But if thou shouldst be dragg'd in scorn
To yonder ignominious tree,
Thou shall not want one faithful friend
To share the cruel fates' decree.
SHENSTONE.
Plunged in the gloomy reflections which were naturally excited by his
dismal reading and disconsolate situation, Bertram for the first time
in his life felt himself affected with a disposition to low spirits. 'I
have been in worse situations than this too,' he said; 'more dangerous,
for here is no danger; more dismal in prospect, for my present
confinement must necessarily be short; more intolerable for the time,
for here, at least, I have fire, food, and shelter. Yet, with reading
these bloody tales of crime and misery in a place so corresponding to
the ideas which they excite, and in listening to these sad sounds, I
feel a stronger disposition to melancholy than in my life I ever
experienced. But I will not give way to it. Begone, thou record of
guilt and infamy!' he said, flinging the book upon the spare bed; 'a
Scottish jail shall not break, on the very first day, the spirits which
have resisted climate, and want, and penury, and disease, and
imprisonment in a foreign land. I have fought many a hard battle with
Dame Fortune, and she shall not beat me now if I can help it.'
Then bending his mind to a strong effort, he endeavoured to view his
situation in the most favourable light. Delaserre must soon be in
Scotland; the certificates from his commanding officer must soon
arrive; nay, if Mannering were first applied to, who could say but the
effect might be a reconciliation between them? He had often observed,
and now remembered, that when his former colonel took the part of any
one, it was never by halves, and that he seemed to love those persons
most who had lain under obligation to him. In the present case a
favour, which could be asked with honour and granted with readiness,
might be the means of reconciling them to each other. From this his
feelings naturally turned towards Julia; and, without very nicely
measuring the distance between a soldier of fortune, who expected that
her father's attestation would deliver him from confinement, and the
heiress of that father's wealth and expectations, he was building the
gayest castle in the clouds, and varnishing it with all the tints of a
summer-evening sky, when his labour was interrupted by a loud knocking
at the outer gate, answered by the barking of the gaunt half-starved
mastiff which was quartered in the courtyard as an addition to the
garrison. After much scrupulous precaution the gate was opened and some
person admitted. The house-door was next unbarred, unlocked, and
unchained, a dog's feet pattered upstairs in great haste, and the
animal was heard scratching and whining at the door of the room. Next a
heavy step was heard lumbering up, and Mac-Guffog's voice in the
character of pilot--'This way, this way; take care of the step; that's
the room.' Bertram's door was then unbolted, and to his great surprise
and joy his terrier, Wasp, rushed into the apartment and almost
devoured him with caresses, followed by the massy form of his friend
from Charlie's Hope.
'Eh whow! Eh whow!' ejaculated the honest farmer, as he looked round
upon his friend's miserable apartment and wretched
accommodation--'What's this o't! what's this o't!'
'Just a trick of fortune, my good friend,' said Bertram, rising and
shaking him heartily by the hand, 'that's all.'
'But what will be done about it? or what CAN be done about it?' said
honest Dandie. 'Is't for debt, or what is't for?'
'Why, it is not for debt,' answered Bertram; 'and if you have time to
sit down, I'll tell you all I know of the matter myself.'
'If I hae time?' said Dandie, with an accent on the word that sounded
like a howl of derision. 'Ou, what the deevil am I come here for, man,
but just ance errand to see about it? But ye'll no be the waur o'
something to eat, I trow; it's getting late at e'en. I tell'd the folk
at the Change, where I put up Dumple, to send ower my supper here, and
the chield Mac-Guffog is agreeable to let it in; I hae settled a' that.
And now let's hear your story. Whisht, Wasp, man! wow, but he's glad to
see you, poor thing!'
Bertram's story, being confined to the accident of Hazlewood, and the
confusion made between his own identity and that of one of the
smugglers who had been active in the assault of Woodbourne, and chanced
to bear the same name, was soon told. Dinmont listened very
attentively. 'Aweel,' he said, 'this suld be nae sic dooms desperate
business surely; the lad's doing weel again that was hurt, and what
signifies twa or three lead draps in his shouther? if ye had putten out
his ee it would hae been another case. But eh, as I wuss auld Sherra
Pleydell was to the fore here! Od, he was the man for sorting them, and
the queerest rough-spoken deevil too that ever ye heard!'
'But now tell me, my excellent friend, how did you find out I was here?'
'Od, lad, queerly eneugh,' said Dandie; 'but I'll tell ye that after we
are done wi' our supper, for it will maybe no be sae weel to speak
about it while that lang-lugged limmer o' a lass is gaun flisking in
and out o' the room.'
Bertram's curiosity was in some degree put to rest by the appearance of
the supper which his friend had ordered, which, although homely enough,
had the appetising cleanliness in which Mrs. Mac-Guffog's cookery was
so eminently deficient. Dinmont also, premising he had ridden the whole
day since breakfast-time without tasting anything 'to speak of,' which
qualifying phrase related to about three pounds of cold roast mutton
which he had discussed at his mid-day stage--Dinmont, I say, fell
stoutly upon the good cheer, and, like one of Homer's heroes, said
little, either good or bad, till the rage of thirst and hunger was
appeased. At length, after a draught of home-brewed ale, he began by
observing, 'Aweel, aweel, that hen,' looking upon the lamentable relics
of what had been once a large fowl, 'wasna a bad ane to be bred at a
town end, though it's no like our barn-door chuckies at Charlie's Hope;
and I am glad to see that this vexing job hasna taen awa your appetite,
Captain.'
'Why, really, my dinner was not so excellent, Mr. Dinmont, as to spoil
my supper.'
'I daresay no, I daresay no,' said Dandie. 'But now, hinny, that ye hae
brought us the brandy, and the mug wi' the het water, and the sugar,
and a' right, ye may steek the door, ye see, for we wad hae some o' our
ain cracks.' The damsel accordingly retired and shut the door of the
apartment, to which she added the precaution of drawing a large bolt on
the outside.
As soon as she was gone Dandie reconnoitred the premises, listened at
the key-hole as if he had been listening for the blowing of an otter,
and, having satisfied himself that there were no eavesdroppers,
returned to the table; and, making himself what he called a gey stiff
cheerer, poked the fire, and began his story in an undertone of gravity
and importance not very usual with him.
'Ye see, Captain, I had been in Edinbro' for twa or three days, looking
after the burial of a friend that we hae lost, and maybe I suld hae had
something for my ride; but there's disappointments in a' things, and
wha can help the like o' that? And I had a wee bit law business
besides, but that's neither here nor there. In short, I had got my
matters settled, and hame I cam; and the morn awa to the muirs to see
what the herds had been about, and I thought I might as weel gie a look
to the Touthope Head, where Jock o' Dawston and me has the outcast
about a march. Weel, just as I was coming upon the bit, I saw a man
afore me that I kenn'd was nane o' our herds, and it's a wild bit to
meet ony other body, so when I cam up to him it was Tod Gabriel, the
fox-hunter. So I says to him, rather surprised like, "What are ye doing
up amang the craws here, without your hounds, man? are ye seeking the
fox without the dogs?" So he said, "Na, gudeman, but I wanted to see
yoursell."
'"Ay," said I, "and ye'll be wanting eilding now, or something to pit
ower the winter?"
'"Na, na," quo' he, "it's no that I'm seeking; but ye tak an unco
concern in that Captain Brown that was staying wi' you, d'ye no?"
'"Troth do I, Gabriel," says I; "and what about him, lad?"
'Says he, "There's mair tak an interest in him than you, and some that
I am bound to obey; and it's no just on my ain will that I'm here to
tell you something about him that will no please you."
'"Faith, naething will please me," quo' I, "that's no pleasing to him."
'"And then," quo' he, "ye'll be ill-sorted to hear that he's like to be
in the prison at Portanferry, if he disna tak a' the better care o'
himsell, for there's been warrants out to tak him as soon as he comes
ower the water frae Allonby. And now, gudeman, an ever ye wish him
weel, ye maun ride down to Portanferry, and let nae grass grow at the
nag's heels; and if ye find him in confinement, ye maun stay beside him
night and day for a day or twa, for he'll want friends that hae baith
heart and hand; and if ye neglect this ye'll never rue but ance, for it
will be for a' your life."
'"But, safe us, man," quo' I, "how did ye learn a' this? it's an unco
way between this and Portanferry."
'"Never ye mind that," quo' he, "them that brought us the news rade
night and day, and ye maun be aff instantly if ye wad do ony gude; and
sae I have naething mair to tell ye." Sae he sat himsell doun and
hirselled doun into the glen, where it wad hae been ill following him
wi' the beast, and I cam back to Charlie's Hope to tell the gudewife,
for I was uncertain what to do. It wad look unco-like, I thought, just
to be sent out on a hunt-the-gowk errand wi' a landlouper like that.
But, Lord! as the gudewife set up her throat about it, and said what a
shame it wad be if ye was to come to ony wrang, an I could help ye; and
then in cam your letter that confirmed it. So I took to the kist, and
out wi' the pickle notes in case they should be needed, and a' the
bairns ran to saddle Dumple. By great luck I had taen the other beast
to Edinbro', sae Dumple was as fresh as a rose. Sae aff I set, and Wasp
wi' me, for ye wad really hae thought he kenn'd where I was gaun, puir
beast; and here I am after a trot o' sixty mile or near by. But Wasp
rade thirty o' them afore me on the saddle, and the puir doggie
balanced itsell as ane of the weans wad hae dune, whether I trotted or
cantered.'
In this strange story Bertram obviously saw, supposing the warning to
be true, some intimation of danger more violent and imminent than could
be likely to arise from a few days' imprisonment. At the same time it
was equally evident that some unknown friend was working in his behalf.
'Did you not say,' he asked Dinmont, 'that this man Gabriel was of
gipsy blood?'
'It was e'en judged sae,' said Dinmont, 'and I think this maks it
likely; for they aye ken where the gangs o' ilk ither are to be found,
and they can gar news flee like a footba' through the country an they
like. An' I forgat to tell ye, there's been an unco inquiry after the
auld wife that we saw in Bewcastle; the Sheriff's had folk ower the
Limestane Edge after her, and down the Hermitage and Liddel, and a'
gates, and a reward offered for her to appear o' fifty pound sterling,
nae less; and Justice Forster, he's had out warrants, as I am tell'd,
in Cumberland; and an unco ranging and ripeing they have had a' gates
seeking for her; but she'll no be taen wi' them unless she likes, for
a' that.'
'And how comes that?' said Bertram.
'Ou, I dinna ken; I daur say it's nonsense, but they say she has
gathered the fern-seed, and can gang ony gate she likes, like Jock the
Giant-killer in the ballant, wi' his coat o' darkness and his shoon o'
swiftness. Ony way she's a kind o' queen amang the gipsies; she is mair
than a hundred year auld, folk say, and minds the coming in o' the
moss-troopers in the troublesome times when the Stuarts were put awa.
Sae, if she canna hide hersell, she kens them that can hide her weel
eneugh, ye needna doubt that. Od, an I had kenn'd it had been Meg
Merrilies yon night at Tibb Mumps's, I wad taen care how I crossed her.'
Bertram listened with great attention to this account, which tallied so
well in many points with what he had himself seen of this gipsy sibyl.
After a moment's consideration he concluded it would be no breach of
faith to mention what he had seen at Derncleugh to a person who held
Meg in such reverence as Dinmont obviously did. He told his story
accordingly, often interrupted by ejaculations, such as, 'Weel, the
like o' that now!' or, 'Na, deil an that's no something now!'
When our Liddesdale friend had heard the whole to an end, he shook his
great black head--'Weel, I'll uphaud there's baith gude and ill amang
the gipsies, and if they deal wi' the Enemy, it's a' their ain business
and no ours. I ken what the streeking the corpse wad be, weel eneugh.
Thae smuggler deevils, when ony o' them's killed in a fray, they 'll
send for a wife like Meg far eneugh to dress the corpse; od, it's a'
the burial they ever think o'! and then to be put into the ground
without ony decency, just like dogs. But they stick to it, that they
'll be streekit, and hae an auld wife when they're dying to rhyme ower
prayers, and ballants, and charms, as they ca' them, rather than
they'll hae a minister to come and pray wi' them--that's an auld threep
o' theirs; and I am thinking the man that died will hae been ane o' the
folk that was shot when they burnt Woodbourne.'
'But, my good friend, Woodbourne is not burnt,' said Bertram.
'Weel, the better for them that bides in't,' answered the store-farmer.
'Od, we had it up the water wi' us that there wasna a stane on the tap
o' anither. But there was fighting, ony way; I daur to say it would be
fine fun! And, as I said, ye may take it on trust that that's been ane
o' the men killed there, and that it's been the gipsies that took your
pockmanky when they fand the chaise stickin' in the snaw; they wadna
pass the like o' that, it wad just come to their hand like the bowl o'
a pint stoup.'
'But if this woman is a sovereign among them, why was she not able to
afford me open protection, and to get me back my property?'
'Ou, wha kens? she has muckle to say wi' them, but whiles they'll tak
their ain way for a' that, when they're under temptation. And then
there's the smugglers that they're aye leagued wi', she maybe couldna
manage them sae weel. They're aye banded thegither; I've heard that the
gipsies ken when the smugglers will come aff, and where they're to
land, better than the very merchants that deal wi' them. And then, to
the boot o' that, she's whiles cracked-brained, and has a bee in her
head; they say that, whether her spaeings and fortune-tellings be true
or no, for certain she believes in them a' hersell, and is aye guiding
hersell by some queer prophecy or anither. So she disna aye gang the
straight road to the well. But deil o' sic a story as yours, wi'
glamour and dead folk and losing ane's gate, I ever heard out o' the
tale-books! But whisht, I hear the keeper coming.'
Mac-Guffog accordingly interrupted their discourse by the harsh harmony
of the bolts and bars, and showed his bloated visage at the opening
door. 'Come, Mr. Dinmont, we have put off locking up for an hour to
oblige ye; ye must go to your quarters.'
'Quarters, man? I intend to sleep here the night. There's a spare bed
in the Captain's room.'
'It's impossible!' answered the keeper.
'But I say it IS possible, and that I winna stir; and there's a dram t'
ye.'
Mac-Guffog drank off the spirits and resumed his objection. 'But it's
against rule, sir; ye have committed nae malefaction.'
'I'll break your head,' said the sturdy Liddesdale man, 'if ye say ony
mair about it, and that will be malefaction eneugh to entitle me to ae
night's lodging wi' you, ony way.'
'But I tell ye, Mr. Dinmont,' reiterated the keeper, 'it's against
rule, and I behoved to lose my post.'
'Weel, Mac-Guffog,' said Dandie, 'I hae just twa things to say. Ye ken
wha I am weel eneugh, and that I wadna loose a prisoner.'
'And how do I ken that?' answered the jailor.
'Weel, if ye dinna ken that,' said the resolute farmer, 'ye ken this:
ye ken ye're whiles obliged to be up our water in the way o' your
business. Now, if ye let me stay quietly here the night wi' the
Captain, I'se pay ye double fees for the room; and if ye say no, ye
shall hae the best sark-fu' o' sair banes that ever ye had in your life
the first time ye set a foot by Liddel Moat!'
'Aweel, aweel, gudeman,' said Mac-Guffog, 'a wilfu' man maun hae his
way; but if I am challenged for it by the justices, I ken wha sall bear
the wyte,' and, having sealed this observation with a deep oath or two,
he retired to bed, after carefully securing all the doors of the
bridewell. The bell from the town steeple tolled nine just as the
ceremony was concluded.
'Although it's but early hours,' said the farmer, who had observed that
his friend looked somewhat pale and fatigued, 'I think we had better
lie down, Captain, if ye're no agreeable to another cheerer. But troth,
ye're nae glass-breaker; and neither am I, unless it be a screed wi'
the neighbours, or when I'm on a ramble.'
Bertram readily assented to the motion of his faithful friend, but, on
looking at the bed, felt repugnance to trust himself undressed to Mrs.
Mac-Guffog's clean sheets.
'I'm muckle o' your opinion, Captain,' said Dandie. 'Od, this bed looks
as if a' the colliers in Sanquhar had been in't thegither. But it'll no
win through my muckle coat.' So saying, he flung himself upon the frail
bed with a force that made all its timbers crack, and in a few moments
gave audible signal that he was fast asleep. Bertram slipped off his
coat and boots and occupied the other dormitory. The strangeness of his
destiny, and the mysteries which appeared to thicken around him, while
he seemed alike to be persecuted and protected by secret enemies and
friends, arising out of a class of people with whom he had no previous
connexion, for some time occupied his thoughts. Fatigue, however,
gradually composed his mind, and in a short time he was as fast asleep
as his companion. And in this comfortable state of oblivion we must
leave them until we acquaint the reader with some other circumstances
which occurred about the same period.