_Hotspur_. I cannot choose; sometimes he angers me
With telling me of the moldwarp and the ant,
Of the dreamer Merlin, and his prophecies;
And of a dragon and a finless fish,
A clipt-wing'd griffin and a moulten raven,
A couching lion, and a ramping cat.
And such a deal of skimble-skamble stuff,
As puts me from my faith.
KING HENRY IV.
The conversation between the minstrel and the ancient archer naturally
pursued a train somewhat resembling that of Hotspur and Glendower, in
which Gilbert Greenleaf by degrees took a larger share than was
apparently consistent with his habits and education: but the truth was
that as he exerted himself to recall the recognisances of military
chieftains, their war-cries, emblems, and other types by which they
distinguished themselves in battle, and might undoubtedly be indicated
in prophetic rhymes, he began to experience the pleasure which most men
entertain when they find themselves unexpectedly possessed of a faculty
which the moment calls upon them to employ, and renders them important
in the possession of. The minstrel's sound good sense was certainly
somewhat surprised at the inconsistencies sometimes displayed by his
companion, as he was carried off by the willingness to make show of his
newly-discovered faculty on the one hand, and, on the other, to call to
mind the prejudices which he had nourished during his whole life
against minstrels, who, with the train of legends and fables, were the
more likely to be false, as being generally derived from the "North
Countrie."
As they strolled from one glade of the forest to another, the minstrel
began to be surprised at the number of Scottish votaries whom they met,
and who seemed to be hastening to the church, and, as it appeared by
the boughs which they carried, to assist in the ceremony of the day. To
each of these the archer put a question respecting the existence of a
place called Bloody Sykes, and where it was to be found--but all seemed
either to be ignorant on the subject, or desirous of evading it, for
which they found some pretext in the jolly archer's manner of
interrogation, which savoured a good deal of the genial breakfast. The
general answer was, that they knew no such place, or had other matters
to attend to upon the morn of a holy-tide than answering frivolous
questions. At last, when, in one or two; instances, the answer of the
Scottish almost approached to sullenness, the minstrel remarked it,
observing that there was ever some mischief on foot when the people of
this country could not find a civil answer to their betters, which is
usually so ready among them, and that they appeared to be making a
strong muster for the service of Palm Sunday.
"You will doubtless, Sir Archer," continued the minstrel, "make your
report to your knight accordingly; for I promise you, that if you do
not, I myself, whose lady's freedom is also concerned, will feel it my
duty to place before Sir John de Walton the circumstances which make me
entertain suspicion of this extraordinary confluence of Scottish men,
and the surliness which has replaced their wonted courtesy of manners."
"Tush, Sir Minstrel," replied the archer, displeased at Bertram's
interference, "believe me, that armies have ere now depended on my
report to the general, which has always been perspicuous and clear,
according to the duties of war. Your walk, my worthy friend, has been
in a separate department, such as affairs of peace, old songs,
prophecies, and the like, in which it is far from my thoughts to
contend with you; but credit me, it will be most for the reputation, of
both, that we do not attempt to interfere with what concerns each
other."
"It is far from my wish to do so," replied the minstrel; "but I would.
wish that a speedy return should be made to the castle, in order to ask
Sir John de Walton's opinion of that which we have but just seen."
"To this," replied Greenleaf, "there can be no objection; but, would
you seek the governor at the hour which now is, you will find him most
readily by going to the church of Douglas, to which he regularly wends
on occasions such as the present, with the principal part of his
officers, to ensure, by his presence, that no tumult arise (of which
there is no little dread) between the English and the Scottish. Let us
therefore hold to our original intention of attending the service of
the day, and we shall rid ourselves of these entangled woods, and gain
the shortest road to the church of Douglas."
"Let us go, then, with all despatch," said the minstrel; "and with the
greater haste, that it appears to me that something has passed on this
very spot this morning, which argues that the Christian peace due to
the day has not been inviolably observed. What mean these drops of
blood?" alluding to those which had flowed from the wounds of
Turnbull--"Wherefore is the earth impressed with these deep tints, the
footsteps of armed men advancing and retreating, doubtless, according
to the chances of a fierce and heady conflict?"
"By Our Lady," returned Greenleaf, "I must own that thou seest clear.
What were my eyes made of when they permitted thee to be the first
discoverer of these signs of conflict? Here are feathers of a blue
plume, which I ought to remember, seeing my knight assumed it, or at
least permitted me to place it in his helmet, this morning, in sign of
returning hope, from the liveliness of its colour. But here it lies,
shorn from his head, and, if I may guess, by no friendly hand. Come,
friend, to the church--to the church--and thou shalt have my example of
the manner in which De Walton ought to be supported when in danger."
He led the way through the town of Douglas, entering at the southern
gate, and up the very street in which Sir Aymer de Valence had charged
the Phantom Knight.
We can now say more fully, that the church of Douglas had originally
been a stately Gothic building, whose towers, arising high above the
walls of the town, bore witness to the grandeur of its original
construction. It was now partly ruinous, and the small portion of open
space which was retained for public worship was fitted up in the family
aisle where its deceased lords rested from worldly labours and the
strife of war. From the open ground in the front of the building, their
eye could pursue a considerable part of the course of the river
Douglas, which approached the town from the south-west, bordered by a
line of hills fantastically diversified in their appearance, and in
many places covered with copsewood, which descended towards the valley,
and formed a part of the tangled and intricate woodland by which the
town was surrounded. The river itself, sweeping round the west side of
the town, and from thence northward, supplied that large inundation or
artificial piece of water which we have already mentioned. Several of
the Scottish people, bearing willow branches, or those of yew, to
represent the palms which were the symbol of the day, seemed wandering
in the churchyard as if to attend the approach of some person of
peculiar sanctity, or procession, of monks and friars, come to render
the homage due to the solemnity. At the moment almost that Bertram and
his companion entered the churchyard, the Lady of Berkely, who was in
the act of following Sir John de Walton into the church, after having
witnessed his conflict with the young Knight of Douglas, caught a
glimpse of her faithful minstrel, and instantly determined to regain
the company of that old servant of her house and confidant of her
fortunes, and trust to the chance afterwards of being rejoined by Sir
John de Walton, with a sufficient party to provide for her safety,
which she in no respect doubted it would be his care to collect. She
darted away accordingly from the path in which she was advancing, and
reached the place where Bertram, with his new acquaintance Greenleaf,
were making some enquiries of the soldiers of the English garrison,
whom the service of the day had brought there.
Lady Augusta Berkely, in the meantime, had an opportunity to say
privately to her faithful attendant and guide, "Take no notice of me,
friend Bertram, but take heed, if possible, that we be not again
separated from each other." Having given him this hint, she observed
that it was adopted by the minstrel, and that he presently afterwards
looked round and set his eye upon her, as, muffled in her pilgrim's
cloak, she slowly withdrew to another part of the cemetery, and seemed
to halt, until, detaching himself from Greenleaf, he should find an
opportunity of joining her.
Nothing, in truth, could have more sensibly affected the faithful
minstrel than the singular mode of communication which acquainted him
that his mistress was safe, and at liberty to choose her own motions,
and, as he might hope, disposed to extricate herself from the dangers
which surrounded her in Scotland, by an immediate retreat to her own
country and domain. He would gladly have approached and joined her, but
she took an opportunity by a sign to caution him against doing so,
while at the same time he remained somewhat apprehensive of the
consequences of bringing her under the notice of his new friend,
Greenleaf, who might perhaps think it proper to busy himself so as to
gain some favour with the knight who was at the head of the garrison.
Meantime the old archer continued his conversation with Bertram, while
the minstrel, like many other men similarly situated, heartily wished
that his well-meaning companion had been a hundred fathoms under
ground, so his evanishment had given him license to join his mistress;
but all he had in his power was to approach her as near as he could,
without creating any suspicion.
"I would pray you, worthy minstrel," said Greenleaf, after looking
carefully round, "that we may prosecute together the theme which we
were agitating before we came hither; is it not your opinion, that the
Scottish natives have fixed this very morning for some of those
dangerous attempts which they have repeatedly made, and which are so
carefully guarded against by the governors placed in this district of
Douglas by our good King Edward, our rightful sovereign?"
"I cannot see," replied the minstrel, "on what grounds you found such
an apprehension, or what you see here in the churchyard different from
that you talked of as we approached it, when you held me rather in
scorn, for giving way to some suspicions of the same kind."
"Do you not see," added the archer, "the numbers of men, with strange
faces, and in various disguisements, who are thronging about these
ancient ruins, which are usually so solitary? Yonder, for example, sits
a boy who seems to shun observation, and whose dress, I will be sworn,
has never been shaped in Scotland."
"And if he is an English pilgrim," replied the minstrel, observing that
the archer pointed towards the Lady of Berkely, "he surely affords less
matter of suspicion."
"I know not that," said old Greenleaf, "but I think it will bo my duty
to inform Sir John de Walton, if I can reach him, that there are many
persons here, who in outward appearance neither belong to the garrison,
nor to this part of the country.'"
"Consider," said Bertram, "before you harass with accusation a poor
young man, and subject him to the consequences which must necessarily
attend upon suspicions of this nature, how many circumstances call
forth men peculiarly to devotion at this period. Not only is this the
time of the triumphal entrance of the founder of the Christian religion
into Jerusalem, but the day itself is called Dominica Confitentium, or
the Sunday of Confessors, and the palm-tree, or the box and yew, which
are used as its substitutes, and which are distributed to the priests,
are burnt solemnly to ashes, and those ashes distributed among the
pious, by the priests, upon the Ash-Wednesday of the succeeding year,
all which rites and ceremonies in our country, are observed, by order
of the Christian Church; nor ought you, gentle archer, nor can you
without a crime, persecute those as guilty of designs upon your
garrison, who can ascribe their presence here to their desire to
discharge the duties of the day; and look ye at yon numerous procession
approaching with banner and cross, and, as it appears, consisting of
some churchman of rank, and his attendants; let us first enquire who he
is, and it is probable we shall find in his name and rank sufficient
security for the peaceable and orderly behaviour of those whom piety
has this day assembled at the church of Douglas."
Greenleaf accordingly made the investigation recommended by his
companion, and received information that the holy man who headed the
procession, was no other than the diocesan of the district, the Bishop
of Glasgow, who had come to give his countenance to the rites with
which the day was to be sanctified.
The prelate accordingly entered the walls of the dilapidated
churchyard, preceded by his cross-bearers, and attended by numbers,
with boughs of yew and other evergreens, used on the festivity instead
of palms. Among them the holy father showered his blessing, accompanied
by signs of the cross, which were met with devout exclamations by such
of the worshippers as crowded around him:--"To thee, reverend father,
we apply for pardon for our offences, which we humbly desire to confess
to thee, in order that we may obtain pardon from Heaven."
In this manner the congregation and the dignified clergyman met
together, exchanging pious greeting, and seemingly intent upon nothing
but the rites of the day. The acclamations of the congregation, mingled
with the deep voice of the officiating priest, dispensing the sacred
ritual; the whole forming a scene which, conducted with the Catholic
skill and ceremonial, was at once imposing and affecting.
The archer, on seeing the zeal with which the people in the churchyard,
as well as a number who issued from the church, hastened proudly to
salute the bishop of the diocese, was rather ashamed of the suspicions
which he had entertained of the sincerity of the good man's purpose in
coming hither. Taking advantage of a fit of devotion, not perhaps very
common with old Greenleaf, who at this moment thrust himself forward to
share in. those spiritual advantages which the prelate was dispensing,
Bertram. slipped clear of his English friend, and, gliding to the side
of the Lady Augusta, exchanged, by the pressure of the hand, a mutual
congratulation upon having rejoined company. On a sign by the minstrel,
they withdrew to the inside of the church, so as to remain unobserved
amidst the crowd, in which they were favoured by the dark shadows of
some parts of the building.
The body of the church, broken as it was, and hung round with the
armorial trophies of the last Lords of Douglas, furnished rather the
appearance of a sacrilegiously desecrated ruin, than the inside of a
holy place; yet some care appeared to have been taken to prepare it for
the service of the day. At the lower end hung the great escutcheon of
William Lord of Douglas, who had lately died a prisoner in England;
around that escutcheon were placed the smaller shields of his sixteen
ancestors, and a deep black shadow was diffused by the whole mass,
unless where relieved by the glance of the coronets, or the glimmer of
bearings particularly gay in emblazonry. I need not say that in other
respects the interior of the church was much dismantled, it being the
very same place in which Sir Aymer de Valence held an interview with
the old sexton; and who now, drawing into a separate corner some of the
straggling parties whom he had collected and brought to the church,
kept on the alert, and appeared ready for an attack as well at mid-day
as at the witching hour of midnight. This was the more necessary, as
the eye of Sir John de Walton seemed busied in searching from one place
to another, as if unable to find the object he was in quest of, which
the reader will easily understand to be the Lady Augusta de Berkely, of
whom he had lost sight in the pressure of the multitude. At the eastern
part of the church was fitted up a temporary altar, by the side of
which, arrayed in his robes, the Bishop of Glasgow had taken his place,
with such priests and attendants as composed his episcopal retinue. His
suite was neither numerous nor richly attired, nor did his own
appearance present a splendid specimen of the wealth and dignity of the
episcopal order. When he laid down, however, his golden cross, at the
stern command of the King of England, that of simple wood, which he
assumed instead thereof, did not possess less authority, nor command
less awe among the clergy and people of the diocese.
The various persons, natives of Scotland, now gathered around, seemed
to watch his motions, as those of a descended saint, and the English
waited in mute astonishment, apprehensive that at some unexpected
signal an attack would be made upon them, either by the powers of earth
or heaven, or perhaps by both in combination. The truth is, that so
great was the devotion of the Scottish clergy of the higher ranks to
the interests of the party of Bruce, that the English had become
jealous of permitting them to interfere even with those ceremonies of
the Church which were placed under their proper management, and thence
the presence of the Bishop of Glasgow, officiating at a high festival
in the church of Douglas, was a circumstance of rare occurrence, and
not unattended both with wonder and suspicion. A council of the Church,
however, had lately called the distinguished prelates of Scotland to
the discharge of their duty on the festivity of Palm Sunday, and
neither English nor Scottish saw the ceremony with indifference. An
unwonted silence which prevailed in the church, filled, as it appeared,
with persons of different views, hopes, wishes, and expectations,
resembled one of those solemn pauses which often take place before a
strife of the elements, and are well understood to be the forerunners
of some dreadful concussion of nature. All animals, according to their
various nature, express their sense of the approaching tempest; the
cattle, the deer, and other inhabitants of the walks of the forest,
withdraw to the inmost recesses of their pastures; the sheep crowd into
their fold; and the dull stupor of universal nature, whether animate or
inanimate, presages its speedily awakening into general convulsion and
disturbance, when the lurid lightning shall hiss at command of the
diapason of the thunder.
It was thus that, in deep suspense, those who had come to the church in
arms, at the summons, of Douglas, awaited and expected every moment a
signal to attack, while the soldiers of the English garrison, aware of
the evil disposition of the natives towards them, were reckoning every
moment when the well-known shouts of "Bows and bills!" should give
signal for a general conflict, and both parties, gazing fiercely upon
each other, seemed to expect the fatal onset.
Notwithstanding the tempest, which appeared every moment ready to
burst, the Bishop of Glasgow proceeded with the utmost solemnity to
perform the ceremonies proper to the day; he paused from time to time
to survey the throng, as if to calculate whether the turbulent passions
of those around him would be so long kept under as to admit of his
duties being brought to a close in a manner becoming the time and place.
The prelate had just concluded the service, when a person advanced
towards him with a solemn and mournful aspect, and asked if the
reverend father could devote a few moments to administer comfort to a
dying man, who was lying wounded close by.
The churchman signified a ready acquiescence, amidst a stillness which,
when he surveyed the lowering brows of one party at least of those who
were in the church, boded no peaceful termination to this fated day.
The father motioned to the messenger to show him the way, and proceeded
on his mission, attended by some of those who were understood to be
followers of the Douglas.
There was something peculiarly striking, if not suspicious, in the
interview which followed. In a subterranean vault was deposited the
person of a large tall man, whose blood flowed copiously through two or
three ghastly wounds, and streamed amongst the trusses of straw on
which he lay; while his features exhibited a mixture of sternness and
ferocity, which seemed prompt to kindle into a still more savage
expression.
The reader will probably conjecture that the person in question was no
other than Michael Turnbull, who, wounded in the rencounter of the
morning, had been left by some of his friends upon the straw, which was
arranged for him by way of couch, to live or die as he best could. The
prelate, on entering the vault, lost no time in calling the attention
of the wounded man to the state of his spiritual affairs, and assisting
him to such comfort as the doctrine of the Church directed should be
administered to departing sinners. The words exchanged between them
were of that grave and severe character which passes between the
ghostly father and his pupil, when one world is rolling away from the
view of the sinner, and another is displaying itself in all its
terrors, and thundering in the ear of the penitent that retribution
which the deeds done in the flesh must needs prepare him to expect.
This is one of the most solemn meetings which can take place between
earthly beings; and the courageous character of the Jedwood forester,
as well as the benevolent and pious expression of the old churchman,
considerably enhanced the pathos of the scene.
"Turnbull," said the churchman, "I trust you will believe me when I say
that it grieves my heart to see thee brought to this situation by
wounds which it is my duty to tell you, you must consider mortal."
"Is the chase ended, then?" said the Jedwood man with a sigh. "I care
not, good father, for I think I have borne me as becomes a gallant
quarry, and that the old forest has lost no credit by me, whether in
pursuit, or in bringing to bay; and even in this last matter, methinks
this gay English knight would not have come off with such advantage had
the ground on which we stood been alike indifferent to both, or had I
been aware of his onset; but it will be seen, by any one who takes the
trouble to examine, that poor Michael Turnbull's foot slipped twice in
the _melee_, otherwise it had not been his fate to be lying here in the
dead-thraw; [Footnote: Or death agony.] while yonder southron would
probably have died like a dog, upon this bloody straw, in his place."
The bishop replied, advising his penitent to turn from vindictive
thoughts respecting the death of others, and endeavour to fix his
attention upon his own departure from existence, which seemed shortly
about to take place.
"Nay," replied the wounded man, "you, father, undoubtedly know best
what is fit for me to do; yet methinks it would not be very well with
me if I had prolonged to this time of day the task of revising my life,
and I am not the man to deny that mine has been a bloody and a
desperate one. But you will grant me I never bore malice to a brave
enemy for having done me an injury, and show me the man, being a
Scotchman born, and having a natural love for his own country, who hath
not, in these times, rather preferred a steel cap to a hat and feather,
or who hath not been more conversant with drawn blades than with
prayer-book; and you yourself know, father, whether, in our proceedings
against the English interest, we have not uniformly had the countenance
of the sincere fathers of the Scottish Church, and whether we have not
been exhorted to take arms and make use of them, for the honour of the
King of Scotland, and the defence of our own rights."
"Undoubtedly," said the prelate, "such have been our exhortations
towards our oppressed countrymen, nor do I now teach you a different
doctrine; nevertheless, having now blood around me, and a dying man
before me, I have need to pray that I have not been misled from the
true path, and thus become the means of misdirecting others. May Heaven
forgive me if I have done so, since I have only to plead my sincere and
honest intention in excuse for the erroneous counsel which I may have
given to you and others touching these wars. I am conscious that
encouraging you so to stain your swords in blood, I have departed in
some degree from the character of my profession, which enjoins that we
neither shed blood, nor are the occasion of its being shed. May Heaven
enable us to obey our duties, and to repent of our errors, especially
such as have occasioned the death or distress of our fellow-creatures.
And, above all, may this dying Christian become aware of his errors,
and repent with sincerity of having done to others that which he would
not willingly have suffered at their hand!"
"For that matter," answered Turnbull, "the time has never been when I
would not exchange a blow with the best man who ever lived; and if I
was not in constant practice of the sword, it was because I have been
brought up to the use of the Jedwood-axe, which the English call a
partisan, and which makes little difference, I understand, from the
sword and poniard."
"The distinction is not great," said the bishop; "but I fear, my
friend, that life taken with what you call a Jedwood-axe, gives you no
privilege over him who commits the same deed, and inflicts the same
injury, with any other weapon."
"Nay, worthy father," said the penitent, "I must own that the effect of
the weapons is the same, as far as concerns the man who suffers; but I
would pray of you information, why a Jedwood man ought not to use, as
is the custom of his country, a Jedwood-axe, being, as is implied in
the name, the offensive weapon proper to his country?"
"The crime of murder," said the bishop, "consists not in the weapon
with which the crime is inflicted, but in the pain which the murderer
inflicts upon his fellow-creature, and the breach of good order which
he introduces into heaven's lovely and peaceable creation; and it is by
turning your repentance upon this crime that you may fairly expect to
propitiate Heaven for your offences, and at the same time to escape the
consequences which are denounced in Holy Writ against those by whom
man's blood shall be shed."
"But, good father," said the wounded man, "you know as well as any one,
that in this company, and in this very church, there are upon the watch
scores of both Scotchmen and Englishmen, who come here not so much to
discharge the religious duties of the day, as literally to bereave each
other of their lives, and give a new example of the horror of those
feuds which the two extremities of Britain nourish against each other.
What conduct, then, is a poor man like me to hold? Am I not to raise
this hand against the English, which methinks I still can make a
tolerably efficient one--or am I, for the first time in my life, to
hear the war-cry when it is raised, and hold back my sword from the
slaughter? Methinks it will be difficult, perhaps altogether
impossible, for me to do so; but if such is the pleasure of Heaven, and
your advice, most reverend father, unquestionably I must do my best to
be governed by your directions, as of one who has a right and title to
direct us in every dilemma, or case, as they term it, of troubled
conscience."
"Unquestionably," said the bishop, "it is my duty, as I have already
said, to give no occasion this day for the shedding of blood, or the
breach of peace; and I must charge you, as my penitent, that upon your
soul's safety, you do not minister any occasion to affray or bloodshed,
either by maintaining such in your own person, or inciting others to
the same; for by following a different course of advice, I am certain
that you, as well as myself, would act sinfully and out of character."
"So I will endeavour to think, reverend father," answered the huntsman;
"nevertheless, I hope it will be remembered in my favour that I am the
first person bearing the surname of Turnbull, together with the proper
name of the Prince of Archangels himself, who has at any time been able
to sustain the affront occasioned by the presence of a southron with a
drawn sword, and was not thereby provoked to pluck forth his own
weapon, and to lay about him."
"Take care, my son," returned the Prelate of Glasgow, "and observe,
that even now thou art departing from those resolutions which, but a
few minutes since, thou didst adopt upon serious and just
consideration; wherefore do not be, O my son! like the sow that has
wallowed in the mire, and, having been washed, repeats its act of
pollution, and becomes again yet fouler than it was before."
"Well, reverend father," replied the wounded man, "although it seems
almost unnatural for Scottishmen and English to meet and part without a
buffet, yet I will endeavour most faithfully not to minister any
occasion of strife, nor, if possible, to snatch at any such occasion as
shall be ministered to me."
"In doing so," returned the bishop, "thou wilt best atone for the
injury which thou hast done to the law of Heaven upon former occasions,
and thou shalt prevent the causes for strife betwixt thee and thy
brethren of the southern land, and shalt eschew the temptation towards
that blood-guiltiness which is so rife in this our day and generation.
And do not think that I am imposing upon thee, by these admonitions, a
duty more difficult than it is in thy covenant to bear, as a man and as
a Christian. I myself am a man and a Scotchman, and, as such, I feel
offended at the unjust conduct of the English towards our country and
sovereign; and thinking as you do yourself, I know what you must suffer
when you are obliged to submit to national insults, unretaliated and
unrevenged. But let us not conceive ourselves the agents of that
retributive vengeance which Heaven has, in a peculiar degree, declared
to be its own attribute. Let us, while we see and feel the injuries
inflicted on our own country, not forget that our own raids,
ambuscades, and surprisals, have been at least equally fatal to the
English as their attacks and forays have been to us; and, in short, let
the mutual injuries of the crosses of Saint Andrew and of Saint George
be no longer considered as hostile to the inhabitants of the opposite
district, at least during the festivals of religion; but as they are
mutually signs of redemption, let them be, in like manner, intimations
of forbearance and peace on both sides."
"I am contented," answered Turnbull, "to abstain from all offences
towards others, and shall even endeavour to keep myself from resenting
those of others towards me, in the hope of bringing to pass such a
quiet and godly state of things as your words, reverend father, induce
me to expect." Turning his face to the wall, the Borderer lay in stern
expectation of approaching death, which the bishop left him to
contemplate. The peaceful disposition which the prelate had inspired
into Michael Turnbull, had in some degree diffused itself among those
present, who heard with awe the spiritual admonition to suspend the
national antipathy, and remain in truce and amity with each other.
Heaven had, however, decreed that the national quarrel, in which so
much blood had been sacrificed, should that day again be the occasion
of deadly strife.
A loud flourish of trumpets, seeming to proceed from beneath the earth,
now rung through the church, and roused the attention of the soldiers
and worshippers then assembled. Most of those who heard these warlike
sounds betook themselves to their weapons, as if they considered it
useless to wait any longer for the signal of conflict. Hoarse voices,
rude exclamations, the rattle of swords against their sheaths, or their
clashing against other pieces of armour, gave an awful presage of an
onset, which, however, was for a time averted by the exhortations of
the bishop. A second flourish of trumpets having taken place, the voice
of a herald made proclamation to the following purpose:--
"That whereas there were many noble pursuivants of chivalry presently
assembled in the Kirk of Douglas, and whereas there existed among them
the usual causes of quarrel and points of debate for their advancement
in chivalry, therefore the Scottish knights were ready to fight any
number of the English who might be agreed, either upon the superior
beauty of their ladies, or upon the national quarrel in any of its
branches, or upon whatever point might be at issue between them, which
should be deemed satisfactory ground of quarrel by both; and the
knights who should chance to be worsted in such dispute should renounce
the prosecution thereof, or the bearing arms therein thereafter, with
such other conditions to ensue upon their defeat as might be agreed
upon by a council of the knights present at the Kirk of Douglas
aforesaid. But foremost of all, any number of Scottish knights, from
one to twenty, will defend the quarrel which has already drawn blood,
touching the freedom of Lady Augusta de Berkely, and the rendition of
Douglas Castle to the owner here present. Wherefore it is required that
the English knights do intimate their consent that such trial of valour
take place, which, according to the rules of chivalry, they cannot
refuse, without losing utterly the reputation of valour, and incurring
the diminution of such other degree of estimation as a courageous
pursuivant of arms would willingly be held in, both by the good knights
of his own country, and those of others."
This unexpected gage of battle realized the worst fears of those who
had looked with suspicion on the extraordinary assemblage this day of
the dependents of the House of Douglas. After a short pause, the
trumpets again flourished lustily, when the reply of the English
knights was made in the following terms:--
"That God forbid the rights and privileges of England's knights, and
the beauty of her damsels, should not be asserted by her children, or
that such English knights as were here assembled, should show the least
backwardness to accept the combat offered, whether grounded upon the
superior beauty of their ladies, or whether upon the causes of dispute
between the countries, for either or all of which the knights of
England here present were willing to do battle in the terms of the
indenture aforesaid, while sword and lance shall endure. Saving and
excepting the surrender of the Castle of Douglas, which can be rendered
to no one but England's king, or those acting under his orders."