The drivers thorough the wood went,
For to raise the deer;
Bowmen bickered upon the bent,
With their broad arrows clear.
The wylde thorough the woods went,
On every side shear;
Grehounds thorough the groves glent,
For to kill thir deer.
BALLAD OF CHEVY CHASE, _Old Edit_.
The appointed morning came in cold and raw, after the manner of the
Scottish March weather. Dogs yelped, yawned, and shivered, and the
huntsmen, though hardy and cheerful in expectation of the day's sport,
twitched their mauds, or Lowland plaids, close to their throats, and
looked with some dismay at the mists which floated about the horizon,
now threatening to sink down on the peaks and ridges of prominent
mountains, and now to shift their position under the influence of some
of the uncertain gales, which rose and fell alternately, as they swept
along the valley.
Nevertheless, the appearance of the whole formed, as is usual in almost
all departments of the chase, a gay and a jovial spectacle. A brief
truce seemed to have taken place between the nations, and the Scottish
people appeared for the time rather as exhibiting the sports of their
mountains in a friendly manner to the accomplished knights and bonny
archers of Old England, than as performing a feudal service, neither
easy nor dignified in itself, at the instigation of usurping
neighbours. The figures of the cavaliers, now half seen, now exhibited
fully, and at the height, of strenuous exertion, according to the
character of the dangerous and broken ground, particularly attracted
the attention of the pedestrians, who, leading the dogs or beating the
thickets, dislodged such objects of chase as they found in the dingles,
and kept their eyes fixed upon their companions, rendered more
remarkable from being mounted, and the speed at which they urged their
horses; the disregard of all accidents being as perfect as
Melton-Mowbray itself, or any other noted field of hunters of the
present day, can exhibit.
The principles on which modern and ancient hunting were conducted, are,
however, as different as possible. A fox, or even a hare is, in our own
day, considered as a sufficient apology for a day's exercise to forty
or fifty dogs, and nearly as many men and horses; but the ancient
chase, even though not terminating, as it often did, in battle, carried
with it objects more important, and an interest immeasurably more
stirring. If indeed one species of exercise can be pointed out as more
universally exhilarating and engrossing than others, it is certainly
that of the chase. The poor over-laboured drudge, who has served out
his day of life, and wearied all his energies in the service of his
fellow-mortals--he who has been for many years the slave of
agriculture, or (still worse) of manufactures, engaged in raising a
single peck of corn from year to year, or in the monotonous labours of
the desk--can hardly remain dead to the general happiness when the
chase sweeps past him with hound and horn, and for a moment feels all
the exultation of the proudest cavalier who partakes the amusement. Let
any one who has witnessed the sight recall to his imagination the
vigour and lively interest which he has seen inspired into a village,
including the oldest and feeblest of its inhabitants. In the words of
Wordsworth, it is, on such occasions,
"Up, Timothy, up with your staff and away,
Not a soul will remain in the village to-day;
The hare has just started from Hamilton's grounds,
And Skiddaw is glad with the cry of the hounds."
But compare those inspiring sounds to the burst of a whole feudal
population enjoying the sport, whose lives, instead of being spent in
the monotonous toil of modern avocations, have been agitated by the
hazards of war, and of the chase, its near resemblance, and you must
necessarily suppose that the excitation is extended, like a fire which
catches to dry heath. To use the common expression, borrowed from
another amusement, all is fish that comes in the net on such occasions.
An ancient hunting-match (the nature of the carnage excepted) was
almost equal to a modern battle, when the strife took place on the
surface of a varied and unequal country. A whole district poured forth
its inhabitants, who formed a ring of great extent, called technically,
a tinchel, and, advancing and narrowing their circle by degrees, drove
before them the alarmed animals of every kind; all and each of which,
as they burst from the thicket or the moorland, were objects of the
bow, the javelin, or whatever missile weapons the hunters possessed;
while others were run down and worried by large greyhounds, or more
frequently brought to bay, when the more important persons present
claimed for themselves the pleasure of putting them to death with their
chivalrous hands, incurring individually such danger as is inferred
from a mortal contest even with the timid buck, when he is brought to
the death-struggle, and has no choice but yielding his life or putting
himself upon the defensive, by the aid of his splendid antlers, and
with all the courage of despair.
The quantity of game found in Douglas Dale on this occasion was very
considerable, for, as already noticed, it was a long time since a
hunting upon a great scale had been attempted under the Douglasses
themselves, whose misfortunes had commenced several years before, with
those of their country. The English garrison, too, had not sooner
judged themselves strong or numerous enough to exercise these valued
feudal privileges. In the meantime, the game increased considerably.
The deer, the wild cattle, and the wild boars, lay near the foot of the
mountains, and made frequent irruptions into the lower part of the
valley, which in Douglas Dale bears no small resemblance to an oasis,
surrounded by tangled woods, and broken moors, occasionally rocky, and
showing large tracts of that bleak dominion to which wild creatures
gladly escape when pressed by the neighbourhood of man.
As the hunters traversed the spots which separated the field from the
wood, there was always a stimulating uncertainty what sort of game was
to be found, and the marksman, with his bow ready bent, or his javelin
poised, and his good and well-bitted horse thrown upon its haunches,
ready for a sudden start, observed watchfully what should rush from the
covert, so that, were it deer, boar, wolf, wild cattle, or any other
species of game, he might be in readiness.
The wolf, which, on account of its ravages, was the most obnoxious of
the beasts of prey, did not, however, supply the degree of diversion
which his name promised; he usually fled far--in some instances many
miles--before he took courage to turn to bay, and though formidable at
such moments, destroying both dogs and men by his terrible bite, yet at
other times was rather despised for his cowardice. The boar, on the
other hand, was a much more irascible and courageous animal.
The wild cattle, the most formidable of all the tenants of the ancient
Caledonian forest, were, however, to the English cavaliers, by far the
most interesting objects of pursuit. [Footnote: These Bulls are thus
described by Hector Boetius, concerning whom he says--"In this wood
(namely the Caledonian wood) were sometime white bulls, with crisp and
curling manes, like fierce lions; and though they seemed meek and tame
in the remanent figure of their bodies, they were more wild than any
other beasts, and had such hatred against the society and company of
men, that they never came in the woods nor lesuries where they found
any foot or hand thereof, and many days after they eat not of the herbs
that were touched or handled by man. These bulls were so wild, that
they were never taken but by slight and crafty labour, and so
impatient, that after they were taken they died from insupportable
dolour. As soon as any man, invaded these bulls, they rushed with such,
terrible press upon him that they struck him to the earth, taking no
fear of hounds, sharp lances, or other most penetrative
weapons."--_Boetius, Chron. Scot_. Vol. I. page xxxix.
The wild cattle of this breed, which are now only known in one manor in
England, that of Chillingham Castle, in Northumberland, (the seat of
the Earl of Tankerville,) were, in the memory of man, still preserved
in three places in Scotland, namely, Drumlanrig, Cumbernauld, and the
upper park at Hamilton Palace, at all of which places, except the last,
I believe, they have now been destroyed, on account of their ferocity.
But though those of modern days are remarkable for their white colour,
with black muzzles, and exhibiting, in a small degree, the black mane,
about three or four inches long, by which the bulls in particular are
distinguished, they do not by any means come near the terrific
description given us by the ancient authors, which has made some
naturalists think that these animals should probably be referred to a
different species, though possessing the same general habits, and
included in the same genus. The bones, which are often discovered in
Scottish mosses, belong certainly to a race of animals much larger than
those of Chillingham, which seldom grow to above 80 stone (of 14 lbs.),
the general weight varying from 60 to 80 stone. We should be accounted
very negligent by one class of readers, did we not record that the beef
furnished by those cattle is of excellent flavour, and finely marbled.
[The following is an extract from, a letter received by Sir Walter
Scott, some time after the publication of the novel.--
"When it is wished to kill any of the cattle at Chillingham, the keeper
goes into the herd on horseback, in which way they are quite
accessible, and singling out his victim, takes aim with a large
rifle-gun, and seldom fails in bringing him down. If the poor animal
makes much bellowing in his agony, and especially if the ground be
stained with his blood, his companions become very furious, and are
themselves, I believe, accessory to his death. After which, they fly
off to a distant part of the park, and he is drawn away on a sledge.
Lord Tankerville is very tenacious of these singular animals; he will
on no account part with a living one, and hardly allows of a sufficient
number being killed, to leave pasturage for those that remain.
"It happened on one occasion, three or four years ago, that a party
visiting at the castle, among whom were some men of war, who had hunted
buffaloes in foreign parts, obtained permission to do the keeper's
work, and shoot one of the wild cattle. They sallied out on horseback,
and duly equipped for the enterprise, attacked their object. The poor
animal received several wounds, but none of them proving fatal, he
retired before his pursuers, roaring with pain and rage, till, planting
himself against a wall or tree, he stood at bay, offering a front of
defiance. In this position the youthful heir of the castle, Lord
Ossulston, rode up to give him the fatal shot. Though warned of the
danger of approaching near to the enraged animal, and especially of
firing without first having turned his horse's head in a direction to
be ready for flight, he discharged his piece; but ere he could turn his
horse round to make his retreat, the raging beast had plunged his
immense horns into its flank. The horse staggered and was near falling,
but recovering by a violent effort, he extricated himself from his
infuriated pursuer, making off with all the speed his wasting strength
supplied, his entrails meanwhile dragging on the ground, till at length
he fell, and died at the same moment. The animal was now close upon his
rear, and the young Lord would unquestionably have shared the fate of
his unhappy steed, had not the keeper, deeming it full time to conclude
the day's diversion, fired at the instant. His shot brought the beast
to the ground, and running in with his large knife, he put a period to
his existence.
"This scene of gentlemanly pastime was viewed from a turret of the
castle by Lady Tankerville and her female visitors. Such a situation
for the mother of the young hero, was anything but enviable."]]
Altogether, the ringing of bugles, the clattering of horses' hoofs, the
lowing and bellowing of the enraged mountain cattle, the sobs of deer
mingled by throttling dogs, the wild shouts of exultation of the
men,--made a chorus which extended far through the scene in which it
arose, and seemed to threaten the inhabitants of the valley even in its
inmost recesses.
During the course of the hunting, when a stag or a boar was expected,
one of the wild cattle often came rushing forward, bearing down the
young trees, crashing the branches in its progress, and in general
dispersing whatever opposition was presented to it by the hunters. Sir
John de Walton was the only one of the chivalry of the party who
individually succeeded in mastering one of these powerful animals. Like
a Spanish tauridor, he bore down and killed with his lance a ferocious
bull; two well-grown calves and three kine were also slain, being
unable to carry off the quantity of arrows, javelins, and other
missiles, directed against them by the archers and drivers; but many
others, in spite of every endeavour to intercept them, escaped to their
gloomy haunts in the remote skirts of the mountain called Cairntable,
with their hides well feathered with those marks of human enmity.
A large portion of the morning was spent in this way, until a
particular blast from the master of the hunt announced that he had not
forgot the discreet custom of the repast, which, on such occasions, was
provided for upon a scale proportioned to the multitude who had been
convened to attend the sport.
The blast peculiar to the time, assembled the whole party in an open
space in a wood, where their numbers had room and accommodation to sit
down upon the green turf, the slain game affording a plentiful supply
for roasting or broiling, an employment in which the lower class were
all immediately engaged; while puncheons and pipes, placed in
readiness, and scientifically opened, supplied Gascoigne wine, and
mighty ale, at the pleasure of those who chose to appeal to them.
The knights, whose rank did not admit of interference, were seated by
themselves, and ministered to by their squires and pages, to whom such
menial services were not accounted disgraceful, but, on the contrary, a
proper step of their education. The number of those distinguished
persons seated upon the present occasion at the table of dais, as it
was called, (in virtue of a canopy of green boughs with which it was
overshadowed,) comprehended Sir John de Walton, Sir Aymer de Valance,
and some reverend brethren dedicated to the service of Saint Bride,
who, though Scottish ecclesiastics, were treated with becoming respect
by the English soldiers. One or two Scottish retainers, or vavasours,
maintaining, perhaps in prudence, a suitable deference to the English
knights, sat at the bottom of the table, and as many English archers,
peculiarly respected by their superiors, were invited, according to the
modern phrase, to the honours of the sitting.
Sir John de Walton sat at the head of the table; his eye, though it
seemed to have no certain object, yet never for a moment remained
stationary, but glanced from one countenance to another of the ring
formed by his guests, for such they all were, no doubt, though he
himself could hardly have told upon what principle he had issued the
invitations; and even apparently was at a loss to think what, in one or
two cases, had procured him the honour of their presence.
One person in particular caught De Walton's eye, as having the air of a
redoubted man-at-arms, although it seemed as if fortune had not of late
smiled upon his enterprises. He was a tall raw-boned man, of an
extremely rugged countenance, and his skin, which showed itself through
many a loophole in his dress, exhibited a complexion which must have
endured all the varieties of an outlawed life; and akin to one who had,
according to the customary phrase, "ta'en the bent with Robin Bruce,"
in other words occupied the moors with him as an insurgent. Some such
idea certainly crossed De Walton's mind. Yet the apparent coolness, and
absence of alarm, with which the stranger sat at the board of an
English officer, at the same time being wholly in his power, had much
in it which was irreconcilable with any such suggestion. De Walton, and
several of those about him, had in the course of the day observed that
this tattered cavalier, the most remarkable parts of whose garb and
equipments consisted of an old coat-of-mail and a rusted yet massive
partisan about eight feet long, was possessed of superior skill in the
art of hunting to any individual of their numerous party. The governor
having looked at this suspicious figure until he had rendered the
stranger aware of the special interest which he attracted, at length
filled a goblet of choice wine, and requested him, as one of the best
pupils of Sir Tristem who had attended upon the day's chase, to pledge
him in a vintage superior to that supplied to the general company.
"I suppose, however, sir," said De Walton, "you will have no objections
to put off my challenge of a brimmer, until you can answer my pledge in
Gascoigne wine, which grew in the king's own demesne, was pressed for
his own lip, and is therefore fittest to be emptied to his majesty's
health and prosperity."
"One half of the island of Britain," said the woodsman, with great
composure, "will be of your honour's opinion; but as I belong to the
other half, even the choicest liquor in Gascony cannot render that
health acceptable to me."
A murmur of disapprobation ran through the warriors present; the
priests hung their heads, looked deadly grave, and muttered their
pater-nosters.
"You see, stranger," said De Walton sternly, "that your speech
discomposes the company."
"It may be so," replied the man, in the same blunt tone; "and it may
happen that there is no harm in the speech notwithstanding."
"Do you consider that it is made in my presence?" answered De Walton.
"Yes, Sir Governor."
"And have you thought what must be the necessary inference?" continued
De Walton.
"I may form a round guess," answered the stranger, "what I might have
to fear, if your safe conduct and word of honour, when inviting me to
this hunting, were less trustworthy than I know full well it really is.
But I am your guest--your meat is even now passing my throat--your cup,
filled with right good wine, I have just now quaffed off--and I would
not fear the rankest Paynim infidel, if we stood in such relation
together, much less an English knight. I tell you, besides, Sir Knight,
you undervalue the wine we have quaffed. The high flavour and contents
of your cup, grow where it will, give me spirit to tell you one or two
circumstances, which cold cautious sobriety would, in a moment like
this, have left unsaid. You wish, I doubt not, to know who I am? My
Christian name is Michael--my surname is that of Turnbull, a redoubted
clan, to whose honours, even in the field of hunting or of battle, I
have added something. My abode is beneath the mountain of Rubieslaw, by
the fair streams of Teviot. You are surprised that I know how to hunt
the wild cattle,--I, who have made them my sport from infancy in the
lonely forests of Jed and Southdean, and have killed more of them than
you or any Englishman in your host ever saw, even if you include the
doughty deeds of this day."
The bold borderer made this declaration with the same provoking degree
of coolness which predominated in his whole demeanour, and was indeed
his principal attribute. His effrontery did not fail to produce its
effect upon Sir John De Walton, who instantly called out, "To arms! to
arms!--Secure the spy and traitor! Ho! pages and yeomen--William,
Anthony, Bend-the-bow, and Greenleaf--seize the traitor, and bind him
with your bow-strings and dog-leashes--bind him, I say, until the blood
start from beneath his nails!"
"Here is a goodly summons!" said Turnbull, with a sort of horselaugh.
"Were I as sure of being answered by twenty men I could name, there
would be small doubt of the upshot of this day."
The archers thickened around the hunter, yet laid no hold on him, none
of them being willing to be the first who broke the peace proper to the
occasion.
"Tell me," said De Walton, "thou traitor, for what waitest thou here?"
"Simply and solely," said the Jed forester, "that I may deliver up to
the Douglas the castle of his ancestors, and that I may ensure thee,
Sir Englishman, the payment of thy deserts, by cutting that very throat
which thou makest such a brawling use of."
At the same time, perceiving that the yeomen were crowding behind him
to carry their lord's commands into execution so soon as they should be
reiterated, the huntsman turned himself short round upon those who
appeared about to surprise him, and having, by the suddenness of the
action, induced them to step back a pace, he proceeded--"Yes, John de
Walton, my purpose was ere now to have put thee to death, as one whom I
find in possession of that castle and territory which belong to my
master, a knight much more worthy than thyself; but I know not why I
have paused--thou hast given me food when I have hungered for
twenty-four hours, I have not therefore had the heart to pay thee at
advantage as thou hast deserved. Begone from this place and country,
and take the fair warning of a foe; thou hast constituted thyself the
mortal enemy of this people, and there are those among them who have
seldom been injured or defied with impunity. Take no care in searching
after me, it will be in vain,--until I meet thee at a time which will
come at my pleasure, not thine. Push not your inquisition into cruelty,
to discover by what means I have deceived you, for it is impossible for
you to learn; and with this friendly advice, look at me and take your
leave, for although we shall one day meet, it may be long ere I see you
again."
De Walton remained silent, hoping that his prisoner, (for he saw no
chance of his escaping,) might, in his communicative humour, drop some
more information, and was not desirous to precipitate a fray with which
the scene was likely to conclude, unconscious at the same time of the
advantage which he thereby gave the daring hunter.
As Turnbull concluded his sentence, he made a sudden spring backwards,
which carried him out of the circle formed around him, and before they
were aware of his intentions, at once disappeared among the underwood.
"Seize him--seize him!" repeated De Walton: "let us have him at least
at our discretion, unless the earth has actually swallowed him."
This indeed appeared not unlikely, for near the place where Turnbull
had made the spring, there yawned a steep ravine, into which he
plunged, and descended by the assistance of branches, bushes, and
copsewood, until he reached the bottom, where he found some road to the
outskirts of the forest, through which he made his escape, leaving the
most expert woodsmen among the pursuers totally at fault, and unable to
trace his footsteps.