CHAPTER II.
The lady looked o'er the castle wa', She looked both pale and wan; For the door was locked, and the lord within, He was no Christian man.
_Song of May Marley._
When the steward saw that he was fairly mastered, and that neitherstrength nor words could avail him ought, he remained where he was insullen silence. He had got no orders from the Master to bring him themaid, but it had come into his head to go and take her to himself, andhe had nearly effected his purpose. What might have been the consequenceof his success, it is painful even to calculate; but he was thusprevented, though not without blood and wounds.
The guests now traversed all the lower apartments of the castle, therebeing neither bolt nor bar to interrupt them; but for all the retinuethat they had seen at their arrival, there was neither the appearanceof man nor beast remaining. The large hall did not seem to have beenoccupied for a long period. The shelves were empty, and there wereneither dishes nor fragments of meat of any description; and every thingwithin as well as without the castle had the appearance of desolation.
At length they came to a door, from the bottom of which they perceivedsome light issuing, of which they were glad, as they were afraid thesteward's lamp would fail them and leave them in darkness. Deemingthemselves on ticklish ground, they consulted in a whisper beforeventuring in. Charlie Scott was quite a fearless man among his fellowcreatures, but all kinds of supernatural agency pressed heavily on hisconscience. Therefore, in the present instance, he dissuaded hiscomrades from entering, with all his eloquence.
"Gude faith, callans, keep back off that place. It is may-be thewarlock's room; and gin he should be in the mids o' some o' his cantripsat this eiry time o' the morning, gude sauf us! it is a question whatmight be the upshot. Na, na, friar; I tell ye, bide back, it is best tolet sleeping dogs lye, for fear they get up and bite you."
But the friar's creed differed from that of Charlie, and he wentdauntlessly forward, putting him aside with his hand, and saying at thesame time, that he would "surely go in unto him as with a front of brassor of iron;" that sooner or later the time and the season of theirmeeting must come, and why should he be dismayed?
The friar then opened the door with caution, and entered, followed byall his associates, Charlie Scott bringing up the rear, and whisperingto those next him in a tremulous voice,--"Od that body's mad! He'll leadus into some ill-faur'd snapper. Dinna be ower rash, callans. Just lookafore ye."
Instead of the great enchanter, however, they found only an old woman,so busily engaged with something on the fire, that she scarcely deignedto regard them as they entered. She had a wooden tube, like the barrelof a gun, with which she blew up her fire; and she kept blowing at ittill the flame came above the lip of her caldron, and let her see intoit; for she had no lamp, nor any other light save that which came fromthe fire.
When she had made it blaze thus high, she spoke to herself, and withouttaking her mouth from the tube; saying some words to the followingpurport:--
"Sotter, sotter, my wee pan, To the spirit gin ye can; When the scum turns blue, And the blood bells through, There's something aneath that will change the man."
When Charlie saw her unchristian-like face, and heard her mumbling thesehorrid words through her long hollow tube, he turned his back and fled,taking shelter in a void entrance, to which he was led by some lightthat fell into it from the rays of the moon. Full hardly was he thenbested, for he still deemed that he heard the witch's rites at adistance; and the faint ray of the moon through a narrow aperture madethe rest of the space appear so shadowy and dim, that Charlie saw he wasin a dangerous situation, and actually began to fancy he beheld a facein the dark staring at him, and still coming nearer. It was no time tostand there; so he fled with all his might. But in his dismay he lostevery kind of aim, or consideration whither he was going, and at oncestumbled on the undermost step of a stone stair. Thinking the apparitionhe had seen was by that time hard upon him, and no other way that heknew of open for flight, he rose and pursued his course straight upstairs, in a state of perturbation hardly to be accounted for. The firstlanding place that he came to he ran himself against a door, and notfinding farther entrance he faced about, and, leaning over theballuster, he set up such a yell as never was before breathed fromlungs. It is true he neither heard nor saw aught of the apparition; butCharlie was a sensible man, and he was certain it might be there for anything that he knew; so he set up the same kind of cry that he was wontto do when he lost his neighbours in a mist, or in a night foray, onlyabout ten times or so louder.
"Hilloa! Tam Craik! friar! hilloa! d--n ye a'; what for winna ye comewi' a light?"
Charlie was now at such a distance from his comrades, who were still inthe witch's small apartment, and the echoes of the huge void castle soconfused the sounds, that they took the cries of their captain for therushing of a whirlwind roaring through the crannies of the castle, andpaid no regard to them. No state could be more deplorable than that inwhich muckle Charlie Scott was now placed. To have returned down thestair would have been meeting the devil face to face; or, as Charliemuch better expressed it, "to hae dabbed nebs wi' the deil."
He had therefore no other resource than to bellow out for assistance;and seeing none approach, he said aloud in great agony of spirit, "Lord,gin I were but on Corby's back again! ay, though it were in the wildestglen o' a' the Cheviots, and the Eskdale souple o'er my shoulder," (thatwas the cant name of Charlie's tremendous sword;) "I might then work myway: But sic a place as this I saw never! Od, an there be lugs withinthe wa's o' the house I shall either gar them hear or crack them.Hilloa!"
Not satisfied with giving yelloch after yelloch, as he termed his loudcries, he flew to every door on the landing place, laid on it with hisfists, and kicked it with his foot, calling at each of them in the samekey as before, "Is there ony body here?" He at last prevailed: one doorwas opened, and he was admitted inside. But, alas for our gallantyeoman! he only by this transition got out of one exceedingly bad scrapeinto a worse.
* * * * *
These casual separations of _dramatis personae_ are exceedinglyunfortunate for the story-teller who aims at conciseness and brevity;because it is impracticable to bring them all on at the same time. Astory is like a waggoner and his horses travelling out the king'shighway, his machine loaden with various bales of rich merchandise. Hegoes smoothly and regularly on, till he comes to the bottom of a steepascent, where he is obliged to leave a great proportion of his loading,and first carry one part of it to the top of the hill, then another,and then another, which retards him grievously on his way. So is it withthe writer of a true history such as this; and the separation of partiesis as a hill on his onward path.
It is otherwise with dramatic representations, and in these the authorshave a great advantage. Let their characters separate as they will, orbe engaged as they will, they can at any time, with the greatest ease,be brought together on the stage. The one enters from the one side, andthe other from the other, and we do not much concern ourselves how orwhence they come, taking it for granted that they are there, and that isenough. It is rather delightful to see a hero, in whom one had begun totake some interest, and whom he supposed to be far distant, exposed todangers abroad and perfidy at home, all at once stalk majestically infrom the side scene, and take his place before our eyes. It gives theheart a great deal of relief to see and know that he is there in personto stand up for his own injured rights. But in our own case there is nosuch expedient. Like the waggoner, we must return from the top of thehill, and bring up those of our characters that are left behind. Atpresent we must return from the top of the great stair-case in Aikwoodcastle, into the housekeeper's cell on the ground floor.
Charlie had made his escape almost unobserved; those next to him weeningthat he had only drawn a little back to keep a due distance between thewitch and him, so that they pressed forward to the scene withoutregarding him.
The crone
continued her orgies, blowing her fire one while, and againstirring the liquid in the caldron; then making it run from the end of astick, that she might note its state of gelidity. The friar addressedher in his usual stile of sonorous eastern eloquence; but she onlyregarded him by a slight stare, and a motion with her hand, as if shewished him and his group to disappear. She had taken them for spiritsthat she had conjured up, and perhaps thought they were come before thetime; for in mumbling to herself, they at one time heard her saying,"So you are all there, are you? Well, I shall find you work. Sotter,sotter my wee pan."
This scene went on for a considerable time without any variety, thewitch attending solely to her caldron and her fire; the friar standingbefore the flame, and Tam and Gibbie, with their long kipper noses,peeping over his shoulder. The other three were behind these; the poetwith his arm round Delany's waist, and the beautiful face of the boyElias, the very picture of amazement personified, appeared below thefriar's right arm. Scarcely could such another group be formed for thepainter's eye. Here sat the witch, haggard and wild, close at the onecheek of the fire, watching over her caldron and infernal morsel withthe utmost eagerness. There stood the gruff friar, with the keys of thecastle in his right hand, and the dim lamp in his left, raised above hishead; so that, from the two groups of light, the marked features ofamazement could be distinctly traced; which, with the faint andyellowish hue of their complexions, made the whole highly picturesque.
The witch continued her occupation; till, at length holding up her stickto note the consistence of her jelly, that appeared like boiling bloodand water mixed, there was something in its appearance that confoundedher. She dropt both her tube and her stirring stick among the ashes, andturned about staring wildly at our group. She appeared as if examiningtheir features one by one in search of some one whose presence shemissed; and perceiving the boy's face below the friar's arm, she fixedher eyes on that, cowering down at the same time like a cat that isabout to spring on its prey. Then, rising half up, she moved toward himin a stooping posture, turning always her face first to the one side andthen to the other, until her nose came almost in contact with the boy's,on which he slipped his face out of her sight behind the friar's back.Observing next the two droll faces over the friar's two shoulders, sheappeared delighted with the view; and letting her jaws fall down, shesmiled at it, but it was rather a gape than a smile. She then totteredagain towards the fire, rocking her body and wagging her head as before,repeating the while this unmeaning phrase:
"Niddy, noddy, niddy, noddy. Three heads on ae body."
Haply she deemed all the three faces she had seen belonged to the friar,and was happy at witnessing such a monstrous appearance.
Sitting down on her hams as before, she seized on her two implements,and began to blow and stir for about the space of a minute, testifyinggreat impatience to see how her spell proceeded. But the moment that sheheld up a part of her morsel on the stick, and let it drip off, sheperceived that all was wrong, and that her guests were the reverse ofthose she expected. As soon as she looked at the liquor, she uttered ahorrible scream, while every joint of her body shook with fury; and,lifting a wooden ladle that lay by her side with devilish nimbleness,she splashed the boiling liquid on the faces and bodies of our amazedcompeers.
"Deil be in the auld jaud's fingers!" cried Tam: "Gin she hasna jaupitout baith my een!"
"I have indeed given my cheek to the firebrand!" said the friar; "andthe skin of my forehead hath departed from me!"
"She brings me a-mind o' my mither," said Gibbie--but he got not time toproceed; for after she had exhausted the contents of her caldron on theintruders, she attacked them with burning coals and pieces of wood.These she dashed among them with such desperate force, that part of themsought refuge in retreat. Not so our redoubted friar. He gave the lampout of his hand to the laird, bidding him take care of it, and turninghis back toward her, and running backward for fear of farther injury tohis face and eyes, he seized the witch by the frock, and putting his armround both hers to restrain them, he held her fast to his side. In doingso, he uncovered the cross that hung at his girdle. When she saw this,and that her body was pressed against it, she uttered the most horrifiedhowlings, and appeared to be falling into convulsions. Nevertheless, thefriar kept his hold. He let her scream on, and, dragging her toward thedoor, said unto her, "Thou wicked one! as thy works have been, so shallbe thy reward; and as thou hast sown, so also shalt thou reap. Come withme, and I will put thee into a place where thou shalt cease fromtroubling."
Without more ado, he bore her away to the vault where lay her surly andunyielding associate, beside his mass of dry human bones; and forcingher in, he locked them up together, saying, as he turned the massy bolt,"Lo, the gates of iron and of brass close upon thee! the bolts of steelare drawn around thy dwelling! There shalt thou remain, and there shallthy flesh be consumed, unless thou repentest thee of the evil that thouhast done."
There was a shrewd smile on the friar's face as he said this, as of onewho either did not mean to put his threat in execution, or marvelled howit was that he should thus be lording it in the castle of Aikwood, andimprisoning whom he would.
Never till that instant did any of the party miss their friend andchampion, Charlie Scott; but when they turned from the door of theprison to consult what was to be done next, behold he was wanting Thiscaused them great dismay, but the friar most of all.
"Wo is me!" cried he: "How is the mighty departed, and the pillar of ourstrength moved out of its place! As well may they take my head from mybody, and say unto me live, as bid us go on and prosper without thatmighty man."
* * * * *
The poor waggoner must again return from the top of the hill, and bringup the most important and weighty part of his cargo; no less a load thanmuckle Charlie Scott, laird of Yardbire, and the far famed warlock andnecromancer, Master Michael Scott.
* * * * *
The mighty uproar that Charlie made at the head of the stair, when hebelieved the devil to be on the steps, aroused the great necromancerfrom his nocturnal experiments, all of which were of an infernal kind.At such hours as these his capacious mind was abstracted from allworldly concerns, such as other mortals busy themselves about. If anything sublunary engaged his studies and calculations, it was how to makethe living die and the dead to live,--how to remove mountains out oftheir places, to turn the sea into dry land, and the fields into abillowy and briny ocean,--or in any way counteract nature in her goingson. In some of these great enterprises was he doubtlessly engagedthat morning, when the voice of Charlie Scott astounded his ears.
Often had hosts of demons mustered at his call in the castle of Aikwood,and the yelling sounds of the infernals were no strangers to his ears;but never had he heard such a potent voice before as that sent forth byCharlie, when he conceived himself cooped up between the devil and abolted door. Conceived did I say? No: Charlie saw distinctly, by thistime, an indefinable being coming slowly up to him. Saint Peter! as hedid thresh the warlock's door. "Is there any body here? Hilloa! Open thedoor I say." Thump, thump, thump!
The bolt inside was drawn, and, owing to the strong pressure without,the door flew wide open at once. Charlie perceiving the light, andfearless of ought but the figure behind him, rushed into the room, andmade toward the fire. The door was instantly shut behind him with a loudand furious clash; and Charlie then turning around, got the first lookof the inmate. He was a boardly muscular man, somewhat emaciated in hisappearance, with a strong bushy beard that flowed to his girdle, of ahue that had once been jet black, but was now slightly tinted with grey.His eyes were uncommonly bright and piercing, but they had someresemblance to the eyes of a serpent. He wore on his head a turban ofcrimson velvet, ornamented with mystic figures in gold, and on the frontof it was a star of many dazzling colours. The rest of his body waswrapped in a mantle or gown, striped with all the hues of the rainbow,and many more.
Charlie's eye had lately been light
ed up with terror, but as it fell onthe majestic figure of Master Michael Scott, its wild gleam softenedinto respect, and he saluted him with his quick, abrupt, border bow,which rather resembled the motion made by a raven beckoning from hisrock as he wakes the surrounding echoes, than the slow and gracefulcourtesy then so well understood among the great. Michael still kept hiserect posture at the back of the door, fixing on our yeoman an indignantand angry glance. That look conjured up a little more of Charlie'sbreeding; he doffed his steel bonnet with the one hand, stroked down thehair of his forehead with the other, and gave the master another bow, orrather a nod.
"Gude e'en t'ye, Sir; I fancy you're the lord o' this castle?" saidCharlie.
"You fancy so, do you?" said the Master with a sneer; and giving threetramps with his heel on the floor, in one moment the three pages, Prig,Prim, and Pricker, stood beside him.
"Work, Master, work,--what work now?"
"Take that burly thief and housebreaker, bind him, and put him to thetest."
"Stop short there, my good masters, till I speak t'ye, said Charlie,"I'm neither a housebreaker nor a thief, but a leel man, our warden'skinsman, and your ain, Master Michael Scott. I came here on fair andhonourable service, and I have been guidit waur than a tike; and I'lljust tell you plainly, for I'm rather an e'en-down chap, that if ane o'thae brats dare but to touch me, I'll tak my hand aff his haffet in sica way that he sanna grene to lay foul finger on a gentleman again."
The three pages fell a giggling at this speech, and one of them brushedforward and seized Charlie with a force of which he had no conception.But he was one that never suffered any personal attack with impunity. Hedrew a stroke with his clenched fist, and aimed such a blow at thepage's head, that, if he had had a head like other pages, would havesmashed it to pieces. Charlie hit no head at all. He struck a thing ofnought. But the force of his arm was such, that, about two yards fartheron, he hit an apparatus of curious construction, which he called "amachine for setting the wind on fire," and which he made to fly all inflinders against the wall. The Master's eye kindled with rage; but thethree urchins, who delighted in nothing but mischief, laughed still thelouder, and pressed all forward on Charlie. He had been a littleastounded at missing the page's head; but, being somewhat flustered, hehad not leisure to reflect, and his conceptions were naturally none ofthe most acute; so, for the present, he took it for a miss. But seeingthey purposed to lay violent hands on him, he sprung back into themiddle of the room, in order to command weapon space; and drawing outthe Eskdale souple, he stood on the defensive in a most determinedposture.
The pertinacious elves wheeled also backward, taking a circle roundbehind the Master, and advanced on him all abreast. Good Lord, withwhat might Charlie struck at them! He came on them with a hew that hemeant should cut them all three through the middle at once. But he, asecond time, struck on vacancy. The sword whistled through the void,taking Charlie round with it, and demolishing almost every thing thatwas in the room. The pages screamed with delight, but Michael foamedwith fury. Charlie paid no regard either to him or the devastation hehad made among his utensils; but, springing round the board to the otherside of the room, said, in a loud perturbed voice: "Tell me just this aething, Michael,--are thae three creatures deils? Because an they bedeils, I hae nae mair chance wi' them than a cat. But as for yoursel,goodman, I ken ye are flesh and blood, and o' my ain kith and kin," (andwith that he seized Michael by the throat,) "therefore, either gar thaehellicats gang about their business, or, by Him that made us, I'll thrawyour neck about."
Whether it was the might of the enchanter himself, or that of his bondspirits, Charlie wist not; but in one moment after that his feet weretripped from beneath him, and he was laid on his back on the floor.There he was held by a might against which his great strength could notprevail, bound with cords, and stretched on the board. The Master andhis familiars then conversed in Latin, a language of which Charlie knewbut little, having never been at court; but he heard they wereconversing about his baptism. Charlie had not got much time in his lifeto think about these sacred rites, yet he had always held them in properrespect and veneration; and at that time he blessed the hour he had beenpresented in holy church, having strong hopes that on that account thepowers of hell would not prevail against him. The elves loosed hisbuff-belt, and unclasped his steel-doublet, laying his manly bosom quitebare. The Master gave them directions in Latin, and each of them wentand brought a long knife with two edges, sharp as a razor, and having apoint like a lance.
"I didna trow that there had been ought sae misleared in nature asthis," said Charlie. "It's no that I'm ony feared for death. I haelooked him ower often i' the face to blench at his ca': but I wad justhae liket to hae fa'en i' the field wi' my sword i' my hand, and no tobe cut up like a Christmas pye, and carved a' into collops by a wheendamned deils."
One of them prepared to cut open his breast, and another his belly; buta moment's dispute taking place between them in some unknown tongue,about the mode, as Charlie believed, he crossed himself as well as hecould with his bound hands, and pronounced a sacred name into himself.That instant he perceived the pages fall a-trembling, and stand back;their faces blenched with dread, and the weapons fell from their hands.The Master was wroth, and ordered them to proceed, as Charlie weened byhis motions; but, instead of that, they retired trembling into a corner.He snatched a knife from one of them, as if determined to do the deedhimself. Charlie then deemed himself gone; for he had a sort ofconfused idea, that, by certain laws of nature, and the use of holyrites, wicked spirits were restrained, else mankind would be destroyed:"But what law of nature, or what holy word or sign," thought he, "canrestrain the arm of a wicked man? It is my duty to try, however,"thought he again; and with that he whispered a prayer to the Son of theVirgin, that He would save a warrior from a death like this.
Charlie's prayer was heard, short as it was; for at that very moment,while yet the syllables hung on his lips, entered the gruff figure ofthe friar, with the keys of the castle over his arm, and followed by hisassociates.
"What seek you here, you dogs?" cried the Master, turning about with thegreat knife in his hand: "Am I thus to have my privacy disturbed, and myabode ravaged by a pack of carrion hounds from the hills? Brave pagesmine, bind them all, and cut me them into a thousand pieces."
Scarcely was the order given ere they had the poet on the floor, andbound with strong cords. The rest prepared to escape; but the greatenchanter placed his back to the door, brandished his great knife, anddared them to approach him. The mettledness of these pages cannot beconceived, far less described; they seemed but to will a thing and itwas done. Ere ever one of the intruders had time to rally his thoughts,or almost to think at all, three of them and the boy were all lyingbound in fetters. But when the imps came to seize on the friar, theycould not. They skipped about and about him, but they had not power evento touch his frock. The virgin stood behind him trembling; and on theirfeeling their want of power over the friar, they turned to lay hold onher. But the moment they touched her robe, they retired back in dismay.
Michael looked as if he dreaded there was something about these two thatboded him no good; but he wist not what it was, for he had never seenthe prowess of his bond spirits counteracted before; therefore heawaited the event for a space, when he perceived them vanquished.
The friar had time to rally his thoughts, and remembered that the maidhad the blessed gospel concealed in her bosom; and judging that thesewere perhaps fiends with whom they had to do, who durst not standagainst the word of truth, he drew his cross from below his frock,--thatcross which had been consecrated at the shrine of Saint Peter, bathed inholy water, and blessed with many blessings from the mouths of ancientmartyrs--had done wonderous miracles in the hands of saints of formerdays,--and lifting that reverendly up on high, he pronounced the wordsfrom holy writ against which no demon or false spirit's power couldprevail. In one moment all the three imps fled yelling from theapartment. The countenance of the enchanter fell, and he quaked where hes
tood; but the eye of the friar was kindled up with exultation and joy.
"There worketh the hand of my master!" exclaimed he: "There have Itrusted, and I am not, like thee, ashamed of my trust. I have astrong-hold of hope, and it is founded on a rock, but thy habitationtrembleth beneath thee; and dost thou know, or hast thou considered,what is underneath?"
The friar then went up and loosed the bonds of his friend Charlie, andof all the rest, one by one, exulting in his creed, and pouring forthsuch sentences of sublime adoration as are not suited for an idle tale.
The Master at length took courage and rebuked him, saying, "It is vainfor thee, foolish dupe of a foolish creed, to multiply such greatswelling words of vanity. What though thy might hath, for once,prevailed above my might, and thy spell proved more powerful than mine?I will engage, nevertheless, that in nine times out of ten, mine, onfair trial, shall prevail over thine. And at all events I can at thistime call in the arm of flesh to my assistance, and do with you whateverseemeth to me good."
"Ay, gude faith, and that's very true, Master Michael Scott," saidCharlie: "and that we saw wi' our ain een. It is great nonsense toquarrel with the lord of a castle aneath his ain roof, although, Iconfess, I was the first to do it mysel'. But there's an auld saying,wha wad sit i' Rome and strive wi' the pope? or misca' a Macdonald inthe raws o' Lochaber? We came wi' nae sic intent, but in fairfriendship, and on courteous errand. And now when we are a' rather onequal footing again, let me beg o' you, great and powerful Master, to bea reasonable man for aince. Answer the warden's request, and let us gae;for really, great Sir, our master canna well want us; and mair nor that,I'm feared yon chaps at the mill dinna gie Corby ony water."
Though the Master did not understand the latter part of this speech, yetthe honest simplicity of Charlie somewhat interested him. His stern andsullen brow cleared to something like a smile; and on looking at thesingular and original group before him, he half resolved within himselfto have some intercourse with humanity once more. "If it were but for aday, or even an hour," thought he, "would it not form some variety in alife thus dedicated to searching after hidden mysteries--a life ofturmoil and distraction, in which there is no allay?"
Such were some of the thoughts that glanced on the dark mind of thenecromancer, as he turned his eye on the broad weather-beaten face ofhonest Yardbire, "And what may your master's request be, yeoman?" saidhe.
Charlie had great hopes that he would now bring matters to a bearing atonce; and, coming a step nearer to the Master, he laid the onefore-finger across the other, and answered him thus:--"Why, gude faith,Sir, it is neither mair nor less than just this:--Ye ken the last timeye war at the castle of Mountcomyn, ye gae our master, your kinsman, thewarden, some little insight anent things that were to come about:--ofsome bits o' glebes, and hopes, and glens, ye ken, that war to fa' tohis house. Now, Sir Knight, or Master, as I should say, he's a man that,aboon a' ithers that ever war born, looks to the honour and theadvantage o' his house. He's as loyal as the day's light, as generous asa corn mill, and as brave as a blast o' snaw or a floody river. Od, youwill turn either the ane or the ither sooner than you will turn him wi'his muirland callans at his back.--Ay, I hae seen him.--But it'sneedless to tell what he'll do for his ain. So you see, Sir Master, thatwas the preceese thing he sent us for."
"To send troops to his assistance, I perceive?" said the Master.
"Why, Sir Master, to say the truth, we hadna that in charge; though itwad be far mair mack like, and far mair feasible, and far mairhonourable into the bargain, to send yon great clan o' ratten-nosedchaps to help our master, than to hae them lying idle, eating you out o'house and hauld here. Ye wad aye be getting part o' the spulzie. Half adozen o' kye at a time now and then disna do amiss. Sae, if you willcome to terms, I will engage for ane to see you get fair share, to thehoof and the horn, the barn an' the beef boat, the barrel and the bedblanket. But, ye ken, Sir, in matters like this, we maun do ae thingafore another, like business men; and ye maun be sae good, and sae kind,and sae obliging, as to answer our first request first."
"As far as I can recollect," said Michael, "I never heard any requestmade."
"Why, gude faith, Sir, ye ken, I believe I forgot that part o't," saidCharlie: "But ye see, that's neither here nor there; for the thingrequires some explanation. Do you ken a' this mad story about the siegeo' Roxburgh?"
"I trouble myself about no worldly things," said the Master, "nor do Iwish to hear about them. Is there no one present who can tell me thisgreat business at one breath?"
Charlie stepped back. "There's nae garring him hae patience,--and goodtroth my tongue I fear has outrun my logic," said he: "Friar, speakyou."
"Great and magnificent Master of Arts," said the friar, steppingforward, "whom I have longed to see above all men! Lo, thou seest, andthou hearest, that this man, although he be a man of might, and awarrior from his youth, is yet uncouth of speech, and altogetherdiffuse; therefore listen thou diligently unto the voice of thy servant.Behold we are come to thee from the man that ruleth over the borders ofthe land, and leadeth forth his troops to battle. He sendeth unto theegreeting, and beseecheth to know of thee what shall befal unto hispeople, and to his house, in the latter days. It is thy counsel alonethat he asketh, for thou art renowned for wisdom and foresight to thefarthest corners of the earth. The two nations are engaged in great andbloody contest, and high are the stakes for which they play. The man whosent us intreateth of thee to disclose unto thy servants who shallfinally prevail, and whether it behoveth him to join himself to thecaptain of his people. He hath, moreover, sent unto thee, by our hand,these two beautiful captives, the one to be thine handmaiden, and theother to be thy servant and run at thy bidding; and whatsoever thourequirest of our captain, that will he do, even to the half of all thathe hath."
There was but one thing on earth by which the wizard could be flattered,and that was a deference to his profound art. He therefore listened withpatience to the friar, and answered, that the request his kinsman hadmade would take many days to consider of: "For," said he, "I have thoseto deal with that are more capricious than the changing seasons, andmore perverse than opposing tides and winds; therefore remain with me afew days, that I may prove you."
"Od bless ye! Sir Master, the thing is impossible!" said Charlie: "Icoudna bide frae my captain and chief, and him in jeopardy; neithercould I endure to think that my poor beast should want water sae lang. Aman's life often depends on his beast."
"Thou givest us no meat," said the friar, "nor wine nor strong drinkgivest thou unto us. How, therefore, can we remain in thine house?Nevertheless would I love to abide a short time with thee, to witnessthy great might, before which the masters of divinations in other landshave trembled. Verily, I would also show unto thee what thy servant cando."
"If I were to cope with such as thee, it would only be to show thee thylittleness!" said Michael. "But thy creed is an abomination to me, andI abhor it. In the meantime call up my steward, and I will order him toprovide you with meat and drink."
The poet now, for the first time, spoke up in the Master's hearing; and,indignant at the steward's design on Delany, he delivered himself withgreat vehemence.
"Nay, say not so, great Master. The devil hath possession of that man,sure as the stars burn on the morning's brow. He give us meat or drink!Sooner he will draw forth the crimson current from our veins, and lay uswith the dead: Sooner he will rob beauty of her treasure, and deface theimage of his Maker. Let us go forth to hill, or dale, or wood, strivewith the crow for carrion, or contend with owlets for a mouse; but to bebearded by that same surly beast, the heart of man not brooks it. As forme, I lift my voice, my absolute protest, against the degradation andeffect."
"He is indeed a son of Belial," said the friar; "but I have put him inward, that he trouble us not. Lo, here be the keys of thy castle, whichI intend to keep as our surety. Therefore show me the place where thygood things are disposed, and I myself will be steward for a time; forindeed that man of thine is such a son of Belial t
hat a man cannot speakto him."
The Master's brow lowered with dissatisfaction. His subordinate spiritsin whom he trusted had no power over the friar, and other man had henone within the castle, save Gourlay, who was almost as much fiend asman. He therefore intreated the friar to set his steward at liberty, andrestore to him the keys, else no meat or drink could be had; and, at thesame time, he gave them all warrandice that they should be kindly used.
"My seneschal," said he, "is as stubborn and froward as any demon of thepit, nor will he do one kind or fair action save by compulsion. But hedares not disobey me. If he should presume to dispute my orders in theslightest instance, one word from you shall be sufficient, and I willshew you how he shall be requited."
It was forthwith agreed that the Master should accompany them down tothe dungeon, in order to restrain the fury and violence of his servant.Matters were therefore arranged, and the two prisoners set at liberty.The steward was sullen and intractable, lying still on the dungeonfloor, disregardful of the words spoken to him by the friar; but when heheard the Master's threatening accents he sprung to his feet and cameforth, looking at Charlie in such a manner as plainly said, "I shall berevenged on you."
The Master then took him to task, demanding by whose orders he had shutup his kinsman's friends in the vault. But he only snarled and gnashedhis teeth in reply.
"And then to suffer yourself to be mured up there!" said the Master.
"Ay," said Gourlay; "some have won a tilt on the king of the field whonever saw the day to win it on another."
"For the viper blood that venoms thy heart do thou ought amiss to thesegentlemen," said the Master, "or to this obnoxious thing that is theirward! Wherefore, let me ask, were they compelled to shut you up there?"
The steward only grunted in reply; but the poet came again boldlyforward, having been exasperated beyond measure at the steward for hisattempt on Delany; and he said,--"Sir knight, in that I'll truly counselyou. At dead hour of night, when all was still, save the snell piping ofthe frosty wind; even we were all at peace, and quiet lay as did thedead man's bones, but that, between, the friar at equal intervals sentforth his nasal roar, so vehement that the mice, yea, and the starvelingrats, ceased from their prowling, listened the dire sound from fleshytrumpet of our mother church, then sought, with stretched forth tail,and nimble foot, the depth profound! There quaking did they lie, likefiends driven from the height to the abyss,--lank make, chilled heart,and grievous length of tail. At that ill hour, in comes this boding owl,this ill-starred man of sin, and straight demands that peerless maidenfor your honour's couch. Him we refused--the maiden shrieked forhelp--he dragged her forth, and on this laurelled head, crowned by themuses with celestial bays, inflicted ruthless wound. The bedesman alsofell; but he our friend, the Hector of the hills, wrought his o'erthrow,and circum-mured him. Thus my say is ended."
The Master, as the poet spoke, seemed several times so much amused thatthey expected he would have burst into laughter. But one look of his eyespoke sentences. When he heard that Gourlay had demanded the maid forhim, he gave him such a glance as made the wretch almost cower to theearth; and when the poet ended he turned his eyes on Charlie, measuringhim from head to foot, and seeming as if he doubted the fact that he orany man could master his redoubted seneschal. However, the Master hadseen so much of the group, that he determined, contrary to his custom,to have some amusement with them. He therefore ordered his seneschalforthwith to provide all good things for their entertainment.
The stubborn wight made no movement betokening obedience. He stoodupright with his dull white face a little elevated, and his eyes turnedup below his brows, while those who were next him heard him saying tohimself, in accents that creaked in his throat, "Hell must be moved forthis repast!" The Master heard not this sentence, but noting hissteward's indecision, he stamped with his foot, and pointing with hisfinger, the latter led the way into an antichamber of the same cold andnaked appearance with the rest of the apartments of the castle, where,leaving them with a light, the two went away into the great Master'sdormitory, "To cast their cantrips, and bring up the deil."
"He keeps an unco cauld house this carl," said Tam, when they were leftby themselves: "I fancy he'll ken brawly he'll hae ane bien eneugh atthe hinder-end, and downa bide to see fire in this!"
"He brings me a-mind o' daft Jock Amos i' the Goosegreen," saidGibbie,--"wha never durst lie down on a bed because his mother died onane. Whenever he saw a bed wi' white sheets on it he fell a-trembling,and ran to the gate."