CHAPTER X.
With throat unslaked, with black lips baked, Agape they heard him call; Gramercy they for joy did grin, And all at once their breath drew in, As they had been drinking all!
COLERIDGE'S Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
HAYSTON of Bucklaw was one of the thoughtless class who never hesitatebetween their friend and their jest. When it was announced that theprincipal persons of the chase had taken their route towards Wolf'sCrag, the huntsmen, as a point of civility, offered to transfer thevenison to that mansion a proffer which was readily accepted byBucklaw, who thought much of the astonishment which their arrival infull body would occasion poor old Caleb Balderstone, and very little ofthe dilemma to which he was about to expose his friend the Master, soill circumstanced to receive such a party. But in old Caleb he had todo with a crafty and alert antagonist, prompt at supplying, upon allemergencies, evasions and excuses suitable, as he thought, to thedignity of the family.
"Praise be blest!" said Caleb to himself, "ae leaf of the muckle gatehas been swung to wi' yestreen's wind, and I think I can manage to shutthe ither."
But he was desirous, like a prudent governor, at the same time to getrid, if possible, of the internal enemy, in which light he consideredalmost every one who eat and drank, ere he took measures to excludethose whom their jocund noise now pronounced to be near at hand. Hewaited, therefore, with impatience until his master had shown his twoprincipal guests into the Tower, and then commenced his operations.
"I think," he said to the stranger menials, "that, as they are bringingthe stag's head to the castle in all honour, we, who are indwellers,should receive them at the gate."
The unwary grooms had no sooner hurried out, in compliance with thisinsidious hint, than, one folding-door of the ancient gate being alreadyclosed by the wind, as has been already intimated, honest Caleb lostno time in shutting the other with a clang, which resounded fromdonjon-vault to battlement. Having thus secured the pass, he forthwithindulged the excluded huntsmen in brief parley, from a small projectingwindow, or shot-hole, through which, in former days, the warders werewont to reconnoitre those who presented themselves before the gates. Hegave them to understand, in a short and pity speech, that the gate ofthe castle was never on any account opened during meal-times; that hishonour, the Master of Ravenswood, and some guests of quality, hadjust sat down to dinner; that there was excellent brandy at thehostler-wife's at Wolf's Hope down below; and he held out some obscurehint that the reckoning would be discharged by the Master; but this wasuttered in a very dubious and oracular strain, for, like Louis XIV.,Caleb Balderstone hesitated to carry finesse so far as direct falsehood,and was content to deceive, if possible, without directly lying.
This annunciation was received with surprise by some, with laughterby others, and with dismay by the expelled lackeys, who endeavoured todemonstrate that their right of readmission, for the purpose of waitingupon their master and mistress, was at least indisputable. But Caleb wasnot in a humour to understand or admit any distinctions. He stuck to hisoriginal proposition with that dogged but convenient pertinacity whichis armed against all conviction, and deaf to all reasoning. Bucklaw nowcame from the rear of the party, and demanded admittance in a very angrytone. But the resolution of Caleb was immovable.
"If the king on the throne were at the gate," he declared, "his tenfingers should never open it contrair to the established use and wont ofthe family of Ravenswood, and his duty as their head-servant."
Bucklaw was now extremely incensed, and with more oaths and cursesthan we care to repeat, declared himself most unworthily treated, anddemanded peremptorily to speak with the Master of Ravenswood himself.
But to this also Caleb turned a deaf ear. "He's as soon a-bleeze as atap of tow, the lad Bucklaw," he said; "but the deil of ony master'sface he shall see till he has sleepit and waken'd on't. He'll kenhimsell better the morn's morning. It sets the like o' him, to bebringing a crew of drunken hunters here, when he kens there is butlittle preparation to sloken his ain drought." And he disappeared fromthe window, leaving them all to digest their exclusion as they bestmight.
But another person, of whose presence Caleb, in the animation of thedebate, was not aware, had listened in silence to its progress. Thiswas the principal domestic of the stranger--a man of trust andconsequence--the same who, in the hunting-field, had accommodatedBucklaw with the use of his horse. He was in the stable when Caleb hadcontrived the expulsion of his fellow-servants, and thus avoided sharingthe same fate, from which his personal importance would certainly nothave otherwise saved him.
This personage perceived the manoeuvre of Caleb, easily appreciated themotive of his conduct, and knowing his master's intentions towards thefamily of Ravenswood, had no difficulty as to the line of conduct heought to adopt. He took the place of Caleb (unperceived by the latter)at the post of audience which he had just left, and announced to theassembled domestics, "That it was his master's pleasure that LordBittlebrain's retinue and his own should go down to the adjacentchange-house and call for what refreshments they might have occasionfor, and he should take care to discharge the lawing."
The jolly troop of huntsmen retired from the inhospitable gate of Wolf'sCrag, execrating, as they descended the steep pathway, the niggard andunworthy disposition of the proprietor, and damning, with more thansilvan license, both the castle and its inhabitants. Bucklaw, with manyqualities which would have made him a man of worth and judgment in morefavourable circumstances, had been so utterly neglected in point ofeducation, that he was apt to think and feel according to the ideas ofthe companions of his pleasures. The praises which had recently beenheaped upon himself he contrasted with the general abuse now levelledagainst Ravenswood; he recalled to his mind the dull and monotonous dayshe had spent in the Tower of Wolf's Crag, compared with the jovialityof his usual life; he felt with great indignation his exclusion fromthe castle, which he considered as a gross affront, and every mingledfeeling led him to break off the union which he had formed with theMaster of Ravenswood.
On arriving at the change-house of the village of Wolf's Hope, heunexpectedly met with an acquaintance just alighting from his horse.This was no other than the very respectable Captain Craigengelt,who immediately came up to him, and, without appearing to retain anyrecollection of the indifferent terms on which they had parted, shookhim by the hand in the warmest manner possible. A warm grasp of thehand was what Bucklaw could never help returning with cordiality, and nosooner had Craigengelt felt the pressure of his fingers than he knew theterms on which he stood with him.
"Long life to you, Bucklaw!" he exclaimed; "there's life for honest folkin this bad world yet!"
The Jacobites at this period, with what propriety I know not, used, itmust be noticed, the term of HONEST MEN as peculiarly descriptive oftheir own party.
"Ay, and for others besides, it seems," answered Bucklaw; "otherways,how came you to venture hither, noble Captain?"
"Who--I? I am as free as the wind at Martinmas, that pays neitherland-rent nor annual; all is explained--all settled with the honest olddrivellers yonder of Auld Reekie. Pooh! pooh! they dared not keep me aweek of days in durance. A certain person has better friends among themthan you wot of, and can serve a friend when it is least likely."
"Pshaw!" answered Hayston, who perfectly knew and thoroughly despisedthe character of this man, "none of your cogging gibberish; tell metruly, are you at liberty and in safety?"
"Free and safe as a Whig bailie on the causeway of his own borough, or acanting Presbyterian minister in his own pulpit; and I came to tell youthat you need not remain in hiding any longer."
"Then I suppose you call yourself my friend, Captain Craigengelt?" saidBucklaw.
"Friend!" replied Craigengelt, "my cock of the pit! why, I am thy veryAchates, man, as I have heard scholars say--hand and glove--bark andtree--thine to life and death!"
"I'll try that in a moment," answered Bucklaw. "Thou art never withoutmoney, however thou comest by it. Lend
me two pieces to wash the dustout of these honest fellows' throats in the first place, and then----"
"Two pieces! Twenty are at thy service, my lad, and twenty to backthem."
"Ay, say you so?" said Bucklaw, pausing, for his natural penetration ledhim to suspect some extraordinary motive lay couched under an excess ofgenerosity. "Craigengelt, you are either an honest fellow in right goodearnest, and I scarce know how to believe that; or you are cleverer thanI took you for, and I scarce know how to believe that either."
"L'un n'empeche pas l'autre," said Craigengelt. "Touch and try; the goldis good as ever was weighed."
He put a quantity of gold pieces into Bucklaw's hand, which he thrustinto his pocket without either counting or looking at them, onlyobserving, "That he was so circumstanced that he must enlist, thoughthe devil offered the press-money"; and then turning to the huntsmen, hecalled out, "Come along, my lads; all is at my cost."
"Long life to Bucklaw!" shouted the men of the chase.
"And confusion to him that takes his share of the sport, and leaves thehunters as dry as a drumhead," added another, by way of corollary.
"The house of Ravenswood was ance a gude and an honourable house inthis land," said an old man; "but it's lost its credit this day, and theMaster has shown himself no better than a greedy cullion."
And with this conclusion, which was unanimously agreed to by all whoheard it, they rushed tumultuously into the house of entertainment,where they revelled till a late hour. The jovial temper of Bucklawseldom permitted him to be nice in the choice of his associates; and onthe present occasion, when his joyous debauch received additionalzest from the intervention of an unusual space of sobriety, and almostabstinence, he was as happy in leading the revels as if his comrades hadbeen sons of princes. Craigengelt had his own purposes in fooling him upto the top of his bent; and having some low humour, much impudence, andthe power of singing a good song, understanding besides thoroughly thedisposition of his regained associate, he headily succeeded in involvinghim bumper-deep in the festivity of the meeting.
A very different scene was in the mean time passing in the Tower ofWolf's Crag. When the Master of Ravenswood left the courtyard, toomuch busied with his own perplexed reflections to pay attention to themanoeuvre of Caleb, he ushered his guests into the great hall of thecastle.
The indefatigable Balderstone, who, from choice or habit, worked on frommorning to night, had by degrees cleared this desolate apartment of theconfused relics of the funeral banquet, and restored it to some order.But not all his skill and labour, in disposing to advantage the littlefurniture which remained, could remove the dark and disconsolateappearance of those ancient and disfurnished walls. The narrow windows,flanked by deep indentures into the walls, seemed formed rather toexclude than to admit the cheerful light; and the heavy and gloomyappearance of the thunder-sky added still farther to the obscurity.
As Ravenswood, with the grace of a gallant of that period, but notwithout a certain stiffness and embarrassment of manner, handed theyoung lady to the upper end of the apartment, her father remainedstanding more near to the door, as if about to disengage himself fromhis hat and cloak. At this moment the clang of the portal was heard, asound at which the stranger started, stepped hastily to the window, andlooked with an air of alarm at Ravenswood, when he saw that the gate ofthe court was shut, and his domestics excluded.
"You have nothing to fear, sir," said Ravenswood, gravely; "this roofretains the means of giving protection, though not welcome. Methinks,"he added, "it is time that I should know who they are that have thushighly honoured my ruined dwelling!" The young lady remained silentand motionless, and the father, to whom the question was more directlyaddressed, seemed in the situation of a performer who has ventured totake upon himself a part which he finds himself unable to present,and who comes to a pause when it is most to be expected that he shouldspeak. While he endeavoured to cover his embarrassment with the exteriorceremonials of a well-bred demeanour, it was obvious that, in making hisbow, one foot shuffled forward, as if to advance, the other backward, asif with the purpose of escape; and as he undid the cape of his coat, andraised his beaver from his face, his fingers fumbled as if the one hadbeen linked with rusted iron, or the other had weighed equal with astone of lead. The darkness of the sky seemed to increase, as if tosupply the want of those mufflings which he laid aside with such evidentreluctance. The impatience of Ravenswood increased also in proportion tothe delay of the stranger, and he appeared to struggle under agitation,though probably from a very different cause. He laboured to restrain hisdesire to speak, while the stranger, to all appearance, was at a lossfor words to express what he felt necessary to say.
At length Ravenswood's impatience broke the bounds he had imposed uponit. "I perceive," he said, "that Sir William Ashton is unwilling toannounced himself in the Castle of Wolf's Crag."
"I had hoped it was unnecessary," said the Lord Keeper, relieved fromhis silence, as a spectre by the voice of the exorcist, "and I amobliged to you, Master of Ravenswood, for breaking the ice at once,where circumstances--unhappy circumstances, let me call them--renderedself-introduction peculiarly awkward."
"And I am not then," said the Master of Ravenswood, gravely, "toconsider the honour of this visit as purely accidental?"
"Let us distinguish a little," said the Keeper, assuming an appearanceof ease which perhaps his heart was a stranger to; "this is an honourwhich I have eagerly desired for some time, but which I might neverhave obtained, save for the accident of the storm. My daughter and I arealike grateful for this opportunity of thanking the brave man to whomshe owes her life and I mine."
The hatred which divided the great families in the feudal times had lostlittle of its bitterness, though it no longer expressed itself indeeds of open violence. Not the feelings which Ravenswood had begun toentertain towards Lucy Ashton, not the hospitality due to his guests,were able entirely to subdue, though they warmly combated, the deeppassions which arose within him at beholding his father's foe standingin the hall of the family of which he had in a great measure acceleratedthe ruin. His looks glanced from the father to the daughter with anirresolution of which Sir William Ashton did not think it properto await the conclusion. He had now disembarrassed himself of hisriding-dress, and walking up to his daughter, he undid the fastening ofher mask.
"Lucy, my love," he said, raising her and leading her towardsRavenswood, "lay aside your mask, and let us express our gratitude tothe Master openly and barefaced."
"If he will condescend to accept it," was all that Lucy uttered; but ina tone so sweetly modulated, and which seemed to imply at once a feelingand a forgiving of the cold reception to which they were exposed,that, coming from a creature so innocent and so beautiful, her words cutRavenswood to the very heart for his harshness. He muttered somethingof surprise, something of confusion, and, ending with a warm and eagerexpression of his happiness at being able to afford her shelter underhis roof, he saluted her, as the ceremonial of the time enjoined uponsuch occasions. Their cheeks had touched and were withdrawn from eachother; Ravenswood had not quitted the hand which he had taken in kindlycourtesy; a blush, which attached more consequence by far than was usualto such ceremony, still mantled on Lucy Ashton's beautiful cheek, whenthe apartment was suddenly illuminated by a flash of lightning, whichseemed absolutely to swallow the darkness of the hall. Every objectmight have been for an instant seen distinctly. The slight andhalf-sinking form of Lucy Ashton the well-proportioned and statelyfigure of Ravenswood, his dark features, and the fiery yet irresoluteexpression of his eyes; the old arms and scutcheons which hung on thewalls of the apartment, were for an instant distinctly visible to theKeeper by a strong red brilliant glare of light. Its disappearance wasalmost instantly followed by a burst of thunder, for the storm-cloud wasvery near the castle; and the peal was so sudden and dreadful, that theold tower rocked to its foundation, and every inmate concluded it wasfalling upon them. The soot, which had not been disturbed for centuries,showered down the huge tu
nnelled chimneys; lime and dust flew in cloudsfrom the wall; and, whether the lightning had actually struck the castleor whether through the violent concussion of the air, several heavystones were hurled from the mouldering battlements into the roaringsea beneath. It might seem as if the ancient founder of the castle werebestriding the thunderstorm, and proclaiming his displeasure at thereconciliation of his descendant with the enemy of his house.
The consternation was general, and it required the efforts of both theLord Keeper and Ravenswood to keep Lucy from fainting. Thus was theMaster a second time engaged in the most delicate and dangerous ofall tasks, that of affording support and assistance to a beautiful andhelpless being, who, as seen before in a similar situation, hadalready become a favourite of his imagination, both when awake and whenslumbering. If the genius of the house really condemned a union betwixtthe Master and his fair guest, the means by which he expressed hissentiments were as unhappily chosen as if he had been a mere mortal.The train of little attentions, absolutely necessary to soothe the younglady's mind, and aid her in composing her spirits, necessarily threwthe Master of Ravenswood into such an intercourse with her father as wascalculated, for the moment at least, to break down the barrier of feudalenmity which divided them. To express himself churlishly, or evencoldly, towards an old man whose daughter (and SUCH a daughter) laybefore them, overpowered with natural terror--and all this under his ownroof, the thing was impossible; and by the time that Lucy, extending ahand to each, was able to thank them for their kindness, the Masterfelt that his sentiments of hostility towards the Lord Keeper were by nomeans those most predominant in his bosom.
The weather, her state of health, the absence of her attendants,all prevented the possibility of Lucy Ashton renewing her journey toBittlebrains House, which was full five miles distant; and the Master ofRavenswood could not but, in common courtesy, offer the shelter of hisroof for the rest of the day and for the night. But a flush of lesssoft expression, a look much more habitual to his features, resumedpredominance when he mentioned how meanly he was provided for theentertainment of his guests.
"Do not mention deficiencies," said the Lord Keeper, eager to interrupthim and prevent his resuming an alarming topic; "you are preparing toset out for the Continent, and your house is probably for the presentunfurnished. All this we understand; but if you mention inconvenience,you will oblige us to seek accommodations in the hamlet."
As the Master of Ravenswood was about to reply, the door of the hallopened, and Caleb Balderstone rushed in.