You have fed upon my seignories,
Dispark'd my parks, and fell'd my forest woods,
From mine own windows torn my household coat,
Razed out my impress, leaving me no sign,
Save men's opinions and my living blood,
To show the world I am a gentleman.
Richard II.
When the boat which carried the worthy captain on board his vessel had
accomplished that task, the sails began to ascend, and the ship was got
under way. She fired three guns as a salute to the house of Ellangowan,
and then shot away rapidly before the wind, which blew off shore, under
all the sail she could crowd.
'Ay, ay,' said the Laird, who had sought Mannering for some time, and
now joined him, 'there they go--there go the free-traders--there go
Captain Dirk Hatteraick and the Yungfrauw Hagenslaapen, half Manks,
half Dutchman, half devil! run out the boltsprit, up mainsail, top and
top-gallant sails, royals, and skyscrapers, and away--follow who can!
That fellow, Mr. Mannering, is the terror of all the excise and
custom-house cruisers; they can make nothing of him; he drubs them, or
he distances them;--and, speaking of excise, I come to bring you to
breakfast; and you shall have some tea, that--'
Mannering by this time was aware that one thought linked strangely on
to another in the concatenation of worthy Mr. Bertram's ideas,
Like orient pearls at random strung;
and therefore, before the current of his associations had drifted
farther from the point he had left, he brought him back by some inquiry
about Dirk Hatteraick.
'O he's a--a--gude sort of blackguard fellow eneugh; naebody cares to
trouble him--smuggler, when his guns are in ballast--privateer, or
pirate, faith, when he gets them mounted. He has done more mischief to
the revenue folk than ony rogue that ever came out of Ramsay.'
'But, my good sir, such being his character, I wonder he has any
protection and encouragement on this coast.'
'Why, Mr. Mannering, people must have brandy and tea, and there's none
in the country but what comes this way; and then there's short
accounts, and maybe a keg or two, or a dozen pounds, left at your
stable-door, instead of a d--d lang account at Christmas from Duncan
Robb, the grocer at Kippletringan, who has aye a sum to make up, and
either wants ready money or a short-dated bill. Now, Hatteraick will
take wood, or he'll take bark, or he'll take barley, or he'll take just
what's convenient at the time. I'll tell you a gude story about that.
There was ance a laird--that's Macfie of Gudgeonford,--he had a great
number of kain hens--that's hens that the tenant pays to the landlord,
like a sort of rent in kind. They aye feed mine very ill; Luckie
Finniston sent up three that were a shame to be seen only last week,
and yet she has twelve bows sowing of victual; indeed her goodman,
Duncan Finniston--that's him that's gone--(we must all die, Mr.
Mannering, that's ower true)--and, speaking of that, let us live in the
meanwhile, for here's breakfast on the table, and the Dominie ready to
say the grace.'
The Dominie did accordingly pronounce a benediction, that exceeded in
length any speech which Mannering had yet heard him utter. The tea,
which of course belonged to the noble Captain Hatteraick's trade, was
pronounced excellent. Still Mannering hinted, though with due delicacy,
at the risk of encouraging such desperate characters. 'Were it but in
justice to the revenue, I should have supposed--'
'Ah, the revenue lads'--for Mr. Bertram never embraced a general or
abstract idea, and his notion of the revenue was personified in the
commissioners, surveyors, comptrollers, and riding officers whom he
happened to know--'the revenue lads can look sharp eneugh out for
themselves, no ane needs to help them; and they have a' the soldiers to
assist them besides; and as to justice--you 'll be surprised to hear
it, Mr. Mannering, but I am not a justice of peace!'
Mannering assumed the expected look of surprise, but thought within
himself that the worshipful bench suffered no great deprivation from
wanting the assistance of his good-humoured landlord. Mr. Bertram had
now hit upon one of the few subjects on which he felt sore, and went on
with some energy.
'No, sir, the name of Godfrey Bertram of Ellangowan is not in the last
commission, though there's scarce a carle in the country that has a
plough-gate of land, but what he must ride to quarter-sessions and
write J.P. after his name. I ken fu' weel whom I am obliged to--Sir
Thomas Kittlecourt as good as tell'd me he would sit in my skirts if he
had not my interest at the last election; and because I chose to go
with my own blood and third cousin, the Laird of Balruddery, they
keepit me off the roll of freeholders; and now there comes a new
nomination of justices, and I am left out! And whereas they pretend it
was because I let David Mac-Guffog, the constable, draw the warrants,
and manage the business his ain gate, as if I had been a nose o' wax,
it's a main untruth; for I granted but seven warrants in my life, and
the Dominie wrote every one of them--and if it had not been that
unlucky business of Sandy Mac-Gruthar's, that the constables should
have keepit twa or three days up yonder at the auld castle, just till
they could get conveniency to send him to the county jail--and that
cost me eneugh o' siller. But I ken what Sir Thomas wants very weel--it
was just sic and siclike about the seat in the kirk o' Kilmagirdle--was
I not entitled to have the front gallery facing the minister, rather
than Mac-Crosskie of Creochstone, the son of Deacon Mac-Crosskie, the
Dumfries weaver?'
Mannering expressed his acquiescence in the justice of these various
complaints.
'And then, Mr. Mannering, there was the story about the road and the
fauld-dike. I ken Sir Thomas was behind there, and I said plainly to
the clerk to the trustees that I saw the cloven foot, let them take
that as they like. Would any gentleman, or set of gentlemen, go and
drive a road right through the corner of a fauld-dike and take away, as
my agent observed to them, like twa roods of gude moorland pasture? And
there was the story about choosing the collector of the cess--'
'Certainly, sir, it is hard you should meet with any neglect in a
country where, to judge from the extent of their residence, your
ancestors must have made a very important figure.'
'Very true, Mr. Mannering; I am a plain man and do not dwell on these
things, and I must needs say I have little memory for them; but I wish
ye could have heard my father's stories about the auld fights of the
Mac-Dingawaies--that's the Bertrams that now is--wi' the Irish and wi'
the Highlanders that came here in their berlings from Ilay and Cantire;
and how they went to the Holy Land--that is, to Jerusalem and Jericho,
wi' a' their clan at their heels--they had better have gaen to Jamaica,
like Sir Thomas Kittlecourt's uncle--and how they brought hame relics
like those that Catholics have, and a flag that's up yonder in the
garret. If they had been casks of muscavado and puncheons of rum it
would have been better for the estate at this day; but there's little
comparison between the auld keep at Kittlecourt and the castle o'
Ellangowan; I doubt if the keep's forty feet of front. But ye make no
breakfast, Mr. Mannering; ye're no eating your meat; allow me to
recommend some of the kipper. It was John Hay that catcht it, Saturday
was three weeks, down at the stream below Hempseed ford,' etc. etc. etc.
The Laird, whose indignation had for some time kept him pretty steady
to one topic, now launched forth into his usual roving style of
conversation, which gave Mannering ample time to reflect upon the
disadvantages attending the situation which an hour before he had
thought worthy of so much envy. Here was a country gentleman, whose
most estimable quality seemed his perfect good-nature, secretly
fretting himself and murmuring against others for causes which,
compared with any real evil in life, must weigh like dust in the
balance. But such is the equal distribution of Providence. To those who
lie out of the road of great afflictions are assigned petty vexations
which answer all the purpose of disturbing their serenity; and every
reader must have observed that neither natural apathy nor acquired
philosophy can render country gentlemen insensible to the grievances
which occur at elections, quarter-sessions, and meetings of trustees.
Curious to investigate the manners of the country, Mannering took the
advantage of a pause in good Mr. Bertram's string of stories to inquire
what Captain Hatteraick so earnestly wanted with the gipsy woman.
'O, to bless his ship, I suppose. You must know, Mr. Mannering, that
these free-traders, whom the law calls smugglers, having no religion,
make it all up in superstition; and they have as many spells and charms
and nonsense--'
' Vanity and waur!' said the Dominie;' it is a trafficking with the
Evil One. Spells, periapts, and charms are of his device--choice arrows
out of Apollyon's quiver.'
'Hold your peace, Dominie; ye're speaking for ever'--by the way, they
were the first words the poor man had uttered that morning, excepting
that he said grace and returned thanks--'Mr. Mannering cannot get in a
word for ye! And so, Mr. Mannering, talking of astronomy and spells and
these matters, have ye been so kind as to consider what we were
speaking about last night?'
'I begin to think, Mr. Bertram, with your worthy friend here, that I
have been rather jesting with edge-tools; and although neither you nor
I, nor any sensible man, can put faith in the predictions of astrology,
yet, as it has sometimes happened that inquiries into futurity,
undertaken in jest, have in their results produced serious and
unpleasant effects both upon actions and characters, I really wish you
would dispense with my replying to your question.'
It was easy to see that this evasive answer only rendered the Laird's
curiosity more uncontrollable. Mannering, however, was determined in
his own mind not to expose the infant to the inconveniences which might
have arisen from his being supposed the object of evil prediction. He
therefore delivered the paper into Mr. Bertram's hand, and requested
him to keep it for five years with the seal unbroken, until the month
of November was expired. After that date had intervened he left him at
liberty to examine the writing, trusting that, the first fatal period
being then safely overpassed, no credit would be paid to its farther
contents. This Mr. Bertram was content to promise, and Mannering, to
ensure his fidelity, hinted at misfortunes which would certainly take
place if his injunctions were neglected. The rest of the day, which
Mannering, by Mr. Bertram's invitation, spent at Ellangowan, passed
over without anything remarkable; and on the morning of that which
followed the traveller mounted his palfrey, bade a courteous adieu to
his hospitable landlord and to his clerical attendant, repeated his
good wishes for the prosperity of the family, and then, turning his
horse's head towards England, disappeared from the sight of the inmates
of Ellangowan. He must also disappear from that of our readers, for it
is to another and later period of his life that the present narrative
relates.