R O B R OY .

F o r why ? B e c au se the go o d old rule

'

S u ffi ce th them the simple plan ,

That they should take who have the power ,

A n d they should keep who can

R ob Roy s Gra ve —
.

W OR DSWORTH
’
.
.

INT R ODU C TION .

W H E N the author projected this further encroachment on the

pati ence of an indulgent public he was at some loss for a title ;
,

a good name be ing very nearly of as much consequence in li tera

ture as in l ife Th e title of R OB R OY was suggested by the late
.

Mr Constable whose sagacity and experience foresaw the germ of

.
,

populari ty which it include d .

N o introduction can be more appropriate to the work than some

account of the s ingular character whose name is given to the title
page and who through good report and bad report has maintai ned
, , ,

a wonderful degree of importance in popular recollection This .

cannot be ascribed to the d i stin ction of his birth which though , ,

that of a gentleman had in it noth ing of high destination and

, ,

gave hi m l ittle right to command in his clan N either though he .

,

l ived a busy restless and enterprising life were h is feats equal to

, , ,

those of other freebooters who have been less d i st inguished H e .

o wed h i s fame in a great measure to his residing on the very verge

of the H ighlands and playing such pranks in the beginning of the

,

1 8th century as are usually ascribed to R ob i n H ood in the middle

,

a ge s — and that with i n forty miles of Glasgow a great commercial

, ,

c ity the seat of a learned university Thus a character like his

, .
,

blending the wild virtues the subtle policy and unrestrained

, ,

licence of an A merican Indi an was flourishing in S cotland during

,

the A u gustan age of Queen A nne and George I A ddison it is .

,

probable or Pope would have been considerably surprised if they

, ,

had known that there existed in the same island with them a per
s o n age of R o b R oy s peculiar habits and profession It is th i s
’
.

strong contrast betwixt the civilized and cultivated mode of life on

the one side of the H ighland line and the wild and lawless ,

adventures which were habitually undertaken and ach i eved by one

who dwelt on the opposite s ide of that ideal boundary, which
6 IN TROD U C TION

creates the interest attached to his name H ence . it is that

even yet,
Far and ne a r th rough val e and hill,
,

A re faces that attest the same,

A n d ki ndle like a fire n e w st irr d
’
,
”
At sound of Ro b oy s name ’
R .

There were several advantages which R o b R o y enjoyed, for sus

taini ng to advantage the character whi ch he assumed .

The most prom i nent of these was his descent from, and con
n exio n with, the clan M a c G re go r, so famous for their mis fortunes ,
and the indomitable spirit wi th which they maintained themselves
as a clan , linked a nd banded together in spite of the most severe
'

la ws , executed with unheard o f rigour against those who bore this

-

forbidden surname Their history was that of severa l others of

.

the original H ighlan d clans who were suppressed by more powerful

,

neighbours and either e xtirpate cl or forced to secure themselves

, ,

by renouncing their own fam ily appellation, and assuming that of

the conquerors The peculiarity in the story of the M ac Gregors,
.

is their retaining, with such tenacity their s eparate e xistence and ,

'

union as a clan under circumstances of the utmost urgency .

The history of the tribe is briefly as follo w s But we must premise

that the tale depends in some degree on tradition therefore ,
e xcepting when written documents are quoted , it must be c o n s i
dered as in some degree dubious .

The sept of M a c Gre go r claime d a descent from Gregor, or Gre~

gorius third son, it i s said of A lpin King of S cots who fl ourished
, , , ,

about 7 87 Hence their original patronymi c is M ac Al pin e, and

.

they are usually termed the Clan A lpine A n individual tribe of .

t hem retains the same name They are accounted one of the most
.

ancient clans in the Highlands an d it is certain they were a p eopl e

,

of original Celtic descent and occupied at one period very e xten

, ‘

s ive possessions in Perthshire and A rgyl e sh ire , which they impru

den tl y continued to ho ld by the co i r a g l a z z/e that is, the right o f
'
f

the sword Their neighbours , the Earls of A rgyle and B re adal

.

bane in the meanwhile managed to have the lands occupied by

, ,

the M ac Grego rs en grossed i n those charters which they easily

obtained from the Crown ; and thus constituted a l egal right in
t heir o wn favour, without much regard to its justice A s o ppo rtu .

n ity occurred of annoying or ext i rpating their neighbours they gra

,
dually extended their own domains , by usurping under the pretext ,
of such royal grants those of the ir more uncivilized neighbours A
, .

S ir Duncan Campbell of Lochow known in the H igh l ands by the

, ,

n ame of B on ac/m D/ zu m m Chu r m z cfi d that is B l ack Duncan

’ ’

, ,

with the Co wl, it being his pleasure to wear such a head-gear, is

 TO R OB ROY .
7

said to have been peculiarly successful in those acts of spoliation

upon the clan M ac Gre go r .

The devoted sept ever finding themselves iniquitously driven

,

from their possessi ons defended themselves by force and occa , ,

s io n a lly gained advantages which they used cruelly enough This , .

conduct though natural considering the country an d t ime was

, , ,

studiously represented at the capital as arising from an untameable

’

and innate ferocity which nothing it was said could remedy save
, , , ,

cutting off the tribe of M a c Grego r root and branch .

In an act of Privy Council at Stirling 2 2n d September 1 56 3 in , ,

the reign of Queen Mary commission i s granted to the most p o w ,

e rful nobles and chiefs of the clans to pursue the clan Gregor with
, ,

fire and sword A similar warrant in 1 56 3 not only grants the like
.
,

powers to Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy the descendant of ,

Duncan with the Cowl but discharges the lieges to receive or assist
,

any of the clan Gregor or afford them under any colour what , ,

ever meat drink o r clothes

, i
, , .

A n a tro c ity which the clan Gregor committed in 1 589 by th e ,

murder of John Drummond of Drummond-ern o c h a forester of the ,

royal forest of Glenartney i s elsewhere given with all its horri d

'

, ,

circumstances Th e clan swore u pon the severed head of the

.

murdered man that they would make common cause in avo w ing
,

the deed This led to an act of the Privy Council directi ng another
.
,

crusade against the wicked clan Gregor so long continuing in

“
,

blood slaughter theft and robbery in which letters of fire and

, , , ,

sword are denounced a gainst them for the S pace of three years .

The reader will find this particular fact illustrated in the In tro du c
tion to the Legend of Montrose in the present edition of these
N ovels .

Other occasions frequently occurred in which the M a c G re o rs

g ,

testified contempt for the laws from which they had often e xp e ri ,

e n c e d severity but never protect i on

, Th o ugh they were gradually .

deprived of their possessions and of all ordinary means of procuring ,

subsistence they could not nevertheless b e supposed likely to

, , ,

starve for famine while they had the means o f tak ing from stran
,

gers what they c onsidered as rightfull y their own Hence they .

became versed in predatory forays and accustomed to bloodshed , .

Their passi ons were eager and with a l i ttle management on the , ,

part of some of their most p owerful nei ghbours they could easily ,

be [ro u n ded o u t to use an expressive Scottish phrase to commit

, ,

v iolence of which the wily instigators took the advantage and left
, ,
t he ign o ran t M a c G rego rs an undivided port i on of blame and pun
/

i shm e n t This poli cy of pushi n g on the fierce clans of the H igh

.

lands and Borders to break the peace of the country, is accounted

8 N
I TROD U CTION

by the historian one of the most dangerous practices of his own

period in which the M a c Gre go rs were considered as ready agents
,
.

N otwithstanding these severe denunciations which were acted ,

upon in the same spirit in which they were conceived some of the ,

clan still possessed property, and the chief of the name in 1 59 2 1 5

des igned Allas ter M ac Gre go r of Glen s trae H e is said to have .

been a brave and active man but from the tenor of h is confession ,

at h is death appears to have been engaged in many and desperate

,

feuds one of which finally proved fatal to himself and many of his
,

followers This was the celebrated conflict at G len fru in near the
. ,

south-western extremity of Loch Lomond in the vicinity of which ,

the M ac Gre go rs co n tinued to exercise much authority by the co i r

a g l a zw or right of the strongest , which we have already men
,

t io n e d
There had been a long and bloody fe ud betwixt the M ac Gre
gors and the Laird of Luss he ad of the family of Colquhoun a , ,

powerful race on the lower part of Loch Lomond Th e M ac Gre .

gors trad it i on a ffirms that the quarrel began on a very trifling sub
’

j e c t Two of the M ac Gre go rs being ben ighted asked shelter in a

.
,

hou se belonging to a dependent of the C o lquho un s and were ,

refused They then retreated to an out -house took a wedder from

.
,

the fold killed it and supped off the carcass for which ( it is said)
, , ,

they offered payment to the proprietor The Laird of Luss seized .

on the offenders and by the summary process which feudal barons

,

had at the i r command had them both condemned and executed ,

.

Th e M a c G re go rs verify this account of the feud by appealing to a

proverb current amongst them execrating the hour (M u ll ( ”M an ,

Carb a z l g fzzl ) that the black wedder with the white tail was ever
' ’

lambed To avenge this quarrel the Laird of M a c Gre go r assembled

.
,

his clan to the number of three or four hundred m e n and marched

, ,

towards Luss from the banks of Loch Long by a pass called Raid ,

n a G ael or the H ighlandman s Pass

’
, .

Sir H umphrey Colquhoun received early notice of this incursion ,

and collected a strong force more than twice the number of that of ,

the invaders H e had with him the gentlemen of the name of

.

Buchanan with the Grahams and other gentry of the Lennox and
, , ,

a party of the citizens of D umbarton under command of Tobias ,

Smollett a magistrate or bailie of that town and anc estor of the

, , , ,

celebrated author .

Th e parties met in the valley of G len fru in which signifies the ,

Glen of Sorrow a name that seemed to anticipate th e event of the

,

day which fatal to the conquered party was at least equally so to

, , ,

the victors the babe unborn ” of clan A lpine having reason to

,
“

repent it The M ac Gre go rs somewhat discouraged by th e appear

.
,
 TO R OB R OY .
9

ance of a force mu ch superior to their own were cheered on to the ,

attack by a Seer or second -s igh ted person who professed that he

, ,

saw the shrouds of the dead wrapt a round the ir princ ipal opponents .

Th e clan charged with great fury on the front of the enemy wh il e ,

John M a c G rego r w ith a strong party made an unexpected attack

, ,

on the flank A great part of the C o lquh o u n s force cons isted in

.
’

cavalry wh ich could not act in the boggy ground They were said
, .

to have disputed the field manfully but were at length completely ,

routed and a merciless slaughter was exercised on the fugit ives of

, ,

whom betwixt two and three hundred fell on the fi eld and in the
pursuit I f the M ac G re go rs lost as is averred only two men
.
, ,

sla in in the action they had slight provocat ion for an ind iscrim inate
,

massacre It is sa id that their fury extended itself to a party of

.

stude nts for cleri cal orders who had imprudently come to see the ,

battle Some doubt is thrown on thi s fact from the indictment

.
,

against the ch ief of the clan Gregor being silent on the subject as ,

i s the h i storian Johnston and a Professor R oss who wrote an , ,

account of the battle twenty-nine years after it was fought It i s .

,

however constantly averred by the tradition of the country and a

, ,

stone where the deed was done i s called Leci a the e-

M inister or Clerk s Flag stone The M a c G rego rs impute this

’
- .

cruel action to the feroc i ty of a s ingle man of their tribe renowned ,

for size and strength called Dugald Ci a r M k ar or the gre at Mouse

, , ,
’

coloured Man He was M a c G rego r s foster brother and the chief

.
’
-
,

committed the youths to h is charge with d irect i ons to keep them .

,

safely t ill the a ffray was over Whether fearful of the ir escape or .
,

i ncensed by some sarcasms which t h ey thre w on h i s tribe or ,

whether out of mere th irst of blood this savage wh ile -the other , ,

M ac Gre go rs were engaged i n the pursuit pon iarded hi s helpless and ,

defenceless prisoners When the Ch i eftain on his return demanded.

, ,

where the youths were the Cza r (pronounced Ki ar) M 1107 drew out
’

h i s bloody d i rk saying in Gael i c ,

A sk that and God save me , ,

Th e latter words allude to the exclamat i on wh i ch hi s victi ms used

when he was murdering them It would seem therefore that thi s .
, ,

horrible part of the story i s fo u nded on fac t though the number ,

of the youths so slai n i s probably exaggerated in the Lowland

accounts Th e common people say that the blood of the C iar
.

M h o r s v i ct ims can never be washed off the stone

’
When Mac .

Gregor learnt the ir fate h e e xpre ss e d the utmost horror at the ,

~

deed and upbraided his foster-brother with having done that whi ch
,

w ould occasion the destructi on of hi m and his clan Th i s hom ic i de .

was the ancestor of R o b R o y and the tribe from which he was de ,

scended H e l ies buri ed at the church of F o rt i n gal where h is

.
,

s epulchre covered with a large stone * is s till shown and where

, , ,
I0 N
I TROD U CTION

his great strength and courage are the theme of many tradi
tions * .

M a c G re g o r s brother was one of the very few of the tribe w h o

f

was slain H e was buried near the field of battle and the
,
. ,

place is marked by a rude stone called the Grey stone of Mac ,

Gregor .

Sir Humphrey Colquhoun be ing well mounted escaped for the , ,

time to the Castle of B a n o c h ar or B e n e c hra I t proved no sure ,

.
’

defence however for he was shortly after murdered in a vault ( if

, ,

the castle the family annals say by the M a c Grego rs though other
, ,

accounts charge the deed upon the M ac F arlan e s .

This battle of Gl en fru in and the severity which the victors e xe r ,

c i s e d in the pursuit was reported to K in g j ames VI in a manner

'
.
,

the most unfavourable to the clan Gregor w hose general character , ,

being that of lawless though brave men could not much ava il them ,

in such a case That James might fully understand the extent of

.

the slaughter the widows of the slain to the number of eleven

, ,
.

score in deep mourn ing riding upon wh ite palfreys and each
, , ,
'

bearing her husband s bloody shirt on a spear appeared at ’

,

Stirling in presence of a monarch peculiarly accessible to such

,

sights of fear and sorro w to demand vengeance for the death of ,

their husban ds upon those by whom they had been made

,

desolate .

Th e remedy resorted to was at least as severe as the cruelties

which it was des igned to punish By an act of the Privy Council .
,

dated 3 d A pril 1 60 3 the name of M a c G rego r was expressly abo

, ,

lis he d and those who had hitherto borne it were commande dto
,

change it for other surnames the pain of death being denounced ,

against those who should call themselves Gregor or M ac Grego r ,

the names of their fathers Under the same penalty all who had .
,

been at the con flict of Gle n fruin or accessory to other marauding ,

parties charged in the act were prohibited from carrying weapons , ,

except a poi ntless knife to eat their vi ctuals By a subsequent act of .

Council 24th June 1 6 1 3 death was denounced against any persons

, , ,

of the tri be formerly called M ac Gre go r who should presume to ,

assemble in greater numbers than four A gai n by an act of Par .

,
lia m e n t 1 6 1 7 chap 2 6 these laws were continued and extended
, , .
, ,

to the rising generation , in respect that great numbers of the chil

dren of those against whom the acts of Privy Council had been
directed were stated to be then approaching to maturity who if
,
, ,

permitted to resume the name of their p arents , wo uld render the

clan as strong as it was before .

Th e execution of those severe acts was chiefly intrusted in the

west to the Earl of A rgyle and the powerful clan of Campbell and ,
,
 TO R OB ROY . 1 1

to the Earl of A thole and his followers in the more eastern H igh
lands o f Perthshire Th e M a c G rego rs failed not to resist with th e
.

most determ ined courage ; and many a valley in the West and
N orth H ighlands retains memory of the severe conflicts in which ,

the proscribed clan sometimes obtained transient advantages and ,

always sold their lives dearly A t length the pride of Allas ter .

M a c G re go r the chief of the clan was so much lowered by the

, ,

sufferings of hi s people that he resol ved to surrender himself to the

,

Earl of A rgyle with his principal followers on condition that they

, ,

should be sent out of S cotland I f the unfortunate Chief s own .

’

account be true he had more reasons than one for expectin g some
,

favour from the Earl who had in secret advised and encouraged
,

him to many of the desperate actions for which he was now called
to so severe a reckon ing But A rgyle as old B irrell expresses him
.
,

sel f kept a H ighlandman s prom ise w ith them fulfill ing it to the
,
’
,

ear an d b reak in g it to the sense M a c G rego r was sent under a

'

, .

strong guard to the front ier of England and being thus in the , ,

literal sense sent out of Scotland A rgyle was judged to have kept
, ,

faith with him though the same party which took him there brought
,

him back to Ed inburgh i n c ustody .

M ac G re go r of Gle n s t rae was tri ed before the Court of j usticiary ,

2 0 th j anuary 1 60 4 and found guilty

, ,
H e appears to have been .

i nstantly conveyed from the bar to the gallows for B irrell of the ,

same date reports that he was hanged at the Cross and for dis
, , ,

t in c t i o n s sake was suspended higher by h i s own he ight than two

’
,

of his kindred and fri ends On the 1 8th of F ebruary following .

,

more men of the M ac Gre go rs were executed after a long imprison ,

ment and several others in the beginning of March

, .

The Earl of A rgyle s service in conducing to the surrender of the

’

insolent and wi cked race and name of M a c G re go r notorious ,

common malefactors and in the ia -bringing of M a c Grego r with a

, ,

great many of the leading men of the clan worthily executed to ,

death for their offences i s thankfully acknowledged by act of Par

,

l iam e n t 1 60 7 chap 1 6 and rewarded with a grant of twenty

, ,
.
,

chalders of victual out of the lands of Kin t ire .

The M a c G re go rs notwithstanding the letters of fire and sword

, ,

and orders for military execution repeatedly d irected against them

by the Scott ish legislature who apparently lost all the calmness of ,

consc i ous dign ity and security and could not even name the out ,

lawed clan without v itu peration showed no inclination to be blotted ,

out of the roll of clanship They submi tted to the law indeed so .
, ,

far as to take the names of the neighbouring families amongst

whom they happened to live nominally becoming as the case , ,

might render it most convenient, Drummonds Campbells Grahams , , ,

’
12 N
I TROD U CTION

Buchanans Stewarts and the like but to all intents and purposes
, ,

of combination and mutual attachment they remained the clan ,

Gregor un ited together for right or wrong and menacing with the
, ,
,

general vengeance of their race whomsoever comm i tted aggress i ons

,

against any individual of their number .

They cont inued to take and give offence with as little hesitation
as before the legislat ive dispersion which had been attempted as ,

appears from the preamble to statute 1 6 3 3 chapter 3 0 setting forth , ,

that the clan Gregor which had been suppressed and reduced to
,

qu i etness bythe great care of the late King j ames of eternal memory ,

had nevertheless broken ou t again in the counties of Perth Stir , ,

ling Clackmannan Monteith Lennox A ngus and M earns for

, , , , ,

which reason the statute re -establishes the disabilities attached to

the clan and grants a new commission for enforcing the laws
,

against that wicked and rebellious race .

N otwithstanding the extreme severities of King j ames I and .

Charles 1 against this unfortunate people who were rendered

.
,

furi ous by proscription and then pu ni shed for yielding to the pas
,

sions which had been wilfully irritated the M a c Grego rs to a man ,

attached themselves during the civil war to the cause of the latter
monarch Their bards have ascribed this to the native respect of
.

the M a c Grego rs for the crown of S cotland which their ancestors ,

once wore , arid have appealed to their armori al bearings which ,

display a pine -tree crossed saltire wise with a naked sword the ,

point of which supports a royal cro wn B ut without denying that .

,

such motives may have had their weight we are disposed to think , ,

that a war which opened the l o w country to the raids of the clan
Gregor would have more charms for them than any inducement to
espouse the cause of the Covenanters which would have brought ,

them into contact with H ighlanders as fierce as themselves and ,

having as little to lose Patrick M ac G rego r their leader, was the

.
,

son of a distinguished chief named D uncan A b b arach to whom

, ,

Montrose wrote letters as to his trusty and special friend express ,

ing his reliance on his devoted loyalty with an assurance that , ,

w hen once his Majesty s affairs were placed upon a permanent

’

footing the grievances of the clan M ac G re go r should be redressed

, .

A t a subsequent period of these melancholy times we find the ,

clan Gregor claim ing the immunities of other tribes when sum ,

m o n e d by the Scottish Parl iament to resist the invasion of the

’
Commonwealth s army in 1 6 51 On the last day of M arch in that
, .

year a supplication to the King and Parl iament from Calum Mac
, ,

C o n dac hie Vich E u en and Eu e n M a c C o n dac h ie E ue n in their

, ,

own name and that of the whole name of M a c Gre go r set forth
, ,
, ,

that while in obedience to the orders of Parliament enjoining all

, ,
 TO ROB R OY . 13

clans to come out in the present servi ce under their Chie ftains for ,

the defence of rel igion king a n d k ingdoms the petit i oners were
, , ,

drawing their men to guard the passes at the head of the river
F orth they were interfered w ith by the Earl of A thole and the
,

Laird of Buchanan who had required the attendance of many

,

of the clan Gregor upon their arrays This interference wa s .

,

doubtless owing to the change of name which seems to have given

, ,

rise to the claim of the Earl of A thole and the Laird of Buchanan
to muster the M ac Gre go rs under the ir banners as Murrays or ,

Buchanans It does not appear that the petition of the Mac

.

Gregors to be permitted to come in a body as other clans received

, ,

any answer But upon the R estoration King Charles i n the firs t
.
, ,

Scottish Parliament of his reign (statute 1 6 6 1 chap annulled , .

the various acts against the clan Gregor and restored them to the ,

full use of their family name and the other privileges of liege sub
,

j e c ts setting forth as a reason for this lenity that those who were
, , ,

formerly des igned M ac Grego rs had during the late troubles con , , ,

ducted themselves with such loyalty and affection to his Majesty ,

as m ight justly wipe o ff all memory of former miscarriages and ,

take away all marks of reproach for the same .

It is singular enough that it seems to have aggravated the feel

,

ings of the non-conform ing Presbyterians when the penalties which ,

were most unjustly imposed upon themselves were relaxed towards

the poor M a c Grego rs so l ittle are the best men any more than ,

the worst able to ju dge with impartiality of the same measures as

, ,

applied to themselves or to others Upon the R estoration an i n

, .
,

fl ue n c e in im i cal to this unfortunate clan said to be the same with ,

‘

that which afterwards dictated the m as s ac re of Glencoe occasioned ,

the re -enact ion of the penal statutes against the M a c G rego rs .

There are no reasons given why these highly penal acts should
have been renewed nor is it alleged that the clan had been gu ilty
of late i rregularities Indeed there i s some reason to think that
.
,

the clause was formed of set purpose in a shape wh i ch should ,

elude observat ion ; for though containing conclusions fatal to the

,
‘

rights of so many S cottish subjects it is neither mentioned i n the ,

title nor the rubric of the A c t of Parliament in which it occurs ,

and is throw n bri efly in at the close of the st atute 1 6 9 3 chap 6 1 , .

,

entitled an A c t for the Justiciary i n the H ighlands

,
.

It does not however appear t h at after the R evolution the acts

, ,

against the clan were severely enforced and i n the latter half of
the eighteenth century they were not enforced at all Comm i s
,
.

s ie mers of supply were na m ed i n Parl iament by the proscr ibed title

of M ac G rego r and decrees of courts of j ust ice were pronounced
, ,

and legal deeds entered into under the same appellative The ,
.
14 N
I TR OD U CTION

M a c Grego rs,however while the laws continued in the statute -book,

,

still su fferedunder the deprivation of the name which was their

birthright and some attempts were made for the purpose of adopt
'

,
ing anothe r M ac Alp in e or Grant being proposed as the tit l e of the
,

whole clan in fut ure N o agreement however could be entered

. , ,

into and the evil was subm itted to as a matter of necessity, until
full redress was obtained from the B ritish Parli ament, by an act
abolishing for ever the penal statutes which had been so long i m
’

posed upon this ancient race This statute w ell merited by the .
,

services of many a gentleman of the clan in beh al f of their King

a n d country, was passed and the clan proceeded to act upon it
,
'

with the same spirit of ancient times which had made them sufi er ,

severely under a deprivation that would have been deemed of little

consequence by a great part of th eir fellow subjects .

They entered into a deed recogn ising John Murray of Lanrick,

E sq ( afterwards Sir John M ac G re go r Baronet) representative of
.
, ,

the family of Gle n c a rn o ck as lawfully descended from the ancient

,

stock and blood of the Lairds and Lords of M a c Grego r and there ,

fore acknowledged him as their chief on all lawful o ccasions and

causes whatsoever This deed was subscribed by eight hundred
.

and twenty-six persons of the name of M ac Grego r, capable of bear

ing arms A great many of the clan during the last war formed
.

themselves into what was called the Clan A lpine regiment, raised
in 1 7 9 9 under the command of their Ch i ef, and his brotherCol onel
,

M a c Gre go r .

Having briefly noticed the history of this clan , which presents a

rare and interesting ex ample of the indelible cha racter df the patri
archal system , th e author must n o w offer some notices of the indi
vidu al who gives name to these volumes .

In giving an account of a H i ghlander his pedigree is first t o be ,

considered That of R o b R o y was deduced from Ciar Mhor, the

.

great mouse-coloured man who is accused by tradition of having

,

slai n the young students at th e batt le of Gle n fru in .

Without puzzling ourselves and our readers with the in tricacies

of H ighland geneal ogy it is enough to say that after the death o f
, ,

A ll ast er M a c G re go r of Gl e n strae the clan discouraged by the u n

, , ,

remitting persecutio n o f their enemies seem not to have had the ,

means of placing themselves under the command of a single CH IE F .

A ccording to their places of res idence and immediate descent, the

several families were led and d i rected by which, in the
H ighland acceptation s ignifies the head of a particular branch o f
,

a tribe, in opposition to Clzz qf, who is the leader and commander of

'

the whole name .

The family and descendants of Dugald Ciar Mhor lived chiefly

'
 TO ROB ROY . 15

in the mountains between Loc h Lomond and L och Katrine and ,

occupied a good deal of property there whether by sufferance by , ,

the right of the sword which it was never sa fe to dispute with ,

them or by legal titles o f various kinds it would be useless to i n

, ,

quire and unnecessary to detail Enough there they certainly .

w ere a people w hom the i r most powerful neighbours were des irous
to concil iate their fri endship i n peace being very necessary to the
,

q uiet of the vic i n age and their assis tance i n war equally prompt
,

and e ffectual .

R o b R o y M a c G re go r Campbell which last name he bore in con

“

sequence o f the acts of Parl iament abolishing his own was the ,

younger son of Donald M a c Gre go r of Glengyle said to have been ,

a Lieutenant -Colonel (probably in the service of James by h is

wife a daughter of Campbell of Gle n fallo ch R ob s own des igna
,
.
’

t i on was of Inversna i d but he appears to have acqu ired a right of

some kind or other to the property or possess i on of Cra ig R oyston ,

a domain of rock and forest lying on the east s ide of Loch Lo ,

mond where that beautiful lake stretches into the dusky mountains
,

of Gle n fallo c h .

The t i me of his birth is uncertain But he is said to have been .

active in the scenes of war and plunder wh i ch succeeded the R evo

l u t i o n ; and trad i ti on affi rms him to have been the leader in a pre
dat o ry i ncurs i on i nto the parish of K ippen in the Lennox wh i ch , ,

took place in the year 1 6 9 1 It was of almost a bloodless cha .

rac t e r only one person los i ng his l ife ; but from the extent of the
,

depredat i on i t was long dist ingu i shed by the name of the H er

,
’

ship or devastation of Kippen * Th e t ime of h is death is also

, ,
.

u ncertain but as h e i s said to have survived the year 1 7 3 3

,
and ,

d ied an aged man it i s p ro b ab le h e may have been twenty five

,
' -

about the time of the Her -ship of K i ppen which would assign his ’
,

birth to the middle of the 1 7 th century .

I n the more quiet t imes which succeeded the R evolution R o b ,

R o y or R e d R obert seems to have exerted hi s act ive talents

, , ,

whi ch were of no mean order,as a drover or trader in cattle to a , ,

great extent I t may well be supposed that in t hose days no Low

.

land much less English drovers ventured to enter the H ighlands

, ,
.

The cattle which were the staple commod i ty of the mountai ns

, ,

were escorted down to fairs on the borders of the Lowlands by a , ,

party of H ighlanders with their arms rattling around them and ,

who dealt however in all honour and good fa ith w i th thei r S outhern
, ,

customers A fray indeed would somet imes arise w he n the Low

.
, , ,

landmen ch iefly Borderers who had to supply the Engl i sh market

, , ,

used to dip thei r bonnets in the next brook and wrapping them ,

round their hands oppose their cudgels to the naked broads w ords
, ,
16 N
I TR OD U C TION

which had not always the superiority I have heard from ag ed .

persons who had been engaged in such affrays that the H i ghlanders
, ,

used remarkably fa ir play never using the point of the sword far , ,

less the i r pistols or daggers so that

With many a sti ff thwack and many a bang,
Hard crabtree and cold iron rang .

A slash or two or a broken head was easily accommodated and

, , ,

as the trade was of benefit to both parties trifling skirmishes were ,

not allowed to interrupt its harmony Indeed it was of vital i n .

t e re s t to the H ighlanders whose i ncome so far as derived fro m , ,

their estates depended entirely on the sale of black cattle and a

sagac i ous and experienced dealer benefited not only himself but his
,

friends and neighbours by h is speculations Those of R o b Ro y ,

.

were for several years so successful as to inspire general co n fi

dence and raise h im in the est imat i on of the c o u n tiy in wh ich he
,

re sided .

H is importance was increased by the death of his father in con ,

se q uence of which he succeeded to the m anagement of his nephew

Gregor M ac G rego r of Glen gyl e s property and as his tutor to ’
, , ,

such influence w ith the clan and following as was due to the re pre
s e n ta t i ve of D ougal Ciar Such influence was the more u n c o n .

trolled that this family o f the M ac Gre go rs seem to have refused

,

adherence to M a c G re go r of G le n c arn o c k the ancestor of the pre ,

sent Sir Ewan M a c G rego r and asserted a kind of independence , .

It was at this t ime that R o b R o y ac quired an interest by pur

chase wadset or otherwise to the property of Cra ig R oyston
, , ,

already ment i oned He was in parti cular favour during this pros
.
,

p e ro u s period of his life w i th his nearest and most powerful ,

neighbour James first Duke of M ontrose from whom he received

, ,

many marks of regard H is Grace consented to gii/e his n ephe w .

a nd himself a right of property on the estates of Glengyle and In

ve rs n a i d which they had till then only held as kindly tenants The
, .

D uke also wi th a view to the interest of the country and his own
, ,

estate supported our adventurer by loans of money to a consider

,

able amount to enable h im to carry on his speculations in the

,

cattle trade .

Unfortunately that species of commerce was and is liable to

,

sudden fluctuat i ons ; and R o b R o y was —b y a sudden depression

o f markets and as a friendly tradit i on adds by the bad faith of a
, , ,

partner named M a c Do n ald whom he h a d imprudently received ,

into his confidence and intrusted with a considerable s um of ,

money— rendered totally insolvent He absconded of course .

, ,

not empty handed if it be true as stated in an advertisement for

‘

-
, ,
 TO ROB ROY . 17

his app rehension that he had in his possession sums to the amount
,

o f 1;1 000 sterling obtained from several noble men and gentlemen
,

under pretence of purchasing cows for them in the H ighlan ds .

This advertisement appeared in June 1 7 1 2 and was several t i me s ,

repeated It fixes the period when R o b Ro y exchanged his com

.

m e rc ia l adventures for speculations of a very di fferent complexion * .

H e appears at this period first to have removed from h i s ,

ordinary dwelling at Inversnaid ten or twelve S cots miles ( which ,

i s double the number of English) farther into the H ighlands and ,

commenced the lawless sort of life which he afterwards followed .

The D uke of Montrose who conce i ved himself deceived a n d

,

cheated by M ac Gre go r s conduct employed legal means to recove r

’
,

the money lent to him R o b R oy s landed property was attached

.
’

by the regular form of legal procedure and his stock and furniture ,

made the subject of arrest and sale .

It is said that this diligence of th e law as it is called in S cotla nd , ,

which the English m ore bluntly term distress , was used in this
c ase with uncommon severity and that the legal satellites not
, ,

u sually the gentlest p e rso n s i n the world had insulted M ac G rego r s

’
,

w i fe in a manne r which would have aroused a milder man than he

,

to thoughts of unbounded vengeance She was a woman of fierce .

and haughty temp er and is not unlikely to have disturbed the

,

officers in the execut i on of thei r duty and thus to have incurred ill ,

treatment though for the sake of humanity it is to be hoped that

, , ,

the story sometimes told is a popular exaggeration I t is certain .

t hat she felt extreme anguish at bei n g expelled from the banks of
L och Lomond and gave vent to her feelings in a fine piece of
, .

p ipe-music , still well known to amateurs by the name of R o b

”
R oy s Lament
’
.

Th e fugitive is thought to have found his first place of refuge in

Glen Do c hart under the Earl of B readalb an e s protect ion ; for
,
’

though that family had been active agents in the destruction of the
M ac G re go rs in former times they had of late years sheltered a
,

great many of the name i n their old possessions The Duke of .

A rgyle was also one of Ro b R oy s protectors , so far as to afford

’

him according to the H ighland phrase , wood and water—the

,

shelter namely that is a fforded by the forests and lakes of an

, ,

i naccessible country .

The great men of the H ighlands in that time besides being ,

anxiously ambitious to keep up wha t was called their Following or ,

military retainers were also desirous to have at their d isposal men

,

of resolute character to whom the w orld and the world s law were
,
’

no friends and who might at times ravage the lands or destroy the
,

tenants of a fe udal enemy, without bringing responsibility on their

8
18 N
I TROD U C TION

p atrons . strife between the names of Campbel l and Graham,

The
during the civil wars of the seventeenth century, had been stamped
with m utual loss and inveterate enmity The death of the great .

M arquis of Montrose o n the one side the defeat at In verlo chy, and ,

cruel plundering of Lorne on the other, were reciproca l injuries

,

n o t likely to be forgotten Ro b R o y was , therefore, sure of refuge

.

i n the country of the Campbells both as having assumed thei r ,

name, as connected by his mother with the family of Glen fallo ch,
an d as an enemy to the rival house of M ontrose The extent o f .

A rgyle s possessions , and the power of retreating thither in any

’

em ergency ga ve great encouragement to the bol d scheme s of

,

revenge which he had adopted .

This was nothing short of the maintenance of a predatory war

against the Duke of Montrose w hom he considered as the author
,

o f his exclusion from civil society and of the outl awry to which he
,

had been sentenced by letters of horning and caption ( legal writs

so called) as well as the seiz ure of his goods , and adju dication of
,

his landed property A gainst his Grace therefore his tenants ,

.
, ,

friends allies and relatives he disposed himself to emp l oy every

, , ,

means of annoyance in his power ; and though this was a circ le

sufficient ly extensive for active depredation , Ro b , who profes sed
himself a Jacobite took the liberty of extending h is sphere of
,

operations against all whom he chose to cons ider as friendly to the

revolutionary government, or to that most obnoxious of measures
the Union of the Kingdom s Under one or other of these pretexts
.
,

all his neighbours of the Lowlands who had anything to l ose, or

were unwilling to compound for security by paying him an ann ual
sum for protection or forbearance were exposed to his ravage s
,
‘

The country i n which t his private warfare or system of d epreda ,

tion , was to be carried on, was until opened up by roads, in the

,

highest degree favo urable fo r his purpose It was broken up into .

narrow valleys , the habitable part of whic h bore no prop ortion to

the huge wildernesses of forest , rocks and precipices by which they ,

w ere enc ircled, and which was moreover, full of inextricab le passes
, ,

m orasses , and natural strengths unknown to any but the in hab i

,

tants themse l ves , where a fe w m e n acquainted w ith the ground

w ere capable , with ordinary address, of ba ffling the purs uit of
n u mbers .

The opinions and habits of the n earest neighbours to the H igh

l and l ine were also highly favourable to R o b R oy’s purpose A .

l arge proportion of them were of his own clan of M ac Grego r who ,

claimed the property of Balquhidder and other H ighland districts ,,

as having been part of the ancient possessions of their trib e

;
though the harsh l aws, under the severity of which they h adsu ffered
20 ru r a o nu c r i o u
and rapidity with which they were executed L ike R obin H ood of .

England he was a kind and gentle robber and while he took from
, , ,

the rich was liberal in relieving the poor This m ight in part be
, .

policy but the universal tradition of the c ountry speaks it to have

arisen fro m a better motive All whom I have conversed with and
.
,

I have in my youth seen some who kne w R o b R o y personally gave ,

”
him the character of a benevolent and humane man in his way “
.

H is ideas of morality were those of an A rab chief being such as ,

naturally arose out of his wild edu cation Supposing R o b R o y to .

ha ve argued on the tendency of the life which he pursued whether ,

from choice or from necessity he would doubtless have assu m ed

,

to himself the character of a brave man who deprived of his , ,

natural rights by the partiality of laws endeavoured to assert them ,

by the strong hand of natural pow er ; and he is most felicitously

described as reasoning thus in the high-toned poetry of my gifted
,

friend Wo rdsworth
Say then that he was wise as brave
, , ,
A s wise in thought as bold in deed
For in the principles of th ings
H e sought his moral creed .

Said generous o b What need of Books ?

R “
,

Burn all the statutes and their shelves

They stir us up against our kind ,
A n d worse, against ourselves
‘

We h ave a passion m ake a law , ,

To o false to guide us or control

An d for the law itself we fight
In bitterness of soul .

A n d pu z z led blinded then we lose

, ,
D istinctions that are plain and fe w
These find I graven on my heart,
That tells me what to do .

Th e creatures see of flood and field ,

A n d those that travel on th e wind
With them no strife can last they live
In peace and peace of mind
, .

For why ? Because the good old rule

Su ffic e th them the simple plan ,
That they should take who h ave the power,
A n d they should keep who can .

“
A lesson which is
quickly le arn d ’
,
A signal through
which all can see
Thus nothing here provokes the stron g
,

To wanton cruelty .
 TO ROB ROY . 21

A n d freakishness
of mind is c he ck d ’
,
He tamed who foolishly aspires ,
While to the measure of his might
Each fashions his desires .

Allkinds and creatures stand and fall

’
By strength of prowess or of wit
Ti s God s appointment who must sway
’
,
A n d who is to submit .

S ince then ” said R obin right is pla in,

, ,
A n d longest life is but a day ,
To have my ends maintain my rights , ,
Ill take the shortest way ”
’
.

A n d thusamong these rocks he lived ,

Through summer s he a t and wi nter s sno w
’ ’

Th e eagle he was lord above,

,

A n d R o b was lord below .

We are not however to suppose the character of this dis

, ,

t in gu ish e d outlaw t o be that of a n actual hero acting un i formly

,

and consistently on such moral princ iples as the illustrious bard

who standing by h is grave has vindicated his fame On the
, , .

contrary as is common with barbarous ch iefs , R o b Ro y appears to

,

have m ixed his professions of principle w ith a large alloy of craft

'

and dissimulation of whi ch his conduct during the civil war is

,

suffic ient proof It is also said and truly that althou gh his
.
, ,

courtesy was one of his strongest characteristics yet sometimes he ,

assumed an arrogance of manner which was not easily endured by

the high -Spirited men to whom it was addressed and dre w the ,

daring outlaw into frequent d i sputes from which he did not always ,

come o ff with cred it F rom this it has been inferred that Ro b

.
,

R o y was more of a bully than a hero or at least that he h ad , ,

according to the common phrase his fighting days S ome aged , .

men who knew him well have described him also as better at a
,

t a zc/z-t u lz ze or s cu ffle within doors than in mortal comb at

'

Th e
'

.
, ,

tenor of his life may be quoted to repel this charge while at the ,

same t ime it must be allowed that the s ituation in wh i ch he was

, ,

placed rendered him prudently averse to maintaining quarrels ,

where noth ing was to be had save blows and where success would ,

have raised up against him new and powerful enemies in a country ,

where revenge was still considered as a duty rather than a crime .

Th e power of commanding his passions on such occasions far , ,

from being inconsistent with the part which M ac Grego r had to

perform was essentially necessary at the peri od when he l ived to
, , ,

prevent his career from being cut short .

22 I NTRODU CTION

I may here mention one or t wo o ccasions o n which R o b R o y

appears to have given way i n the manner alluded to M y late .

venerable friend, John Ra msay of Oc h te rtyre alike e minent as ,

a cla ssical scholar and as an authentic register of the ancient

history and m anners of Scotl an d inform e d me, that on occasion of ,

a publi c meeting at a bonfire in the town of D oune Ro b Ro y gave ,

some offence to James E dm o n ds t o n e of N ewton the same gentle ,

man who was unfortunately con cerned ln the slaughter of Lord

R ollo ( See M ac lau rin s Crimin al Trials N o when Edmond
’
.
,

stone compelled M ac Grego r to quit the to wn on pain of being

thrown by him into the bonfire I broke o ne of your r ibs on a
.
“

form er occasion ” said he and now Ro b , if you provoke me

, ,
“
,

farther I will break your neck ” But it must be remembered that

,
.

Edm o n ds t o n e was a man of consequence i n - the Jacobite p art y as ,

he carried the royal standard of James VI I at th e battle of Sherriff .

muir and also, tha t he was near the door of his own mansion
,

house and probably surrounded by his frien ds an d adherents

,
.

Ro b Ro y however, s uffered in reputat i on for retiring under such a

,

threat .

A nother wel l-vouched case is that of Cunningham of B o quh an .

H en ry Cunningham , E sq of B o qu han , was a gentleman of

.

Stirlingshire who , l ike many cx gu zlrztes of o ur own time united a

’

, ,

natural high spirit and daring character with an a ffectat ion of

delicacy of address and man ners amounting to foppery * H e .

chanced to be in compa ny wi th Ro b Ro y, who , either in contempt

of B o qu h an s supposed effem inacy or because he t hou ght him a
’
,
-

safe person to fix a quarrel on ( a point which Ro b s enemies ’

all eged he was wont to C ons ider) insulted h im so gross ly that ,

a challe n ge passed between them The goodwife of the cla chan .

had hidden Cunn in gham s sword an d, while he rummaged the

’
,

house in quest of his own o r so m e other, Ro b Ro y went to the

‘

Shieling H ill, the appointed place of combat , and paraded there

with great majesty, waiting fo r his antagonist In the meantime ,

Cunni ngham had rummaged o u t an old sword and, entering the ,

gr ound of contest in all haste rus hed on the ou tl aw with such u n

,

expected fury that he fairly dr ove him off the field , nor did he show
himself in the village agai n for s ome time M r M a c Grego r .
_
.

Stirling has a soft ened accou nt of this an ecdote in his new edi tion
.

o f N im- mo s Stirlingshire still he records R o b R oy s dis c o mfiture

’ ’
.

O ccasio na ll y Rob R oy suffered d i sasters and incurred great per ,

son al d an ger On one remarkable occasion he was saved by the

.

c oolness of his lieutenant M ac an ale i ste r, or Fle tcher the L zl t le

'

al m of his ban d—a fine active fellow of course and celeb rated as
, ,

y , ,

a mark sman It happened that M ac Grego r and his party had

.
 TO R OB R OY . 23

been surprised an d dispersed by a superior force of horse and foot ,

and the word was given to split and squander ” Each shifted for “
.

hims elf but a bold dragoon attached h imself to pursuit of R o b

, ,

and overtaking him stru ck at him w ith his broadsword A plate

, .

of i ron in his bonnet saved the M ac Grego r from being cut down to
the teeth ; but the blow was h eavy enough to bear him to the
ground crying as he fell O M ac a n ale is t e r is there naething in
, , , , ,
”
her ( zi e in the gun ) The trooper at the same time excla im ing
?
D —
. .
, , ,

n ye your mother never w rought your night -cap i had his

”
,

arm raised for a second blo w when M a c an alei s te r fired and the , ,

bal l pierced the dragoon s heart ’ ‘

S uch as he was R o b R oy s progress in his occupation is thus

,
’

described by a gentleman of sense and talent who resided within ,

the circle of his predatory wars had probably felt their effects and , ,

speaks of them as m ight be e xpe c t e d w ith little of the forbearance

, , ,

with which from their peculiar and romantic character they are
, ,

now regarded .

This man ( R o b R o y M ac G re go r) was a person of sagacity an d ,

ne ither wanted stratagem nor address ; and having abandoned ,

h imself to all li centiousness set h imself at the head of all the loose , ,

vagrant and desperate people of that clan in the west end of Perth
, ,

and St i rl ingshires and infested those whole counties with thefts

, ,

robberies and depredat i ons Very few who lived with i n his reach
,
.

(that is w i thin the di stance of a nocturnal expedi t i on) could promise

,

to themselves security either for thei r persons or effects without

, ,

subjecting themselves to pay him a heavy a n d shameful tax of

b lack m a i l H e at last p ro ce e de d t o such a degree of audacious
. .

ness that he committed robberi es raised contributi ons and

, , ,

rese nted quarrels at the head of a very considerable body of armed

,
”
men in open day and in the face of the Government
, ,
.

Th e extent and success of these depredat i ons cannot be sur

prising when we consider that the scene o f them was laid in
,

a country where the general law was neither enforced nor re

s p e c te d .

Having recorded that the general habit of cattle -stealing had

bl inded even those of the better classes to the infam y of the
practi ce and that as men s property consisted entirely in herds
,
’
,

it was rendered in the highest degree precarious Mr Grahame ,

.

adds
On these accounts there is no culture of ground no improve ,

m ent of pastures and from the same reasons no manufactures no

, , , ,

trade ; in short no industry Th e people are extremely prolific

,
. ,

and therefore so numerous that there i s not business in that ,

country accordin g to its present order and economy for the one
, ,
24 IN TRODU C TION

half of them Eve ry place is full of idle people accustomed t o

.
,

arms and lazy in everything but rapines and depredations A s

,
.

é u dde l or a gu a w fce houses are to be found everywhere through the

’

country so in these they saunter away their time and frequently

, ,

consume there the returns of their illegal purchases Here th e .

laws have never been executed nor the authority of the magistrate ,

ever established H ere the offi cer of the law neither dare nor can
.

execute his duty and several places are about thirty miles from
,

lawful persons In short here is no order no authority, no govern

.
, ,

ment .

The period of the R ebellion 1 7 1 5 approached soon after Ro b , ,

R o y had attained celebrity H is J acobite p artialities were now .

placed in Opposition to his sense of the obligations which he owed

to the indirect protection of the Duke of A rgyle But the desire .

of “ drowning his sounding steps amid the din of general war ”

,

induced him to join the forces of the Earl of Mar although his ,

patron the D uke of A rgyle was at the head of the army o pposed
, ,

to the H ighland insurgents .

Th e M ac G re go rs a large sept of them at least that of Ciar

, ,

Mhor on this occasion were not commanded by R o b Ro y but by

, , ,

h is nephew already mentioned Gregor M a c G re go r otherwise , ,

called Jame s Grahame of Glengyle and still better remembered by ,

the Gaelic epithet of Glzl zm e Di m z e Black Knee from a black

’

. .
, ,

spot on one of his knees which h is Highland garb rendered visible

, .

There can be no question however that bei n g then very young , , ,

Glengyle must have acted on most occasions by the advice and

d irection of so experienced a leader as h is u n c le , .

The M ac Gre go rs assemb l ed in numbers at that period and ,

began even to threaten the Lowlands towards the lower extremity

of Loch Lomond They suddenly seized all the boats which were
.

u pon the lake and probably with a view to some enterpri se of

, , .

their own drew them overland to Inversnaid in order to intercept

, ,

the progress of a large body of west -country whigs who were in

arms for the Government and movi n g in that direction , .

The whigs made an excursion for the recovery of the boats .

Their forces consisted of volunteers from Paisley Kilpatrick an d , ,

el sewhere who with the ass istance of a body of seam en were

, , ,

towed up the river Leven in long-boats belonging to the ships of

war then lyi ng in the Clyde A t Luss they were joined by the .

forces of Sir H umphry Colquhoun and James Grant his son -in , ,

law with their followers attired in the H ighland dress of the

, ,

period which is picturesquely described * The whole party crossed

,
.

to Crai g-R oyston but the M a c Grego rs did not offer combat If
, .

w e are to believe the account of the expedition given by the

 TO R OB ROY . a;

historian R ae they leaped on shore at Craig-Royston with the

,

utmost intrepidity no enemy appearing to oppose them , and by

, ,

the noise of their drums wh i ch they beat incessantly and the dis
, ,

charge o f their artillery and small arms terrified the M a c Gregors, ,

whom they appear never to have seen, out of their fastne sses and ,

caused them to fly in a panic to the general camp of the H igh

landers at Strath Fillan The low-country men succeeded in
.
’
_

getting possession of the boats at a great expenditure of noise and ,

c ourage , and little risk of danger .

A fter this temporary rem oval from his old haunts Ro b Ro y was ,

sent by the Earl of M ar to A berdeen to raise it is believed a part , , ,

of the clan Gregor which is settled in that country These men

, ,
.

were of his own family ( the race of the C iar Mhor ) They were the .

descendants of about three hundred M a c Grego rs whom the Earl

of Murray about the year 1 6 24 transported from his estates in
, ,

M onteith to oppose aga i nst his enemies the M ac l n to shes, a race as

hardy and restless as they were themselves . 1

B u t while in the c i ty of A berdeen R o b R o y met a relation of a ,

very different class and character from those whom he was sent to
summon to arms Th i s was Dr James Gregory (by descent a
. .

M ac Grego r) the patriarch of a dyn a sty of professors distinguished

,

fo r literary and scient i fic talent and the grandfather of the late ,

eminent physician and accomplis h ed scholar Professor Gregory of ,

Edinburgh This gentleman was at the t ime Professor of Medicine

.

in King s College Aberdeen and son of Dr James Gregory, dis

’
, , .

t in gu ishe d in science as the inventor of the reflecting telescope .

With such a family it may seem our friend R o b could have had
little communion B ut c ivil war is a species of misery which intro
.

duces men to strange bedfellows D r Gregory thought it a p oint . .

of prudence to claim kindred at so criti c al a period with a man s o , ,

formidable and influenti al H e invited R o b R o y to his house an d

.
,

treated him with so much kindness that he produced in his gene ,

rous bosom a degree of gratitude w h1c h seemed likely to occasion

very inconvenient eff ects
Th e Professor had a son about eight or nine years o ld —
.

a lively,
stout boy of his age —with whose appearance our H ighlan d Robin
,

H ood was much taken On the day before his departure from the
.

house of his learned relative Ro b R o y who had pondered deeply , ,

how he might requite his cousin s kindness took Dr Gregory aside ’

, .
,

and addressed him to this purpor t My dear kinsman I have ,

bee n thinking what I could do to Show my sense of your hospitality “

N ow, here yo u have a fine spirited boy of a son who you are
'

ruining by cramming him with your useless book-learning an d I ,

am determined, b y way of manifesting my great good-w ill to yo u

26 IN TR OD U C TION

”
an d yours to take him with me and make a m an of him The .

le arned Professor was utterly overwhelmed whe n his warl ike kins
m an an nounced his kind purpose i n language which i mpl i ed no ,

doubt of it s being a proposal which would be and ought to be , ,

accepted with the utmost gratitude The task of apo logy or ex pla .

nation was o f a most delicate description and there might have

been considerable danger in suffering Ro b Ro y to perceive that the
'
promotion with which he threatened the son was in the fa ther s ,

eyes the ready road to the gallows Ind eed every excuse which ’

he could at first think o f—such as regret for putting his friend to

,
.
,

trouble with a youth who had been educated in the L owlands and ,

s o o n —only strengthened the chieftain s inclination to patronize his

’

young ki nsm an , as he supposed they arose entirely from the

m odesty of the father H e woul d for a long time take no apology
.
,

an d even spoke of carrying off t h e youth by a certa in degr ee of

kindly violence whether his fath er consented or not A t lengt h

,
.

the perplexed Professor pleaded that his son was very young an d ,

in an infirm state of health and not yet able to endure the hard
,

ships o f a m ount ain life ; but that in a nother year or two he hoped
his health would be firmly established and he would be in a fitting ,

c ondition to atten d on his brave kinsman, and follow out the

s plendi d dest i nies to which he opene d the way This agreement .

being made , the cousins part ed -R o b Ro y pledging his ho nour

,

to carry his young relation to the hills with him on his next re
t urn to A berdee nshire and D r Gregory, doub tless prayi ng in
, .
,

h is secret soul that he might never s ee R ob s H ighlan d face

’

a gain .

James Gregory, who thus escaped being his kinsman s recruit ’

,

a n d m ai l prob ability his henchm an was afterwards Profes s or of ,

Medicine in the Coll ege, and l ike most of his family d i sti ngu ished
, , ,

by his scien tific acquirements H e was rather of an irritable and

.

p ert inac i ous disposition ; and his friends were wont to remark,
wh en he showed any symptoms of these foibles , A h 1 this comes
“

of not having been educated by R o b Ro y ” .

Th e connexion between R o b R o y and his cla ssical kinsman did

not end with the period of R ob s tran sient power A t a period con
’
.

siderably su bsequent to the year l 7 i s, h e was wal king in the Castle

S t reet of A berdeen , arm in ar m with his host D r J ames Gregory , .
,

when the drums in the barr acks suddenly beat to a rms and sol ,

di ers were seen issuing from the barracks If these la ds are

'

”
turning out said Ro b , tak ing leave of hi s cousin with great com
,

p o s u re it
, is“
time for me to look after my safety ”
So say ing he .
,

dived down a cl ose, and as John Bunyan says, went up o h his

w ay an d w as seen no more “ .
23 N
I TROD U CTION

of an undecided field of battle he enriched his followers by plu n ,

dering the baggage and the dead on both sides .

Th e fine old satirical ballad on the battle of Sherri ff-muir does

not forget to stigmatize our hero s conduct on this memorable ’

occasion
R o b R o y h e stood watch
On a h ill for to catc h
The booty for aught that I saw, man ,
For he ne er advanced ’

From the place where he s tan ce d ,

Till nae mair was to do there at a man

’ ’
.

N otwithstanding the sort of neutrali ty whic h R o b R o y had con

t in u e d to observe during the progress of the R ebellion he did not ,

escap e some of its penalties He was included in the act of .

attaind er and the house in Breadalbane wh ich was his place of

, ,

retreat was burnt by General Lord Cadogan when after the con
, , ,

e lusion of the insurrection he marched through the H ighlands to

,

disarm and punish the o ffending clans But upon going to Inver .

ary with about forty or fifty of his followers Ro b obtained favo u r , ,

by an apparent surrender of their arms to C o lo n e i Patrick Camp

bell o f Finnab who furnished them and their leader with protections
,

under his hand Being thus in a great measure secured from

.

the resentment of Government Ro b R o y established his residence ,

at Craig-R oyston near Loch Lomond in the midst of his o wn ,

kins m en and lost no time in resum i ng his private quarrel with the
,

D uke of Montrose For this purpose he soon got on foot as many

.
,

men and well ar m ed too as he h ad yet com m anded He never

, , .

stirred without a body-guard of ten or twelve picked followers , and

without much effort could increase them to fifty or sixty .

The D uke was not wanting in efforts to destroy this troublesome

a dve rs aiy His Grace applied to General Carpenter commanding
.
,

the forces in Scotland and by his orders three parties of soldiers

,

were directed from the three di fferent points of Glasgow Stirling , ,

and F in larig near Killin Mr Graham of Killearn the Duke of

. .
,

Montrose s relation and factor Sheri ff-depute also of Dumbarton

’
,

shire accompanied the troops that they might act under the civil
, ,

authority an d have the assistance of a trusty guide well acquainted

,

with the hills It was the object of these several columns to arrive
.

about the same time in the neighbourhood of R o b R oy s residence ’

,

and surprise him and his followers B ut heavy rains the diffi c ul .
,

ties o i the country and the good intelligence which the Outlaw was
,

always supplied with disappointed their well-concerte d co mbina

,

tion The troops , finding the birds were flown ave n ged themselves
.
,

by destroying the n est They burned R o b R oy s house though not

.
’
,
 TO ROB ROY . 29

with impunity ; for the M a c G re go rs concealed among the thickets ,

and cliffs fired on them and killed a grenadier

, , .

R o b R o y avenged h i mself for the loss which he sustained on this

occasion by an act of singular audacity A bout the middle of .

N ovember 1 7 1 6 John Graham of Killearn already mentioned as

, , ,

factor of the M ontrose family went to a place called Chapel E rro c k

, ,

w here the tenants of the Duke were summoned to appear w ith

the ir termly rents They appeared accordingly and the factor had
.
,

received ready money to the amount of about 3 0 0 when Ro b Ro y ,

entered the room at the head of an armed party Th e steward .

endeavoured to protect the Duke s property by throwing the books ’

of accounts and money into a garret trusting they might escape ,

notice But the experien ced freebooter was not to be baffled where
.

such a prize was at stake H e recovered the books and cash placed
.
,

himself calmly in the receipt of custom examined the accounts , ,

pocketed the money and ga ve rece ipts on the Duke s part saying
,
’
,

h e would hold reckoni n g with the Duke of Montrose out of the

damages which he had sustained by his Grace s means in which ’
,

h e i ncluded the losses he had suffered as w e ll by the burning of ,

his house by General Cadogan as by the lat er expedition against ,

Craig-Ro yston H e then requested Mr Graham to attend him ;

. .

nor does it appear that he treated him with any personal vi olence ,

o r even rudeness although he informed him he regarded him as a

,

hostage and menaced rough usage in case he should be pursue d

, ,

or in danger of be ing overtaken F e w more audacious feats have .

been p erformed A fter some rapid changes of place (the fat igue
.

attending which was the only annoyance that Mr Graham seems to .

have complained of) he carried his prisoner to an island on Loch

,

Katrine and caused him to write to the Duke to state that his ran
, ,

som was fixed at merks being the balance wh i ch M a c Grego r

,

pretended remained due to him after deducting all that he owed ,

to the D uke of M ontrose .

H owever after detaini n g Mr Graham five or six days in custody

,
.

on the island which is still called R o b R oy s Prison and could be

,
’
,

no comfortable dwelling for N ovember n ights the Outlaw seems to ,

have despaired o f attaining further advantage from his bold

attempt and suffered his prisoner to depart uninjured with the
, ,

account -books and bills granted by the tenants tak ing especial
, ,

care to retain the cash .

Other pranks are tol d of R o b which argue the same boldness ,

'

and sagacity as the se i zure of K illearn The D uke o f M o n tro s e .

,

weary of his i nsolence procured a quantity of arms and distributed

, ,

them among his tenantry in order that they might defend them ,

sel ves against future violences B ut they fell into different hands .
3 0 N
I TR OD U C TION

from those they were i nten ded for Th e M ac Grego rs made sep a .

rate attacks o u the houses of the tenants and disarmed th em all ,

one after another not as was supposed without the consen t of

, , ,

many of the persons so d is armed .

A s a great part of the Duke s rents were payable i n kin d there

’
,

were gim els (gra naries) established for storing up the corn at
Moul in an d elsewhere on the Buchana n estate To these sto re
,
.
v

houses R ob R o y used to repai r wi th a su ffi cient force and of cour se ,

w hen he was least expected an d insist upon the delivery of quan

,

tities of grai n sometimes for his ow n use and somet im es for the
, ,

assistance of the country people al ways giving regular recei pts in

his own nam e and pretending to reckon with the D uke fo r what
,

sums he received .

In the meanwhile a garr ison was established by Governm ent , the

ruins of which may be still seen about h al f way betwixt L och
Lo mond and Loch Katri ne upon R o b R oy s o riginal property of
,
’

Inversnaid Even this mil itary establishment could not bri dl e the
.

restless M ac Gre go r H e contrived to surprise the little fort , dis

.

arm the soldiers, and destroy the fortification I t was afterwards .

re-established and again taken 1 b y the M ac Grego rs un der R ob

,

R oy s nephew G hlu n e Dhu previous to the insurrection of r745-6

’
.
, ,

Finall y the fort of Inversnaid was a third time repaired af ter the
,

extinction of civil discord ; and when we fin d the celebrat ed Ge neral

Wolfe c o rmn an din g in it the imagination is strongly affected by
,

the variety of time and events which the c ircumstance brings

s imul tan eo usly t o recollection It is now totally disman tled *
'
. .

I t was not, strictly speaking as a professed depredator that Rob

,

R o y n o w condu cted hi s operations b u t as a sort of con tra ctor fo r ,

the police in S cottis h phrase a li fter of bla c k-mail The n ature

, .

of this contract has been described in t h e N ovel o f Waverley, and

in the notes on that work Mr Gra ha m of Gartmo re s des c ript ion ’

—
. .

o f the chara cter may be tr anscribed

The confusion and disorders of the coun try were so great, an d

the Government so absolutely neglected it that the s ober p eo ple ,

there were obliged to purchase some security to their effects , b y

sham eful and ignomi nious contracts of black-mai l A pers on who .

h ad the greatest correspondence w ith the thieves was agreed with ,

to preserve the lands contracted for from th efts for c ert ai n sums to ,

be paid yearly Upon this fund he e mployed one h alf of the thieves
.

to recover stolen cattl e and the other h al f of them to steal in order

, ,

to m ak e this agreement and black-mail contract nece ssary The .

estates of t hose gentlemen who refused to contract , or give c o un te

n ance to that pernicious practice are plundered by the thieving part,

o f the watch in order to force them to purchase their protection

, .
 TO ROB R OY .
3 1

T heir leader calls himself the Cap l a zn of the Watc/z and his
'

band itti go by that name A n d as this gives them a kind of a u tho

.

rity to traverse the country , so it makes them capable of doing any

m ischief . These corps through the H ighl ands make altogether a
very considerable body of men i nured from their infancy to the
,

greatest fatigues , and very capable to act in a military way when

occasion offers .

People who are ignorant and enthusiastic , who are in absolute

dependence upon their chief or landlord who are directed in their ,

consc iences by R oman Cathol i c priests or nonjuring clergymen , ,

and who are not masters of any property, may easily be formed
i nto any mould They fear no dangers as they have nothing t o
.
,

lose and so can with ease be induced to attempt anything N othing

, .

can make their condition worse confus ions and troubles do com
m o n ly indulge the m in such licent i ousness , that by thes e they
better it ”
.

A s the practice o f con t racting fo r bl ack-mai l was an obviou s

encouragement to rapine and a great obstacle to the course of
,

just i ce it was, by the statute 1 56 7 chap 2 1 declared a capital crime

, ,
.
, ,

both on the part of him who levied and him who paid this so rt of
tax But the necessity of the case prevented the execution of this
.

se vere law, I believe , in any one instance and men went on

submitt ing to a certai n u n lawful imposition rather than run the
risk of utter ruin —just as it is now found difficult or im p o s
,

sible to prevent those who have lost a very large sum of money by
robbery from compo unding with the felons for restoration of a par t
,

of thei r booty .

A t what rate R o b Ro y l evied black-m ail, I never heard stated

but t here is a formal contract by which his n ephe w, in 1 74 1 agr eed
, ,

wit h vari ous landholders of estates in the counties of Perth Stirling , ,

and D umbarton to recover cattle stolen from them, or to pay

,

the value within six months of the loss being intimated if such ,
.

i nt imation were made to him w i th sufficient dispatch in considera ,

tion of a payment of 5 on each 1;1 0 0 of valued rent whi ch was ,

not a very heavy ins urance Petty thefts were not included in the
.

contrac t ; but the theft of one horse or one head of black cattle , ,

o r of sheep exceeding the number of six fell under the agreement ,

.

R o b R oy s pro fit s upo n such contracts brought him in a con

’

s i dera b l e revenue in money or cattle of which he made a popular

,

u se for he was publicly liberal as well as privately b en efi c e n t

,
.

Th e minister of the p a rish of B al quhidder whose name was ,

R obison was at one time threaten ing to pursue the parish fo r an

,
,

augmentation of his stipend R o b R o y took an Opportunity to

.

assure him that he would do well to abstain from thi s new e xacti on ,
3 2 N
I TROD U C TION
— hint which
a the m inister did not fail to understand But to .

make him some indemn ification M ac G rego r presented him every ,

year with a cow and a fat sheep and no s cruples as to the mode
in which the donor came by them are said to have affected t he ,

reverend gentleman s c onscience

’
.

The following account of the proceedin gs of R o b R o y on an ,

application to him fro m one of his contractors , had in it something

very interesting to me as told by an old countryman in th e L enn o x
,

who was present on the expedition But as there is no point or .

marked incident in the story and as it must necessarily be without

,

the h alf-frightened half bewildered look with which the narrator

,
-
,

accompanied his recollections it may poss ibly lose its e ffect when,

transferred to paper .

My informant stated himself to h ave been a l ad of fi fteen l iving ,

with his father on the estate of a gentle man in L ennox, whose

name I have forgotten i n th e capacity of herd On a fine morning
, .

in the end of O ctober the period when such cal amities were almost
,

always to be apprehended they found the H igh land thieves had

,

bee n down upon them and swept away ten or twelve head of cattle
, .

Ro b R o y was sent for and came with a party of seven or eight

,

ar med men H e heard with great gravity all that could be told
.

him of the circumstances of the creag lz and expressed his con ,

fide n ce that the I t e m? w izzdzqfo w s could not have carried their

’ "
'

b o o ty far and that he should be able to recover them

,
H e desired .

that two Lowlanders should be sent on the party as it was not to ,

be expected that any of his gentlemen would take the trouble of

driving the cattle when he should recover possession of them My .

informant and his father were dispatched on the expedition They .

h ad no good will to the j ourney ; nevertheless provided with a ,

littl e food and with a dog to help them to manage the cattle , they
,

set o ff with M ac Grego r They travelled a long day s journey in

.
’

the direction of the mountain B e n vo irli c h an d slept for the night ,

in a ruinous hut or bothy The next m orning they resumed their

.

j ourney among the hills Ro b Ro y directing their course by signs

,

and marks on the heath which my informant did not understand

, .

A bout noon , Ro b com manded the armed party to hal t, and to lie
couched 1n the heather where it was thickest “ D o yo u an d your .

so n
”
he said to the oldest Lowlander “ go bol dly over the hill
, , .

You will see beneath yo u i n a glen on the other side , your master’s
,

cattle feeding, it may be with others gather your own together,

,

taking care to disturb no one else and drive them to this place If , .

any one speak t o or threaten you tell them that I am here at the
, , ,
”
head of twenty 1n en But what if th eya b u se us or ki ll us ? ” said
.
,

the L owland peasant, by no means delighted at findi ng the e mbas sy

 TO ROB ROY .
3 3

impose d on him and his son If they d o yo u any wrong said .

,

R o b , 1 will never forg iv e them as long as I live ” The Lowlander

“
.

was by no means content with this security but did not think it ,

safe to dispute R ob s injunctions ’

.

H e and his son climbed the hill therefore, found a deep valley , ,

where there grazed as R o b had predicted a la rge herd of cattle

, , .

They cautiously selected those wh i ch their master had lost and ,

took measures to drive them over the hill A s soon as they be gan .

to remove the m the y were surprised by hearing cries and screams ;

,

and looking around in fear and trembling they saw a woman , ,

seeming to have started out of the earth who flytm at them that ,
'
,

is scolded them in Gaelic When they contrived however in the

, ,
.
, ,

best Gael i c they could muster to deliver the message R o b R o y ,

told them she became silent and disappeared w ithout o ffer ing
, ,
them any further annoyance The chief heard their story on .

th eir return and spoke with great complacency of the art which
,

he possessed of putting such thi n gs to rights without any u n

pleasant bustle The party were now on their r oad home and
.
,

the danger though not the fatigue of the expedition was at

, ,

an end .

They drove on the cattle with little repose until it was nearly
dark when R o b proposed to halt for the n ight upon a wide moor
, ,

across which a cold north-east wind with frost on its wing was , ,

whi stling to the tune of the Pipers of Strath -D earn * The High .

landers sheltered by their plaids lay down in the heath comfort

, ,

ably enough but the Lowlanders had no protection whatever Ro b

, .

R o y observing this directed one of his followers to afford the old

, ,

man a portion of his plaid ; for the callant (boy) he may said “
, ,

the freebooter keep himself warm by w alking about and watching

,
“

the cattle ” My informant heard this sentence with no small dis

.

tress and as the frost wind gre w more and more cutting it seemed ,

to freeze the very blood in his young veins H e had been exposed .

to weather all his life he said b u t never could forget the cold of
, ,

that night in so much that in the bitterness of his heart he cursed , ,

the bright moon for giving no heat with so much light A t length
'
.

the sense of cold and wearin ess became so intolerable that he ,

resolved to desert his watch to seek some repose and shelter With .

that purpose he couched himself down behi nd one of the m ost

,

b ulk y of the H ighlanders who acted as lieutenant to the party ,

.

N ot satisfied with having secured the shelter of the man s large ’

person he coveted a share of his plaid and by imperceptible

, ,

degrees drew a corner of it round him He was now comparatively .

in paradise and slept sound till daybreak When he awoke and w a s

, , ,

terribly afraid on observing that h is nocturnal operations had

C
34 N
I TROD U CTION
altogether uncovered the dhu in i e was s e ll s neck and shoulders ’
,

which lac kin g the plaid which should have pro tected them were
,
,

covere d with cra n reu c/L hoar frost ) Th e lad rose in great .

dread of a beat ing at least when it should be found how luxur i ously
, ,

he had been accommo dated at the expense of a principal person of

the party Good Mr Lieutenant however go t up and shook him
. .
, ,

self rubbing o ff the hoar frost w ith his plaid and mutterin g some
, ,

thing o f a m a id n ezg izt They th e n dro ve on th e cattle which were

'

.
'

restored to their owner without farther adventure The above can .

hardly be termed a tale, but ye t it contain s materi als both for the
poet and artist .

It was perhaps about the same t ime that by a rapid march into ,

the B al quhidder hills at the head of a body of his own tenantry the ,

D uke of Montrose actually surprised R o b R o y and made him ,

prisoner H e was mounted behi nd one of the Duke s followers

'
’
.
,

named James Stewart and made fas t to him by a horse -girth The
,
.

person who had h im th us in charge was grandfathe r of the in telli

gent man o f the same name n o w deceased who lately kept the inn , ,

in the vicinity of Loch Katrine and acted as a guide to visitors ,

through that beautiful scenery From him I learned the story many .

years before he was either a publican or a guide except to moor , ,

fowl shooters — It was evening ( to resume the story) and the Duke
.
,

was pressing on to lodge his pri soner s o long sought after in vain , ,

in some place of security when in crossing the Te ith or Forth I , , ,

f orge t which M a c G re go r took an opportunity to conjure Stewart

, ,

by all the ties of old acquaintance and good -neighbourhood to give ,

him some chance of an escape from an assured doom Stewart .

was moved with compassion perhaps with fear H e slipped the , .

girth-buckle and R o b dropping down from behind the horse s

,
’

croupe, dived swam and escaped pretty much as described in the

, , ,

N ovel When James Stewart came on sho re the Duke hastily

.
,

demanded where his pri soner was and as no distinct answer was
returned instantly suspected Stewart s connivance at the escape of
,
’

the outlaw ; and drawing a steel pistol from his belt struck him
, ,

down with a blow on the head from the effects of which, his
,
,

descendant said he never completely recovered

, .

In the su c c e ss o f his repeated escapes from the pursuit of his

'

powerful enemy R o b R o y at length became wanton and facetious

,
.

H e wrote a mock challenge to the D u ke which b e circulated among ,

his friends to amuse them over a bot tle The reader will find this .

document in the A ppendix * It is written in a good hand an d not .

,

particularly deficient in grammar or spelling Our Southern readers .

mu st be given to understand that it was a piece of humour —a

—
,

q u i z in
,
short o n the part of the outlaw who was too sagacious to
, ,
36 I TROD N U CTION

of the M ac Grego rs who had heretofore held possessions in the

,

Duke’s H ighland property merely by occupan cy and Glengyle (or

Black-knee), who cont inued to act as collector of black -mail, ma
nage d his police as a commander o f the H ighland watch a rrayed
,

at the charge of Government H e is said to have strictly abstained

.

from the open and lawless depredations which his kinsman had
practised.

It was probably after this state of temporary quiet had b een

obtained , that R o b R o y began to think of the concerns of his fut u re
state H e had been bred an d long professed himself a Protestant
. , , ,

but in his later years he embraced the R om an Catholic faith,

perhaps on Mrs Cole s pri nciple that it was a comfortable religion
.
’
,

for one of his calling He is sa i d to have alleged as the cause of

.

his conversion , a desire to grat i fy the noble family of Perth, who

wer e then strict Catholics H aving as he observed assu med the
.
, ,

name of the Duke of A rgyle his first protector he could pay n o

, ,

compliment worth the Earl of Perth s acceptance, save complying ’

with his mode of relig i on R o b did not pretend when presse d

.
,

closely on the subject to justify all the tenets of Catholicism, and

,

acknowledged that extreme unction al ways appeared to him a great

waste of u lz ze, or oil
'
‘
.

In the last years of Ro b Roy s life his clan was invol ved in a ’
,

dispute with one m ore powerful than themselves Stewart of .

A ppin , a chief of the tribe so named was proprietor of a hill-farm ,

in the Braes of Bal quhidder called In ve rn e n ty The M ac Grego rs

, .

of R o b Roy s tribe claimed a right to it by ancient occupancy, and

’

declared they wo uld oppose to the uttermost the settlement of an y

person upon the farm not being of their own nam e The Stewarts '
.

came down with two hundred m en well armed to do themselves ,

justice by main force The M a c G re go rs took the fi eld, but were

.

unable to muster an equal strength R o b R o y findin g himself the .

,

weaker party asked a parley in whi ch he represent ed that both clans

, ,

were friends to the K i ng and that he was unwilling they should

,

be weakened by mutual conflict, and thus made a merit of surren

dering to A ppin the dis puted territory of In ve rne n ty A ppin, .

accordingly settled as tenants there at an easy quit-rent the Mac

, , ,

Lare ns , a family dependent on the Stewarts and from whose ,

character for strength and bravery it was expected that they ,

woul d make th eir right good if annoyed by the M ac Grego rs When .

all this had been amicably adjusted in presence of the two clans ,

drawn up in arms near the Kirk of Balquhidder Ro b Ro y appa , ,

rc n tly fearing his tribe might be thought to have conceded too much

upon the occasion, stepped for war d and said that where so many ,

g a ll ant men w e re met -

ia arms it would be shamefu l to part without
,
 TO R OB R OY .
37

a trial of skill and therefore he took the freedom to invite any

,

gentleman of th e Stewarts present to exchange a few blows w ith

him for the honour of their respective clans The brother-in -law of .

A ppin and second chieftain of the clan A laster Stewart of Inver

, ,

n a hyle, accepted the challenge and they en countered with broad ,

sword and target before their respective k in s m e n i" The combat

la sted till R o b received a slight wound in the arm wh i ch was the ,

usual termination of such a combat when fought for honour only ,

and not with a mortal purpose R o b Ro y dropped his point and .

,

congratulated hi s adversary on having been the first man who ever

drew blood from him Th e victor generously acknowledged that
.
,

w ithout the advantage of youth a n d the agility accompanying it he , ,

probably could not have come off with advantage .

This was probably one of R o b R oy s last exploits in arms The ’

.

t ime of his death is not known with certainty but he is generally ,

said to have survived 1 7 3 8 and to have died an aged man When

,
.

he found himself approaching his final change he expressed some ,

contrition for particular parts of his life H is wife laughed at these .

scruples of conscience an d exhorted h im to die like a man, as he

,

had lived I n reply he rebuked her for her v i olent passions and
.
, ,

the counsels she had given h im You have put strife ” he said .
“
, ,
“
betwixt me and the best men of the country and now you would
pl ace enmity between me and my God ”
,

There is a tradition no way inconsistent with the former if the

, ,

character of Ro b Ro y be justly considered that while on his death ,

bed he learned that a person with whom he was at enmity pro

, , ,
”
posed to visit him R aise me from my bed said the invalid ;
.
“
,
“
throw my pla i d around me and bring me my Claymore dirk , , ,

a n d pistol s — i t shall never be said that a foeman saw R o b R o y

M a c G re g o r defenceless and u narmed H is foeman conjectu red

”
.
,

to be one of the M ac Lare n s before and after mentioned entered ,

and paid his compliments inquiring after the health of his fo rm id

,

a ble neighbour R o b R o y maintained a cold haughty civility

.
,

during their short conference and so soon as h e had left the house
, ,

, ,
—
N ow he said all is over let the piper play H
”
a t z l m z t u l z dk
” ' ’ ’

( we return no more and he is said to have expired before the d i rge

was finished .

This singular man died in bed in his own house in the parish of ,

Balquh i dder H e was buri ed in the churchyard of the same parish

.
,

where his tombstone is only di st in gu ish ed b y a rude attempt at the '

fi gure of a broadsword .

Th e character of R o b R o y is of course a mixed one H is s a

, ,
.

g a c ity boldness and prudence qualities so highly nec essary to

, , ,
s uccess in war bec am e in some degree vices from the manner in
, ,
38 IN TROD U C TION TO ROB R OY
.

which theywere employed The circumstances o f his education, .

however, must be admitted as some extenuation ofhis habitual trans

gressio n s against the law and for his political tergivers ations , he
might in that distracted period plead the example of men fa r more
powerful and less excusable in becoming the sport of circumstan ces ,
,

than the poor and desperate outlaw On the other hand , he was in .

th e constant exercise of virtues the more meritorious as they seem ,

inconsistent with his general character Purs uing the occupation

of a predatory chiefta i n —in modern phrase a capta in of banditti,
.

, ,

R o b Ro ywas moderate in his revenge and hum ane in his successes ,

.

N o charge of cruelty or bloodshed unless in battle is brought , ,

'

against his memory In like manner the form idable ou tl aw was

.
,

the friend of the poor and to the utmost of his ability the support of
th e widow and the orp han —kept hi s word when pledged—and died
, , ,

lamented in his own wild country where there were hearts grateful ,

for his b en efice n c e though their minds were not su ffi ciently i a

,

structed to appreciate his errors .

A B B OTSF OR D, 1 82 9 .

[That te xt b e n o t c umb ere d the n o tes which are n umero us an d

the , ,

valuab le will b e fo un d a t the c lo se o f the text an as terisk app earing in the

—
, ,

page to call atten ti o n to the m ] A M . . .

[M E —A n a cco u n t, 5] tire A u tlzo r of W a verley,” of M e f ate a n d

“

f ortu n es of t he f R OB R OY w i l l be f o u n d a t tire cl ose o

s on s o
f
t112s vo l u me
'
—A . M .
]
 ROB ROY .

C H A P TE R I .

H have I sin n d that this affliction

ow
’
,
Should light so heavy on me ? I have no more so ns ,
A n d this no more mine o wn — M y gran d curse
.

H ang o er his h ead th at thus t ran s fo rm d thee l Travel ?

’ ’ —
Ill send my horse to travel next
’
.

M ON SIEU R TH OM A S .

YOU have requested m e my dear friend to bestow some of that

, ,

leisure with which Providence has blessed the decline of my life

, ,

i n regi stering the hazards and di fficulties which attended its com
m en cem en t The recollection of those adventures as yo u are
. ,

pl eased to term them has indeed left u pon my mind a chequered

,

an d varied feeling of pleasure and of pain mingled , I trust , with ,

no slight gratitude and veneration to the D isposer of human events ,

who guided my early course through much risk and labour, that
the ease with which He has blessed my prolonged life, might seem
softer from remembrance and contrast Nei ther is it possibl e for
.

me to doubt , what you have often affirmed that the incidents ,

w hich befell me among a people singula rly primitive in their

governm ent an d manners have something interesting and attrae
,

tive fo r those who love to hear an old man s stories of a past age’
.

Still, however, you must remember that the t al e told by o n e

,

fri end and listened to by another loses h al f its charms when com
, ,

mitred to paper ; and that the narratives to which yo u have attended,

with interest, as heard from the voice of him to whom they occu rred,
will appear less deserving of attention when perused in the seclusion
o f your study: But your greener age and robust c onsti tution pro
m ise longer l ife th a n wi ll in all human probability, be the l ot of
,

your friend Throw, then, these sheets into some secret drawer of
.

your es crito ir till we are sep a rated from each othe r’s society by an
event which may happen at any moment and whi c h must happen ,

within the course of a few—a very few years When we are part ed .

in this world , to meet I hope i n a better yo u will, I am well aware,

, , ,

cherish more than it deserves the m e mory of your departed friend,

an d wi ll find in those details which I am now to commi t to paper,
 ROB ROY .
4I

matter for melancholy but not unpleasing reflection Others b e

, .

que ath to the c o n fi dan t s of their bosom portraits of their external

features —I put into your hands a faithful transcript of my thoughts
,

and feelings of my virtues and of my failings with the assured hope

, , ,

that the follies and headstrong impetuosity of my youth will meet

the same kind construction and forgiveness which have so often
attended the faults of my matured age .

One advantage among the many of address ing my Memoirs (if

, ,

I may give these sheets a name so imposing) to a dear and inti

mate friend is that I may S pare some of the details in this case
, , ,

unnecessary, with which I must needs have detained a stranger

from what I have to say of greater interest W hy sh ould I bestow .

all my tediousness upon you because I have you in my power and , ,

have ink paper and time before me ? A t the same time I dare
, , ,

not promise that I may not abuse the Opportunity so tempt ingly
offered me to treat of myself and my own concerns even though I
, ,

speak of circumstances as well known to you as to myself The .

seductive love of narrative when we ourselves are the heroes of the

,

events which we tell often disregards the attent i on due to the time
,

and patience of the audience and the best and wisest have yielded ,

to its fascination I need only remind you of the singular instance

.

evinced by the form of that rare and original edition of Sullys ’

Memoirs which you ( with the fond vanity of a book-collector) in

,

sist upon preferring to that which is reduc ed to the useful and

ordinary form of Mem oirs but which I think curious solely as , ,

illustrating how far so great a man as the author was access ible to
the foible of self-impo rtance If I recollect rightly that venerable.
,

peer and great statesman had appointed no fewer than four gentle
men o f his household to draw up the events of his life under the ,

t itle of Memorials of the Sage and R oyal A ffai rs of State Domestic , ,

Polit i cal and M ili tary transacted by Henry IV and so forth

, ,
.
, .

These grave recorders having made their compilation reduced the

, ,

Memoirs containing all the remarkable events of their master s l ife ’

,

into a narrative addressed to h imself i n fireprza pers o n a A n d

'

.
,

thus instead of telling his own story in the third person like Jul ius
, ,

C e sar or in the first person l ike most who in the hall or the study,
, , ,

undertake to be the hearers of their own tale Sully enjoyed the re ,

fined though whimsical pleasure o f having the events of his l ife

, ,

told over to him by h is secretaries being h imself the auditor as he , ,

was also the hero and probably the author of the whole book I t
,
.

must have been a great sight to have se en the ex-m inister as bolt ,

upright as a starched ruff and laced cassock could make h im seated ,

in state beneath his canopy and listening to the rec itation of his
,

compilers wh ile standing bare in his presence they informed him

, , ,
42 R OB R OY .

gravely “ Thus said the duke—s e did the duke infer—such were
-

y our grace
,

s sentiments
’
upon this important point — s u ch were your
” —
secret counsels to the king on that other emergency cir cum ,

stances all of which must have been mu ch better known to their

,

hearer than to them selves and most of which coul d only be de

,

rived from his own special comm unication .

My situation is not quite so ludicrous as that of the great Sully ,

and yet there would be something whimsical 1n Frank Osb aldis t o n e

givi n g Will Tresham a formal account of his birth , educat ion an d ,

connexions in the world I will therefore wrestle with the tempt

.
, ,

ing spirit of P P Clerk of our parish as I best may and endea

'

. .
, , ,

vour to tell you nothing that is familiar to yo u already Some .

things h o w eve r l must recall to your memory because though

, , , ,

formerly well known to yo u they may have been forgo tten ,

t hrough lapse of time, and they a fford the groundwork of m y

desti ny .

You must remember my father well ; for as your own was a

member of the mercantile house you knew him from i nfancy Yet ,
.

you hardly saw him in his best days before age and infirmity had ,

quenched his ardent spirit of enterprise and speculation H e w ou ld .

have been a poorer man , indeed but perhaps as happy, had he de ,

voted to the extension of scienc e those active energies , and acute

powers of observation for whi ch commercial pursuits found occup a
,

tion Yet, in the fluctuations of mercanti le speculation there is

.
,

something ca ptivating to the adventur er, even independent of the

hope of gain He who embarks on that fickle sea req uires to
.
,

possess the skill of the p ilot and the fortitude of the naviga tor, an d
,

after all may be wrecked and lost unless the gal es of fortune ,

breathe in his favour This mix ture of necessary attention an d

inevitable hazard—the frequent and awful uncertai nty whether pru
.

dence shall overcome fortune or fortune baffle the schemes of ,

prudence a ffords full occupat i on for the powers as well as for the
,

feelings of the mind , and trade has all the fascination of gambling,
without its moral guilt .

Early in th e 1 8th century when I ( H eaven he lp me I) was a youth

,

o f so me t wen ty years old, I was summoned suddenly from Bourdeaux

t o attend my father on business of importance I shall never forget .

our first interview You recollect the brief, abrupt, and somewhat
.

stern mode in which he was wont to communicate his pleasure to

those around him M ethinks I see him even now in my mind s eye ’

the firm and upright figure —the step quick and determined —the
.

eye which shot so keen and so penetrating a glance — t11 e features

on which care had already planted wrinkles ,—and hear h is lan
, ,

guage in which he never wasted word in vain, e xpressed in a voic e

,
 ROB R OY .
43

which had sometimes an occasional harshness , far from the i mten

tion of the speaker .

When I d ismounted from my post horse I hastened to my fathe r’ s -

,

apartment H e was traversing it with an air of composed and

.

steady deliberation which even my arrival although an only son

, ,

u nseen for four years was unable to d i scompose I threw myself

, .

into his arms He was a kind though not a fond father and th e
.
, ,

tear twinkled in his dark eye but it w a s only for a moment ,

.

Dubourg writes to me that he is satisfied with you F rank , .

I am happy sir ,
”
But I have less reason to be so he added sitting down at his , ,

bureau .

I a m sorry sir ,

S orry and happy Frank are words that on most occasions , , , ,

signify little or nothing— Here is your last letter .

”

H e took it out from a number Of others t ied up in a parcel of red

tape and curi ously labelled and filed There lay my poor epistle
,
.
,

w r i tten on the subject the nearest to my heart at the time a n d ,

couched in words which I had thought would work compassion if ,

not convi ct i on —there I say it lay squeezed up a mong the letters

, , , ,

on miscellaneous bus iness in wh i ch my father s daily affai rs had ’

engaged h im I cannot help smiling internally when I recollect the

.

m ixture of hurt van ity and wounded feel ing with whic h I regarded
my remonstrance to the penning of wh i ch there had gone I pro
, ,

m i se you some trouble as I beheld it extracted from am ongst letters

, ,

of advi ce of credit an d all th e commonplace lumber as I the n

, ,
‘

thought them of a merchant s corresponden ce Surely thought I

,
’
.
, ,

a letter of such importance ( I dared not say even to myself so wel l , ,

wri tten) deserved a separate place , as well as more anx i ous con
siderat i on than those on the ordinary business of the count ing
,

house .

But m y father did not observe my dissatisfaction and would not ,

have m i nded it if he had H e proceede d with the letter in his .

,

hand This F rank is yours o f the l t ultimo in which you advise

,
“
, , ,

m e (reading from my letter) that in the most important bus iness ,

“

Of forming a plan and adopt i ng a profession for l i fe you trust my

, ,

paternal goodness w ill hold you ent itled to at least a negat ive voice
that you have i nsuperable—ay insuperable is the word— Iwish by , ,

the way you would write a more di stinct current hand—draw a score
through the tops of your t s and Open the loops of your l s —in
,
’ ’
,

superable object i ons to the arrangement s which I have proposed t o

you There is much more to the same effect occupying four good
.
,

pages of paper which a little attent i on to persp i cu ity and dist inct
,

ness of exp ress i on might have compri sed w ithi n as many lines .
 ROB ROY .

For after all Frank it amounts but to this , that yo u will not do as
, , ,

I would have you ” .

“
That I cannot sir, in the present instance ; not that I will
,

Words avail very little with me, young man , said my father ,

whose inflexibility always possessed the air of the most perfect

calmness and self-possession “ Ca n n o t may be a more civ il .

phrase than w ill n o t but the expressions are synonymous where

,

there is no moral impossibility But I am not a friend to doing .

business hastily ; we will talk this matter over after dinner .

Owen
Owen appeared not with the silver locks which you were used to
,

venerate for he was then little more than fifty ; but he had the
,

same or an exactly similar uniform suit of light brown clothes

the same pearl-grey silk stockings —the same stock with its silver
, ,

buckle —the same plaited cambric ruffles drawn down over his
, ,

, ,

knuckles in the parlour but in the counting-house carefully folded,

back under the sleeves that they might remain unstained by the
ink which he daily consumed ; —
,

in a word the same grave formal , , ,

yet benevolent cast of features which continued to his death to ,

distinguish the hea d-clerk of the great house of Os b aldis to n e and

’

Tre sham .

Owen said my father as the kind old man shook me affe c

, ,

t io n ately by the han d you must dine with us to -day and hear the
“
, ,

n ews F rank has brought us from our friends in B ourdeaux

”
.

Owen made one of his sti ff bows of respectful gratitude for, in

tho se days when the distance between superiors and inferiors was
,

enforced in a manner to which the present t imes are strangers such ,

an invitation was a favour of some l ittle consequence .

I shall long remember that dinner-party D eeply affected by .

feelings of anxiety not unmingled with di spleasure I was unable

, ,

to take that active share in the conversation which my father

s eemed to expect from me ; and I too frequently gave u n sa tis

factory answers to the questions with which he assailed me .

Owen hovering betwixt his respect for his patron and his love for
, ,

the youth he had dandled on his knee in childhood like the ,

timorous yet anxious ally of an invaded nation endeavoured at ,

every blunder I made to explain my no meaning and to cover -

,

my retreat ; manoeuvres which added to my father s pettish dis ’

pleasure and brought a share of it upon my kind a dvocate instead

, ,

of protecting me I had not wh ile residing in the house o f

.
,

D ubourg absolutely conducted myself like

,

A clerk c o n dem n d h i s father s soul to cross

’ ’

,
Who pe n n d a stanza when he should engross
’
 ROB ROY
.
45

b u t, to say truth I had frequented the counting -house no m ore

,

than I had thought absolutely necessary to secure the good report

of the Frenchman long a correspondent of our firm to whom my
, ,

father had trusted for init iating me into the mysteries of com
merce In fact my principal attention had been dedicated to
.
,

literature a n dmanly exercises My father did not altogether dis

.

courage such acquirements whether mental or personal He had

, .

too much good sense not to perceive that they sate gracefully ,

u pon every man and he was sensible that they relieved and
,

dignified the character to which he wi shed me to aspire But hi s .

chief ambition was that I should succeed not merely to his for
,

tune but to the views and plans by which he imagined he could

,

extend and perpetuate the wealthy in he ritan c e wvh ic h he designed

for me .

Love of his profession was the motive which he chose should be

most ostensible when he urged me to tread the same path ; but he
,

had others with which I only became acquainted at a later period .

Impetuous in his schemes as well as skilful and daring each new

, ,

adventure when successful became at once the incentive and

, , ,

furn i shed the means fo r farther speculation I t seemed to be

, .

necessary to him as to an ambitious conqueror to push o n fro m

, ,

achievement to achieveme nt w ithout stopping to secure far less t o

, ,

enj oy the acquisitions whi ch he made A ccustomed to see his

, .

whole fortune trembling in the scales of chance and dexterous at ,

adopting expedients for casting the balan ce in his favour his ,

health and Spirits and activity seemed ever to increase with the
animating hazards o n wh i ch he staked his wealth ; and he re
sembled a sa ilor accustomed to brave the b illows and the foe
, ,

whose confidence rises on the eve of tempest or of battle H e w a s .

not however insensible to the changes which increas i ng age or

, ,

supervening malady might make in his own const itut ion and w a s
anxious in good t ime to secure in me an assistant who might take ,

the helm when his hand grew weary and keep the vessel s way -
,
'

according to his counsel a n d instruction Paternal affecti on a s .

,

well as the furtherance Of his own plans determ i ned him to th e ,

same conclus i on Your father though his fortune was vested in

.
,

the house was only a sleeping partner as the commerc ial phras e
, ,

goes ; and Owen whose probity and skill in the details Of arith
,

metic rendered h is servi ces i nvaluable as a head clerk was n o t -

,

possessed either of information or talents su fficient to conduct the

mysteries Of the principal m anagement I f my father were sud .

de n ly summoned from life what would become of the world of

,

schemes wh i ch he had formed unless his son were moulded into a

,

commercial H ercules , fit to sustain the we ight when rel inqu ished

46 ROB R OY .

by the falling A tl as ? and what would become of that son himself .

,

if a stranger to bus iness of this descript i on he found himself at

, ,

once involved in the labyrinth of mercantile concerns without the ,

.

clew of knowledge n ecessary for h is extraction ? F o r all these

reasons avowed and secret my father was dete rmined I should
, ,

embrace his profession and when he was determ i ned the resolu ,

tion Of no man was more immovable I however was also a party .

, ,

to be consulted and with something of his own pertinaci ty I had

, , ,

formed a determ in ation prec i sely contrary .

I t m ay I hope be some palliative for the resistance which on

, , , .

thi s occasion I offered to my fathe r’ s wishes that I did not fully

, ,

understand upon what they were founded or how deeply his hap ,

p in e s s was involved in them Imagining myself certai n of a large

.

success i on i n future and ample ma intenance in the meanwhile,it

,

never occurred to me that it might be necessary in order to secure ,

these bless ings to subm i t to labour and limitations unp leasant to

,

my taste and temper I only s a w in my father s proposal for my

.
’

engaging in bus i ness a des ire that I should add to those heaps of
,

wealth which he had h imself acquire d; and imagining myself the

best judge of the path to my own happiness I did not conceive ,

that I should in crease that happiness by augmenting a fortune

which I bel ieved was already sufficient and more than suffi cient , ,

fo r every use comfort and elegant enjoyment

, , .

A ccordingly I am compelled to repeat that my time at Bou r

, ,

deaux had not been spent as my father had proposed to himself .

What he considered as the chief end of my residence in that city ,

I had postponed for every other and would ( had I dared) have ,

neglected it altoge ther D ubourg a favoured and benefited corre

.
,

s p o n de n t of our mercantile house was too much of a shrewd ,

politician to make such reports to the head Of the firm concerning

his only child as would excite the displeasure of both ; an d he
,

m ight also as you Will presently hear have views Of selfish a dvan
, ,

t a ge in su ffering me to neglect the purposes for which I was placed

under his charge My conduct was regulated by the bounds of
.

decency and good order an d thus far he had no evil re p o rt t o

, \

m ake suppos ing him so disposed ; but perhaps the crafty French
, , ,

man would have been equally complaisant had I been in the habit ,

of i ndulging worse feelings than those of indolence and aversion to

mercantile business A s it was while I gave a decent portion of
.
,

my time to the commercial studies he recommended he was by no ,

means envious of the hours which I dedicated to other and more

class i cal attainments, nor did he ever find fault with me for
dwelling upon Corneille and B o ileau in preference to Pos tle , ,

t hw ayte ( supposing his folio to have then existed, and M onsieur

48 R OB ROY .

most remarkabl e national occurrence in my time , said my father

( who nevertheless had seen the R evolution) , and he kno ws no
more of it than a post on the quay ! ”
Mr Francis ,” suggested Owen in his timid and conciliatory
.
,

manner, “ cannot have forgotten that by an arret of the King of ,

France, dated rst M ay 1 70 0 it was provided t hat the porter” ,

, ,

within ten days after due must ma ke demand ,

M r Francis ” said my father interrupting him will, I dare

.
, , ,

say, recollect fo r th e moment anything you are s o kind as hint to

h im — But, body 0 me how Dubourg could per mit him l—H ark
’

ye Owen what sort of a youth is Clement D ubourg, his n ephew

, ,
”
t here , in the o ffi ce the black haired lad ?
-
,

One of the cleverest clerks sir in the house ; a prodigious young

, ,

man for his time answered Owen ; for the gaiety and civil ity of
”
,

the young Frenchman had won his heart .

A y ay, I suppose he knows something of the nature of exchange

, »

D ubourg was determined I should have one you ngster at least about
my hand who understood business but I see his drift and he shall ,

find that I do so when he looks at the b alance-sheet O wen, let .

Clement s salary be pa i d up to next quarter-day, and let him ship

’
.

himse l f back to Bourdeaux in his father s ship, which is clearing ’

out yonder .

D ismiss Clement Dubourg sir ? said Owen, with a fal tering

”
,

vo1ce .

“
Yes , sir, dismiss him instantly ; it is enough to have a stupid
Englishman in the counting-house to make blunders , without keep
ing a sharp Frenchman there to profit by them ” .

I had lived long enough in the territories of the Gra ndM o n arqu e
to con tract a hearty aversion to arbitrary exertion of autho rity, even
if it had n o t been instilled into me with my ear liest breeding and
I could not re frai n from interposin g to prevent an innocent an d ,

meritori ous young m an from paying the penalty of having acquired

that proficiency which my fath er had des ired for me .

”
I beg pardon, sir when M r Os b aldi st o n e had done speak ing ;
, .

but I think it but just that if I have been negligent Of my studies,

,

I shou l d pay the forfeit myself I have no reason to charge M on

.

sieur Dubourg with havin g neglected to give m e opportunities of

i mprovement, however li ttle I may have profited by them ; and, with
respect to Monsieur Clement D ubou rg
f With respect to him, and to you I shall take the measures
‘
,
”
which I see eedful, replied my father
n
“
but it is fair in you ,
Frank, to take your own blame on your own shoulders — very fair
that cannot be denie d—I cannot acquit Old D ubourg, he said,
,

l ooking to Owen, “ for having merely a fforded Frank the means o f

 ROB R OY .
49

us eful knowledge without either seei n g that he took advantage of

,

them or report ing to me if he did not You see Owen he has

, .
, ,

n atural notions of equ i ty b e c o m i n g a British merchant

”
.

Mr F rancis ” sa id the head -clerk w ith his usual formal incl ina
, , ,

tion of the head and a slight elevation of his right hand wh i ch he

, ,

had acqu ired by a habit of sticking h is pen behind his ear before
he spoke Mr Francis seems to understand the fundam ental
.

principle of all moral accounting the great ethic rule of three Le t , .

A do to B, as he would have B do to h im the prod u ct will give the

rule of conduc t required .
”

My father sm iled at this reduction of the golden rule to arith

met ical form but instantly proceeded
,
.

“
Al l this signifies nothing F rank you have been throwing a way ,

your ti m e like a boy and in future you must learn to l ive like a man
, .

I shall put yo u under Owen s care for a few months to recover the ’
,

l ost ground
”
.

I was about to re p ly but Owen looked at me with such a suppli ,

c at o ry and warning gesture that I was involuntarily silent , .

“
We will then ” continued my father resume the subject of
, ,
“

mine of the Ist ultimo to which you sent me an answer which was ,

u nadvised and unsatisfactory So now fill your glass, and p ush the .
,
”
bottle to Owen
Want of courage—o f audac i ty if you will —was never my failing
.

.
,

I answered firmly f ‘ I was sorry that my letter was unsat i sfactory

, ,
,

unadvised it was n,Ot for I had g iven the proposal his goodnes s
ant and anxious attention and it was with no ,

d m yself obl iged to decline it .

keen eye for a moment o n me and instantly ,

no ans wer I thought myself obl iged to ,

proceed though with some hes i tat i on and he only interrupted me

, ,

by monosyllables .

“
It is imposs ible sir for me to have higher respect for any
, ,

c haracter than I have for the commercial, even were i t n o t

yours ” .

”
“
Indeed l
It connects nation with nation relieves the wants and c o n tri , ,
v

butes to the wealth of all and i s to the general commonwealt h of

the c ivil iz ed world what the daily i ntercourse of ordinary l ife is to
private society or rather what air and food are to our bo dies ”
, ,
.

Well sir ? ” ,

A n d yet sir I find myself compelled to persist i n decl i n ing t o

, ,

a dopt a character wh i ch I am so ill qual ifi ed to support

”
.

I will take care that you acqu i re the q ual ificat i ons necessary .

You are no longer the guest and pupil of D ubour ” g .

50 R OB R OY .

B ut my dear sir it is n o defect of teachi ng whi ch I ple ad, but

, ,

my own i nability to profit by instruction ”

.

N onsense : have yOu kept your j ourn al in th e terms I desired ? ”

”
Yes sir , .

Be pleased to bring it here .

The volume thus required was a sort of commonplace book kept ,

by my father s recommendation in which I had been directed to

’
,

enter notes of the miscellaneous inform ation which I had acquired

in the course of my studies Foreseeing that he woul d demand ia .

s pe c t io n of this record I had been attentive to transcribe such

,

particulars of information as he woul d most likely be pleased with ,

but too often the pen had discharged the task without much corres
p o n de n c e with the head A n d it had al so h appened that the book .
.
, ,

being the receptacle nearest to my hand I had occ asionally j otted ,

down m emoranda which had little regard to traffi c I n o w put it .

i nto my father s hand devoutly hoping he m ight l ight on nothing

’
,

that would increase his displeasure against me Owen s fac e which .

’
,

had looked something blank when the qu e s ti o n was put clea re dup ,

at my ready answer and wore a smi le of hope, when I brought from

,

m y apartm ent and placed before my father a commercial-looking

, ,

volu me rather broader th an it was long having braz en clasps and

, ,

a bind ing of rough calf This l ooked bus iness -like and was encon
.
,

raging to my benevo l ent we ll-wisher But he actually smi le d with .

pleasure as he he ar d my father run over some part of the contents ,

muttering his critical remarks as he went on

B run ettes —B a rds —
.

“
and
barr zea n ts , a lso ”ma gn u m A t N a n tz
'

'

Velles to the oa n que a t Cog n ae a n d R o chelle 2 7 A t B ou r dea u x —

—
29
—
3 2 Very right , F rank D u nes on tofm ag e an d c u s tom -l o us e , f ee
—
.

S ax ty s Tables That’ s not well you sh ould have transcrib ed the

’

passage it fixes the thing in the memory Rep o rts ou t w a rd a n d —

— —
—
z n w a rd Corn de ben tu res Ov ers ea Co cke ts L z n e m l s zh l mm
’ '

— —
~
g
—
Gen tzlrk S toekfi slz Tz tl zng Crofil zng Lu bfi s /z You should
' ' ‘

h ave noted that they are all, nevertheless, to be entered as titlin gs

— H o w ma ny inches long is a t i tl i ng ? ”
.

Owen, seeing me at fault , hazarded a whisper, of which I fortun

a tely caught th e im port .

Eightee n inches sir

A n d a lub— fi sh is twenty-four—very ri ght
,
“
It i s importan t to
remember this on account of the Po rtuguese trade —But what hav e
.

we here —B o u m ea ux f o u nded i n the yea r—Cas tle of tlze Tro m

,

—
’

ette —P al aee of Gall zer ms Well well that s very right t o w —

‘

p Th i
’
s
, ,

is a kind of waste -book Owe n, in which all the trans actions of the
,

da y, e m ptions o rders paym ents receipts acceptances dr aughts

, , , , ,
,
commission s, and advices are en tered miscellaneous ly ” , .
 ROB R OY
.
5:

That they may be regularly transferred to the day -book and

ledger ” answered Owen I am glad Mr Francis is so metho
'

, .

”
dic al
.

I p e rc eive d myself
getting so fast i nto favour that I began to ,

fear the co n sequence would be m y father s more ob sti n ate perse ’

ve rance in his resolution that I must become a merchant and, as

I was determined on the contrary I began to w ish I had not to use , ,.

my friend Mr Owen s ph rase been so methodical But I had no

.
’
, .

reason for apprehension on that s core for a blotted piece of paper

dropped out of the book and being taken up by m y father he
, , ,

interrupted a hint from Owen on the propriety o f securing loose ,

m emoran da with a little paste by excla i m i ng To the memory of

Edward the Black Prince—What s al l this -verses —B y Heaven
, ,
’
,

Frank, you are a greater blockhead than I supposed you

My father you must re collect as a man Of business looked upon
, , ,

the labour of poets with contempt and as a religious m an and of ,

the dissenting persuasion he considered all such pursuits as equally

,

trivial and profane Before you condemn h im you must recall to

.
,

remembrance how too many of the poets in the end Of the seven
t een th century had led their lives and employed their tal ents The .

sect also to which my father belonged felt or perhaps aff ected a , , ,

puritanic al aversion to the lighter exert i ons of literature So that .

many causes contributed to augment the unpleasant surprise

occasioned by the ill timed discovery of this unfortunate copy of
-

vers es A s for poor Owen could the bob-wig which he then wore
.
,

have uncurled itself and stood on end with horror, 1 am convinced

,

the morning s labour of the friseur would ha ve been undone merely

’
,

by the excess of his astonishment at this enormity A n inroad on .

the strong-box, or an erasure in the ledger or a mis-summatio n in ,

a fitt ed account, could hardly have surp rised h im more disagreeably .

My father read the l ines sometimes with an a ff ectation of n o t being .

able to u nderstand th e se n se s o m e tim es in a mouthing tone of

m

mock heroic—al ways with an emphasis of th e most bit ter i rony,

most irritating to the nerves of an author .

0 for th e voi ce of that wi ld horn ,

On F o n tarab ian echo es borne ,
Th e dyi ng hero s call , ’

That told imperi al Cha rlemagne ,

H o w Paynim sons of swarthy Spain
Had wrought his C hampion s fal l ’ ’
.

F on tara b zan continued my father interrupting him

'

eclzoes ’ .
,

—
self ; the F o n t arab ia n F ai r would have been more to the purpose
—P aym m f What s Paynim i —Coul d yo u not say Pagan as
.

'
’

I) 2
52 ROB ROY .

well and write English at least if you must needs wr i te non

, , ,

sense
Sad over earth and ocean sounding ,

A n d England s d i stant cliffs as t o u n dm g

’
,

S uch are the notes should say

H o w Britain s hope and France s fear
’ ’
, ,

Victor of Cressy and Po i t i er ,

In Bourdeaux dying lay

’
.

Poitiers by the way is al w ays spelt with an r and I know no

, ,
.
,

c aso n why orthography should give place to rhym e

R aise my fa i nt head my squires he said

’
, , ,

A n d let the casement be dis pla y d

’
,

That I m ay see once more

The S plendour of the setting sun
Gleam on thy m irro r d wave Garonne ’
, ,

A n d B la ye s empurpled shore
’ ’
.

Ga ro w l e and ru n is a bad rhyme Why Frank you do not .

, ,

even understand the beggarly trade yo u have chosen .

I ike me he sinks t o Glory s sleep

’
.
, ,

H is fall the dews Of evening steep ,

A s if in sorro w shed .

S O soft shall fall the trickl ing tear ,

When England s maids and matrons h ear ’

Of their Black Edward dead .

A n d though my sun Of glory set ,

N or F rance nor England shall forget

,

Th e terror of my nam e
A n d oft shall Br itain s heroes r i se
’
,
N ew planets in these southern skies ,

Through clouds of blood and flame ’

.

A c l oud Of flame i s somethin g new—Good morrow my mas -

,

ters all and a merry Chri stmas to you —Why the bellma n
, ,

writes better lines ”

H e then tossed the paper from him with an
.

a i r of superlative contempt and concluded ,

Upon m y cred i t,
Frank you are a greater blockhead than I took you for
,
”
.

What could I say my dear Tresham

,
There I stood swelling ,

with ind ignant m o rtifi c a tio n wh ile my father regarded me with

,

a calm but a stern look of s corn and p ity ; and poor Owen with ,

u pl i fted hands and e es looked as striking a picture of horror as

y ,

if he had just read his patron s name in the Gazette A t length I’

.

took co urage to speak endeavouring that my tone of voice should

,

betray my feelings as little as possible .

“
I am q ui te aware , sir how ill qualified I am to pla y the c o n
,
m

s pic u o u s part in society you have destined for me and, luckily I ,

 R OB R OY .
53

am not ambitious Of the wealth I might acquire M r Owen w ould . .

be a much more ef ective ass stant

f i
”
I said this in some mal ice .
,

for I considered Owen as having deserted my cause a little too

soon .

Owen said my father The boy is m a d actually insa n e , .

A n d pray sir if I may presume to inqui re having coolly turned m e

, , , ,

o ver to M r Owen ( al though I m ay expect more attention from a n y

.

one than from m y son) what may your own sage projects be ?,
”

I sho uld wish sir ” I replied summoning up my courage to

, , , ,

travel for two or three years , should that cons i st with your pleasure
Otherwise although late
,
I would willingly spend the same t ime at
,

Oxford or Cambridge ” .

In the name of common sense was the l ike ever heard — to

put yourself to school among pedants and Jacob ites when you ,

might be pushing your fortune in the world Why not go to West

m inster or Eton at once man and take to Lilly s Gram mar an d ’
, ,

A cciden ce and to the birch too i f yo u l ike it ?

, , ,

Then sir if you think my plan of improvement too late I would

, , , ‘

willingly return to the Continent .

”

You have already spent too much time there to l ittle purpose ,

Mr Francis ”
. .

“
Then I would choose the army sir, in preference to any other ,
”
act ve line of life
i
Choose the d—
.

l I answered my father hastily and then check

”
, ,

ing himself I profess you make me as great a fool as you are

yourself Is he n o t enough to drive one m ad Owen ? —Poor
.
,_

Owen s hook his head and looked down Hark ye Frank con
,
.
, ,

t in u ed my father I will cut all this matter very short -I was at

, .

your age when my father turned me out of doors and settled my ,

legal inheritance on my younger brother I left Osb aldist o n e -Hall .

on the back of a brok en-down hunter with ten gu ineas in my purse ,

.

I have never crossed the threshold again and I never will I kn o w ,

.

not and I care not if m y fox hunting brother is al ive or has broken
, ,
-
,

his neck but he has children F rank and one of them shall be my , ,

son if you cross me farther i n this matter .

”

You will do your pleasure I answered rather I fear with more

”
, , , ,

sullen ind ifference than respect with what i s your own ” ,

.

Yes Frank what I have i s m y own i f labour in gett ing and

, , , ,

care in augm enting can make a right of property and no drone

,

shall feed on my honeycomb Think on it well what I have sai d .

”
is not without reflect i on and what I resolve u pon I w ill execute
,
.

“
Honoured sir l— dear s ir excla i med Owe n tears rushing into ,

his eyes you are not wont to be in such a hurry in transact ing
,
“

business of importance Let Mr F rancis run up the balance b e . .

54 ROB ROY .

fore you shut the account he loves you I am sure and when he ,

puts down his filial Obedience to the per co n tra I am sure his o h ,
”
j ec t io n s will disappear .

Do you think I will ask him twice said my father sternly to , ,

be my friend my assistant and my confidant —to be a partner o f

,

m y cares and of my fortune —Owen I thought you had kno wn me

, ,

better ”
.

H e looked at me as if he meant to add something mo re , but

tu rned in stantly away and left the room abru ptly I was I own
,
.
, ,

affected by this vie w Of the case wh ich had not o ccurred to me ,

and m y fathe r would probably have had little reas o n to complai n

of me had he commenced the di scussion with this argu m ent
,
.

B ut it was too la te I had m uch of his own Obduracy of reso

.

lu t io n and Heaven had decreed that my sin should be my pun i sh

,

ment though n o t to the extent which my transgression merited

,
.

Owen when we were left alone continue d to look at me with eyes

, ,

which tears from time to time mo i stened as if to d i scover before ,

attempting the task of interc e ssor upon what po i nt my obstinacy ,

was most assailable A t length he began with broken and dis

O L—d Mr Francis l—Good H eavens sir
.
I
,

concerted accents
—M y stars Mr Osb aldis to n e l —that I should ever have seen this
, ,
.
,

day—and you so young a gentleman sir —For the love of H eaven !

.
,

look at both sides of the acc ount— Think what you are going to
lose—a n oble fortune sir—one of the finest houses in the City even
, ,

under the Old firm of Tresham and Trent and now Os b aldis t o n e
and Tresham —You might roll in gold Mr Franc i s —A n d my dear
,

.
, ,

young Mr F rank if there was any particular thi n g in the business

.
,

of the house wh i ch you disliked I would ( sink ing his voice to ,

”

a whisper) put it in order for you termly or weekly or daily if yo u ,

will—D o my dear Mr F rancis th ink of the honour due to your

, ,

, .
,

father that your days may be long in the land

, .

“
I am much obl iged to you Mr O wen ” said I very much , .
, ,

obliged indeed ; but my father is best judge how to bestow his

money H e talks of one of m y cousins —let him dispose of h i s
.

wealth as he pleases I will never sell my liberty for gold ”

,

Gold sir ? —I wish you s aw the balance-s h eet of pr o fits at last

.

term—It was in five fi gure s —five figures to e ach partner s sum total
,
’

Mr F rank—A n d all th i s is to go to a Papist and a north country

,
. -
,

booby and a d isaffected pers on besides It w ill brea k my heart

,
-

,
M r Franc i s that have been to iling m ore like a do g than a man
.
,
,
and all for love of the firm Think how it will sound Osb aldis to n e
.

Tresham and Os b aldis t o n e —o r perhaps who knows

, ,

,
(again low ,

ering his voi ce) Os b aldis to n e Osb aldi s t o n e and Tresham, fo r

,
“
, ,

o ur Mr Os b al dis t o n e can b u y them all out ”

. .
56 R OB R OY .

when I heard a low and cautious tap at the door of my a pa1 tm e n t

“
Come in ” I said and Mr Owen entered S o regular were th e
, , . .

rri o ti o n s and habits of this worthy man , that in all probability this
was th e first t ime he had ever been in the second story Of h is
patron s house however conversant with the first and I am still at
’
,

a loss to know in what manner he discovered my apartment .

Mr Francis ” he said, interru pting my expression of surprise

.
,

an d pleasure at seeing him I do not know if I am doing well in

w hat I am about to say—it is not right to speak of what passes in
,

the compting-house out of doors—one should not tell, as they say ,

t o the p ost in the warehouse h o w many lines there are in the le dger ,
.

B ut young Twin eall has been absent from the house for a fortnight ,

a n d m o re until two days since

"
.

/ ,
”
“
Very well my dear sir, and h o does that concern us ?
w
Stay Mr Fran cis —your father gave him a private commission ;
,

.
,

and I am sure he did not go down to Falmouth about the pil chard
a ffair and the Exeter business with Blackwell and Company has
been settled ; and the mining people in Cornwall, Trevanion and
Tre gu illiam have paid all they are likely to pay ; and any other
matter of business must have been put through my books —i n
,

short it s my faithful belief that T win e all has been down in the
,
’

n orth
”
.

D o you really suppose so ? said I somewhat startled ”

, .

H e ha s spoken about nothing sir since he returne d but hi s , , ,

n e w boo ts and his R ippon spurs an d a cock -fi gh t a t York— it s as

’
, ,

t rue as the multiplication -table D o H eaven bless yo u m y dear .

, ,

child make up your mind to please your father, and to be a m an

,
”
and a merchant at once .

I felt at tha t instan t a stron g inclination to submit and to mak e ,

O wen happy by requesting h im to tell my father that I res igned

m yself to h i s disposal But pride—pri de, the source of so much .

that is good and so much that is evil in our course of life prevented ,

me My acquiescence stuck m my throat ; and while Iwas cough

.

i n g to get it up, my father s voice sum m oned Owen H e hastily ’

.

left the room, and th e opportunity was lost .

My father was methodical in everythin g At the very same time .

of the day in the same apartment and w ith th e same ton e and
, , .

mann er which he had employed an exact month before b e re ,

c a pitulated th e proposal he had made fo r taking me into p artner

ship an d assigning m e a department in the cou nting-house an d

, ,

requested to have my fin al dec i sion I tho ught at the time there . _

was something u nkind in this ; and I still think that my fathe 1 s ’

conduct was injudicious A more conciliat ory treatment would in .

,

a ll probability have gaine d his purpose A s it w as I stood fa s t , .

,
 R OB RO Y .
57

and as respectfully as I could declined th e proposal he made to

, ,

me Perhaps for wh o can judge of the ir own heart -I felt i t

.
,
-

unmanly to yield on the first summons and exp e cted farther s o lic
'

t atio n as at least a pretext for changing my mind

, If so I was .
,

disappointed for my father turned coolly to Owen and only sai d

Yo u see it is as I told yo u —Well Frank ” (addressing me )
, ,

yo u , , ,

are n early of age and as well qual ified to judge of what w ill con
,

s titu te your o wn happiness as yo u ever are l i ke to be therefore I ,

say no more But as I am not bound to give in to your plans any

.
,

m ore than you are compelled to submit to mine may l ask to kno w ,

i f yo u have formed any which depend on m yass stance ?

”
i
I answered not a little abashed That being bred to no pro
, ,
“

fe s s io n and having n o funds of my own i t was obviously impossible

, ,

for me to subsist without some allowance from my father ; that m y

wishes were very moderate ; and that I hoped my avers i on for the
profession to w hich he had designed me would not occasion his ,

altogether withdrawing his paternal support and protection ”

.

“
That is to say you wish to lean on m y arm an d ye t to walk
, ,

your own way ? That can hardly be F rank —however I suppose , ,

yo u mean to obey m y directions so far as they do not cross your ,

own humour ? ”
I w a s about to speak Silence if you please he continue d , ,
.

Supposing this to be the case you will i n stantly set out for the ,

N orth of England to pay your uncle a vis it and see the state of
, ,

hi s family I have chosen from among his sons (he has six I
.
,

believe) one who I understand is most worthy to fill the place I

, ,

i ntended for you i n the counting house But some fart her arrange - .

ments may be necessary and for these your presence may be

,

requisite You shall have farther instructions at Os b aldis to n e

.

Hall where you will please to remain unt il yo u hear from me

, .

Everything will be ready for your departure to-morrow morn ing .

”

\V ith these words my father left the apartment .

“
What does all this mean Mr O wen ? ” said I to my sympathetic
,
.

friend whose countenance w ore a cast of the deepest dejection

, .

“
You have ruined yourself Mr F rank that s all ; when your
,
.
,
’

father talks in that qu iet determined ma nner there will be no more ,

change in him than in a fitted account ” .

A n d so it proved ; for the next morning at five o clock I found

’
, ,

myself on the road to York mounted on a reasonably good horse

, ,

and with fifty guineas in my pocket ; travelling as it would seem , ,

for the purpose of assi sting in the adoption of a successor to myself

i n my fathe r s house and favour and for aught I knew eventually
’
, , ,

in his fortune also .

58 ROB R OY .

C H A P TE R III .

The slack sail shifts from side to side ,

Th e boat u n t rim m d admit s the tide

’
, , ,

Borne dOWn adrift at random tost , , ,

The oar breaks sho rt the rudder s lost

’
.
,
GAY S F a bles ’
.

I H AV E tagge d with rhyme and blank v e rse the subdivi sions of

this important n arrative i n order to s e duce your cont i nued atten
,

tion by powers of ce rn p o s itio n of stronger attraction than my own .

The preced ing lin e s refer to an unfortunat e navigato r who daringly ,

unloosed f ro m its mo o rings a boat which he w as unable to manage , ,

an d thrust i t Off i nto the ful l tide of a navigable river N o s chool ;

boy who be twixt frolic and defiance has executed a similar rash
, , ,

attempt co uld feel h imself when adrift in a strong current i n a

, ,
‘

,
'

situation more awkward than mine when I foun d myself drivi n g , ,

without a compass on the ocean of human l i fe ,

There h ad been .

s u ch unexpected ease in the manner i n which my father slipt a

knot usually esteemed the strongest which binds society together
, ,

and suffered me to depart as a s o rt of outcast from his family that ,

it strangely l esse ned the con fi dence i n my own personal a e com

p lish m en t s which h a d hitherto sustained me
,
Prince Prettyman .
,

n o w a prince and now a fi sh e r s son had not a more awkward ’

, ,

sense of his degradation We are so apt in our engrossing .

,

ego t is rn to con sider all those accessories w hi ch are drawn around

,

us by pro sperity as pe rtaining and belonging to our Own persons

'

, ,

that the discovery of our unimportance when left to our own ,

proper res ou rc es becomes inexpressibly mortifying A s the hum

’

.
,

of London died away on my ear the distant peal of her steeples ,

more t han once sounded to my ears the admoni tory Turn

again ” erst heard by her future L ord Mayor ; and when I looked
,

back from H ighgate on her dusky magnific ence I felt as if I were ,

leaving behind me comfort Opulence the charms of society and , , ,

all the pleasures of cultivated life .

B u t the die w as cast It was indeed by no means probable that

.

a late and ungracious compl i ance with my father s wishes would ’

have reinstated me in the situation which I had lost On the .

.

contrary firm and strong o f purpose as he himself was he might

, ,

rather have been disgusted than concil i ated by my tardy and com
p ul so ry acquiescence in h i s des i re that I should engage in com
merce My constitutional obstinacy came also to my aid and
.
,

pride whispered how poor a figure I should make when an airing of ,

 RO B ROY .
59

four miles from London had blown a way resolutions formed during
a month s serious del iberati o n H ope too that never forsakes the
’
.
, ,

young and hardy lent her lustre to my future pros pect s My

, .

father could not be serious in the sentence of foris -fam iliati o n ,

which he had so unhes itatingly pronounced It must be but a .

trial of my disposition which endured w ith patience an d ste adi

, ,

ness on my part would raise me i n his esti mation and lead to an

, ,

amicable accommodation of the po int in dispute between us I .

even settled in my own mind how far I would concede to him and ,

on what articles of our supposed treaty I would make a firm stand ;

and the result was according to my computation that I was to be
, ,

reinstated in my full rights of fi liatio n paying the easy penalty of ,

some ostensible compl i ances to atone for my past rebellion .

In the meanwh ile I was lord of my person and experienced

, ,

that feel ing of i ndependen ce which the youthful bosom receives

with a thrilling m ixture of pleasure and apprehen s ion My purse .
,

though by no means amply replen i shed was in a situation to ,

supply all the wants and wishes Of a traveller I had been a c .

customed wh i le at B ourdeaux to act as my own valet my horse

, ,

was fresh young and active and the b uoyan cy of m yspirits soon
, , ,

surmounted the melancholy reflections with which my journey

commenced .

I should have been glad to have j o u rn e‘ e d upon a l ine Of road

better calculated to afford reasonable Objects of curiosity or a ,

more interest ing country to the traveller But the north road was
, .

then and perhaps st ill is s in gularly defi cient in these respects

, ,

n o r do I beli eve you can travel so far through Brita in i n any other

d irect i on without meet ing m ore of w hat is worthy to engage the

attent i on My mental rum inations notwithstanding my assume d
.
,

confidence were not always of an u n c he qu ere d nature The Muse

, .

too—the very coquette who had led me into thi s wilderness—like

Others Of her sex deserted me i n my utmost need ; and I should
,

have been reduced to rather an uncom fortable state of dulness ,

had it not been for the occas ional conversat i on of strangers who
chanced to pass the same way But the chara c te rs whom I met .

with were of a un iform and uninterest ing description Count ry .

parsons j ogging homewards after a v i s itation farmers or graziers

, , ,

returning from a d istant market ; clerks Of traders travell ing to ,

collect what was due to their masters i n provinc i al towns ; with

now and then an Officer go ing down into the country upon the
recr uit ing servi ce were at th is period the persons by whom the
, , ,

turnpikes and tapsters were kept i n exerc ise Our speech there .
,

fore was of t ithes and creeds Of beeves and gra i n of commodit i es

, , ,

wet and dry and the solvency of the reta il deal ers occasi o nally
, ,
60 ROB R OY .

varie d by the description of a siege or battl e , in F landers which , , ,

perhaps the narrator only gave me at second hand R obbers , a

,
.

fertile and alarming theme filled up every v acancy ; and the names
,

of the Golden Farmer the Flying H igh vvayman Jack N eedham

’

, , ,

an d other Beggars Opera heroes were familiar in our m ouths as

’
,

ho useh old words A t such t al es like children closing their circle

.
,

round the fire when th e ghost story draws to its climax , the riders
drew near to each other looked before an d behind them, examine d
,

the priming of their pistols and vowed to stand by each other in ,

case of danger ; an engagement whi ch like other Offensive and ,

defensive alliances sometimes g lided out of remembrance when

,

there was an appearance of actu al peril .

Of all the fello ws whom I ever saw haunted by terrors of this

nature one poor man with whom I travell ed a day and a half
, , ,

a fforded me most amusement H e had u pon his pillion a very .

smal l but apparently a very weighty port manteau, ab out the s afety
,

of which he seemed particularly solicitous n ever trusting it out of

his own immediate care and uniform ly repres sing the o ffi c io u s z eal
,

o f the waiters and ostlers who offered their services to carry it into
,

the house With the same precaution he laboured to conceal , not

.

only the purpose of his j ourney and his ultimate place of desti ,

nation, but even the direction of each day s route N othing em ’

.

h arrassed him more than to be asked by any one,whe ther he was

travelling upwards or do wn w ards or at what stage he intended to ,

bait H is place of rest for the night he scrutinized with the most
.

anxious care, alike avo idi n g solitude and what he considered as ,

bad neighbourhood ; and at Grantham I believe he sate up all , ,

'
night to avoid sleeping in the next room to a th i ck-set squ intin g
fellow, in a black wig and a tarn ished gold laced waistcoat With
,
-
.

all these cares on his m ind my fellow traveller to j udge by his ,

-
,

t hewes and sinews was a man who might have set danger at
,

defiance with as much impunity as most men H e was strong .

,

and well-built ; and judging from his gold laced hat and cockade
,
-
,

seemed to have served in the army or at least to belong to the ,

military profession in one capacity or other H is conversation .

al so , though al ways Su fli c ie n tly vulg ar was that of a man of sense

‘

, ,

when the terrible bugbears which haunted his imagination for a

moment ceased to occupy his attention But every accidental .

assoc ia tion re called them An open heath , a close pl antation.

,
were alike subjects of apprehension ; and the whistle of a shepherd
l ad was insta ntly converted into the signal of a depredator Even .

the sight of a gibbet, if it assured him that one robber was safely
disposed of by justice never failed to remind him how many
,

remained still unhanged .

 R OB R OY . 6 1:

I should have wearied of this fellow s company had I not been ’

still more tired of my own thoughts Some of the marvellous .

stories however which he rel ated had in themselves a cast of

, , ,

i nterest and another whimsical point of his peculiarit i es afforded

,

me the occasional opportun ity of amusing myself at his expe n se .

A mong his tales several of the unfortunate travellers who fell

among thieves incurred that calamity from associating themselves
,

on the road with a well-dressed and enterta ining stranger in whose ,

company they trusted to find protection as well as amusement ;

who cheered the ir journey with tale and song protected them ,

against the evils of overcharges and false reckonings until at ,

length under pretext of showing a near p at h o ve r a desolate com

, ,

mon he seduced his unsuspic i ous vi ctims from the public road
,

into some dismal glen where suddenly blowing his whistle he

, , ,

assembled his comrades from their lurking place and displayed -

,

himself in his t rue colours the captain namely of the band of , , ,

robbers to whom his unwary fellow travellers had forfeited their -

purses and perhaps the ir l ives Towards the conclusion of such

,
.

a tale and when my companion had wrought himself into a fever

,

of apprehension by the progress of his own narrative I observed ,

that he u sually eyed me with a glance of doubt and suspicion as if ,

the p o s s ib ilitv occurred to him that he m ight at that very moment, , ,

be in company w ith a character as dangerou s as that which hi s

tale described A n d ever and anon when such suggestions pressed
.
,

themselves on the mind of th i s i ngen ious self tormentor he dre w -

,

o ff from me to the opposite s i de of the h igh road looked before , ,

behind and around him examined his arms and seemed to pre
, , ,

pare himself for fl ight or defence as c ircumstances might requ ire , .

The suspic i on i mplied on such occasions seemed to m e only .

momentary and too ludicrous to be offensive There was in fact

,
.
, ,

no particular reflection on my dress or address although I was ,

thus m i staken for a robber A man in those days m ight have all
.

the external appearance of a gentleman and yet turn out to be a ,

highwayman For the division of labour in every department not

.

having then taken place so fully as s ince that per iod the profess i on ,

of the pol ite and accomplished adventurer who n icked you out of ,

your money at Wh ite s or bowled you out of it at M aryb o n e was

’
, ,

often united wi th that of the professed ruffi an who on Bagshot Heath , ,

or F inchley Common commanded hi s brother bea u to stand and

,
‘

deliver There was also a touch of coarse ness and hardness about
.

the manners of the times w hich has s ince in a great degree b een
, , ,

softened and shaded away It seems to me on recollect i on as if

.
, ,

desperate men had less reluctance then than now to embrace the ,

most desperate means of retr ievin g the i r fortune The times were .
62 ROB R OY .

indeed past when A nthony-a Wood mourned over the execution of

,
-

two men goodly in person and of und i sputed courage and honour
, , ,

w h o were hanged without mercy at Oxford m erely because thei r ,

distress had driven them to ra i se contributions on the highway .

We were still farther re m oved from the days of the mad Prince “

and Poins ” A n d yet from the number of unenclosed and exten

'

.
,

sive heaths in the v i cini ty of the metropolis and from the less ,
-

populous state of remote districts both were frequented by that ,

spec ies of mounted highwaymen that may poss i bly beco m e one ,

day unknown w h o carried on thei r trade with something like

,

courtesy ; and l ike G ibbet in the Beaux Stratagem p i qued them

, ,

selves o n being the best behaved men on the road and on con ,

ducting themselves with al l appropriate c i vil ity in the exercise of

the ir vocat ion A young man therefore in my circumstances was
.
, , ,

not ent itled to be highly ind ignant at the mistake which confounded
him with th i s worshi pful class of depredators .

N either was I o ffended On the contrary I found amusem ent .

,

in alternately exciting and lulling to sleep the suspic i ons of m y

, ,

t imorous c o mpanion and in purpose ly so acting as still farther to

,

puzzle a brain which nature and apprehensio n had combined to

render none of the clearest When my free conversation had lulled .

him into complete security it re quired only a pass ing inquiry con ,

cerning the d i rection of his j ourney or the n ature of the busi n ess ,

which occas i oned i t to put hi s suspicions once more in arms For

,
.

example a conversation on the comparat ive strengt h and activity

,

of our horses took such a turn as foll ows

,

O sir ” said my companion for the gall op I grant yo u but

, ,
“
,

allow me to say your horse ( although he is a very handso me geld

i n g—that m ust be owned) has too little bone to be a good roadster
,

Th e trot s ir ( striking his Bucephalus with his S purs ) th e trot is

”
, ,

the true pace for a hackney an d were we near a town I should , ,

like to try that daisy-cutter of yours upon a piece of level road

( bar ring canter) for a quart of claret at the next in n
”
.

Content sir repl i ed I

, an d here is a stretch of gr o un d ve ry
,
“

”
f avourable .

“
H e m ahem , answered my friend with hesitation
, I make it
a rule o f travell ing never to b low my horse between stage s ; one
never knows what occasion he may have to put him to his mettle
and besides s ir when I s aid I would match you I meant with
, , ,

even weight you ride four stone l ighter tha n I .

Very w ell but I am content to carry weight Pray, what may .

that portmanteau of yours weigh ? ”

My p—p—portmanteau r eplied he hesitating 0 very little
—a feather—just a few shirts and stockings ” ,

.
64 R OB ROY .

as profitable to oursel ves A counterpart to this decent pract ice, .

and a remnant of old Englis h hospitality was that the land l ord of , ,

a prin cipal inn laid aside his character of publican on the seventh
day, and invited th e guests who chanced to be within his walls to
take a part of his family beef and pudding This invitation was .

usually comp lied with by all whose distinguished rank did not
induce the m to think compliance a derogation and the proposal
of a bottle of wine after dinner to drink the landlord s health, was ,
’

the only recompense ever o ffered or accepted .

I was born a citizen of the world and my inclination led me into ,

all scenes where my kn owledge of mankin d could be enlarged I

had , besides no pretensions to sequester myself on the score of
,

superior dignity and therefore seldom fa iled to accept of the

,
.

Sunday s hospital ity of mine host whether of the C arter, L ion or

’
, ,

Bear The honest publican dilated into additional consequence

.
,

by a sense of his own importance while presiding among the ,

guests on whom it was his ordinary duty to attend, was in hi mself

an entertaining spectacle ; and around his genial orbit, othe r
planets of inferior conse quence performed the i r revolutions The .

wits and humourists the di st in guished worthies of the town or

,

village, the apothecary the att o rney even the curate himself did
, , ,

not disdain to partake of this hebdomadal festivity The guests ,

'

assembled from d i fferent quarters and follo wing di fferent pro fes ,

s ions, formed in language manners and sentiments , a curious

, , ,

contrast to each other not indifferent to those who desired to

,

possess a knowledge of mankind in its varieties .

It was on such a day and such an occasion that my tim orous , ,

acqu aintance and I were about to grace th e board of the ruddy

faced host of the Black Bear in the town of Darlington and , ,

bishoprick of Durham when our landlord informed us with a sort

, ,

of apologetic tone that there was a S cotch gentlem an to dine

,

with us
A gentleman —what sort of a gentlema n ? ” sai d my com
.

p anion somewhat has tily his m ind I suppose running on gentle

, , , ,
m er of the pad as they were then term ed
.
, .

Why a Scot ch sort of a gentlem an as I said before ret urned

, , ,

mine host ; they are all gentle ye mun know, though they ha
“ ’

n arra shirt to back ; but this is a de c e n ti sh hallion—a canny N orth

,

Briton as e er c ro s s d Berwick Bridge—I trow he s a dealer in

’ ’ ’

c attle
”
.

“
L et us have his company by all means ” answered my c e m , ,

panion and then , turning to me he gave vent to the tenor of his ,

own reflections I respect the S cotch sir ; I love and honour

.
“
,

the nation for their sense of morality M en talk of their filth and .
 R OB ROY . 65

their poverty : but commend me to sterling honesty though clad ,

in rags as the poet saith I have been credibly assured , s ir by

, .
,

men on whom I can depend that there was never k nown such a ,

th ing in Scotland as a high way robbery ” .

That s because they have nothing to lose said mine host w ith
’
, ,

the chuckle of a self-applauding wit .

N o , no landlord answered a strong deep voice behind h im

”
, ,
“
it s e en because your English gaugers and supervisors * that yo u
’ ’
,

have sent down benorth the Tweed, have taen up the trade o f
thievery over the heads of the native professors ” .

Well sa id Mr Campbell answered the landlord

, . I di d n o t
think tho u ds t been sae near us mon But thou kens I m an o u t
’
,
.
’ ’

spoken Yorkshire tyke —A n d how go markets in the south

Even in the ordinar replied Mr Campbell ; wise folks buy ,
.

and sell and fools are bought and sold

,
.

But wise m e n and fools both eat their dinner an swered o u r ,

jolly entertainer ; and here a comes —as prime a b u t to ck of beef as

“

e er hung y mon stuck fork m

’ ’

r
.

So say i ng he eagerly whetted his knife assumed his seat of

, ,

empire at the head of t he board , and loaded the plates of h is sund 1 y

gu ests with his good cheer .

This was the first time I had heard the Scottish accent or , ,

i ndee d that I had familiarly met with an individual of the ancie n t

,

nat ion by whom it was spoken Yet from an early period they .
, ,

had o c cupied and interested my imagination My father as i s

.

.
,

well known to you was of an an c ien t family in N orthumberlan d

'

, ,

from whose seat I was whil e eat ing the aforesai d d inner not very
, ,

many miles d i stant Th e quarrel betwixt him and his relat i ves
.

was such that li e scarcely ever mentioned the race from whi c h he
,

sprung and held as the m ost contempt ible species of van i ty the
, ,

weakness which is commonly termed family pride H is ambi t i on .

was only to be distinguished as William Os b aldi s to n e the first at , ,

least one of the first merchants on Change and to have proved

, ,

him the lineal representat ive of William the Conqueror woul d ,

have far less flattered his vanity than the hu m and bustle wh i ch
h i s approach was wont to p 1 o du c e among the bulls bears and , ,

brokers of Stock-alley H e wished no doubt that I should remai n

.
, ,

i n such ignorance of my relat ives and descent as might insure a

correspondence between my feelings and his own on this subject .

But his designs as will happen occasionall y to the w isest were i n

, , ,

some deg1 e e at least counteracted by a being whom h is pride

,
‘

would neve r have supposed of importance adequate to influence

them in any w ay H i s n urse an old N orthumbrian woman
.
, ,

attached to him from his infancy was the only perso n connected ,

E
66 ROB R OY.

with his n ati ve province for whom he reta ined any regard ; and
when fortune dawned u pon h im one of the first uses which he ,

made of her favou rs was to gi ve Mabel R ickets a place of residenc e

,

within his household A fter the death of my moth er the care of

.
,

nursing m e during my ch ild ish il lnesses and of render ing all those ,

tender attentions which infancy exacts from female affection dc '

,

volved on old Mabel Interd i cted b y h er master from speak ing to

.

h i m on the subject of the heaths glades and dales of her beloved , ,

N orthumberland she poured herself forth to my infant ear in

,

descriptions of th e scenes of her youth and long n arratives of th e ,

events which trad ition declared to have passed amongst the m .

To these I inclined my ear much more seriously than to graver ,

but less animated instructors Even yet methinks I see old .

,

Mabel her head slightly agitated by the palsy of age and shaded
, ,

by a close c ap as white as the dri ven snow her face wrinkle d

, ,
-
,

but still retai ning the healthy t inge wh i ch it had acquired i n rural
labour—I think I see her look around on the bri ck walls and
narrow street which presented themselves before our windows as ,

she concluded with a sigh the favourite old ditty which I then ,

preferred and — why should I no t tel l the truth —which I st ill

,

prefer to all the opera ai rs ever minted by the capricious brain of

an Italian Mus D . .

Oh the oak the ash and the bonny ivy tree

, , , ,
They flouri sh best at home i n the N orth Countrie .

N o w , in the legends of Mabel the Scottish nation was ever freshly

,

remembered with a ll the embittered declamation of which the

,

n arrator was capable The i nhabitants of the opposite frontier

.

served i n her narratives to fill up the parts which ogres and giants
with seven leagued boots occupy i n the ordina ry nursery tales
-
, .

A n d how could it be otherwise ? Was it not the Black D ouglas

wh o sle w with his own hand the he i r of the Os b aldis t o n e fam ily
the day after he took possession of his estate surprising h i m a n d ,

his vassals while solemn izing a feast suited to the occasion ? W as

it not Wat the D evil who drove all th e ye ar-old hogs off the -braes '

of Lanthorn -s i de in the very recent days of my grandfather s

,
’

fat her ? A n d had we not many a trophy but according to o ld , ,

Mabel s version of h i story far more honourably gained to mark

’
, ,
o ur revenge of these wrongs ? D id not Sir H enry Os b aldi s t o n e ,

fifth baron of the name carry o ff the fair maid of F a irn ing to n as
, ,
A ch illes did his Chryseis and Bri seis of old and detain her i n h is ,

fortress against all the po wer of her friends supported by the mo s t ,

mighty Scottish chi e fs of warl ike fame ? A n d had not our swords
shone foremost at most of those fields in which England was vic
 R OB R OY . 67

t o ri o u sover her rival ? A ll our family renown was acquired - all

our family misfortunes were occasioned — b y the north e rn wars .

War med by such tales -I looked upon the S cottish pe o ple during
,

my childhood as a race hostile by nature to the more south ern

,

inhabitants of this realm and this view of the matter was not much
corrected by the language which my father sometimes held wi th
respect to them H e had engaged in some large speculations con
.

cerning oak-woods the property of H ighland proprietors and

, ,

alleged that he found t hem much more ready to make b argains

, ,

and extort earnest of the purchas e money than punctual in com -

,

plying o n their side with the term s of the engagements The .

S cotch mercantile men whom he was under the necessity of em

,

ploying as a sort of middle men on these occas i ons were also sus -
,

pe c t e d by my father of having secured by one means or other

'

, ,

more than their o wn share of the profit which ought to have accrued .

In short if Mabel complained of the S cottish arms in ancient

,

times Mr Os b aldis to n e i nveighed no less against the arts of th ese

,
.

modern Sinons ; and between t hem though without any fixed ,

purpose of do ing so they impressed my youthful m ind with a sin

,

cere avers i on to the northern inhabitants of Britain as a people ,

bloodthirsty in time of war treacherous during truce interested , , ,

selfish, avarici ous and tricky in the business of peaceful l ife and
, ,

havi ng few good qu alities unless there should be accounted such, ,

a feroc ity wh ich resembled courage in martial affairs and a sort ,

of wily craft which supplied the place of wisdom in the ordinary

commerce of mankind In j u s tific atiOn or apology for those who
.
, ,

entertai n such prejud i ces I must remark that the Scotch of that
,
'
,

period were guilty of similar i nju s ti c e t o the English whom they ,

branded un iversally as a race of purse proud arrogant epicures -

.

Such seeds of national dislike rema i ned between the two countries ,

the natural consequences of the ir ex istence as separate and rival

states We have seen recently the breath of a demago gue blow
.

t hese S parks into a temporary flame which I sincerely h e pe is now ,

extin gui shed in i t s o wn ashes .

*

I t was then w ith an express ion of dislike that I contemplated

, , ,

the first Scotchman I chanced to m eet in society Th ere was much .

about him that coincided with my previous conceptions H e had .

t he hard features an d athletic form said to be peculiar to hi s

"

coun try together w ith t h e national i ntonation a nd slow pedanti c

,

mode of expression aris ing from a desire to avoid pecu l i arities of

,

i d i om or d ia lect I -could also observe the caution and shrewdness

.

of his country i n many of the observat i ons wh i ch he m ade and ,

th e answers wh i ch he ret u rn ed But I was not p repared for the a ir .

of easy self-possess ion and s uperiori ty with which he s eemed t o

E z
68 ROB R OY .

p redominate over the company into which he was thrown as it were ,

by acc ident H is dress was as coarse as it could be being sti ll

.
,

decent and at a time when great expense was layis h e d u pon the
,

wardrobe even of th e lowest who pretended to the character of

,

gentleman this indi cated mediocrity of circumstances if n o t

, ,

povert y His conversation intim ated that he was engaged in the

.

c attle trade n o ver) dignified pro fe ssional pursuit A n d yet un der

‘

.
, ,

these disadvantages he seemed as a matter of course to treat the

, , ,

rest of the company with the cool and condes cending politenes s
which implies a real or im agined superiority over those toward s
, ,

w hom it is u sed When he gave his opinion on any point it was

.
,

with th at e asy tone of confidence used by those superior to their

'

s ociety in rank or i nformation as if what he said could not be ,

doubted and was not to be questioned Mine host and his Sun
, .

day guests after an effort or two to support their consequence by

, ,

noise and bold averment sunk gradually under the authority of ,

M r Campbell who thus fairly possessed himself of the lead in th e

.
,

c onversation I was tempted from curiosity to dispute the ground

.
, ,

with him myself c o n fidin g in my knowle dge of the world extended

, ,
'

a s it was by my residence abroad and in the stores with which a ,

tolerable education had possessed my mind I n the latter respe ct .

h e offered no competition and it was easy to see that his natural

,

p owers had never been cultivated by education But I found him .

m uch better acq uainted than I was myself W ith the present sta te o f
France the character of the Duke of Orleans who had just s u c
, ,

c e e de d to the regency of that kingdom and that of the statesmen

,

by whom he was surroun ded ; and h is shrewd caustic , and some ,

w hat satirical remarks were those of a man who had been a close
, ,

observer of the a ffairs of that country .

On the su bject of politics Campbell observed a silence and ,

m oderation which might ari se from cauti o n The divisions of Whig .

a n d Tory the n shook England to her very centre and a powerful

,

p arty engaged in the Jacobite interest menaced the dynasty of

, ,

Hanover which had been just established on the throne Every

, .

a lehouse resounded with the brawls of contending politicians and ,

as mine h ost s politics were of that l iberal description which quar
’

re lle d wi th no good customer his hebdomadal visitants were often

,

divided in their opinion as irreconcilably as if he had feasted the

Common Council Th e curate and the apothecary with a little
.

,
m an who made no boast of his vocation but who from the flouris h
, , ,

and snap of his fingers I believe to have been the barber strongly
, ,

espoused the cause of high church and the Stuart line Th e .

exciseman, as in duty bound and the attorney who looked to some , ,

p etty offi ce under the Crown together with my fello w traveller who ,
-
,
 R OB ROY . 69

seemed to enter keenly into the contest stanchly supported the ,

cause of King George and the Protestant succes sion D ire was the
screaming—deep the oaths Each party appealed to Mr Campbell,
.

an xious it seemed to elicit his approbation

, ,
.

You are a S cotchman sir ; a gentleman of your country mus t ,

st and up fo r here ditary right cried one party ,

”
.

You are a Presbyterian ” assumed the other class of disputants ; ,

you cannot be a friend to arbitrary power .

“
Gentlemen ” said our S cotch oracle after having gained with
, , ,

so me di fficulty, a moment s pause I havena much dubitation that ’

,

King George weel deserves the predilection of his friends ; and if

he can haud the gr ip he has gotten why, doubtless he m ay make , ,

the gauger here a com m issioner of the revenue and confer on our
, , ,

frien d Mr Quitam the preferment of solicitor general and he may

, .
,
-

al so grant some good deed or reward to this honest gentleman who

is s itting upon his portmanteau which he prefers to a chair An d , ,

q uestionless King James is also a grateful person and when he gets

, ,

his hand in play he may if he be so minded make this revere n d

, , ,

gentleman archprelate of Canterbury and D r M ixit, chiefphysician ,

.

to his household and commit his royal beard to the care of my

,

friend Lathe rum But as I do ubt mickle whether any of the com
.

p eting sovereigns would gi ve R o b Campbell a tass of a qu avitae if ,

he lacked it I give my vote and interest to Jonathan Brown our

, ,

landlord to be the King and Prince of Skinkers conditionally that

, ,

he fetches us another bottle as good as the last ”

.

Thi s sally was received with general applause in which the ,

landlord cordially joined and when he had given orders for fulfil
ling the condition o n wh i ch his preferment was to depend he failed ,

not to acquaint them that for as peaceable a gentleman as Mr

,
.

Campbell was he was , moreover as bold as a lio n T—seven highway

,

, ,

men had he de feated with his s ingle arm that beset him as he came ,

from Whitson-Tryste ” .

“
Thou art deceived friend Jonathan said Campbell i nterrupt
, , ‘
,

ing him they were but b arely two and two cowardl y loons as
“
,

m a n could wish to meet withal

said my fellow—
.

A n d did you sir really traveller edging his

“ ”
, , , ,

c hair ( I should have said h is portmanteau) ne a rer to Mr Camp .

bell really and actuall y beat t w o highwaymen yourself lone

,
“
a ?
”

In tro th did I sir ” replied Campbell ,

an d I think i t nae
,
”
g re t thing to make a sang about
a .

Upon my word s ir ” repli ed my acquaintance I should be

happy to have the ple asure of your company on my journey —I go
, , ,

northward s ir ”
,
.

Th is p iece of gratu itous information concerning the route he pro

7° R OB R OY .

posed to himself the first I had heard m y companion bestow upon

,

any o ne failed to exc ite the corresponding confidence of the

,

S cotchman .

“
We can scarce travel together ” he repli ed, dryly You sir ,
.
, ,

doubtless are well mounted and I for the present travel on foot
, , , , ,

or on a Highland shelty that does n o t help me much faster ,

forward .
’

So saying he cal led for a reckoning for the wine and throwing
, ,

down the price of the additional bottle which he had himself i ntro
du c e d rose as if to take leave of us
,
My companion m ade u p t o .

him and taking him by the button dre w him aside int o one of the
, ,

w i ndows I could not help overhearing hi m pressing s om ething

.

I supposed hi s company u pon the journey which Mr Campbell ,

.

seeme d to decline .

I w i ll pay your charges sir said t h e trave ll er in a tone, as if

t

, , ,

he thought the argument should bear down all oppos it i on .

“
It i s qu ite im possible ” said Campbell somewhat conte mp , ,

t uo u sly I have business at R oth bury

“
.

“
But I am in no great hurry ; I c an ride out of the way, and
never miss a day or so for good company .

Upon my faith sir ” said Campbell I cannot render yo u the

, , ,

service you seem to desiderate I am ” he added draw ing himself .

, ,

up haughtily travelling on my own private affairs and if ye will

,
“
,
.

act by m y advisement s ir ye will neither unite yourself with an , ,

absolute stranger on the road, nor communicate your line of j our

n e y to those who are asking ye no qu est i ons about it H e then
”
.

extricated his button not very ceremon i ously from the hold which , ,

detained him and coming up to me as the company were dispersing

, ,

observed Your friend sir is too communicative consideri ng the

, , , ,

n ature of his trust

”
.

That gentleman ” I replied lookin g towards the traveller , , ,

no friend of m ine but an acquaintance whom I picked up on the ,

road I know ne ither his name nor bus i ness and you seem to be
.
,

deeper in his confidence than I am ” .

“
I only meant ” he replied hastily that he seems a tho ught
, ,

rash in conferring the honour of his comp any on those who des ire
it not ” .

“
The gentleman re plied I knows his own affairs best and , ,
“
,

I sh o uld be sorry to constitute m yself a judge of them in any

respect .

Mr Campbell made no farther observation but merely wished

.
,

m e a good journey and the party d i spersed for the evening , .

N ext day I parted com pany with my t imid compan i on as I left ,

the great northern road to turri more westerly in the direct i on of

72 R OB R OY .

out from a Druidical grove of huge oaks and I was directing my

course towards it, as straightly and as speed ily as the windings of
a very indi fferent road would permit when my horse tired as he , ,

was pricked up his c ars at the enlivening notes of a pack of hounds

,

in full c ry, cheered by the occasional bursts of a F t ench -horn ,

which in those days was a constant accompaniment to the chase .

I ma de no doubt that the pack was my uncle s and drew up my ’

,

horse with the purpose of su ff ering the hunters to pass without

notice aware that a huntin g fi eld was not the proper scen e to
,
-

introduce mys el f to a keen sportsman and determined when they , ,

had pass e d on, to proceed to the mansion house at my own pace -

,

and there to await the return of the propri etor from his sport I .

paused therefore on a rising ground and not unmoved by the

, , , ,

sense of interest which that S pecies of silvan sport is so much cal

c ulate d to inspire ( although m y mind was not at the moment very

accessible to impressions of th is nature) I expec ted with some ,

eagerness the appearance of the huntsmen .

The fox hard run ; and nearly spent first made his appearance
, ,

from the copse which clothed the right -hand side of the valley .

His drooping brush, his soiled appearance and jaded trot pro , ,

c laimed his fate impending and the carrion crow, which hovered
over him already considered poor R eynard as soon to be his prey
, .

H e crossed the stream which divides the little val ley, and was
dragging himself up a ravine on the other side of its wild banks ,

when the headmost hounds followed by the rest o f the pack in full
,

cry burst from the coppice followed by the huntsman and three
, , ,

or four riders The dogs pursued the trace of Reynard with un

.

e rring instinct ; and the hunters foll owed with reckless haste, t e
gardless of the broken and difficult n ature of the ground They .

were tall, stout young m e n well mounted and dressed in green and
, ,

red the uniform of a S porti ng association formed under the auspices

, ,

of old S ir H ildebrand Osb al disto n e My cousins thought I , as .

they swept past me The next reflection was what is my reception

.
,

likel y to be among these wort hy successors of N imrod ? and how

improbable is it that I knowi ng little or nothing of rural sports
,
,
shall find m yself at ease or happ y, in my uncle s family A vi sion
,
’
.

that pas sed me interrupted these reflections .

I t was a young lady the lovel iness of whose very striking features
,

was enhanced by the an imation of the chase and the glo w of the
exercise mounted on a beaut iful horse jet black unless where he
, , ,
was fi e cked by the spots of the snow white foam which embossed -

his bridle She wore what was then somewhat unusual , a coat ,
.
,

vest, and hat resembling those of a man which fashion has since
, ,

called a riding-h abit The mode had been introd uced while I was
.
 R OB ROY .
73

i n F ranc e, and w a s perfectly n e w to me H er long black hair .

streamed on the breeze hav ing in the hu m of the chase escaped ,

r

from the ribbon which bound i t S ome very broken ground through .
,

which she guided her horse with the most admirable addres s
and presence of m in d retarded her course and brought her closer , ,

to me than any of the other riders had passed I had therefore .

, ,

a full view of her uncommonly fine face and person to which an ,

inexpressible charm was added by the wild ga iety of the scene and ,

the romance of her singular dress and unexpected appearance A s .

she passed me her horse made in his impetuosity an irregular move

, , ,

ment just while coming once more upon open ground she was
, , ,

again putting him to his speed It served as an ap ology for me to ,

.

ride close up to her as if to her assistance There was however no ,

.
, ,

cause for alarm it was not a stumble nor a false step an d if i t , ,

had the fa i r A mazon had too much self-possession to have been

,

deranged by it She thanked my good intentions however by a

.
, ,

smile and I felt encouraged to put my horse to the same pace

, ,

and to keep in her immediate neighbourhood The clamour of .

“
Whoop ! dead ! dead ! ” and the corresponding flourish of the
F rench horn s oon announced to us that there was no more occasion
,

fdr haste since the chase was at a close

,
One of the young men .

whom we had seen approached us waving the b rush of the fox in ,

triumph as if to upbraid my fair compan i on

,
.

“
I see she replied — I see ; but make no noise about it : if
”
, ,
“

Ph oebe ” she said patting the neck of the beautiful animal o n

, ,

wh i ch she rode had not got among the cli ff s you would have
,
“
,

had l ittle cause for boasting .

”

They met as she spoke and I o bserved them both look at me ,

and converse a moment in an under tone the young lady appa ,

ren tly pressing the sports m an to do something which h e de c lin e d

'

shyly and with a sort of sheepish sullenness She instantly turned

,
. .

her horse s head to wards me say i ng

’
Well well Thorn ie if you
won t I must tha t s all —Sir ” she continued address ing me I
, , , , ,
’ ’ “
.
, , , , ,

have been endeavouring to persuade t his cultivated young gentle

man to make inquiry of you whether in the course of your travels , ,

in these parts y o u have heard anything of a friend of ours one

, ,

Mr Francis Osb al dis to n e , who has been for some days expected at
.

Osb al dis to n e Hall ? ”

I was too happy to acknowledge myself to be the party inqu ired

after and to express my thanks for the obliging inqu iri es of the
,

yo ung lady .

“
In that case sir she rejoined as my kinsman s pol iteness
, , ,
“ ’

seems to be st ill slumbering you will perm i t me ( though I suppose ,

it is h ighly improper) to stand mistress of ceremonies and to pre ,

74 R OB R OY .

sent to you young Squire Thorncliff Os b aldist o n e your cousin a n d , ,

Die Vernon who has also the ho nour to be your accomplished

,

cousin s poor kinswoman ”

’
.

The re was a m ixture of boldnes s satire and simplic i ty in the , ,

manner in whi ch M i ss Vernon pronounced these words My .

knowledge of life was su fficient to enable me to take up a corre

sp e nding tone as I expressed m y grat itude to her for her conde
scension and my extreme pleasure at havi n g met with them To
,
.

say the truth the compl iment was so expressed that the lady
, ,

might easily appropriate the greater share of it for Thorncliff ,

seemed an arrant country bumpkin awkward shy and somewhat , , ,

sulky withal H e shook hands w ith me however and then int i

.
, ,

mated h is intenti on o f leaving me that he might help the huntsman

and his brothers to couple up the b o u n ds a purpo se wh i ch h e ,

rather communicated by way of inform ation to M iss Vernon than

as apology to me .

There he goes sa id the young lady foll owing him with eyes
, ,

in wh i ch disda in was adm i rably painted— the pr ince of grooms “

and cock-fi ghte rs and blackguard horse coursers B u t t here is not

,
- .

one of them to mend another — H ave you read M arkha m ? ” sa i d .

M i ss Vernon .

“
R ead whom ma am — I do not even remember the author s
’ ’
,

name ” .

0 Incl on what a strand are you wrecked replied the young

lady . A poor forlorn and ignorant stran ger unac q uainted w ith
“
,

the very A lcoran of the savage tribe whom you are come to res ide
among— N ever to have heard of Markham the most celebrated ,

author on fa rriery ! then I fear you are equally a stranger to the

more modern names of Gibson and Baglett P” '

I am indeed Miss Vernon ”

, ,
.

A n d do yo u not blush to own it said M iss Vernon W hy

.
.
,

we must forswear your allian ce Then I suppose you can neither .

, ,

give a ball nor a mash nor a horn

, ,

I co n fess I trust all these matters to an ostler or to my groom

“
,

Incredible carelessness —A n d you cannot shoe a horse or cut

.

his mane and ta il ; or worm a dog or crop his ears or cut his
dew—
, ,

claws or reclaim a hawk or g ive him his cast ing-stones or , ,

direct his diet when he is sealed or

To sum up my in s ign i fi c an c e in one word
“
replied I I a m , ,

profoundly ignoran t in all these rural accompl i shments ” .

Then in the name of H eaven Mr F rancis Os b aldis to n e what

, , .
,

a m you do
Very little to the purpose Miss Vernon ; so m ething how
“
,

ever I can pretend to —When my groom has dressed my horse

,

, ,
76 R OB ROY .

O ften ; b ut I have not seen much in them whi ch recommended

the Catholi c religion ” .

”
A re not the inhabitants happy ?
Some are unquestionably so whom either a profound sense o f
‘

de votion or an experience of the perse cutions and misfortunes of

,

the world, or a natural apathy of temper has led into retirement ,

.

Those who have adopted a life of seclusion from sudden and over
strained enthusiasm or in hasty resentment of some di sappo m t
,

ment or m o rtific atio n, are very miserable The quick n ess o f .

.

sensation soon returns and like the wi lder anim al s in a menageri e

, ,
,

they are restless under confinement while others muse or fatten i n ,

”
c ells of no l arger dimensions than theirs .

A n d what continued M i ss Vernon becomes of those

”
, ,

victims who are condemned to a convent by th e will of others ?

what do they resemble ? especi al ly what do they resemble, if they ,

are born to enjoy life , and feel its blessings

”
T hey are like impris oned singing birds replied I , con -
,

de m n e d to wear out their lives in confinement which they try to ,

beguile b y the exercise of accomplishments, which would have

”
adorned society, had they been left at large .

I shall be,” returned M i ss Vernon that is said she cor , ,

ro e ting herself I should be rather like the wild hawk , who ,

barred the free exercise of his soar through heaven will dash him ,

self to pieces against the bars of his cage But to return to R ash .

leigh “ said she, i n a more lively tone

, yo u will think him the ,

pleasantest man you ever saw in your li fe M r Osb aldis to ne, that ,
.

i s for a week at least

,
If he could find out a blind mistress neve r
.
,

man would be so secure of conquest but the eye breaks the spell
that enchants the ear But here we are in the court of the old hall
.
,

which looks as wil d and old-fashioned as any of its inmates There

is no great toilette kept at Osb al di s to n e—
.

H al l , you must know but

I must tak e o ff these things they are so unpleasantly warm , and ,

th e hat hurts my forehead too continu ed the livel y girl , taking it

”
, ,

o f , and shaking down a pro fusion of sable ringlets , which half ,

la ughing half blushin g she separated with her white slender

, ,

fingers , in order to clear them away from her beautiful face and
' ‘

p iercin g haz el eyes If there was any coquetry in the action it

.
,

was wel l di sguised by the careless indi fference of her manner I .

could not help saying “ that j u dging of the family from what I
, ,

saw I should suppose the toilette a very unnecessary care ”

. .

Tha t s very politely sai d ; though perhaps , I ought n o t t o

“ ’
,

u n derstan d in what sense it was meant ” replied M iss Vernon ; ,

but you will see a better apology for a lit tl e negli gence, when yo u
m eet the Orsons you are to live amongst, whose forms no toilette
 ROB ROY .
77

could improve But as I said before the old dinner bell will -

clang or rather clank in a few minutes —it cracked of its own accord
.
, ,

, ,

on the day of the landing of King Willie and my u ncle respecting , ,

its prophetic talent , would never permit it to be mended S o do .

yo u hold my palfrey like a duteous knight until I send some mo re

, ,
”
humble squire to relieve you of the charge .

She threw me the rein as if we had been acquainted from o u r

childhood jumped from her saddle tripped across the court -yard
, , ,

and entered at a side-door, leaving me in admiration of her beauty ,

and astonished with the overfrankness of her manners which ,

seemed the m ore extraordinary at a time when the dictates of

pol iteness flowing from the court of the Grand M onarque Louis
,

X IV prescribed to the fa i r sex an unusual severity of decorum I

.
,
.

was left awkwardly enough stationed in the ce ntre of the court of

the old hall mounted on one horse and holding another in my han d
, ,

Th e building afforded little to interest a stranger had I been ,

disposed to consider it attentively ; the sides of the quadrangle

were of various architecture and with their stone shafted latticed
,

windows projecting tu rrets and m as s ive architraves resembled

, , ,

the ins ide of a convent or of one of the older and less splendid
,

colleges of Oxford I called for a domestic but was for some time
.
,

totally unattended to wh i ch was the more provoking as I could ,

perceive I was the object of curiosity to several s e rvan t s b o th male ,

and female from different parts of the building who popped out
, ,

their heads and withdrew them like rabbits in a warren before I , ,

could make a direct appeal to the attention of any individual The .

return of the huntsmen and hounds relieved me from my embarrass

ment and with some d ifficulty I got one clown to relieve me of the
,

charge o f the horses and another stupid boor to guide me to the

,

p resence of Sir H ildebrand This se rvice he performed with much

.

such grace and good will as a peasant who is compelled to act as

-
,

guide to a hostile patrol and in the same manner I was obliged

to guard against h is deserting me i n the labyrinth of low vaulted
passages which conducted to Stun Hall ” as he called it where I , ,

was to be introduced to the gracious presence of my uncle .

We did however at length reach a long vaulted room floored

,
-
, ,

with stone where a range of oaken tables of a w e ight and size too
, ,

mass ive ever to be moved aside were already covered for d inner , .

Th i s venerable apartment wh i ch had witnessed the feasts of several

,

generations of the Osb aldis to n e fam ily bore also evi de nce of thei r ,

success in fi eld-sports Huge antlers of deer which m ight have

.
,

been trophies of the hunting of Chevy Chace were ranged around ,

the walls interspersed with the stuffed ski ns of badgers otters

, , ,

martins, and other animals of the chase A midst some remnants .

78 R OB R OY .

of o l d armour, which had, perhaps served against the Scotch , hung ,

the more valued weapons of sylvan war cross-bows, g u ns of vari ous ,

device and construction n ets fi shin g-rods otter-spears , bunting

, , ,

poles, with many other singular devices and engines fo r taki n g or

killing game A fe w old pictures dimmed with smoke , and stained
.
,

with March beer hung on the w alls representing kni ghts and
, ,

ladies honou red doubtless and renow ned in their day those
, ,

fro wning fearfully from huge bushes of wig and of beard and these
looking delightfully with all their might at the roses whi ch they
brandished in their hands .

I had just time to g ive a glance at these m atters, when about

twelve blue -coated serv a nts burst into the hall with much tumult
and talk, each rather employed in directing his comrades than in
dischargi n g his own duty Some brought blocks and b illets to t he
.

fire, which roared blaz ed and ascended hal f in smoke, hal f in

, , ,

flame up a huge tunnel wi th an opening wide enough to ac co mm o

, ,

da te a stone-seat within i ts ample vault and which was fronted, by ,

way of chimney-piece with a huge pi ece of heavy architect u re

, ,

where the monsters of heraldry, embodied by the art of some

N orthumbrian chisel grinned and ramped in red free-stone, now
,

japanned by the smoke of centuries Others of these old-fashioned .

serving-men bore huge smok ing dishes loaded with substantial ,

fare others brought in cups flagons , bottles, yea barrels of ,

l i quor All tramped kicked plunged shouldered, and jostled

.
, , , ,

doing as little service w ith as much tumult as could well be

imagined A t length, while the dinner was , after various e ff orts , i n
.

the act of being arranged upon th e boar the clam our mu ch of

men and dogs, th e cracking of whips cal cul ated fo r the intimida
”
,

tion of the latter, voices loud and high steps which , impressed b y ,

the heavy-heeled boots of the peri od clattered like those in the ,

statue of the F es tz n dz p zarrefi announ ced the arrival of those fo r

' ‘

whose benefit the preparations were m ade The hubbub among .

th e s e rvants rather increased than d iminished a s this c risis a

p ro a ch e d—some c alled to make haste — others t o take time, - some

p

exhorted to stand ( at of the way an dmake room fo r Sir H ildebran d

”

an d the young squire s,—

,

some to close round the table , and be i n

the wa y —some bawled to open some to shut, a pair o f folding
, ,

doors which divided the hall from a sort of gallery, as I afte rwards
learned, or withdra wing-room fitted up with black wainscot , .

Opened the doors were at len gth, and in rushed curs an d men ,
eight dogs , the domestic chaplai n, the vi llage doct or, mysix c o u s in s ,
and my un cl e .
 ROB R OY . 79

C H A P TE R V I .

The rude hall rocks —they come they come , ,

The din of vo i ces shakes t he dome

In stalk the various forms and drest , ,

In varying morion vary ing vest

A ll march wi t h haughty step —all proudly shake the crest
, ,

P EN R OSE .

l F S ir H ildebrand Os b aldis t o n e was in no hurry to greet h i s

nephe w of whose arrival he must have been informed for some
,

t ime he ha d important avocations to allege in excuse

,
H ad seen .
“

thee sooner lad ” he excla imed after a rough shake of the hand
, , , ,

and a hearty welcome to Os b aldis t o n e H all but had to see the ,

“

hounds kennelled first Th ou art welcome to the H all lad— here

. ,

i s thy cous in Pe rc i e thy cousin Thornie and thy cousin John

—
, ,

y our co u sin Dick your cous i n W ilfred and stay where s R ash ’

leigh—ay here s R a shle igh—t ake thy long body aside Thornie
, , ,
’
, , ,

and let s see thy brother a b it—Your cous in R as hle igh — S o thy
’
,

father has thought on the old Hall and old Sir H ildebrand at last
—better late than never—Thou art Welcome lad and there s enough
,
’
.
, ,

Where s my little D ie —ay here she comes —this is my n iece Die

’
, ,

my wife s brother s daughter—the prett i est girl in our dales be the

’ ’
,

other who she may —and so n o w let s to the sirloin ” ’

.

To ga in some idea of the person who held this lan guage you ,

must suppose my dear Tresham a man aged about sixty in a

, , ,

hunting su it which had once been richly laced but wh ose splendour ,

had been tarn i shed by many a N ovember an d December storm .

Sir H ildebrand notwithstand ing the abruptness of his present

,

manner had at one period of his life known courts and camps
, , ,

had held a commission i n the army which encamped on Hounslow

Heath previous to the R evolution and recommended perhaps by
“

, ,

his religion had been knigh ted abo u t the same period by the u n
,

fortunate and ill-advised James I I But the Kn ight s dreams of .

’

further pre ferment if he ever entertained any had died away at the
, ,

crisis wh i ch drove his patron from the throne and since that period ,

he had spent a sequestered l ife upon his nat ive doma i ns N ot .

withstanding his rusti city however Sir H ildebrand retained much , ,

of the exterior of a gentleman and appeared among his sons as the ,

rema in s of a Corinthian p illar defaced and overgrown with moss ,

and lichen might have looked i f contrasted with the rough unhewn
, ,

masses of upright stones in Stonehenge or any other dru id i cal ,

temple The sons were indeed heavy unado rned blocks as the
.
, ,

eve would desire to look upon Tall stout and comely all and .
, ,
’

,
80 R OB R OY .

each of the five eldest seemed t o w an t alike the Promethean fire of

,

intellect and the exterior grace and manner, which , in the polished
,

world sometimes supply mental deficiency Their m ost valuabl e

,
.

moral quality seemed to be the good humour an d content which -

was exp ressed in their heavy features , and their only pretence t o .

accomplishment was thei r dexterity i n field sports, for which al one

they lived The stron g Gyas and the strong Cloanthus, are not
.
,

less distinguish e d by the poet than the strong Percival , the strong
,

Thorncliff the strong J ohn Ri chard, and Wilfred Osb aldis to n es ,

, ,

were by outward appear ance .

But, as if to indemnify herself for a u niformity so uncommon in

her p ro duc tio n s Dam e Nature had rendered Rashle igh Osb aldisto n e
,

a striking contrast in person and manner and as I afterwards , ,

learned , in tem per and tal ents not only to hi s brothers but to most
, ,

men whom I had h itherto m e t w ith When Percy Thornie and .

, ,

Co had respectively nodded gr inned and presented their shoulde r

.
, , ,

rather than their hand as their father named them to their n e w

,

kinsman R ashle igh stepped forward and welcomed me to Osb al

, ,

distome H all, with the air and man n er of a man of the world H i s .

appearance was not in itself prepossessing H e was of l ow stature .

,

whereas all his brethren seemed to be descendants of Anak ; and ,

while they were handsomely formed R ashle igh though strong in , ,

person , was bull-necked and cross-made and from some early ,

injury in his y ou th had an imperfection in his gait , so much re

,

sembling an absolute halt that many alleged that it formed the

,

obstacle to his takin g orders the church of R om e , as is we ll

known admitting none to the clerical pro fession wh o labours under
,

any personal deformity Others however ascribed this unsightly

.
, ,

defect to a mere awkward habit and contended that it did not ,

amount to a personal d i squalification from holy orders .

The features of R ashl e igh were su ch as having looked upon we , , ,

in vain wish to banish from our memory to which they recur as ,

objects of painful curiosity although we dwell upon them with a

,

feel ing of dislike and even of disgust

, It was not the actua l pla in .

nes s of his face, taken separa tely from the meanin g, which m ade
thi s s tro ng impression His features were, indeed, irregular, but
.

th ey were by no means vu l gar and his keen d ar k eyes, and shaggy

eyebrows , redeemed his fac e from t h e charge of commonplace
uglines s But there was in these eyes a n expression of art and
.

design an d, on p rovocation, a ferocity tempered b y caution which

, ,

n ature had made obvious to the most ord i nary physio nomist per
g ,
haps with the s am e intention that she has given the rattle to the
poisonous snake A s if to compensate him for these disadvantage s
.

of exterior, Rashle igh Osb aldi sto n e was possessed of a vo ice the
 ROB R OY . Br

most soft mellow, and rich in its tones that I e ver heard and was
, ,

at no l oss for language of every sort suited to so fine an organ .

H is first sentence of welcome was h ardly ended , ere I internally

agreed with M iss Vernon that my n e w kinsman would make an ,

instant conquest of a mistress whose ears alone were to judge his

cause H e was about to place himself beside me at dinner, but
.

Miss Vernon, who as the only female in the family arranged all
, ,

such matters accordin g to her own pleasure contrived that I should ,

sit betwixt Thorncl i ff and herself ; and it can scarce be doubted

that I favoured this more advantageous arrangement .

“
I want to Speak with you ” she said and I have placed honest , ,

Tho rnie betwixt Rashle igh and yo u on purpose H e will be like

'

Feather bed ’twixt castle wall

-

A n d heavy brunt of can non ha ll

while I your earliest acquaintance in this intellectual family, ask of

,
”
yo u how you like us all ?
“
A very comprehensive question Miss Vernon, considering how ,

short while I have been at Osb aldisto n e H all

- ”

O, the philosophy of o ur fam il y lies on the surface—there are

.

minute shades distinguishing th e individu al s which requ i re the eye ,

of an intelligent observer but the species , as naturalists I believe

call it may be distinguished and characterised at once ”
,
.

My five elder cousins, then are, I presume of pretty nearly the , ,

same character ” .

“
Yes they form a happy compound of sot game-keeper, bully
, , ,

horse -jockey and fool but as they say there cannot be found two
,

leaves on the same tree exactly al ike so these happy ingredients , ,

bein g mingled in somewha t various proportions in each indivi du al ,

make an agreeable vari ety for those who like to study character ” .

Give me a sketch if you please Miss Vernon ”

You shall have the m all in a family-piece at full length—the
, , .

favour is too ea sily granted to be refus ed P erc ie the son and .

,

heir, has more of the sot than the gamekeeper bully horse-jockey
or fool—M y precious T ho rnie is more of the bully than the sot
, , ,

gamekeeper jockey or fool—John who sleeps whole weeks amongst

,

the hills has most of the gamekeeper—The jockey is po w erful wit h

, , ,

Dickon, who rides two hundred miles by day and night to be bought
and sold at a horse-race— A n d the fool predominates so much over
Wilfred s other qualities that he may be termed a fool positive ”
’
, .

“
A goodly collecti on Miss Vernon an d th e individu al varieties
, ,

belong to a most interesting species But is there no room on the .

canvas for Sir H ildebrand

“
I love my uncle ” was her reply : “ I owe him some kindness
,
r
82 R OB R OY .

( such it was meant for at leas t) and I will leave you to draw his
-
,

picture yourse lf when you know him be tter ”

,
.

Come ” thought I to myself I am glad t here is some forbear

, ,

ance A fter all who would have looked for such bitter satire from
.
,
”
a creature so young and so exquisitely beautiful ?
You are thinking of me ” she said bending h er dar k eyes on
“
, ,

me as if she meant to pierce through my very soul

,
.

I certai nly was ” I replied with some emb arrassment at the

“
, ,

dete rmi ned suddenness of the question and then endeavouring , ,

to give a complimentary turn to my frank avowal H ow is i t ,

“

possible I should think of anyth ing else seated as I have the ,

happin ess to b e
She sm iled with such an expression of concentrated haughtiness
as she alone could have thrown i nto her countenance I must .
“

inform you at once Mr Osb aldis t o n e that compliments are entirely

, .
,

lost upon me do not therefore throw away your pretty s ayings

, ,

they serve fine gentlemen who travel in the co untry instead of the ,

toys beads and bracelets w hich navigators carry to propitiate the

, ,

savage inhabitants of newly discovered lands D o not exhaust .

your stock in trade —you will find natives in N orthumberlan d to

whom you r fine thin gs will recommend you—o n me they would be
utterly thrown a way for I happen to k now their real value ”
,
.

I was silenced and confounded .

You remind me at this moment ” said the young lady resuming , ,

her lively and i ndi fferent manner of the fairy tale where the man , ,

fi nds all th e money which he had carried to market s uddenly

changed into pieces of slate I have cried down and ruined your .

whole stock of complimentary discourse by one unluc ky observa

tion But come never m i nd it—You are belied M r Osb aldis ton e
.
, , .
,

unless you have much better conversation than thesef adeu rs whic h ,

every gentleman with a toupet th inks himself obliged to recite to

an unfort unate girl merely because she is dressed in silk an dgauze
, ,

while he wears superfine cloth with embroidery Your natural .

paces as any of my five cousins might s ay are far preferable to

, ,

your compli mentary amble Endeavour to forget my unlucky sex .

call me Tom Vernon if you have a mind but speak to me as yo u

, ,

would to a friend and companion you have no idea ho w much I

shall like you ” .

That would be a bribe indeed ” returned I , .

“
A gain replied M i ss Vernon, holdin g up her finger ; I told
yo u I w oul d n o t bear the shadow of a compliment An d n o w .
,
when you have pledged my uncle who threatens you with what he ,

calls a brimmer, I will tell you what you think of me ” .

The bumper being pledge d by me as a dutiful nephew and som e , ,

 84 ROB ROY
‘

”
leaves
M r R as hle igh Hall then ? Os b aldis to n e -
Yes in a fe w days —did you not kno w that i —Your father must
.
,

k eep his resolutions much more secret than S ir H ildebrand Why .

,

when my uncle was informed that you were to be his guest for some
time and that your father desired to have one of his hopeful sons to
,

fill u p the lucrative situation in his counting-house which was

vacant by your obstinacy Mr F rancis the good knight held a 6 011 7 , .
,

ple m ére of all his fam ily, including the butler housekeeper and
' '

, ,

gamekeeper This reverend assembly of the peers and household

.

o fficers of Osb aldi st o n e -Hall was not convoked as you m ay sup ,

pose to elect your substitute because as R a shle igh alone possessed

, , ,

more arithmetic than was necessary to calculate the odds on a

fi gh t in g-cock none but he could be supposed qualified for the
,

situation But some solemn sanct i o n was necessary for transform

.

ing R ashle igh s destinat i on fro m starving as a Catholic priest to

’
,

thriving as a wealthy banker ; and it was not without some re

l uc t an c e that the acquiescence of the assembly w as obtained t o
such an act of degradation ”
I can conceive the scruples—but how were they got over ? ”
.

“
By the general wish I believe to get R ashle igh out of the , ,

house ” replied Miss Vernon

, A lthough youngest of the fam ily .
“
,

he has someho w or other got the entire management of al l the

o thers ; and every one is sensi b le of the subj ection though they
,

cannot shake it o ff I f any one Oppose him he is sure to rue having

.
,

done so before the year goes about ; and if you do him a very
important service you may rue it st ill more ” , .

”
A t that rate answered I smil ing , I should look about me , ,

fo r I have been the c a use however unintentionally of his change of , ,

s ituation
”
.

“
Yes ; an d whether he regards it as an advantage or dis ad
vantage he will owe you a grudge for i t— B ut here comes cheese
, ,
radishes and a bumper to church and king the h int for chaplains
, ,

and ladies to disappear ; and I the sole representative of woman

“

hood at Osb aldis to n e Hall retreat as in duty bound ” -

, , .

She vanished as she spoke leaving me in astonishment at the ,

m ingled character of shre wdness audac ity and franknes s which , , ,

her conversat ion displayed I despa ir of conveying to you the .

least idea of her manner although I have as nearly as I can re , ,

member imitated her language In fact there was a mixture of

, .
,

untaught simpli city as w ell as native shrewdness and haughty

,

boldness in her manner and all were mod ified and recommended ,

by the play of the most beautiful features I had ever beheld I t i s .

n o t to be th ought that however strange and uncommon 1 m ight

t hink her liberal and unreserved communications a young man of

,
 R OB ROY . 85

two-and-twenty was likely to be severely critical on a beautiful girl

of eighteen for not observing a proper distance towards him On .

the contrary I was equally diverted and flattered by Miss Vernon s

,
’

confidence and that notwithstanding her declaration of its being

,

conferred on me solely because I was the first auditor who occu rred ,

of intelligence enough to comprehend it With the presumption o f .

my age certainly not diminished by my residence in France I

, ,

imagined that well formed features and a handsom e person both

-
, ,

which I conceived myself to possess were not unsuitable qualific a ,

tions for the confidant of a young beauty My vanity thus enlisted .

in Miss Vernon s behalf I was far from j udging her with severity
’
,

merely for a frankness which I supposed was in some degr ee justi

he d by my own personal merit and the feelings of partiality which ,

her beauty and the s ingularity of her situation were of themselves

, ,

cal culated to excite were enhanced by my opinion of her penetra

,

tion and judgment in her choice of a friend .

After Miss Vernon quitted the apartment the bottle circulated , ,

or rather flew around the table in unceasing revolution My fore ign

,
.

education had given me a distaste to intemperance then and ye t ,

too common a vice among my countrymen The conversation .

which seasoned s u ch orgi es was as l ittle to my taste and if any ,

thing could render it more disgusting it was the relationship of the ,

company I therefore seized a lucky opportunity and made my

.
,

escape through a side -door leading I knew not whither rather than , ,

e ndure any l onger the sight of father and sons practising the same

degrading intemperance and holding the same coarse and disgust,

i n g conversation I was pursued of course as I had expected t o

.
, , ,

be reclaimed by force as a deserter from the shrine of Bacchus

, .

When I heard th e whoop and hollo and the tramp of the heavy ,

boots of my pursuers on the winding stair wh i ch I was descending ,

I plainly foresaw I should be overtaken unless I could get into the

Open air . I therefore threw open a casement in the staircase which
looked into an old—
,

fashi oned garden and as the height did not ,

e xceed six feet I jumped out w i thout hesitation

, and soon heard
'
, ,

far b ehin d the hey whoop ! stole away ! stole away ! ” of my

,
“

baffled pursuers I ran down one alley walked fast up another

.
,

an d then conceiving m self out of all danger of u rs u it Islackened

, y p ,

my pace into a quiet stroll enjoying the cool air whi ch the heat of ,

the wine I had been obliged to swal lo w as well as that of my rapid ,

retreat rendered doubly grateful

, .

A s I sauntered on I found the gardener hard at his eveni n g

,

employment and saluted h im as I paused to look at his work

, ,
.

“
Good even my friend , .
”

Gude e en —gude e en t ye answered the man without looking

’ ’ ’
, ,
86 ROB ROY .

up and in a tone which at once indicated his northern extrac

,

tion .

F in e weather for your work my friend ,

.

“
It s no that muckle to be c o mple en e d o answered the man,
’
,

with that l imi te d degree of praise which gardeners and farmers

usu al ly bestow on th e very best weather Then, rai sin g his head . ,

a s if to see who spoke to him he touched his S cotch bonnet with

an air of respect, as he observed Eh, gude save u s —it’ s a sight
,

,
’
for sair een to se e a go ld-lac ed jeistiecor in the H a garde n s ae
,

late at e en ” ’
.

A gold-laced what, my g o od friend

“

On a jei stiecor *—that s a jacket like your ain , there They h ae

’

other things to do w i them up yonder—unbuttoning them to make

.
,
’

room for the beef and the bag-puddings, an d the cl aret wine nae -
,

doubt— th at s th e ordinary fo r eve ning lecture oh thi s side t he

’

B order .

There s no such plenty of good cheer in your country, my good

’

”
friend I replied, as to tempt you to sit so late at it
”
,
.

Hout, s ir ye ken littl e about S cotland it’ s no for w ant o f gude

vivers —the be s t of fish, flesh and fowl hae w e, b ysybos ingan s
,

, , ,

t u rn e e p s and other garden fruit B ut we hae mense and discretion ,

,
.

and are moderat e Of our mouths but here frae the kit chen to the ,

ha it s fill and fetch mair frae the tae end of the four-and twenty
’ ’ -

till the tother Even th e ir fast days—they ca it fas t ing wh en they

, ,
’
.

hae the best 0 sea-fi sh frae H artlepool and Sunderlan d by la nd

’

carriage forbye tro uts, gr ilses s al m 0 n an d a the lave o t and so

, , ,
’ ’
,

they m ake t heir very fas tin g a kin d of luxury and abomi nation and
then the awfu masses and m atins of th e puir deceived souls —but I
’

shoul dna speak about them fo r your honour wi ll be a R oman , I s e ,

’

warrant like the lave ” , .

N ot I , my friend I was bred an English presbyterian or ,

dissenter ” .

Th e right hand of fellowship to your honour, then q uoth the ,

g ardener, wi th as much alacrity as his hard features were capable o f

express ing an d, as if to show that his good-will did n o t rest o n
, .

words he plucked forth a huge horn snuf -box, or mull as he call e d

, ,

it and proffered me a pinch with a most fratern al grin

,
.

H aving accep ted his courtesy I asked him if he had been l ong ,

a domestic at Osb aldist o n e -Hall ?

“
I have been fighting w ith wild beasts at Ephe sus, sai d he ,
looking towards the building for the best part of these four-and ,
“

twenty years , as sure as my name s A ndre w F airservic e ” ’

.

B ut my excellent friend A ndrew F airservice if your religion

, , ,

and your temperance are so much offended by Roman rituals a n d

 ROB ROY . 87

southern hospitality it seems to me that you must have been ,

p utting yourself to an unne cessary penance all this wh ile and that ,

you might have found a service where they eat less and are more ,

orthodox in their worsh ip I daresay it cannot be want of skill .

which prevented your being placed more to your satisfaction .

It disna become me to speak to the point of my qualifications ,

said A ndrew looking round him with great complacency ; but nae
,
“

doubt I should understand my trade of horticulture seeing I was ,

bred in the parish of Dre e pdaily where they raise lang-kale u nder
glass and force the early nettles for their spring kale —A n d to
,

speak truth I hae been flitting every term these four—

, ,

,
and-twenty
years ; but when the time comes , there s aye something to saw that ’

I would like to see sawn —o r something to m aw that I would like ,

r

to see mawn —o r something to ripe that I would like to see ripen

—and sae I e en daiker on w i the fam ily frae year s end to year s
, ,
’ ’ ’ ’

end A n d I wad say for certain that I am gaun to quit at

.
,

Can n le m as only I was just as positive on it twenty years syne

, ,

and I find mysell still turning up the mouls here for a that F o r ,
’
.

bye that to tell your honour the even-down truth th e res nae better
, ,
’

place ever offered to A ndrew But if your honour wad wush me .

to ony place where I wad hear pure doctrine and hae a free cow s ,
’

grass and a cot and a yard and mair than ten p u n ds of annual
_ , , ,

fee and wh ere there s nae leddy about the town to count the apples
,
’

I se hold mysell muckle indebt e d t ye ”

’ ’
.

Bravo A ndrew ! I perceive you ll lose no preferment for wa n t

“
,
’

of asking patronage .

“
I canna see what for I should ” replied A ndrew “ it s no a ,
’
.

generation to wait till ane s worth s dis covered I trow ’ ’

, .

But you are no fri end I obser ve to the ladies ”

“
, ,
.

Na by my troth I keep up the first gardene r’ s quarrel to them

They re fasheo us bargains —aye crying for apricocks pears plums
, , .

’
, , ,

and apples summer and winter without distinction 0 seasons but

, ,
’

we hae nae slices 0 the spare rib here be praised for t l except auld
’
,
’ -

Martha and she s weel eneugh pleased wi the freedom 0 the

,
’ ’ ’

berry-bushes to her sister s weans w hen they come to drink tea in ’

,

a hol iday i n the housekeeper s room and wi a wheen codlings n o w ’

,
’

and then for her ain private supper ” .

“
You forget your young m i stress ”
What mistress do I forget i —w hae s that ? ”
.

Your young mi stress Miss Vernon ”

What ! the lassie Vernon —she s nae mistress o mine man
, .

’ ’
.
,

I wish she was her ain mistress and I wish she mayna be som e
other body s mistress or it s lang— She s a wild slip that ”
’ ’ ’
.

“ ”
Indeed ! said I more interested than I cared to own to ,
88 ROB ROY .

myse lf, or to show to the fello w why Andrew yo u know all the , ,

secrets of this family ” .

“
“
I f I ken them I can keep them said n rew ; the y winna
,
”
A d ,

work in my warne l ike harm in a barrel I se warrant ye Miss Die ’

—
.
,
”
is but it s
’
neither beef nor brose o mine ’
.

An d he began to dig with a great semblance of assiduity .

“
What is Miss Vernon A ndrew ? I am a friend of the family,
,

and should like to know ” .

Other than a gu de ane I m fearing said A ndrew closing o n e

,
’
, ,

eye hard, and shaki ng his head with a grave an d mysteri ous look
somethin g glee’ d—your honour understands me ? ”
I can not say I do,” said I A ndrew but I should like to hear,

you expla in yourself and therewithal I slipped a crown-piece

into A ndrew s horn-hard hand Th e tou ch of the silver m ade him
’
.
‘

grin a ghastly smile as he n odded slowly, and thrust it into his

,

breeches pocket and th en , like a man who well understood that

’

there was val ue to be returned stood up , and rested his arms on ,

his spade, with his featu res composed into the m ost important
gravity as fo r some serious communication .

“
Ye m aun ken then young gentleman, since it imports you to
, ,

know, that Miss Vernon is

H ere breaking o ff, he sucked in both his cheeks till his lante rn ,

ja ws and long chin assumed the appearance of a pair of nut

crackers ; w inked hard once more frowned shook his head, and , ,

s eemed to th in k his physiognomy had comp l et ed the information

which his tongue had not fully told .

Good God ! ” said I, so young so beautiful so early lost ! ” , ,

Troth ye may say sae -s he s in a m anner lost body and saul ;

—
’
.
, ,

forby being a Papist, I se uphaud her fo r ’

and his northern
caution prevailed , and he was again si l ent .

”
For what sir ? said I ste rnly
, I insist on knowin g the
, .

pla in m e an ing of all this ” .

Ou, just for the bitterest Jacobite in the haill shire

Pshaw ! a Jacobite —
.

is that all ? ”
A ndrew looked at m e with some astonishment at hearing his i h ,

formation treated so lightl y ; and then m uttering A weel it s the ,

“
,
’

warst thing I ken aboot the lassie, h o ws o e e r ” he resumed his ’

,

s pade , l ike the King of the Vandal s in M arm o n t el s late nove l

’
.
 ROB R OY .
89

C H A P TE R V II .

B ardo lfi z . The Sheriff, with a monstrous watch is at the door ,

'
.

H en ry IV , F . z rs t P a rt .

I F OUN D out with some diffi culty the apartment which was
destined for my accommodation ; and having secured myself the ,

necessary good will and attention from my uncle s domest i cs by

-
’
,

using the means they were m ost capable o f comprehend ing I ,

secluded myself there for the remainder of the evening con ,

je c turin g from the fair way in which I had left my new relatives
, ,

as well as from the distant noise which cont inued to echo from the
stone-hall (as their banqueting-room was called) that they were not ,

l ikely to be fitting company for a sober man .

“
What could my father mean by sending me to b e an inmate in
this strange family ? ” was my first and most natural reflection .

My uncle it was plain received me as one who was to make some

, ,

stay with him, and his rude hospitality rendered him as indifferent
as Ki ng Hal to the number of those who fed at his cost But it .

was plain my presenc e or absence would be of as l ittle importance

in his eyes as that of one of his blue coated serving-men My - .

cousins were mere cubs , in whose company I might if I liked it , ,

un l eam whatever decent manners or elegant accomplishments I , ,

had acquired, but where I could attain n o information beyond

what regarded worming dogs rowelling horses and following, , ,

foxes I could only imagine one reason which was probably the
.
,

true one My father considered the life which was led at Os b al

.

distome Hall as the natural and inev itable pursuits of all country
-

gentlemen , and he was desirous by giving me an opportunity of ,

seeing that with which he knew I should be d i sg uste d to reconcile ,

me if possible, to take an active share in his own business In

, .

the meantime he would take R ashle igh Os b aldi st o n e into the

,

count ing-house But h e had an hundred modes of provid ing fo r

.

him and that advantageously whenever he choose to get rid of

, ,

him So that although I did feel a certain qualm of conscience

.
,

at having been the means of introducing R a shle igh being such ,

as he h as described by M iss Vernon into my father s bus iness ’

—perhaps into his c o n fi de n c e—I subdued it by the reflecti on that ,

my father was complete master of his own affairs—a man not to be

imposed upon or influenced by any one and that all I knew to the
,

young gentleman s prejudice was through the medium of a singular

’

and giddy gi rl whose commun i cation s were m ade with an i n

,

judicious frankness which might warrant me in supposing her con

,
9 0 ROB ROY .

'

elusions had been hastily or inaccurately formed Then m y mind .

naturally turned to M iss Vernon herself her extreme beauty ; her

very peculiar situation relying solely upon her reflections and her , ,

own Spirit for gu idance and protection ; and her whole character
,

o ffering that variety and spirit which piques our curiosity and ,

engages our attention in spite of ourselves I had sense enough to ‘

consider the neighb ourhood o f this s i ngular young lady and the ,

chance of our being thrown int o very close an d frequen t inter

course as adding to th e dan gers while it relieved the dulness of
, , ,

Osb a ldis to n e-Hall ; but I could not with the fullest exertion of my ,

prudence, prevail upon mys elf to regret excessively this new and
particular haz ard to which I was to be exposed This scruple
I also settled as young men settle most d ifficulties of the kind—I
.

would be very cautious al ways on my guard consider M iss Vernon , ,

rather as a companion than an intim ate and all would do well ,

enough With these reflections I fell asle e p Miss Vernon of

.
, ,

course forming the last subject of my contemplation

,
.

Whether I dreamed of her or not I cannot satisfy you for I w a s , ,

tired and slept soundly But she was the first person I thought of
, .

in the morning when waked at dawn by the cheerful notes of the

,

hunting-horn To start up and direct my horse to be saddled was

.
, ,

my first movement and in a few minutes I was in the court-yard ,

where me n dogs and horses were in full preparation My uncle

, , ,
.
,

w h o perhaps was not entitled to expect a ve ry alert S portsman in

, ,

his nephew, bred as he had been in foreign parts seemed rather ,

surprised to see me and I thought his morni n g salutation wanted

,

something of the hearty and hospitable tone which distinguished

his first welcome Art there lad —ay, youth s a ye rathe—but
“ ’
.
,

look to thys ell —mi n d the old song lad ,

H e that ga110 ps his horse on Blackstone edge

'

,
May chance to catch a fall .
’

I believe there are fe w young men , and thos e very sturdy

moralists who would not rather be taxed with some moral
,

peccadillo than wi th want of kno wledge in horsemansh ip A s I .

was by no means deficient either in skill or courage I resen ted my ,

uncle s insinuation accordingly and ass ured him he would find me

’
,

up with the hounds .

I do ub tn a, lad was his reply ; “ th o u rt a rank rider Is e

“ ’ ’

warrant thee—but take heed

, ,

Th y father sent thee here t o .

me to be bitted and I doubt I must ride thee on the curb, or

,

we ll hae some one to ride thee on the halt er I if takena th e

’
,

be tter heed ” .

A s this speech was totally u nintelligible to me ; as besides , it ,

92 ROB ROY .

Miss Vernon s manner an impatience of the close attendance which

’

we received from Thorncl iff Os b aldis t o n e ; and, as that active

“

S pirited young lady never hesitated at taking the readiest means to

g ratify any wish of the m oment she said to h im in a tone of , ,

reproach I wonder Thornie what keeps you dangl ing at my , ,

horse s crupper all this morning, when yo u know the earths above
’

Woolverton-mill are not stopt ” .

I know no such an thing then M ISS Die for the miller swore , ,
’
himself as black as night that he stopt them at t welve o clock , ,
”
midnight that was .

O fie u pon you Tho m ie ! would you trust to a m iller s word ? ’

— ,

and these earths too where we lost the fo x three times thi s , ,

season , and you on your grey mare , that can gallop there and back
in ten minutes 2”
Well Miss Die I se go to Woolverton then and if the earths
“
, ,
’
,

are not stopt I se raddle Dick the m iller s bones for him
,
’ ’
.

D o my dear Th o m ie horsewh i p the rascal to purpose—via

—
,

fly away and about it ,

Thorncli ff went o ff at the gallop
get h o rse whipt yourself wh i ch will serve my purpose just as well ,
.

I must teach them all dis cipline and obedience to the word of com
mand I am raising a regiment you must know Tho m ie shall
.
,
.

be my sergeant-major D i ckon m y riding-master and Wilfred with , , ,

his deep dub -a-dub tones, that speak but three syllables at a time ,

my kettle-drummer ” .

A n d Rashle igh
shall be my scout -m aster
R a s hle igh .

”
A n d will you find no employment for me most lovely colonel ? ,

You shall have the choi ce of being paymaster or plunder ,

master to the corps But see how the dogs pu zzle about there
,
. .

Co me Mr F rank the scent s cold ; they won t recover it there

,
.
,
’ ’

this while follow me I have a view to show you ”

, .

A n d in fact she cantered up to th e top of a gentle hill com

, , ,

manding an exte nsive prospect Casting her eyes around to see .

,

that no one was near us she drew up her horse beneath a fe w ,

birch-trees , which screened us from the rest of the hunt ing -fie ld
Do you see yon peaked brown heathy hill hav ing something , , ,
”
like a whitish Speck upon the side ?

“
Terminating that long ridge of broken moorish uplands — I
s ee it distinctly .

That whit i sh speck is a rock called H awk e s m o re -crag and ,

H a wke s m o re crag is in Scotland

”
- .

Indeed ? I did not think we had been so near S cotland .

“
It is so I assure you and your horse will carry you there in
, ,
”
t w o hours .
 R OB ROY .
93

I shall hardly give him the trouble why the distan ce must be ,

eighteen miles as the crow flies ” .

“
You may have my mare if you think her l ess blown— I say , ,

that in two hours you may be in Scotland ”

.

“
A n d I say that I have so l ittle des ire to be t h ere that if my
, ,

horse s head were over the Border I would not give his tail the
’
,

trouble of following What should I do in S cotland ?

.
”

Provide for your safety if I must speak plainly D o yo u ,

.

”
understand me now Mr Frank ? , .

N ot a whit you are more and more oracular ” .

Then on my word you either mistrust me most unjustly and

, , ,

are a better dissembler than Ra shle igh Osb aldis to n e himself or ,

you kno w nothing of what is imputed to you and then no wonder

you stare at me in that grave manner which I can scarce see with ,

out laugh ngi

”
.

Upon my word of honour M iss Vernon said I with an im , , ,

patient feeling o f her childish disposition to mirth I have not the ,

most distant conception of what you mean I am happy to afford .

yo u any subject of amusement but I am quite ignorant in what it ,

cons i sts ” .

”
Nay there s no sound jest after all said the young lady com
,
’
, ,

posing herself only one looks so very ridiculous when he is

fairly perplexed But the matter is serious enough Do you know
. .

one Moray or Morris or some such name ? ”

, ,

N ot that I can at present recollect ”

Think a moment —
.

D id you not lately travel with somebody of

.

such a name ? ”

“
The only man with whom I travelled for an y length of time
was a fellow whose soul seemed to lie in his portmanteau ” .

Then it was like the soul of the licentiate Pedro Garcias which ,

lay among the ducats in his leathern purse That man has been .

robbed and he has lodged an information against you as connected

, ,

with the violence done to him ” .

“
You jest Miss Vernon
I do not I assure you—the thing is an absolute fact ”
,

, .

”
A n d do you sa i d I wi th strong indignat i on which I did n o t
, , ,

attempt to suppress do you suppose me capable of merit ing su c h

,
“

a charge ? ”
You would call me out for it I suppose had I the advantage o f
being a man —You may do so as it is if vou like it— I can shoot
, ,

flying as well as leap a five -barred gate ”

, .

A n d are colonel of a reg iment of horse besides replied I , ,

reflecting how idle it was to be angry with her But do explain

the present jest to me ” .
94 R OB R OY .

“
There’sno jest whatever said Diana ; you are accused of ,
”
robbing this m a n and my uncle bel i eves it as well as I did
,
.

Upon my honour I am greatly obl iged to my friends fo r their

,

g
. ood opinion 1 ”

N ow do not if you can help it snort and s tare and snuff the
w ind, and look so exceedingly like a startled horse—
, , ,

There s no ’

such offence as yo u suppose —yo u are not charged with any petty
l arceny or vulgar felony—b y no m eans
,
This fellow was carrying .

money from Government both specie and bills to pay the troops, ,

i n the nort h ; and it is said he has been also robbe d of some

dispatches of gr eat consequence ” .

A n d so it is high treason then a n d not simple robbery, of

“
, ,

which I am accused ? ”
Certainly ; which you know has been in al l ages accounted
, ,

the crime of a gentl e man You will find plenty in this country .
,

and one not far from your elbow who think it a merit to distres s ,

t h e H '

an o ve ri a n government by every means possible ”

.

“
N either my politics nor my morals Miss Vernon, are of a ,

description so accommodat i ng ” .

“
I really begin to bel i eve that you are a presbyterian and
H anoverian in good earnest
'

But what do you propose to .

”
do ?
Instantly to refute this atrocious calumny —Be fore whom, I .

’
a sked was this extraordinary accusation laid ? ”
“
,

Before old Squire Inglewood who had sufficient unwillingness ,

to re ceive it H e sent tidings to my n u cle, I suppose that he

.
, ,

might smuggle you away into Scotland out of reach of the warrant , .

But my uncle is sensible that his religion and old predilections

render him obnoxious to Government and that, were he caught ,

playing booty he would be disarmed and probably dismounted

, ,

( which would be the worse evil of the two) as a j acobite Papist, , ,

and suspected person ” .

I can conceive that sooner than lose his hunters, he would

,

ive u p his nephew

”
g
—
.

“
H is n ephew nieces, sons daughters if h e had them , and
, ,

whole generation said D iana ; therefore trust not to him, even

,

for a s ingle m oment but make the best of your way before they
,

can serve the warrant .

That I shall certainly do but it shall be to the house of this

S quire Inglewood —Which way does it lie ? ”
A bout five miles o ff i n the low ground behind yonder pl anta
t ion s—you may see the tower of the clock-house
, ,

“
I wil be there in few inutes said I , putting my horse in
l a m ”
,

m otion .
96 ROB ROY .

wood P la ce while as if to diver t me from the task Of farther

-
, ,

remonstrance she drew a ludicrous picture Of the magistrate and

,

his clerk Inglewood was according to her description a white

.
, ,

washed Jacobite ; that is one who having been long a non -juror , ,

like most of the other gentlemen of the co untry had lately qualified ,

himself to act as a justice by taking the oaths to Government ,

.

He had done so she said in compliance with the urgent

, ,
“

request of most Of his brother squires who saw with regret that , , ,

the palladium of silvan sport the game-law s were likely to fall into
'
, ,

disuse for want of a magistrate who would enforce them ; the

nearest acting justice being the Mayor Of N ewcastle and he as , ,

being rather inclined to the consumptio n of the game when

properly dressed than to its pre servation when alive was more
, ,

partial of course to the cause of the poacher than of the sportsman

, ,
.

R esolving therefore that it was expedient some one of their

, ,

number should sacri fice the s cruples of Jacobitical loyalty to the

good of the community the N o rthu mb rian co untry gentlemen ,

i mposed the duty on Inglewood who be ing very inert in most o f , ,

his feelings and sentiments might they thought comply with any , , ,

political creed without much repugnance Having thus procured .

the body of justice they proceeded ” continued Miss Vernon to

, , ,
“

attach to it a clerk by way of soul to direct and animate its move

, ,

ments A ccordingly they got a sharp N ewcastle attorney, called

.
,

Jobson , who, to vary my metaphor finds it a good thing enough to ,

reta il justice at the sign of S quire Inglewood and as his own , ,

emoluments depend on the quantity of business which he transacts ,

he hooks in his princ ipal for a great deal more employment in the
justice line than the honest squire had ever bargained for so that
no apple-wife within the circuit Of ten miles can settle her account
with a costermonger without an audience of the reluctant Justice
and his alert clerk Mr Joseph Jobson But the most ridiculous
, . .

s cenes occur when affairs come before him like our business Of to ,

day, having any colouring o f politics Mr Jos eph J obson ( for . .

which no doubt he has his own very sufficient re as ons) is a pro

, ,

digio u s z ealot for the Protestant religion and a great friend to the ,

present establ i shment in church and state N ow his principal .

, ,

retaining a sort of instinctive atta chment to the Opinions which he

professed Openly until he relaxed his pol itical creed with the
,

patriotic view of enforcing the law against unauthorized destroyers

of black-g am e grouse partridges and hares is peculiarly embar
, ,
‘

, ,

ra ss e d when the z eal Of his assistant involves him in judici al pro

c e e din gs connected with hi s earlier faith and instead of seconding ,

his z eal he seldom fails to oppose to it a double dose of indolen c e

,

a n d lack of exertion A n d this inactivity does not by any mean s

.
 ROB ROY .
97

arise from actual stupidity On the contrary for o n e whose

.
,

principal delight is in eating and drinking he is an alert, joyous , ,

and l ive ly old soul , which makes his assumed dulness the more
diverting S o you may see J obson on such occasions , like a bit
.

Of a broken-down blood-tit condemned to drag an overloaded cart,

pu ffing strutting and spluttering to get the Justice put in motion
, , , ,

while ; though the wheels groan creak an d revolve slowly, the

, ,

great and preponderatin g weight Of th e vehicle fairly frustrates the

e fforts of the willing quadruped and prevents its being brought
,

into a state of actual progression

. N ay more, the unfortunate
.

pony, I unders tand has been heard to complain that this same car
, ,

o f justice, which he finds it so hard to put in motion on some

o ccas ions, can on others run fast enough down hill of its own
ac cord , dragging his reluctan t self backwards along with it when ,

anything can be done Of service to S quire Inglewood s quondam ’

friends A n d then Mr Jobson t al ks big about reporting his

. .

principal to the Secretary of State fo r the H ome Department, if it

were not for his particular regard an d friendship fo r Mr Ingl ewoo d .

and his family ” .

A s Miss Vernon concluded this whimsical description , we foun d

o urselves in front Of Inglewood Place a handsome though Old , ,

fashioned b uilding which showed the consequence of the family

, .

C H A P TE R VIII .

”
Sir quoth th e Lawyer not to flatter ye,
, ,
You have as good an d fai r a battery
As heart co uld wish , and need not shame
The proudest man ali ve to claim ” B UTLER . .

OUR horses were taken b y a servan t in Sir H il debran d s l ivery,

’

whom we found in the court yard , and we entered the house

- In .

the entrance-hall I was somewhat surprised and my fair companion ,

still more so, when we met Rashl e igh Osb aldisto ne , who could n o t
help showing equ al wonder at our rencontre .

Rashleigh,” said Miss Vernon without giving him tim e to ask

,

an y question , you have heard of Mr F rancis Osb al disto ne s affair, ’

.

and you have been talking to the Justice about it ? ”

”
C rtainly, said Rashle igh composedly, “ it has been my busi
e ,

n ess here I have been endeavouring,” he sai d with a bow to me,

.
,

to render my cousin what service I can But I am sorry to meet .

him here ” .

“
As a friend and relation , Mr Osb aldis to n e, you ought to have
.

6
98 R OB ROY .

been sorry to have met me anywhere else at a t ime when t h e ,

charge of my reputati on requ ired me to be on this spot as soon

as possible ”
.

Tr u e but judging from what my father said I should have

, ,

supposed a short retreat into Scotlan d—just till matters should be

smoothed over in a quiet way
I a n s we re d w ith warmth That I had no prudential measures to
'

observe and desired to have nothing smoothed over ; on the con

,

t rary I was come to inquire i nto a rascally calumny which I was

, ,

determined t o p ro b e to the bottom ”

' .

”
Mr Francis Osb aldis to n e is an innocent man,
.
R as hle igh said ,

M iss Vernon and he demands an invest igation of the charge

,
”
against h im and I intend to support him in it
You do my pretty cous i n ?—I should think now M r Francis
.
,

.
, , ,

Osb a ldi s t o n e was likely to be as effectually and rather more deli

’

c at ely supported by my presence than by yours

,
.

O certainly but two heads are better than one you kno
”
w , .

Especially such a head as yours my pretty D ie ” advanci n g and , ,

taking her hand with a familiar fondness wh i ch made me think ,

him fifty times uglier than nature had made him She led him .
,

however a few steps aside they conversed in an under voice and

, ,

she appeared t o insist upon some request which he was un will in g o r

unable to comply with I never saw so strong a contrast betwixt
.

the express i on of two faces M iss Vernon s from being earnest .

’
, ,

became angry H er eyes and cheeks became more animated her

.
,

colour mounted she clenched her little hand and stamping on

, , ,

the ground with her t iny f oot seemed to listen with a mixture of ,

contempt and in dignation to the apologies which from his look of , ,

civil deference his composed and re spe c t ful smile his body rather
, ,

drawing back than advanced an d other signs Of lo ok and person I , ,

concluded him to be pouring out at h er feet A t length she flung .

away from him with I w i ll have it so ”

It i s not in my power—there is no po ssibility of i t —
.
,

,
W ould yo u .

thi nk it Mr Osb al di s to n e s ai dhe addressi ng me

, .
, ,

You are not mad ? ” said she interrupt ing him ,

.

Would yo u think it 2 said he witho ut atten ding to her hint ,

M i ss Vernon insi sts n o t on ly that I know your in n ocence ( of

,

which , indee d it is i mpos si ble for an y o n e to he more convinced)

, ,

—
but that I must also be acqu ainte d with the real perpetrators of the
out rage on this fellow if inde ed such an outrage has b een com
, ,
,

m itte d I s this reasonable Mr Os b aldi s to n e ? ”

.
, .

I will not allow an y to appeal to M r Osb aldis to n e R as hle igh .

, ,

s aid the you n g lady ; he does not know as I do the i nc redible

“
, ,

extent an d accuracy of your inform ati on on all points .

z oo R OB ROY .

H eyday ! ” said Miss Vernon the genial Justice must have

“

dined already—I did not think it had been so l ate ”

,

It was even so Mr Ingle wood s appetite having been sharpened

. .
’

by his official investigations he had ante-dated his meridian repast

, ,

having dined at twelve instead of one O clock then the general ’

,

dining hour in England Th e various occurrences of the m orning

.

occasioned our arri vi ng som e t ime after th is hour, to the Justice

the most important of th e four-and-twenty, and he had not
neglected the interval .

Stay yo u here,” said Diana I know the house, an d I will c al l

.

a servant : your sudden appearan c e might startl e the Ol d gentl e

”
ma n even to choking ; and she escaped from me leavi ng me n u ,

certain whether I ought to advan c e or retreat I t was impossible .

for me not to hear some part Of what passed within the dinner
apartment , and particularly several apologies for declining to sing,
expressed in a dejected croaking voice the tones of whi ch, I con ,

c e ive d, were not entirely new to me

N ot sing, sir ? by our Lady but you must—What yo u have
.

cracked my silver-mounted cocoa-n ut Of sack and tell me that yo u

cannot sing l—Sir, sack will make a cat sing and speak too so up
,

with a merry stave or trundle yourself out of my doors —Do yo u

,

think you are to take up all my valuable time with your d d dacla —
”
rations, an d then tell me you cannot sing ?
”
“
Your worship is perfectly in rule said another voice, which , ,

from its pert conceited accent might be that of the clerk “ and the
, ,

p arty must be co nformable ; he hath am et written on his face in

court hand .

Up with it, then said the Justi ce or by St Christopher, you

, , , .

shall crack the cocoa-nut full of sal t-and water, according to the -

statute fo r su ch eff ect made and provided .

Thus exhorted and threatened my quondam fell ow-t raveller, fo r

,

I cou ld no longer doubt that he was the recusant in question up ,

li fted, with a voice similar to that Of a criminal singing his last

psal m on the scaffold a most doleful stave to the following efie ct :
'

Good people all I pray give ear ,

A woful story you shall b ear ,
Tis of a robber as stout us ever
’

Bade a true man stand and deliver ,

With his fo o dle doo fa lo o dle loo .

This knave most worthy of a cord,

,

Being arm d with pistol and with sword,

’

”
Iwixt Kensington and Brentford then
‘

D id boldly stop six honest men ,

With his fo o dle doo, &c .

 R OB ROY . IOI

These honest men did at Brentford d ine,

Having drank each man his pint of wine ,
When thi s bold th ief with many curses , ,

D id say You dogs your l ives or purses

, , ,

W ith his fo o dle doo & c ,

”
.

I question if the honest men whose misfortune is commemorated ,

i n th i s pathet i c ditty were more startled at the appearance of the

,

b o ld th i ef than the songster was at mine for tired of waiting for

, ,

some one to announce me and finding my s i tuation as a listener ,

rather awkward I presented myself to the company just as my

,

friend M r Morris for such it seems was his name was uplift ing
.
, , , ,

the fifth stave of his doleful ballad The h igh tone with which the .

tune started died away in a quaver of consternation on finding

, ,

himself so near one whose character he supposed to be little less

suspicious than that of the hero of his madrigal and he remained ,

s ilent with a mouth gaping as if I had brought the Gorgon s head

,
’

in my hand .

Th e Justice whose eyes had closed under the influenc e of the

,

somniferous lullaby of the song started up in his c hair as it sud ,

de n ly ceased and stared with wonder at the u nexpected addition

,

which the company had received while his organs of sight were in ,

abeyance The clerk as I conjectured him to be from his appear

.
,

ance was also commoved for sitting opposite to Mr Morris , that

, ,
.

honest gentleman s terror communicated itself to him though he

’
,

wotted not why .

I broke the silence of surprise occasioned b ym yabrupt entrance .

M y name Mr Inglewood is Francis Osb al dist o n e

, . I understand ,

that some scoundre l has brought a complaint before you charging ,

me with being concerned in a loss which he says he has sustained .

S ir ” said the Justice somewhat peevishly these are matters “

, , ,

I never enter upon after d i nner —there is a time for everything ,

and a justice of peace must eat as well as other folks ” .

Th e goodly person of Mr Inglewood , by the way seemed by no .

,

means to have suffered by any fasts whether in the service of the ,

law or of religion .

I beg pardon for an ill-timed vis i t s ir but as my reputation is ,

concerned, and as the dinner appears to be concluded ”

“ It is not concluded sir ” repl ied the magistrate ; a man , ,

requires digestion as well as food and I protest I cannot h ave ,

benefit from my victuals unless Ia m al lowed two hours of qu i et ,

leisure intermi xed with harmless m irth and a moderate circulat i on

,
,

of the bottle .

u If your honour will forgive me said M r Jobson who had pro ,

.
,

du c ed and arranged h i s writing implements in the brief space that

 1 02 R OB R OY .

our conversation afforded ; as this is a ca se of felony and the “

,

gentleman seems something i mpatient, the charge is co n tra pacem

”
do mz m
’ ’ '

regrs .

D—n said th e impatient Justice I hope it s ” ’

do m zm e reg zlr!
’ ’

no treason to say s o —but it s enough to make one mad to be wor ’

ried in this way—have I a moment Of my l ife quiet for warrants

orders directions acts , bails bonds and re c o gis a n c e s —
, ,

, ,
I pro , ,

nounce to you Mr Jobson that I shall send you and the justice
,
.
,
”
ship to the devil one Of these days .

Your honour will consider th e dignity of the o ffi c e— one of the

quorum and custos rotulorum an Offi ce of which Sir E dward Coke ,

wi sely saith The whole Christian world hath not the like of it, so
,

it be duly executed .

Well ” said the Justice partly reconciled by this eulogiu m on

, ,

the digni ty Of his situat i on and gulping down the rest of his dis ,

satis faction in a huge bumper Of claret let us to this gear then “

and get rid of it as fast as we c am — Here you sir—you Morris—l

, ,

, ,

you knight o f the sorrowful countenance—is this Mr Francis

,
.

Osb aldis to n e the gentleman whom you charge with being art and
part Of felon y ? ”

I sir ? replied M orris whose scattered w its had hardly yet reas
I charge n othing—I say nothing against the
, ,

sembled thems elve s

gentleman ” .

Then we dismiss your comp laint sir thats all and a good
’

riddance—Push about the bottle —M r Os b aldi st o n e help yourself

, , ,

. .
,

Jobson however was determined that Morris should not back

, ,

out Of the scrape so eas ily What do you mean M r Morris

H ere is your own declaration —the ink scarce dried—and you would
.
,
.

retract it in this s cand al ous manner

How do I know whispered the other in a tremulous tone

”

how ma ny rogues are i n the house to back him —

, , ,

I have read of
such things in Johnson s Lives of the H ighwaymen I protest the ’
.

door opens
A n d it did Open an d Diana Vernon entered
.
You keep fine ,

order here Justice—not a servant to be seen or heard of ”

, .

Ah said the Justice starting up with an alacrity which show ed ,

t hat he was not so engrossed by his devotions to Themi s or Comus , ,

as to forget what was due to beauty

.
A h ha ! D ie Vernon the , ,

heath-bell of Cheviot and the blossom of the Border come to see , ,

how the old bachelor keeps house -A rt welcome girl as flowers , _ ,

”
in May .

A fine open hospita b le house you do keep Justice that must

be allowed—not a soul t o a n s we r a visitor
, , , ,
I
.

A h the knaves they reckoned themselves secure of me for a

“
,
1 04 ROB ROY .

panion the portmanteau by two men well mounted and armed ,

, , ,

havin g t he ir faces covered with vizards

'
.

One of them he conceived had much of my shape and air and

, , ,

in a whispering conversation which took place betwixt the free

b o o te rs he heard the other apply to him the name of Osb aldis to n e
,
.

The declaration farther set forth that upon inquiring into the prin ,

c i ple s Of the family so named , he the said declarant was informed , ,

that they were Of the worst description the family in all its mem , ,

bers having been Papists and Jacobites as he was given to under

, ,

stand by the dissenting clergym an at whose house he stopped after

h is rencontre since the days of William the Conqueror
,
.

Upon all and each of these weighty reasons he charge d me with ,

being accessory to the felony committed upon his person he the ,

said declarant then travell ing in the spec i al e m plo yrrie n t Of G o

,

v ern m e n t and having charge of certain important papers and als o

, ,

a large sum in spec ie to be paid over according to his inst ructions

, , ,

to certain persons of offici al trust and importance in Scotland .

H aving heard this extraordinary accusation I replied to it that , ,

the circumstances on which it was founded were such as c quld war

rant no justice Or magistrate in any attempt on my personal
, ,

l ibert y I admitted that I had practised a little upon the terrors of

.

Mr Morris , while we travelled together but in such trifling parti

.
,

c u lars as could have excited apprehension in no one who was o n e

whit less timorous and jealous than himself B u t I added that I .

,
'

h a d never seen him since we parted and if that which he feared

‘

h a d really come upon him I was i n nowise accessory to an action

,

s o unworthy Of my character and station in life That one .

Of the robbers was c al led Os b aldis t o n e or that such a nam e ,

was mentioned in the course of the conversation betwixt them was ,

a trifling circumstance to which no weight was due A n d concern

, .

ing the dis afl ec tio n alleged against me I was willing to prove to

'

, ,

the satisfaction of the Ju stice the clerk and even the witness him , ,

self that I was Of the same persuasion as his friend the dissenting
,

clergyman had been educated as a good subj ec t in the prin

c ipl e s of the R evolution and as such n o w demanded the person a l
,

protection of the laws which had been assured by that great

event .

The Justice fidge te d took snuff and seemed considerably emb a r

, ,

rasse d while Mr
,
A ttorney Jobson with all the volubility of his
.
,

profession ran over the statute of the 3 4 Edward I I I , by which

, .

j ustices of the peace are allowed to arrest all those whom they find
by indictment or suspicion and to put them into prison The , .

rogue even turned my own admissions against me alleging “ that , ,

s ince I had confessedly, upon mv own showing as s u med the bear ,
 R OB R OY . 1 05

ing or deportment of a robber or male factor I had voluntarily sub ,

j e c te d myself to the suspicions of which I complained and brought ,

myself within the compass of the act having wilfully clothed my ,

”
conduct with all the colour and livery of guilt .

I combated both his arguments and his jargon with much in dig
nation and scorn an d Observed That I should if nec e ssary p ro
, , , ,

duce the bail of my relations which I conceived could not be ,

refused without subjecting the magistrate in a misde meanour ”

,
.

Pardon me my good s ir—pardon me said the insatiable clerk

,
’’
, ,

“
th i s IS a case in which neither bail nor mainprize can be received,
the felon who i s liable to be committed on heavy grounds Of sus
p ic io n , not being replevisable under the statute of the 3 d of King
Edward , there being in that act an express exception Of such as b e
charged of commandment or force and aid of felony done ; ” and , ,

he h inted that his worsh ip would do well to remember that such

were no way replevisable by common writ nor without writ ,
.

A t this period of the conversation a servant entered and delivered ,

a letter to Mr Jobson He had no sooner run it hast ily over than

. .
,

he exclaimed with the air of one who wi shed to appear much vexed
,

at the interruption and felt the consequence attached to a man of

,

mult i farious avocations Good God —why at this rate I shall , ,

have neither time to attend to the public concerns nor my own —no
rest—no quiet— I wish to H eaven another gentleman i n our line
would settle here ! ”
God forbid ! ” said the Justice in a tone of so tto -w ce depreca ,

some of us have enough of one of the tribe ”

.

This i s a matter Of life and death if your worship pleases , .

In God s name no more justice business , I hope ” said the

’
,

alarm ed magistrate
’

N o —no ” replied Mr Jobson very consequentially

,

,
old
.
,

Gaffer R utledge of Grime s -hill is s u b p oen a d for the next world he

’ ’

has sent an express for Dr Kill-down to put in bail—another for .

me to arrange his worldly affairs

‘

“
A way with you then said M r Inglewood h astily ;
, , his may .
,

not be a replevi sable case under the statute you know or Mr , ,

.

Justice Death may not l ike the doctor for a ma i n pern o r or ,

bailsman ” .

A n d yet said Jobson lingering as he moved towards the

”

door if my presence here be n ecessary—I could make out the

, ,
“
,

warrant for committal in a moment and the constable is below ,

A n d you have heard ” he said lo w ering his voice Mr R ashle igh s “ ’

.
, , ,

Opinion —the rest was lost in a whisper .

The Justice replied aloud I tell thee no man no—we l l do “ ’

tis but a four-mile ride —Come, push

, , ,

n ought t ill thou return man

’
,
1 06 R OB R OY .

the bottl e Mr Morris —D on t

be cast down Mr Osb aldisto n e
—
’
.
, . ,

A n d you my rose of the wilderness one cup of claret to refresh

,

the OOm o f your cheeks

b l ”
'

Diana started as i f from a re verie in w hich she appeared to

, ,

have b ee n plunged while we held thi s d iscussion N O Justice I .

, ,

should be afraid of transferring the bloom to a part of my face

where it would show to little advantage but I will pledge yo u in a
cooler beverage and filli n g a glass with w ater she dra nk it
, ,

ha stily wh ile her hurried manner belied her assumed gaiety

,
.

I had not much le isure to make remarks upon he r demeanour

‘

however being full of vexation at the interference of fre sh obstacles

,

to an instant exam ination of the disgraceful and impertinent charge

which was brought again st me But there was no moving the .

Ju stic e to take the matter up in absence of his clerk an incident ,

w hich gave h im apparently as much pleasure as a holiday to a

s choolboy H e pers i sted in his endeavours to inspire j ollity into a
.

c ompany the individuals of which whether cons i dered with refer

, ,

ence to each other or to their respective situations , were by no

,

means i n clined to m irth Come,Master M orris you re not the ’

first man that s been robbed I trow—

.
,

g ne e r b ro ught b a c k
'

’ L ri e vin ’
g
loss man—A n d you Mr F rank Os b aldis t o n e are not the firs t
,

.
, , ,

b ully-boy that has said stand to a true man There Wa s Jack Win .

t e rfi eld in my young days kept the best co mpany in the land—at

horse-races and cock fights who but h e —hand and glove was I with
, ,

Jack—Push the bottle, Mr M orris it s dry talking—Many quart

-

’
.
,

bumpers have I cracked and thrown many a merry main with poor
Jack—good fam ily—ready wit—quick eye —
,

as honest a fellow,
barring the d e ed he die d for—we ll drink to his memory gentle ’

men—Poor Jack W in te rfi eldT A n d since we talk o f him and Of

. ,

those sort o f thi n gs and since that d—d clerk of mine has taken
,

his gibberish elsewhere and since we re snug a mong ourselves , Mr

,
’
.

Osb aldis to n e if you will have m y best advice I would take up this
matter— the law s hard—very severe—hanged poor Jack Winter
, ,
’

fi e ld at York despite family connexion s and grea s t interest—all for

,
-

easing a fat west -country grazier of the pri ce Of a fe w beas ts—No w

he re is hone st Mr Morri s has been frightened and so forth—D —n
,

.
,

it man let the poor fellow have back his portmanteau, and end the
, ,

frolic at once ”
.

M orris s eyes brightened up at this suggestion and he began to

’
,

hesitate forth an assurance that he thirsted for no m an s bloo d ’

,
when I cut the proposed accommodation sho rt b y resenting the Jus ,

tice s suggestion as an insult that went directly to suppose me

’
,

g uilty of the very crime which I had come to his house with the
e xpress inten tion of disavowing We were in this awkward predi .
1 08 ROB ROY .

“
I presume this gentlem an continued the N orth Briton told , ,

you there was a person of the name of Campbell with him when h e ,

had the mischance to lose his valise

“
H e has not mentioned such a name from beginning to end Of ,

the matter ” said the Justice

Ah ! I conceive —
.
,

I conce i ve replied Mr Cam pbell Mr ,

.
.

M orris was kindly afeared of c ommitting a stranger into collision '

w i th e judicial forms of the cou n t ry but as I understand my evi

’

den ce is necessary to the compurgatio n of ane honest gentleman

here Mr Francis Osb aldis to n e wha has been most unjustly
, .
,

suspected I w ill dispense with the precaution Ye will therefore

,
.
-

(he added addressing M orris with the same determined look and
,

accent) please tell M r Justice Ingle wood whether we did not .

travel several miles together on the road in consequence of your ,

own anxious request and suggestion reiterated ance and again , ,

baith on the even ing that we were at N orthallerton and there de ,

c lin e d by me but afterwards accepted when I o ve rt o b k you on the

,
, ,

road near Clo b erry A llers and was prevailed on by you to resign ,

my ain intentions of proceeding to R othbury and for my misfo r ,

tune to accompany you on your o wn proposed route ”

,
.

“
It s a melancholy truth ” answered M orris holding down his
’
, ,

head as he gave this general assent to the long and leading ques
,

tion which Campbell put to him an d seeming to acquiesce in the ,

statement it contained with rueful docili ty .

“
An d I presume you can also asseverate to his -worship that no ,

m an is better qualified than I am to bea r testimony in this case ,

seeing that I w as by you and near you c onstantly during the whole
, ,

occurrence .

NO man better qualified, certainly ” said M orris with a deep , ,

and embarrassed sigh .

A n d why the devil did you not assist him then sa id the , ,

Justice since by Mr M orris s account there were but two

, , .
’
,

robbers ; so you were two to two and yo u are both stout likely ,

men
Sir if it ple as e your worship said Campbell I have been all
, , ,

my life a man of peace and qui etness noways given to bro ils or ,

batteries Mr Morris, who belongs as I understand or hath b e

. .
, ,

longed to his Majesty s army m ight have used his pleasure in

,
’
,

resistance he travelling as I also understand with a great charge

, , ,

of treasure ; but for me who had but my own small pec uliar to
,

defend and who am moreover a man of a pacific occupation, I was

, , ,

unwill ing to commit myself to hazard in the matter ” .

I looked at Campbell as he uttered these words and never re co l ,

lect to have seen a more singular cont rast than that between the
 R OB ROY . 1 09

strong daring sternness expressed in his harsh features and the air ,

Of composed m eekness and simplicity wh ich his language assumed .

There was even a slight ironical smile lurking about the corners of
his mouth which seemed involuntarily as it were to intimate h is
, , ,

disdain of the quiet and peaceful character which he thought proper

to assume and which led me to entertain strange suspi cions that
,

his concern in the violence done to M orris had been something

very different from that of a fellow-su fferer or even of a mere ,

spectator .

Perhaps some such suspicions crossed the Justice s mind at the ’

moment for he excla imed as if by way Of ejaculation Body 0

, , ,
“ ’

me but this is a strange story ” .

Th e North Briton seemed to guess at what was passing in his

mind for he went on with a change of manner and tone dismiss
, ,

i n g from his countenance some part of the hypocrit i cal affectation

Of hum ility which had made him Obnoxi ou s to suspicion and say ,

ing with a more frank and unconstrained air TO say the truth I
, , ,

am just ane 0 those canny folks wha care not to fight but when
’

they hae gotten someth ing to fight for which did not chance to be ,

my predicament when I fell in w i these loons But that your ’

.

worship may know that I am a person of good fame and character ,

please to cast your eye over that billet ”

.

Mr Inglewood took the paper from his hands and read half
.
, ,

aloud These are to certify that the bearer R obert Campbell of

,
“
, , ,

of some place wh i ch I cannot pronounce ” interjected the ,

Ju stice is a person of good lineage and peaceable demeanour , ,

travelling towards England on his own proper affairs & c & c &c , .
, .
, .

Given under our hand at our Castle of Inver— Invera— rara

,

A R GYLE ” .

A slight testimonial sir which I thought fit to impetrate from

, ,

that worthy nobleman (here he raised his hand to his head as if ,

to touch hi s hat ) M ac C allum More

,
”
.

M a c Callum who sir ? said the Justice

”
, .

Whom the Southern call the D uke Of A rgyle .

I know the D uke of A rgyle very well to be a nobleman Of great

worth and distinction and a true lover of his country I was one
, .

of those that stood by h im in 1 7 1 4 when he unhorsed the D uke of

"

M arlborough out of his command I wish we had more noblemen .

like him He was an honest Tory in those days and hand and
.
,

glove with Ormond A n d he has acceded to the present Govern

.

ment as I have done myself for the peace and quiet of his country ;
, ,

for I cannot presume that great man to have been actuated as ,

violent folks pretend with the fear of losing his places and regi
,

m e nt H is testimonial, as yo u call it, M r Campbell, is perfectly

. .
n o ROB ROY .

satisfactory ; and now what have you got to say to this m atter of ,

the robbery ? ”
“
Briefly this if i t please your worship; that Mr M orris might
,
.

as weel charge it against the babe yet to be born or against myself ,

even as against this young gentleman Mr Osb aldi s to n e for I am

, , . ,

not only free to depone that the person for wh om he took him was
a shorter man and a thicker man but also for I chanced to Obtain
, , ,

a glisk of his visage as his fause -face slipped aside that he was a , ,

man of other features and complexion than those of th i s youn g gen

ti eman Mr Osb al dis t o n e A n d I believe he added turning round
,
.
”
.
, ,

with a natural yet somewhat sterner a ir to Mr M orris that the

, ,
.
,
“

gentleman will allow I had better opportunity to take cognizance

wha were present on that occasion than he bein g I believe, much , ,

the cooler O the twa ” ’

.

I agree to it sir— I agree to it perfectly ” said Morris shrinki ng

, , ,

back as Campbell moved h is chai r towards h im to fortify his

,

appeal and I incline s ir ” he added addressing Mr Inglewood , , , .

,

to retract my information as to Mr Osb aldi st o n e and I request .

,

sir you will perm it him s ir to go about his business an d me to go

, , , ,

about mine also ; your worship may have business to settle with
_
”
M p Campbell and I am rather in haste to be gone
.
, .

Then there go the declarations ” said the Justice throwing

, , ,
,

them into the fi re A n d now you are at perfect liberty Mr

Osb aldi s to n e —An d you Mr M orris are set quite at your ease
, .

.
, , .

A y ” said Campbell eyeing Morris as he assented with a ru eful

“
, ,

grin to the J ustic e s observations much like the ease of a toad’

, ,

unde r a pair of harrows— But fear nothing M r M orris yo u and I

I will see you safe —I hope you
.
,

m aun leave the house thegith er

will not doubt m y honour when I say sae—to the next highway
.

, ,

a n d then we p art company ; and if we do not meet a s fri erids in

S cotl and it will be your ain fault

,
.

With such a lingering look Of terror as the condemned criminal

throws when he is informed that the cart awaits him M orris arose ;
, ,

but when on his legs appeared to hesitate I tell th e e man fear

,
.
, ,

nothi ng ” reiterated Campbell ; I will keep my word with you

,
“

Wh y thou sheep s he ar t how do ye ken but we may pick u p

,
’
,

some speerings of your valise if ye will be amenable to good

counsel —Our horse s are ready Bid the Justice fare weel, man
,

.
,

and s how your southern bree ding .

M orris , thus exhorted and encourage d, took his leave under the ,

escort of Mr Campbel l but apparently new s cru ples and terrors

.
, ,

had struck him before they left the ho use fo r I heard Campbell ,

re iterating assuran ces of safety and protection as they left the

a nte -room By the soul of my body, man tho u rt as safe as in thy ’
,
112 R OB ROY .

the king s highway What man all the king s liege subjects are
’
. ,
’

not bound to understand joking, and it s ill cracking jests on matters ’

of felony A n d here s poor D ie Vernon too—i n a manner alone

.
’

and desert ed on the face of this wide earth and le ft to ride and , ,

run and scamper at her own silly pleasure Thou must be careful
,
.

of Di e or egad I will turn a young fellow again on purpose and

, , , ,

fight thee myself although I mu st own it would be a great deal of

,

trouble A n d now get ye both gone an d leave me to my pipe Of

.
, ,

to bac c o, and my meditations for what says the song

The Indian leaf doth briefly burn ,

S o doth man s strength to weakn ess turn ’

Th e fire Of youth extinguished quite ,

Comes age like embers dry and white , ,

.

Think Of this as you take tobacco .

I was much pleased with the gleams Of sense and feeling Whi ch
e scaped from the Justice through the vapours of sloth and self

indulgence assured him of my respect to his admonition s , and took

,

a friendly farewell of th e honest magistrate and his hospitable

mansion .

We found a repast prepared for us in the ante-room which we ,

partook of slightly and rejoined the same servant of Sir H ilde

,

brand who had taken our horses at our entrance and who had been ,

directed as he informed Miss Vernon by Mr R ashle igh to wait

, , .
,

and attend upon us home We rode a little way in silence, fo r, to .

say t ruth my mind was too much bewildered with the events of the
,

morning to permit me to be the first to break it A t length M iss

, .

Ve rnon exclaimed as if giving vent to her own reflections , “ Well

, ,

R ashl e igh is a man to be feared an d wondered at and all but ,

loved he does whatever he pleases and makes all others his pup ,

pets —has a player ready to perform every part which he imagines ,

and an invention and readiness which supply expedients for every

emergency ”
.

You think, then said I , answering rather to her meaning than

“
, ,

to the express words she made use of “ that this M r Campbell , .

,

whose appearance w as so opportune and who trussed up and carried ,

o ff my accuser as a falcon trusses a partridge w as an agent of Mr ,

.

R ash le igh Osb aldisto n e s

’

I do guess as much ” replied Diana ; “ and shrewdly suspect

“
, ,

moreover that he would hardly hav e appeared so very much in the

,

ni ck of time if I had not happened to meet R asl e igh in the hall at

,
”
the Justice s ’
.

“
In that c ase, my thanks are chiefly due to you my fair pre ,

se rver ” .

“
TO be sure they are,” returned Diana an d pray, suppo s e
 ROB ROY . " 3

them paid and accepted with a gracious smile fo r I do n ot care to

, ,

be troubled with hearing them i n good earnest and am much more ,

likely to yawn than to behave becoming In short Mr F rank I .

,
.
,

wi shed to serve you and I have fortunately been able to do so and, ,

have only one favour to ask in return and that is that you will say
n o more about it —But who comes here to meet us bloody with
, ,

spurring fi ery-red with haste —It is the subordinate man of law ,

.
,

I think no less than M r Joseph Jobson ”

,
. .

A n d Mr Joseph Jobson it proved to be in great haste and as it

.
, ,

speedily appeared in m ost extreme bad humour H e came up to

,
.

u s and stopped his horse as we were about to pass w ith a slight

, ,

s al utation

SO sir—
.

Miss Vernon —ay— I see well enough how it is

bail put in during my absence I suppose —
so, ,

I should like to know ,

who drew the recognizance that s all If his worship uses this ,
’
.

form of procedure Often I advise him to get another clerk that s

’
, ,

al l for I shall certainly demit

”
.

Or suppose he get his present clerk stitched to his sleeve Mr ,

.

J obson ” said D iana

,
would not that do as well A n d pray how “

does F armer R utledge Mr Jobson ! I hope you found him able ,

.

to sign seal and del iver ? ”

, ,

This question seemed greatly to increase the wrath of the man

of law He looked at M i ss Vernon with such an air of spite and
,

resentment as laid me under a strong temptation to knock him Off

,

his horse with the butt Of my whip which I only suppressed in ,

c o nsideration of his i n s ign ifi c an c e .

F armer R utledge ma am said the clerk so soon as his in dig

“ ’
, ,

n ation permitted h im to articulate Farmer Rutledge is in as hand

some enjoyment of his health as you are—it s all a barn ma am—all
,
’ ’
,

a bambooz le and a bite that affair of his illness and if you did not ,

k now as much before you know it now ma am ”

, ,
’
.

La you there now repl ied Miss Vernon with an affectation Of ,

extreme and simple wonder sure yo u don t say so Mr Jobson ,

’
,
.

”
But I do say so ma am rejoined the incensed scribe “ and ,
’
,

moreover I say that the Old m i serly clOd-b reaker called me petti
fogger—pettifogger ma am—and said I came to hunt for a j ob
,
’
, ,

m a am whi ch I have no more right to have said to me than any

’ m

o ther gentleman of my profession m a a m e sp ec ially as I am clerk

’
~
,

to the peace having and holding said office under Trzges zm o S ep

'

t t ma H en rzcz Octa vz and P ri mo Gu lzel m z the first Of K ing William ,

' ' ' ' ’ '
'
,

m a am of glorious and immortal memory— our im mortal deliverer

’
,

from pap i sts and pretenders and wooden shoes and warming pans, ,

Miss Vernon ” .

Sad thin gs these wooden shoes and warmi n g pans, retorted the
,

n
 ROB ROY .

young lady who seemed to take pleasure in augm enting his wrath
,

and it is a comfort yo u don t seem to want a warm ing pan at ’

present , Mr Jobson I am afraid Ga ffer Rutledge has not con

fined his incivil ity to language—A re yo u sure he did not gi ve yo u
. .

a beating ?
Beating m a am l- no —(very shortly) no man alive shall
,
’

”
beat me I ,
promise you ma am ,
’
.

“
That is according as you happen to merit sir said I for , ,

your m ode of speaking to this young lady is so unbecoming that , ,

if you do not change your t o n e I shall think it worth while to ,

”
cha stise yo u myself
Chastise sir ? and—me sir —D o you know whom you Speak
.

, ,
”
to, sir ?
“
Yes sir ” I replied ; you say yourself yo u are clerk of peace
, ,

to the county and Gaffer R utledge says you are a pettifogger ; and
in neither capacity are you entitled to be impertinent to a young
lady of fashion ” .

M iss Vernon laid her hand on my arm and exclaimed, Come , ,

M r Osb aldis to n e, I will have no assaults and battery on Mr Job

.
.

son ; I a m not in sufficient charity with him to permit a single

touch of your whip—why he would live on it for a term at least
Besides yo u have already hurt his feelings s uffi c ien tly—you hav e
.
,

,
”
c all ed him impertinent .

I don t value his language M iss said the clerk somewhat

' ’
, , ,

crest-fallen “ besides im pert inent is not an actionable word but ,

pettifogger is slander in the highest degree and that I will make ,

Gaffer R utledge know to his cost and all who malici o us ly repeat ,

the same to the breach of the public peace and the takin g away Of
, ,
”
m y private good name .

N ever m i nd that Mr Jobson said M iss Ve rnon you know

, .
, ,

w here there is nothi ng your own law allows that the king himself ,

must lose his rights and for the taking aw ay of your good name ,

I pity the poor fellow who gets it, and wish yo u joy of los ing it with
”
all my heart
Very well ma am—good evening ma am —I have no more to
.

“ ’ ’

say—only there are laws against papists which it would be well for
, ,

the lan d were they better executed There s third and fourth E d .
’

ward VI of antiphoners missals grailes processionals manuals,

.
, , , , ,

legends pies p o rtuas s e s and those that have such trinkets in their
possession M iss Vernon—and there s summoning of papists to
, , ,
’

take the oaths—and there are pop i sh recusant convicts under the
,

first of his present M ajesty—a y and there are penalties for hear ,

ing mass See twenty-third Of Queen Elizabeth and third J ames

Fi rst, chapter twenty-fifth—A n d there are estates to be registered,
.
,
1 16 R OB ROY .

things that I have a m ind to and that if I had your happy pre ro ,

gative of acting as yo u list would make all the world mad with ,

imitating an d applauding me ” .

I can t quite afford yo u the sympathy you expect upon this

’

score ” I replied ; the misfortune is so general that it belongs to

,
“

”
one half of the species and the other half
“
A re so much better cared for that they are jealous Of thei r ,

prerogatives interrupted Miss Vernon

,
”
I forgot yo u were a
party interested Nay ” said she as I w as going to speak “ that
.
, , ,

soft smile is intended to be the preface of a very pretty compliment

respecting the peculiar advantages which Die Vernon s friends and ’

kinsmen enjoy by her being born one of their H elots but spare me
,

the utterance my good friend and let us try whether we sh all agree
, ,

better on the second count of my indictment against fortune as ,

that quill-driving puppy would call it I belong to an oppressed .

sect and antiquated religion and instead Of getting credit for my , ,

de vo tio n as is due to all good girls beside my kind friend Justice

, .
, ,

Inglewood may send me to the house of correction merely for

, ,

worshipping God in the way of my ancestors an d say as old Pem , ,

broke did to the A bbess o f Wilton * when he usurped her convent

and establ ishment G O spin you jade —G o spin
,
’
, , .

”
This is not a cureless evil said I gravely Consult some Of , ,
.
,

our learn ed divines or consult your own excellent understanding

, ,

M iss Vernon and surely the particulars in which our religiou s creed
di ffers from that in which you have been educated
“
Hush ! ” said D iana placing her fore-fin ge r on her mouth
, ,

Hush ! no more of that F orsake the faith Of my gallant fathers

.

— I would as soon were I a man forsake their banner when the

, ,

tide of battle pressed hardest against it and turn like a hireling , ,

recreant to join the victorious enemy ”

,
.

I honour your spirit M iss Vernon and as to the in c o n ve n i

,

e n c e s to which it exposes yo u I can only say that wounds sustained, ,

for the sake of conscience carry their own balsam with the
blow .

“
Ay ; but they are fretful and irritating for all that But I see , .
,
hard of heart as you are my chance of beating hemp or drawing , ,

out flax into marvellous coarse thread affects you as little as my ,

condemnation to coif and pinners , instead of beaver and co cka de ;

so I will spare myself the fruitless pains Of telling my third c ause
”
of vexation .

N ay my dear M iss Vernon do no t withdraw you r confidence

, , ,

and I will promise yo u , t hat the threefold sympathy due to your

very u nusu al causes of distress shall be all duly and truly paid to
account o f the third, providing yo u assure me th at it is o ne which ,
 ROB R OY . 1 17

yo u n either share with all womankind , nor even with every Catholic
in E n gland , who , God bless you are still a sect more numerous ,

than we Protestants in our zeal for church and state would desire
, ,

them to be ” .

I t is indeed , said D iana with a manner greatly altered and

, ,

more serious than I had yet seen her assume a misfortune that well ,

merits compassion I am by nature as you may easily observe of

.
, ,

a frank and u nreserved disposition—a plain true-hearted girl who -

,

would w illingl y act openly and honestly by the whole world and ,

yet fate has involved me in such a series of nets and toils and e n , ,

tanglements that I d are hardly speak a word for fear of con

,

sequences—not to myself but to others ,

.

“
That i s indeed a misfortune M i ss Vernon which I do most , ,

sincerely compassionate but which I should hardly have antici

,

pated ”
0 Mr Osb aldisto n e if you b u t knew—if any one knew what
.

, .
, ,

difficulty I sometimes find in hiding an aching heart with a smooth

brow you would indeed pity me I do wrong perhaps i n speaking
,
.
,

to you even thus far on my own situation ; but you are a young
man of sense and penetrat i on —you cannot but long to ask me a
hundred quest i ons on the events of this day—o n the share which
R as hle igh has i n your deliverance from this petty scrape—upon
many other poi nts which cannot but excite your attention—and I
cannot bring myself to answer with the necessary falsehood and
fi n es s e — I should do it awkwardly and lose your good Opinion if I , ,

have any share of it as well as my own It is best to say at once

, .
,

A sk me no questions I have it not in my power to reply to them

”
.
,

Miss Vernon spoke these words with a tone Of feeling which

could not but make a correspond ing impression upon me I assured .

her that she had neither to fear my urging her with i mpertinent
questions nor my misconstruing her declining to answer those
,

which m igh t in themselves be reasonable or at least natural , .

I was too much obl ige d ” I said by the interest she had taken
, ,
“

in my affairs to misuse the opportunity her goodness had afforded

,

m e of prying into hers— I only trusted and entreated that if my ,

services could at any t ime be useful she would command them , ,

without doubt or hesitation

Thank you—thank you
.

“
she replied ; “ your voice does not
,

ring the cuckoo chime of compliment but speaks like that of one
who knows to what he pledges himself If—but it i s imposs ible
,

but yet zf an Opportun ity should occur I will ask you if yo u

, ,

remember this promise and I assure yo u I shall not be angry if ,

I find you have forgotten it for it is enough that you are sincere in
,

your intentions just now—much may occur to alter them ere I call
1 18 R OB ROY .

upon you sh o uld that m oment ever come to assist D ie Vern on, as
, ,

if you were Die Vernon s brother ” ’

.

A n d if I were Di e Vernon s brother said I there could not

“ ’ “

be less chance that I should refuse my ass i stanc e—A n d now I am

, ,

afraid I must not ask whether R ashle igh was willingly accessory to
my del verance ?
i
”

N ot Of me but you may ask it Of himself and depend upon it , ,

he w ill say yes ; for rather than any good action should walk
through the world like an unappropriated adject ive in an ill
arranged sentence he is always will ing to stand noun s ubstantive
,

to it himsel f ”
.

A n d I must not ask whether this Campbell be himself the party

“

who eased Mr M orris of hi s portmanteau or whether the letter

.
, ,

wh i ch our friend the attorney received was not a finesse to with ,

draw him from the scene of action lest he should have marred the ,

happy event of my deliverance ? A n d I must not ask

You mu st ask noth ing Of me said Miss Vernon ; so it is ,

quite in vain to go on putting cases Y o u are to think j ust as well .

Of me as if I had answered all these quer i es and twenty others ,

’

besides as glibly as Rashle igh could have done ; and Observe

, ,

whenever I touch my chin j ust so it is a sign that I cannot speak ,

u pon the topic which happens to occupy your attention I must .

settle signals of correspondence with yo u because you are to be my ,

confidant and my counsellor only you are to know nothing what

,

ever o f my affairs ” .

N othing can b e more reasonable ” I replied laugh in g and , ,

the extent of your confidence will you may rely u pon it only be , ,

equalled by the sagacity Of my counsels .

This sort of conversation brought us in the highest good humour ,

-

with each other to Os b aldis to n e H all where we found the family

,
-
,

far advanced in the revels of the evening .

“
Get some dinner for Mr Osb aldi st o n e and me in the library
said M iss Vernon to a servant — I must have some compa sion
.
,
“
.
s

upon yo u ” she adde d turn ing to me and provid e against your

, , ,
“

starving in this mansion of brutal abundance Otherwise I am not

sure that I should show you my private haunts This same l ibrary .

is my den—the only corner of the Hall house where I am safe -

from the Ourang Outan gs , my cousins They never venture there

- .
,

I suppose for fear the folios should fal l down and crack their
skulls for they will never affect their heads in any other way —
,

So
”
follo me
w .

A n d I followed through hall and bower vaulted passage and ,

winding stair until we reached the room where she had ordered
,

our refreshment s .
mo ROB ROY .

survived the amicable dispositions in which it had its origin A t .

any rate we live less together ; an d when he comes through -that

,

door there I vanish through this door here ; and so having made
, ,

the discovery that we two were one too many for this apartment ,

as large as it seems R ashle igh whose occasions frequently ca ll , ,

him elsewhere has generously made a cession of his rights i n my

,

favour so that I now endeavour to prosecute alone the studies in

which he used formerly to be my guide ” .

”
A n d what are those studies if I ma y presume to ask ?
“
,

Indeed you may without the least fear of seeing my fore -finger ,

raised to my chin Science and history are my principal favourites

.

but I also study poetry and the classics ” .

“
A n d the classics ? D o yo u read them i n the original ?
Un questionably R as hle igh who is no conte m ptible scI io lar , ,

taught me Greek and Latin as well as most of the languages of ,

modern Europe I assure you there has been some pai ns taken
.
,

in my educat i on although I can neither sew a tucker nor work

,
.

c ro s s s t it c h nor make a pudding nor as the vicar s fat wife with

’
~
, , , ,

as much truth as elegance good-will and politeness was pleased , , ,

to say in my behalf do any other useful thing in the varsal world

,
. .

A n d was this selection of studies Ra shle igh s choice, or your

“ ’

own Miss Vernon ? ” I asked

, .

Um I” said she as if hesitating to answer my question , it s ,

’

not worth while lift ing my finger about after all—Why partly his , , ,

and partly mine A s I learned out of doors to ride a horse and

.
,

bridle and saddle him in case o f necessity and to clear a five .

,

barred gate, and fire a gun without winking and all other of those ,

masculine accompl i shments that my brute cous ins run mad after I ,

wanted like my rat ional cousin to read Greek and Latin within
, ,

doors and make my complete approach to the tree of knowledge,

,

w hich you men-scholars would engross to y ourselves in revenge I , ,

suppose for our common mother s share in the great original

,
’

transgression ” .

A n d Ra s hle igh readily indulged your propensity to learning ? ”

Why he wished to have me for his scholar and he could but
,

teach me that which he knew himself—h e was n o t likely to instruct

,

me in the mysteries of washing lace -ruffl e s or hemm ing cambric ,

handkerchiefs I suppose ” , .

I admit the temptation of getting such a s cholar and have no ,

doubt that it ma de a weighty consideration on the tuto r s part ”

’
.

0 if you begin to investigate Ra shl e igh s motives my finger

’
, ,

touches my chin once more I can only be frank where my own .

are inquired into But to resume —he has resigned the library in
.
‘

my favour and never enters without leave had and obtained and
,
 ROB ROY . 121

so I have taken the liberty to make it the place of deposit for some
of my own goods and chattels as you may see by looking round ,
”
you .

“
I beg pardon Miss Vernon but I really see nothing around
, ,

these walls which I can distinguish as likely to claim yo u as mis

tress ” .

“
That is I suppose because you neither see a shepherd or
, ,

shepherdess wrought in worsted and handsomely framed in black

ebony -o r a stuffed parrot —o r a breeding-cage full of canary
,

birds —o r a house -wife case broidered with tarnished silver —

, , ,

or a ,
, ,

toilette table with a nest of japanned boxes w ith as m any angles as

Christmas m inced-pies —o r a broke n -backed spinet —o r a lute
,

with three strings —o r rock-work —o r shell work —

, ,

,
o r needle w ork -
, ,

or work of any k ind —o r a lap-dog with a litter of blind puppies

N one of these treasures do I possess she continued after a pause ,
’ ’
, ,

i n order to recover the breath she had lost 1n enumerating them

But there stands the s w ord of m y ancestor Sir R ichard Vernon ,
'
slai n at Shrewsbury and sorely slandered by a sad fellow called
,

W ill S h ak Spe are whose Lancastrian partialities an d a certain

, ,

knack at embodying the m has turned historyu pside down or , ,

rather inside out — and by that re do u b te dwe ap on hangs the mai l

of the st ill older Vernon s quire to the Black Princ e whose fate is
, ,

the reverse of his descendant s since he is more indebted to the ’

,

bard who took the trouble to celebrate him for goo d-will than for ,

talents,
Am idde s the route yo u might discern one
Brave knight with p ipes on shi eld ycleped Vernon
, ,

Like a borne fiend along the plain he thundered ,

Prest to be carving thro te s while others plundere d , .

’

Then there is a model of a new martingale which I invented m y

self—a great improveme n t on the D uke of N ewcastle s and there ’

are the hood and bells of my falcon Chevi ot who spitted h imself on
a heron s bill at Horsely-moss—poor Cheviot there is not a bird
,
’
,

on the perches below but are kites and rifl e rs compared to him ;
,

and there is my own light fowling-p iece with an improved fi re ,

lock with twenty other treasures each more valuable than another ,
~

—A n d there that speaks for itself ”

, .

She pointed to the carved oak-frame of a full -length portrait by

Vandyke on which were inscribed in Gothic letters the words
, , ,

Vern o n s e mfi e r I looked at her for explanation Do you

not know said she with some surpri se our motto —
.

”
, ,
the V ernon ,

motto where , ,

Like the solemn vice In iquity , ,

We moralize two meanings 1n one word ? "

 ROB ROY
’

rz z .

”
A n d do you not know our cognizance the pointin g to the
,
pipes ?
armorial bearings sculptured on the oaken scutcheon around which ,

the legend was displayed

Pipes —they look more like penny whistles—But pray do not
.

-
, ,

be angry with my ignorance ” I continued observing the colour, ,

mount to her cheeks, I can mean no affront to your armorial

“

”
bearings for I do not even know my o wn
,
.

“
You an Osb aldis to n e and confess so much she exclaimed
Why P e rc i e Thornie John D i ckon —Wilfred himself m ight be
.

, , , , ,
”
your instructor Even ignorance itself is a plummet over you
.
.

“
With shame I confess it my dear Miss Vernon the mysteries
, ,

couched under the grim hieroglyphics of heraldry are to me as

”
unintelligible as those of the pyram ids of Egypt .

“
Wh at ! is it poss ible — Why even my uncle reads G w illym
sometimes of a w inter n ight—N ot know the figures of heraldry
,

o f what could your father be thinking

”
?
Of the figures of arithmetic I answered ; the most insignifi cant
,
” “

unit of which he hol ds more highly than all the blazonry of chivalry .

But though I am ignorant to this inexpressible degree I have

, ,

knowledge and taste enough to adm ire this splendid picture, in

which I think I can discover a fam ily likeness to you What ease
and dignity in the attitude —what richness of colouring—what
.

breadth and depth of shade

I s it really a fine painting she asked .

I have seen many works of the renowned artist ” I replied , ,

but never beheld one more to my liking ”

.

“
Well I know as little of p i ctures as you do of heraldry ” replied
, ,

M iss Vernon yet I have the advantage of you because I have

“
,

always adm ired the painting without understanding its value .

“
While I have neglected pipes and tabors and all the wh i msical ,

combinations of chivalry still I am informed that they floated in

,

the fields of ancient fame But you will allow their exterior ap
.

p e aran c e is n o t so peculiarly interesting to the uninformed spec

tator as that of a fine paint ing — Who is the person here re pre
sented ?
My grandfather H e shared the misfortunes of Charles I
. .
,

and I am sorry to add the excesses Of his son Our patr imonial
, ,
.

estate was greatly impair ed by his prodigality and was altogether ,

lost by his successor my unfortunate father But peace be with

, .

them who have got it — i t was lost in the cause of loyalty ” .

Your father I presume suffered in the p o litical dissensions of

, ,
”
the period ?
“
H e did indeed ; he lost his all A n d hence is his child a .

dependent orphan ; eating the bread of others subjected to their ,

1 24 R OB R OY .

wine I have done the honours of the dinner for the credit o f
.
,

Os b aldis to n e -H all ” .

Ra shle igh sate down and fill ed his glass glancing from D iana
, ,

to m e with an embarrassment which his utmost e fforts could not

,

entirely disguise I thought he appeared to be uncertain con

.

c erning the extent of co n fidence she might have reposed in me ,

an d hastened to lead the conversation int o a channel which should

sweep away his s uspicion that Diana m ight have betrayed any
secrets which rested between them Miss Vernon ” I said .
, ,
“
Mr Rashle igh has recommended me to return my thanks to you
.
,

for my speedy disengagement from the r idiculou s accusation of

Morris ; and unjustly fearing my grat itude m ight not be warm
,

enough to remind me of this d uty she has put my curiosity on its ,

s i de by referring me to you for an account or rather explanation

, , ,

of the events of the day .

“
Indeed ! ” answered Ra shl e igh ; I should have thought ”
( looking keenly at M i ss Vernon) that the lady herself might “
,

have stood interpreter and his e ye reverting from her face , ,

sought mi n e as if to search from the expression of my features

, , ,

whether D i ana s communication had been as narrowly limited as

’

my words had intimated Mis s Vernon retorted his inquisitorial .

glance with one of decided scorn ; while I uncertain whether to ,

deprec a te or resent his obvious suspicion replied “ If it is your , ,

pleasure Mr R a shle igh as it has been Miss Vernon s to leave me

, .
,
’
,

in ignorance I must necessarily subm it ; but pray do not with

,

hold your information from me on the ground of imagining that I ,

have already obta ined any on the subject For I tell you as a .

man of honour I am as ignorant as that picture of anything re

,

lating to the events I have witnessed to day excepting that I -

,

understand from M i ss Vernon that yo u have been kindly active in ,

my favour ” .

M iss V ernon has overrated my humble e fforts ” said R ash ,

leigh though I claim full credit for my zeal Th e truth is , that

,
“
.

as I galloped back to get some one of our family to j oin me in

becoming your ba il which was the most obvious or, indeed I
, , ,

may say the only way of se rving you w hich occurred to my stupidity
I met the man Ca wm il— C o lville —Campbell or whatsoeve r they
, ,

f
,

call him I had understood from M orris that he was present when
.
,

the robbery took place and had the good fortune to prevai l on
,

him (with some difficulty I confess ) to tender his evidence in your

,

e xc u lp a t i o n whi c h I presume w as the means of your being released

,
”
from an unpleasant situation .

Indeed — I am much your debtor for procuring such a season

able evidenc e in my behalf But I cannot see why (having been , .
 ROB ROY . 1 25

as he said a fellow-sufferer with M orris ) it should have required

, ,

m uch trouble to persuade him to step forth and bear evidence ,

whether to convict the actual robber or free an innocent person ,

.
”

“
You do not know the genius of that man s country, sir,” an ’

s we re d R a shl e igh discretion prudence and fores ight are their

“
, , ,

leading qualities ; these are only modified by a narrow spirited -

,

but yet ardent patriotism which forms as it were the outmost of

,

the concentric bulwarks with which a S cotchman fo rtifie s himself

against all the attacks of a generous ph ilanthropical princ i ple .

Surmount this mound you find an inner an d sti ll dearer barrier

,

the love of his province his village or most probably h i s clan

storm this second obstacle you have a third—his attachment to
, , , ,

his own family —his father mother sons daughters uncles aunts
,

, , , , , ,

and cousins to the ninth generation It is within these limits that

,
.

a Scotchman s social affect ion expands itself never reaching those

’
,

w h i ch are outerm ost till all means of d i scharg ing itsel f in the inte
,

rior circles have been exhausted I t is withi n these circles that his .

heart throbs each pulsation being fa i nter and fainter till beyond
, ,

the widest boundary it i s almost unfelt A n d what i s worst of all

,
.
,

could you surmount all these concentric outworks you have an

i nner citadel deeper h igher and more efficient than them all —a
,

, , ,

S cotchman s love for himsel f ”

’
.

“
A ll this is extremely elo q uent and metaphorical R a shle igh , ,

said M iss Vernon who listened with unrepressed impatience

,
“
there are only two object i ons to it first it is n o t true ; secondly , ,

if true it is noth ing to the purp ose

,
.

“
It is true my fairest D iana ” returned R ashle igh ; and more
, ,

over it is most instantly to the purpose I t is true because you

,
.
,

c annot deny that I know the country and people intimately and ,

the character is drawn from deep and accurate consi deration an d

it is to the purpose because it answers M r Francis Osb aldis to n e s
, .
’

q uestion and shows wh y this same wary S cotchman considering

, ,

our kinsman to b e neither his countryman nor a Campbell nor his ,

cousin in any of the inextricable combinations by which they

extend their pedigree and above all seeing no prospect of per , ,

sonal advantage but on the contrary much hazard of loss of time

, , ,

a n d delay of business
”

With other inconveniences perhaps o f a nature yet more , ,

”
form idable inte rrupted M i ss Vernon
, .

“
Of which doubtless, there might be m any said R ashle igh,
, ,

continuing in the Same tone In short my theory shows why thi s ,

man hoping for no advantage and afraid of some inconvenience

, , ,

might require a degree of persuasion ere he could be prevailed on

”
to give h testimony in favour of Mr Osb d s t o e
i s a l i n . .
1 26 R OB R OY .

“
It seems surprising to me I observed , “ that during the glan c e,

I cast over the declaration or whatever i t is termed of Mr M orris

, ,
.
,

he should never have mentione d that Campbell was in his com

pany when he met the marauders .

I understood from Campbell that he had taken his solemn pro ,

mise not to mention that c ircu m stance ” replied R a shle igh his ,

reason for exacting such an engagement you may guess from what
I have hin ted h e w i shed to get back to his own country n u
w
,

delayed and unem barrassed by any of the j udicial i nquiries which

he would have been under the necessity of attending had the fact ,

of his being present at the robbery taken air while he was on this
side of the Border But let him once h e as d i stant as the Forth
.
,

M orris will I warrant you come forth with all he knows about
, ,

him and it may be a good deal more

, ,
Bes ides Campbell is a
, ,
.
,

very extensive dealer in cattle and has often occasion to s end great ,

droves into N o rthu mb e rlan d ; an d when driving such a trade he , ,

would be a great fool to e m broil himself with our N orthumbrian

thieves than whom no men who live are more vindictive
,
.

I dare be sworn of that said Miss Vernon with a tone which

”
, ,

implied something more than a simple acquiescence in the pro

position .

Still ” said I resuming the subject allowing the force of the

, , ,
“

reasons which Campbell might have for desiring that M orris should
be silent with regard to his promise when the robbery was com
m i tte d I cannot yet see how he could atta i n such an influence over
,

the man as to make him suppress his evidence in that particular

, ,

at the mani fest r i sk of subjecting his story to discredit ” .

R ash le igh agreed with me that it was ve ry extraordinary, and ,

seemed to regret that he had not questioned the S cotchman more

closely on that subject which he allowed looked extremely m ys te
,
'

ri o u s . But he asked immediately after this acquiescence are

”
, , ,
“

you very sure the circumstance of M orris s being accompanied by ’

Campbell is really not alluded to in his examinat ion ? ”

“
I read the paper over hastily said I but it is my strong ,
” “

impression that no such circumstance is mentioned ; at least i t ,

must have been touched on very slightly since it failed to catch ,

my attention .
”

True true answered Rashl e igh forming hi s own inference

, , ,

while he adopted my words I incl ine to think w ith you , that th e .

c i rcumstance must in reality have been mentioned but so slightly ,

that it failed to attract your attention A n d then as to Campbell s .

,
’

interest with M orris I incline to s uppose that it must hav e been

,

gained by playing upon his fears This ch i cken-hearted fellow .

,

M orris , is b o und, I understand for Scotland destined for some , ,

( 28 ROB ROY
.

not a favourable complexion appeared to hang over his conduct ;

,

but to ascertain i f my suspicions were just it was necessary to ,

throw h im o ff his guard We cut for the deal an d were soon

.
,

earnestly engaged in our play I thought I perceived in this trifling

.

for amusement (for the st ake which R a shle igh proposed was a
mere trifle ) something of a fierce and ambitious temper H e .

seemed perfectly to understand the beautiful game at which he

played but preferred as it were on principle the risking bold and
, , ,

precarious strokes to the ordinary rules of play ; and neglecting

the minor and better-balanced chances of the game he hazarded ,

everything for the chance of p iqu e in g re piqu e in g or capoting his , ,

adversary So soon as the int ervention of a game or two at piquet

.
,

like the m usic between the acts of a drama had completely i nter ,

ru pt e d our previous course of conversation R ash l e igh appeared to ,

tire of the game and the cards were superseded by discourse, in

,

w h i ch he assumed the lead

More learned than soundly wise—better acquainted with m en s
.

' ’

minds than with the moral principles that ought to regulate them,
'
h e had still powers of c onversation which I have rarely seen
equalled n ever excelled Of this h is manner implied some con
,
.

sc io u s n e s s ; at least it appeared to me that he had studied hard to

,

i m prove his natural advantages of a melodious voice fluent and ,

happy expression apt language and fervid imagination H e was

, , .

never loud never o verbearing n ever so much occupied with his

, ,

own thoughts as to outrun either the patience or the comprehensi on

of those he conversed with His ideas succeeded each other with
.

the gentle but unintermitting flow of a plentiful and bounteou s

spring ; while I have heard those of others who aimed at dis ,

tinction in conversation rush along like the turbid gush from the
,

sluice of a mill-pond as hurried and as eas ily exhausted It was

, , .

late at night ere I could part from a companion so fascinating ;

and when I gained my own apartment it cost me no small effort
, ,

to recall to m y mind the character of R ashle igh, suc h as I had

pictured him previous to this téte -a-tete .

S o eff ectual , my dear Tresham does the sense of being pleased ,

a n d amused blunt our faculties of perception and discrimination of

character that I c an only compare it to the taste of certain fruits

, ,

at once luscious and poignan t which renders our palate t otall y ,

unfit fo r relishing or distinguishing the viands which are sub se

quently s ubj e c te d to its c riticism .
 ROB ROY . 29 9

C H A P TE R X I .

What gars ye gaunt my merrymen a’ ? ,

What gars ye look sae dreary ?

What gars ye hing your head sae sair
In th e castle of B alwe arie ?
Old S co tclz B a llad .

TH E ext morning chanced to be Sunday a day peculiarly hard

n ,

to be got rid of at Osb al dis t o n e -H all ; for after the formal religious
service of the morn ing had been performed, at which all the family
regularly attended , it was hard to say upon which individual , Ra sh
l eigh and M iss Vernon excepted the fiend of ennui descended ,

with the most abundant outpourin g of his spirit To speak of my .

yesterday s embarrassment amused Sir H ildebrand for severa l

’

m inutes, an d he congratulated me on my deliverance from M or

peth or H exham j ail as he would have done i f I had fallen in
,

attempting to clear a fi ve barred gate and got up without hurting

-
,

mysel f .
_

Hast had a lucky turn lad ; but do na be over venturous

,

again What man ! the king s road is free to all men , be they
.
,
’

Whigs , be they Tories ” .

On my word sir I am innocent of interrupting it ; an d it is

, ,

the most provoking thing on earth that every person will take it ,

for granted that I am accessory to a crime which I despise an d

detest, and which would moreover deservedly forfeit my life to the
, ,

laws of my country ”
W ell well , lad ; even s o be it ; I ask no questions—no man
.

bound to tell on him s el I—that s fair play, or the devil s in t ”

,
’ ’ ’
.

R ashle igh here came to my assistance ; but I cou l d not help

‘
thinking that his arguments were c al culated rather as hints to his
father to put on a show of acquiescence in my declaration of
innocence, than fully to establish it
In your o wn house my dear sir—an d your own nephew—you
.

will not surely persist in hurting his feelings by seeming to dis ,

c re dit wha t he is so strongly i nterested i n affirming N o doubt, .

you are full y deservi ng of all his confidence and I am sure were , ,

there anything yo u could do to assist hi m in thi s strange affair, he

would have recourse to your goodness B ut my cousin Frank has .

b een dismissed as an innocent m an and no one is entitled to sup ,

pose him otherwise For my part I have not the least doubt of
.
,

his innocence ; and our fam ily honour I conceive requires that , ,

we should maintain it with tongue and sword against the whol e

cou ntry ” .
I3 0 R OB ROY .

Ra shle igh,said his father looking fixedly at him thou art a

”
, ,
“

sly loon—thou hast ever been too cunn ing for me and too cunning
'

for most folks Have a care tho u pro ven a too cunn ing for th ys ell
.

— two faces under one hood is no true heraldry A n d since we talk .

” i
of heraldry I ll go ar d read G
,
’
w ill ym .

This resolution he intimated with a yawn resistless as that of ,

the goddess in the D unciad which was re Spo n s iveJ y echoed by ,

h i s giant sons as they dispersed in quest of the pastimes to which

,

their m inds severally i ncl ined them— P e rc ie to discuss a pot of

March beer with the steward i n the buttery — Thorncliff to cut a
pair of cudgels and fix them 1n their wicker hilts —j ohn to dress
,

May-fl ie s —D ickon to play at pitch and toss by himself, his right

,

hand against his left — and Wilfred to bite his thumbs and hum
himself i nto a slumber which should last till dinner—
, ,

time if pos ,

s ible M i ss Vernon had ret ired to the library

. .

R as hle igh and I were left alone in the old hall from which the ,

servants with their usual bustle and awkwardness had at length

, ,

contrived to hurry the rem ains of our substantial break fast I .

took the opportunity to upbraid him with the manner in whi ch he

had spoken of my affair to his father which I frankly stated was ,

highly offensive to me as i t seemed rather to exhort Sir H ildebrand

,

to conceal his suspicions than to root them out ” , .

“
Why what can I do my dear friend ? ” replied R ashle igh :
, ,

my father s dispo sition is so tenacious of suspicions of all kinds

’
,

whe n once they take root (wh i ch to do him justice does not eas ily , ,

happen) that I have always found it the best way to silence him
,

u pon such subjects instead of argu i ng with him

, Thus I get the .

better of the weeds which I cannot eradicate by cutt ing them over ,

as often as they appear until at length they die away of them ,

selves There 15 ne ither wisdom nor profit 1n disput ing with such
.

a mind as Sir H ildebrand s which hardens itself against con ’

,

vi c ti o n and believes in its own inspirat i ons as firm ly as we good

,

Catholics do in those of the H oly Father of R ome ” .

It i s very hard though that I shoul d l i ve in the house of a

“
, ,

man an d he a near relation too who will persist in believi ng me

, ,

guilty of a highway robbery .

“
My father s foolish opinion if one may give that epithet to any
’
,

opinion of a fathe r s does not affect your real innocence ; and as

’
,

to the disgr a ce of the fact depend on it that considered in all its , , ,

bearings political as well as moral Sir H ildebrand regards it as a

, ,

meritorious action —a weakening of the enemy—a spoili ng of the

Am alekites and you wi ll stand the higher in his regard for your
s upposed accession to it .

’
I desire no man s regard, Mr Rashl e igh on such term s as .
,
I3 2 ROB ROY .

t in ued; for I must soon lose the charms of literary s ociety fo r

“

the drudgery of commerce and the coarse eve ry-day avocations o f ,

’
th e world I repeat it that my compliance with my fathe r s wishes
.
,

for the advantage of my family is indeed a sacrifice especiall y , ,

considering the calm and peaceful profession to which my education

destined me .

I was vain but not a fool and this hypocrisy was too strong fo r
, ,

m e to swallow You would not persuade m e I replied that

” “
. , ,

yo u really regret to exchange the situation of an obscure Catholic

priest with all its privations for wealth and society, and the
, ,
”
ple asures of the world ?
Ra shle igh saw that he had coloured his affectation of moderation
too highly and after a second s pause during which, I suppose, he
, ,
’
,

calculated the degree of candour which it was necessary to use

with me ( that being a qu ality of which he was never needlessly pro
fuse) he answered with a smile
,
A t my age to be condemned , as , .

you say to wealth and the world does not, indeed sound so alarm
, , ,

i n g as perhaps it ought to do But with pardon be it Spoken yo u .

, ,

h ave m i s t ak en my destination —a Cathol i c priest if you w ill but

'

, ,

not an obscure o n e — N o sir R ashle igh Osb aldis to n e will be more

, ,

obscure , should he rise to be the richest citizen i n London than he ,

might have been as a member of a church , whose ministers, as

some one says set their s an dall d feet on princes —
,
M y family ’
.
’

interest at a certain exiled court is high and the weight which that ,

court ought to possess and does possess at R ome is yet higher

, , ,

m y talents not altogether inferior to the education I have received .

In sober judgment I might have looked forward to high eminence

,

in the church —in the dream of fancy to the very highest Why , .

might not ” (he added laughing for it was part of his manner t o
, ,

keep much of his dis course apparently betwixt jest and earnest)
wh y might not Cardinal Os b al disto n e have swayed the fortunes
of empires well -born and well-connected as well as the low-born
,
‘

Mazarin or A lberon i the son of an Italian gardener ? ”

, ,

N ay I can give you no reason to the contra ry ; but in your

,

place I should not much regret losing the chance of such pre ‘

carious and invidious elevation ” .

”
Neither would I he replied “ were I sure that my present
, ,

establishment was more certain ; but that must depend upon cir
c u m s t an c e s which I can only learn by experi ence —the disposition

of your father for example ” ,

.

Confess the truth without finesse Ra shle igh yOu would will ,

i n gly know something of him from me

Since like D ie Vernon , you make a point of followi n g the
,

banner of the good knight Sincerity, I reply

 R OB R OY . 13 3

Well then you will find in my father a man who has followed
, ,

the paths of thriving more for the exercise they afforded to his
t al ents than for the love of the gold wi th wh ich they are strewed
, .

H is active mind would have been happy in any situat i on wh i ch

gave it scope for exertion though that exertion had been its sole
,

reward But his wealth has accumulated because moderate and

.
, ,

frugal in his habits no new sources of expense have occurred to

,

dispose of his increasing income H e is a man who hates dis s im u

.

lation in others ; never practises it himself and is peculiarly alert

in discovering motives through the colouring of language H imself .

silent by habit he is readily disgusted by great talkers the rather

, ,

that the circumstances by which he is most interested afford no

great scope for conversation H e is s everely strict in the duties of
.

religion but you have no reason to fear his interference with yours ,

fo r he regards toleration as a sacred princ i ple of political economy .

But if you have any Jacobitical partialities as is naturally to be ,

supposed you will do well to suppress them in his presence as well

, ,

as the least tendency to the high flyin g or Tory principles for he

holds both in utter detestat i on For the rest his word i s his own
.
,

bond and must be the law of all who act under him H e will fai l
, .

in his duty to no one, and will permit no one to fail towards him .

to cultivate his favour you must execute his commands instead of

, ,

echoing his sentiments H is greatest failings arise out of p rej u

.

dices connected with his own profess i on or rather his exclusive ,

devot i on to it which makes him see little worthy of praise or at

,

tention unless it be in some measure connected with commerce ”

,
.

O rare -painted portrait ! ” excla imed R a sh le igh when I was ,

silent Vandyke was a dauber to you Frank I see thy sire b e ,

.

fore me in all h is stre ngth and weakness loving and honouring the
Ki ng as a sort of lord mayor of the empi re or chief of the board ,

of trade—venerating the Commons for the acts regulating the ex

port trade—and respecting the Peers because the Lord Chancellor
,

sits on a w o o ls a c
M ine was a likeness Ra shleigh yours is a caricature B ut in
, .

return for the car te da p ays which I have unfolded to yo u, give me

some lights on the geography of the unknown lands
On which you are wrecked said R a shl e igh ,
It is not worth .
“

while ; it is no Isle of Calypso umbrageous with sh ade and i n tri

cate w ith silvan labyrinth —but a bare ragged N orthumbrian moor
,

with as l ittle to interest c uri o s ity a s to delight the eye—yo u may

descry it in all its nakedness i n half an hour s survey as well as if ’
,

I were to lay it down before you by line and compass ”

.

0 but something there is worthy a more attentive survey

, ,

What say you to M iss Vernon ? D oes not she form an interesting
1 34 R OB ROY .

object in the lan dscape, were all around as rude as I celand s ’

coast
I could plainly perceive that Ra shle igh disliked the topic n o w
p resented to him but my frank commun i cation had given me th e
advantageous title to make inquiries in my turn R a shle igh felt .

this and found himself obliged to follow my lead however d ifficult

, ,

h e m ight find it to play his cards successfully I have known less .

of M iss Vernon ” he sa id for some time than I was wont to do

, , ,

f ormerly In early age I was her tutor ; but as she advanced to

wards womanhood my various avocations —
.

the gravity of the pro

fe s sio n to which I was destined —the peculiar n a tu i e of her e u
,

g g
a e m e n t s — our m utual situation in short rendered a close and
, , ,

constant intim acy dangerous and i mproper I believe Miss Vernon .

might consider my reserve as unkindness but it was my duty ; I ,

felt as much as she seemed to do when compelled to give way to ,

prudenc e But where was the safety in cult i vating an intimacy

.

w i th a beauti ful and susceptible girl , whose heart you are aware , ,

must be given either to the cloister or to a betrothed husband

”
The cloister or a betrothed husband ? I echoed Is t hat the
alternative destined for M iss Vernon ? ”

It is indeed,” said R ashlei gh with a sigh “ I need not I sup ,

.
,

pose caution you against the danger of cultivating too c losely the
,

friendship of M i ss Vernon you are a man of the world and kn ow ,

.

how far you can indulge yourself in her society with safety to your ,

s elf and just i ce to her But I warn you that considering her ardent
.
, ,

temper you must let your experience keep guard over her as well
,

as yourself for the spe cimen of yesterday may serve to show her
,

extreme thoughtlessness and neglect of decorum ” .

There was something I was sensible of truth as well as good

, , ,

sense in all this it seemed to be g iven as a friendly warn ing and ,

I had no right to take it amiss ; yet I felt I could with pleasure

have run Ras hle igh Os b aldis to n e through the body all the time he
was speaking .

“
Th e deuce take his insolence was my internal meditation .

Would he wish me to infer that M iss Vernon had fallen in love

with that hatchet face of his and become degraded so low as to re
-
,

quire his shyness to cure her of an imprudent passion ? I will

have his mean ing from him was my resolution “ if I should drag , ,
”
it out wi th cart ropes
- .

For this purpose I placed my temper under as accurate a guard

,

as I c o ul d a n d observed That for a lady of her good sense and

‘

, , ,

acquired accomplishments it was to be regretted that Miss Ver ,

n on s manners
’
were rather blunt and rustic ”
.

“
F rank and unreserved , at least to the extreme replied R ash , ,
1
36 R OB R OY.

agitation repeating aloud the expressions which had most o ffended

Susceptible—ardent—tender affection— Love —
,

me . D iana Ver
non the most beautiful creature I ever beheld in love with him
legged bull-necked limping s coundrel —R ichard th e
, , ,

the bandy—
Third in all but h i s hump -back —A n d yet the opportunities he
, ,

’
m ust h ave had during his cursed course of lectures and the fellow s
flowing and easy strain of sentiment ; and her extreme seclusion
from every one wh o spoke and acted with common sense ay, and
her obvious pique at him mixed with admiration of his talents , ,

which looked as like the result of neglecte d attachment as anything

else -Well and what is it to me that I should storm and rage at
, ,

it ? I s Diana Vernon the first pretty girl that has loved or married
an ugly fellow ? A n d if she were free of every Osb aldi sto n e of
them what concern is it of mine —A Catholic —a Jacobite — a

t errn aga n t into the boot—for me to look that way were utter
,

madness ”
.

By throwing such reflections on the flame of my displeasure I ,

subd u ed it into a sort of smouldering heart-burning and appeared ,

at the dinner-table in as s u lky a humour as could well be imagined

'
.

C H A P TE R X II .

D runk—and speak parrot —and squabble —swagger

Swear —and discourse fustian with one s own shadow ’
.

Ol /zello .

I already told you my dear Tresham , what probably was

H AV E ,

no news to you, that my principal fault was an u nconquerable pitch

of pride which exposed me to frequent m o rtific atio n I had not
,
.

e ven whispere d to myself that I loved Diana Vernon yet no ,

sooner did I hear R ashle igh talk of her as a prize which he might
stoop to carry o ff or neglect at his pleasure , than every step
, ,

which the poor girl had taken in the inn ocence and openness of her ,

heart to form a sort of friendship with me seem ed in my eyes the

, ,

most insulting coquetry Soh ! she would secure me as a fizs o ller

.
’

I suppose, in case M r R ashle igh Osb aldis t o n e should not take com
.

pass i on upon her ! but I will satisfy her that I am not a person to
be trepanned in that manner— I will make her sensible that I see
through her arts and that I scorn them ”
, .

I did not reflect for a moment , that all this indignation which I ,

had no right whatever to entertai n proved that I was anything but ,

i ndifferent to Miss Vernon s charms ; and I sate down to table in

’
,

high ill humour with her and all the daughters of Eve
-
.

Miss Vernon heard me with surprise return ungracious answers

, ,
 R OB R OY . 13 7

to o ne or two p l ayful strokes of satire which she thre w out with

her usual freedom of speech but having no suspicion that offence
,

was meant she only replied to my rude repartees with jests some
,

what simi lar but polished by her good temper, though pointed by
,

her wit A t length she perceived 1 was really out of humour, an d

.

an swered one of my rude speeches thus

“
They say, Mr Frank that one may gather sense from fools —I
.
,

heard cousin Wilfred refuse to play any longer at cudgels the other
'

day with cousin Thornie because cousin Thornie got angry, and
,

struck harder than th e rules of ami cable combat, it seems, per

m itted. Were I to break your head in good earnest quoth_
’
,

honest Wilfred, I care not how angry you are, for I should do it
so much the more easily —but it s hard I shoul d get raps over
’

—
the costard and only pay you back in make be lieves D o you
,
- ’ -

understand the moral of this Frank ? ” ,

“
I have never felt myself under th e necessity madam , of study ,

ing how to extract th e slender portion of sense with which this

family seas on their conversation .

N ecessity and madam —you surprise me , Mr Osb al disto n e . .

I am unfortunate in doing so ” .

A m I to suppose that this capricious tone is serious ? or is it

only assumed to make your good -humour more valuable ? ”
,
“
You have a right to the attention of so many gentlemen in this
family, Miss Vernon , that it cann ot be worth your while to inquire
into t he cause of my stupidity and bad spirits ” .

”
“
What 1 she said, “ am I to understand, then , that you have
”
deserted my faction , and gone over to the enemy ?
Then , looking across th e table and observing that Rashle igh
, ,

who was seated Opposite, was watching us with a singul ar expres

sion of interest on his harsh features she continued ,

—
H orrible thought l A y, now I see tis true ,
’

For th e grim-visaged R a s hle igh smiles on me,

A n d points at thee for his

We ll, thank H eaven, and the unprotected state which has taugh t
me endurance, I do not take o ffence easily ; and that I may not
be forced to quarrel, w hether I like it or no, I have the honour ,

earlier than usual, to wish you a happy digestion of your dinner

and your bad h umo n r ” .

A n d she left the table accordingly .

Upon M iss V ernon s departure I found myself very little satis

’
,

fi e d with my own conduct I had hurled back offered kindness , of

.

which circumstances had but lately po inted out the honest sincerity ,

and I had but just stopped short of insulting the beautiful, and , as
13 8 ROB ROY .

sh e had said with some emphasis the unprotected being by whom ,

it was pro ffered My conduct seemed brutal in my own eyes To

.
.

combat or drown these pa inful reflections I appl i ed myself more ,

frequently than usual to the wine which c irculated on the table .

Th e a gi tate d state of my feel i ngs comb i ned w ith my habits of

temperance to give rapid e ffect to the be verage H abitual topers .
,

I bel ieve acqu i re the power of soaking themselves with a quan t ity
,

of liquor that does little more than muddy those intell e cts which ,

in their sober state are none of the clearest ; but men who are
s trangers to the vice of drunkenness as a habit are more power ,

fully acted upon b y intoxi cat ing l iquors M y spirits once aroused .
, ,

became extravagant ; I talked a great de al argue d upon wh at I , ,

knew noth ing of told stories of which I forgot the point then
, ,
'

laughed immoderately at my own forgetfulness I accepted several

bets without having the least judgm ent ; I challenged the giant
John to wrestle with me although he had kept the ring at He xham
,

for a year and I n ever tried so much as a s i ngle fall

,
.

My uncle had the goodness to interpose and prevent this con

summat i on o f drunken folly whi ch I suppose wo uld have other
, , ,

wise ended i n my neck being broken .

It has even been reported by maligners that I sung a song while ,

under this vinous influence but as I remember noth ing of it and, ,

n ever attempted to turn a tune in all my li fe before or since l

'

would willingly hope there is no actual foundation for the calumny .

I was absurd enough without this exaggeration Without positively .

losing my senses I speed ily lost all command of my temper an d

, ,

my impetuous passions wh i rled me onward at the ir pleasure I .

had sate down sulky and discontented and d i sposed to be silent ,

the wine rendered me loquacious disputatious and quarrelsome , , .

I contradicted whatever was asserted and attacke d without any , ,

respect to my uncle s table both his politics and h is religion The

’
, .

affected moderation of Ras hle igh whi ch he well knew how to ,

qualify with i rritating ingredients was even more provoking to me ,

than the noisy and bullying language of his obstreperous brothers .

My uncle to do him j ustice endeavoured to bring us to order ; but

, ,

his authority was los t am i dst the tumult of wine and passion A t .

le n gth fran t i c at some real or supposed inj urious insinuation , I

'

actually struck Ras hleigh w ith my fist No Stoic philosopher .

,

superior to his own passion and that of others could have received ,

an insult with a h igher degree of scorn What he himself did not .

think it apparently worth while to resent Th o rn c lifl resented for

'

h im Swords were dra wn and we exchanged one or two passes

.
, ,

when the other brothers separated us by ma in force ; and I shall -

never forget the diabolic al sneer which writhed R a shl e igh s way ’
x4c R OB ROY .

beginning ; and in the marks of attention occasionally shown me

b y his brothers awkward as they were he alone had never joined
, ,
.

If it was true of which however I began to have my doubts that

, , , ,

he was considered by the family or regarded himself as the destined , ,

husband of M iss Vernon a sent iment of jealousy might have ,

sprung up in his mind from the marked predi lect i on wh i ch it was

that young lady s pleasure to show for one whom Thorncliff might
’
,

perhaps think l ikely to become a dangerous ri val

,
.

R a shle igh at last entered his visage as dark as mourning weed, ,

b ro o din g I could not but doubt over the unjustifiable and dis
, ,

graceful insult I had offered to him I had already settled in my .

own mind how I was to behave on the occasion and had schooled ,

myself to believe that true honour cons isted not in defending but
, ,

in apologising for an injury so much disproportioned to any pro

,

vocation I might have to allege ‘

.

I therefore hastened to meet Ra shle igh and to express myself i n ,

.

the highest degree sorry for the violence with which I had acted
on the preceding evening .

N O circumstances ” I said could have wrung from me a

, ,
“

single word of apology save my own consciousness of the im pro,

p ri e ty of my behaviour I hoped my cousin would accept of my

.

regrets so sincerely offered and consider how much of my mis ,

conduct was owing to the excessive hospitality of Osb aldisto n e

Hall ”
.

He shall be friends with thee lad ”

cried the honest knight in
the full effusion of his heart ; or d— n me if I call him son
, , ,
“
,

more ! f W h y R ashie dost stand there like a log ? S o rryf o r i t is

, ,

all a gentleman can say if he happens to do anything awry espe, ,

c ially over his claret — I served i n H ounslow and should know

.
,

something I think of affairs of honour Let me hear no more of

, ,
.

this and we ll go in a body and ru mmage out the badger in Birken

,
’

wood-ban
R ashl e igh s face resembled as I have already noticed no other
’
, ,

countenance that I ever saw But this singularity lay not only in .

the features but in the mode of changing their expression Other

, .

countenances in altering from grief to j oy or from anger to satis

, ,

faction, pass through some brief interval ere the expression of the
predominant pass i on supersedes entirely that of its predecessor .

There IS a sort of twilight like that between the clearing up of the ,

darkn ess and the rising of the sun while the swollen muscles sub ,

side the dark eye clears the forehead relaxes and expands itself
, , ,

and the whole count enance loses its sterner shades and becomes ,

serene and placid R as hl e igh s face exhibited none of these gra

.
’

d at ions, but changed almost instantaneously from the expression

‘
 ROB R OY . 1 41

of one passion to that of the con trary I can com pare it to nothing .

but the sudden shifting of a scene in the theatre where at the , ,

w histle of the prompter a cavern disappears and a gr ove arises

,
.

My attention was strongly arrested by this peculiarity on the

present occasion At Ras hle igh s first entrance black he stood
.
’
,
“

as n ight ! ” With the same inflexi b le countenance he heard my

excuse and his father’ s exhortation ; and it was not until Sir
H ildebrand had done speaking that the cloud cleared away at ,

once and he expressed in the kindest and most civil terms , his
, ,

perfect satisfaction with the very handsome apology I had offered .

“
Indeed ” he said I have so poor a bra in myself when I i m
, , ,

pose o n it the least burden beyond my usual three glasses that I ,

hav e only like honest Ca s s ie a very vague recollection of the con

, ,

fusion of last night —remember a mass of things but nothing ,

distinctly— a qu arre l b u t n othi ng wherefore— So my dear cousin

, ,
, ,

he continued shaking me kindly by the hand “ conceive how

, ,

mu ch I am relieved by finding that I have to receive an apology ,

instead of having to make one — I will not have a word sa id

u pon the subject more I should be very fooli sh to institute any
scrutiny into an account when the balance w hi ch I expected to , ,

be against me has been so unexpectedly and agre e ab lLs tru c k i n

,
'

m y favour You see Mr Osb aldis to n e I am practis ing the

.
,
.
,

langu age of Lombard Street and qualifying myself for my new ,

calling ” .

A s I was about to answer and raised my eyes fo r the purpose , ,

they encountered those of Miss Vernon who having entered the , ,

room unobserved during the conversat i on had given it her close ,

attention .A bashed and confounded I fixed my eyes on the ,

ground and made my escape to the breakfast table where I herded

, ,

among my busy cousins .

My uncle that the events of the pre ceding day might not pass
,

out of our memo ry without a practical moral lesson, took occa

sion to give R a shle igh and me his serious advice to correct our
milksop habits as he termed them and gradually to inure our
, ,

brains to bear a gentlemanl ike quantity of li quor without brawls ,

or breaking of heads He recommended that we should begin

.

piddling with a regular quart of claret per day which with the aid , ,

of March beer and brandy made a hands ome competence for a ,

beginner in the art of toping A n d for our encouragement he .

,

assured us that he had known many a man who had l ived to our
years wi thout havi n g drunk a pint of wine at a sitting who yet, ,

by fall ing into honest company and following hearty example had , ,

afterwards been numbered among the best good fellows of the

time, and could carry off their six bottles under their belt, quietly
1 42 R OB R OY .

and comfortably without brawling or babbling an d be neither sick

, ,

n o r so rry the next morn ing .

Sage as this advice was and comfortable as was the prospect it ,

held out to me I profited but little by the exhortation partly per

, , ,

haps because as often as I ra i sed my eyes from the table I o b ,

served Miss Vernon s looks fix ed on me in whi ch I thought I could

, ,
’

read gr ave compassion blended w ith regret and displeasure I .

began to consider how I should seek a scene of explanation and

apology with her also when she gave me to understand sh e was ,

determined to save me the trouble of soliciting an interview ,

.

“
Cousin F rancis ” she said addressing me by the same title she
, ,

u sed to give to the other Osb a l dis to n e s although I had properly , ,

speaking no title to be called her k insman I have encountered

, ,
“

this morning a difficult passage i n the Di v ina Commedia of D ante

will you have the goodness to step to the l ibrary and give me your
assistance ? and when you have unearthed for me the mean ing of
the obscure Florentine we will j oin the rest at B irk en wo o d b an k ,
g
,

and see their luck at u nearthing the badger ” .

I signi fi ed of course my readiness to wait upon her R ash

, ,
.

leigh made an offer to acco m pany us I am something better .

skilled ” he said at tracking the sense of Dante through meta

, ,
“

p h o rs and elisions of his wild and gloomy poem than at hunting ,

the poor inoffensive herm it yonder out of his cave ” .

Pardon me R a shl e igh ” said M i ss Vernon but as you are to

, , ,

o ccupy Mr Franci s s place in the counting house you must sur

’ -
.
,

render to him the charge of your pupil s education at Osb aldist o n e ’

~

Hall We shall call yo u in however if there is any occasion so

.
, ,

pray do not look so grave upon it Besides it is a shame to you .

,

n o t to understand fi e ld-sports— What will you do should our uncle

i n Crane -Al ley ask you the signs by which you track a badger ? ”
“
A y true Die
,
— ”
true said Sir H ildebrand with a sigh I mis
, , , , .

doubt R as h le igh will be foun d short at the leap when he is put to

the trial A n he would ha learned useful knowledge like his
.
’

brothers he was bre d up where it grew I wuss but French antics

, , ,

a n d book-le arning with the new turnips and the rats and the
, , ,

H anoverians ha changed th e world that I ha known in Old Eng

,
’ ’

land—But come along with us Ra sh ie and carry my hunting-staff ,

'
, ,

m an ; thy cousin lacks n one of thy company as now and I wonna

ha D ie crossed—It s ne er be said there was but one woman in
,
’ ’ ’

Osb aldis t o n e H all and she died for lack of her will ”
-
, .

R a shleigh followed his father as he commanded not however , , , ,

ere h e had wh ispered to D i ana I suppose I must in discretion ,
“

bri ng the courtier Ceremony in my com pany, and kn ock when I

, ,

approa ch the door of the library ? ”

1 44 ROB R OY.

exhibit in the course of one evening a happy display of all the

various masterly qualifications which distinguish you r several
cousins —the gentle and generous temper of the benevolent R ash
leigh —the temperance of P e rc i e —the cool courage of Thorncliff
John s skill in dog-breaking — D ickon s aptitude to betting —all
, , ,
’ ’
, ,

exhibited by th e single individual Mr Francis and that with a .

,

selection of time, place and circumstance worthy the taste and

,

sagacity of the sapient Wilfred ” .

Have a little mercy Miss Vernon said I fo r I confess I

, ,

thought the schooling as severe as the case merited especially con ,

s ide rin g from what quarter it came and forgive me if I suggest as , ,

an excuse for follies 1 am not usually guilty of the custom of this ,

house and country I am far from approving of it ; but we have

.

Sh ak sp e are s authority for saying that good wi ne is a good familiar

’

creature and that any man living may be overtaken at some

,

time ” .

Ay M r Fran cis but he places the panegyric and the apology

, .
,

in the mouth of the greatest villain his penc il has drawn I will .

not however abuse the advantage your quotation has given me by

, , ,

overwhelming you with the refutation with which the victim Cassio
replies to the tempter Iago I only w ish you to kno w that there is
,
.
,

o n e person at least sorry to see a youth of talents and expectations

sink into the slough in which the inhabitants of this house are
nightly wallowi ng ” .

“
I have but wet my shoe I assure you Miss Vernon, and am , ,

too sensible of the filth of th e puddle to step farther in ” .

If such be your resolution she replied it is a wise one But , ,

“
.

I was so much vexed at what I heard that your concern s have

pressed before my own —
,

You behaved to me yesterday during

.
~
,

dinner as if something had been told you which lessened or lowered

me in your opin i on—I beg leave to ask you what it was ? ”
,

Iwa s s t u p ifie d—the direct bl untness of the demand was much in

the style one gentleman uses to another when requesting explana ‘
,

tion of any part of his conduct in a good -humoured yet determine d

man ner and was totally devoid of the circumlocutions shadings
, , ,
softenings and periphrasis which usually accompany explanations
, ,

betwixt persons of di fferent sexes in the higher orders of society .

I remained completely embarrassed for it pressed on my re c o l

lection that Ra shle igh s communications suppos ing them to be
,
’
,

correct ought to have rendered Miss Vernon rather an object of my

,

compassion than of my pettish resentment ; and h ad they furnished

the best apology possible for my o wn c onduct still I must have had ,

the utmost difficulty m detailing what inferred such necessary and

natural o ffence to Miss Vernon s feelings She observed my hesi ’
.
 R OB R OY. r45

and proceeded in a tone somewhat more peremptory but

t a t io n , , ,

s till temperate and civ il .

I hope M r Osb aldisto n e does not dispute my title to request

.

this explanation ‘ I have no relative who can protect me ; it is ,

therefore just th at I be permitted to protect myself ”

,
.

I endeavoured with hesitation to throw the blame of my rude

behaviour u pon indisposition —upon disagreeable letters from
London She suffered me to exhaust my a pologies and fairly to
.
,

run myself agr ound listenin g all the while with a smile of absolute
,

incredulity .

A n d now Mr Francis having gone through your prologue of

,
.
,

excuses with the same bad grace with which all prologues are
,

delivered please to draw the curtain and show me that which I

, ,

desire to see In a word let me know what Ra shle igh says of me ;

.
,

for he is the grand engineer and first mover of all the machinery of
O sb aldi sto n e Hall - .

But supposing there was anything to tell M iss V e rn On what , ,

does he deserve that betrays the secrets of one ally to another

'
R a shl e igh you yourself told me remained your ally though no
, , ,

longer your fri end ” .

I have neither patience for evasion nor inclination for jesting

on the present subject Rashl e igh cannot—ought not —dare not
, ,

.
,

hold any language respecting me D iana Vernon but what I may , ,

demand to hear repeated That there are subjects of secrecy and .

c onfidence between us is most certain but to such his commun i

, ,

tions to you could have no relation ; and wi th such I as an indi , ,

v idual have no concern

,
”
.

I had by this time recovered my presence of mind and hastily ,

determined to avoid making any disclosure of what R ashle igh had

told me in a sort of confidence There was something unworthy in .

retail ing private conversation it could I thought do no good and , , ,

m ust ne cessari ly gi ve Miss Vernon great pai n I th erefore repl ied .

,

gravely that nothing but frivolous talk had passed between M r

,
“
.

R a shle igh Osb al di s t o n e and me on the state of the fam ily at the
H all ; and I protested that nothing had been said which left a ,

serious impression to her disadvantage A s a gentle m an I sa id I .

, ,

could not be more explicit in reporting private conversati on ”

.

She started up with the animation of a C amilla about to advance

into battle This shall not serve your turn sir —
. I must have , ,

a nother answer from you Her features kindled—her brow became

fl u s h e d—her eye glanced wild-fi re as she proceeded
.

I demand
such an explanat i on as a woman basely slandered has a right to
demand from every man who calls himself a gentleman—as a crea
,

ture, motherless fr iendless, alone in the world left to her own

, ,

K
r46 ROB R OY .

guidance and protection has a right to require from every being

,

having a happier lot in the name of that God who sent tlzem into
—
,
”
the world to enj oy and nor to suffer You shall not deny me
,
o r . ,

she added looking solemnly upwards you will rue your denial
, ,
“
,
”
if there is justice for wrong either on earth or i n heaven .

I was utterly astonished at her vehemence but felt thus conjured , , ,

that it became my duty to lay aside scrupulous del i cacy and gave ,

her briefly but di stinctly the heads of the information which

, ,

R ash-l eigh had conveyed to me .

She sate down and resumed her composure as soon as I entered ,

upon the subject and when I stopped to seek for the most deli cate
,

turn of expression she repeatedly interrupted me with Go o u

, ,

pray go on the firs t word whi ch occurs to you is the plainest and
, ,

must be the best Do not think of my feelings , but speak as you

.

”
would to an unconcerned th rd party
i .

Thus u rged and encouraged I stammered thro ugh all the ,

account whi ch Ra shle igh had given of her early contract to marry
an Osb aldi st o n e and of the uncertainty and difficulty of her choice ;
,

and there I would willingly have paused But her penetration dis .

covered that there was st ill s omething behind and even guessed to ,

wh at it related .

“
Well it was ill-natured of R ashle igh to tell this tale on me I
,
.

am like the poor girl in the fa i ry tale who was betrothed in her ,

cradle to the Black B ear of Norway but c o mplained chiefly of ,

being called Bru in s bride by her companions at school But

’
.

bes ides all this R as hle igh sai d something of himself with relation
—
,

to m e D id he not ? ”

H e certainly hinted that were it n o t for the i dea of supplanting

,

his brother he would now in consequence of his change of pro fes

, ,

sion be desirous that the word R a s hle igh should fill up the blank
,

in the dispensation instead of the word Thorncliff

,
.

A y i ndeed ? she replied was h e so very condescending

To o much honour for his humble handmaid D iana Vernon —A n d ,

she I suppose w a s to be enraptured with joy could s uch a s ub s ti

, ,

tute be effected
To confess th e truth, he intimated as much and even farther ,

insinu ated
What — Let me hear it all ! she exclaimed hastily , .

That he had broken off your mutual intimacy lest it should ,

have g iven rise to an affection by which his destination to the

”
church would not permit him to profit .

I am obliged to him for h is consideration replied Miss Vern on , ,

every feature of her fine countenance taxed to express the most

s upreme degree of scorn and contempt She paused a moment, .
x48 R OB R OY .

the p urpo se fo r—
‘

which he insinuated him self into the confidence of

one already s o forlorn —the undeviating and continued as su idity
with which he pursued that purpose from year to year without one
single momentary pause of remorse or compass i on —the pu rpose
,

for which he would have converted into poison the food he

administered to my mind —Grac ious Providence ! what should
I have been in this world and the next in body and soul h ad I , ,

fallen under the arts of this accomplished villain ! ”

I was so much struck with the s cene of p e rfi di o u s treachery
which these words disclosed that I rose from chair hardly knowing , ,

what I did laid my hand on the hilt of my sword and was about
, ,

to leave the apartment in search of him on whom I might dis

charge my just indignation Almost b i e a thles s and with eyes .
'
,

and looks in which scorn and indignation had given way to

the most lively alarm M iss Vernon threw herself between me and
,

the door of the apartment .

“
Stay ! ” she said stay ; however just your resentment you ,

do not kno w half the secrets of this fearful prison-house ” She .

then glanced her eyes anxiously round the room and sunk her ,

voice almost to a whisper H e bears a charm ed life you cannot

assail him without endangering other lives and wider destru ction , .

H ad it been otherwise in some hour of justice he had hardly been

,

safe even from this weak hand I told you she said motioning
,
”
.
, ,

me back to my seat that I needed no comfort er— I now tell you,

,
“

I need no avenger ” .

I resumed my seat mechanically mu sing on what she said and , ,

recoll ecting also what had escaped me in my first glow of resent

,

ment , that I had no title whatever to constitute myself Miss

Vernon s champion She paused to let her own emotions and mine
’
.

subside and then addressed me with more composure

, .

“
I have already said that there is a mystery connected with
,

R a shle igh of a dangerous and fatal nature

,
Villain as he is and .
,

as he knows he stands convicted i n my eyes , I cannot—dare not ,

Openly break with or defy him Yo u also M r Os b al di st o n e must

.
,
.
,

bear with him with patience foil h is art ifi c e s by opposing to them,

prudence not violence ; and above all you must avoid such
, , ,

scenes as that of last night which cannot but give him perilo u s ,

advantages over you This caution I designed to give you and it

.
,

was the object with which I desired this interview ; but I have
extended y confidence farther than I proposed
m ”
.

I as sured her it was not misplaced .

“
I do not believe that it is ” she replied You have that in , .

your face and manners which authorizes trust Let us continue to .

be friends You need not fear ” she said laughing, while she
.
, ,
 ROB R OY . x49

bl ushed a little, yet speaking with a free and u n e mb arrased voice ,

“
that friendship with us should prove only a specious name, as the
p o et s ays, for another feeling I belong in habits of thinking and
'

.
,

acting, rather to your sex with which I have always been brought
,

up, than to my own Besides the fatal veil w as wrapped round

.
,

me in my cradle for you may easily believe I have never thought

of the detestable condition under which I may remove it The .

time ” she added for expressing my final determination is not

, ,
“

arrived and Iwo uld fain have the freedom of wild heath and open
,

air with the other commoners of nature as long as I can be per ,

mi tte d to enjoy them A n d now that the passage in D ante is made

.

so clear, pray go an d see what is become of the badger-baiters

My head aches so much that I cannot join the party .

I left the library, but not to join the hunters I fel t that a soli .

tary walk was necessary to compose my spirits before I again ,

trusted myself in Rashle igh s company whose depth of c al culating

’
,

vil lany had been so strikingly exposed to me In Dub o urg s .

’

family (as he wa s of the refo rmed persuasion) I had he ard m any a ,

tale of R omish priests who gratified at the expense of friendship,

, ,

hospitality and the most sacred ties of social l ife, those passions
, ,

the blameless indulgence of which is denied by the rules of their

order But the deliberate system of undertaking the education
.

of a deserted orphan of noble birth and so intimately allied to his ,

o wn family, with the p e rfidi o u s purpose of ultimately seducing her,

detailed as it was by the intended victi m with all the glow of

virt uous resentment seemed more atrocious to me than the worst
,

of the t al es I had heard at B ourdeau x and I felt it would be ,

extremely difficult for me to meet R ashle igh and yet to suppres s ,

th e abhorrence with which he i mpressed me Yet this was ab so .

l u t ely necessary not only on account of the mysteri ous charg e

,

w hich D iana had given me but because I had, in rea li ty, n o ,

ostensible ground for quarrellin g wi th him .

I therefore resolved as far as possible to meet Rashle igh s dis

, ,
’

simul ati on with equal caution on my p ar t during our residen ce in

the same fam ily ; an d when he should depart fo r London, I
resolved to give Owen at least such a hint of his character as might
keep him on his gu ard over my father s interests A varice or ’
.

ambition , I thought m ight have as gr eat, or greater ch arms for a

, ,

mind constituted li ke R ashl eigh s , th an u n lawful pleasure ; the ’

energy of his character and his power of assuming all seeming

,

good qualities were l ikely to procure him a high degree of con

,

fi den c e and it was not to be ho ped that either good faith or

, ,

gratitude would prevent him from abusing it The task was some .

what difficult, especially ia m y c ircumstances since the caution ,

1 50 R OB R OY .

which I threw out might be imputed to jealousy of my rival or ,

rather my successor in my father s favour Yet I thought it ab s o

,
’
.

lutely necessary to frame such a letter leaving it to Owen who in , , ,

his own line was wary pru dent and c i rcumspect to make the
, , , ,

necessary use of hi s knowledge of R a shle igh s true character ’

.

Such a letter therefore I ind ited and dispatched to the post

, , ,

house by the first opportun ity .

At my meeting with Ras hle igh he as well as I appeared to have , , ,

taken up distant ground and to be disposed to avoid all pretext

,

for coll i sion H e was probably conscious that M iss Vernon s

.
.
’

communications had been unfavourable to him though he could

.
,

not know that they extended to discovering his meditated villany

towards her Our intercourse therefore was reserved on both
.
, ,
,

sides , and turned on subjects of little interest Indeed his stay at .

,

Osb aldi st o n e -Hall did not exceed a few days after this period ,

during which I only remarked two circumstances respecting him .

Th e first was , the rapid and almost intuitive manner in which his
powerful and active mind seiz ed upon and arranged the elementary
principles necessary in his new profession which he now studied ,

hard and occasionally m ade parade of his pro gress as if to show

, ,

me how light it was for him to lift the burden which I had flung
down from very weariness and inability to carry it Th e other re .

markable circumstan ce was that notwithstanding the injuries , ,

with which Miss Vernon charged Rashle igh they had several ,

private interviews together of considerable length although their ,

bearing towards each other in public did not seem more cordial
than usual .

When the day o f R ashle igh s departure arrived his father bade ’
,

him farewell with indifference his brothers with the ill-concealed ,

glee of scho ol-boys who see t he ir taskmaster depart for a season

, ,

and feel a joy which they dare not express and I myselfwith cold
politeness Wh en he approached M i ss Vernon and would have
.
,

saluted her she drew back wi th a look of haughty d i sdain ; but

,

sa id as she extended her h a nd to him Farewell R ashle igh God “

, , ,

reward you for the good you have done and forgive you for the evil ,

you have meditated ” .

“
A men my fair cousin ” he replied with an air of sanctity
, , , ,

which belonged I thought to the seminary of Saint Omers

, ,
“
happy is he whose good intentions have borne fruit in deeds , and
w hose evil thoughts have perished in the blossom ” .

These were his parting words A ccompl i shed hyp ocrite ! said .

Miss Vernon to me as the door clos ed behind him

, how nearly
can what we most despise and hate approach in outward manner ,

to that which we most venerate I

1 52 R OB ROY .

interest with which M iss Vernon inspired me or the large share ,

which she occupied in my thoughts We read together walked . ,

together rode together and sate together The studies which

, , .

she had broken off upon her quarrel with R ashle igh she now re ,

sumed under the auspices of a tutor whose views were more sin
,

cere though his capacity was far more l imited

,
.

In truth I was by no means qualified to assist her in the pro

,

sec u t io n of several profound studies which she had commenced

with R ashle igh and which appeared to me more fitted for a church
,

man than for a beautiful female N either can I conceive with what
.

view he should have engaged D iana 1n the gloomy ma z e of casuistry

which schoolmen called philosophy or i n the equally abstruse ,

though more certain sciences of mathematics and astronomy n u

less it were to break down and confound in her m ind the difference
and distinction between the sexes and to habituate her to trains of
,

subtile reasoning by which he might at h is own time invest that

,

which is wrong with the colour of that which is right It was in .

the same spirit though i n the latter case the evil purpose was more
,

obvious that the lessons of R a shl e igh had encouraged Miss Vernon
,

in setting at nought and despising the forms and ceremonial limits

which are drawn round females in modern society It is true she .
,

was sequest rated from all female company and could not learn the ,

usual rules of decorum either fro m example or precept ; yet such

,

was her innate modesty and accurate sense of what was right and
,

w rong that she would not of herself have adopted the bold u n c o m
,

prom i s ing manner which struck me with so much surprise on our

first acquaintance had she not been led to conceive that a contempt
,

of ceremony ind i cated at once the sup eriority of understanding ,

and the confidence of conscious innocence H er wily instructor .

had no doubt his own vi ews in levell ing those outworks which
, ,

reserve and caution erect around virtue But for these and for his .
,

other crimes he has long since answered at a higher tribun al

, .

Besides the progress which M iss Vernon whose powerful mind ,

readily adopted every means of information offered to it had made ,

in more abstract science I found her no contemptible linguist , and

,

well acquainted both with ancient and modern l iterature Were it .

not that strong talents will often go farthest when they seem to
have least ass i stance it would be almost incredible to tell the
,

rapidity of M iss Vern on s progress in knowledge and it was still

’

more extraordinary when her stock of mental acquisitions from

,

books was compared with her total ignorance of actual li fe It .

seemed as if she saw and knew everything except what passed in ,

the world around her and I believe i t was this very ignorance and
simplicity of thinking upon ordinary subjects , so strikingly con
 ROB ROY. IS3

t ra ste d with
her fund of general knowl edge and information which ,

rendered her conversatio n so irresistibly fascinating and ri veted ,

the attention to whatever she said or did s ince it was absolutely

impossible to anticipate whether her next word or action was to
display the most acute perception or the most profound simplicity .

Th e degree of danger which necessarily attended a youth of my

age and keen feelings from re maining in close and constant inti
macy with an object so a m iable and so pecul i arly interesting all
, ,

all who remember their own sentiments at my age may easily

estimate .

C H A P TE R X IV .

Yon lamp its l ine of quivering light

Shoots from my lady s bower ’

B ut why should Beauty s lam p be bright ’

A t midnight s lonely hour ? Old B a lla d

’
.

TH E mode of life at Osb aldi sto n e-Hall was too uniform to

admit of description Diana Vernon and I enjoyed much of our
.

time in our mutual studies ; the rest of the family killed theirs i n
such sports and pastimes as suited the seasons in wh ich we also ,

took a share .My uncle w as a man of habits and by habit b e ,

came so much accustomed to my presence and mode of life that , ,

upon the whole he was rather fond of me than otherwise I might

, .

probably have r i sen yet higher in his good graces had I employed ,

the same arts for that purpose which were used by R a shle igh who , ,

availing himself of his father s disinclination to business had gra

’
,

dually insinuated himself into the management of his property .

B ut although I readily gave my uncle the advan tage of my pen and

my arithmetic so often as he desired to correspond with a ne igh
bour or settle with a tenant and was in so far a more useful inmate
, , , ,

in his family than any of his sons yet I was not willing to obl ige
,

Sir H ildebrand by relieving him entirely from the management of

his own affairs so that while the good k n i ght admitted that nevoy
,

F rank was a steady handy la d he seldom failed to re mark i n the

, ,

same breath that he did not think he should ha missed R a shle igh
,
’

so much as he was like to do .

A s it is particularly unpleasant to reside in a family wh ere we are

at variance with any part of it I made some efforts to Overcome
,

the ill-will wh i ch my cousins entertained against me I exchanged

my laced hat for a jockey—
.

cap and m ade some progress in the ir

,
'

o pinion ; I broke a young colt in a m an n er whi ch carri ed me further

into their good graces A bet or two opportunely lost to Dick on
.
,
r54 ROB R OY .

a n d an extra health pledged with P e rc ie placed me on an easy and ,

familiar footing with all the young squires except Thorncliff ,

.

I have already noticed the dislike entertained against me by this

young fellow who as he had rather more sense had also a much
, , ,

worse temper than any of his brethren Sullen dogged and quarrel
,
.
, ,

some he regarded my residence at Osb aldis t o n e H all as an i n tru

,
-

sion and viewed with envious and jealous eyes my intimacy with
,

D iana Vernon whom the e ffect proposed to be g iven to a certa in

,

family-compact assigned to h im as an intended spouse That he .

loved her could scarcely be said at least without much m is appli

, ,

c ation of the word but he regarded her as s omething appro

p riat e d to himself and resented internally the interference which
,

he knew not how to prevent or interrupt I attempted a tone of .

c onciliation towards Thorncliff on several occasions but he rejected

my advan ces with a manner about as gracious as that o f a growl l

i n g masti ff when the animal shuns and resents a stranger s attempts

’
,

to caress h im I therefore abandoned him to his i ll-humour and

.
,

gave myself no further trouble about the matter .

Such was the foot ing upon which I stood w ith the family at 0 5
b aldis to n e-H all but I ought to mention another of its inmates
with whom I occasionally held some di scourse This was A ndre w .

F a irs e rvi c e the gardener who (since he had discovered that I was
, ,

a Protestant) rarely suffered me to pass him without proffering his

S cotch mull for a social pinch There were several advantages .

atte n ding th i s courtesy In the first place it was made at no ex .

,

pense for I neve r took snuff ; and secondly it afforded an excel

, , ,

lent apology to A ndrew (who was not particularly fond of hard

labour) for lay ing aside his spade for several m i nutes B ut above .
,

all these brief interviews gave A ndrew an Opportunity of venti n g

,

the news he had collected or the satirical remarks which his ,

shrewd northern humour suggested .

“
I am saying s ir ” he sa i d to me one evening with a face o h
, , ,

v i o u sly charged with intelligence I hae been down at the Trin ,

”
lay knowe
- .

Well A ndrew and I suppose you heard some news at the ale
, ,

house
N a sir I never gang to the yillh o u s e—that is unless ony
, ,

neighbour was to g ie me a pint or the like 0 that ; but to gang ,

’

there on ane s ain co at-tail is a waste 0 precious t ime and hard-won

’
,
’

siller — But Iw as doun at the Trin lay knowe as I Wa s saying about

.
-
, ,

a wee wit business 0 my ain w i M attie Si mpson that wants a forpit

-
’ ’
,

or twa o peers that will never be missed i n the H a -house —and

’ ’

when we were at the thran ge s t 0 our bargain wha suld come in ’

,

but Pate Macready the travelling merchant ? ” ,

r56 R OB R OY .

warrant—muckle gude may it do them A n d siclike dung as the .

grieve has gien me it should be wheat -strae or aiten at the warst ,

’
o t and it s pease -dirt as fizzenless as chuckie-stanes But the
,
’
,
.

’
huntsman guides a as he l ikes about the stable-yard, and he s selle d
’

the best 0 the l itter I se warrant But howsoever we mauna lose

’
,
’
.
, ,

a turn 0 this Saturday at e en for the wath er s sai r broken and if

’
,
’
,
’
,

there s a fair day in seven Sunday s sure to come and lick it u p

’
,
’

’
H owsomever, I m no denying that it may settle if it be H eaven s
’
,

will till Monday morn ing and what s the use 0 my breaking my ’ ’

back at this rate—I think I ll e en awa hame for yon s the curfew
, , ,
’ ’ ’ ’
, , ,

as they ca the jowing-in bell ’

.

A ccordingly a pplying both his hands to his spade he pitched it

, ,

upright in the trench wh i ch he had been digging and looking at , ,

me With the air of superiority of one who knows himself possessed

of important i nformation which he may communicate or refuse at ,

his pleasure pulled down the sleeves of his shirt and walked slowly
, ,

towards hi s coat , which lay carefully folded up upon a neighbour

ing garden-seat .

I must pay the penalty of having interrupted the tiresome

rasc al ” thought I to myself and even gratify Mr F a irs ervic e by
, ,
“
.

taking his communicat i on on his own terms ” Then rai sing m y .

voice I addressed him

,
A n d after all A ndre w what are these , , ,

London news you had from your kinsman the travelling m e r ,

chant ? ”
Th e pedlar your honour means ? retorted A ndrew but ca
” ’
,
'
him what ye w ull they re a great convenience in a country-side
,
’

that s scant o borough-towns like this N orthumberland—That s no

’ ’
,
’

the case now in Scotland —there s the k ingdom o F ife frae Cul ’ ’

ross to the East Nu ik it s just like a great combined city—Sac

, , ,
’
,

mony royal borough s yoked on end to end like ropes of ingans , ,

with their hie -streets and their booths , nae doubt and their
krae m e s and houses of stane and lime and fore-stairs —Kirkcaldy,
, ,

the sell o t is langer than ony toun in England ”

’

I dare say it is all very splendid and very fin e —but you were
.
,

talking of the London news a little while ago A ndrew ” , .

”
Ay replied A ndrew ; but I dinna think your honour cared to
,
— ”
he ar about them howsoever (he continued grinning a ghastly , ,

smile ) Pate Macready does say that they are sair m ys tryste d
,
“
,

yonder in their Parliament -House about this rubbery 0 Mr M orris ’

.
,

or whatever they c a the chiel ” ’

.

In the House of Parliament A ndrew ! H o w came they to ,

mention it there ?
Ou that s just what I said to Pate ; if it like your honour I ll
,
’
,
’

tell you the very words it s no worth m aking a lie for the mat ter ’
 R OB R OY . x57

Pate said I wh at ado had the lords an d l airds and gentles at

’

Lun n u n w i the carle and his wal i se —

, ,
’
When we had a Scotch Par ~

lia m e n t Pate says I (and deil rax their thrapples that reft us o t I
’
)
’
, ,

they sate do u sely doun and made laws for a hail country and kin
rick an d never fashed their beards about things that were compe
,

tent to the judge ordinar o the bounds but I think, said I that ’ ’
,

if ae ka ilw ife pou d at? her n ee b o x s mutch, they wad hae the twa
’ ’

some 0 them into the Parliament-H ouse o Lun n u n It s just

’ ’
.
’
,
’

said I am aist as si ll y as our auld daft laird here and his gomerils
,

0 sons w i his huntsmen and his hounds and his hunt ing cattle
’ ’
, ,

and horns riding h aill days after a bit beast that winna weigh sax
,

p u n ds when they hae catched it

’
.

“
You argued most admirably A ndrew said I , willing to e n , ,

courage him to get into the marrow of his intelligence and what “

said Pate ? ”
Ou h e said what better co ul d be expected of a wheen pock
”
, ,

pudding English folk -But as to the robbery, it s like that when ’

t hey re a at the thrang 0 the ir Whi g and Tory wark, and ca ing ane
’ ’ ’ ’

anith er like unh anged blackguards- up gets ae lang-tongued

,

chield and he says, that a the north of England were rank Jaco
,
’

bites (and quietly, he wasna far wrang maybe) , and th at they had
,

levied amai st open war and a king s messenger had been stoppi t ,
’

and rubbit on the highway and that the best bluid 0 N o rthu mb e r ’

land had been at the doing o t—and mickle gowd ta en aff him and
,
’ ’
,

m an y val uable papers and t hat t here was nae redress to be gotten
by re m e e d of law fo r the first justice 0 the peace that the rubbit
,
' ’

m an gaed to he had fund the twa loons that did the deed birling
,

and drinking wi him wha but they ; and the justice took the word
’
,

0 th e tane fo r the compearance o the tither ; and that they e en

’ ’ ’

gae him leg-bail, an d the honest man that had lost his s iller was
fai n to leave the country for fear that waur had come of it
”
.

Can this be really true ? ” said I .

Pate swears it s as true as that hi s ellwand is a yard lang

’

( and so it is , just bating an inch that it may meet the Engl i sh

m easure)—A n d when the chield had s aid his warst there was a
,
'

terrible cry for n ames, and out comes he wi thi s m an M orri s s ’ ’

n ame and your uncle s , and Squire Inglewood s , and other folk s
’ ’ ’
,

beside (looking sl y at me) A n d then another drago n o a chi eld ‘

’

g o t up on the other side, and s aid wad they accuse the best gentle
m en in the land on the oath of a broken coward —for it s like that
,
’

M orris had been dru mmed out o the army for rinn ing awa i n ’

Flanders ; and he said, it was like the story had been made up ~

between the minister and him or ever he had left Lu n n u n ; and

that if there was to be a search -warrant granted, he thought the
,
1 58 ROB R OY .

siller wad be fund some gate near to St Iames s Pal ace A weel , .
’
.

they trailed up M orris 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 si c
an awfu th o ro u ghgau n about his t innin a wa , and about a the ill he
’ ’ ’

had ever dune or said for a the forep ar t 0 his life, that F atie s ays ’ ’

he looked m air like an e dead than living and they c o u dn a get a ’

.

word 0 sense out o him for downright fright at their growling an d

’ ’
,

routing H e maun be a s aft sap w i a head nae better than a foz y ’

frosted turnip—
.
,

it wad hae ta en a hantle o them to s caur A ndrew

’ ’

F airservi ce out 0 his tale

” ’
.

“
A n d how did it all en d An drew ? did your friend happen to ,

l earn
Ou, ay; for as his wal k s in this country, Pate put afi his
'
’

journey for the space of a week or thereby, because it wad be '

acceptable to his customers to bring do un the news I t just a .

’

gaed aff like moonshine in water Th e fallow that began it drew

‘

in his horns and said th at though he believed the man had been
, ,

rubb it , yet he acknowledged he might hae been mi s ta en about the ’

particulars A n d then the other chield got up , and said, he cared

.

na whether Morris was rubbed or no , provided it wasna to become

a stain on ony gentleman s honour and reputation , especi al ly in the
’

north of England for, said he before them I come frae the north ,

mysell and I carena a boddle wha k ens it An d this is what they

ca explaining—the tane gies up a bit and the tither gies up a bit ,
.
,
’
,
,

and a friends again A weel after the Commons Parliament had

’
.
,
’

t uggit, and rived , and rugged at Morris and his rubbery til l they
were tired o t, the L ords Parliam ent they behoved to hae their
’ ’

spell o t In puir auld S cot nd s P rliament they a sate thegither,

’
. l a a
’ ’

cheek by c ho ul , and than they didna need to hae the same blethers
twice ower again B ut till t their lordships went wi as m u ckl e teeth
.
’ ’

and gude-will, as if the matter ha d been a speck and span n ew ’

.

Forbye, there was something said about ane Campbell that su l d ,

hae been concerned in the rubbery mair or l ess , and tha t he sul d ,

hae had a warrant frae the D uke of A rgyle as a testimon i al 0’ his ,

character An d this put Mac c al lum More s beard in a b le iz e , as

.
’

gude reason there was and he gat up wi an unco ban g, and garrd ’ ’

them a look about them and wad ram it even doun their throats,
’
,

there was never ane o the C ani pb ell s but was as W ight, wise, war
’

like, and worthy trust, as auld Sir John the C re me N ow if your .

,

honour’ s s ure ye arena a dra p s bluid a-kin to a C am pbe ll, as I am ’

n ane mysell , sae far as I can count my kin, or hae had it counted
to me, I ll gie ye my mind on that matter ”
’
.

“
You may be assured I have no conne xion whatever with any
”
gentl eman of that name .
1 60 ROB R OY .

up my eyes to the windows of the old library which small in size , ,

but several in number stretched along the second story of that side
,

of the house which now faced me Light glanced from their case .

ments 1 was not surprised at this for I knew M is s Vernon oft en

.
,

sat there of an evening though from motives of delicacy I put a ,

strong restraint upon myself and never sought to join her at a ,

t ime when I knew all the rest of the family being engaged for the
,

evening our intervi ews must necessarily have been strictly téte-d
,
‘
téte . In the mornings we usually read together in the same room ;
but then it often happened that one or other of our cousins entered
to seek some parchment duodecimo that could be converted into a
fi sh in g-book despite its gildings and illumination or to tell us of
, ,

some S port toward ” or from mere want of kn owing where else to

,

dispose of themselves I n short in the mornin gs the library was a

.
,

sort of public room where m an and woman might meet as on

,

neutral gr ound In the evening it was very different ; and bred in

.
,

a country where much attention is paid or was at least then paid , ,

to bzem éa n ce, I was desirous to think for M iss Vernon concerning

'

those points of propriety where her experience did not afford her
the means of thinking for her sel f I made her therefore comprehend .
,

as delicately as I could that when we had evening lessons the pre , ,

sence of a third party was proper .

Miss Vernon first laughed then blushed and was disposed to be , ,

displeased and then suddenly checking herself sai d “ I believe, , ,

you are very r ight and when I feel inclined to be a very busy
s cholar I will bribe 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

, ,

a t the H al l A toast and tankard would have pleased her better

.

than all the tea in China H owever as the use of this beverage .
,

was then confined to the higher ranks Martha felt some van ity in ,

being asked to partake of it and by dint of a great deal of sugar ,

many words scarce less sweet and abundance of toast and butter , ,

she was sometimes preva iled upon to give us her countenance On .

o ther occasions the servants almost u nanimously shunned the

,

l ibrary after n ightfall , because it was their foolish pleasure to

bel ieve that it lay on the haunted side of the house Th e more .

timorous had seen sights and heard sounds there when all the rest
o f the house was quiet and even the young squires were far from
having any wish to enter these form idable precincts after nightfall
without necessity .

That the library had at one time been a favourite resource of

R a shle igh -that a private door out of one side of it communicated
w ith the sequestered and rem ote a partment which he chose for
 ROB R OY. x6 x

himself rather increased than disarmed the terrors which the

,

household had fo r the dreaded library of Osb aldisto n e -H all H is

—
.

extensive information as to what passed in the world his profound

knowledge of science of every kind—a fe w physical experiments
w hich he occasionally showed 0 5 were , in a house of so much ,

ign orance and bigotry esteem ed good reasons fo r supposing him

,

endowed with powers over th e spiritual world H e understood .

Greek Latin, an d H ebrew ; and therefore, according to the a ppre

, ,

h en si o n and in the phrase of his brother Wil fred n eeded not to

, ,
”
care for ghaist or barghaist devil or dobbie , Yea the servants .
,

persisted that they had heard him hold conversations in the library,
when every varsal sou l in the family were gone to bed ; and that
he spent the night in watching for bogles, and the morning in
sleeping in his bed, when he should have been heading the hounds
li ke a true Os b al disto n e .

All these absurd rum ours I had heard in broken hints and im
perfect sentences, from which I was left to draw the inference ; an d,
as eas ily may be supposed I laughed them to scorn
, But the ex .

t reme solitu de to which this ch amber of evi l fame was com mitted
every night after curfew time was an additional reason why I
,

should not intrude on Miss Vernon when she chose to sit there in
the evening .

To resume what I was saying I was not surprised to see a glim

,

mering of light from the library windows but I was a little struck
w hen I dist inctly perceive dthe shadows of two person s pass along
and intercept the light from the first of the windows throwing th e .

casement for a moment into sh de a

“
It must be old M artha,”
.

thought I , whom Diana has engaged to be her companion for the

evenin g or I must have been mistaken and taken Dia na s shadow ,
’

fo r a second person N o by H eaven ! it appears on the second

.
,

window -two figu res disti n ctly traced and now it is lost again
i t i s seen on the third—o n the fourth—the darkened forms of two
,

persons distinctly seen in each window as they pass along the

room betwixt the windows and the lights Whom can D i ana have
—
.
,

got for a companion The passage of the shadows between the

lights and the e as emen ts was twice repeated, as if to satisfy
me that my observation served me truly ; after which the lights
were extinguished, and the shades, of course, were seen no
m ore.

Tri fli n g as thi s ci rcumstance was it occupied my mind fo r a ,

considerable time I did not allow myself to suppose that my

.

friendship for Miss Vernon had any directly selfish view yet it is
incred ible the displeasure I felt at the idea of her admitt ing any one
to private interviews, at a time and in a place, where for her own
, ,
1 62 R OB ROY .

sake I had been at some trouble to show h er that it was improper

'

fo r me to meet with her .

S illy romping incorrigible g irl i ” said I to myself on whom

, , ,

all good advice and delicacy are thrown away ! I have been cheated
by the simplicity of her manner wh i ch I suppose she can assume ,

just as she could a straw bonnet were it the fashio n for the mere , ,

sake of celebrity I suppose notwithstandi ng the excellence of her

.
,

understanding the society of half a dozen of clowns to play at whisk

,

and swabbers would give her more pleasure than if A riosto himself
,

were to awake from the dead ”

.

’
This reflection came the more powerfully across my mind b e ,

cause having mustered up courage to sh ow to D iana my version

,

of the first books of A riosto I had requested her to invite Martha ,

to a tea-party in the library that evening to which arrangement ,

M i ss Vernon had refused her consent alleging some apology whi ch ,

I thought fri volous at the time I had not long speculated on this .

disagreeable subject when the back garden-door opened and the

, ,

figures of A ndrew and his countrym an bending under his pack, ,

crossed the moonlight alley an d c alle d my attention elsewhere , l

.

I found Mr Macready as I expected a tough sagacious long

.
, , , ,

heade d Scotchman and a collector of news both from choice and

,

profession H e was able to give me a distinct account of what had

.

passed in the House of Commons and House of Lords on the affair

of Mo rris wh i ch it appears had been made by both parties a touch
, , ,

stone to ascerta in the temper of the Parliament It appeared also .

,

that a s Ihad learned from An drew by second hand the ministry had
, ,

proved too weak to support a story involving the character of men

of rank and i mportance and resting upon the credit of a person of ,

such ind ifferent fame as M orris who was moreover confused and , , ,

contradictory in his mode of tell ing the story Macready was even .

able to supply me with a copy of a printed journal or N ews-Letter ,

seldom extending beyond the capital in which the substance of the ,

debate wa s ment i oned an dwith a c o pyof the D uke ofA rgyle s speech ’
,

printed u po n a broadside of which he had purchased several from ,

the hawkers because he said it would be a saleable article on the

, , ,

north of the Tw e ed The first wa s a meagre statement full of

.
,

blanks and asterisks and which added little or nothing to the ,

information I had from the S cotchman ; and the Duke s speech ’

,

though spirited and eloquent conta ined chiefly a panegyric on his ,

country his family and his clan w ith a few compliments equally
, , , ,

sincere perhaps though less glowi n g which he took so favourable

, , ,

an Opportunity of paying to h imself I could not learn whether my .

own reputation had been directly implicated althou gh I perceived ,

that the honour of my uncle s family had been impeached and th at

’

,
 264 R OB ROY .

woul d honour me with a few l i nes were it but to express his advice ,

and commands in an affair of s ome d ifficulty and where my know ,

ledge o f life could not be s upposed adequate to my own gui dance .

I found it impossible to prevail on myself to urge my actua l return

to Lon do n as a place of residence and I dis guised my unwilling ,

ness to do so under apparen t submission to my father s will which, ’

,

as I imposed it on myself as a sufficient reason for not u rging my

fi nal departure from Osb al dis to n e -H all would I doubted not, be , ,

received as such by my parent But I begged permission to come .

to London, fo r a short time at least, to meet and refute the in famou s

c alumnies which had been circulated concerning me in so public a
manner H aving made up my packet in which my earnest desire
.
,

to vindicate my ch aracter wa s strangely blended with rel uctance to

quit my present place of residence, I rode over to the post-town ,

and deposited my letter in the offi ce By doing so, I obtained .

possession, somewhat earlier than I shoul d otherwis e have done,

of the fo ll owing letter from my friend Mr Owen .

“
D EAR M R F RA NCIS
.
,

Yours received per favour of Mr R Osb aldis to n e, and note the . .

contents Shall do Mr R 0 such civilities as are in my power,

. . . .

and have taken him to see the Ban k and Custom-house H e seems .

a sober, steady young gentleman and takes to business so will be ,

of service to the firm Could have wi shed another person had

.

turned his mind that way but God s will be done As cash may ’
.

be scarce in those parts have to trust yo u will excuse my enclosing

,

a goldsmith s bill at six days sight on Messrs H ooper and Girder,

’ ’
, .

of Newcastle, fo r £ 1 00 which I doubt n Ot will be duly honoured

, .

I remain as in duty bound, dear M r Frank, your very respect ful

, .

and obedient ser vant ,

“
J OSEPH O W EN
P os tsm jfita w —H ope you will advise the ab o ve coming safe to
.

“
.

han d Am sorry we have s o few of yours Your father says he is

.
.

as usual, b ut l ooks poorly ” .

From this epistle written in old Owen s formal styl e, I was

,
’

rather surprised to observe that he made no acknowledgm ent of

that private letter which I had written to hi m wi th a view to possess ,

him of Ras hleigh s real character, although from the cou rs e of post,
’

i t s eemed c ertai n that he ought to have received it Yet I had sent it

‘

by the usual conveyance from the Hall and had no reason to sus ,

pe e t that it coul d miscarry upon the road A s it comprised matters of .

great importance , both to my father and to mysel f, I sat down i n

th e post-o ffice and again wrote to Owen recapitulating the heads
, ,

of my former letter and requesti n g to know, in course of post, if it

,
 R OB R OY . 1 65

had reached him in safety I also acknowledged the receipt of the .

bill and promised to make use of the contents if I should have any
,

occasion for money I thought indeed it was o dd that my father .

, ,

should leave the care of supplying my necessities to his clerk but

I concluded it was a matter arranged between them A t any rate .
,

Owen was a bachelor rich in his way and passionately attached , ,

to me so that I had no hesitation in being obl iged to him for a

,

small sum w hich I resolved to consider as a loan to be returned

, ,

with my earl i est ability in case it was not previously repaid by my ,

father ; and I e xp re s se d myself to this purpose to Mr Owen A . .

shopkeeper in a little town to whom the postmaster directed me , ,

readily gave m e in gold the amount of my b ill on Messrs H ooper .

a n d Girder so th at I returned to Os b aldis t o n e Hall a good deal

,
-

richer than I had set forth This recruit to my finances was not a .

m atter of i ndi fference to me as I was necessarily involved in some ,

expenses at Osb al di s to n e -H all and I had seen w ith some uneasy ,

impatience that the sum which my travell ing expenses had left
,

u nexh austed at my arrival there was imperceptibly diminishing , .

This source of anxi ety was for the present removed On my arrival .

at the Hall I found that Sir Hildebrand and all his offspring had
,

gone down to the little hamlet called Trin lay-knowes to see, as , ,

A ndrew F airs e rvic e expressed it a wheen midden cocks pike ilk ,

i t h ers harns out ” .

“
It is indeed a brutal amusement A ndrew I suppose you have ,

none su ch in Scotland ? ”

N a na answered A ndrew boldly then shaded away his

”
, , ,

negative with unless it be on F a s te rn s -e en or the like 0 that

,
“ ’ ’
,
’

But indeed it s no muckle matter what the folk do to the midden

’

p o o t ry for they had siccan a s kartin g and scraping in the yard that
there s nae getting a bean or pea keepit for them —
, ,
’
But I am won .

dering what it is th at leaves that turret-door open now that Mr .

R a shle igh s away it canna be him I trow

’ ”
.
, ,

The turret-door to which he alluded opened to the garden at the

, ,

bottom of a winding-stair leading down from Mr R a shle igh s , .

’

apartments This as I have already mentioned was situated in a

.
, ,

sequestered part of the house communicating with the library by ,

a private entrance and by another intricate and dark vaulted ,

passage with the rest of the house A long na rrow turf walk led .
,

between two high holly hedges from the turret-door to a little ,

postern in the wall of the garden By means Of these c o m m u n ica .

tions R ashl e igh whose movements were very independent of those

, ,

Of the rest of his fami ly could leave the Hall or return to it at ,

pleasure without his absence or presence attract ing an y observa

,

tion But during his absence th e stair and the turret-door were
.
3 66 R OB R OY .

entirel y disused , and this made A ndrew s observation somewhat ’

remarkabl e .

”
H ave you o ften observed that door open ? was my question .

N 0 just that often neither but I hae noticed it ance or twice .

I ’m thinking it maun hae been the priest Father Vaughan, as they ,

c a him Ye ll no catch an e o the servants ganging up that stair

’ ’ ’
. ,

puir frightened heat hens that they are for fear of bogles and ,

brownies , and lang-n eb b it th ings frae the neist warld B ut Father

Vaugh an thinks himself a pri vileged person—set him up and la y
.

hi m down l— I se be caution the warst stibbler that ever sti ckit a

’

sermon out o wer the Tweed yonder wad lay a ghaist t wice as fast ,

as him wi his holy water and his i dolatrous trinkets I dinna

,
’
.

believe he speaks gude Lati n neither ; at least he disna take me up

”
when I tell him the learned names 0 the plants
’
.

Of F ather Vaugh an who divi ded his time and his ghostl y care
,

bet we en Osb aldis to n e H al l and about h alf-a-doz en mansions of

-

Catholic gentlemen in the neigh bourhood I have as yet s aid , ,

n othing for I had seen but little

, H e was aged about sixty of a .
,

good family, as I was given to u nderstand in the north of a ,

striking and imposing presence grave in his exterior, an d much

'

respected among the Catholics of N orthumberl and as a worthy and

u pright man Yet Father Vaughan did not a ltogether lack those
.

peculiarities which distinguish his order There hung about him .

an air of mystery , which, in Protestant eyes savoured of pries tcraft ,

.

The natives ( such they might be well termed) of Osb aldisto n e-H al l
looked up to him with much more fear or at least more awe, than ,

affection H is condemnation of their revels was evident , from their

.

bein g discontinued in some measure when the priest was a resident

a t the H all Even Sir H ildebrand hi mself put some restraint upon
.

his conduct at such times which perhaps , rendered Father , ,

Vaugh an’ s presence rather irksome than otherwise He had the .

well-bred insinuating and alm ost flatteri n g address pecu li ar to the

, ,

c l ergy of his persuasion , especially in Englan d, where the lay

Ca tholic , hem med in by penal laws and by the restrictions of his ,

s ect and recommendation of his pa stor often exhibits a reserved

‘

,
,

and almost a timid m anner in the society of Protestants while the

priest , privi leged by his order to mingle with persons of all creeds ,
is open alert , and liberal in his intercourse with them desirous of
, ,
“

p opu larity and usually skilfu l in the mode of obtaining it

, .

Father Vaugh an was a part i cular acquaintance of R ashl eigh’s ,

o therwise, in all probability he would scarce h ave been able to
,

maintain his footing at Osb aldis to n e H alL This gave me no desire ~

to cultivate his inti m acy nor did he seem to make an y advances

,

toward s mine ; so our occasional intercourse was confined to the

1 68 ROB ROY .

attempts to provoke me An d now I was scrutini z ing the conduct

.

of M iss Vernon w ith the most close and eager observation which ,

I in vain endeavoured to palm on myself as the offsprin g of idle

curiosity All these like Be nedick s brushing hi s hat Of a morni ng
.
,
’
,

were signs that the sweet youth was i n love ; and wh ile my ju dg
ment still denied that I had been guilty of forming an attachment
so imprudent she resem bled those igno rant guides who when they
, '
, ,

have led the traveller and themselves into irretrievable erro r ,

persi st in obstinately a ffirm ing it to be impossible that they/c an

have missed the way .

C H A P TE R XV I .

“
It happened one day about n oon goin g to my boat ,
'

, was ex
c e e din gly surpr i sed with the pr int of a man s naked t on the
’

”
shore which was very plain to be seen on the sand
,
.

WITH the blended feelings of interest and

engendered by Miss Vernon s singular s ’

of her looks and actions became acutely sharpened fin d that to a ,

degree wh i ch , notwithstanding my efforts to conceal/it could not ,

escape her penetration The sense that she was /observed or

'

.
, ,
'

more properly speakin g that she was watched by m ylo o k s seemed

, ,

to give Diana a mixture of em barrassment pain a nd pettishness , ,

.

A t t imes it seemed that she sought an oppo rtunityof resenting a

conduct which she could not but feel as Offensive considering the ,

frankness with which she h ad mentioned the di fficulties that sur

rounded her A t other times she seemed prepared to expostulate
.

upon the subject But either her courage failed or some other
.
,

sentiment impeded her seek ing an ecla ircissement Her disple a .

sure evaporated in repartee and her expostulations died on her ,

l ips We stood in a singular relation to each other spending

.
, ,

an d by mutual choice much of our time in close society with each

,

other yet disgu ising our mutual sentiments and jealous of or

, , ,

offended by each other s act i ons There was betwixt u s intimacy

,
’
.

without confidence ; on one side, love without hope or purpose ,

and curios ity without any rational or justifiable m otive and on

the other embarrassment and doubt occasionally mingled with
, ,

displeasure Yet I believe that this agit at io n of the passions ( such

'

is th e nature of the human bosom) ,as it continued b y a thousand .

i rr itating and interesting though petty c irc u m s tan c e sfl t o render

,

Miss Vernon and me the constant objects of each other s thoughts , ’

tended, upon the whole, to increase the attachment with which we

 ROB ROY. 1 69

w ere naturally disposed to regard each other But although my .

vanity early dis covered that my presence at Osb aldis to n e -H all had
g iven D iana some additional reason for disliking the cloister I ,

could by no means confide in an affection which seemed completely

s ubordinate to the mysteries of her singular situation Miss .

Vernon was of a character far too formed and determined to ,

perm it her love for me to overpower either her sense of duty or of

prudence and she gave me a proof of this in a conversation which
,

we had together about this period .

We were sitting together in the library M iss Vernon in turn . ,

ing over a copy of the Orlando Furioso which belonged to me , ,

shook a piece of written paper from between the leaves I hastened .

to lift it but she prevented me

, .

“
It is verse ” she said on glancing at the paper
,
and then u m
,

folding it but as if to wait my answer before proceeding

,
May I
take the liberty — nay nay if you blush and stammer I must do
, , ,

violence to your modesty and suppose that permission is granted ”

It is not worthy your p e rusaL—a sc rap of a translation—M y

.
,
“

dear M i ss Vernon it would be too severe a trial that you who

, , ,

understand the original so well should s it in judgment ” , .

“
M ine honest friend ” replied D iana do not if you will be
, ,
“
,

guided by my advice bait your hook with too much humility for
, ,

ten to one it will not catch a single compliment You know I

, .

belong to the unpopular family of Tell-truths and would not flatter ,

A pollo for h i s lyre .

She proceeded to read the first stanz a which w as nearly to the ,

following purpose
“
Ladies and knights and arms and love s fair flame
, , ,
’
,
D eeds of emprize and courtesy I sing ,
What t ime the M oors from s ultry Afri c k came ,
Led on by A gram an t their youthful k ing ,
H e whom revenge and hasty ire did bring
O er the broad wave in F rance to waste and war ;
’
,

Such ills from old Troj an o s death did spring ’

,

Which to avenge he came from realms afar ,

A n d menaced Christian Charles , the R oman Emperor .

Of dauntless R oland too my strain shall sound , , ,

I n import never known in prose or rhyme ,

H o w H e the chief of judgment de e m d profound ,

’
, ,
For luckless love was crazed upon a time ,

There
is a great deal of it said sh e glancing along the paper , , ,

and interrupting the sweetest sounds whi ch mortal ears can dri nk
in —
'

,
those of a youthful poet s verses namely, read by the lips ’
,

which are dearest to them .

x70 ROB ROY .

M uch more than ought to engage your attention Miss Vernon , ,

I replied something m ortified and I took the verses from her u n

,

reluctant hand A n d yet I continued

”
shut up as I am in this
, ,
“

retired situat i on I have felt sometimes I could not amuse myself

.

better than by carry ing on merely for my own amusement you , ,

will of course understand the version of thi s fascinating author , ,

which I began some months since when I was on the banks of the ,

Garonne ” .

“
Th e question would only be said D iana gravely whether , , ,

you could not s pend your time to better purpose ? ”

“
You mean in original composition ? ” said I greatly flattered ; ,

but to say truth m y genius rather lies in finding words and

, ,
-

rhymes than i deas and therefore I am happy to use those which

A ri osto has prepared to my hand H owever M i ss Vernon with .
, ,

the encouragement yo u give ”

Pardon me F rank it is encouragement not of my giving but
, ,

of your taking I meant neither orig inal composition nor tran sla
.

tion since I think you might employ your time to far better p urpose
,

than in either You are mortified sh e continued and I am

.
”
, ,
“

sorry to be the cause ”

N ot m o rtifi e d—certainly not mortified said I with the best

.

~
, , ,

grace I could muster an d it was but indi fferently assumed ,

I am “

too much obliged by the interest you take i n me ” .

N ay but resumed the relentless D iana there is both morti

’ ”
, , ,
“

fi c at io n and a little grain of anger in th a t constrained tone of voice ;

,

do not be ang ry if I probe your feelings to the bottom—perhaps

what I am about to s ay w ill aff ect them still more l
.

I felt the ch ildishness of my own conduct and the superior ,

manliness of M iss Vernon s , and assured her that she need not ’
,

fear my w in gin g under critic ism which I kne w to be kindly meant .

That was honestly meant and said she replied I knew full
”
,

well that the fi n d of poetical irritability flew away with the little
preluding cough wh i ch ushered in the declaration A n d n o w I .

must be seri ou s — Have you heard from your father lately ? ”

“
N ot a word I replied he has not honoured me with a single
,

line during the several months of my residence here ”

That is strange —you are a singular race you bold Os b al

.

dis t o n e s Then you are not aware that he has gone to H olland to
.
,

arrange some pressing affairs which required his own immediate

presence
I never heard a word of it until this moment .

“
A n d farther i t must be news to yo u and I presume scarcely
, ,

the most agreeable that he has left R a shle igh in the almost un
,

c ontrolled management o f his a ffairs until his return ?

”
1 72 ROB R OY .

Miss Ve rnon coloured but proceeded with great firmness In

deed I do give you th i s advice —not only to qu i t Osb aldi s to n e-H all,
,

but never to return to it more You have only one friend to regret .

here ” she continued forcing a smile and she has been long ao
, , ,
“

customed to sacrifice her friendships and her comforts to the wel

fare o f others In the world you will meet a hundred whose friend
.

ship will be as disinterested—m ore useful—less encumbered by

untoward circumstances—less influenced by evil tongues and e vi l
times ”
never —the world can afford me
.

N ever I exclaimed ,

nothing to repay what I must leave behind me H ere I took her .

”

hand and pressed it to my lips .

This is folly ! she excla imed This is madness and she

struggled to withdraw he r hand from my grasp but not so stub ,

b o rn ly as actually to succeed until I had held it for nearly a

minute H ear me sir
. she said “ and curb this unmanly
, , .

burst of passion I am by a solemn contract the bride of Heaven

.
, , ,

u nless I could pre fer being wedded to villany in the person of

R ashle igh Osb a l di s to n e or brutali ty in that of his brother

, I am .
,

therefore the bride of H eaven betrothed to the convent from the

cradle To me therefore these raptures are misapplied—
, ,

.
, ,
they
only serve to prove a further necessity for your departure and that ,

without delay ” A t these words she broke suddenly o ff, and said
.
,

but in a suppressed tone of voice Leave me instantly - we will ,

“

meet here again but it must be for the last time ”

, .

My eyes fol lowed the direction of hers as she spoke and I ,

thought I saw the tapestry shake which covered the door of the ,

secret passage from R as hl e igh s room to the l ibrary I conceived ’

.

we were observed and turned an inquiring glance On M iss Vernon

, .

”
It is nothing said she fa intly a rat behind the arras
, , , .
”

Dead for a ducat would have been my reply had I dared to

, ,

give way to the feelings which rose indignant at the idea of being
subjected to an eavesdropper on such an occasion Prudence an d .
,

the necessity of suppress ing m y passion and obeying Diana s ,

’

rei terated command of Leave me I leave me 1 ” came in time to

prevent any rash action I left the apartment in a wild whirl
.

and giddiness of mind which I in vain attempted to compose ,

when I return ed to my own .

A chaos of tho u ghts intruded themselves on me at once passing ,

hastily through my brain intercepting and overshadowing each ,

other and re sembling those fogs which in mountainous countries

,

are wont to descend in obscure volumes , and dis figure or obliterat e

the u sual marks by which the traveller steers his course through
the wild s The dark and undefined idea of danger arising to my
.
 ROB R OY. 1 73

father from the machinations of such a man as R ashle igh Ob aldi

stone—the half-declaration of love which I had offered to Miss
Vernon s acceptance—the acknowledged di fficulties of her situa
’

tion bound by a previous contract to sacrifice herself to a cloister

or to an ill-assorted marriage —
,

all pressed themselves at once upon

,

m y recollection while m y j udgment was unable deliberately to

,

consider any of them in their just light and bearings But chiefly .

and above all the rest I was perplexed by the manner i n wh i ch

,

Miss Vernon had received my tender of affection and by her ,

manner which fluctuating betwixt sympathy and firmness seemed

, , ,

to intimate that I possessed an interest in her bosom but not of ,

force sufficient to counterbalance the Obstacles to her avowing a

mutual affection The glance of fear rather than surprise, with
.
,

which she had watched the motion of the tapestry over the con
ceal ed door implied an apprehension of danger which I could not
,

but suppose well grounded for Diana Vernon was little subject to
the nervous emotions of her sex and totally unapt to fear without ,

actual and rational cause Of what nature could those myste ries
.

be with which she was surrounded as with an e n c han te f s spell

,
'

and which seemed continually to exert an active influence over her

thoughts and actions though their agents were never visible ? On
,

this subject of doubt my mind finally rested as if glad to shake ,

itself free from investigating the propriety or prudence of my own

conduct, by transferring the inquiry to what concerned M i ss
Vern on I will be resolved, I concluded ere I leave Ob aldis to n e
.
,

Hall concerning the light in which I must in future regard this

,

fascinating being over whose life frankness and mystery seem to

,

have divided their reign , the former inspiring her w ards and senti
ments, the latter Spread i ng in misty influence over all her actions .

Joined to the obvious interests which arose from curiosity and

anxious passion there mingled in my feelings a strong though
,

unavowed and undefined i n fusion of jealousy This sentiment .

,

which springs up with love as naturally as the tares with the wheat ,

was excited by the degr ee of influence which Di ana appeared to

concede to those unseen be ings by whom her actions were limited .

The more I reflected u pon her character the more I was internally ,

though unwillingly convinced that she was formed to set at ,

defiance all control excepting that which arose from affection ;

,

an d l felt a strong bitter and gnawing suspicion , that such was

, ,

the foundation of that influence by whi ch she was overawed .

These torm enting doubts strengthened my desire to penetrate

into the secret of M iss Vernon s conduct and i n the prosecution of
’
,

this sage adventure I formed a resolution of which if you are not

, , ,

w eary of these details you will find the result in the next Chapter
,
.
I
174» ROB R OY .

C H A P TE R X V II .

I hear a voice you can not hear,

Whi ch says I must not stay
I see a hand yo u cannot see ,
Which beckons me away TICKELL . .

I HA V E already told you Tresham if you deign to bear i t in

, ,

remembrance that my evening vi sits to the library had seldom

,
“

been made except by appoi ntmen t and under the sanction of old
,

D ame Martha s presence Th is however wa s entirely a tacit con

’
.
, ,

ven tio n al arrangement of my own instituting Of late, as the em .

b arras sm en ts of our relative situation had increased M iss Vernon ,

and I had never met in the even ing at all She had therefore n o .

reason to suppose that I was l ikely to seek a rene wal of these

intervie ws, and espe ci ally wi thout some previous notice or appoint '

ment betwixt us, that Martha m ight a s usual , be placed upon ,

duty ; but, on the other hand th i s cautionary provision was a

,

matter of understanding n o t of express enactment The l ibrary

, .

was open to me as to the other m em b e rs o f the family at all hours

, ,

o f th e day an d night and I could not be accused of intrusion,

,

however suddenly and unexpectedly I might make my appearance

in it My belief was strong that in this apartment Miss Vernon
.

occasionall y received Vaughan or s ome other person, by whose

,

o pinion she was accustomed to regu late her cond u ct , and that at
the times when she could do so with least chance of interrupti on
—
.

The lights which gleam ed in th e library at unusual hours the

passing shadow s which I had myself remarked —the footstep s
which m ight be traced in the morning dew from the turret-door to
the postern -gate in the gar den— sounds an d sights which some of
the servants and Andrew F ai rs ervi c e in parti c u lar, had observed,
—
,

an d accounted for in their o wn way all tended to show that th e

,

place was visited by someone different from the ordinary inmates

o f th e h al l
. Connected as t his visita nt m ust probably be with the
fate o f D iana Vernon, I did not hesitate to form a pl an o f dis
covering who o r what he was — how far his influence was likel y to
,

produce good or evil consequences to h er on whom he act ed

above all, though I endeavoured to persu ade myself tha t this was
a mere subordinate consid eration I desired to know b y what
,

means this person had acqu ired or m aintained his influence over
D i an a, and whether he ruled over her by fear or by a ffection The .

proof that this jealous curiosity was uppermost in my m ind, aros e

from my imagination always ascribing Mi s s Vernon s conduct to ’
17 6 ROB R OY .

statue by a range of bee-hives in an attitude of devout c ontempl a ,

tion , one eye , however watching the motions o f the little irritable
citiz ens, who were settling in their straw—
,

.
thatched mansion fo r the
evening, and the other fixed on a book of devotion whi ch much ,

attrition had deprived of its corners and worn into an oval shape ,

a ci rcumstance whi ch wi th the close print an d dingy colour of the

, ,

volume in question gave it an air of most respectable antiquity

,
.

I was e en takin a S pell o worthy M ess J ohn Quackleb en s

’ ’ ’

Flower of a Sweet Savour sawn on the M iddenstead of this

World,” said Andrew closing his book at my a ppearance, an d
,

putting his horn specta cles by way of mark at the place where he
, ,

had been reading .

A n d the bees I observe were dividing your attention, An drew,

, ,
”
w ith the learned author ?
They are a contumacious generation replied th e gardener ; ,

they hae sax days in the week to hive on and yet it ’ s a common ,

observe tha t t hey wi ll aye swarm on the Sabbath-day and keep

folk at hame frae hearing the wo rdT—
,

But there s nae preaching at ’

G ran eagain Chapel the e en — that s aye a e

’
mercy ” ’
.

“
You might have gone to the parish church as I did, Andrew,
and heard an excellent discourse ” i

Gi an ts 0 cauld parritch —clauts o cauld parritch ” repl ied

.

’ ’
,

A ndrew, with a most supercilious sneer, gude ane u ch for dogs ,

begging your honour’s pardon—A y I might nae doubt hae heard

the curate linking awa at it in his white sark yonder and the ,

musici an s playing on whistles mair like a penny-Wedding than a ,

sermon, and to the boot of that I might h ae gae n to even-song, ,

'

an d heard Daddy Do c h art y mumbling his m as s muckl e the

better I wad hae been 0 that ” ’
.

Do chart y said I ( this was the na me of an old priest, an

I rishman , I think who sometimes officiated at Osb aldis to ne -H all) ,
,

I thought Father Vaughan had been at the Hal l H e was here .

yesterday ” .

A y,” rep li ed A ndrew, but he left it yestreen , to gan g t o Grey

stock, or some 0 thae west country haulds
—
’
There s an un co stir
-
.
’

among them a e enow They are as busy as m y bees are God

’ ’
.

s ain them ! that I sul d even the puir things to the like 0 papists ’
.

Ye see this is the second swarm and whiles they will swarm o ff in ,

the afternoon The first swarm set off s une in the morning But
.
.

I am thinking they are settled i n their skeps for the night ; sae
I wuss your honour good night and grace and muckle o t ”
-
, ,
’
.

S o saying, Andre w retreated ; but often cast a parting glanc e

upon the s keps , as he call ed the bee-hives .

I had indirectly gained from him an importa n t piece of in fo r

 R OB ROY . 1 77

mation that Fath er Vaughan namely was not supposed to be at

, , ,

t he Hall If therefore there appeared l ight in the w indows of the

.
, ,

l ibrary this even ing it e ither could not be h is or he was observin g

, ,

a very secret and suspicious line of conduct I wa ited wi th imp a .

t ie n c e the t i m e of sunset and of tw ilight It h a d hardly arrived ere .

,

a gleam from the w indows of the l ibrary was seen d imly d i st in ,

g u is hab l e amidst the still end uring l ight of the even ing I marked .

i t s first glimpse however as speed ily as the benighted sailor descries

, ,

the first distant twinkle of the l ight house which marks h is course -
.

Th e feelings of doubt and propri ety wh i ch had h i therto contended ,

w i th my curiosity and jealousy vanished when an opportun ity of ,

gratifying the former was presented to me I re entered the house .

-
,

and avoidi ng the more frequented apartments with the consc ious
ness of one who wishes to keep h is purpose secret I reached the
door Of the library—hesitated for a moment as my hand was upo n
,

the latch—heard a suppressed step with in— opened the door and -

found Miss Ve rnon alone .

Dian a appe ar ed surprised —whether at my sudden entrance or

, ,

from some other cause I could not guess ; but there was in her
,

a ppearance a degree of flutter which I had never before remarked , ,

and which I kne w could only be produced by unusual emotion .

Yet she was calm in a moment and such i s th e force of consc i ence ,

that I who studied to surprise her seemed myself the surpri sed
, , ,

and was certainly the embarrassed person .

Has anything happened ? ” said Miss Vernon Has any one .

arrived at the H all

N o one that I know of I answered in some confusion ;
, ,

o nly sought the Orlando ”

.

It lies there said Miss Vernon pointing to the tab]

”
, ,

I n removing one or two books to get at that whi ch I pretended

to seek I was in truth meditating to make a handsome retreat
, , ,

from an invest igat i on to which I felt my assurance i nade quate ,

when I perceived a man s glove lying upon the table My eyes

’
.

encountered those of M iss Vernon who blushed deeply ,

.

It is one of my rel i cs she said w ith hes itation replying not to

”
, , ,

my words but to m y looks

,
it is one of the gloves of my gra n d
“

father the original of the superb Vandyke whi ch you admire

,
.
”

A s if she thought something more than her bare assert i on was

necessary to prove her statement true she opened a drawer of the ,

large oaken table an d taking out another glove threw it towards

, ,

me When a t em p e r naturally i ngenuous stoops t o equ ivocate or

.

to dissemble the anxious pain wit h which t h e unwonted task is

,

laboured often induces the hearer to doubt the authentic ity of the
,

tale I cast a hasty glance on both gloves and then replied g ravely
. ,
M
 1 78 R OB R OY .

The gloves resemble each other doubtless in form and em , ,

broide ry but they cannot form a pai r since they both belong to ,

th e right hand ” .

She bit her lip with an ger and again coloured deeply,
.

You do right to expose me ” she replied, with bitterness ,

some fr iends would have only judged from what I said, that
I chose to give no particular explan ation of a circumstance which
calls for none —at least to a str an ger You have judged better and .
,

have made me feel, not only th e m e anness of duplicity but my o wn ,

inadequacy to sustain the task of a dissembler I now tell you .

distinctly that that glove is not the fellow as you have acutely
discerned to the one which I just n o w produced —
, ,

it b el on gs t o
'

, ,

a friend yet dearer to me than the original of Vandyke s picture ’

a friend by whose counsels I have been and will be , guided—whom

I honour—whom I She paused — .

,

I was irritated at her m anner and filled u p the blank in my own

,

way . Whom sh e lo ves M iss Vernon would say , .

”
“
A n d if I do say so she replied haughtily, “ by whom shall my
, ,

affection be called to account ? ”

N ot b y me, Miss Vernon assuredly I entreat you to hold me
, .

acquitted of such presumption B u t ” I continued , with some .

,

emphasis , for I was n ew p i qued in return I hope Miss Vernon ,

will p ardon a friend from whom she seems disposed to withdraw

,

the title for observing

,

Observe nothing sir she i n terrupted with some vehemence

, ,
"
, ,
except that I will neither be doubted nor questione d There does .

not exist one by whom I will be either interrogated or judged and

if you sought this unusual time of presenting yoursel f, in order to
spy upon my privacy th e friendship or interest with which you
,

pretend to regard me is a poor excuse fo r your uncivil curiosity ”

, .

“
I relieve you of my presence ” said I with pride equal to her
, ,

own ; for my temper has ever been a stranger to stooping even in

cases where my feel ings were most deeply interested —
,
“
I relieve
you of my presence I awake from a pleasant but a most del usive
dream an d—but we unders tand each other ”
.
,

I had reached the door of th e apartment when M iss Vernon, ,

whose movements were sometimes so rapid as to seem almost

i nstin ctive, overtook me and catching hold o f m y arm, stopped me
, , ~

with that air of authority which she could so whimsi cally assume,
and which , from the nai vete and simplicity of her manner, had an
e ffect so peculi arly interesting .

”
“
Stop, Mr Frank, she said
. you are not to leave me in that
“

way neither I am not s o amply provided with friends , that I can

'

afford to throw away even the un gra te ful and the se lfi sh M ark .
 R OB R OY .

A n d certainly, Tresh am , she did blush most angelically as sh e

made this cruel declaration I was about to attack both her posi .

tions entirely forgett ing those very susp i cions wh i ch had been con
,

firmed in the course of the evening but she proceeded with a cold ,

firmness wh ich approached to severity .

What I say i s sob er and indisputable truth on which I will ,

neither hear question nor explanat ion We are therefore friends .

,

Mr Osb aldis to n e— are we not

. She held out her hand and taking ,

mine added
,
A n d nothing to each other now or henceforward , ,

except as friends ” .

She let go my hand I sunk it and my head at once fairly .

,

o vercro w ea as Spenser would have termed it by the m ingled

’
, ,

k indness and firmness of her manner She hastened to change .

the subject .

'
“
H ere is a letter ” she said directed for you M r Osb aldis to n e
, , , .
,

very duly and distinctly but wh i ch notwithstanding the caution of ,

the person who wrote and addressed it might perhaps never have ,

reached your hands had it not fallen i nto the possession of a certain
,

Pacolet or enchanted dwarf of mine whom like all distressed

, , ,

damsels of romance I retain in my secret service , .

I opened the letter and glanced over the contents - the unfolded,

sh eet of paper dropped from my hands with the involuntary e xcla ,

mation of Gracious H eaven ! my fo lly and disobedience have

ruined m y father 3
M iss Vernon rose with looks of real and affectionate alarm
You grow pale —you are ill—shall I bring you a glass of water ?
Be a man Mr Osb aldis to n e and a fi rm one I s your father—is
, .
, .

he no more
“
H e lives said I thank God but to what distress and diffi
, ,

culty ”

If t at be all despair not M ay I read this letter ? she said

h ,
”
.
,
tak ing it up .

I assented hardly knowing what I said She read it with great

, .

attent i on .

“
Who is this Mr Tresham who signs the letter ? ” .
,
”
My father s partner ( your own good father Will ) but he is
’
, , ,

little in the h abit of acting personally in the business Of the

house ” .

He writes here, sai d Miss Vernon of various letters s ent to ,

you previously ” .

I have r eceived none of them ” I replied , .

”
A n d it appears she continued that R a s hle igh who has taken
, , ,

the full management of aff airs during y our father s absence i n ’

Holland has some time since left L ondon for S cotland, with e ffects
,
 RO B R OY . 1 81

and remittances to take up large bills granted by your father to

persons in that country and that he has not s ince been heard of ”
, .

It is but too true ” .

A n d here has been ” she ad ded looking at th e letter a head

clerk or some such person — Ow e n so n —Owen — d ispatched to
, , ,
~

, ,

Glasgow to fi n d out R ashle igh if possible and yo u are entreated

.
, , ,

to repair to the same place and assist hi m in his researches ”

,
.

It is eve n so and I m u s t depart i nstantly

,
~
.

St ay but one moment ” said M i ss Vernon “ It seems to me

, .

that the worst which can come of this matter will be the loss of
a certain sum of money and can that bring tears into your eyes ?
F o r shame Mr Os b aldi s t o n e
, .

“
You do me injustice Miss Vernon ” I answered
,
I grieve not ,
.

for the loss but for the effect which I know it will produce on the
,

s pirits and health of my father to whom mercantile credit is as ,

honour and who if declared insolvent would s ink i nto the grave
, , ,

oppressed by a sense of grief remorse and despair l ike that of , , ,

a s old ier convicted of cowardice or a man of honour who had lost ,

his rank and character in soc i ety A ll th is I might have prevented .

by a trifling sacrifice of the foolish pride and indolence wh ich re

coiled from sharing the labours of his honourable and useful pro
fe s s io n . Good Heaven ! how shall I redeem the consequences of
my error
By instantly repairing to Glasgow as you are conjured to do by ,

the friend who wr ite s th i s letter ” .

B ut if Ra s hle igh ” said I has really formed this b aSe and n u

, ,
“

consc ientious s cheme o f plundering his benefactor what prospect ,

is there that I can find mean s of frustrating a plan so deeply laid ?

“
Th e prospect ” She replied ,
indeed may be uncerta in ; but
,
“
, ,

on the other ha nd there is no possibility of your do ing any se rvice

to your father by remaining here —R emember had you been on
,

the post destined for you this disaster could not have happened
,

hasten to that which i s now pointed out and it may poss ibly be ,
— —
retrieve d Yet stay do not leave this room until I return ”
.

She left me in confusion and amazement am i d wh ich however , ,

I could find a luc i d interval to adm i re the firmness composure and , ,

presence of m ind wh i ch M iss Vernon seemed to possess on every

,

cri s i s however sudden

,
.

In a few minutes she returned with a sheet of paper in her hand ,

folded and sealed like a letter but without address I trust you
, .
”
,

she said with this proof of my friendsh ip because I have the

, ,

most perfect confidence in your honour If I understand the nature .

of your distress r ightly the funds in R a shle igh s possession must be

,
’

recovered by a certa in day— the Iz th of September I think i s , ,

1 82 R OB ROY .

named—in order that they may be applied to pay the bills in ques
t i on and consequently that if adequate funds be provided before
, ,

that period your father s credit is safe from the apprehended

'

,
’

calam ity ”

Certainly— I so understand Mr Tresham ”—I looked at y our

.

”
father s letter again and added There cannot be a doubt of it
’
, ,
“ .

“
Well ” said Diana in that case my little Pacolet m ay be o f
use to yo u —You have heard of a spell contained in a letter Take
, ,

this packet ; do not open it until other and ordinary means have
failed if you succeed by your own exertions I trust to your honour ,

for destroying it with out opening or su ffering it to be opened But .

if not you may break the seal w ithin ten days of the fated day and
, ,

you will find directions wh i ch may possibly be of servi ce to you .

A dieu Frank ; we never meet more —but sometimes think of your

,

friend D ie Vernon ” .

She extended her hand but I clasped her to my bosom She ,

.

sighed as she extri cated herself from the embrace which she per
m itte d escaped to the door which led to her o wn apartment and I
, ,

s aw her no more .

C H A P TE R X V III .

A n d hurry,
hurry off the y rode, ,

A s fast as fast might be ;

H urra hurra the dead can ride, , ,

D ost fear to ride w ith me ? B U RGER .

TH E R E is one advantage in an accumulation of evils di ffering in ,

c ause and character that the d i straction which they a fford by their
,

contradictory operation prevents the patient from being over

whelmed under either I was deeply grieved at my separation
.

from M iss Vernon yet not so much so as I should have been had
, ,

n o t my father s apprehended distresses forced themselves on m y

’

attention ; an d I was distressed by the news of Mr Tresham yet .

,

less so th an if they had fully occupied my mind I was neither a .

false lover nor an unfeeling son but man can give but a certain
portion of distressful emotions to the causes which de mand them
and if two operate at once our sympathy like the funds of a com , ,

pounding bankrupt can only be divi ded between them Such

, .

were my reflections when I gained my apartment —i t seems from ,

the illustration they a lready began to have a twang of commerce

,

in them .

I set myself seriously to consider your fathe r’ s letter It was not .

v ery distinct and referred for several particulars to Owen whom I

, ,
1 84 R OB R OY .

the shortest nor indeed any road to Glasgow and as in the cir
, ,

c u m s tan c e s i n wh i ch I stood d i spatch was of t h e greatest c o n s e ,

q ue n c e I determined to consult A ndrew F a irs e rvi c e on the subject

,
,

a s the nearest and most authentic author i ty within my reach .

Late as it was I set off with the intention of ascertaining this

,

important point and after a fe w minutes walk reached the d welling

,
’

of the ga rde n e i .

A ndrew s dwelling was situated at no great distance fro m the

’

exterior w all o f the garden a snug comfortable N o rth um b ria n

‘

cottage bu ilt of stones roughly dressed with the hammer and

, ,

having the windows and doors decorated with huge heavy archi
traves or l intels as they are called of hewn stone and its roof
, , , ,

covered with broad grey flags instead of slates thatch or tiles , , , .

A jargonelle pear tree at one end of the cottage a rivulet and -

, ,

fl o w e r plot of a rood in extent in front a n d a kitchen -garden

-
, ,

behind ; a paddock for a cow and a small field cultivated with ,

several crops of grain rather for the bene fi t of the cottager than for
,

sale announced the warm and cord i al comforts which Old Eng
,

land even a r her most northern extremity extends to her m eanest

, ,

inhabitants .

A s I ap proached the mansion of the sapient A ndrew I heard a ,

noise which bein g of a nature peculiarly solemn nasal and pro

, , , ,

l onged led me to think that A ndre w according to the decent and

, ,

m eritorious custom of his countrymen had assembled some of his ,

n eighbours to join in fam ily exercise as he called evening devotion , .

A ndrew had indeed neither w i fe child nor female inmate in his , ,

family first of h s trade he said had had eneugh o

”
Th e
. i , ,
“ ’

thae cattle ” But notwithstanding he sometimes contrived to

.
, ,

form an audience for himself out of the neighbouring Papists an d

Church o f-England-men brands as he expressed it snatc hed out
-
, , ,

o f the burn ing on whom he used to exercise his spiritual gifts in

, ,

defiance alike of F ather Vaughan Father D o c h arty R a shle igh , , ,

and all the world of Cathol ics around him who deemed his inter ,

fe i e n c e on such occasions an act of heretical interloping I con .

c e ive d it likely therefore that the well disposed neighbours might

, ,
-

h ave assembled to hold some chapel of ease of this nature The .

n o i se however when I l istened to it more accurately

, , seemed to ,

p roceed entirely from the lungs of the sai d A ndrew and when I
‘

interrupted it by entering the house I found F a irs ervi c e alone , ,

c ombat i ng as he best c ould with lo n g words and hard names a n d

'

, , ,

read ing aloud , for the purpose of his own e difi cat io n a volume o f ,

c o n t ro vei s ial d ivin i ty I was just taking a S pell ” sa id he laying

.
, ,
as ide -the huge folio volume as I entered, of the worthy D octor “

Lightfoot .
 R OB 1 85

“
L ight foot I replied look ing at the ponderous volume with
,

some s u rprise ; surely your author was unhappily n am ec

“
Lightfoot was his name s ir ; a div i ne he was , and another
,

kind of a divine than they hae now-a -days A lways I crave you r .
,

pardon for keeping ye standing at the door but having been mis ,

t rysted (gude preserve us with a e bogle the n icht already I was ,

dubious o opening the yett till I had gae n through the c ening
’ ’

worship and I had just finished the fi fth chapter of N ehemiah ,

”
if that winna gar them keep their distance I o tn what will
w a ,
.

“
Trysted with a bogle said I what do you mean by that ,

A ndrew P
“
I said m istrysted replied A ndrew ; that is as muckle as to “

say fi e yd wi a ghaist—gude preserve us I say again

,
’ ’
, ,
”
F lay d by a ghost A ndrew how am I to understand that ?
’
,

I did not say fl ayd ” replied A ndre w but fl ey d that is I got

’
, ,
“ ’
, ,

a fi eg and was ready to jum p out 0 my skin though naebody

,
’
,

o f ered to whirl it aff my body as a m an wad bark a tree .

I beg a truce to your terrors in the present case A ndrew, and ,

I wish to know whether you can d irect me the nearest way to a

town in your country of S cotland called Glasgow ,

A toun ca d Glasgow ! echoed A ndre w F a irs e rvi ce Glasgow s

“ ” ’ “ ’

a ceety m am—A n d is t the way to Glasgow ye were speering if I

.

ken d —What suld ail me to ken it —it s no that dooms far frae
,
’ ’

my ain parish of Dre ep daily that l ies a bittock farther to the we s t

,
.

But what may your honour be gaun to Glasgow for ? ”

Particular business ” repl ied I ,
.

That s as muckle as to say Speer nae questions , and I ll tell ye

’ ’

nae lee s —To Glasgow —h e made a short pause

,

I am thinking
ye wad be the better 0 some ane to show you the road ”
’
.

Certainly if I could meet with any person going that way

, .

A n d your honour doubtless, wad consider the time and

,

t rouble
Unquestionably—m y b u siness is pressing and if you can fi n d ,

any guide to accompany me I ll pay h im handsomely

,
,
’
.

“
This is no a day to speak 0 carnal matters ” said A ndrew ’
, ,

castin g his eyes upwards but if it w e re n a Sabbath at e en I wad ’

,

S peer what ye wad be content to gi e to ane that wad bear ye

pleas ant company o n the road and tell ye the names of the ,

gentlemen s and n o b le m en s seats and castles, and count thei r

’ ’

kin to ye
I tell you , all I want to know is the road I must travel I will
pay the fellow to his sat isfact ion— I will g ive him anything in
”
reason .

On ythin g, repl ied A ndrew is naething ; and this lad that I ,

1 86 R OB R OY.

am speaking o kens a the short cuts and queer b y-paths through

’ ’

the hills and ,

I have no time to talk about it, A ndrew ; do you m ake the

“

bargain for me your own way ”

—
.

“
A ha that s speaking to the purpose answered
“
A ndre w I
’
.
,

a m thinking since sae be that sae it is I ll be the lad that will

’
, ,

guide yo u mysell .
”

Yo u A ndrew ? how w ill yo u get away from your employ

,

ment
I tell d your honour a while syne that it was lang that I hae
“ ’
,

been thinking 0 flitting maybe as lang as frae the fi rst year I c ame
’
,

to Osb aldis to n e -Hall and now I am 0 the mind to gang in gude ’

earn est —better soon as syne—better a finger aff as aye wagging ” .

You leave your service then —but will you not lose your ,

wages ? ”
Nae doubt there will be a certain loss but then I hae siller o ’

the laird s in my hands that I took for the apples in the auld
’

o rc hyard—and a sair bargain the folk had that bought them —a

wheen green trash—and yet Sir H ildebrand s as keen to hae the ’

siller (that is the steward is as pressing about it) as if they had

,

b een a gowden pippins —and then there s the siller for the seeds
’ ’

I m thinking the wage will be i n a manner decently made u p

’
.

But doubtless your honour will consider my risk of loss whe n we

won to Glasgow—and ye ll be for setting out forthwith ? ” ’

By day-break in the morn ing ” I answered , .

“
That s something 0 the s u dde n e s t—whare am I to find a naig ?
’ ’

-Stay—I ken just the beast t hat w ill answer me ”

~
.

A t five in the morning then A ndrew you will meet me at the , , ,

h ead of the avenue ” .

Deil a fear 0 me ( that I suld say sae ) missing m y tryste ”

’
,

replied A ndrew very briskly ; and if I m i ght advise we wad be

, ,

aff twa hours earlier I km the way dark or light as weel as .

, ,

blind R alph R on aldson that s travelled o wer every moor in the ,

’

country-side and disna ken the colour of a heather-cowe when a s

,
’

”
dune .

I highly approved of A ndrew s amendment on my original pro ’

posal and we agreed to meet at the place appointed at three in the

,

morn ing A t once however a reflection came across the m ind of

.
, ,

m y intended travelling companion .

The bogle the bogle what if it should come out upon us

I do wna forgather w i thae things twice in the four an d-twenty
’
-

hours ” .

”
Pooh ! pooh ! I exclaimed breaking away from him “ fear , ,
n othing from the next world the earth contains living fiends w ho ,
1 88 ROB ROY .

Iwo ul d have recommended ; and so well did he obey mv injun e

tions of keeping silence that he would return no answer to my
,

repeated inqu iries into the cause of such unnecessary haste .

Extricating ourselves by short cut s known to A ndrew from the

, ,

numerous stony lanes and bypaths which intersected eac h other in

the vicinity of the Hall we reache d the open heath ; and riding
,

swiftly across it, took our course among t he barren hills which
divide England from S cotland on what are called the Middle
M arches The way or rather the broken track which we occupie d,
.
,

wa s a happy interchange of bog and shingles neve rtheless A ndre w ,

relented nothing of his S peed but trotted manfully forward at the

,

rate of eight or ten miles an hour I was both surprised and pro
.

y oked at the fellow s obst inate persistence for we m ade abrupt

’
,

ascents and descents over ground of a very break-neck character ,

and traversed the edge of precipi ces where a slip of the horse s
,
’

feet would have cons igned the r ider to certain death The moon .
,

at best a fforded a dubious and imperfect l ight but in some places

,

we were so much under the shade of the mountain as to be in total

darkness , and th en I could only trace A ndrew by the clatter of his
horse s feet , and the fire which they struck from the flints At first
’
.
,

this rapid motion, and the attent i on which for the sake of personal
,

safety I was compelled to give to the conduct of my horse , was of

,

service, by forcibly diverting my thoughts from the various painful

reflections which must otherwise have pressed on my mind But .

at length after hallooing repeatedly to A ndrew to ride slower, I he

,

came seriously incensed at h is impudent perseverance in refusing

either to obey or to reply to me My anger was however, quite
.
,

impotent I attempted once or twice to get up alongside of my

.

self-will ed gu ide, with the pu rpose of knocking him o ff his horse -

with the butt-end of my whi p but A ndrew was better mounted

than I , and either the spirit of the animal which he bestrode, or
more probably some presentiment of my kind intentions towards
h irfi induced him to qu i cken his pace whenever I attempted to make
,

u p to him On th e other hand I was compelled to exert my spurs

.
,

to keep him in sight for without his guidance I was too well aware
,

that I should never find my way throu gh th e howling wilderness

which we now traversed at such an unwonted pace I was so angry .

at length that Ithre ate n e d to have recourse to my pistols, and send

,

a bullet after the H otspur A ndre w which should stop his fiery
, ,

footed career, if he did not abate it of his own accord A pparently .

this threat made some impress i on on the tympanu m of his ear ,

h owever deaf to all my m ilder entreaties fo r he rela xed his pace

upon hearing it and suffering me to close up to him observed ,
, ,
“
There wasna muckle sense i n riding at sic a daft-like gate ” .
 R OB R OY . 1 89

An dwhat did you mean by doing so at all you self-willed ,

scoundrel repl ied I for Iw a s in a towering passion to which , ,

by the way noth ing contributes more than the h aving recently
,

undergone a spice of personal fear wh i ch l ike a few drops of water , ,

flung on a glowing fire is sure to inflame the ardour which it is,

i nsuffi cient to quench .

“
What s your honour s wull ? ” replied A ndre w with impene
’ ’
,

t rab l e gravity .

M y w ill you rascal — I have been roaring to you this hour to

,

ride slower and you have never so much as answered me —A re you

l

drunk or mad to behave so

A n it like your honour I am something dull 0 hearing and
’
,

Ill no deny but I might have maybe taen a stirrup -cup at parting
’

frae the auld bigging whare I hae dwalt sae lang and having nae
body to pledge nae doubt I was obli ged to do mysell reason or
, ,

else leave the end 0 the brandy stoup to thae papists —and that
’
,

wad be a w aste as your honour kens ,

.

This might be all very true and my circumstances required that ,

I should be on good terms with m y guide ; I therefore satisfied

myself with requiring of him to take his directions from me in
future concern ing the rate of travelling .

A ndrew emboldened by the mildness of my tone elevated his

, ,

o w n into the pedantic conceited octave which was famil iar to him
, ,

on most occasions .

Your honour winna persuade me and n aebody shall persuade ,

me that it s e ither halesome or prudent to tak the night air on thae

,
’

moors wi thout a cordial o clow gillifl o w er water or a tass of brandy

’
-
,

or aquavitae or sic-like creature -comfort I hae taen the bent ower

, .

the Ott ers c ape -rigg a hundred times day and night an d never , ,

could find the way unless I had taen my morn ing mai r by token
that I had whiles twa bits 0 ankers o brandy on ilk s ide 0 me ” ’ ’ ’
.

In other words A ndrew ” said I you were a smuggler - h o w

, , ,
“

does a man of your strict principles reconcile yourself to cheat the

revenue
It s a mere spoiling o the Egyptians replied A ndrew
’ ’
pu i r ,

a uld Scotland suffers eneugh by thae blackguard loons o exc i se

’

me n and gaugers t hat h a e come down on her l ike locusts since the
s ad and s o rro w fu Union i t s the part of a k ind son to br ing her a ’

s oup 0 something that will keep up her auld heart and that will
’
,

they nill they the ill fa ard thieves ,

-
’
.

Upon more particular inquiry I found A ndrew had frequently ,

travelled these mountain -paths as a smuggler both before and after ,

h is establishment at Osb aldis to n e -Hall a circumstance which was

so far of import ance to me as it proved his capacity as a guide , ,
190 ROB R OY .

not withstanding the escapade of which he had been gu ilty at his

outset Even now though travelling at a more moderate pace the
.
, ,

stirrup -cup or whatever else h ad such an e ffect in stimulating

‘

A ndrew s motions seemed not totally to have lost its influence H e

’
,
.

often cast a nervous and startled look behind him and whenever
the road seemed at all practicable showed symptoms of a desire to ,

accelerate his pace as if he feared some pursu i t from the rear

,
.

These appearances of alarm gradually d iminished as we reached

the top of a high bleak ridge which ran nearly east and west for ,

about a mile w ith a very steep descent on either side The pale
,
.

beams of the morning were now enl ightening the horizon w hen ,

A ndrew cast a look beh i nd him and not seeing the appearance of a , .

l iving being on the moors which he had travelled his hard features ,

gradually unbent as he first whistled then sang with much glee

, , ,

and little melody the end of one of h is nat ive songs

,

Jenny lass ! I think I hae her

,

Ower the muir amang the heather

Al l their clan shall never get her ” .

H e patted at the same time the n eck of the horse which had carried
him so gallantly ; and my attention being d irected by that action
to the animal I instantly recogn ised a favourite mare of Thorncliff
,

Osb a ldis t o n e “
H ow is this, sir ? ” said I sternly
. that is Mr ,
“
.

Th o rn clifi s mare ’

“
I ll no say but she may aiblins hae been his honour s Squire
’ ’

Tho rn c liff s i n her day—but she s mine now ”

’ ’
.

“
You have stolen her you rascal ”
N a n a sir n a e man can wyte me w i the ft —The thing stands
, .

this gate ye see—Squire Thorncliff borrowed ten p un ds 0 me to

, , ,
’
,

gan g to York R aces de il a boddle wad he pay me back again and ,

spake o raddling my banes as he ca d it when I asked him b ut fo r

’
,
’
,

my ain back again —n o w I think i t will riddle him or he gets his

horse ower the Border again—unless he pays me plack and bawbee ,
he sall never see a hair 0 her tail I ken a c anny chield at Lough ’
.

maben a bit writer lad that will put me in the way to sort him
, , .

Steal the mear ! na na far be the sin 0 theft frae A ndrew Fair ’

service—I have just arrested her j un kdzqtion er f a n a’a n dy ca u s ey

, ,
’

Thae are bonny wr iter words—amaist like the language 0 huz

.

"

gardeners and other learned men—it s a pity they’re sae dear ’

thae three words were a that A ndrew go t for a lang law-plea and
’

four ankers o as gude brandy as was e er co u p it ower craig—

,
’
Hech , ’

sirs but law s a dear thing ’

.

“
You are likely to find it much cl earer than you s uppose, A ndrew,
( 92 ROB R OY .

t ake arms also ; But I ll ride i n ’

nae siccan troop —they little ken d ’

A ndrew that asked him Ill fight when I like mysell but it sall
’
. ,

n eith e r be for the hure o Babylon nor ony hure i n England

’
.
,

C H A P TE R X IX .

Where longs to fall yon rifted S pire,

A s weary of the insulting air,
The poet s thoughts, the warrior’ s fire
’
,

The lover s sighs, are sleeping there’

.

LAN G H ORNE .

A T the first S cotch town whi ch we reached , my guide s ought out

h i s fri end and counsellor, to consult u pon the proper and legal
m ean s of convertin g into his own la wful property th e bonny
“

c reatu re , whi ch was at present his own only by one of those sl eight
”

o fi h an d arrangements which st ill sometimes took place in tha t

once lawless district I was somewhat diverted with th e dejec tio n

.

o f his looks on his retu rn H e had it seems, been rath er too com
.
,

m u n i c ative to his confidential friend , the attorney ; and learned

with great dismay in return for his unsuspecting frankness that
'

,
'
,

Mr To u th Ope had, durin g hi s absence been appointed clerk to the

.
,

peace of the county, and was bound to communicate to justice all

s uch achieveme nts as that of his friend Mr A ndrew F a irs ervi ce , . .

There was a necessity, this alert member of the police stated for ,

ar resting th e horse and placing h i m in B aili e Trumbul l s stable

’
, ,

t here in to remain at livery at the rate of t welve shillings ( S cotch)

,

per diem until the question of property was duly tried and debated
, .

H e even talked as if in strict an d rigorous execution of his duty he

, ,

ought to detain honest A ndre w himself ; but on my gu ide s m ost ’

piteously entreating his forbearance he not only desisted from this ,

proposal but made a present to A ndrew of a broken winded and

,
-

spavin ed pony , in order to enable him to pursue his journey It is

‘

true he qual ified this act of generosity by exacting from poor

,

A ndrew an absolute cession of his r ight and interest in the gall an t

palfrey of Thorncli ff Osb aldis t o n e a transference which M r Tout , .

h ope represented as of very little consequence, since his unfortunate

friend as he facetiously observed, was likely to get nothing of the
,

mare excepting the halter .

A ndrew seemed woeful and disconcerted as I s crewed out of him ,

these particulars ; for his northern pride was cruelly pinched by

being com pelled to admit that attorneys were attorneys on both
sides of the Tweed and that M r Clerk To utho p e was not a far .

thing more sterling coin than Mr Clerk J obson . .

 R OB R OY . x9 3

“
It wadn a hae vexed h im half sae muckl e to hae bee n cheated
out 0 what might amaist be said to be won with the peril 0 his
’ ’

craig had it happened amang the In glis hers but it was an unco
,

thing to see hawks pike out hawks een or ae kindly S cot cheat ’
,

a nither But nae doubt things were strangely changed in his

.

country sin the sad and s o rro w fu Union

’
an event to which ’

A ndrew referred every symptom of depravity or degeneracy which

he remarked among his countrymen more especially the in flam ,

mation of reckonings the diminished size of pint-stoups, and other

,

grievances , which he pointed out to me during our journey .

For my own part I held myself as things had turned out

'

, , ,

acquitted of all charge of the mare and wrote to my uncle the ,

circumstan ces under which she was carried into Scotland co nclud ,

ing with informing him that she was in the hands of justice and ,

her worthy representatives Bailie Trumbull and Mr Clerk Tout

,
.

hope to whom I referred him for further particul ars Whether the
,
.

property ret urned to the N orth umbrian fox-hunter or continued to ,

bear the person of the Scottish attorney it is unnecessary for me at ,

present to say .

We now pursued our journey to the north-westward, at a rate

much slower than that at which we had achieved our nocturnal
retreat from England One chain of barren and uninteresting hills
.

succeeded another until the more fertile vale of Clyde Opened upon
,

us and , with such dispat c h as we might we gained the town or , , ,

as my guide pertinaciously termed it the city of Glasgow Of late , , .

years, I u n ders tan d, it has fully deserved the name which, by a ,

sort of political second sight my guide assigned to it An extensive

, .

and increasing trade wi th the West Indies and A merican colonies ,

has if I am rightly informed laid the foundation of weal th and

, ,

prosperity, which, if carefully strength ened and built upon , may one
day support an immense fabric of commercial prosperity ; but i n
th e earlier time of which I speak the dawn of this splendour had
,

not arisen Th e Union had indeed opened to Scotland th e trade

.
, ,

of the English colonies but betwi xt want of capital , and the

,

na tional jealousy of the English the merchants of Scotland were as

,

yet ex cluded in a great measure, from th e exercise of the privileges

,

w hich that memorable treaty confe rred on them Glasgow lay o n .

the wrong side of the island for participating in the east country or
continental trade by which the trifling commerce as yet possessed
,

by S cotland chiefly supported i tself Yet though she the n gave .

,

small promise of the commerc ial eminence to wh ich I am informed, ,

she seem s now likely one day to attain Glasgow as the principal , ,

central town of the western district of S cotland was a place of ,

considerable rank and importance Th e broad and brimming .

N
19 4 ROB ROY .

Clyde which flows so near its walls gave the means of an inlan d
, ,

navigat i on of some im portance N at only the fe rt ile plains in i ts .

immediate neighbourhood but the districts of A yr and D um frie s ,

regarded Glasgow as their capital to which they transmitted th eir ,

p roduce and received in return such necessari es and luxuries as

,

their consumption required .

The dusky mountains of the Western H ighlands often sent forth

wilder tribes to frequent the marts of St M ungo s favourite city .
’
.

H ordes of wild sh aggy dw arfi sh cattle and ponies conducted by

, , ,
,

H ighlanders as wild as shaggy and sometimes as dwarfi sh as the

, , , ,

an imals they had in charge often traversed the streets of Glasgow ,

.

Strangers gazed w i th surpri se on the antique and fantastic dress ,

and listened to the unknown and dissonant sounds of the i r language ,

while the mountaineers armed even while engaged in this peaceful , ,

occupat i on with musket and pistol sword dagger and target

, , , , ,

stared with astonishment on the articles of luxury of which they

,

knew not the u se and with an avid ity which seemed somewhat
,

alarming on th e articles which they knew and valued It is always

. .

with unwill ingness that the H ighlander quits his d eserts and at ,

this early period it was like tearing a pine from its rock to plant ,

him elsewhere Yet even t hen the mountain gle ns were over
.

peopled although th inned occasionally by fam ine or by the sword

, ,

and many of their inhabitants strayed down t o Glasgow- there

formed settlem e nts—there sought and found employment al though ,

d ifferent indeed from that of their nati ve hills This supply of a

, , .

hardy and useful populat i on was of consequence to the prosperity

of the place furnished the means of carry ing on the few m an ufac
,

tures which the town already boasted and laid the foundation of its ,

future prosperi ty .

Th e exterior of the city corr esponded w ith these promising cir

c um s t an ces Th e principal street was broad an d important deco
.
,
rated with public buildings o f an architecture rather striking than ,

correct in point of t aste , an d running between rows of tall houses ,

built of stone the fronts o f w h i ch were occas ionally richly orna

,

m e n te d with mason -work a circumstance which gave the street an ,

i mposing air of dign ity and grandeur of which most English towns ,

are in some measure deprived by the slight unsubstantial and , , ,

perishable quality and appearance of the bri cks with which they are
constructed .

I n the western metropolis of Scotland my gu ide and I arrived o n ,

a Saturday evening too late to entertain thoughts of business of

,

any kind We alighted at t h e door of a j olly hostler-wife as An

.
,

drew called her the Os tele re of old father Chaucer, b y whom we

,

were civi lly receive d .

1 96 R OB R OY .

the other it is boun ded by a ravine at the bottom of which and

, , ,

invisible to the eye murmurs a wandering rivulet add ing by it s

, , ,

gentle noise to the imposing solemn ity of the s cene On the opposite
si de of the ravine rises a steep bank covered with fi r—
.
,

trees closely ,

planted whose dusky shade extends itself over the cemetery with
,

an appropriate and gloomy e ffect Th e ch urchyard itself had a .

pecul iar character ; for though in reality extensive it is small in ,

proportion to the number of respectable inhabitants who are interred

w ith in it and whose graves are almost all covered w ith tombstones
,
.

There is therefore no room for the long rank grass which in most , ,

cases partially clothes the surface of those retreats w here the

, ,

wicked cease from troubl ing and the weary are at rest The broad ,
.

fl a t monumental stones are placed so close to each other that the ,

prec incts appear to be flagged with them and though roo fed only , ,

by the heavens resemble the floor of one of our old Engli sh

,

churches where the pavement i s covered with se p ulchral in s crip

,

tions The contents of these sad records of mortality the vain

.
,

sorrows which they preserve the stern lesson which they teach of ,

the nothingness of humanity the extent of ground which they so ,

closely cover and their un i form and melancholy tenor reminded

, ,

me of the roll of the p rOph et w h ic h was written within and ,

‘
“

w ithout and there was written therein lamentations and mourning

“

and woe ” .

The Cathedral itself corresponds in impressive majesty with the se

accompaniments We feel that its appearance is heavy yet that
.
,

the e ffect produced would be destroyed were it lighter or more

o rnam ent al I t i s the only metropolitan church in Scotland,
.

excepting as I am informed the Cathedral of Kirkwall, in the

, ,

Orkneys which remained un injured at the R eformation and

,

A ndrew F a irse rvic e who saw with great pride the effect which it
,

produced upon my m ind thus accounted for its preservation , .

A h ! it s a brave kirk—nane o yere whigmaleeries and c urlie

’ ’

w urlies and Open-steek hems about i t—a solid weel -jointed mason
.

’
,

w ark that will stand as lang as the w arld keep hands and gu n
, ,

p o w the r a ff it It had amaist a doun -come lang syn e at the

.

R eformation when they pu d doun the kirks of St A ndrews and

’
, .

Perth and th e rea wa to cleanse them 0 Papery and idolat ry and

,
’
,
’
, ,

image worship and surplices and sic like rags o the muckle hure
, ,
’

that sitteth on seven b ills as if ane wasna braid eneugh for her auld ,

hinder end Sae the commons o R enfrew and o the Barony and
.
’
,
’

,
the Gorbals and a about they behoved to come into Glasgo w ae
,
’
,

fair morning to try their hand on purging the Hie Kirk o Popish
’
’
,

n ick-nackets But the townsmen 0 Glasgow they were feared their ’

.
,

a uld ed ifice might sl i p the girths in g a un t h rough siccan rough

 R OB R OY . 1 97

physic sae they rang the common bell and assembled the tra in
, ,

bands wi tuck o drum — B y good luck the worthy James R abat

’ ’

was De an 0 Guild that year—(and a gude mason he was h im s ell

.
,
’

made him the keener to keep up the a uld bigging) and the trades ,

assembled and o ff ered downright battle to the commons rather

, ,

than the i r kirk should coup the crans as others had done elsewhere ,
.

It wasna for l uve o P ap e rie —na na —n ane could ever say that 0
’ ’

the trades o Glasgo w—Sa c they sune came to an agreement to

,
’

take a the idolatrous statues of sants ( sorrow be on them) out 0

’ ’

their neuks —A n d sae the bits 0 stane idols were broken in p ieces ’

by S cri pture warrant and flung into the M olendinar burn and the
, ,

auld kirk s tood as crouse as a cat when the fl ae s are k aim e d afl

'

her and a body was al ike pleased A n d I hae heard wise folk say
,
’
.
,

that if the same had been done in ilka kirk in S cotland the Reform ,

wad just hae been as pure as it is e en now and we wad hae mair '

Christian -l ike kirks ; for I hae been sae lang in England that ,

naething will drive i t oot 0 m y head that the dog kennel at ’

,
-

Osb al dis t o n e Hall i s better than mony a house 0 God in Scot

- ’

la nd
”
.

Thus saying A ndre w led the way into the place of worship
, .

C H A P TE R XX .

I t strikes an awe
A n d terror on my ach i ng sight the tombs
A n d monumental caves of death look cold ,

A n d shoot a chillness to the trembli n heart

g .

M o u rn i ng B r i de .

N OTW ITH STA ND ING th e impatience of my conductor I could not ,

forbear to pause and gaze for som e m inutes on the exterior of the
building rendered more impress ively d ign ifi ed by the sol itude wh i ch
,

ensued when its h itherto open gates were closed after having as it , ,

were devou red the mult itudes whi ch had lately crowded the church
,

yard but n o w enclosed w ithin the building were engaged as the

, , , ,
'
choral swell of voices from within announced to u s i n the solemn ,

exercises of devotion Th e sound of so many vo i ces un ited by

.
,

the distance into one harmony and freed from those harsh di s ,

c o rdan c e s w h i ch jar the ear when heard more near comb i n ing ,

w ith the murmuring brook and the w ind wh i ch sung among the Ol d
,

firs affected m e with a sense of sublim ity A ll nature as invok ed

, .
,

by the Psalmist whose verses they chanted seemed un ited in offer ,

ing that solemn prai se in which trembl ing i s m i xed w ith joy as s h e ‘

addresses her Maker I had heard the servi ce of h igh mass in

.
1 98 ROB ROY .

France , celebrated w ith al l the eclat which the choicest music, the
richest dresses, the most impos ing ceremonies could confer on it ,

yet it fell short 1n e ffect of the simplicity of the Presbyte rian worship .

The devotion m wh i ch every one took a sh are , seemed so superio r

to that which was recited by musici ans as a lesson which they had
learned by rote, that it gave the S cottish worship all the advantage
of reality over acting .

A s I lin gered to catch more of the solemn sound , An drew whose ,

i mpatien ce became u n go ve m ab le pulled me by the sleeve Come

’
—
awa , sir Come awa we maunna be late 0 gaun in to disturb the
’
,
’

worship if we bide here the searchers will be on u s, and carry us

,
”
to the guard house for being idlers m kirk time
- - .

Thus admoni s hed I followed my gui de but not as I had sup

—
, , ,
”
posed, into the body of the cathedral T his gate this gate sir .
“
, ,

he exclaimed, dragging me o ff as I ma de towards the main entrance

of the building There s but caul drife law-wark gaun on yonder
’

—c arnal morality as dow d and as fusionless as rue leaves at Yule

’

— ’
,

H ere s the real savour of doctrine

”
.

S o saying we entered a s m all low-arched door, secured by

,

a wicket , which a grave-looking person seemed on the point of

closing and descended several steps as if into the funeral vaults
,

beneath the church I t was even so ; for in these subterranean

precincts , why chosen fo r such a purpose I knew not,—was estab
.

l ishe d a very singular place of worsh i p .

Conceive, Tresham, an extensive range of low-browed , dark and ,

twilight vaults such as are used for sepulchres in other countries

, ,

and had long been dedicated to the same purpose in this, a portion
of which was seated with pews and used as a church The part , .

of the vaults thus occupied though capable of containing a con ,

gregatio n of many hundreds bore a small proportion to the darker ,

and more ext ensive caverns which yawned ar ound what may be
termed the inhabited space In th o se w a ste regions of ob livio n dusky
.
,

banners and tattered escutcheons indicated the graves of those who

were once doubtless , princes in I sra el ” Inscriptions , which
, .

could only be read by the painful antiqu ary in language as obsolete ,

as the act of devotional chari t y whi ch they implored invited th e

,
passengers to pray for th e souls of t hose whose bodies rested beneath .

Surrounded by these receptacles of the last remains of mortal ity, I

found a numerous congregation engaged 1 n the act of prayer The .

S cotch perform this duty in a standing instead of a kneeling pos ,

ture m ore , perhaps to take as broad a dist inct i on as possible from

, ,

the ritual of R ome than for any better reason ; since I have oh
,

served that in their fam ily worship as doub tless in their private
, ,

devotions, they adopt, in their immediate address to the Deity ,

20 0 ROB ROY .

they are therefore more moved by logic than by rhetoric and more
, , ,

attracted by acute and argumentative reasoning on doctrinal points,

than influenced by the enthusiastic appeals to the heart and to the
passions by which popular preachers in other countries win the
,

favo t n of their h earers .

A mong the attentive group which I now saw might be dis ,

’

t in gu ish e d various expressions s imilar to those of the audienc e in

the famous cartoon of Paul preach ing at A thens Here sat a zealous .

an d i n te ll ig e n t Calvinist with brows bent just as m uch as to in

,
di
cate profound attent i on l ips slightly compressed eyes fixed o n the ,

minister with an expression of decent pride, as if s h arin gi the

,

triumph of his argument the forefinger of the right h and touching

successively those of the left as th e preacher from argume nt to , ,

argument ascended towards his conclusion A nother with fi ercer

, .
,

and sterner look intimated at once his contempt of all who doub ted
,

the creed of his pastor and h is joy at the appropriate punishment

,

denounced against them A third perhaps belon ging to a different .

,

congregation and present only by acc ident or curiosity had the

, ,

appearance of internally impeach ing some link of the reasoning ;

and you might plainly read in the sl ight motion of his h ead his , ,

do ubts as to the sound n ess of the preacher s argument The greater ’

.

part listened with a calm satisfied countenance expressive of a con , ,

scious merit in being present and in listening to such an ingenious ,

d i scourse although perhaps u nable entirely to comprehend it

, , , .

Th e women i n g e neral belonged to th i s last division of the au dience

the o ld however seeming more grimly intent u pon the abstract
, ,

doctrines laid before them ; while the younger females permitted

their eyes occasionally to make a modest c ircuit around the con
gr e gat i o n an d some of them Tresham ( if my vanity did not ,

gre at ly deceive me) contrived to distinguish your fri end and ser
,

vant as a handsome young stranger and an Englishman A s to

, , .

the rest of the congregation the stupid gaped yawned or slept till , , , ,

awakened by the appliac t io n of the i r more zealous neighbours ’

heels to their shins and the idle indicated their inattention by the
wandering of the i r eyes but dared g i ve no more decided t oken of
,

weariness A mid the Lowland costume of coat and cloak I could

.

here and there discern a H ighland pla id the wearer of which rest , ,

ing on hi s basket hilt sent his eyes among the audience with the
-
,

u nrestra ined curiosity of savage wonder ; and who in all proba ,

b ility was inattent i ve to the sermon for a very pardonable reas on

—because he did not u nderstand the language in wh i ch it was de
, ,

livered The m art ial and wild look ho w ever of these stragglers ,
.
‘

, ,

added a kind of character wh i ch the congregation could not have

exh ibited without them They were more numerous A ndre w .

,
 R OB ROY . 20 !

afterwards observed owin g to some cattle fair in the neighbour

,

ho od .

Such w as the group o f countenances rising teir on teir dis , ~ ,

covered to my critical inspection by such sunbeams as forced their

way through the narrow Gothic lattices of the Laigh Kirk of Glas
gow and having illuminated the attentive congregation lost them ,

selves i n the vacuity of the vaults behind giving to the nearer part ,

of their labyrinth a sort of imperfect twilight and leaving their re ,

cesses in an utter darkness , which gave them the appearance of

being interm inable .

I have already said that I stood with others in the exterior circl e ,

with my face to the preacher and my back to those vaults which I

,

have s o often mentioned My position rendered m e particularly

.

Obnoxious to any interruption which arose from any slight noise

occurring amongst these retiring arches where the least sound was ,

multipl i ed by a thousand echoes The occasion al sound of rain .

drops which admitted through some cranny in the ruined roof fell
, , ,

success ively, and plashed upon the pavement beneath caused me ,

to turn my head more than once to the place from whence i t seemed
to proceed and when my eyes took that direction I found i t ,

difficult to withdraw them ; such is the pleasure our imagination

receives from the attempt to penetrate as far as poss ible into an in
t ri c at e labyrinth imperfectly lighted and exhibit ing objects which
, ,

i rr itate our curiosity only because th ey acqu i re a mysterious interest

,

from being undefined and dub i ous My eyes became habituated to .

the gloomy atmosphere to w hi ch I d irected them and insen sibly ,

my m ind became more interested in their discoveries than in the

metaphysical subtleti es wh i ch the preacher was e n forcing .

My father had often checked me for thi s wandering mood o f

m ind ari s ing perh aps from an excitability of imaginat i on to which
,

he was a stranger ; and the finding myself at present solicited b y

these temptat ions to i nattention recalled the t ime when I used to
,

walk led by h is hand to Mr Shower s chapel and the earnest in

, ,
.
’
,

junct ions whi ch he then laid o n m e to redeem the time because ,

the days were evil A t present the p i cture which my thoughts

.
,

suggested far f1 om fixing my attent i on destroyed the portion I had

, ,

yet left by conjuring up to my recollection the peril i n which h is

,

a fl ai rs now stood I endeavoured i n the lowest wh isp er l could frame

’

.
,

to request A ndre w to obtai n informat i on whether any of the gentle ,

men o f the firm of M acV i ttie C o were at present in the con .

,

gre gat io n But A ndrew wrapped in profound attention to the ser

.
,

mon only replied to m y suggest i on by hard punches w ith his elbow

, ,

as signals to me to remain silent I next strained my eyes with .

,

e qually bad success to see if among the sea of up -turned face s

, ,
ace ROB ROY .

wh ich bent their eyes on the pulpit as a common centre I could ,

discover th e sober an d business-l ike physiognomy of Owen But .

not among the broad beavers of the Glasgow citiz ens or the yet ,

broader brimmed Lowland bonnets of the peasants of Lanarkshire,

could I see anything rese m bling the decent periwig starched ruffles , ,

or the uniform suit of light-brown garments , appertaining to the

head-c lerk of the establishment of Osb aldis t on e and Tresha m .

My anxiety now returned on me with such violence as to overpower

n o t only the novelty of the scene ar ound me, by whi ch it had
'

hith erto been diverted, but moreover my sense of decorum I .

pull ed A n drew hard by the sleeve, and intima ted my wish to leave
the church and p ursue my invest iga tion as I co uld A ndrew oh
,
.
,

durate in the Laigh Kirk of Glasgow as on the mou ntains of Chevi ot,
for some time deigned me n o answer ; and it was only when he
found I could not otherwise be kept quiet that he condescended to ,

inform me t hat being once in the church we could not leave it til l
, , ,

service was over because th e doors were locked so soon as the

,

prayers began H aving thus spoken in a brief and peevish whi sper,
.

An drew again assumed the air of intelligent and critical impor

tance , and attenti on to the preache r’ s discours e .

While I endeavoured to make a virtue of n ecessity and recal l ,

my atte n t i on to the se rmon I was again disturbed by a s ingular

,

interruption -A voice from behind whis pered distinctly in my

ear, “ You are in danger in this city ” — I turned round, as if
.

mechanically .

One or two starched an d ordinaril y-looking me chanics stood

beside and behind me s n a gglers , who, lik e ours elves h ad b een
, ,
’

too late in obtaining entrance But a glance at their faces satisfied

.

me , though I could hardly say why that none of these was the ,

person who had spoken to me Their countenances seemed al l .

composed to attention to the sermon and not one of them returned ,

any gl ance of intelligence to the inquisitive and s ta rtl ed look with

whic h I surveyed them A m assive round pillar which was c l ose
.
,

behin d us m ight have concealed the speaker the ins tant he uttered
,

his m ysterious caution ; but wherefore it was given in such a pla ce,
or to wh a t species of danger it directed my attention or by whom ,

the warni n g was uttered, were points on which my ima gination lost
itse lf in conjecture It would however, I concluded be repeated,
.
, ,

an d I resolved to keep my countenance turned towards the c l ergy

m an , th a t the whisperer might be t empted to rene w his communi

c ation und er th e idea t hat the first had passed unobse rved .

M y plan su cceeded I h ad not resumed th e appearance of

.

attent ion to the preacher for five minutes when th e same voice
—
,
”
whispered, L sten but do not look back
i I kept my face in the .
20 4 R OB R OY

till him—speak ti ll him, M r Francis—he ’s no provost yet t h ough ,

they say he ll be my lord neist ye ar Speak till him, then—h e ll

.

’ ’
.
.

gie ye a decent answer for as rich as he is, unless ye were wanting

s il ler frae him —
”
they say he s dour to draw his purse ’
.

It immediately occurred to me that if this merchant were really ,

o f the churlish and avaricious disposition which A ndrew inti

mated there m ight be some caution necessary in m aking myself

,

k nown as I could not tell ho w acco u nts m ight stand between my

,

father and him This consideration came in aid of the myst erious
.

hint which Ihad received , and the dislike which I had conceived
a t the man s countenance I n stead of addressing myself directly
’
.

to him as I had designed to have done I contented mysel f with

, ,

desiring A ndrew to inquire at Mr M acV i ttie s house the address .

’

of Mr Owen, an English gentleman ; and I charged him not to

.

mention the person from whom he received the commission but ,

This
'

t o bring me th e result to the smal l inn where we lodged .

A ndrew promised to do H e sai d something of th e duty of my

.

attending the evening service but added with a causticity natural ,

to him that “ in troth if folk couldna keep their l egs still but wad
, , ,

n eeds be couping the creels ower through-stanes , as if they wad

raise the very dead folk wi the clatter a kirk wi a chimley in t was
’
,
’ ’

fittest for them ”

.

C H A P TE R X XI
’

On th e R ialto every night at twelve , ,

I take my evening s wal k of meditation ’

There we two will meet .

Ven i ce P reserv ed .

F ULL of sinister augu ry for which however, I could assign no

, ,

s atisfactory cause I shut myself up in my apartment at the in n

, ?
,

and having dismissed A ndrew after resisting his importunity to ,

ac company him to St Enoch s Kirk * where, he said, “ a soul

.
’
,

search ing divine was to haud forth ” I set myself seriously to con ,

sider what were best to be done I never was what is properly .

called superstitious ; b ut I suppose that all men, in situations of

p eculiar doubt and di ffi culty when they have exercised their reason ,

t o little p u rpose are apt in a sort of despair, to abandon the reins

, ,

to th eir imagination and be guided e i ther altogether by ch ance, or

,

by those whimsical impressions which take possession of the min d ,

and to which we give way as if to involuntary impulses There .

was something so sin gularly repulsive in the hard features of the

S c otch trader, that I could not resolve to put myself into his hands
 ROB R OY . 205

without transgressing every caution which could be de r ived from

the rules of phys i ognomy ; wh ile at the same time the warning , ,

vo i ce the form wh i ch fl it te d away like a vanishing shadow through

,

those vaults which m ight be termed the valley of the shadow of

,
“

death ” had something captivat ing for the imagination of a young

,

man who you will farther please to remember was al so a young

, , ,

poet
If danger was around me as the mysterious communication,

intimate d how could I learn its nature or the means of averting it

, , ,

but by meeting my unknown counsellor to whom I could see no ,

reason for imputi n g any other than kind intentions Rashle igh .

and his machinations occurred more than once to my remem

brance ; but so rapid had my journey been that I could not sup ,

pose h im apprised o f my arrival in Glasgow much less prepare d ,

to play o ff any stratagem against my person In my temper also .

I was bold and confident strong and active in person and in some
, ,

measure accustomed to the use of arms in which the F rench youth ,

of all kinds were then init iated I did not fear any single oppo.

nent ; assass ination was neither the v i ce of the age nor of the
country the place selected for our meeting was too public to admit
any suspicion of med itated viole n ce In a word I resolved to .
,

meet my mysterious counsellor on the bridge as he had requested , ,

and to be afterwards guided by circumstances Let me not con .

ceal from you Tresham what at the t ime I endeavoured to conceal

, ,

from myself—the subdued ye t secretly-cherished hope that Diana

Vernon m ight —b y what chance I knew not—through what means
, ,

I could not guess —have some connection with thi s strange an d

dub i ous int imation conveyed at a time and place and in a manner
, ,

so surpris ing She alone - whispered this insidious thought- she

.

alone knew of my journey ; from her o wn account she possess ed ,

friends and influence in Scotland : she had furnished me with a

talisman whose power I was to invoke when all other aid failed
,

me : who then but D iana Vernon possessed either means kno w

, , , ,

ledge o r inclination for averting the dangers by which as it

, , ,

seemed my steps were surrounded ? This flattering view of my

,

v ery doubtful case pressed itself upon me again and again It .

insinuated itself into my thoughts though very bashfully before , ,

the hour of dinner it di splayed i ts attractions more boldly during

'

the course of my frugal meal and became so courageously in tru

,

s i ve during the succeeding half hour ( aided perhaps by t he fl avour

of a few glasses of most excellent claret) that w ith a sort of despe , ,

rate attempt to escape from a delusive seduction to which I felt ,

the danger of yielding I pushed my glass from me threw aside

, ,

my dinner, seized my hat and rushed into the open air with the
,
2 06 R OB R OY .

feeling of one who would fly from his own thoughts Yet perh aps .

I yielded to the very feelings from which I seemed to fly since my ,

s teps insensibly led me to the bridge over the Clyde the place ,

a ssigned for the rendezvous by my mysterious monitor .

A lthough I had not partaken of my rep ast until the hours of

e vening church service were over —i n which by the way I com
-
, , ,

plied w i th the religi ous s cruples of my landlady who hesitated to

’

dress a hot dinner bet w een sermons and also with the admonition ,

o f m y unknown fr i end to keep my apartment till twilight

, ,

several hours had st ill to pass away betwi xt the t ime of my appoin t
ment and that at which I reached the ass igned plac e of meeting .

Th e interval as yo u w ill read ily credit was wearisome enough ;

, ,

a n d I can hardly explai n to you how i t passed away Various .

groups of persons all of whom young and old seemed impressed

, , ,

with a reverential feeling of the sanctity of the day passed along ,

the large open meadow which lies on the northern bank of the
Clyde and serves at once as a bleaching fi el d and pleasure -walk
,
-

for the inhabitants or paced with slow steps t h e long bridge which
,

communicates with the southern district of the county All that I .

remember of them was the general ye t not unpleasing intima , ,

tion of a devotional character impressed on each litt le party ,

formally assumed perhaps by some but sincerely characteris ing ,

the greater number which hushed the petulant gaiety of the

,

young into a tone of more quiet yet more interesting interchange , ,

of sentiments and su ppressed the vehement argument and pro

,

tracted disputes of those o f more advanced age N o tw ith stan d .

i n g the numbers who passed me no g eneral sound of the human ,

voice was heard ; few turned again to take some minutes vo lun ’

tary exercise to which the leisure of the even ing and the beauty
, ,

of the surrounding scenery seemed to invite them : all hurried to

,

their homes and resting places To one accustomed to the mode

-
.

of spend ing Sunday evenings abroad even among the French Cal ,

vin i st s there s ee med something Judaical yet at the same time

’

, ,

striking and affecting in this mode of keeping the Sabbath holy

, .

I n sens ibly I felt my mode of sauntering by the side of t he river,

and crossing success ively the vari ous persons who were pass ing
homeward and without tarry ing or delay must expose me to
, ,

o bservation at least if not to censure ; and I slunk out of the

,

frequented path and found a trivial occupat ion for my mind in

,

m arshalling my revolvin g walk in such a manner as should least

render me obnoxious to observation Th e different alleys lined .

o u t through th i s extensive meadow and which are plan ted with ,

trees like the Park of St j ames s in London gave me fa c ilitie s for

,
.
’
,

c arrying into e ffect these childish manoeuvres .

20 8 ROB ROY .

I bide w i ’
him mysell —But the lad s no a bad lad after a
. and he ’ ’

needs some c are fu body to look after him H e hasna the r ight
’
.

grip 0 his hand—the gowd slips through t like water man ; and it s
’ ’
,
’

n o that ill a th i ng to be near him when his purse is i n his ha n d ,

and it s seldom out o t A n d then he s come 0 guid kith and kin

’ ’ ’ ’

—M y heart warms to the poor thoughtless callant M r H ammo r

.

—
.
,
”
ga w and then the penny fee
, In the latter part of th i s instructive communicat i on M r Fair , .

s ervice lowered h is vo i ce to a tone better beseeming the conversa

t ion in a place of public resort on a Sabb a th evening and his ,

companion and he were soon beyond my hearing My feel ings of .

hasty resentment soon subs ided u n der the conviction that as , ,

A ndrew himself might have sai d A hearkener always hears a “

,

bad tale of h imself ” and that whoever should happen to overhe ar

,

their character d i scussed i n the ir own servants -hall must prepare ’

,

to undergo the scalpel of some su c h anatomist as M r F airs ervic e . .

The i nc i dent was so far useful as including the feeling s to which , ,

it gave rise it S ped away a part of the time which hung so heavily
,

on my hand .

Evening had now cl osed and the growing darkness gave to the
,

broad st ill and deep expanse of the brimful river first a hue
, , ,

sombre and uniform then a dismal and t u rbid appearan ce parti

, ,

ally lighted by a wan ing and palli d moon The massive and ancient .

bridge which stretches across the Clyde was now but dimly visible , ,

and resembled that which Mirza in his unequalled vision has , ,

described as traversing the valley of Bagdad The low-browed .

arches seen as im perfectly as the dusky curre n t which they b e

,

strode seemed rather caverns which swallowed u p the gloomy

,

waters of the river than apertures contrived for their passage

, .

With the advancing night the stillness of the scene increased .

There was yet a twinkl i ng l ight occasionally seen to glide along by

the stream which conducted home one or two of the sm all parties
, ,

who after the abstinence and religious duties of the day, had
,

partaken of a social supper the onl y meal at whi ch the rigid ,

Presbyterians made some a dvance to sociality on the Sabbath .

O ccasionally also the hoofs of a horse were heard whose rider

, , , ,

after spending the Sunday in Glasgow was direct ing his step s ,

towards h is residence in the country These sounds and sights .

became gradually of more rare occu rrence A t length they alto .

gether ceased and I was left to enjoy m y solitary wal k on the

,

shores of the Clyde in solemn silence broken only by the tolling of ,

the successive hours from the steeples of the churches .

But as the n ight advanced my impatience at the uncertainty of ,

the s ituation in which I was placed increased every moment and ,

b ecame nearly ungovernable I began to question whether I had .

been imposed upon by the trick of a fool , the raving of a madman ,

or the studied machination of a villain, and paced the little quay
or pier adj oining the entrance to the bridge, in a state of incredible
xie ty and vexa tion A t length the hour of twelve o clock swung ’
.

its summons over the city from the belfry of the metropolita n
chu rch of S t Mungo and was answered and vouched by all the
.
,

others like dutifu l diocesans Th e echoes had scarcely ceased to

repeat the last sound , when a human form—the first I had seen fo r
.

two hours —appeared passing al ong the bridge from the southern
shore of the river I advanced to meet him with a feeling as if
.
,

my fate depended on the result of the interview, so much had my

anxiety been wound up by protracted expectation A ll that I .

could remark of the passenger as we advanced towards each other

w as tha t his frame was rather b eneath than above the middle size ,
,

but apparently strong, thick-set, and muscu lar his dress a horse
m an s wrapping coat I sla ckened my pace, and almost paused as
’
.

I advanced i n expectation that he would address me But to my

, . .

inexp ressible disappointment he pas sed without Speaking and I , ,

had no pretence for being the fi rs t to address one who n o twith ,

standing his appearance at the very hour of appointment might ,

nevertheless be an absolute stranger I stopped when he had .

passed me, and looked after him uncertain whether I ought not to ,

follow him The stran ger walked on till near the northern end of
'

the bridge, then paused, looked back, and t urning round agai n , .

a dvanced towards me I resolved that this time he should not

.

ha ve the apology for silence proper to apparitions, who , i t is

vulgarly supposed, cannot speak unt il they are spoke n to You .

walk late sir,

”
said I , as we met a second ti me
, .

I bide tryste,” was the reply ; “ and so I think do yo u, Mr .

”
Osb al dis to n e .

You are then the person who requested to meet me here at thi s
”
u nusual hour ?
I am,” he replied Follow me, an d you shall kno w my
.
.

”
rea s o n s .

”
B efore foll owing yo u I must know yo ur na me an d purpose, ,

I answered .

I am a man, was th e reply ; an d my p urpose is fri endly “

to you ” .

”
A m an ! ”
I repeated ; th at i s a very brief description .

”
I t will serve for one who has n o other to give s aid th e ,

stranger H e that is without name , without friends without

. ,

coin , without count ry, is st ill at least a man ; an d he that has all
”
these is no more .
are ROB ROY .

“
Yet this is still too general an account of yourself to say the ,

l east of it to establish your credit with a stranger ”

,
.

“
It is all I mean to gi ve h o w s o e e r ; you may choose to foll ow
,
’

” '

me or to remain without the inform ation I desire to

,
afi o rd you .

”
Can you not give me th at in o rm ation here
f ? I demanded .

You mus t receive it fro m your eyes not from my tongue ,

yo u must fo ll o w me, or rema in in ignora nce of the in formati on

which I have to give you ” .

There was someth ing short determi n ed and even stern, in the
, ,

m an s manner not certainly well calculate d to conc iliate un doubt

’
,

in g confidence .

What is it you fear he said impati ently To whom , think

, .

ye , is your life of such consequence that they should seek to ,

bereave ye of it ? ”
I fear nothing I replied firml y, though somewha t hastily
”

—
, , .

”
Walk o n I attend y o u .

We proc eeded, contrary to my expectation, to t e-enter the town,

and glided like mute spectres side by side up its empty and silent
, ,

streets The high and gloomy stone fronts , with the variegated
.
‘

ornaments and pediments of the windows l ooked yet tall er and ,

more sabl e by the imperfect moonshine Our walk was for some .

mi n utes in perfect silence A t length my conductor spoke

. .

”
“
Are yo afraid
u ?
I retort your own words,” I replied : “ wherefore shoul d I fear ?
“
Because you are with a s tranger—perhaps an enemy, in a place
where you have no friends and many enemies ” .

“
I neither fear you nor them ; I am youn g active, an d armed , .

I am not armed ” repli ed m y conductor : but, no m atter, a

,

wil ling hand never lacked weapon Yo u say yo u fe ar nothing ; .

but if you knew who was by you r side, perha ps yo u might un derlie
”
a tremor .

A n dwhy shoul d I replied I I again repeat, I fear nought

.

”
t hat you can do
N ought that I can do ?—B e it s o But do you n o t fear the
.

consequences of bein g found wi th one whose very name whispere d

in this lonely street would make the stones t hemselves ri se up to
apprehend him—o u whose head half the men i n Glas go w woul d
bu ild their fortun e as on a found treasu re had they the luck to
grip him by th e collar—th e sound of whose app rehension were as
,

welcome at the Cross of Edi nburgh as ever the news of a field

s tricken and won in F l anders ?
”

A n d who then are you whose name s hou ld create s o dee a

”
,
p
feel ing of terror ? I replied .

No enemy of yours , since I am c o nveyi n g you to a place,

21 2 ROB ROY .

tat W h a s that , I wad say —

- ’
and fat a deil wan t ye at this hou r
at e en —Clean again rules —clean again rules , as they ca them ”
’ ’
.

The protracted tone in which the last words were uttered b e ,

t okened that the s peaker was again composing himsel f to slumbe r .

But my guide spoke in a loud wh is per, D ougal, man ! hae ye

forgotten Ha nun G regara ch
Deil a bit, deil a bit ” was the ready and l ively response an d I
, ,

heard the interna l gu ardian of th e prison-gate bustle up with gr eat

alacrity A few words were exchanged bet ween my conductor and
.

the turnkey in a lan guage to which I was an abso l ute stranger

,
.

The bolts revolved , but with a caution which m ark e d the a ppre
he n sio n that the noise m ight be overheard and we stood within the ,

vestibule of the prison of Glasgow a small, but strong guard-room,

,

from w hich a narro w staircase led upwards, and one o r t wo low

entrances conducted to apartments o n th e same level with the out
ward gate, all s ecured wi th the jealous s trengt h o f wickets bolts, ,

and bars The walls, otherwi se naked, were not unsuita bly gar
.

n i she d with iron fetters , an d other uncouth imp le ments which ,

m ight be designed fo r purposes sti ll more i nhuman , interspersed

with partisans guns , pistols of antique manufacture, and other
,

weapons of defence and o ffence .

A t finding m yse l f so unexpectedly, fort uitousl y, and as it were, ,

by stealth, introduced wi thin one of the legal fortresses of S cotla nd,

I could not help recollecting my adventure i n N o rthumb e rlan d,
and fretting at the s trange incidents which a gain without any ,

demerits of my own , threatened to place me in a dangerous an d

disagreeable collision with the laws of a coun try, whi ch I vi site d
onl y in th e capacity of a stra nger .

C H A P TE R XX II .

L ook round thee, young A s to lpho here ’s the p l ac e

Which men (for being poor) are sen t to starve in
R ude rem edy, I trow fo r sore disease
, .

Within these walls stifled by damp and stench ,

,
D oth H o pe s fair torch expire ; and at the snu ff
’

’ ,
E re yet t1s qu ite extinct, rude wild, an d wayward, ,
Th e d esperate revel ries of wild des pai r,
Ki ndli ng their hell-born c ressets light to deeds ,
Tha t the poor captive would have died ere pra ct is d, ’

Till bondage s unk his soul to his condition .

The P ri son , S cen e 1 1 1 A rt 1

. .

AT my first e n tran ce I turned an eager glance t o wards m y con

du ctor but the lamp in the vestibul e was too lo w in flame to give
 R OB ROY . 213 .

my curiosity any satisfaction b yaffordin g a distinct perusal of his

features A s the turnkey held the light in his han d the beams fell
.
,

more full on his own scarce less interesting figure H e was a wild .
,

shock-headed looking animal whose profusion of red hair covered ,

and obscured his features which were otherwise only characterised ,

by the extravagant joy that affected him at the sight of my guide .

In my experience I have met nothing so absolutely resembling

m y idea of a very uncouth wild and ugly savage adoring the idol , , ,

of his tribe H e grinned he shivered he laughed he was near

.
, , ,

crying i f he did not actually cry H e had a Where shall I go

, .
“

What c an I do for you ? ” expression of face ; the complete sur ,

rendered and anxious subservience and devotion of which it is

,

difficult to describe otherwi se than by the awkward combination

,

which I have attempted The fellow s voice seemed choking in .

’

his ecstasy and only could express itself in such i n terjection s as

,

Oigh o i gh — A y -it s lang since she s seen ye and ’ ’

ay

other exclamations equally brief expressed in the same unknown ,

ton gue in which he had communi cated with my conductor while

we were on the outside of the jail door My guide received all .

this excess o f joyful gratulation much like a pr ince too early accus
t o m e d to the homage of those around him to be much moved by
it yet willing to requite it by the usu al forms of royal courtesy
,
.

H e extended his hand graciously towards the turnkey with a civil ,

inquiry of H ow 5 a w i yo u D ougal ’ ’ ’
,
“
Oigh ! o igh e xclaimed D ougal softening the sharp e xcla ,

mations of his surprise as he looked around with an eye of watchful

ala rm— Oigh ! to see you here—to see you here l Oigh what
“ -

will come 0 ye gin the bailies suld come to get witting—ta filthy
’
,

gutty hallions tat they are ? ” ,

My guide placed his finger on his lip and said F ear nothing , , ,

D ougal your hand shall never draw a bolt on me

she suld—she wad—that is ,
.

Ta t sall they no ” said D ougal ,

“

she wishes them hacked aff by the elbows fi rs t— But when are ye
gaun yonder aga in ? and ye ll no forget to let her ken—she s your ’ ’

puir cous in God kens , only seven t i mes removed ”

, .

I will let you ken Dougal as soon as my plans are settled

, , .

“
A n d by her sooth when you do an it were t w al o the Sunday
, , ,
’

at e en, she ll fl ing her key s at the provost s head or she gie them
’ ’ ’ ’

anither turn and that or ever M onday morning begins—see if she

,

winn a ”
.

My mysterious stranger cut his acquaintance s ecstasies short by ’

again addressing him in what I afterwards understood to be the

,

Irish E arse or Gaeli c explaining probably, the services which he

The answer, W i a her heart—
, , , ,

required at hi s hand wi a her “ ’ ’ ’ ’

.
21 4 ROB ROY .

s oul ,” w ith a good deal of indistinct muttering in a similar tone ,

i ntimated the turnkey s acquiescence in what he proposed

’
The .

fell ow trimm ed his dying lamp and made a sign to me to follo w ,

h im .

Do yo u not go with us ? ” said I looking to my conductor ,

.

“
I t is unnecessary ” he replied ; my company may be in c o n
,
“

”
ven i e n t for you an d I had better remain to secure our retreat
,
.

”
“
I do not suppose you mean to betray me to danger said I ,
.

To none b ut what I partake in doubly ” answere d the stranger, ,

w ith a voice of assurance wh i ch it was impossible to mistrust .

I followed the turnk ey who leaving the inner wicket unlocked

, ,

b ehind him led me up a tu rnp ike ( so the Scotch c al l a winding

s tair) then along a narrow gall ery—then ope n ing one of several
,

doors which led into the passage he ushered me into a small ,

a partment and casting his eye on the pallet bed which occupied
,

one corner said with an under voice as he placed the lamp on a

, ,

l ittle deal table She s sleeping ” ’

.
,

She - who can it be Diana Vernon in this abode o f

”
misery ?
I turned my eye to the bed and it was with a mixture of disap ,

p ointment oddly mingled with pleasure that I saw m y first sus ,

p ic i o n had deceived me. I saw a head neither young nor beautiful,

ga rnished with a gr ey beard of two days growth, and accommodated ’

w ith a red nightcap Th e first glance put me at ease on the score

.

of D iana Vernon ; the second as the slum bere r awoke from a ,

heavy sleep yawned and rubbed his eyes presented me with

features very d i fferent indeed —eve n those of my poor friend Owen
, , ,

I drew back out o f view an instant that he m ight have time to ,

recover himself ; fortunately recollecting that I was but an in

t ru der on these cells of sorrow and that any alarm might be ,

attended with u nhappy consequences .

Meantime the unfortunate formalist raising himself fro m the

, ,

pall et-bed with the assistance of one hand an d scratching his cap ,

with the other exclaimed in a voice in which as much peevish

, ,

n ess as he was capable of f eeling contended with drowsiness “

I ll , ,
’

tell you what Mr D ugwell or whatever your name may be, the
, .
,

sum-tot al of the matter is that if my natural rest is to be broken

,

i n t h is manner I must complain

, to the lord mayor ”
.

Sh e n tlem an s to speak w i her replied D ougal resum ing the

” ’
, ,

true dogged sullen tone of a turnkey in exchange for the shrill ,

clang of Highland congratulation with wh i ch he had welcomed my

mysterious guide and turning on his heel he left the apartment
, , .

It was some time b efo re l could prevail upon the unfortunate

s l eep er awaken ing to recognise me , and when he did s o the dis ,
21 6 R OB ROY .

business tran s ac t io n s fo r he was a great lover of form more espe

,
'
,

c i ally when he could dictate it ex ca thedra l se emed s carce less ,

sanctimonious in their eyes This tone of deep and respectful .

observance went all curren tly do w n wi th Owen ; but my father

looked a little closer into m en s b o s bm s and whether suspicious of ’
,

this excess of deference or as a lover of brevity and simplicity in

, ,

business tired with these gentlemen s long-winded professions of

,
’

regard he had uniformly resisted their desire to become his sole

,

agents in S cotland On the contrary he transacted m any affairs

through a corre spondent of a character perfectly di fferent —a man
.
,

whose good opinion of himself amounted to self-conceit and who , ,

d i sliking the English in general as much as my father did 3 the

S co tch w ould hold no communication but on a footing of absolute
,

equality ; jealous moreover ; c apti o n s occasionally ; as tenacious

,

of his own opi nions in point of form as Owen could be of his and
totally indifferent though the authority of all Lombard -Street had
stood against his own private opinion .

A s these peculiari ties of temper rendered it di fficult to transact

business with Mr N icol Jarvie -as they occasioned at times di s
.
,

putes and coldn ess betwee n the English house and their corre
s p o n de n t which were only got over by a sense of mutual interest,
,
—as moreover Owen s personal vanity sometimes suffered a little
, ,
’

in the discussions to which they gave rise you cannot be surprised , ,

Tresham that our old friend threw at all times the weight of his
,

influence in favour of the civil, discreet accommodating concern of ,

M a c V ittie and M ac F i n and spoke of Jarvie as a petulant con , ,

ce it e d S cotch pedlar with whom there was no dealing

, .

It was also not surprising that in these circumstances , which I ,

only learned in detail some time afterwards Owen in the diffi , ,

c u ltie s to which the house was reduced by the absence of my

father, and the disappe arance of R ashle igh should on his arrival , ,

i n S cotla nd which took place two days before m ine, have recourse to
,

the friendship of those correspondents who had always professed ,

themselves obliged gratified and devoted to the service of his

, ,

principal H e was received at M essrs M ac V ittie and M ac F i n s

. .
’

counting-house in the G allo wgate with something like the devo ,

tion a Catholic would pay to his tutelar saint But, al as ! this .

sunshine was soon overclouded when encouraged by the fair , ,

hopes which it inspi red he opened the diffi culties of the house to,

his friendly correspondents and requested their counsel and

'

a ssistance M a cV ittie was almost stunned by the c ommunication ;

.

an d M a c F in ere it was completed Was already at the ledger of

, ,

their firm, an d deeply engaged in the very bowels of the multitu

dino u s a ccounts between their house and that of Osb aldi st o n e and
 ROB ROY . 2 I7

Tresham , for the purpose of discovering on which side the balance

lay ! Al as ! the scale depressed considerably aga inst the English
firm and the faces of M ac V ittie and M a c F i n h itherto only blank ,

a n d doubtful became now ominous grim and lowering They

, , ,
.

met Mr Owen s request of countenance and ass i stance with a

.
’
,

coun ter-demand of instant security aga inst imminent hazard of

eventual loss and at length speaking more plainly required that
, ,

a deposit of assets destined for other purposes should be placed

, ,

in their hands for that purpose Owen repelled this demand with .

great i ndignation as dishonourable to his constituents unjust to

, ,

the other creditors of Os b aldis to n e and Tresham and very u n ,

grateful o n the part of those by whom it was made .

The Scotch partners gained in the course of this controversy

, ,

what is very convenient to persons who are in the wrong an o pp o r ,

tu n i ty and pretext for putting themselves in a violent pass i on and ,

'
for taking under the pretext of the pro vocation they had rece ived ,
,

measures to w hich some sense of decency if not of conscience , ,

might otherwise have deterred them from resorting .

Owen had a small share as I believe is usual in the house to

, ,

which h e acted as head -clerk and was therefore personally liable

,

for all its obligations This was kn own to Messrs M a cV i ttie and
. .

M a c F in ; and with a view of making him feel their power or

, ,

rather in order to force him at this emergency into those measures

, ,

in their favour to which he had expressed himself so repugnant

, ,

they had recourse to a summary process of arrest and i mprison

ment wh i ch it seems the law of Scotland (therein s urely liable to
,

much abuse) allows to a creditor who finds his consc i ence at ,

liberty to make oath that the debtor meditates departing from the
realm Under such a warrant h a d poor Owen been confined to
.

durance on the day preceding that when I was so strangely guided

to his prison-house .

Thus possessed of the alarming outline of facts the question ,

remained what was to b e done and it was not of easy determina

,

tion I plainly perce i ved the perils with which we were surrounded
.
,

but it was more difficult to suggest any remedy Th e warning .

which I had already received seemed to intimate that m y own ,

personal liberty might be endangered by an open appearance in

Owen s behalf Owen entertained the same apprehens ion and in
’
.
, ,

th e exaggeration of his terror assured me that a Scotchman rather

, ,

than run the risk of losing a farthing by an Engl i shman would find ,

law for arresting h is wife , children man-servant maid-servant and, , ,

stranger withi n his household The laws concerning debt in most

.
,

countri es are so unmerc i fully severe that I could not altogether

, ,

disbelieve his st atement and my arrest in the present circum ,

 ROB ROY .

stances wou l d have been a co ufi

,
-n a
’
—
g mce to my father s affairs
’
.

In this di lemma , I asked Owen if he had not thought of having

recourse to my father’ s other correspondent 1 n Glasgow, Mr N i col .

Jarv1e ?
H e had sent him a letter h e replied
.
that morning but if
, ,

the smooth-tongued and civil house in the G all o wgate had used
him dhus what was to be expected from the cross-gr ain ed crab
,

s tock 1n the Salt-Market You might as well ask a broker to give

.

u p his per centa e as ex pect a favour from him without the per
g ,

c on tra .H e had not even ” Owen said answered his l et ter

, , ,

though it was put into his ha nd that morning as he went to

church ” An d here th e despairing man-o f—
_

figure s threw h imself

My poor dear master —my poor
.

down on his palle t exclaiming ,

dear master ! 0 Mr Frank Mr F rank this 15 all your obstin acy !

,
.
, .
,
’
But God forgi ve me for say ing so to you in your di stress ! It s
God s disposing and man must submit
’
,
”
.

My phi los ophy Tresham could not preven t m y sharing in the

, , ‘

honest creature s distress , and we mingled ou r tears the more

’
,
’
bitter on my part, as the perverse opposi ti on to my father s will ,
with whi ch the kind-hearted Owen forbore to upbra id me, rose up
to my conscience as the cause of all this affl iction
. .

In the midst of our mingled sorrow we were disturbed and sur ,

prised by a loud knocking at the outward door of the prison I ran .

to the top of the sta ircase to listen but could only he ar the voice ,

of the turnkey al ternately in a high tone , answering to some

,

p erson without and in a whisper addressed to the person who had

,

guided me hither : She s coming she s coming,” al oud then in

’
,
— ’

a l ow key, O hon a ri O h o n -a-ri what ll she do now —Gang

- -
’

-
up ta st air, and hide yo u rs ell ahint ta S as senach she ntle maa s ped
’

She’s coming as fast as she can —Ahella n ay ! it s my lord provosts,

.

’
.

an d ta pailies , and ta guard— and ta capta in s comi n g toon s tairs

—
’

too Got pless her gang up or he meets h en —She’ s c omin g—sh e’ s

comin g—ta lock’s sair roosted ” .

Whil e D ougal , unw illingly, an d with as mu ch delay as possible ,

u ndi d th e va rious fasteni ngs to give admitt an ce to those wi thout,

whose impati ence became clamorous my guide ascended th e win d ,

ing stair, and sprang int o Owen’ s apart ment into which I fo ll owed ,

him H e cast his eyes hastily round as if looking fo r a p la ce of

concea lment ; then said to me L end me your pistols—yet it’ s no
.
,

matter, I can do without them—Whatev e r you see, take no hee d

and do n o t mix your hand in another man s feud —
,

This gear s
’ ’

mine, and I must manage it as I dow but I have been as hard

bested, and worse , than I am even now .

A s the stranger spoke th ese words, he stripped from his person

2 20 ROB ROY .

daffin ’,young N ick and auld N i ek) N ick said he never put ,
’
,
‘

’
out your arm farther than ye can draw it easily back again I hae .
.

’
said sae t o Mr Osb aldis to n e an d he didna seem to take it a the
—
.
,

gether sae kind as I wished—but it was weel meant weel me ant

”
.

This discourse delivered with prodigious volubility and a great

, ,

appearance of self-complacency as he recollected his own advice ,

and predictions gave little promise of assistance at the hands of

,

Mr Jarvie Yet it soon appeared rather to proceed from a total

. .
.

want of delicacy than any deficiency of real kindness for when

Owen expressed himself somewhat hurt that these things should
be recalled to memory in his present situation the Glaswegian ,

took him by the hand and bade h im Cheer up a gli ff D ye ,

’

t hink I wad hae corned out at twal o clock at n ight and amaist
’
,

broken the Lord s -day just to tell a fa en man 0 his backslidings ?

’
,
’ ’

'

Na na that s no Bail i e Jarv i e s gate nor was t

, ,
’
h i s h ’
wort y father s ’
,
’

the deacon afore him Why man it s my rule never to think on.
,
’

w arldly business on the Sabbath and though I did a I could to ’

,

keep your note that I gat this morning out 0 my head yet I ’
,

thought mair on it a day than on th e preaching—A n d it s my rule

’
,
’

to gan g to my bed w i the yello w curtains p re c e e sely at ten o clock

’ ’

—unless I were eating a haddock wi a neighbour or a neighbour ’

w i me —ask the lass -quean there if it isna a fundamental rule in

,
’
,

my household and here hae l sitten up reading gude books and ,

gaping as if I wad swallow St K nox Kirk, till it c happit twal, .

whilk was a lawfu hour to gie a look at my ledger just to see how
’
,

thin gs stood bet ween us and then as t ime and tide wait for no ,

man I made the lass get the lantern and came slipping my ways
, ,

here to see what can be dune anent your affairs Bailie Jarvie can .

command entrance into the tolbooth at ony hour day or night ; ,

sae could my father the deacon in his time honest man, praise to ,

his memory .

A lthough Owen groaned at the mention of the ledge r leading ,

me grievously to fear that here also the balance stood in the wrong
column ; and although the worthy magistrate s speech expressed ’

much self-complacency and some ominous triumph in his own ,

superior judgm ent yet it was blended with a s ort of frank and
,

blunt good-nature from which I could not help deriving some

,

hopes H e requested to see some papers he mentioned snatched

.
,

them hastily from Owen s hand and sitting on the bed , to “ rest ’
,

his shanks as he was pleased to express the accommodation

”
,

whi c h that posture afforded him, his servant girl held up the
lantern to him while pshawing muttering and sp uttering now at
, , , , ,

the imperfect light now at the contents of the packet, he ran over
,

th e writings it contained .
 ROB ROY . 22 :

S eeing him fairly engaged in this course of study, the guide who
had brought me hither seemed disposed to take an unceremonious
leave H e made a sign to me to say nothing and intimated by
.
, ,

his change of posture an intention to glide towards the door in ,

such a manner as to attract the l e ast possible observation But .

the alert magistrate (very different from my old acquaintance M r .

Justice Inglewood) instantly detected and interrupted his purposes .

I say look to the door Stan ch ells —shut and lock it and keep
, , ,

watch on the outside .

The s tra n g e f s bro w darkened and he seemed for an instant ,

again to meditate the e ffecting h is retreat by violence b ut ere he

had determined the door closed an d the ponderous bolt revolved
, , .

H e muttered an exclamation in Gaelic strode across the floor and , ,

then with an a 1 r of dogged resolution as if fixed and prepared to

, ,

see the scene to an end sate himself down on the oak table and , ,

whistled a strathspey .

Mr Jarvie who seemed very alert and e xp edit io n s in going

.
,

through business soon showed h imself master of that which he

,

had been considering and addressed himself to Mr Owen in the

following strain : Weel M r O wen weel—your house are aw in
.
,
“ ’
.
, ,

certain sums to Messrs M acV i ttie and M a c F i n ( shame fa their .

’

souple snouts ! they made that and mair out o a bargain about ’

the aik— woods at Glen -C ailz iec hat that they took out atween my
teeth —w i help 0 your gude word I maun needs say Mr Owen
,
’ ’

but that makes nae odds now ) —Weel sir your house awes them
.
, ,

.
, ,

this siller ; and for this and relief of other engagements they stand ,

in for you they hae putten a double turn 0 Stan chells muckle key ’ ’

on ye —Weel sir, ye awe this siller—and maybe ye awe some mair

,

to some other body too —maybe ye awe some to myself, Bailie

.
,

”
N icol Jarvie .

'

I cannot deny sir but the bal ance m ayo f this da te he brought out
, ,

against us M r Jarvie said Owen ; “ but you ll please to consider ’

I hae nae time to consider e enow M r Owen—Sac near Sab

.
, ,
’
.
,

bath at e en and out o ane s warm bed at this time 0 night and a
’ ’ ’ ’

sort 0 drow in the air besides —

, ,
’
there s nae time for considering ’

But sir as I was saying ye awe me money —it winna deny—ye awe
me money, less or mair l ll stand by it—But then Mr Owen
, , ,
’
, ,
.
,

I c an n n a see how you an active man that understands business , ,

ca n redd out the business ye re come down about , and clear us a

’ ’

aff— a s I have g ritt h Op e ye wi ll

—if ye re keepit lying here in the
' ’

tolbooth of Glasgow —N ow sir if you c an find caution j u dzczo s zs tz

' ' ’ ’

.
, , ,

that is that ye winna flee the country but appear and relieve your
, ,

caution when ca d for in our legal courts , ye may be set at liberty

’

this very morning .

2 22 ROB ROY .

Mr Jarvie , said Owen if any friend w ould become surety for

.
,
“

me to that effect my liberty might be usefully employed doubtl ess,

, ,

both for the house and all connected w ith it ” .

A wee‘l, sir ” continued Jarvie and doubtless such a friend wad

, ,

e xpect ye to appear when ca d on an d relieve h im 0 his engage

’ ’
,

ment ” .

An d I sho uld do so as certainly h atin g sickness or death, a s

'
“
,

that two and two make four ”

.

“
Aw eel Mr Owen ”
resumed the citizen of Glas gow, I dinna
m isdou bt ye and I ll prove it s ir—I ll prove it
.
, ,

,
’
I am a c arefu ,
’
.
’

man , as is weel ken d and industrious as the hal e town can testi fy
’
, ,

and I can win my crowns and keep my crowns an d count my , ,

crown s wi o n yb o dy in the Saut-M arket or it may be in the Gallow

’
,

gate An d I m a p ruden t man as my father the deacon was before

.
’
,

me ; but rather than an honest civil gen tleman , that understan ds

business, and is will ing to do justice to all men should lie b y the
heels this gate unable to help hims ell or o n yb o dy e l se —why, con
,

science , m an l Ill be your bail mysell—But ye ll mind it s a bail

,
’ ’ ’

as our town -clerk says not

j u dzcatu m rah/i; ye ll min d
' ' ' ' '
’
j u d z czo s zs t z, ,

that, fo r there s muckle diff erence ” ’

.

Mr Owen assured him that as matters then stood he could

.
, ,

not expec t any one to become security for the actual payment of
the debt, but that there was not the most dist an t cause for appre
h ending l oss from his failing to present himse lf when l awfull y c all ed
upon
I believe ye—I believe ye E n e ugh said—eneugh said We se
.

“ ’

hae your legs loose by breakfast-time —An d n o w let s hear what

. .

’
. .

thir chamber chiels o yours hae to say for themse lves, or how, in
’

the n ame of u nrule they got here at this time 0 night ” ,

’
.

C H A P TE R XX III .

H ame came our gudeman at e’en,

A n d hame c ame h e,
An d there he saw a man
Where a man s uldn a be .

H o w s this now, kimmer ?

’

H ow’ s th i s ? quo he,

H o w came this carle here .

W ithout the leave 0 ’ me ? ”

Old S ong .

TH E magi strate took the light out of his servant-mai ds hand, ’

an d advanced to his s cru ti n y, like Diogen e s in the st reet of

 R OB ROY .

here as free as I came in or the very wa s 0 Gl asgow tolbo oth ,

’ ’

shal l tell o t these ten years to come

’ ”
.

“
Weel, w eel,” said Mr Jarvie bluid s thicker than water an d
.
,
’

’
it lie sna in kith kin and ally to see motes in ilk other s e en if
, , ,

other een see them no I t wad be sair news to the aul d wife
.

b el ow the Ben of Stu cka vralla c han that you ye H ielan d li mm er , , ,

had kn o ckit out my ham s or that I had kilted you up in a to w , .

But ye ll own , ye dour dc c vil that were it no your very se ll, I wad
’
,

hae grippit the best man in the H ielands ” .

”
“
Ye wad hae t ried cous in answered my guide, that I wot
‘

, ,

weel ; but I doubt ye wad h ae come at? wi the short meas ure for ’

w e gang-there-out H ieland bodies are an unchan cy generation

‘

when you speak to us 0 bonda ge We downa hide the coercion of

’
.

gude braid-claith about our hinderlan s, let a be breeks o free sto ne, ’

an d garters 0 iron
”’
.

“
Ye ll fin d th e stane breeks and th e a im garters, ay, and the
’

hemp cravat for a that, neighbour ” replied the B ailie

’
Nae man
in a civilized count ry ever pla yed the pl i skies ye hae done—
.
, ,

but e en ’

- —
pickle in your ain pock neuk I ha e gi en ye warning ” ’ ’
.

”
“
Well, cousin , said the other ye ll wear black at my burial ,
’
.

Deil a black cloak will be there R obin but the corbies and the
hoodie—
, ,

craws , l s e gie ye my hand on that But whar’s the gude

’
.

thousand pun d S cots that I lent ye man and when am I to see it , ,

again ? ”
“
Whe n it is, replied my guide after the affectation of consider
ing fo r a moment, I cannot justly tell—probably where l ast
,

year’s snaw is ” .

An d that s on the tap of S chehal li o n ye H ielan d dog , said M r

’
, .

J arvie and I look fo r payment frae you where ye stand ” .

”
Ay, replied the H ighla nder but I kee p neither snaw nor
dollars in my sporran A n d as to when you l l see it why, ju st
.
,
’
—
when the kin g enjoys his ain again as the auld s an g says ” , .

—
Warst of a R obin ” retorted the Gl aswegian ,
’
I mean , ye dis
l oyal traitor Warst of a l—Wad ye bri ng popery in on u s, an d
,
’

a rbit ra ry power and a foist and a warming-pan , an d the set forms,

,

an d the curates an d the auld enormities o surplice s an dc earmen ts

’
,

Ye had better stick to your auld trade 0 theft-boot, black-mail, ’

s preaghs , an d gi ll ravagi ng—better ste al in g n o wt e th an m in ing

”
na tions
H out, m an —
.

whisht wi yo ur w higgery answered the C el t ;

’
,
’
we hae ken d ane anither mony a lang day l se take care yo ur ’

counting-room is no cleaned out w hen the Gillon-a—

.

n aill ie * come
to redd up the Glasgow b u iths and clear them 0 their aul d shop ,
’

wares A n d, unl ess it just fa in the preceese way 0 your duty,

’ ’
.
 ROB ROY . 225

ye m aunna see me o ftener, N icol , than I am disposed to be

seen ”
.

Ye are a dauring villain Ro b ” answered the Bailie and ye , ,

will be hanged that will be seen and heard tell o but I se ne er

,
’ ’ ’

be the ill bird and foul my nest set apart strong necessity and the
skreigh of duty which no man should hear and be in obedien t A n d
,
,
—
wh a the de evil s this he continued turning to me Some gill
’
,

ravager that ye hae listed I daur say H e looks as if he had a , .

bauld heart to the highway and a lang craig for the gibbet ” , .

”
This good Mr j arvie
,
said Owen who, like myself had been
.
, , ,

s tr u ck dumb during this strange recognition and no less strange ,

dialogue which took place between these extraordinary kinsmen

,

This good Mr Jarvie is young Mr Frank Osb aldis to n e only

,
.
, .
,

child of the head of our house who should have been taken into our ,

firm at the t im e Mr R ashle igh Osb aldisto n e his cousin had the
'

luck to be taken into it —( Here Owen could not suppress a groan )

.
, ,

”
But howsoever ,

O I have heard of that smaik,” said the S cotch m erchant in

, ,

t e rru pt in g him ; it is h e whom your principal like an obstinate

“
,

auld fule wad make a merchant o wad he or wad he no and the

,
’ ’
, ,

lad turned a strolling stage -player in pure dislike to the labour an

honest man should live b y —Weel sir what say you to your handi
,

.
, ,

wark ? Will Hamlet the Dane or H amlet s ghost be good secu ,

’
,

rity for Mr Owen Sir ? ” .

,

I don t dese rve your taunt ” I replied “ though I respect your

’
, ,

motive and am too grateful for the assistance you have a fforded
,

Mr Owen to resent it My only bus iness here was to do what I

.
,
.
_

c ould ( it was perhaps very little) to aid Mr Owen in the manage ;

ment of my father s aff airs My dislike of the comme rcial pro fe s

’
.

s io n i s a feeling of which I am the best and sole judge ” .

“
I protest said the H ighlander I had some respect for this
”
, ,
“

call ant even before I ken d what was in him but now I honour him ’

for his contempt of weavers and spinners and sic -like mechanical ,

persons and their pursuits ” .

“
b ”
Ye re m ad Ro sai d the Bailie
’
mad as a March hare —though
, ,

wherefore a hare suld be made at March mair than at Martinmas i s ,

mair than I can weel say Weavers D eil shake ye out o the web ’

the weaver craft m ade Spinners —ye ll spin and wind yo ursell a
.

’
.

bonny p im A n d this young birkie here that ye re hoying an d

.
,
’

hound ing on the shortest road to the gallows and the deevil, will
his stage-plays and his poetries help him here, d ye think ony ’
,

mair than your deep oaths and drawn dirks ye reprobate that ye
are —Will Tz tyre t u p a nda as they ca it tell him where R ash
,
'
’
, ,

leigh Osb aldisto n e is ? hr Macb e th and all his kernes and galla ,

P
22 6 ROB ROY .

glasses, an d your awn to b o o n R o b procure him five thousand /

p ounds to answer the bills which fall due ten days hence were they ,

a rouped at the Cross , basket hilt s A ndra -Ferraras leather tar

’
, ,

gets brogues brochan , and sporrans

, ,

Te n days I answered and instinctively drew out D iana Ver ,

non s packet ; and the time being elapsed during which I was to
’

keep the seal sacred I hastily broke it open A sealed letter fell ,
.

from a blank enclosure owing to the trepidation with which I

'

opened the parcel A slight current of wind which found its way
.
,

through a broken pane of the window wafted the letter to Mr ,

.

Jarvi e s feet who lifted it examine d the address with unceremonious

’
, ,

c uriosity , and to my astonishment handed it to his H ighland kins

, ,

th an saying H ere s a wind has blo wn a letter to its right o wner

, ,
’
,
”
t hough there were ten thousand c h ances against its coming to hand .

Th e Highla nder havi ng examin ed the address broke the le tter

, ,

open without the least ceremony I endeavoured to interrupt his .

proceeding .

You must satisfy me sir said I that the letter is intended for , , ,
“

you before I can permit you to pe ruse it ” .

“
Make yourself quite easy Mr Os b aldi st o n e replied the moun , .
,

t a in ee r, with great composure remember Justice Inglewood

Clerk j obson, Mr M orris—above all remember your vera humble
,

.
,

s ervant R obert C awm ill and the beautiful D iana Vernon

,
Re , .

member all this and doubt no longer that the lette r is for me
, .

I remained astonished at my own stupidity Through the whole .

n ight
th e voic e and even the features of this man thou gh imper
, , ,

fe ctly seen haunted me with recollections to which I could assign

,

n o exact local or personal associations But now the light dawned

on me at once —this man was Campbell h imself H is whole p e c u
.

l iaritie s flashed on me at once — the deep strong vo ice—the i n flex

.

i ble , stern, yet considerate cast of features - th e Scottish brogue r

,

with it s correspondi ng dialect and imagery which although he pos , ,

sessed the power at times of layin g the m aside recurred at eve ry

’

'

moment of emotion and gave pith to his sarcasm or veh emence t o

, ,

his exp ostulatio n R ather beneath the middl e siz e than above it
.
,

his limbs were formed upon the ve ry strongest model that is ce n

sistent with agility while from the remarkable case and freedom of
, ,

his movements you could not doubt his possessing the latter quality
,

in a high degree of perfec tion Tw o points in his person in terfered .

with the rules of symmetry —his shoulders were so broad in pro

'

'

portion to his height as, notwithstanding the lean and lathy appear
,

ance of his frame gave him something the air of being too square
,

in respect to his stature and his arms though roun d sinewy and , , ,

strong were so very long as to be rather a de formity I a fterwards

, .
228 ROB ROY .

hills,R obin, and you r ki lted re d-shanks —it disna become my place,
man .

The devil damn your place and you baith reiterated Camp
bell . The only drap o gentle blu id that s in your body was our ’ ’

great grand-uncle s that was j ust ified at Dumbarton and you set
’
,

yourself up to say ye wad derogate frae your place to visit m e !

Hark thee man I owe thee a day in harst — I ll pay up you r
, ,
’

t ho u san pu n d S cots plack and bawbee gin ye ll be an honest

’

, ,
”
fallow for anes and just daiker up the gate wi this Sassenach
,
’
.

“
H out awa wi your gentility replied the B ailie
’ ’
carry your “

gentle bluid to the Cross and see what ye 11 buy wi t —But if I

,
’ ’
,
.
,
”
w e xe to come wad ye really and soothfastly pay me the siller ?
,

I swear to ye sai d the H ighlander upon the halidome of him

, ,
“

that sleeps beneath th e grey stane at In c h

’

Say nae mair R ob in—say nae mair—We ll see what may be ’

dun e —But ye maunna expect me to gang ow er the H ie lan d li ne

,

I ll gae beyond the line at no rate Ye m aun meet me about

’
.

B u cklivie or the Clach an of A berfo il and dinna forget the ,

”
needful
Nae fear—nae fear said Campbell Ill be as true as the steel
.

’
,

blade that never failed its master But I must be budging cousin .
, ,

for the air 0 Glasgow tolbooth is no that ower salutary to a High

’

lander s constitution ”
’
.

Troth ” replied the m erch ant ,

,
and if my duty were to be
dune ye couldna change your atmosphere, as the minister ca s it ’

this a e wee while —O chon that I sud ever be concerned in aiding

, ,

.
,

and abetting an escape frae j ustice ! it will be a shame and disgrace

to me and mine and my very father s memory for ever ”
,
’
, .

H out tout man ! let that flee stick in the ans were d h
when the dirt s dry it will rub out —Your father, honest
,

kinsman ’

m an could,
look over a friend s fault as weel as anither ” ’
.

Ye may be right R obin replied the Bailie after a moment s , , ,

’

reflection ; he was a considerate man the deacon ; he ken d we

“ ’

had a our fra ilties and he lo ed his friends—Ye ll no hae forgotten

’
,
’ ’

”
him obinR,
? This question he put in a softened tone conveying ,

a s much at least of the ludicrous as the pathetic .

“
Forgotten him ! ” replied his kinsman “ what suld a il m e to ,

forget him —a wapping weaver he was, and wrought my first pa i r

0 h ose — But come awa kinsman
’
, ,

Come fill up my cup come fill u my c ann , ,

Come saddle my horses and cal up my man ; ,
Come Open your gates and let me gae free, ,

I daurn a stay langer in bonny Dundee ” .

”
Whisht s ir ! said the magi strate in an au tho rit at ive tone
, ,
 ROB ROY . 229

lilting and singing sae near the latter end 0 the Sabbath This ’

house may hear ye sing anither tune yet—A we el we hae a back ’

slidings to answer fo r—Stan chells , open the door .

Th e jailor obeyed and we all sallied forth ,

Sta n ch e lls looked .

with some surprise at the two strangers wondering doubtless h o w , , ,

they came into these premises without his knowledge but M r .

Jarvie s Friends 0
’
mine h ll
Stan c e s — friends
’
o mine ”
silenced all
,
’
,

disposition to inquiries We n o w descended into the lower vesti

.

bule and hallooed more than once for D ougal to which summons
, ,

no answer was returned when Campbell observed with a sar ,

do n iq s m ile “ That if Dougal was the lad he kent h i m he would

, ,

s carce wait to get thanks for his ain share of the night s wark but ’
,

was in all probability on the full trot to the pass of B allm aha ”
A n d left u s —and abune a me mysell locked up in the tolbooth
’
, , ,

a night ! ” exclaimed the Bailie in ire and perturbation

’
Ca for ,
.
’

fore -hammers sledge-h ammers pinches and coulters send for

, , ,

D eacon Ye ttlin the smith and let him ken that Bailie Jarvie s
, ,
.
’

shut up in the tolbooth by a H ieland blackguard whom he ll hang ,

’

up as high as H aman ”
When ye catch him said Campbell gravely ; but stay the , ,
“
,

door is surely not locked .

Indeed on examination we found that the door was not only

, ,

left open but that D ougal in his re treat had by carrying o ff the
, ,

keys along with him taken care that no one should exercise his
,

office of porter in a hurry .

H e has glimmerings 0 common sense n o w that creat u re ’

,
”
D ougal said Campbell “ he ken d an open door might h ae served
,
’

me at a pinch .

We were by this time in the street .

I tell y o u R obi n ” said the magistrate, in my puir mind if ye

, , ,

live the life ye do ye suld hae ane 0 your g illies doorkeeper i n

,
’

every jail in Scotland in case 0 the warst ” ,

’
.

A n e 0 my kinsmen a bailie in ilka burgh will j ust do as weel

’
,

cousin Nicol —So gude -nicht or gude-morning to ye ; and forget

,

not the Cl achan of Aberfoil ” .

A n d without waiting for an answer he sprung to the other side ,

of the street and was lost in d arkness Immediately on his dis

, .

appearance we heard him give a low whistle of peculiar modula

,

tion which was instantly replied to

, .

Hear to the H ieland de evils ” said Mr Jarvie “ they think , .

themselves on the skirts of B enlomond already where they may ,

gang whewing and whistling about without minding Sunday or Satur

day ” Here he was interrupted by somethi ng which fell with a
.

heavy clash on the street before u s Gude guide us ! what s this ’

23 ° ROB ROY .

mair o t —Mattie han d up the lan te rn Co n sc ie n c e l if it isna the

’
~

keys I—Weel that s just as weel—they cost the burgh siller and
,
’

there might hae been some clavers about the loss 0 them—O, an
, ,
’

Bailie Grahame were to get word 0 this nicht s j ob it wad be a sair ’ ’

,

hair in my neck ! ”
A s we were still but a fe w steps from the tolbooth door we car ,

ried back these implements of o ffice and consigned them to the ,

head jailer who in lieu of the usual mode of making good his post
, ,

by turning the keys was keeping sentry in the vestibule till the
,

arrival of some assistant whom he had summoned in order to ,

replace the Celtic fugitive D ougal .

Having discharg ed this piece of duty to the burgh and my road ,

lying the same way with the h o n est mag istrate s I p rofited by the
'
’
,

l ight of his lantern and he by my arm to fi n d our way through

, ,

the streets which whatever they may now be were then dark n u
, , , ,

even and ill paved A ge i s easily propitiated by attentions from

,
-
.

the young The Bailie expressed himself interested in me and

.
,

added That since I was nane 0 that play acting and play-gang
,
’
-

ing generation whom his saul hated he wad be glad if I wad eat
, ,

a reisted haddock or a fresh herring at breakfast wi him the

, ,
’

m o m and mee t my friend Mr O wen whom by that time, he

, , .
, ,

would place at lib erty ” .

My dear sir ” said I when I had accepted of the invitation

, ,

with thanks, how could you possibly connect me with the

stage
I watna replied M r j arvie
, it was a b l e th e rin phras in.
“ ’ ’

chield they ca F a irse rvic e that cam at e en to get an order to send

’
,
’

the crier through the toun for ye at skreigh 0 day the m o m He ’

.

tell t me whae ye were and ho w ye were sent frae your father s

’
,
’

house because ye w adna b e a dealer and that v e m ic htn a disgrace /

,
'

your family w i ganging on the stage An e H a mm o rgaw our pre

’
.
,

c en to r brought him here , and said he was an auld acquaintance ;

,

but I sent them baith awa w i a flae in their lug for bringing me sic ’ ’

an errand on sic a night But I see he s a fule-creature a th egither .

’ ’

and clean m is ta e n about ye I like ye man ” he continued

’
I
like a lad that will stan d by his friends in trouble—I ay did it my
.
, ,

sell and sae did the deacon my father, rest and bless him ! But
,

ye suldn a keep ower muckle company wi H ie lan dm e n and thae ’

wild cattle Can a man touch pitch and no be de file d —aye mind
.

that Nae doubt the best and wisest may err— Once twice, and
.
, ,

thrice have I backslidden man and dune three things this night
, , ,
_
m y father wadna hae believed his een if he could hae looked up
”
and seen me do them .

H e was by this time arrived at the door of his own d welling H e .

2
3 2 R OB ROY .

'
pleas ure at this impertin en t interferenc e with my afi airs b ut
A ndrew set up such ejaculations of transport at my arrival as ,

fairly drown ed my expressions of resentment H is raptures per .

,

chance were partly politic al and the tears of j oy which he shed had
,

certainly their source in that noble fountai n of emotion the ta n kard ,

.

H owever the t um ultgo us glee which he felt or pretended to feel at

, ,

my return saved A ndre w the broken head which I had twice

, '

destined him first on account of the colloquy he had h eld with the
,

precentor on my a ffairs and secondly for the impertinent history ,

he hadt ho ught proper to give of me to Mr Jarvie I however . .

contented myself with slapping the door of my bed-room in his face

as he followed me prais ing Heaven fo r my safe return and mixing
, ,

his joy with admonitions to m e to take care how I walked my o wn

ways in future I then went to bed resolving my first business in
.
,

the morning should be to discharge this troublesome pedantic self , ,

conceited coxcomb who seemed so much disposed to constitute

,

himself rather a preceptor than a domestic .

A ccordingly in the morning I resumed my purpose and calling ,

A ndrew into my apartment requested to know his charge for ,

guiding and attending me as far as Glasgow Mr F airs ervic e . .

looked very blank at this demand , justly cons idering it as a presage

to approaching dismission .

”
Your honour, he said, a fter some hesitation wunna think
5‘
,

wu nna think
Speak out yo u rascal or I ll break your head ” said I as
, ,
’
, ,

A ndrew between the double risk of losing al l by asking too much

, ,

or a part by stating his demand lo wer than what I might be

,

willing to pay stood gasping in the agony of doub t and calcu

,

lation .

Out it came with a bolt however at my threat ; as the kind , ,

violence of a blow on the back sometimes delivers the windpipe

from an intrusive morsel A u ghte en pennies sterling per die m “

that is by the day—your honour wadna think unconscionable ”

.

, .

It is double what is usual an d treble what you merit A ndre w , ,

but there s a guinea for you, and get about your business
’
.

The L ord forgi e us Is your honour mad ? ” exclaimed

’

A ndrew
N o but I think you mean to make me s o —I give yo u a third
.

above your demand and yo u stand staring and expostulating there

as if I were cheating you —Take your money and go about your

,

.
,

bu siness ” .

Gude safe us ; continued A ndrew in what can I hae o fi en de d ,

'

your honour Certai nly a flesh is but as flowers of the field but ’

if a bed of c amomile hath value in medicine of a surety the use of ,

 ROB ROY . 3 33

Andrew F airservice to yo ur honour t s as is nothing less evident—i ’

muckl e as your life s worth to p art w i me

’ ’
.

Upon my honour ” replied I , “ it is difficult to say whether yo u

are more k na ve or fool —So yo u intend then to remain with me
,

whether I like it or no ?
Troth, I was e en thinking sae replied A ndre w, dogmatically ;
’
,

for if your honour disna ken when ye hae a goo d servant , I ken
when I hae a gude master an d the deil be in my feet gin I l eave
— o t —besides I hae re ceived
,

y e and there s the

’
brief and the lang ’

”
n ae regular warning to qu it my place .

Your place, sir said I why yo u are no hi red servant of “

,

m ine, you are merely a guide whose knowledge of th e country I ,

”
availed myself of on the road .

I am no just a common servant I admit sir, remonstrated , ,

M r F airservice
. b u t your honour kens I quitted a gude pl ace at
an hour s n otice, to comply wi your honour s solicitations A man
’ ’ ’
.

might make honestly and wi a clear consc i ence, twenty sterling

,
’

pounds per annum, weel counted s iller o the garden at Osb al ,

’

dis to n e -H all, and I wasna likely to gi e up a that for a gu inea I

”
’ ’

trow—I reckoned on staying wi your honour to the term s end at

,
’ ’

the l east o t ; and I account upon my wage b oard-wage , fee and

’
, ,
”
bountith, ay, to that length o t at the least ’
.

”
“
Come, come, sir replie d I these impudent pretensions won t
, ,
“ ’

se rve yo u turn ; and if I hear any more of them, I shall convince

you that Squire Thorncliff is not the only one of my name that can
use his fingers ” .

While I spoke thus the w hole matter struck me as so ridicul ous ,

,

tha t, though real ly an gry I ha d some di fficulty to forbear l aughing

,

at the gravity with which An drew supported a plea so utterly ex

travagant . The rascal aware of the impression he had made on
,

m y musc l es , was encouraged to perseverance H e j udged it safer .

,

however, to t ake hi s pretensions a peg lower in ca se of o ve rstrain ,

in g at th e same time both hi s plea and my patience .

A dmitt ing that m y honour could part with a faithful servant .

,

that had served me and mine by day an d night fo r twenty years ,

in a stran ge place and at a moment s warnin g, he was weel as
,
’

sured,” he said, “ it wasna in my heart nor in no t rue gentl eman s ,

’
,

to pit a puir lad l ike him sell, tha t ha d come forty or fifty, or say a
hundred mil es out 0 his road purely to he a r my honour comp any
’
,

and that had nae hauding but his pen ny-fe e , to sic a hardship as
this comes to ” .

I think it was you Will who once told me that , to be an ob sti

, , ,

n ate man , I am in certain things the most gullable and mal l eable
of mortal s The fact is , that it is only contradiction which makes
.
23 4 R OB ROY .

me peremptory and when I do not feel myself called o n to give

,

battle to any proposition I am always willing to grant it rather , ,

than give myself much trouble I knew this fellow to be a greedy . ,

tiresome meddling coxcomb still however I must have some one

, , ,

about me in the quality of guide and domestic and I was so much ,

used to A ndrew s humour that on some occasions it was rather

’
,

amusing In the state of indecision to which these reflections led

.

me I asked F airse rvic e if he knew the roads towns & c in the

, , ,
.
,

north of Scotland to whi ch my father’ s concerns with the proprietors

,

of Highland forests were likely to lead me I believe if I had asked .

him the road to the terrestrial paradise he would have at that mo ,

ment undertaken to guide me to i t so that I had reason afterwards

to think m yself fortunate in finding that his actual knowledge did
not fall very much short of that which he asserted himself to pos
sess I fixed the amount of his wages and reserved to myself the
.
,

privilege of dism is sing him when I chose on paying him a week in ,

advance I gave him finally a severe lecture on his conduct of the

.

preceding day and then dismissed him rejoicing at heart though

, , ,
'

somewhat crest-fallen in countenance to rehearse to his friend the ,

precentor who was taking his morning draught in the kitchen

, ,

the mode in which he had cuitled up the daft young English “

squire ”
.

A greeable to appointment, I went next to Bailie N icol Jarvie s

’
,

where a comfortable morning s repast was arranged in the parlour ’

,

which served as an apartment of all hours and almost all work to , ,

that honest gentleman The bustling and benevolent magistrate .

had been as good as his word I found my friend Owen at l iberty .

,

and conscious of the refreshments and purificat i on of brush an d

,

basin was of course a very di fferent person from Owen a prisoner

, ,

squalid heart-broken and hopeles s Yet the sense of pecuniary

, , .

di fficulties arising beh ind before and around him had depressed , , ,

his sp irit and the alm ost paternal embrace which the good man
,

gave me was embittered by a sigh of the deepest anxiety A n d

, .

when he sate down the heaviness in his eye an d manner so differ

, ,

ent from the quiet composed satisfaction which they usuall y e xhi
bited indicated that he was employing his arithmetic in mentally
,

numbering up the days the hours the minutes which yet remained , , ,

as an i nte rval between the dishonour of bills and the downfall of

the great commercial establishment of Osb aldi sto n e and Tresham .

It was left to me therefore to do honour to our landlord s ho spit ’

able cheer—to his tea right from China which he got in a present
, ,

, ,

from some eminent ship s -husband at Wapping—to his coffee, from ’

a snug plantation of h is own as he informed us with a wink called , ,

Salt-mark e t Grove i n the i sland of Jamaica—to his English toast

,
23 6 ROB ROY .

ye ken B ut I hae nae time for clavering about him e en n o w, b e

.
’

” ’
cause we maun look into you father s concerns w i a peed
S
’ ’
.

S o sayi ng he put on his spectacles and sate down to examine

, ,

Mr O wen s states which the other thought it most pr uden t to

.
’
,

communicate to him without reserve I knew enough of business .

to be aware that nothing could be more acute and sagacio u s than

the views which Mr j arvie entertained of the matters submitted
.

to his examination and to do him justice it was marked by muc h

, , ,

fairness and even liberality H e scratched his ear indeed repeate dly .
,

on observing the balance which stood at the debit of Osb aldisto n e '

an d Tresham in account with himself p e rs o n all yl

It may be a dead loss ” he observed and conscience what ,
“
,

e er ane 0 your Lombard Street goldsmiths may say to it it s a snell

’ ’ ’

ane in the Saut-Market 0 Glasgow It will be a heavy de fic it—a

,
’

staff out 0 my bicker I trow But what then —I trust the house
.

’
.
,

wunna coup the crans for a that s come and gang: yet and if it does ’ ’
,

I ll never bear sae base a mind as thae corbies in the Gallo wgate
’

a n I am to lose by ye I se ne er deny I hae won by ye mony a fair

’ ’

—
,

p u n d sterling Sae an it come to the warst I se e en lay the head

, ,
’ ’

”
0 the sow to the tail 0
’
th e g rice
“
’
.

I did not altogether understand the proverbial arrangement with

which Mr j arvie consoled himself, but I could easily see that he
.

took a kind and friendly interest in the arrangement of my father s ’

affairs suggest ed several expedients approved several plans pro

, ,

posed by Owen and by his countenance and counsel greatly abated

, ,

the gloom upon the bro w o f that a ffl icted delegate of my father s ’

establishment .

A s I was an idle spectator on this occasion and perhaps as I , , ,

showed some inclination more than once to return to the prohibited ,

and apparently the puzzling subject of M r Campbell M r j arvie

, , .
, .

dismissed me with little formality with an advice to gang up the ,

gate to the college where I wad find some chields could s peak ,

Greek and Latin weel —at least they got ple nty o siller fo r doing ,
’

deil haet else if they didna do that ; and where I might read a
,

spell o the worthy Mr ! achary B oyd s translation 0 the S crip

’ ’ ’

tures—better poetry need nane to be as he had been tell d by them

.
.

’
,

that ken d or suld hae ken d about sic things ” But he seasoned
’
,
’
, .

this dismission with a kind and hospi tabl e invitation “ to come back
and take part 0 his family-chack at ane p re c e e sely—there wad be
,
’
,

a leg 0 mutton and it might be a tup s head for they were in

’
, ,
’
,

season but above all I was to return at ane o clock pre ce es ely ’

—it was the hour he and the deacon his father aye dined at—they
, ,

p a t it aff far naething nor for naebody ”

.
 ROB ROY . 3 37

C H A P TE R
X XV .

S o stands the Thracian herdsman with his spear

Full in the gap and hopes the hunted bear
,

A n d hears him in the rustling wood and sees ,

H is course at distance by the bending trees,

A n d th inks—Here comes my mortal enemy,
An d either he must fal l in fight or I , .

P a lamc mand A w i fe .

I TOOK the route towards the college as recommended by Mr , .

Jarvie , less with the intention of seeking fo r any object of in terest

or amusemen t than to arrange my own ideas, and meditate on my
,

future conduct I wandered from one quadrangle of old-fashioned

.

buildings to another an d from thence to the Co ll ege-yards , or

,

walking ground where pleased with the s oli tude of the pla ce, most
, ,

of the students being engaged in their classes , I took seve ral t urn s,
pondering on th e waywardness of my own destiny .

I could not doubt, from the circumstances attending my first

meeting with this person Campbell that he was engaged in some
, .

strangely desperate courses ; and the reluctance with which Mr

j arvie alluded to his person or pursuits as well as all the scene of ,

the preceding night tended to confi rm these suspicions Yet to

, .

this man Diana Vernon had not it would seem, hesitated to ,

address herself in my behalf ; and the conduct of the magistrate

himself towards him showed an odd mixt ure of kindness , an d
even respect with pity and censure S omething there must be
, .

uncommon in Campbe ll s situ ation and character ; and what was

’

still more extraordinary it seemed that his fate was doomed to

,

have influence over and connection with my own

, I resolved to .

bring M r Jarvie to close quarters on the first pre per opport unity,
.

an d learn as much as was possible on the subject of this myste

ri o u s person in order t hat I m ight judge whether it was possible
,

fo r me, without prejudice to my reputation to hold that degree of ,

farther correspondence wi th him to which he s eemed to invite

, .

While I was musing on these subjects my attention was attracted ,

by three persons who appe ared at the upper end of the wal k through
which I was saunteri ng seemingly en gaged in very earnest conver
,

sation That intuitive impression which announces to u s the

.

approach of whomsoever we love or hate with intense vehemence ,

long before a more i ndifferent eye can recognise their persons ,

flashed upon my mind the sure convict ion that the midmost of
these three men was Ra shle igh Osb aldis to n e To address him .

was my first im pulse m y second was , to watch him until he was

23 8 ROB ROY .

al one, or at l east reconnoitre his companions before con fronting him .

The part y was still at such distan ce and engaged in such deep ,

disc ourse, that I had time to step unobserved to th e other side

of a smal l hedge, whi ch imperfectly screened the alley in which I
was walk ing .

It was at this period the fashion of the young and gay to wear ,

in their morning wal ks a scarlet cloak often laced and embroidered

, , ,

above their other dress, and it was the trick of the time for gallants
occasionall y to dispose it so as to muffle a part of the face The .

imitating this fashion with the degree of shelter which I re

,

c e ive d from the hedge enabled me to meet my cousin , unobserved

,

by him or the others , except perhaps as a passing stranger I was .

not a littl e startled at recognisi ng in his companions that very

M orris on whose account I had been summoned before Justice
Inglewood, and Mr M acV ittie the merchant, from whose starched
.

and severe as pect I had recoiled on the preceding day .

A more ominous conjunction to my o wn affai rs, and th ose of my

father, could sc arce ha ve been formed I remembered Morris s .
’

false accusation against me which he might be as easily indu ced

,

to renew as he had been intimida ted to withdraw Irec o lle c te d the

inauspicious influence of M a c V itt ie over my father’ s affairs testified ,

by the imprisonment of Owen and I now saw both these men

combin ed with one whose t al ents fo r mischief I deemed little
,

inferio r to those of the gr eat au thor of all ill, and my abhorrence

of whom almost amounted to dread .

When they ha d passed me fo r some pace s , I turn ed and follo wed

them un observed A t th e end of the wal k they separated Morris
.
,

and M ac V ittie leaving the ga rdens and R as hl e igh returning al one

,

throu gh th e walks I was now determined to confront him and

.
,

dem an d reparation fo r the injuries he had done my fa ther, though

in wha t form redress was likely to b e rendere d remai ned to be
'

known This, however; I trusted to chance ; and , flingi ng back

.

th e cloak in whi ch I wa s mu ffled I p assed through a gap of the

,

l o w hedge, and presented myself before Rashle igh as in a deep

'

, ,
reverie he paced down the avenue
, .

R as hl e igh wa s no man to be surprised or thrown o ff his guard

by sudden occurrences Yet he did not fi n d me thus close to him,
.

we aring undoubte dly in my face the marks of that indignation

which was gl owi n g in my bosom with out visibly starting at an
,

appari ti on so sudden an d so menacin g .

Yo u are well met , sir,” was my commencemen t ; I was about

to take a long and doubtful journey in quest of you ” .

You know littl e of him you sought, then,” re pl ied Rashle igh,
with his usual undaunted c omposure I am e asily found b y my
.
2 49 R OB ROY .

answer ; “ less hazardous for yo u, and more suitabl e to my present

character and former education But I see you will draw on your
.

self the personal chas tisement your boyish insolence so well merits .

Fo ll ow me to a m ore remote spot where we are less li kely to be ,

interrupted ”
.

I foll owed him accordingly k eeping a s trict e ye on his motions,

,

for I b eli e ved him capable of the very worst actions We reached .

an open spot in a sort of wilderness laid out in th e Dutch taste

.
, ,

with c li pped edges and one or two statues I was on my g uard,

,
.

an d it was well with me that I was so fo r Ra shl eigh s sword was

’

out and at my breast ere I could throw down my cloak, or get my

weapon unsheathed, so that I onl y saved my life by sprin gi ng a
pace or two backwards H e had some advan tage in the difference
.

of our weapons fo r his sword as I recoll ect was longer than m ine,
, ,

and had one of those bayonet or th ree-c o m ere d b lades which are
now generally worn ; whereas m ine was what we then call ed a
—
S axon blade n arrow flat an d two-edged and s carcely so manage
, , ,

able as that o f my enemy In other respects we were pretty

.

equally matched ; for what advantage I m ight possess in superior

address and agility, was fully counter-balanced by Rashleigh’s
great strength and coolness H e fought indeed, more like a fiend
than a man—with concentrated spite and desire o f b l ood, only
.
,
'

allayed by that cool consideration which made his worst a ctions

appear yet worse from the air of deliberate premeditation which
seemed to accompany them H is obvious malignity of purpose
.

never for a moment threw him o ff his guard, and he exhausted

every feint and stratagem proper to the sc i en ce of defence whil e,
at the same time, he meditated the most desperate cata strophe to
o ur rencounter.

On my part, the combat was at first sustained with m ore modera

tion My passions, though hasty were no t m alevolen t and the
.
,

walk of two or three mi nutes space gave me time to reflect that

’

Ras hl e igh was my father s nephew , the son of an un cl e , who after

’

his fashion, had been kind to me and that his falling by my han d
,

coul d not but occasion much fam ily distress My first resolution, .

therefore, was to attempt to disarm my antagonist ; a m an ce uvre in

which, co n fidin g in my superiori ty of skill and practice, I antici
pated l ittl e difficulty I found however I had met my match ;
.
, ,

and one or two foils wh ich I received, and from the consequen ces
of which I n arro wly escaped obliged m e to observe more caution
,

in my mode of fighting By degrees I became exasperated at the

.

rancour with w hi ch R ashle igh sought my l i fe and returned his ,

passes with an inveteracy resembling in some degree his own ; so

that the combat had all the appearanc e of being destined to hav e
 ROB ROY . 24:

a tragic issue That issue had nearly taken place at my expense

. .

My foot slipped in a full lounge which I made at my adversary and ,

I could not so far recover myself as completely to parry the thrust

with which my pass was repaid Yet it took but partial e ffect .
,

running through my waistcoat grazing my ribs and passing , ,

through my coat behind The hilt of R as hl e igh s sword so great

.
’
,

was the vigour of his thrust struck against my breast with such ,

force as to give me great pain and confirm me in the momentary ,

b eli ef that I was mortally wounded Eager for revenge l grappled .

,

with my enemy sei zing with my left hand the hilt of his s word
, ,

and shortening my own with the purpose of running him through

t h e body . Our death-grapple was interrupted by a man who
f orcibly threw h imself between us and pushing us separate from ,

each other exclaimed in a loud and commanding voice What

, , ,

the sons of those fathers who sucked the same breast shedd ing
each other s bluid as it were strangers —B y the hand of my father
’ ’
,

I will cleave to the brisket the first man that mints another stroke
I looked up in astonishment Th e speaker was no other than .

Campbell H e had a basket-hilted broadsword drawn in hi s hand

.
,

wh i ch he made to whistle around his head as he spoke as if for the ,

purpose of enforcing his mediation Rashle igh and I stared in .

silence at this unexpected intruder who proceeded to exhort us ,

alternately D o you M a i ster Francis opine that ye w ill re

, ,

establish your fathe r s credit by cutt ing your kinsman s thrapple

’
,
’
,

or getting your a in sn e c kit instead thereof in the College -yards o f

Glasgow — Or do you Mr R a shle igh think men will trust their
,
.
,

l i ves an d fortunes wi ane that w hen in point of trust and i n point

’
, ,

of confidence w i a great polit i cal interest gangs about brawling

’
,

like a drunken g illie — N ay never look gash or grim at me man—i f , ,

ye re angry ye ken how to turn the buckle 0 your belt behind you
’
,
” ’
.

“
You presume on my present situation ” replied R a shle igh o r , ,
“

you would have hardly dared to interfere where my honour is c o n

ce rned ”
H out ! tout ! tout l—Presume — An d what for should it be
.

presuming —Ye may be the r i cher man M r Osb aldis to n e as is , .

,

m aist likely and ye may be the mair learned man wh i lk I d i spute

. ,

not : but I reckon ye are ne ither a prettier man nor a better gentle
man than mysell— and it w ill be news to me when I hear ye are as
g ude
. A n d da re too — Muckle dar i ng there s about i t —I trow ’
,

here I stand that hae slashed as h o t a haggi s as ony o the twa o

,
’ ’

ye and thought nae muckle 0 my morn i ng s wark when it was

’ ’
,

dune If my foot were on the heather as it s on the causeway or

.
’
,

this pickl e gravel,that s little better I hae been waur mistrysted

’
,

than if I were set to gie ye baith your ser ing o t ” ’ ’

.
 2 43 ROB ROY .

R ashle igh had by this time recovered his temper completely .

My kinsman ” he said will acknowledge he forced this quarrel

, ,

on me It was none of my seeking I am glad we are i nterrupted

. .

”
before I chastised h is forwardness more severely .

A re ye hurt lad ? inquired Campbell of me with some appear

”
, ,

a nce of intere st .

“
A ver y sl ight scratch ”
I answered which my kind c o us m , ,
“

”
would not long have boasted of had not you come between us .

”
In troth and that s true Maister Ra shle igh said Campbell :
“
,
’
, ,

for the cauld iron and your best bluid were l ike to hae become
acquaint when I mastered Mr F rank s right hand But never look ’

like a sow playing upon a tru mp for the lu ve 0 that man—come

. .

’
,

and walk w i me I hae news to tell ye and ye ll cool and come to

’
.
,
’

yo urse ll l i ke M a c G ib b o n s crowdy when he set it out at the window

’
, ,

bole ” .

Pardon me sir sai d I Your intentions have seemed friendly

, , .

to me on more occas i ons than one but I must not and will not , ,

qu it s ight of this person unt il he yi elds up to me those means of ,

doing justice to my father s engagements of wh i ch he h as treacher ’

,
”
o u sly possessed himself .

Ye re daft man replied Campbell

’ ”
,
it w ill serve ye naething
,

to follow us e eno w ye hae just eno w 0 a e man wad ye bring twa

’ ’
,

on your head and might bide quiet ? ” ,

“
Twenty I repl i ed ,
if it be necessary ,
“
.

I la i d my hand on R ashle igh s collar who m ade no resistance ’

, ,

but sa id with a sort of scornful sm ile You hear him M a c Grego r !

he rushes on his fate—will it be my fault if he falls into it The
, , ,
-

warrants are by this time ready and all is prepared ” , .

Th e S cotchman was obvious ly embarrassed H e looked around ,

and before and behind him and then said

, Th e ne er a bit will ,
’

Iyield my consen t to his being ill -guided for standing up for the ,

father that got him —and I gie God s mal i son and mine to a so rt ’ ’

0 magistrates justices ba ili es sheriffs sheri ff-o ffi c e rs con stables

’

and sic —
, , , , , ,

l ike black cattle that hae been the p lagu e s o puir auld ’

S cotland thi s hunder year —it was a merry w arld when every man
, .

h eld his ain gear w i his ain grip and when the count ry s ide wasna
’
,
’
fashed w i warran ts and poindings and apprizings and a that ,
’

cheatry craft A n d ance mair I say it my cons c i ence winna see

.
,

this pu i r thoughtless lad ill-guided and especially w i that sort 0 ,

’ ’

trade I wad rather ye fell t ill t again and fought it out like douce
.
’
,

honest men ”
.

Your conscience M ac Gregor said R a shle igh ; you forget

,

how long you and I have known each other ” .

”
“
Yes , my conscience reiterated Campbell or M ac Gregor or , , ,
3 44 ROB R OY .

events which had befallen me My first care was to adjust my .

dress and re -assume my cloak disposing it so as to conce al the,

blood which flowed down my right side I had s carcely acco m .

plishe d this , when the classes of the College being dismissed , the
,

garden s began to be filled with parties of the students I there fore .

left them as soon as possible ; an d in my way towards Mr j arvie s, .

’

whose d inner hour was now approaching I stopped at a smal l un ,

pretending shop the sign of which intimate d the indweller to be

,

Christopher N ielson surgeon and apothecary I requested of a

,
.

little boy who was pounding some stuff in a mortar that he would ,

procure me an aud ience of th is learn ed pharmacopoli st H e open ed .

th e door of the back-Sh e p’ where I found a l i vely elderly m an , wh o

shook his head i n c redu lo u slly at some idl e account I gave him of
having been wounded accidentally by the button breaking o ff my
ant agonist s foil while I was enga ged in a fencin g match When
‘
’
.

he had applied some l int and somewhat else he thought proper to

the trifling wound I had received he observe d, There n ever was
button on the foil that made this hurt Ah young blood young
,
—
blood - But we surgeons are a secret generation—If it weren a for
.

'

hot bl ood and il l blood what would become of the twa learned
,

faculties
With which moral reflection he dismissed me an dIexperienced
very little pain or inconvenience afterwards from the scratch I had
received .

C H A P TE R X X VI .

A n iron race th e mountain -clifi s maintain,

'

Foes-to the gentler genius of the pla in .

x r is

Who, while their rocky ramparts round they

Th e rough abode of want and l iberty ,
A s lawless force from confidence will grow ,
Insult th e plenty of the vales bel ow .

WH AT made ye sae la te ? ” said M r j arvie as I entered the .

,

dining-parlour of that hones t gentleman ; it is chapp it an e the “

best feck 0 fi ve m inutes b y-gane Mattie has been twice at the

’
.

’
door wi the dinner and weel fo r you it was a tup s head, fo r that
,
’

c anna suffer by delay A sheep s head ower muckle boiled is ran k ’

poison , as my worthy father used to say—he likit the lug o ane

.

weel , honest man ” .

I ma de a suitabl e apology for my breach of punctual ity, an d was

 ROB ROY . 2 45

s oon seated at table, where Mr j arvie presided w ith g re at glee and .

hospitality compelling however Owen and myself to do rather

, , ,

more justice to the Scottish dainties with which his board was
charged than was qu ite agreeable to our so uthern palates I escaped
,
.

pretty well fro m having those habits of society which enable one to
,

elu de t hi s species of well -meant persecution But it was ridiculous .

e n ough to see Owen whose ideas of politeness were more rigorous

,

an d formal and who was willing in all acts of lawful compliance

, , ,

to evin ce his respect for the friend of the firm eat ing with rueful , ,

c o m plaisance mouthful after mouthful of singed wool and pro

, ,

n o u n c in
g it excellent in a tone in which disgust almost overpowered
,

civility
.

When the cloth was removed Mr j arvie compounded with h is , .

own hands a very small bowl of brandy-punch , the first which

,

I had ever the fortune to see .

The limes ” he assured us were from his o wn little farm yonder

, ,

awa ( indicat ing the West Indies with a knowing shrug of h is

shoulders) and he had learned the a rt of compos ing the liquor
,
“

from auld Captain C o ffi n k ey who ac quired it ” he added in a , ,

wh i sper as maist folk thought among the Buccaniers But it s

,
“
,
.
’

excellent liquor sa i d he helping us round ; and good ware has

”
, ,
“

aften come frae a wicked market A n d as for Captain C o ffin key . ,

he was a decent man when I kent him only he used to swear ,

awfully— But he s dead and gaen to his account and I trust he s

’
, ,
’

accepted— I trust he s accepted ” ’

.

We found the liquor exceedingly palatable and it led to a long ,

conversat i on between Owen and our host on the Opening which the
Un i on had afforded to trade between Glasgow and the Briti sh
colonies in A merica and the West Indies and on the facilities ,

whi ch Glasgo w possessed of making up s orta ble cargoes for that

market Mr j arvie answered some obj ection wh i ch Owen made
. .

on the difficulty of sorting a cargo for A merica without buying ,

from England with vehemence and volubility

Na na s ir we stand on our a im bottom—we pickle in our ain
, .

, , ,

pock-neuk—W e hae our Stirl ing serges M usselburgh s tu fl s A ber

_ ,
’

deen hose Edi nburgh shalloons and the like for our woollen or
, , ,

worsted goods— and we hae l inens of a kinds better and cheaper ’

than yo u hae in Lunnon its ell—and we can buy your north 0 ’

England wares as M anchester wares Sh effield wares and N ew

, , ,

cast le earthen-ware as cheap as you can at L i verpool—A nd we are

,

makin g a fair spell at cottons and musli ns — N a na ! let every ,

herring hing by it s ain head and every sheep by its ain shank and , ,

ye ll find sir us Glasgow folk no sae far ah int but what we may
’

follow —Thi s is b ut poor enterta inment for yo u M r Osb aldist o n e ”

, ,

.
, .
,
246
-
ROB ROY .

( ob s ervmg that I had been for some time silent

“
but ye ken
ca dgers maun aye be speak ing about cart saddles ” - .

I apologized a ll eging the pain ful circumstances of my own situa

,

tion, and the s ingular adventures of the morning as the ca uses of ,

m y abstraction and absence o f mind In this m anner I gained

w hat I sought—
.

an op ortunity of tell ing my story distinctly and

p
w ithout interruption I only omi tted mentioning the wound I had
.

rec eived, which I did not thi nk worthy of notice Mr Jarvie . .

listen ed with great attenti on and apparent interest , twinkling his

li ttle grey eyes ta kin g snuff and only interrupting me by brief i n
, ,

t erj e c tio n s W hen I came to the account of the rencounter, at

.

which Owen folded his hands and cast up his eyes to H eaven the ,

very image of woful surprise Mr Jarvie broke in upon the n arra

tion with Wrang now—
,
.

clean wrang—to draw a sword on your

kinsman is inhibited by the la ws 0 God and man and to draw ’
.

a sword on the streets of a royal burgh is punishable by fin e and

imprisonment—and the College -yards are nae better privileged
they should be a place of peace and quietness I trow The College , .

didna get gude £60 0 a year out o bishops rents ( sorrow fa the ’ ’ '

brood o bishops and their rents too nor yet a lease 0 the Arch
’ ’

bishoprick 0 Glasgow the sell o t that they suld let folk tuilz ie in
’ ’

their yards , or the wild callants bicker there wi snaw—

,

b a s as they
’ ’

whiles do that when Mattie and Lgae through, we are fain to make
,

a baik and a b ow or run the risk 0 our harns being knocked out ’

i t suld be looked to * But come awa w i your tale —

,

what fe ll
’ ’
.

nei st
On my menti oning th e ap pearance of Mr Campb e ll j arvi e arose .
,

in great surpris e, and p aced the room exclai m ing, R obin again
- R obert s mad —c lean wud and w aur —R o b will be h anged and
,
' ’
,

di sgrace a his ki ndred and that w ill be seen and heard tell o’ My
’
,

fat her the de acon wrought hi m his first h o se—0 d, I am think ing
.

D ea con Threeplie, the rape spinner will be twisting his last cravat -

A y, ay, p uir Robi n is in a fair way 0 being hang ed—

, .

But come ’

a w a
’ — r —
co ne awa let s hea r th e lave o t ”
’ ’ ’
.

I told the whole story as pointedly as I could ; but Mr j arvie .

still fou nd som ething la ck ing to m ake it c lear until I went back , ,

though with cons iderable reluctance on the whole story of Morris , ,

and of my meeting wi th Campbell at the house of Justice I n gle

wood M r Jarvie inclined a serious ear to all this , and remained
. .

silent for some time after I had finished my narrative .

Upon all these matters I am n o w to ask your advice M r j arvie , , .

which, I have no doubt will point out the best way to act for my ,

fa ther s advantage and my own honour ”

’

Ye re right, young man—ye re r ight ” said the Bailie

.

“ ’ ’

, .
2 48 ROB R OY .

True,” I obse rved ; yet what service am I likely to render

him by leavin g Glasgow which it is probable w ill be the principal
, , ,

scene of Rashle igh s machinations and committing myself to the

’
,

doubtful faith of a man of whom I know little but that he fears jus
tice and has doubtless good reasons for doing so ; and that for
, ,

some secret and probably dangerous purpose he i s in close league

, ,

and alliance with the very person who i s like to be the author of
our ruin ? ”
Ah, but ye judge R o b hardly sai d the Bailie ye judge him , ,

hardly puir chield and the truth is that ye ken naething about
, ,

our hill country or H ielands as we ca them They are clean

, ,
’
.

anither set frae the like 0 huz there s nae bailie-courts amang ’ ’

them—nae magistrates that dinna bear the sword in vain like the ,

worthy deacon th at s a wa and I may say t like mysell and other

’ ’

present magistrates in thi s city—But it s just the laird s command

, , ,
’ ’
,

and the loon maun loup and the never another l aw hae they but
the len gth 0 their dirks—the broadsword s pursuer or plaintiff as
’ ’
, ,

you Englishers ca it and the target is defender the stoutest head

’

bears langest out —

,

and there s a H ieland plea for ye ” ’

.

Owen groaned deeply and I allow that the description did not
greatly increase my des ire to trust myself in a country so lawless as
he de scribed these S cottish mountains .

“
N ow sir ” said j arvie, w e speak l ittle 0 thae things because
, ,
“ ’
,

they are famil iar to o u rsells and where s the use 0 vilifying ane s ’ ’ ’

country and brin ging a d i scred it on ane s kin before southrons and
,
’
,

strangers P It s n bird that files ts ain nest

a ill ’
i
”
.

“
Well sir but as it i s no imperti n ent curiosity of mine but real
, , ,

necessity that obl iges me to make these inquiries I hope you will
, ,

not be offended at my pressing for a little farther information I .

have to deal on my fathe r? s account with several gentlemen of these

, ,

wild countries and I must trust your good sense an d experience

,

for the requisite lights upon the subject ” .

This little morsel of flattery was not thrown out in vain .

Experience ! ” said the Bailie I hae had experience nae doubt , , ,

and I hae made some calcul ations—A y and to speak quietly amang ,

o urs e l ls I hae made some perquisitions through A ndrew W lie my

, y ,

auld clerk he s w i M a c V itt ie and Co now—but h e while s drinks

’
’

’
.

a gill on the Saturday a fternoons w i his auld master A n d since ’

.

ye say ye are will ing to be guided by the Glasgow weaver-body s ’

advice , I am no the man that w ill refuse it to the son of an auld

correspondent and my father the deacon wa s nane s ic afore me
, .

I have whiles thought 0 lett ing my l igh ts burn before the D uke of
’

A rgyle or his brother Lord Ilay ( for wherefore should they be

,

hidden under a bushel ?) but the like 0 thae grit men wadn a m ind ’
 ROB ROY . 2 49

the like 0 ’
me , a puir wabster body—they think mair o wha says a ’

thing than 0 what the thing is that s sai d The m air s the p ity
,
’ ’
.
’

m air s the pity

’
N ot that I wad S peak ony ill of th i s Mac c allum
.

M ore Curse not the rich in your bedchamber saith the s on of ,

’

Si rach for a bird of the air shall carry the clatter, and pint-stoups
,

hae lang lugs ”

.

I interrupted these prolegomena in which Mr j arvie was apt to , .

be somewhat difi us e , by praying him to rely upon Mr Owen and

'

myself as perfectly secret and safe c o n fida n ts

It s no for that ” he replied for I fear nae man —what for suld
.

I?—I speak nae treason— Only thae H ie lan dm e n hae lan g grips
, ,
‘

an d I whiles gang a wee hit up the glens to see some auld kinsfolks ,

and I wadna willingly be in bad blude w i ony 0 their clans How ’ ’

s u m e ver to proceed—
.

Ye maun understand I found my remarks on

,

figures whilk as Mr Owen here weel kens is the only true demon
, , .
,

strahle root of human knowledge .

”

Owen readily assented to a proposition so much in his own way ,

a n d our orator proceeded .

These H ielands of ours as we ca them gentlemen are but a ’

, , ,

w ild kind of w arld by th e m s e lls full of he ights and howes woods , , ,

caverns lochs rivers and mountai ns that it wad t ire the very
, , , ,

de e vil s wings to flee to the tap 0 the m A n d in th i s country and

’ ’
.
,

i n the isles wh i lk are l ittle better or to speak the truth rather

, , , ,

waur than the mainland there are about twa hunder and th irty ,

parochines including the Orkn eys wh ere Wh e th er they speak Gael i c

or no I w o tn a but they are an uncivilized peopl e —N ow sirs I sal l
, , ,

, , ,

haud ilk parochine at the moderate esti mate of e ight hunder

e xa m in ab fe persons deduct ing children under nine years of age , ,

and then adding one -fifth to stand for bairns of nine years auld
and under the whole population wi ll reach to the sum o f—let u s
,

add one -fifth to 80 0 to be the multipl ier and 2 3 0 being the multi ,
”
plic an d
“
Th e product said M r Owen who entered delightedly into, .
,

these stat i stics of Mr j arvi e w ill be .

,

R ight s i r—perfectly ri ght

, and the military array of thi s
H ieland country were a the men-folk between a u gh te e n and fifty
,
’

six brought out that could bear arms couldna come weel short of ,

fi fty seven thousand five hundred men

-
N ow sir it s a sad and .
, ,
’

awfu t ruth that there is neither wark nor the very fashion nor
’
, ,

appearance of wark for the tae half of thae puir creatures that i s ,

to say that the agriculture the pasturage the fisheries and

, , , ,

every species of honest industry about the country cannot em ,

ploy the one mo iety o f the population let them work as lazily ,

as they like and they do work as if a pleugh or a spade burnt

,
2 5°
R OB ROY .

thei r fingers A weel sir this moiety of unemployed bodies

.
, ,

amounting to ”
“
To one hundred and fifteen thousand souls said Owen be i ng , ,
”
the half of the above product
Ye hae t Maister Owen—ye hae t—whereof there may be
.

“ ’ ’
,
twenty eight thousand seven hundred able bodied gillies fit to bear
- -

arms and that do bear arms and will touch or look at nae honest ,

means of livelihood even if they could get it—which lack-a-day !

,

they can not .

”

B ut is it possible ” said I Mr Jarvie that this can be a just

, ,
.
,

picture of so large a portion of the i sland of Britain

“
Sir I ll make it as plain as Peter P asley s pike staffl— I will
,
’
,
’ -

allo w that ilk parochine on an average employs fifty pleughs , , ,

whilk is a great proportion in sic miserable soil as thae creatures

hae to labour and that there may be pasture eneugh for pleugh
,

horses and owsen and forty or fifty cows ; now to take care 0 the
, , ,
’

pleughs an d cattle we se allow seventy-fi ve families of six lives in

,
’

i lk family and we se add fifty mair to make even numbers and ye

,
’
,

hae five hundred souls the tae half 0 the population employed,
’
,

and maintained in a sort 0 fa s hion wi some chance of sour-milk ’

,
’

and crowdie but I wad be glad to ken what the other five hunder
a re t o do ?
”

”
“
In the n ame of God i said I “ what do they do Mr j arvie ? , ,
.

”
It makes me shudder to think of their situation .

S ir
- ”
replied the Bailie ye wad maybe shudder mair if ye were “

l ivin g near—
, ,

hand them For admitting that the tae half of them

.
,

may make s ome little thing for them se lls honestly in the Lowlands
by shearing in harst drov ing hay-making and the like ; ye hae
still mony hundreds and thousands o lang—
, , ,

legged H ieland gillies ’

that will neither work nor want and maun gang thigging and ,
”
s o m in g about on their acquaintance or live by doing t he laird s
‘ ’
,

bidding be t right or be t wrang A n d mair especi ally mony hun

,
’ ’
.
,

dreds o them come down to the borders of the lo w country where

’
,

there s gear to grip and live by stealing reiving li fting cows and
’
, , , ,

the like depredations A thing deplorable in ony Christian country

—the mair especiall y that they take pride in it and reckon driving
.

, ,

a spreagh (whilk is in plain S cotch stealing a herd of n o wte) a

, ,

gallant manly action and mair befitting of pretty * men ( as sic

, ,

reivers will ca th em s ells) than to win a day s wage by ony honest

’ ’

thrift A n d the la i rds are as bad as the loons for if they di nna bid
.

them gae reive and harry the deil a bit they forbid them ; and they ,

shelter them or let them shelter th e m sells in their woods and

, , ,

mountains and strongholds whenever the thing s dune A n d every

, ,
’
.

ane o them will maintain as mony 0 his ane name or his clan as
’ ’
, ,
2 52 ROB ROY .

Shamefu l sham efu ’ ’ —I am a

p e ac e fu man and a magistrate b ut
’ “

if ony ane had gui ded sae muckle as my servant q uean Mattie as
.
, ,

it s like they guided R ob s wi fe I think it suld hae set the shabble

’ ’
,

( cutlass ) that my father the deacon had at Bothwell brig a -walking

again Weel R o b cam hame an d fand desolation God pity us 1

.
, , ,
-

where he left plenty he looked east west south north and saw , , , ,

neither hauld nor hope—ne ither beild nor shelter ; sae he e en pu d ’ ’

the bonnet ower his brow belted the broadsword to his si de took , ,

to the brae-side and became a broken-man (outlaw) ,

.

The voice of the good c i tizen w a s b ro k e n by h i s contending feel ,

i n gs He obvi ously while he professed to contem n the pedigree

.
,

of his H ighland k insman attached a secret feeling of consequence ,

to the connexion and he spoke of his friend in his prosperity with

,

an overflow of affection which deepened his sympathy for his mis ,

fortunes and his regret for their consequences

,
.

Thus tempted and urged by despair ” said I seeing Mr Jarvie

, , , .

did not proceed in his n arrative I suppose your kinsman became ,

“

one of those depredators you have described to us

N 0 sae bad as that ” said the Glaswegian — no a thegithe r , ,
“ ’

and o u t ric ht sae bad as that ; but he became a levier of bla ck

mail wider and farther than ever it was raised in our day a
, ,
’

through the Lennox and Menteith, and up to the gates o Stirling ’

Castle .

Black-mail — I do not understand the phrase ” I remarked , .

Ou ye see R o b soon gathered an unco band 0 blue -bonnets

, ,
’

at his back for he comes o a rough name when he s kent by his

,
’ ’

ain and a name that s held its aim for mony a lang year, baith
,
’

again king and parliament and kirk too for aught I ken—an auld , ,

a n d honourable name for as sair as it has been worried and

My mother was a M a c Grego r—I
,

h adden down and oppressed

carena wha kens it—A n d R o b had soon a gallant band ; and as it
.

gr ieved him ( he said ) to see sic I t e m /l i o and waste and depreda l

t i on to the south 0 the H ieland line why if ony heritor or farmer

’
, ,

wad pay him four pu n ds Scots out of each hundred p un ds of valued

rent whilk was doubtless a moderate cons ideration R o b engaged
to keep them scaithless —let the m send to him if they lost sae
, ,

muckle as a single cloot by thievi ng and R o b engaged to get

them again or pay the value —and h e aye keepit his word —I
,

canna deny but he keepit his word—a m e n allo w R o b keeps his ’

word ”
.

This is a very s ingular contract of assurance said Mr O wen , . .

It s clean aga i n our statute law that must be owned ” said

’
, ,

arvie clean aga i n law— the levying and the paying black-ma il
j , ,

are baith punishable : b u t if the law c anna protect my barn an d

 ROB ROY .

byre wh atfo r suld I no e n gage wi a H ieland gentleman that can ? ’

—answer me that
,

“
But ” said I “ Mr Jarvie i s this contract of black-mail as
, ,
.
, ,

you call it completely voluntary on the part of the landlord or

,

farmer who pays the insurance ? or what usually happens, in case

any one re fuses payment of this tribute ? ”
A h a lad sa id the Bailie laughing and putting his finger
, , ,

to his nose ye think ye hae me there Troth I wad advise ony

,
.
,

friends 0 mine to gree w i Ro b for watch as they l ike and do

’ ’
, ,

what they l ike they are sair apt to be harried (plund ered) when the
,

lang nichts come on Some 0 the Grahame and Cohoon gentry ’

stood out ; but what then —they lost their h aill stock the first
.

w inter ; sae maist folks now think it best to come into R ob s terms
’
.

H e s easy w i a body that will be easy wi him ; but if ye thraw

’ ’ ’ ’

h im ye had better thraw the de e vil ”

,
.

A n d by his exploits in these vocations I continued I , ,

“

suppose he has rendered himself amenable to the laws of the

country
A menable — ye may say that ; his craig wad ken the weight
“

0 h i s hurdies if they could get haud 0 R o b But he has gude

’ ’
.

friends amang the gri t folks and I could tell ye 0 a e grit family ’

that keeps h im up as far as they decently can to be a thorn in the ,

s ide of another A n d then h e s s ic an auld farran lang-headed

.
’
-

chield as never took up the trade 0 cateran in our time mony a ’

daft reik he has played —mair than would fill a book and a queer ,

ane it wad b e —as gude as R obin H ood or William Wall ace—a '
’

fu o venturesome deeds and escapes s ic as folk tell ower at a

’ ’
,

winter-ingle in the daft days It s a queer th ing 0 me gentlemen .

’ ’
, ,

that am a man 0 peace mysell and a p e ac efu man s son for the
’ ’ ’

deacon my father quarrelled wi nane out o the town-council—it s

, ,
’ ’ ’

a queer thing I say but I think the H ieland blude 0 me warms

, ,
’

a t thae daft tales and whiles I like better to hear them than a
word 0 profit gude forgie me l—B ut they are vanities —sinfu
,
’ ‘ ’
,

vanities —and moreover again the statute law—; again the statute
, ,

and gospel law ” .

I now followed up my investigation by inquiring what means of ,

i nfluence this Mr R obert Campbell could poss ibly possess over .

m y affairs or those of my father,

.

”
Why ye are to understand said M r Jarvie in a very subdued
tone — I speak amang friends , and under the rose —Y e are to
.
, , ,
“

u nderstand that the H i elands hae been keepit q uiet since the year

au gh ty-nine—that was K illi c ra n k ie year

,

But how hae they been .

keep it quiet, think ye ? By siller Mr O w en—b y siller Mr , .

, .

Osb aldisto n e K ing William c aused Breadalbane distrib ute twenty

.
2 54 ROB ROY .

thousand gu de p un ds sterling amang them and it 5 said the auld ,

’

H ieland Earl keepit a lang lug o t in his ai n sporran A n d then ’

.

Queen A nne that s dead gae the chiefs b its 0 pensions sae they
’ ’
, , ,

had wherewith to support their gillies and caterans that work nae
wark as I said afore and t hey lay by quiet eneugh saving some
, ,

s preagh e ri e on the Lowlands whilk is their use and w ont and ,

,

some cutt ing o thrapples am ang th em sell s that nae civilized body
’

kens or cares o n yth in g anent —Weel but there s a new w arld come
,
’
.
,

up w i thi s King G e o1 ge ( I say God bless h im for ane)—there s

’
,
’

neither like to be siller nor pensions gaun amang them they

haena the means 0 m ain te e n in g the clans that eat them up, as ye
’

may guess frae what I said before their credit s gane in the Low ’

lands ; and a man that can wh i stle ye up a thousand or feifteen

hundred l inking lads to do h is wi ll , wad hardly get fifty pun ds on
his bond at the Cross 0 Gla sgow—This canna stand lang—there ’

w ill be an outbreak for the Stewarts —there will be an outbreak

they w ill come down on the Low Country like a flood as they did ,

in the waefu wars 0 Montrose and that will be seen and heard
’ ’
,

tell o ere a t w alm o n th gangs round

’
.

Yet st ill ” I said I do not see how this concerns Mr Camp

, ,
“
.

bell much less my father s affairs ”

,
’
.

R o b can levy five hundred men sir, a n d therefore war suld ,

c o n c ei n him as muckle as maist folk ”

replied the B ailie ; for it ,
“

is a faculty that is far less profitable in time 0 peace Then to ’

.
,

tell ye the truth I doubt he has been the prime agent betwe en
,

some 0 our H ieland chiefs and the gentlemen in the north 0 Eng
’ ’
.

land We a heard 0 the publ i c money that was taen frae the
.
’ ’

chield M orris somewh ere about the fit 0 Cheviot by R o b and ane ’

o the Osb aldisto n e lads and to tell ye the truth word gaed that
’
, ,

it was yo urs ell Mr Francis and sorry was I that yo ur father s son ' ’

suld hae taen to sic practi ces—Na ye n e e dn a s ay a word about it

.
, ,

—I see weel I was m is t ae n ; but I wad believe o n ythin g o a

,
’

stage-player whilk I concluded ye to be But now I do ub tn a, it

has been R a shl e igh him s ell or some other 0 your cousins—they
. ,

, ,
’

are a t arr d w i th e same stick—rank Jacobites and papists and

’ ’ ’
,

wad think the government siller and government papers lawful

pri z e A n d the creature M orris is sic a cowardly caitiff that t o
.
,

this hour he daurna say that it was Ro b took the portmanteau aff
him and troth he s right for your custom -house and exc i se c attle
,
’
,

are ill like t on a sides and R o b might get a back-handed lick at

’
,

him before the Board as they ca t coul d help him ”

, ,
’
, .

”
“
I have long suspected this M r Jarvie said I and perf ectly , .
, ,
“

agree with you but as to my father s af fairs

—
’

Suspecte d it —it s certain it s c e rtain— I ken the m that saw

’ ’
2
56 ROB ROY .

Jacobite p arty, an d deeply connected in their intrigues will he be

disposed for my sake or if you please for the sake of justice to , , , ,

make an act of rest itut i on which supposing it in his power , , ,

would accord ing to your view of the case materially interfere with
, ,

their plans
I canna pre c e e sely S peak to that—the grandees among them
“

are do u b tfu 0 Ro b and he s do ub tfu o them—and he s been weel

’ ’
,
’ ’ ’ ’

friended wi the A rgyle family wha stand for the present model of
’
,

government -If h e was freed 0 his hornings and captions he wad

.
’
,
’
rather be on A rgyle s side than he wad be on B rea dalb an e s for ’
,

for there s auld ill-will between the Breadalbane family and his kin
’

and name The truth is that R o b is for his ain hand as Henry
Wynd fe u ght —he ll take the side that suits him best if the deil
.
, ,
’

was lai rd R o b wad be for being tenant and ye canna blame him
, ,

puir fallow considerin g h i s circumstances But there s ae thing

,
.
’

—
sair again ye R o b has a grey mear in his stable at hame ”
.

”
A grey mare ? sa d I What is that to the p rpose
”
“
i u ? “

The wife man—the wife —an awfu wife she is

.

,
She downa ,
’
.

bide the sight 0 a kindly S cot if he come frae the Lowlands , far
’
,

less of an In glishe r and she ll be keen for a that can set up King ,
’ ’

James and ding down Ki ng George ”

,
.

It is very singular ” I replied that the mercantile transactions , ,

of London citizens should become involved with revolutions and

”
rebellions
N ot at a m an —not at
.

returned Mr Jarvie “ that s a your ’ ’

'

“ ’
.
,

silly prejudications I read whiles in the lang dark nights and I .

,

hae read in Baker s Chronicle that the merchants 0 London could ’

,
’

g a r the Bank of Genoa break their promise to advance a mighty

sum to the King of Spa in whereby the sailing of the Grand ,

S panish A rmada was put aff for a h aill year—What think you of
that sir ? ”,

That the merchants did their country golden service which

“
,

ought to be honourably remembered in our h i stories ”

.

I think sae too and they wad do weel, and deserve weel baith
o the state and o human ity that wad save three or four honest
’ ’
,

H ieland gentlemen frae louping heads ower heels into destruction ,

w i a their puir sackless * followers just because they canna pay

’ ’

back the siller they h ad reason to count upon as their ain—and save
,

our father s cred i t —an d my ain gude siller that Osb aldi sto n e and
’
y
T resham awes me into the b a rga i n —I say i f ane could manage a
’
,

this I think it suld be done and said unto him even if he were a
, ,

pu i r c a -the -shuttle body as unto one whom the king delighteth to

’
,
”
h onour .

“
I cannot pretend to estimate the extent of public gratitude,” I
 ROB R OY . 2 57

replied ; “ but our own thankfulness Mr Jarvie, would be com , .

mensurate with the extent of the obligation .

Which ” added Mr Owen , we would endeavour to balance

“
,
.
“

with a p er con tra the instant our Mr Osb aldis to n e returns from
,
.

H olland ”

I do u b tn a— I do u b tn a—h e is a very worthy gentleman and a

.

“
,

spons ible and w i some 0 my lichts might do muckle business in

,
’ ’

Scotland— Weel s ir if these assets could be redeemed out o the ’

hands 0 the Philistines they are gude paper —they are the right
, ,
’
,

stuff when they are in the right hands and that s yours Mr Owen ’

—A n d I se find ye three men in Glasgow for as little as ye may

, , . .

th ink 0 us , Mr Owen —that s Sandy Steenson in the Trade s

,
’ ’ ’
.
,

Land and John Pirie in C an dle riggs and another that sall be
, ,

nameless at this present sall advance what soums are su fficient to ,

secure the credit of vour house and seek nae better security ”
, .

Owen s eyes sparkled at this prospect of extrication ; but his

’

countenance instantly fell on recollecting how improbable it was

that the recovery of the assets as he technically called them , ,

should be successfully achieved .

D i n na despair s ir—d inna despair said M r Jarvie ; I hae

, ,
.

taen sae muckle concern w i your affairs already that it maun een ’
,

be ower shoo n ower boots wi me now I am just like my father ’

.

the deacon (pra ise be wi him ! ) I canna meddle wi th a friend s ’ ’

business but I aye end w i mak ing it my ain — Sae I ll een p it on

,
’
,
’

my boots the m o m and be j ogging ower D rymen-Mu i r wi Mr ,

’
.

F rank here ; and if I canna mak R o b hear reason and his wife ,

too I dinna ken wha can —I hae been a kind freend to them afore
,

n o w to say naething o ower-looking him last night when naming

’

his name wad hae cost him his life—I ll be heari ng 0 this in the
, ,
’ ’

council maybe frae Bailie Grahame an d M ac V itt ie and some 0 , ,

’

them They hae coost up my kindred to R o b to me already— set

.

up their nashgabs I tauld them I wad vindicate nae man s faults ; ’

but set apart what he had done again the law 0 the country and ’
,

the hership o the Lenn o x and the misfortune 0 some folk losing
’
,
’

life by h im he was an honester man than stude on ony 0 their

, ,
’

shanks —A n d wh atfo r suld I mind the ir clavers — If R o b i s an

outlaw to him s ell be it said—there is nae laws now about reset of
,

i ntercommuned persons as there was i n the ill times 0 the last

’
,

S tewarts— I trow I hae a Scotch tongue in my head—if they speak ,

I se answer
’
.

It was with great pleasure that I saw the B ailie gradually sur
mount the barriers o f caution under the united in fluence of public ,

spiri t an d good-natured interest i n our affairs together with his ,

natural wish to avoi d loss and acqu ire gain and not a little harm ,

R
 ass ROB R OY .

less vanity Through the combined operation of these motives , he

.

at lengt h arrived at the doughty resolution of taking the field in

person to aid in the recovery of my father s property H-is whol e
,
’
.

info rmation led me to beli eve tha t if the papers were in possessi on ,

of this H ighland adventurer it might be p o s sible to induce hi m to ,

'

surren d er what he could not keep wi th an yprospect of personal

advantag e and I was conscious that the presence of his kinsm an
was l ikely to have con s iderable weight with him I therefore .

cheerfully acquiesc ed in M r Jarvi e s proposal tha t w e should set .

’

out early next m ornin g .

That honest gentleman was i ndeed as vivacious and alert in

preparing to carry his purpose into executi on as he had been slow ,

and cautious in fo rming it H e roare d to Mattie to “ air his tro t .

cosy to have his jackboots greased an d set b efore the kitchen-;fire

,

all night, and to see that his beast be corned, and a his riding ,
’

”
gear in order H avin g agreed to meet him at fi ve o clock next
.
’

morning, an d h avin g Settled t hat O we n wh ose presence could be

'

of no u se to us upon this expedition s houl d await our return at ,

Glasgow we took a kind farewell of this unexpecte dly z ealous

,

friend I instal led Owen in an apartment in my lodgings con

.
,

t igu o us to my own and giving orders to An drew F ai rser

, vice to
attend me next morning at the hour ap p o in te d, l retired to rest
with b et ter hope s than it h ad lately be en my fortune to entertain .

C H A P TE R
X XVII .

Far as the eye could reach no tree was seen,

Eart h c la d in ru s set scorned the lively green
; ,

N o birds exc ep t as bi rds of passage flew

, ,
No bee was he a rd t o hu m , no dn ve to coo '

No st reams as amber smooth—as amber cle ar,

,
Were seen to gli de or heardt o warb le here , .

P ro pfi ecy of F a mi ne .

IT was in the bra ci ng atm osphe re of a h arvest mo rn in g, that I

met by app ointment Fai rs e rvic e with th e horses at the door , ,
.
’
of M r Jarvie s house which was but li ttle space dista nt from,

M rs F lyt er s hote l
’
. The firs t matte r which caught my attenti on
.

was, that whatever were the defic i encies of the pony which Mr .

F airs ervic e s legal advi se r Clerk To u th o p e gen erously bestowed

’
, ,

upon h im in exchange for Tho rn c liff s mare he h ad contrive d to

’
,

part with it, and p rocure in its stead an animal with so curious
an d comp l ete a l ameness, that it seemed only to make use of three
200 R OB ROY .

maisters—o wer mony maisters as the paddock said to the b arro w,

,

when every tooth gae her a tig .

”

A pparently he found no difficulty in getting rid of Suppl e Tam,

and re covering possession of his former Bucephalus , for he ae com
plished the exchange without being many minutes absent nor did
I hear further of his having paid any smart-money for breach of
bargain .

We now set forward but had not reached the top of the street
,

in which M r Jarvie dwelt when a loud hallooing, and breathless

.
,

cal l o f Stop stop ! ” w a s heard behind u s We stopped accord .

i n gly, and were overtaken by Mr Jarvie s two la ds who bore two

’
.
,

p arting tokens of Mattie s care fo r her master The first was con
’
.

veye d in the form of a voluminous s i lk handkerchief, l ike the main

s ai l of one of his own West-Indiam en which Mrs Mattie par ,
.

t ic ularly desired he would put about his neck , and which thus ,

entreated he added to his other integuments The second young

, .

ster brought only a verbal charge ( I thought I saw the rogue

disposed to laugh as he delivered it ) on the part of the house
keeper, that her master would take care of the waters “ Pooh ! .

”
pooh ! silly hussy answered Mr Jarvie but added, turning to me
it shows a kind heart though—i t shows a kind heart in sae young
, .
,
“

a quea n —M attie ’
s a c are fu lass ”
So speaking, he pricked the
’
.

sides of his palfrey, and we left the town without further inter
ruption.

While we paced eas ily forward by a road which conducted us ,

north-eastward from the town, I h ad an opportunity to est imate

and admire the good quali ties of my new friend A lthough, like .

my father, he considered com m ercial tra nsactions the most im

portant objects of human life he was not wedded to them so as to
,

underval ue more general knowledge On the contrary, with much

oddity and vulgarity of man ner —
.

with a va nity which he made

,

much more ridiculous by disguising it now and then under a thin

veil of humility and devoid as he w as of all the advantages of a
,

learned education, Mr Jarvi e s conversati on showed tokens of a

.
’

shrewd observing liberal , an d, to the extent o f i ts Opportu ni ties,

, ,
'

a well-improved mind H e was a good local antiqu ary and enter

.
,

t ain e d me as we p as s e d along with an account of remarkable

, ,

events which had forrne rly taken place in the scenes through which
“

we passed An d as he was well acquainted with the ancient his

.

tory o f ;his district, he saw with the prospective eye of an en

,
'

lightened p atriot, the buds o i ma n y of those future advantages

which h ave only blossomed and ripened within these few years I .

remarked also, and with great pleasure that although a keen ,

Sco tchman, and abundan tly zealous for the honour of his co untry,
 R OB R OY . 26 :

he was disposed to think liberally of the sister kingdom Whe n .

A ndrew F a irs e rvic e (whom by the way the bailie could not ab i de)
, ,

chose to impute the accident of one of the horses casting his shoe ‘

to the det eriorating i n fl u ence of the Union, he incurred a severe

rebuke from Mr Jarvie
Whisht sir l—whisht ! it s ill-scraped tongues like yours that
. .

“ ’
,

make m i schief atween ne ighbourhoods and nations There s nae .

’

th ing sae gude on this side 0 time but it might hae been better ’
,

and that may be said o the Union Nane were keener against i t
’
.

than the Glasgow folk w i their rabblings an d their risings and

,
’
,

their mobs as they ca them now-a-days But it s an ill wind

’ ’

blaws naebody gude —Let ilka ane roose the ford as they find it
.
,

I say Let Glasgow flourish

,
wh ilk is jud i c i ously and elegantly
putten round the town s arms by way of b y-word —N ow since
’
, .
,

St Mungo catched herrings in the Clyde , what was ever like to gar
.

us flourish like the sugar and tobacco trade ? W ill o n yb o dy tel l

me that and grumble at the treaty that opened us a road west -awa
,
’

yonder
A ndrew F a irse rvi ce was far from acq uiescing in these arguments
of expedience and even ventured to enter a grumbling protest
, ,

That it was an unco change to hae S cotland s laws m ade in Eng ’

land and that for his share he wadna for a the herring-barrels in
, ,
’

Glasgow and a the tobacco -casks to boot hae gien up t h e ri d ing

,
'
,

O th e Scots Parliament or sent awa our crown and our sword and
’ ’
, , ,

our sceptre an d M ons M eg * to be keepit by thae English pock

, ,

puddings in the Tower 0 Lunnon What wad Sir William Wallace

’
.
,

or auld D avie Lindsay, hae said to the Union or them that ,

made it ? ”

Th e road whi ch we travelled while diverting the way with these ,

discussions had become wild and Open as soon as we had left

, ,

Glasgow a mile or two behind us and was gro wing more dreary as ,

we advanced Huge cont inuous heaths spread before behind and

.
, ,

a round us i n hopel ess barrenness now level and interspersed w i th

, ,

swamps green with treacherous verdure or sable with turf or as

, , , ,

they c al l them in S cotland peat -bogs and now swelling into huge
, ,

heavy ascents wh i ch wanted the dignity and form of hills wh ile

, ,

they were st ill more toilsome to the passenger There were neither .

t rees nor bushes to rel i eve the eye from the russet livery of absolute
sterility The very heath was of that stinted imperfect kind which
.

has l ittle or no flower and affords the coarsest and meanest cover
,

ing whi ch as far as my experience enables me to judge mother

, ,

Earth is ever arrayed in Living thing we saw non e except o c

.
,

c a s i o n a lly a few straggling sheep of a strange diversity Of colours ,

a s black blue i sh and orange

, The sable hue predominated how
,
.
,
2 62 ROB ROY .

ever in the ir faces and legs Th e very birds seemed to shun these
, .

wastes and no wonder s i nce they had an easy method Of escaping

, ,

from them ; at least I only heard the monotonous and plaintive

cries of the lapwing and curlew, which my companions de n o m i
h ated the
p e a s we e p and whaup .

A t dinner however which we took about noon at a most miser

, , ,

able alehouse we had the good fortu n e to find that these tiresome
,

screamers of the morass were not the o n ly inhabitants of th e moors .

Th e goo dwife told us that the gudeman had been at the hill
'

and well for us that he had been so for we enj oyed the produce of ,

his clau se in the shape of some broiled moor-game a dish which ,

gallantly eked out the ewe milk cheese dried salmon an d oaten -
, ,

bread being all bes i des that the house afforded Some very in
,
.

d ifferent two-penny ale an d a glass of excellent brandy cro wned

, ,

our repast and as our horses had i n the meantime discussed their , ,

corn we resumed our journey with renovated vigour

,
.

I had n e e d o f all the Spirits a good dinner could give to resist

f

the dejection which crept insensibly on my mind when I c ombined ,

the strange uncerta inty of my errand wi th -the disconsolate aspect

of the country through whi ch it was leading me Our road con .

t inned to be if p ossib le more waste and wild than that we had

, ,
.

travelled in the forenoon The few miserable hovels that showed .

some marks Of human habitation were n o w of still rarer occur ,

rence ; and at length as we began to ascend an uninterrupted

,

swell of moorla n d they totally disappeared The only exercise

, .

which my imagination received was when some particular turn of ,

the road gave us a partial view to the left of a large assemblage of , ,

dark blue mountains stretching to the north and north-west which

-
,

promised to include with i n their recesses a country as wild per .

haps but certainly differi ng greatly in point of interest from that

, ,

wh i ch we now travelled The peaks of this screen of mountains

.

were as wil dly varied and distinguished as the hills which we had ,

seen o n the right were tame and lumpish ; and while I gazed on
this A lpine regi on I felt a longing to explore its recesses though
, ,

accompanied with toil and danger sim ilar to that which a sailor ,

feels when he wishes for the risks and an i mat ion of a battle or
a gale in exchange for the insupportable monotony of a protracted
,

calm I made various inquiries of my friend M r Jarvie respecting

. .
,

the names and positions of these remarkable mountains but it was

a subject on which he had no information or did not choose to b e
They re the H ieland h ills —the H ieland h ills
,

communicative .
’
.

Ye ll see an d hear eneugh about them before ye see Glasgow Cross

’

again—l downa look at them—I never see them but they gar m e
g rew .
— It s no f’
o r fear —no for fear but just for grief for the pu ir , ,
2 54 ROB ROY .

I judged as muckle said A ndrew ,

.

Haud your peace ye knave and hear what I have to say till
—
, ,

ye W e are gaun a bit into the H ielands

Ye tauld me sae already replied the incorrigible A ndrew
”
,
.

“
I ll break your h ead ” said the Bailie , rising in wrath if ye
“ ’
, ,

dinna haud your tongue ” .

A hadden tongue ” replied A ndrew

“
makes a slabbered , ,

mouth .

It was now necessary I should interfere which I did by co m ,

manding A ndrew with an authoritat ive tone to be silent at his peril

, ,
.

I am silent ” said A ndrew I se do a your lawfu bidding ’ ’ ’

without a nay-say —M y pui r mither used aye to tell me,

.
,

B e it better be it worse , ,

Be ruled by him that has the purse .

’

Sae ye may e en speak as lang as ye like baith the tane and the
’
,

tither 0 you for A ndrew ”

’
,
.

M r j arvie took the advantage of his stopping after quoting the

.

above proverb to give him the requisite instructions

, .

N ow sir it s as muckle as your life s worth—that wad be dear

’ ’

0 little siller to be sure —but it is as muckle as a our lives are

, ,
’ ’
,

worth if ye dinna mind what I say to ye In this public whar

, .

we are gaun to and whar it is like we may hae to stay a night ’

men 0 a clans and kindred—Hieland and L awland—tak up their

, ,
’ ’

quarters —A n d whiles there a re mair drawn dirks than open Bibles

amang them, when the usquebaugh gets uppe rmost See ye neither .

meddle nor mak nor gie nae Offence wi that clavering tongue ,
’

0 yours , but keep a calm sough and let ilka cock fecht his ain
’
,

battle ” .

“
Muckle needs to tell me that ” said A ndrew contemptuously , , ,

as if I had never seen a H ielan dm an before and ken d nae how ,

’

to manage them Nae man alive can cuitle up D onald bett er than
mysell—I hae bought wi them sauld w i them eaten wi them,
.

’ ’ ’
, ,

drucken w i them ” ’

Did ye ever fight wi them ? ” said Mr Jarvie ’

. .

Na, na ” answered A ndrew I took care 0 that : it wad ill hae

, ,
’

set me, that am an artist and half a s cholar to my trade, to be '

fighting amang a wheen kilted loons that dinna ken the name 0 ’

a single herb or flower in braid S cots let abee in the Latin tongue ” , .

”
Then said M r Jarvie ,
as ye wad keep either your tongue in .
,

you r mouth or your lugs in your head (and ye might m iss them
, ,

fo r as saucy members as they are ) , I charge ye to say nae word ,

gu de or bad that ye can weel get by to o n yb o dy that may be in the
, ,

Clachan A n d ye ll speci al ly understand th at ye re no to be b le ez

.
’ ’
 ROB ROY . 2 65

ing and blasting about your master s name and mine or saying that ’
,

th i s is M r Bailie N icol j arv ie o the Saut -M arket son 0 the worthy

.
’
,
’

D eacon N icol j arvie that a body has heard about and this i s
,
’

M r Frank Osb aldis to n e son of the managing partner of the great

.
,

house of Os b aldis to n e and Tresham in the C ity ” ,

.

Eneuch said ” answered A ndrew— eneuch said What need “

ye think I wad be speaking about your names for —I hae mony

.
,

things 0 mair importance to speak about I trow ”

’
, .

“
I t s thae very things of importance that I am feared for ye
’
,

blethering goose ye maunna speak ony thing gude or bad that , ,

ye can by any possibility help ” .

If ye dinna think me fit ” replied A ndrew in a huff to speak , , ,

“

like i ther folk gie me my wages and my board-wages and I se gae

, ,
’

back to Glasgow —There s sma sorrow at our parting as the auld

.
’ ’
,

mear said to the broken cart ” .

F inding A ndrew s perverseness again rising to a point w hich

’

threatened to occasion me inconvenience I was under the necessity ,

of expla ining to him that he might return if he thought proper but

, ,

that in that case I would not pay him a single farthing for h is past
services Th e argument a d cru m en a m a s it has been called by jocular
.
,

logicians has weight with the greater part of mankind and A ndrew
, ,

was in that particular far from affecting any trick of singularity

, ,
.

H e drew in h is horns ” to use th e Bailie s phrase on the instant

,
’
, ,

professed no intent i on whatever to disobl ige and a resolution to be ,

gu i ded by my commands whatever they might be , .

Concord being thus happily restored to our small party we con ,

tinn ed to pursue our journey The road which had ascended for .
,

s i x or seven English miles began now to descend for about the ,

same space through a country which neither in fert ility nor i nterest
,

could boast any advantage over that which we had passed already ,

and which afforded no variety unless when some tremendous peak ,

of a H ighland mountain appeared at a d i stance We continued .

,

however to ride on without pause ; and even when night fell and
,

overshadowed the desolate wilds which we traversed we were as I , ,

understood from Mr Jarvie st ill three miles and a bittock distant

.
,

from the place where we were to spend the night .

2 66 ROB R OY .

C H A P TE R X XV III .

Baron Of B u c klivi e ,

M ay the foul fiend dri ve ye ,

A n d a to p ieces rive ye
’
,

F o r bu ild ing s i c a to un ,
Where there s neither horse meat nor man s meat
’
,
’
,

nor a chair to sit doun .

S co tti e/1 P op u la r Rhymes on a dad In n .

TH E night was pleasant , and the moon afforded us good light for
our journey Under her ray s the ground over which we passed
.
,

assumed a more interest in g appearance than during the broad day

light which discovered the extent Of its wasteness The mingled
,
.

light an d shadows gave it an interest which naturally did not belong

to it and like the effect Of a ve il flung over a plain woman irritated
, ,

our curios i ty on a subje ct which had in itself nothi ng gratifying .

The descent however still continued turned winded left the

, , , , ,

more Open heaths and got into steeper ravines whi ch promis ed
, ,

soon to lead us to the banks Of some brook or river and ultimately ,

made good their presage We found ourselves at length on the .

bank of a stream which rather resembled one of my nat ive English

,

rivers than those I had hitherto seen i n S cotland It was narrow .

,

deep st ill and s ilent although the imperfect light as it gleam ed

, , ,

on its placid waters showed also that we were now among the lofty
,

mountains which formed its cradle Tha t s the Forth said the
”
.
’
,

Bailie with an air of reverence which I have Observed the Scotch

, ,

usually pay to their dis tinguished rivers The Clyde the Tweed .
, ,

the Forth the Spey are usu al ly named by those who dwell on their
, ,

banks with a sort of respect and pride and I have known duels ,

occasioned by any word of disparagement I cannot s ay I have .

the least quarrel with this sort of harmless enthusiasm I received .

my friend s communication with the importance which he seemed

’

to think appertained to it: In fact I was not a little pleased after , ,

so long and dull a journey to approach a region whi ch promised to ,

engage the imagination My faithful squire A ndrew did not seem

.
, ,

to be quite of the same opinion for he received the solemn informa ,

tion That is the F orth with a Umph — an he had sai d that’ s ”

the public house it wad hae been ma ir to the purpose

, ,
-
, .

Th e Forth however as far as the imperfect l ight permitted me to

, ,

judge seemed to merit the admiration Of those who claimed an

,

interest i n it s stream A beautiful em in ence of the most regular

.

round shape and clothed with copsewood of h a zels mountain ash

, ,
-
2 68 R OB R OY .

I t was a hovel rather worse than better than that in which we had
dined ; but its little windows were lighted up voices were heard ,

from with in and all intimated a prospect of food and shelter to

, ,

which we were by no means indi fferent A ndre w was the firs t to .

Observe that there was a peeled willow-wand placed across the half

Open door of the little i n n H e hung back and advised us not to

.
,

enter . F or
”
said A ndrew “ some of their chiefs and grit men
, ,

are birling at the usquebaugh in by there and dinna want to be ,

disturbed and the least we ll get if we gang ram -stam in on them

’
, ,

will be a broken head to learn us better havings if we dinna come

, ,

by the length of a cauld dirk in our wame whilk is just as ,

l ikely ” .

I looked at the Bailie who ackn owledged in a whisper that the

, , ,

gowk had some reason for singing ance in the year ”

,
.

M eantime a staring half-clad wench or two came out of the inn

and the ne ighbouring cottages on hearing the sound of our horses ,
’

feet N o one bade us welcome nor did any one offer to take our
.
,

horses from wh i ch we had alighted ; and to our vari ous inqu i ries ,

the hopeless response of H a niel Sassenach ” was the only answer ,

we could extract The Bail i e however found ( in his experience) a

.
, ,

way to make them speak English If I gie ye a bawbee ” said he .

“
,

to an urchin of about ten years Old with a fragment of a tattered ,

plai d about him will you understand Sassenach

,

A y ay that will I replied the brat in very decent English

, , , , .

Then gang and tell your m ammy my man there s twa Sasse , ,
’

nach gentlemen come to speak wi her ” ’

.

Th e landlady presently appeared with a lighted piece of split fir ,

blaz ing in her h and The t urpent ine in this species of torch (which
.

i s generally dug from out the turf-bogs) makes it blaze and sparkle
readily so that it i s Often used in the Highlands in lieu of candles
, .

On this occasi on such a torch ill um in ai e d the wild and anxious

features of a female pale thin and rather above the usual size
, , , ,

whose soiled and ragged dress though aided by a plaid or tartan ,

screen barely served the purposes of decency and certainly not

, ,

those of comfort H er black hair which escaped i n uncombed

.
,

elf-locks from u n der her coif as well as the s trange and embar ,

ra s s e d look with which she regarded us gave me the idea of a ,

witch disturbed in the midst of her unlawful rites She plainly .

refused to admit us into the house W e remonstrated anxiously .

~

and pleaded the length of our j ourney the state of our horses and , ,

the certainty that there was not another place where we could be
rece ived nearer than Callander whi ch the Bailie stated to be seven ,

S cots miles distant H ow many these may exactly amount to in

.

Engl i sh measurement I have never been able to ascertain but I

, ,
 ROB R OY . 269

think the double ra ti o may be pretty safely tak en as a medium

computation The obdurate hostess treated our expostulation with
.

contempt Better gang farther than fare waur ” she said speak
.
, ,

ing the S cottish Lowland dialect and being indeed a native of the ,

Lennox district Her house was taen up w i them wadna l ike to ’

be intruded on wi strangers — She didna ken wha mai r might be

—
’

there redcoats it might be frae the garrison ” ( These last words

, ,
.

she Spoke under her breath, and with very strong emphasis ) The .
“

night she said was fair abune head —a night amang the heather
”
, ,

wad caller our bloods —w e m ight sleep in our claes as mony a gude
blade does in the scabbard—there wasna muckle flo wm o s s in the
,

S haw if we took up our quarters right and we might pit up our

, ,

horses to the h ill naebody wad say naething against it ”

,
.

But my good woman ” said I while the Bailie groaned and

, , ,

remained undec i ded i t is six hours s ince we dined and we have

,
“
,

no t taken a morsel since I am positively dyi ng wi th hunger and .

,

I have no taste for taking u p m y abode supperless among these

mountains of yours I posit ively must enter ; and make the best
.

apology you can to your guests for add ing a stranger or two to
—
their number A ndre w yo u wil see the horses put up
l.
”
, .

Th e H ecate looked at me with surprise and then ejaculated A , ,

w il fu man will hae his way—them that will to Cupar maun to

’

Cupar — To see thae Engl ish belly-gods—h e has had ae fu meal ’

the day al ready and he ll venture l ife and liberty rather than he ll
,
’
,
’

want a het supper Set roasted beef and pudd ing on the Oppos ite
s ide 0 the pit o Tophet and an Englishman will mak a spang at
’ ’
,

i t— But I wash my hands o t— F ollow me sir (to A ndrew) and

” ’ “
, ,

I se show ye where to pit the beasts ”

’
.

I own I was somewhat dismayed at my landlady s expressions ’

,

wh i ch seemed to be ominous of some approachin g danger I did .

‘

not however choose to shrink back after having declared my reso

, ,

l u t i o n and accordingly I boldly entered the house

,
and after
narrowly escaping break ing my shins over a turf back and a salt in g
tub wh i ch S tood on ei ther s ide of the narrow exterior passage I
, ,

Opened a crazy half-decayed door constructed not of plank but of , ,

wicker, and followed by the Ba ilie entered into the pri ncipal apart
, ,

ment of th is S cottish caravansary .

Th e interior presented a view which seemed singular enough to

southern eyes The fire fed with blazing turf and branches of
.
,

dried wood blazed merrily in the centre but the smoke h av ing no
, ,

m eans to escape but through a hole in the roof, eddied round the
rafters of the cottage and hung in sable folds at the he ight of about
,

five feet from the floor The space beneath was kept pretty clear .

by innumerable currents of air, which rushed towards the fire from

27 0 R OB ROY .

the broken panel of basket work which served as a door, from two
-

squ are holes desi gned as ostensible windows through one of which
, ,

was thrust a pla id and through the other a tattered great-coat ;

,

and moreover th rough vari ous less distinguishable apertures in

,

th e w al ls of the tenement which bei ng built of round s tones and

, ,

turf cemented by mud let in the atmosphere at innumerabl e

, ,

crevices .

At an old o ak en table adjoini ng to the fir e sat three men gu ests

, , ,

apparently W hom it was i mposs ible to regar d with indi fference

,
.

Two were in the H ighl a nd dress the one a little dark-com ,

ple xio ne d man wi t h a live ly quick and irri table expression of

, , ,

features wore the trew s or close pantal oons , wove out of a sort of
, ,

chequered stocking s t uff Th e B aili e whispered me, that he b e

.

hoved to be a man of some con sequen ce for tha t naebody but their ,

Du inhéwas sels wore the trews ; they were ill to weave e xactly to
”
their H ighland pleasure .
o

The other mountaineer was a very tal l s trong man , wi th a ,

quantity of reddish hair freckled fat e high cheek -bones , and long
chin—a sort of caricature of the national features of S cotland The
, ,

tartan which he wore differed from that of his co mp ani on as it h ad ,

much more scarlet in it wh ereas the shades of black and dark

,

green predominated in the Chequers o f the other The third, who

sate at the same table, was in the Lowland dress —a bol d stout
.

, ,

looking man , with a cast of military daring in his eye and manner,
his riding-dress showi ly and profusely la c ed and his c o cked hat of ,

formida ble di mensions H i s ha nger and a pair of pistols lay on the

.

table before him Each of the H ighlanders had their nake d dirks
. .

stuck upright in the board beside him -an emblem, I was after ,

wards in fo rm ed , but surely a stran ge one th at th eir compotation ,

was not to be interrupted by any brawl A mighty pewt e r measure, .

c ontaining about an Engli sh qu art of usqu ebaugh a liquor nearly ,

a s strong as brandy, wh ich the Highlanders distil fro m mal t and

,
drink undiluted in ex cess ive qua nti ti es was placed be fore these ,

worthies A bro ken gla ss with a wooden foot served as a dri nking
.
, ,

c u p to the whole p art y and c i rc u la t ed with a rapidity which, co n

, ,

s iderin g th e potency of th e liquo r seemed absolutely marvello u s , .

These m en spoke loud and eagerl y together so m etim es in Ga elic , .

a t othe r ti me s in Engli sh A noth e r Hi ghla nder, wra pt in his plaid,

.
.

recli n ed on the floo r his hea d rest in g on a stone, from which it wa s

,

o nly se parat ed by a wi sp of stra w and slept o r seem ed to s l eep , ,

,
withou t attending to what was going on around him H e al s o was .

probably a stranger, for he lay in full dress and accoutred with the ,

sword an d target , the usua l arms of his co untrymen when on a

journey Cribs there were of different dimensions beside the walls,
.
27 2 ROB ROY .

e ntitled to exclude all other travellers from the only place of shelter
and refreshment for miles round ” .

There s nae reason for t gentlemen

’
said the Bailie we ’

mean nae offence—but there s neither law nor reason for t—but as
, ,
’ ’

far as a stoup o gude brandy wad make up the quarrel we, being
’
,

peaceable folk wad be w illing ”

, .

“
Damn your brandy s ir ! ” said the Lowlander adjusting his
, ,
,

cocked-hat fiercely upon his head ; we des ire neither your brandy
nor your company ” and up he rose from his seat His companions
,
.

also arose muttering to each other drawing up their pl aids , and

, ,

snort i ng and s n u ffin g the air after the manner of their countrymen
when working themselves i nto a passion .

I tauld ye what wad come gen tlemen said the landlady an

ye wad hae been tauld —get awa w i ye out o my house and make
, , ,
’ ’ ’

nae disturbance here—there s nae gentleman be disturbed at j eanie

,
’

M ac Alp in e s an she can hinder A wheen idle English loons

’
.
,

gaun about the country under cloud 0 night and disturbing honest ’
,

peaceable gentlemen that are drinking their drap drink at the fire
s ide
A t another time I should have thought of the old Latin adage,

Dat veniam corvis , vexat censura columbas

B ut I had not any time fo r clas sic al quotati on for there was ,

Obviously a fray about to ensue at which feeling myself indignant , ,

at the inhospitable insolence with which I was treated I was ,

totally indifferent unless on the Bailie s account whose person and

,
’
,

qualities were ill qualified for such an advent u re I started up .

,

however on seeing the others rise and dropped my cloak from my

, ,

shoulders that I might be ready to stand on the defensive

, .

“
We are three to three ” said the less er H ighlander glan cing his
, ,

eyes at our party : if ye be pretty men draw and unsheathing

“
, ,

his broad -sword, he advanced on m e I put myself in a posture of .

defence and aware of the s uperiority of my weapon a rapier or

, , ,

small-sword was little afraid of the issue of the contest The

, .

bailie behaved with unexpected mettle As he saw the gigantic .

Highlander confront him with his weapon drawn he tugged for a ,

second or two at the hilt of his s lza bb le as he called it but finding ,

it loth to quit the sheath, to which it had long been secured b y rust
and disuse, he seized, as a substitute on the red-hot coulter of a ,

plough which had been employed in arranging the fire by way of a

poker and brandished it with such effect that at the first pass he
, ,

set the H ighlander s plaid on fire and compelled him to keep a

’
,

respectful distance till he co uld get it extinguished An dre w, on .

 ROB ROY . 273

the contrary who ought to have faced the L owland champion h ad

, , ,

I grieve to say it vanished at the very commencement of the fray

,
.

But his antagonist, crying Fair play ! fa ir play ! ” seemed “

courteously disposed to take no share in the scuffle Thus we .

commenced our rencontre on fair terms as to numbers My own .

aim was to possess myself if possible of my antagonist s w eapon

, , ,
’

but I was deterred from closing for fear of the dirk which he held ,

in his left hand and used in parrying the thrusts of my rapier

'

.
,

M eantime the Bailie notwithstanding the success of his first onset

, ,

was sorely bested The weight of his weapon the corpulence of

.
,

his -person the very effervescence of his own pass i ons were rapidly
, ,

exhausting both his strength and his breath and he was almost at ,

the mercy of his antagonist when up started the sleeping H igh ,

lander from the floor on which he recl ined wi th his naked sword ,

and t a rget in his hand and thre w h imself between the dis c o m fi te d
,
“

magistrate and h is assailant exclaim ing Her nainsell has eaten , ,

“

the town pread at the Cross 0 Glasgow and py her troth she ll ’
,
’

fi ght for Bail i e Sh a rvi e at the Clachan of A berfoil—tat will she

e en
’
A n d seconding his words with deeds th i s unexpected ,

auxil iary made his sword wh istle about the ears of his tall country
man who nothing abashed returned his blows with interest But
, , ,
.

be ing both accoutred with round targets made of wood studded ,

w ith brass and covered with leather w ith wh i ch they readily

, ,

parried each othe r s strokes their combat was attended with much
’

more no i se and clatter than seri ous ri sk of damage It appeared .

,

indeed that there was more of bravado than of serious attempt to

,

do us any i njury for the Lo wland gentleman who as I mentioned , , ,

had stood as ide for want Of an antagon i st when the brawl com p

m e n c e d was now pleased to act the part of moderator and peace

,
~

maker .

Haud your hands —h aud your hands —eneugh done —eneugh

done —the q uarrel s no mortal Th e strange gentlemen have
’
.

shown themselves men of honour and gien reasonable satisfact ion ,

.

I ll stand on mine honour as k ittle as ony man but I hate u n n ec e s

’
,
”
sary bloodshed
It was not of course my wish to protract the fray—m y adversary
.

, ,

seemed equally d i sposed to sheathe his sword —the Bailie gasping ,

fo r breath m ight be considered as [t o rs do c o mba t and our two

, ,

s word and bu ckler men gave up their contest w i t as much in di f

h
- -

ference as they had entered into it .

A n d now
“
sai d the worthy gentleman who acted as umpire
let us drink and gree like honest fellows—The house will haud us
, ,

a Ip ro p o s e that this good little gentleman that seems sai r f o r

“

.
,

fo ughen , as I may say, in this tuilz ie, shall send for a tass o brandy,
’

S
274 R OB ROY .

an d pay for another by w ay of arch ilowe

Ill ’
then w e ll birl , ,
* and ’

our bawbees a round about l ike brethre n ”

’
.
,
.

A n d fa s to pay my new pou ni e plai d sa id the larger H igh

”

—
“ ’
,
.

lander w i a hole burnt in t an e might pu t a ka il pat th rough ?

,
’ ’

S aw ever o n yb o dy a de cen t gentlema n fight w i a firebran d .

’

”
before ?
Let that be nae hinderance said the Bailie wh o had now
“
, ,

recovered h is breath and was at once disposed to enjoy the ,

triumph of ha ving behave d with Spi rit and avoid the necessity o f ,

agai n resorti ng to such hard and doubtful arbitrement G in I

hae broken the head ” he said, I sall find the pla is ter A new “

plaid s al l ye hae and O the best—your ain clan-colours man—an

.
,
’
, ,
”
ye w ill tell me where it can be sent t ye frae G lasco
’
- '

I n e e dn a name my clan—I am of a king’s clan as is weel

.

“
,

k en said the Highlander but ye m ay tak a bit o f the pl aid

fi gh she smells like a s ingit she ep s head —and that 11 learn ye ihe
’ ’

sett — and a gentleman that s a cous i n 0 my a in tha t carries eggs ,

’ ’
,

doun frae Gle n c ro e will ca for t about M artim as an ye will tell ,

’ ’
,

her where ye bide But honest gentleman neist time ye fight an.
, , ,

ye hae ony respect for your athv ers ary let it be w i your sword ,
’
,

man since ye wear ane and no wi th ae he t culters and fire pran ds

, ,
’ ‘

like a wild Indian ” .

Conscience ! ” replied the Bailie every ma n maun do as he

dow—my sword hasna seen the light since B othwell Brigg when
,

my father that s dead and gane ware it ; and I ke n n a weel if it

,
’
,

was forthcom ing the n eithe r for the battle was 0 the briefes t —At ,
’

On y rate it s gl e w e d to the scabbard now beyond my power to part

’
.
,

them ; and, finding that I e en grippit at the first thing I could ,

’

make a fend w i I trow my fight ing da ys is do ne though I like

’

ill to take the scorn for a that —But where s the honest lad that
.
,
’ ’

tu ik my quarrel on him s ell sae fra nkly —I se b estow a gill o

,
’ ’

a qu avit ae o n h im an I suld never ca for anither

” ’
, .

Th e champio n for whom he looked around was however, no ,

longer to b e seen H e had escaped unobserved by the Bailie .

,

immediately when the brawl was ended yet n o t before I had ,

re cognised in his wild features and shaggy red hair our ac

, ,

quai ntance D ougal the fugitive turnkey of the Gla sgow j ail I , .

communicated this obse rvation in a whi sper to the Bailie who ,

answered in the same tone Weel weel I see that him that ye ken , , ,

0 said very right There i s some glimmering 0 common sense

’
.
’

abou t that creature D ougal I maun see and thi nk 0 somethin g

,
’

will do him some gude ”

.

Thus saying he sat down , and fetching one or two de ep aspira

-
,
v

tions by way of recovering hi s bre ath, called to the l an dla dy

, I “
9 75 RO B ROY .

be Gars chattachin replied the Ba ilie conscience we might

, , ,
”
save ourselves a labour for they wad come to seek us,
.

“
Eh I what how exclaimed the person whom he had
addressed as I shall live by bread ( not forgetting beef and
,
“

brandy) it s my auld fri end Nicol Jarvie the best man that ever
,
’
,

counted doun merks on a bon d till a distressed gentlem an Were .

ye na coming up my way — were ye na coming up the E n drick to

G ars chattachin
Troth no , Maister Galbrai th , replied the Bailie I had other ,

eggs on the spit—an d I thought ye wad be saying I cam to look

about the an nual rent that s due on the bit heritable band that s ’ ’

between us ” .

Dam n the annual rent said the laird with an appearance of ,

great heartiness De il a word 0 business will you or I speak n o w ’

,

that ye re sae near my country — To see how a trot-cosey and a

’

j oseph can disguise a man—that I s uldn a k e n my auld feal friend

.

the deacon
The bailie if ye please resumed my companion but I ken
“ “

what gars ye m istak —the band was granted to my father that s

, ,
’

happy, and he was deacon ; but his name was N icol as weel as
mine I dinna mind that there s been a payment of principal sum
.
’

or annual rent on it in my day and doubtless that has made the ,

mistake ” .

Weel the devil take the mistake and all that occasioned it
,

replied Mr Galbraith “ But I am glad ye are a bailie Gentle

. . .

men fill a brimmer— th i s is my excellent friend Bailie Nicol

—
, ,

j arvie s health ’
I ken d h im and hi s father these twenty years
’
.

A re ye a cleared kelty a ff P— F ill anither H ere s to his being

’ ’

sune provost—I say provost— Lord Provost Nicol Jarvie —and

.

them that a ffirms there s a man walks the H ie Stree t 0 ’ Glasgow

’
, ~

that s fitter fo r th e offi ce they wi ll do weel not to let me Duncan

’

Galbraith of Garschattachan hear them say sae—that s all ” A nd

, ,
’
, .

t herewith Duncan Galbraith martially cocked his hat, and placed it

on one side of his head wi th an ai r of defiance .

Th e brandy was probably the best recommendation of these com

plime n t ary toasts to the two H ighlan ders who drank them without ,

appearing anxious to comprehen d their p urport They commenced .

a conversation with Mr Galbraith in Gaelic which he tal ked with

. .
,

perfect fluency being, as I afterwards learn ed a near neighbour to

, ,

the H ighla nds .

I ken d that S cant-o -grac e weel eneugh frae the ve ry outset,”

’ ’

said the B ailie , in a whisper to me but when blude was warm ,

and swords were out at ony rate w ha kens what way he might hae ,

t hought 0 paying his debts ? it will be lang or he does it in commo n

’
 R OB ROY . 27 7

form But he s an honest lad and has a warm heart too he d i sna
.
’
,

come often to the Cross 0 Glasgow but mony a buck and black ’
,

cock he sends us doun frae the h ills A n d I can want my siller weel .

eneugh My father the deacon had a great regard for the family o f
.

G a rs c h a tt ac hin .

Supper being now nearly ready I looked round for A ndre w F air ,

serv i ce ; but that trusty follower Ha d not been seen by any one
since the beg inn ing of the rencontre The hostess however said .
, ,

that she bel ieved our servant had gone into the stable and offered ,

to l ight me to the place say ing that no entreat i es of the bairns or

,

hers could make him give any answer and that truly she c are dn a
to gang into the stable he rs e ll at this hour She was a lone woman .
,

and i t was weel ken d how the Brown i e of Ben-ye gask guided the
’
-

gude w ife of A rdn a go wan ; and it was aye judged there was a
Brown ie in our stable wh i ch was just what garr d me gie ower
,
’

keep ing a n hostler .

”

As however she l ighted me towards the miserable hovel i nto

, ,

Wt h they had crammed our unlucky steeds to regale themselves ,

on hay every fibre of wh i ch was as th i ck as an ordinary goose

,

qu ill she pla inly showed me that she had another reason for draw
,

i n g me aside from the company than that wh ich her words implied .

R ead that she sa id sl ipping a piece of paper into my hand as

, ,

we arrived at the door of the shed ; I bless God I am rid o t “ ’

.

Between sogers and Saxons and caterans and cattle l ifters and ,
-
,

hership and b lu idshe d an honest woman wad l i ve qu i eter in h ell

,

than on the H i ghland l ine .

S o say ing she put the pine torch into my hand and returned
,
-
,

into the house .

C H A P TE R XX IX .

Bagpipes not lyres the H ighland hills adorn

, , ,
M a c Le an s loud hollo and Macgregor s horn
’
,
’
.

7 oi m CM p g / s R ep ly 10 A l la n R a ms ay .

I STOPPED in the entrance of the stable if indeed a place be ,

ent itled to that name where horses were stowed away along with
goats poultry pigs and cows under the same roof with the man
s i on —
, , , ,

house ; although by a degree of refinement unknown to the

,

rest of the hamlet and wh ich Iafterwards heard was i mputed to an

,

overpri de on the part of j ean ie M a c Alp in e our landlady the apart , ,

m ent was accommodated w i th an entrance d i fferent from that used

by her biped customers By the light of my torch I deciphered .
,

the following billet written on a wet crumpled and d irty p i ece of

, , ,
27 8 R OB ROY .

paper and addressed F o r the ho n oured hands of Mr F O , a

, ,
. . .

Saxon you n g gentleman —These The contents were as follows :

S IR —
.

There are n ight -hawks abroa d so that I cannot give you

, ,

and my respected kinsman B N J the meeting at the Clachan of ,

. . .
,

A berfoil whilk was my purpose

,
I pray you to avoid unnecessary .

commun i cation with those you may find there as it may give ,

future trouble The person who g ives you this is faithful and may
. ,

be trusted and will guide yo u to a place where God willing I may

, , ,

safely give yo u the meeting when I trust my kinsman and you w ill
'

visit my poor house where i n despite of m yenemies I can st ill

, , ,

promise sic cheer as ane H ighlandman may gie his friends and ,

where we will drink a solemn health to a certain D V and look to . .

,

certain affa irs wh ilk I hope to be your aidance in and I rest as is ,

wont among gentlemen your servant to comman d , ,

IQ M C ! . .

I was a good deal mortified at the purport of this letter wh i ch ,

seemed to adjourn to a more di stant place and date the service

whi ch I had hoped to receive from th i s man Campbell S t ill how .
,

ever it was some comfort to know that he cont inued to be in my

,

interes t since with out him I could have no hope of recovering my

,

father s papers I resolve d therefore to obey his instruct ion s

’
.
, ,

and observing all caution before the guests to take the first good
, ,

opportun ity I could find to procure from the landlady directions

how I was to obtain a m eeting with this mysterious person .

My next business was to seek o u t A ndrew F a irservi c e whom I ,

called several times by name w ithout receiving any a n s we r s urvey , , v

ing the stable all round at the same t ime not without risk of setting
, ,

the premises on fire had not the quantity of wet litter and mud so
,

greatly co unterbalanced two or three bunches of straw and hay

A t length my repeated cries of A ndrew F a irs e rvi ce l—A n drew !
.

fool I—A ss ! where are you ? produced a doleful Here in a “

,

groaning tone wh i ch might have been t h at of the Brownie itself

, .

Guided by thi s sound I advanced to the corner of a she d w here

, , ,

ensconced in the angle of the wall behind a barrel full of the ,

feathers of all the fowls which had died i n the cause of the public
for a month past I found the manful A ndrew ; and partly by force
, ,

partly by command and exhortation compelled him forth into the ,

o pen air The first words he spoke were “ I am an honest lad,

.
,
”
si r
.

“
Who the devil questions your h onesty ? ” said I or what have
we to do with it at present ? I desire you to come and attend u s at “

suppe n ”
Yes reiterat ed A n drew w ithout app arently understanding
, ,

what I said to h im , I am an honest lad whatever the Bailie may

“
,
2 80 R OB R OY .

the horses well looked after A s to the rest I charged him t o .

,

observe the stri ctest silence upon the subject of his alarm and he ,

might rely upon it I would not i ncur any serious danger without
due precaut i on He followed me with a dejected air i nto the house
.
,

obse rving between hi s teeth Man suld be served a fore bea st—I ,
“

haena had a morsel in my mouth b ut the rough legs 0 th at auld ,

’ '

muircock th i s h a ill blessed day ”

, .

The harmony of the company seemed to have suffered some i n

t e rrup t i o n since my departure for I found M r Galbraith a nd my ,
.

fri en d the Bail i e high i n d i spute .

“
I ll hear nae s i c language said Mr j arvie as I e n te rs/
’
d r r,
”
.
, ,
“

specting the Duke 0 A rgyle and the nam e 0 Campbell iH e s a

’ ’
.
’

worthy publ i c -spirited nobleman an d a credit to the count ry and a , ,

friend and benefactor to the trade 0 Glasgow ’

.

I ll sae naeth ing against Mac c allum More and the Slio ch-nan
’

D iarm i d ” said the lesser H ighlander laughing

,
I li ve on the , .

wrang s ide of Glen cro e to quarrel wi th In ve ra ra .

Our loch ne er saw the Ca wm ill ’

said she bigger
Highlander She 11 speak her mind and fear naebody—She
.
“ ’

do e s n a value a C a wm il ma i r as a Cowan , and ye may tell Mac

Callum More that A llan Iverac h said sae — It s a far cry to ’

”
Lochow .

Mr Galbraith on whom the repeated pledges whi ch he had

.
,

quaffed had produced some influence slapped his ha nd on the ,

table with great force and said in a stern voice There s a bloody
, , ,
“ ’

debt due by that fam ily and they will pay it one day— The banes of
,

a loyal and a g allant Grahame hae lang rattled in the i r coffin for ven
ge an c e on thae D ukes of Guile and Lords for Lorn There ne er ’
.

was treason in Scotland but a C awm il was at the bottom o t an d ’

now that the wrang s ide s u ppermost wha but the C awm ils fo r
’
,

keeping down the right ? But this w arld winna last lang an d it ,

will be t ime to sharp the maiden for shearing o craigs and ’

thrapples I hope to see the auld rusty lass l inking at a bluidy

.

harst again .

“
For shame G arsc hatta c h in ! ” e xclaimed the Bailie ; fy for
,
“

shame sir ! Wad ye say sic th ings before a magistrate and bring
, .
,

yo u rse ll i nto trouble H ow d ye think to m ai n tee n your amily ’

f
-
,

and satisfy your creditors (mysell and others) if ye gang on i n that ,

wild way which cannot but bring yo u under the law to the p rej u
, ,
d i ce o f a that s connected w i ye
’ ’ ’

D — n my creditors retorted the gallant Galbraith and yo u , ,

if ye be ane o them ! I say there will be a new warld sune— A n d we

’

shall hae nae C awm ils cocking the ir bonnet sae hie and hounding ,

their dogs where they daurna come th e m se lls nor protecting ,

 ROB R OY . a8 r

thieves nor murderers and oppressors to harry a n d spoil better , ,

men and mair loyal clans than th e ms e lls ” .

Th e Ba ilie had a great m ind to have cont inued the dispute when ,

the savoury vapour of the broiled ven ison wh ich our landlady now ,

placed before us proved so powerful a mediator that he betook

, ,

himself to his trencher with great eagerness leav ing the strangers ,

to c ar ry on the di spute among themselves .

“
A n d tat s true ” s aid the taller H ighlander whose name I
’
, ,

found was Stewart for we s uldn a be plagued and worried here

,
“

w i meet ings to p it down R o b R o y if the C aw m ils didna gie him

’

I was ane o th irty 0 my aim name—part G le n finlas

,

re fu t c h
’ ’
.
,

and part men that came down frae A ppin e We s has ed the l
.

M a c G re go rs as ye w a d shase rae deer t ill we came i nto Glen -

,

fall o c h s country and the C awm ils ra i se and wadna let us pur
’
, ,

sue nae farder and sae we lost our labour ; but her wad gie twa
,

and a plack to be as near R o b as she was tat day .

It seemed to happen very unfortunately that in every topic of ,

discourse which these warlike gentlemen introduced my friend the ,

Ba il ie found some matter of offence Ye ll forgie me Speak ing .

“ ’

my m i n d sir ; but ye wad maybe hae gi en the best bowl in your

,

bonnet to hae been as far awa frae R o b as ye are e en now ’

Od my het pleugh-culter wad hae been naeth ing to his

C laymore
”
.

She had better speak nae ma ir about her culter or by G , ,

her w ill gar her eat her words and twa handfuls o cauld steel to ,
’

drive them ower w i A n d w i t h a most i nausp i c i ous and me

’
,

h a e ing look the mountaineer la i d h i s hand on his da ger

, g .

We ll hae nae quarrelling A llan ” said his shorter companion

’
, ,

and i f the Glasgow gentleman has ony regard for R o b R o y he ll ,

’

maybe see him in cauld irons the nicht and playing t ricks on a ,

tow the morn ; for th i s country has been ower lang plagued w i ’

hi m and hi s race i s near han d o er—A n d it s time A llan we were

,
-
’ ’
, ,

ganging to our lads ” .

H out awa In v erash allo c h ” said Galbraith ; “ mind the auld

saw man — It s a bauld moon quoth B e n n yga s k—another pint
, ,
’

quoth Lesley—we ll no start for another chappin ”

, , ,
’
.

“
I hae had chappius eneugh said In verashal lo c h
”
I ll drink ,
’

my quart of us quebaugh or brandy w i ony honest fellow but the ’

,

deil a drap ma i r when I hae wark to do in the morni ng A n d

, .
,

i n my puir th i nking G a rs c h att a c hi n ye had better be th ink ing to

, ,

bring up your horsemen to the Clachan before day that we may a ,

’

start fair .

“
What the de evil are ye in sic a hurry for ? ” said G ars chatta '

chin “meat and mass never h indered wark A n it had been my .

2 82 R OB R OY .

directing deil a bit 0 me wad hae fashed ye to come down the glens
,
’

to help us The garrison and our a in horse co uld hae taen R o b

.

R o y easily e neugh There s the hand he said holding up his .

’
,
”
,

own should lay him on the green and never ask a H ielan dm an
, ,

o ye a for his help ”

’ ’
.

Ye might hae loot us bide still where we were then said Invera , ,

s hallo c h I dinna come sixty miles with o ut being sent for B u t .

an ye ll hae my opinion I redd ye keep your mouth better steekit

’
, ,

i f ye h o pe to speed Shored folk live lang and sae may him ye .

,

ken o Th e way to catch a bird is no to fl ing your bannet at her

’
. .

A n d a lso thae ge n tlemen hae heard some th i ngs they s u ldn a hae
heard an the brandy hadna been ower ba u ld for your brai n Major ,

Galbraith —Ye n e e dn a cock your hat and bully -wi me man for I
.
’
, ,

wil l not bear it ” .

I hae said it ” said Galbraith with a solemn ai r of drunken, ,

gravity that I will quarrel no m ore thi s night either with broad
,

cloth o r tartan Wh en I am o ff duty Ill quarrel with yo u or ony ’

man in the H ielands -o r Lowlands but not on duty—no —no I

.
,

wish we h eard 0 these red-coats —If it had been to do o nythin g

.
,
’

a gainst K ing James we w a d hae s e en them lang syne—b ut whe n

.

it s to keep the peace 0 the cou ntry they can lie as loun as their
’ ’
,

neighbour s ” .

A s he s poke we heard the measured footsteps of a bod yo f ih

, ,

fan try on the march and an officer fo llowed by two or three files ,

of soldiers entered the apartment He spoke in an English accent,

, .

which was very pleasant to m y ears now so long accustomed to the ,

varying brogue of t h e H ighland and Lo wland S cotch .

Yo u are I suppose Major Galbra i th of the squadron of L e nnox

“
, , ,

M ilitia, and th e se are the two H ighland ge n tle m en with whom I

was appointed to meet i n th i s place ? ”
They assented and invited the officer to take some refreshm ents , ,

which he decl ined .

“
I have be en too late gentlemen and am desirous to make up , ,

time I have orders to search for and arrest two persons g uilty
.

of treasonable pract i ces ” .

We ll wash our hands 0 that ” said In verashall o ch

“ ’
I cam e ’
, .

here w i my men to fight against the red Mac-G re gor that ki lled my
’

cousin seve n ti mes removed D uncan M a c Lare n in In ve rn en ty ,

but I will hae nothing to do tou ching honest gen tl emen that may
be gaun t hrough the country on their ain business ” .

N or I neither sai d Iverac h

”
, .

M ajor Galbrait h took u p the matter more solemnly and pre ,

m is in g his orat ion with a h i ccup spoke to the followi n g purpose ,

I sh all say n othing against Kin g Ge o rge, Captain, b e cause, as

28 ROB ROY
4 .

N o sir
, interr upted the Bailie
,
a son of the great William
Osb aldi s to n e , of the House of Osb al di st o n e and Tresham Crane ,

A lley London ”
, .

“
I am afraid sir said the o fficer your name only increases
, , ,

the suspicions against you and lays me under the necessity of re ,

questing that you will gi ve u p what papers you have in charge .

I observed the H ighlanders look anxi ously at each other when

this proposal was made I had none ” I repl ied to surrender ” .
, ,
“
.

Th e offi cer commanded me to be d i sarmed and searched To .

have res i sted would have been madness I accordingly gave up .

my arms and submitted to a search wh i ch was conducted as

, ,

civilly as an operat i on of the k ind well could They found nothing .

except the note which I had received that n ight through the hand
of the landlady .

Th i s i s d i fferent from what I expected said the officer but it ,

” “

a ffords us good grounds for deta in i ng you Here I find you in written .

communication wi th the outlawed robber R obert M a c Grego r

Campbell who has been so long the plague of thi s district—How
,

do you account for that ? ”

Spies of R o b said In vera sh all o ch we wad s e rve them

right to strap them up t ill the neist tree ” .

We are gaun to see after some gear 0 our ain gentlemen ’

said the B a ili e that s fa en into his hands by accident—there s

,
“ ’ ’
,

nae law agan e a man looking after his ain I hope ? ” ,

H ow did yo u come by this letter ? ” sa i d the o fficer addressing ,

himself to me .

I could not think of betraying the p oor woman who had given
it to me and remained silent
, .

D o you know anything of it fellow ? ” said the officer looking at , ,

A ndrew whose jaws were chattering like a pair of castanets at the

,

threats thrown out by the H ighlander .

O ay I ken a about i t—it was a H ieland loon gied the letter

’

to that l an g t o n gue d jaud the gudewi fe there—I ll be s worn my

,
’
~

maister ken d naething about it But he s w ilfu to gang up the

’
.
’ ’

hills and speak wi R o b and O s ir it wad be a chari ty just to send

’
, ,

a wh e en 0 your red coats to see h i m safe back to Glasgow again

’
-

whether he will or no—A n d ye can keep Mr j arvie as lang as ye

l ike—He s respons ible eneugh for ony fine ye may lay on him—and
.

so 5 my master for that matter—for me I m just a puir gardener

’
,
’

lad and no worth your steering .

I believe ” sai d the officer the best th ing I can do is to send

, ,
“

these persons to the garrison under an escort They seem to be i n .

immediate correspondence with the enemy and I shall be in no

respect answerable for suffering them to be at libert y—Gentlemen,
,
 ROB ROY . 2 85

you will consider yourselves as my prisoners S o soon as dawn .

approaches I will send you to a place of security If you be the

,
.

persons you describe yourselves it will soon appear and you w ill , ,

sustain no great inconvenience from being detained a day or two .

—I can hear no remonstrances ” he cont inued turning away from , ,

the Bail ie whose mouth was open to address him

,
the service I “

”
a m on g i ves me no time for idle discussions .

A weel—aweel sir sai d the Bailie “ you re welcome to a tune

“ ” ’
, , ,

on your ai n fiddle but see if I dinna gar ye dance t ill t afore a s ’ ’

”
dune .

A n anxious consultation now took place between the Officer an d

the H ighlanders but carried on in so low a tone that i t was im
, ,

possible to catch the sense So soon as it was concluded they all .

left the house A t their departure the Bailie thus expressed himself
.
,

Thae H i e la n dm e n are 0 the westland clans and just as light -handed

’
,

as the ir neighbours an a tales be true and yet ye see they ’ '

, ,

hae brought them frae the head 0 A rgyle sh ire to make war w i pu ir ’ ’

R o b for some auld ill-will that they hae at him and his sirname
—A n d there s the G raham e s and the Buchanans and the Lennox
.

gentry a mounted and in order—It s weel ken d their quarrel

, ,
’ ’ ’
,

and I dinna blame them—naebody l ikes to lose his kye —A n d then

there s sodgers puir things hoyed out frae the garrison at a
’
, ,
’

body s bidd ing—Puir Ro b will hae his hands fu by the t ime the
’ ’

sun comes ower the h ill Weel—it s wrang for a mag istrate to
.
’

be w ishing o n yth in g again the course 0 just i ce but de il 0 me ’

,
’

an I wad break my heart to hear that R o b had g ien them a their ’

paiks

C H A P TE R XXX .

General ,

H ear me and mark me well and look upon m e

D i rectly i n my face—m y woman s face
, ,
’

S ee if one fear one shadow of a terror

, ,

One paleness dare appear but from my anger , ,

To lay hold on your merc ies .

B o n du ca .

W E were permitted to slumber out the remainder of the n ight

in the best manner that the miserable accommodations of the
alehouse permitted The Bailie fatigued w ith his journey and the
.
,

subsequent s cenes less interested also in the event of our arrest

, ,

which to him could only be a matter of temporary inconvenience,

perhaps less nice than habit had rendered me about the c le a n li
ness or decency of his couch, tumbled himself into one of the
2 86 R OB ROY .

cribs which I h ave already described, an d soon was hear d to snore

soundl y A b ro ken sleep sn a tched by intervals while I rested my
.
, ,

head upon the table was my o nl y refreshment In the course of

,
.

the night I had occas i on to observe that there seemed to be ,

some doubt and he si tation in the motions of the soldiery Men .

were se n t out as if to obtain intelli gence and returned apparently

, ,

without bring ing any satisfactory information to their command

i n g o fficer He was obviously eager and anx i ous and again dis
.
,

patched small parties of two or three men some of whom as I , ,

could understand from what the others whispered to each o the r ,

di d not return again to the Clachan .

The morning had broken when a corpora- l and two men rushed
' ’

into the hut draggi ng after them i n a sort of triumph a H ighlander

, , , ,

whom I immediately recognis ed as m y acquaintance the ex-turnkey .

Th e Bail i e who started up at the noise with which they entered

, ,

i mmedia tely m a de t he same d i s covery and exclaim ed Mercy on , ,

us they hae grippi t the puir creature D ougal Captain I will put
in bail—suffi c i en t bail for that D ougal creature
,
.

, .

To th i s offer d i ctated undoubtedly by a grateful recollection of

,

the late inter ference of the H ighlander in his behalf the Captain ,

only answered by re questing M r Jarvie to mind his own affairs, .

and remember that he was hi mself for the present a prisoner ” .

I take you to witness Mr Osb aldis to n e ” sai d the Bailie who

, .
, ,

was probably be tter ac quainted with the process in civil than in

military cases tha t he has refus ed su fficient b ad It s my opinion
, .
’
,

t hat the creature Dougal will have a good act i on of wrongous im

prisonment and damages ngane him under the A c t seventeen hun ,

dred and one and I ll see the creature righted ”

,
’
.

Th e officer whose name I understood was Thornton paying no

, ,

a ttention to the Bailie s threats or expostulations instituted a very

’
,

close inquiry into Dougal s life an d conversat i on and compelled’

,

him to admi t though with apparent reluctance the successive facts

,

— that he knew Ro b R o y M a c G rego r—that he had seen him within

, ,

these twelve m o n th s w ithin t h ese six months —W ithin this month

w

—wi thin this week in fine that h e had parted from him only an ,
'

hour ago A ll thi s detail cam e like drops of bloo d from the
.

prisoner a nd was to all appearance only extorted by the threat of

, , ,

an halte r and the next tree which Capta in Tho rnto n assured him ,

should be h is doom if he di d not give direct and special in fo r

,

mation .

”
A n d now. m y friend said the officer
, you will please inform
, ,

me how many men your master has with him at present ” .

D ougal looked in every direction except at the querist, and began

to answer She canna just be sure about that ”
, .
2 88 ROB R OY .

farther than just to show ye where the M a c Grego r is —Ohon

oh on
Sil ence your howling you rascal l—N o I give you m y word
,

I will ask you to go no farther —Corporal make the men fall in in .

, ,

front of the houses Get out these gentlemen s horses we must

.
’

carry them with us I cannot spare any men to guard them h ere
—Come, my lads get under arms ”
. .

, .

The soldiers bustled about and were ready to move We were

, .

led out along with D ougal in the capacity of prisoners A s we

, ,
.

left the hut, I heard our companion in captivity remind the Captain
of “ ta fo ive kuin e as ” .

Here they are for you saidthe offi cer putting gold into his
, ,

hand but observe, that if you attempt to mislead me, I will blow
your brains out with my own hand ”
is waur than I judged him —it
.

“
The creature,” said th e Bailie
is a warldly and a p erfi dio u s creatu re —O the filthy lucre of gain
.

that men gies themselves u p to ! My father the deacon u sed to

say the penny siller slew mair souls than the n ak e d sword slew
,
”
bodies .

The landl ady now approached and demanded payment of her ,

reckoning, including all that had been quaffed by Major Galbraith

and his H ighland friends Th e English officer remonstrated, but
.

'

Mrs M acAlpin e declared if she hadna trusted to his honour’s

.
,
“

name being used in their company she wad never hae drawn them ,

a stoup o liquor ; for M r Galbraith she m ight see him again or

’
.
, ,

she might no, but weel did she wot she had sma chance of see in g
—
’

her siller and she was a puir widow had naething but her custom ,

to rely on .

Captain Thornton put a stop to her remonstrances by paying the

charge whi ch was only a few English shillings , though the am ount
,

sounded very formida bl e in S cottish denominations The generous .

offi cer would have in cluded Mr Jarvie and me in this general .

acquittance but the Bailie disregarding an intimation from the ,

la ndlady to make as muckle of th e In gl ishers as we could for they ,

were sure to gie us plague eneng went i nto a formal accounting

respecting our share of the reckoning and paid it accordingly , .

Th e Captain took the opportunity to make us some slight apolo gy

for detaining us If we were loyal and pea ceable subjects ” he
.
“
,

said “ we would n o t regret be i ng stopt for a day when it was

, ,

essential to the king s service if othe rwise, he was acting accord

’

in g to his duty .

We were compelled to accept an apology which it would have

served no purpose to refuse, and we salli ed out to attend him on
his march .
 R OB R OY . 2 89

I shall never forget the delight ful sensation with which I ex

changed the dark smoky smothering atmosphere of the Highlan d
, ,

hut in which we had passed the n ight so uncomfortably for the

, ,

refreshing fragrance of the morning air and the glorious beams of ,

t he ris i ng sun which from a tabernacle of purple and golden

, ,

clouds were darted full on such a scene of natural romance and

,

beauty as had never before greeted my eyes To the left lay the .

valley down which the Forth wandered on its easterly course sur
, ,

round ing the beautiful detached hill with all its garland of woods ,
.

On the right am id a profus i on of thickets knolls and crags lay

, , , ,

the bed of a broad mounta in lake lightly curled into tiny waves by ,

the breath of the morning breeze each gl itter ing in its course under ,

the influence of the sunbeams High hills rocks and banks wav .
, , ,

i n g w i th natural forests of birch and oak formed the borders of thi s ,

enchanting sheet of water and as thei r leaves rustled to the wind ,

and twinkled i n the sun gave to the depth of sol itude a sort of l ife
,

and vivac i ty Man alone seemed to be placed in a state of in fe rio

.

r ity in a scene where all the ordinary features of nature were raised
,

and exalted The m i serable l ittle bo u ro c/es as the Ba il i e termed

.
,

them of wh i ch about a dozen formed the v illage called the Clachan

,

of A berfoil were composed of loose stones cemented by clay i h

, ,

stead o f mortar and thatched by turfs laid ru dely upon rafters

, ,

formed of nat ive and unhe wn bi rches and oaks from the wood s
around Th e roofs approached the ground so nearly that A ndrew
.
,

F a irs e rvic e observed we m ight have ri dden over the village the
night before and never found out we were near it unless our horses
, ,

feet had game through the riggin ’

.

F rom all we could see Mrs M a c Alpin e s house miserable as

’
, .
,

were the quarters it afforded was still by far the best in the hamlet ,

and I dare say ( if my description gives you any curiosity to see it)
you will hardly find it m u ch improved at the present day for the ,

S cotch are not a people who speed ily admit innovation even when ,

it comes i n the shape of improvement .

‘

Th e inhabitants of these miserable dwellings were disturbed by

the noise of our departure ; and as our party of about twenty soldiers
drew up in rank before marching o ff we were reconno i tred by many ,

a beldam from the half-opened door of her cottage A s these sibyls .

thrust forth the i r grey heads imperfectly covered with close caps of ,

flannel and showed their shrivelled brows and long sk inny arms
, ,

with various gestures shrugs and muttered express i ons in Gaeli c

,
“

addressed to each other my imagination recurred to the wi tches of

,

Macbeth and I imagined I read in the features of these crones the

,

malevolence of the weird sisters The little ch ildren also wh o .

,

began to crawl forth some quite naked, and others very imperfectly
,

T
29 0 R OB R OY .

covered with tatters of t artan stuff clapped their tiny hands an d , ,

grinned at the English soldiers w ith an expression of national hate ,

and malignity whi ch seemed beyond their years I rem arked par .

t i c ul arly that there were no men nor so mu ch as a boy Of ten or ,

twelve years old to be seen among the inhabitants of a village

,

which seemed populous in proportion to its extent ; and the i dea ‘

certainly occurred to me that we were l ikely to receive from them

, ,

in the course of our journey m ore effectual tokens of ill-will than ,

those which lowered on the visag es and dictated the murmurs of , ,

the women and ch ildren .

I t was not until we commenced our march that the malign ity of
the elder persons of the community broke forth into expressions .

Th e l ast file of men had left the vill age to pursue a small broken ,

track f ormed by the sledges in which the n at ives transp orted the ir
,

peats and turfs and whi ch led through the woods that fringed the
,

lower end of the lake when a shr illy so und Of female exclamation
,

broke forth mixe d with th e screams of children the hooping of

, ,

boys an d the clapping of hands with which the Highland

,
“

dames enforce the i r notes whether of rage or lamentation I , .

a sked A ndre w who looked as pale as death what al l this

, ,

meant .

I doubt we ll ken that ower sune said he

’ ”
Means —it ,
.

means that the Hielan d wives are cursing and banning the red
coats — and wishing ill luck to them and ilka an e that ever spoke
,
-
,

the Saxon tongue I have heard wives fi yte in Engl and and S cot
l and—
.

it s nae marvel to hear them flyt e ony gate— b u t s ic ill-scrapit

’

tongues as thae H ieland carlines — and sic grewsome wishes that ’

,

men should be slaughtere d like sh eep—and t hat they may lapper

their hands to the elbows in their hearts blude—and t hat the y suld ’

dee the death of Walter Guming of G u iyo c k * wh a hadna as muckle

o him left thegither as would supper a messan -do g—sic awsome
,
’

language as that I ne er heard out o a human thrapple — and,

’ ’

unless the de il wad rise amang them to gie them a less on I ,

thin k n a that their talent at cursing could be amended The .

warst o t is , they b id us aye gang up the loch and see what we ll

’
,
’

”
lan d in .

A dding A ndrew s information to wh at I had myself obse rved , I

’

could scarce doubt that some attack was med itated upon our party .

The ro ad, as we advanced seemed to afford every facil ity for such
,

an unpleasan t interruption A t first it winded apart from t he lake.

through m arshy meado w ground overgrown with copsewood, n o w ,

traversing dark and close thickets which would have admitted an

ambuscade to be sheltered within a few yards of our line of march ,
and frequ ently crossing rough mountain torrents some of which ,
29 2 R OB R OY .

c ee viliz e d folk that wear breeks on their hinder ends, and hae
,

purses in their pouches ” .

A pparently these admon i t i ons were not altogether thrown away

on Captain Thornton H e re fo rmed his l ine of march com
.
,

m an ded his soldiers to unsling the i r fi re l o c k s and fix their bayonets ,

and formed an advanced and rear guard each consisting of a non ,

commissioned officer and two soldiers who received strict orders ,

to keep an alert look out D ougal underwent another and very .

close exam inat i on in which he steadfastly asserted the truth of

,

what he had before affirmed and being rebuked on account of the

suspicious an d dangerous appearance of the route by which he w as
gu iding them he answered with a sort of testiness that seemed
,

very natural Her nainsell didna mak ta road- an sh e n tle m an s

,
'

likit gr and roads she suld hae p ide d at Glasco ”

,
.

A ll th i s passed o ff well enough an d we resumed our progress , .

Our route though leading towards the lake had h itherto been s o
, ,

much shaded by wood that we only from time to time obta ined a
, ,

glimpse of that beautiful sheet of water But the road now sud .

de n ly em erged from the forest ground, and winding close by the ,

margin of the loch afforded us a full view of its spacious m i rror

, ,

which now the breeze having totally subsided reflected in stil l

, ,

magnificence the high dark heathy mountains huge grey rocks , ,

and shaggy banks by whic h it is encircled Th e hills now sunk

,
.

on its margin so closely and were so broken and precipitous , as t o

,

afford no passage except just upon the narrow line of the track
which we occup i ed and which was overhung with rocks from
, ,

wh i ch we m ight have been destroyed merely by rolling down

stones without m uch possibil ity of offering resistance A dd t o
, .

this that as the road w inded round every promontory and bay
, ,

wh i ch i ndented the lake there was rarely a possibil ity of seeing a

,

hundred yards before us Our commander appeared to take some

.

alarm at the nature of the pass in which he was engaged which ,

dis played itse lf in repeated orders to his soldiers to be on the alert ,

and in many threats of i nstant death to D ougal i f he should be ,

found to have led them into danger D ougal received these threats .

with an air of stupid i m penetrab ility whi ch might arise either from ,

c on scious i nnocence or from dogged resolut i on .

“
If shen tl e m an s were seek ing ta R ed G re gara c h ” he said “ to , ,

be sure they couldna expect to find her without some wee danger ” .

Just as the H ighlander uttered these words a halt was made by ,

the corporal commanding the advance who sent back one of the ,

file who formed it to tell the Captain that the path in front was
,

occu p ied by H ighlanders stationed on a commanding point of

, ,

particular difficulty A lmost at the same inst an t a soldier fro m the

.
 R OB ROY . 29 3

rear came to say that they heard the sound of a bag pipe in the
,

woods through which we had j ust passed Captain Thornton, a .

man of conduct as well as courage i nstantly resolved to force ,

the pass in front without waiting t ill he was assailed from the
,

rear and, assuring his soldiers that the bagpipes which they heard
were those of the friendly H ighlanders who were advancing to
their assistance he stated to them the importance of advancing
,

and securing Ro b Ro y if possible before these auxiliaries should

, ,

come up to divide with them the honour as well as the reward ,

which was placed on the head of thi s celebrated freebooter H e .

therefore ordered the rear-guard to join the centre and both t o ,

close up to the advance doubli ng his fi les so as to occupy with

, ,

his column the whole practicable part of the road and to present ,

s uch a front as its breadth adm itted Dougal to whom he said .

,

in a whisper You dog if you have deceived me you shall die

,
“
, ,

for it ! was placed in th e centre between two grenadiers with

”
, ,

positive orders to shoot him if he attempted an escape The same .

situation was assigned to us as be ing the safest , and Captain ,

Thornton , taking his half p ike from the sold ier who carried it ,
-

placed himself at the head of hi s little detachment and gave the ,

word to march forward .

The party advanced with the firmness of English soldiers N ot .

s o A ndrew F airs ervic e who was frightened out of his wits ; and
,

not so if truth must be told e ither the Bailie or I myself who

, , , ,

without feeling the same degree of trep idation could not with ,

stoical indifference see o ur l i ves exposed to haz ard in a quarrel

with which we had no concern But there was neither time for .

remonstrance nor remedy .

We approached wi thin about twenty yards of the spot where the

advanced guard had seen some appearance of an enemy I t was .

one of those promontories which run i nto the lake and round the ,

base of which the road had hitherto winded in the manner I have
described In the present case however the path instead of
.
, , ,

keeping the waters edge seal ed the promontory by one or two

’
,

rapid z i gz ags c arried i n a broken track along the precipitous face

,

of a slaty grey rock which would otherwi se have been absolutely

,

inaccessible On the t 0 p of this rock only to be approached by a

.
,

road so broken so narrow and so precarious the corporal declared

, , ,

he had seen the bonnets and long-barrelled guns o f several moun

t ain ee rs apparently couched among the lon g heath and brushwood
,

which crested the em inence Captain Thornton ordered him to .

move forward with three files to d islodge the supposed ambuscade , ,

while at a more slow but steady pace, he advanced to his support

with the rest of his p arty .
29 4 R OB R OY .

The attack wh i ch he meditated was prevented by the u n

expected apparition o f a female upon the summ it of the rock .

Stand ! she sai d with a commanding tone and tell me what , ,

“

ye seek in M a c G rego r s country ? ” ’

I h ave s eldo m seen a finer or more commanding form than this

w oman She might be between the term of forty and fifty years
. ,

and had a countenance wh i ch must once have been of a masculi ne

cast of beauty though 11 0 W i mprinted with deep l ines by exposure ,

to rough weather and perhaps by the wast i ng i nfluence of gr ief

,

and passion its features were only strong harsh and expressive
, , ,
.

She wore her plaid not drawn around her head and shoulders as , ,

is the fashion of the women i n S cotland but dispose d around her ,

body as the H ighland soldiers wear the irs She had a man s bon .
’

net with a feather in i t an unsheathed sword in her hand and a

, , ,
"

pa ir of p i stols at her g irdle .

It s Helen Campbell R ob s wi fe sai d the Bailie in a whisper

’ ’
, ,

of considerable alarm and there w ill be broken heads amang us

or it s lang ”
’
.

”
“
What Seek ye here ? she asked again of Captain Thornton ,

who had h imself advanced to reconno itre .

We seek th e o utla w R ob R o y Macgregor Campbell ” answered

'
“
, ,

the officer and make no war on women therefore offer no vain

,

oppos ition to the king s troops and assure yourself of civil ’

,

treatment ” .

A y retorted the A mazon I am no stranger to your tender

” “
, ,

merc ies Ye have left me ne ither name nor fame —m y mother s

.
’

bones will shrink as ide in their grave when mine are lai d besi de
them—Y e have left me and m i ne neither house nor hold blanket
nor bedding cattle to feed us or flocks to clothe us —Ye have taken
,

, ,

from us all l—all —Th e very name of our ancestors have ye taken
away and now ye come for our lives
,
.

I seek no man s li fe ” replied the Captain I onl y execute my

’
,

orders I f you are alone good woman you have nought to fea r
.
, ,

i f there are any wi th you so rash as to offer useless resistance their ,

own blood be on their o wn hea ds — M ove forward sergeant ” , .

F o rward—march sa id the non-comm i ssioned officer H uzza, .

my boys for R o b R oy s head and a purse of gold ! ”

,
’

H e quickened his p ac e into a run followed by th e six s oldiers ,

but as they attained th e first traverse cf the ascent the flash of a ,

dozen of fi re locks from various parts of the pass parted in quick

-

s uccession an d deliberate a im Th e sergeant shot through the .

,

body still struggled to gain the ascent rai sed h imself by his hands
, ,

to clamber up the face of the rock but relaxed his grasp after a , ,

desperate effort and fall ing rolled from the face of the cli ff in to
, ,
.
29 6 R OB R OY .

the neighbouring skirm ish wh ile at the same time it was of s uch a
, , ,

precipitous and impracticable nature that he dared neither to ad ,

vance nor retreat Footing it up and down upon the narro w space
.

which the top of th e cl iff afforded (very like a fellow at a count ry-fair
dancing u pon a trencher) he roared for mercy in Gaelic and English
,

alternately accord ing to the s ide on which the scale ofvictory seemed
,

to predominate while h is exclamations were only answered by the

,

groans of the Bailie who suffered much not only from ap prehe n
, ,

sion but from the pendulous posture in which he hung suspended

,

by the loins .

On perceiving the Bailie s p recarious situation my first idea was

’
,

to attempt to render h im assistan ce but this wa s impossible with

out the concurrence o f A ndrew whom neither sign nor entreaty , , ,

n o r command nor expostulation could inspire with courage to

, ,

a dventure the descent from his p ai nful elevation where like an , ,

unskilful and obnoxious minister of state unable to escape from the ,

eminence to wh ich he had presumptuously ascended he continued ,

to pour forth piteous prayers for mercy which no one heard and to , ,

s kip to and fro , writh ing his body i nto al l possible antic shapes to

avoid the balls which he conce ived to be whistli n g around him .

In a fe w minutes this cause of terror ceased for the fire, at first ,

s o well sustained n o w sunk at once a sure sign that the conflict

, ,

was concluded To gain some spot from which I could see how
.

the day had gone was n o w m y object in order to appeal to the ,

mercy of the victors who I trusted (whichever side might be

, ,

g ainers) , would not su ffer the honest Bail i e to remain suspended ,

like the coffin of Mahomet between heave n and earth , without ,

l ending a hand to disengage him ,A t lengt h by di nt of scrambling .

, ,

I found a spot which commanded a vi ew of the field of battle It .

w as indeed ended ; and as my mind al ready augured from the

, ,

place and circumstances attendin g the contest it had terminated in ,

the defeat of Captain Thornton I saw a party of H ighlanders in .

the act of disarming that officer and the scanty remainder of his ,

p arty They consisted of about twelve men most of whom were

.
,

w ounded who surrounded by tr eble th e i r n umber an d without the

, , ,

power either to advance or retreat exposed to a murderou s and ,

well-aimed fire which they had no means of returning with effect

, ,
had at length laid down their arms by the order of their o fficer ,

when he saw that the road i n his rear was occupied and that pro ,

tracted resistance would be only wasting the lives of his brave

followers By the H ighlanders who fought under cover, the
.
,

vi ctory was cheaply bought at the expense of one man slain and ,

t wo wounded by the grenades All th i s I learned afterwards .

At .

p resent I only c omprehended the general res ult of the day from ,
 ROB ROY . 2 97

seeing the English officer whose face was c overed with blood
, ,

stripped of his hat and arms and h is men w ith sullen and dejected
, ,

countenances which marked the ir deep regret enduring from the

, , ,

w ild and martial figures who surrounded them the severe measures ,

to which the laws of war subject the vanquished for security of the
v i ctors .

C H A P TE R XXX I .

Woe to the van qu ish d I was stern B re n n o s word

’ ’
,
When sunk proud Rome beneath the Gall i c sword
Woe to the va n qu ish d when hi s massive blade
’

B ore down the scale against her ransom we igh d ’

A n d on the field of foughten battle st ill ,

Woe knows no limits save the V ictor s will ’

.

Tlae Ga u ll z a a’
'

I A NX IOU SLY endeavoured to distinguish D ougal among the

v i ctors I had l ittle doubt that the part he had played was assumed
.
,

on purpose to lead the English o ffi cer i nto the defile and I could ,

not help admiring the address with wh i ch the ignorant and

a pparently half— brutal savage had ve iled his purpose and the ,

a ffected reluctance with wh i ch he had suffered to be extracted from

h im the false i nformation wh i ch it must have been hi s purpose from
the beg inn ing to commun i cate I foresaw we should incur some
.

danger on approach i ng the v i ctors i n the first flush of the i r success ,

w h i ch was not unsta ined w ith cruelty for one or two of the soldiers ,

whose wounds prevented them from ri s ing were pon iarded by the ,

v i ctors or rather by some ragged H ighland boys who had m ingled

,

w ith them I concluded therefore it would be unsafe to present

.
, ,

ourselves without some med iator ; and as Campbell whom I now ,

could not but ident i fy w ith the celebrated freebooter R o b R o y was ,

nowhere to be seen I resolved to claim the protection of his

,

em i ssary D ougal,
.

A fter gaz i ng everywhere i n vain I at length retra ced my steps to

,
‘

se e what ass i sta n ce I could ind ividually render to m y unlucky

friend whe n to m y great joy I saw Mr j arvi e del ivered from hi s

, , ,
.

state of suspense and though very black in the face and much ,

deranged i n the garments safely seated beneath the rock i n front

, ,

o f wh i ch he had been so lately suspended I hastened to join him .

and offer my congratulations whi ch he was at first far from re

,

c e ivi n g i n the sp i r it of cordiality with which they were offered A .

heavy fit of coughing s carce permitted him breath enough to

express the broken hints which he threw out against my sincerity
Uh ! uh ! uh ! uh l—they say a friend—uh ! uh —a frien d
.

“
298 R OB R OY .

sticketh closer than a brither—uh ! uh ! uh —When I came up

here Mai ster Osb aldi s to n e to thi s country cursed of God and
, , ,

man—uh ! uh l Heaven forgie me for swearing— o n nae man s

-
’

errand but yours d ye think it was fair—uh uh —to leave me

,
’
,

first to be shot or drown ed atween red wud H ighlanders and red

,
-

coats and next to be hung up between heaven and earth l ike an

auld potato bogle without sae muckle as trying—uh I uh —sae
, ,

-
,

muckle as trying to rel ieve me

I ma de a thousand apolog i es and laboured so hard to represent ,

the imposs ib ility of affording him relief by my own unass isted e xer
tions that at length I succeeded and the Bailie who was as placable
, , ,

as hasty in hi s temper extended his favour to me once more I

,
.

next took the l iberty of asking him how he had contrived to

extricate himsel f .

Me extricate I might hae hung there till the day of judgment

or I could hae helped mysell wi my head hinging down on the tae ,
’

s ide and my heels on the tother like the yarn scales in the we igh
, ,

house It was the creature D ougal that extri cated me as he did

yestreen—he c u tt it aff the tails 0 my coat w i his durk and another
.
,
’ ’
,

gillie and him set me on my legs as cleverly as if I had never been

aff them— But to see what a thing gude braid claith is l—had I
been in ony 0 your rotten French camlets now or your drab -de
’
,

berri es i t would hae s creeded l ik e an auld rag w i si c a weight as ’

min e —But fai r fa the weaver that wrought the weft o t — I swung
,
’ ’

and bobbit yonder as safe as a gabbart * that s moored by a three ’

ply cable at the B ro o m ie law ” .

I now inqui red w hat had become of h is preserver .

Th e creature ” so he cont i nued to call the H ighlandman

, con ,

t rive d to let me ken there wad be danger in gaun near the leddy till
he came back and bade me stay here — I am 0 the m ind he con ’

that he s seeking after you —

.
, ,

t inue d,
’
it s a cons iderate creature ’

and troth I wad s wear he was right about the leddy as he ca s her
, ,
’
,

too— H elen Campbell was n ame 0 the maist douce m aidens no r ’

,

meekest wives neither and folk say that Ro b him se ll stands in awe
,

0 her I doubt she winn a ken me for it s mony years sin ce we

’ ’
.
,

met— I am clear for waiting for the D ougal creature or we gang

near her ” .

I signified my acquiescence in this reasoning b ut it was not the

will of fate that day that the Bailie s prudence should profit h i mself ’

or any one else .

A ndrew F a irs e rvi c e though he had ceased to caper on the

,

pinnacle upon the ces sa t ion of the firing which had given oc c asion ,

for his whimsical exercise continued as perched on the top of an

, ,
‘

exp o sed c l ifi , too consp ic uous an object to escape the sharp eyes o f
'
3 00 ROB R OY.

to their lynx-eyed observation and instantly half a i do z en of armed

,
-

H ighlanders thronged around us w ith drawn dirks and swords ,

pointed at our faces and throats and cocked pistols presented ,

a gainst our bodies To have offered resistance would have been

.

madness especially as we had no we apons capable of supporting

,

such a demon stration We therefore submitted to our fate and

. ,

w ith great roughness on the part of those who assisted at our toilette ,

were in the act of being reduced to as unsoph i sticated a state (to use
King Lear s phrase) as the plumeless b i ped A ndrew F a irse rvi c e
’
,

who stood shivering between fear and cold at a few yards di stan ce ’
.

Good chance however saved us from this extremity of wretched

, ,

ness for just as I had y i elded up my cravat (a smart Ste inkirk

, ,

by the way and ri chly laced) and the Ba ili e had been d i srobed of
, ,

the fragm ents of his riding-coat—enter D ougal and the scene was ,

changed By a high tone of expostulat i on mixed w i th oaths and

.
,

threats as far as I could conjecture the tenor of his language from

,

the violence of his gestures he compelled the plunderers however

, ,

reluctant, not only to give up their further depredat i ons on our

property but to restore the spoil they had already appro priated
, ‘
.

H e snatch ed my cravat from the fellow who had seized it and ,

twisted it ( in the zeal of his restitution) around my neck with such

suffocating energy as made me think that he had not only been ,

during his residence at Glasgow a substitute of the jailor but must , ,

moreover have tak en les s ons as an apprenti ce of the hangman .

H e flung the tattered remnants of Mr j arvi e s coat around his .

’

shoulders and as more H ighlanders began to flock towards us from

,

the high road he led the way downwards directing and command
, ,

ing the others to afford us but particularly the Ba il ie the a ssistance

, ,

necessary to our descending wi th comparat ive ease and s afety It .

was however in va in that A ndre w Fa irs e rvi c e employed his lungs

, ,

in obsecrat ing a share of D ougal s protection or at least his inter ’

,

ference to procure re s to ratio n c f his shoes .

N a na ” said D ougal in reply she s nae gentle body I trow ;

, , , ,
’
,

her petters hae ganged p are fo o t or she s muckle m i s ta en A nd ,

’ ’
.
,

leaving A ndrew to follow at his leisure or rather at such leisure as ,

the surrounding crowd were pleased to indulge him with he ,

hurried us down to the pathway in which the sk irmi sh had been

fought and hastened to present us as additional captives to the
,

female leader of hi s band .

We were dragged before her accordingly D ougal fighting , ,

struggling scre aming as if he were the party most apprehensive

, ,

of hurt, and repuls ing by threats and efforts all those who
, ,

attempted to take a nearer interest i n our capture than he seemed

to do himse lf At length we were placed before the heroine of the
.
 ROB ROY .
3 0!

day whose appearance , as well as those of the savage un c o u th

'

, , ,

yet martial figures who surrounded us struck me to own the truth , , ,

with considerable apprehension I do not know if H elen Mac .

Gregor had personally mingled in the fray and indeed I was ,

afterwards given to understand the contrary ; but the specks of

blood on her brow her han ds and naked ar ms, as well as on the
,

blade of the sword which she continued to hold in her h an d h er fi

flushed countenance , and the disordered state of the raven locks

which escaped from under the red bonnet and plume that formed
her head -dress seemed all to intimate that she had taken an imme
,

d iate share in the conflict Her keen black eyes and features ex
.

pressed an imagination inflamed by the pride of gratified revenge

and the triumph of victory Yet there was nothing pos itively .

sanguinar y or cruel in her deportment ; and she reminded me

, , ,

when the immediate alarm of the interview was over of some of ,

the paintings I had seen of the i nspired heroines in the catholic

churches of France She was not i ndeed sufficiently beautiful for
.
, ,

a Judith nor had she the ins pired expression of features whi ch
,

painters have given to Deborah or to the w ife of Heber the ,

Kenite at whose feet the strong oppressor of Israel who dwelled in

.
, ,

Harosheth of the Gentiles bowed down , fell and lay a dead man , , .

N evertheless the enthusiasm by which she was agitated gave her

, ,

countenance and deportment wildly dignified in themselves an air , ,

whi ch made her approach nearly to the idea s of those wonderful ,

artists who gave to the eye the heroines of Scripture h istory

,
.

I was uncertain in what terms to accost a personage so n u

common when M r Jarvi e breaking the ice with a preparatory
,
. ,

cough (fo r the speed wi th which he had been brought i nto her
presence had again impeded his respiration) , addressed her as
follows Uh ! uh ! & c & c I am very happy to have this joyful
. .

opportunity ” ( a quaver in his voice stron gly belied the emphasis

w hi ch he studiously laid on the word joyful) this j oyf ul occa
s ion ” he resumed trying to give the adjective a more suitabl e
, ,

ccentuation “
to wish my k insman R obin s wife a very good ’

morning—Uh ! uh l—How s a wi ye (by this time he had talked

a , ~

’ ’ ’

hi mself i nto his u sual j o g-tro t manner which exhib ited a m ixture ,

of famil iarity and self-i mportance) H ow s a wi ye this lang ’ ’ ’

time P—Ye ll hae forgotten me Mrs M a c Grego r Campbell as your

’

cousin—uh ! uh —but ye ll mind my father, D eacon Nicol Jarvie

, .
,
’
,

in the Saut Market 0 Glasgow -an honest man he was and a

’

sponsible and re sp ec tit you and yours —Sae as I said before I am

,

, , ,

r ight glad to see you Mrs M ac Grego r Campbell as my kinsman s

,
.
,
’

w ife I wad crave the liberty of a kinsman to salute you but that
. ,

your gi lli es keep such a do lefu fast haud 0 my arms ; and , to ’ ’

3 02 R OB ROY .

speak H eaven s truth and a magi strate s ye wadn a be the waur of

’ ’
,
”
a c o gfu 0 water before ye welcomed your friends
’ ’
.

There was someth ing in the fam iliarity of this introduction

which ill suited the exalted state of temper of the person to whom
it was addressed then busied with distributing dooms of death,
,

and warm from con quest in a perilous encounter .

What fellow are you ” she sai d that dare to claim kindred
“
, ,
“

with the M ac Grego r and n e ither wear his dress nor speak hi s
lan guage —What are you that have the tongue and the habit of
,

,
”
the hound and yet seek to lie down with the deer
,
?
“
I dinna ken ” s ai d the unda unted B ailie if the ldn dre d has “

ever been weel redd out to you yet cousin —b u t it s ken d and can
, ,
’ ’
, ,

be proved My m other Elspeth M a c F arlan e was the wife of my

father Deacon N ichol Jarvi e —peace be w i them b ai th l—an d
.
, ,
’
,

Elspeth was the daughter of F arlane M a c F arl an e, at the Sheel ing

o Loch Slo y N ow thi s P a rl an e M a c F arlan e as his surviving
’
.
, ,

daughter Maggy M ac F arlan e alias M a c N ab wh a married Duncan , ,

M ac Nab o Stu ck avra lla c h an can test i fy stood as near to your

’
, ,

gudeman , Robin M a c Gre go r as in the fourth degree of kindred, ,

for
The V i rago l-o ppe d the genealogical tree by demanding haughtily , ,

If a stre am of ru shing water acknowledged any relation with the

portion wit hdrawn from it for the mean domestic uses of those who
d welt on its banks
“
Vera true, kinswoman said the Bailie ; but for a that , the ,
“ ’

burn wad be glad to hae the milldam back again in simmer, when
the chuckie st an es are white i n the s un I ken weel e neugh ydu .

Hi eland fold haud us Glasgow people light and cheap for our
lan guage an d our claes but everybody s pe aks their native tongu e u

that they learned in infancy an d it would be a d aft-l ike thing to

s ee me wi my fat wame in a short H iela nd coat an d my puir short
’
,

houghs gartered below the knee like ane 0 your hi ng-legged gillies ,
’
.

M ai r by token kinswoman,” he cont i nu e d in defiance of various

, ,

intimations by wh i ch Dougal seemed to recom mend silence , as

well as of the marks of im patience wh ich the A maz on e vinced at
his loqua ci ty, I wa d hae ye to mind that th e kin g s errand whiles ’

comes in the cadger s gate -an d that for as h igh as ye may think
’
, ,

0 the gudem an as it s righ t e very w ife should honour her husband

’ ’ '

—there s Scripture warrant for that—yet as high as ye haud him,

,
’

as I was sayin g , I hae been serviceable to R o b ere now — forbye a

set 0 pearlins I sent yo urs ell when ye was gaun to be married and
’
,

whe n Ro b was an honest weel doing drover and nane 0 this uh -

,
’

lawfu wark, wi fighting and flashes and flu fl gibs, disturbing t he

’ ’ -
, ,

king’ s peace and disarming his soldiers ” .

3 04 R OB ROY .

The l ady was about to reply when a few wild strains of a pibroch
,

were heard advancing up the road from Aberfoil, the same probably
which had reached the ears of Captai n Thornton s re ar-gu ard, an d ’

determined him to force his way onward ra ther than return to the
village on finding the pass occup i ed The skirmish being of very
,
.

short duration, the arm e d men who foll owed this marti al melody ,

had not although quickening the ir march when they hear d the
,

fi ring been able to arri ve in ti me sufficient to take any share in the

,

rencontre The victory therefore was complete without them, and

.
, ,

they now arrived only to share in the t riumph of their countrymen .

There was a marked difference bet wixt th e appearance of these

new comers and that of the party by wh ich our escort had been
defeated, and it was greatly 1 n favour of the former Am ong the .

H ighlanders who surrounded the Chieftai ness if I may presume ,

to bal l her so without o ffence to gr am mar, were men in the e xtre

mity of age boys scarce able to bear a sword and even wo men
, ,

all in short whom the las t necess ity urges to take up arms ; and
, ,

it added a sh ade of b itter shame to the dejection which clouded

~

Thornton s manly countenance when he found that the numbers

’

and position of a foe oth erwise so despicable had enabled them to

, ,

con quer his brave veterans But the thirty or forty Highl anders
.

who now joined the others were all men in the prime of youth or
,

manhood, active clean-made fellows whose short hose and belted ,

plaids set out their sinewy limbs to the best advantage Their
.
.

arms were as superior to those of the first party as their dress and
appearan ce The followers of the female Chi ef had axes, s cythes
.
,

and other antique weapons in aid of their guns ; and some had
,

only clubs daggers, and long kn ives But of the second p arty
,
.
,

most had pistols at the belt and almost al l had dirks han ging at
,

the pouches which they wore i n front Each had a good gun in .

his hand and a broadsword by his side besides a stout round

, ,

target m ade of li ght wood covered wi th leather, and curiously

, ,

studded with brass and having a steel pike screwed into the centre
, .

These hung on their left shoulder during a march, or whil e they

were engaged in exchanging fire with the enemy and were worn on ,

the left arm when they charged with sword in hand .

B ut it was easy to see tha t this chosen band had not arrived
from a victory such as they fo und the i r ill-appointed companions
p ossessed o f The pibro ch sent fort h o ccasio nally a fe w wailing
.

notes expressive of a very different sentiment from triumph ; and

when they appeared before the wi fe of their Chieftain, it was i n
silence, and with downcast and m elancholy looks They pause d .

when they approached her and the pipes again sent forth the same
,

wild and melancholy strain .

 ROB Ro v .
3 05

Helen rushed towards them with a countenance in which anger

was mingled with apprehension What means this A laster ? ” .
“
,

she said to the minstrel Why a lament in the moment of vic

tory — R obert—Hamish —where s the M a c Grego r —where s your
.

’ ’

father
Her sons who led the band advanced with slow and irresolute
, ,

steps towards her and murmured a few words in Gaelic at hearing

, ,

wh i ch she set up a shr iek that made the rocks ring again in which ,

all the women and boys joined clapping the ir hands and yelling , ,

as if thei r lives had been expiring in the sound Th e mountain .

echoes silent since the military sounds of battle had ceased had
, ,

now to answer these frantic and discordant shrieks of sorro w ,

whi ch drove the very night -birds from their haunts in the rocks as ,

if they were startled to hear orgies more hideous and ill-omened

than the ir own performed in the face of open day
, .

“
Taken ! repeated Helen when the clamour had subsided
”

Taken — captive ! and you live to say so —Coward dogs ! did

,
-

I nurse you for this that you should spare your blood on your
,

father s enemies ? or see him prisoner and come back to tell it ? ”

’
,

Th e sons of M ac G re go r to whom this expostulation was a d

'

dressed were youths o f whom the eldest had hardly attained his
, ,

twent ieth year H a mzlr/z or James the elder of these youths was
.
, , ,

the tallest by a head and much handsomer than his brother his
,

l ight-blue eyes wi th a profusion of fair hair which streamed from

, ,

under his smart blue bonn et made his whole appearance a most ,

favourable Spec imen of the H ighland youth The younger was .

called R obert ; but to di stinguish him from his father the H igh
, ,

landers added the epithet 0 2g or the young Dark hair and dark ,
.
,

features with a ruddy glow of health and animat i on and a form

, ,

strong and well set beyond his years completed the sketch of the
-
,

young mounta ineer .

Both now stood before their mother with countenances clouded

with grief and shame and listened with the m ost respectful sub
, ,

miss i on to the reproaches with which she loaded them A t length

, .
,

when her resentment appeared in some degree to subside the ,

eldest speaking in Engl ish probably that he might not be under

, ,

stood by the ir followers endeavoured respectfully to vindicate h im

,

self and his brother from his mother s reproac hes I was so near ’
.

h i m as to comprehend much of what he said ; and as i t was of ,

great consequence to me to be possessed of informat ion in this

_strange crisis I failed”not to l i sten as attent ively as I could
,
.

Th e M a c G re go r his son stated had been called out upon a “

, ,

trysting with a Lowland hallion who came w ith a toke n from ,

he muttered the name very low but I thought it sounded like my ,

U
3 06 R OB ROY .

o wn . The M ac Grego r,”

he said accepted of the invitation but , ,

commanded the Saxon who brought the message to be detained ,

as a hostage that good faith should be observed to him A ccord .

i n gly he went to the place of appo i ntment (wh i ch had some wild
Highland name that I cannot remember) attended only by A ngus ,

Breck and little R ory com m anding no one to follow him W ithin ,
.

half an hour A ngus Breck came back with the doleful tidings that
the M ac Grego r had been surpri sed and made prisoner by a party
”
of Lennox mili t i a under Galbra i th of G arsc h a tt
,
a c h in H e added .
,

that Galbraith on being threatened by M a c G re go r who upon his

, ,

capture menaced him with retaliat i on on the person of the hostage ,

had treated the threat with great contempt replying Let each side , ,
‘

hang his man we 11 hang the thief and your c ath eran s may hang
’
,

the gauger R o b and the country w ill be rid of two damned things
, ,

at once a wild H ighlander and a revenue o ffi c e r A ngus Breck

,
.
’
,

less carefully looked to than his master contrived to escape ,

from the hands of the captors after havi ng been in their cus ,

tody long enough to hear this d i scussion and to bring off the ,

news .

A n d did you learn this yo u false -hearted traitor said the wife
“
, ,

of M ac Grego r “ and not instantly rush to your father s rescue to

,
’

bring him o ff or leave your body on the place ?

,
”

Th e young M ac G rego r modestly replied by representing the ,

very superior force of the enemy and stated that as they made no , ,

preparat i on for leavi ng the country he had fal len back up the glen ,

with the purpose of collecting a band sufficient to attempt a rescue

with some tolerable chance of success A t length he said The .
,

militiamen would quarter he understood in the neighbouring house , ,

of G artart an or the old castle in the port of Mo nte ith or some other
, ,

stronghold which although strong and defens ible was nevert h e less
, , ,

capable of being surprised could they but get enough of men ,

assembled for the purpose ” .

I understood afterwards that the rest of the freebooter s followers ’

were divided into two strong bands one destined to watch the ,

remaining garrison of Inversnaid a party of which under Captain , ,

Thornton had been defeated ; and another to sho w front to the

,

H ighland clans who had united with the regular troops and Low
landers in this host ile and combined invasion of that mountainous
and desolate territory wh i ch lying betw een th e lakes of Loch , ,

Lomo n d Loch-Katrine and Loch-A rd was at this time currently

, , ,

called R o b R oy s or the M a c G rego r country M essengers were

’
, , .

dispatched in great haste , to concentrate as I supposed their {

, ,

forces with a view to the purposed attack on the Lowlanders and

,

the dejection and despair at first visible on each countenance , ,

3 08 ROB ROY .

brink of a cliff which overhun g the f ood H e set up the ma st l

p i ercing and dreadful cries that fear ever uttered—I may well te r m
.

them dreadful for they haunted my sleep for years afterwards A s

,
.

the murderers or executioners call them as you w ill dragged him

, , ,

along he recognised me even in that moment of horror and ex

, ,

claimed i n the last articulate words I ever heard him utter 0

, ,

Mr Os b aldis to n e save me —save me

.
,

I was so much m oved by this horri d spectacle that al though in , ,

momentary expect ation of shar ing his fate I did attempt to speak ,

i n his behalf but as m i ght have been expected my interfere n ce

, , ,

was sternly disregarded The vict im was held fast by some wh ile
.
,

others b inding a large heavy stone in a pla id tied it round his neck
, , ,

and oth ers aga i n eagerly stri pped h im of some part of his dress .

Half-naked and thus manacled they hurled him into the lake
, , ,

there about twelve feet deep with a loud halloo of vindictive,

triumph above which ho wever his last death -shr iek the yell of
, , , ,

mort al agony was d i st i nctly heard The heavy burden splashed

,
.

in the dark blue waters and the Highlanders with their pole axes
-
, ,
-
,

and swords watched an instant to guard lest extricating himself

, , , ,

from the load to which he was attached the v i ctim might have ,

struggled to regain the shore But the knot had been securely .

bound the w retched man sunk without effort the waters which ,

hi s fall had disturbed , settled calmly over him and the unit of that ,

l ife for which he had pleaded so strongly was for ever withdrawn ,

from the sum of human existence .

C H A P TE R XXX II .

A n d be he safe restored ere evening set ,

Or, if there’ s vengeance in an injured heart,
A n d power to wreak i t i n an armed hand,
Your land shall ache for t Old P lay
’
. .

I KN OW n o t why it is that a single deed of violence an d cruelty

,

affects our nerves more than when these are exercised on a more
extended scale I had seen that day several of my brave country
men fall in battle —it seemed to me that they met a lot appropriate
.

to humanity and my bosom though thrilling with interest was

, , ,

affected with nothing of that sickening horror with which I beheld

the unfortunate Morri s put to death without resistance and in cold ,

blood I looked at my compan ion Mr Jarvie whose face reflected

. , .
,

the feelings which were painted in mine Indeed he could not so .

,

su ppress his horror but that the words escaped him in a low and
,

broken whisper,
 R OB ROY . 3 09

I take up my protest against this deed as a bloody and crue l

m urder—it is a cursed deed and God will avenge i t i n his due way
,

and time .
”

Then you do not fear to follo w ? ” said the virago bending on ,

him a look of death such as that w ith which a hawk looks at his
,

prey ere he pounces .

Kinswoman said the Bailie nae man willingly wad cut short
,
”
,

his thread of life before the end 0 his p i rn was fairly measured off ’

o n the yarn -w in le s —A n d I hae muckle to do an I be spared in this , ,

w arld— public and private bus iness as weel that b e la n gin g to the
magi stracy as to m y ain particular—and nae doubt I hae some to
,

depend on me as puir M attie wha is an orphan— She s a far awa

’ ’
-
, ,

cous i n 0 the Lai rd o Limm e rfi eld— Sae that laying a this the
’ ’
,
’

—
g ith e r skin for skin yea all that a m an hath will he g ive for his
, ,

l i fe ”
.

A n d were I to set you at liberty said the imperious dame

“
, ,

what name would you give to the drowning of that Saxon dog ? ”
Uh uh —hem hem sai d the Bailie clearing his throat as ,

well as he could I suld study to say as little on that score as might

,
“

b e least said i s s u n e s t mended ”

-
.

But if you were called on by the courts as you term them of , ,

just i ce ” she aga in demanded what then would be your answer ?

, ,
“ ”

The Bai l ie looked this way and that way l ike a person who medi ,

tates a n escape and then answered in the tone of one who see ing
, ,

no means of accompl ish ing a retreat determ ines to stand the brunt
of battle— I see what you are dri ving me to the w a about B ut
,
“ ’
.

I ll tell you t plain kinswoman I behoved just to speak according

’ ’
, ,

to my ain consci ence and though your a in gudeman that I w ish ,

had been here for his ain sake and mine as weel as the puir H ie ,

land creature D ougal can tell ye that N i col Jarvi e can wink as ,

hard at a fr iend s fail ings as o n yb o dy yet l s e tell ye kins woman

’
,
’
, ,

m ine s ne er be the tongue to belie my thought and sooner than

’ ’

say that yonder puir wretch was lawfully slaughtered I wad consent ,

to be la id bes ide h im —though I think ye are the first H i eland

woman wad m int s i c a doom to her husband s kinsman but four ’

times removed ” .

It is probable that the tone of firmness assumed by the Bailie in

his last speech was better suited to make an impress i on on the
hard heart of his kinswom an than the tone of supplication he had
hitherto assumed as gems can be cut w ith steel though they resist
, ,

softer metals She comma nded us both to be placed before her

Your name she sa i d to me is Osb aldist o n e —the dead dog,
. .

“ ”
, ,

whose death you have witnessed called you so ” , .

“
My name Osbi s a ldi s t o n e
”
was my answer , .
3 10 R OB R OY .

”
Ra shle igh, then I suppose is your Christian name ,
? she pur
,

s ued .

No my name i s F rancis .

But you kno w Ra shl e igh Osb aldis t o n e she continued He .

is your brother, if I m i stake not at least your kinsman and near ,

friend ” .

He is my kinsman ” I replie d but not my friend We were , ,

“
.

lately engaged together in a rencon tre when we were separated by ’

a person whom I understand to be your husband My blood i s .

hardly yet dried on his sword and the wound on my side is yet ,
”
green I have l ittle reason to acknowled ge h im as a friend
.
.

“
Then she repli ed if a stranger to h is intri gues you can
, ,
“
,

go in safety to G ars c hatta chin and his party without fear of being ,

detained and carry them a message from the wife of the Mac
,

Gregor
I answered That I knew no reasonable cause why the militia
,
“

gentleman should detain me ; that I had no reason on my own ,

account to fear be ing in their hands and that if my going on her

,

embassy would act as a protect ion to my friend and servant who ,

were here prisoners I was ready to set out directly I took the
,
.

opportunity to say That I had come into this country on her ,

“

husband s invitation and his assurance that he would aid me in

’
,

some important matters i n which I was intereste d that m y com

panion Mr Jarvi e had accompan ied me on the same errand ”
,
.
,
.

“
A n d I w i sh Mr Jarvie s boots had been fu o boil ing water
’ ’ ’
.

when he drew them on for sic a purpose ” interrupted the Bailie , .

You may read your father said Helen M a c Grego r turning to

”
, ,

her sons in what this young Saxon tells us— Wise only when the
,
“

bonnet is on his head, and the sword is i n his hand he never ,

exchanges the tartan for the broad cloth but he runs himself into -
,

th e m i serable intr igues of the Lowlanders and becomes again , ,

a fter all he has suffered their agent —the ir tool—their slave , .

”
Add madam sai d I
, and their b enefactor ”
, , .

Be it so ” she said “ for it i s the most empty t itle of them all

, ,

since he has uniformly sown benefits to reap a harvest of the m ost

foul ingratitude — But enough of thi s —I shall cause you to be
guided to the enemy s outposts —ask for their commander and
.

deliver him th i s m essage from me H elen M ac Grego r ; —that if

,

they injure a hair of M a c G rego r’ s head and if they do not set him ,

a t l i berty within the space of twelve hours there is not a lady in ,

th e L ennox but shall before Christmas cry the coronach for them
she will be loath to lose —there is not a farmer but shall sing
well a wa over a bu rnt barnyard and an empty b yi e —
,
- - there is not '

a laird nor heritor s hall lay his head on the pillow at n ight with
3 12 ROB ROY .

avoided any attempt to penetrate the pass which had been so u n

successfully assayed by Captain Thornton They had taken up
'

their situation with some m ilitary skill on a rising ground in the ,

centre of the little valley of A berfoil through which the river Forth ,

winds its earliest course and whi ch is form ed by two ridges of

,

hills faced with barricades of limestone rock interm ixed with huge
, ,

masses of breccia or pebbles imbedded in some softer substance

,

which had hardened around them l ike mortar ; and surrounded

by the more lofty m ountains in the di stance These ridges how .
,

ever left the valley of breadth enough to secure the cavalry from
,

any sudden surprise by the mountaineers and they had stationed ,

sentinels and outposts at proper di stances from this main body in ,

every direction so that they might secure full time to mount and
,

get under arms upon the least alarm It was not indeed, expected .
,

at that time that Highlanders would attack cavalry in an open

,

pla in though late events have shown that they may do so with
,

success When I first knew the H ighlanders they had almost

.
*
,

a superst it ious dread of a m ounted trooper the horse b eing so ,

much more fi erce and imposing in his appearance than the little
sizeltz es of their own hills and moreover being trai ned as the
, ,

more ignorant mountaineers believed, to fight with his feet and

his teeth .

Th e appearance of the picqueted horses feeding in this little ,

val e ; the forms of the sold iers as they sat stood or walked in , , , ,

various groups in the vicinity of the beautiful ri ver and of the bare ,

yet romanti c ranges of rock whi ch hedge in the landscape on

e ither side form ed a noble foreground ; wh ile far to the eastward
,

the eye caught a glance of the lake of Menteith ; and St i rling

Castle di mly seen al ong w ith the blue and distant line of the
,

Ochil Mountains closed the scene , .

A fter gazing on this landscape with gr eat earnestness young ,

M ac Greg o r intimated to me that I was to descend to the station
of the m ilit i a and execute my errand to thei r commander enjo ining ,

me at the same time with a menacing gesture neither to inform

, ,

them who had gu ided me to that place nor where I had parted ,

fro m my escort Thus tutored I descended towards the mil itary

.
,

post followed by A ndrew who only retaining his breeches and

, , ,

stockings of the English costume without a hat , bare-legged w ith , ,

brogues on his feet wh i ch Dougal had given him out of compassion

, ,

and having a tattered plaid to supply the want of all upper gar
ments , looked as if he had been playing the part of a H ighland
To m -o f-Bedlam We had not proceeded far before we became
.

v i sible to one of the videttes who riding towards us presented his , , ,

carabin e and commanded me to stand I obeyed, and when the .

 ROB ROY .
3 13

soldier came up , desired to be cond ucted to his commanding

o ffi cer I was immediately brought where a circle of officers sitting
.
,

u pon the grass seemed in attendance upon one of superior rank .

,
H e wore a cuirass of polished steel over w hich were drawn the ,

i nsignia of the ancient Order of the Thistle My friend Gars .

c h attac hin and many other gentlemen some in uniform others in ,

, ,

their ordinary dress but all armed and well attended seemed to
, ,

receive their orders from this person of distinction Many servants .

in rich liveries apparently a part of his household were also in

, ,

waiting .

H aving paid to this nobleman the respect which his rank ap

p ea re d to demand I acquainted him that I had been an involuntary
,

witness to the king s sold iers having suffered a defeat from the
’
,

H ighlanders at the pass of Loch-Ard ( such I had learned was the

name of the place where Mr Thornton was made prisoner) and.
,

that the victors threatened every species of extremity to those wh o

had fall en into their power as well as to the Low Country in
,

general, unless their Chief who had that m orning been made
,

prisoner were returned to them uninjured The Duke (for he

, .

whom I addressed was of no lo wer rank) l i stened to me with great

composure and then replied that he should be extremely sorry to
, ,

expose the unfortunate gentlemen who had been made prisoners

to the cruelty of the barbarians into whose hands they had fallen ,

but that it was folly to suppose that he would deliver up the very
author of all these disorders and offences and so encourage his ,

followers in their licence You may return to those who sent

.
“

you,” he proceeded and inform them that I shall certainly cause

, ,

R o b R o y Campbell whom they call M a c G rego r to be executed by

, , ,

bre ak of day, as an outlaw taken in a rms and deservi n g death by ,

a thousand acts of violence ; t ha t I should be most justly hel d

unworthy of my situation a nd commission did I act otherwise ;
that I sh al l know how to protect the country against their insolent
threats of violence ; and that if they injure a hair of the head of
any of the unfortunate gentlemen whom an unlucky accident h as
thrown into their power I will take such ample vengeance that
, ,

the very stones of the ir glens shall sing woe for it this hundred
years to come
I humbly begged leave to remonstrate respecting the honourable
mission imposed on me and touched upon th e ob vio u s danger
, .

attending it , when the noble commander replied that such being ,

the case I might send my servant ”

, .

“
The deil be in my feet ” said A ndrew, without either havi n g
,

respect to the presence in which he sto od or waiting til l I replied ,

the deil be in my feet if I gang my tae s length D o the folk

,
’
.
3 14. ROB R OY .

think I hae another thrapple in my pouch after John H iel an dm ’

an s

s n e c k i t th i s ane w i h i s
j o c tale g ? or that I can dive doun at the
’

tae side of a H ighland loch and rise at the tother like a shell
drake ? Na na—ilk ane for him sell and God for us a Folk m ay
,
’
.
, ,

j ust m ake a page 0 their ain age and serve th e m s ell s t ill their
'

bairns gr o w up and gang the ir ain errands for A ndrew Ro b Ro y

,
.

never came near the pari sh of Dre ep daily to steal either pippin or ,

pear frae me or m ine .

Silenc ing my follower with some di fficulty I represented to the ,

D uke the great danger Captain Thornton and Mr Jarv i e would .

certainly be exposed to and entreated he would m ake me the ,

bearer of such mod ified terms as migh t be the means of saving

their lives I assured him I should decl ine no danger if I could
’

be of service ; but from what I had heard and seen I had little ,

doubt they would be instantly murdered should the ch ief of the

outlaws suffer death .

Th e Duke was obviously much affe cted It was a hard case .

,

he said and he felt it as such ; but he had a paramount duty to

,
“

perform to the country — Ro b R o y must die ! ”

I own it was not without emotion that I heard th i s threat of
i nstant death to my acquaintance Campbell who had so often ,

testified h i s good will towards me N or was I s ingular in the

- .

feeling for many of those around the Duke ventured to express

,

themselves in his favour It would be more adv sable they said

i.
” “
, ,
“
to send him to Stirl ing Castle and there detain him a close
‘

prisoner, as a pledge for the submi ssion and dispersion of his gang .

It were a great pity to expose the country to be plundered which , ,

now that the long nights approached it would be found very ,

d ifficult to prevent si nce it was i mposs ible to guard every point ,

,

and the H ighlanders were sure to select those that were left ex
posed ” They added that there was great hardship i n leaving the
.
,

unfortunate pri soners to the almost certa in doom of massacre

denounced against them wh i ch no one doubted would be executed ,

in the first burst of revenge .

G arsc h a ttac hin ventured yet farther c o n fi di n g in the honour of ,

the nobleman whom he addresse d although he knew he had parti ,

cu l a r reasons for disl i king their pr i soner R o b R o y he said

”
.
“
, ,
“
though a kittle neighbour to the Low Country and particularly ,

obnoxious to his Grace and though he maybe carried the c atheran

,

trade farther than ony man 0 h i s day was an auld farrand carle ’
,
-
,

and there might be some means found of making him hear reason ;
whereas his wife and sons were reckless fiends without either fear ,

or mercy about them and at the head of a his l immer loons would
, ,
’
,

be a worse plague to the country than ever he had been ” .

3 16 R OB R OY .

D uke, & c . Our allies continued the D uke have

, &c .
, &c .
, ,

deserted us gentlemen and have made a separate peace with the

, ,

enemy .

“
“
It s just the fate of all all iances said G ars c h atta c h in ; the
’
,

Dutch were gaun to serve us the same gate if we had not got the ,

start of them at Utrecht ” .

You are facet ious sir said the Duke with a frown which , , ,

showed how little he liked the pleasantry ; but our b usiness is “

rather of a grave cast just now —I suppose no gentleman would .

advise our atte mpt ing to penetrate farther i nto the country u n s up ,

ported e ither by fri endly H ighlanders o r by infantry from Invers

naid
A general answer an n ounced that the attempt would be perfect
madness .

N or would there be great wisdom ” the D uke added “ in re , ,

m ai n ing exposed to a n ight attack i n th i s place I therefore pro -

.

pose that w e sh o ul d retreat to the house of Du chray and that of

G art artan and keep safe and sure watch and ward unt il morning:
,

B ut before we separate I will examine R o b Ro y before you all and , ,

make you sens ible by your own eyes and ears of the extreme u n
, ,

fi tn e s s of leaving him space for farther outrage H e gave orders .

accordingly and the prisoner was brought before him his arms
, ,

belted down above the elbow and secured to his body by a horse ,

girth buckl e d t ight beh ind him Two non -commissioned officers .

had hold of him one on each side and t wo file of men with car
, ,

bines and fi xed bayonets attended for add itional security .

I had never seen th is man i n t he dress of h is country which set ,

in a striking point of v i ew the peculiarities of his form A shock .

head of red hair which the hat and periwig of the Lowland costume
,

had in a great measure concealed was seen beneath the H ighland ,

bonnet and verified the epithet of R oy or R e d by which he was

, , ,

much better known in the Low Country than by any other and is ,

still I suppose best remembered The justice of the appellation

,
.

was also vindicated by the appearance of that part of his limbs ,

from the bottom of his k ilt to the top of his short hose which the ,

fashion of his country dress left bare and which was covered with ,

a fell of thick short red hair especially around his knees , which
, , ,

resembled in this respect as w ell as from their sine wy appearance ,

of extreme strength the limbs of a red coloured H ighland bull,

-
.

Upon the whole betwixt the e ffect produced by the change of dress
, ,

and by my having become acquainted with his real and formidable

character his appearance had acquired to my eyes something so
,

much wilder and more striking than it be fore presented that I could ,

s carce recognise him to be the same person .

 ROB ROY .
3 17

H is m anner was bold unconstrained unless by the actual bonds

, ,

haughty and even dign ified H e bo wed to the Duke nodded to

,
.
,

G ars c h a tta c h in and others and showed some surprise at seeing me ,

a mong the party .

“
It is long since we have met Mr Campbell ” said the Duke ,
.
, .

“
It is so , my Lord Duke ; I could have wished it had been
(l ook ing at the fastening o n h is arms) whe n I could have better
paid the compliments I owe to your Grace —but there s a gude ’

time coming ” .

N o time like the time present Mr Campbell ” answered the , .

,

D uke ,
“
for the hours are fast flying that must settle your last
account with all mortal affairs I do not say this to insult your .

d istress ; but you must be aware yourself that you draw near the
end of your career I do not deny that you may sometimes have
.

done less harm than others of your unhappy trade and that you ,

m a y occasionally have exh ibited marks of talent and even of a di s ,

position which promised better th in gs But you are aware how .

long you have been the terror and the oppressor of a peaceful
neighbourhood and b y what acts of violence you have maintained
,

and extended your usurped authority You know i n short that .

, ,

you have deserved death and that you must prepare for i t ” ,
.

My Lord ” said R o b R o y although I may well lay my mis

, ,
“

fortunes a t your Grace s door yet I will never say that you yours elf
’
,

have been the w ilful and w itt ing author of them My Lord if .
,

I had thought sae y our Grace would not this day have been s itting
,

i n judgment on me ; for you have been three t imes within good

r ifle distance of me when you were thinking but of the red deer and ,

few people have ken d me miss my aim But as for them that have
’
.

abused your Grace s ear and set you up against a man that was
’
,

ance as p e a c efu a man as ony in the land and made your name the
’

warrant for drivi ng me to utter extremity —I have had some

,

amends of t hem and for a that your Grace now says I expect to
,
’
,

live to hae mair .

—I know ” sa i d the Duke in ris ing anger

,
that you are a deter ,
,

mined and impudent v illain who will keep his oath if he swears to ,

m i schief ; but it shall be m y care to prevent you You have no .

enemi es but your own wi cked acti ons .

“
Had I called myself Grahame instead of Campbell I might , ,

have heard less about them answered R o b R o y with dogged , ,

resolution .

You will do well s ir said the Duke to warn your wife and
, , ,
“

family and followers to beware how they use the gentlemen now in
,

their hands as I will requite tenfold on them and the ir k in and

, ,

allies the sl ightest injury done to any of his majesty s liege subjects ”
,
’
.
3 18 R OB R OY .

My lord ” said R o y in answer n one of my enemies will

, ,
’
allege that I have been a bloodthirsty man and were I n o w w i my ,

folk I could rule four or fi ve hundred wild H ielan de rs as easy as

,

your Grace those e ight or ten lackeys and foot boys But if your - .

Grace i s bent to tak e the head away from a house ye may lay your ,

account there will be mi s rule amang the members — H owever come ,

o t w hat l ike there s an honest man

’
,
a kinsman 0 my a in maun
’
,
’
,

come by nae skaith — Is there ony body here wad do a gude deed
.

for M ac G re go r — he may repay it though his hands be now t i ed ,

.

Th e H ighlander who had delivered the letter to the D uke repl i ed ,

I ll do your will for you M ac Gre go r and I ll gang back up the

’
,
’

glen on purpose .

H e advanced and rece i ved from the pri soner a message to his
,

wife w h i ch be ing in Gael i c I did not understand but I had l ittle

, , , ,

doubt it related to some measures to be taken for the safety of Mr .

Jarvi e .

D o you hear the fellow s impudence said the D uke ; he ’

confides i n h is character of a messenger H is conduct is of a piece .

with his masters who invited us to make common cause aga inst
’
,

these freebooters and hav e deserted us so soon as the M ac G rego rs

,

have agreed to surrender the B alqu idder lands they were squa bbling
abou t
N o truth in plaids no faith in tartan trews ,

C a m e le o n lik e they change a thousand hues ~

,
.

Your great ancestor n ever said so my lord ” answered Major , ,

Galbraith and with submission neither would your Grace have

, ,

occasion to say it wad ye but be for beginning j ustice at the well

head — Gie the honest man his mear again—Let eve ry head wear its
,

ain bannet and the distractions o the Lennox wad be mended wi

,
’ ’

”
them 0 the land
’
.

“
Hush hush G ars ch attac hin said the Duke “ this is lan ,

g uage dangerous for you to talk to any one and espec i ally to me ,

but I presume you reckon yourself a pri vileged person Please to .

draw o ff your party towards G artart an I shall myself see the

prisoner escorted to Duchray and send yo u orders to -morrow , .

You will please grant no leave of absence to any of your troopers ” .

Here s auld ordering and counter-ordering ” muttered Gars

’

But patience ! patience —we may

,

c h att ac h in between his teeth

“
.

a e day play at Change seats the king s coming

’
, .

The two troops of cavalry now formed and prepared to march ,

o ff the ground that they m ight avail themselves of the remainder

,

of daylight to get to the ir evening quarters I received an intima .

tion, rather than an i nvitation to attend the party ; and I perceived , ,

3 20 R OB ROY .

the w idth of the road would permit and had always at least one if , ,

not two on each s ide with p istol in hand A ndre w F a irs ervi c e
, .
,

furnished with a Highland pony of whi ch they had ma de prey

somewhere or other was permitted to r ide among the other do
,

m e s t ic s of whom a great number attended the l ine of march though

, ,

without fall ing into the ranks of the more regularly train ed troopers .

In this manner we travelled for a certain d i stance until we ,

arrived at a place where we also were to cross the river The .

F orth as being the outlet of a lake is of cons iderable depth even

, , ,

where less important in point of width and the descent to the ford ,

was by a broken precipitous ravine whi ch only permitted one horse ,

man to descend at once The rear and centre of our small body
.

halting on the bank while the front fi les passed down in success i on ,

produced a cons iderable delay as i s usual on such occasions and, ,

even some confus ion ; for a number of those riders who made no ,

proper part of the s quadron crowded to the ford w ithout regularity

, ,

and made the m ilitia cavalry although tolerably well drilled par
, ,

take i n some degree of their own disorder .

It was w hile we were thus huddled together on the bank that

I heard R o b R o y whisper to the m an behind whom he was placed
on horseback Your father Ewan wadna hae carried an auld
, , ,

friend to the shambles like a calf for a the D ukes in Christendom

, ,
’
.

Ewan returned no answer but shrugged as one who would , ,

express by that sign that what he was do ing was none of his own
choice .

“
A n d when the M a c G re go rs come down th e gle n and ye see ,

t oom faulds a bluidy hearth stane and the fire flashing out between
,
-
,

the rafters 0 your house ye may be th ink ing then Ewan that were
’
, , ,

your friend R o b to the fore yo u would have had that safe which it
,

will make your heart sair to lose ” .

Ewan of B rigglan ds again shrugged and groaned but remai ned ,

silent .

“
It s a sair thing cont i nued Ro b sliding his insinuations so
’
, ,

gently into Ewan s ear that they reached no other but m ine who
’
,

certainly saw myself in no shape called upon to destroy his pro

s p e c t s of escape It s a sair thing that Ewan of B rigglan ds
’
, ,

whom Ro y M a c Grego r has helped with hand sword and purse , , ,

suld mind a gloom from a great man mair than a friend s life ” ,
’
.

Ewan seemed sorely agitated but was silent We heard the ,

.

D uke s voice fro m the opposite bank call Bring over the
’ “
,

prisoner ” .

Ewan put his horse in motion and just as I heard Ro y say , ,

N ever weigh a M ac G rego r s bluid against a broken whang o

’ ’

leather for there will be another account ing to gie for it baith here
,
 R OB ROY .
3 2:

and hereafter ” they passed me h astily and dashing forward rather

, , ,

precip itately entered the water ,

.

“ — ”
N ot yet sir not yet said some of the troopers to me as I
, , ,

was about to follow while others pressed forward into the stream
, .

I saw the Duke on the other s ide by the wan ing light engaged , ,

in command ing h is people to get into order as they landed dis ,

p e rs e dly s ome h igher some lo wer

,
Many had crossed some were,
.
,

i n the water and the rest were prepar ing to follow when a sudde n
, ,

S plash warned me that M ac G rego r s eloquence had preva i led on

’
.

Ewan to give him freedom and a chance for l i fe The Duke also .

heard the sound and instantly guessed its meaning

, Do g he .

exclaimed to Ewan as he landed where is your prisoner ? and, ,

“

w ithout waiting to hear the apology which the terrified vassal

began to falter forth he fired a pistol at his head whether , ,

fatally I know not and exclaimed Gentlemen d i sperse and

pursue the v illa in —A n hundred guineas for him that secures
, , ,

R o b R o y! ”
A ll became an instant scene of the most lively confusion R o b .

R o y disengaged from his bonds doubtless by Ewan s slipping the

, ,
’

buckle of his belt had dropped o ff at the horse s tail and instantly
,
’
,

d ived passing under the belly of the troop horse which was on his
,
-

left hand But as he was obliged to come to the surface an instant

.

for air the glimpse of his tartan plaid dre w the attent ion of the
,

troopers some of whom plunged into the river with a total dis re
,

g ard to their own safety rushing accord ing to the express i on of , ,

their country through pool and stream somet imes swimming their
, ,

horses sometimes losing them and strugg ling for the ir own lives
, .

Others less zealous or more prudent broke off in d ifferent direc

, ,

t i ons and galloped u p and down the banks to watch the places at
, ,

whi ch the fugit ive might possibly land The hollowing the whoop .
,

ing the calls for aid at d ifferent poi nts where they saw or con
, , ,

c e ive d they saw some vestige of h im they were seeking —the

, ,

fre quent report of p i stols and carbines fired at every object which ,

exc ited the least suspi c i on the sight of so many horsemen riding -
,

about in and out of the river and striking wi th their long broad
, ,

swords at whatever excited their attention joined to the vain ,

exertions used by their officers to restore order and regularity ;

and all thi s in so wild a scene and visible only by the imperfect ,

tw il ight of an autumn evening made the most extraord inary hub ,

bub I had hitherto witnessed I was indeed left alone to observe .

it for our whole cavalcade had dispersed in pursuit or at least to

, ,

see the event of the search Indeed as I partly suspected at the .

,

t ime, and afterwards learned with certainty many of those who ,

seemed most active in their attempts to waylay and recover the

x
3 22 R OB R OY .

fugitive were in actual truth least desirous that he should be

, , ,

taken and only joined in the cry to increase the general confusion
, ,

and to give R o b R o y a better opportun ity of escap ing .

Escape indeed was not difficult for a swimmer so expert as the

, ,

freebooter as soon as he had eluded the first burst of pursuit A t

,
.

one time he was closely pressed and several blows were made ,

which flashed in the water around him the scene much resembling
one of the otter-hunts which I had seen at Osb aldist o n e -Hall ,

where the animal i s detected by the hounds from his being n e c e s si

t a te d to put his nose above the stream to vent or breathe while he ,

i s enabled to elude them by gett ing under water again so soon as

he has refreshed h imself by respi ration M a c G re go r however .
, ,

had a trick beyond the otter ; for he contrived when very closely ,

pursued to d isengage himself unobserved from h is plaid an d

, ,

suffer it to float down the stream where in its progress it quickly ,

a ttracted general attention m any of the horsemen were thus put

u pon a false scent and several shots or stabs were averted from
,

the party for whom they were designed .

Once fairly out of vi ew the recovery of the prisoner became ,

almost impossible since in so many places the river was rendered

, , ,

inaccessible by the steepness of its banks or the thickets of alders , ,

poplars and b irc h which overhanging its banks prevented the

, , , ,
‘

approach of horsemen Errors and acc idents had also happened .

among the pursuers whose task the approaching night rendered

,

every mo m ent more hopeless ,

Some got themselves involved in .

the edd i es of the stream and requ i red the ass i stan ce of their com
,

panions to save them from drown ing Others hurt by shots or .

,

blows in the confused mel ee implored help or threaten ed ven ,

ge an c e and i n one or two i nstances such acc i dents led to actual

,

strife The trumpets therefore sounded the retreat announcing

.
, , ,

that the command ing offi cer with whatsoever unwillingness had , ,

for the present relin quished hopes of the important prize which
had thus unexpectedly escaped hi s grasp and the troopers began ,

slowly reluctantly and brawling with each other as they returned

, , ,

again to assume their ranks I could see them darkenin g as they .

,

formed on the southern bank of the river — whose murmurs long , ,

drowned by the louder cri es of ve n geful pursuit were now heard ,

hoarsely m ingl ing with the deep discontented and reproachful , ,

voices of the disappointed horsemen .

H ithert o I had been as it were a mere spectator though far from

an uninterested one of the s ingular scene which had passed But
, .

n o w I heard a vo i ce suddenly exclaim Where is the English “

,

stranger —It was he gave R o b R o y the knife to cut the belt ” .

Cleave the pock -pudding to the chafts cried one voice .

 3 24 R OB ROY .

who had doubtless crossed the river with the other domestics ,

accord ing to his forward and impertinent custom of putting him

self always among the foremost could not fail to satisfy the Duke , ,

or the competent authorities respecting my rank and situation ; ,

and that therefore my character did not require my immediate

appearance at the risk of being drowned in the river—o f being
, ,

unable to trace the march of the squadron in case of my reaching the

other side in safety—o r finally of being cut down right or wrong
, , , ,

by some straggler who might think such a piece of good service a

,

convenient excuse for not sooner rejoining h is ranks I therefore .

resolved to measure my steps back to the little in n where I had ,

passed the preceding night I had nothing to apprehend from .

Ro b R o y H e was now at liberty , and I was certa in in case of

.
,

m y fall ing in with any of his people t he news of his es cape would ,

ensure me protect i on Im igh t thus al so show that I had no i n

.
,

tenti on to desert Mr Jaryie in the del i cate s ituation in which he

.

had engaged himself chiefly on my account A n d last ly it was

, .
,

only in th i s quarter that I could hope to learn tidings concerning

R a shle igh and my father s papers which had been the original
’
,

c ause of an expedition so fraught with perilous adventure I there .

fore abandoned all thoughts of crossing the Forth that evening ;

an d turning my back on the Fords of Frew began to retrace my ,

steps towards the little village of A berfoil .

A sharp frost-wind which made itself heard and felt from time
,

to time removed the clouds of mist which might otherwise have

,

slumbered t ill morning on the valley ; a n d though it could not ,

totally d i sperse the clouds of vapour yet threw them i n confused ,

and chan geful masses n o w hovering rou nd the heads of the moun
,

tains now fill ing as with a dense and voluminous stream of smoke
, , ,

the various deep gullies where masses of the composite rock or ,

breccia tumbling in fragments from the cliffs have rushed to the

, ,

valley leavin g each behind its course a rent and torn ravine re
,

sembling a deserted water-course The moon which was n o w .

,

high and twinkled with all the vivacity of a frosty atmosphere,

silvered the windi ngs of the river and the peaks and precipices
which the mist left visible wh ile her beam s seemed as it were
,

absorbed by the fl e e cy whiteness of the m i st where it lay thick ,

and condensed ; and gave to the more light and vapoury specks ,
w hich were elsewhere visible a sort of filmy transparency resem ,

bling the l ightest veil of silver gauze D espite the uncertainty of .

my s ituation a view so romantic joined to the active and inspiring

, ,

influence of the frosty atmosphere elevated my spirits while it ,

braced my nerves I felt an inclination to cast care away and bid

.
,

defiance to danger, and involuntarily whistled by way of cadence ,

 ROB R OY .
3 25

to my steps, whic h my feeling of the cold l ed me to accelerate, an d

I felt the pulse of existence beat prouder and higher in proportion
as I felt confidence in my own strength courage , and resources , .

I was so much lost in these th o ughts and in the feelings which ,

they excited, that two horsemen came up behind me without my

hear ing their approach until one was on each side of me , when
,

the left -hand rider pulling up his horse , addressed me in the

,
”
English tongue . So he friend 1 whither so late ?
, ,

To my supper and bed at A be rfoil ” I repl ied , .

A re the passes open ? ” he inquired with the same command ,

ing tone of voice .

I do not kno w ” l replied ; I shall learn when I get there ;

,
”
but, I added the fate of Morris recurring to my recollection
, ,

I f yo u are an English stranger I advise you to turn back till

,

daylight there has been some disturbance in this neighbourhood ,

and I should hesitate to say it is perfectly safe for strangers ” .

The soldiers had the worst —had they not ? ” was the reply .

They had indeed ; and an offi cer s party were destroyed or ’

made prisoners ” .

Are you sure of that ? ” replied the horseman .

”
A s sure as that I hear you speak I replied I was an un
, .

willing spectator o f the skirm sh i ”

.

”
Unwilling ? continued the interrogator “
Were you not en .

gaged in it then ? ”
Certainly no I replied
, I was detained by the king s officer ” ’
.

On what suspicion ? and who are you ? or wh at is your n ame ? ”

he continued .

“
I really do not kno w sir sai d I “ why I should answer so
, , ,

many questions to an unknown stranger I have told you enough .

to convince you that yo u are going into a dangerous and distracted

country If yo u choose to proceed it is your own affair ; but as
.
,

I ask yo u no questions respecting your name an dbusiness you will ,

oblige me by making no inq uiries after mi ne ”

.

”
Mr Francis
. O s b ald i s t o n e said the other rider, in a voice the
,

tones of which thrilled thr ough every nerve of my body should ,

“

not whistle his favourite ai rs when he wishes to remain undis

”
covered
A n d Diana Vernon—
.

; for she wrapped in a horseman s cloak was

’

the l ast speaker—whistled in playful m im iek ry the second part of

, ,

the tune which was on my l ips when they came up .

“
Good God I exclaimed like one can it be
you, Miss Vernon on such a spot — at such an hour—in such a
,

lawles s country—in such

,

In su ch a masculine dress, yo u would say — But what wou ld .

2 26 ROB R OY .

you have — Th e philosophy of the excellent Corporal N ym is the

best after all things must be as they may p — a w n v eréa
”
.

While she was thus speak ing I eagerly took advantage of an u n ,

us ually bright gleam o f moonsh i ne to st u dy the appearance of her ,

companion for it m ay be easily supposed that finding Miss Vernon ,

in a place so solitary engaged in a journey so dangerous and under

, ,

the protection of one gentleman only were c i rcumstances to excite ,

every feeling of jealousy as well as surprise The rider did not ,

.

speak with th e deep melody of R a shle igh s voice his tones were ’

more high and commanding h e was taller moreover as he sate , ,

on horseback than that fi rs t-rate object of my hate and suspicion

,
.

N either did the stranger s address resemble that of any of my other

’

cous ins ; it had that i ndescribable tone and manner by wh i ch we

recogn ise a man of sense and breeding even in the firs t few sen ,

teh e es he speaks .

Th e object of my anx iety seemed desirous to get rid of my in

ve s tigat io n .

D iana,”
he said in a tone of mingled k indness and authority
, ,

give your cousin his property and let u s not spend time here ” , .

Miss Vernon had in the meantime taken out a small c ase and ,

lean ing down from her horse towards me she said in a tone in , ,

which an effort at her usual quaint lightnes s of expression contended

with a deeper and more g rave tone of sent iment You see my dear ,
“
,

coz I was born to be your better angel R as hle igh has been com
, .

pelle d to yield u p hi s sjp o il, and had we reached this same village of
A berfoil last n ight as we purposed I should have found some
, ,

Highland sylph to have wafted to you all these representat i ves of

commercial wealth But there were giants a n d dragons in the way
.

and errant kn ights and damsels of modern times bold though they
-
,

be must not as of yore run into useless danger— Do not you do so

, , ,

either my dear coz

,
.

D iana said her companion “ let me once more warn yo u that

, ,

the evening waxes late and we are still distant from our home ”
, .

I am com ing s ir I am coming — Consider ” she added with

, , , , ,

a sigh how lately I have been subjected to control—besides

,
'

I have not yet given my cousin the packet—and bid him farewell
for even —Yes Frank ” she said f o r w ar d—there is a gulf between “

us—
, ,

a gulf of absolute perdit i on w here we go you must not -

follow — what We do, you must not share i n — F arewell —b e happy! ”

,

In the attitude in which she bent from her horse which was ,

a H ighl and pony her face not perhaps altogether unwillingly

touched mine—She pressed my hand while the tear that trembled
, , ,

in her eye found its way to my cheek instead of her own It was
a moment never to be forgotten—inexpressibly bitter yet mixed
.

,
3 28 ROB R OY .

I am not,” was my reflection transgressing her injunc t io n so

,

pathetically gi ven since I am but pursuing my own journey by the

,

only open route If I have succeeded in recovering my father s

.
’

property, it still remains incumbent on me to see my Glasgow

friend delivered from th e situation i n which b e ha s invo l ved him
s e lf o n my account besides what other place of rest can I obt ain
,

fo r the night excepting at the little inn of A berfoil ? They also must
stop there since it is impossible fo r travellers on horseback to go
farther— Well then we shal l meet again—meet for the las t time
,

perhaps—but I shall see and hear her—I shall learn who this
, ,

happy man is who exercises over her the authority of a husband

I shall learn if there remains in the diffi cult course in which she
,

seems engaged any diffi culty which my e fforts may remove, or

aught that I can do to express my gratitude for her generosity—for
,

”
her disinterested f iendship
r .

A s I reasoned thus with mys elf colouring w ith every plausib l e ,

pretext which occurred to my in genuity my passionate desire once ,

more to see and converse w ith m ycousin I was suddenly hailed by ,

a touch on the shoulder and the deep voice of a H ighlander, who,

walking still faster than I though I was proceeding at a smart pace,
accosted me with A braw nicht Ma ister Osb aldisto n e —
,

we have
“
, ,

met at the mirk hour before now ” .

There was no mistaking the tone of MacGregor he had escaped

the pursuit of his enemies and was in full retreat to his o wn wilds
,

and to his adherents H e had also contrived to arm himsel f, pro

.

bably at the house of some secret adherent for he had a musket on ,

his shoulder, and the usu al H ighl and weapon s by his side To .

have found myself alone wi th such a character in such a situation,

a nd at this l ate hour in the evening might n o t have bee n ple as an t ,

to me in any ordinary mood of min d ; fo r though habituated to ,

think of Ro b Ro y in rather a friendly point of view I will confess ,

frankly that I never h eard him speak but t hat it seemed to thril l
my blood The intona ti on of the mountainee rs gives a habitual
.

depth and hollowness to the sound of their words owin g to the ,

guttural expression so common in the ir native language, and they

u su all y speak wi th a good de al of empha sis To these na tional .

peculiar ities Ro b Ro y added a sort of hard indi fference of accent

and manner, expressive of a mind neither to be daunted, nor sur
p rised, nor affected by what pas sed before him, however dre adful,
,

however sudden however a fflicting Habitual danger with un

, .
,

bounded confidence in his own strength and sagacity, had rendered

him indifferent to fear ; and the lawless and precarious life he l ed,
had blunted , though its dangers and errors had not destroyed, his
feelings for others An d it was to be remembered, that I had very
.
 R OB ROY .
3 29

lately seen the followers of this man commit a cruel slaughter on

a n unarmed and suppliant i ndividual
'

Yet such was the state of my mind that I welcomed the company ,

of the outlaw leader as a relief to my own overstrained and painful

thoughts and was not without hopes that through his means I
, ,

might obtain some clew of guidance through the maze in which my

fate had involved me I therefore answered his greeting cordially
.
,

and congratulated him on his late escape in circumstances when

escape seemed impossible .

A y ” he replied there is as much between the craig and the

“ “
, ,

woodie as there is between the cup and the l ip But my peril was
"
.

less than you ma ythink being a stranger to this country Of those

,
.

that were summoned to take me and to keep me and to retake me , ,

again there was a moiety as cousin N icol j arvie calls it that had
, , ,

nae will that I suld be either taen or keepit fast or ret ae n and of , ,

t other moi ety there was a e half was feared to st i r me and so I

’
,

had only l ike the fourth part of fifty or s xty men to deal withal
i
”
.

A n d enough too I should think replied I

“ ”
.
, ,

I dinna ken that said he but I ken that turn every ill
, ,

willer that I had amang them out upon the green before the
Clachan of A berfoil I wad find them play with broadsword and
,

target one down and another com e on

,
.

H e now inqu ired into my adventures since we entered his country ,

and laughed heart ily at my account of the battle we had in the inn ,

and at the explo its of the Ba ilie w ith the red hot poker -
.

Let Glasgo w Flourish he exclaimed Th e curse of Crom .

well o u me if I wad hae wi shed better sport than to see cous in

,

N icol Jarvie singe Ive rac h s plaid l ike a sheep s head bet ween a
’
,
’

pair of tongs B ut my cous in Jarvie he added more gravely

.
, , ,

has some gentleman s bluid in his veins although he has been

’
,

unhappily bred up to a peaceful and mechanical craft which could ,

not but blunt any pretty man s spirit —Ye may estimate the reason’
.

why I could not receive you at the Clachan of A berfoi l as I pur ,

posed They had made a fine hose -net for me when I was absent
.

twa or three days at Glasgow upon the k ing s business -but I th ink
,
’

I broke up the league about their lugs —they ll no be able to hound ’

one clan against another as they hae dune —I hope soon to see the .

day when a H iel an dm en will stand shouther to shouther B ut

’
.

what chanced nex t ? ”

I gave him an account of the arrival of Captain Thornton and his
party and the arrest of the Ba il ie and myself under pretext of our
, ,

being s u 5pi c io u s persons and upon his more Special inquiry I re ,

collected the officer had mentioned that besides my name sounding ,

suspicious in his ears , he had orders to secure an old and young

3 3 ° ROB R OY .

person resembling our description This again moved the outlaw s

, .
’

ris ibility .

“
A s man lives by bread ” he said the bu z zards have m is t ae n , ,
“

my friend the Ba il ie for his Excellency and you for D iana Vernon
—O the most egregious night howlets
,
-
,

Miss Vernon ? ” sa i d I with hesitation and trembling for the , ,

answer D oes she still bear that name — She passed but now ,
”
along with a gentleman who seemed to use a style of authority ,
.

A y ay ” ans wered R o b she s under law fu authority now ;

“ “ ’ ’
, , ,

and full time for she was a daft hempie —But she s a mettle quean
,
’
.

’
It s a pity his Excellency i s a thought eldern The like 0 yo urs ell .
’
,

or my son H amish, wad be mair sortable in point of years .

Here then was a complete downfall of those castles of cards

, ,

which my fancy had in despite of my reason so often amused her , ,

self with bu ild ing A lthough in truth I had s carcely anything else
.

to expect since I could not suppose that D iana could be travell ing
,

i n s u ch a country at such an hour with any but one who had a , ,

legal t itle to protect her I did not feel the blow less severely whe n it ,

came ; and M ac Gre go r s voice urging me to pursue my story ’

, ,

sounded in my ears without conveying any exact import to my

mind .

'

Yo u are ill ” he said at length after he had spoken twice with

, , ,

out receiving an answer ; “ this day s wark has been ower muckle ’

for ane doubtless unuse d to s ic things ” .

Th e tone of kindness in wh i ch this was spoken recalling me to

myself and to the necessities of my situation I continued my
, ,

n arrative as well as I coul d — R o b R o y expressed great exultat i on

at the successful skirm ish in the pass .

They say ” he observed that king s chaff is b ett er t han other “ ’

, ,

folk s corn ; but I think that canna be said 0 king s sol diers , if they
’ ’ ’

let themselves be beaten wi a wheen auld carles that are past ’

fighting and bairns that are no come t ill t and wives w i their rocks
,
’
,
’

and distaffs the very wally dra igles o the country side — A n d
,
-
’
- .

D ougal Gregor too wha wad hae thought there had been as , ,

muckle sense in his tatty p o w that ne er had a better covering than ’

his ain shaggy hassock of h a ir l—But say away— though I dread

,

what s to come neist — for my H elen s an incarnate devil when her

’
,
’

bluid s u p—puir thing she has ower muckle reason

’
,
.

I o b serve d as much del i cacy a s I could i n communicating to

him the usage we had received but I obviously saw the detail gave ,

him great pain

“
I wad rather than a thousand merks ” he said, “ that I had ,

been at hame To misgu i de strangers and forbye a my ain

’

natural cousin , that had showed me s i c kindness—I wad rather

, ,
3 3 2 ROB R OY .

My sto ry was soon told ; and I add ed the ep i sode of my having

recovered the papers of my father though I dared not trust my ,

voice to name the name of D iana .

I was sure ye wad get them said M ac G re go r ; the l etter ye ,

” “ '

brought me contained his Excellency s pleasure to that effect ; and ’

nae doubt it was my will to have aided in it A n d I asked ye up .

int o this glen on the very errand But it s like his Excellency has .
’

forgathered wi R ashle igh sooner that I expected ”

’
.

Th e first part of th i s answer was what most forcibly struck

me .

Was the letter I brought you then from this person you cal l
“
, ,

his Excellency ? Who is he ? and what is his rank and proper

name
I am th i nking said M ac Grego r that since ye din n a ken
, ,
“

them already they canna be 0 muckle consequence to you and

,
’
,

sae I shall sae naeth ing on that score But weel I wot the letter .

was frae h is ain hand or having a sort of business of my ain on

, ,

my hands being as ye weel may see just as much as I can fairly

, , ,

manage I canna say I would hae fashed mysell sae muckle ab out
,

the matter ” .

I now recollected the lights seen in the library—the various

circumstances which had excited my jealousy — the glove—the
agitation of the tapestry which covered the secret passage from
R ashle igh s apartment ; and above all I recollected that D iana
’
, ,

retire d i n order to write as I t hen thought the b illet to which I

, , ,

was to have recourse in case of the last necessity H er hours .

,

then were not spent i n solitude but in listening to the addresses of

, ,

some desperate agent of Jacobitical treason who was a secret resi ,

dent with in the mansion of her uncle Other you ng women have
sold themselves for gold or su ffered themselves to be seduced from
,

the ir first love from vanity ; but D i ana had sacrificed my affections
and her own to partake the fortunes of some desperate adventurer
—to seek the haunts of freebooters through m idnight deserts with ,

no better hopes of rank or fortune than that mim i cry of both which "

the mock court of the Stewarts at St Germains had in their power .

to bestow .

I will see her ” I said internally if it be possible once more “

I will argue with her as a friend—as a kinsman - o n the risk she i s

, , , , .

incurring and I will facilitate her retreat to F rance where she may
, , ,

with more comfort and propriety as well as safety abide the issue , ,

of the turmoils which the political trepanner to whom she has ,

united her fate is doubtless busied i n putting into motion

,
.

”
I conclude then I said to M acGregor after about five minutes
, , ,
’

silence on both sides, that his Excellency since you give me no

“
,
 ROB ROY .
3 33

other name for him was residing in Osb aldis to n e-Hall at the same
,

time with m yself ? ”

To be sure —to be sure —and in the young lady s apartment as ’
,

best reason was ”

This gratuitous information was adding gall to
.

bitterness . But few ” added M a c G rego r ken d he was derned

, ,
’

there save Rashle igh and Sir Hildebrand ; for you w ere out o the
,
’

question ; and the young lads haena wit eneugh to ca the cat frae ’

the cream —But it s a bra aul d fashioned house and what I

’ ’
-

speci ally admire is the abundance 0 holes and bores and conceal ’

ments —ye could put twenty or thirty men in ae corner and a

,

fam ily might l ive a week without finding them out—whilk nae ,

doubt may o n occasion be a special convenience I w ish w e had

-

the l ike 0 Os b aldis to n e-H all on the braes o Craig R oyston —But we
.
, .
’ ’
-

maun gar woods and caves serve the like 0 us puir H ieland bodies ” ’
.

I suppose h is Excellency said I was privy to the first acci ,

”
,

dent wh i ch befell
I could not help hesitating a moment .

Ye were going to say M orris ” sa i d R o b R o y coolly for he was , , ,

too much accustomed to deeds of violence for the agitation he had

at first expressed to be of long continuance I used to laugh .

heartily at that reik ; but I ll hardly hae the heart to do t aga in ’ ’

s ince the ill-far d accident at the Loch—Na na —his Excellency

,
’

ken d nought 0 that ploy—it was a managed atween R a shl e igh

, ,
’ ’ ’

and mysell But the sport that came after —

. and R a s hle igh s shi ft ’

0 turning the susp i c i on aff h im s e ll upon you that he had n a e gri t

’
,

favour to frae the beginning— and then Miss D ie she maun hae us ,

sweep up a our spiders webs again and set you out o the Justice s
’ ’
,
’ ’

claws—and then the frightened craven ,M orri s that was scared out ,

0 his seven senses by seeing the real man when he was charg in g
’

the innocent stranger—and the gowk of a clerk—and the drunken

c arle of a just i ce — Ohon ohon l—m ony a laugh that job s gien me ’

— and now a that I can do for the puir devil is to get some masses
,
’

sai d for his soul ” .

May I ask ” said I “ how M i ss Vernon came to have so much

, ,

influence over R ashleigh and his accomplices as to derange your ,

projected plan ? ”

Mine ? it was none of mine N o man can say I ever laid my .

burden on other folk s shoulders - it was a R ashle igh s doings

’ ’ ’

But undoubtedly she had great influence wi us baith on account

, ,
’

of his Excellency s affect i on as weel as that she ken d far ower

’ ’

mony secrets to be lightlied in a matter 0 that kin d —D eil tak

,
’

hi m he ejaculated by way of summ ing up that gies women

”

—
“
, , ,

e ither secret to keep or powe r to abuse ful e s s houldna hae chap .

”
ping sticks .
33 4 R OB R OY .

We were now within a quarte r of a mile fro m the village when ,

three Highlanders springing up on u s with presented arms com

, ,

m an ded us to stand and tell our business Th e single word Gre .

g a rag iz in the deep and commanding voice of my companion was

, ,

answ ered by a shout or rather yell of joyful recognition One

, ,
.
,

throwing down his fire -lock clasped hi s le ader so fast round the ,
.

knees that he was unable to extri cate himself muttering at the

, , ,

same time a torrent of Gaelic gratulation w hich every n o w and

, ,

then rose into a sort of scream of gladness Th e two others after .

,

the first howling was over set o ff l i terally with the speed of deers , ,

contending which should first carry to the village which a strong ,

party of the M a c G re go rs now occup ied the joyful news of Ro b ,

R oy s escape and return

’
Th e intelligence exc ited such shouts of
.

jubilation that the very hills rung again and young a n d old men
, , , ,

women and children without dist inction of sex or age came run
, , ,

nin g down the vale to meet us w ith all the tumultuous speed and ,

clamour of a mountain torrent When I heard the rush ing no ise .

and yell s of thi s joyful multitude approach us I thought it a fitting '

,

precaution to remind M ac Grego r that I was a stranger and under ,

his protection He accordingly held me fast by the hand while

.
,

the assemblage crowded around him wi th such shouts of devoted

attachment and joy at his return as were really affecting ; nor did
, ,

he extend to his followers what all eagerly sought the grasp namely , ,

of his hand until he had made them understand that I was to be

,

kindly and carefully used .

Th e mandate of the Sultan of Delhi could not have been more

promptly obeyed Indeed I now sustained nearly as much in c o n
.
,

ven i e n c e from their well me a nt attentions as formerly from the i r -

rudeness They would hardly allow the fri end of their leader to
.

walk upon his own legs so earnest were they in afford ing me support
,

and ass i stance upon the way ; and at length ,taking advantage of a
slight stumble which I made over a stone wh i ch the press did not ,

perm it me to avoid they fairly seized upon me and bore me in

, ,

their arms in triumph towards Mrs M a c Alp in e s .

’
.

On arrival before her hospitable -wigwa m I found power and ,

popularity had its inconven i ences in the H ighlands as everywhere ,

else ; fo r before M ac Gre go r could b e perm itted to enter the house

,

where he was to obtain rest and refreshment he w as obliged to ,

relate the story of h is escape at least a dozen t imes over as I was ,

told by an o ffic io u s old man who chose to translate it at least as ,

often for my e dific atio n and to whom I was i n policy obli ged to ,

seem to pay a decent degr ee of attention Th e audience be ing at . \

length satisfied group after group departed to take their bed upon
,

the heath or in the neighbouring huts , some cursing the Duke and
,
3 36 R OB ROY .

will carry aught 0 what I am gaun to say to the to wn -c o un c iLo r

’
,

elsewhere to my prejudice or to yours ? ”

,
“ ”
Make yourself easy on that head cousin N icol answered , ,

M a c Grego r ; the tae half 0 the gillies winna ken w hat ye s ay and ’

the tother winna care —besides that I wad stow the tongue out o
,
’
,

the head 0 an y 0 them that suld presume to say ower again ony
’ ’

speech held w i me in their presence ” ’

.

A weel cousin sic being the case and Mr Os b al dis to n e here

“
, , ,
.

being a prudent youth and a safe friend- I se plainly tell ye ye are,

’
,

breeding up your family to gang an ill gate ”— Then clearing his .

voice with a prelimi n ary hem he addressed his kinsman checking

, , , ,

as Malvolio proposed to do when seated in his state his fam il iar ,

smile with an austere regard of control Ye ken you rsell ye haud

l ight by the law—and for my cousin H elen forbye that her recep
.

t i on 0 me this blessed day whilk I excuse on account of perturba

’
,

tion of mind was muckle on the north side 0 f ri en dly I s ay (out

,
’
,

putting this personal reason o f complaint ) I hae that to say 0 your ’

wife
Say n othi ng of her kinsman said R o b in a grave and stern , , ,

tone but what is befitting a fri end to say and her hu sband to
,
“
,

hear Of me you are welcome to say your full pleasure ”

. .

A weel aweel ” said the Bailie somewhat disconcerted we se ’

let that be a pass -over—I dinna a pprove of making mischief in

, , , ,

families— But here are your twa sons H amish and R ob in whilk
s ign ifi es as I m gien to understand j ames and R obert—I trust ye
, ,
’
’
, ,

w ill call them sae in future —there comes nae gude o H a m ish e s ’
,

and E ac hin e s and A n gu s s e s except that theyre the names ane aye
, ,
’

chances to see in the in dictments at the Western Circuits for cow

l ifting at the instance of his majesty s advocate for his majesty s
,
’ ’

interest—a weel but the twa lads as I was saying they haena sae
, , ,

muckle as the ordinar gru n ds man of liberal education—they dinna , ,

ken the very mult ipl i cat ion-table itself whilk is the root of a n sefu ,
’ ’

knowledge and they did naething but laugh and fi e er at me when

I tauld them my mind on their ignorance—It s m y belief they c an
,
’

neither read write, nor cipher if sic a thing could be believed o

, ,
’

ane s ain connexions i n a Christian lan d ”

’
.

”
“
If they could kinsman said M ac Gre go r with great i n diffe r
, , ,

ence their learning must have come 0 free will for whar the deil ’

was I to get them a teacher —wad ye hae had me put on the gate
, ,

0 your Divinity-H all at Glasgow College Wanted a tutor for R ob

’
, ,

R oy s bairns
’

N a kinsman replied Mr j arvie

,
but ye m ight hae sent the
,
.
, ,

lads whar they could hae learned the fear 0 Go d and the u sages ’
,

of civiliz e d c reatures They are as ignorant as the kyloes ye u s e d

.
 R OB R OY .
337

to drive to m arket or the very English churl s that ye sauld the m

,
”
to and can do naething whatever to purpose
,
.

Umph answered R o b ; Hamish can bring dou n a black “

cock when he s on the wing w i a single bullet and R o b can drive

’ ’
,

a dirk through a t wa i n ch board

-
”
.

Sae muckle the waur for them cousin Sae muckle the waur ,

for them ba ith answered the Glasgow merchant in a tone of great

decision an they ken naething better than that they had better
“
,

n o ken that ne ither Tell m e yo urs e ll R o b what has a this cutting

’
.
, , ,

a n d stabbing and shooting and driving of dirks wheth er through

, , ,

human flesh or fir deals dune for yo urs ell ? and w ere n a ye a hap ,

pier man at the tail 0 your n o w te bestial when ye were in an honest

’ -
,

c alling than ever ye hae been since at the head 0 your H ieland
’
, ,

kernes and gallyglass e s

I observed that M a c Gre go r wh ile his well meaning kinsman ,
-

spoke to him in this manner turned and wri thed his body like a ,

man who i ndeed suffers pain but is determined no groan shall ,

e scape his l ips ; and I longed for an opportunity to interrupt the ,

well-meant but as it was obvious to me qu ite mistaken strain in

, , , ,

which j arvi e addressed this extraordinary person Th e dialogue .

,

however came to an end without m y interference

,
.

A n d sae sa id the Bailie I hae been thinking R o b that as

“ ” “
, , , ,

i t may be ye are ower deep i n the black book to win a pardon and ,

ower auld to mend yo u rs ell that it wad be a p ity to bring up twa ,

h o p e fu lads to sic a godless trade as your ain and I wad blithely

’
,

tak them for prentices at the loom as I began mysell and my father ,

t h e deacon afore me though praise to the G i ver I only trade n o w

, , ,

as wholesale dealer—A n d—and ”

H e saw a storm gathering on R ob s brow wh ich probably induced ’
,

him to throw in as a s w e etn er of an obnoxious proposition what

, ,

he had reserved to crown his own generosity had it been embraced ,

a s an acceptable one and R obin lad ye n e edn a look sae glum , , ,

for I ll pay the prentice fee and never plague ye for the thousand
’
-
,

merks neither ” .

Cea a e m z llz a dzao u l hundred thousand devils ! ” excla im e d R o b

' ' ’
’ ‘

, ,

rising and strid ing throu gh the hut My sons weavers — M zll za
’ '

m o ll zgizea rt / but I wad see every loom in Glasgow beam treadles , , ,

and shuttles burnt in hell-fire sooner ! ”

,

With some difficulty I made the Bailie, who was preparing a

reply comprehend the risk and impropriety of pressing our host on
,

this topic and in a minute he recovered, or reassumed his serenity

, ,

o f temper

But ye mean weel—ye mean weel ” said he

.

so gie me your ,

hand N icol, and if ever I put my sons apprentice I will gie yo u

, ,

Y
3 3 3 R OB R OY .

the refusal o’ them An d as yo u say the re s the t housand merks ’

to be settled between a s —H ere B achin M a c An al ei ster, b ring m e

, ,
.

.
,

m y sporran .

The person he addressed a tall s t ron g mountaineer who s e em ed , , , .

to act as M a c Grego r’ s l ieutenant brought from som e place of safety ,

a large leathern pouch such as H ighlan ders of rank wear before ,

th em when i n full dress made of the skin of the sea otter richly , ,

garn i she d with silver o rn aments an d s tuds .

I a dvis e no man to attempt open ing th is sporran till he has my

s ecret said R o b Ro y ; and then twisting one but ton in one dire c
”
,

t i on and an other in another pulling o n e stud upward and pressing

, , ,

anoth er down ward the mout h of the purse wh i ch was bound with
, ,

massive silver-plate opened and gave admitta nce to his hand He

,
.

made me remark as if to break short the subject on which Bailie

,

j arvi e had spoken that a small steel p i stol was concealed within
,

the purse the trigger of which was connected with the mountin g
, ,

and made part of the machine ry so that the weapon would cer ,

t a in ly be dis charged and in all probability its contents lodged in

,

the person of an y one who b e in g u n a c quain t e d w ith the secret

'

, ,

should tamper with the lock wh i ch secured h is treasure This .

,

s aid he touching the pistol

,
this is the keeper of my privy
purse ” .

Th e sim plicity of the contri vance to secure a furred pouch which

"

could have been ripped open without any attempt on the sprin g ,

reminded me of the verses in the Odyssey where Ulysses in a yet , ,

ruder age i s content to secure his property by casting a curi ous

,

and involved complication of cordage around the sea-chest in whi ch

it was deposited .

Th e Bail i e put on his sp ectacles to examine the mechanism and ,

when he had don e returned it with a smile and a sigh observin g

, , , ,

A h ! R o b had i ther folk s purses been as weel guarded I do u bt

“ ’
, ,

if your sporran wad hae been as weel filled as it kythes to be by

the we ight ” .

N ever mind kinsman said R o b laughing it will aye

—
“
, , ,

open for a friend s necessity or to pay a just due and here ”

’
, ,

he added pulling out a rouleau o f gold here is your ten “

hun dred merks —count them and see that you are full and justly
, ,

,
”
Pa i d .

Mr j arvi e took the mon e y in silence an d weighing it in his han d

. ,

fo r an instant laid it on the table and replied R o b , I canna tak it

-I down a intromit w i th it—there can nae gude come o t—I hae
, , ,
’

seen ower weel the day what sort of a gate your go wd is made in
ill-got ge ar ne er pro sp ered ; and to be plain wi you , I winn a
’ ’

m eddle wi t it l ook
’
s —
as th e re might be bluid o n t
”
,
’
.
 3 4° R OB R OY .

now appeared in a style of abundance and even delicacy which , ,

for the place might be con sidered as extraordinary The greater

,
.

par t of the provis i ons were cold intimating they had been prepared
,

at some d istance and there were some bottles of good French wine
to relish past ies of various sorts of game as well as other dishes ,
.

I remark ed that M a c G rego r while do ing the honours of the table

,

with great and anxi ous hospital ity prayed us to excuse the circum ,

stance that some particular d ish or pasty had been infringed on

before it was presented to us You must know said he to Mr
”
.
“
,
.

j arvi e but w ithout looking to wards me

,
you are not the only ,

gu ests thi s night in the M a c Grego r s country wh ilk doubtless ye ’

, , ,

will believe since my wife and the twa lads would otherwise have
,

been ma i st ready to attend you as weel beseems them ,

.
”

Bailie j arv ie looked as if he felt glad at any c ircumstance which

o ccasioned their absence ; and I should have been entirely of h is

opinion had it not been that the outlaw s apology seemed to imply
,
’

they were in a ttendance on D iana and her companion whom even ,

in my thoughts I could not bear to designate as her husband .

While the unpleasant ideas a ri s ing from th i s suggestion counter

a cted the good effects o f appetite welcome and good cheer, I re , ,

marked that R o b R oy s attention had extended itself to providing

’

us better bedding than we had enjoyed the night before Tw o of .

the least fragile of the bedsteads which stood by the wall of the ,

hut had been stuffed wi th heath then i n full flower so artificially

, , ,

arranged that the flowers be ing uppermost afforded a mattress at

, , ,

once elast i c and fragrant Cloaks an d such bedding as could be

.
,

c ollected stretched over this vegetable couch made it both soft and
, ,

warm Th e Baili e seemed exhausted by fatigue I resolved to

. .

adjourn my commun ication to him until next morning ; and there

.

fore suffered him to betake himself to bed so soon as he had

fi nished a plentiful supper Though tired and harassed I did not
.
,

myself feel the sam e disposition t o sleep but rather a restless and
_ ,

feverish anxiety which led to some farther d i scourse betwixt me

,

and M a c Grego r .
 ROB ROY .
3 41

C H A P TE R XXX V .

A hopeless darkness settles o er my fate ’

Ive seen the last look of her heavenly eyes

’
,

Ive heard the last sound of her blessed vo ice

’
,
’
I ve seen her fa ir form from my s ight depart
My doom is closed C OU NT B A SIL
. .

“
I K EN not what to make of you Mr Osb aldis to n e sa i d Mac ,
.
,

Gregor as he pushed the flask towards me

,
You eat not you .
“
,

show no wi sh for rest ; and yet you drink not though that flask of ,

B ourdeaux might have come out of Sir H ildebrand s ain cellar ’

.

H ad you been always as abstinent you would have escaped the ,

deadly hatred of your cousin R as hle igh .

”

Had I been always prudent ” sa id I blushing at the scene he , ,

recalled to my recollect ion I should have escaped a worse evil

,

the re proach of my o w n consc ience .

M a c G re go r cast a keen and somewhat fierce glance on me as ,

i f to read w hether the reproof wh i ch he evidently felt had been i n

, ,

t e n t i o n a lly conveyed H e s aw that I was th inking of myself n o t

.
,

of him and turned his face towards the fire with a deep sigh I
, .

follo w ed his example an d each remained for a few m inutes wrapt

,

i n hi s own pa in ful reveri e Al l in the hut were now asleep or a t

.
,

least silent excepting ourselves

,
.

M a c G re go r first broke s ilence in the tone of one who takes u p ,

his determ ination to ente ron a pa inful subject My cous in N icol .

“ '

j arv i e means well he said but he presses ower hard on the

” “
, ,

temper and s ituat ion of a man l ike me considering what I have

been—what I have been forced to become—and above all that
,

, ,

whi ch has forced me to become what I am ” .

H e paused ; and though feel ing the delicate nature of the dis
,

c u ss i o n i n which the conversation was l ikely to engage me I could ,

not help reply ing that I did not doubt his present situation h ad
,
’

much w h ich must be most unpleasant to h is feeli n gs I should .

“

”
be happy to learn I ad ded that there is an honourable chanc e
, ,
”
of your es cap ng from it
i .

“
You speak l ike a boy returned M ac Grego r in a low tone that
growled l ike d istant thunder— l ike a boy who th inks the auld
, ,
“
,

gnarled oak can be twisted as easily as the young sapl ing Can I .

forget that I have been branded as on outlaw—stigmatized as a

traitor—a pri ce set on my head as if I had been a wolf—m y family
treated as the dam and cubs of the hill-fox whom all may torment , ,

vil ify degrad e and insult

, ,
—the very name which came to me from
3 42 ROB ROY .

a long and noble line of mart ial ancestors denou nced as if it were , ,

a spell to conjure up the devil w i th P .

A s he wen t on i n th i s manner I could pla inly see that by the , , ,

enumeration of his wrongs he was lashing himself up in to a rage , ,

in order to justify i n his own eyes the e rrors they had led him into .

In this he perfectly succeeded ; his l ight grey eyes contracting

alternately and dilating their pupils unt il they seemed actually to ,

flash with fl ame whi le he thrust forward and dre w back h is foot
, ,

grasped th e h ilt o f hi s d irk extended his arm cl enched his fist, and , ,

fin al ly rose from his seat .

A n d they s lza l l find ” he said in the same muttered but deep

“
, . ,

tone of stifled passion that the name they have dared to pro ,
“

scribe - that the name of M a c G re go r—as a spell to raise the wild

’

devil withal — Til ey shall hear of my vengeance that would scorn

to listen to the story of m y wrongs —Th e m ise l able H ighland
.
,

drover bankrupt bare footed —str ipped of all dishonoured and

, ,
-
,

hunted down because the avarice of othe rs grasped at more tha n

,

that poor all could pay shall burst on them in an awful change , .

They that sco ffed at the grovelling worm and trode upon him , may ,

cry and bowl when they see the stoop of the flying and fi e ry
mouthed drago n —But why do I speak of all this ? ” he said sitt in g ,

down agai n and i n a calmer tone

,
Only ye may opine it frets my
p atience M r Osb aldis t o n e to be hunted like an otter or a sealgh
, .
, , ,

or a salmon upon the sha llows and that by my very friends and ,

ne ighbours ; and to have as many sword-cuts made a n d pistols ,

flashed at me as I had thi s day in the ford of A vo n do w would try

, ,

a sai nt s temper much more a H ighlander s wh o are n o t famous

’ ’

for that gude gift a s ye may hae heard Mr Os b aldi s to n e —But ae

, ,

. .
, ,

thing bides w i me 0 what N i col sai d — Im vexed for the bairns

’ ’ ’

I m vexed when I thi n k 0 Ham i sh and R obert living their father s

’ ’ ’

life ” An d yielding to despondence on acc ount of his sons which

.
,

he felt not upon h i s own the father rested his head upon his hand , .

I was much affected Will All my life long I have been more , .

melted by the distress u n de r wh i c h a strong proud and powerful , ,

m i n d is compelled to g ive way than by the m ore eas ily excited ,

sorrows of softer dispositions The desire of aiding him rushed .

strongly on my mind notwithstand ing the apparent difficulty , an d

,

even impossibility of the task , .

“
We have extensi ve connexions abroad said I : might not ,
“

your sons wi t h some assistance—an d they are well entitled t dwhat

,

my father’ s hous e can give - fin d an honourable resource in foreign

.

service
I believe my countenance showed signs of sincere emotion ; but
my companion takin g me by the hand as I was going to S peak
, ,
3 44 R OB R OY .

the stuff and may leave this doleful country I shall never think
, .

on Loch Ard but the thought will gar me grew again

-
”
.

“
I am sorry cousin ” said M a c Grego r wh o entered the hut
, , ,

during the last observation I have not been altogether in the c ir ,

c u m s t an ces to make your recept i on sic as I could have desired

natheless if you would condescend to visit my puir dwelling

,
’

“
Muckle obliged muckle obliged ” answered Mr j aryie very , ,
.
,

hastily But we maun be ganging—w e maun be j oggi ng M r

.
“
,
.

Osb aldi s to n e and m e—bus i ness canna wait ” .

A weel kinsman ” repl ied the H ighlander “ ye ken our fashion

—foster the guest that comes —further him that maun gang —But
, , ,

ye cannot return by Drym en —Imust set you on Loch Lomond and ,

boat ye down to the Ferry o Balloch and send your nags round to ’

meet ye there —
,

It s a maxim of a wise m an never to return by the

’

”
same road he came provid ing another s free to h im ,
’
.

A y ay R o b ,
”
said the Ba ili e that s ane o the maxims ye
, , ,
“ ’ ’

learned when ye were a drover —ye c a re dn a to face the tenants

where your beasts had been tak ing a rug of the i r moorlan d grass
in the b y-ganging—and I doubt your road 5 waur marked now than ’

it was then ”
.

“
Th e mair need not to travel it ower often kinsman replied , ,

Ro b ; but I se send round your nags to the ferry w i Dougal

“ ’ ’

Gregor wha is converted for that purpose into the Bailie s man
,
’
,

comi n g —not as ye may belie ve from A berfoil or Ro b R oy s

, ,
’

,
—
country but on a quiet jaunt from Stirling See here he is ”
,
.

“
I wadna hae ken d the creature sa id Mr Jarvie ; nor indeed ’ ”
,
.

was it easy to recogni se the wild H ighlander when he appeared ,

before the door of the cottage att ired i n a hat periwig and riding , , ,

coat which had once called A ndrew F a irse rvi c e master and
, ,

mounted on the Bail ie s horse and lead ing mine He received his ’
, .

last orders from his master to avoid certain places where he m igh t “

be exposed to susp i cion—to collect what intell igence he could i n

the course of his journey and to await our coming at an appointed ,

place near the F erry of Balloch

, .

A t the same time M ac G re go r invited us to accompany him upon

,

our own road assuring us that we must necessar ily march a few
,

miles before breakfast and recommending a dram of brandy as a ,

proper introduction to the j ourney i n which he was pledged by the ,

Bailie who pron ounced it an unlawful and perilous hab it to begin

,

the day wi sp irituous li qu drs except to defend the stomach (whilk

’
,

was a tender part ) against the morn ing mist ; in wh ilk case his
father the deacon had recom m ended a dram by precept and ,

e xample
”

“
Very true kinsman replied R o b fo r which reason we who
, , , ,
 R OB R OY .
3 45

are Children of the Mist have a right to drink brandy from morning ,

till night ”
.

Th e Bailie thus re freshed was mounted on a small H ighland

, ,

pony another was o ff ered for my use whi ch however I de c lined ; , , ,

and we resumed under very different gu idance and auspices our

, ,

journey of the preceding day .

Our escort consisted of M ac G re go r and five or six of the hand ,

s o m e s t best armed and most athletic mountaineers of his band

, , ,

and whom he had generally in immediate attendance upon his o wn

person .

When we approached the pass , the scene of the skirmish of the

preced ing day and of the still more direful deed which followed
,

it M a c G rego r hastened to speak as if it were rather to what he

, ,

knew must be necessarily passing in my mind than to any th ing ,

I had said—h e S poke in short to my thoughts and not t o my , , ,

word s .

“
You must think hardly of us M r Osb aldis t o n e and it is not , .
,

natural that it should be otherwise But remember at least we

have not been unprovoked—w e are a rude and an ignorant and
.
, ,

it may be a violent and passionate but we are not a cruel people

—the land m ight be at peace and in law for us did they allow us to
,

enj oy the blessings of peaceful law But we have been a persecuted .

generation ” .

A n d persecut ion said the Bail i e maketh wise men m ad

, , .

What must it do then to men l ike us l iv ing as our fathers did ,

a thousand years since and possessing scarce m ore lights than they ,

did — Can we v i ew the i r bluidy ed i cts against u s —thei r hang ing ,

heading hounding and hunting down an anc ient and honourable

, ,

name as deserving better treatment than that wh i ch enemies give

,

to enemies — Here I stand have been in twenty frays and never , ,

hurt man but when I was i n het bluid ; and yet they wad betray '

me and hang me l ike a masterless dog at the gate of ony great ,

man that has an ill will at me ”

'

I replied that the proscript i on of his name and family sounded

,
“

in Engl i sh ears as a very cruel and arb itra ry la w and having

thus far soothed him I resumed my propositions of obtaining m il i,

tary employment for himself if he chose it and hi s sons in foreign , , ,

parts M a c G rego r shook me very cordially by the hand and de

.
,

taining m e so as to permi t Mr j arvie to precede us a manoeuvre

,
.
,

for wh i ch the narrownes s of the road served as an excuse he sa id ,

to me You are a ki nd hearted and an honourable youth and

,
“ -
,

understand doubtless that which is due to the feel ings of a man of

honour —But the heather that I have trod u pon when living must
, ,

.
,

bloom ower me when I am dead- my heart would sink and my arm ,

3 46 ROB ROY .

would shrink and wither like fern in the fros t were I to lose s ight ,

of my native hills ; nor has the world a scene that would console
m e f o r the loss of the rocks and cairns w ild as they are that you
see around u s —A n d H elen —what could become of her were I to
, ,

leave her the subject of new insult and atrocity —

.
,

o r how co uld she

bear to be removed from these s cenes whe fe the remembrance of

her wrongs is aye sweetened by the recollection of her revenge —
,

I
was o n ce so hard put at by my Great enemy as I may well ca him ,
’
,

that I was forced e en to gie way to the ti de and removed myself

’
,

and my people and family fro m our dwellings in our native land
and to wi thdraw for a time into M a c C allum More s country—and
,
’

H elen made a Lament on our departure as weel as M ac R imm o n

h im s ell could hae framed i t—and so piteously sad and waesome
,

that our hearts ama ist broke as w e sate and listened to her—it was
,
‘

l ike the wailing of one that mourns for the mother that bore h i m
the tears came down the rough faces of — our gillies as they h eark-ened
—and I wad not have the same touch of heartbreak again no not , ,

to have all the lands that ever were owned by M ac Gre go r ”

.

But your sons ” I said “ they are at the age when your coun
, ,

t rym e n have usu al ly no objection to see the world ?

”

A n d I should be content ” he repl i ed that they pu shed their “

, ,

fortune in the French or Spanish servic e as is t he wont of Scottish ,

caval iers of honour and last n ight your plan seemed feas ible
eno ugh But I hae see n h is Excellency thi s morning before ye
were up .

Did he then quarter so near us ? ” s aid I my bosom throbbing ,

with anxi ety .

“
Nearer than ye thought ” was M a c Grego r’s reply
, but he
s eemed rather in some shape to j al ouse your speak ng to the young
i

leddy and so you see

“
There was no occasion for jealousy I answered with some , ,

haughtiness I should not have in truded on hi s privacy ” .

“
But ye must not be offende d or look out from amang your ,

c u rls then like a wild-cat out of an ivy t od for ye are to under

,
-
'

stand that he wishes most sincere weel to you and has proved ,

it A n d i t s partly that whilk has set the heather on fire e en

.
’ ’

now .

Heat her on fire said I I do not und erstan d you

. .

Why ” resumed M ac G rego r ye ken weel en eugh that wome n

and gear are at the bottom o f a the misch ief in th is w arld —
, ,

I hae
’
- .

been misdoubtin g your cousin R a shle igh since ever he saw that he
wasna to get Die V ernon for his marrow and I think he took ,

grudge at his Excellency mainly on that accou n t But then came

the splore about th e surrendering your papers —an d we hae now
.
3 48 R OB R OY .

scene of confusion and distress likely to arise from any general

exertion in favour of the exiled royal family .

Let it come man—let it come answered M ac Grego r ; ye

, ,

n ever saw dull weather cle a r w i thout a shower ; and if the world is

turned upside down why honest m e n have the better chance to

, ,

cut brea d out of it ” .

I again attempted to bring him back to the subject of Diana ;

but although on most occas i ons and subjects he used a freedom of
speech which I h ad no great delight in l i stening to, yet upon that
alone, which was most interesting to me he kept a degree of s c ru ,

p ul o u s reserve and contented

,
himse l f with intimating “
that he ,

hoped the leddy would be soon i n a quieter country than this was
like to be for one while ”
I w as obliged to be content with this
.

answer and to proceed in the hope that accident might as on a

, ,

former occasion stand my friend and allo w me at least the sad

, ,

gratification of bidding farewell to the object who had occupied

such a share of my affections so much beyond even what I ,

had supposed, till I was about to be separated from her for

ever .

We pursued the margin of the lake for about six English miles ,

through a devious and beautifully variegated path until we attained ,

a sort of H ighland fa rm or assembly of hamlets near the head of

, ,

that fine sheet of water, called if I mistake not Le diart or some, , ,

such name H ere a numerous party of M a c G re go r s men were

.
’

stationed in order, to receive us The taste as well as the eloquence

.
,

of tribes in a savage or to Speak more properly in a rude state is

, , , ,

usually just because it is unfettered by system and affectation and

,

of this I had an example in the choice these mountaineers ha dmade

of a place to receive the ir guests It has been said that a British .

monarch would judge well to receive the embas sy of a rival power

in the cabi n of a man o f war ; and a H ighland leader acted with
- -
_

some propriety in choosing a situation where the natural objects o f

gran deur proper to his country might have their full effect on the
minds of his guests .

We as cended about two hundred yards from the shores of the

lake, guided by a brawling brook, and left on the right hand four
or five H ighland huts, with patches of a rable land around them so ,

small as to show that they m ust have been worked with the spade
rather than the plough cut as it were out of the surrounding copse
,

w ood, and waving with crops of barley and oats A bove this limited .

space the hill became more steep and on its edge we descried the
glittering arms and waving drapery of about fifty of M ac Grego r s ’

followers They were stationed on a spot the recollection of which

.
,

ye t strikes me with admiration The brook, hurling its waters .

 R OB ROY .
3 49

down wards from the mountain had in this spot encountered a ,

barrier rock over wh i ch it had made its way by two d istinct leaps
, .

Th e first fall across which a magnificent old oak slanting out from
, ,

the farther bank partly exten ded itself as if to shroud the dusky
,

stream of the cascade might be about twelve feet high the broken
, .

waters were received in a beautiful stone basin almost as regular ,

as if hewn by a sculptor ; and after wheeling around its flin ty

m arg in they made a second precip i tous dash through a d a rk and
, ,

narrow chasm at least fifty feet in depth and from thence in a

, , ,

hurri ed but comparatively a more gentle course escaped to join

, ,

the lake .

With the natural taste which belongs to mountaineers and espe ,

c i a lly to the Scottish H ighlanders whose feelings I h ave observed , , ,

are often allied with the rom antic and poetical R o b R oy s wi fe and ,
’

follo wers had prepared our morning repast in a scene well c alc u
lated to impress strangers with some feelings of awe They are .

also n aturally a grave and proud people and however rude in our , ,

estimation carry their ideas of form and pol iteness to an excess

,

that would appear overstrained except from the demonstration of ,

superior force w hich accompanies the display of it for it must be

granted that the air of punctilious deference and rigid et iquette
wh i ch would seem ridiculous m an ord inary peasant has like the
salute of a co rfis —
, ,

de —
g a r de a p i o p rie ty when tendered by a H i gh
,

lander completely armed There was accordingly a good deal of

.
, ,

form ality in our approach and reception .

Th e Highlanders who had been dispersed on the side of the hill

, ,

drew themselves together when we came in view and standing , ,

firm and motionless appeared in close column behind three fi gures

, ,

whom I soon recognised to be Helen M ac Grego r and her two sons .

M a c Gre go r himself arranged his attendants in the rear and re , ,

q uest i ng Mr Jarvie to dismount where the ascent became steep

.
,

advanced slowly marshalling us forward at the head of the troop

, .

A s we advanced we heard the wild notes of the bagpipes which

, ,

lost th eir natural d iscord from being m ingled with the dashing
sound of the cascade When we came close the wife of Mac
.
,

Gregor came forward to meet us Her dress was studiously ar .

ranged in a more fem inine taste than it had bee n on the preceding
day but her features wore the same lofty u nbending and resolute
, ,
‘

character ; and as she folded my friend the Bailie i n an u n expected

and apparently unwelcome embrace Icould perceive by the agita , ,

t i on of his wig his back and the calves of his legs that he felt
, , ,

m uch l ike to one who feels himself suddenly in the gripe of a she
bear, w ithout being able to distinguish whether the animal is in
kindness or in wrath .
3 so R OB R OY .

said, you are welcome—an d yo u too, stranger

Kin sman ,” she “
,

she added releasing my al a rmed compan ion who instinctively drew

, ,

back and settled his wig and ad dressing herself to m e ,

you als o
are welcome You came ” she added to our unhappy country,
.
, ,
“

when our bloods we re ch afed and our hands were red Excuse
'
,
.

the rudeness that gave you a rough welcome , and lay it upon the
evil times and not upon us , All thi s was said with the manners .
”

of a pri ncess and in the tone and style of a court N or was there
,
.

the least tincture of th at vulgar ity whi ch we na turally attach to the ,

Lowla nd Scottish There was a strong provincial accen tuation

.
,

but otherwise, the language rendered by Helen M ac Gregor, out of

,

the native and poet i cal Gaelic into E n glish which she had acquired , ,

as we do learned tongues b ut had probably never heard applied to

,

t h eimean purposes of ord i nary li fe was gr aceful, flowing, and de cla ,

m atory H er husban d who ha d in his t ime pla yed many parts,

—
.
,

u sed a much less elevated and emph atic di alect but even Ju s ’

lang uage rose in puri ty of expression as yo u may have remarked , ,

if I have been accurate in recording it when the affairs which he ,

discussed were of an agi tat ing and important nature ; and it ap

"

pears to me in his cas e and in that of some o ther H ighlanders

,

whom I have known that when famil i ar and facetious they used
, , ,

the L owl and S cottish dialect -when serious and impassioned, ,

their thoughts arranged themselves in the idiom of their native

language and in the latter case as they uttered the corre sponding ,

ideas in English , the express i ons sounded wild elevated, and poeti ,

cal In fact, the language of pass i on i s al most always p ure as wel l

.

as vehement , and it i s no u n common thing to hear a S cotchman ,

when overwhelm ed by a coun tryman with a tone of bitter and fluent
upbraiding reply by way of ta unt to his adversary, You have
,
”
gotten to your English .

Be this as it may the wife of M a c Grego r invited us to a refre sh

,

m ent spread out on the gr ass which abounded with all the good ,

things thei r mountains c o uld o ffer but was clouded by the dark _ ,

and undistu rbed gravi ty which sat on the brow of our hostess as ,

w ell as by o ur deep an d anxi ous recollection of what h ad tak en .

pla ce on the precedin g day It was in vain that the leader exerted .

himself to exci te mirth A chill hung over our minds as if the

.
,

feast had been funereal ; and every bosom felt light when it was
ended .

”
A dieu , cousin , sh e s ai d to Mr j arvie as we rose from the .
,
“
entertainment ; the best w ish H elen M ac Grego r can give to a .

friend is, that he may see her more

'
”
n o .

The Bailie struggl ed to an swer probably with some common , ,

p lace maxirn of morality ; but the calm and m el anchol y sternness

3 52 ROB R OY .

and toilsome walk we emerged through a pass in the hills and , ,

Loch Lomond opened before us I will spare you the attempt to .

describe what yo u would hardly comprehend wi thout g oing to see

it But certainly th i s noble lake boasting innumerable beautiful
.
,

i slands of every varyi ng form and outline wh i ch fancy can frame

, ,

its northern extremi ty narrowing until it is lost among dusky and

retreating mountains — while gradually w ideni n g as it extends to the ,

s outhward i t spreads its base around the i ndentures and p ro m o n

,

tories of a fair and fertile la nd affords one of the most surprising , ,

beaut iful and sublime spectacles i n nature The eastern si de

,
'

.
,

peculiarly rough and rugged was at this time the chief seat of ,

M ac Greg o r and hi s clan to curb whom a small garrison had been , ,

stationed in a central pos it i on betwixt Loch Lomond and another

lake Th e extreme strength of the country however with the
.
, ,

numerous passes marshes caverns and other places of conceal , , ,

ment or defence made the establishment of th i s l it tl e fort seem

,

rather an acknowledgment of the danger than an effectual means ,

of securing against it .

On more than one occasion as well as on that which I witnessed , ,

the garrison s uffered from the adventurous spirit of the outlaw and
his followers These advantages were n ever sullied by ferocity
.

when he himself w a s in command for equally good-tempered and ,

sagacious he understood well the danger of incurring unnecessary

,

odium I learned with pleasure that he had caused the captives

.

of the preceding day to be liberated i n safety ; and many tra its of

mercy and even of gener os ity are recorded o f th is remarkable
,
.

,
'

man on similar occasions .

A boat waited for us in a creek beneath a huge rock manned by ,

four lust y Highland rowers ; a nd our host took leave of us with

‘

great cordiality and even affection B etwixt him and M r Jarvi e

,
. .
,

indeed there seemed to exist a degree of mutu al regard w h i ch

,
‘

formed a strong contrast to their d ifferent occupat i ons and habits .

A fter kissing each other very lovingly and when they w ere just in ,

the act of parting the Bailie,in the fulness of his heart and w ith, ,

a faltering vo ice assured his kinsman that if ever an hundred

‘ , ,
“

p u n d or even twa hundred would put him or his family in a

, ,

settled way he need but just send a line to the Saut-Market and
,

R o b grasp i ng his basket-h ilt with one hand and shaking Mr

, , .

Jarvie s heart ily with the other protested, that if ever anybody
’
,
“

should affront his kinsman an he would but let him ken he , ,

would stow his lugs out of his head, were he the best man i n
Glasgow ” .

With th ese assurances of mutual aid and continued good-will ,

we bore away from the s hore, and took o ur cours e for the south
 R OB RU r.
3 53

we stern angle of the lake where it gives birth to the river Leven
, .

R o b R o y remained for some time standing on the rock from

beneath which we had departed conspicuous by h is long gun , ,

waving tartans and the single plume in his cap wh i ch in those

, , .

days den oted the H ighland gentleman and sold ier ; although I
observe that the present military taste has decorated the H ighland
bonnet with a quantity of black plumage resembling that which is
borne before funerals A t length as the d i stance increased
.
,

between us we saw him turn and go slowly up the side of the hill
, ,

llo w e d by his immediate attendants or body-guard .

We performed our voyage for a long time in silence interrupted ,

ul
y by the Gaelic chant wh i ch one of the rowers sung i n low
irregular measure ris ing o ccasionally into a wild chorus in wh i ch
, ,

the others joined .

My own thoughts were sad enough yet I felt something soothing

in the magnificent scenery with which I was surrounded ; a n d
thought in the enthusiasm of the moment that had my faith been
, ,

that of R ome I could have consented to l ive and die a lonely

,

hermi t in one of the romantic and beautiful islands amongst which

our boat glided .

Th e Bailie had also his S peculations but they were of somewhat ,

a different complexion ; as I found when after about an hour s ,

’

s ilence during wh i ch he had been mentally engaged in the cal e u

,

l a t io n s necessary he undertook to prove the possib ility of draining

,

the lake and g iv ing to plough and harrow many hundred ay

,
“
, ,

many a thousand acres from whilk no man could get earthly gude
,

e enow unless i t were a gedd ( a p ike) or a d i sh of perch now and

’
, ,

then ” .

A midst a long d i scussion w hich he crammed into mine ear “

,

against the stomach of my sense I only remember that it was

”
, ,

part of hi s project to preserve a portion of the lake just deep

enough and broad enough for the purposes of water carriage so -
,

that coal-barges and gabbards should pass as eas ily between

D umbarton and G le n fallo c h as bet ween Glasgow and Greenock .

A t length we ne ared our distant plac e of landing adjoi n ing to ,

the ruins of an ancient castle and just where the lake discharges ,

i t s superfluous waters into the Leven There we found D ougal .

w ith the horses The Bail i e had formed a plan with respect to
.

“
the creatur e as well as upon the dra ining of the lake ; and
”
, ,

perhaps in both cases with more regard to the ut il ity than to the
,

practical possibility of his scheme Dougal ” he sa id ye are .

, ,
“

a kindly creature an d hae the sense and feeling 0 what is due to ’

your betters—and I’m e en wae for you Dougal for it canna be

,
’
, ,

but that in the life ye lead ye suld get a j eddart cast a e day s un er ,

z
3 54 R OB R OY .

or later I trust considering my services as a magistrate and m y

.
, ,

father the deacon s afore m e I hae interest eneugh in the council

’
,

to gar them wink a wee at a waur faut than yours Sae I hae .

been thinking that if ye w ill gang back to Gl asgow w i us being a

,
’
,

st ron g-b ac kit creature ye might be em ployed in the warehouse till

,

something better suld c ast up .

Her n ains ell muckle obliged till the Bailie s honour replied ’
,

Dougal but teil be in her shanks fan she gangs on a c au sew ay d

“ ’

street unless she be drawn up the G al lo wgat e w i tows , as she

,
’

was before ”
.

In fact I afterwards learned that D ougal h ad originally come to

, ,

Glasgow as a pri soner from being concerned in some depredation

, ,

but had somehow found such favour i n the eyes of the jailor that , ,

with rather overweening confidence he had retained him in his ,

s erv i ce as one of the turnke ys a task which D ougal had dis

charged with suffi cient fidel ity so far as was known until o vercome , ,

by h is clannish prejudices on the unexpected appearan ce of his old

leader .

A stonished at receiving so round a refusal to so favourable an

o ffer, the Bailie turning to me observed that the
,
creature was a , ,

natural-born idiot ” I test ified my own gratitude in a way which

.

Do u gal much better relished by slipping a couple of guineas into ,

his hand H e no sooner felt the touch of the gold than he sprung
.
,

twice or thrice from the earth wi th the agility of a wild buck ,

flinging out first one heel and then another in a m ann er which '

would h ave astonished a F rench danc ing master He ran to the - .

boatmen to show them the prize and a small gratu ity made them ,

t ake part in his raptures H e then to use a favourite express ion.

,

of the dramatic John Bunyan went on his way, and I saw him ,
”
no more .

Th e Bailie and I mounte d our horses and proceeded on the .

,

road to Glasgow When we had lost the view of the lake and its
.
,

s u perb amphitheatre of mountains I coul d n o t help expressing , ,

with enthusiasm my sense of its n atural beauties although I was

»
, ,

conscious that Mr Jarvie was a very uncongenial spirit to c o mm u

.

nicate with on such a subject .

“
Ye are a young gentleman he replied an d an Englishman , ,
“
,

and a this may be very fin e to you ; but for me wha am a plain

’
,

man and ken something 0 the di ffe rent values of land I wadna
,
’
,

g ie the finest si ght w e hae seen in the H -

ie lan ds fo r the first keek
‘

o the Gorbals 0 Glasgow and if I were ance there it s uldn a be

’
.
’
,

every fa le s errand, begging your pardon M r F rancis that suld

’
,
.
,

take me out o sight 0 Saint Mungo s steeple agai n I”

’ ’ ’

The honest man had his wish ; for, by di nt of travell in g very

3 56 R OB ROY .

alarm by sympathy from my father to whom the country, and the

, , ,

lawless character of its inhabitants were better known ,

.

These apprehensions were raised to agony when a few hours , ,

before I arrived A ndrew F airs ervi c e made his appearance with a

, ,

dismal and exaggerated account of the u ncertain state in which h e

had left me The nobleman with whose troops he had been a sort
.

o f prisoner had after examination not only d i sm i ssed him but

, , , ,

furnished him with the means of returning rapidly to Glasgow in ,

order to announce to my friends my precari ous and unpleasan t

situation .

A ndrew was one of those persons who have no objection to t he

sort of temporary attention and woful importance which attache s
i tself t o the bearer of bad tid ings and had therefore by no means ,

smoothed down his tale in the telling espec ially as the r i ch ,

London merchant himself proved unexpectedly one of the auditors .

H e w ent at great length into an account of the dangers I had

escaped chiefly as he insinuated by means of his own experience
, , , ,

exerti o n and sagacity

, .

“
What was to come of me n o w when my better angel in his , ,

( A ndrew s ) person ,
’
was removed from my side it was ”
he said , , ,
“
sad and sair to conjecture that the Bailie was nae better than
j ust naebody at a pinch or something waur for he was a conceited
body—and A ndrew hated conceit—but certainly atween the pistols
, ,

and the carabin es of the troopers that rapp it a ff the tane after the
'
,

tother as fast as ha il and the di rks and claymores o the H ie

,
’

l anders and the deep waters and weils o the A vo n do w it was t o

’
, ,

be thought there wad be a puir account Of the young gentleman ” .

This statement would have driven O wen to despa i r had he been ,

alone and unsupported but my father s perfect knowledge of man ’

kind enabled him easily to apprec iate the character of Andrew ,

and the real amount of his intelligence Stripped of all e xaggera .

tion however it was alarmi n g enough to a parent H e determined

, ,
.

to set out in person to obtain my liberty by ransom or negotiation ,

and was bus i ed with Owen t ill a lat e hour in order to get through ,

some necessary correspondence and devolve on the latter some ,

business which shoul d be transacted during his absence and thu s

it chanced that I found them watchers .

It was late ere we separated to rest and, too impatient long to ,

endure repose I was sti rring early the next morning A ndrew
, .

gave his attendance at my levee as in duty bound and instead o f , , ,

the scarecro w figure t o which he had been reduced at A berfoil, ,

n o w ap peared in the attire of an undertaker a goodly suit , namely , ,

of the deepest mourning It was n o t t ill after on u r two querie s

. .
,

whi ch the rascal affected as lo ng as he could to misunderstand ,

 R OB ROY .
3 57

that I found out he “ had thought it but decent to p ut on mourn .

ing on account of my inexpress ible loss ; and as the broker at

,

whose shop he had equipped himself de cliii e d to receive the goods ,

a gain and as his own garments had been destroyed or carr i ed off
,

in my honour s service doubtless I and my honourable father

’
,
'

whom Providence had blessed w i the means wadna suffer a pu i r ’

,

l a d to s it down w i the loss a stand 0 claes was nae great matter

’ ’

to an Os b aldis to n e (be praised for t 1) especially to an auld and ’

attached servant O the house ” ’

.

A s there was someth ing of justice in A ndrew s plea of loss in my ’

se rvice his finesse succeeded ; and he came by a good suit o f

,

mourning with a beaver and all things conforming as the exterior

, ,

signs of woe for a master who was alive and merry .

My father s first care when he arose was to visit Mr j arvie for

’
, ,
.
,

w hose kindness he entertained the most grateful sentiments which ,

he expressed in very few but manly and nervous terms H e ex ,

.

plained the alte red state of his affairs and o ffered the Bailie on , ,

such terms as could not but be both advantageous and acceptable ,

that part in his concerns which had been hith e i to managed by

M a c V itti e and Company Th e Bailie heartily congratulated my .

father and Owen on the changed posture of their affai rs and with , ,

out aff ecting to disclaim that h e had done h is best to serve them
when matters looked otherwise he said H e had only just acted , ,

a s he wad be done b y— that as to the extension of their corre ,

s po n den c e he frankly ac c epted i t w ith thanks Had M a c V ittie s ’

.
,

folk behaved like honest men he sa id he wad hae liked ill to ”

, ,
“
.

h a e come i n ah i nt them and out afore them th i s gate But it s ’

.
, ,

Otherwise and they maun e en stand the loss

” ’
.
,

The Bailie then pulled me by the sleeve into a corner and after , ,

again cordially wishing me joy proceeded in rather an embar , ,

ras se d to ne
“
I wad heart ily wish M aister F rancis there suld be as little
, ,

s aid as possible about the queer things we saw up yonder awa .

There s nae gude unless ane were j udicially examinate to say ony
’
, ,

th ing about that awfu job 0 Morris—and the members 0 the council
’ ’ ’

wadna think it creditable in ane of thei r body to be fighting w i a ’

wheen H ie lan dm en and singeing their plaide n s —A n d abune a

,
’
,

though I am a decent S ponsible man when I am on my right end , ,

I canna but th ink I maun hae made a queer figu re wi thout my hat
and my periwig hing ing by the middle like b aw dro n s or a cloak
, ,

flung o wer a cloak-p in Bailie Grahame wad hae an unco hair in

.

my neck an he got that tale by the end ” .

.

I could n o t suppress a smile when I recollected the Bailie s situ ’

ation although I certainly thought it no laughing matter at the

,
3 58 ROB R OY .

time The go od-natured merchant was a l ittle confus e d, but

I see how it iS—I see how
.

smiled al so when he shook his head '

it is But say naething about rt—there s a gude callant ; and

.

'
’
.

’
charge that lang-tongued con c e ited u psetting serving-man o , ,

yours to say naething neither I wadna for ever sae mu ckl e that .

even the lassock Mattie ken d anyt hing about it I wa d n ever hear ’
.

an end o t ” ’
.

H e was obviousl y relieved from h is impending fears of ridi c ule ,

when I told him i t was my father s intention to leave Glasgo w ’

almost immedi ately Indeed he had no w no motive for remaining

. ,

since the most valuabl e part of the papers carried off by Ras hl e igh
had been recovere d For that port i on whic h he had convert ed .

into cash and exp ended i n his owne r on p olitical intrigues t-here ,

was n o mode of recovering it b ut b y a suit at law whic h was f orth ,

w ith comme nced an d proceeded as our law-agents assu red us

, , ,

with al l del iberate speed .

We spent , aoc o rdingly, o n e hospi table day with the B aili e an d ,

took leave of hi m as th is narrati ve n o w does H e continued to

'

, .

gr o w i n we al th hono ur an d credit and actually rose to the highest

. , ,

c ivic h on o urs i n his native c ity A bout two years after the period
‘
.

I have m entioned h e tired o f his bachelor life, and promoted

,

M attie from her wheel by the ki tch en fi re to the upper end of his
table in the character o f M rs Jarvie B ailie Grahame th e
M a c V i tt ie s and others ( for all m
.
, .
,

,e n have t heir enemies especiall y ,

in the council of a royal burgh ) ridi c uled t his tran sformat ion ,
.

B ut ” said Mr j arvie let them say thei r say Ill ne er fash “ ‘ ’

. .
, ,

m ysell n o r lose m y liki ng for s ae feckless a matt er as a n ine days

,
’

clash My honest fath er th e de acon had a byword,

.

Bren t brow and lily skin ,

A loving hea rt an d a leal within , ,

I s better than gowd or gen tle kin ’
.

Besides lways concluded

,
”
as he M attie was nae o rdin ary
a ,

las s o ck qu e an shes
was f
ak i n to the Laird o L im m erfi eld
” ’
.

Whether it was ow ing to h e r descent or her good gi fts I do n ot ,

p resume to deci de ; but Mat ti e behaved exce llent ly in her exalta

tion and relieved the appreh en sions of some of the B aili e s fri ends ,
,
‘

who had deemed his experiment somewh at ha z ardous I do n o t .

k now th at there was any other inc iden t of his quiet an d useful li fe
wo rthy o f b ein g p arti cul arly recorded .
3 60 R 013 R OY .

u pon the country which however was pl unged in to much con

, , ,

fusion .

This great public even t served to confirm and elucidate the

obscure explan at ions I had received from M a c G rego r ; and I could
easily see why the westland clans w h o were brought against him , ,

should have waived their private qua rrel i n consideration that ,

they were all shortly to be engaged in the same public cause I t .

was a more melancholy reflection to my m i nd that D iana Vernon ,

was the wife of one of those who were most active in turning the
world upside down and that she was herself exposed to all the
,

pri vations and perils of her husband s hazardous trade ’

.

We held an immediate consultation on the measures we were to

adopt in th is crisis and acquiesced in my fathe r s plan that we
,
‘

should instantly get the necessary passports and make the best of ,

our way to London I acquainted my father with my wish to offer

.

my personal serv i ce to the Government in any volunteer corps ,

several being already spok en o f H e readily acquies ced in my .

proposal ; for though he disliked war as a profession yet upon

, , ,

principle no man would have exposed his life more w illingly in

,

de fence of civi l and rel igious liberty .

We travelled in haste and in peril through Dumfries-shire and

t h e neighbouring counties of England In this quarter gentlemen .
,

of the Tory interest were already in motion mustering men and ,

horses while the Whigs assembled themselves in the principal

,

towns armed the inhabitants and prepared for civil war We nar
, , _
.

ro wl y escaped being stopped on more occasions than one and w ere ,

o ften compelled to take c i rcuitous routes to avoid the points where

forces were assembling .

When we reached London we immediat ely associated with those ,

b ankers and eminent merchants who agreed to support the credit

of Government and to meet that run upon the funds, on which the
,

conspirators had greatly founded their h opes -o f furthering their

u ndertak ing by rendering the Government as it were bankrupt
, , , .

My father was chosen one of the members of this formidable body

o f the monied interest as all h a d the greatest confidence in his
,

z eal skill and activity H e was also the organ by which they
, ,
.

c ommunicated with Govern ment and contrived from fun ds belong , ,

ing to his own house or over wh i ch he had command to find pur

“

, ,

chasers for a quant ity of the n ational stock which was suddenly ,

flung into the market at a depreciated price when the rebell ion
broke out I was not idle myself but obtained a commission and
.
, ,

levied at my father s expense about two hundred men , with whom

,
’
,

I join ed General Carpenter s army ’

.

The rebellion , in the meant ime had extended itself to Englan d , .

 R OB ROY .
3 5:

The un fortunate Earl of D erwentwater had taken arms in the

cause along with General F oster My poor uncle Sir H ildebrand
,
.
, ,

whose estate was reduced to almost nothing by h is own carelessness

and the expense and debauchery of his sons and household was ,

easily persuaded to join that unfortunate st andard Before doing .

so however he exh ibited a degree of precaution of whi ch no one

could have suspected him—h e made his will
, ,

By this document he devised his estates at Os b aldis to n e Hall -

,

and so forth to his sons successivel y and their male heirs unt il he
, , ,

came to R ashle igh whom on account of the turn he had lately

, ,

taken in politics he detested with all his might —h e cut h im o ff

, ,

w ith a shilling and settled the estate on me as his next heir I

, ,
.

had always been rather a favourite of the old gentlema n but it is

probable that confident in the number of giganti c youths who now
,

armed around him he cons idered the destination as likely to

,

remai n a dead letter which he inserted chiefly to show his dis

,

pleasure at R ashle igh s treachery both publ i c and domestic There

’
, .

was an article by which he bequeathed to the niece of his late wife

, ,

D i ana Vernon now Lady D iana Vernon Beauchamp some dia

, ,

monds belonging to her late aunt and a great silver ewer having , ,

the arms of Vernon and Osb aldis to n e quarterly engraven upon it .

But H eaven had decreed a more speedy extinction of his nume

rous and healthy lineage than most probably he himself had , , ,

reckoned on In the very first muster of the conspirators at a

.
,

place called Green -Rigg Thorncl iff Os b aldis to n e quarrelled about

,

precedence wi th a gentleman of the N orthumbrian border to the ,

full as fierce and intractable as h imself In spite of all remon .

s tran c e s they gave their commander a specimen of how far their

,

discipline might be relied upon by fighting it out with their rapiers , ,

and my kinsman was killed on the spot H is death was a great .

loss to Sir Hilde b rand, for notwithstanding hiS in fe rn al temper he

,
'

had a gr ain or two of more sense than belonged to the rest of the
brotherhood R a s h l e igh always excepted
, .

Perceval the sot d i ed also i n his call ing H e had a wager with
, ,
.

another gentleman (who from his exploits in that line had acquired
, ,

the form i dable epithet of Brandy S wale we ll) which should drink ,

the largest cup of strong li quor when King j ames was procla imed
by the insurgents at M orpeth The exploit was something enor .

mous I forget the exact quantity of bran dy which P e rc ie s wal

.

lowed but it occasioned a fever of which he expi red at the end of

, ,

three days with the word w a ter w a ter perpet u ally on his tongue
, , , , .

Dickon broke h is neck near Warrington Bridge in an attempt to

sh o w off a foundered blood—
,

mare wh i ch he wished to palm upon a , .

M anchester merchant who had joined the insurgents H e pushed .

3 62 R OB R OY
.

the animal at a five barred gate she fell in the leap and the un fo r
-
,

t un a te jo ckey lost h is li fe .

Wilfred the fool as sometimes befalls had the best fortune o f

, ,

the family H e was sla in at Prou d Preston in Lancashire on the

.
, ,

da y that General Carpenter attacked the barri cades, fighting with

great bravery thou gh I have heard he was never able exactly t o
,

comprehend the cause of quarrel and did not un iformly remember ,

on which king s s i de he was en gaged John also behaved very

’
.

boldly in the sam e engagement and received several w ounds o f , ,

which he was not happy enough to die on the spot .

Old S ir H ildebrand entirely broken hearted by thes e successive

,
-
.

losses became by t h e n ext day s surrender one of the unhappy

, ,
’
,

prisoners and was lodged i n N ewgate with his wounded son j ohn
,
.

I was now rele as ed from my m ili tary duty and lost no time , , ,

therefore in endeavour ing to rel i eve the distresses of these near

,

relations My father s interest with Govern ment and the general

.
’
,

compassion excited by a parent who h ad sustai ned the successive

loss of so many sons w it hin so short a ti m e would have prevented ,

my uncle and cousin fr om being brought to trial for high treason

but their doom was g iven forth from a greater tribunal John died .

of his wounds in N ewgate recomm ending to m e with h is last , ,

breath a cast of hawks w hich he had at the Hall and a black

, ,

s paniel bitch called Lucy .

My poor uncle seem ed beaten down to the very earth by h is

family calam ities and the c ircumstances in wh i ch he unexpected ly
,

found himself H e sa id l ittle but seemed grateful fo r su c h atten

.
,

tions as circums tances permitted m e to sho w him I did not wit .

ness h is meeting wit h my father for the first time for so ma n y

ye ars and under circumstances so melancholy ; b ut judging from
,

my fath er s extreme depress i on of spi r its i t must have been melan

’
,

c h o ly in the last degree S i r H ildebra n d spoke w ith great bi tt er

.

ness aga in s t R as hle igh now his only surv iving child laid upon
/

him the ru i n of his house and the dea ths of al l his brethren an d , ,

declared , that ne ither he nor they would have plunged i nto p olitical
i ntri gu e but for that very member of his fam ily who h ad been the
, ,

first to desert them H e onc e or twice ment i oned Diana always

.
,

w ith grea t a ffection and once he said w h ile I sate by his beds ide , ,

— N evoy s in ce Thorn cliff and all of t hem are dead, I a m sorry

“
,

you c annot have her ” .

The expression affected me mu ch at the time for it was a usu al

custom of the poo r old Baronet s whe n joyously setting forth upon ’
,

the mo rn ing s chas e to distinguish Tho rn c lifi who w as a favourite

‘
’ '

, , ,

wh ile he summoned the rest more generally ; and the loud jolly
tone in which h e used to hollo Call Tho m ie c all all of them ,
— ,
3 64
, ROB ROY .

chance that this second course of litigation might be drawn out

beyond the period of all our natural lives .

To ave rt these delays as much as possible my father by the , ,

a dvice of his counsel learned in the l a w paid Off and vested in my

,

person the r ights to certain large mortgages affecting Os b aldisto n e ,

Hall Perhaps however the Opportuni ty to convert a great share

.
, ,

of the large profits which accrued from the rapid rise of the funds
upon the suppression of the rebellion and the experi ence he had so ,

lately had of the perils of commerce encouraged him to realize , ,

in thi s manner considerable part of his property A t any rate it

,
a .
,

s o chanced that instead of commanding me to the desk as I fully

, , ,

expected h aving int imated my willingness to comply w ith hi s

,

w ishes however they might destine me I received his d i rections to

, ,

go down to Os b aldis t o n e -Hall and take possession of it as the heir ,

a n d representative of the family I was directed to apply to Squire .

Inglewood for the copy of my u ncle s will deposited wi th him an d ’

,

take all necessary measures to secure that possession which sages

s ay makes n i ne points of the l a w .

A t another time I should have been delighted with this change of

destin at ion But now Osb aldis t o n e-Hall w as accompanied with
.

many pa inful recollections Still however I thought that in that .

, , ,

neighbourhood only I was likely to acquire some information

respecting the fat e of D iana Vernon I had every reason to fear it .

m ust be far different from what I could have wished it But I could .

Obta i n no precise information on the subject .

I t was in vain that I endeavoured by such acts of kindness as ,

their situation admitted to conciliate the confidence of some distant

,

relat ions who were among the prisoners in N ewgate A pride .

which I could not condemn and a natural suspic i on of the Whig ,

Frank Osb aldis to n e cous i n to the double -distilled traitor Rashle igh
, ,

closed every heart and tongue and I only received thanks cold and , ,

e xtorted in exchange for such benefits as I had power to o ffer Th e

,
.

arm of the law was also gradually abridging the numbers of those
whom I endeavoured to serve and the heart s of the survivors ,

became gradual ly more contracted towards all whom they conceived

to be concerned w ith the existing Government A s they were led .

g radually and by detachments to execution those who survived

, , ,

lost interest in m ankind and the des ire of communicating with,

t hem I shall long remember what one of them N ed Shafton by

.
,

n ame replied to my anxious inquiry whether there w a s any

,
.
,

i ndulgence I could procure him ? Mr F rank Os b aldis to n e I .

,

m ust suppose you mean me kindly and therefore I thank you ,

.

But by G men cannot be fattened like poultry when they see their
, ,

n eighbours carrie d off day by day to the place of execution ,

 ROB ROY .
3 65

and know that their own necks are to be twisted round in the ir
turn.

Upon the whole therefore I was glad to escape from Londo n

, , ,

from N ewgate and from the scenes which both exh ibited to breathe
, ,

the free air of Northumberland A ndrew F airs ervic e had con .

t in u e d i n my servi ce more from my father s pleasure than my o w n

’
.

A t present there seemed a prospect that h i s local acquaintance w ith

Os b a l dis to n e Hall and its vicin i ty m ight b e useful and of course
-
, ,

he accompanied me on my journey and I enj oyed the prospe ct of ,

getting rid of him by establishing him in his old quarters I can

, .

not con ceive how he could preva il upon my father to interest him
self in him unles s it were by the art which he possessed in no
, ,

inconsiderable degree of affecting an extre me atta chment to hi s

,

master which theoret i cal attachment he made compatible i n

practice with playing all manner of tricks without scruple pro ,

v idi n g only aga inst his master being cheated by any one but

himsel f.

We perform ed our journey to the N orth without any remarkable

adventure and we found the country so lately agitated by rebel
, ,

l i on n o w peaceful and i n good order Th e nearer we approached

to Os b aldisto n e —
.
,

Hall the more did my heart sink at the thought

,

of entering that deserted mansion ; so that in order to postpone ,

the evil day I resolved first to m ak e my visit at Mr j ustice

, .

Ingl ewood s ’
.

That venerable person had been much disturbed with thoughts

of w hat he had been and what he now was and natural re c o lle c
,

t i ons of the past had i nterfered considerably with the active duty
wh i ch in his present situation m ight have been expected from him .

H e was fortunate however in one respect : he had got rid Of his

, ,

clerk j obson who had finally left him in dudgeon at hi s inactivity

, ,

and become legal assistant to a certai n Squ i re Stand ish who had ,

lately commenced operations in those parts as a justice with a zeal ,

for King George and the Protestant succession whi ch very diffe , ,

rent from the feelings of his old patron Mr j obson had more ,
.

occasion to restrai n within the bounds of the law than to stimulate

to exertion .

Old j ustice Inglewood received me with great courtesy and ,

readily exh ibited my uncle s will which seemed to be without a

’
,

flaw . H e w a s for some t im e in Obvious distress how he shoul d ,

speak and act in my presence but when he found that though a ,

supporter of the present Government up on princ iple I was dis ,

posed to think with pity on those who had Opposed it on a m is tak e n

feeling of loyalty and duty his discourse became a very diverting
medley of what he had done, and what he had left undone,—the
,
3 66 ROB R OY .

pains he had taken to prevent some squires from joining and to ,

wink at the escape of others who had been so unlucky as to engage

in the affair .

We were téta-d and several bumpers had been quaff ed by

the j ustice s spec ial desire, when on a sudden he requested me to
’
, ,

fi ll a dor m / Me brimmer to the healt h of poor dear Di e Ve rnon ,

the rose of the wilderness the heath-bell of Cheviot and the , ,

blossom tha t s transplanted to an infernal convent

’
'
.

Is n o t M i ss Vernon married then ? ” I excl aimed , in great as ,

t o n is hm e n t I thought his Excellency

.

Pooh pooh hi s Excellency and hi s Lordsh ip s all a humbug ’

now yo u know—mere St Germains t itles— Earl of B eauchamp

,
.
,

and ambassador ple n ip o te n tia-ry from F rance when the D uke ‘

R egent of Orleans scarce kne w th at he lived I dare say But you ,

.

must have seen Old Sir F rederick Vernon at the hall w hen he ,

played the part of Father Vaughan ? ”

Good H eavens then Vaughan was Miss Vernon s father ’

To be sure he was said the j ustice coolly

”
,
there s no use in ,
’

keeping the se cret now for he must be out of the country by this
,

time otherwise no doubt it would be my duty to appreh end him

, , .

Come off with your bum per to my dear lost D ie

,

A n d let her health go round , around, around ,

A n d let her health go round

For though your stocking be of silk ,
Your knees near kiss the ground aground aground , , .

I un able as the reader may eas i ly conceive to j o in in the

w as , ,

j us tice s joll ity M y head swam with the shock I had received
’
. .

I never heard ” I s aid “ that M iss Vernon s father was living ”

, ,
’
.

“
It was not our Government s fault that he is ” replied Ingle ’
,

wood for the devil a man there is whose head would have
,
“

brought more money H e was condemned to death for Fenwick s

.
’

plot an d was thought to have had some h and in the Knightsbridge

,

affair in King William s time and as he had married in S cotland

,
’

a relation of the house of B readalbane , he possessed great in

fl ue n c e with all t heir chiefs There was a talk of his being de .

m an de d to be given up at the Peace of R yswick , but he shammed

ill and his death was given publicly out in the Frenc h papers
, .

B u t w hen he came b a ck here on the old score, we old cavaliers

knew him well —that is to say I k new him not as being a caval ier
,
.

, ,

myself b ut no information being lodged against the poor gentle

,

ma n and my memory being shortened by frequ e n t attacks of the

,

gout I could not have sworn to him you know ”

, , .

“
W as he then not kn own at Osb aldis ton e-H all I in qu ired .
3 68 R OB R OY .

whether this intelligence gave me joy or sorrow It seemed to me . ,

that in the knowledge that Miss Vernon was eternally divided

,

from me not by marri age with another but by se clusion in a con

, ,

vent i n order to fulfil an absurd barg ain of this k ind my regret for
, ,

her loss was aggravated rather than diminished I became dull .

,

low-spirited, absent and unable to support the task of conversin g

,

with j ustice Ingle wood who in his turn yawned and proposed to, ,

retire early I took leave of him overnight determin ing the next
.
,

day before breakfast to ride over to Osb aldis to n e -Hall

, ,
.

Mr Inglewood acquiesced in my proposal

. It would be well .
,

he said that I made my appearance there before I was known to

,
“

be in the country the more especially as Sir R a shle igh Osb aldis
,

tone wa s now he understood at M r j o b so n s hou s e hatching some ’

m ischi ef doubtles s —They were fit company he added for eac h

, , .
_ ,
“
, , ,

other S ir R as hle igh having lost all right to m i ngle in the society Of
m e n of honour but it was hardly possible two such d—d rascals
,

should collogu e together wi thout mischief to honest people ” .

H e concluded by earnestly recommending a toast and tankard

, ,

and an attack upon his venison pasty before I set out in the morn ,

i n g just to break the cold a ir on the wolds

, .

C H A P TE R XXX VIII .

H is master s gone and no one n o w

’
,

D wells in the halls of Ivor 1

Men dogs and horses all are dead,

, , ,
H e i s the sole survivor .

W OR DSW ORTH .

TH ER E are few more m e lancholy sensations than those with

which we regard scenes of past pleasure when altered and deserted ,
.

In my ride to Osb aldis to n e-Hall , I passed the same Objects wh i ch

I had seen in company with Miss Vernon on the day of our mem o
rable ride from Inglewood -Place H er spirit seemed to keep m e .

company on the way ; and when I approached the spot w here I ,

had first seen her I almost listened for the cry of the hounds and
,

the notes of the horn and strained my eye on vacant space as if

, ,

to descry the fair huntress again descend like an apparition from

the hill But all was silent and all was solitary When I reached
the Hall the closed doors and windows the grass —
. .
,

,
grown pave ,

ment , the courts which were now so silent presented a strong con
, ,

t ras t t o the gay and bustling scene I had so often seen them ex
h ib it when the merry h unters were going forth to their morning
,

s port, or return ing t o t he daily festival The joyou s bark o f the .

 ROB R OY .
3 69

fo x-hounds as they were uncoupled the cries of the huntsmen the , ,

clang of the horses hoo fs the loud laugh of the old kn ight at the
’
,

head of his strong and numerous descendants , were all silenced

now and for ever .

Wh ile I gaz ed round the scene of solitude and emptiness I was ,

inexpressibly affected, even by recollecting those whom when alive , ,

I had no reason to regard with affect i on But the tho ught that so .

many youths of goodly presence, warm with life health and c o n fi , ,

dence were w ithin so short a time cold in the grave by various yet
, ,

all violent and unexpected modes of death afforded a picture of ,

m ortality at which the mind trembled I t was little consolat i on to .

me that I returned a proprietor to the halls which I had left almost

,

like a fugit ive My mind was not habituated to regard the scenes
.

around as my property and I felt myself an usurper, at least an

,

intruding stran ger and could hardl y divest myself of the idea that
, ,

some of the bulky forms of my deceased kinsmen were, like the

gigantic spectres of a romance to appear in the gateway and dis , ,

pute my entrance .

While I was engaged in these sad thoughts my follower A ndrew

'

, ,

whose feelings were of a very different nature, exe rted himself

in thundering alternately on every door in the building calling at , ,

the same time for admittance in a tone so loud as to i nt i mate,

, ,

that Ize at least was fully sensible of his newly acquired import
, ,

ance as squire of the body to the new lord of the manor A t

,
.

len gth timidly and reluctantly A nthony Syddall, my uncle s aged

, ,
’

butler and major-domo, presented himself at a lower window, well

fenced with i ron bars and inquir ed our business
, .

We are come to tak your ch arge afl your hand my au ld friend '

, ,

said A ndrew F airservice ye m aygie up your keys as sune as ye

“

l ike — ilka dog has his day I ll tak the plate and napery a fl your
.
’ '

hand Ye hae had your ain time o t Mr Syddall ; but ilk a bean
.
’
, .

has its black, and ilka path has its puddle and it will j u st set you
henceforth to sit at the board-end as weel as it did A ndrew lang ,

syne ” .

Checking with som e difficul ty the forwardness of my follower I ,

e xplai ned to Syddall the nature of m y right, and th e t i tle I had to

dem and admittance into the H all as into my o wn property The , .

old man seem ed much agitated and di stressed , and test ified mani
fest reluctance to give me entrance although it w as couched i n a ,

humble and submissive tone I allowed for the agitatio n of natural

.

feelings which really did the old man honour but cont inued p e
,

r e m p t o ry in my de mand of admittance explaining to h im that his ,

refusal would oblige me to apply for Mr Inglewood s warrant , and .

’

a con stable .
3 7° R OB R OY .

We are come from Mr j ustice Inglewood s this morning said .

’
,

A ndrew to enforce the menace and I saw A rchie R utledge the

constable as I came up b y —
, , ,

, the country s no to be lawless as it ’

has been Mr Sydda ll, lettin g rebels and papists gang on as they
, .

best l i sted .

The threat of the law sounded dreadfu l in the old man s ears
’
,

conscious as he was of the suspicion under which he himself lay ,

from h i s religion an d his devotion to Sir Hildebrand an d his sons .

H e undid wi th fear and trembl ing one of the postern entrances

, , ,

which w as secured with many a bolt and bar and humbly hope d ,

that I would excuse him for fi del ity 1n the discharge of his duty .

I reassured him and told him I had the better opinion of him fo r
,

his caution .

Sae have n o t I said A ndr ew ; Syddall is an auld sneck

,

drawer ; he wadna be looking as w hite as a sheet, an d his knees

knockin g thegether unless it were for someth ing m air than he’ s like
,

to tell us .
’

Lord forgive you , Mr F airse rvi ce replied the butler “ to say

such th ing s of an old friend and fell ow-servant —Where ”— follow
.
, ,

ing me humbly along the passage where wou l d it be your

h onou r s pleasure to have a fire lighted I fear me you will find
’

th e house very dull and dreary— But perhaps you mean to rid e
back to Inglewood Place to dinner ? ”
L ight a fire in the library ” I replied , .

I n th e library ! ” answered t he old m an nobody h as sat

there this m any a day, an d the room smokes, fo r the daws h ave
bu ilt in the chimney this spring and there were n o young men ,

about the H all to pull them down ” .

Our ain reek s bet ter than other folk s fire said An drew H is
’ ’
, .

honour likes the library -he s nane 0 your Papishers that deligh t
' ‘ ’ ’
,

in blinded ignorance, Mr Syddall ” . .

Very reluctantly as it appeared to me the butl er l ed the way to

, ,

the library and contrary to what he had given me to expect the

, , ,

i nteri or of the apartment looked as if it had been lately arranged ,

and m a de more comfortable than usual There was a fire in the .

grate w hich bu rned clearly, notwi thst anding what Syddall ha d

,

rep orted of the vent Taking up the tongs, as if to arran ge the

.

wood but rather perhaps to conceal his own confusion the butler
, ,

observed “ it was burn ing clear now but had smoked woundi ly in
, ,

the morning ” .

W i shing to be alone, till I recovered mysel f frOm the fi rst painful

sensations which everyt hing around me recalled, I des ired old
Syddall to call the l and-steward who lived at about a qu arter of a ,

mile from the H all H e departed with obvious reluctance I next

. .
3 73 ROB R OY .

A mbrose l ives b ut if there is a

W ingfield is as honest a m an as
false knave in th e country it is his brother La ncie —
,

t h e whole
,

country knows him to be a spy for Clerk Jobson on the poor gen
tlem en that have been in trouble— But he s a dissenter, and I sup
’

pose that’ s enough n o w-a-days ” .

H aving thus far gi ven vent to his feel ings to which h owever I , , ,

was little disposed to pay attent ion and having pla c ed th e wine on ,

the table the old butler left the apartment

,
.

Mr Wardlaw having remained with me unti l the evening was

.
,

s o mewhat advanced at length bundled up hi s papers and removed

, ,

himself to his own habi tation , leaving me in that confused state o f

mind in which we can hardly say whether we desire com pany or
solitude I had not however the choice betwixt them for I was
.
, ,

left alone in the room, of all others most c alc ulated to inspire me
with melancholy reflections .

A s twilight was da rkening the a partment A ndrew had the ,

sagacity to advance his head at the door not to ask if I wished for ,

lights but to recommend them as a measure of precaution against

,

the bo gles which still ha unted his imagi nat ion I rejected his .

pro ffer somewhat peevishly, trimm m the wood fire, and placing
m yself in one of the large l eathern chairs which fl anked the old
“

Gothic ch imney, I watched unconsciously the bickering of the bl az e

”
which I had fostered “
A n d this said I a lone, “ is the progress
.
,

an d th e issue of human wishes N ursed by the merest t rifles,

t hey are first kindled by fan cy n ay are fe d upon the vapour of , ,

hope, till they consume the substance wh i ch t hey inflame ; and

man and his hopes passions , and desires , sink into a worthless
, ,

heap of embers and ashes

There was a deep sigh from the opposite side of the roomwhich ,

seemed to reply to my reflections I started u p in amaz ement .

D iana Vernon stood before me resting on the arm of a figure so ,

strongly resembling that of the portrait so often mentioned, that I

'

looked hastily at the frame expecting to see it empty My firs t idea

, .

was, either that I had gone suddenly distracted, or that the spirits
.

o f the dead had arisen and been placed before me A second .

glance convinced me of my being i n my senses and that the forms ,

which stood before me were real and substantial I t was Diana .

herself, though p al er an d thinner than her form er sel f a n d it was

no tenant of the grave who stood beside her but Vaughan or rather , ,

S ir Frederick Vernon in a dress made to imitate that of his

,

ancestor to whose picture his countenance possessed a famil y re

,

semblance H e was the first that spok e, for D iana kept her eyes
.

fast fixed on the ground, an d astonishment a ct uall y riveted my

tongue to the roof of my mouth .
 ROB ROY .
3 73

We are your suppliants Mr Osb aldis to n e he said “ and we , .

, ,

claim the refuge and protection of your roof till we can pursue a
journey where dungeons and death gape for me at every step ” .

Surely I articulated w ith great diffi c ulty

”
Miss Vernon can
not suppose—you sir cannot bel ieve that I have forgot your
,

, , ,

i nterference in my di fficulties , or that I am capable of betraying any

one much less you ? ”
I know it ” sa id S ir Frederi ck “ yet it is with the most in ex
,

press ible reluctance that I impose on you a confidence disagreeable ,

perhaps —certainly dangerous —and wh i ch I would have specially

w i shed to have conferred on some one else But my fate which .
,

has chased me through a life of perils and escapes is now pressing ,

me hard and I have no alterna t ive ”

,
.

A t this moment the door opened and the v oice of the o ffi c io us ,

A ndrew was heard “

A m bri ng in in the c aun l e s —Ye can l ight
’ ’

—
.

them gin ye l ike Can do is easy carri ed about w i ane ” ’

.

I ran to the door which as I hoped I reached in time to pre

, , ,

vent his observing who were in the apartment I turned him out .

w ith hasty violence shut the door after him and locked it—then
, ,

instantly remembering his two companions below knowing his ,

talkat ive humour and recollecting Syddall s remark that one of

,
’
,

them was supposed to be a spy I followed him as fast as I could to ,

the servants hall in whi ch they were assembled A ndrew s tongue

’
,
.
’

was loud as I opened the door but my unexpected appearance ,

s ilenced him .

“
What is the matter with you yo u fool ? ” said I you stare ,

and look wild as if yo u had seen a ghost ”

N —n —no —nothing ” said A ndrew ;

.
'
,
“
but your worship was
,

pleased to be hasty ” .

“
B ecause yo u disturbed me out of a sound sleep yo u fool , .

Syddall tells me he cannot fi n d beds for the se good fellows to

n ight and Mr Wardlaw thinks there will be no occasion to detain
,
.

them H ere i s a crown piece for th em to drink my health and

.
-
,

thanks for their good-will You w ill leave the H all immediately, .

my good lads .
”

Th e men th anked me fo r my bounty took the s i lver and with , ,

»

drew apparently unsuspici ous and contented

,
I watched their .

departure until I was sure they could have no further intercours e

that n ight with h o nest A ndre w A n d so i nstantly had I followed .

on his heels that I thought he could not have had t ime to speak
,

two words with them before I interrupted him But it is wonderful .

what mischief may be done by only two words On this occasion .

they cost two l ives .

H avin g made these arrangements the best which occurred to ,

3 74 R OB R OY .

me upon the pressure of the moment to secure privacy fo r my ,

guests I returned to report my proceedings and added, that I

, ,

had desired Syddall to answer every summons concluding that ,

it was by his connivance they had been secreted in the H all D iana .

raised her eyes to thank me for the caution .

Yo u now understand my mystery ” she said you know, ,

do ubtless how near and cle a r that relative is who has so often
, ,

found shelter h ere an d will be no longer surprised that R ashleigh

'

having such a secret at his comm and should rule me with a rod ,

of iron ”
.

H er father added that it was their intention to troubl e me with

,

their presence as s hort a th e as was poss ible ” .

I entreated the fugitives to waive every consideration but what

affect ed their safety, and to rely on my utmost exertions to promote
it This led to an expla nation of th e circumstances under which
.

they stood .

I always suspected Rashl e igh Osb al dis t o n e said Sir Frederick ; ,

but his conduct towards my unprotected child, which with diffi

culty I wrung from her and his treache ry in your father’ s affairs ,
,

m ade me hate and de sp i se him In our last interview I concealed

.

not my sentiments, as I should in prudence have attempted to do

an d in resentment of the sco rn with which I treated him, he added

treachery and apostasy to his catalogue of crimes I at that time .

fondl y hoped that his defecti on would be of little consequenc e .

The Earl of Mar had a gal lant army in Scotland , and Lord D er
wen twater with Forster K e n m ure Winterton, and others, were
, , ,

ass emblin g forces on the Border A s my connexions with these

.

English nobility and gentry were extens ive it was judged proper ,

that I should accompany a detachmen t of H ighlanders,who, u nder

B ri gadie r M ac In to sh of B o rlu m crossed the Frith of Forth , tra
,

versed the low coun try of Scotla nd and un i ted themselves on the
,

B orders wi th the English insu rgents My daughter accompanied

.

m e through the perils and fatigues of a march so long and

”
difli cult .

An d she wi ll never leave her dear father ! ” excl aimed Miss

Vernon , cl in ging fondl y to his arm .

I had hardl y joined our Engl i sh friends when I became sensibl e

t h at our cause was lost Our numbers diminished instead of in
.

c reasing nor were we joined by any e xc e p t o f our own persuasion

'

, .

The Tories of the H i gh Church remained in gen eral undecided ,

and at len gt h we were cooped up by a superior force in the little
town of Preston We defended ourselves resolutely for one day
. .

On the next the hearts of our leaders failed and they resol ved to ,

surrender at discretion To yiel d myself up on such terms , were to

.
3 76 R OB ROY .

himself) I shall dedicate her as all that is left dear or precious to ,

Frederick Vernon ” .

There was a silence after these words of which I well understood ,

the m o um fu l import Th e father of Diana was still as anxious to

.

destroy my hopes of being united to her now as he had shown ,

himself during our b rie f meeting in Scotland .

We will now ” said he to his daughter intrude no further on

, ,

Mr Osb al di st o n e s time since we have acquainted him with the

.
’
,
”
c ircumstances of the m i serable guests who cla im his protection .

I requested them to stay, and offered myself to leave the apart

ment S ir Frederick obse rved that my doing so could not but
.
,

excite my atte n dan t s s u s p ic i o n and that the place of their retreat

’ '

was in every respect commod ious and furnished by Syddall with ,

all they could poss ibly want W e might perhaps have even con
.

t rive d to remai n there concealed from your observation ; but it

,

would have been unjust to decline t he most absolute reliance on

your honour ” .

“
You have done me but justice ” I replied To you Sir , .
,

Frederick I am but little known ; but M iss Vernon I am sure

, , ,

w ill h e ar me witness that

I do not want my daughter s evidence ” he said politely but ’
, , ,

ye t with an air calculated to prevent my addressing myself t o

D iana since I am prepared to believe all that is worthy of Mr
,
“
.

Francis Osb aldis to n e Perm it us now to retire we must take re

.

pose when we can s nce we are absol u tely uncertain when we m a y

i -
,

be called upon to rene w our perilous journey ” .

He drew his daughter s arm wi th in his and with a profound ’

, ,

reverence, disappeared with her beh ind the tapestry .

C H A P TE R XXX IX .

B ut the hand Of fate i s on the curtain

no w ,
An d gi ves the scene to light .

D o n S eéas tza n
’

I stunned and ch illed as they retired Imagination dwell

F ELT .
,

i n g on an absent objec t of affect ion paints her not only in the ,

fairest light but in that in which we most desire to behold her

, .

I had thought of Diana as she was when h e r parting tear dropped ,

“

on my cheek ; when her part ing token received from the wife of ,

M a c G re go r augured her wish to convey into exile and conventual

,

seclusion the remembrance of my affection I saw her ; and her .

c old passive manner expressive of little except composed melan

,
 R OB R OY .
3 77

c h o l y, disappointed and in some degree al m ost offended me In

, , , .

the egotism of my feel ings I accused her of indifference —o f insen ,

s ib ility . I upbraided her father with pride with cruelty with , ,

fanaticism forgetting that both were sacrificing the ir interest and

, ,

D iana her inclination , to the d i scharge of what they regarded as

the ir duty .

S ir Frederick Vernon was a rigid Catholic who thought the path ,

of salvation too narrow to b e trodden by an heretic and Diana to ,

whom her father s safety had been for many years the principal and
’

moving spring of thoughts hopes, and actions felt that she h a d , ,

discharged her duty in resigning to his will not alone her property ,

in the world but the dearest affections of her heart But it was
,
.

n o t surprising that I could not at such a moment , fully appreciate ,

these honourable mot ives yet my spleen sought no ignoble m eans

of discharg ing itself .

I am conte m ned then I said when left to run over the te n or

, , ,

of S ir Frederick s communications I am contemned and though t

’
, ,

unworthy even to exchange words w ith her Be it so ; they shall .

not at least prevent me from watching over her safety H ere will .

I remain as an outpost and while under my roof at least no danger

, , ,

shall threaten her if it be such as the arm of one determin ed m an

,

can avert .
”

I summoned Syddall to the library He came but came attended .

,

by the eternal A ndre w who dreaming of great things in c o n se

, ,

qu e n c e of m y taking possession of the Hall and the annexed estates ,

was resolved to lose nothing for want of keeping himself in view

and as often happens to men who entertain sel fish Objects overshot
, ,

h i s mark and rendered his attentions tedious and i nconvenient

, .

H is unrequired presence prevented me from Speak ing freely t o

Syddall and I dared not send him away for fear of i n creasing such
,

s u spic ions as he m ight entertain from his former abrupt dismissal .

from the l brary

i I shall sleep here s
. i r
”
I said giving them , , ,

di rections to wheel nearer to the fire an old-fashioned day bed or -

,

settee . I have much to do and shall go late to bed ” , .

Syddall who seemed to understand my look o ffered to procure

, ,

me the accommodation of a mattress and some bedding I accepted .

h i s offer dismissed my attendant lighted a pa ir o f candles and

, , ,

desired that I might not be disturbed till seven in the ensuing

morn i ng .

The domestics retired leaving me to my painful and ill -arranged

,

reflections until n ature worn out should requ i re some repose

, , , .

I e n de a vo ure d forcibly to abstract my m i nd from the singular

circumstances in wh i ch I found myself placed F eelings which .

I had gallantly combated while the exciting object was remote,

3 78 R OB R OY .

were now exasperated by m y immediate neighbourhood to her

w hom I was so soon to part with for ever Her name was written .

i n every book wh i ch I attempted to peruse ; and her image forced

itself on me i n whatever tra in of thought I strove to en gage myself .

It was like the o ffi c io u s slave of Prior s Solomon ’

,

A bra was ready ere I named her name ,

A n d when I cali d another, A bra came
’
.

I alternately gave way to these thoughts and struggle d against ,

them sometimes y ielding to a mood Of melt ing tende rness Of

,

s orro w which was s carce natural to me sometimes arming myself

,

w ith the hurt pride Of one who had experi enced what he esteemed
unmerited rejection I paced the l ibrary until I had chafed myself
.

i nto a temporary fever I then threw m yself on the couch and

.
,

endeavoured to d ispose myself to sleep ; but it was i n vain that

I used every effort to compose myself— that I lay wi thout movement
O f finger or of mus cle as still as if I had been already a corpse
,

that I endeavoured to divert or banish disquieting thoughts by ,

fixing my mind on some act of repetition or arithmetical process .

M y blood throbbed to my feverish ap rehens i on in pulsations

, p ,

which resemble dthe deep and regular strokes Of a d i stant fulling

mill and tingled i n my veins like streams of l i quid fire
, .

A t length I arose opened the window and stood by it for some

, , '

time in the clear moonlight receiving in part at le as t t hat refresh

, , ,

ment and dissipat i on of ideas from the clear and calm scene wi th ,

out which they had become beyond the command of my own

volition I resumed my place on the couch with a heart H eaven
.
,

knows not lighter but firmer and more resolved for endurance
, , , .

In a short time a slumber crept over my senses ; still however , ,

though my senses slumbered my soul was awake to the painful ,

feelings of my s ituat i on and m y dreams were of mental angu ish

,

and external obje c ts of terror .

I re m e m b er a strange agony under which I conceived myself ,

and D iana in the po wer of M a c Grego r’ s wife and about to be ,

precipitated from a rock into the lake ; the signal was to be the
discharge of a cannon fi red by S ir F rederick Vernon who i n the
, , ,

dress Of a cardinal o fficiated at the ceremony

, N othing could be .

more lively th an the impression which I received of this imaginary

scene I could paint even at this moment the mute and courageous
submission expressed in Diana s features —th e wild and distorted
.
, ,
’

faces of the execut i oners who crowded around us with mopp ing
,

and mowing ; ” grimaces ever changing and each more hideous ,

than that which preceded I saw the r igid and inflexible fanaticis m
painted in the face of the father—l s a w him lift the fatal match
.
3 89 ROB ROY .

of their disturbance if yo u do not instantly quit the house I will

'

fire my bl underbuss through the door ” .

F ire a fule s bauble said A ndrew F a irs e rvi c e “ it s M r

’ ’
.

Clerk j obson with a legal warrant ,

“
To search for take and appreh end said the voice of that
, , ,

execrable p etti fogger the bod i es of certain person s in my warrant

,

n amed charged of high treason under the 1 th of King William

, 3 ,

chapter third ” .

A n d the violence on the door was renewed I am rising gentle .

,

men ” said I des irous to gain as much time as possible comm i t

no violenc e —give me leave to look at your warrant ; and if it is
, ,

formal and legal I shall not Oppose it ” , .

“
God save great George our K i ng ! ” ejaculated A ndrew .

tauld ye that ye would find nae Jacobites here ” .

Spinnin g out the time as much as possible I was at length ,

compelled to open the door which they would otherwi se have ,

forced .

Mr j obson entered with several assistants among whom I dis

.
, ,

covered the younger W in gfield to whom doubtless he was obliged , , ,

for his informat i on and exhibited his warrant directed not only
, ,

against F rederi ck Vernon, an attainted tra itor but also agains t ,

D iana Vernon spinster and Francis Osb aldi s to n e gentleman

, , , ,

accused of misprision of treason It was a case in which resistance .

would have been madness I therefore after capitulating for a fe w ,

m inutes delay surrendered myself a prisoner

’
.
,

I had next the m o rtifi c atio n to see Jobson go straight to the

chamber of Miss Vernon and I learned that from thence without , ,

hes i tation or di fficulty he went to the room where S ir Frederick,

had slept Th e hare has stolen away ” said the brute

.
“
but her , ,
“

—
form is warm the greyhounds will have her by the haunches yet ”
.

A scream from the garden anno u nced that he prophesied too

truly In the course of five m inutes R as hle igh entered the library
.
,

with Sir F rederick Vernon and his daughter as prisoners Th e .

“

fox he said knew his old earth but he forgot it could be stopped
, ,
“
,

by a careful had not forgot the garden gate S ir ,

Frederick—o r if that title s u its yo u better most noble Lord Beau

, ,

champ ”
.

R as hle igh said Sir Frederick thou art a detestable villain

”
, ,

Ib e tt er deserved the name Sir Knight, or my Lord when , , ,

under the d i rection of an able tutor I sought to introduce civil war ,

into the bosom of a peaceful country But I have done my best ” .

,

said b e looking upwards to atone for my errors

,
”
, .

I could hold no longer I had designed to watch their proceed .

i ngs in silence, but I felt that I must speak or die I f hell ,” .

 R OB ROY .
3 8 1:

I said “ has one complexion more h ideous than another it is where

, ,

villany is masked by hypocrisy ” .

H a 1 my gentle cousin said R ashle igh holding a candle

”
, ,

towards m e and surveying m e from head to foot right welcome “

to Osb aldis to n e-H all l—I can forgive your spleen— It is hard to
,

l ose an estate and a mistress in one n ight for we shall take posses
sion of this poor manor-house in the nam e of the lawful heir Sir ,

R a s hle igh Os b aldi s to n e .

Wh ile R ashle igh braved it out in this manner I could see that ,

he put a strong force upon his feelings both of anger and shame , .

But h is state of mind w as more obvious when Diana Vernon a d

dressed hi m R ashle igh she said
.
”
I pity you—for deep as the , ,
“
,

evil i s wh i ch you have laboured to do me and the evil you have ,

actually done I cannot hate you so m uch as I scorn and pity you
,
.

W hat yo u have n o w done may be the work of an hour but will

furnish you with reflection for your life —o f what nature I leave to
,

”
your own conscience which will not slumber for ever ,
.

R as hle igh strode once or twice through the room came up to the ,

s ide table on which wine was still standing and poured out a large
-
, ,

glass with a trembling hand ; but when he saw that we Observed

h is tremor he suppressed it by a strong e ffort and looking at us
, , ,

w i th fixed and daring composure carried the bumper to his head ,

without spilling a drop .

It i s my fathe r s Old burgundy he said looking to Jobson ;

“ ’
, ,

I am glad there is some of it left — You will get proper persons to .

t ake care of the house and property in my name and turn out the ,

doating old butler and that foolish S cotch rascal Meanwh ile we
,
.
,

will convey these persons to a more proper place of custody .

I have provided the old family coach for your convenience he

”
,

s ai d though I am not ignorant that even the lady could brave the
“
,

n i ght a i r on foot or on horseback

-
were the errand more to her ,

mind ”
A n drew wrung his hand s — I only sai d that my m aster was
.

“
.

surely speaking to a gha i st in the library—and th e villain Lancie

t o betray an auld friend that sang aff th e same Psalm -book w i
’
,

hi m every Sabbath for twent yyears 1

”

He was turned out of the house together with Syddall without , ,

being allowed to conclude his lamentation His expulsion h ew .

,

ever led to some singular consequences R esolving accord ing to

, .
,

hi s own sto ry to go down for the n ight where Mother Simpson

,

w ould give him lodging for old acquaintance sake he had just ’
a ,
‘

got clear of the avenue and into the old wood as it was called , ,

t hough i t was now used as pasture -groun d rather than woodland,

when he suddenly lighte d o n a drove of Scotch cattle which were ,
3 8a R OB R OY .

lyin g there to repose themselves after the day s journey A t this ’

.

A ndrew was in no way surprised i t being the well known custom ,

-

of his countrymen who take Care of those droves to q uarter them

, ,

s elves after night upon the best unenclosed grass ground they can -

find an d depart before daybreak to escape pay ing for their night s
,
’

lodgings But he was both surprised and start led when a High
.
,

lander spring ing u p accused him of disturbing the cattle , and

, ,

refused him to pass forw ard till he had spoken to his master The .

mountaineer conducted A ndre w into a thicket where he found ,

three or four more of h is countrymen A n d said A ndrew

”
I .
, ,

saw sune they were ower mony men for the drove ; and from the
questions they put to me I judged they had other tow on their
,

rock ” .

They questioned him closely about all that had passed at Os b aldi
stone-Hall and seemed surprised and concerned at the report he
,

made to them .

A n d troth ” said A ndrew 1 tauld them a I ken d for dirk s

“ ’ ’ -
, ,

and pistols were what I could never refuse information to in a my ’

life ” .

Th e yt alk e d in whispers among themselves and at len gt h col ,

l e c t e d their cattle together and drove them close up to the entrance

'

Of the avenue which might be half a mile distant from the house
, .

They proceeded to drag together some felled trees which lay in the
v i cinity so as to make a temporary barricade across the road about
, ,

fifteen yards beyond the avenue I t was now near daybreak and .
,

there was a pale eastern gleam mingled with the fading m oonlight ,

so that Objects could be d i scovered with some distinctness The .

lumbering sound of a coach drawn by four horses and escorted by ,

six men on horseback was heard coming up the avenue Th e

, .

H ighlanders listened attentively The carriage contained Mr . .

j obson and his unfortunate prisoners The escort consisted of .

R ashl eigh and of several horsemen peace Offi c e rs and their assis
, ,
-

tants S o soon as we had passed the gate at the head of the

.

a venue it was shut behind the cavalcade by a Highlandman sta

, ,

t io n e d there for that purpose A t the same time the carriage was
.

i mpeded in its farther progress by the cattle amongst which we ,

w ere involved and by t he barricade in front

,
Tw o of the escort .

dismounted to remove the felled trees which t hey might think ,

w ere left there by accident or carelessness Th e others began with .

their whips to drive the cattle from th e road .

”
Who dare abuse our cattle said a rough voice
? Shoot him , .

An gus
R a shle igh i nstan tly called out A rescue — a re s c ue !
”
an d,

firin g a pistol, wounded the man who spoke .

3 84
. ROB R OY .

him as much through spite as through pain and shut his eyes as
, , ,

if determined like Iago to speak no word more We l ifted h im

, ,
.

into the carriage and performed the same good o ffice to another
,

wounded man of his party W h o had been left on the field I then ,
.

with d iffi culty made j obson u nderstand that he mu st enter the

coach also and support Sir R a s hle igh upon the seat H e obeyed
,
.
,

but with an a ir as if he but half comprehended my meaning .

A ndrew and I turned the horses heads round and opening the ’
,

gate of the avenue led them slowly back to Os b al dis to n e-Hall

,
.

S ome fugitives had already reached the Hall by circu i tous routes ,

and alarmed it s garrison by the news that S ir R as hl eigh Clerk ,

Jobson and all the i r escort save they w h o escaped to tell the tale
, , ,

had been cut to p ieces at the h ead of the avenue by a whole regi ,

ment of wild H ighlanders When we reached the mansion there .

,

fo re we heard such a buzz as ar i ses when bees are alarmed and

, ,

m ustering in the i r h i ves Mr j obson however who had now i n

. .
, ,

some measure come to his senses found voi ce enough to make ,

himself known H e was the more anxious to be released from

.

the carriage as one of his companions (the peace o ffi c e r) had

,
-
,

to his ine xpressible terror expired by his side with a hideous ,

groan .

S ir R ashl e igh Osb aldis to n e was still alive but so dreadfully ,

wounded that the bottom of the coach was filled with his bloo d ,

and long traces Of it left from the entrance door into the stone hall - -
,

where he was placed in a cha ir some attempting to stop the bleed ,

ing w ith cloths while others called for a surgeon and no one
, ,

s eemed will ing to go to fetch one .

Tor ment m e not said the wou n ded man I know no assistance
“ ”
, ,

can avail me I am a dying m an ” He raised himself in his chair

. .
,

though the clamps and chill of death were already on his brow and ,

S poke with a firmness wh i ch seemed beyon d his strength Cousi n .

F rancis he said draw near to me ” I appro ach e d him as he

” “

requeste d— I wish you only to know that the pangs of death do

,
.
,
“

n o t alter one iota of my feelings towards you I hate you ! he

”
.

said the expression of rage throwing a hideous glare into the eyes
,

which were soon to be closed for ever I hate you with a hatred
a s intense now w hile I lie bleeding and dying before you , as if my
,

f oot trode On your neck ”

.

I have given you no ca u se sir ” I replied “ and fo r your own , , ,

s ake I could w i sh your mind in a better temper

”
.

You fl a w given me cause h e rejoined

”
in love in ambition , , ,

i n the paths of interest yo u h ave crossed and blighted me at every

,

turn I was born to be the honour of my father s house— I have ’

b een its disgrace—and all owing to you —M y very p atrimony has

.

.
 ROB ROY .
3 85

become yours—Take it,” he said “ and may the curse of a dyi n g

,

m an cleave to it
I n a moment after he had uttered this frightful wish he fell back ,

i n the chair ; his eyes became glazed his limbs stiffened but the , ,

grin and glare of mortal hatred survived even the last gasp of l ife .

I will dwell no longer on so painful a picture nor say any more of ,

the death of R as hle igh than that it gave me access to my rights of

,

inheritance without farther challenge and that j obson found him ,

self compelled to allo w that the ridiculous charge of misprision of

,

high -treason was got up on an affidav it which he made with the

sole purpose of favouring R as hle igh s views and removing me from ’
,

Os b a ldi s t o n e Hall Th e rascal s name was struck off the list of

’
- .

attorneys and he was reduced to poverty and contempt

,
.

I returned to London when I had put my affairs i n order at

Os b aldi s to n e H all and felt happy to escape from a place which
-
,

suggested so many painful recollections My anxiety was now .

acute to learn the fate of D iana and her father A French gentle .

man who came to London on commerc ial business was i ntrusted ,

w ith a letter to me from Miss Vernon which put my mind at rest ,

respect ing the i r safety .

It gave me to understand that the opportune appearance of

,

M ac G re go r and his party was not fortuitous Th e S cott i sh noble s .

and gentry engaged i n the insurrection as well as those of England , ,

were part i cularly anxious to further the escape of Sir Frederick

Vernon who as an old and trusted agent of the house of Stewart
, , ,

w as possessed of matter enough to have ruined half S cotland R o b .

R o y of whose sagaci ty and courage they had kno w

‘

,
n so many
p roofs was the person whom they pitched upon to assist his
,

escape and the place of meeting was fixed at Osb aldis to n e Hall
,
-
.

You have already heard how nearly the plan had been disconcerted
by the unhappy R a shle igh I t s u c c e e de d h o w eve r, perfectly for
'

.
,

when once S ir F rederick and h is daughter were again at large they ,

found horses prepared for them and by M a c Grego r s knowledge

, ,
’

of the country —for every part of S cotland and of the north of

England was familiar to h im —
, ,

, were conducted to the western sea

,
"

coast and safely embarked for France Th e same gentleman told

, .

me that Sir F rederick was not expected to survive for many months
a lingering disease the consequence of late hardsh ips and privations
, .

H is daughter was placed in a convent and although it was her ,

fathe r’ s wish she should take the veil he was understood to refer ,

the matter ent irely to her own i nclinations .

When these news reached me I frankly told the state Of my ,

affec tions to my father, who was not a little startled at the idea of
m y marrying a R oman Catholic But he was very desirous to see
.

B B
3 86 ROB ROY
.

me settled in life ” as he called it ; and he was sensible that in

, ,

joining him with heart and hand in his commerc i al labours I had ,

sacrificed my own incl inations A fter a bri ef hes itation and several .
,

questions asked and answered t o his sat i sfact i on he broke out

with — I little thought a son of mine should have been Lord of
,
“

Os b aldis to n e Manor and far less that he should go to a F rench

,

convent for a S pouse But so dutiful a daughter cannot but

.

prove a good wife Yo u have worked at the desk to please me

. ,

Frank ; it is but fair you should w ive to please yourself .

H ow I sped i n my woo ing Will Tresham I need not tell you , ,

.

You know too how long and happily I li ved with Di ana You know
, ,
.

how I lamented her But you do not— cannot kno w how much she
.
,

deserved her husband s sorrow ’

.

I have no more of romantic adventure to tell nor indeed any , , ,

thing to communicate farther since the latter inc i dents of my life ,

are so well known to one who has shared with the most friendly ,

sympathy the joys as well as the sorrows by which its scenes

, , ,

have been chequered I often visited Scotland but never again

.
,

saw the bold H ighlander who had such a n influence on the early
events of my life I learned however from t ime to time that he
.
, , ,

continued to mainta in his gro und among the mountains of Loch

Lomond in de 5pit e of his powerful enemies and that he even
, ,

obtai ned t o a certai n degree the conn ivance of Government to his

, ,

self elected o ffi ce of Protector of the Lennox, in virtue of which he

-

levi ed black mai l with as much regularity as the proprietors did

their ord inary rents It seemed impossible that h is l ife should have
.

concluded wi thout a violent end N evertheless he di ed in Old age .

,

and by a peaceful death some time about the year 1 7 3 3 and is still
, ,

remembered i n his count ry as the R obi n Hood of Scotland the ,

dread of the wealthy but the friend of the poor and possessed of
, ,

many qualitie s b o th of head and heart which would have graced

‘

, ,

a less equivocal pro fession than that to which his fate condemned
h im .

Old Andrew F airs e rvic e used to say that “ There were m any ,

things ower bad for bless ing and ower gude for banning like R OB , ,
”
R OY .

[Here the original manuscript ends somewhat abruptly I have .

a son to think that what followed related to private a ff air s ]

“
°
3 88 R OB ROY .

should be brought to su ffer all the barbaritys and crueltys, which

revenge and m allic e may s uggest to these miscreants for his have ,

ing acted a faithful] part in the service of the Government, and

his affection to me in my concerns .

“
I need not be more particular to you s ince I know that m y ,

L etter to my Lord Townshend will come i nto your hands so shall '
,

only now give you the assurances of my be ing w ith gre at sincerity , ,

S y most humble servant ’

,
r
,

( Signed) M ONTROSE .

“
I l ong exceedingly for a return of m y form er dispatches to th e
Secretary s about Methven and Col“ Urquhart and my wife s
’
, ,
’

c o us ins B aln am o o n and Ph i n aven

,
.

“
I must beg yo w ll give my humble service to M r S ecretary
’
.

M ethven and tell him that I mu st re fe rr him to what I have written

,

to My Lord Townshend in this affair of R o b R o y believing it w as ,

needless to trouble both with letters ” .

Examined R OB T LEM ON , .
,

D ep u ty K eefi er qf S ta te P apers .

S TATE P A P ER O F F ICE,
N o w 4, 1 82 9 . .

N OTE —The enclosure referred to in the preceding le tter is , ‘

a nother copy of the letter which Mr Grahame of K illearn w a s .

compelled by R o b R o y to write to the Duke of Montrose and is ,

e xactly the same as the one enclosed in h i s Grace s letter to Lord

’

T ownshend dated N ovember a 1 5 t 1 7 1 6

, R L , . . .

Th elast letter in the A ppendix (p 40 5 a8th N ovember) acquaint

, .
, ,

ing the Government with K ille arn s bei n g set at liberty is also ’
,

a ddressed to the Under Secretary of State, Mr Pringle

- . .

Th e A uthor may also here remark that immediately previo us to ,

the insurrection of 1 7 1 5 he perce ives from some notes of informa

, ,

tion given to Government that R o b R o y appears to have been

,

much employed and trusted by the Jacob ite party even in the very
delicate task of transporting sp eci e to the Earl of Breadalbane,
though it might have somewhat resembled trusting D on R aphael
a n d Am brose de L amela with the church-treasure .

[N B . .
—C ONTINUATION ’

z n tlze s u cceedi n
g pag e i s exp la i n ed by
w iza t f o llo w s on M e f a te of tlze f a m zly of R o b R oy, f orm ed tlza t
f

of 1121: tex t as con cl u ded a t p 3 8 —

,

pa rt A M ] . . . .
 F A TE A ND F ORT U NE S o r ROB ROY S S ON S
'
.
3 89

TH E F A TE A ND F OR TU NE S OF TH E
S ONS OF R OB R OY .

”
Im ’
vexed, s a id
R o b R oy, f o r til e b a l m s; I m
’ “

I thi n /e o H o m es /e a n d R o ber t l i vi ng t/t ez r f a tlzef s

'
’
v ex ed t ake n
'

l zf e .
” —S ee p .
3 42, of l lzzs vo l u me
'

TH E fate of a part of R o b R oy s family was so extraordinary as ’

,
to call for a cont inuation (see p 3 3 8) of this somewhat prol ix account .
,
as affording an interesting chap ter not on H ighland manners alone , ,

but on every stage of soc iety in which the people of a primitive

and half-civil ized tribe are brought into close contact with a
nation in wh i ch civilization and polity has attained a complete
,

superiority
R o b had five sons — Coll R onald James D uncan and R obert
.

, , , , , .

N othing occurs worth notice concerning three of them but James ,

who was a very handsome man seems to have had a good deal of ,

his father s spirit and the mantle of D ougal C i ar M ohr had appa
’
,

ren tl y descended on the shoulders of R obin Oig that is young , ,

R obin Shortly after R o b R oy s death the ill will which the Mac ’
-
.
,
Gregors entertained against the M ac Lare n s again broke out at the ,
instigat i on it was said of R ob s wi dow who seems thus far to
, ,
’
,
have deserved the character g iven to her by her husband as an ,

A t é st i rri ng u p to blood and strife R obin Oig under her instiga .

,

tion s w ore that as soon as he could get back a certain gun whi ch
,

had belonged to his father and had been lately at D oune to be ,

repaired he would shoot M a c Lare n for having presumed to settle

, ,

o n h i s mothe r s H e was as good as hi s word and shot

’
,

M a c La ren when between the stilts of his plough , wounding him

mortally .

Th e aid of a H ighland leech was procured who probed th e ,

wound with a probe made out of a custock the stal k of a cole ,

wort or cabbage This learned gentleman declared he would not

.

venture to prescribe not know ing w i th what shot the pat i ent had
,

been wounded M a c Laren died and about the same time his
.
,

cattle were houghed and his live stock destroyed in a barbarous

manner
R o b in Oig after this feat—which one of his biographers re p re
.

sents as the unhappy discharge of a gun —ret ired to h is mother s

,
’

house to boast that he had drawn the fi rst blood in the quarrel
,

aforesaid On the approach of troops and a body of the Stewarts

.
, ,
who were bound to take up the cause of their tenant R ob in Oig ,
abscon ded and escaped all search , .

The doctor already mentioned by name C alla rn M a c In le is ter , ,

with James and R onald brothers to the actual perpetrator of the ,

murder were brought to tri al But as they contrived to represent
,
.

the action as a rash deed committed by th e “ daft calla nt R o b ” to ,

3 90 TH E FA TE A ND F ORTU NE S OF

whi ch th ey were not accessory the jury found th e ir accession t o ,

the crim e was N ot Proven Th e alleged acts of spoil and vi olence .

o n the M a c Lare n s cattle were also fou n d to be unsupport ed by

’

ev idence A s it was proved however that the two brothers

.
, , ,

R onald and James were h eld and reputed thieves they were , _ ,

appo inted to fi n d caut i on to the extent of £20 0 for the ir good ,

behaviour fo r seven years

Th e sp i ri t of clansh i p was at that time so strong—to which must
.

be added the wish to secure the adherence of stout able — bodied

and as the S cotch phrase then went p retty men —that the 1 e pre
, ,
‘

, ,

s e n t at ive of the noble fam i ly of Perth condes cend e d to act Openly

as patron of the M a c G re go rs and appeared as s uch upon the i r ,

trial So at le ast the author was informed by the late R obert

.

M a c In t o sh Esq advocate Th e c ircumstance may however

have occurred later than 1 7 3 6—the year in which this first trial
, .
, .
, ,

took place .

R ob in Oig served for a time i n the 4 2 n d regiment and was ,

presen t at the battle of F ontenoy where he was made pri soner and ,

woun ded H e was exchanged returned to Scotland and obtained

.
, ,

h i s d i scharge H e afterwards appeared openly i n the M ac Grego r s

.
’

country ; and notwithstanding h i s outlawry marr ied a daughter

, ,

of Graham of Dru n kie a gentleman of some property H is wife , .

died a few years afterwards .

The i nsurrect i on of 1 7 4 5 soon afterwards called the M ac G re go rs

to arms Robe rt M a c Gre go r of G le n c arn o c h generally regarded
.
,

as the chief of the wh ole name and grandfather of Sir John whom , ,
the clan received in th a t character ra ised a M a c Grego r regiment , ,

w ith wh i ch he joined the stan dard of the Cheval ier The race of .

Ciar M ohr however a ffect in g independence and commanded by

, , ,

Glengyle and his cous in James R o y M a c G rego r did not join th i s ,

kindred corps but u n ited themselves to the lev ie s of the titular

,

D uke of Perth until Wi ll iam M ac G re go r Drummo n d of B o lhaldie

, ,

whom they regarded as head of their branch of Clan-A lp ine ,

should come over from F rance To cement the un i on after the

’
.

Highland fash i on James lai d down the name of Campbell and

, ,

assum ed that of Drummond in com pliment to Lord Perth H e , .

was also called James Ro y after hi s father and James M ohr or , , ,

g Jam e s {1 0 111 hi s he ight

,
His corps the relics of his father .
,

R ob s ban d behaved with great act i v i ty w ith o n ly twelve men he

’
,

succeeded in surpris ing and b u m i n g for the second time the fort , ,

at Inversnaid constructed for the express purpose of bridling the

,

coun try of the M a c Gre go rs .

Wh at rank or command James M ac G rego r had is uncertain ,

H e calls h imself Major and Cheval i er Johnstone calls him Cap

tain He must have held rank u n der C hlu n e Dhu his k insman
.
, ,
but his active and audac i ous character placed h im above the res t
o f h is breth ren Many of his followers were u narmed ; he sup
.

p l i ed the want of guns and swords w i th scythe -blades set straight

u pon their ha n dles .

A t the battle of Prestonpans James Ro y distinguished him sel f

‘

, .
3 92 T H E FA T E A N D F O RTU NE S OF

sort of enterprise was so comm on along the H ighland line as to

‘

g1ve ri se to a va rie ty of songs an d ballads Th e annals of Ireland

‘
. ,

as well as those of S cotland prove the crime to have been common ,

i n the more lawless p arts of both countries and any woman who
~

happened to please a man of spirit who came of a good house and ,

possessed a few chosen fri ends and a ret re at in the mounta ins was , ,

n o t perm i tted the alternat ive of saying hi m nay What is more it .

,
-

would seem that the women themselves most interested in the ,

i mmunities of the i r sex were among the lower classes accustomed , , ,

to regard such marriages as that which is presently to be detailed

as pretty F anny s way ” or rather the way of D onald with pretty
“ ’
, ,
Fanny It is not a great many years since a respectable woman
.
,

above the lower rank of life expressed h erself very warmly to the ,

a uthor on h i s taking the freedom to censure the behaviour of the

M a c G rego rs on the occas i on in q uestion She said that there was .

n o use i n g i v i ng a br i de too much cho i ce upon such occas i ons ; that

the marri ages were the happ i est lang syne which had been done
o ff hand F i nally she averred that her “ own m other had never
”
.
,

seen her father t ill the night he brought her up from the Lennox ,

with ten head of black cattle and there had not been a happier ,
c ouple in the country
”
.

James Drummond and his breth ren having similar opinions with
the author s old acquaintance and debating h o w they might ra i se
’
,

t h e fallen fortunes of thei r clan formed a resolution to settle their ,

brother s fortune by strik ing up an advantageous m arriage betwixt

’

R obin Oig and one Jean Key or Wright a young woman scarce , ,

twenty years old and wh o had been left about two months a widow
,

by the death of her husband Her property was estimat ed at only .

f rom to merks but it seems to have been suffic i ent

'

,
temptation to these men to join i n the comm iss ion of a great
crime .

Th i s poor young vict i m lived wi th her moth er in her own house

at E din b illy in the parish of Balfron and shi re of St i rling A t
,
.

this place in the night of 3 rd December 1 7 50 the sons of R o b

, , ,

R o y and particularly James Mohr and R obin Oig rushed i nto the
, ,
house where the object of their attack was res i dent presented ,
guns swords and pistols to the males of the fam ily and terrified
, , ,

the women by threaten i n g to break Open the doors if Jean Key was
n o t surrendered as s aid James R o y hi s brother was a young “
, , ,
fellow determined to make his fortune ” H aving at length .
, ,

dragged the object of their lawless purpose from her place of con
c e alm en t they tore her from her mother s arms mounted her on a
’
, ,

horse before one of the gang and carried her o ff in spite of her ,

s cream s and cries which were long heard after the terrified spec
,

t at o rs of the outrage could no longer see the part y retreat through

the darkness In her atte m pts to escape the poor young woman
.
,
threw herself from the horse on which they had placed her and in ,
s o doing wrenched her side They then laid her double over the .

pummel of the saddle and transported her through the mosses ,

and moors till the pain of the injury she had suffered in her side ,
 TH E S ON S OF R OB R OY .
3 93

augmented by the uneasiness of her posture made her consent to ,

s i t upright I n the execution of th i s crime they stopped at more

.

houses than one but none of the inhabitants dared interrupt their
,

proceed ings A mongst others who saw them was that class i cal and
.

accomplished scholar the late Professor William R ichardson of

Glasgo w wh o used to describe as a terrible dream the ir v iolent
,

and noisy entrance into the house where he was then residing .

Th e H ighlan ders filled the little kitchen brand i shing their arms , ,

demand ing what th ey pleased and recei ving whatever they ,

demanded James M ohr he said was a tall stern and soldier
.
, , , ,

like m an R obin Oig looked more gentle dark but yet ruddy in
complex ion—a good-looking young savage Their victim was so
.
,

d ishevelled in her dress and forlorn i n her appearance and ,

demeanour that he could hardly tell whether she was alive or
,
dead .

Th e gang carried the unfortunate woman to R o we rde n n an w h e re ,

they had a pri est unscrupulou s enough to read the marriage
service while J a mes M ohr forcibly held the bride up before him
,

and the priest declared the couple man and wife even while she ,

protested against the infamy of h is conduct Under the same .

threats of v i olence which had been all along used to enforce their
,

scheme the poor vi ctim was compelled to reside wi th the pretended

,
h u sband who was thus forced upon her They even dared to carry .

her to the public church of B alqu idde r w here the officiating ,

clergyman (t h e same who had been R o b R oy s pensioner) only ’

asked them if the y w e re married persons R obert M a c Grego r .

a nswered i n the affi rmat i ve the terri fied female was s ilent .
‘

Th e country w a s now too effectually subjected to the law for

t his vile outrage to be followe d by the advantages proposed by the
actors M il itary parties were sent out in every direction to seize
.

the M ac G rego rs who were for two or three weeks compelled to

,
sh ift from one place to another in the mountains bearing the ,

u nfortunate Jean Key along With them In the meanwhile the .

,
Supreme Civil Court i ssued a warran t sequestrat ing the property of
Jean Key or Wright which removed out of the reach of the actors
, ,

i n the v i olence the prize which they expected They had how .
,

ever adopted a bel ief of the poor wom an s spirit being so far
,
’

broken that she would prefer submi tting to her condition and ,
adhering to R obi n Oig as her husband rather than inc u r the ,

disgrace of appearing in such a c ause in an open court It was .

,

i ndeed a del i cate experiment ; but the i r kinsman Glengyle ch i ef

, ,
of the i r immedi ate fam ily was of a temper averse to lawless pro
,

c e e din gs and the captive s friends having had recourse to his

’

a dvi ce they feared that he would wi thdraw h i s protect i on i f they

,

refused to place the prisoner at l iberty .

Th e brethren resolved therefore to liberate the unhappy woman ,

but previously had recourse to every measure which should oblige
her either from fear or otherwise to own her marri age with R obin
, ,
Oig Th e cailliachs ( old Highland hags) adm i nistered drugs whic h
.
,

were designed to have the effect of philtres but were prob ably ,
3 94 TH E FA T E A N D F ORTUNE S OF

deleterio u s James Mohr at one t ime threatened that if she did

.
,

not ac qu iesce i n the match she would find that there were enough o f
,

men i n the Highlands to bring the heads of two of her uncles who
w ere pursuing t h e c ivil lawsu it A t another t ime he fell down on
'

his knees an d confessed he had been a ccessory to wron ging her

, ,

but begged she would not ruin his innocent wi fe and large family .

She was made to swear she would not prosecute the brethren for
the offence they had committed and she was oblige d by threats , ,

to subscribe papers whi ch were tendered to her intimat ing that ,

she was carried off i n consequence of her own previous request .

James Mohr Drummond accord ingly brought h is pretended , ,

s i ster in -law to Edinburgh where for some l ittle tim e she was
-
, , ,

carried about from one house to anoth er watched by those with ,

whom she was lodged and never permitted to go out alone or , ,

even to approach the w indo w The Co urt of Session consideri ng .

,
the pecul iarity of the case and regarding Jean Key as being still ,

under some forc ible restraint took her person under their own special ,

cha rge and appointed her to reside in the fam ily of Mr Wightman
, .

of M au ldsley a gentleman of respectab ili ty who was marri ed to one

, ,
of her near relat ives Tw o sentinels kept guard on the house day
and night—a precauti on not deemed superfluous when the M ac
.

Gregors were in question She was allowed to go out whenever .

she chose and to see whomsoever she had a m ind as well as the
, ,
,

men of law employed in the civil suit on either side When she .

fi rst came to Mr W ightman s house she seemed broken down

.
’
,
with affright and su ffering so ch anged in features that her mother
,
hardly knew her and so shaken in mind that she scarce could
,
recognise her parent I t was long before she could be assured
.

that she was in perfect safety But when she at length received .

confidence in her s ituat i on she made a jud i c ial declaration or , ,

affidavit telling the full history of her wrongs i mp uting to fear

, ,

h er former silence on the subject and express in g h e r resolut i on ,

not to prosecute those who had injured her in respect of the oath ,
which she had been compelled to take F rom th e possible breach .

of such an oath though a compulsory one she was relieved by the

, ,

forms of S cottish jurisprudence in that respect more equ itable ,

than those of England prosecut i ons for crimes being al ways con
,
ducted at the expense and charge of the King w ithout i n c o n ve ,

n i e n c e or cost to the pri vate party who has sustained the wrong .

But the unhappy sufferer did not live to be e ither accuser or

witness aga inst those who had so deeply injured her .

James M ohr Drummond had left Ed inburgh so soon as his h alf

dead prey had been taken from his clutches Mrs Key or Wright . .
, ,

was released from her species of confinement there and removed ,

to Glasgow under the escort of Mr Wightman A s they passed
, . .

the H ill of Shotts her escort chan ced to say Thi s is a very wild
, ,

S pot : what if the M acgregors should come upon u s ? God

”

forbi d was her immed iate an swer the very sigh t of them would ,
“

k ill me . She continued to reside at Glasgow without venturing ,

to return to her own house at E dinb illy Her pret ended husband .
3 96 TH E FA TE A N D F ORT U NE S OF

He had been committed to the Castle of Edinburgh on some

reports that an escape would be attempted Yet he contrived to .

achieve h is liberty even from that fortress H is daughter had the .

address to enter the prison d i sgu ised as a cobbler bringing home, ,

work as she pretended In this cobble r s dress her father quickly

, .
’

arrayed himself The wife and daughter of the pri soner were heard
.

by the sent inels scolding the supposed cobbler for having done his
work ill and the man c ame out with his h at slouched over his eyes ,
, '
a n d gr u mbl ing as if at the manner i n which they had treated him .
,

I n th i s way the pri soner passed all the guards w ithout suspicion ,
a n d made hi s escape to F rance H e was after wards outlawed by .

the Court of Justic iary wh i ch proceeded to the trial of D uncan Mac

,
Gregor o r D rummond his brother 1 5th January 1 7 53 Th e
, , , , .

accused had un quest i onably been with the party wh i ch carried off
Jean Key ; but no evidence being brought which applied to him
i ndividually and directly the jury found h im n o t guilty, and nothing
,
more i s known of his fate .

That of James M a c G re go r who from talent and activity i f not , , ,

by seniority may be considered as head of the fam ily has been i o n g

, ,
m i srepresented as it has been generally averred i n Law R eports as
, ,
well as elsewhere that h is outlawry was reversed and that he re
, ,

turned and d ied in S cotland But the curi ous letters publishe d in .

Blackwood s Magaz ine for D ecember 1 8 1 7 show this to be an

’
, ,
error Th e first of these documents is a petit i on to Charles Edward
. .

It is dated 2 0 th September 1 7 53 and pleads his service to the , ,

c ause of the Stewarts ascribing his exile to the persecut i on of the

,

H anoverian G overnment w ithout any allus ion to the affair of Jean

,

Key or the Court of Just i ciary It i s stated to be forwarded by

,
.

M ac G re g o r D rummond of B o h al die whom as before mentione d , , ,

Ja m e s M o h r acknowledged as his ch i e f
. .

Th e e ffect which this pet it i on produced does not appear S ome .

temporary relief was perhaps obtained But soon after th i s dar ing .
, ,
a dventurer was engaged in a very dark intrigue against an ex ile of
his own country and placed pretty nearly in h is own c ircumstances
,
.

A remarkable H ighland story must be here briefly alluded to Mr . .

Campbell of Gle n u re who had been named factor for Government

, ,

o n the forfeited estates of Stewart of A rdsh i el was shot dead by an ,

assass i n as he passed through the wood of Lettermore after cross ,

ing the ferry of B all ic h ulish A gentleman named James Stewart .

, ,

a natural brother of A rds h i e l the forfeited person was tried as , ,

being accessory to the murder and condemned and executed upon ,

very doubtful evidence the heaviest part of which only amounted

to the accused person havin g ass i sted a nephew of hi s own called ,

A llan Breck Stewart with money to es cape after the deed was done
, .

N ot satisfied with th is vengeance which was obtained in a manner ,

l ittle to the honour of the dispensation of justice at t h e time the ,

friends of the deceased Gle n ure were eagerly desirous to obtain

possession of the person of A llan Breck Stewart supposed to be the ,

actual homicide James M ohr Drummond w a s secretly applied to

.

to trepan Stewart to the sea-coast, and bring him over to Britain ,

 TH E S ON S OF R OB ROY .
3 97

to al most certain death D rummond M ac G re go r had kindred con

.

n e xi o n s with the slain Gl e n u re and bes ides the M ac G rego rs and , ,

Campbells had been friends of late wh ile the former clan and the ,

S tewarts had as we have seen been recently at feud ; lastly R obert

, , ,

Oig was now in custody at E dinburgh and Jam es was des irous t o ,
do some service by which h is brother m ight be saved The jo int .

force of these motives may in James s estimation of r ight and , ,

’

wrong have been some v ind i cation for engagin g in such an enter
,

prise although as must be necessar ily supposed it co u ld only be

, , ,
executed by treachery of a gross description M ac G re go r s tipu .

lated for a licence to return to England promising to bring A llan ,

B reck th ither alo n g with hi m But the intended vict im was p ut .

upon his guard by two countrymen who suspected James s i n te n ,

’

tions towards him H e escaped from his kidnapper after as Mac

.
, ,

Gregor alleged robbing h i s portmanteau of some clothes and four

,

snuff-boxes Such a charge it m ay be observed could scarce have

.
, ,
been made unless the part ies had been living 0 11 a footing of inti
'

macy and had access to each other s baggage

,
’
.

A lthough James Drummond had thus missed his blow in th e

matter of A llan Breck Stewart he used his l i cence to make a ,

journey to London and had an interview as he avers wi th Lord

, , ,

H o l de rn e s se His Lordship and the Under Secretary put many

.
,
-
,
puzzl ing questions to him and as he says offered h im a situation , , ,

whi ch would bring h im bread in the Government s service Thi s ,

’
.

office was advantageous as to emolument ; but in the opinion of

James D rummond hi s acceptance of it would have been a disgrac e
,
to hi s birth and have rendered him a s courge to h i s country If
, .

such a tempt ing offer and sturdy rejection had any foundat i on in
fact it probably relates to some plan of espionage on th e Ja c o b ite s
, ,
wh i ch the Government m ight hope to carry on by means of a man
who in the matter of A llan Breck Stewart had shown no great
, ,

n i cety of feeling Drum mond M ac Grego r was so far ac c o m m o

.

dating as to i nt imate his w ill ingness to act in any stat ion in which
other gentlemen of honour served but not otherwise ; an answer ,

which compared with some passages of his past life may remind
, ,
the reader of A ncient Pistol standing upon his reputat i on .

Having thus proved intractable as he tells the story t o the pro , ,

p o s a ls of Lord H o l de rn e s s e James D rummond was ordered in,

s t a n tl y to quit England .

On his return to F rance his condition seem s to have bee n ,

u tterly disastrous H e was seized with fever and gravel ill cons o
.
, ,
quently in body and weakened and d i sp irited i n m ind A lla n
, , .

Breck Stewart threatened to put him to death in revenge of the

designs he had harboured agai nst him Th e Stewart clan were .
*

i n the highest degree unfri endly to him and h i s late expedition t o

London had been attended w i th many suspic i ous circumstances ,

a mongst w hich it was not the sl ightest that he had kept hi s purpose
s ecret from hi s chief B o hal die His intercourse with Lord Holder.

n esse was susp i cious The Jacobites were probably like D o n

.
,

B ernard de Castel Bla zo , in Gil Blas, little disposed to l ike those

3 98 TH E FA TE A N D F ORT UNE S OF

w ho kept company w ith A lguaz ils M a c D o n n e ll of Lo c h garry a .

, ,

man of un quest i oned honour lodged an i nformat i on against James ,

D rummond before the H igh B a il ie of Dunk irk accus i ng him of ,

be ing a spy so that he found h imself obliged to leave that town and
,
come to Pari s with only the sum of thirteen l i vres for h is im
,

n e diat e subsistence and wi th absolute b eggary staring him i n the

zace .
,

We do not offer the convicted common th ief the accomplice in ,

M a c Laren s assass inat i on or the manager of the outrage agai nst

’
,

Jean Key, as an object of sympathy but it i s melancholy to look

on the dying struggles even of a wolf or a t iger creatures of ,
a

species dire c tly h o st ile to our own and i n like manner the utter
‘

, , ,

d istress of this man whose faults may have sprung from a wild
,

system of educat i on worki ng on a haughty temper w ill not be

, ,

perused without some pity In his last letter to B o h aldi e dated .

,

Pari s 2 5th S eptember 1 7 54 he describes h is state of destitution

, , ,

as absolute and expresses himself w ill ing to exercise h is talents in

,

breaking or breeding horses or as a hunter or fowler if he could , ,

o nly procure employment i n such an inferi or capac i ty till someth i ng

better should occu r A n Engl i shm an may smile but a S cotsman

.
,

will sigh at the postscri pt i n wh i ch the poor starving exile asks the
,

loan of his patron s bagpipes that he might play o ver some of the
’

m elancholy tunes of his own land But the e ffect of music arises .
,
in a great degr ee from association ; and sounds which might jar
,

the nerves of a Londoner or Pari sian bring back to the H ighlander ,

his lofty mou n tain w ild lake and the deeds of his fathers of the
, ,

glen To prove M a c G rego r s claim to our reader s compassion we

.
’ ’
,
here insert the last part of the letter alluded to .

By all appearance I am born to su ffer crosses and it seems ,

th ey re not at an end ; for such is my wretched case at present

’
,
that I do not know earthly where to go or what to do as I have no ,

s u b s i s t e n c e t o keep body and soul tog ether A ll that I have car

‘

ried here i s about 1 3 livres and have t aken a room at my old ,

q uarters in H otel St Pierre R u e de Cord i er . I send you the ,

.

bearer, begging of you to let me know if you are to be i n town

soon that I may have the pleasure of seeing yo u for I have none
, ,
to make applicat ion to but you alone and all I want is it it was ,
possible you could contrive where I could b e employed without '

g oing to entire beggary This probably is a d i fficult point yet u m

.
, ,

less it s attended wi th som e di fficulty you might think noth ing of

’
,

it as your long head can bring about matters of much m ore diffi
,

c ulty and consequence than this If you d di sclose th i s matter to ’

.

your friend Mr B uttler it s possible he might have some employ

.
,
’

wherein I could be of use as I pretend to know as much of breid

ing and riding of horses as any in France bes ides t hat I am a goo d ,

hunter either on horseback or by footing You may judge my t e

,
.

duction as I propose the meanest things to lend a turn till better

,

c ast up I am sorry that I am obliged to give you so much

.

tr ouble, but I hope yo u are very well assured that I am gra teful fo r
400 TH E FA TE A N D F ORTU NE S OF

us in the fulness of years, then a schoolboy at L inlithgo w, enables

the author to add that a much larger body of M ac Gre go rs than
,
had cared to advance to Ed i nburgh rece i ved the corpse at that , _

p la ce with the coronach and other wild emblems of H i ghland

,

m ourning and so escorted it to Balquh i dder

,
Thus , we m ay con .

c lu de this long account of R o b R o y a n d his family, W i th the c l as s1 c

p hras e, ”
“
ITE C ONCLAM A TU M EST
'

. .

I have only to add that I have selected the above from many
,
anecdotes of R o b Ro y which were and may still be current
, , ,

a mong the mountains where he flour i shed but I am far from war _
ranting their exact authentic i ty C lannish part ialiti es w ere very
.

apt to guide the tongue and pen as well as the is tol and clay
,
more and the features of an anecdote are wonde ully softened or
,
exaggerated, as the story is told by a M ac Grego r or a Campbell .

TH ER E are many product ions of the Scottish B allad Poets upon

the lion-like mode of wooing practised by the ancient H ighlanders
w hen they had a fancy for the person ( or property) of a L owland
damsel One example is found in Mr R obert Jamies on s Popular ’
. .

S cottish Songs
B onny Babby Livingstone
Gaed out to see the kye ,
An d she has met with Glenlyon,
W 11 0 has stolen her away .

H e took frae her her s at tin coat,

B ut an her silken gown ,
Syn e roud her in his t artan plaid,
A n d happed her round and

In another b al lad we are told how

Four-and-twenty H ieland men,
Came doun by F iddo c h s ide ,
An d they have sworn a deadly aith,
Jean M uir suld be a bri de :
A n d they have sworn a deadly aith,
Ilke man upon his durke ,

That she should wed with Duncan Ger,

Or they d m ak e bloody wo rk e ”
’
.

This l ast we have from tra di tion but there are man y others in
,
the collections of Scotti sh Ballads to the sam e purpose .

The achievement of R obert Oig or young R o b R o y, as the Lo w

,

landers c alled h im was celebrated in a ballad, of which there are

,
twenty different and various edi tions Th e tune is live ly and wild,
.

an d we se l ec t the following words fro m memory

 \
OF TH E S ON S OF ROB ROY .
40 1

R o b R o y is
frae the H ielands come,
1 D own to the Lowland border ;
A nd he has stolen that l a dye away ,

To haud h i s b ous in order .

H e set her on a milk-white steed ,

Of none he stood i n a we
U n till they reached the H ieland hills ,

A boon the Balmaha

’

S ay ing,
B e content be content
, ,
Be content with me l adye ,
Where will ye fi n d i n Lennox land ,
Sae braw a man as me l adye P ,

R o b R o y, he was my father called ,

M ac G re go r was his name, l a dye
A the country, far and near,
’

H ave heard M ac Gre go r’ s fame, ladye .

He was a hedge about his friends ,

A heckle to his foes ladye,
I f any man did him gainsay ,
H e felt his deadly blows la dye , .

I am as bold I am as bold
, ,

I am as bold and more ladye ,

A n y man that doubts my word ,

M a y try my gude claymore la dye , .

Then be content be content

, ,

Be cont ent w ith me la dye,

For now you are my wedded wi fe,
Until the day you dee ladye ” , .

G H LU N E D H U .

TH E following not i ces concerning thi s Chief fell under the

A uthor’ s eye wh i le th e sheets were in the act of going through the
press They occur in manuscript memoi rs written by a person
.
,

intimately acquai nted with the i ncidents of 1 7 45 .

This Ch i ef had the i mportant task i ntr u sted to him of defendin g

the Castle of D o n n e i n whi ch the Chevalier placed a garrison to
,
protect his commun i cat ion with the H ighlands and to repel any ,

sallies wh i ch m ight be made from St irl ing Castle G hlun e Dh u .

d i stingu i shed himself by h is good conduct i n th i s charge .

G hlu n e Dhu is thus described Glengyle i s i n person a tall , ,

handsome man and has more of the m i en of the ancient heroes

,
than our modern fine gentlemen are possessed o f H e is honest
and disintere sted to a proverb—extremely modest—brave and
.

c c
 A PPEN DIX TO R OB ROY
‘

402 .

intrepid—and born one of the best partisans in Europe In .

short the whole people of that country declared that never did
,
men live under so m ild a government as Gle ngyl e s not” a m an ’
,
h aving so much as lost a chicken wh ile he continued there
I t would appear from this curi ous passage that Glengyl e —not
.

Stewart of B alloch as averred in a note on Waverley—comm anded

,

,
the garr ison of D oune Ball och might no do ubt, succeed Mac
.
,
Gregor in the si tuation .

A PP ENDI X TO R OB R OY .

A DVE R TI SE M EN T F OR A PP R E H E N S I O N OF
R OB R OY .

( From the E di n E ven i ng Co u ra n t,

. June 18 to June 2 1,
A D 1 7 1 2, N o . . .

TH A T R obert Campbell , commonly known by the name of R o b

R o y M a c G re go r, being lately intrusted by several noblemen an d
gentlemen w i th considerable sums for buying cows for them in t h e
H ighlands , has treacherously gone o ff with the money, to the
“

value of £ 1 0 0 0 sterling, which he carries along with him All .

Magi strates and Officers of h i s Majesty s forces are intreated to ’

se i ze upon the said R ob Roy, and the money which he carri es with
him until the persons concerned in the money be heard against
,

him ; and that notice be given when he is apprehended to the , ,

keepers of the Exchange Co ff ee house at Edinburgh, and the -

keeper of the Coffee-house at Glasgow w here the parties concerned ,

wi ll be advertised and the seiz ers shall be very reasonably t e

,
warded for their pains ” .

I t is unfortun ate that this Hue and Cry which is afterwards t e ,

p e at e d in the same paper contai ns no description of R o b R oy s per

’
,
son wh i ch o f course, we must suppose to have been pretty generally
, ,

known A s it is directed against Ro b R o y personally it would seem

.
,
to exclude the idea of the Cattle be ing carried o ff by his partner ,
M ac D o n al d w ho would certainly have been mentioned i n the a d
,

ve rti s e m e n t if the creditors concerned had supposed him to be in

,

p ossession of the money .

L E TTE R S F R O M A N D TO TH E D U KE O F M O N TR O S E ,

R ESPE CTING R OB R OY S A RRE ST o r M R GRAH AM E o r KILL EA R N

’
. .

Tfie D uke M o n tros e to Lo rd Vi s co u n t To w ns /ten et .

Glasgow the z t s t N ov
M Y LORD —I wa s surpri sed last n ight with the account of a
,
.

,
very remarkable instance of the in solence of that very notoriou s
rogue R o b R oy, whom your lordsh ip has often heard named The .
40 4 A PPEN DIX TO R OB R OY .

m en twice in arms in opposition to the King s troops and one of ’

those ti mes attac kt them rescued a prisoner from them and all
,

, ,

th is wh ile sent abroad his party through the countrie plundering ,

the countrie people and amongst the rest some of my tenants ,

.

“
Being informed of these disorders after I came to S cotland I ,

applied to Lieut — G e n ll Carpenter who ordered three part i es from

. .
,

Glasgow Stirl ing and F in larig to march in the n ight by d ifferent

, , ,
routes in order to surprise him and hi s men in the ir house s wh i ch
, ,

would have had its effect certainly if the great ra ins that happened ,

to fall that veri c night had not retarded the march of the troops ,

so as some of the parties came too late to the stat i ons that they
were ordered for A ll that could be done upon the occasion was to
.

burn a countrie house where R o b R o y then res i ded after some of , ,

h is clan had from the rocks fired upon the King s troops by
’
, , ,

which grenadier was killed

a .

Mr Grahame of Killearn being m y deputy-sheriff in that

.
, ,

count ri e went along with the party that marched from Sti rling
,
and doubtless w ill now meet w ith the worse treatment from that
, ,
barbarous people on that account Besides that he is my relation .
, ,

and that they know how active he has been in the service of the
Government— all which your Lordsh ip may believe puts me under ,
‘

,
very great concern for the gentleman while at the same t im e I can , , ,

forsee no manner of way how to relieve him other than to leave ,

him to chance and his own management .

I had my thoughts before of proposing to Government the build

ing of some barracks as the only exped ient for suppressing these ,

rebels and securing the peace of the countrie ; and in that view I
,

spoke to Gen ll Carpenter who has now a sch eme of it in his

.
,
hands and I am persuaded that will be the true method for
restraining them effectually but in the meantime it will be , ,
n ecessary to lodge some of the troops in those places u pon which
,
I intend to wri te to the General] .

I am sensible I have troubled your Lordship with a very long

letter which I should be ashamed of were I myself singly con
, ,
cerned ; but where the honour of the King s Government is ’

touched I need make no apologie and I shall only beg leave to

, ,

add that I am with great respect and truth

, , , ,
My Lord ,

y Lords most humble and

“ ' '
. .

obedient servant ,

M ONTR OSE ” .

COPY OF GRAH A M E o r K ILLEA R N S LETDE R ,

’
E NC LOSED
IN TH E P R ECEDING .

Ch ap e llarro ch, N ov l gth, 1 7 1 6

M A Y 1 I PLEA SE YOU R G R A C E,— I am obl i ged to g i ve your
. .

Grace the trou b le of this, by R obert R oy’s commands , being s o

unfortunate at present as to be his p risoner . I refer the way and
 A PPEN DIX TO ROB ROY .
40 5

manner I was apprehended to the bearer and shall only in short , , , ,

acquaint your G 1 ace with the demands which are that your Grace , ,
shall d1s c h a1 e him of all s o u m e s he owes your Grace and give
0
,
him the sonme of 3 40 0 me i ks for hi s loss and damages susta ined by
h im both at Cra igro s to wn and at his h ouse A u c h in c h i s alle n ; and
, ,
that your Grace shall give your word not to trouble or prosecute
him afterwards ; till which time he carries me all the money I ,
received th i s day my books and bonds for entress not yet pa id
, , ,

al ong w ith him w ith as s urances of hard usage if an y party are

, ,

sent after him The son me I received this day confo rm to the
.
,

nearest computation I can make before several of the gentlemen ,

is 3 2 2 7 2 5h 8d Scots of which I gave the m notes I shall wait

. .
, .

your Grace s return and ever am

’
, ,
Your Grace s most obedient faithful
“ ’
, ,
humble servant ,

J OH N G RA H A M E
'
“
S i c s zeos crz oi tzer ,
.

TH E D U KE OF M O TR OS E TO R OB E R T
N P R IN GLE, E SQ .

2 8th No v . 1 7 1 6. —K i llearn s R eleas e ’

.

Glasgow a8th Nov 1 7 1 6 , . .

S IR - H aving acquainted you by my last of the 2 1 5t i nstant

,
~
, ,

of what had happened to my fri end Mr Grahame of Killearn I m .

,
’

very glad n o w to tell you that last night I was very agreeably ,
surpri sed with Mr G raham e s coming here h imself and giving me ’
,

the first account I had had of him from the time of his being
carri ed away It seems R o b R o y when he came to consi der a
.
,

l ittle better of it found that he could not mend his matters by

,

retaining Killearn his prisoner which could o nly expose him still ,

the more to the justice of the Government and therefore thought

fi t to d i sm i ss him on Sunday evening last having kept him fro m ,

the Monday n ight before under a very uneasy kind of restra int , ,

being obl iged to change continuall y from place to place He gave .

him back the book s papers and bonds but kept the money
, , ,
.

I am with great truth S ir “

, , ,

your most humble servant ,

M ONTR OS E ” .

Under Secretary
-

of State .

CH A L LE N GE BY R OB R OY .

ROB R OY to am lzze an d m ig li ty P ri n ce,

J A M ES DU K E OF M ONTR OSE .

IN chari ty to your Grace s c o u1 adge and conduct please know

’
, ,

the only way to retrive both is to treat R o b R o y l ike himself in ,

appoi nting your place and choice of arms that at once yo u may ,
406 A PPEN DIX TO R OB R OY .

extirpate your inveterate enemy or put a period to your punny ,

( puny ?) lif e in fal ling glori ously by hi s hands That imperti nent .

c ri ti c ks or fl att ere rs may not brand me for challenging a man

that s repute of a poor dast ardly soul let such know that I admit
’
,

of the two great supporters of his character and the captain of h i s

bands to joyne w ith him in the combate Then sure your Grace .
~

wont have the impudence to clamour att court for multitudes to

hunt me like a fox, u nder pretence that I am not to be found above
gr ound This saves your Grace an d the troops a n y further trouble
.

of searching ; that is, if your amb i ti on of glory press you to em

brace this u n e quald venture o tfe rd of R ob s head But -if your ’
.

Grace s piety prudence and cowardi ce forbids haz arding this

’
, , ,
gentlemanly expedient then let your desi gn of peace restore what
,
you have robed from me by the tyr anny of your present c it uatio n ,
otherwise your overthro w as a man is determ ined ; and advertise
your friends never more to look for the frequent c i vility payed them ,

of sending them home without their arms only Even their former .

cravi ngs wont purchase that favou r ; so your Grace by this has
peace in your offer, if the sound of war h e frightful, and chuse you
whilk, your good friend or mortal enemy ” .

[This singular rhodomontade is enclosed in a letter to a friend of

R o b Ro y probably a retainer of the D uke of A rgyle in Isla,
,
which is in these words
SIR, —R eceive
the enclosed paper q you are taking your ,
“
.

bottle it will divert yourself and comrades I got noa news since .

I saw you only qt we had before about the Spanyards is like to

,
‘

continue If I get any account about them I ll be sure to let yo u

.
’

hear of it and t ill then I will not write any more till I have more
,
account I am Sir your a ffec C [cous in] and most humble
.
, ,
"
,
servant,
“
A rgyle, 1 7 19 . R 0 13 R OY ”
.

A ddressed, To M r P a tri ck A n de rs o n

The seal , a s tag —no bad emblem

'

of a wild c atte ran .

I t appears from the envelope that R o b R o y still continued to act

as in te lligencer to the D uke of A rgyle and his agents The war he .

alludes to is probably some vagu e repor t of invasion from Sp ain .

S uch rumours were li kely enough to be afloat in consequence of ,

the disembarkation of the troops who were tak en at Gl en sheal in
'

the pre ceding year, 1 7 1 8 .

 N OTE S TO R OB R OY .

P .
9
—1 have b een in fo rmed, that , at the m It i s s a id th a the o n ge . t yu r
no v ry
e t
re mo e p e ri o d, i t was p o p o se d r uf r
fi an . C h arlio c h , m igh t have es
tk
t o a e t hi s l a g e s o n e , r h ic h m ar st w
c a pe d, b e in g e m a k ab l s wift o f fo o t r rk y .

v
t h e gra e o f Dugald C ia M o h , an d r r
B u t his c ri m e b ec a m e his p n ishme n , u t
con e v rt
i t to the p u p o se o f th e lin el r t
fo r the fem al e w ho m h e ha d o u t age d r
o f a wi n do w , th e th e sh o ld o f a do o r r
ha d de fe n de d h e s elf de sp era el , and
, r t y
o r so me suc h m e an us e
'

A m an had s ab b ed hi m wi h h is o wn di
. on t t rk
o f t he c lan M a c G re go r, wh o w as the t high H e was lame f o m t he . r
s w t
o me ha de an ge d, t o o r fi re at thi s ko u n d, a n d w as t he m o re e as il w o e y vr
ut
i n s l ; an d wh en t he wo r m e n c am e k
ta e n an d ille d k
I i n cli n e t o hin k . t k
r
t o e m o ve the s t o n e , p lan t e d him s e lf t ha tt
his l as t is the t ru e e ditio n o f t he
u p o n i t, w ith a b o a d axe i n his han d, r s to , an d t h a ry
t he gu i t was t an s t l r
w
s e ari n g h e o u ld w
dash o u t the fe e d t o Dug al d C ia M o h , as a rr r r
r
b ain s o f an y o n e who s h ou ld dis m an o f highe n a m e Or it is p o ssi r .

u
t rb t h e m o nu m e n t A thle tic i n p e r. b le these su b o din ate p e rs o n s had r
s o n , an d i nsan e e n o u gh t o b e o all o nl t t y
e ec u e d his o de s y x t r r
1 5 —Se e
.

r r
e ga dles s o f c o n s e q en ces , i t was ‘i u P
$ta t zstzca l A ccou n t of
. .
' '

t ho gh b esu t t
t o g i e way to h is hu v S co tla n d, vo l iii p age 3 3 2 a is h . xv . . P r
r
m o u ; an d th e p o o m adm an epr of ip p e n k t K
—
.

s e n t in e l o n th e s to ne day an d n igh , “
4 r7 t
S ee A p pe n di , N o 1 ,P . . x .

t r
ill the p o p o sal o f e m o vi n g i t w as r 40 3 , t his vo l
2 2 —H is c o
.

tr y r
en i el d o pp e d {5 P
age an d affec a io n ur tt
—
. . .

P 10. The ab o e is the ac c o n

. v o f fo pp e e e u t n i e d, ry w r u t w
hic h i s les s
w hi c h Ifi n d i n a m an us c ip t his o ry r t r
f e qu e n t l th e c as e , wi h a s p i i t o f y t r
o f the c lan M ac G re go r, o f hi c h Iwas w
i n n at e m o des ty
H e i s h s de s c ib e d t u r .

i n dulge d w
ith a p e s al b y Do nald ru i n Lo d in ni n g’ s sa i ic al r B e ses , tr vr
M ac G rego r, E s q , la e M a o o f th e . t e n ti le dj r "
A g le s Le ee
'
t ry v
r
3 3 d e gim e n , t w r
he e gre at p ain s h a e
S i t i mes h ad H a
v ’
h o w d n s ee n rry u
b een t a en t o c o llec k a di i o n s an d t tr x
t
e fo e h e dare d ad an c e B r v
wr tti en do c u m en ts c o n c e n in g t he r
The Du e t he n , k
n in g o n d we ll tur ru
y
famil B u t an an c ien a n d c o n s an t
. t t
tr t r
adi i o n , p ese rve d a m o n g t he i n p leas e d,
t
h ab i an ts o f the c o n t , a n d p a i u ry S a id, S rt
’
e n e yo u ve b een i n F ance , r
c u larly t h o se o f t h e c l an M a c F a rl an e
A m o e p o lite a n d au n man r j ty
r v u
e lie es D ga ld C ia M o h o f th e r
,

rI n e ve s aw b e fo e r r
u t
i l fur m d e rin g the o u h s , an d
The n H ar b o w d, an d b lus h d, an d
y t
' '
ry
g o
h o d, w '

y
la s th e b la m e o n a c e ai n Do n al d o r rt A n d s u ed t o th e do o tr tt r
D u nc a n L ea n w h o p e , fo m e d t h e a c t r r .

of c ru tyel , w i th the a ssis tan ce o f a Se e a c o llec tio n o f o igin a o e ms , b y r lP

gi llie who a tten ded him , n am e d C ha r
S c o tish e n tle m e n , vo l ii p 1 2 5 t G
2 3 —M r
. . . .

lio c h , o r C ha li e r
The y say t ha th e . t P
a hame o f G artm o re s
. . . Gr '

s
h o m ic ide dared n o t aga in o in he i j t r
C au ses o f th e Di s urb an c es i n t he t
c l an , b u t t ha he t t yr
e s ide d i n a wild H ighlan ds Se e I a m ieso n s e di io n .
'
t
r u
a n d so lita ys ta te as o t law s , i n an u n of u t s L e e s fro m t he B r
o th o f
'
tt r N r
r u t
f e q e n e d p art o f t h e M ac F arlan es
’
S c o tlan d, A pp en dix , vo l i i p 3 48
—
. . . .

rr t ry
te i o r t y vH e e he li e d fo r s o m e ”t
. 24
“
A t n igh t he Parri e d a t
. . t y v
t u tur
ime n dis t y b e d, ill the c o m m i e d tt
Luss , he e he we e o in e d b y Sir w r t y r j
rt
a n ac t o f b u al vi o len c e o n tw o de H u m p h y C o lq ho n o f L ss , an d r u u u
l s w
fenc e e s o m en , a m o th e an d am e s r J
an t o f Plas c an der, his s o n Gr ~

u tr
da gh e o f the M ac F arlan e c lan In l n -law , fo llo e db y fo
. o r fiftys ta te l
y w rty
rv t tr ty
e e n ge o f hi s a o c i ,
t he M ac F ar
,
fell o s in t he i s h o t h o se an d b e l e d w r r t
l s
ane t th
hun ed em do wn, an d sho t
p laids , a m e d each o f the m w i th a r
 N OTES TO ROB R OY .
40 9

well-fixe d gun o n his s ho u lde r a | late the sto ry with the ir re co lle c t io n s ,

s tro n g h an ds o m e targ e t with a s harp an d fam ily do cu m en ts , an d fu rn is h ,

p o in te d s te e l o f ab o ve half an e ll in t he a u the n t ic p artic u lars The s e c o n d .

le n gth s c re we d in to t h e n a ve l o f it o n res ts o n the rec o llec tio n o f an o ld ,

h is le ft arm a s turdy Cl aym o re b y his , m an wh o was prese n t wh en R o b t o o k ,

s ide an d a p is t o l o r t wo w ith a dirk F re nc h lea ve o f his lite rary c o us in o n

i n h is b e lt —R
, ,

a n d kn i fe he arin g the drum s b eat an d c o m mu

" '
s H i
, . ae s ,

t y of tl e R eb ell i o
or 4to p 2 87
z n i c a te d t he c irc um s tan c e t o M r A l x
n e
P 2 5 —The L o c h Lo m o n d e xp edi an de r F o rb e s a c o n n exio n o f D G re
, , . . .

. .
, r .

tio n was j udge d w o rthy to fo m a go r b y m arriage w ho is s till alive r

s e p ara t e p a mp hle t whic h I have n o t “ P

y 2 9 —The re ader will fin d two
,
i
. .
, .

s ee b u t as qu o te d b y t he histo rian
n, ,
o rig in al le t te rs o f t he Du ke o f M o n t
Rae i t m u s t b e de le c tab le
, ro se wi th t h at w hi c h M r G ra ha m o f
. , .

On t h e m o o w b ein g Thurs day K ille arn dis patc h ed fro m his p ris o n
rr ,

t he 1 3 t h t he y w e n t o n t he ir e xp e di h o us e b y th e Outla w s c o m m a n d i n
'

, ,

t i o n an d ab o ut n o o n c am e t o In vers
,
the Ap p e n dix No II pp 40 3 40 5 , . . . ,

n aid th e p lac e o f dan ge r whe re t h e t h is vo l

P 3 0 —Ab o ut 1 7 9 2 when the au tho r
, , .

Paisley m e n an d tho se o f Dum b a to n r , . .

,

an d s e ve ral o f the o th e r co m p an ies t o c h an ce d to p ass t hat w a

y while o n a ,

the n u m b e r o f an hun dre d m e w it h to ur thro ugh the H ighlan ds a gar i n, ,

r

t he gre atest in tre p idity leap t o n sho re so n c o n s i s t in g o f a s i n g le ve te ran , , ,

go t u p t o the to p o f th e mo un ta in s was s till m ain tai n e d a t In versn aid , .

an d sto o d a c o n side rab le ti m e h eat Th e ve n e ab le warde r wa s rea pi n g his , r

i n g t h eir drum s all t h e wh ile b ut o b arley c ro ft i all p e ac e an d tran qu il n n

e n e my a ppea rin g they wen t i n q ue s t lity ; an d whe n we as ke d a dm itta n c e

,

o f t he i r b o a ts whic h t he re b e ls ha d t o re p o s e o urs e lves

,
h e to ld us we ,

s e i ze d an d h avin g c as u ally ligh te d o n

,
w o uld fi n d the ke y o f Ti n F rt un de r o

s o m e ro p e s a d o ars h id a m o n g th e t h e do o r
n
—L etters fro m the N o rth o f
.

s hru b s a t l e n gth the y fo u n d t he b o a ts

* P r.
, 3 .

dra wn u p a g o o d way o n th e l an d S c o tlan d vo l ii pp

P 3 2 — M ad he rdsm e n—
, , . . .

w hic h the y h u le d do w n to th e l o c h r a n a m e iven

g . . .
-

S uc h o f th e m as were n o t dam age d t o c attle s te ale rs -

they c arrie d o ff w ith th e m an d su c h * P 3 3 —The win ds wh ich swe e p a

.

,_ . .

as w e e the y s a n k an d he we d to
r , w ild g le n i B ade n o c h a e s o c alle d n r .

p ie c es T h a t sa me n igh t they re
. P 3 4 Se e A pp e n dix No III p . .
-
, . .
, .

t u rn e d t o Luss an d t h e n c e n e xt day 40 7 t his vo l

P 3 6 —Su c h an a dm issio n is asc rib e d
, , .

t o Dum b arto n fro m wh e n c e the y ha d

‘9
, . .

a t fi rs t s e t o u t b rin gin g alo n g wi th t o t h e ro b b e r Do n ald B e an Le an in

,

t he m the wh o le b o a ts t he y fo n di in W averle y
the ir way o n e ithe r s ide o f the lo c h an d P 3 7 —
u .

S o me a c c o n ts s tate t hat , . . u

i n t he c re e k s o f th e i sles an d m o o rin g A pp in h i mse lf was R o b R o y s a n

,

the m u der th e can n o n o f t he c as tle t ago n is t o n this o c c a sio n M y re c o l

n . .

Du ri n g t h is e xp e dit io n th e p i ac e s lec tio n f o m the ac co u n t o f I v r a nn , r n e n

disc hargi n g th e ir p atararo es an d the hyle h im self was a s s t at e d i n th e te xt

, , .

me t h e ir s m all arm s m ade s c h a

n B u t t he p e rio d whe n I re c e ive d t he
-
, u
thun derin g n o ise thro u gh t he m ult i info rm at io n is n o w so distan t t hat i t
, ,

p li e d re b o un din g e c ho es o f th e vas t is p o ss ib le I m ay b e m is t ak e n Ia .

m o un ta i ns o n b o th s ides o f th e lo c h ve r ah yle w as ra the r o f l o w s t a tu e ,

n r ,

tha t th e M ac Gre go rs we re c o we d an d b u t ve ry w ell m ade athle tic an d an , ,

fright ed aw ay t o t he est o f th e reb e ls e xc ellen t s wo dsm an

P 3 9 —As i t m ay he n ec essary i n
r r .

wh o we re en c a m p e d at S tra th F illan
—
. . .
,

R a e 5 H rto ry of l it e R ebel li on 4to t he p rese n t E di ti o n t o s p ea k u p o n

’ '
'
z , , ,

p 2 87 the s quare th e A u tho r thin ks i t p o r

P 2 6 —The first o f these an ecdo te s p er to o wn that th e c o mmu nica tio n

. . ,

. . , .

which b rin gs the high est p itc h o f c ivili allude d t o i s e tire ly i m agin ary n
P 6 5 —The in t o duc tio n o f gauge rs
.

za t i o n so c lo se ly i n c o n tac t wi th t he . . r ,

h alf savage s ta te o f s o c ie ty I have s up e rvi s o s an d e x m in e rs w as o e , r ,

a , n

h eard t o ld b y t he la te dis tin g is he d o f th e g at c o m p lai n ts o f th e S c o tt i sh

u re

Dr Grego ry ; an d the m e mb e rs o f his

. n a t io n t h o u gh a n atural c o n se qu en ce ,

fa mily have had the kin dn e ss to c o l o f t he U io n n .

4t o N OTES TO R OB R OY .

P 6 7 —This se ems t o have b e en

. . be see n It form e l c o n tain e d a nu n
. ry
writte n ab o u t the tim e o f W ilke s a d ry he n ce t he n a m e In c h C a ill e ac h ,
fi

n ne

Lib e rty o r th e Is lan d o f Old W o m en

P 7 8 —No w c all e d Do n u an a3 6 —
.
.

P A 7zgl z c é, t h e head o f th e
’

P 86 —Perhap s fro m t e F re nch

. . . . .

s o w t o t he t a il o f t he p ig
—
. . .
,

7
‘
t a u co rpr
us P 2 46 T he b o s i n S co lan d u s e d y t
P 9 4 —On o c c asio n s o f p ub lic al arm
_ . . .

"
4
. .
, fo rme rly t o m a e a s o rt o f Sa tu rn alia k
i n t h e b egin n in g o f th e e ight ee n th i n a sn o -s to m b y p e ltin g p asse n w r ,

c en tur
y, the h o rs es o f the C a t ho lic s ge s r w i th s n o -b alls B u t ho se e x w . t
r
w e e o fte n s e iz e d u p o n , a s they we e r t
p o se d t o h a t an n o a n c e w e e e cuse d y r x
alw ays su p o se d t o b e o n t he e ve o f
p r
f o m i t o n t he ea sy p en al o f a b ai,
ty k
ri sin
g in e b e lli o n r (c urtsey) f o m a fe m ale , o r a b o w f o mr r
rré —
.

P . The n u n n e . o f W il to n wa s ry a m an It wa s o n ly t he e f a c o y
. r r t r
r
g an t e d t o t he arl o f e mb o e u p o n E P rk wh o un de we n t the s o m r t r
—
.

i t s dis s o lu tio n , b y t he m agis t e ial a u r P .age Ti nggz ng an d s om z ng was

’ '

t h o rit y o f H e n r V III , o r his s o n y . a k in d o f gen eel b eggin g , o r a t h e t r r

E dwa d V I r
On t h e a c c essi o n o f . s o m e hin g b e t ee n b e ggi n g a n d ro b tw
Q ue en M a , o f C at ho li c m e m o , ry ry b i- ng, b y w
hi c h th e n e e d i n S c o tlan d y
t he E
arl fo u n d i t n e c es s a y t o e in st al r r x r
u se d t o e t o t c a ttle o r t h e m e an s o f ,

th e A b b e ss an d h e r fair e c l u s es , r sub sis te n c e f o m r

h o se wh o h ad an y t
wh i c h h e did wi th m an e p ess io n s y x r t o gi e v
2 56 —The
.

o f h is r
e m o se , n ee l in g h u m b l r to k y it P . o d p retty i s , o r was ,
. wr
v t
the es als , a n d i n d c in g th e m in o ut t u se d i n S c o t c h i n t he sen se o f the ,

t h e c o m/e n t an d p o sse ss io n s f om r Gr e m an p ra clzt z , an d m ean

g a gal
'

t
wh ic h h e ha d e xp elle d th em Wi h . t t
lan , ale t fe llo w, p o m p an d ead at r r t r y
t he a c c ess io n o f liz ab e th , t he a c E h is w e ap o n s
2 56 —
.

c o mm o dat in g arl aga i n resu m e d hi s E P . T wo g e a c lan s fo u gh t ou t

. r t '

Pr
o te st a n fai h , an d a s ec o n d time t t a qu a e l rr w
i th t hir y me n o f a s ide , in t
rv
d o e t h e n ns f o m th e i san c u ar u r r t y . th e p e se n c e o f th e K in g . o n t h e
r
The r
e m o n s ra n c es o f t h e Ab b ess t , N o rt h In c h o f e h , o n o r ab o th e P rt ut
r
wh o e m in de d hi m o f hi s p e n i ten t e x y r
ea 1 3 9 2 ; a m an wa s a m issi n
g on
r
p e ss io n s o n th e fo rm e r o c c a s io n , o n e s ide , w h o se o o m w a s fi lle d b y a r
u
c o ld w in g f o m h i m n o o t he r r
an r little h an dy l egge d c it i z en o f e h — P rt .

r
s we t h an ha i n t h e t e t t
G o s p in , . xt Th is su b s ti tu t e , H e n y W n d, o r, as r y
y o u a d e — j
G o s p in t h e H ighlan de s Call e d him Go w r
1 9 9 —Ih ave i n vai n l a b o u e d t o
,

"
a
P r C/z ro m th a t i s , the h an d -legge d ' ‘

y
s m i t h—fo u gh w e ll , a n d c o n
. .
,

vr
dis c o e t his g e n tle m an s n a me an d
’
ib e d t tr ut
t he p eri o d o f hi s i n c u m b e n c y Ido n o t , . r y
g e a tl to t he fate of the b a tle , w ith t
vr
ho we e , de s p a i t o s ee t h ese p o i n s , r t o ut k
n o win g hich s ide he fo u gh w t
t
wi h so m e o thers hic h maye lu de m y w on — To fi gh fo r o u r o w n han d, t y
"

y
s aga c it , s at i sfa c to ily e lu c ida e d b y r t k
li e H e n W n d, p assed i n o a ry y t
t r
o n e o r o h e o f t he p eri o di c al p b l ic a u rvr
p o e b [This adit io n fo me d th e
. tr r
t
io ns whic h h a e de o t e d t he i p ages v v r r
g o u n dwo
” —
o f t he rk
F ai M a id o f r
x
t o e p l an a o y c o mm e n tari es o n m y t r Pr e th A M ]
2 56 —S ac le ss , ha is , in n o ce n
. . .

fo m e r rv o lu m es an d wh o se e se a c h r r P k t t t
2 6 r —M o n s M e
. . .

a n d i n ge n u it c lai m my p e c ul i a
gra y r “
is P .
g w a s a la ge o l d
. r
r y
_

t itu de . fo r h avi n g dis c o ve e d m an fas h i o n e d p ie c e o f o dn an c e , a g e a r r t

r
p e s o n s an d c irc m s an ce s c o n n ec t e d u t v ur
fa o it e w i h the S c o i sh c o m m o n t tt
t
wi h m y n arrat i es o f hi c h I m sel f v , w y p eo ple s he wa s fab ic ate d a t M o n s r
vr
n e e so m uc h as d e a m e d r l
i n F an de rs , i n t he eig n o f a m e s IV r J
a o 4 , —Thi s I b e lie ve to b e a n an a
.
.

P . o r V o f S c o lan d
. This gun fi gu e t . rs
c hro n is m , as Sai n n o c h s C hu c h t E '
r r
f e qu en l ty
in t he p ub ic ac c o un t s o f l
w as n o t b i l a t the dat e o f the u t th e t i me , w he e we fi n d c h arges fo r r
t y
s or .
gre as e t o g eas e M e g s m o u th ithal r '
w
P 2 4 The lads with
. 2 .
- the kilt s , o r ( to i n c ease a s e e rs ch o o l-b o y , v ry
p et ti co ats k w
no s , t h e l o u dn ess o f t he ep o t ,
) r r
P 2 2 8 —l n ch C ailleach
.

. . islan d is an rib an ds t o de c he r c a rri age , an d k

i n L o c h L o m o n d, w he re t he c lan o f p i p e s t o p la b efo re h er he n she w a s y w
r w
M ac G re go r we e o n t t o b e i n e r e d, t r r t r
b o u gh f o m th e C as le t o a c c o m p an t y
an d w r t r u
he e hei se p l c h es may s ill r t t he S co i sh a m o n an dis n tt
y exp e r y ta t
41 2 NOTES TO R OB R OY .

P 2 80. . The galle y Gre go r is still in e xi s en c et . Se e p . 1 7,

whic h th e fa mily o f A rgyle an d o the rs t hi s vo l

—
.

o f t he C la n C am pb e ll c a rry i n th e ir
- P . Thi pi h
s e se t yvr o ccurs i t ,

Sha dwehs p la y o f Bury

'

arm s i s b elieve d, i n
—L o c h o w
.

P 2 80 an d the ad ac e n j t F ai r
"

—This fat al p iec e was t a en

. . .

r r
dis t i c ts fo m e d the o igin al sea o f th e r t “
4
P .
3 89 k
C am p b ells The e xp e ss io n o f a
. far r r
f o m R o b in C ig he n h e was s e i e d
, w z
c ry t o Lo c h o w was p o e b ial rvr m an y yea s afte wards r r
It e main ed r
—
. .

P . a 8o A ru de. in d o f gui llo in e k t in p o s s ess io n o f the m ag is a es b e fo re tr t

r ry
fo m e l us e d in S co tlan d w ho m h e was b ro u ght fo r e amin a x
—
.

P . 2 82 This , a s a ppe a s f o m p age

. r r t io n an d n o w m a e s p art o f a s m a ll
,
k
t v
3 89 i n hi s o lu m e , i s an anac h o n is m. r t r
c o lle c i o n o f a m s b elo n gi ng t o t he
The slau gh te o f M ac Laren , a re r u
a th o rIt i s a S p an ish b ar el ed gun
. r l ,

t a in e r o f t he chie f o f A pp in e , b y t h e k
m a r ed wi th the in i t ials R M C fo r . . . ,

M ac G re g o rs , did n o t a e p la ce t ill t k Ro b e rt
M ac G re go r C ampb e ll
—The au ho is u n c e rtai n
.

afte r
R o b Ro s de ath , s ince i t hap
’
y P .
3 90 . t r
p e ne d i n 1 7 3 6 w w rt w l
h e the r it i s o h h i e to m e n t io n
—
. ,

P . 2 89 I do n o t
. n o w ho w his k t t
tha he h a d a p e rso n al o pp o n it y o f rtu
t
m igh s ta n d in M r Osb a ldi s to n e s .
'
rv
o b se i n g, e ve n i n h is o wn i m e t ha t , t
da y, b u t I c an as su e t he e ade r r r , k t
the in g s wri did n o t p ass q i e c ur
’
ut
t
w h o se c u rio s i y m ay lead him t o i sit v r ten Br
in t h e aes o f a qu hidde B l r
.

t h e sc e ne o f these o m an t ic a dve n r r w r v ry
The e e e e c o n s ide a b le de b s r t
r
tu e s , t ha t t he C lac h an o f Ab e fo le r y rt
due b y S t e wa o f Ap p in (c hi e fl to y
r
n o w a ffo ds a ve y c o m fo t ab le li tle r r t r y w '
the au tho s famil ) hic h e e li e ly , wr k
inn .If h e c han c es to b e a S c o tt ish t r
t o b e l o s t o t he c e dito s , i f t he y r
an tiq a , u ry
i t will b e an a dditio n al c o u ld n o t b e m a de availab le o u t o f
r t
ec o mm e n da i o n t o h im , ha t he w ill t r
t hi s sa m e fa m o f In vern e n ty, the
fi n d him se lf i n t h e vi c in it o f the R e v y . s c e ne o f th e m ur r
de do n e u p o n M ac
Dr . P
a tri c k Gr
ah a m e m i n is t e o f th e , r Lare n .

g o sp e l a t Ab e fo yle , who se r
b an it ur y t y vr
H is famil , c o n si s in g o f se e al
i n c o mm un ica t in g i n fo m a ti o n o n t he r tr t kr
s a p p in g dee r-s al e s , s ti ll p o sse sse d
j t t
s u b ec o f na io n al an ti qu it ies i s s carc e r vr u
the fa m , b y i t e o f a l o n g leas e , fo r
x
e c ee de d e ve n b y t h e s o es o f l e ge n tr a tr r t
ifl i n g e n r
The e wa s n o c han ce
. .

da ry r u u t
lo e wh ic h h e has ac c m la e d u
o f a n y o n e b yin g i t w ui th s c h an
—
.

P 29 0
. t r r
A gre a fe u da l o pp ess o ,
. r t
e n cu m b a n c e , an d a t ra n sac io n w a s
r r
wh o , idin g o n s o m e c u el p urp o se r
e n t e e d i n to b y t h e M a c Lare ns , w h o ,
ru r t
t h o gh t he fo e s o f G u iyo c k, wa s ru t r
b e in g de si o s t o e migra e t o A m e ic a ,
r r r
t h o w n f o m his h o se an d, h is fo o t , r r
a g ee d t o s ell t he i r
le ase t o the c e di
u t
b e in g c a gh t rr
i n t he s i u p , wa s t o rs fo r g50 0 , an d to r v e mo e a t t h e
r t
d agge d alo n g b y the frigh e ne d an i ne xt r te m of tu y
W hi s n da B ut, .

t
m al ill he wa s to rn t o p ie c e s The . w t r yr
h e he t he r r
e p e n te d t h e i b a ga in ,
r
e xp e ssio n , r “
W alte o f G u iyo c k s ’
r
o r de s i e d to k t r
ma e i t b e te , o r
c u rse ,
”
rvr
is p o e b ial w t r r r ur
he h e f o m a m e e p o i n t o f h o n o ,
— k
.

P 29 8
. A . ru
in d o f light e se d in r t yw
t he M ac Lare ns dec la e d he o uld
vr y
t h e ri e r y r
C l de , p o b ab l f o m the r t u
n o t p e m i a s mm o n s o f r v e mo al t o
F re nc h ga ba re ut tt w
b e e xec e d ag ai ns he m, hic h w as
—
.

9“
P 3 12
. The a ffa i s o f P res to n p
. r ry
n e c e ss a fo r t he legal c o mp le ti o n o f
an d F alkirk are p o b ab l a llu de d r y r u
t he b a ga in A n d s c h was t he ge n e ra l
.

rk
w h ic h m a s th e im e o f w itin g t he t r r t yw
i m p e ssio n t ha the ere me n cap a
r
M e m o i as s u b s e qu e n t t o 1 7 45 . r
b le o f e s is tin g t he le ga x ut l e ec i o n o f
i"
P 3 29
. t he
. h o at an d t he t r wr a n in g b y v ry
e u
e ffec t al me an s , n o
w y it h Twigs o f wi llo w, s u c h as b in d
. k in g s m esse n ge r
’
wu x u o ld e ec te t he
fago ts , w ere o f e n se d fo r h a lte rs i n t u su m m o n s wit ho ut u rt
the s pp o of a
S c o tla n d an d Ire an d, b e in g a sage l t
m ili ary fo ce r A n esco rt o f a s er
.

ec o n o m o f he m p y . t
gean an d s ix m e n was o b tain e d f o mr
P 3 46
— The M a c Rimm o n s o r M ac r ty
a H ighlan d e gi m e n l i n r
g in S ti’ li n g
'
. .

C rim o n ds w e e he e di a r
p ip e s to r t ry r u r
an d t h e a tho , t h e n a wr r it e s a p
th e c hie fs o f M ac Leo d, an d c e le b a te d r r t uv ur
p e n ic e , e q i ale n t t o th'e ho n o ab le
t
fo r he i a le n t s rt The p ib o c h sa id t o. r t t r y
s it u a io n o f an at o n e s c le rk , was
h ave b ee n c o m p o sed b y H ele n M a c v t wt
in es ed u t
i h t he s pe ri n e n den ce o f
'
 N OTES TO ROB R OY .

the e xpeditio n , wi h t
di re c io ns t o see t Petruchio were well matched fo r a
,
“

t t
ha t h e messen ger dis c ha ge d his r c o uple o f qu ie t o n e s Allan Bre c k .

u y ul y
d t f l , and t ha the gallan t t live d t ill the b e gin n in g o f the F re n c h
t x
g ea n did n o t e c e e dh i s p a b y c rt v u
R e o l tio n t
A b o u 1 7 89 , a frien d o f
.

v l
m i t tin g i o en c e o r p lu n de ,
An d r
. m in e , then es idin g at r a is wa s Pr ,

t hu s i t happ ene d, o ddl e n ou gh , t h at y vt

i n i e d to see s o m e p o cessio n w h ic h r
t he au th r r t
o fi s e n te re d the o man t i c r u
was s pp o se d li e l to i n e es him , k y tr t
s c e n er o f Lo ch K a ri n e , o f
y t
hic h h e w fro m the win do s o f an ap artm e n w t
r s
m ay p e hap say h e ha s so me wha t u
o c c p ie d b y a S c o ish tt
e n edic ti n e B
t
e x en de d t he re p ut
a tio n , idin g in all r r t
p ies . t
H e fo un d, s i t ing b y the fi re ,
t h e digni ty
o f dan ge , wi t h a f o n r r t t
a tall , hin , raw-b o ne d, gri m-lo o in g , k
a n d re a r guard, an d lo ade d a m s w tt r x r . o ld m an , i th t h e pe i c o i o f S t .

r t t y
Th e se ge an was ab so lu el a H igh u v r y k Lo is H is i s age was st o n gl m ar e d
.

lan d S erge an K i e , full o f s o ie s o f

t t tr rr u r r j b y t he i e g la p o ec tio n s o f t h e
R o b Ro y an d o f hims elf, an d a e y vr k y wr c hee -b o n e s an d c h in H is e es e e .

g o o d c o mpan io n x . y
W e e perien ce d r r g re . H is g i z z le d hai e xh ib it ed

n o in e t rr t w t v r
u p io n w
ha e e , an d h en k v m ar s o f h a i n g b e en re d, an d hi s
w e cam e t o In vem e n ty, fo n d the u x w t r t c o mp le io n was e a he - b ea en , an d
u
h o se de se te dr t k
W e o o u p o ur
. rk y k t re ma ab l fre c le d So me c ivili ie s .

r t u
q u a rt e s fo r the n igh , a n d se d s o m e r t i n F enc h p as se d b e we en the o ld m an
o f th e v tu l w u
ic a s hi c h we fo n d t he er r ur .
an d my f ien d, i n t h e c o se o f whic h
r r ur
On t h e m o n in g w e e t ne d as ua m o t yt k r he al e d o f the st ee ts an d s qu are s
le s te d as we c am e .P r of aris , till a t le n gt h the o ld s o l die ,
r y vr
Th e M ac Laren s, wh o p o b ab l n e e u u fo r s c h he s eem ed, an d s c h he was ,
u t
t h o gh u t
o f an y s erio s o pp o si i o n . t r s aid wi h a s igh , in a sh a p H ighla n d
v
re c e i ed t heir m o n e y w tan d ent to t wr ac cen , Deil an e o
’
h e m a
’
i s o th
A m eri c a, w here , havin g had s o me r E ur t he H ie s t e e t o f dinb gh On
t
s l ig h rsha e i nr v r u ry
e m o i n g the m f o m rr u k i n q i , this admi e o f A ld R ee i e ,
r r y
t he i p a upera regn a , I s in c e el ho p e vr whi ch he w as n e e t o s ee aga in ,
t y
h e p rOSpere d . rv Br k p o e d t o b e All an ec Ste w a rt
‘

r t
T h e en o f In vern en ty i n s an l t ty v y t H e li eddec en tl o n his li t le p en s io n ,
r o se fro m 1 0 to £7 0 o r £80 ; an d u t r an d had, i n n o su b seq en p e io d o f
r
w he n so ld, t e fa m was pu rc hase d ( I y his life , sh o wn an t hin g o f t he savag e
k
t hi n b y the la e L aird o f M ac Nab )
t y m o o d, in whic h h e is gen e rall b e
r t t
a t a p ice h ighe r i n p ro p o r io n
.
h an v y l ie ve d t o ha e as sas si nat ed the e n e m
t v r t u
w ha e e n the mo de n re n a tho rise d r r u an d o p p e ss o , as h e s ppo se d h im , o f
r tr
t h e p a t ies i n e e s te d t o ho p e fo r y hi s famil an d c lan
—P —
. .

P .
3 9 1 . u b li B k
sh e d i n P
lac wo o s d
’
r l .
3 99 T .h e
“
T ia s o f th e So n s o f
’

M a gaz i n e , vo l ii p 2 2 8 ’ . . . w . t R o b Roy, i th a"n ec do e s o f H im se lf

P .
3” 9 1 . P r
C hilde H aro ld s ilg im y wr an d hi s F amil , e e pu b lis h e d at
E r
ag e
P
.

— t
C an o II
S
.

t
ee p age 40 0 h is vo l
.

P — din b u gh, 1 8 1 8 , i n ra m o
]am e s die d n ear thre e
.

3
—u
9 a 3 99
.
. .

t r y
.

P 3 93 . S c h , at le a st , was h is mo n hs b efo e , b u t his famil m ight

yr wt
.

g e n er a l r r
c h w
a ac t e ; fo r he n J am e s e a s il e m ain a l o n g t ime i h o u t t he
r w r r v
hile p e p e t a tin g the io len c e t v ne ws o f th a e en t
M oh
— u u
.

P
,

a t Edi nb illy, c alle d o u t , in o d r r e to .

4o7 Thi s c ri o s e pi stle i s co p ie d
.

v w
o era e t t G
o pp o s i i o n t ha len gyleu
, tv fro m an a th en ti c n arra i e o f M arsh al
y
w as l ing i n the m o o rw it h a hun dre d W ade ’ s p ro c ee di n g s in the H ighlan ds ,
r r r
m e n to pat o n is e his en te p is e , j ea n u t t t c o mm n ic a e d b y t h e la e e m in en
t
K ey o ld him h e li e d, s me e she was G r a n ti qtiary, e o ge Chalme rs , Es q., t o

co n fi de ntG y w r u
len g le o ul d neve c o n rJ tr M r lz o b e t a m ies o n , o f the R e gi s e
.

r y u
t e n a n c e s o s c o u n d e ll a b s in
u E
ess r H o se , din b u gh , an d p u b lishe d i'n
—
.

P
3 97 Al Br k w rt
la n ec S te a was a x t B rt the A pp en di t o an e di i o n o f u s
tt r r N rt t ”
.

k y u tt r k
.

m an li el in s ch a m a e t o e e p Le e s f o m t h e o h o f S co la n d .

h is wo rd J ames Drummo n d M ac
.
vo E r 2 ls 8vo. di nb u gh , 1 81 8
.
.

G rego r an d he li ke Katheri ne ,

B RADB UR Y, a c s s w, 6; co. , PRINTERS, wa rraramas .

 T H E E D IN B U R G H R EV IE W
ON R OB R OY .

f W a verl ey, G uy M met the A n tzgu a ry

' ’

B y the A u tlzo r o a n n er z fzg , ( .

[F eb . 1 81 8 . Vol . 29 , pp .
4o r

TH IS is not so goo d perhaps as some others Of the fam ily —but

, ,

it is better tha n anyth ing else and has a charm and a spiri t
about it that draw us i rresist ibly away from our graver works of
pol it i cs and sc ience to expat iate upon that wh ich everybody u n
,
de rst an ds and agrees i n .

Except that the subject seems to us somewhat less happily chosen ,

and the vari ety of characters rather less than i n some Of the
author s former publicat i ons we do not know what right we had to
’
,

say that it was in any respect infer ior to them Sure we are at al l
events that it has the same brilli ancy and truth of colouring —the
,
.

,
same ga iety of tone r i s ing every n o w and the n into fe e l ings both
kindly and exal ted —the same dramat i c v ivac ity —th e same deep
,

and large ins ight into human nature—and the same charming
fac ility which distinguish all the other works of th i s great master ,
and make the time in which he flouri shed an era n e ver to be for
gotten in the literary h istory of our country .

One novelty in the present work is that it is thrown into the form ,

of a continued and unbroken narrative b y 0 n e of th e persons ,

-

prin c ipally concerned in the story— and who i s represented in his

declining age as deta ilin g to an int imate fr iend the most i nterest
,

i n g part i culars i n h i s early l i fe and all the recollectio ns with which

,
they were assoc i ated .

D i ana Vernon i s a very remarkable person Though only .

eighteen years of age and exquisitely lovely she knows all arts
and sciences elegant and inelegant—and has moreover,a more
, ,

, ,

than mascul i ne resolution and more than fem inine ki ndness and
generosity Of character—wearing over all this a playful free and
,

, , ,
reckless manner more characteri stic of he r age than her various
,

and i nconsistent accompl i shments .

Th e s tory of th i s work does not exceed in po i nt of probability nor ,

i ndeed in any other good qual ity But it is not i n his story that this
.

author’s strength ever l ies and here he has lost s ight of prob ability
'

even in the conception of some of his characters ; and displayed

the extraordinary talent of being true to nature even in the rep re ,
s cu tat i on of imposs ible persons .

Th e seri ous i nterest of the work rests on D i ana Vern on an d on

R o b R o y ; the com i c effect is left ch i efly to the m inistrations of
Baill ie N icol Jarvie and A ndrew F a irse rvic e with the occasional ,

assistance of less regular performers Diana is in our appreh en .

,
Q UO TATI O N S M A D E I N TH E E D I N B URG H R EVI E W .

thi s vo l u me
'

F zg u res g i ven a re thos e o f .

PA GE
72 —74 Dian a Ve rnon
. .

A vi si o n Iha t fi as s ed m e i n terrup ted, &J c .

—
74 7 5 . The Osb aldis to n e fam ily .

Then , i n the n a m e of H ea v en ,

82 —83 Dinner orgies at th e H all

. .

I w a n t to sfi eah w i th yo u , 6 ° C
—47
.

1 43 1 . Tete-a-t éte with D i ana .

M y E ng l is h f eel i ng s , how ever, & ‘ c .

196 Th e H igh Church of Glasgow

—
. .

’
Ah b ra ve kirk
’
it s a n an e o & c.

—4
,

24 1 2 2 R o b R o y separates the combatants

Ou r do a th-g r aj fi le—I l o o ked up i n , 6 m
. .

2 51 —2 52 . Th e Baillie on his cousin R obin .

N a , n a ; he’s n o n e 0 ’ yo u r gr an dees, 6 ° C
—7
.

26 9 2 2 Th e fight in the Clachan Inn

—the het cou lter
. .

1 m u s t p o s i ti vely en ter , & M.

'

2 89 The scenery of A b e rfdil

. .

Ishall n ever f o rg et the del zjg hzyn l s en sati o n , &‘ o

’

—
3 0 1 3 0 3 The Baillie and Helen M a c G re go r
. .

Very happy to ha ve this j oyf u l opp ortu n ity, 6a m .

3 07 —3 0 8 . The last of the craven exc i seman .

H e f ell p ros tra t e b ef o re the /fem ale chi ef; &

—
c.

3 16 7 3 7 1 . Ro b R o y i n han ds of his enem ies .

I had n ev er s een th is m a n i n the dress, 6 ‘ s

—3
.

3 24 27 Encounter with Diana Vernon

—s i n oe chi ldho od, &
. .

o s t-w znd
A s ha rj fi
'
o
c.

3 28 —3 29 . Ro b R o y and F ranc i s Os b al dis to n e .

Was n o m is taki ng the to n e of M a cGreg or, 6 1

—3 5
.

3 48 r. The breakfast scene i n the highlands .

The tas te as w e ll a s the elo gn en ce, th e

—
.

357 3 58 . The B ailli e at home in Glasgow .

A dere n t sp o ns i ble m a n , when I a m on my

right e n d, fir’ c .