from the bench, and had taken an exceeding interest in Phebe, whose
beautiful and modest demeanour and countenance not even despair could
entirely disfigure. Having made some inquiries respecting her history,
he was led to make more, and discovered considerable emotion when I
unfolded the whole truth to him. Still he said nothing, but took his
departure, with many thanks for the information given. In a few days,
this same young nobleman, of remarkably fine features, and pleasing
expression, returned to the Manse of C----, having an elderly gentleman
in the carriage along with him. He requested a private interview with
me; and, in the presence of his friend, I travelled over again the whole
particulars of the foundling's story, comparing dates, and investigating
seeming inconsistencies. At last, he declared, at once, and in tears of
amazement and joy--"Phebe Fortune is my own--my only _sister_!" I looked
incredulous, and almost hinted at insanity; but the young nobleman still
persevered in his averment. His father, a nobleman of high rank, far
south of the Tweed, in order to gratify a passion which had driven him
almost mad, had consented to _pretend_ to marry privately (his own
father being still alive, and set upon his son's marrying his cousin the
Honourable Miss D----), a most beautiful girl, the daughter of a Chester
yeoman of high respectability. The lady was removed from her native
home, and lodged in a remote quarter of the town of Liverpool. A report
was fabricated, and spread abroad by means of the newspapers, that a
lady, who was minutely described, had jumped one evening into a boat,
and, being rowed, at her request, to some distance, had plunged into the
sea, and perished. Phebe's parents investigated the matter, as far as
the boatman's evidence was concerned, and were satisfied from his
description of her person, that their dear Phebe, who, for some time
past, had appeared troubled and even dispirited, had adopted suicide as
a refuge from all her earthly cares. Phebe and the Honourable Mr. L----
met frequently in secret, and a daughter was the fruit of their
interviews. This daughter the young nobleman proposed to put out to
nurse; but, in reality, to put beyond the reach of being ever recognised
as his. A confidential person was obtained, herself a Scotchwoman, to
carry the child into Fife, and there to expose it, under the
circumstances and with the provision already mentioned. This person
chanced to be a parishioner of mine, and the consequences were as
already described. Having executed her task, she married a soldier, with
whom she soon after sailed for our West India settlements. Phebe's
second birth proved to be a male; and the boy was about to be removed in
a similar manner from the mother, when she absconded from her now
tyrannical husband, and her concealed home, refusing to be again
separated from her own offspring. Her parents, who had regarded her as
dead, were sufficiently surprised, but by no means gratified, when Phebe
appeared again with the child in her arms. In the meantime, Lord
L----died, and the Honourable youth became Baron L---- of Houston-hope.
Poor Phebe's averment respecting her previous marriage was regarded,
even by her parents, as somewhat suspicious; and not being able to
command the testimony of the person who married them, she was compelled
to remain silent. The effort, however, soon cost her her life; and the
boy, by his acknowledged father's interest, was placed in the army, and
sent out to the West Indies. There he accidentally met with the woman
his mother had often mentioned to him, who had carried off his sister.
She confessed the whole truth to him; and, after a year or two, they
both returned in the same ship to England. By this time, the noble
husband being free to dispose of his hand in matrimony, proposed, not
for his cousin, as his father had contemplated, but for the daughter of
an exceedingly wealthy Liverpool merchant. This person happened to be
the near relative of him who had called what was deemed only a pretended
priest to perform the marriage ceremony; and, seeing the danger which
his relative would run, should he give away his daughter, in hopes of
her offspring heiring the title and property, when a legitimate heir
probably existed, he divulged the secret to his relations. This
naturally led to a denouement; and Lord L---- being thus frustrated in
his object, and being at the same time a person governed more by passion
than reason, shot the person who had deceived him through the arm; and
then, thinking that he had committed murder, he blew out his own brains.
The brother of Phebe, after a long and complicated legal investigation,
was declared and served heir to the title and vast property. Taking the
clergyman who had married his mother along with him, he had gone into
Scotland, partly to visit his uncle, Lord D----, and partly, by the
assistance of the priest and the Scotchwoman, to discover what had
become of his sister. Her likeness to himself and his mother had struck
him forcibly in court, and the investigation and discovery followed.
To describe the interview betwixt the brother and sister is far beyond
my power. Every heart will appreciate it more than ink and paper can
possibly express. It was a pure--a long--a terrible embrace; but it
spoke volumes, heart met heart, and lips were glued to lips, till
breathing became inconvenient. All parties rejoiced. Phebe, on her way
south along with her brother, spent a whole day at the Manse. I was
absolutely insane with joy; and my wife told me privately--"My dear, our
fortune is made; we'll get all our boys out to India now." My daughters,
too, kissed and fondled their sister, "and all went merry as a marriage
bell."
"How sweet is pleasure after pain!"
The contrast of Phebe's fortune greatly enhanced the enjoyment; and, in
the space of a few short months, Phebe Fortune was married to her own
cousin, the son of Lord and Lady D----, her kind protectors. The old
couple are still alive; but their children, with a numerous offspring,
live upon one of their estates in Ayrshire, and exhibit to all around
them the blessings which a humane and generous aristocracy may
disseminate amidst neighbours and dependents. The brother of Phebe, Lord
L----, still remains a bachelor; but has proved to his mother's
relatives, as well as to the parties who befriended her by deceiving his
dishonourable parent, that he feels the obligation, and rewards it, by
making them one way or another entirely independent.
I go my weekly rounds amongst those now happy families, and have
experienced the truth of my wife's prophecy; for both my boys are
advantageously disposed of, and, on the marriage of my eldest daughter,
Phebe Fortune made her a present of one thousand pounds.
THE ROYAL BRIDAL;
OR,
THE KING MAY COME IN THE CADGER'S WAY.
Early in July, in the year of grace 1503, Lamberton Moor presented a
proud and right noble spectacle. Upon it was outspread a city of
pavilions, some of them covered with cloth of the gorgeous purple and
glowing crimson, and decorated with ornaments of gold and silver. To and
fro, upon brave steeds, richly caparisoned, rode a hundred lords and
their followers, with many a score of gay and gallant knights and their
attendant gentlemen. Fair ladies, too, the loveliest and the noblest in
the land, were there. The sounds of music from many instruments rolled
over the heath. The lance gleamed, and the claymore flashed, and
war-steeds neighed, as the notes of the bugle rang loud for the
tournament. It seemed as if the genius of chivalry had fixed its court
upon the heath.
It may be meet, however, that we say a word or two concerning
Lamberton, for though, now-a-days, it may lack the notoriety of Gretna
in the annals of matrimony, and though its "_run of business_" may be of
a humbler character, there was a time when it could boast of prouder
visitors than ever graced the Gretna blacksmith's temple. To the reader,
therefore, who is unacquainted with our eastern Borders, it may be
necessary to say, that, at the northern boundary of the lands
appertaining to the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and about three miles, a
furlong, and few odd yards from that oft-recorded good town, a dry stone
wall, some thirty inches in height, runs from the lofty and
perpendicular sea-banks, over a portion of what may be termed the
fag-end of Lammermoor, and now forming a separation between the laws of
Scotland and the jurisdiction of the said good town; and on crossing to
the northern side of this humble but important stone wall, you stand on
the lands of Lamberton. Rather more than a stone-throw from the sea, the
great north road between London and Edinburgh forms a gap in the wall
aforesaid, or rather "dyke;" and there, on either side of the road,
stands a low house, in which Hymen's high priests are ever ready to make
one flesh of their worshippers. About a quarter of a mile north of
these, may still be traced something of the ruins of the kirk, where the
princess of England became the bride of the Scottish king, and the first
link of the golden chain of UNION, which eventually clasped the two
nations in one, may be said to have been formed.
The gay and gallant company were assembled on Lamberton, for within the
walls of its kirk, the young, ardent, and chivalrous James IV. of
Scotland was to receive the hand of his fair bride, Margaret of England,
whom Dunbar describes as a
"Fresche rose, of cullor reid and white."
The wild heath presented all the splendour of a court, and the
amusements of a crowded city. Upon it were thousands of spectators, who
had come to witness the royal exhibitions, and the first durable bond of
amity between two rival nations. Some crowded to behold the tourneyings
of the knights with sword, spear, and battle-axe; others to witness the
representation of plays, written "expressly for the occasion;" while a
third party were delighted with the grotesque figures and positions of
the morris-dancers; and a fourth joined in, or were spectators of, the
humbler athletic exercises of wrestling, leaping, putting the stone, and
throwing the hammer.
All, too, were anxious to see the young king, whose courage and
generosity were the theme of minstrels, and of whom one sayeth--
"And ye Christian princes, whosoever ye be,
If ye be destitute of a noble captayne,
Take James of Scotland for his audacitie
And proved manhood, if ye will laud attayne."
But the young monarch was as remarkable for his gallantry and
eccentricity, as for his generosity and courage; and no one seemed able
to tell whether or not he lodged in the magnificent pavilion over which
the royal standard of Scotland waved, or whether he intended to welcome
his royal bride by proxy.
But our story requires that, for a time, we leave princes, knights, and
tournaments, and notice humbler personages, and more homely amusements.
At a distance from the pavilion, the tourneyings, the music, the plays,
and other exhibitions, was a crowd composed of some seven or eight
hundred peasantry engaged in and witnessing the athletic games of the
Borders. Near these were a number of humbler booths, in which the
spectators and competitors might regale themselves with the spirits and
tippeny then in use.
Amongst the competitors was one called Meikle Robin, or Robin Meikle. He
was strength personified. His stature exceeded six feet; his shoulders
were broad, his chest round, his limbs well and strongly put together.
He was a man of prodigious bone and sinews. At throwing the hammer, at
putting the stone, no man could stand before him. He distanced all who
came against him, and, while he did so, he seemed to put forth not half
his strength, while his skill appeared equal to the power of his arm.
Now, amongst the spectators of the sports, there stood one who was
known for many miles around by the appellation of _Strong Andrew_. He
was not so tall, by three inches, as the conqueror of the day; nor could
he measure with him either across the shoulders or around the chest;
and, in fact, he was rather a thin man than otherwise, nor did he appear
a powerful one--but his bones were well set. His sinews were all
strength--they were not encumbered with flesh. He was as much a model of
activity and suppleness, as Meikle Robin was of bodily power. Now,
Andrew was a native of Eyemouth; he was about three and thirty years of
age, and he united in his person the callings of a fisherman and cadger;
or, in other words, Andrew, being without mother, sister, wife, or
servant, sold himself the fish which he had caught. His domestic
establishment consisted of a very large and a very wise water-dog, and a
small pony; and with the last-mentioned animal he carried his fish
around the country. For several days, and on the day in question, he had
brought his store for sale to the camps or pavilions at Lamberton, where
he had found a ready and an excellent market. There, as Andrew stood and
witnessed the championship of Meikle Robin, his blood boiled within him;
and, "Oh," thought he, "but if I had onybody that I could trust to take
care o' the Galloway and my jacket, _and the siller_, but I wad take the
conceit oot o' ye, big as ye are."
Andrew possessed his country's courage and its caution in equal
proportions; and, like a wise man, he did not choose to trust his money
by risking it to strangers. In such a motley company it would not be
safe to do so now a-days; but it would have been much less so then. For,
at that time, and especially on the Borders, the law of _mine_ and
_thine_ was still imperfectly understood. But Andrew's determination to
humble the champion was well-nigh overcoming his caution, when the
former again stepped into the ring, and cast off his jacket for a
wrestling bout. He stood looking round him for a minute; and it was
evident that every one was afraid to enter the lists against him. Andrew
could endure it no longer; and he was saying--"Will ony person tak
charge o' my Gallow-way?"----
When a young man of middle stature, and whose dress bespoke him to be a
domestic of one of the noblemen who had come to witness the royal
festival, and grace it with their presence, entered the lists. Without
even throwing off his bonnet, he stretched out his arms to encounter the
champion, who met him--somewhat after the fashion that Goliath met
David--with contempt. But the first grasp of the stranger, as he seized
his arms above the elbows, instead of throwing them round his waist (as
was, and is the unscientific practice of the Borders), informed Robin
that he had no common customer to deal with. Robin, as a wrestler, in a
great measure trusted to mere strength and tripping. He knew nothing of
turning an antagonist from his centre of gravity by a well-timed and
well-directed touch. He therefore threw his arms around the back of his
opponent (so far as the grasp which the other had got of them would
permit), with the intention of giving him a "Hawick hug," but he found
he could not join his hands together so as to effect his purpose, and
his strength could not accomplish it. Ignorant of his antagonist's mode
of attack, he had allowed him an advantage over him; and when he
endeavoured to gain it by tripping his heels, the other suddenly changed
his feet, favoured Robin with a "Devonian kick," and suddenly dashing
his bended knee against his person, Robin lost his footing, and fell
upon his back, with the stranger above him.
The spectators shouted; and Andrew, mounting his pony, exclaimed aloud--
"Weel dune, stranger--I'm as glad as though I had gotten a gowden coin."
Now, it is but justice to Andrew to say that he had repeatedly defeated
Meikle Robin, both at wresting, cudgel-playing, and every athletic
exercise; but I shall give the reader an account of his having done so
on one occasion in his own words, as it is necessary for the forwarding
of our narrative.
Andrew went to Lamberton with his fish on the following day, and again
he found a profitable market; and some words had again passed between
him and Meikle Robin; but, as he was returning home, he overtook the
stranger by whom Robin had been defeated.
"Losh, man!" said Andrew, pulling up his pony, "is this ye? I canna tell
ye hoo glad I am to see ye, for I've dune naething but thocht o' ye ever
since yesterday, when I saw ye tak the brag oot o' Meikle Robin, just as
easily as I would bend a willy-wand. Now, I hope, sir, although ye are a
stranger, ye no think ill o' my familiarity?"
"Think ill, comrade," said the other, "why should I do so?"
"Why, I watna," said Andrew, "but there seems to be sae mony kind o'
butterflies getting about the court now, wi' their frills and their
gold-laced jackets, from what I can judge o' their appearance for some
days past on the Moor, that I wasna sure but it might be like-master
like-man wi' ye, and I was uncertain how to speak to ye. I didna ken but
that, in some things, ye might imitate your superiors, and treat a
cadger body as though they hadna been o' the same flesh an blood wi'
yoursel."
The stranger laughed, and repeated the adage--
"Why--the king may come in the cadger's way."
"Very true, sir," said Andrew, "and may find him a man mair like
himsel than he imagines. But, sir, what I was gaun to say to you--and it
is connected wi' your defeating o' Meikle Robin yesterday--(at least I
wish to make it connected wi' it). Weel, just five days syne, I was at
Lamberton--it was the very day after the royal party arrived--and Robin
was there. Perhaps you was there yoursel; but the tents were there, and
the games, and the shows, and everything was going on just the same as
ye saw them yesterday. But, as I was telling ye, Meikle Robin was there.
Now, he gets the brag o' being the best cudgel-player, putter, and
wrestler, in a' Berwickshire--and, between you and I, that is a
character that I didna like to hear gaun past mysel. However, as I was
saying, on the day after the royal party had come to the Moor, and the
games were begun, he had the ball fairly at his foot, and fient a ane
durst tak him up ava. He was terribly insulting in the pride o' his
victoriousness, and, in order to humble him, some were running frae tent
to tent to look for Strong Andrew--(that is me, ye observe; for they ca'
me that as a sort o' nickname--though for what reason I know not). At
last they got me. I had had a quegh or twa, and I was gay weel on--(for
I never in my born days had had such a market for my fish; indeed, I got
whatever I asked, and I was wishing in my heart that the king's marriage
party would stop at Lammerton Moor for a twelvemonth)--but, though I had
a drappie ower the score, Robin was as sober as a judge; for, plague tak
him! he kenned what he was doing--he was ower cunnin to drink, and laid
himsel out for a quarrel. It was his aim to carry the 'gree' ower a'
upon the Moor at everything, that the king, who is said to be as fond o'
thae sort o' sports as onybody, might tak notice o' him, and do
something for him. There was a cowardliness in the very idea o' such
conduct--it showed a fox's heart in the carcase o' a bullock. Weel,
those that were seeking me got me, and clean off hand I awa to the tent
where he was making a' his great braggadocio, and, says I to him,
'Robin,' says I, 'I'm your man at onything ye like, and for whatever ye
like. I'll run ye--or, I'll jump ye--I'll putt the stone wi' ye--or,
_I'll fight ye_--and, if ye like it better, I'll wrestle ye--or try ye
at the cudgels--and dinna be cutting your capers there ower a wheen
callants.' Weel, up he got, and a ring was made aback o' the tent. He
had an oak stick as thick as your wrist, and I had naething but the bit
half switch that I hae in my hand the now, for driving up the Galloway.
Mine was a mere bog-reed to his, independent o' its being fully six
inches shorter--and, if ye ken onything about cudgelling, that was a
material point. 'Od, sir, I found I couldna cope wi' him. My stick, or
rather switch, was nae better than half a dozen o' rashes plaited
together. 'Will ony o' ye lend me a stick, gentlemen?' cried I to the
bystanders, while I keepit guarding him off the best way I could. Aboon
a dozen were offered in an instant. I gript at the nearest. Now 'Heaven
hae mercy on ye!' said I, and gied him a whissel beneath the elbow, and,
before ye could say Jock Robison! cam clink across his knee. I declare
to ye, sir, he cam spinning down like a totum. He talked nae mair o'
wrestling, or cudgelling, or onything else that day. I settled him for
four-and-twenty hours at ony rate. Weel, sir, I was perfectly delighted
when I saw you lay him on the broad o' his back yesterday; and I had nae
mair words wi' him, frae the day that I humbled him, until about four
hours syne, when I met in wi' him on the Moor, amang three or four o'
his cronies, at his auld trade o' boasting again. I had nae patience wi'
him. But he had a drop ower meikle, and, at ony rate, I thought there
could be nae honour in beating the same man twice. But, says I to him
'Ye needna craw sae loud, for, independent o' me bringing ye to the
ground at cudgelling, and making ye no worth a doit, I saw a youngster
that wrestled wi' ye yesterday, twist ye like a barley-strae.' And, to
do him justice, sir, he didna attempt to deny it, but said that ye wud
do the same by me, if I would try ye, and offered to back ye against ony
man in the twa kingdoms. Now, sir, I looked about all the day in the
crowd, just to see if I could clap my een on ye, and to ask ye, in a
friendly way, if ye would let me try what sort o' stuff ye are made o',
but I couldna fall in wi' ye; and now I'm really glad that I hae met wi'
ye--and as this is a gay level place here, and the ground is not very
hard, what do ye say if we try a thraw, in a neighbourly way; and after
that, we can cut a bit branch frae ane o' the allers, for a cudgelling
bout. Ye will really very particularly oblige me, sir, if ye will."
The stranger readily replied, "With all my heart, friend--be it so."
Andrew cast off his jacket and bonnet, and, throwing them on the ground,
his large water-dog, which was called Caesar, placed himself beside them.
"Dinna thraw till I get a grip," cried Andrew, as the stranger had him
already lifted from his feet--"that's no fair--it's no our country way
o' thrawing."
The request was granted, and only granted, when Andrew measured his
length upon the ground, and his dog sprang forward to attack the victor.
"Get back, Caesar!" shouted its master--"It was a fair fa', I canna deny
it! Sorrow tak me if I thought there was a man in ten parishes could hae
done the like! Gie's yer hand," said he, as he rose to his feet; "I'll
thraw nor cudgel nae mair wi' you; but, as sure as my name's Andrew, I
would bite my last coin through the middle, to gie ye the half o't,
should ye want it. I like to meet wi' a good man, even though he should
be better than mysel--and, in the particular o' wrestling, I allow that
ye do bang me--though I dinna say how we might stand in other respects,
for they've no been tried. But it was a fair fa'. 'Od, ye gied me a jirk
as though I had been touched by lightning."
Before reaching Eyemouth, they came to a change-house by the wayside,
which was kept by a widow, called Nancy Hewitt; and who was not only
noted on account of the excellence of the liquor with which she supplied
her customers, but who also had a daughter, named Janet, whose beauty
rendered her the toast of the countryside.
"I am always in the habit," said Andrew, "o' stopping here for
refreshment, and, if ye hae nae objections, we'll toom a stoup
together."
"Cheerily, cheerily," answered his companion.
The fair daughter of the hostess was from home when they entered, and
Andrew inquired after her with a solicitude that bespoke something more
between them than mere acquaintanceship. The stranger slightly intimated
that he had heard of her, and, after a few seemingly indifferent
questions respecting her, for a few minutes became silent and
thoughtful.
"Hoot, man," said Andrew, "I am vexed to see ye sae dowie--gie cauld
care a kick like a foot-ba'. This is nae time to be sad when the king is
merry, and the country's merry, an' we're a' happy thegither. Cheer up,
I say, man--what's the matter wi' ye?--care has a strange look on a
body's shouthers at seven or eight and twenty; and I dinna think ye can
be mair. I am on the wrang side o' three and thirty, and I would snap my
fingers at it, were it blawing its breath in my face as snell as a drift
on an open moor! Losh man! what ails ye? Ye would say I had met wi' a
friar in orders grey, lamenting owre the sins o' the world, and the
poverty o' his pocket, instead o' a young bang fellow like you, that's a
match for onybody. Come, here's to the health o' bonny Jenny Hewitt."
"With all my heart," said the stranger; and, pronouncing the name of the
fair maiden, quaffed off his liquor.
"Now, that's wiselike; there's some spirit in that," said Andrew,
following his example; "let's be merry while we can; that's aye my
creed. The ne'er a grain o' guid, as I used to say to my mother, comes
out o' melancholy. Let's hae a sang--I see you hae a singing face--or
I'll gie ye ane mysel, to mak a beginning."
So saying, with a voice like thunder broken into music, he sang as
follows:--
In our young, young days,
When the gowany braes
Were our temple o' joy and glee,
Some dour auld body would shake his head,
And tell us our gladness away would flee,
And our hearts beat as heavy as lead.
Stupid auld body--silly auld body--
His mother spained him wi' a canker-worm.
In our auld, auld days, the gowany braes
Are memory's rainbows owre time and storm.
In our proud young days,
When the gowany braes
Kenn'd the feet o' my love and me,
Some ill-matched carle would girn and say--
"Puir things! wi' a twalmonth's marriage, and ye
Will find love like a snaw-ba' decay."
Stupid auld carle--leein' auld carle--
His mother spained him wi' a canker-worm.
In our auld, auld days, like gowany braes,
Our love unchang'd, has its youthfu' form.
In our grey-haired days,
When the gowany braes
Are owre steep for our feet to climb--
When her back is bowed, and her lovely e'e,
Once bricht as a beam frae the sun, is dim--
She'll be still my bit lassie to me.
Stupid auld body--wicked auld body--
Love, like the gowan's a winter liver.
The smile o' a wife is the sun o' its life,
An' her bosom a brae where it blooms for ever.
A few minutes after Andrew had concluded his song, the fair daughter of
their hostess entered the house. Andrew's first glance bespoke the
lover, and the smile with which she returned it showed that the young
fisherman and cadger was not an unaccepted wooer.
"By my sooth, fair maiden," said the stranger, "and thy sweet face
doesna belie its fame; admiration fails in painting the loveliness of
thy glowing cheeks, and thine een might make a moonbeam blush!"
He seemed practised in the art of gallantry, and poured into her ear
other compliments in a similar strain. She hung her head, and turned it
aside from him, as a woman will when flattered, or when she wishes to be
flattered, but she did not rise to depart; and he felt that the incense
which he offered to her beauty was not unacceptable. But the words and
the attentions of the stranger were as daggers in the ears, and as
wormwood in the heart of Andrew.
"The mischief rive his smooth tongue out o' his head!" thought Andrew;
"but though I hae nae chance in speaking balderdash wi' him, and though
he did thraw me (and it was maybe by an unmanly quirk after a'), I'll
let her see, if he has the glibest tongue, wha has the manliest arm!"