CHAPTER FOURTEENTH.
Yon lamp its line of quivering light Shoots from my lady's bower; But why should Beauty's lamp be bright At midnight's lonely hour? OLD BALLAD.
The mode of life at Osbaldistone Hall was too uniform to admit ofdescription. Diana Vernon and I enjoyed much of our time in our mutualstudies; the rest of the family killed theirs in such sports and pastimesas suited the seasons, in which we also took a share. My uncle was a manof habits, and by habit became so much accustomed to my presence and modeof life, that, upon the whole, he was rather fond of me than otherwise. Imight probably have risen yet higher in his good graces, had I employedthe same arts for that purpose which were used by Rashleigh, who,availing himself of his father's disinclination to business, hadgradually insinuated himself into the management of his property. Butalthough I readily gave my uncle the advantage of my pen and myarithmetic so often as he desired to correspond with a neighbour, orsettle with a tenant, and was, in so far, a more useful inmate in hisfamily than any of his sons, yet I was not willing to oblige SirHildebrand by relieving him entirely from the management of his ownaffairs; so that, while the good knight admitted that nevoy Frank was asteady, handy lad, he seldom failed to remark in the same breath, that hedid not think he should ha' missed Rashleigh so much as he was like todo.
As it is particularly unpleasant to reside in a family where we are atvariance with any part of it, I made some efforts to overcome theill-will which my cousins entertained against me. I exchanged my lacedhat for a jockey-cap, and made some progress in their opinion; I broke ayoung colt in a manner which carried me further into their good graces. Abet or two opportunely lost to Dickon, and an extra health pledged withPercie, placed me on an easy and familiar footing with all the youngsquires, except Thorncliff.
I have already noticed the dislike entertained against me by this youngfellow, who, as he had rather more sense, had also a much worse temper,than any of his brethren. Sullen, dogged, and quarrelsome, he regarded myresidence at Osbaldistone Hall as an intrusion, and viewed with enviousand jealous eyes my intimacy with Diana Vernon, whom the effect proposedto be given to a certain family-compact assigned to him as an intendedspouse. That he loved her, could scarcely be said, at least without muchmisapplication of the word; but he regarded her as something appropriatedto himself, and resented internally the interference which he knew nothow to prevent or interrupt. I attempted a tone of conciliation towardsThorncliff on several occasions; but he rejected my advances with amanner about as gracious as that of a growling mastiff, when the animalshuns and resents a stranger's attempts to caress him. I thereforeabandoned him to his ill-humour, and gave myself no further trouble aboutthe matter.
Such was the footing upon which I stood with the family at OsbaldistoneHall; but I ought to mention another of its inmates with whom Ioccasionally held some discourse. This was Andrew Fairservice, thegardener who (since he had discovered that I was a Protestant) rarelysuffered me to pass him without proffering his Scotch mull for a socialpinch. There were several advantages attending this courtesy. In thefirst place, it was made at no expense, for I never took snuff; andsecondly, it afforded an excellent apology to Andrew (who was notparticularly fond of hard labour) for laying aside his spade for severalminutes. But, above all, these brief interviews gave Andrew anopportunity of venting the news he had collected, or the satiricalremarks which his shrewd northern humour suggested.
"I am saying, sir," he said to me one evening, with a face obviouslycharged with intelligence, "I hae been down at the Trinlay-knowe."
"Well, Andrew, and I suppose you heard some news at the alehouse?"
"Na, sir; I never gang to the yillhouse--that is unless ony neighbour wasto gie me a pint, or the like o' that; but to gang there on ane's aincoat-tail, is a waste o' precious time and hard-won siller.--But I wasdoun at the Trinlay-knowe, as I was saying, about a wee bit business o'my ain wi' Mattie Simpson, that wants a forpit or twa o' peers that willnever be missed in the Ha'-house--and when we were at the thrangest o'our bargain, wha suld come in but Pate Macready the travelling merchant?"
"Pedlar, I suppose you mean?"
"E'en as your honour likes to ca' him; but it's a creditable calling anda gainfu', and has been lang in use wi' our folk. Pate's a far-awa cousino' mine, and we were blythe to meet wi' ane anither."
"And you went and had a jug of ale together, I suppose, Andrew?--ForHeaven's sake, cut short your story."
"Bide a wee--bide a wee; you southrons are aye in sic a hurry, andthis is something concerns yourself, an ye wad tak patience tohear't--Yill?--deil a drap o' yill did Pate offer me; but Mattie gae usbaith a drap skimmed milk, and ane o' her thick ait jannocks, that wasas wat and raw as a divot. O for the bonnie girdle cakes o' thenorth!--and sae we sat doun and took out our clavers."
"I wish you would take them out just now. Pray, tell me the news, if youhave got any worth telling, for I can't stop here all night."
"Than, if ye maun hae't, the folk in Lunnun are a' clean wud about thisbit job in the north here."
"Clean wood! what's that?"
"Ou, just real daft--neither to haud nor to bind--a' hirdy-girdy--cleanthrough ither--the deil's ower Jock Wabster."
Frank and Andrew Fairservice--194]
"But what does all this mean? or what business have I with the devil orJack Webster?"
"Umph!" said Andrew, looking extremely knowing, "it's just because--justthat the dirdum's a' about yon man's pokmanty."
"Whose portmanteau? or what do you mean?"
"Ou, just the man Morris's, that he said he lost yonder: but if it's noyour honour's affair, as little is it mine; and I mauna lose thisgracious evening."
And, as if suddenly seized with a violent fit of industry, Andrew beganto labour most diligently.
My attention, as the crafty knave had foreseen, was now arrested, andunwilling, at the same time, to acknowledge any particular interest inthat affair, by asking direct questions, I stood waiting till the spiritof voluntary communication should again prompt him to resume his story.Andrew dug on manfully, and spoke at intervals, but nothing to thepurpose of Mr. Macready's news; and I stood and listened, cursing him inmy heart, and desirous at the same time to see how long his humour ofcontradiction would prevail over his desire of speaking upon the subjectwhich was obviously uppermost in his mind.
"Am trenching up the sparry-grass, and am gaun to saw some Misegun beans;they winna want them to their swine's flesh, I'se warrant--muckle gudemay it do them. And siclike dung as the grieve has gien me!--it should bewheat-strae, or aiten at the warst o't, and it's pease dirt, asfizzenless as chuckie-stanes. But the huntsman guides a' as he likesabout the stable-yard, and he's selled the best o' the litter, I'sewarrant. But, howsoever, we mauna lose a turn o' this Saturday at e'en,for the wather's sair broken, and if there's a fair day in seven,Sunday's sure to come and lick it up--Howsomever, I'm no denying that itmay settle, if it be Heaven's will, till Monday morning,--and what's theuse o' my breaking my back at this rate?--I think, I'll e'en awa' hame,for yon's the curfew, as they ca' their jowing-in bell."
Accordingly, applying both his hands to his spade, he pitched it uprightin the trench which he had been digging and, looking at me with the airof superiority of one who knows himself possessed of importantinformation, which he may communicate or refuse at his pleasure, pulleddown the sleeves of his shirt, and walked slowly towards his coat, whichlay carefully folded up upon a neighbouring garden-seat.
"I must pay the penalty of having interrupted the tiresome rascal,"thought I to myself, "and even gratify Mr. Fairservice by taking hiscommunication on his own terms." Then raising my voice, I addressedhim,--"And after all, Andrew, what are these London news you had from yourkinsman, the travelling merchant?"
"The pedlar, your honour means?" retorted Andrew--"but ca' him what yewull, they're a great convenience in a country-side that's scant o'borough-towns l
ike this Northumberland--That's no the case, now, inScotland;--there's the kingdom of Fife, frae Culross to the East Nuik,it's just like a great combined city--sae mony royal boroughs yoked onend to end, like ropes of ingans, with their hie-streets and theirbooths, nae doubt, and their kraemes, and houses of stane and lime andfore-stairs--Kirkcaldy, the sell o't, is langer than ony town inEngland."
"I daresay it is all very splendid and very fine--but you were talking ofthe London news a little while ago, Andrew."
"Ay," replied Andrew; "but I dinna think your honour cared to hear aboutthem--Howsoever" (he continued, grinning a ghastly smile), "Pate Macreadydoes say, that they are sair mistrysted yonder in their Parliament Houseabout this rubbery o' Mr. Morris, or whatever they ca' the chiel."
"In the House of Parliament, Andrew!--how came they to mention it there?"
"Ou, that's just what I said to Pate; if it like your honour, I'll tellyou the very words; it's no worth making a lie for the matter--'Pate,'said I, 'what ado had the lords and lairds and gentles at Lunnun wi' thecarle and his walise?--When we had a Scotch Parliament, Pate,' says I(and deil rax their thrapples that reft us o't!) 'they sate dousely downand made laws for a haill country and kinrick, and never fashed theirbeards about things that were competent to the judge ordinar o' thebounds; but I think,' said I, 'that if ae kailwife pou'd aff herneighbour's mutch they wad hae the twasome o' them into the ParliamentHouse o' Lunnun. It's just,' said I, 'amaist as silly as our auld daftlaird here and his gomerils o' sons, wi' his huntsmen and his hounds, andhis hunting cattle and horns, riding haill days after a bit beast thatwinna weigh sax punds when they hae catched it.'"
"You argued most admirably, Andrew," said I, willing to encourage him toget into the marrow of his intelligence; "and what said Pate?"
"Ou," he said, "what better could be expected of a wheen pock-puddingEnglish folk?--But as to the robbery, it's like that when they're a' atthe thrang o' their Whig and Tory wark, and ca'ing ane anither, likeunhanged blackguards--up gets ae lang-tongued chield, and he says, thata' the north of England were rank Jacobites (and, quietly, he wasna farwrang maybe), and that they had levied amaist open war, and a king'smessenger had been stoppit and rubbit on the highway, and that the bestbluid o' Northumberland had been at the doing o't--and mickle gowd ta'enaff him, and mony valuable papers; and that there was nae redress to begotten by remeed of law for the first justice o' the peace that therubbit man gaed to, he had fund the twa loons that did the deed birlingand drinking wi' him, wha but they; and the justice took the word o' thetane for the compearance o' the tither; and that they e'en gae himleg-bail, and the honest man that had lost his siller was fain to leavethe country for fear that waur had come of it."
"Can this be really true?" said I.
"Pate swears it's as true as that his ellwand is a yard lang--(and so itis, just bating an inch, that it may meet the English measure)--And whenthe chield had said his warst, there was a terrible cry for names, andout comes he wi' this man Morris's name, and your uncle's, and SquireInglewood's, and other folk's beside" (looking sly at me)--"And thenanother dragon o' a chield got up on the other side, and said, wad theyaccuse the best gentleman in the land on the oath of a brokencoward?--for it's like that Morris had been drummed out o' the army forrinning awa in Flanders; and he said, it was like the story had beenmade up between the minister and him or ever he had left Lunnun; andthat, if there was to be a search-warrant granted, he thought the sillerwad be fund some gate near to St. James's Palace. Aweel, they trailed upMorris to their bar, as they ca't, to see what he could say to the job;but the folk that were again him, gae him sic an awfu' throughgaun abouthis rinnin' awa, and about a' the ill he had ever dune or said for a'the forepart o' his life, that Patie says he looked mair like ane deadthan living; and they cou'dna get a word o' sense out o' him, fordownright fright at their growling and routing. He maun be a saft sap,wi' a head nae better than a fozy frosted turnip--it wad hae ta'en ahantle o' them to scaur Andrew Fairservice out o' his tale."
"And how did it all end, Andrew? did your friend happen to learn?"
"Ou, ay; for as his walk is in this country, Pate put aff his journey forthe space of a week or thereby, because it wad be acceptable to hiscustomers to bring down the news. It's just a' gaed aft like moonshine inwater. The fallow that began it drew in his horns, and said, that thoughhe believed the man had been rubbit, yet he acknowledged he might haebeen mista'en about the particulars. And then the other chield got up,and said, he caredna whether Morris was rubbed or no, provided it wasnato become a stain on ony gentleman's honour and reputation, especially inthe north of England; for, said he before them, I come frae the northmysell, and I carena a boddle wha kens it. And this is what they ca'explaining--the tane gies up a bit, and the tither gies up a bit, and a'friends again. Aweel, after the Commons' Parliament had tuggit, andrived, and rugged at Morris and his rubbery till they were tired o't, theLords' Parliament they behoved to hae their spell o't. In puir auldScotland's Parliament they a' sate thegither, cheek by choul, and thanthey didna need to hae the same blethers twice ower again. But till'ttheir lordships went wi' as muckle teeth and gude-will, as if the matterhad been a' speck and span new. Forbye, there was something said aboutane Campbell, that suld hae been concerned in the rubbery, mair or less,and that he suld hae had a warrant frae the Duke of Argyle, as atestimonial o' his character. And this put MacCallum More's beard in ableize, as gude reason there was; and he gat up wi' an unco bang, andgarr'd them a' look about them, and wad ram it even doun their throats,there was never ane o' the Campbells but was as wight, wise, warlike, andworthy trust, as auld Sir John the Graeme. Now, if your honour's sure yearena a drap's bluid a-kin to a Campbell, as I am nane mysell, sae far asI can count my kin, or hae had it counted to me, I'll gie ye my mind onthat matter."
"You may be assured I have no connection whatever with any gentleman ofthe name."
"Ou, than we may speak it quietly amang oursells. There's baith gude andbad o' the Campbells, like other names, But this MacCallum More has anunco sway and say baith, amang the grit folk at Lunnun even now; for hecanna preceesely be said to belang to ony o' the twa sides o' them, saedeil any o' them likes to quarrel wi' him; sae they e'en voted Morris'stale a fause calumnious libel, as they ca't, and if he hadna gien themleg-bail, he was likely to hae ta'en the air on the pillory forleasing-making."
So speaking, honest Andrew collected his dibbles, spades, and hoes, andthrew them into a wheel-barrow,--leisurely, however, and allowing me fulltime to put any further questions which might occur to me before hetrundled them off to the tool-house, there to repose during the ensuingday. I thought it best to speak out at once, lest this meddling fellowshould suppose there were more weighty reasons for my silence thanactually existed.
"I should like to see this countryman of yours, Andrew and to hear hisnews from himself directly. You have probably heard that I had sometrouble from the impertinent folly of this man Morris" (Andrew grinned amost significant grin), "and I should wish to see your cousin themerchant, to ask him the particulars of what he heard in London, if itcould be done without much trouble."
"Naething mair easy," Andrew observed; "he had but to hint to his cousinthat I wanted a pair or twa o' hose, and he wad be wi' me as fast as hecould lay leg to the grund."
"O yes, assure him I shall be a customer; and as the night is, as yousay, settled and fair, I shall walk in the garden until he comes; themoon will soon rise over the fells. You may bring him to the littleback-gate; and I shall have pleasure, in the meanwhile, in looking on thebushes and evergreens by the bright frosty moonlight."
"Vara right, vara right--that's what I hae aften said; a kail-blade, or acolliflour, glances sae glegly by moonlight, it's like a leddy in herdiamonds."
So saying, off went Andrew Fairservice with great glee. He had to walkabout two miles, a labour he undertook with the greatest pleasure, inorder to secure to his kinsman the sale of some articles of his trade,though it is probable he would not have given him sixpence to tr
eat himto a quart of ale. "The good will of an Englishman would have displayeditself in a manner exactly the reverse of Andrew's," thought I, as Ipaced along the smooth-cut velvet walks, which, embowered with high,hedges of yew and of holly, intersected the ancient garden ofOsbaldistone Hall.
As I turned to retrace my steps, it was natural that I should lift up myeyes to the windows of the old library; which, small in size, but severalin number, stretched along the second story of that side of the housewhich now faced me. Light glanced from their casements. I was notsurprised at this, for I knew Miss Vernon often sat there of an evening,though from motives of delicacy I put a strong restraint upon myself, andnever sought to join her at a time when I knew, all the rest of thefamily being engaged for the evening, our interviews must necessarilyhave been strictly _tete-a'-tete._ In the mornings we usually readtogether in the same room; but then it often happened that one or otherof our cousins entered to seek some parchment duodecimo that could beconverted into a fishing-book, despite its gildings and illumination, orto tell us of some "sport toward," or from mere want of knowing whereelse to dispose of themselves. In short, in the mornings the library wasa sort of public room, where man and woman might meet as on neutralground. In the evening it was very different and bred in a country wheremuch attention is paid, or was at least then paid, to _biense'ance,_ Iwas desirous to think for Miss Vernon concerning those points ofpropriety where her experience did not afford her the means of thinkingfor herself. I made her therefore comprehend, as delicately as I could,that when we had evening lessons, the presence of a third party wasproper.
Miss Vernon first laughed, then blushed, and was disposed to bedispleased; and then, suddenly checking herself, said, "I believe you arevery right; and when I feel inclined to be a very busy scholar, I willbribe old Martha with a cup of tea to sit by me and be my screen."
Martha, the old housekeeper, partook of the taste of the family at theHall. A toast and tankard would have pleased her better than all the teain China. However, as the use of this beverage was then confined to thehigher ranks, Martha felt some vanity in being asked to partake of it;and by dint of a great deal of sugar, many words scarce less sweet, andabundance of toast and butter, she was sometimes prevailed upon to giveus her countenance. On other occasions, the servants almost unanimouslyshunned the library after nightfall, because it was their foolishpleasure to believe that it lay on the haunted side of the house. Themore timorous had seen sights and heard sounds there when all the rest ofthe house was quiet; and even the young squires were far from having anywish to enter these formidable precincts after nightfall withoutnecessity.
That the library had at one time been a favourite resource ofRashleigh--that a private door out of one side of it communicated withthe sequestered and remote apartment which he chose for himself, ratherincreased than disarmed the terrors which the household had for thedreaded library of Osbaldistone Hall. His extensive information as towhat passed in the world--his profound knowledge of science of everykind--a few physical experiments which he occasionally showed off, were,in a house of so much ignorance and bigotry, esteemed good reasons forsupposing him endowed with powers over the spiritual world. He understoodGreek, Latin, and Hebrew; and, therefore, according to the apprehension,and in the phrase of his brother Wilfred, needed not to care "for ghaistor bar-ghaist, devil or dobbie." Yea, the servants persisted that theyhad heard him hold conversations in the library, when every varsal soulin the family were gone to bed; and that he spent the night in watchingfor bogles, and the morning in sleeping in his bed, when he should havebeen heading the hounds like a true Osbaldistone.
All these absurd rumours I had heard in broken hints and imperfectsentences, from which I was left to draw the inference; and, as easilymay be supposed, I laughed them to scorn. But the extreme solitude towhich this chamber of evil fame was committed every night after curfewtime, was an additional reason why I should not intrude on Miss Vernonwhen she chose to sit there in the evening.
To resume what I was saying,--I was not surprised to see a glimmering oflight from the library windows: but I was a little struck when Idistinctly perceived the shadows of two persons pass along and interceptthe light from the first of the windows, throwing the casement for amoment into shade. "It must be old Martha," thought I, "whom Diana hasengaged to be her companion for the evening; or I must have beenmistaken, and taken Diana's shadow for a second person. No, by Heaven! itappears on the second window,--two figures distinctly traced; and now itis lost again--it is seen on the third--on the fourth--the darkened formsof two persons distinctly seen in each window as they pass along theroom, betwixt the windows and the lights. Whom can Diana have got for acompanion?"--The passage of the shadows between the lights and thecasements was twice repeated, as if to satisfy me that my observationserved me truly; after which the lights were extinguished, and theshades, of course, were seen no more.
Trifling as this circumstance was, it occupied my mind for a considerabletime. I did not allow myself to suppose that my friendship for MissVernon had any directly selfish view; yet it is incredible thedispleasure I felt at the idea of her admitting any one to privateinterviews, at a time, and in a place, where, for her own sake, I hadbeen at some trouble to show her that it was improper for me to meet withher.
"Silly, romping, incorrigible girl!" said I to myself, "on whom all goodadvice and delicacy are thrown away! I have been cheated by thesimplicity of her manner, which I suppose she can assume just as shecould a straw bonnet, were it the fashion, for the mere sake ofcelebrity. I suppose, notwithstanding the excellence of herunderstanding, the society of half a dozen of clowns to play at whisk andswabbers would give her more pleasure than if Ariosto himself were toawake from the dead."
This reflection came the more powerfully across my mind, because, havingmustered up courage to show to Diana my version of the first books ofAriosto, I had requested her to invite Martha to a tea-party in thelibrary that evening, to which arrangement Miss Vernon had refused herconsent, alleging some apology which I thought frivolous at the time. Ihad not long speculated on this disagreeable subject, when theback garden-door opened, and the figures of Andrew and hiscountry-man--bending under his pack--crossed the moonlight alley,and called my attention elsewhere.
I found Mr. Macready, as I expected, a tough, sagacious, long-headedScotchman, and a collector of news both from choice and profession. Hewas able to give me a distinct account of what had passed in the House ofCommons and House of Lords on the affair of Morris, which, it appears,had been made by both parties a touchstone to ascertain the temper of theParliament. It appeared also, that, as I had learned from Andrew, bysecond hand, the ministry had proved too weak to support a storyinvolving the character of men of rank and importance, and resting uponthe credit of a person of such indifferent fame as Morris, who was,moreover, confused and contradictory in his mode of telling the story.Macready was even able to supply me with a copy of a printed journal, orNews-Letter, seldom extending beyond the capital, in which the substanceof the debate was mentioned; and with a copy of the Duke of Argyle'sspeech, printed upon a broadside, of which he had purchased several fromthe hawkers, because, he said, it would be a saleable article on thenorth of the Tweed. The first was a meagre statement, full of blanks andasterisks, and which added little or nothing to the information I hadfrom the Scotchman; and the Duke's speech, though spirited and eloquent,contained chiefly a panegyric on his country, his family, and his clan,with a few compliments, equally sincere, perhaps, though less glowing,which he took so favourable an opportunity of paying to himself. I couldnot learn whether my own reputation had been directly implicated,although I perceived that the honour of my uncle's family had beenimpeached, and that this person Campbell, stated by Morris to have beenthe most active robber of the two by whom he was assailed, was said byhim to have appeared in the behalf of a Mr. Osbaldistone, and by theconnivance of the Justice procured his liberation. In this particular,Morris's story jumped with my own suspicions, which had attached toCampbell
from the moment I saw him appear at Justice Inglewood's. Vexedupon the whole, as well as perplexed, with this extraordinary story, Idismissed the two Scotchmen, after making some purchases from Macready,and a small compliment to Fairservice, and retired to my own apartment toconsider what I ought to do in defence of my character thus publiclyattacked.