some degree 
 diffused itself among those present, who heard 
 with awe the spiritual admonition to suspend the 
 national antipathy, and remain in truce and amity 
 with each other. Heaven had, however, decreed 
 that the national quarrel, in which so much blood 
 had been sacrificed, should that day again be the 
 occasion of deadly strife. 
 
 A loud flourish of trumpets, seeming to proceed 
 from beneath the earth, now rang through the 
 church, and roused the attention of the soldiers 
 and worshippers then assembled. Most of those 
 who heard these warlike sounds betook themselves 
 to their weapons, as if they considered it useless 
 to wait any longer for the signal of conflict. 
 Hoarse voices, rude exclamations, the rattle of 
 swords against their sheaths, or their clashing 
 against other pieces of armour, gave an awful 
 presage of an onset, which, however, was for a 
 time averted by the exhortations of the bishop. A 
 second flourish of trumpets having taken place, 
 the voice of a herald made proclamation to the 
 following purpose : — 
 
 " That whereas there were many noble pursui- 
 vants of chivalry presently assembled in the Kirk 
 of Douglas, and whereas there existed among them 
 the usual causes of quarrel and points of debate 
 for their advancement in chivalry, therefore the 
 Scottish knights were ready to fight any number 
 of the English who might be agreed, either upon 
 the superior beauty of their ladies, or upon the 
 national quarrel in any of its branches, or upon 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 279 
 
 whatsoever point might be at issue between them, 
 which should be deemed satisfactory ground of 
 quarrel by both; and the knights who should 
 chance to be worsted in such dispute should re- 
 nounce the prosecution thereof, or the bearing arms 
 therein thereafter, with such other conditions to 
 ensue upon their defeat as might be agreed upon 
 by a council of the knights present at the Kirk of 
 Douglas aforesaid. But foremost of all, any num- 
 ber of Scottish knights, from one to twenty, will 
 defend the quarrel which has already drawn blood, 
 touching the freedom of Lady Augusta de Berkely, 
 and the rendition of Douglas Castle to the owner 
 here present. Wherefore it is required that the 
 English knights do intimate their consent that 
 such trial of valour take place, which, according 
 to the rules of chivalry, they cannot refuse, with- 
 out losing utterly the reputation of valour, and 
 incurring the diminution of such other degree of 
 estimation as a courageous pursuivant of arms 
 would willingly be held in, both by the good 
 knights of his own country, and those of others. " 
 
 This unexpected gage of battle realised the worst 
 fears of those who had looked with suspicion on 
 the extraordinary assemblage this day of the de- 
 pendants of the House of Douglas. After a short 
 pause, the trumpets again flourished lustily, when 
 the reply of the English knights was made in the 
 following terms : — 
 
 " That God forbid the rights and privileges of 
 England's knights, and the beauty of her damsels, 
 should not be asserted by her children, or that 
 such English knights as were here assembled 
 should show the least backwardness to accept the 
 combat offered, whether grounded upon the supe- 
 
28o CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 rior beauty of their ladies, or whether upon the 
 causes of dispute between the countries, for either 
 or all of which the knights of England here present 
 were willing to do battle in the terms of the in- 
 denture aforesaid, while sword and lance shall 
 endure. Saving and excepting the surrender of 
 the Castle of Douglas, which can be rendered to 
 no one but England's king, or those acting under 
 his orders. '^ 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Cry the wild war-note, let the champions pass, 
 
 Do bravely each, and God defend the right ; 
 
 Upon Saint Andrew thrice can they thus cry. 
 
 And thrice they shout on height, 
 
 And then marked them on the Englishmen, 
 
 As I have told you right. 
 
 Saint George the bright, our ladies' knight, 
 
 To name they were full fain ; 
 
 Our Englishmen they cried on height, 
 
 And thrice they shout again. 
 
 Old Ballad. 
 
 The extraordinary crisis mentioned in the pre- 
 ceding chapter was the cause, as may be supposed, 
 of the leaders on both sides now throwing aside 
 all concealment, and displaying their utmost 
 strength, by marshalling their respective adhe- 
 rents. The renowned Knight of Douglas, with Sir 
 Malcolm Fleming and other distinguished cava- 
 liers, were seen in close consultation. 
 
 Sir John de Walton, startled by the first flourish 
 of trumpets, while anxiously endeavouring to 
 secure a retreat for the Lady Augusta, was in a 
 moment seen collecting his followers, in which he 
 was assisted by the active friendship of the Knight 
 of Valence. 
 
 The Lady of Berkely showed no craven spirit at 
 these warlike preparations; she advanced, closely 
 followed by the faithful Bertram, and a female in 
 a riding-hood, whose face, though carefully con- 
 cealed, was no other than that of the unfortunate 
 
282 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 Margaret de Hautlieu, whose worst fears had been 
 realised as to the faithlessness of her betrothed 
 knight. 
 
 A pause ensued, which for some time no one 
 present thought himself of authority sufficient to 
 break. 
 
 At last the Knight of Douglas stepped forward 
 and said, loudly, " I wait to know whether Sir 
 John de Walton requests leave of James of Douglas 
 to evacuate his castle without further wasting that 
 daylight which might show us to judge a fair 
 field, and whether he craves Douglas's protection 
 in doing so ? " 
 
 The Knight of Walton drew his sword. " I 
 hold the Castle of Douglas, " he said, " in spite of 
 all deadly, — and never will I ask the protection 
 from any one which my own sword is competent 
 to afford me ! " 
 
 " I stand by you. Sir John, " said Aymer de 
 Valence, " as your true comrade, against whatever 
 odds may oppose themselves to us. " 
 
 "Courage, noble English," said the voice of 
 Greenleaf; "take your weapons, in God's name. 
 Bows and bills I bows and bills ! — A messenger 
 brings us notice that Pembroke is in full march 
 hither from the borders of Ayrshire, and will be 
 with us in half an hour. Fight on, gallant Eng- 
 lish ! Valence to the rescue ! and long life to the 
 gallant Earl of Pembroke!" 
 
 Those English within and around the church 
 no longer delayed to take arms, and De Walton, 
 crying out at the height of his voice, " I implore 
 the Douglas to look nearly to the safety of the 
 ladies," fought his way to the church door; the 
 Scottish finding themselves unable to resist the im- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 283 
 
 pression of terror which affected them at the sight 
 of this renowned knight, seconded by his biother- 
 in-arms, both of whom had been so long the terror 
 of the district. In the meantime, it is possible 
 that De Walton might altogether have forced his 
 way out of the church, had he not been met boldly 
 by the young son of Thomas Dickson of Hazelside, 
 while his father was receiving from Douglas the 
 charge of preserving the stranger ladies from all 
 harm from the fight, which, so long suspended, 
 was now on the point of taking place. 
 
 De Walton cast his eye upon the Lady Augusta, 
 with a desire of rushing to the rescue, but was 
 forced to conclude that he provided best for her 
 safety by leaving her under the protection of 
 Douglas's honour. 
 
 Young Dickson, in the meantime, heaped blow 
 on blow, seconding with all his juvenile courage 
 every effort he could make, in order to attain the 
 prize due to the conqueror of the renowned De 
 Walton. 
 
 " Silly boy, " at length said Sir John, who had 
 for some time forborne the stripling, " take, then, 
 thy death from a noble hand, since thou preferrest 
 that to peace and length of days. " 
 
 " I care not, " said the Scottish youth, with his 
 dying breath ; " I have lived long enough, since I 
 have kept you so long in the place where you now 
 stand. " 
 
 And the youth said truly, for as he fell, never 
 again to rise, the Douglas stood in his place, and, 
 without a word spoken, again engaged with De 
 Walton in the same formidable single combat by 
 which they had already been distinguished, but 
 with even additional fury. Aymer de Valence 
 
284 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 drew up to his friend De Walton's left hand, and 
 seemed but to desire the apology of one of Douglas's 
 people attempting to second him, to join in the 
 fray ; but as he saw no person who seemed disposed 
 to give him such opportunity, he repressed the 
 inclination, and remained an unwilling spectator. 
 At length it seemed as if Fleming, who stood fore- 
 most among the Scottish knights, was desirous to 
 measure his sword with De Valence. Aymer him- 
 self, burning with the desire of combat, at last 
 called out, " Faithless Knight of Boghall ! step 
 forth and defend yourself against the imputation 
 of having deserted your lady love, and of being a 
 mansworn disgrace to the rolls of chivalry ! " 
 
 "My answer," said Fleming, "even to a less 
 gross taunt, hangs by my side. " In an instant 
 his sword was in his hand, and even the prac- 
 tised warriors who looked on felt difficulty in dis- 
 covering the progress of the strife, which rather 
 resembled a thunder-storm in a mountainous coun- 
 try than the stroke and parry of two swords, 
 offending on the one side, and keeping the defen- 
 sive on the other. 
 
 Their blows were exchanged with surprising ra- 
 pidity ; and although the two combatants did not 
 equal Douglas and De Walton in maintaining a 
 certain degree of reserve, founded upon a respect 
 which these knights mutually entertained for each 
 other, yet the want of art was supplied by a degree 
 of fury which gave chance at least an equal share 
 in the issue. 
 
 Seeing their superiors thus desperately engaged, 
 the partisans, as they were accustomed, stood still 
 on either side, and looked on with the reverence 
 which they instinctively paid to their commanders 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 285 
 
 and leaders in arms. One or two of the women 
 were in the meanwhile attracted, according to the 
 nature of the sex, by compassion for those who 
 had already experienced the casualties of war. 
 Young Dickson, breathing his last among the feet 
 of the combatants,^ was in some sort rescued from 
 the tumult by the Lady of Berkely, in whom the 
 action seemed less strange, owing to the pilgrim's 
 dress which she still retained, and who in vain 
 endeavoured to solicit the attention of the boy's 
 father to the task in which she was engaged. 
 
 " Cumber yourself not, lady, about that which 
 is bootless, " said old Dickson, " and distract not 
 your own attention and mine from preserving you, 
 whom it is the Douglas's wish to rescue, and whom, 
 so please God and St. Bride, I consider as placed 
 by my chieftain under my charge. Believe me, 
 this youth's death is in no way forgotten, though 
 this be not the time to remember it. A time will 
 come for recollection, and an hour for revenge. " 
 
 1 prhe fall of this brave stripling by the hand of the English 
 governor, and the stern heroism of the father in turning from the 
 spot where he lay, "a model of beauty and strength," that he 
 might not be withdrawn from the duty which Douglas had as- 
 signed him of protecting the Lady of Berkely, excites an interest 
 for both, with which it is almost to be regretted that history inter- 
 feres. It was the old man, Thomas Dickson, not his son, who fell. 
 The slogan, " A Douglas, a Douglas ! " having been prematurely 
 raised, Dickson, who was within the church, thinking that his 
 young Lord with his armed band was at hand, drew his sword, 
 and, with only one man to assist him, opposed the English, who 
 now rushed to the door. Cut across the middle by an English 
 sword, he still continued his opposition, till he fell lifeless at the 
 threshold. Such is the tradition, and it is supported by a memorial 
 of some authority — a tombstone, still to be seen in the churchyard 
 of Douglas, on which is sculptured a figure of Dickson, supporting 
 with his left arm his protruding entrails, and raising his sword 
 with the other in the attitude of combat.] — Note by the Rev. Mr. 
 Stewart of Douglas. 
 
286 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 So said the stern old man, reverting his eyes 
 from the bloody corpse which lay at his feet, a 
 model of beauty and strength. Having taken one 
 more anxious look, he turned round, and placed 
 himself where he could best protect the Lady of 
 Berkely, not again turning his eyes on his son's 
 body. 
 
 In the interim the combat continued, without 
 the least cessation on either side, and without 
 a decided advantage. At length, however, fate 
 seemed disposed to interfere; the Knight of 
 Fleming, pushing fiercely forward, and brought 
 by chance almost close to the person of the Lady 
 Margaret de Hautlieu, missed his blow, and his 
 foot sliding in the blood of the young victim, 
 Dickson, he fell before his antagonist, and was 
 in imminent danger of being at his mercy, when 
 Margaret de Hautlieu, who inherited the soul of a 
 warrior, and, besides, was a very strong as well as 
 an undaunted person, seeing a mace of no great 
 weight lying on the floor, where it had been 
 dropped by the fallen Dickson, it, at the same 
 instant, caught her eye, armed her hand, and in- 
 tercepted, or struck down the sword of Sir Aymer 
 de Valence, who would otherwise have remained 
 the master of the day at that interesting moment. 
 Fleming had more to do to avail himself of an 
 unexpected chance of recovery than to make a 
 commentary upon the manner in which it had 
 been so singularly brought about; he instantly 
 recovered the advantage he had lost, and was able 
 in the ensuing close to trip up the feet of his anta- 
 gonist, who fell on the pavement, while the voice 
 of his conqueror, if he could properly be termed 
 such, resounded through the church with the fatal 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 287 
 
 words, " Yield thee, Aymer de Valence — rescue 
 or no rescue — yield thee ! — yield thee ! " he 
 added, as he placed his sword to the throat of the 
 fallen knight, " not to me, but to this noble lady 
 — rescue or no rescue. " 
 
 With a heavy heart the English knight per- 
 ceived that he had fairly lost so favourable an 
 opportunity of acquiring fame, and was obliged to 
 submit to his destiny, or be slain upon the spot. 
 There was only one consolation, that no battle was 
 ever more honourably sustained, being gained as 
 much by accident as by valour. 
 
 The fate of the protracted and desperate combat 
 between Douglas and De Walton did not much 
 longer remain in suspense ; indeed, the number of 
 conquests in single combat achieved by the Douglas 
 in these wars was so great, as to make it doubtful 
 whether he was not, in personal strength and 
 skill, even a superior knight to Bruce himself, and 
 he was at least acknowledged nearly his equal in 
 the art of war. 
 
 So however it was, that when three quarters of 
 an hour had passed in hard contest, Douglas and 
 De Walton, whose nerves were not actually of 
 iron, began to show some signs that their human 
 bodies were feeling the effect of the dreadful exer- 
 tion. Their blows began to be drawn more slowly, 
 and were parried with less celerity. Douglas, 
 seeing that the combat must soon come to an end, 
 generously made a signal, intimating to his an- 
 tagonist to hold his hand for an instant. 
 
 " Brave de Walton, " he said, " there is no mortal 
 quarrel between us, and you must be sensible that 
 in this passage of arms, Douglas, though he is 
 only worth his sword and his cloak, has abstained 
 
288 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 from taking a decisive advantage when the chance 
 of arms has more than once offered it. My 
 father's house, the broad domains around it, the 
 dwelling, and the graves of my ancestors, form a 
 reasonable reward for a knight to fight for, and 
 call upon me in an imperative voice to prosecute 
 the strife which has such an object, while you are 
 as welcome to the noble lady, in all honour and 
 safety, as if you had received her from the hands 
 of King Edward himself ; and I give you my word, 
 that the utmost honours which can attend a pri- 
 soner, and a careful absence of everything like 
 injury or insult, shall attend De Walton when he 
 yields up the castle, as well as his sword, to James 
 of Douglas. " 
 
 " It is the fate to which I am perhaps doomed, " 
 replied Sir John de Walton ; " but never will I 
 voluntarily embrace it, and never shall it be said 
 that my own tongue, saving in the last extremity, 
 pronounced upon me the fatal sentence to sink the 
 point of my own sword. Pembroke is upon the 
 march with his whole army, to rescue the garrison 
 of Douglas. I hear the tramp of his horses' feet 
 even now, and I will maintain my ground while I 
 am within reach of support ; nor do I fear that the 
 breath which now begins to fail will not last long 
 enough to uphold the struggle till the arrival of 
 the expected succour. Come on, then, and treat 
 me not as a child, but as one who, whether I stand 
 or fall, fears not to encounter the utmost force of 
 my knightly antagonist. " 
 
 " So be it then," said Douglas, a darksome hue, 
 like the lurid colour of the thunder-cloud, changing 
 his brow as he spoke, intimating that he medi- 
 tated a speedy end to the contest, when, just as 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 289 
 
 the noise of horses' feet drew nigh, a Welsh 
 knight, known as such by the diminutive size of 
 his steed, his naked limbs, and his bloody spear, 
 called out loudly to the combatants to hold their 
 hands. 
 
 " Is Pembroke near ? " said De Walton. 
 
 " No nearer than Loudon Hill, " said the Pre- 
 stantin ; " but I bring his commands to John de 
 Walton. " 
 
 " I stand ready to obey them through every 
 danger," answered the knight. 
 
 " Woe is me, " said the Welshman, " that my 
 mouth should bring to the ears of so brave a man 
 tidings so unwelcome! The Earl of Pembroke 
 yesterday received information that the Castle of 
 Douglas was attacked by the son of the deceased 
 Earl, and the whole inhabitants of the district. 
 Pembroke, on hearing this, resolved to march to 
 your support, noble knight, with all the forces he 
 had at his disposal. He did so, and accordingly 
 entertained every assurance of relieving the castle, 
 when unexpectedly he met, on Loudon Hill, a 
 body of men of no very inferior force to his own, 
 and having at their head that famous Bruce whom 
 the Scottish rebels acknowledge as their king. 
 He marched instantly to the attack, swearing he 
 would not even draw a comb through his grey 
 beard until he had rid England of this recurring 
 plague. But the fate of war was against us. " 
 
 He stopped here for lack of breath. 
 
 " I thought so ! " exclaimed Douglas. " Robert 
 Bruce will now sleep at night, since he has paid 
 home Pembroke for the slaughter of his friends 
 and the dispersion of his army at Methuen Wood. 
 His men are, indeed, accustomed to meet with 
 
 19 
 
290 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 dangers, and to conquer them : those who follow 
 him have been trained under Wallace, besides 
 being partakers of the perils of Bruce himself. It 
 was thought that the waves had swallowed them 
 when they shipped themselves from the west ; but 
 know, that the Bruce was determined with the 
 present reviving spring to awaken his pretensions, 
 and that he retires not from Scotland again while 
 he lives, and while a single lord remains to set 
 his foot by his sovereign, in spite of all the power 
 which has been so feloniously employed against 
 him." 
 
 " It is even too true, " said the Welshman Mere- 
 dith, " although it is said by a proud Scotchman. 
 — The Earl of Pembroke, completely defeated, is 
 unable to stir from Ayr, towards which he has 
 retreated with great loss ; and he sends his in- 
 structions to Sir John de Walton, to make the best 
 terms he can for the surrender of the Castle of 
 Douglas, and trust nothing to his support." 
 
 The Scottish, who heard this unexpected news, 
 joined in a shout so loud and energetic, that the 
 ruins of the ancient church seemed actually to 
 rock, and threaten to fall on the heads of those 
 who were crowded within it. 
 
 The brow of De Walton was overclouded at the 
 news of Pembroke's defeat, although in some re- 
 spects it placed him at liberty to take measures 
 for the safety of the Lady of Berkely. He could 
 not, however, claim the same honourable terms 
 which had been offered to him by Douglas before 
 the news of the battle of Loudon Hill had arrived. 
 
 " Noble knight, " he said, " it is entirely at your 
 pleasure to dictate the terms of surrender of your 
 paternal castle ; nor have I a right to claim from 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 291 
 
 you those conditions which, a little while since, 
 your generosity put in my offer. But I submit to 
 my fate ; and upon whatever terms you think fit to 
 grant me, I must be content to offer to surrender 
 to you the weapon, of which I now put the point 
 in the earth, in evidence that I will never more 
 direct it against you until a fair ransom shall 
 place it once more at my own disposal. " 
 
 " God forbid, " answered the noble James of 
 Douglas, " that I should take such advantage of 
 the bravest knight out of not a few who have 
 found me work in battle! I will take example 
 from the Knight of Fleming, who has gallantly 
 bestowed his captive in guerdon upon a noble 
 damsel here present ; and in like manner I trans- 
 fer my claim upon the person of the redoubted 
 Knight of Walton, to the high and noble Lady 
 Augusta Berkely, who, I hope, will not scorn to 
 accept from the Douglas a gift which the chance 
 of war has thrown into his hands. " 
 
 Sir John de Walton, on hearing this unexpected 
 decision, looked up like the traveller who dis- 
 covers the beams of the sun breaking through and 
 dispersing the tempest which has accompanied 
 him for a whole morning. The Lady of Berkely 
 recollected what became her rank, and showed her 
 sense of the Douglas's chivalry. Hastily wiping 
 off the tears which had unwillingly flowed to her 
 eyes, while her lover's safety and her own were 
 resting on the precarious issue of a desperate com- 
 bat, she assumed the look proper to a heroine of 
 that age, who did not feel averse to accept the im- 
 portance which was conceded to her by the general 
 voice of the chivalry of the period. Stepping 
 forward, bearing her person gracefully yet modestly, 
 
292 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 in the attitude of a lady accustomed to be looked 
 to in difficulties like the present, she addressed 
 the audience in a tone which might not have mis- 
 become the Goddess of Battle dispersing her in- 
 fluence at the close of a field coveied with the dead 
 and the dying. 
 
 " The noble Douglas, " she said, " shall not pass 
 without a prize from the field which he has so 
 nobly won. This rich string of brilliants, which 
 my ancestor won from the Sultan of Trebizond, 
 itself a prize of battle, will be honoured by sus- 
 taining, under the Douglas's armour, a lock of hair 
 of the fortunate lady whom the victorious lord has 
 adopted for his guide in chivalry ; and if the 
 Douglas, till he shall adorn it with that lock, will 
 permit the honoured lock of hair which it now 
 bears to retain its station, she on whose head it 
 grew will hold it as a signal that poor Augusta de 
 Berkely is pardoned for having gaged any mortal 
 man in strife with the Knight of Douglas. " 
 
 "Woman's love," replied the Douglas, "shall 
 not divorce this locket from my bosom, which I 
 will keep till the last day of my life, as emble- 
 matic of female worth and female virtue. And, 
 not to encroach upon the valued and honoured 
 province of Sir John de Walton, be it known to 
 all men, that whoever shall say that the Lady 
 Augusta of Berkely has, in this entangled matter, 
 acted otherwise than becomes the noblest of her 
 sex, he will do well to be ready to maintain such 
 a proposition with his lance, against James of 
 Douglas, in a fair field. " 
 
 This speech was heard with approbation on all 
 sides; and the news brought by Meredith of the 
 defeat of the Earl of Pembroke, and his subsequent 
 
Bannockbum. 
 Photo-Etching. — From a Photograph. 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 293 
 
 retreat, reconciled the fiercest of the English 
 soldiers to the surrender of Douglas Castle. The 
 necessary conditions were speedily agreed on, 
 which put the Scottish in possession of this strong- 
 hold, together with the stores, both of arms and 
 ammunition, of every kind, which it contained. 
 The garrison had it to boast that they obtained a 
 free passage, with their horses and arms, to return 
 by the shortest and safest route to the marches 
 of England, without either suffering or inflicting 
 damage. 
 
 Margaret of Hautlieu was not behind in acting 
 a generous part : the gallant Knight of Valence 
 was allowed to accompany his friend De Walton 
 and the Lady Augusta to England, and without 
 ransom. 
 
 The venerable prelate of Glasgow, seeing what 
 appeared at one time likely to end in a general 
 conflict, terminate so auspiciously for his country, 
 contented himself with bestowing his blessing on 
 the assembled multitude, and retiring with those 
 who came to assist in the service of the day. 
 
 This surrender of Douglas Castle upon the Palm 
 Sunday of the 19th of March, 1306-7, was the 
 beginning of a career of conquest which was unin- 
 terrupted, in which the greater part of the strengths 
 and fortresses of Scotland were yielded to those 
 who asserted the liberty of their country, until 
 the crowning mercy was gained in the celebrated 
 field of Bannockburn, where the English sustained 
 a defeat more disastrous than is mentioned upon 
 any other occasion in their annals. 
 
 Little need be said of the fate of the persons of 
 this story. King Edward was greatly enraged at 
 Sir John de Walton for having surrendered the 
 
294 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 Castle of Douglas, securing at the same time his 
 own object, the envied hand of the heiress of 
 Berkely. The knights to whom he referred the 
 matter as a subject of inquiry gave it, nevertheless, 
 as their opinion that De Walton was void of all 
 censure, having discharged his duty in its fullest 
 extent, till the commands of his superior officer 
 obliged him to surrender the Dangerous Castle. 
 
 A singular renewal of intercourse took place, 
 many months afterwards, between Margaret of 
 Hautlieu and her lover. Sir Malcolm Fleming. 
 The use which the lady made of her freedom, and 
 of the doom of the Scottish Parliament, which put 
 her in possession of her father's inheritance, was 
 to follow her adventurous spirit through dangers 
 not usually encountered by those of her sex ; and 
 the Lady of Hautlieu was not only a daring fol- 
 lower of the chase, but it was said that she was 
 even not daunted in the battle-field. She remained 
 faithful to the political principles which she had 
 adopted at an early period ; and it seemed as if she 
 had formed the gallant resolution of shaking the 
 god Cupid from her horse's mane, if not treading 
 him beneath her horse's feet. 
 
 The Fleming, although he had vanished from 
 the neighbourhood of the counties of Lanark and 
 Ayr, made an attempt to state his apology to the 
 Lady de Hautlieu herself, who returned his letter 
 unopened, and remained to all appearance resolved 
 never again to enter upon the topic of their origi- 
 nal engagement. It chanced, however, at a later 
 period of the war with England, while Fleming 
 was one night travelling upon the Border, after the 
 ordinary fashion of one who sought adventures, a 
 waiting-maid, equipped in a fantastic habit, asked 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 295 
 
 the protection of his arm in the name of her lady, 
 who, late in the evening, had been made captive, 
 she said, by certain ill-disposed caitiffs, who were 
 carrying her by force through the forest. The 
 Fleming's lance was, of course, in its rest, and 
 woe betide the faitour whose lot it was to en- 
 counter its thrust; the first fell, incapable of 
 further combat, and another of the felons en- 
 countered the same fate with little more resis- 
 tance. The lady, released from the discourteous 
 cord which restrained her liberty, did not hesitate 
 to join company with the brave knight by whom 
 she had been rescued ; and although the darkness 
 did not permit her to recognise her old lover in 
 her liberator, yet she could not but lend a willing 
 ear to the conversation with which he entertained 
 her, as they proceeded on the way. He spoke of 
 the fallen caitiffs as being Englishmen, who found 
 a pleasure in exercising oppression and barbarities 
 upon the wandering damsels of Scotland, and 
 whose cause, therefore, the champions of that 
 country were bound to avenge while the blood 
 throbbed in their veins. He spoke of the injustice 
 of the national quarrel which had afforded a pre- 
 tence for such deliberate oppression ; and the lady, 
 who herself had suffered so much by the inter- 
 ference of the English in the affairs of Scotland, 
 readily acquiesced in the sentiments which he 
 expressed on a subject which she had so much 
 reason for regarding as an afflicting one. Her 
 answer was given in the spirit of a person who 
 would not hesitate, if the times should call for 
 such an example, to defend even with her hand 
 the rights which she asserted with her tongue. 
 Pleased with the sentiments which she expressed, 
 
296 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 and recognising in her voice that secret charm 
 which, once impressed upon the human heart, is 
 rarely wrought out of the remembrance by a long 
 train of subsequent events, he almost persuaded him- 
 self that the tones were familiar to him, and had 
 at one time formed the key to his innermost affec- 
 tions. In proceeding on their journey, the knight's 
 troubled state of mind was augmented instead of 
 being diminished. The scenes of his earliest 
 youth were recalled by circumstances so slight, as 
 would in ordinary cases have produced no effect 
 whatsoever; the sentiments appeared similar to 
 those which his life had been devoted to enforce, 
 and he half persuaded himself that the dawn of 
 day was to be to him the beginning of a fortune 
 equally singular and extraordinary. 
 
 In the midst of this anxiety, Sir Malcolm 
 Fleming had no anticipation that the lady whom 
 he had heretofore rejected was again thrown into 
 his path, after years of absence ; still less, when 
 daylight gave him a partial view of his fair com- 
 panion's countenance, was he prepared to believe 
 that he was once again to term himself the cham- 
 pion of Margaret de Hautlieu ; but it was so. The 
 lady, on that direful morning when she retired from 
 the church of Douglas, had not resolved (indeed, 
 what lady ever did?) to renounce, without some 
 struggle, the beauties which she had once pos- 
 sessed. A long process of time, employed under 
 skilful hands, had succeeded in obliterating the 
 scars which remained as the marks of her fall. 
 These were now considerably effaced, and the lost 
 organ of sight no longer appeared so great a ble- 
 mish, concealed, as it was, by a black ribbon, and 
 the arts of the tirewoman, who made it her busi- 
 
CASTLE DANGEROUS. 297 
 
 ness to sliadow it over by a lock of hair. In a 
 word, he saw the same Margaret de Hautlieu, with 
 no very different style of expression from that 
 which her face, partaking of the high and passion- 
 ate character of her soul, had always presented. 
 It seemed to both, therefore, that their fate, by 
 bringing them together after a separation which 
 appeared so decisive, had intimated its fiat that 
 their fortunes were inseparable from each other. 
 By the time that the summer sun had climbed 
 high in the heavens, the two travellers rode apart 
 from their retinue, conversing together with an 
 eagerness which marked the important matters in 
 discussion between them; and in a short time it 
 was made generally known through Scotland, that 
 Sir Malcolm Fleming and the Lady Margaret de 
 Hautlieu were to be united at the court of the good 
 King Robert, and the husband invested with the 
 honours of Biggar and Cumbernauld, an earldom so 
 long known in the family of Fleming. 
 
 The gentle reader is acquainted that these are, in 
 all probability, the last tales which it will be the 
 lot of the Author to submit to the public. He is 
 now on the eve of visiting foreign parts ; a ship of 
 war is commissioned by its Royal Master to carry 
 the Author of Waverley to climates in which he 
 may possibly obtain such a restoration of health as 
 may serve him to spin his thread to an end in his 
 own country. Had he continued to prosecute his 
 usual literary labours, it seems indeed probable 
 that, at the term of years he has already attained, 
 the bowl, to use the pathetic language of Scripture, 
 would have been broken at the fountain ; and little 
 can one, who has enjoyed on the whole an uncom- 
 
298 CASTLE DANGEROUS. 
 
 mon share of the most inestimable of worldly bless- 
 ings, be entitled to complain that life, advancing 
 to its period, should be attended with its usual 
 proportions of shadows and storms. They have 
 affected him at least in no more painful manner 
 than is inseparable from the discharge of this part 
 of the debt of humanity. Of those whose relation 
 to him in the ranks of life might have insured 
 him their sympathy under indisposition, many are 
 now no more ; and those who may yet follow in his 
 wake are entitled to expect, in bearing inevitable 
 evils, an example of firmness and patience, more 
 especially on the part of one who has enjoyed 
 no small good fortune during the course of his 
 pilgrimage. 
 
 The public have claims on his gratitude, for 
 which the Author of Waverley has no adequate 
 means of expression ; but he may be permitted to 
 hope that the powers of his mind, such as they are, 
 may not have a different date from those of his 
 body ; and that he may again meet his patronising 
 friends, if not exactly in his old fashion of litera- 
 ture, at least in some branch which may not call 
 forth the remark that — 
 
 Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage. 
 Abbotsfoed, September 1831. 
 
AUTHOR'S NOTES. 
 
 Note I. p. 90 — Scottish Wild Cattle. 
 
 These Bulls are thus described by Hector Boetius, con- 
 cerning whom he says: "In this wood (namely, the Caledo- 
 nian wood) were sometime white bulls, with crisp and curling 
 manes, like fierce lions ; and though they seemed meek and 
 tame in the remanent figure of their bodies, they were more 
 wild than any other beasts, and had such hatred against the 
 society and company of men, that they never came in the 
 woods nor lesuries where they found any foot or hand thereof, 
 and many days after they eat not of the herbs that were 
 touched or handled by man. These bulls were so wild, that 
 they were never taken but by slight and crafty labour, and so 
 impatient, that after they were taken they died from insup- 
 portable dolour. As soon as any man invaded these bulls, 
 they rushed with such terrible press upon him that they struck 
 him to the earth, taking no fear of hounds, sharp lances, or 
 other most penetrative weapons." — Boetius, Chron. Scot. 
 vol. i. p. xxxix. 
 
 The wild cattle of this breed, which are now only known in 
 one manor in England, that of Chillingham Castle, in North- 
 umberland (the seat of the Earl of Tankerville), were, in the 
 memory of man, still preserved in three places in Scotland — 
 namely, Drumlanrig, Cumbernauld, and the upper park at 
 Hamilton Palace, at all of which places, except the last, I 
 believe, they have now been destroyed, on account of their 
 ferocity. But though those of modern days are remarkable 
 for their white colour, with black muzzles, and exhibiting, in 
 a small degree, the black mane, about three or four inches 
 long, by which the bulls in particular are distinguished, they 
 do not by any means come near the terrific description given 
 us by the ancient authors, which has made some naturalists 
 think that these animals should probably be referred to a dif- 
 ferent species, though possessing the same general habits, and 
 
300 AUTHOR'S NOTES. 
 
 included in the same genus. The bones which are often dis- 
 covered in Scottish mosses belong certainly to a race of animals 
 much larger than those of Chillingham, which seldom grow to 
 above 80 stone (of 14 lbs.), the general weight varying from 60 
 to 80 stone. We should be accounted very negligent by one 
 class of readers, did we not record that the beef furnished by 
 those cattle is of excellent flavour, and finely marbled. 
 
 [The following is an extract from a letter received by 
 Sir Walter Scott, some time after the publication of the 
 novel: — 
 
 ** When it is wished to kill any of the cattle at Chillingham, the 
 keeper goes into the herd on horseback, in which way they are 
 quite accessible, and, singling out his victim, takes aim with a large 
 rifle-gun, and seldom fails in bringing him down. If the poor 
 animal makes much bellowing in his agony, and especially if the 
 ground be stained with his blood, his companions become very 
 furious, and are themselves, 1 believe, accessory to his death. 
 After which, they fly off" to a distant part of the park, and he is 
 drawn away on a sledge. Lord Tankerville is very tenacious of 
 these singular animals ; he will on no account part with a living 
 one, and hardly allows of a sufficient number being killed to leave 
 pasturage for those that remain. 
 
 " It happened on one occasion, three or four years ago, that a 
 party visiting at the castle, among whom were some men of war, 
 who had hunted buffaloes in foreign parts, obtained permission to 
 do the keeper's work and shoot one of the wild cattle. They sal- 
 lied out on horseback, and, duly equipped for the enterprise, 
 attacked their object. The poor animal received several wounds, 
 but none of them proving fatal, he retired before his pursuers, 
 roaring with pain and rage, till, planting himself against a wall or 
 tree, he stood at bay, oflfering a front of defiance. In this position 
 the youthful heir of the castle. Lord Ossulston, rode up to give him 
 the fatal shot. Though warned of the danger of approaching near 
 to the enraged animal, and especially of firing without first having 
 turned his horse's head in a direction to be ready for flight, he 
 discharged his piece ; but ere he could turn his horse round to 
 make his retreat, the raging beast had plunged his immense horns 
 into its flank. The horse staggered and was near falling, but, 
 recovering by a violent eff'ort, he extricated himself from his infu- 
 riated pursuer, making off" with all the speed his wasting strength 
 supplied, his entrails meanwhile dragging on the ground ; till at 
 length he fell, and died at the same moment. The animal was 
 now close upon his rear, and the young Lord would unquestion- 
 ably have shared the fate of his unhappy steed, had not the keeper, 
 
AUTHOR'S NOTES. 301 
 
 deeming it full time to conclude the day's diversion^ fired at the 
 instant. His shot brought the beast to the ground, and, running 
 in with his large knife, he put a period to its existence. 
 
 •' This scene of gentlemanly pastime was viewed from a turret of 
 the castle by Lady Tankerville and her female visitors. Such a 
 situation for the mother of the young hero was anything but 
 enviable."] 
 
 Note 11. p. 148. —Coleridge. 
 
 [The author has somewhat altered part of a beautiful un- 
 published fragment of Coleridge : — 
 
 "Where is the grave of Sir Arthur Orellan, — 
 Where may the grave of that good knight be ? 
 
 By the marge of a brook, on the slope of Helvelljm, 
 Under the boughs of a young birch-tree. 
 
 The oak that in Summer was pleasant to hear, 
 That rustled in Autumn all withered and sear, 
 That whistled and gioaned thro' the "Winter alone, 
 He hath gone, and a birch in his place is grown. 
 The knight's bones are dust. 
 His good sword is rust ; 
 His spirit is with the saints, we trust. 
 
 EdU.-] 
 
EDITOR'S NOTES. 
 
 (a) p. 48. "The Archbishop of St. Andrews." This is 
 an error. Lamberton, the Bishop in question, died long before 
 St. Andrews was an Archbishopric. Lamberton had entered 
 into a " band " with Bruce, with the sanction of a penalty of 
 £10,000 in case of faithlessness. He swore fealty to Edward I. 
 on the Holy Sacrament, on a piece of the True Cross, and in 
 other ways, but broke all his oaths. He it was who sent the 
 Douglas to join Bruce, leading him his horse. Perhaps he may 
 have told the English, as in the novel, that Douglas robbed 
 him. He was imprisoned by Edward I., but, under Edward 
 II., again joined the Scottish King. Lamberton's own appoint- 
 ment as Bishop was made in face of English opposition. 
 
 (b) p. 58. "Thomas the Rhymer." All the learning about 
 Thomas, ballads and romance, may be found in " The Border 
 Minstrelsy." The sbaJowy deer which accompany his ghost 
 are those wliicli summoned him back to Fairyland. The 
 movement of the book by an unseen band is in the style of 
 "psychical phenomena," familiar to ancient Egypt as well as 
 to modern superstition. See Jamblichus, " De Mysteriis." 
 
 (c) p. 64. " The Dangerous Castle of Douglas." Lock- 
 hart says that Scott sat beside the ruined IVagment of a tower, 
 " drawing outlines on the turf, and arranging in his fancy the 
 sweep of the old precincts. Before the subjacent and surround- 
 ing lake and morass were drained, the position must have been 
 the perfect model of solitary strength." 
 
 (d) p. 65. " The Minstrel." This grave and learned, 
 not to say philosophical, minstrel was very unlike the ribald 
 jongleurs, whom the Church regarded as outcasts from salva- 
 tion. An exception was made in favour of epic minstrels, like 
 the author of the " Chanson de Roland." See Leon Gautier, 
 " Epopees Frangaises." 
 
 (e) p. 149. Blackhouse Tower. This keep is on the Dou- 
 glas Burn, a tributary of the Yarrow, the scene of the ballad 
 named " The Douglas Tragedy." The Douglises held Ettrick 
 Forest long before the ancestors of the Buccleu^'h were more 
 than Lairds of Branxholme, and the Douglas name is common 
 iu the district. 
 
 Andrew Lang. 
 July 1894. 
 
GLOSSARY. 
 
 Alcade, alcalde, a Spanish ma- 
 gistrate or judge. 
 Ambuscado, an ambush. 
 Assoilzie, to pardon, to acquit. 
 " A' thegither," all together. 
 
 Bedral, a sexton or beadle. 
 Blink, a glance of the eye. 
 Borrel, unlearned, simple. 
 Bourg, borough, town. 
 Buckle, the curl of a wig. 
 
 Cadgy, lively, frolicsome. 
 
 Carle, a fellow, a person. 
 
 Carline, an old woman. 
 
 Cartel, a challenge to single com- 
 bat. 
 
 Close, a bout, a turn. 
 
 Corselet, a coat of armour. 
 
 Costume, custom. 
 
 Cousing, a cousin. 
 
 Cresset, a fixed candlestick, or 
 small portable fire. 
 
 *• Cull in the ken," a man or 
 boy in the house. 
 
 Damosel, a damsel. 
 Dead-thraw, the death-agony. 
 Deil, the devil. 
 Demesne, the estate cultivated 
 
 by a feudal lord himself. 
 Dirk, a short dagger or knife. 
 Dirking, stabbing with the dirk. 
 Dolour, a pining or fretting at 
 
 captivity. 
 Donjon, the principal tower in a 
 
 feudal castle. 
 Drink-geld, a tip, money. 
 
 Faitour, a traitor, a scoundrel, 
 Falset, falsehood. 
 
 Fashes, gives himself trouble or 
 
 pains. 
 Fulmart, a polecat. 
 
 Gallooned, ornamented with gal- 
 loon, a kind of thread lace used 
 for binding. 
 
 Good-daughter, daughter-in- 
 law. 
 
 Groat, an ofd English coin worth 
 4c?. 
 
 Guide, to treat ill, to use ill. 
 
 Haggard, a wild hawk. 
 
 Haggis, the lights, liver, and 
 heart of a sheep, mixed with 
 oatmeal, beef suet, onions, &c., 
 the whole boiled in a sheep's 
 stomach-bag. 
 
 Hogg, a shilling. 
 
 " Horning and hooping," blow- 
 ing of horns and shouting. 
 
 Kail, 
 
 Kail-yard, a cabbage-plot or gar- 
 den. 
 
 Kerne, a light-armed foot-soldier. 
 
 Kirtle, a gown, an outer petti- 
 coat. 
 
 Laick, lay. 
 
 Landlouper, a stroller, an ad- 
 venturer. 
 
 Ijandward, the outlying rural 
 districts. 
 
 Ijeal, loyal. 
 
 Lesuries, pastures. 
 
 Lippen, to trust to, to confide in. 
 
 liObscouse, a hash of meat and 
 vegetables; stewed biscuit and 
 salt meat. 
 
 20 
 
3o6 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Iiootie, a marauder, a plunderer. 
 Xjos, praise, 
 liouping, leaping. 
 
 Mainrent, v; 
 
 ** Na blate,'* uncivil, immodest, 
 bold. 
 
 Nouz, intelligence and enter- 
 prise. 
 
 Oe, a grandchild. 
 
 Partisan, a kind of halbert or 
 pike. 
 
 Peon, a foot-soldier. 
 
 Pibroch, an air on the bagpipes. 
 
 Picaresca, what is knavish, ad- 
 venturous, and not over-honest. 
 
 Pickaninnies, small children. 
 
 Podagra, the gout. 
 
 Prestantin, one who receives 
 military pay. 
 
 Kaploch, coarse woollen, home- 
 spun. 
 
 Kationale, the reasons. 
 
 Bebeck, a stringed instrument, 
 not unlike a violin in appear- 
 ance. 
 
 Kecheat, the huntsman's signal 
 of recall from the hunt. 
 
 Beif , robbery. 
 
 Bokelay, a short cloak worn by 
 women. 
 
 Bose-noble, an old gold coin, 
 worth 6s. 80?. 
 
 Bote, a kind of harp or guitar, 
 played by turning a handle. 
 
 ** Bugs and reives," tears and 
 carries off by violence. 
 
 Sack, a kind of dry wine. 
 Sasine, the legal instrument 
 or document which testifies 
 
 that so-and-so has been put 
 in lawful possession of certain 
 property. 
 
 Screeds, pieces torn off, shreds. 
 
 Seneschal, a steward. 
 
 Shaw, wild wood or forest. 
 
 Shieling, a hut, 
 
 "Sholto dhu Glass," see yon 
 dark grey man. 
 
 Skaithless, unhurt, uninjured. 
 
 Slogan, the war-cry of a High- 
 land clan. 
 
 Springald, a youth, an active 
 young man. 
 
 Swivel, a small cannon fixed on 
 a swivel. 
 
 Syllabub, a dish of wine with 
 milk or cream, a sort of curd. 
 
 Tantivy, a fit of violence. 
 Tappiced, concealed, hidden. 
 Thane, an earl or noble. 
 Thirlage ; used in regard to the 
 
 mortgaging of property or 
 
 rents. 
 Tinchel, a great drive of game, 
 
 made by a wide ring of beaters. 
 Tineing, a loss. 
 Tint, lost. 
 
 Tope, a knoll or slight eminence. 
 Townfit, the foot (one end) of 
 
 the town. 
 *♦ Townhead to the townfit," 
 
 from one end of the town to 
 
 the other. 
 Toy, a headdress worn by old 
 
 women of the lower classes. 
 
 Upsides, on an equal footing 
 with. 
 
 Wight, strong and active. 
 
 Yule, Christmas-tide. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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